Tearful Mark Driscoll Says God Convicted Him of Sinning Against Joel Osteen
In an interview with Hillsong’s Brian Houston, Mark Driscoll says the Lord has convicted him of his sin against other pastors—namely Joel Osteen.
“I think in the providence of God I can honestly say it was a couple of weeks ago that the Lord convicted me of that sin against pastor Joel. And so, through a mutual friend, I have contact with his team and have asked permission to send him a private apology. But in addition to that, I appreciate this opportunity to publicly apologize to him,” Driscoll told Houston.
The remarks were made in a pre-recorded interview that aired at Hillsong’s international conference earlier this year.
Initially, Driscoll has been scheduled to appear in person at the event, but was disinvited after a petition circulated on Change.org.
In addition to his conviction and apologies to Osteen, Driscoll tells Houston he’s repentant over many of his public comments.
“Some of the people I have criticized have been the most loving and kind toward me. It’s God’s kindness that leads us to repentance and sometimes that kindness comes through others. They have no obligation to be kind and gracious because you have not been with them. So we’ve seen some remarkable grace and kindness from people that I did not give that to them but they have given that to us,” Driscoll says.
“And that has been deeply convicting and brought about repentance. There’s a list of pastors I have contacted or called to apologize to, to ask forgiveness from, and I don’t want to do that publicly because I don’t want to cause them more drama or pain, but that has been part of the journey.”
