In 2007, when Jolie Monea first considered attending Mars Hill Church—Mark Driscoll’s former church in Seattle—her friends “heavily warned” against it. They said Driscoll was “misogynistic” and his sermons would be triggering. But Monea recalls thinking, “We have five kids. They have five kids—how bad could it be? Like, he’s a dad.”
Now 14 years later, Monea’s daughter, Chloe, is married to Mark and Grace Driscoll’s son, Zac Driscoll. And Monea has a drastically different perspective.
She says Mark Driscoll’s cult-like demand for loyalty has driven a wedge in her family. Simply because Monea associated with a family that had been kicked out of Driscoll’s new church, The Trinity Church, her daughter and son-in-law severed their relationships with Monea, her husband, and their four other kids.
As described previously in The Roys Report, what Monea’s family is experiencing appears to be a pattern with Driscoll.
Another couple whose son, Landon Chase, is married to Mark and Grace Driscoll’s oldest daughter, Ashley Chase, has reportedly been labeled “toxic” by the church and cut off by their daughter and son-in-law. The same thing has happened to Todd and Janna Davis, whose daughter, Lanna Andersen, is married to Brandon Andersen, campus pastor at The Trinity Church.
Your tax-deductible gift helps our journalists report the truth and hold Christian leaders and organizations accountable. Give a gift of $30 or more to The Roys Report this month, and you will receive a copy of “Hurt and Healed by the Church” by Ryan George. To donate, click here.
The Roys Report has reached out to Mark Driscoll for comment about these stories, but he has not responded. We also reached out to Zac and Chloe Driscoll, the Chases, and the Andersens, but they did not respond either.
The Mars Hill Years
Because of what she’d heard concerning Mars Hill and Driscoll, Jolie Monea said she was reluctant to attend the church. But around 2010, her oldest daughter started attending Mars Hill, and Monea began listening to some of Driscoll’s recorded sermons, which she said were biblical.
Monea said her children also went to the same small Christian school that the Driscoll children attended, and the families became friends. The Moneas also struck up a friendship with former Mars Hill executive elder Sutton Turner, whose kids also attended the school.
By 2012, Monea said, her entire family was attending Mars Hill and she was teaching a women’s Bible study at one of the campuses.
Monea’s daughter Chloe also started “courting” Zac Driscoll around this time too. Monea said the Driscolls imposed a lot of rules on the teenagers’ relationship. But Chloe seemed fine with the rules, “so we just let her do her thing,” Monea said.
In 2014, when allegations about Driscoll’s abusive behavior began to surface, Monea said she didn’t believe them.
“We hadn’t seen any of it,” Monea said. She added the only person the family knew on staff who had close contact with Driscoll was Sutton Turner.
“He seemed to be defending Mark,” Monea said. “And so we were kind of cueing off him, like, ‘These people must be angry at Mark for some reason, but we can’t see why.’” Monea said her family believed what the Driscolls told them—that those speaking out against Mark Driscoll “were just evil people.”
Early Warning Signs
In 2014, Driscoll resigned abruptly from Mars Hill rather than submit to restoration plan presented by his elders. Monea said she and her husband decided to leave Seattle and go wherever the Driscolls went.
Monea added that her family lived across the street from her abusive and narcissistic father, and they wanted a “fresh start.”
The family moved to the Phoenix area in December 2015. In 2016, when Mark Driscoll started The Trinity Church in Scottsdale, Arizona, the Moneas began serving.
Jolie Monea served on the creative team and taught a women’s study on Daniel. However, when Monea refused to submit her teachings to Grace Driscoll for approval, Grace began edging her out of a teaching role, Monea said.
Monea said she then got an opportunity to teach women at another church, which she communicated to Grace. Monea said Grace told her that she was going “outside the family business, and that’s disloyalty, and so . . . I cannot have you in leadership anymore.”
Monea said her family kept attending Trinity because Chloe was on staff and about to marry Zac. But her concerns about the church were growing.
Then, in the summer of 2020, Monea said she and her husband saw an interview between Warren Throckmorton and former Mars Hill Executive Elders Dave Bruskas and Sutton Turner. Monea said she was “stunned” to hear the men describe Driscoll’s abusive behavior at his former church.
