On the reply card provided in the October mailing of the Gospel for Asia newsletter Harvest, the ECFA seal is clearly displayed.
So GFA has removed many references to ECFA on their web pages (although not all of them), but doesn’t seem inclined to spend money to send out accurate print materials.
GFA is getting the benefit of membership without paying the dues at this point.
Month: October 2015
Three Gospel for Asia Board Members Resign
I have confirmation from someone in a position to know that Skip Heitzig, Gayle Erwin, and Damian Kyle have resigned from the Gospel for Asia board. None of the men responded to my requests for information but multiple sources within GFA have confirmed that an announcement was made during a staff meeting time on Friday.
Very little explanation was given and the announcement was delivered by Danny Yohannan Punnoose (K.P. Yohannan’s son). While GFA will not confirm, it appears that K.P. Yohannan’s son and wife, Francis Chan, Chuck Zink and perhaps one other person are now on the GFA board.
It is astonishing that the second largest mission organization in the nation keeps so many secrets regarding governance and finances.
One Year Ago Yesterday: Mars Hill Church Announced Mark Driscoll's Resignation
It was a headline very few people thought they would ever see.
Mark Driscoll Resigns from Mars Hill Church
I am a day late for the exact anniversary of the church announcement, the date on that headline is October 15, 2014. Driscoll submitted his resignation letter the day before.
Resignation wasn’t plan A according to Driscoll. He was supposed to enter a plan of restoration being crafted by his elders. He later told Brian Houston that God warned him about a trap and then told the Driscolls they were released from Mars Hill.
Mars Hill Church may still be a legal entity; no one is talking much about it. I have contacted several legacy churches without answer.
Driscoll toils away in Phoenix; rumors abound about a church plant but if much is happening, it is a well kept secret.
The common folks left behind still don’t know how much money actually went to African and Indian missionaries from the stealthily named Global Fund. They don’t know how much went to pay severances for the executive elders. There is a lot we don’t know. Sutton Turner has spoken out some but even there Mars Hill employed lawyers got in the way of transparency.
I still refer to Mars Hill matters in my teaching, particularly in social psychology and probably will for years. My hope is that Mars Hill will continue to teach for years to come.
Gospel for Asia's Christmas Catalog Displays ECFA Seal and 100% Pledge
I am aware that the Christmas catalogs were probably printed before the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability voted to terminate Gospel for Asia’s membership. I know it would been costly to reprint the catalogs. I also know that because GFA leaders decided to mail the catalogs with the ECFA seal, they have misrepresented the situation. Take a look:
and the 100% pledge lives on…
Guaranteed. I wonder if that is a money back guarantee.
We now know that administrative expenses are taken out in India. And we know that $19.8 million came back from “the field” to fund nearly half of the costs of construction of the new Wills Point, TX campus.
Based on my investigations last year, I am highly skeptical that GFA uses one person’s donation for a goat or chicken to buy an individual goat or chicken. It doesn’t work that way for World Vision, and I doubt it works that way for GFA (see my series on holiday animal buys – link, link).
What should GFA do now?
Clearly, the ECFA seal of membership gives the wrong impression and hides the fact that ECFA believes GFA has not honored donor intent in giving. A tax court in India has ruled in the same manner. If GFA doesn’t let catalog recipients know, chances are good that most won’t find out. GFA could send a letter to all on the mailing list alerting them to ECFA’s action to terminate membership. GFA leaders could defend the organization but at least donors would be informed. Will they do it?
How GFA leaders handle this problem will tell us something about GFA going forward.
Pastors Endorsement Page Missing at Gospel for Asia's Website; K.P. Yohannan Seems to be Missing Too
On October 7, there were numerous endorsements from pastors on the Gospel for Asia website (see Google cache). For instance:
Now, the address for that page (http://www.gfa.org/mygfastory/pastors/) leads to another page which does not have endorsements. Instead it redirects to this page http://www.gfa.org/mygfastory/:
Skip Heitzig’s missing endorsement could be significant. Heitzig has been of GFA’s board for many years. If he is backing away from Gospel for Asia, that would be a dramatic about face.
About Yohannan, he is not missing from the webpage but his loud silence continues. It is hard to understand why Yohannan remains quiet in the face of declining confidence in GFA and ECFA’s termination of GFA membership.