Rob Smith posted a donor thank you letter from Mars Hill Church he received recently. It has to be the most positive spin on the situation I have seen yet.
I gotta say that must have been a hard letter to write. There probably is no how-to course in how to this.
Read Rob Smith’s take on it; there are still many unanswered financial questions that were not addressed here.
Tag: Mars Hill Church
Are Mars Hill Church's Kids Ashamed of the Parent Church?
Last week, I noticed something about the independent churches “birthed” by Mars Hill Church (see directory). Most don’t mention their parent church on their website.
To me this seems odd since the Mars Hill Church website says this:
If I had given birth to 11 kids, and they didn’t talk about me, I might be a little hurt.
I did a Google search of the new church websites and found that only Mars Hill Albuquerque (now North Church), described the link to the Mars Hill legacy. One church — Ed Choi’s Rainier Valley Church — acknowledged that Choi had been a pastor at Mars Hill, but there was no explanation of the relationship between the two churches. Two of the church website searches returned mentions of Mars Hill (Resurrection Church and Cross and Crown) but when I went to the page, the reference to Mars Hill had been deleted. Mars Hill West Seattle archived Daivd Farichild’s sermons as being preached at Mars Hill West Seattle but did not give an explanation. The rest had no mention of Mars Hill.
The presentation on these websites make it seem like the churches just emerged without history. In fact, Mars Hill hasn’t dissolved as a corporation and these churches are waiting for more money from the mothership.
Mark Driscoll in 2012: Lots Going On With Mars Hill Global
Once upon a time, Mars Hill Church leaders hosted by invitation only “vision breakfasts” for large donors. A former member taped one of the presentation made by Mark Driscoll about the various ministries of the church. This source sent a clip of Driscoll just as he began talking about Mars Hill Global. On May 10, 2012, Driscoll told the crowd:
We’re seeing a lot going on with Mars Hill Global. Lots of money coming in so we can translate the sermons into Spanish. We’ve gotten the Doctrine book translated into Spanish and we’re going to give it away free online. Pastor Dad, Porn Again Christian are resources translated into multiple languages and being given away as well; as well as helping fund international church planting. So lots going on on the international fronts as well.
Listen:
Driscoll addressed the growth of the websites, and the congregations. Then he updated the crowd on his upcoming book on Ephesians and said, “My hope is to get a devotional commentary of Ephesians on the New York Times best seller list.” While I have no evidence that the church planned to go back to the Resultsource well, there may have been some consideration given to it. My optimistic suspicion is that the process to become a member of the ECFA (happened later in 2012) quashed any thoughts of using a Resultsource like scheme.
In his summary of Mars Hill Global, Driscoll does not mention church planting in the United States. To his top givers in 2012, he says Mars Hill Global funds international missions and that there was “lots going on on the international fronts.” Mentioning the translation projects fits with the Global Fund memo from 2011 in which the plan was to feature high profile mission projects but spend most of the money on domestic work. Driscoll said lots of money was coming in but he didn’t tell the donors that the money was going to buy and refurbish buildings in the states.
Mars Hill Church continues to be a legal entity in the process of dissolution. Dave Bruskas indicated to me recently that he thought someone was monitoring the [email protected] account for press inquiries. However, no replies have come to my emails. I am aware that the mission groups who depended on Mars Hill have not heard anything definite about assistance beyond June of this year.
Mars Hill Church Website Searchable Again; Global Fund Pages Restored
After months of being blocked by robots.txt code that prohibited searching the Internet Archives, Mars Hill Church’s website is now searchable again. About a year ago, the church blocked searches of archived pages. I was common for pages to disappear from the Mars Hill website shortly after I linked to that page. Now those pages should show up in searches of the archive.
For instance, pages about the Global Fund frequently disappeared from the website after being posted here. They were not searchable via the archive. Furthermore pages that would shed light on various claims were unavailable. Let me illustrate:
This banner comes from this deleted page about support for Ethiopia pastors (by the way, the New Covenant Foundation still has not received any firm commitment for a distribution from Mars Hill, for more see this post).