“That was the first time we’d heard it from someone that we knew and trusted and respected,” Monea said. “And so, at that point, we were like, ‘I don’t know how much longer we can stay.’”
The following December, Monea said she attended a women’s Christmas dinner at Trinity. Two days later, she said she discovered that three of the men who had served her table, including Zac Driscoll, had tested positive for COVID.
Monea said her daughters, who served as interns, found out the same weekend that a number of junior interns had also tested positive.
Yet Monea said Trinity never informed the church about the COVID outbreak, even though many church members were heading to see family for the holidays. Monea added that when her daughters told Landon Chase that they wanted to get tested, Chase shamed them, saying they were just being fearful.
Family Division
During this time, Monea said she started to see changes in Chloe. She said Chloe became more legalistic and began criticizing her sisters for what they wore. She said Chloe also started deferring to Zac constantly and began expressing anger towards her father for commuting to Seattle every week and not “leading well.” (Monea said her husband is in the process of moving his business to Arizona but has been commuting the past six years.)
Then, one Sunday morning, Monea said Driscoll said in a sermon that either the husband is leading the home or Satan is.
“We sit in the front row . . . and it felt very targeted at me,” Monea said. “Like, your husband isn’t leading well. Your husband commutes and he’s not there and you’re taking charge.”
That was the last straw, Monea said. Her family left Trinity after that.
However, in February, just before Zac and Chloe’s wedding, Monea went to Trinity with Chloe and her flower girl so the flower girl could try on her dress. While they were in the lobby, Monea said Pastor Brandon Andersen pulled her outside and asked her why she was there. When she told him, he reportedly responded that he didn’t want her to stay, because they “were taping” and he “didn’t want a problem.”
As she was leaving campus, Monea said John Welnik, Driscoll’s assistant, watched her closely as she walked to her car.
The entire episode was unnerving, Monea said, especially since she had known Andersen and his family from the time he was in high school. Brandon eventually apologized after Monea’s husband threatened to disinvite him from the wedding, Monea said.
Weeks after the wedding, Monea said she learned that a family she knew, the Manueles, had been kicked out of Trinity because their 15-year-old son had kissed Driscoll’s 17-year-old daughter.
Monea commented on Facebook that she was praying for the Manueles. Soon afterwards, Zac called her, saying that the Manueles had left on bad terms, weren’t good people, and Monea shouldn’t associate with them.
Yet Monea didn’t break off the relationship.
Monea invited Katherine Manuele to her house for coffee after learning about how the Manueles had been shunned. Manuele then posted a picture of herself and Monea on Facebook, with a quote from Edmund Burke: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
Manuele added, “Thankful for this woman of God right here. Her family is a huge blessing to all.”
Zac called Monea after seeing the post. He was upset that she had chosen to associate with the Manueles, Monea said: “He said that if we were going to do that . . . then our house wasn’t safe.”
Monea wasn’t deterred.
“This is who we are. We invite people over. We stand with people. We’re not going to change that,” Monea recalled telling Zac.
That conversation happened the end of April. Since then, Zac and Chloe haven’t visited the Moneas’ house, Monea says. Other than a few, brief, superficial conversations, Chloe hasn’t talked to her siblings either, she added.
The entire situation is heartbreaking for the family.
“We let Chloe and Zach know that we love them, and we thought that they weren’t in a healthy environment, and we were concerned for them,” Monea said. But she added, “We’re going to continue to love people and listen to people’s stories and stand up for people.”
English 
Spanish
29 Responses
How dare you come against Mark’s family business!
I wonder if Chloe isn’t being pressured by Zac to do this, under threat of divorce and losing custody of their children (and knowing Driscoll he’d try to keep her from visitations).
they don’t have kids and zac is a loving husband they are just young and in a hard situation.
At some point you’d think Driscoll will come to realize maybe he and the toxic culture is the problem, instead of blaming literally anyone else. I feel sad for his kids.
How do people not recognize the signs of cultism in this day and age? My mind boggles. Hearing any church referred to as “the family business” (helloooooo, Harvest Bible Church in the days of the MacDonald clan) just makes my blood boil. I am deeply saddened that this cult leader is hiding in plain sight and ripping families apart. I pray for a Great Awakening within the body of Christ.
The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it. (Prov 27:12)
“But around 2010, her oldest daughter started attending Mars Hill, and Monea began listening to some of Driscoll’s recorded sermons, which she said were biblical.”
