Author: Warren Throckmorton

IOTC Brings Theocratic Lessons to the Public School

The Institute on the Constitution continues their quest to bring theocratic lessons to school children. Regularly requesting non-deductible donations for their efforts, IOTC is working to start inappropriately named, “American Clubs” to public schools. IOTC’s lead teacher David Whitney teaches that only born again Christians should be citizens, the federal government has no role in commerce, and that civil government should worship God according to their reconstructionist ideas.
Unfortunately, some teachers are buying in to these ideas. Take this unidentified public school teacher (I’m guessing from Maryland or Ohio):

Post by Institute on the Constitution.

If I knew the school where this club was established, warnings could be provided to parents in that district. Unfortunately, there is little a school district can do to prevent the distortion of the Constitution to be presented by the IOTC.
If anyone recognizes this teacher, let me know.

Mars Hill Ballard Building For Sale

Mars Hill Ballard is also for sale.


Earlier, I reported that Mars Hill Sammamish is on the market. The tweet above links to a listing for Mars Hill Ballard.
Tomorrow is the first day of the planned combination of Mars Hill University District (also for sale, although I have heard it sold), and Mars Hill Downtown with Mars Hill Ballard. They will be meeting in a building which is on the market.
The listing, like the Sammamish one, hopes for a buyer which will lease the building back to the church. The church clearly needs cash and is willing to give up assets in order to maintain the location. It may be that there are potential buyers who would prefer to own something for their money rather than simply donate it to Mars Hill Church.
The building is also on the market as a possible lease situation with another tenant using the building from Monday through Saturday.
According to the listing, Ballard has a new name — Ballard Big Box. In fact, none of the listings for Mars Hill properties have the church name on the listing.

Mars Hill Sammamish Building For Sale

Yesterday on this post, a commenter left a provocative message that I decided to investigate. First the comment:

You should know- They’ve already determined what the outcome of the charges assessment will be. Mark will be out of the pulpit for a longer period of time than what has already taken place, and he will be placed on a restoration/spiritual care plan. He will be rebuked lightly and publicly, but he will not be disqualified.
One additional piece of information that was sad to hear- Mars Hill has sold MHC Sammamish. They haven’t told the congregation yet, but they have decided to sell and close that church in an effort to save Bellevue.

I haven’t found out much about the first claim but I did learn something about the second one. Mars Hill Sammamish is listed for sale.
Initially I emailed Sammamish pastor Alex Ghioni and asked if he could confirm or deny the sale of the building. He forwarded the email to Justin Dean who emailed today to say:

Pastor Alex forwarded me your email. I can confirm the Sammamish church has not been sold.

However, it is listed for sale:
sammamishchurchlisting
 
 
According to the listing (for more information on the building see this pdf), the current owner (Mars Hill) wants to continue to occupy the building for an unspecified length of time:

Sammamish Church 
Current church owner to lease back long term

In contrast to the statement of Justin Dean, a source in the church told me the building was sold without the knowledge of the Sammamish congregation. The listing agent Steve Pelluer declined to confirm either story.  At present, the official position of Mars Hill Church is that the building has not been sold.
Mars Hill Sammamish used to belong to Evergreen Christian Fellowship. The first service as Mars Hill Sammamish was January 15, 2012.
 
UPDATE: After I emailed Alex Ghioni to ask about the sale of the Sammamish building, he disclosed to the congregation that other plans were in the works for the building (see his City post here). Thanks to an anonymous commenter for providing the information.
 
UPDATE: Mars Hill Ballard is also for sale.

Update from Mars Hill Church Board of Advisors and Accountability on Mark Driscoll Investigation

Just out in the Mars Hill Weekly:

UPDATE FROM THE BOAA

Six weeks ago Pastor Mark stepped aside while our Board of Advisors and Accountability examine accusations brought forward by former staff and elders. That extensive process is nearly complete and we expect to have those results to share with you very soon. In the meantime, we ask for your continued prayers for Pastor Mark and his family, Pastor Dave Bruskas and the lead pastors as they continue to preach and lead during this time, and also for the Board of Elders while they prepare their final report. Lastly, please pray for our Mars Hill Church family that Jesus would be glorified in our lives.

This update pertains to the allegations brought forward by former staff and elders, the BOAA has been silent on the concerns raised by the then-current pastors who raised issues regarding the BOAA. I wonder when those concerns will be heard.
Feedback from sources has been mixed. Dave Kraft made a public statement after his meeting whereas all others have commented anonymously. Some have expressed optimism that the allegations will be validated but that the results might not reflect the gravity of the findings. I expect a public statement from the church by the end of the month.

Calling for More Transparency from the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability

Rob Smith continues to raise questions for the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. In a column this morning, Smith asks: Why is ECFA certifying churches without requiring the same public disclosure as non-churches?
While Smith believes the government should not insist on wider disclosure, he believes the ECFA should insist on a similar level of disclosure from the organizations who are accredited by the organization. Lack of transparency should be a red flag about the church and about the ECFA.
While they may be above it all, the comments at the Change.org petition continue to sharply criticize the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability for their handling of the various problems at Mars Hill Church. The ECFA remains silent in the face of nearly 140 signers as of this morning.
The comments bluntly call on the ECFA to drop Mars Hill and restore credibility to ECFA accreditation.
Former member Sara Brinton said:

We were members at Mars Hill for 10+ years. Through those years, we gave sacrificially. Although my husband had a good corporate job, there were lots of months we struggled to afford groceries because of the amount we were giving to the church. Mars Hill taught us that this was the right thing to do. We gave because we thought we were on mission – that we shared a genuine desire to see people in our city and around the world meet Jesus. We are devastated as more and more of the truth comes out. We are angry and we feel we have been deceived by a church that was misusing funds and taking advantage of orphans and widows.

James Petroski wrote:

The ECFA seal means nothing if MHC is allowed to receive a positive rating by the organization.

Jim Caldwell wrote:

The financial integrity of every entity effects every other group in the ECFA.

Al Doyle wrote:

Over the years, as a donor, I have relied on ECFA to vet and authenticate the practices of Christian professing non-profit organizations. As a former Board member of more than one 501 (c ) 3 organizations, I have relied on ECFA guidelines to shape financial practices. This is a very public and egregious situation that needs immediate investigation and attention with the intent to protect the interests of the hundred of faithful donors giving to a cause that may be misrepresented.

Stephanie Hopkins:

I listened to MH sermons while attending a healthy church for years. After moving to Seattle, I attended MH-Ballard for most of 2011. I was deeply concerned and disgusted by what appeared to me to be deceptive fundraising campaigns and exorbitant spending practices for a church once I was attending and part of their communication network. What stood out most was an email at the end of the year thanking us for helping meet budget after a month of pleas for funds specifically to help a list of projects and open four new campuses – nothing about the fundraising goal amount being something like half regular budget was mentioned until we were told that is what the money raised was going to first and that anything extra in the next few days would actually go to the projects we’d been receiving emails and messages about the funds going to all month. I stopped giving and eventually attending specifically because it seemed to me that their financial practices were opaque and deceptive. Unless and until the ECFA removes MHC, I can be nothing but suspicious and skeptical of their endorsement of any organization or church. As long as MHC is endorsed by the ECFA I can only believe that their endorsement is nothing more than a purchased rubber stamp.