For Immediate Release

Press release:  Planned Protest against Hillsong Conference guest speaker Mark Driscoll at Hillsong’s Waterloo Campus in Sydney, 9:15 AM on Sunday May 31st

(for questions please contact Benjamin Ady on 0400048195 or benjamin.ady@gmail.com)

People Against Fundamentalism are calling for a protest against Sydney’s Hillsong church’s invitation to former mega-church pastor Mark Driscoll, often accused of being a misogynist and a bully, to speak at their Sydney conference this winter. An online petition against Driscoll’s presence at the conference has gathered nearly 1,000 signatures (1)

Details for folks joining the Driscoll protest at Hillsong Waterloo May 31 AM

Dear friends,

  I'm so excited to meet many of you at the upcoming protest.  Some details:

  1. We're planning to be outside the Hillsong Waterloo church entrance at 188 Young Street Waterloo NSW from 9AM to Noon this Sunday, May 31. The footpath there is double wide, so there should be plenty of room for us to stand and hold signs while still leaving plenty of space for church goers to enter and leave the services.

  2. To be very clear, we are planning to PEACEFULLY protest. There will be no sound systems, megaphones, etc. etc. We're just there to hold signs and gently engage people in conversation IF THEY WISH to be so engaged. We are NOT going to block anyone's way nor the foothpath, we are NOT going to engage in any sort of physical, emotional, or psychological confrontation.

  3. We are there primarily to protest Hillsong's invitation to unrepentant serial spiritual abuser Mark Driscoll to be on the stage at Hillsong Conference. I understand that some people are upset at Hillsong more generally, and I totally get that, and of course you are very welcome to join us, as I think Hillsong kind of invites this sort of thing by insisting on keeping Driscoll in the lineup.

  4. Please bring your own signs. I and at least one other amazing person are planning to bring a few extra signs, but it would be brilliant if you could bring your own signs.  Quotes from Driscoll are great--especially I think with regards his horrific anti-women rhetoric. Please try to keep signs simple and straightforward--many of the folks at Hillsong will likely have never heard of Driscoll. Some signs used at a recent protest near Seattle included "Mark Driscoll--unfit for any pulpit" and "Mark Driscoll--when will the abuse stop?"

  5. There will probably be local media there. Let's try to make sure we're respectful and reasonable.

  6. I'm bringing a bunch of flyers to hand out to people about why we're there, if they are interested. You can download a copy of the flyer here Just click "File" and then "Download As"

On the importance of and rationale for civility

So my recent experience has been that there are rather a number of people in Australia who have had quite painful experiences with Hillsong, and that some of them are excited and energised to join our protest, but they are keen to protest Hillsong more generally, rather than specifically about Mark Driscoll.

I'm totally okay with and even delighted by this. And I have the sense that some of these people may be somewhat more angry and/or confrontational that I myself want to be.

Not that I'd ever judge you, you lovely people. I myself have been very angry in the past, much more angry than I am now. And a lot more confrontational too.

However, just to be perfectly clear, it's very much my intention and hope that we shall protest in a peaceful way--in a way that encourages dialogue and genuine conversations. I want Hillsong to change, NOT to unexist, and I think change happens most quickly and easily when everyone is able to feel listened to and respected.

That's my two cents.  Thanks!

Warren Throckmorton writes about Planned Protest in Sydney

Prolific blogger and longtime Driscoll observer Warren Throckmorton wrote today on his blog about the planned protest in Sydney. He begins:

"A group called “People Against Fundamentalism” plans to protest Brian Houston’s decision to bring Mark Driscoll to the Sydney Hillsong Conference this summer.

According to the group’s website, the protest will take place on May 31 at the Sydney church’s Waterloo campus.

Protests may also occur in London where Driscoll is slated to speak in July. A petition asking Hillsong to remove Driscoll as a speaker has garnered nearly 1,000 signature on Change.org.Pastor Houston issued a statement indicating that Driscoll is not going to speak but share what he has learned in an interview with Houston."

Christianity Today writes about planned protest in Sydney

Christianity Today's Mark Woods wrote today about the planned protest at Hillsong Sydney's Waterloo campus on May 31st. Here's the first couple paragraphs.

Demonstrators plan Mark Driscoll protests at Sydney Hillsong Church

 Mark Woods CHRISTIAN TODAY CONTRIBUTING EDITOR 19 May 2015

Email Print    

More Sharing ServicesShare

   

 

Protests against Mark Driscoll's appearance at Hillsong in Sydney have been organised.

A campaign against the visit of former Mars Hill pastor Mark Driscoll to Sydney's Hillsong Church has been organised in a further sign of resistance to Driscoll's reappearance on the evangelical church circuit.

Demonstrators are to picket the Hillsong Waterloo church in Sydney in a protest against his participation in the Hillsong Conference later this year.

Why This Matters to me

Keeping Mark Driscoll off the stage at Hillsong Conference is important to me for a couple reasons. Firstly, I grew up in a fundamentalist Christian sect that was in many ways very similar to Mars Hill, led by an angry, outwardly charming man very much like Mark Driscoll. So I have a kind of insider's perspective. I've seen the harm that this sort of abusive leadership can do to people, from the inside, as I was eventually in the inner leadership circle at the church in which I grew up. (In fact, by the way, if you haven't had the opportunity, I highly recommend journalist Stefan Ulstein's brilliant book "Growing Up Fundamentalist", in which he shares the 30 best interviews among 100 interviews he did with people who grew up in fundamentalist churches)