Obituary for Mark Thomas Driscoll
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Mark Thomas Driscoll leaves behind a legacy of family, faith, and love that touched the hearts of all who had the privilege of crossing his path. He is survived by his siblings Jim and Mike Driscoll of Mount Lebanon, Pennsylvania, and Susan Falkowski (David) of Westwood, Massachusetts, along with nieces Emma and Christina Falkowski and nephew Harrison Driscoll. Mark is also survived by his parents-in-law, William and Constance Cotter of Fairfield, CT.
He is also survived by his sisters-in-law, Amory (Joseph) Mitchell and Diane (Matthew) Hagerty, and nephews, Miles and Graham Mitchell; Trevor, Ryan, Elizabeth, and Taylor Hagerty, all of Fairfield, CT. He is also survived by his sister-in-law, Christine (Patrick) Gregory, his niece Madeline, and his nephew, Timothy Gregory of North Andover, MA.
Born April 30, 1969, in Boston, Mark was the third of four children to the late James Joseph Driscoll and the late Judith Marie Driscoll. The family later moved to Upper St. Bonaventure University in Olean, New York. His proudest sports moment was scoring against Notre Dame, a memory he fondly shared with his older brother Jim (ND ’88) over the years.
Mark began his successful career in financial services in New York City, lending his talents to companies such as Bloomberg and, most recently, NASDAQ, where he served as Associate Vice President of Market Platforms.
Mark’s true joy in life was his family. While in New York, he met Amanda, who would become the love of his life. United by a strong Catholic faith, shared values , and a competitive spirit, Mark and Amanda were married on February 2, 2008, at the Church of Our Savior in New York City.
Shortly thereafter, they moved to Amanda’s hometown of Fairfield, CT, started a family, and immersed themselves in all aspects of the community. Whether it was family outings, church visits, vacations with relatives, or participating in various activities with his children, Mark was a constant source of support and became a fast friend to all who met him.
His greatest joy was spending time with his wife and children and doing the simple things in life, whether it was taking a bike ride around the neighborhood, throwing the kids in the pool, or participating in one of their many sports activities. Mark was a devout Catholic, and his family were active parishioners at St. Pius Catholic Church in Fairfield, CT, where they regularly attended Mass.
Mark was a member of St. Pius’ men’s group. In his spare time, Mark enjoyed running and participated in many marathons, including one in Iceland. Mark’s lasting legacy will be marked by his unwavering commitment to family, faith, and his profound role as a loving, compassionate, and devoted father and husband. His warmth, generosity, and infectious spirit will be sorely missed by all who had the privilege of knowing him. A Mass of Christian Burial is celebrated at St. Pius
Mark was a wonderful, godly, optimistic man who was loved by all who met him, and he decided to make the most of it on his journey. Mark chose to make his life exciting rather than stressful. His mantra for overcoming his MS was, “Pain is inevitable, but growth is optional.”
Mark was an avid fisherman and hunter during his early years in Montana. He recently invested in a wheelchair that allowed him to return to the wilderness to hunt white-tailed deer in southwestern Montana. As a hobby, Mark built birdhouses in his garage in Bozeman and enjoyed building garden beds and growing vegetables.
Mark had a great love for music and enjoyed listening to all genres, but stayed true to his roots, 70’s rock and roll. During this time, he attended many concerts with his wife, Christy, close friends, and his younger brothers. Mark enjoyed many family gatherings at the Driscoll Home in Bozeman, where he was able to spend time with his children, aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, and sisters every summer. Mark also met his best friends from Butte many times over the years and celebrated with a few pints and many laughs in Butte and Bozeman.
Mark was born in Butte, Montana, on November 11, 1956, the third of five children to Bob and Mary Driscoll. Mark grew up in Butte and graduated from Butte Central in 1975. He married his high school sweetheart, Christy Wathen. Mark and Christy had two beautiful children, the loves of their lives: son Jeremy and daughter Kote.
