Tag: Mark Driscoll

That Time When Mars Hill Church Considered Moving to California

Lately, I have gotten several inquiries from readers who have heard that Mars Hill Church leaders considered moving Mark Driscoll and church headquarters to California and that in preparation for such a move, the church made possible a rental property for the Driscolls in Orange County.

Talking with several former leaders and in light of this memo, it appears there is some truth to the story.
IrvinePropAccording to those familiar with the arrangements, Mars Hill Church provided Driscoll with substantial extra salary in order to afford a rental home in an upscale, gated Irvine, CA neighborhood (currently $6500/month, scroll down for the rental price history). The church asked church members to donate furniture but paid for furnishings not donated. The arrangement lasted from late 2011 until late summer, 2012. Some former leaders said Driscoll preferred the climate in Southern California. If so, that would not be a shock.

I asked Mars Hill Church spokesman Justin Dean about the story, and whether or not Mars Hill still has property in CA. He replied:

Warren, thanks for your inquiry. We do not discuss salary and compensation details of any member of our staff. However I have also verified that we do not maintain any property or living quarters in the CA area for any staff, including Pastor Mark Driscoll.

Due to the lack of transparency at Mars Hill Church, current and former members have many questions about how money is spent. Clearly, members have been in the dark about how their tithes and offerings have been used. Even Dean’s response is indicative of an area of discussion that is off limits to those people who provide the resources via tithes and offerings to pay the bills for the decisions made by the executive elders.

Edited (8/17/21) to add the memo detailing the plans to move the Driscolls to Southern CA.

Former Mars Hill Church Pastor Dave Kraft: Full Council of Elders Should Decide When Mark Driscoll Returns

On Friday, I asked a dozen former Mars Hill pastors and Mars Hill Church for comment on the current investigation of formal charges against Mark Driscoll. Sunday marked the end of Driscoll’s sixth week of absence from the pulpit. I found that investigation of the formal charges is underway but that the allegations offered by nine pastors (then current, now former) in a separate letter have not been reviewed.
One of those former pastors, Dave Kraft, was unable to comment on Friday but today provided a statement that sums up his view of the situation thus far.

I have been interviewed by Pastors Miles Rhode and Matt Rogers. It was cordial and not adversarial in any way. I strongly encouraged them to interview Paul Tripp and Matt Chandler to find out what these two men know and understand what led them to their position that MD has not truly repented and has disqualified himself for leadership.
I believe it will be hard for the “Investigative Group” to not fall into the trap of “evidentiary bias” and they honestly may not be open to “handle the truth” (Jack Nicholson’s line “A Few Good Men.”) The “Investigative Group”  (in my opinion) may not really  be non-partisan and neutral which an investigative team needs to be for the daunting task before them.
I think the best thing that Mark Driscoll can do for his own health, the health of MHC and for the honor of Jesus’ church is to voluntarily step down for a minimum of six months and let the full council of Elders decide if and when he returns. During the six months, he should:
1.  Get some serious counseling from Paul Tripp or Garrett Higbee
2.  Arrange multiplied dozens of reconciliation meetings with people who believe Mark hurt and harmed them
3.  Set in motion a revision of current MHC bylaws
4.  Spend time with his family and with the Lord Jesus in deep and genuine soul searching
5.  Form a small accountability group with men who are not afraid to confront and challenge him: older, seasoned and courageous leaders…not “yes” men with a vested interest in being nice to him.

As I noted on Friday, some of the protected witnesses have dropped out of the process because they lack trust in the integrity of the process. Clearly, Kraft decided to enter the process although he has some concerns. I think the suggestion to interview Tripp and Chandler has merit.
As these interviews wrap up, the next step is the production of a report to be sent to the Board of Advisors and Accountability. The BOAA could exonerate Driscoll, rebuke him, exonerate on some charges and rebuke on others, or find him disqualified for the office of elder which would lead to his removal as pastor at Mars Hill Church.

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.”

Mars Hill Church and Mars Hill Go: Still No Financial Transparency

Today, Mars Hill Church rebranded Mars Hill Global by calling their missionary efforts Mars Hill Go. However, the revised Mars Hill Global/Go Frequently Asked Questions page still does not answer one of the most frequently asked questions — how much has Mars Hill Church spent on mission efforts in India and Ethiopia? From the FAQ page:

Where have past gifts been used?

During fiscal years 2009-2014, over $10MM dollars has been given to Mars Hill Church by the Mars Hill Global Family. During that same time period $22.48MM has been spent on church planting in the US, India and Ethiopia. In 2009-11 over 80% of funds given by the Mars Hill global family went to Acts 29 church planting and funds were consistently spent in India for church planting in each of those years. In 2012- 2014 expenditures for church planting efforts in India and Ethiopia were increased with the preponderance of expenses related to church plants and replants in the U.S.

This remains the same as when the FAQ was about Global. The period of interest is 2012-2014. The church knows what they spent on missions but they won’t release the numbers. The memo posted yesterday indicated that the plan was to fund “highly visible” mission projects costing about $120,000 per year. Given what the church claims to have done, I estimate they may have spent a little more than that. However, why not tell the church and the “Global family” how much they spent and where they spent it? The leaders revised the FAQ page today, but again failed to include the figures which would address how they handled the donations. Why not be transparent?

In 2012, Sutton Turner told the executive elders Mark Driscoll and Dave Bruskas that churches should be transparent:

It is my belief that the reason we have such poor giving by our Church is the lack of stewardship in the Church staff. Churches with excellent stewardship see greater giving because people know that every dollar they give will go towards the mission of the Church. It is very clear this has not been the case at Mars Hill Church.

What was true then is still true today.