Former Mars Hill Church worship director and elder Dustin Kensrue has released a extended play collection of songs with a Christmas them. Titled “Lowborn King,” Kensrue released the work under the name, “Modern Post.” Here is a selection from the EP, Child of Glory:
[youtube]http://youtu.be/iKB0pVic6Eg[/youtube]
Kensure has this to say about the collection of songs:
“I love Christmas songs and there’s a few classics on this EP that I haven’t tackled before, as well as a new arrangement of my song “This Is War” with an added bridge that some friends and I wrote a couple years back. There’s also my new arrangement of a great song called “Child of Glory” by my friend Brian Eichelberger, who is also the producer of this EP and The Water & The Blood. Lastly I wrote a new arrangement of Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence, a very old Christmas hymn that we lifted a bit out of it’s overly somber vibe and added a new chorus. In the end, I think that what really defined the overall direction for this project was that rather than trying to shoot for some sort of classic Christmas vibe, we set out to let the lyrical content really drive the arrangements and moods of each song and I’m really pleased with the result. For more info on why I’m releasing this under “The Modern Post” name, check out this post at dustinkensrue.com.”
Kensrue was one of the nine pastors who called on Mark Driscoll to enter a restoration plan. Their call came before the Board of Elders investigation concluded the same thing. Eventually Driscoll resigned rather than face accountability to his elders.
I will listen to some of these songs year round, especially Child of Glory and This is War. Long time fans of Thrice and Kensrue’s work will know his work instantly but let me hasten to add that there is something fresh about the arrangements as well.
Category: Mars Hill Church
Is Mars Hill Church Launching 11 New Churches?
They say they are.
At least one of them (Bellevue) is supposed to be a Soma church replant. Despite the attempt at addressing questions of public interest, Jeff Vanderstelt and Soma have left questions about Mars Hill’s legacy unanswered. I have asked Soma about the financial aspects of getting seed money from Mars Hill, as well as questions about transparency regarding the Global Fund with no answers as yet.
I am also getting emails from Soma church members around the country who are concerned about the arrangement. I have encouraged them to contact Soma Tacoma directly but have also sent their questions to Soma with hopes that the matters can be clarified. I will report here the answers or the silence.
There aren’t many days left for Mars Hill’s remaining leaders (elders and Board of Advisors and Accountability) to address the remaining unfinished business.
Megachurch Methods: Mars Hill Church Staff and Compensation Matrix
In the Leadership Journal article by Ben Tertin, former Mars Hill Church pastors Bill Clem and Tim Gaydos described the metrics by which the executive elders of Mars Hill Church decided how much staff to allow at each location. As it turns out, Mars Hill leaders used attendance and financial metrics to guide that decision. I have obtained a matrix which outlines the criteria for adding staff to the Mars Hill franchise locations. While I am not sure how rigorously this matrix was enforced, it is interesting conceptually and fits the description given by Clem and Gaydos.
Click to enlarge.
Just one more thing Mars Hill members didn’t know about their own church.
Mars Hill Albuquerque to Become North Church
This isn’t particularly new but I don’t think I have posted it here. Mars Hill Albuquerque is now doing business as North Church. In this video, a church volunteer describes the transition from The City to Church Community Builder.
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/113849480[/vimeo]
Those interested in the church where Dave Bruskas will land can follow North Church video updates here. Apparently the name and incorporation hasn’t been changed as yet, since the church is still incorporated as Mars Hill Church.
Leadership Journal Seeks Lessons on the Demise of the Church from Former Pastors and Advisor
Subtitle: Gerry Breshears finally speaks
Ben Tertin at the Leadership Journal has a long article out today online which hopes to examine some “painful lessons” from the demise of Mars Hill Church. One aspect of the article which makes it necessary reading for Mars Hill watchers is the on the record statements from former pastors Bill Clem and Tim Gaydos. Both former pastors had much to say about the corporatization of church under Mark Driscoll, Sutton Turner, and Dave Bruskas.
I recommend reading the full article, but I will provide some snippets first. Then I want to address the comments made by Driscoll’s co-author Gerry Breshears. First from Tim Gaydos:
Centralization consolidated power and finances efficiently. And as Driscoll’s celebrity brand infiltrated the Internet, plainly put, the church expanded enormously.
Gaydos says, “Mark made it no secret that he wanted to become the biggest church in America.” Push further. Grow faster. Give more cash to fund “The Front.”
Clem has a way with words:
“The growth was uncontrollable,” Clem says. “On one Sunday in January, we launched four campuses. The problem is that this is only possible if you scale the campus pastor position way back. If being a lead pastor requires a skill set or maturity, then your pool to draw from gets smaller, and you cannot multiply fast enough.
“The only way to create scalable multiplication is to somehow dumb down that position so that a dog with a note in its mouth can do it.”
Interesting way to describe a lead pastor under the Mars Hill regime.
“It got to the point where I’d get a weekly printout that would tell me I had one minute and 40 seconds to make an announcement,” says Clem. “I’d get a memo telling me to quit standing up in front and praying with people after the service because those hurting people are already regular attenders. The visitors are out in the lobby, so you need to be out in the lobby to get Velcro on the visitor to get them to stick so they come back.
“As the campus pastor, I’m being managed on where I stand, who I talk to—and I’m going, Are you kidding me? When I was 25 years old, I had more freedom to figure out how to do ministry than this.”
Clem isolated the arrival of Sutton Turner as the turning point:
“A significant turning point came when we brought Sutton Turner on,” Clem says, referring to the April 2011 hire of Turner as the church’s General Manager, eventually stepping into oversight of Central Operations. Not that Turner was malicious or corrupt, says Clem, but his business savvy began to dominate the church’s strategy and organizational structure.
“He had an MBA from Harvard and had just worked for the Prince of Qatar’s royal family on a major real estate development where he oversaw 1,500 people. We were thinking, OK, we don’t know what we’re doing; Sutton knows what to do.
One correction: Turner does not have a MBA from Harvard. He attended a summer program for executives at Harvard but his MBA is from Southern Methodist University. Clem can be forgiven for thinking that because Mars Hill Church leaders told the congregation he did.
I was surprised to see Gerry Breshears quoted in this article. Back in December of 2013, when I asked Breshears about plagiarism in a book he authored with Driscoll, he told me Driscoll had addressed the matter and he had nothing else to say.
I don’t think I’ll say anything in these issues. Mark’s statement seems well thought out and more than adequate to address the specific issues involved. His clear admission of error and taking responsibility and action as a result seems commendable. I hope it gets as much attention and appreciation as the plagiarism charges did.
The problem with the “taking responsibility” narrative was that Driscoll didn’t exactly do that. He said “mistakes were made” and did not address all of the books with documented plagiarism. Breshears not only was a co-author with Driscoll, but he served Mars Hill Church as a theological consultant to Driscoll.
Just recently, Breshears wrote about lessons from Mars Hill and in doing so blasted unnamed bloggers who brought many aspects of the Mars Hill culture to light.
However, to the Leadership Journal, Breshears said:
A compromising church culture dominated by a celebrity leader leads to corrosive chemistry. “Every church has its own culture,” continues Breshears, “and every church culture can go toxic.”
Yes, things can get toxic, especially when bystanders enable those who are making it toxic.