The membership of the hipper-than-thou, ultraconservative Mars Hill
Church, led by a young, brash, and controversial pastor named Mark
Driscoll, has been buzzing in recent days about the firing of pastors
Paul Petry and Bent Meyer. According to a letter sent to church
members on November 8, the pastors were let go for disrespecting church
leaders and for “sinful” behavior. Both pastors were unhappy with
revisions to the church’s bylaws that would change the way power is
divided in the church. Dissension among church leaders over the
revisions has since spread to the Mars Hill flock.
Mars Hill has grown exponentially since it first began in Driscoll’s
Wallingford rental house in 1996. The church operates out of five
campuses around the Seattle region and has a sixth location on the way.
Despite catching heat in the past for misogynistic and homophobic
statements (Driscoll said that women should stick to traditional gender
roles and compared homosexuality to “cancer”), he preaches to packed
houses every Sunday, simulcasting his sermon to all five Mars Hill
campuses.
While Driscoll is the face of Mars Hill, the church also has about
30 “elders” working behind the scenes. As Mars Hill has grown, the
elders, along with Driscoll, have decided to reformulate the church’s
power structure, and Driscoll’s role in the church’s day-to-day
operations has been reduced.
According to a letter to Mars Hill members from church leadership,
Petry and Meyer opposed the elders’ restructuring plan. The letter also
asserts that Petry and Meyer shared documents—including the
not-yet-ratified bylaws—with non-elders, including an
attorney.
On October 15, the church elders voted to fire Petry from his paid
staff position at the Mars Hill Ballard campus for, according to a
written Q & A between members and elders (including Driscoll), “his
behavior, accusations of other elders, and breaking of elder protocol
and confidentiality.” Meyer was also removed for “disrespecting other
elders and displaying an unhealthy distrust for leadership.” However,
according to church documents, Meyer was “repentant” and the church
elders voted to put him on probation—in an unpaid position at the
church’s Shoreline campus. Neither Meyer nor Petry would comment for
the story and Mars Hill did not return calls.
The firings riled up Mars Hill’s membership, and a lengthy
discussion on the church’s private online message board (provided to
The Stranger by a disgruntled Mars Hill member) ensued. “I am
concerned Mars Hill is currently under a cloud of secrecy,” one member,
identified as Cameron Black, posted. “I don’t understand why the
members are being kept in the dark.” On the message board, Mars Hill
members repeatedly asked church elders for clearer justifications for
the firings, and voiced support for the two men. “Bent and Paul are
two of the most trustworthy and Godly men I have ever met,” wrote a
board user identified as Doug Finefrock. The debate got so acrimonious
that some members were banned from the discussion.
While the fallout from the bylaw revisions brought dissent and harsh
words from Mars Hill members, the church leadership got its digs in as
well.
In a September 30 sermon, Driscoll lashed out. “There are a few guys
right now, if I wasn’t going to end up on CNN, I would go Old Testament
on ’em,” he said sternly. “There’s no, like, attorneys and blogging,
just like, ‘I punched you in the mouth. Now shut up.’ That’s clean;
it’s simple.” In the written
Q & A, members asked Driscoll
whether he was referring to the two fired pastors. Driscoll wrote that
he didn’t remember thinking about the pastors at the time, and that he
was directing his anger at several Mars Hill members who “were acting
very disrespectfully, sinfully, and proudly toward… the elders.”
Driscoll’s comments and the firings have, according to one former
Mars Hill member who asked not to be identified, caused some to rethink
their membership in the church. “[This is the] straw that broke the
camel’s back,” the former member says.
Petry will receive his salary and benefits through the end of
December. 