++++++++++++++
which interpretation of ‘biblical’ would that be? there are so many, all in conflict with each other.
furthermore, no ‘biblical’ interpretation is a safeguard against harm.
“Biblical” like this?
“Then, one Sunday morning, Monea said Driscoll said in a sermon that either the husband is leading the home or Satan is.”
time to invent a biblical dart board. that’s a candidate for the bullseye.
Regardless of whether or not you agree with Jolie Monea’s initial assessment of Driscoll’s preaching (which now we all know she wouldn’t see it the same way today), this is not the place to poke fun at the victim of a narcissist. Have some grace for a hurting mother.
I predict a very hard landing for Driscoll someday if he doesn’t repent. When you start dividing families and causing divisions for your own narcissistic agenda , you are playing with fire. No wonder Mark is so security conscious and paranoid. Some people won’t tolerate interfering in their relationships and might react poorly.
yeah…. it’s the anti-karma security team.
(and God created karma)
Like Driscoll’s band of rent-a-cops will actually be able to do anything should he piss off the WRONG PERSON. Paging Walter White….
This is not about Mark Discroll. Yes their children shouldn’t be doing that, but they would really rather choose that family over their children? Even bragging about it on social media? They are being just as stubborn. If your kids won’t see you because of X and you choose X anyway, obviously X matters the most to you.
As I understand it, Jolie Monea stood with the families Trinity outsted because she believed what Trinity did to those families was abusive and wrong. If anyone, family or not, asks you to choose loyalty over righteousness, I would hope you would choose righteousness. Is that not serving God rather than man?
Good grief, Jessica — MD is holding these parents hostage. Either silence your conscience and sense of right and wrong and bow to me or i will turn your kids against you.
Jessica,
That is rather a simplistic argument. And of course Mark is part of the dynamics. When a church starts deciding whom you can be friends with, watch out.
I love all my girls with all my heart and try to make the best choices as a mom for them. I will not always get it right but I do believe that one of the most important examples I can show them is to above all walk in obedience to God and love people like Jesus commands us to love. Over the years we have opened our home and our lives to any of their friends that needed a place to feel loved and heard. We have always had an open door policy to anyone that needed a home. We aren’t going to stop doing that now because Mark Driscoll deems it unsafe. We have to continue walking in obedience to what God asks of us. Even when it is incredibly difficult and heartbreaking. I wish this wasn’t our story or our path with our daughter and the Driscolls but I will continue to trust God through the storm and have hope for the future.
I see Big Red Flags here. This is a dangerous, growing Cult that Driscoll has formed! It has very little to do with Jesus. More people will get run over by the Trinity bus of destruction. Anyone remember Jim Jones?
From the pic up top, Driscoll has left behind the “Amos from The Expanse” look and gone straight to Leo DeCaprio’s planter/slaveowner from Django Unchained.
How will this “church” ultimately end? What keeps coming to my mind is this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_jNklBqVCA
Excellent clip, though but part of me would like the same to happen Driscoll (figuratively speaking) as what Vir wants when asked:
(REVISED)
Concerned about this article with five particular points. First, does It seem that the Driscoll family need to address issues? Absolutely! There is a lot of documentation and media online to have that kind of an assessment.
Second, should Mrs. Monea have submitted the information of her Daniel class to Mrs Driscoll? Yes, especially if the polity of Trinity’s Church requires that. Biblically, the content should be submitted to the Elders of the church. Unless Mrs. Driscoll is a conduit for the elder board. Why the refusal to submit the teaching information? If, she is in charge of the vetting biblical information taught to women that would make Mark Driscoll’s theology inconsistent. His view is a woman can not lead in the house. Then, it is logical to deduce she can not oversee the doctrine that is taught in the church. Which is ordained for elders who must be men according to the Bible. The spiritual gifts are gender specific but the offices are. Why is Grace Driscoll over this area? At the same time Jolie needs to submit her biblical content or leave.
