Concerning the abuse of church funds used for Driscoll’s Real Marriage book, Dean said, “It cost [Mars Hill Church] exactly $10,000 to get on the bestseller list. Way cheaper than any other book marketing campaign. In the end, we recouped that as well and profited greatly from it. Mark didn’t. The church did. So no, it wasn’t an abuse of church funds.”
Cosper chimed in, posting an image of Result Source’s invoice and calling Dean’s comment dishonest. “This is profoundly dishonest,” Cosper wrote. “The base fee for the Result Source contract was at least $25K, but also required guaranteed purchases with church funds of more than $200K worth of books.” Cosper explained the tactics, “Those books could have been bought at a significant direct-from-publisher bulk price, but were bought at full retail prices from outlets that would count towards the NY Times bestseller list. You could say that the costs were recouped from sales or repaid, as some have claimed, but your framing is wildly inaccurate.”
Dean responded: “We bought $200k worth of books (10,000 at $20 each) plus the Results Source fee. Then we sold 10,000 books on our website for $25 each (they were signed). That alone cancelled out the cost. Then we ordered more and sold them in our bookstores at 15 campuses.” Dean also shared that the books Mars Hill Church bought for its bookstores were purchased at the publisher’s discount.
“I think Cosper is a good guy and trying to do something helpful,” Dean wrote on Twitter. “I just think we have different views on what is helpful and apparently different theological views as well.”
Dean Isn’t Hiding Driscoll’s Past
It seems Dean isn’t concerned with covering up Driscoll’s past failing but is concerned about how the history of Mars Hill Church is portrayed and dissected during his tenure there.
A Twitter follower queried Dean: “Correct me if I’m wrong, didn’t Pastor Mark admit his sin, ask for forgiveness (from both the congregation and God), and seek wise counsel. Seems to me he followed the proper restoration process.”
“For a lot of things, yes,” Dean replied. Not dismissing what has been reported about Driscoll’s continued arrogant actions, he said, “Has he fully turned around and stopped a pattern of arrogance and control and pride? Doesn’t seem so, but I’m not in his circle these days.”
