THE RISE & FALL OF MARS HILL
www.christianitytoday.com/ct/podcasts/rise-and-fall-of-mars-hill/
Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google
In this limited-series podcast produced by Christianity Today, the much talked about church leader Mark Driscoll and his former church Mars Hill and its demise are reviewed and analysed.
The tagline for the podcast makes the premise of the podcast clear; ‘…this podcast takes you inside the story of Mars Hill Church in Seattle – from its founding as part of one of the largest church planting movements in American history to its very public dissolution – and the aftermath that followed.’
There are currently six episodes with a seventh ‘bonus’ episode that investigates the recent story of Joshua Harris selling deconstruction classes to disenfranchised Christians. It is not clear if the podcast will be extended beyond the six episodes currently available.
Over the past few days, I have listened to the first three episodes and have been impressed with the narrator Mike Cosper (a writer, podcaster and the Director of Podcasting for Christianity Today) and his even-keeled tone; presenting the facts and figures and always allowing space for context, leaving no room for conjecture.
It is undeniable, listening to the early episodes, that there is a strong bias to side with Driscoll’s critics. However, the contextual evidence and eyewitness testimonies given throughout the podcast make it difficult to side with the former Mars Hill pastor.
Even so, Cosper succeeds in presenting a level-headed narration.
The podcast does a brilliant job at not making this a witch-hunt (something it easily could have become, and a path that other articles, videos and podcasts have travelled down).
