Earlier tonight (1/5/16), Mark Driscoll spoke at the Zion 2016 conference at Jimmy Evans Trinity Fellowship Church. He was introduced by Jimmy Witcher, a pastor at the church who is slated to become Senior Pastor at Evans’ Church, possibly tomorrow night at the conference.
In any case, those who have followed Driscoll’s career will be impressed with Witcher’s ability to spin the past 14 months in this intro.
Transcript: Jimmy Witcher, Trinity Fellowship – January 5, 2016 – Zion 2016 Conference, Amarillo, TX
Well tonight is a very special night. We’re very excited to have Pastor Mark Driscoll here with us.
And, and many of you may have tracked with Pastor Mark over the last several years. You know he is an amazing pastor to the Body of Christ. And I had a chance to meet Pastor Mark at a Gateway pastor’s conference just a little over a year ago, it was in October a little over a year ago, about 14 months ago, and, it was right at the end of his run at Mars Hill. In fact, he had actually just resigned as Senior Pastor at Mars Hill, a church that he had planted and started, and grown to over 15,000 people, uh, attending each and every weekend. And not, not just an ability to grow a church, but he was really impacting the nation. And was doing a tremendous job, and through some internal things that were going on there, it became necessary for him to resign.
And you know, many of us go through hard times in our life, but not all of us have to do it very publicly. And Pastor Mark had to go through a very difficult, kind of almost a public trial, uh, with the media on his front lawn, helicopters flying overhead, his every move being discussed in blogs and on social media. And you know, as often is the case, you know, with the media, and I know they, they sometimes try, uh, but they get about a third of the information right, you know. And so he and his family were living in this, in this difficult time of making this decision, and he had resigned.
And it was literally just within days, probably a couple of weeks later that I got to meet him at a pastor’s conference. And Pastor Mark had known it was time for him to step down, and he knew that God was calling him to move on and go into another season, but he knew that he needed to get some things “in his quiver,” if you will. He needed to, to learn some things, and develop some characteristics, and some things in himself that he hadn’t had before. And one of the things that he knew he needed, is he needed some spiritual fathers. He needed folks that would come in and speak fatherhood to him.
And I — just quite by chance — happened to be sitting right next to him at the conference. And Pastor Jimmy, our beloved Pastor Jimmy Evans was the speaker that night. And Pastor Jimmy and Mark, I don’t-maybe not, just barely shook hands, I know they hadn’t spent any time together. And Pastor Jimmy got up and delivered a powerful Prophetic Word to Pastor Mark. And the Prophetic Word was this,
“You’ve been a brother to many. And you have led many as a brother, but the next season that you’re gonna move into, is you’re gonna transition from a brother to a father. And the next season is going to be greater than the latter season.”
And it was an amazing Prophetic Word. And you guys know Pastor Jimmy, he doesn’t just “dole out” prophetic words without knowing that it’s coming from God.
And so at that moment, Pastor Mark began to grow and develop, and he has developed an incredible relationship with Pastor Jimmy, and Pastor Jimmy now, is acting in, in a way, as one of many, not the sole, but a spiritual father for Pastor Mark, as he’s walking in to this next season of his life that we’re so excited to be a part of. And I’ve just been, been following them through Pastor Jimmy, and been so excited for the few times I’ve gotten to meet Pastor Mark. He’s an amazing man of God. And this is what I, I love about God. Our God is a redemptive God, is he not? He’s a redeeming, redemptive God. And he takes, you know, and I love Chuck Pierce’s word that he had, right, he’s going to take everything from our past, and he’s going to bring it forward into our future. That’s what happening in 2016.
And I believe that for, for Pastor Mark. This is a year of him transitioning, and the things of the past coming forward and multiplication in the things of the future. And this is what I love. Pastor Mark is not here because he was the Senior Pastor, he’s not here because of who he was, he’s here because of who his is. And so here’s what I want us to do, would you guys please welcome Pastor Mark as our friend and our brother.
It has been fascinating to see Driscoll move from the Gospel Coalition tribe season to the New Apostolic Reformation tribe season.
So pull up a chair, according to Evans, you ain’t seen nothing yet.
Consult Wenatchee the Hatchet for six narratives of Driscoll’s resignation. Witcher mixes and matches bits and pieces in his intro. One would never know that Mars Hill Church doesn’t meet anymore.