After removing the Capitol Tour video from You Tube due to historical errors in May 2013, the Family Research Council again had David Barton conduct the Capitol Tour for pastors during the Watchmen on the Wall conference. According to Time Magazine, David Barton led the spiritual heritage tour and covered at least some of the same ground as in the video FRC’s V.P. Kenyn Cureton removed from You Tube in 2013.
Last year, FRC told me that Barton was not going to conduct the tour in favor of Kenyn Cureton.
Politico reported on Barton’s resurgence last year and he has now come full circle with FRC. Despite the fact that FRC removed the video riddled with errors and Focus on the Family attempted to cover up the fact that they also had to edit Barton’s videos to get them a little closer to accurate, Barton continues to be viewed as an expert on American history by a certain segment of the Christian right.
According to Time, the conference participants talked much about taking the country back to God. Even if creating a Christian nation was possible or virtuous, one cannot expect success when the foundation of the effort is built on half-truths and error. Unless Barton has had a major change of course, those pastors are now ill-prepared to engage in intelligent dialogue with their ideological opponents. Many Christian historians would have been willing to discuss the full story with those pastors, but instead FRC chose someone the FRC and other Christian groups have admitted traffics in a faulty narrative. I am never more ashamed of my community when perceived political usefulness trumps truth and accuracy.
Category: Religion
Mars Hill Leaders May Enter Mediation with Group of 20 Former Pastors
There may be some movement on the request from 20 former Mars Hill pastors to mediate differences with current leadership (see links below). However, one of the leaders of the movement has no illusions based on recent events.
Kyle Firstenberg recently provided this update on his Facebook page and gave me permission to reprint it.
Many months ago, “the 20 elders” sent a letter to the Executive Elders of MHC along with the BOAA requesting mediation for the outstanding issues and unrepentant sin. It has been a slow process but there is finally movement. An outside company has been hired to mediate the issues at hand. I am hopeful that all sides can be heard, sin can be repented of and that an entire culture can be changed.
Although I am hopeful, a good place to start on the MH side would be to stop firing Godly pastors who have unanswered questions. As long as they continue to sin against others, I will continue to bring that sin into the light.
For background on the efforts of 20 former Mars Hill pastors to enter mediation with Mars Hill leaders, see these posts:
Mars Hill’s Board of Advisors and Accountability Hints at Secret Meetings
Does Mars Hill Really Want to Mediate With the 20 Former Pastors?
Two Weeks: No Answer from Mars Hill Leaders to 20 Former Mars Hill Pastors Who Want Mediation
Twenty Former Mars Hill Pastors Seek Mediation With Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill Church Leadership
Megachurch Methods: Pastor Fired Because He Wouldn't Sign Non-Compete Clause
Yesterday, I posted the statement of Dalton Roraback. For many years, Roraback was a member of Mars Hill Church and recently had started mentoring community group leaders at the church. However, because he asked questions about the pastors’ salaries, Mark Driscoll’s efforts to manipulate the New York Times best seller list and other matters, Roraback was forced out of his position at the church. In his statement, Roraback mentioned Phil Poirier, a former elder at Mars Hill’s Everett franchise. Poirier was the pastor over community groups but was removed from his volunteer position when he declined to sign an annual review. He did not sign the agreement because of a clause titled, Unity of Mission. This clause reads:
6. Unity of Mission
An Agreement between each member of the Full-Council of Elders, Executive Elders and the Board of Advisors and Accountability of Mars Hill Church.
As Pastors, we commit together that we will serve the best interests of our Savior Jesus Christ, and our church, Mars Hill Church. If and when any of us feel led to serve the Lord somewhere other than at one of the church locations of Mars Hill Church, we will submit our opportunity to one another and our Executive Elders first in accordance with Proverbs 11:14, “Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.”
Together this day, we commit that our next church ministry will not be within ten miles of any location of Mars Hill Church, except with the express consent of the local pastors of the nearest church, the sending church, if different, and the Executive Elders of Mars Hill Church . We are, as Ephesians 4:3 says, “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” We care about the church, the testimony of our church, and the dear people who attend our church.
We would not want our actions to cause confusion or harm by making the people of Mars Hill question our love for the Lord, the purity of our church, or their decision to worship Christ here.
We acknowledge that as we adhere to this commitment, the Executive Elders and the Board of Advisors and Accountability will commit to do everything within their power to offer and support a church plant outside of the radius stated here.
This is essentially a non-compete clause but one which Poirier rejected. I call it a non-compete clause because Mars Hill appears to view churches within a ten mile radius as a competing church. His letter about this matter to the executive elders (Driscoll, Turner, and Bruskas) is below:
To the Executive Elders at Mars Hill Church,
I am thankful for the years that we have had at Mars Hill. We are grateful that God led us here, and for all that we’ve learned. The abundant evidences of His grace are everywhere. We are joyful in that.
