From a distance, the Mars Hill story looks an imponderable mess.
Who did what, when, why, how, and (what’s more) why on earth could it have been allowed to get to this level of angst? These are questions that people like you and me, who are outside the celebrity inner circle, ask but are unlikely ever to find answers.
No winners
Even addressing the question has become difficult. One person tries to say the equivalent of ‘he who is without sin let him cast the first stone’. Then those who are – it appears really and truly – hurt and wounded by the mess are miffed, and their defenders are outraged. Another person cheers on the process of ‘church discipline’ and the opposite group is equally annoyed. There are no winners in this situation – least of all those who have been spiritually shepherded and (let us not forget) brought to confess Christ through the ministry of Mars Hill.
