The pieces of the puzzle are falling into place.
Today, according to a source in the church, it was announced at Mars Hill Albuquerque today that lone remaining Mars Hill executive elder Dave Bruskas will join the church as teaching pastor.
Bruskas was slated to be interim teaching pastor at the new Bellevue Church (Mars Hill Bellevue), but apparently things have changed there.
Bruskas church, City on a Hill, was the first out of state church to join Mars Hill. Looks like he is going home.
Along with Mark Driscoll and Sutton Turner, Bruskas presided over several controversies that came to light over the past year. Bruskas has yet to give an account of his part in the Global Fund, the scheme to use church money to elevated Mark Driscoll’s book Real Marriage to the New York Times Bestseller list, and the awareness of “persistent sin” against Driscoll.
If I attended Mars Hill ABQ, I would have a lot of questions.
Category: Mars Hill Church
Mars Hill Olympia Will Become Harbor Church in 2015; Mars Hill Huntington Beach Will Close in December
So says their Facebook page.
The church leaders announced their intentions last week, but now they have a name.
On the other hand, Mars Hill Huntington Beach announced that they would be closing in December. This was expected since Mars Hill had told the church they had to pick up giving to survive. Giving had not quite kept up with projections.
Robert Morris at Gateway Church: I Know How to Build a Healthy Church
Since Robert Morris snubbed his nose at the elders of Mars Hill Church, I have been curious about the third largest church in the nation. As noted earlier today, sources within Gateway and Mars Hill have indicated that Driscoll may be on the way back. If he does make a come back, Driscoll might credit Morris. Morris told his pastors’ conference that he has been advising Driscoll and he has an obvious track record. In fact, Morris boasted about this ability last night to his church. Watch:
[youtube]http://youtu.be/nTf17lw7_8o[/youtube]
Morris claims divine revelation to make a point that the Bible already makes. Why should we believe him? Not because of the teaching of the faith but because he has built a big church. I suspect former Mars Hill folks will hear something familiar in this. The leaders hear from God and the proof is in the success of the church.
Sources: Mark Driscoll Considering a Return to Ministry
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.
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.