I have this information from a three credible sources but I am having a hard time believing it.
Sources inside Mars Hill Church tell me that it was announced in a meeting of Bellevue community group leaders that Bellevue volunteer elder Matt Rogers has been appointed to the Board of Advisors and Accountability.
If Rogers was added as an “independent member” then his name will be added to Michael Van Skaik and Larry Osborne as men who will examine the charges against Mark Driscoll. If Rogers is being added as an executive elder, then Driscoll would have had to appoint him, according to the by-laws. 
If Rogers is being added as an independent member of the BOAA then he should resign his current volunteer position. The by-laws are not clear but it seems that having a position subordinate to Mark Driscoll would violate the spirit of the definition of “independent.” 
It is not clear to me that he qualifies as an independent since he is currently an unpaid elder at Bellevue where “he leads the church operations volunteer teams.” Even though he is a volunteer, he is subordinate to the two executive elders.
Rogers, who works in marketing at Microsoft, is the same man who responded by letter to the Mars Hill Bellevue campus protest. The letter was anything but neutral or objective. Furthermore, there are credible Mars Hill sources that say Rogers was not at Bellevue the morning of the protest.
It is incredible that the current BOAA would appoint a current elder to hear these charges.
Mars Hill Church was asked to confirm this claim but did not answer. I am reporting this because of the credibility of the sources, but I would not be surprised if the position is withdrawn or disavowed when it becomes widely known. According to two current elders and several former Mars Hill members, Rogers is well known as a staunch defender of the executive elders. As such, his appointment will not inspire confidence among Mars Hill Church stakeholders that the process will be objective.
As noted yesterday, the current BOAA members have already dismissed charges against Driscoll. Rogers’ appointment does nothing to promote confidence that the process will be objective and fair.
Month: August 2014
An Apologetics Conference That Should Apologize
To my way of thinking, this (click link) is an incoherent lineup for an apologetics conference. I don’t know all of the speakers but Eric Metaxas and John Stonestreet seem out of place with David Barton, Todd Starnes, Tim Wildmon, and Ray Moore. Put on by Alex McFarland, the Truth for a New Generation conference to be held September 5-6 should issue a disclaimer that attendance will be hazardous to your intellectual health.
The Colson Center has a place in the program. One can find content from Stonestreet and the Center which correctly oppose Barton’s revisionist history. However, at this conference, Barton is labeled an “historical expert.” Words truly have no meaning in this alternative reality.
People who attend these meetings may get some good and accurate information in some of the sessions. However, on balance, those who attend will be less able to defend Christianity. This is one of the great tragedies of revisionist history. People come away thinking they have information to defend their faith but they are actually set up to fail. Those outside of this parallel universe know better and use the false information as a reason to dismiss the redemptive message of Christianity.
The Charges Against Mark Driscoll: What Happens Now?
Yesterday, Mark Driscoll announced a break from all pastoral responsibilities while charges against him are examined. During his announcement speech, Driscoll indicated that he would submit to the process outlined in the by-laws for the purpose of handling complaints against him. He said:
I have submitted to the process prescribed by our church Bylaws as overwhelmingly approved by our entire Eldership for addressing accusations against me. I invite this process, rather than debating accusations and issues in social media or the court of public opinion. A report on this process will be presented when it has been completed.
So what is that process?
According to the by-laws as revised in 2012, the independent members of the Board of Advisors and Accountability form a committee called the Board of Overseers to examine the charges. See below:
Article 12 is inserted in the by-laws just for the purpose of providing a process for examining serious charges against Mark Driscoll (primary preaching and teaching pastor for the church). The charges must be serious enough, if true, to disqualify him from holding the office of elder. The charges lodged by the 21 named former pastors and 21 anonymous witnesses qualify. Driscoll has now confirmed that these charges will be handled according to the by-laws.
There is another document which relates to formal charges, Adopted in August 2013, that document relates to charges brought against any elder. It is not clear if the process outlined applies to Driscoll in the same way that Article 12 does. The wording of the August 2013 document does not appear to include the teaching and preaching pastor. If I am correct, then Article 12 is in effect in this situation.
