Month: October 2014

No Institute on the Constitution Club at Logan High School

Recently, the Institute on the Constitution used a video of an unidentified teacher to claim they had established another American club in a public school. (See below)

Post by Institute on the Constitution.

More recently, the IOTC posted a better produced video of the same teacher (an intervention specialist at Logan High School) and a student discussing how easy it is to start an American club in the public school.

Post by Institute on the Constitution.

As it turns out, the claim is false. The high school in question is Logan (OH) High School and there is no American Club at this school.
On Friday, I spoke with Jim Robinson, principal at Logan High School. He had not heard of the club and told me that no clubs by that name or with the themes of the American club had applied to be recognized at the school.
This false claim is not the first time the IOTC falsely claimed to have an American Club at an institution. In May 2014, the IOTC said an American Club had been formed at Calvin College. The college administration flatly denied that claim:

Bob Crow, Dean of Student Development, informed me that the Institute on the Constitution’s Director Michael Peroutka met with a small group of students when he visited campus. However, about an American Club, Crow said, “I can confirm that no such student organization exists at Calvin College.” Furthermore, given the affiliation of Mr. Peroutka with the neo-Confederate League of the South, Mr. Crow said, “it is unimaginable that such a group could exist here.”

Peroutka and the IOTC are using the American Club concept to raise “a money bomb.”

Post by Institute on the Constitution.

Prospective donors should know that there is no evidence that IOTC is a non-profit organization which means donations are not deductible. Furthermore, it is hard to know how donations could help establish American Clubs since it costs nothing to establish one in a school.
And in this case, there is no club.

More Specifics About Changes at Mars Hill Church: Localized Governance, Financial Clarity, Culture Change

Lone executive elder Dave Bruskas gets more specific about changes in the works at Mars Hill Church in this message on The City (and the website):
MarsHill Weekly101414
 
The full statement is here:

From Pastor David Bruskas:
Mars Hill,
While most of the recent attention surrounding our church has been focused on accusations against Pastor Mark, I along with your Lead Pastors, are painfully aware that we have an unhealthy culture in our church, and many of us have contributed. We love you very much Mars Hill, and it is our deep desire to begin a new chapter focused on new values. We ask for forgiveness from those who have been hurt by this church because of the culture we contributed to. We wish to move forward together knowing that we are a broken and repentant church in need of a forgiveness and restoration that only Jesus provides.
We are determined to honor the past work that Jesus has done through this church and those that have labored with us, while correcting and setting a new course for the future where he can be most glorified as we move ourselves out of the way.
During this time of transition, we have enacted a previously established plan in which I have committed to fulfill the role of interim Preaching Pastor, doing so as one of many voices on Sundays along with your Lead Pastors. However, I will not be functioning as a remaining Executive Elder, or even as a “first among equals”, but I will be working to facilitate decisions among many leaders.
As we work through needed changes, your Lead Pastors and I have committed to focus on three areas during this transition: localized governance, financial clarity, and cultural change. We will communicate with increasing detail in these three areas in the weeks to come.
Localized Governance
Going forward we intend to pursue a more localized governance and oversight model in our churches. As we move toward a new structure there is no desire to consider a continuation of the current model of leadership, including the Executive Elder roles and the Board of Advisors and Accountability. We are currently not considering an option where I would take over in Pastor Mark’s previous role. We intend to provide more self-determining freedom to our local churches in a way that empowers local leaders to direct the future of their churches.
Financial Clarity
In mid-November we will be releasing our 10th annual independent audit of our financial statements from this past fiscal year. This had been delayed as the auditors awaited the conclusion of the investigation into the allegations against Pastor Mark. We will be posting them to our website at marshill.com/stewardship and our desire is to continue providing better financial clarity going forward. Our hope and anticipation is that we will receive a good report. But if that isn’t the case, we will work openly and diligently to correct any problems.
Culture Change
We want to be leaders who are humble, repentant, accountable to you and each other, and who communicate openly and regularly to our members. We want to be known not only for preaching the truth, but also for living it out by loving others well. As the Board of Elders continue to glean the lessons learned during this season, we are confident this will lead to greater church health through deep cultural change. Please pray for us. Jesus is our Senior Pastor. He loves you dearly and we as your elders desire to serve you better. We need his gospel and the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit to become Jesus’ faithful under shepherds.
How You Can Participate
As we work towards a new future together in service to Jesus, we are still called to be the people of God in every arena of life. This means that it will be more important than ever that each one of us that calls Mars Hill Church home continues to operate in faithfulness through serving God’s people, giving generously to God’s work, and loving one another well.
We need your patience and prayers as we seek to live out our commitment to these areas of significant change in our church. Sunday we will again gather with our churches and worship, open the Bible and hear about Jesus and what he has done on our behalf.
Pastor Dave Bruskas

Bruskas indicated that the structure would not include the executive elders and Board of Advisors and Accountability but he was less than clear about his own status. From reading material from people who supported the old paradigm, I am aware that some Mars Hill members don’t want change. However, for those who do want change and to help bring along the entire group, it seems that even more openness is going to be required. For instance, the status of Mark Driscoll’s termination is still unclear. Did the Board of Elders find him to be disqualified? If so, then why did the BoAA lighten the verdict in such a way to allow Driscoll to resign with benefits? So many church members have taken sides over the past few months, it would be healing for them and others to know the facts.

