Comparing Driscoll to John the Baptist, Lindell told conference attendees, “Mark is a prophetic voice to our generation. Nothing that [Mark] said changes that.”
“Mark,” Lindell said, “I want you to know you’re a gift to the kingdom. You’re a gift to James River. And you’ve been a gift to Debbie and I—you’ve helped us. You’ve been kind to my sons and I love you.”
Lindell said that Driscoll told him outside that he’d do whatever Lindell wanted him to do. “If you’re willing,” Lindell told Driscoll, “I want you to speak again. I want to find out about Elijah.” The crowd responded with loud applause.
“I honor, respect, and love, and admire you as the father of this house,” Driscoll replied, calling the Stronger Men’s Conference the “greatest men’s event” in the country. “I want to thank you for having such a great heart for men,” Driscoll said.
“We’re not going to do division. What we are going to do is we’re going to try and model how brothers can work through disagreement,” Driscoll said.
Driscoll admitted that he should have talked to Lindell in private instead of “verbally processing” on the stage, adding, “As the father of the head of the house, you could have given me the thumbs up or down, and I need to honor that as spiritual authority.”
“I apologize to you for not going that route, which would have [kept] us from the most awkward moment in the history of any men’s event,” Driscoll said.
Driscoll went on to share that the conversations he had with Lindell leaving Mars Hill Church are largely what “architected” his current church.
Notably, Driscoll has been accused of fostering an abusive leadership culture at The Trinity Church.
As they discussed further, Lindell told conference attendees, “I’m gonna be honest with you. This may be the most important thing you’ll see at” the Stronger Men’s Conference this year.
“People make mistakes, they make misjudgments,” Lindell said. “But if we’re gonna penalize people and kill friendships over that, then we’ve damaged the body of Christ.”
