Warren Throckmorton

Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill Church are partnering with Corban University and Western Seminary to teach the Bible and related topics. You can hear Driscoll pitching the program on You Tube. He will be teaching in the school.
Driscoll’s publishers are now cleaning up multiple instances of plagiarism in his books. Although relatively minor, there are factual errors as well (see this chart for a comprehensive look the citation problems found to date). Driscoll has not yet addressed most of these problems.
Seems like an unlikely resume item for a college professor. These schools claim to care about such things.
Here is the introduction of Corban University’s academic honesty policy:

Corban University is committed to high academic standards and expects students to achieve these standards in a manner marked by integrity and honesty. Academic honesty is the hallmark of true personal integrity. Students’ academic work is evaluated on the assumption that the work presented is their own. Faculty and students are expected to identify departures from academic honesty.

Plagiarism is defined as follows:

Plagiarism: representing without giving credit the words, data, or ideas of another as one’s own work in any academic exercise. This includes submitting, in whole or part, pre-written term papers, or the research of another, including materials sold or distributed by commercial vendors.

Western Seminary also uses serious tones to describe plagiarism:

Plagiarism is defined as taking another’s ideas or words and presenting them as one’s own. The student must give proper credit to the source of ideas as well as direct quotations. (For further guidance, please see your professor.) All forms of cheating, including plagiarism, are considered extremely serious offenses.

Yes, for further guidance, please see your professor. And that, I submit, is where the problem is.  Students who get caught might want to keep that guideline in their back pocket.
 

(Scroll to the end for an update)

On Monday March 17, twenty former Mars Hill pastors sent a letter to the executive elders  and Board of Advisors and Accountability of Mars Hill Church with an invitation to enter into a process of mediation designed to lead to mutual repentance and reconciliation. According to former Mars Hill pastors Dave Kraft and Kyle Firstenberg, the pastors want to bring in specialists in conflict resolution to facilitate the process. As of this writing, no response to the letter has come from the Mars Hill leadership.

The executive elders are Mark Driscoll, Sutton Turner & Dave Bruskas. The executive elders also sit on the  Board of Advisors and Accountability along with independent members Paul Tripp, Michael Van Skaik, James MacDonald, and Larry Osborne.

Kraft is former Pastor of Leadership Development at Mars Hill and Firstenberg was executive pastor at Mars Hill Orange County. In an interview, Kraft emphasized that he wants to lead the way in repentance by expressing remorse that he stood by while some Mars Hill members were being sinned against by the Mars Hill leadership. He said, “we didn’t step up to the plate when we should have.”

On Friday, Mark Driscoll released a statement of apology to the Mars Hill congregation. In it, he said the deal with ResultSource to artificially elevate the book Real Marriage, was wrong. He also pledged to make an attempt to repair damaged relationships. While the statement has had mixed responses from Mars Hill members, former and current, the pastors hope that the move is authentic.

Kraft said, “At this point, we hope for a positive response to our proposal sent on Monday, March 17.”

Why Mediation?

In recent days, both Kraft and Firstenberg have spoken publicly about their concerns. On March 9, Kraft disclosed that he had filed formal charges against Driscoll in May, 2013. On his website, Kraft indicated what he wanted to see happen:

1.  I would (as would countless other former leaders from MHC) like to see Pastor Mark Driscoll publicly acknowledge that he has seen the charges, that they are true and that he will take whatever time and attention is needed to intentionally deal with the charges, which may entail a short sabbatical from work to focus on this.

2.  I would like to see Pastor Mark publicly state that he is sorry, that he has sinned, that he will deal with his past sin and make himself accountable in so doing to an unbiased group of leaders who will hold his feet to the fire on this.

Driscoll may have been responding in part to these concerns with his recent apology. However, both Kraft and Firstenberg do not believe the apology addressed the issues which the former pastors have raised.

Also on March 9, Firstenberg disclosed that in 2013 he too contacted the Board of Advisors and Accountability with his experience at Mars Hill. To date, he has not received a reply from that board.

Now, Kraft and Firstsenberg have been joined by other former pastors who believe that Mars Hill should be responsive to ongoing and unfinished matters within their church.

UPDATE: As of Friday evening March 21, Mars Hill Church has not responded to the invitation to enter into mediation.

