I noted this a couple of years back but by the time Mark and Grace Driscoll's Spirit-Filled Jesus was released most of the campuses of the former Mars Hill Church had survived to relaunch as new churches.
Showing posts with label bellevue. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bellevue. Show all posts
Friday, November 19, 2021
Tuesday, May 30, 2017
Gospel Coalition article on Seattle reboot after Mars Hill touches on Bellevue campus, some background on local news preceding the precipitous decline
Given that it's possible some of the most important potential sources on Mars Hill's decline in general and the decline of Mars Hill Bellevue in particular may never speak on the record, it's understandable that the article at The Gospel Coalition is by turns interestingly informative about the aftermath of MH and skeletal; some statements to the effect that Mars Hill seemed to collapse in just a few months are provably wrong but if they come from people who weren't inside Mars Hill as members or leaders it's hard to fault people who weren't connected to the inner workings of the collapsing corporation for genuinely believing everything came crashing down in just a few months. We've discussed at some length how there was internal evidence that all was not well in Mars Hill between 2011 and 2013 here in the past; with Bellevue there's some particular local history that needs to be revisited so that it may clarify why this specific campus might have experienced a substantial crisis of faith in local leadership in addition to the top tier Mars Hill leaders--it's material that would be virtually impossible to find or even imagine existed if you weren't connected to Mars Hill in some close way over it's roughly two-decade run. So, let's get to the statements pertinent to what was once MH Bellevue.
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/seattle-reboot-life-after-mars-hill
...
Ground zero was the Mars Hill Bellevue campus, where Driscoll preached live and in person. Within weeks, the congregation of 3,000 plummeted to 700.
The church stayed in its building, joined by fellow Mars Hill campus Sammamish, and replanted as Doxa church on January 1, 2015. Their new pastor was Jeff Vanderstelt, who had been leading his own church plant about an hour south of the Bellevue campus.
While controversies directly connected to Mark Driscoll such as allegations of plagiarism; verification of the use of Result Source to secure a #1 spot for Real Marriage on The New York Times bestseller list; concerns about authoritarian leadership; and other concerns were high profile in the last year of Mars Hill, it's important to stress that there was controversy in the Puget Sound area connected to Mars Hill that was specific to the Bellevue campus.
It's understandable that no one outside King County would be likely to remember the International Paper Building incident.
http://komonews.com/archive/mars-hill-church-god-wants-us-to-have-disputed-property
http://web.archive.org/web/20131026120216/http://goodforbellevue.marshill.com/about/
capture from October 26, 2013
From the LETTER FROM PASTOR THOMAS HURST:
...
As we walk down the path God has laid out for us, we want to share with you a bit of a paradigm shift: Bellevue is now in “core group” phase. [emphasis added]
While many churches plant with a core group of 25 people, or 250 people, Mars Hill Bellevue is currently a core group of 2,500 people. As we look ahead, the Bellevue elders and the Executive Elders are not just praying for 1,000 people, or 5,000 people on a Sunday, we’re praying for 10,000 people to worship on a Sunday at Mars Hill Bellevue…10,000 individuals whose lives are forever changed by the Gospel. To this end, we need to think, act and pray differently, starting today. If we wait until tomorrow, a year from now or three years from now when our lease is up, it will be too late.
With this in mind, we have found a site in Bellevue that meets these needs. I’m asking you to pray with us as we explore what it will take to move Mars Hill Bellevue to this new location, and how you can be a part of the mission.
The International Paper Property on 120th St.
After many months of searching and narrowing down our choices, only one building in Bellevue is available that meets the needs of the church that God is building on the Eastside. A few weeks ago we made an offer on a property in the Bel-Red corridor on 120th St. which is currently owned by the
International Paper Company. [emphasis added]
The space is about 180,000 sq. feet on 10.5 acres of property, located directly on the new light rail line being developed in 2017. The City of Bellevue has plans to develop the area immediately surrounding this site with retail, restaurants, and urban housing.
After renovations the property could feature:
Seating for 3,000+ per service
Local Bellevue Church office space
Central Operations office space
Media & Communications space
Much larger Kids Ministry area
Space for Mars Hill Students
Training classrooms for a future Bible college
Ample parking space on-site
Large common areas
Mars Hill Bible College
Part of this vision includes opening a Bible college. Recently we sent out proposal requests to the best Bible colleges in the U.S. with the intention of partnering with one of them to establish an accredited Bible school at Mars Hill Bellevue. We want to provide sound theological training for your children as we raise up the next generation of leaders and church planters.
We’re Not Done Yet
Upon submitting our offer for this property, we’ve hit a snag.
Sound Transit, the government agency responsible for building and operating the light rail transit system, has purchased this property to protect their interests, even though we offered to outbid any other offers. [emphasis added]
Sound Transit intends to use this property to build an Operations & Maintenance Satellite Facility (OMSF), basically a large barn they will use to maintain the light rail trains, much like the one located in Georgetown just south of downtown Seattle. They have five locations in mind for this facility, and this property on 120th St. is currently their top choice.
“Good for Bellevue”
We believe, though, that this property is the location that God wants us to use to further the mission of the Gospel through Mars Hill Church, so we are continuing to pursue this property and work with Sound Transit to come to an agreement that works well for everyone involved.
We believe a Mars Hill church at this key location is far better for the church, better for the City of Bellevue, and better for the community and local economy than a transit maintenance barn. We will provide:
Immediate benefit to local commerce (restaurants, hotels, transit and more).
More jobs to Bellevue (150+ employees).
Much needed conference/multi-use space to Bellevue.
Ridership for Sound Transit will increase due to our large events and regular attendees because we will be located directly on the transit line.
We plan to use the existing structure, which supports local green initiatives and the development plan for the Bel-Red corridor.
The City of Bellevue can benefit greatly by having both Mars Hill Church’s largest facility and the Sound Transit OMSF located in the city. While Sound Transit has several options for their maintenance barn, we only have one option for our church. Our intention is to work with Sound Transit as they decide by the end of the year whether to use this location or choose one of the other locations that they have available to them.
Unfortunately we find ourselves in a position where we are going up against the government. Given the perspective, we are a small church with little chance of being able to make the government change their decision. However, we will continue to move forward with faith in a God who is bigger than any government.
One of the simplest historical problems with the claim that Bellevue was in "core phase" was that it seemed hard to buy the idea that a church that was reportedly planted back in 2005 could still be in "core" phase eight years later. There was a blog post a few years back on the mystery of this "core phase" here at Wenatchee The Hatchet, from which we'll have to quote extensively owing to how many things got purged from the net.
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2013/10/mars-hill-bellevue-in-core-group-phase.html
Pastor A. J. Hamilton wrote the following about Mars Hill in Bellevue:
https://web.archive.org/web/20130330192727/http://marshill.com/2010/10/07/when-mars-hill-became-multi-campus-church-2006-present
http://marshill.com/2010/10/07/when-mars-hill-became-multi-campus-church-2006-present
...
Bellevue was an A29 church plant which then converted to a MHC campus and exploded in attendance. We then sent their campus pastor out to plant another church in San Diego and an existing A29 planter took the role. It is no wonder that Bellevue has aggressive church- and campus-planting strategies that other campus leadership teams look to for best practices.
http://pastormark.tv/2011/11/29/jesus-loves-church-mergers-and-so-should-you
Mars Hill Bellevue
In the mid-2000s, a Mars Hill elder planted church on the Eastside of the greater Seattle area called The Vine. This plant was led by a Mars Hill pastor at the time, Jesse Winkler. The Vine started with a small core group from Mars Hill and eventually grew to be somewhere between 100 to 200 people.
Many people from that area were still driving into Seattle to attend Mars Hill in Ballard, and the number of people grew so large that we decided to consider planting a church east of Seattle. We met with Winkler and asked him if he wanted to continue as an independent church with us planting another one far enough away from his church so as to not drain his people, or if he wanted to become a Mars Hill Church. He took some time to fast and pray, seeking God’s will, and was convinced God was asking him to partner with Mars Hill to lead one church made up of people from The Vine and Mars Hill. The Vine church became Mars Hill Eastside in 2008, which eventually became Mars Hill Bellevue.
After the merger, the church saw immediate growth, going from 200 people to over 500 people almost overnight. Some Sundays, men were asked to stand outside in the wet and cold of Seattle to listen via speaker because we couldn't fit everyone into the small funeral home in which the church met for the multiple services. Since then, there has been much fruit, as Mars Hill Downtown Bellevue just moved into a new building in the heart of Downtown Bellevue and is seeing over 2,000 people worship Jesus and serve the surrounding community, hundreds of which are a result of new Christians who met Jesus and were baptized at Mars Hill Bellevue.
Additionally, Mars Hill Bellevue, along with some other Acts 29 churches, helped fund Westview Church in San Diego, California, with Pastor Jesse spearheading that plant. And the church has sent a core group of a couple hundred over to our newest location, Mars Hill Sammamish (which I’ll talk about later in this post).
So what's in the link?
http://blog.marshill.com/2011/10/31/the-day-bellevue-opened-grandly/
The Bellevue church started four years ago, after merging with The Vine in a Redmond funeral home. It was a quiet launch, but it was only a few weeks before the church outgrew its space. Three years ago it moved into a remodeled gym at Eastside Christian School, near Bellevue College, but the group has been in pursuit of a more permanent situation since. Pastors discovered the John Danz building about two years ago. The church overcame a number of obstacles, including raising $2 million dollars to renovate the space, before its grand opening yesterday.
In the '70s and '80s, the Danz building played home to one of the biggest four movie theaters in the area. In the past 10 years, its served as a Good Guys and an Underhill's furniture store. It now has a new purpose. Pastor Mark Driscoll was so moved by what is going on in Bellevue, he committed to preaching a couple evening services a month at the new location. "This is a fantastic place," he said, spectating the growth. "I feel like I'm a kite, and God's a hurricane."
And while we're at it here's a post published September 2, 2010.
http://www.theresolved.com/4732/resolved-church-plants/
Jesse Winkler is planting Westview Church | www.westviewchurch.com
Jesse planted The Vine church in Seattle, Washington in 2005. In 2009 The Vine was adopted as one of the sites of Mars Hill Church and God put a calling on Jesse to move back down to Southern California and plant a church in Rancho Penasquitos of North County San Diego. Jesse is married, has four children and has been a guest speaker at The Resolved Church a number of times. Currently Pastor Duane is serving as one of Jesse’s virtual elders until he is able to find and develop qualified elders. Jesse is currently having soft launch vision and core group gatherings and is officially launching in November 2010. Here’s a word from Jesse about it:
With such a cloud of witnesses establishing that Jesse Winkler planted The Vine in 2005 and that The Vine eventually went on to become what was called Mars Hill Bellevue, the idea that by 2013 Mars Hill Bellevue was in "core phase" was preposterous. The other, even more substantial problem was that whether or not MH Bellevue was in "core phase" or not, the desired real estate had been purchased some time before Mars Hill leadership expressed interest in the real estate.
To read a quote from Justin Dean telling The Seattle Times God wanted Mars Hill to have that Bellevue property you can go over here:
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/mars-hill-wants-bellevue-property-suggests-sound-transit-sell/
Obviously Mars Hill in general and Mars Hill Bellevue in particular was forced to move on. The INternational Paper Building was not going to be an option.
By November 2014 Hurst resigned from eldership and moved on away from formal ministry.
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2014/11/throckmorton-mh-bellevue-thomas-hurst.html
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/warrenthrockmorton/2014/11/02/mars-hill-bellevue-pastor-thomas-hurst-resigns/
By this time, of course, Mark Driscoll had announced his own resignation. By the end of October Mars Hill Bellevue had begun a transition to become something else.