The independent members of the Board of Advisors and Accountability are Board chair, Michael Van Skaik, and Larry Osborne. The by-laws allow those men to set their procedures for investigating the charges unless Driscoll’s employment contract with the church specifies otherwise. It is not at all clear what this means (i.e., Section 12.2). It is possible that there is something in Driscoll’s contract which would limit the Board of Overseers in some manner. Obviously, given that clause, this process is not as transparent as it may have first appeared.
Van Skaik and Osborne are the two members of the Board of Overseers because Paul Tripp and James MacDonald recently resigned from the BOAA. It is possible that the Board of Overseers could expand if one or two new men are appointed to the BOAA. The procedure for filling vacancies is as follows:
By majority vote, the BOAA can add new members. Assuming Driscoll takes no part in this process, the remaining members of the BOAA are Van Skaik, and Osborne (independent members) and Sutton Turner and Dave Bruskas (executive elders). Three affirmative votes could add a member. If only three members (a quorum) were present for a vote, then only two members would need to agree.
Thus, at this time, Mark Driscoll’s fate is in the hands of two men who have already investigated charges against him and exonerated him.
In May 2013, former pastor Dave Kraft presented formal charges to the BOAA. At that time, Van Skaik and Osborne were on the board and would have been a part of the Board of Overseers. Michael Van Skaik commented on those charges in his recent response to Acts 29 Network’s action to remove Mars Hill Church from membership:
Be assured of this, the formal charges that were filed were serious, were taken seriously and were not dismissed by the board lightly. There is clear evidence that the attitudes and behaviors attributed to Mark in the charges are not a part and have not been a part of Mark’s life for some time now.
Our board’s decision is final regarding these charges, although will no doubt continue to be played out in the courts of public opinion.
According to Van Skaik, the decision is final.
Many of the charges filed by the 21 former pastors and 21 anonymous witnesses are similar to those presented by Kraft in 2013. Given the governance model and people in place, it is hard to imagine a different outcome this time around.
On the other hand, there is at least two differences now. One is that the current charges present many current (2010-2014) illustrations of actions that former elders believe disqualify Driscoll. The other difference is that the current charges are known to the Mars Hill congregation and the public at large. If the Board of Overseers finds that the charges are substantiated by witnesses, it will difficult to return a decision that rubber stamps their response to the Acts 29 Network.
Announcement: Mark Driscoll Will Take At Least Six Weeks Off (UPDATED) (AUDIO) (VIDEO)
Reading a prepared statement, Mark Driscoll told the Bellevue campus of the Mars Hill Church congregation this morning that he will take at least six weeks off as lead pastor of Mars Hill Church while charges against him are investigated. Driscoll preached at Bellevue at 8:30 am to a packed house. According to sources in church this morning, Driscoll said he is meeting with mature Christian men unrelated to the church. The message is being played at other locations this morning.
Earlier this month, Driscoll and Mars Hill Church were removed from the membership of Acts 29 Network. The board of Acts 29 called on Driscoll to step down from the church. On Thursday, it became known that 21 former Mars Hill pastors had filed charges against Mark Driscoll. Friday, the New York Times chronicled the implosion of Mars Hill over the last several months. Pressure had been mounting on Driscoll to address the adverse events.
UPDATE: According to those at Bellevue this morning, Driscoll also addressed some of the controversies swirling around him. He said the charges against him would be handled in accord with the by-laws and that a report would be created from this investigation. He said he would do no outside speaking or speak from the pulpit while he was away. Fellow executive elder Dave Bruskas will handle the First John series. For audio of the announcement, see below:
Mars Hill Church has posted the transcript of Driscoll’s statement and a video to their YouTube account (embedded at the end of the post). The audio above was from a location other than Bellevue and was recorded from the video shown there. Driscoll delivered the speech in person at the Bellevue location. The video below was recorded there and is somewhat longer due to the personal nature of the delivery.
Driscoll mentioned the charges brought by 21 former elders. He indicated that the charges would be examined. What needs to be very clear is that the current by-laws of Mars Hill Church do not give the elders the authority to examine these charges. The independent members of the Board of Advisors and Accountability is in charge of the process. The current elders do not have the ability to vote on Mark Driscoll’s status at the church. Currently, Michael Van Skaik, and Larry Osborne are the two independent members of the BOAA.