Mark enjoyed watching his children grow in school and was present at all life events, including Kote’s graduation from WSU. Mark was a very successful businessman and was the manager of Thurman’s Plumbing and Electrical in Butte, Missoula, and Mt. Vernon, WA, for over 15 years. He subsequently received the “Manager of the Year” award for his and his team’s achievements.
Mark was preceded in death by his parents, Bob and Mary Driscoll; his close friend and ex-wife Christy Driscoll, who passed away on January 14, 2023, after a courageous year-long battle with cancer; and his brother-in-law Dan Gregier, who passed away in October 2022.
Mark is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, Jeremy and Debbie Driscoll; his granddaughter Kylie, all of MT Vernon, WA; and his daughter and son-in-law Kote and John Kirkaldie; and his two grandsons, Charlie and Cohen of Taupo, New Zealand. In addition to his children and grandchildren, Mark is survived by his brothers and sisters-in-law, Eddie and Iris Driscoll, Joe and Patti Driscoll, Rev. Fr.
The family asks that anyone wishing to make a donation in Mark’s name to the Montana Independent Living Program in Bozeman, MT, or the National MS Society. A celebration of Mark’s life will be held later this year, and an announcement will be made with the details.
Rest in peace, Markle Sparkle.
Early Life
Mark Driscoll grew up Roman Catholic in the Riverton Heights neighborhood of SeaTac, Washington, which he described as “a very rough neighborhood” where serial killer Ted Bundy took victims. He is the eldest of five children and the son of a plasterer from Union.
Describing a difficult family history of abuse and crime, he wrote: “The men on my father’s side are uneducated alcoholics, mental patients and wife abusers. … One of the main reasons my parents moved from North Dakota to Seattle was to get away from some relatives when I was a very young boy.
In 1989, he graduated from Highline High School in Burien, Washington, where he served as student body president, captain of the baseball team, editor of the school newspaper, and likely valedictorian. At age 19, Driscoll converted to evangelical Christianity as a freshman in college.
That same year, Driscoll said, “God spoke to me… He told me to marry Grace, preach the Bible, train men, and plant churches… I began to prepare to devote my life to obedience to [God’s] calling “For me.” He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Washington State University with a minor in Philosophy and a Master of Arts in Exegetical Theology from Western Seminary.
Career at Mars Hill Church
Mark Driscoll Obituary
After graduation, Mark and Grace moved to Seattle, where they attended Antioch Bible Church and volunteered in that church’s college ministry. A few months later, Mark was hired as an intern. During his internship, Mark met Mike Gunn, who worked for an athlete ministry at the University of Washington, and Lief Moi, a radio host.
The three men began talking about starting an “urban, postmodern” church in Seattle. Greg Kappas, the pastor in charge of church planting at Antioch Bible Church, mentored the three and helped them develop their plans.
Mars Hill Church founded
Driscoll, Lief Moi, and Mike Gunn founded Mars Hill Church in the spring of 1995 and officially opened it in the fall of 1996. The church first met in Driscoll’s home. In the spring of 1997, the church had moved and expanded to include two services. Driscoll later stated that he “wasn’t ready” when he planted Mars Hill at age 25.
Later, in 1997, in California, the speech he gave inspired many in the emerging church movement and, according to Driscoll, shifted the movement’s focus from reaching Generation X to the postmodern world. This brought Mars Hill Church and Driscoll into the national spotlight: He was interviewed on National Public Radio, and Mother Jones magazine published an article about the church.
Establishment of the Acts 29 Network
Mark Driscoll Obituary
In 1998, Driscoll and David Nicholas founded the Acts 29 Network (“Acts 29”), a church planting network, in response to people asking Driscoll for church planting advice. The goal of this parachurch organization was to plant 1,000 new churches around the world “through recruitment, assessment, training, funding and coaching.”
Acts 29 started slowly under Driscoll’s leadership, with 11 churches in the beginning and 17 in 2003. At this point, it began to grow rapidly, with 50 churches in 2006 and 410 churches in 2011. The majority is still in 38 churches in the United States in 16 other countries.