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2014/10/in-wake-of-closure-announcement-boaaboo.html
One of the names that used to be more prominent in the Mars Hill Bellevue scene was Matt Rogers. Rogers, some may recall, wrote a missive regarding a protest that happened in 2014 outside MH Bellevue. Rogers had a role on the Board of Elders tasked with investigating Mark Driscoll
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-boe-members-part-6-pastor-matt.html
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2014/08/mars-hill-bellevue-pastor-matt-rogers.html
From Pastor Matt Rogers:
This past Sunday outside our building about 60 professing Christians led a protest, left a bit of trash,
and slandered good men. Inside the building our church family worshipped Jesus. Let that image be what defines us. Others will cast aspersions, but we will worship Jesus. ...
There was a point when Matt Rogers was listed the registered agent of the Bellevue Doxa-Eastside church, but that was back in October 2014.
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2014/10/in-wake-of-closure-announcement-boaaboo.html
http://www.sos.wa.gov/corps/search_detail.aspx?ubi=603448198
UBI Number 603448198
Category REG
Profit/Nonprofit Nonprofit
Active/Inactive Active
State Of Incorporation WA
WA Filing Date 10/29/2014
Expiration Date 10/31/2015
Inactive Date
Duration Perpetual
Agent Name Matthew Rogers
Address 620 106th Ave NE
City BELLEVUE
State WA
ZIP 98004
Governing Persons
Title
Name
Address
Chairman Rogers, Matthew 620 106th Ave. NE
Bellevue, WA 98004
Director Hurst, Thomas 620 106th Ave. NE
Bellevue, WA 98004
Director Skelton, Jason 620 106th Ave. NE
Bellevue, WA 98004
Director Molvar, Roger 620 106th Ave. NE
Bellevue, WA 98004
You won't find Rogers' name listed on the site now, however. While Hurst's resignation was announced, Matt Rogers' disappearance from the leadership roster of what was once Mars Hill Bellevue and later Doxa-Eastside has no journalistic documentation that Wenatchee The Hatchet is currently aware of.
All told, Mars Hill Bellevue's precipitous decline is explicable not only in terms of the general controversies associated with Mark Driscoll, it could also be explicable in terms of local scandals that people beyond King County possibly never heard about in the first place, dust-ups that would scarcely have merited national or even regional coverage but that played a possibly significant role in the congregation losing trust in the honesty or competence of local Mars Hill leadership.
There's little room to doubt that if God wanted Mars Hill in general and Mars Hill Bellevue in particular to have the International Paper Building they'd have it by now. Since there is no Mars Hill and Mars Hill Bellevue relaunched as Doxa-Eastside and still doesn't have the International Paper Building it would seem like a safe guess that if God wanted Mars Hill to have that real estate there would still be a Mars Hill around to have it. Transparency from the leadership teams of the new churches will be a good thing and in the case of what was once Mars Hill Bellevue, that congregation could have been particularly rocked by the gap between what the public statements by PR and top-tier leadership had to say with local campus leadership and the reality of what didn't come to pass about God's will for Mars Hill in Bellevue. As easy as it is to chalk up the cataclysmic decline of the corporation formerly known as Mars Hill to scandals directly connected to Mark Driscoll there were, as we've demonstrated at some length, some other controversies that not only involved top-tier leadership but which would have also implicated the reputations of leaders at the campus level. Every day a pastor at Mars Hill Bellevue went to church on Sunday in 2014 one of the dark clouds looming over any given church service was "Good for Bellevue".
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/seattle-reboot-life-after-mars-hill
...
Ground zero was the Mars Hill Bellevue campus, where Driscoll preached live and in person. Within weeks, the congregation of 3,000 plummeted to 700.
The church stayed in its building, joined by fellow Mars Hill campus Sammamish, and replanted as Doxa church on January 1, 2015. Their new pastor was Jeff Vanderstelt, who had been leading his own church plant about an hour south of the Bellevue campus.
While controversies directly connected to Mark Driscoll such as allegations of plagiarism; verification of the use of Result Source to secure a #1 spot for Real Marriage on The New York Times bestseller list; concerns about authoritarian leadership; and other concerns were high profile in the last year of Mars Hill, it's important to stress that there was controversy in the Puget Sound area connected to Mars Hill that was specific to the Bellevue campus.
It's understandable that no one outside King County would be likely to remember the International Paper Building incident.
http://komonews.com/archive/mars-hill-church-god-wants-us-to-have-disputed-property
http://web.archive.org/web/20131026120216/http://goodforbellevue.marshill.com/about/
capture from October 26, 2013
From the LETTER FROM PASTOR THOMAS HURST:
...
As we walk down the path God has laid out for us, we want to share with you a bit of a paradigm shift: Bellevue is now in “core group” phase. [emphasis added]
While many churches plant with a core group of 25 people, or 250 people, Mars Hill Bellevue is currently a core group of 2,500 people. As we look ahead, the Bellevue elders and the Executive Elders are not just praying for 1,000 people, or 5,000 people on a Sunday, we’re praying for 10,000 people to worship on a Sunday at Mars Hill Bellevue…10,000 individuals whose lives are forever changed by the Gospel. To this end, we need to think, act and pray differently, starting today. If we wait until tomorrow, a year from now or three years from now when our lease is up, it will be too late.
With this in mind, we have found a site in Bellevue that meets these needs. I’m asking you to pray with us as we explore what it will take to move Mars Hill Bellevue to this new location, and how you can be a part of the mission.
The International Paper Property on 120th St.
After many months of searching and narrowing down our choices, only one building in Bellevue is available that meets the needs of the church that God is building on the Eastside. A few weeks ago we made an offer on a property in the Bel-Red corridor on 120th St. which is currently owned by the
International Paper Company. [emphasis added]
The space is about 180,000 sq. feet on 10.5 acres of property, located directly on the new light rail line being developed in 2017. The City of Bellevue has plans to develop the area immediately surrounding this site with retail, restaurants, and urban housing.
After renovations the property could feature:
Seating for 3,000+ per service
Local Bellevue Church office space
Central Operations office space
Media & Communications space
Much larger Kids Ministry area
Space for Mars Hill Students
Training classrooms for a future Bible college
Ample parking space on-site
Large common areas
Mars Hill Bible College
Part of this vision includes opening a Bible college. Recently we sent out proposal requests to the best Bible colleges in the U.S. with the intention of partnering with one of them to establish an accredited Bible school at Mars Hill Bellevue. We want to provide sound theological training for your children as we raise up the next generation of leaders and church planters.
We’re Not Done Yet
Upon submitting our offer for this property, we’ve hit a snag.
Sound Transit, the government agency responsible for building and operating the light rail transit system, has purchased this property to protect their interests, even though we offered to outbid any other offers. [emphasis added]
Sound Transit intends to use this property to build an Operations & Maintenance Satellite Facility (OMSF), basically a large barn they will use to maintain the light rail trains, much like the one located in Georgetown just south of downtown Seattle. They have five locations in mind for this facility, and this property on 120th St. is currently their top choice.
“Good for Bellevue”
We believe, though, that this property is the location that God wants us to use to further the mission of the Gospel through Mars Hill Church, so we are continuing to pursue this property and work with Sound Transit to come to an agreement that works well for everyone involved.
We believe a Mars Hill church at this key location is far better for the church, better for the City of Bellevue, and better for the community and local economy than a transit maintenance barn. We will provide:
Immediate benefit to local commerce (restaurants, hotels, transit and more).
More jobs to Bellevue (150+ employees).
Much needed conference/multi-use space to Bellevue.
Ridership for Sound Transit will increase due to our large events and regular attendees because we will be located directly on the transit line.
We plan to use the existing structure, which supports local green initiatives and the development plan for the Bel-Red corridor.
The City of Bellevue can benefit greatly by having both Mars Hill Church’s largest facility and the Sound Transit OMSF located in the city. While Sound Transit has several options for their maintenance barn, we only have one option for our church. Our intention is to work with Sound Transit as they decide by the end of the year whether to use this location or choose one of the other locations that they have available to them.
Unfortunately we find ourselves in a position where we are going up against the government. Given the perspective, we are a small church with little chance of being able to make the government change their decision. However, we will continue to move forward with faith in a God who is bigger than any government.
One of the simplest historical problems with the claim that Bellevue was in "core phase" was that it seemed hard to buy the idea that a church that was reportedly planted back in 2005 could still be in "core" phase eight years later. There was a blog post a few years back on the mystery of this "core phase" here at Wenatchee The Hatchet, from which we'll have to quote extensively owing to how many things got purged from the net.
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2013/10/mars-hill-bellevue-in-core-group-phase.html
Pastor A. J. Hamilton wrote the following about Mars Hill in Bellevue:
https://web.archive.org/web/20130330192727/http://marshill.com/2010/10/07/when-mars-hill-became-multi-campus-church-2006-present
http://marshill.com/2010/10/07/when-mars-hill-became-multi-campus-church-2006-present
...
Bellevue was an A29 church plant which then converted to a MHC campus and exploded in attendance. We then sent their campus pastor out to plant another church in San Diego and an existing A29 planter took the role. It is no wonder that Bellevue has aggressive church- and campus-planting strategies that other campus leadership teams look to for best practices.
http://pastormark.tv/2011/11/29/jesus-loves-church-mergers-and-so-should-you
Mars Hill Bellevue
In the mid-2000s, a Mars Hill elder planted church on the Eastside of the greater Seattle area called The Vine. This plant was led by a Mars Hill pastor at the time, Jesse Winkler. The Vine started with a small core group from Mars Hill and eventually grew to be somewhere between 100 to 200 people.
Many people from that area were still driving into Seattle to attend Mars Hill in Ballard, and the number of people grew so large that we decided to consider planting a church east of Seattle. We met with Winkler and asked him if he wanted to continue as an independent church with us planting another one far enough away from his church so as to not drain his people, or if he wanted to become a Mars Hill Church. He took some time to fast and pray, seeking God’s will, and was convinced God was asking him to partner with Mars Hill to lead one church made up of people from The Vine and Mars Hill. The Vine church became Mars Hill Eastside in 2008, which eventually became Mars Hill Bellevue.
After the merger, the church saw immediate growth, going from 200 people to over 500 people almost overnight. Some Sundays, men were asked to stand outside in the wet and cold of Seattle to listen via speaker because we couldn't fit everyone into the small funeral home in which the church met for the multiple services. Since then, there has been much fruit, as Mars Hill Downtown Bellevue just moved into a new building in the heart of Downtown Bellevue and is seeing over 2,000 people worship Jesus and serve the surrounding community, hundreds of which are a result of new Christians who met Jesus and were baptized at Mars Hill Bellevue.
Additionally, Mars Hill Bellevue, along with some other Acts 29 churches, helped fund Westview Church in San Diego, California, with Pastor Jesse spearheading that plant. And the church has sent a core group of a couple hundred over to our newest location, Mars Hill Sammamish (which I’ll talk about later in this post).
So what's in the link?
http://blog.marshill.com/2011/10/31/the-day-bellevue-opened-grandly/
The Bellevue church started four years ago, after merging with The Vine in a Redmond funeral home. It was a quiet launch, but it was only a few weeks before the church outgrew its space. Three years ago it moved into a remodeled gym at Eastside Christian School, near Bellevue College, but the group has been in pursuit of a more permanent situation since. Pastors discovered the John Danz building about two years ago. The church overcame a number of obstacles, including raising $2 million dollars to renovate the space, before its grand opening yesterday.
In the '70s and '80s, the Danz building played home to one of the biggest four movie theaters in the area. In the past 10 years, its served as a Good Guys and an Underhill's furniture store. It now has a new purpose. Pastor Mark Driscoll was so moved by what is going on in Bellevue, he committed to preaching a couple evening services a month at the new location. "This is a fantastic place," he said, spectating the growth. "I feel like I'm a kite, and God's a hurricane."
