The war of words between Pastor John Lindell of James River Church and guest speaker Marik Driscoll over the recent Stronger Men’s Conference in Springfield continues to simmer.
The controversy began when Driscoll rebuked Lindell from the platform of the event for allowing a performance by Alex Magala. During his performance, Magala, who reportedly used to work as a stripper, was dressed in an all-leather outfit and removed his top in a seemingly seductive way at the start of his show. Driscoll veered from his planned remarks to condemn the conference for inviting the “Jezebel spirit” into the conference. Within a matter of minutes, Lindell called out Driscoll and swiftly ordered him to leave the stage. The two men later appeared together, seemingly mending fences and moving on from the incident.
But now, it appears that the rift between the two men is far from resolved. Lindell took time during his sermon on Sunday to apologize for inviting both Driscoll and Magala to the conference.
“I want to apologize and let you know I take full responsibility for the decision that was made to invite Mark Driscoll and Alex Magala to the Stronger Men’s Conference,” he said. “I am deeply saddened by the division that our invitation has brought to the body of Christ. That was never our intent. The Stronger Men’s Conference is about reaching men for Jesus Christ, and it will continue to be about reaching men for Jesus Christ.
Lindell earlier revealed that Driscoll had accused one of his sons, Brandon Lindell, of a “list of dark sins.” He went on to call Driscoll’s behavior in recent days as “demonic” and urged him to repent for his actions.
Last week, Driscoll posted on X, “Tolerance is demonic. When the church gets naughtier than the culture, they become an abomination.”
Magala broke his silence last week when he posted a video response to the ordeal on Instagram. He clarified that he didn’t become a Christian 10 years ago, because he was born into an Orthodox Christian family and, as such, he explained he went through the ceremony of becoming a Christian as a baby.”
He added that Driscoll’s rebuke of him was “completely misguided,” noting he removed his leather vest to prove he was actually swallowing a sword and said wearing the top was unnecessary weight that could have hindered the stunts he performed on the pole.
“I know my way of expressing my faith is different,” he said. “When I perform, I swallow a sword and attempt a death-defying stunt, climbing on top of the pole and then going upside down. The moment when I dropped down, that to me, is when I give my life to God. And the moment when I stopped one inch before hitting the ground, that’s the moment when I get saved by God.”
–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice