I was cut off from my church friends: Victims of Mark Driscoll P/5

Read Part One HERE

In  this post I will share a personal story of a woman named Kailea who was abused by pastor Mark Driscoll when she was a member of Mars Hill Church, Seattle, Washington, USA.

Here is Kailea'story in her own words:

"You'll hear this a million times: If you don't submit, you are prideful and rebellious," says ex-Mars Hill member Kailea. Though she was raised in a strict evangelical household, many of Mars Hill's views - especially those regarding gender -  never sat well with her. Nevertheless, Kailea started attending Mars Hill in high school since it was the cool church to go to. "I liked that there were a lot of people smoking outside," Kailea says. "The pastors were giving each other beer for Christmas."

When she turned 18 Kailea became a member along with her boyfriend Jeff whome she married shortly after. Mars Hill's emphasis on traditional gender roles began to strain their relationship. "Jeff felt like he was failing as a leader. I felt like I just couldn't submit enough." At the time Kailea was working as a manager at a coffee shop and Jeff was staying home to take care of the kids. "There was a lot of pressure to change that." The couple started going to marriage counseling with one of the pastors, who continually suggested that all their marital problems were rooted in their denial of their God-given roles. "No matter what we told him, that became what our issue was,"Kailea says.

She eventually quit her job and Jeff started working as a manager at a hardware store. Their relationship continued to detoriate, and when she confessed an infidelity to Jeff, the church leaders took action, drawing up "a spiritual discipline contract" for Kailea.It promised, among other things, that she and Jeff would move back in together immediately, and that she would stop seeing her therapist, who was unaffiliated with Mars Hill. When Kailea refused to sign, she was kicked out of the church. The leadership posted a letter on the church's member website asking her friends to stop contacting her, and she has not heard from a single one of them since.

Kailea's story echoes dozens of testimonies from former Mars Hill members.

P.S. In my next post I will begin to focus on the abuse in pastor Mark Driscoll's new church, Trinity Church, Scotsdale, Arizona, USA,

Read Part Six HERE