According to reliable sources within Gateway Church and Mars Hill Church, Mark Driscoll is exploring a return to ministry in either Texas or California. I have been hearing this since Driscoll appeared on stage during the Gateway pastor’s conference in October, but only recently have sources within both Gateway and Mars Hill confirmed it.
According to sources who want to remain unnamed due to fears of retaliation, Driscoll has been offered assistance from Robert Morris to help set up a church plant in Southern California. Somewhere in Texas could be targeted if Southern CA does not work out.
Driscoll has long wanted to be in Southern California.
Tag: Mark Driscoll
New York Times on Christian News, World, and This Blog
Mark Oppenheimer in the New York Times writes about World Magazine’s news reporting on Mark Driscoll. I appreciate Oppenheimer’s mention of this blog as well. Of course, there are other outlets which provided coverage of the Mars Hill story (e.g., Wenatchee the Hatchet, Religion News Service, CT, CP, etc.). With some help, I am working on a timeline which should bring together the events and important stories of the past year.
The article was online last night and is in today’s print edition.
The World folks present a compelling rationale, to me at least, for Christians in journalism and for me as a blogger. I like writing about a variety of topics and in this case the subject matter has had broad public interest.
Unanswered Questions at Mars Hill Church
Barring intervention, we now know that the trajectory of Mars Hill Church is toward dissolution.
However, several questions from members and former members persist without answers. Even in the increased communication from Dave Bruskas and lead pastors, some business is unfinished. I will list them here and hope the church will eventually address them.
Global Fund
How much was collected into the Global Fund from 2012 to 2014 and how much did Mars Hill Church leaders spend on Ethiopian and Indian outreach during that time? Another question relates to the ongoing needs for support experienced by the Ethiopian and Indian church planters. Who will support them? The current Mars Hill leaders have a responsibility to see that those needy families get the money raised in their name. The church should address how the Ethiopian and Indian pastors are going to get their severance pay.
Severance Pay
Another issue about which I get many emails is the status of executive elder salaries and their severance packages. Members and former members want to know if the executive elders are getting a year long severance, how much they are getting, and whether or not the severance will be paid after the church dissolves. Church leaders continue to ask members to give, but haven’t answered some basic questions about the stewardship of those funds. This is a red flag.
Driscoll Investigation Report
A third common question I hear is: When is the report on the Driscoll investigation going to be released? I am hearing that some elders want to release it now, some want to wait until January 1, and others don’t want to release it ever. The elders went part way toward disclosure but have still not directly disputed the Board of Advisors and Accountability’s claim that Driscoll was not disqualified. The matter of disqualification is relevant to the second question above. If Driscoll was disqualified then his employment agreement would have allowed for the church to handle his departure differently with more favorable financial ramifications to the church. In tight times, when members are being asked to give to a church which is dissolving, this is a relevant matter.
Non-Disclosure Agreements
Although I don’t think these are binding, several former leaders have written to say they feel their hands are tied unless the church releases them from the non-disclosure agreement. Apparently, some of these men have asked for clarity and received no answer.
It is beyond me how the leaders of any church can ask non-voting members to give sacrificially without being transparent and providing disclosure on basic issues.
Readers, what questions do you have?
Mars Hill Fallout: Corban University Looking for New Location to Provide Education in Seattle
With the closing of Mars Hill Church, the partnership between the church and Corban University will also cease on December 31, 2014. After Mark Driscoll resigned on October 15, the school communicated to various stakeholders that the school would continue to provide education for the 18 students enrolled. Even with the closing of the church, the school intends to find a way to provide the courses scheduled. The school is actively searching for another location which would allow the students to finish their Spring schedule before transitioning to the Salem, OR campus.
The short-lived partnership has been tumultuous from the start. Corban representatives signed a contract in November 2013 just as Janet Mefferd’s plagiarism allegations were gaining traction in Christian media. Corban was one of four schools hoping to get the contract. I don’t know who the others are but they may be breathing a sigh of relief since the time since November 2013 has been filled with regular revelations of questionable practices among leaders at the church.
In August 2014, Corban’s leaders formed an Ad Hoc Committee of administrators and trustees to study the situation. In September, the school’s trustees decided to maintain their commitments to students while Mars Hill engage in the process of handling allegations against Driscoll. They also indicated in their September statement that they would engage in due diligence regarding Driscoll. Eventually someone decided not to have Driscoll teach at Corban in contrast to the originally planned schedule.
Two Mars Hill Universes: Repentant Pastor and the Christian Post
Over at the Repentant Pastor website yesterday, 18 former Mars Hill elders posted a letter of confession to Paul Petry and Bent Meyer. In the letter, the pastors confessed being complicit with an authoritarian structure which wronged Meyer and Petry for raising valid concerns. They wrote:
We now believe our decisions were invalid and wrong. The entire investigation and trial process was skewed by the implication that your termination was above reproach and for just cause. If there had been sin in your life that might have warranted a warning about possible disqualification from eldership, we should have patiently, carefully, and directly addressed it with you before the matter became so extremely escalated. By reporting our wrongheaded assessment to the church, we put doubt about your character in the minds of church members, though you had done nothing to warrant such embarrassment and scrutiny. By doing this, we misled the whole church, harmed your reputation, and damaged the unity of the body of Christ.
In this universe, the past with Mark Driscoll generates remorse and repentance.
At the Christian Post today, Alex Murashko focuses on Mars Hill Portland pastor Tim Smith and spokesman Justin Dean. Both Smith and Dean view the past with Mark Driscoll as something to celebrate. In this universe, both had praise for Driscoll and glossed over the investigation of charges and the reasons for his resignation.
When Petry and Meyer were fired, they didn’t get due process like Driscoll did. After they were fired by Driscoll, they were unfairly tried by their peers and found guilty of “displaying an unhealthy lack of trust in, and respect for, the senior leadership of Mars Hill Church.” Petry was considered disqualified and shunned and Meyer was put on probation.
When Mark Driscoll was the subject of a lengthy process of investigation and found guilty of abusing his leadership, he was allowed to resign voluntarily with severance rather than enter a restoration process.
In one universe, Tim Smith voted to find Petry and Meyer guilty and in another universe, Smith lauds Driscoll and fails to sign on to the letter of confession.