Month: December 2014

Dave Bruskas on Mark Driscoll's Resignation: "I Don't Think That Was The Most Redemptive Outcome"

On December 3, 2014, Dave Bruskas engaged in a Q & A period conducted by the elders with some members of the Mars Hill Albuquerque congregation (soon to be known as North Church) attending. The questions were pre-selected by the elders with the congregation not allowed to ask questions at the meeting. Bruskas is about to return to Albuquerque as preaching pastor of the church which he once pastored before it became part of Mars Hill. In the meeting, Bruskas addressed  his views about his time at Mars Hill. I have obtained some video of part of the event. The video is mostly beneficial for the audio of Bruskas remarks. I will put up a couple of posts featuring his perspective on being an executive elder at Mars Hill.
This first brief segment is Bruskas addressing Mark Driscoll’s resignation. The transcript is below the video. Although understated, he acknowledges that Driscoll’s resignation was not the intended outcome of the investigation.

Pastor Mark, I really would hope that our future would have been through the examination process that of a restored Pastor Mark leading his church to a healthy place but I’m sorry that that didn’t happen.  I know Jesus is going to work redemptively into the future but I think  that’s something we all wanted right? We always want the most redemptive  outcome, and I don’t think that was the most redemptive outcome but I trust that Jesus is going to do incredible things and I know that men come and go and church names change. Jesus loves His church and Jesus is absolutely about His mission and there comes a point in time where we say, ‘let’s put away the past and move forward because Jesus moves forward.’

Either in this post or in another one, I will add more footage where Bruskas addresses what he considers to be his mistakes at Mars Hill and offers an apology for them. Hint, he says he didn’t know the specifics about the Result Source scheme to scam the New York Times best-seller list.
See also part two of this video. Dave Bruskas discusses ResultSource, the hostile climate at Mars Hill, and the Strange Fire conference.

Mars Hill Bellevue's New Preaching Pastor Jeff Vanderstelt on Why People Are Disillusioned with Church

Note: This video was published in September 2013. I am not saying he is talking about Mars Hill Church. He is talking about church in general. I think the present situation will give Soma and Rev. Vanderstelt an opportunity to apply this teaching which came long before now. 
Vanderstelt, who was named yesterday as pastor of Mars Hill Bellevue (soon to be Bellevue Church), has some good things to say about why people are turned off from church. I think he missed other reasons equally as important (e.g., anti-science, culture war mentality, etc.). However, his second reason — hypocrisy — is one which seems especially relevant as Mars Hill Church runs out the clock on public accountability.
[youtube]http://youtu.be/nofEHVP9WZ4[/youtube]
The church which is being called a “plant” already has 12 elders. Six of those elders are holdovers from Mars Hill. One of them — Matt Rogers — as a member of the Board of Advisors and Accountability has a lot of unfinished business to address. The allegations from the group of nine pastors about the BoAA are still out there uninvestigated, despite a promise from then Mars Hill spokesman Mark DeMoss that they would be. The allegations were serious and involve matters of trust and integrity. However, they have been swept under the rug with the clock running out.
Lots of Christianese is being spoken; but will anything change with these new developments? As Vanderstelt seems to be aware, people are watching and want to know if the Gospel means anything in the way the church does business.
 

Jeff Vanderstelt Selected as Lead Teaching Pastor at (Mars Hill) Bellevue Church

This was announced earlier today via The City:

From Pastor Jason Skelton:

On behalf of the elders of Soma Tacoma and Bellevue Church, it is our privilege to share with you today the news that Jeff Vanderstelt has been selected as the Lead Teaching Pastor of Bellevue Church in Bellevue, WA.

Over the last six weeks, the elders of Bellevue Church and Soma Tacoma have been praying together to seek the Lord and know His will in this important decision. It has been our desire to create as many opportunities as possible to allow the congregation to speak into the process. This has included multiple public gatherings from Q&A in Bellevue, Sammamish, and Soma Tacoma, as well as Jeff preaching at Bellevue Church on November 23rd and December 7th. With a remarkable spirit of unity from both congregations, that we take as a sign of confirmation from the Holy Spirit, we now move forward with confidence in presenting this decision to you.

Today at the Soma Tacoma gathering, Jeff has resigned his eldership, and formally accepted the role as Lead Teaching Pastor of Bellevue Church. He will be publicly welcomed on December 21st when he will be present to preach that day as well in Bellevue. His first official day will be January 1st, 2015, which signifies the beginning of planting a new church.

From Jeff:

“Jayne and I are blessed to be clearly led by the Spirit in conjunction with the affirmation of Soma Tacoma and Bellevue Church to step into this new adventure. We are confident that Jesus is leading us into this and eager to serve Him as he continues to build his body on the Eastside. We can not do this without Him nor without the prayers of his people. In light of that, we earnestly ask that you lift us up in your prayers as we make this difficult transition from a church family that we dearly love to one that we are already growing in love for and anticipate loving in ever increasing ways over the coming months and years. We are eager to see the glory of Jesus fill the Eastside through his body the church as the waters cover the sea!”

