Tag: Mars Hill Church

Another Mars Hill Church Pastor Fired, Reportedly for Questioning Executive Elders (UPDATED)

This was just posted on Twitter:


Phil Smidt is still listed as a biblical living pastor at Mars Hill Ballard campus (this page has now been removed; I have a copy of it and will put it up soon) and his wife is a deacon (link probably dead on arrival). I have heard this news from several sources but am working to confirm.
According to sources, the Smidts were one of the first families to attend Mars Hill Church. Phil’s wife is the sister of former executive elder Jamie Munson. Munson is still an elder at Mars Hill and Co-President of Storyville Coffee in Seattle.
The Mars Hill website says this for now:

Jen Smidt is a deacon at Mars Hill Ballard where she and her husband, Phil, teach regularly on marriage and dating. Together they have two sons and a daughter. They were part of the original core group when Mars Hill Church was planted in 1996.

I have obtained the note from Mars Hill Ballard franchise lead pastor Scott Harris announcing the dismissal of pastor Smidt:

CG & RG Leaders:
Leaders,
I wanted to let you know about a transition on our Ballard elder team. After many conversations along with much prayer and deliberation I have decided to ask Phil Smidt to step down from staff and eldership, and today is his last day. Phil has been a valuable member of the Ballard leadership team, and has contributed greatly to the counseling and marriage ministries of our entire church.
We are very thankful for his many years of service. We will continue to support Phil financially and through prayer while he seeks what the Lord has next for him. Please join me in praying for him and his family as they make this transition.
We will do our best to keep you informed as we seek someone to take on the Biblical Living Pastor role. In the meantime, myself, Pastor Cliff Ellis, Ballard elders along with other leaders will be taking on this responsibility. We wanted to let you know about this transition as soon as we could so that you would be prepared to discuss this with your groups as necessary. If you have any questions, I along with any of the elders would be happy to discuss this further with you.
In Christ,
Pastor Scott

Another Reason to Question Mars Hill Church's Official Explanation of Mark Driscoll's Sermon Edits

On May 24, I wrote that past members of Mars Hill Church’s Media team dispute the official explanation of the deletion of about six minutes of a recent Mark Driscoll sermon on Acts 6:1-7.  After I posted the missing content, Mars Hill spokesmen told the Christian Post that the edits of Mark Driscoll discussing the mistakes of Jesus were in part due to time constraints and not unusual. Furthermore, they stood behind the deleted material. In contrast, former members of Mar Hill who once had responsibility for sermon editing tell me that such edits were not common when they were involved at the church.
From another source, I can provide additional reason to question the official explanation. I have obtained notes preparing franchise campuses for weekly church services. These notes list the duration of the sermon and an outline of Driscoll’s sermon points. The duration listed in the notes for May 18 is about six minutes longer than the edited version of this sermon.

Note the date the sermon was recorded and the scheduled date of playback. The duration of the sermon is 63:45. The version online is 56:41. In fact, the online version presentation on May 18 is much shorter than the comparable videos on May 11 (62:00) and May 25 (63:39). Clearly more was edited from the May 18 presentation than the others in the series. Going back to the initial sermons in the Acts series last year, the video duration when Mark Driscoll preached ranged from 66 to 73 minutes. The only one under an hour from last year is the Sunday Dave Bruskas preached. All of sermons on days Driscoll preached are over an hour. In the entire series, the only online video less than an hour on a Sunday when Mark Driscoll preached is May 18, 2014. In contrast to the claims of the church, the May 18 edits were not business as usual.
I also have the presentation notes for the May 11 and May 25 sermons (click the links to view the relevant sections of the production notes). The procedure is the same for the May 18 sermon. The objective is to edit the sermon (all over 60 minutes) to about 60 minutes. This allows for the initial Mars Hill Global commercial or sermon trailer to take the online video presentation to just over an hour. The initial plan was to edit the sermon slightly to get to about 60 minutes. However, in contrast to normal practice, the May 18 sermon was edited in such a way that the message was cut to about 54 minutes in length, much shorter than any other sermon in the series.
Thus, Mars Hill’s statement to the Christian Post was a half-truth. Yes, they regularly edit the sermons to get the messages to about 60 minutes. However, much more time was taken from the May 18 sermon than any other sermon in the series. If the content was really fine with the leaders then why was that particular 6 minute section removed? There were many pauses throughout the sermon were the video could easily have been trimmed to about 60 minutes without eliminating any content.

Mars Hill Leaders May Enter Mediation with Group of 20 Former Pastors

There may be some movement on the request from 20 former Mars Hill pastors to mediate differences with current leadership (see links below). However, one of the leaders of the movement has no illusions based on recent events.
Kyle Firstenberg recently provided this update on his Facebook page and gave me permission to reprint it.