Mark Driscoll Gets Prophetic Word at Gateway Conference

At the Gateway Conference this past week, Mark Driscoll took the stage for the first time since he left Mars Hill Church. There he proclaimed that he was looking for some “wise counsel” even as he had avoided the wise counsel of his Mars Hill Church elders.
Another highlight of the conference was a prophetic word from Jimmy Evans about Driscoll. According to a tweet from conference attendee Ashley Greenwood, Evans proclaimed that Driscoll’s best days are ahead of him:


If you click the Instagram link in this tweet, you will come to a picture of Evans talking to a standing Driscoll in the front row of the crowd. According to Greenwood, Evans said:

You lead a great movement as a brother, you will lead a greater one as a father, your later years will surpass your younger.

DriscollPropheEvans
The nice thing about prophetic claims is that they can be checked. If Evans is referring to Mars Hill Church as “the great movement as a brother,” then the claim is debatable given that Driscoll left the church in disarray and about to fragment. If Evans meant Acts 29 Network, then it obvious that the claim is wildly inflated in light of the network’s removal of Mars Hill due to Driscoll’s actions. In light of the facts, one could easily predict that his later years will surpass his younger.
Any port in the storm I guess. The apostolic crowd appears eager to incorporate Driscoll into their tribe.

Beginning Again at Mars Hill Church?

David Fairchild is lead pastor at the West Seattle location of Mars Hill Church. He posted a note to his congregation that somebody who is in charge of the website thought should be read by the rest of the Mars Hill community. While I am not interested in criticizing for the sake of being critical, I must confess that after the hopeful feedback from members yesterday, this communication seemed more like old school than change.
You can read it and draw your own conclusions. However, I surely wouldn’t bring up giving to this congregation unless there was some information provided first. Fairchild says:

3) GIVE. This is a sensitive subject during such a tumultuous time. But if we’re going to have a future church that is healthy and reproducible, the whole church needs to worship through giving. I know many have held their giving until the end of this investigation, but I want to encourage you to begin again. We’ll need a strong foundation to discern how to move forward. We want to make decisions that are based on accurate giving data which reflects where we truly are. Giving is an act of worship and good for our own soul.

Based on the outrage that hit my inbox today, this did not go over well.
I mainly post this to follow up on yesterday’s hopeful post about change. Apparently, we aren’t going to get a substantial statement as a follow up to the pastors’ meeting described by members earlier in the week.
 

Mars Hill Church: Where Does the Buck Stop?

Rumors of change at Mars Hill Church are blowing in the Seattle wind.
Since many of the pastors who called for change when Mark Driscoll was lead pastor have departed either through lay off or via resignation (see also this list*), it remains to be seen who will lead the charge for reform. For change to come, pastors who once defended the party line will now have to contradict their previous publicly held position. Social psychological research suggests that contradicting a previously held public position creates dissonance and is difficult. Will they have the courage to say they were wrong? Is there a narrative that makes their earlier inaction and defense of the Mars Hill way seem plausible?
Probably the most difficult task falls to Dave Bruskas and his fellow Board of Advisors and Accountability members. For instance, Bruskas has been a part of executive elder decisions involving the Result Source scheme to game the New York Time best seller list, and the rebranding of the Global Fund. He was present when Mark Driscoll staged his Strange Fire stunt (see for example 39 seconds into the clip) and then falsely tweeted that John MacArthur’s security team confiscated his books. As a part of the executive elder team, Bruskas has been involved in setting direction and tone for the church. There are bound to be questions about what he knew. Just a few come to mind: Why did Bruskas go along with all of the financial secrecy, including about executive salaries? Did Bruskas know that the BoAA did not actually investigate Dave Kraft’s charges against Mark Driscoll? If he did, then what kept him silent when the BoAA told the world that those charges were taken seriously?  Did Bruskas know about the Global Fund shenanigans? Whatever he knew and as complex as I am sure it is, shouldn’t he now come forward and let people know of his view of the BoAA’s actions?
The executive elders are responsible for the daily operation of the church and big decisions involving millions of dollars. Dave Bruskas is the remaining executive elder. The longer he waits to publicly explain his support for the decisions which have led to the current crisis, the more likely they will define him, now that Driscoll and Turner are gone. Unless Bruskas and the BoAA can offer a plausible explanation, Mars Hill members will be justified to assume that the buck stops with the men who have been in charge while the church has spiraled to the current state.
*(Not all on this list departed on terms of disagreement or dissent, but many did.)