Mark Driscoll, the highly controversial Pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle Washington did an interview for the acclaimed “Family Life” radio program in May. The segment was interrupted mid way through the interview by Dick Bott, founder of the Bott Radio Network. Bott, who has one of the largest Christian Radio networks in the country, not only interrupted the program but also cancelled an additional upcoming interview with Driscoll and informed all stations in the Bott Network to cancel any programming that involved Driscoll and his ministry.
Bott made the decision to pull all programming involving Driscoll after viewing and reading numerous accounts of Driscoll’s vulgar comments and explicit preaching style. Just a few years ago Driscoll preached at an event in Edinburgh, Scotland where he shared in a message that he had once counseled a female who was a new Christian on how to pull down her husband’s pants and perform oral sex on him. Driscoll has stated from the pulpit more than once that oral sex is the duty of a Godly wife; and in his Scotland message stated that he spoke about the oral sex with this woman because she is a “repentant woman” who is “supposed to be a biblical wife.”
Driscoll is a published author, founder of Acts 29 Ministries, Pastor and a self-proclaimed “5 ½ point Calvinist” or a “Charismatic Calvinist” and is a forerunner in paving the way for what is being called the “Reformed Calvinistic” point of view.
During Driscoll’s Scotland sermon, which was titled “Sex, a study of the good bits from Song of Solomon”, he stated: “Men, I am glad to report to you that oral sex is biblical…the wife performing oral sex on the husband is biblical. God’s men said ‘Amen’?”
Driscoll then referred to a scripture from Song of Solomon when addressing the women in the audience. “Ladies, your husband’s appreciate oral sex. It’s biblical. It’s right here. “The fruit of her husband is sweet to her taste and she delights to be beneath him.”
From the pulpit and in his own blog, Driscoll uses edgy humor and graphic language to get the attention of his audience. He has also addressed the topics of sex toys, anal sex and nymphomania, stating that chapter 7 of Song of Solomon gives biblical justification for spouses stripping for each other. Driscoll has reportedly referred congregants to what he states is an online ‘Christian Nymphos’ page run by Christian women and also an online source for sex toys.
The Bott Network stands behind their right and decision to pull Driscoll from their stations. Though Bott is in full support of the “Family Life” show and its host Dennis Rainey, Bott stated that he could not trust what might come out of Driscoll’s mouth on the radio. “All I know is when a man behaves badly; he’s not a role model. And when a man’s mouth, you know, speaks of things that will embarrass people in the audience he certainly isn’t a gentleman.” (Ephesians 4:29)
Though Driscoll has numerous supporters for his bold style and rogue sense of humor, many Pastors and Christian organizations around the globe are concerned over the skewed biblical interpretations that Pastor Mark Driscoll is embracing and sharing via his ministry. Much of the sexual doctrine Driscoll extols on the congregation comes merely from Song of Solomon and his own worldly viewpoint.
Driscoll displays his viewpoint via a video series of services titled “Ask Anything”. As you view the videos, Pastor Driscoll begins with a caution and a rating of MH-17, for mature audiences only. He goes on to state that the topics basically come in two different categories, “offensive and really offensive”. Driscoll states that the topics are what some would consider vulgar but ‘pretty fun.’ He justifies the videos with the remark, “To be fair, we are in the least churched city in the nation, the services tend to include a lot of non-Christians and new Christians.” – As if the purported freedom to be vulgar is alright since he is attempting to reach out to non-Christians and those who are new to the faith.
Despite the controversy surrounding Driscoll he was named one of the top 50 most influential Christians in America by Zondervan this past year. For those unaware, the word influential means ‘to influence’ and according to Miriam Webster is defined as: an emanation of spiritual or moral force; corrupt interference with authority for personal gain.
Additional information and sources:
2009 Nightline Interview with Driscoll:
Comments
Soon Mr. Driscoll be claiming he's a "perfect" example of God...like other Calvinist preachers I've heard. I think Mr. Driscoll is just a dirty old pervert not a man of God.
Karen, I agree with the "dirty old pervert" comment. Sex is a gift of God, but when it is discussed in crude terms, it demeans the act of love. A pastor should present sex with respect.
I'm just saying.