With this decision, Bellevue Church will seek to become a member of the Soma Family of Churches, though the timeline for this has not been determined.

Our prayer, and our vision, is that the good news of Jesus would saturate the Eastside so that every man, woman, and child would have a daily encounter with Jesus in word and deed.

In Christ,

Soma Tacoma Elders

Don Crook

Justin Kuravackal

Abe Meysenburg

Mark Tilden

Jeff Wall

Randy Sheets

Bellevue Church Elders

Dave Cox

Alex Ghioni

Roger Molvar

Tim Patton

Matt Rogers

Jason Skelton

After the news from Bellevue recently about new staff, it was unclear that Soma was still involved.

Barring any legal complications, Bellevue Church is in line to receive what could be a substantial amount of money from the dissolution of Mars Hill Church.  Initially, there were high hopes that the involvement of Vanderstelt and Soma would bring in a new era of transparency. However, up to now, those representing Soma Church have ignored questions from the public and from Soma members about the transition of Bellevue from Mars Hill Church to Soma.

Eastside Church (Was Mars Hill Bellevue) Chooses New Staff; Is Soma Still Involved?

This came out earlier today.
Sounds like business as usual with no mention of Soma or Jeff Vanderstelt.

Some Good News Heading Into 2015
Pastor Jason Skelton
Eastside Family,
As we soon close out 2014 and head into the New Year as a new church, we wanted you to be aware of some good news for 2015.
Staff Selection
We have been prayerfully considering a number of hires for the new church staff. By God’s grace and your generosity, we are able to support a great team to serve and equip you for ministry in 2015. There are a number of conversations still in process, but we wanted you to be aware of a few of the team members:

  • Jim Franks will serve as the Director of Operations equipping and supporting our volunteer teams, Sunday services and daily operations of the church
  • Tim Patton will serve as the Director of Administration stewarding the finances and business obligations of the new church. Tim will also serve as one of the elders.
  • Alex Ghioni will serve as the Pastor of Biblical Counseling leading our Redemption Group ministries, marriage counseling, etc. Alex will also serve as one of the elders.
  • Adrian Kilgore will serve as the Director of Media and Production equipping our production volunteers and overseeing technology as well as communications

We are in ongoing conversations regarding the hire of a Director of Youth Ministry to lead Kids and Student Ministry. We have much more to share with you about these ministries soon, as well as determination of our Director of Community Groups. We’ll share more information with you in the coming weeks.
New Service Times
The elders have been prayerfully considering what service time schedule would be serve the Eastside. After talking with many members of the congregation, we have made the decision that we will change our service times to 9a and 11a, beginning in January 2015. This will allow us to focus our efforts on Sunday morning services, as well as utilizing the remainder of the day for additional training and equipping opportunities, particularly allowing those driving from a further distance to not be required to come into Downtown Bellevue on multiple days per week. It’s our prayer that this will also help our volunteer teams who have served sacrificially these past few months.
Student Ministry Date and Time
In 2015, we will also be changing the date and time of our Student Ministry. We have been meeting on Wednesday evenings, but in January 2015 will change to meet on Sunday evenings at 5pm. We believe this will better serve our families and will better steward our resources (when we already have paid for the parking in the church lot on Sundays). In making this change, it’s our goal that we will not only be able to accommodate Student Ministry on Sunday nights, but offer training opportunities for parents at the same time.
Supporting the New Church Plant
Many have asked about ACH giving and how to set this up for the new church. We would ask that you continue to give faithfully, generously, and sacrificially to Mars Hill Church through the remainder of 2014, and in 2015 we will share how you can set up giving to the new church. You have been incredibly generous, and we are grateful for the way that your giving will allow us to complete the plan that we outlined in October of launching many new independent churches out of our former church.
Location of the New Church
After prayerfully considering numerous options, we have determined that we will stay in our current facility in Downtown Bellevue, in the John Danz Building. We’re currently finalizing the lease with our landlords, with whom the relationship has remained very strong and we’re grateful for their partnership. The Lord opened numerous doors for us to stay in this building, allowing us to make a decision that we believe to be wise in regard to both location and finances. We will share more about this in the coming weeks, but wanted to share the good news that we will be able to continue to meet in the building that many have called home for the last several years. To our friends from the Sammamish Plateau, we understand that this location may require additional commute time, but look forward to sharing the vision of how the church building can become an equipping center in order that you are better prepared for ministry throughout the week.
We understand that change can be unsettling, and thus we share these things knowing that it’s important to communicate with you as clearly as possible moving into the future. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out directly to any of the staff members listed above, or any of the elders. It’s our goal and desire to communicate in a way that honors you as members of the church, and equips you for fruitful ministry by sharing opportunities to pray and serve.
Thanks for your continued partnership in the Gospel. We look forward to seeing you this Sunday as we continue our “Jesus: Gift of God” series at 8:30a, 10:30a, and 4:00p.
In Christ,
Pastor Jason