And while we're at it here's a post published September 2, 2010.
http://www.theresolved.com/4732/resolved-church-plants/
Jesse Winkler is planting Westview Church | www.westviewchurch.com
Jesse planted The Vine church in Seattle, Washington in 2005. In 2009 The Vine was adopted as one of the sites of Mars Hill Church and God put a calling on Jesse to move back down to Southern California and plant a church in Rancho Penasquitos of North County San Diego. Jesse is married, has four children and has been a guest speaker at The Resolved Church a number of times. Currently Pastor Duane is serving as one of Jesse’s virtual elders until he is able to find and develop qualified elders. Jesse is currently having soft launch vision and core group gatherings and is officially launching in November 2010. Here’s a word from Jesse about it:
With such a cloud of witnesses establishing that Jesse Winkler planted The Vine in 2005 and that The Vine eventually went on to become what was called Mars Hill Bellevue, the idea that by 2013 Mars Hill Bellevue was in "core phase" was preposterous. The other, even more substantial problem was that whether or not MH Bellevue was in "core phase" or not, the desired real estate had been purchased some time before Mars Hill leadership expressed interest in the real estate.
To read a quote from Justin Dean telling The Seattle Times God wanted Mars Hill to have that Bellevue property you can go over here:
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/mars-hill-wants-bellevue-property-suggests-sound-transit-sell/
Obviously Mars Hill in general and Mars Hill Bellevue in particular was forced to move on. The INternational Paper Building was not going to be an option.
By November 2014 Hurst resigned from eldership and moved on away from formal ministry.
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2014/11/throckmorton-mh-bellevue-thomas-hurst.html
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/warrenthrockmorton/2014/11/02/mars-hill-bellevue-pastor-thomas-hurst-resigns/
By this time, of course, Mark Driscoll had announced his own resignation. By the end of October Mars Hill Bellevue had begun a transition to become something else.
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2014/10/in-wake-of-closure-announcement-boaaboo.html
One of the names that used to be more prominent in the Mars Hill Bellevue scene was Matt Rogers. Rogers, some may recall, wrote a missive regarding a protest that happened in 2014 outside MH Bellevue. Rogers had a role on the Board of Elders tasked with investigating Mark Driscoll
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-boe-members-part-6-pastor-matt.html
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2014/08/mars-hill-bellevue-pastor-matt-rogers.html
From Pastor Matt Rogers:
This past Sunday outside our building about 60 professing Christians led a protest, left a bit of trash,
and slandered good men. Inside the building our church family worshipped Jesus. Let that image be what defines us. Others will cast aspersions, but we will worship Jesus. ...
There was a point when Matt Rogers was listed the registered agent of the Bellevue Doxa-Eastside church, but that was back in October 2014.
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2014/10/in-wake-of-closure-announcement-boaaboo.html
http://www.sos.wa.gov/corps/search_detail.aspx?ubi=603448198
UBI Number 603448198
Category REG
Profit/Nonprofit Nonprofit
Active/Inactive Active
State Of Incorporation WA
WA Filing Date 10/29/2014
Expiration Date 10/31/2015
Inactive Date
Duration Perpetual
Agent Name Matthew Rogers
Address 620 106th Ave NE
City BELLEVUE
State WA
ZIP 98004
Governing Persons
Title
Name
Address
Chairman Rogers, Matthew 620 106th Ave. NE
Bellevue, WA 98004
Director Hurst, Thomas 620 106th Ave. NE
Bellevue, WA 98004
Director Skelton, Jason 620 106th Ave. NE
Bellevue, WA 98004
Director Molvar, Roger 620 106th Ave. NE
Bellevue, WA 98004
You won't find Rogers' name listed on the site now, however. While Hurst's resignation was announced, Matt Rogers' disappearance from the leadership roster of what was once Mars Hill Bellevue and later Doxa-Eastside has no journalistic documentation that Wenatchee The Hatchet is currently aware of.
All told, Mars Hill Bellevue's precipitous decline is explicable not only in terms of the general controversies associated with Mark Driscoll, it could also be explicable in terms of local scandals that people beyond King County possibly never heard about in the first place, dust-ups that would scarcely have merited national or even regional coverage but that played a possibly significant role in the congregation losing trust in the honesty or competence of local Mars Hill leadership.
There's little room to doubt that if God wanted Mars Hill in general and Mars Hill Bellevue in particular to have the International Paper Building they'd have it by now. Since there is no Mars Hill and Mars Hill Bellevue relaunched as Doxa-Eastside and still doesn't have the International Paper Building it would seem like a safe guess that if God wanted Mars Hill to have that real estate there would still be a Mars Hill around to have it. Transparency from the leadership teams of the new churches will be a good thing and in the case of what was once Mars Hill Bellevue, that congregation could have been particularly rocked by the gap between what the public statements by PR and top-tier leadership had to say with local campus leadership and the reality of what didn't come to pass about God's will for Mars Hill in Bellevue. As easy as it is to chalk up the cataclysmic decline of the corporation formerly known as Mars Hill to scandals directly connected to Mark Driscoll there were, as we've demonstrated at some length, some other controversies that not only involved top-tier leadership but which would have also implicated the reputations of leaders at the campus level. Every day a pastor at Mars Hill Bellevue went to church on Sunday in 2014 one of the dark clouds looming over any given church service was "Good for Bellevue".
Monday, January 04, 2016
2016, a new year, and the MH re-plants share their respective histories ... or not, an overview of which MH spin-offs have leaders who were on the BoE that was investigating Driscoll
sadf
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2015/08/from-mars-hill-shoreline-to-sound-city.html
http://soundcitybiblechurch.com/about-us/history/
In 1996, a pastor named Mark Driscoll started a new church in Seattle called Mars Hill. Mars Hill Church grew rapidly, and in 2006 decided to plant its very first remote campus, a video location called Mars Hill Shoreline. The pastor who launched the new location, Steve Tompkins, put it this way: “God kept bringing more people to hear the gospel. Even five Sunday services [in Ballard] back-to-back didn’t address our need for more space.”
God did many amazing things in and through Mars Hill Shoreline: people were saved, hundreds were baptized, families were started, lives were transformed. However, there were also many issues that built up over the years which all came to a head in 2014, a year of great difficulty for the church. Facing mounting criticism as the church investigated formal charges against him, Mark Driscoll submitted his resignation as vision and preaching pastor on October 14, 2014. Shortly afterward, it was announced that each local campus of Mars Hill would have the opportunity to launch out as their own fully independent church.
After much prayer and discussion, the elder team of Mars Hill Shoreline did make the decision to re-plant Mars Hill Shoreline as Sound City Bible Church. The elders made the commitment to learn from the sins and mistakes of the church in the past while focusing on a fresh vision to help people hear the good news of Jesus all throughout the north end of the greater Seattle area.
Sound City Bible Church is not simply Mars Hill carrying on under a new name. It is a new church with a new elder team, a new doctrinal statement, a new mission and a new set of values. This church has been through some difficult times, but through it all is more convinced than ever that Jesus truly is the one who is worth placing ultimate hope in. We hope and pray that God would give us many years together to glorify God by proclaiming Jesus, receiving grace, being disciples, and making disciples.
Trinity West sort of doesn't have a history page
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2015/08/from-mars-hill-west-seattle-to-trinity.html
http://www.trinityws.com/
Some of these churches are starting from scratch and disconnected from Mars Hill so it might make sense to not have a history that states up front the Mars Hill lineage while formally declaring a different set of goals is in order. Now Fairchild was not on the BoE, for those who remember what the Board of Elders was.
But ... if your church says one of its core values is "legacy" then not mentioning a legacy connected to Mars Hill becomes more puzzling.
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2015/08/from-mars-hill-tacoma-to-resurrection.html
http://www.resurrectionchurch.com/about/
For those who don't remember, Bubba Jennings was not just on the Board of Elders, he was also an executive elder around the time the 2007 firings and trials occurred.
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-boe-members-part-3-pastor-bubba.html
So he may not only be able to answer questions about investigation into Mark Driscoll from 2014, he is one of the only people who had a connection to the termination and trials of Meyer and Petry from 2007 that has not publicly recanted/repudiated involvement of any kind in that process.
Redemption in Spokane indicates their story as connected to Mars Hill.
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2015/08/from-mars-hill-spokane-to-redemption.html
http://redemptionspokane.com/whoweare/
Redemption Spokane is a new church planted in the heart of the Inland Northwest with the mission to see the work of redemption impact Spokane, seeing many people’s lives changed by the power of the Gospel. Our founding pastor, Miles Rohde, and a large number of our original core members had a heart to see a new church planted in the heart of Spokane that would reach the entire region. Originally beginning with the vision of being a church connected to Mars Hill Church, in the fall of 2014 a decision was made to become a fully independent church with our soft-launch in January 2015.
The church building, located on the corner of 2nd Ave and Division Street, has been a bastion of the gospel in Spokane since the first church building was constructed at this important crossroads in downtown Spokane. Having moved into this church building, right in the heart of Spokane, Redemption Spokane desires to continue the legacy of the Gospel being faithfully preached to all.
As a church, we had our official launch at our Easter service in 2015.
For those who may have forgotten ... somebody was on the Board of Elders assigned to investigate Driscoll, if memory serves.
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-boe-members-part-7-pastor-miles.html
One would already have to have known that the Rainier Valley Church had a Mars Hill history to observe it's still at the Union Gospel Mission site.
http://www.rainiervalleychurch.com/about-us/
Given the obscure but swift disappearance of Willie Wilson from its leadership that this church even still exists at all could seem like a feat of community cohesion.
Choi was also mentioned as a member of the BoE
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-boe-members-part-1-pastor-ed-choi.html
Former Mars Hill Portland is now Redeemer in Portland and has nothing much to say about its history. They will, however, be nominating deacons soon (and may possibly have already)
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2015/08/from-mars-hill-portland-to-redeemer.html
http://redeemerpdx.com/about/leadership/
...
The Elder board of our church currently consists of: Pastor Eric Appleby, Pastor Jon Crist, Pastor Kevin Kelly, Pastor Ryan Mount, Pastor Dan Ortega, Pastor Tim Smith and Pastor Jim Swanson. Two of the Elders of Redeemer Church are also paid staff. They are: Tim Smith, in the role of Lead Teaching Pastor and Kevin Kelly, in the role of Executive Pastor.
God has called all of these men to lead by example and to serve with love, humility and grace, placing care and service to the flock over their own interests. Should you wish to speak to any of our Elders, please email redeemer@redeemerpdx.com indicating whom you wish to speak with and they will get back to you promptly.
Since Tim Smith was one of the members of the Board of Elders assigned to investigate Mark Driscoll maye an elder can lead by example by answering questions about what was in the report/investigation from later 2014?
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-boe-members-part-8-pastor-tim-smith.html
or maybe field questions about statements made about Mark Dunford?
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2014/09/mark-dunford-releases-statement.html
https://www.facebook.com/dunford.mark/posts/10152930946657345
https://www.dropbox.com/s/0zjdmzp7wr060f5/StatementFromTheDunfords.pdf?dl=0
Olympia ...
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2015/08/from-mars-hill-olympia-to-harbor-church.html
http://www.harborolympia.com/leadership/
Not a whole ton of history there to share. Although Mars Hill Olympia was where the Mars Hill Military Mission was once based, which was a ministry that basically distributed Mars Hill authored books to soldiers. The Military Mission was shut down in early 2012 after having been moved, for reasons not necessarily clearly explained, from Olympia to central HQ or thereabouts. As discussed at this blog, the book distributional aims of the defunct Military Mission could have made sense as an easy way to handle the bulk orders for the bulk order side of the Result Source strategy.
There are churches that were once Mars Hill that clearly believe it's best to lead up front with the line of descent. Other chuches seem eager to avoid this still unavoidable element of their history, at least for now.
For those who don't remember the name of Matt Rogers, who was pastor at Mars Hill Bellevue in 2014 and on the BoE and eventually appointed to the BoAA ...
