Mars Hill Church – Page 16 – Warren Throckmorton

Prior to Official Launch, Mark Driscoll’s The Trinity Church Is on the Hook for $2.5 Million in Building Debt

Apparently Mark Driscoll’s The Trinity Church will pay nearly $2.5 million for the Glass and Garden Church in Scottsdale, AZ. Although appraised at about ten times that amount, the church is making payments to the church on two loans.

Read the Deed of Trust.

All of the details are not here, but it looks like the church may not have put much up front but instead has promised to pay the full amount over time to the owner. If the church defaults, the Glass and Garden Church take over. Part of the reduced price may be because the church may only have purchased the building and not all of the land originally a part of the lot.
Any The Trinity Church attenders reading here: Were you aware of this?

Plaintiffs Respond to Mark Driscoll's and Sutton Turner's Motions to Dismiss the RICO Suit: Not Enough Funds to Continue

Today, attorney Brian Fahling filed responses to the motions to dismiss the RICO lawsuit accusing Mark Driscoll and Sutton Turner of misuse of funds in their positions as pastors at the now defunct Mars Hill Church in Seattle.
Bottom line: Because sufficient funds have not been raised to pursue the case, the suit was not served to Driscoll and Turner. Thus the plaintiffs do not object to dismissal without prejudice (the case could be tried later). Turner had requested the suit be dismissed with prejudice (permanently) and asked for sanctions. From the plaintiffs filing today (linked below):

For the foregoing reasons, Plaintiffs and their counsel respectfully request that this Court deny Defendants’ Motions to Dismiss with prejudice and Turner’s Motion for sanctions, including attorney’s fees. Plaintiff does not object to dismissal without prejudice of the claims against Defendants.
DATED: July 5, 2016

The opposition document revisits the legal case against Turner and Driscoll with much concerning Mars Hill Global, Result Source and the Campus Fund. You can get up to speed on the plaintiffs arguments about those matters by reading the opposition document.
Click the links below to read the documents.
Plaintiffs opposition to the Driscoll and Turner motions
A. Kildea declaration
R. Kildea declaration
B. Jacobsen declaration
C. Jacobsen declaration
B. Fahling declaration
Commentary to come…

Mark Driscoll's The Trinity Church Buys a Million Dollar Mid-Century Modern Home

If Driscoll and Co. paid the building’s appraised value, they are one rich start up church.
Here’s the purchase announcement:

Hey everyone! I have a really exciting announcement. We have officially purchased our historic church home in Scottsdale, Arizona!
Every family needs a home, and this one is a wonderful fit for our church family.
I am so thankful for all the hard work from the many volunteers that has already gone into getting this 50-year-old mid-century modern church home ready for our public launch on August 7th at 9am and 10:45am. We still have a lot of work to do. Just this week we had the exterior painted back to the period correct colors that originally adorned the building. It looks amazing!
I’m also very grateful for the generous donations from not only from The Trinity Church family but also from friends of The Trinity Church that just want to help support this new Church plant. It’s your generosity that has helped to make this happen, and to each one of you, I’m very humbled and grateful. Thank You!
We are nearing the public launch and still have some work to do and some money to raise (you can give HERE), but God has proven faithful every step of the way, so we trust in His continued provision.
Your Rejoicing and Grateful Pastor,
Pastor Mark Driscoll

According to The Trinity Church website, the governing board would have made the decision. That board consists of Driscoll, Randal Taylor, Jimmie Evans, and Robert Morris. As with Mars Hill, things just happen with no explanation. Money just shows up.
The appraised value in tax year 2017 is $21-million. I wonder how much came from The Trinity Church and how much came from rich benefactors.

Thanks to Deana Holmes for the tip.

Mark Driscoll Files Motion to Dismiss Racketeering Lawsuit

Claiming he has not been served, Mark Driscoll filed a motion to dismiss the racketeering lawsuit against him and former Mars Hill executive pastor Sutton Turner brought by former members of Mars Hill Church in Seattle. Two couples from the church allege misuse of funds.
Like Turner’s motion to dismiss, Driscoll appeals to rules of procedure requiring service of a lawsuit in 90 days. The essential claim of the motion is that the Jacobsens and Kildeas have abandoned the suit.
Driscoll claims his whereabouts are well known.
After Turner filed his motion, I asked attorney Brian Fahling for a comment with no reply.
Driscoll plans to launch his new church The Trinity Church in Scottsdale on August 7.

Mark Driscoll's Scottsdale Church to Launch August 7

Although a group of people has been meeting in Scottsdale, AZ for several weeks, the official launch of Mark Driscoll’s The Trinity Church has been slated (“penciled in”) for August 7, 2016.
According to this video (click through to watch), the church still has to get some design elements in place. The plans sound pretty ambitious. It is not clear that the building isn’t viewed as temporary. The building’s “mid-century modern” style figures prominently in the “groovy” church. His launch announcement is a 7:30 into the clip.

In addition to the video, here is what Driscoll says about the launch (written message accompanying the video):

We are in our core launch team phase gearing up for our public opening this fall around the time that school begins. Right now, we have a family style Bible study with the kids present every Sunday at 9:30 am. If you are interested in our church launch, you are welcome to join us. This week Pastor Mark continues his series in 1 John: The Father Heart of God. We will be in 1 John 4:1-6 if you want to read ahead.
Thank you, thank you, thank you to all that have been helping at our work parties. You have put in over 1000 hours helping us prepare our building for the public launch. We ave enjoyed meeting and working alongside some wonderful hard working people.
This weekend in observance of Memorial day we will not be having a work party on Saturday or Sunday after the Bible study. Lets take a much needed break and also take some time to pray for our military men and women and their families as well as veterans. We appreciate your service and want to honor you.If you attend the Bible study this Sunday we want to give you a gift.
After the Bible study this Sunday we will have an “Ice Cream Sunday” with lots of toppings and bouncy houses blown up for the kids.
In the next month or so, we hope to have our kids ministry building ready to start childrens ministry in the “backyard”. After that, our plan is to have the main room that we call the “living room” ready for church services including the worship band and singing as we gear up for two morning church services. For that to happen, we are giving the old room a fresh makeover in keeping with the midcentury modern Brady Bunch vibe. Yes, it’s groovy.
Thank you to everyone who has given of your finances, prayers, and service. It’s amazing to see how much can get done when hard working people pull together for the cause of Jesus Christ!

Maybe The Trinity Church can get these guys back together for the big launch.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddcIunulJi4[/youtube]