According to Salon, Driscoll structured Act 29 to conform to his own “strict orthodoxy and views” on theology and politics while leaving room for cultural detail. Among other things, according to Acts 29, future church planters must be led by men.
Mars Hill Church restructuring (2006–2007)
Justification
As the church grew, he began training other elders and deacons and took on a more leadership role in carrying out the vision and continuing the preaching. In 2006, the church had 4,000 to 5,000 weekly attendees at three locations in the Seattle area.
He said he slept only two to three hours a night and began to fear he would die prematurely of a heart attack. Finally, in 2006–2007, he began to restructure the church and claimed to be separated from power. Within Mars Hill, he publicly stated that he had resigned as “legal president,” president of the council of elders, and chief of staff while retaining his role as the public face and preaching pastor.
Proposed bylaw Changes
Mark Driscoll Obituary
Driscoll proposed changes to the charter that would give “executive directors” unlimited terms. Driscoll and supporters of the changes argued that the church had outgrown its original governing structure, while opponents argued that the changes consolidated power with Driscoll and his trusted deputies. Paul Petry and another pastor, Bent Meyer, both disagreed with the changes.
In response, Driscoll fired both. A forum post on Mars Hill reported – without naming the pastors – that one was fired for “showing an unhealthy distrust of leadership” and the other for “accepting elders’ minutes during the charter consultation period had been ignored” and “verbally attacked.” senior pastor.” [Driscoll].”
The morning after Petry and Meyer were fired, Driscoll told his pastors and other church leaders at a conference: “Yesterday we fired two elders for the first time in the history of Mars Hill. …So they weren’t on a mission.” Now, they are unemployed. This will be the deciding factor in success or failure. I’ve read enough of the New Testament to know that Paul occasionally puts someone in the wood chipper.
Not only did both lose their jobs, but they also had to go through a church process to assess their church membership. Petry was accused by Driscoll and the other elders of “lack of trust and respect for spiritual authority” and “inappropriate use of confidential information.”
The latter charge stemmed from Petry having discussed the bylaw changes with the church’s deacon, Rob Smith, who was not a member of the board of elders but was asked to join. Petry was allowed to comment on the allegations but was not allowed to attend the entire hearing. The elders unanimously concluded that Petry was no longer fit to be an elder. Driscoll urged his congregation to avoid Petry’s family.
Meyer received a “lenient” church trial but decided to resign. Rob Smith had written an email to the elders demanding a fair trial for Petry and Meyer; Smith said Driscoll then asked his parishioners to stop making donations to Agathos, an independent economic development charity that Smith also ran, resulting in an 80 percent drop in donations.
Effects
Mark Driscoll Obituary
In 2014, Petry, Smith, and Moi all participated in, and in some cases organized, online protests against Driscoll. Commentators linked the Mars Hill “riots” of the summer of 2014 to the structural changes of 2007 and other developments in Driscoll’s career.
ABC Nightline Special (2009)
In March 2009, Driscoll participated in an ABC Nightline debate called “Does Satan Exist?” Driscoll and Annie Lobert, founders of the Christian organization Hookers for Jesus, debated the existence of the devil with philosopher Deepak Chopra and Carlton Pearson, a former fundamentalist preacher and author of the Gospel of Inclusion. One commentator described the debate as “controversial,” with all participants taking “unyielding” positions. Driscoll also appeared on the show and discussed other topics, including the Ten Commandments and Six.
Aid for Haiti (2010)
Mark Driscoll Obituary
After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Driscoll and James MacDonald founded Churches Helping Churches to help churches rebuild after catastrophic natural disasters. They helped rebuild dozens of churches in Haiti and Japan. Driscoll first flew to Haiti shortly after the earthquake and formed a partnership between his church and Jean F. E. St. Cyr, a Haitian pastor.
