Not long ago, Pastor Mark Driscoll was a powerhouse among preachers. His Seattle-based Mars Hill megachurch had 15 branches in five states.
All of that came crashing down on Driscoll, whose church folded in 2014 amid allegations of bullying, misspending church funds and deceitful marketing practices.
It would appear Driscoll is hoping Arizona brings redemption.
On Sunday, Driscoll held his first church service at The Trinity Church in Scottsdale, Arizona. He declined to comment for this story to 12 News.
In 2010 Preaching Magazine named Driscoll one of the top 25 most influential pastors of the past 25 years. But Christian publications also began pointing out Driscoll's more controversial and offensive remarks made in sermons and online over his 20-year career.
Then in 2013, journalist and Christian radio host Janet Mefferd confronted Driscoll about alleged plagiarism in one of his books. The interview triggered a wave of more negative publicity for the pastor.
There were also allegations of misspending.
A lawsuit by former church members alleges donations intended for missions were misspent. Driscoll acknowledged that church funds were used to pay a marketing firm $25,000 to inflate sales of his books. The confession prompted an online Christian forum to debate, "Is Buying Your Way Onto the Bestseller List Wrong?"
Driscoll was later quoted apologizing for the expenditure.
During his sermon Sunday in Scottsdale, Driscoll told the audience at one point, "Our family is here because of a storm. A storm in our own life and in the middle of it, we prayed and God gave of his word to my wife and myself... We surrendered to the Lord in the midst of our storm so that God could do work in us and move us to this place for his mission."
"He has disqualified himself according to the qualifications listed in 1 Timothy, chapter 3," Janet Mefferd said.
"It would be important for anybody who goes to Mark Driscoll's church to ask him about every scandal that has been revealed which has been truthfully reported on the internet and how he has responded to each of those scandals," she said.
A pamphlet available to visitors at The Trinity Church contains a photo of Driscoll, his wife and their children. It contains the message, "After more than 20 years together in marriage and ministry we are excited to meet you as we open our Bibles to learn and open our lives to love."