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/warrenthrockmorton/2014/08/26/is-matt-rogers-the-newest-member-of-the-mars-hill-church-board-of-advisors-and-accountability/
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-boe-members-part-6-pastor-matt.html
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2015/08/from-mars-hill-bellevue-to-doxa-church.html
http://doxa-church.com/servant-leaders
There's not a lot of evidence he's connected to Doxa Eastside lately. There's no trace of him if you do a search for his name on their site. Given Rogers' role on both the BoE and the BoAA and what he was willing to say about public criticism of Mark Driscoll a hard reboot without him might seem beneficial. The hard reboot might also extend to not really sharing much by way of establishing the historic connection between Doxa and the former Mars Hill.
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2015/08/from-mars-hill-ballard-to-cross-and.html
http://crossandcrownseattle.com/home/about/
4554 12th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98105
Cross and Crown has left the Ballard site and taken up at what was once the U-District Mars Hill site.
It has, if memory serves, taken on people from the sites that were formerly Mars Hill Downtown, Ballard and the U-District. As reported a while back by Wenatchee The Hatchet and Warren Throckmorton some of the campuses had been losing attenders or members in the months running up to Driscoll's formal resignation. Consolidating those who were left at some of the campuses to what used to be Mars Hill Ballard made some sense. In a way the consolidation process was a kind of mirror to the 20007 dispersion process in which people were sent out to launch campuses for the multi-campus process. And it's tough to forget that the multi-site approach became appealing as Mars Hill central leadership realized the second campus idea for what became the central headquarters was either impossible or wildly impractical. In th ehistory of Mars Hill it is worth stressing that when we consult the talks of Mark Drsicoll about multi-site compared to what he published in Confessions of Reformission Rev about a decade ago, the entire multi-site approach was a kind of epic Plan B.
So, anyway, Cross and Crown does not have a very detailed history for itself yet.
Then there's the somewhat shortlived Mars Hill Albuquerque.
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2015/08/from-mars-hill-albuquerque-to-north.html
Not only does there not seem to be any history for the church you can't even tell who the leaders are as you can with just about any of the other churches, unless you go digging up the sermons.
You can learn more if you fill out a form, though.
http://northchurchabq.com/connect/
So, having reviewed a few of the sites that were once Mars Hill and having noted which applicable names showed up in the Board of Elders ... let's revisit a statement quoted by Warren Throckmorton.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/warrenthrockmorton/2014/10/19/mars-hill-church-board-of-elders-mark-driscoll-resigned-instead-of-enter-restoration-plan-to-deal/
The investigation of formal charges against Mark Driscoll has revealed patterns of persistent sin in the three areas disclosed in the previous letter by the Board of Overseers. In I Tim 5:20, it requires that an elder be rebuked for persistent sin. Our intention was to do this while providing a plan for his eventual restoration to leadership. The Board of Elders in agreement with the Board of Overseers are grieved, deeply grieved, that any process like that was lost to us when Mark Driscoll resigned in position and left the church. Now is the time to move on and consider what God is calling us to next as a church as we participate in Jesus’ mission to make disciples in His name. [emphasis added] Today begins a new chapter in the history of our church which has proceeded in one direction under one leadership for many years now, but I want you to understand this, God is our Father. That does not change. Jesus is the chief shepherd of the church and that has not changed.
The elders of Mars Hill Church acknowledge as we’ve gone through all of this investigation, and heard all of these stories, we acknowledge that we have personally led in some of the same ways that demonstrate some of the same ways that Pastor Mark had. And those things require repentance and forgiveness and restoration. We realize that there are ways that we have led as elders in ways that have been domineering, sometimes arrogant and sometimes boastful and at least for my part, I want to say I deeply regret those sins and I ask for your forgiveness. We want to lead you into the future in a way that displays more grace, more love as we speak the truth to each of you. If there are people that I have offended in ways I have pastored this church, I would welcome that you come to me and speak with me to allow me the opportunity to reconcile with you.
At this time Mars Hill Church is going to move ahead under the Board of Overseers established plan for transition. Pastor Dave Bruskas will serve as the teaching and preaching pastor during an interim period of time until we establish a direction we are going as a church. The Board of Advisors are going to be working in the weeks to come on a plan for moving forward and for how that will unfold, what the next steps are, there are a lot of things to consider. As we discover what those things are, what the spirit shows us, then we want to communicate clearly to you and transparently to you what’s happening, the directions and the changes that will be taking place.
2016 is a new year but even if there's a new man, to borrow an apostolic epistletory idiom, the old man isn't completely dead yet.
No, actually, we can be pretty literal about this. The corporation formerly known as Mars Hill Church is still technically listed as "Active" even today by the Washington Secretary of State website.
https://www.sos.wa.gov/corps/search_detail.aspx?ubi=601677819
It still lists Dave Bruskas as President and Caleb Walters as Vice-President even though Kerry Dodd's been describing himself as President for a while and describes himself thus as of ... right now.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerry-dodd-a4174712
Recognized by who for the successful launching of 11 new independent entities? Would whoever recognized Kerry Dodd for this clarify for the record they recognized this?
and ... Caleb Walters is still mentioning he's Chief Operations Officer for the potentially still existing Mars Hill.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/calebwalters
Who was on the board of directors since the resignation of Driscoll that seems implicit in Dodd's verbiage? Who's been on the transition team? While many a person has assumed that things were "over" the dissolution of the company is the period in which stuff gets sold and assets get distributed. This was/is the period in which to actually pay more rather than less attention to what may be going on. Sure, Driscoll's got a church he's aiming to start up but there's no need to forget that Mars Hill hasn't ceased to exist as a corporate entity just because a celebrity threw in the towel rather than comply with a restoration plan proposed by a board.
So as 2016 moves forward we'll get to see which of the 11 spin-offs prospers or not. It remains to be seen. They may all make it but we don't know yet.
Meanwhile, we know which churches seem to feel comfortable enough to explain in their public web presence where they've come from and which aren't yet.
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2015/08/from-mars-hill-shoreline-to-sound-city.html
http://soundcitybiblechurch.com/about-us/history/
In 1996, a pastor named Mark Driscoll started a new church in Seattle called Mars Hill. Mars Hill Church grew rapidly, and in 2006 decided to plant its very first remote campus, a video location called Mars Hill Shoreline. The pastor who launched the new location, Steve Tompkins, put it this way: “God kept bringing more people to hear the gospel. Even five Sunday services [in Ballard] back-to-back didn’t address our need for more space.”
God did many amazing things in and through Mars Hill Shoreline: people were saved, hundreds were baptized, families were started, lives were transformed. However, there were also many issues that built up over the years which all came to a head in 2014, a year of great difficulty for the church. Facing mounting criticism as the church investigated formal charges against him, Mark Driscoll submitted his resignation as vision and preaching pastor on October 14, 2014. Shortly afterward, it was announced that each local campus of Mars Hill would have the opportunity to launch out as their own fully independent church.
After much prayer and discussion, the elder team of Mars Hill Shoreline did make the decision to re-plant Mars Hill Shoreline as Sound City Bible Church. The elders made the commitment to learn from the sins and mistakes of the church in the past while focusing on a fresh vision to help people hear the good news of Jesus all throughout the north end of the greater Seattle area.
Sound City Bible Church is not simply Mars Hill carrying on under a new name. It is a new church with a new elder team, a new doctrinal statement, a new mission and a new set of values. This church has been through some difficult times, but through it all is more convinced than ever that Jesus truly is the one who is worth placing ultimate hope in. We hope and pray that God would give us many years together to glorify God by proclaiming Jesus, receiving grace, being disciples, and making disciples.
Trinity West sort of doesn't have a history page
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2015/08/from-mars-hill-west-seattle-to-trinity.html
http://www.trinityws.com/
Some of these churches are starting from scratch and disconnected from Mars Hill so it might make sense to not have a history that states up front the Mars Hill lineage while formally declaring a different set of goals is in order. Now Fairchild was not on the BoE, for those who remember what the Board of Elders was.
But ... if your church says one of its core values is "legacy" then not mentioning a legacy connected to Mars Hill becomes more puzzling.
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2015/08/from-mars-hill-tacoma-to-resurrection.html
http://www.resurrectionchurch.com/about/
For those who don't remember, Bubba Jennings was not just on the Board of Elders, he was also an executive elder around the time the 2007 firings and trials occurred.
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-boe-members-part-3-pastor-bubba.html
So he may not only be able to answer questions about investigation into Mark Driscoll from 2014, he is one of the only people who had a connection to the termination and trials of Meyer and Petry from 2007 that has not publicly recanted/repudiated involvement of any kind in that process.
Redemption in Spokane indicates their story as connected to Mars Hill.
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2015/08/from-mars-hill-spokane-to-redemption.html
http://redemptionspokane.com/whoweare/
Redemption Spokane is a new church planted in the heart of the Inland Northwest with the mission to see the work of redemption impact Spokane, seeing many people’s lives changed by the power of the Gospel. Our founding pastor, Miles Rohde, and a large number of our original core members had a heart to see a new church planted in the heart of Spokane that would reach the entire region. Originally beginning with the vision of being a church connected to Mars Hill Church, in the fall of 2014 a decision was made to become a fully independent church with our soft-launch in January 2015.
The church building, located on the corner of 2nd Ave and Division Street, has been a bastion of the gospel in Spokane since the first church building was constructed at this important crossroads in downtown Spokane. Having moved into this church building, right in the heart of Spokane, Redemption Spokane desires to continue the legacy of the Gospel being faithfully preached to all.
As a church, we had our official launch at our Easter service in 2015.
For those who may have forgotten ... somebody was on the Board of Elders assigned to investigate Driscoll, if memory serves.
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-boe-members-part-7-pastor-miles.html
One would already have to have known that the Rainier Valley Church had a Mars Hill history to observe it's still at the Union Gospel Mission site.
http://www.rainiervalleychurch.com/about-us/
Given the obscure but swift disappearance of Willie Wilson from its leadership that this church even still exists at all could seem like a feat of community cohesion.
Choi was also mentioned as a member of the BoE
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-boe-members-part-1-pastor-ed-choi.html
Former Mars Hill Portland is now Redeemer in Portland and has nothing much to say about its history. They will, however, be nominating deacons soon (and may possibly have already)
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2015/08/from-mars-hill-portland-to-redeemer.html
http://redeemerpdx.com/about/leadership/
...
The Elder board of our church currently consists of: Pastor Eric Appleby, Pastor Jon Crist, Pastor Kevin Kelly, Pastor Ryan Mount, Pastor Dan Ortega, Pastor Tim Smith and Pastor Jim Swanson. Two of the Elders of Redeemer Church are also paid staff. They are: Tim Smith, in the role of Lead Teaching Pastor and Kevin Kelly, in the role of Executive Pastor.
God has called all of these men to lead by example and to serve with love, humility and grace, placing care and service to the flock over their own interests. Should you wish to speak to any of our Elders, please email redeemer@redeemerpdx.com indicating whom you wish to speak with and they will get back to you promptly.
Deacons
As a new church, we will soon nominate Deacons who will be responsible for taking various day-to-day burdens of service from the Elders, in order that they may focus on prayer, teaching and general oversight of the church. Redeemer Church will have both men and women Deacons, as supported by scripture.Since Tim Smith was one of the members of the Board of Elders assigned to investigate Mark Driscoll maye an elder can lead by example by answering questions about what was in the report/investigation from later 2014?
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-boe-members-part-8-pastor-tim-smith.html
or maybe field questions about statements made about Mark Dunford?
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2014/09/mark-dunford-releases-statement.html
https://www.facebook.com/dunford.mark/posts/10152930946657345
https://www.dropbox.com/s/0zjdmzp7wr060f5/StatementFromTheDunfords.pdf?dl=0
Olympia ...
