Mark Driscoll sued for misusing Mars Hill Church tithes

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Controversial megachurch pastor Mark Driscoll resigned from his church Tuesday (Oct. 15), according to a document obtained by RNS. Photo courtesy of Mars Hill Church

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(RNS) The pastor whose Seattle megachurch imploded two years ago is now accused of raising funds for missionaries and spending it on self-promotion.
Four former members of the now-defunct Mars Hill Church are suing its controversial former pastor Mark Driscoll, accusing him of “a continuing pattern of racketeering activity.”
The 42-page civil racketeering lawsuit, posted in its entirety on the Daily Beast, was filed Monday (Feb. 29) by Brian Jacobsen, Connie Jacobsen, Ryan Kildea and Arica Kildea in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. The lawsuit was filed as part of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, created to prosecute the Mafia and criminal organizations.
Driscoll recently announced he is starting a new church in Phoenix.
The suit alleges Driscoll and Mars Hill executive elder John Sutton Turner solicited donations through the mail and Internet, then used that money for other purposes.
It contends millions donated by church members to support missionaries overseas appeared to have stayed in the U.S. It also claims the church paid $210,000 to a company called Result Source to secure Driscoll’s book, “Real Marriage: The Truth about Sex, Friendship and Life Together” on the The New York Times and other bestseller lists.
Because of this, it said, “a deadly toxin was injected into the (Mars Hill Church) body, ending in the complete destruction of the church.” Driscoll resigned from the church in 2014 amid allegations of plagiarism, abusive behavior and critical comments he made about feminism and homosexuality under a pseudonym on a church message board. The church’s 15 campuses closed that December.
Had the Jacobsens and Kildeas known how the money was being used, they wouldn’t have donated nor made Mars Hill their home church, according to the suit.
Neither calls to the Law Office of Brian Fahling nor emails to Driscoll immediately were returned.