The process of bringing formal charges against a pastor were made more difficult in August, 2013. It is not clear that the procedure even allows former employees to do so. The by-laws requires the formation of another committee to examine the charges. The process is prescribed by Article 12 of the by-laws:
Unless Mark Driscoll’s employment contract adds an unknown wrinkle to this process, the two BOAA members Van Skaik and Osborne will have the responsibility of investigating the charges.
The 8 steps Driscoll laid out are:
So let me tell you what I plan to do in the days and weeks ahead to help us move forward as a church family.
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I have submitted to the process prescribed by our church Bylaws as overwhelmingly approved by our entire Eldership for addressing accusations against me. I invite this process, rather than debating accusations and issues in social media or the court of public opinion. A report on this process will be presented when it has been completed.
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I have requested a break for processing, healing, and growth for a minimum of six weeks while the leadership assigned by our bylaws conduct a thorough examination of accusations against me. I believe their review can best be performed without me being in the pulpit or the office, and they have agreed to this arrangement.
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During this time Pastor Dave and our lead pastors will share the preaching responsibilities, along with their other pastoral responsibilities. I am grateful that we have a team of godly leaders that are trustworthy and love you. They will continue in 1 John for our series “Love One Another”. I will use this time to continue to seek the Lord about His plans for me and for this and the next season of life for Mars Hill. I will also use it to spend more time with God, my wife, and our children.
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As a general rule, I will respond to little if any criticism of me in the media, on social media, blogs, open letters, etc. Conducting church business and biblical conflict resolution through media channels is not healthy and is more likely to prove unproductive at best, and destructive and dishonoring to the Lord at worst.
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I will not be doing any outside speaking for the foreseeable future.
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I have asked our Board of Advisors and Accountability to strengthen our board by adding members to it, and they are in the process of doing so with local members being our first choice.
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I have agreed to postpone the publication of my next book until a future season, to be determined.
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I have begun meeting with a professional team of mature Christians who provide wise counsel to help further my personal development and maturity before God and men. I have never taken an extended focused break like this in my 18 years as your pastor, and it is not a vacation but rather a time to focus on deep work in my soul in the areas of processing, healing, and growing.
Other media have interesting details to add. For instance, Sarah Bailey at Religion News Service disclosed that public relations expert Mark DeMoss was in the audience and has been retained to assist the church. Morgan Lee at Christianity Today has an extensive write up. Michael Paulson, writing in The New York Times, followed up today on his front page article published yesterday.
There is a lot to discuss after this announcement. To some, this will seem like a statement of repentance; to others, it glosses over numerous issues which have yet to be acknowledged. There were some criticisms of social media that were unfair given the fact that Mars Hill Church avoids addressing legitimate questions and has willfully withheld information that a church should divulge. Tomorrow many of those issues will still be there.
[youtube]http://youtu.be/MeZzy7Za0GA[/youtube]
I’ll have more on this announcement through the day.
Is Mark Driscoll Poised to Take a Break from Mars Hill Church? (UPDATED)
Pretty sure now that Mark Driscoll won’t be announcing a fund raising campaign for 10700 Northrup Way. This announcement was just posted on Mars Hill Church’s social media website:
Important Announcement from Pastor Mark Tomorrow I just returned from our all elder retreat and wanted to give you a heads up about church tomorrow. This is a difficult season, but I am encouraged by what Jesus is teaching us through it and about next steps for our church. As part of next steps, there will be an important announcement from Pastor Mark tomorrow so I would really like all of you to be at church if possible. I love Pastor Mark and I’m thankful for him. I love you and want to care for and shepherd you well. Please spend some time praying for Pastor Mark, your local leaders in PHX, and for our church. I’ll be available before and after services and would love to answer any questions you may have. For Jesus’ fame, Pastor Tim Birdwell
This is a little more somber than the festive description of tomorrow’s service on the Mars Hill website. This is looking like a sabbatical or some bigger change. UPDATE (8/24): Late last night a commenter said:
Mark is stepping down for an indeterminate period of time while the board of elders review the formal charges against him. He recorded a message that will play to all of the Mars Hill Churches tomorrow. He isn’t resigning permanently.
Executive Elder Dave Bruskas will be preaching the rest of the 1 John Series. Also, several high profile Mars Hill Elders are about to resign.
I have reason to believe this is a pretty accurate account of what is going to be announced this morning at Mars Hill Church.
Watch for more information later this morning.