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2015/08/from-mars-hill-olympia-to-harbor-church.html
http://www.harborolympia.com/leadership/
Not a whole ton of history there to share. Although Mars Hill Olympia was where the Mars Hill Military Mission was once based, which was a ministry that basically distributed Mars Hill authored books to soldiers. The Military Mission was shut down in early 2012 after having been moved, for reasons not necessarily clearly explained, from Olympia to central HQ or thereabouts. As discussed at this blog, the book distributional aims of the defunct Military Mission could have made sense as an easy way to handle the bulk orders for the bulk order side of the Result Source strategy.
There are churches that were once Mars Hill that clearly believe it's best to lead up front with the line of descent. Other chuches seem eager to avoid this still unavoidable element of their history, at least for now.
For those who don't remember the name of Matt Rogers, who was pastor at Mars Hill Bellevue in 2014 and on the BoE and eventually appointed to the BoAA ...
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/warrenthrockmorton/2014/08/26/is-matt-rogers-the-newest-member-of-the-mars-hill-church-board-of-advisors-and-accountability/
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-boe-members-part-6-pastor-matt.html
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2015/08/from-mars-hill-bellevue-to-doxa-church.html
http://doxa-church.com/servant-leaders
There's not a lot of evidence he's connected to Doxa Eastside lately. There's no trace of him if you do a search for his name on their site. Given Rogers' role on both the BoE and the BoAA and what he was willing to say about public criticism of Mark Driscoll a hard reboot without him might seem beneficial. The hard reboot might also extend to not really sharing much by way of establishing the historic connection between Doxa and the former Mars Hill.
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2015/08/from-mars-hill-ballard-to-cross-and.html
http://crossandcrownseattle.com/home/about/
4554 12th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98105
Cross and Crown has left the Ballard site and taken up at what was once the U-District Mars Hill site.
It has, if memory serves, taken on people from the sites that were formerly Mars Hill Downtown, Ballard and the U-District. As reported a while back by Wenatchee The Hatchet and Warren Throckmorton some of the campuses had been losing attenders or members in the months running up to Driscoll's formal resignation. Consolidating those who were left at some of the campuses to what used to be Mars Hill Ballard made some sense. In a way the consolidation process was a kind of mirror to the 20007 dispersion process in which people were sent out to launch campuses for the multi-campus process. And it's tough to forget that the multi-site approach became appealing as Mars Hill central leadership realized the second campus idea for what became the central headquarters was either impossible or wildly impractical. In th ehistory of Mars Hill it is worth stressing that when we consult the talks of Mark Drsicoll about multi-site compared to what he published in Confessions of Reformission Rev about a decade ago, the entire multi-site approach was a kind of epic Plan B.
So, anyway, Cross and Crown does not have a very detailed history for itself yet.
Then there's the somewhat shortlived Mars Hill Albuquerque.
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2015/08/from-mars-hill-albuquerque-to-north.html
Not only does there not seem to be any history for the church you can't even tell who the leaders are as you can with just about any of the other churches, unless you go digging up the sermons.
You can learn more if you fill out a form, though.
http://northchurchabq.com/connect/
So, having reviewed a few of the sites that were once Mars Hill and having noted which applicable names showed up in the Board of Elders ... let's revisit a statement quoted by Warren Throckmorton.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/warrenthrockmorton/2014/10/19/mars-hill-church-board-of-elders-mark-driscoll-resigned-instead-of-enter-restoration-plan-to-deal/
The investigation of formal charges against Mark Driscoll has revealed patterns of persistent sin in the three areas disclosed in the previous letter by the Board of Overseers. In I Tim 5:20, it requires that an elder be rebuked for persistent sin. Our intention was to do this while providing a plan for his eventual restoration to leadership. The Board of Elders in agreement with the Board of Overseers are grieved, deeply grieved, that any process like that was lost to us when Mark Driscoll resigned in position and left the church. Now is the time to move on and consider what God is calling us to next as a church as we participate in Jesus’ mission to make disciples in His name. [emphasis added] Today begins a new chapter in the history of our church which has proceeded in one direction under one leadership for many years now, but I want you to understand this, God is our Father. That does not change. Jesus is the chief shepherd of the church and that has not changed.
The elders of Mars Hill Church acknowledge as we’ve gone through all of this investigation, and heard all of these stories, we acknowledge that we have personally led in some of the same ways that demonstrate some of the same ways that Pastor Mark had. And those things require repentance and forgiveness and restoration. We realize that there are ways that we have led as elders in ways that have been domineering, sometimes arrogant and sometimes boastful and at least for my part, I want to say I deeply regret those sins and I ask for your forgiveness. We want to lead you into the future in a way that displays more grace, more love as we speak the truth to each of you. If there are people that I have offended in ways I have pastored this church, I would welcome that you come to me and speak with me to allow me the opportunity to reconcile with you.
At this time Mars Hill Church is going to move ahead under the Board of Overseers established plan for transition. Pastor Dave Bruskas will serve as the teaching and preaching pastor during an interim period of time until we establish a direction we are going as a church. The Board of Advisors are going to be working in the weeks to come on a plan for moving forward and for how that will unfold, what the next steps are, there are a lot of things to consider. As we discover what those things are, what the spirit shows us, then we want to communicate clearly to you and transparently to you what’s happening, the directions and the changes that will be taking place.
2016 is a new year but even if there's a new man, to borrow an apostolic epistletory idiom, the old man isn't completely dead yet.
No, actually, we can be pretty literal about this. The corporation formerly known as Mars Hill Church is still technically listed as "Active" even today by the Washington Secretary of State website.
https://www.sos.wa.gov/corps/search_detail.aspx?ubi=601677819
It still lists Dave Bruskas as President and Caleb Walters as Vice-President even though Kerry Dodd's been describing himself as President for a while and describes himself thus as of ... right now.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerry-dodd-a4174712
President and General Manager
Mars Hill Fellowship, Inc.
- Keen management to daily operations to guarantee proper handling of all legal affairs and creditor obligations
- Tactical administration to the liquidation of real property and other assets; along with the distribution of net assets
- Recognition for the successful launching of 11 new independent entities by separating the organization from its 15 operating locations
- Appointment as corporate president of the board of directors; as well as promotion to general manager, in charge of leading the transition team in settling the affairs of the corporation toward the distribution of net assets and dissolution
- Tactical administration to the liquidation of real property and other assets; along with the distribution of net assets
- Recognition for the successful launching of 11 new independent entities by separating the organization from its 15 operating locations
- Appointment as corporate president of the board of directors; as well as promotion to general manager, in charge of leading the transition team in settling the affairs of the corporation toward the distribution of net assets and dissolution
Recognized by who for the successful launching of 11 new independent entities? Would whoever recognized Kerry Dodd for this clarify for the record they recognized this?
and ... Caleb Walters is still mentioning he's Chief Operations Officer for the potentially still existing Mars Hill.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/calebwalters
Who was on the board of directors since the resignation of Driscoll that seems implicit in Dodd's verbiage? Who's been on the transition team? While many a person has assumed that things were "over" the dissolution of the company is the period in which stuff gets sold and assets get distributed. This was/is the period in which to actually pay more rather than less attention to what may be going on. Sure, Driscoll's got a church he's aiming to start up but there's no need to forget that Mars Hill hasn't ceased to exist as a corporate entity just because a celebrity threw in the towel rather than comply with a restoration plan proposed by a board.
So as 2016 moves forward we'll get to see which of the 11 spin-offs prospers or not. It remains to be seen. They may all make it but we don't know yet.
Meanwhile, we know which churches seem to feel comfortable enough to explain in their public web presence where they've come from and which aren't yet.
Sunday, August 09, 2015
from Mars Hill Bellevue to Doxa Church - Eastside
https://www.sos.wa.gov/corps/
DOXA CHURCH - EASTSIDE
UBI Number 603448198
Category REG
Profit/Nonprofit Nonprofit
Active/Inactive Active
State Of Incorporation WA
WA Filing Date 10/29/2014
Expiration Date 10/31/2015
Chairman Molvar, Roger 620 106th Ave. NE
BELLEVUE, WA 98004
Director Ghioni, Alex 620 106th Ave. NE
BELLEVUE, WA 98004
Director Cox, Dave 620 106th Ave. NE
BELLEVUE, WA 98004
President Vanderstelt, Jeff 620 106th Ave. NE
BELLEVUE, WA 98004
Secretary Patton, Timothy 620 106th Ave. NE
BELLEVUE, WA 98004
DOXA CHURCH - EASTSIDE
UBI Number 603448198
Category REG
Profit/Nonprofit Nonprofit
Active/Inactive Active
State Of Incorporation WA
WA Filing Date 10/29/2014
Expiration Date 10/31/2015
Chairman Molvar, Roger 620 106th Ave. NE
BELLEVUE, WA 98004
Director Ghioni, Alex 620 106th Ave. NE
BELLEVUE, WA 98004
Director Cox, Dave 620 106th Ave. NE
BELLEVUE, WA 98004
President Vanderstelt, Jeff 620 106th Ave. NE
BELLEVUE, WA 98004
Secretary Patton, Timothy 620 106th Ave. NE
BELLEVUE, WA 98004
Saturday, August 01, 2015
another visitation in irony, does God still want MH to have the International Paper Building after all if they're auctioning off assets? revisiting Driscoll's warning against the "God told me" card and the 2013 "Good for Bellevue" claims
Since there is no longer a Mars Hill as more than a holding company for assets (if that), it's all the more striking to revisit Mark Driscoll preaching in May 2014 about how you can't just pull out the "God told me" card. Moreover, it's fascinating to revisit "Good for Bellevue" in this light.
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2014/05/in-early-may-2014-driscoll-advises-to.html
EMPOWERED BY THE SPIRIT FOR MINISTRY
Pastor Mark Driscoll
ACTS (5:12-42)
May 04, 2014 http://marshill.com/media/acts-chapters-6-11-empowered-for-jesus-mission/acts-12-6-1-7
http://download.marshill.com/files/2014/05/04/20140504_acts-12-6-1-7_sd_audio.mp3
http://download.marshill.com/files/2014/05/04/20140504_acts-12-6-1-7_vodcast.m4v
http://download.marshill.com/files/2014/05/04/20140504_acts-12-6-1-7_tv_sd_progressive.m4v
http://download.marshill.com/files/2014/05/04/20140504_acts-12-6-1-7_tv_hd_progressive.m4v
http://marshill.com/en/transcript/acts-chapters-6-11-empowered-for-jesus-mission/acts-12-6-1-7
41:26ish
...
So I want to be careful with this because this can be an opportunity for spiritual abuse. Because sometimes people say, “God told me.” Well, we’ll see, OK? You can’t just pull out the “God told me” card. [emphasis added] Ladies, let’s say you meet a guy and the guy says, “God told me to marry you.” “Interesting, he didn’t tell me or my dad, you know, so I don’t have to just assume that because you say the Lord says that the Lord in fact has spoken.”
You need to be very careful. Somebody comes along, “God told me to plant a church.” Let’s check that. All right, you can’t—I mean, 1 Corinthians 14 is clear. If you think you got a word from the Lord, you’ve got to check it by the leaders. So what we’re looking for, if you believe God has told you something, especially to do something that is difficult like this, we’re looking for a godly person—Peter’s a godly person. In godly community—it says he’s with the apostles, they’re all agreed. Under godly authority—they all agree on this. With a godly motive—to talk about Jesus. Doing a godly thing—wanting to minister to people. In a godly way—by being open in public and not hiding anything. So if you believe the Lord has told you something, he may have, but I would ask, “Are you a godly person in godly community under godly authority with a godly motive doing a godly thing in a godly way?” ... [emphasis added]
With all that in mind, let's revisit how Mars Hill Church broached the matter of their interest in getting the International Paper Building in later 2013.http://web.archive.org/web/20131026120216/http://goodforbellevue.marshill.com/about/
About
Letter from Pastor Thomas Hurst
At the heart of every church plant is a “core group” of committed individuals who are always driving toward the mission of Jesus – making disciples and planting churches. This committed core sacrifice with great passion so that the church might grow and that more people would have their lives changed by Jesus. Much like the church elders, the members of a core group are able to see the vision of how the Gospel can change people, neighborhoods, even cities.