Denise Miller Holmes
Denver Christian Perspectives Examiner
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I've heard over the radio several times since the year 2000 that the main college fraternity had a political agenda of trying to turn their girlfriends gay. Oh boy - I wonder if that kind of socialist agenda will help control them ? -
One time Alan Colmes ( Anchor ) was arguing the fact that the homosexuals were claiming exclusive rights to sodomy. Well of course their the only ones allowed to do it. As in their capital adventure to open stores that sale pot. Of course if your gay you should be given social priority to everything including insurance , employment and the right to copulate in our parks , street and break our laws. It's educational to our nations children. Just ask the school system.
Our nation is so politically and socially confused that they should move our intelligence agencies out to a trailer park !
You are right God is completly against having sex. And if we dont say anything or ask questions it will just go away. NO! Driscoll is doing what all christians should do, be honest and not water down the religion, he is standing up taking questions that people want to know the answers to. He is very biblically based. A dirty old pervert? really? you think sex is perverted?
"You are right God is completly against having sex."
No. God is against having perverted sex.
Daniel, Nowhere in this article does it say that sex is perverted or wrong. There are many christian books about having a great sex life. Sex is a privelege, a blessing, a gift. No one denies that. But the Bible does not state that it is a woman's duty to give oral sex to her husband. Nowhere in the Bible does it command specific sexual acts. It is not a Preacher's position or job to tell couples of any kind how and when to have sex or to demean the beautiful act of lovemaking in a marriage OR defile the Word of God by stating it says something that it clearly does not. It's not about sex, it's about his falsehoods. If he wants to teach about sex then go for it but don't use the Word of God as a shield for his own voyerism into other people's sex lives. Don't use the Word of God and his Christian Preacher label as a guise to talk about graphic sex in the pulpit so he can get his rocks off. Give us a break. Start a radio show or have Dr. Ruth adopt him. This isn't preaching, its worldly
Thank you, Anne, for your comments.
does that mean all non-Calvinist preachers are perfect?
Paul - I don't believe it says anywhere in here that any preacher, any Christian, any non-Christian, any Calvinist or any man or woman is perfect. Assumptive words you write...not wise ones.
This preacher dont know nothing about bible!!! He is so dirty to say this dirty stuff for people. If he moy gana stop he will be in hell.
What a horrible destructive man Driscoll is.
Problem is that many deceived Christians attend church for entertainement and not for worshipping GOD
I think I missed the part where he says the men should reciprocate by performing oral sex on their wives. Oh, waitaminute...he didn't say. Why?
I find it interesting that most of the comments above and indeed this article itself, focus on "one liners" from Driscoll rather than the entire session. I'd also hazard a guess that many of those responsible for the content of this particular page haven't listened to many of Driscoll's sermons, and I'm certain that most, if not all, of you have not heard his sermon on 1 Corinthians in which he discusses the responsibilities of the husband in the sexual aspects of a marriage. He spends quite some time explaining that a husband should cater to his wife's needs and seek to satisfy her sexual needs, even if that means she wants to cuddle. Refer to this particular sermon at the following address: http://www.marshillchurch.org/media/1st-corinthians/good-sex-bad-sex . I'd also encourage you to contemplate the meaning of the scriptures that tell us that "the marriage bed is pure and undefiled". ALL sex outside of marriage is perverted. On the other hand, if you're having sexual relations within marriage, it, by definition, cannot be perverted. It's a pure and undefiled privilege.
I would like to add a caveat to my previous statement. The marriage bed can be perverted in the case of abuse or infidelity.
Kaitlin, I appreciate your comments. I am the one who wrote the article and I have listened to some of Driscolls sermons. It would have been judgmental for me not to in order to write this article. I heard truth come from him as well as humor and motivation, however the sermons I listened to wherein he speaks directly about graphic sexual acts within a marriage are what I wrote about here. If he wishes to speak on the subject then the place for that would be in a counseling room, not a full congregation of married and unmarried men and women, teens, youth etc. I don't find sexual talk or concerns about sexual issues perverted. There are many excellent books and vidoes that Christians can choose on the subject. If he chose to speak on the subject in the context of a marriage retreat where couples came to be counseled on that subject and motivated in their marriage, that would also be different. But in the general population of a full congregation, my opinion is that is unacceptible and his graphic words are vulgar and titilating rather than the kind of love described in Corinthians. And yes, I agree...the marriage bed is sacred and a blessing but it can also be perverted by abuse and sin. But it can also become less than sacred when it becomes something we no longer see as holy and special. Speaking about it in graphic terms in a congregation full of people makes it common rather than holy. "Sin occurs when we treat that which was ordained to be holy as common." - John Bevere
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