As I watched the train wreck over the last week, I heard people speculate that this whole thing with Mark Driscoll stirring up crap at the Stronger Man Conference was preplanned and scripted. I even heard some say that John Lindell was in on it in order to help Mark become more likeable/platform-able.
None of that really set well with me. But I didn't feel in the position to say any different early on. I felt confident enough to call him a World Class Attention Seeker. And while this it completely true, even that term didn't feel strong enough to describe what I was watching unfold.
When these things happen with Driscoll, I have a tendency to bounce ideas off my internet friend WenatcheeTheHatchet to get his perspective since he was at Mars Hill in the early days before things started getting askew. And Wenatchee said in a comment under his Lindell/Driscoll Coverage post, "I don't think there's any evidence the conference stunt was staged or scripted. The accounts of how and why Driscoll crashed Strange Fire from the CT podcast and Turner's accounts don't suggest to me that Driscoll has become more calculating. It seems he's becoming more impulsive and more unpredictable."
And this confirmed what I had been thinking. As I read his comment and thought about things, the idea of Driscoll being and Attention Surfer seemed to fit better in describing him.
He goes to the places that he thinks will make the biggest waves like the Stronger Man Conference Beach or the Strange Fire Cove. And he tries to catch the biggest wave he can,
At Stronger Man, he saw a good wave. Some performer using a pole in an act. He decided to try to catch that wave and ride it but was disqualified by the officials at the event so he tried to leave as fast as possible, just like he did when his Mars Hill Wave was no longer carrying him and giving him his attention seeking thrill that he lives for.
The officials tried to patch things up with Mark and he seemed to be willing to do so on a shallow level. Just as he made shallow apologies for Mars Hill (Mistakes were made.)
But then, when he saw a bigger wave on the Evangelical World Stage where his baby-fan-boys were supporting him, he took down his picture with Lindell. And he went to catch that newer, bigger wave not caring, perhaps even hoping, that it might be a tsunami.
It makes me think of the scene in "Don't Look Up" where the Jennifer Lawrence character was asked by a new friend about the 'conspiracy' going on behind the scenes. She told him that it was worse than conspiracy theories. She said that they didn't know what they were doing except trying to control the narrative and looking good to the public. Or something like that. It's been a minute since I've seen that one.
It also reminds me of a house plant that I have call Mother of Millions. That plant makes babies like crazy and sends them into the void in hopes that they will reproduce. My nick name for it is Opportunistic Little Bastard because that it what is seems like. And that is what Driscoll is.
Saying that Driscoll is an attention seeker on steroids would not be wrong.
But I think a better better way to look at it is, Driscoll is a Steroid Enhanced Attention Surfer.
He is an opportunistic little bastard that is going to get that attention. It doesn't matter who he hurts and who he betrays (looking at you Lindell as his latest victim). It doesn't matter who he has to throw under the bus. He is going to ride that wave.
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