Through much prayer and consideration, the Executive Elders and I believe strongly that Jesus wants us to set down deep roots here on the Eastside by owning our next location [emphasis added] and planting a large healthy church that would include a training center. This location would serve as Mars Hill’s central operations center and regional hub for making disciples and planting churches.
Why Now?
God’s plans have far exceeded our own and, for his glory, He has given us fruit that has outgrown our current facility.
Our current location at the Danz building is a leased space and has been sold to the Rockefeller Group. They have announced plans to demolish the building and develop the entire block. Over the next few years our church would be situated in the middle of a major construction project, and ultimately we would be forced to move at the end of our lease in 2017.
The bottom line is this: God has had bigger plans for Mars Hill Bellevue all along, bigger than we could have ever imagined. When we moved into the Danz building we prayed for growth, and by God’s grace, the growth we’ve seen in Bellevue makes us one of the single fastest growing churches in America today. We need a larger location to accommodate what God is doing in our church.
We believe the right location is in Bellevue and that this church and training center will be the epicenter from which the Gospel will ring out around the world.
We’re Still in Core Group Phase
As we walk down the path God has laid out for us, we want to share with you a bit of a paradigm shift: Bellevue is now in “core group” phase. [emphasis added]
While many churches plant with a core group of 25 people, or 250 people, Mars Hill Bellevue is currently a core group of 2,500 people. As we look ahead, the Bellevue elders and the Executive Elders are not just praying for 1,000 people, or 5,000 people on a Sunday, we’re praying for 10,000 people to worship on a Sunday at Mars Hill Bellevue…10,000 individuals whose lives are forever changed by the Gospel. To this end, we need to think, act and pray differently, starting today. If we wait until tomorrow, a year from now or three years from now when our lease is up, it will be too late.
With this in mind, we have found a site in Bellevue that meets these needs. I’m asking you to pray with us as we explore what it will take to move Mars Hill Bellevue to this new location, and how you can be a part of the mission.
The International Paper Property on 120th St.
After many months of searching and narrowing down our choices, only one building in Bellevue is available that meets the needs of the church that God is building on the Eastside. A few weeks ago we made an offer on a property in the Bel-Red corridor on 120th St. which is currently owned by the International Paper Company.[all emphasis added]
The space is about 180,000 sq. feet on 10.5 acres of property, located directly on the new light rail line being developed in 2017. The City of Bellevue has plans to develop the area immediately surrounding this site with retail, restaurants, and urban housing.
After renovations the property could feature:
Seating for 3,000+ per service
Local Bellevue Church office space
Central Operations office space
Media & Communications space
Much larger Kids Ministry area
Space for Mars Hill Students
Training classrooms for a future Bible college
Ample parking space on-site
Large common areas
Mars Hill Bible College
Part of this vision includes opening a Bible college. Recently we sent out proposal requests to the best Bible colleges in the U.S. with the intention of partnering with one of them to establish an accredited Bible school at Mars Hill Bellevue. We want to provide sound theological training for your children as we raise up the next generation of leaders and church planters.
We’re Not Done Yet
Upon submitting our offer for this property, we’ve hit a snag.
Sound Transit, the government agency responsible for building and operating the light rail transit system, has purchased this property to protect their interests, even though we offered to outbid any other offers.
Sound Transit intends to use this property to build an Operations & Maintenance Satellite Facility (OMSF), basically a large barn they will use to maintain the light rail trains, much like the one located in Georgetown just south of downtown Seattle. They have five locations in mind for this facility, and this property on 120th St. is currently their top choice.
“Good for Bellevue”
We believe, though, that this property is the location that God wants us to use to further the mission of the Gospel through Mars Hill Church [emphasis added], so we are continuing to pursue this property and work with Sound Transit to come to an agreement that works well for everyone involved.
We believe a Mars Hill church at this key location is far better for the church, better for the City of Bellevue, and better for the community and local economy than a transit maintenance barn. We will provide:Immediate benefit to local commerce (restaurants, hotels, transit and more).
More jobs to Bellevue (150+ employees).
Much needed conference/multi-use space to Bellevue.
Ridership for Sound Transit will increase due to our large events and regular attendees because we will be located directly on the transit line.
We plan to use the existing structure, which supports local green initiatives and the development plan for the Bel-Red corridor.
The City of Bellevue can benefit greatly by having both Mars Hill Church’s largest facility and the Sound Transit OMSF located in the city. While Sound Transit has several options for their maintenance barn, we only have one option for our church. Our intention is to work with Sound Transit as they decide by the end of the year whether to use this location or choose one of the other locations that they have available to them.
Unfortunately we find ourselves in a position where we are going up against the government. Given the perspective, we are a small church with little chance of being able to make the government change their decision. However, we will continue to move forward with faith in a God who is bigger than any government. [emphasis added]
Notice that the added emphases aren't even to all the spots where Hurst implies that God's will for Mars Hill Church is a given with respect to a very specific piece of real estate. http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2022117927_marshillbellevuexml.html
For those who have followed this story it's worth noting that early on MHC was proposing that Sound Transit seized the real estate under eminent domain.http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Church-Boasts-God-on-Their-Side-in-Property-Dispute-229184911.html
What MHC had claimed via Justin Dean to have offered above and beyond Sound Transit ended up being moot given that the Sound Transit purchase of the International Paper Building seems to have been finalized before Mars Hill even expressed interest in the real estate.
Well, despite the repeated statements to the effect that God wanted Mars Hill Church to have the International Paper Building is it possible God has changed His mind? More recently Warren Throckmorton has mentioned newer discussions emerging from within Mars Hill leadership bout another piece of real estate that may or may not be God's will for Mars Hill Church to own now.
And if Mars Hill still existed there might be a case to be made God wanted them to have the building, but after Mark Driscoll resigned (not mentioning God as a reason for the resignation in 2014 but blathering on about it in 2015) it's looking like maybe God didn't want Mars Hill Church to have the International Paper Building after all.
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2014/05/in-early-may-2014-driscoll-advises-to.html
EMPOWERED BY THE SPIRIT FOR MINISTRY
Pastor Mark Driscoll
ACTS (5:12-42)
May 04, 2014 http://marshill.com/media/acts-chapters-6-11-empowered-for-jesus-mission/acts-12-6-1-7
http://download.marshill.com/files/2014/05/04/20140504_acts-12-6-1-7_sd_audio.mp3
http://download.marshill.com/files/2014/05/04/20140504_acts-12-6-1-7_vodcast.m4v
http://download.marshill.com/files/2014/05/04/20140504_acts-12-6-1-7_tv_sd_progressive.m4v
http://download.marshill.com/files/2014/05/04/20140504_acts-12-6-1-7_tv_hd_progressive.m4v
http://marshill.com/en/transcript/acts-chapters-6-11-empowered-for-jesus-mission/acts-12-6-1-7
41:26ish
...
So I want to be careful with this because this can be an opportunity for spiritual abuse. Because sometimes people say, “God told me.” Well, we’ll see, OK? You can’t just pull out the “God told me” card. [emphasis added] Ladies, let’s say you meet a guy and the guy says, “God told me to marry you.” “Interesting, he didn’t tell me or my dad, you know, so I don’t have to just assume that because you say the Lord says that the Lord in fact has spoken.”
You need to be very careful. Somebody comes along, “God told me to plant a church.” Let’s check that. All right, you can’t—I mean, 1 Corinthians 14 is clear. If you think you got a word from the Lord, you’ve got to check it by the leaders. So what we’re looking for, if you believe God has told you something, especially to do something that is difficult like this, we’re looking for a godly person—Peter’s a godly person. In godly community—it says he’s with the apostles, they’re all agreed. Under godly authority—they all agree on this. With a godly motive—to talk about Jesus. Doing a godly thing—wanting to minister to people. In a godly way—by being open in public and not hiding anything. So if you believe the Lord has told you something, he may have, but I would ask, “Are you a godly person in godly community under godly authority with a godly motive doing a godly thing in a godly way?” ... [emphasis added]
With all that in mind, let's revisit how Mars Hill Church broached the matter of their interest in getting the International Paper Building in later 2013.http://web.archive.org/web/20131026120216/http://goodforbellevue.marshill.com/about/
About
Letter from Pastor Thomas Hurst
At the heart of every church plant is a “core group” of committed individuals who are always driving toward the mission of Jesus – making disciples and planting churches. This committed core sacrifice with great passion so that the church might grow and that more people would have their lives changed by Jesus. Much like the church elders, the members of a core group are able to see the vision of how the Gospel can change people, neighborhoods, even cities.
Through much prayer and consideration, the Executive Elders and I believe strongly that Jesus wants us to set down deep roots here on the Eastside by owning our next location [emphasis added] and planting a large healthy church that would include a training center. This location would serve as Mars Hill’s central operations center and regional hub for making disciples and planting churches.
Why Now?
God’s plans have far exceeded our own and, for his glory, He has given us fruit that has outgrown our current facility.
Our current location at the Danz building is a leased space and has been sold to the Rockefeller Group. They have announced plans to demolish the building and develop the entire block. Over the next few years our church would be situated in the middle of a major construction project, and ultimately we would be forced to move at the end of our lease in 2017.
The bottom line is this: God has had bigger plans for Mars Hill Bellevue all along, bigger than we could have ever imagined. When we moved into the Danz building we prayed for growth, and by God’s grace, the growth we’ve seen in Bellevue makes us one of the single fastest growing churches in America today. We need a larger location to accommodate what God is doing in our church.
We believe the right location is in Bellevue and that this church and training center will be the epicenter from which the Gospel will ring out around the world.
We’re Still in Core Group Phase
As we walk down the path God has laid out for us, we want to share with you a bit of a paradigm shift: Bellevue is now in “core group” phase. [emphasis added]
While many churches plant with a core group of 25 people, or 250 people, Mars Hill Bellevue is currently a core group of 2,500 people. As we look ahead, the Bellevue elders and the Executive Elders are not just praying for 1,000 people, or 5,000 people on a Sunday, we’re praying for 10,000 people to worship on a Sunday at Mars Hill Bellevue…10,000 individuals whose lives are forever changed by the Gospel. To this end, we need to think, act and pray differently, starting today. If we wait until tomorrow, a year from now or three years from now when our lease is up, it will be too late.
With this in mind, we have found a site in Bellevue that meets these needs. I’m asking you to pray with us as we explore what it will take to move Mars Hill Bellevue to this new location, and how you can be a part of the mission.
The International Paper Property on 120th St.
After many months of searching and narrowing down our choices, only one building in Bellevue is available that meets the needs of the church that God is building on the Eastside. A few weeks ago we made an offer on a property in the Bel-Red corridor on 120th St. which is currently owned by the International Paper Company.[all emphasis added]
The space is about 180,000 sq. feet on 10.5 acres of property, located directly on the new light rail line being developed in 2017. The City of Bellevue has plans to develop the area immediately surrounding this site with retail, restaurants, and urban housing.
After renovations the property could feature:
Seating for 3,000+ per service
Local Bellevue Church office space
Central Operations office space
Media & Communications space
Much larger Kids Ministry area
Space for Mars Hill Students
Training classrooms for a future Bible college
Ample parking space on-site
Large common areas
Mars Hill Bible College
Part of this vision includes opening a Bible college. Recently we sent out proposal requests to the best Bible colleges in the U.S. with the intention of partnering with one of them to establish an accredited Bible school at Mars Hill Bellevue. We want to provide sound theological training for your children as we raise up the next generation of leaders and church planters.
