Rob Smith: Where is the credibility of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability?

At Musings from Under the Bus this morning, Rob Smith asks, “Where is the credibility of ECFA?” Also, Smith wonders:

One has to wonder what type of financial scandal has to become public before ECFA decides that it will no longer give its once esteemed stamp of approval to Mars Hill Church.

I wonder the same thing and have written about the benefit of ECFA to donors. I don’t see how there is much benefit when organizations can shield their activities from member and public scrutiny and still be accredited.
Smith refers to the Real Marriage scandal, plagiarism and the Global Fund as indicators of deception which have drawn little action from the ECFA. The organization has commented helpfully on the use of Result Source to buy one’s way onto various bestseller lists.  However, the organization has been mostly silent on the Global Fund. What we have learned about the ECFA is that they remain silent in the face of violations. Instead of alerting donors that an organization has been in violation or was once in violation (as they used to do), ECFA now works behind the scenes out of sight of donors. Mars Hill Church has made significant changes to their Mars Hill Global brand (most recently rebranding it to Mars Hill Go) since I started reporting on Mars Hill Global and the Global Fund, but the church’s explanations still do not represent what actually happened in the past. Due to the ongoing stealth at Mars Hill and silence from the ECFA, there is no certainty that Mars Hill is in compliance with the ECFA standards.
If Mars Hill Church has truly conformed to ECFA guidelines, then that would be a good step toward repairing the damage to Mars Hill’s credibility. However, how can anyone know if the ECFA and the church keep it all secret?
For the sake of potential donors and other organizations looking for guidance, the ECFA should be transparent about their investigations into potential violations of their standards. Who would benefit from such transparency? Donors, of course. Who would not benefit? The answer to that question should tell us something about the value of ECFA accreditation.

Mars Hill Church Locations Sign Off, Pastor Acknowledges Some Will Go to Other Churches

Mars Hill Church Downtown campus had a last supper of sorts today.  In his farewell, Matthias Haeusel gave instructions for current Mars Hill members to attend other locations but acknowledged that some would not merge with the Ballard location or any other campus. Former member Bryan Zug attended and supplied the following materials.
MatthiasMessage100514
 
Haeusel also exhorted the congregation to find a new church home, even if not a Mars Hill Church location. Listen:

Haeusel told the group that there are “plenty of good churches” to attend and urged them to get connected quickly.
University District also held a closing service today. I have heard very few from that location will go to Ballard.

September Giving Report at Mars Hill Huntington Beach

Last week, I obtained a giving report from Mars Hill Albuquerque which included churchwide information as well as local church numbers. The following report is for giving at the Huntington Beach location which includes totals for the month of September.

Metrics:
Total Giving Week of 09/22/14 – 09/28/14: $11,261, $1,739 or 13% under target of $13k. *Note: Although this is below the $13k target, it is a $3,544 (46%) increase over the last low week fluctuation.
Average Total Giving per Week for September: $11,015
Total # of Gifts Week of 09/22/14 – 09/28/14: 47 compared to 64 for the week prior
Total for Month of September to Date: $44,060, $7,940 or 15% below target of $52k
Average Total Giving per Week Fiscal Year to Date (FYTD, 07/01 – 09/28): $10,145

Probably the most important number is the total for September which is nearly $8k less than target amount of $52k. Also, average weekly giving is less than the targeted amount. Huntington Beach is the location which is dependent on increased giving according to the church statement on September 7.
For more on the background of the Huntington Beach congregation, click this link.
 

The Mars Hill Church Board of Elders and Board of Advisors and Accountability

As the investigation of the some of the charges against Mark Driscoll continues, I thought it might be helpful to have a list of elders who make up the investigating committee (Board of Elders) and the decision making body (Board of Advisors and Accountability).

Board of Elders – This board was convened by the executive elders (Mark Driscoll, Sutton Turner, and Dave Bruskas and the Board of Advisors and Accountability (see below). They were not elected by their peers but appointed by their superiors. Matt Rogers (who has apparently already made up his mind) is the chair of this board.

Pastor Ed Choi – Installed at Rainier Valley as lead pastor in March 2014.
Pastor Aaron Gray – Installed at Shoreline as lead pastor in March 2014.
Pastor Bubba Jennings – Lead pastor at Tacoma, been at Mars Hill since 2001.
Pastor Alex Ghioni – Lead pastor at Sammamish since 2011.
Pastor AJ Hamilton – Formerly interim lead pastor at Downtown Seattle, currently pastor at Huntington Beach, CA; served since 2001.
Pastor Matt Rogers (Chair) – Volunteer and former interim pastor at Bellevue.
Pastor Miles Rohde – Lead pastor at the new Spokane campus.
Pastor Tim Smith – Lead pastor at Portland campus; been at Mars Hill Church since 1999.

