Former members of the now-dissolved Mars Hill Church filed a racketeering lawsuit against controversial Pastor Mark Driscoll, alleging he ran the congregation like a “crime syndicate” with another elder.
The former members want to know where $30 million in their tithes went. The plaintiffs are suing Driscoll and former elder John Sutton Turner under a law originally created to prosecute mafia figures, according to the Daily Beast.
When reached for comment, a representative for Driscoll’s ministry said, “Pastor Mark Driscoll has not been served any legal complaint and cannot comment until he has been.”
The Seattle Times reports the lawsuit alleges Driscoll and Turner used church money to fund Driscoll’s book Real Marriage.
Defendant Brian Jacobsen launched a GoFundMe page last April to fund the suit.
“It is time for Christians everywhere to stand up and say, ‘Enough!! We will no longer put up with pastors who reach for honor for themselves and who enrich themselves at the expense and harm of those they claim to be shepherding!'” Jacobsen posted on the page.
“When leaders in the Church choose to stay silent, others must speak up. Paul’s mandate to Timothy regarding leaders who persist in certain sins (1 Timothy 5:19-20) must not be ignored by the Church. Most of those who were leaders at Mars Hill Church have chosen to remain silent.
“Please help us discover and make clear the truth about what happened at Mars Hill Church by contributing to this fund for a RICO lawsuit against the former top leaders of Mars Hill.”
Since Mars Hill dissolved, Driscoll moved from Seattle to Phoenix and launched Trinity Church.
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