Ex-Megachurch Pastor's Revelation Fuels Speculation That He Could Be Headed for a Highly Publicized Return to the Pulpit

Embattled pastor Mark Driscoll has announced that he and his family have moved to Phoenix, Arizona, sparking speculation that he could be planning a return to the pulpit after a series of highly publicized controversies last year.

Mark Driscoll (YouTube)

"After meeting with many former church leaders for reconciliation and closure in Seattle, our family is in the midst of a new adventure as we have moved to the Phoenix area," he recently told supporters in an email.

But Driscoll, who resigned back in October as founding and lead pastor from Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington, following months of controversy, said that he won't be rushing into anything, Christian Today reported.

"Instead, caring for each member of our family, seeking the wise counsel of pastors we are walking with, and building local relationships with Christian leaders to help build churches locally and globally is our focus," he wrote. "Beyond that, we will see how the Lord leads."

The revelation of his move comes after Warren Throckmorton, a psychology professor at Grove City College in Grove City, Pennsylvania, who has followed Driscoll's scandals closely, wrote on his blog in May that sources had told him that the preacher would be planting a church in Phoenix.

As TheBlaze previously reported, Driscoll announced his decision to step down in a letter to the Mars Hill board of advisors and accountability.

“I do so with profound sadness, but also with complete peace,” Driscoll wrote of his resignation.

The pastor faced claims of deleted sermon material and was the subject of debate over a book-buying strategy, amid allegations that church staff members were mistreated during his tenure; twenty-one former pastors and elders ended up filing a church complaint against him.

Driscoll admitted in his letter to say that he knows there are many areas in which he personally failed and that he is working to bring himself closer to God.

“I readily acknowledge I am an imperfect messenger of the gospel of Jesus Christ. There are many things I have confessed and repented of, privately and publicly, as you are well aware,” the letter continued. “Specifically, I have confessed to past pride, anger and a domineering spirit.”

Mars Hill Church officially closed its doors at the end of 2014 following Driscoll's departure. Read more about the controversy here.

(H/T: Christian Today)