Former megachurch pastor Mark Driscoll took the mic at the Gateway Leadership Conference in Dallas on Monday, October 20 to talk very briefly about his recent resignation and to ask for prayer for his family. Driscoll resigned from Mars Hill Church in Seattle last week after a long season of personal and organizational struggle, including accusations of plagiarism, bullying and poor leadership choices. According to Robert Morris, Gateway’s pastor, Driscoll requested to come to the conference as an attendee and not as a speaker; Morris commented in a Religion News Service article that he thought it was “big of Driscoll to just come and be ministered to.”
Morris introduced Driscoll, who was sitting in the front row of the audience, reminding attendees that “not everything you read on the Internet is true” and encouraging them to “restore [Driscoll] with a spirit of gentleness considering ourselves, lest we are also tempted.” He then asked Driscoll to say a few words. As Driscoll approached the mic, the audience gave him a standing ovation.
Driscoll asked for prayer for his family, particularly for his children because they have been subjected to great stress and difficulty that they don’t fully understand. Driscoll said the family has moved three times and have even received death threats. “I’ve cried a lot lately,” he said. “It’s been a rough season for the family.”
View this video of Driscoll’s comments below.
