and the church has revealed it is cutting staff and closing branches due to financial issues

Last month, he said he was taking a

or a book and paying to get book sales boosted, among other claims

But the pastor has been accused of mishandling church funds, plagiarizing work f

A megachurch is closing several of its branches after its founder said women were created to give men homes for their penises.

The online comments made by Pastor Mark Driscoll are just the latest scandal for the beleaguered Mars Hill, a collection of 15 evangelical churches now facing financial strains and severe staff cuts.

Driscoll, 43, has also stepped down while multiple accusations about his conduct are investigated.

Most recently, a feminist blogger, Libby Anne, uncovered messages that he wrote on an internet message board under a pseudonym in 2001 and shared them on her blog on Patheos.

Beleaguered: Pastor Mark Driscoll, the founder of Mars Hill megachurch, wrote online that women were created to give homes to men's penises. He has stepped down pending an investigation into his conduct

'The first thing to know about your penis is, that despite the way it may see, it is not your penis,' he wrote. 'Ultimately, God created you and it is his penis. You are simply borrowing it for a while.

'While His penis is on loan you must admit that it is sort of just hanging out there very lonely as if it needed a home, sort of like a man wondering the streets looking for a house to live in.

'Knowing that His penis would need a home, God created a woman to be your wife and when you marry her and look down you will notice that your wife is shaped differently than you and makes a very nice home.'

He then continued with his analogy to say men must not cheat or masturbate.

'Though you may believe your hand is shaped like a home, it is not,' he wrote. 'And, though women other than your wife may look like a home, to rest there would be breaking into another man’s home.'

As she shared a screenshot of the messages on her blog, Libby Anne added: 'I have rarely seen an evangelical man assert male superiority and prominence this directly.'

She added: 'In Driscoll's treatment, women are no more than penis homes. Women were created to satisfy men. There is nothing uplifting or honored in that.'

Scandal: His church has also been accused of mishandling funds and paying to boost sales of his book

'YOU MUST FIND A HOME FOR YOUR PENIS': DRISCOLL'S BIZARRE RANT In 2001, under a pseudonym, William Wallace II, Mark Driscoll wrote: 'The first thing to know about your penis is, that despite the way it may see, it is not your penis. Ultimately, God created you and it is his penis. You are simply borrowing it for a while. 'While His penis is on loan you must admit that it is sort of just hanging out there very lonely as if it needed a home, sort of like a man wondering the streets looking for a house to live in. 'Knowing that His penis would need a home, God created a woman to be your wife and when you marry her and look down you will notice that your wife is shaped differently than you and makes a very nice home. 'Therefore, if you are single you must remember that your penis is homeless and needs a home. Though you may believe your hand is shaped like a home, it is not,' he wrote. 'And, though women other than your wife may look like a home, to rest there would be breaking into another man’s home.' Advertisement

The comments were found after Driscoll admitted in his 2006 book 'Confessions of a Reformission Rev' that he had attacked feminists and liberals in online posts under the name William Wallace II.

Subsequent internet searches revealed his crude rants against women, feminists and homosexuals under the topic 'Pussified Nation'.

After these messages emerged, as well as other accusations concerning misspent funds and plagiarism, Driscoll announced that he was taking a sabbatical for six weeks to allow for investigations.

And on Sunday, Mars Hill announced that financial pressures following negative news reports are forcing them to close or consolidate some branches across five states, the Seattle Times reported.

The church, which has 15 branches in total, also plans to cut 30 to 40 per cent of its 100 paid staff - in addition to pastors who have recently left after being angry about the church's direction.

Among the branches affected by closures or consolidations are those in Phoenix, downtown Seattle and Huntington Beach, California.

At the beginning of the year, Mars Hill welcomed up to 13,000 people through their doors, but now attendance is down to as low as 8,000 a week, a church spokesperson told the Times.

Popular: His megachurch has 15 branches across five states - but some have now been forced to close

Driscoll has long been a controversial figure, particularly because of his view of women and homosexuality, but other accusations have also damaged his reputation.

Last year, an evangelical radio host accused Driscoll of plagiarizing some passages in one of his books, A Call to Resurgence, claiming they were largely stolen from another text.

The church was then accused of getting a company to buy up one of his books, manipulating sales figures and boosting the book so that it appeared on the New York Times Bestseller list.

In another scandal, the church also admitted that money they said was being used to start church overseas were actually being used for expenses at U.S. churches.

Driscoll issued an apology online, saying: 'I will seek to resolve unresolved issues with others, and will seek to avoid such conflict in the future; at least to the extent I have any control over it.'