In contrast to what Justin Dean told me, this page demonstrates that the Global Fund was a fund in late 2012.
For those wanting to get a timeline of events and claims at Mars Hill, this resource is invaluable.
Member of Church Formerly Known as Mars Hill Albuquerque Pens Reflections on Church Closing
Levi MacAllister, also known as Levi the Poet, is a current member of North Church in Albuquerque (formerly Mars Hill Albuquerque). On his blog, he recently penned an open letter to Mark Driscoll and the leadership of the church formerly known as Mars Hill. Levi provided the link in an email along with an apology. You’ll understand the apology when you read the letter. Some highlights:
I don’t think that “The Rise & Fall Of Mars Hill Church” can be narrowed down to one man. Or three executives. Or an elder board. Or the BOA. I think that, to some degree, at least for members more intimately involved in the ins and outs of what our church was, there is a complicity we feel in the light. Many former pastors have acknowledged that complicity, and chosen to step away. For others, the complicity has been devastating and confusing, as many of us didn’t know we were in the dark. Of course, the idea of complicity to anyone who would rather be the victim under the infamous bus is enraging. And, at the same time, I do think that true victims exist. In short, it’s complicated, and no amount of devil’s advocacy will please anyone. You literally cannot win. Winning is not what I’m going for.
As you will see, this is a nuanced reflection from Levi the Poet.
Two reactions emerged as closets opened: some left; some stayed. I wonder what it means that I have stayed. Resilience? Compliance? Hope? Fear? There is a degree to which those that have stayed will, in the eyes of many, simply be guilty by association, and that will be that. I truly believe, though, that my wife and I were called to weather this storm, and I hope that we will get to see the sunrise. Perhaps others will even be able to accept that it could have been conviction that led us to stay, the same way it was conviction that led them to leave. And I don’t blame those that left, either. The amount of stones thrown from each “side” is miles high, and though I once stood with rock in hand, a lot of presumption clouded the truth of the matter, and I no longer want anything to do with it. This complicated mess is so much larger than anything that I will ever understand. Perhaps I should be thankful for that. Understanding is pain.
I suspect the stayers and leavers will be reflecting on the meaning of their choices for quite awhile.
Mark Driscoll was fond of saying that “what you idolize, you will eventually demonize.” If he isn’t the case-study for it, i don’t know who is. I’d like to think that I’ve not idolized or demonized him, or others, or myself, but perhaps this all wouldn’t hurt so badly if that were true. I’m sure I’ve done both for Driscoll, probably only ever demonized Sutton Turner, and hoped more in Dave Bruskas than Christ as the solution. I’ve probably hated Throckmorton. I’ve pictured everyone with reservations about Mars Hill over the years, pointing fingers with I told you so written on their faces, and resented them all. I’ve resented the organization for letting us take sides for so long. I’ve led my wife into conversations I shouldn’t have been having, gossip and slander that only revealed the state of my heart, and probably damaged hers.
On hating Throckmorton, you were a part of a large crowd. I am smiling while I write that; no hard feelings.
Mark Driscoll, I love you. I forgive you.
Nice beginning for the open letter to Driscoll. Honest and unfinished are words that come to mind about the letter.
I think that Mars Hill Church and the leaders representing it, as a whole, did not take the time they should have to acknowledge and discuss how deeply it has hurt the people in their care. There are exceptions to the rule, but I think that many of us feel swept under the rug. I know that this dust will be settling for a long time, and I pray that, in the individual bodies that Mars Hill Church has become, leaders will work together to address the pain that will linger, and apologize to their flock for negligence. I also know that we, as the flock, must extend grace, as leaders are people – human beings that are suffering through the same circumstances.
I hope the ex-pastors of the CFKAMH are still reading. There is still unfinished business.