5. The essence of the church needs to be based upon the centrality of Christ.
Along the lines of point four, there needs to be a drastic shift away from a congregation that comes to be entertained by a great worship leader and/or preacher to a congregation that comes primarily to worship Jesus. Every church has to ingrain its vision, mission, preaching, ministry and worship around the centrality of Christ. This is one of the advantages some of the historic mainline denominational churches have over the typical evangelical church.
In spite of the fact that Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and other denominational churches transfer their priest every few years to another parish, faithful people still attend their churches by the millions all over the world. Why? Because their congregations are committed to their parish and to their expression of the universal church more than they are to the charismatic leadership of their lead pastor. For example, in my area of NYC, a Roman Catholic might say “I am attending Saint Francis church in Brooklyn Heights; they rarely if ever say “I am attending Father Frank Mascara’s church!”
One of the reasons why I instituted weekly communion years ago in our church was because I wanted the center of the service to be about the gospel—not about my preaching. When people judge a church merely by good sermons and/or a worship experience, they are acting carnal. Their focus should be on worshipping Jesus, ministering to the saints and being empowered for the work of the kingdom in the context of the corporate vision of their local congregation
6. Every lead pastor needs an equally competent understudy who can step in.
After Mark Driscoll resigned, there was no understudy with capacity to come in and preach (and lead?) equal to him. In my opinion, the greatest role of every lead pastor is to nurture leaders who can potentially step in to their role and do a better job than them!
7. The congregation has to be more committed to their corporate vision than to the lead pastor and/or to their social networks.
Most people attend a church because a friend attends and/or because they like the lead pastor. We have to structure our churches so that we develop a discipleship culture in which believers are assimilated to serve their church and community. Folks have to discover their individual gifts and have their purpose ignited with a passion inspired by a compelling corporate vision to transform their city that transcends their social networking needs.
In closing, those of us in the evangelical church will miss an opportunity for growth unless we admit that much of the leadership and character issues that led to Pastor Mark Driscoll’s resignation are common issues with a large percentage of lead pastors globally. Also, many of the flaws in the structure of Mars Hill Church are also fatal flaws in a large percentage of all evangelical churches worldwide. We should allow the Lord to redeem the experience of Mars Hill as a teaching moment for us all.
May the Lord minister grace, mercy and restoration to pastor Mark Driscoll, and may the Mars Hill congregation not only survive, but also thrive in the years ahead for the glory of God.
Joseph Mattera is overseeing bishop of Resurrection Church and Christ Covenant Coalition, in Brooklyn, New York.