Third, with the sermon that the man is not the head of the house then Satan is. The Bible teaches that the man is the head of the household. That does not mean he is demanding and abusive. It does mean, he leads by loving his wife and serving his wife as Christ did for the church, His bride was his crown jewel as should the husband hold up his bride. If the wife is the head of the house, (Contextually in a Christian Family) then that is based under a system that satan rules (cosmos). The Bible is clear. God does not suggest how the household structure might be best. He gives imperatives. The audio/video would be helpful to hear the tone of Mark Driscoll as he makes that statement. However, it is impossible to judge his motives. Unless he says, “Yup, that was for Jolie.”
Fourth. The report of Mrs. Manueles situation, Covid-19 issues and the staff asking Jolie to leave. Needs more objectivity versus airing one’s subjective experience. Things like watching her as she leaves the campus, get in her car and how she felt. There is not a full story, nor a clear picture. Jolie has every right to disregard what others have stated about her relationship with Mrs. Manueles. I would do the same if I had red flag.
Lastly, the article has not shown that the biblical model of relational conflict has been attempted. It may have. Love covers a multitude of sins. My fear for Jolie that being a part of this article will drive a deeper wedge in the family conflict. You may get a story. Maybe more financial support but this is why the church is messed up.
I know that I will be attacked as unloving. My concern is syllogistically, logically, lovingly, biblically and journalistically this article is void. How does this benefit the Bride of Christ?
The mere fact you claim the Bible is clear is all that needed to even be addressed here. Give me a BREAK. The Bible is a mere book, written by a bunch of men, has been altered countless times (including the time when the verse about not laying with BOYS was changed to men), and is chock full of inconsistencies.
And no, you’re not being attacked. I’m so sick of the dramatics from so many people in the church. Y’all aren’t victims of some smear campaign by atheists. Leaders like Mark Driscoll do it to themselves. He bears responsibility here.
As a former MH member in Seattle I am interested in the Mark Driscoll saga though it seems eons away from the day my wife and I resigned. Going ons at Trinity has brought up so many similarities. But one thing that I’m wondering about is this 15 year old who kissed one of Driscoll’s daughters. Regardless of their friendship he is 15, probably in junior high and may not have a driver’s license yet. Driscoll’s daughter (older and wiser at 17), is a year away from her high school graduation. Who initiated the kiss? I’ve read that the young kid (Vince) kissed her. But maybe it was Driscoll’s daughter that made the first move.
I’m wondering because of something I heard in The audio interview with Chad Freese (Inside the Driscoll “Cult” Part II, The Roys Report. Chad and another who had resigned as Trinity security at minute (08:20) said that Pastor Brandon was telling Chad that Driscoll’s daughter had kissed him too! At that point you can hear Chad say that he didn’t want to hear details. After the service Brandon supposedly gave Chad details anyway. Its all recorded if you bring up the interview. Now this is all specuation on my part, but maybe Driscoll’s daughter is really the one at fault. Was Brandon sharing this to Chad because he was bothered with her kissing him too? Was he afraid to bring it up to Mark? Would Brandon then by kicked out of the church and his family banned too? Or did Mark already know about it and the kissing with the 15 year old sent him over the edge? I have prayed for Driscoll’s daughter concerning this whole situation. I would think she would be feeling sadness and confusion losing a special friend. Even more I’m hoping her father has come alongside to help her without his anger making it worse. Overall this isn’t about Mark or Trinity. Its about people (men and women, young old who want to follow Jesus). How we treat one another tells alot about what are faith is really made of.
I posted an IG comment on one of Driscoll’s videos titled ‘What does the Bible say about love?’ I said: “Amen, just like God will give you the ability to love the Manueles and the Moneas well :) :) :)”. I managed to screenshot it, but then Driscoll’s account blocked me literally less than two minutes later!
I attended a women’s conference over the weekend and both Grace and Ashley spoke. What I noticed about both of them was they neither spoke warmly of Mark. God checked my spirit and urged me to go and look them up and this is some of the stuff I found. It is so odd to me. I love the church I go to and I am confused as to why they would invite this family to any church event. Grace appeared to be full of wisdom, but Ashly comes across as a spoiled rotten, entitled brat. Some found her funny, I found her harsh. She stated in her speech “I don’t like most people. Most people annoy me.” I did not like that at all.
Driscoll sounds like David Miscavige. He’s just selling Jesus instead of L Ron Hubbard. Stop attending and giving these guys money.
I don’t understand where all the information in the opening section is coming from if NONE of the ‘players’ responded when asked for a comment.