Performing "Manly" Worship Music: Gender and Timbre at Mars Hill Church

Authors

Maren Haynes Marchesini, Hope Lutheran ChurchFollow

Abstract

Ten years ago, Mars Hill boasted fifteen campuses and 15,000 members. Amid mounting allegations of abuse and mismanagement leveled against founding pastor Mark Driscoll, the church famously collapsed, closing its doors at the end of 2014. Driscoll had built Mars Hill’s core brand around his opposition to the perceived feminization of the Christian mainstream, and appointing himself the “leader of a heterosexual male backlash” in the church and broader culture. While Driscoll’s muscular Christianity stands in a wide historical stream, Mars Hill long led the charge in establishing a youth-oriented, hipster brand of hypermasculine Calvinism. And while rhetoric and theology played a central role, the church’s punk, grunge, and indie rock-derived music ministry also contributed significantly to the establishment of an identifiably “masculine” Christian movement.

This paper explores how Mars Hill’s worship leaders intentionally manipulated timbre to reflect and perform prevailing masculine ideals. Theoretically, I draw from Nina Eidsheim's theorization of timbre at intersection with gender studies and performance theory, analyzing instrumentation, effects, vocal technique, and range. Further, this study demonstrates how idealized masculinities morph across time, dependent upon their broader social context. Even though Mars Hill no longer exists, this paper offers perspectives for considering how music performance participates in the production and maintenance of power hierarchies, an important lens for music leaders across Christian contexts.

Author Biography

Dr. Maren Haynes Marchesini studies Christian music, ethics, identity, and community in contexts ranging from the now-defunct Mars Hill megachurch to progressive and post-Christian communities. Marchesini is also a liturgical musician, choral director, cellist, and composer who serves as Director of Worship & Music at Hope Lutheran Church, and Program Director for Hope Lutheran's Center for the Arts.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Marchesini, Maren Haynes (2025) "Performing "Manly" Worship Music: Gender and Timbre at Mars Hill Church," Yale Journal of Music & Religion: Vol. 11: No. 1, Article 5.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17132/2377-231X.1298