Many months ago, “the 20 elders” sent a letter to the Executive Elders of MHC along with the BOAA requesting mediation for the outstanding issues and unrepentant sin. It has been a slow process but there is finally movement. An outside company has been hired to mediate the issues at hand. I am hopeful that all sides can be heard, sin can be repented of and that an entire culture can be changed.
Although I am hopeful, a good place to start on the MH side would be to stop firing Godly pastors who have unanswered questions. As long as they continue to sin against others, I will continue to bring that sin into the light.

For background on the efforts of 20 former Mars Hill pastors to enter mediation with Mars Hill leaders, see these posts:
Mars Hill’s Board of Advisors and Accountability Hints at Secret Meetings
Does Mars Hill Really Want to Mediate With the 20 Former Pastors?
Two Weeks: No Answer from Mars Hill Leaders to 20 Former Mars Hill Pastors Who Want Mediation
Twenty Former Mars Hill Pastors Seek Mediation With Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill Church Leadership

Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability in Communication with Mars Hill Church

The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability is “in communication” with Mars Hill Church amid questions about the Mars Hill Global fund.
Recently, Michael Martin, Legal Counsel and Director of Member Services told a questioner via email:

We are aware of the issues you mention and are in communication with leaders of Mars Hill concerning matters which relate to ECFA standards.

The questioner informed the ECFA that Mars Hill Global has been raising money under the heading of “Mars Hill Global” but may only use a fraction of those funds for global outreach. Martin responded that ECFA is touch with Mars Hill leaders about those issues.
ECFA has not responded to any of my questions regarding the standards for reporting donations made to special funds. Until recently, Mars Hill gave their donors an option to give the a fund called Mars Hill Global fund. Nearly $2.3 million was raised during the last full fiscal year. However, there is no information easily available about where those funds were disbursed. Mars Hill insiders tell me very little money goes to international outreach. However, it is not possible to check this since no reporting is available. With the changes Mars Hill has made thus far, the next step would be to post an accounting of how the money donated to that fund have been spent.
Recently, Mars Hill has changed the way they collect donations. The church no longer gives donors the option of giving to the Global Fund. All donations are to be given to the General Fund or the Mars Hill Foundation.
Related posts:
Website Changes: Donations to Mars Hill Global Are Now Donations to Mars Hill Church General Fund
Megachurch Methods: Apparently Mars Hill Global Money Can Be Spent Anywhere
Megachurch Methods: And By Mars Hill Global We Mean Mars Hill Local
Megachurch Methods: Mars Hill Global Wakes the Sleeping Giant

If You Are a Leader at Mars Hill Church and Leave, Here is Where Mars Hill Says You Can't Serve

This morning I posted the story of Phil Poirier who was an elder at Mars Hill Everett. He was asked to sign a clause in the renewal of his position as a pastor of community groups that would, if followed, forbid him from serving at a church within a ten mile radius of a Mars Hill church.  He declined to sign it and was relieved of his position because of his refusal. Read more about the situation here.
A couple of folks plotted the points where Mars Hill churches are located and figured out what a ten mile radius from each of the church locations looked like on a map. The first one below came from a commenter who doesn’t want to be named. The distance from North to South edges is nearly 100 miles and would take over two hours to drive.
 

Here is another effort to illustrate the problem from Pirate Radio’s Chris Rosebrough.
 

These maps illustrate the problem caused by this “Unity of Mission” arrangement. Pastors, paid and unpaid, may feel called to move from Mars Hill to a church of another denomination or to start their own church. Examine again the language presented to the Mars Hill elders:

6. Unity of Mission
An Agreement between each member of the Full-Council of Elders, Executive Elders and the Board of Advisors and Accountability of Mars Hill Church.
As Pastors, we commit together that we will serve the best interests of our Savior Jesus Christ, and our church, Mars Hill Church. If and when any of us feel led to serve the Lord somewhere other than at one of the church locations of Mars Hill Church, we will submit our opportunity to one another and our Executive Elders first in accordance with Proverbs 11:14, “Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.”
Together this day, we commit that our next church ministry will not be within ten miles of any location of Mars Hill Church, except with the express consent of the local pastors of the nearest church, the sending church, if different, and the Executive Elders of Mars Hill Church . We are, as Ephesians 4:3 says, “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” We care about the church, the testimony of our church, and the dear people who attend our church.
We would not want our actions to cause confusion or harm by making the people of Mars Hill question our love for the Lord, the purity of our church, or their decision to worship Christ here.
We acknowledge that as we adhere to this commitment, the Executive Elders and the Board of Advisors and Accountability will commit to do everything within their power to offer and support a church plant outside of the radius stated here.

Soon, I will post the response to Phil Poirier’s letter from Mars Hill Everett lead pastor Ryan Williams. Williams informed his other leaders that Poirier would be “transitioning” off of the elder board.