Spurred on perhaps by the (relative) success of Greg Locke’s demon deliverance film “Come Out in Jesus’ Name” a new breed of charismatic exorcists is making a push to broadcast their zany brand of fake miracles and demon-deliverance, exemplified by The Domino Revival. According to the promo:
The Domino Revival takes moviegoers on an extraordinary journey with Mike Signorelli and a group of revivalists during a pivotal period in our nation’s history. As society’s fascination with the supernatural intensifies, this film unveils the awe-inspiring power of Jesus Christ. Through compelling preaching, documented miracles, triumph over despair, and liberation from demons, The Domino Revival captures the essence of spiritual hunger and delivers a profound cinematic experience.
The film features Isaiah Saldivar, Mike Signorelli, Alexander Pagani, Vlad Savchuk, Ryan Lestrage, Jeremiah Johnson and notably Mark Driscoll, a collective of theologically disreputable sorts whose weird, unorthodox and heretical beliefs could fill a movie on their own.
Driscoll himself (or some PR person by the look of it) wrote on Facebook when the initial trailer launched.
Color us thoroughly unsurprised.
For more on Driscoll:
We’ve written about Mark Driscoll many times. Whereas he was once standard fare for New Calvinists and the pseudo-Reformed community, Driscoll runs almost exclusively in the charismatic community.
Back in the day, Driscoll favored an edgy, aggressive style marked by prurient sermons laced with cuss words and punk-style worship- he once called women’ penis homes’ and commanded women with unsaved husbands to give their husbands oral sex to convert them. All the edgy aggressiveness boiled over in 2014 when the empire suddenly imploded due to Driscoll’s emotional and spiritual abuse of the flock, plagiarism, and accusations of financial misconduct. Rather than undergo church discipline, he claimed he audibly heard from God that he needed to leave, and he bolted. Later, nearly 40 former Mars Hill elders issued a public statement describing him as ‘unfit’ and ‘unrepentant.’
Not many years later, with the help of his crony James MacDonald, Mark Driscoll wrapped up his own discipline and re-established himself behind a pulpit in Phoenix, Arizona. Here, he set himself up as Pope of his own church, removing any of the limiting factors that previously constrained him, chiefly the presence of elders. Despite having hundreds and hundreds of people attending each week, there are no elders at The Trinity Church, which has resulted in his bullying ways continuing. Think of him as a wayward child who locked his parents in their room and now has the run of the house, terrorizing the dogs and torturing the cats.
Slowly, he rebuilt his empire, even as his theology got squishier. He mocked reformed theology and described Calvinism as “garbage.” He publicly apologized for criticizing Joel Osteen. He started selling copies of his sermon notes online and pushed seeker-sensitive services like “Swimsuit Sunday.” He even defended the Roman Catholic Church, saying they “believe in the essentials.”
Despite resigning in disgrace and possessing a penchant for theological violence, people flocked to him at his new home, and his church has grown immensely in the last few years, slowly edging towards megachurch status.