Related post:

The Seeds of Trouble: Mars Hill Church, Mark Driscoll and the 2007 Purge – In addition to concerns since, many unresolved issues remain from the 2007 disputes over governance.

For all posts on Mars Hill Church and Mark Driscoll, click here

Yesterday, the State Department covered several topics related to Uganda and the Anti-Homosexuality Act during the daily briefing. Here  some excerpts:

QUESTION: — about Uganda and your opinion of the high court legal challenge to the anti-homosexual act?
MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm. Sure. Well, just to reiterate, as we’ve said, the enactment of the homosexuality act was a step backward for Uganda. The law is more than an affront and a danger to the gay community in Uganda. It reflects poorly on the country’s commitment to protecting the human rights of its people and will undermine public health, including efforts to fight HIV/AIDS.
As we said a week or a couple of weeks ago, this is – has caused us to take a look at our relationship, and there’s no question it has impacted our relationship. Now that the anti-homosexuality act has been enacted, we’re continuing to look closely at the implications of the new law, and where appropriate, we have adjusted some activities and engagements while we are doing that.
So let me give you an example: We currently fund or we have been funding the salary top-off, so additional salary to pay for – to help pay 18 health officials, senior health officials. That expired last month. That is something where we are no longer providing that top-off payment. Obviously, these are not individuals who are implementing – the worker bees, for lack of a better phrase. These are individuals at the top who are speaking on behalf of and implementing the policy. So that’s one example.
We’re also looking at our assistance programs to evaluate the ability of our implementing partners to carry them out effectively in a nondiscriminatory manner, and the legal implications of the act on our programs on the ground. So all of those pieces are pieces we’re evaluating.
QUESTION: So is it your assessment, then, that that is the total of your reaction, or you are continuing to review your assistance?
MS. PSAKI: Well, the way I would think about this is we’re taking a thoughtful, deliberate look at next steps in light in enactment of the law. So, some of those pieces are how to send the strongest message. Specifically, the topping off of the salaries of these health officials is one way.
But we’ve also been in touch, and have been for some time, with Ugandan LGBT activists since this legislation was actually first introduced in 2009. They’ve specifically asked that the United States not cut off aid to the Ugandan people. As I talked about a little bit last week, and as you know, Scott, a lot of the aid that we provide goes to ensure services for things like lifesaving health and medication for HIV/AIDS, to bring justice to those responsible for atrocities, like the LRA. So we want to make sure that actions we take don’t have a detrimental impact on the Ugandan people who need those health services, et cetera. So we’re all looking at all of that.

I didn’t realize that the U.S. government helped pay the salaries of Uganda’s health officials. At least one, Ruth Aceng, was the leading figure in the committee President Museveni convened prior to his decision to sign the anti-gay bill. Apparently, they will experience a pay cut.  The department does not want to harm people who get their medicine or other basic needs from our funding.
Consistent with reports from Secretary of State Kerry that experts might go to Uganda, the state department staffer promised to get more information of the specifics.

QUESTION: Last week, I know Secretary Kerry mentioned that the U.S. was sending experts to go —
MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.
QUESTION: — and talk? Who are these experts and what were they – I mean, the law is enacted. Were there any —
MS. PSAKI: Well, my understanding is it’s health – in the pool of health experts, but I can check and see if that’s happening or who might be in that group and if that’s moved forward.
QUESTION: From the way – from what he said, it was experts to do with the law, I mean, in trying to refine ways of doing law, or did I misunderstand it?
MS. PSAKI: I will check and see —
QUESTION: Okay.
MS. PSAKI: — and if that’s actually be implemented or is moving forward.

You can read the rest here.

ResultSource  is the company Mars Hill Church hired to manipulate the various best seller lists on behalf of Mark Driscoll. Tonight if you go to Resultsource.com you won’t find success stories beckoning clients to sign up for ResultSource’s services. Instead, you see this:

Once upon a time, one could read about bestseller campaigns:

Bestseller Campaigns

ResultSource works with thought leaders to maximize their full potential. You know that having a New York Times bestseller isn’t your final destination. But it’s an important achievement – and a door to even greater opportunity that only the “key of credibility” can open.

