Is Dustin Kensrue going Bible Thumper on us? Reporter claims that’s why Thrice is breaking up

According to an impassioned article in the Orange County Register, Thrice‘s breakup might not have been a unanimous band decision, but more an an effect of frontman Dustin Kensrue‘s affiliation with the Mars Hill Church and a new, more Christion oriented lifestyle. The band’s farewell tour came to a close on Tuesday in what author Ben Wener describes in the article as an epic final show, but then he goes on to analyze the reasoning behind the band’s split and indefinite hiatus, stating:

“An arguably more dominant influence may have come from Kensrue’s involvement with Mars Hill Church, the controversial evangelical organization, whose Santa Ana headquarters are directly in front of the Observatory. The singer-songwriter serves as worship director at the megachurch’s local chapter.”

Wener references Kensrue’s Twitter updates about Joybringer, his new project which you can read about here, which Wener states is “presumably aimed at the contemporary Christian music (or CCM) market.”  And also touches on the behavior of controversial founder of Mars Hill Church, Mark Driscoll, to form his opinion on both the evangelical organization and the band’s split.  Wener writes of the church and it’s founder:

“[T]o what degree is founder Mark Driscoll a misogynist? (He pushes a hard line about men being masters of their households, among other less charitable views toward women.) Or whether Mars Hill’s totalitarian approach toward fully paid-up congregants (think Mormonism) seems to have less to do with aspiring to the goodness of Jesus and a lot more to do with behavioral control (think Scientology). My two cents: When something looks like a cult and acts like a cult, it’s probably a cult.”

Kensrue responded to the article on Twitter saying, “I could care less if it reflects poorly on me, just bummed that it affects people I love, in my band, at my church, & Christians in general,” and also by calling out Wener saying, “Lame that you wouldn’t come to me before making allegations. Let’s talk. Prove you’re a better journalist than it seems right now.”