WASHINGTON
Seattle Times

By Craig Welch
Seattle Times staff reporter

When the Christian radio host accused him of plagiarism, the quick-witted preacher sounded flabbergasted — and annoyed.

“Man, I thought we’d have a better interview than this,” Mars Hill Church Pastor Mark Driscoll said.

Driscoll’s heated November 2013 exchange with radio host Janet Mefferd would prove a crucial turning point in his explosive rise and recent fall, igniting a chain of events that would begin unraveling the Seattle megachurch he founded.

For years the edgy, blue-jeaned, hipster preacher used charisma and combativeness to barrel through turmoil, once bragging that he’d mow down all who questioned his vision: “There is a pile of dead bodies behind the Mars Hill bus, and by God’s grace, it’ll be a mountain by the time we’re done,” he once said in a meeting. “You either get on the bus or you get run…