My experience as an elder at Mars Hill has been challenging yet fruitful, difficult but rewarding. To serve Jesus here has been a privilege and I’ve taken that responsibility seriously, knowing that in the end I must give an account to Jesus. We have only One to please; we cannot fear man.
At the end of my annual elder evaluation I was asked to agree or disagree with the Unity of Mission statement. Before God, I cannot in good conscience, and with integrity, agree with that statement.
Concerning the recent events and allegations against the leadership at Mars Hill, it seems that if we are to restore trust in those we shepherd we need to start with developing trust between the Executive Elders and the Full Council of Elders. This statement seems to indicate the exact opposite.
In the combined meeting we recently had with Pastors Dave and Sutton and the Everett and Shoreline elders, we were advised that the culture at Mars Hill was going to change. The culture of fear, anger, coercion and manipulation was going to be a thing of the past. While there was a glimmer of hope that this was actually happening, a statement like this one, where we are forced to agree or be dismissed, seems to be coercive. This does not reflect godly respect for one another. There appears to be a lack of trust in the Full Council of Elders.
I do not believe that requiring elders to sign this statement is biblical; in fact, it appears to me as a unbiblical legalism.
We all recognize the requirement in Hebrews 13:17 for the church to obey and submit to their leaders, but this passage was never intended to give license to the elders to use it as a hammer to manipulate, control or to rule out of fear and intimidation. In contrast, we have the biblical mandate in I Peter 5:3…not to be domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.
I love Jesus and the people who call Mars Hill their home, so I cannot, in good conscience, resign the office of elder that God has placed me in; however, I will respectfully submit to your decision if you choose to remove me from this position.
Thank you for your careful consideration of this letter.
Your brother and fellow servant in Christ,
Pastor Phil Poirier
The elders did indeed remove Poirier from his position.
The non-compete clause is relatively recent in the history of Mars Hill. According to one source, the executive elders requested that elders both paid and non-paid, sign an agreement with a non-compete clause beginning in April 2013. The initial language looked like this:
“An Agreement between each member of the Full-Council of Elders, Executive Elders and the Board of Advisors and Accountability of Mars Hill Church.
As Pastors, we commit together that we will serve the best interests of our Savior Jesus Christ, and our church, Mars Hill Church. If and when any of us feel led to serve the Lord somewhere other than at one of the church locations of Mars Hill Church, we will submit our opportunity to one another and our Executive Elders first in accordance with Proverbs 11:14, “Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.”
Together this day, we commit that our next church ministry will not be within ten miles of any location of Mars Hill Church. We are, as Ephesians 4:3 says, “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” We care about the church, the testimony of our church, and the dear people who attend our church.
We would not want our actions to cause confusion or harm by making the people of Mars Hill question our love for the Lord, the purity of our church, or their decision to worship Christ here.
We acknowledge that as we adhere to this commitment, the Executive Elders and the Board of Advisors and Accountability will commit to do everything within their power to offer and support a church plant outside of the radius stated here. “
The complaints about the language above was significant enough that the executive elders revised it slightly. Elders are expected to agree with this clause on a yearly basis or face the possibility of dismissal (as in the case of Poirier). The agreement was changed to the following (compare this to Poirier’s clause):
“Unity of Mission
An Agreement between each member of the Full-Council of Elders, Executive Elders and the Board of Advisors and Accountability of Mars Hill Church.
As Pastors, we commit together that we will serve the best interests of our Savior Jesus Christ, and our church, Mars Hill Church. If and when any of us feel led to serve the Lord somewhere other than at one of the church locations of Mars Hill Church, we will submit our opportunity to one another and our Executive Elders first in accordance with Proverbs 11:14, “Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.”
Together this day, we commit that our next church ministry will not be within ten miles of any location of Mars Hill Church, except with the express consent of the local pastors of the nearest church, the sending church, if different, and the Executive Elders of Mars Hill Church . We are, as Ephesians 4:3 says, “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” We care about the church, the testimony of our church, and the dear people who attend our church.
We would not want our actions to cause confusion or harm by making the people of Mars Hill question our love for the Lord, the purity of our church, or their decision to worship Christ here.
We acknowledge that as we adhere to this commitment, the Executive Elders and the Board of Advisors and Accountability will commit to do everything within their power to offer and support a church plant outside of the radius stated here.”
