06/06/2026
https://roysreport.com/threatened-split-at-mark-driscolls-arizona-church-prompts-warning-of-lawsuit-attack-on-former-mens-minister/
Let's look at this "dispute" in light of scripture...
The baseline is 1 Corinthians 6
Before we ever get to personalities, church politics, former staff members, ministry brands, or accusations of disloyalty, 1 Corinthians 6 must be the baseline.
Paul does not treat lawsuits between believers as a small administrative matter. He calls it a spiritual failure:
“Actually, then, it is already a failure for you, that you have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded?” 1 Corinthians 6:7, LSB
That does not mean Christians ignore theft, abuse, fraud, or genuine harm. But it does mean that when professing believers immediately reach for lawyers against other professing believers, Scripture forces us to ask whether the matter has been handled first through biblical wisdom, witnesses, repentance, mediation, church accountability, and the pursuit of peace.
There are not “rival churches”
Biblically, there is one Church. There are many local congregations, many pastors, many ministries, and many church plants — but there is one Body of Christ.
Paul says:
“There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.”
Ephesians 4:4–6, LSB
Jesus prayed:
“That they may all be one… so that the world may believe that You sent Me.”
John 17:21, LSB
So a new church plant is not automatically a “rival church.” If Christ is preached, Scripture is honored, and souls are shepherded, then the Kingdom is not losing territory — Christ is being proclaimed.
A pastor may rightly protect confidential information, confront sin, and guard the flock from wolves. But he may not treat another faithful congregation as a business competitor. The sheep belong to Jesus. The Church belongs to Jesus. The Kingdom belongs to Jesus.
So the question becomes:
Are we protecting Christ’s people, or protecting a platform?
Are we guarding the flock, or guarding a brand?
Are we pursuing righteousness, or treating the Body of Christ like a marketplace?
That is where 1 Corinthians 6 and Ephesians 4 have to govern the entire discussion.
Next we see that Mark's "church" was set up without Elders.
The legal threat is the fruit. The deeper root is church government without real biblical accountability.
The New Testament pattern is not one dominant pastor surrounded by a board, a brand, or a loyal executive team. The biblical pattern is a plurality of qualified elders who shepherd, govern, correct, protect, and hold one another accountable under Christ.
Paul told Titus to “appoint elders in every city.” That is not optional church decoration. That is biblical structure.
A board is not necessarily an eldership.
A lead team is not necessarily an eldership.
A staff structure is not necessarily accountability.
A group of loyal insiders is not the same thing as qualified elders who can actually correct the senior pastor.
This is the crux of the problem.
When a church has no real elder accountability, everything becomes personality-driven. Correction becomes disloyalty. Departure becomes betrayal. A church plant becomes a “rival.” And conflict that should be handled with biblical wisdom, witnesses, humility, repentance, and mediation gets pushed toward lawyers, threats, and public accusation.
But there is one global Church under one Chief Shepherd, Jesus Christ. Local congregations are not rival kingdoms. They are not competing franchises. They are expressions of the one Body of Christ.
So the deeper question is not merely:
“Did someone misuse a contact list?”
The deeper question is:
“What kind of church structure allows one pastor to define dissent as rebellion, departure as betrayal, and another congregation as a rival?”
That is where the biblical concern lands:
Zero meaningful accountability produces exactly this kind of crisis.
A public split has erupted at Mark Driscoll’s Trinity Church after the sudden departure of a longtime ally accused of attempting to start a rival church.