We’re Not Done Yet
Upon submitting our offer for this property, we’ve hit a snag.
Sound Transit, the government agency responsible for building and operating the light rail transit system, has purchased this property to protect their interests, even though we offered to outbid any other offers.
Sound Transit intends to use this property to build an Operations & Maintenance Satellite Facility (OMSF), basically a large barn they will use to maintain the light rail trains, much like the one located in Georgetown just south of downtown Seattle. They have five locations in mind for this facility, and this property on 120th St. is currently their top choice.
“Good for Bellevue”
We believe, though, that this property is the location that God wants us to use to further the mission of the Gospel through Mars Hill Church [emphasis added], so we are continuing to pursue this property and work with Sound Transit to come to an agreement that works well for everyone involved.
We believe a Mars Hill church at this key location is far better for the church, better for the City of Bellevue, and better for the community and local economy than a transit maintenance barn. We will provide:Immediate benefit to local commerce (restaurants, hotels, transit and more).
More jobs to Bellevue (150+ employees).
Much needed conference/multi-use space to Bellevue.
Ridership for Sound Transit will increase due to our large events and regular attendees because we will be located directly on the transit line.
We plan to use the existing structure, which supports local green initiatives and the development plan for the Bel-Red corridor.
The City of Bellevue can benefit greatly by having both Mars Hill Church’s largest facility and the Sound Transit OMSF located in the city. While Sound Transit has several options for their maintenance barn, we only have one option for our church. Our intention is to work with Sound Transit as they decide by the end of the year whether to use this location or choose one of the other locations that they have available to them.
Unfortunately we find ourselves in a position where we are going up against the government. Given the perspective, we are a small church with little chance of being able to make the government change their decision. However, we will continue to move forward with faith in a God who is bigger than any government. [emphasis added]
Notice that the added emphases aren't even to all the spots where Hurst implies that God's will for Mars Hill Church is a given with respect to a very specific piece of real estate. http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2022117927_marshillbellevuexml.html
For those who have followed this story it's worth noting that early on MHC was proposing that Sound Transit seized the real estate under eminent domain.http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Church-Boasts-God-on-Their-Side-in-Property-Dispute-229184911.html
What MHC had claimed via Justin Dean to have offered above and beyond Sound Transit ended up being moot given that the Sound Transit purchase of the International Paper Building seems to have been finalized before Mars Hill even expressed interest in the real estate.
Well, despite the repeated statements to the effect that God wanted Mars Hill Church to have the International Paper Building is it possible God has changed His mind? More recently Warren Throckmorton has mentioned newer discussions emerging from within Mars Hill leadership bout another piece of real estate that may or may not be God's will for Mars Hill Church to own now.
And if Mars Hill still existed there might be a case to be made God wanted them to have the building, but after Mark Driscoll resigned (not mentioning God as a reason for the resignation in 2014 but blathering on about it in 2015) it's looking like maybe God didn't want Mars Hill Church to have the International Paper Building after all.
Friday, December 26, 2014
Throckmorton: MH Bellevue that is now renaming as Doxa Church discloses salaries and more in memo on transparency
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/warrenthrockmorton/2014/12/26/doxa-church-discloses-salaries-and-more-in-memo-on-transparency/
While some in the leadership circle at Mars Hill Bellevue (which is becoming Doxa Church) ...
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/warrenthrockmorton/2014/12/24/mars-hill-bellevue-becomes-doxa-church/
may not answer all the questions that need to be answered (which at least Matt Rogers might be in a position to partly address by way of a membership on the Board of Advisors & Accountability) it remains to be seen how the new Doxa Church goes.
Wenatchee The Hatchet is not sufficiently familiar enough with Vanderstelt to have much of an opinion about him. However, Wenatchee The Hatchet has learned enough about the history of earlier Acts 29 and some of its politics to suggest that readers bear in mind that Vanderstelt was part of an Acts 29 affiliation circa 2002 to 2004, the period in which David Nicholas still had a significant role in the leading of Acts 29. Nicholas had not yet been, by Ron Wheeler's account, moved out of having any effective role on the Acts 29 leadership board. While it remains to be seen if Nicholas' writing or correspondence regarding Mark Driscoll's character and conduct may ever ultimately see the light of day this is stuff to bear in mind. Not even Wenatchee The Hatchet is in a position to be sure Vanderstelt is what some might want to call a "good guy" or "bad guy" but enough people have had a positive impression of him that a wait and see approach for Vanderstelt in particular is going to be Wenatchee's approach.
Notwithstanding Mark Driscoll's old canard that congregational rule in a church is like letting the mental patients run the nuthouse (which was given a firmer variation by James MacDonald's old "congregational rule is from Satan") a church that has more input and say in how it is governed and a church in which members are able to observe every line item in the budget would be a helpful direction.
Given the debt scenario James MacDonald and leadership company got their church into it seems improbable that congregational governance is really from Satan even as a hyperbolic statement. Wenatchee leans more Presbyterian but the trouble with denominations is that regardless of what cage phase you're in for your pet church movement there's ultimately no formal institution that really prevents abuse. Abuse can, does, and simply already has come up in every human movement and institution.
Still, Doxa Church may be off to a promising start ....
then again ... the same was certainly being said about Mars Hill, too. We'll just have to see.
While some in the leadership circle at Mars Hill Bellevue (which is becoming Doxa Church) ...
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/warrenthrockmorton/2014/12/24/mars-hill-bellevue-becomes-doxa-church/
may not answer all the questions that need to be answered (which at least Matt Rogers might be in a position to partly address by way of a membership on the Board of Advisors & Accountability) it remains to be seen how the new Doxa Church goes.
Wenatchee The Hatchet is not sufficiently familiar enough with Vanderstelt to have much of an opinion about him. However, Wenatchee The Hatchet has learned enough about the history of earlier Acts 29 and some of its politics to suggest that readers bear in mind that Vanderstelt was part of an Acts 29 affiliation circa 2002 to 2004, the period in which David Nicholas still had a significant role in the leading of Acts 29. Nicholas had not yet been, by Ron Wheeler's account, moved out of having any effective role on the Acts 29 leadership board. While it remains to be seen if Nicholas' writing or correspondence regarding Mark Driscoll's character and conduct may ever ultimately see the light of day this is stuff to bear in mind. Not even Wenatchee The Hatchet is in a position to be sure Vanderstelt is what some might want to call a "good guy" or "bad guy" but enough people have had a positive impression of him that a wait and see approach for Vanderstelt in particular is going to be Wenatchee's approach.
Notwithstanding Mark Driscoll's old canard that congregational rule in a church is like letting the mental patients run the nuthouse (which was given a firmer variation by James MacDonald's old "congregational rule is from Satan") a church that has more input and say in how it is governed and a church in which members are able to observe every line item in the budget would be a helpful direction.
Given the debt scenario James MacDonald and leadership company got their church into it seems improbable that congregational governance is really from Satan even as a hyperbolic statement. Wenatchee leans more Presbyterian but the trouble with denominations is that regardless of what cage phase you're in for your pet church movement there's ultimately no formal institution that really prevents abuse. Abuse can, does, and simply already has come up in every human movement and institution.
Still, Doxa Church may be off to a promising start ....
then again ... the same was certainly being said about Mars Hill, too. We'll just have to see.
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Throckmorton: Soma clarifies relationship with Mars Hill Bellevue
and here WtH was posting just yesterday how there's been no formal confirmation Vanderstelt's taken a certain job yet ...
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/warrenthrockmorton/2014/11/25/soma-church-clarifies-relationship-with-mars-hill-bellevue/
Hey everybody,
A growing number of you have been asking for clarification about what’s happening with Jeff [Vanderstelt] and Soma in relation to the Mars Hill Church in Bellevue.
I thought I would clarify here quick, so that you get the right information, rather than some misinformation flying around social media.
Read more: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/warrenthrockmorton/2014/11/25/soma-church-clarifies-relationship-with-mars-hill-bellevue/#ixzz3K95jCvYX
One can only wonder what "social media" and what "misinformation" has been flying around. In the last year it's seemed at times as though more misinformation has come out of Mars Hill than has been circling about outside it about Mars Hill.
But perhaps some kind of official confirmation may yet spring forth that Vanderstelt's definitely joining the Bellevue team. We'll just have to wait and see.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/warrenthrockmorton/2014/11/25/soma-church-clarifies-relationship-with-mars-hill-bellevue/
Hey everybody,
A growing number of you have been asking for clarification about what’s happening with Jeff [Vanderstelt] and Soma in relation to the Mars Hill Church in Bellevue.
I thought I would clarify here quick, so that you get the right information, rather than some misinformation flying around social media.
Read more: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/warrenthrockmorton/2014/11/25/soma-church-clarifies-relationship-with-mars-hill-bellevue/#ixzz3K95jCvYX
One can only wonder what "social media" and what "misinformation" has been flying around. In the last year it's seemed at times as though more misinformation has come out of Mars Hill than has been circling about outside it about Mars Hill.
But perhaps some kind of official confirmation may yet spring forth that Vanderstelt's definitely joining the Bellevue team. We'll just have to wait and see.
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Throckmorton: Jeff Venderstelt announced as teaching pastor for the Mars Hill Bellevue that's turning into Bellevue Church. a short overview of what little WtH has noted about Vanderstelt as part of Re:Train
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/warrenthrockmorton/2014/11/23/bellevue-church-choose-jeff-vanderstelt-as-teaching-pastor/
Something from the start of the November 23, 2014 letter warrants comment.
http://wp.production.patheos.com/blogs/warrenthrockmorton/files/2014/11/Praying-Together-For-Our-Lead-Pastor.pdf
November 23, 2014
Eastside, family
We have all been in prayer together for some time now concerning the eastside church we believe Jesus wants to build through us, and also specifically for God to bring forward the lead teaching pastor that he desires for that church.
In the history of Mars Hill Bellevue it's a bad start to invoke what you believe Jesus wants built or done since the Thomas Hurst letter explaining how the "we" of Mars Hill leadership was persuaded that God wanted Mars Hill Bellevue to have the International Paper Building.
http://web.archive.org/web/20131026120216/http://goodforbellevue.marshill.com/about/
capture from October 26, 2013
From the LETTER FROM PASTOR THOMAS HURST:
...
As we walk down the path God has laid out for us, we want to share with you a bit of a paradigm shift: Bellevue is now in “core group” phase.
While many churches plant with a core group of 25 people, or 250 people, Mars Hill Bellevue is currently a core group of 2,500 people. As we look ahead, the Bellevue elders and the Executive Elders are not just praying for 1,000 people, or 5,000 people on a Sunday, we’re praying for 10,000 people to worship on a Sunday at Mars Hill Bellevue…10,000 individuals whose lives are forever changed by the Gospel. To this end, we need to think, act and pray differently, starting today. If we wait until tomorrow, a year from now or three years from now when our lease is up, it will be too late.
With this in mind, we have found a site in Bellevue that meets these needs. I’m asking you to pray with us as we explore what it will take to move Mars Hill Bellevue to this new location, and how you can be a part of the mission.
The International Paper Property on 120th St.
After many months of searching and narrowing down our choices, only one building in Bellevue is available that meets the needs of the church that God is building on the Eastside. A few weeks ago we made an offer on a property in the Bel-Red corridor on 120th St. which is currently owned by the
So where Bellevue goes, you have to remember its leadership team has a history of saying this kind of stuff and having it not ... quite ... pan ... out as planned.
