A pastor was kicked off stage at a Christian men's conference after criticizing a sword-swallowing performance at the event and alluding to it being similar to something one might see at a strip club.
The incident occurred during the Stronger Men's Conference, which was held at the Great Southern Bank Arena in Springfield, Missouri, on April 12 and 13. The event's social media pages describe it as passionate about "helping men to become all that God has created them to be."
Mark Driscoll was onstage when he began criticizing an earlier performance at the conference by sword-swallower Alex Magala. During the performance, Magala took off his shirt, climbed a pole on stage and swallowed a sword.
"I've been up since 1 o'clock in the morning," Driscoll told the audience, according to videos posted online.
"The reason I'm hoarse is I have been praying and my heart is very burdened for you. And I want to be very careful with this and it's not what I want to say, but the Jezebel spirit has already been here."
He went on: "The Jezebel Spirit opened our event. This is a rebuke and a correction of no one. This is an observation. Before the word of God was open, there was a platform. It was a high place. On it was a pole, an Asherah, the same thing that's used in a strip club for women who have the Jezebel spirit to seduce men.
"In front of that was a man, who ripped his shirt off like a woman does in front of a pole at a strip club."
Driscoll then described how that man "ascended" the pole. "Then he swallowed a sword and Jesus cried," he said.
At that point, event organizer John Lindell, lead pastor of the James River Church in Missouri, could be heard calling Driscoll's name and telling him that he was "out of line."
"Okay, Pastor John, I'll receive that," Driscoll said before leaving the stage. "Thank you."
Newsweek has contacted Driscoll for comment through a contact form on his website and Lindell has been contacted via an email to the James River Church. Magala has been contacted via email.
As Lindell got up on stage following Driscoll's departure, the audience began to boo loudly and many could be heard chanting "bring him back!"
As the booing and chanting continued, Lindell said: "Mark is out of line. If Mark wanted to say that, he should have said it to me first. He didn't."
He then quoted a Bible passage, saying: "Matthew 18. If your brother offends you, go to him privately."
He added: "I talked to Mark for a half hour. There was not one word of that. He's out of line. If he wants to say it, he can say it to me. You may not agree with me, you may not agree with him, but we are brothers in Christ and there's a right way to handle this."
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