Thanks to ResultSource that “key to credibility” has been tarnished.
It is interesting to note that CEO Kevin Small’s Linked In (Google cache) and Twitter accounts are no longer available. Also, the ResultSource phone number now goes to an answering machine with no mention of the company name or business. Perhaps ResultSource is just revamping the website and the absence means nothing. However, in light of the unfavorable scrutiny RSI has been getting, it is reasonable to wonder if the company is about to reinvent itself.
 

Last Friday, Mark Driscoll addressed the Mars Hill congregation about some of the recent controversies involving him. In his letter, which can be viewed here, he addressed the scheme to elevate his book Real Marriage to #1 on the New York Times best seller list, among other issues.
Reaction on social media has ranged from skepticism to uncritical praise. Some reactions (for example this one) contain skepticism along with hope that repentance and reconciliation result from the effort. I certainly hope for a good resolution as well and wish only the best for all concerned.
Reading the apology, I have some reactions.
The pledge to stay off social media seems odd since he has a media team to do most of that for him.
Where was the mention of plagiarism? Surely, the extent of this problem should have been addressed. Driscoll noted in the letter that he planned to teach courses at Corban University and Western Seminary.  I would think those institutions would investigate the matter further. According to Driscoll himself, plagiarism is a serious matter and one which could lead to discipline at his Resurgence training center. There was no mention of this in the letter.
Regarding the New York Times best seller controversy, I am curious about when Driscoll developed the conviction that the scheme was wrong. Was it before or after the World Magazine article?  Spokesperson Justin Dean initially described the scheme as an “investment” and an “opportunity.” Surely, Driscoll had some input into that statement. Then the Board of Advisors and Accountability called it common but “unwise.” Finally, in this letter, Driscoll said he saw the ResultSource scheme as a way to enhance sales. Now, he says, he sees it as “manipulating a book sales reporting system.”  Since the contract signed by his employee Sutton Turner makes it very clear that the scheme was designed to manipulate the book sales reporting system, I don’t understand what Driscoll means. Is he saying he didn’t read/understand the contract? Is he saying he was deceived by his staff or board, but now he sees the light? The three statements with their discrepancies arouse skepticism and raise as many questions as they answer.
I wonder when Driscoll is going to acknowledge the revisionist history he has promoted. He has purged his bio of the designation #1 best selling author but he continues to refer to himself as the “founding pastor” of Mars Hill. It is well established that he founded the church with Lief Moi and Mike Gunn but this information has been removed from the Mars Hill website. As a sign of change, I would expect to see the facts restored and former elders and staff exonerated.
Driscoll describes his team as unified but in the same letter admits that there has been significant staff turnover. The latter admission is an understatement as most of the branch pastors have left in the last couple of years. If anything, the staff situation seems to depict a different picture.
Driscoll lauds the Board of Advisors and Accountability as a blessing. Those who left MHC over the shift to the BOAA as the ruling body certainly wouldn’t agree. That difference could be chalked up to doctrinal disagreements. However, leaving those differences aside, it is hard to sell the BOAA as a vehicle of “true accountability.” According to the MHC by-laws,* Driscoll is the president of Mars Hill and his elders serve at the pleasure of the three executive elders (the executive elders can remove elders at any time; Driscoll can remove church officers at any time).
Four independent board members also serve but they can be removed from the BOAA by a simple majority vote. This only requires that the three executive elders and one other independent board member agree. There is no broader accountability by the full council of elders. They cannot even call a meeting without the BOAA doing so. The people don’t have voting privileges, and the elders can’t meet unless the BOAA convenes them. The authority is concentrated in a very small group of people who perpetuate their position. The full council of elders get one chance every year to vote down the full slate of elders but Driscoll himself cannot be removed from the BOAA unless it is determined by the independent members of the BOAA that he has disqualified himself as an elder.
I find the situation interesting as just one case of how some evangelicals organize themselves around a central figure. I am open to new information and really hope and pray for a good resolution to the concerns raised by former Mars Hill members as well as those who count themselves supporters of the church.  Mars Hill Church has offered itself as a model of how to do church and so it should be expected that observers will ask questions and offer critiques.
 
* the by-laws can be changed at any time by the BOAA. It may be that a newer set exists since the document could be changed without notice.