Poirier’s letter is interesting in that he mentions the culture of fear within Mars Hill Church. Apparently, two of the three executive elders have acknowledged that such a culture exists. However, by this action, as with Dalton Roraback, the executive elders have reinforced that fear, in essence doubling down on actions that lead to the perception that Mars Hill is an unhealthy place to hold a job.
Thanks to a creative reader, here is a map of where ex-leaders can’t worship if they leave Mars Hill:
Previous post:
Forced Out for Asking Questions: Dalton Roraback’s Mars Hill Church Story
Who at Mars Hill Church Authorized Church Funds to Buy a Place for Mark Driscoll's Real Marriage on the NYT Best Seller List?
Before Warren Smith’s World Magazine article in March, the story about Mars Hill Church paying a consulting firm to boost Mark and Grace Driscoll’s book Real Marriage to the top of the New York Times best seller list was a carefully guarded secret at the Seattle megachurch. Almost three months later, members of the church are still asking their pastors about the deal. Last week, in a meeting of Mars Hill group leaders, members asked pastors Thomas Hurst and Jason Skelton to name who was responsible for the decision to spend church money on the promotion of the Driscolls’ book. According to sources in the meeting, Hurst and Skelton told those present that Driscoll said he was not involved because he had removed himself from the decision. Hurst added that Sutton Turner, who signed the contract (read it here), was new on the job and simply signed papers put in front of him. However, according to the sources, no person was singled out as being responsible for the RSI agreement.
This narrative raises questions about who at the church authorized the RSI contract. Turner’s name is on the contract, and the invoices (see below) were addressed to Driscoll. However, if Driscoll and Turner aren’t responsible, that leaves Jamie Munson and/or Dave Bruskas, who were the other two executive elders at the time.
Relevant to the Mars Hill members’ questions, I have obtained invoices dated five days after the RSI contract was signed. The invoices were sent to Mark Driscoll from RSI requesting payment of RSI’s $25,000 fee. While it is not clear who actually saw or paid these two invoices, they raise questions about the narrative presented in the recent group leader’s meeting and Driscoll’s involvement in the arrangement.
When the RSI-MHC story broke, Mars Hill and Mark Driscoll floated three different statements about the use of RSI to get Driscoll’s book on the New York Times list. As noted in a previous post, the initial position of Mars Hill Church was that the partnership between RSI and Mars Hill was an “opportunity” and an “investment.” Two days later, the Board of Advisors and Accountability of MHC said the arrangement was “common” but “unwise.” Then, several days later, Mark Driscoll said he first saw the arrangement as a way to market books but had come to see it as “manipulating a book sales reporting system” and thus “wrong.” In that statement, Driscoll seemed to indicate that he was aware of the situation.
I asked Mars Hill Church who was responsible for the Result Source agreement and church spokesman Justin Dean replied:
We have received your requests, and will not be responding with any comments now or in the future.
Adding another wrinkle is a note from executive pastor Sutton Turner in response to a member who recently left the church. In response to member concern over the Result Source arrangement, Turner wrote:
As I thought and prayed about your letter this morning, please know that we realize the Results Source decision was a wrong decision and poor stewardship. I am sorry as your Pastor that I failed you. Please accept my apology, I am very sorry.
I pray that I have learned from this and the godly authority that I am under has helped me and will help me in the future.
Please forgive me for my poor stewardship, I take that very seriously as a King.
God Bless you and I wish you all the very best.
Grace and Peace to you,
Sutton Turner
Executive Elder & Executive Pastor
So who is responsible for this expenditure of church funds? The invoices raise the possibility that Driscoll paid RSI’s fee while the church put up the money for the rest of the operation. Sutton Turner claims responsibility but others provide an out for him by saying he just signed the papers. An earlier church statement says Result Source was suggested by outside counsel. As of now, the situation is not clear and the church refuses to provide an official response.
In any case, this topic continues to be of interest to Mars Hill members and I suspect they will keep raising the matter. However, doing so may lead to negative consequences. Recently, one volunteer leader was removed from his position as a coach because he questioned leaders about this issue and executive salaries. More on that story to come.
Read the contract between Mars Hill Church and Result Source, Inc to promote Real Marriage.
Creation Museum Gets Dinosaur Donation From Michael Peroutka
Michael Peroutka is in the news for something other than his support for the white separatist League of the South or his Christian Reconstructionist Institute on the Constitution.
According to the IOTC Facebook page, Peroutka donated a dinosaur to the Creation Museum near Cincinnati, Ohio.
This report has a picture of Peroutka at the Museum earlier today dedicating the Allosaurus to the museum. This local paper has more on the story. The Museum touts the exhibit as being an indication of proof for a young Earth.
Peroutka has said in the past that the promotion of evolution is an act of “disloyalty” to America.