A protest intended at a local church was halted in early December when the pastor apologized for language he used in his online blog, spurring controversy.

The protest was planned when Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church, made comments about women "letting themselves go" and not being "sexually available" to their husbands in his blog. The blog, found at http://theresurgence.com/, was responding to the sex scandal involving evangelical leader Ted Haggard, who resigned from his Colorado church after reports of his sexual relationships with a gay escort.

People Against Fundamentalism, a grassroots organization of Seattle community members, were outraged by Driscoll's language and demanded that Driscoll make a public apology for his language and promise that he would not speak of women in such a way any longer. They also called for him to be removed from his position as a columnist at The Seattle Times.

"His objectification of women is contrary to what the Bible says and to what people think human decency is," said Paul Chapman, a leader of People Against Fundamentalism. "Fundamentalism at its core takes its holy text and uses them to bash people into oppression."

His comments quickly became the focus of criticism on a number of blogs with national readership, including Dan Savage and Andrew Sullivan. Discussions of the protest caused responses from the SPU community with differing opinions of the situation.

"Students are divided on the issue, but the faculty in theology is unified in our disagreement with Driscoll's position on women in ministry," Rob Wall, professor of Christian Scriptures, said.

However, the protest was over before it started.

Days before the protest was scheduled, Driscoll and assistant pastor Lief Moi at Mars Hill met with a group of five leaders in the Christian community to discuss the concerns both sides had with the situation.

"Our few hours together were honest, respectful, and helpful," Driscoll wrote in his blog. "I came to the meeting expecting God would speak to me through fellow Christians and had much joy because he did."

"I think it was a good thing to have that face-to-face meeting," Chapman said. "It's easier to sit down and have a conversation in person."

Driscoll apologized for his comments in the blog and his contract with The Seattle Times was not renewed. The protest was then called off.