Board of Advisors and Accountability – Phelps, Osborne, Van Skaik, and Rogers are technically considered independent members. Phelps has donated more money to Mars Hill Church than any other person, and Matt Rogers has already publicly stated his view of the charges. Van Skaik and Osborne have had similar charges placed before them in the past. They said they took them seriously but did not call any witnesses regarding them. On that basis, they dismissed the charges. The so-called independent members of the BOAA are the ones who will decide how to handle the report generated by the BOE.

Jon Phelps
Larry Osborne
Michael Van Skaik (Chair)
Matt Rogers
Dave Bruskas
Mark Driscoll (on leave)

As I reported yesterday, the charges filed by the 21 former elders are being reviewed while the charges made by nine then-current elders are not being reviewed.

What is incredible about the BOE is that at least three of them have been around since 2001 (Smith since 1999). They have seen at least some of the actions which have formed the basis for charges against Driscoll. In other words, they are witnesses as well as investigators. This is significant since they have witnessed the actions and did not join in submitting charges. How can they investigate charges which they have ignored for years?

Mars Hill Church Investigation: Some Charges Are Being Investigated And Some Are Not

Almost six weeks ago, Mark Driscoll told his congregation:

I have requested a break for processing, healing, and growth for a minimum of six weeks while the leadership assigned by our bylaws conduct a thorough examination of accusations against me. I believe their review can best be performed without me being in the pulpit or the office, and they have agreed to this arrangement.

As it turns out, the leadership assigned by the by-laws (Board of Advisors and Accountability) formed a committee of elders (Board of Elders) to investigate accusations presented by 21 former elders and 21 witnesses. In addition, nine then current elders (eight of whom resigned or were laid off) made allegations against the executive elders and the chair of the BOAA, Michael Van Skaik. What is going on with these allegations?
Some are being investigated and apparently some are not.
After a slow start, the formal charges presented by the former elders are being investigated. I contacted many of the former elders and asked for comment; those who replied wanted to remain anonymous. Generally, they said the interviews were being conducted by the Board of Elders. Some interviews have yet to be scheduled but the pace of discussions has quickened in recent days.  Given that there are interviews remaining, the investigation will not be completed by this Sunday, and probably not for another week or two. Thus, I doubt we will see Mark Driscoll in church on Sunday.
Some of the anonymous protected witnesses referred to by the 21 former Mars Hill pastors have dropped out of the process. Those I have spoken with tell me that the interviews did not feel safe. They were concerned about their identities being revealed to those outside the investigation process. Others felt that the process was a sham. Elevating Matt Rogers and Jon Phelps to the BOAA was viewed as stacking the deck in Driscoll’s favor since they are not perceived as being independent. One protected witness told me that the executive elders and BOAA have heard the charges in times past but did not take them seriously. This person believed the leadership is giving appearance of a serious investigation because the charges became public.
On the other hand, the letter written by nine then-current pastors has not been acted upon. In that letter, various allegations were lodged against Driscoll and other members of the executive elders and BOAA. In that letter, Paul Tripp was cited as saying that Mars Hill was “the most abusive, coercive ministry culture I’ve ever been involved with.” However, despite the fact that the lead pastors told the congregation that the letter would be “taken seriously,” no further action, serious or otherwise, has been taken. In late August, the Mars Hill lead pastors told the congregation:

Despite the way the letter was sent out, please know we take its contents very seriously and will be taking the appropriate actions to honor Jesus, address the allegations and concerns, and work toward becoming a healthy church.

Furthermore, Mark DeMoss, speaking on behalf of Mars Hill Church told Religion News Service that the letter would be handled in the same manner as the formal charges:

This letter, as with past letters voicing accusations toward Mark Driscoll will be processed in accordance with Article 12 of the church’s bylaws,” a statement provided by public relations firm head Mark DeMoss said. “This means the accusations will be thoroughly examined and a report issued when the review is complete. In the meantime, it does not seem appropriate to comment on specific accusations before/while they are being formally reviewed as we don’t want to circumvent the process prescribed by the governing body of Mars Hill.”

However, according to former pastors I spoke with, none of the concerns or allegations have been investigated or addressed. They have not been contacted about the letter since their last days at the church. One told me that the lead pastors’ response might have been a “public relations” effort to change the subject. Despite promises from lead pastors and a church spokesman, nothing has happened on that front.
In response to my question about the status of the investigation, including the letter sent by the nine then-current elders, Justin Dean responded on behalf of Mars Hill Church:

As our Board of Elders shared in The Weekly on 9/12/14, we do not expect to have any updates on the review process until it is complete.

“While Pastor Mark continues to take a break to focus on his personal growth and family, our Board of Elders is conducting a formal review of allegations that have been presented against him. This board has completed many interviews already with more scheduled, but they also anticipate that this review will take a number of weeks to complete. Until such time as they issue their report, they do not anticipate commenting on the allegations while they are being reviewed. We want to be sensitive to the process and allow the board and the Holy Spirit to work. Earlier this week Pastor Alex Ghioni released a blog post that we hope provides more clarity on the process this board is taking. We encourage you to read that post here.”