Departing from Acts 29 and The Gospel Coalition (2012)
Chandler said of the transition: “[The Acts 29 board] ran a network of 422 churches on six continents in the same way that when there were 80 to 100 churches on one continent, Chandler also planned to separate Act 29 from separating.” Mars Hill Church: Prior to Driscoll’s departure, Acts 29 was funded primarily by Mars Hill. By mid-2014, Driscoll was no longer on the Acts 29 board.
Driscoll was one of the founders of the Gospel Coalition, a fellowship of Reformed evangelical churches. Upon his resignation, he wrote that he had “no relational conflict with anyone and no theological disagreement.” Instead, he explained that he changed his priorities and could not fulfill all his obligations. Driscoll said he plans to focus more on Mars Hill Church, spend more time with his family, and spend less time traveling.
Formal Indictment of Former Elder Dave Kraft (2013)
Mark Driscoll Obituary
In May 2013, former Mars Hill elder Dave Kraft filed formal charges (under Mars Hill Church bylaws) of “abuse” against Mark Driscoll and other Mars Hill leaders. He specifically accused Driscoll of being “dominant, abusive, arrogant and short-tempered.”
Kraft further argued that this “established pattern of behavior” disqualified Driscoll from leading the church. Mars Hill Church’s Board of Counselors and Accountability responded by saying it had sent 100 letters to former elders and staff supporting Kraft’s allegations.
They received eighteen responses, which they reviewed and deemed “not disqualifying” regarding Driscoll’s leadership position. However, the council launched a “reconciliation process” to address “many violations and abuses that remain unresolved.” Dave Kraft worked at Mars Hill from 2005 to 2013 and was Driscoll’s personal “coach” during that time.
Former Leaders and Members Protest Driscoll (2014)
Mark Driscoll Obituary
However, the criticism from conservative Christians, including Driscoll’s former “allies and supporters” in recent years, until 2014, has increased. According to the Seattle Times, radio host Janet Mefferd’s allegations of plagiarism marked a “critical turning point” that sparked outside interest in Mars Hill’s internal affairs and raised questions among new critics about the church and its handling of its finances.
After evangelical Christian and Grove City College psychology professor Warren Throckmorton learned of Mefferd’s allegations of plagiarism, he became interested and became a critic of Driscoll and Mars Hill.
“Repentant Pastors”
On March 29, 2014, a momentous event took place when Kyle Firstenberg, Dave Kraft, Scott Mitchell, and co-founder Lief Moi, former Mars Hill elders, courageously launched the “Repentant Pastor” blog. This blog is a platform where they openly share their confessions and heartfelt apologies, regarding their leadership roles at Mars Hill.
In a joint statement, they wrote: “We acknowledge and recognize that Mars Hill has harmed many people within the Mars Hill community, as well as those outside the community, summarizing the statements and writing that the previous managers emphasized their shortcomings.” to contain Driscoll,” and that they were complicit in Driscoll’s “autocratic” leadership style.
Fürstenberg worried that although the church appeared to be flourishing, the staff lived under constant stress, and “success had to be achieved regardless of the human and moral costs.” He was quoted as saying:
The reputation Driscoll earned as a swearing priest simply because he used harsh language from the pulpit was nothing compared to the cursing and abusive language he used daily against his staff. When someone asked me what I thought about working at Mars Hill, I simply replied, “It’s a great church to go to, but I wouldn’t recommend working here. The staff knew that what was preached on Sunday was not practiced. ” the employees on Monday morning.
Planned appearance at Hillsong Conference 2015
Driscoll was scheduled to appear at Hillsong Church’s 2015 Australian and UK conferences. A petition against Driscoll’s appearance at the conference collected 3000 signatures, prompting Hillsong Church Senior Pastor Brian Houston to cancel Driscoll’s planned speaking event.
Instead, the Hillsong conference presented a 30-minute taped interview of Mark and Grace Driscoll, who were interviewed by Houston at the conference. Read More.
