Mike Cosper, Director of Podcasting for Christianity Today, has created a podcast exploring the rise and the fall of Mars Hill church in Seattle. He joins Derek, Alastair, and Matt to discuss the story, the scandal, and what this project hopes to accomplish. What is the danger of celebrity pastors? Why does this keep happening? And how can pastors prevent it from happening to their churches?
Mere Fidelity is sponsored by Lexham Press, and features the Lexham Press Book of the Month.
The Book of the Month for June is Christ and Calamity by Dr. Harold Senkbeil. Get a discount using the promo code MEREFIDELITYJUN21. Now in hardcover, Christ and Calamity speaks pastorally to our suffering and uncertainty. Senkbeil shows God’s constant and faithful grace to us.
Timestamps:
Live Q&A Announcement [0:00]
Mike Cosper, Podcaster [1:13]
The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill [3:01]
The Ethics of Revealing Scandal [6:09]
Pastors with Personas [11:10]
Retrospective on a Movement [18:02]
What were the good parts? [27:39]
Pros & Cons of Big Personalities [32:41]
Social Media Issues [44:44]
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Follow Derek, Andrew, and Alastair for more tweet-sized brilliance. Thanks to Timothy Crouch for keeping us organized. Thanks to Tim Motte for sound editing. And thanks to The Joy Eternal for lending us their music, which everybody should download out of gratitude for their kindness.