Now, about Venderstelt, Wenatchee The Hatchet does not know a great deal about him. The letter published by Throckmorton indicates Vanderstelt worked with Bill Clem in the launching of Doxa and Soma (though Wenatchee has previously understood Doxa to have actually been an Acts 29 plant, at least based on Mark Driscoll sermons ... so further clarification there is welcome)
What few times the name has come up in researching the history of Mars Hill would be as follows:
He's had a board role in the Acts 29 Network history
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2012/04/chandler-on-mars-hill-a29-was-so-kind.html
Vanderstelt, according to a Chris Blackstone ( who may be the same with a LinkedIn profile indicating studying Re:Train from 2009 to 2010), was co-teacher of a "missional practicum"
for instance:
Missional Practicum taught by Mark Driscoll, Scott Thomas, and Jeff Vanderstelt
Perhaps Vanderstelt can explain how and why the Resurgence Training Center withered on the vine after a big press roll-out in 2009? The announcement of Vanderstelt's selection seems to downplay connections to the founder of Mars Hill, perhaps for reasons too obvious to bother stating.
Vanderstelt's connections to Acts 29 affiliated people thus seems to go back as far as the founding of Doxa in 2002.
Vanderstelt was at one point "second vice-president" in the Acts 29 Network
http://www.acts29network.org/acts-29-blog/whats-a-missional-community-jeff-vanderstelt-and-the-story-of-soma/
Jeff Vanderstelt is Second Vice President of the Acts 29 Network. In 2003, he came to the Seattle area to help Bill Clem plant churches between Seattle and Tacoma. To plant Soma Communities, he went through the Acts 29 Network assessment process and became a member.
Something from the start of the November 23, 2014 letter warrants comment.
http://wp.production.patheos.com/blogs/warrenthrockmorton/files/2014/11/Praying-Together-For-Our-Lead-Pastor.pdf
November 23, 2014
Eastside, family
We have all been in prayer together for some time now concerning the eastside church we believe Jesus wants to build through us, and also specifically for God to bring forward the lead teaching pastor that he desires for that church.
In the history of Mars Hill Bellevue it's a bad start to invoke what you believe Jesus wants built or done since the Thomas Hurst letter explaining how the "we" of Mars Hill leadership was persuaded that God wanted Mars Hill Bellevue to have the International Paper Building.
http://web.archive.org/web/20131026120216/http://goodforbellevue.marshill.com/about/
capture from October 26, 2013
From the LETTER FROM PASTOR THOMAS HURST:
...
As we walk down the path God has laid out for us, we want to share with you a bit of a paradigm shift: Bellevue is now in “core group” phase.
While many churches plant with a core group of 25 people, or 250 people, Mars Hill Bellevue is currently a core group of 2,500 people. As we look ahead, the Bellevue elders and the Executive Elders are not just praying for 1,000 people, or 5,000 people on a Sunday, we’re praying for 10,000 people to worship on a Sunday at Mars Hill Bellevue…10,000 individuals whose lives are forever changed by the Gospel. To this end, we need to think, act and pray differently, starting today. If we wait until tomorrow, a year from now or three years from now when our lease is up, it will be too late.
With this in mind, we have found a site in Bellevue that meets these needs. I’m asking you to pray with us as we explore what it will take to move Mars Hill Bellevue to this new location, and how you can be a part of the mission.
The International Paper Property on 120th St.
After many months of searching and narrowing down our choices, only one building in Bellevue is available that meets the needs of the church that God is building on the Eastside. A few weeks ago we made an offer on a property in the Bel-Red corridor on 120th St. which is currently owned by the
So where Bellevue goes, you have to remember its leadership team has a history of saying this kind of stuff and having it not ... quite ... pan ... out as planned.
Now, about Venderstelt, Wenatchee The Hatchet does not know a great deal about him. The letter published by Throckmorton indicates Vanderstelt worked with Bill Clem in the launching of Doxa and Soma (though Wenatchee has previously understood Doxa to have actually been an Acts 29 plant, at least based on Mark Driscoll sermons ... so further clarification there is welcome)
What few times the name has come up in researching the history of Mars Hill would be as follows:
He's had a board role in the Acts 29 Network history
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2012/04/chandler-on-mars-hill-a29-was-so-kind.html
Vanderstelt, according to a Chris Blackstone ( who may be the same with a LinkedIn profile indicating studying Re:Train from 2009 to 2010), was co-teacher of a "missional practicum"
for instance:
Missional Practicum taught by Mark Driscoll, Scott Thomas, and Jeff Vanderstelt
Perhaps Vanderstelt can explain how and why the Resurgence Training Center withered on the vine after a big press roll-out in 2009? The announcement of Vanderstelt's selection seems to downplay connections to the founder of Mars Hill, perhaps for reasons too obvious to bother stating.
Vanderstelt's connections to Acts 29 affiliated people thus seems to go back as far as the founding of Doxa in 2002.
Vanderstelt was at one point "second vice-president" in the Acts 29 Network
http://www.acts29network.org/acts-29-blog/whats-a-missional-community-jeff-vanderstelt-and-the-story-of-soma/
Jeff Vanderstelt is Second Vice President of the Acts 29 Network. In 2003, he came to the Seattle area to help Bill Clem plant churches between Seattle and Tacoma. To plant Soma Communities, he went through the Acts 29 Network assessment process and became a member.
Friday, November 14, 2014
Throckmorton Source in MH Bellevue mentions negotiation to hire preaching pastor
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/warrenthrockmorton/2014/11/14/source-mars-hill-bellevue-negotiating-to-hire-preaching-pastor/
While it may be a coincidence, there is some speculation around Bellevue that Mark Driscoll may be involved in the process of securing a preaching pastor. According to a trusted source, Driscoll was spotted at Bellevue yesterday with his assistant Frank Park.
Given how insular and inbred leadership has become within MH and its history of reluctance to hire outsiders, MH Bellevue turning into Bellevue Church under new incorporation and just bringing Driscoll back seems weirdly plausible and this despite the pile of scandals that have swirled around Driscoll and also despite a sensible alternative of never letting Driscoll return to ministry within Mars Hill having voluntarily resigned to pre-empt any disciplinary/restorative activity as a member of the church he co-founded.
"If" this is what the organization does then a full-scale financial embargo seems advisable, along with leaving. And reincorporation under new branding will not eliminate the question of how much MH or MD paid DeMoss to advise Driscoll.
For a more general overview of campuses
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/warrenthrockmorton/2014/11/13/update-on-the-status-of-the-mars-hill-locations/
Transcribing part 2 of warfare has naturally meant a bit less time for keeping tabs on the real estate which, fortunately, Throckmorton seems to be taking up the slack for.
While it may be a coincidence, there is some speculation around Bellevue that Mark Driscoll may be involved in the process of securing a preaching pastor. According to a trusted source, Driscoll was spotted at Bellevue yesterday with his assistant Frank Park.
Given how insular and inbred leadership has become within MH and its history of reluctance to hire outsiders, MH Bellevue turning into Bellevue Church under new incorporation and just bringing Driscoll back seems weirdly plausible and this despite the pile of scandals that have swirled around Driscoll and also despite a sensible alternative of never letting Driscoll return to ministry within Mars Hill having voluntarily resigned to pre-empt any disciplinary/restorative activity as a member of the church he co-founded.
"If" this is what the organization does then a full-scale financial embargo seems advisable, along with leaving. And reincorporation under new branding will not eliminate the question of how much MH or MD paid DeMoss to advise Driscoll.
For a more general overview of campuses
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/warrenthrockmorton/2014/11/13/update-on-the-status-of-the-mars-hill-locations/
Transcribing part 2 of warfare has naturally meant a bit less time for keeping tabs on the real estate which, fortunately, Throckmorton seems to be taking up the slack for.
Sunday, November 02, 2014
Throckmorton: MH Bellevue Thomas Hurst resigns
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/warrenthrockmorton/2014/11/02/mars-hill-bellevue-pastor-thomas-hurst-resigns/
During the 10:30 am service this morning, lead pastor Thomas Hurst announced his resignation. It was announced that Hurst wanted a break from ministry saying that today was his last day as pastor. Hurst then told the congregation that he wanted to be the guy to lead the new Bellevue Church but that he is tired and just can’t do it. The Hursts don’t plan to leave the church as members but Thomas is going to step aside as pastor. Hurst said the church leadership is looking to find somebody to preach the Bible for the new church.
Whether Hurst will retain a directorship at the registered Bellevue Church, as mentioned ever so briefly over at this blog post, is not yet clear.
For those who may not realize how long Mars Hill Bellevue (for now) has been in "core phase" go over here.
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2013/10/mars-hill-bellevue-in-core-group-phase.html
Winkler planted The Vine and it was assimilated back into the Mars Hill fold where it was eventually run by Hurst but somewhere between Winkler and Hurst there may have been someone named ... Swan? Bellevue has had some musical chairs in leadership. The musical chairs weren't quite as shifting as Ballard's shift from 07 to 14 of Moi-Jennings-Clem-Early-Harris, but there was possibly some rotation going at Bellevue. Perhaps former or current attenders can clarify.
POSTSCRIPT
Hurst was a photojournalist before joining the leadership team at Mars Hill. So Hurst, at least, has a professional skill set to fall back on if he leaves ministry temporarily or permanently. This would seem like a logical and natural career to return to during Hurst's break from ministry.
During the 10:30 am service this morning, lead pastor Thomas Hurst announced his resignation. It was announced that Hurst wanted a break from ministry saying that today was his last day as pastor. Hurst then told the congregation that he wanted to be the guy to lead the new Bellevue Church but that he is tired and just can’t do it. The Hursts don’t plan to leave the church as members but Thomas is going to step aside as pastor. Hurst said the church leadership is looking to find somebody to preach the Bible for the new church.
Whether Hurst will retain a directorship at the registered Bellevue Church, as mentioned ever so briefly over at this blog post, is not yet clear.
For those who may not realize how long Mars Hill Bellevue (for now) has been in "core phase" go over here.
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2013/10/mars-hill-bellevue-in-core-group-phase.html
Winkler planted The Vine and it was assimilated back into the Mars Hill fold where it was eventually run by Hurst but somewhere between Winkler and Hurst there may have been someone named ... Swan? Bellevue has had some musical chairs in leadership. The musical chairs weren't quite as shifting as Ballard's shift from 07 to 14 of Moi-Jennings-Clem-Early-Harris, but there was possibly some rotation going at Bellevue. Perhaps former or current attenders can clarify.
POSTSCRIPT
Hurst was a photojournalist before joining the leadership team at Mars Hill. So Hurst, at least, has a professional skill set to fall back on if he leaves ministry temporarily or permanently. This would seem like a logical and natural career to return to during Hurst's break from ministry.
Friday, October 31, 2014
in wake of closure announcement BoAA/BoO member Matt Rogers has already registered Bellevue Church
https://marshill.com/2014/10/31/local-mission-local-churches
While the official news today is the announced closure of Mars Hill Church the thing to observe for a possible future is that Matt Rogers has already registered a UBI #. But first, we need to review what Matt Rogers has said in the year so far.
Rogers described those attending a summer protest at Mars Hill as leaving a bit of trash and slandering good men.
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2014/08/mars-hill-bellevue-pastor-matt-rogers.html
From Pastor Matt Rogers:
This past Sunday outside our building about 60 professing Christians led a protest, left a bit of trash, and slandered good men. Inside the building our church family worshipped Jesus. Let that image be what defines us. Others will cast aspersions, but we will worship Jesus.
Where, exactly, are those good men these days? Didn't Sutton Turner and Mark Driscoll both quit?
But let's continue observing what Matt Rogers has had to say whether as an individual or as part of a group.
First, it's important to note that Matt Rogers was on the Board of Elders
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-boe-members-part-6-pastor-matt.html
So if the Board of Elders was reaching a conclusion that Mark Driscoll had a disqualifying sin issue in his life Matt Rogers was simultaneously on the Board of Overseers as well as on the Board of Elders.
https://marshill.com/2014/10/15/pastor-mark-driscolls-resignation
What did the Board of Overseers conclude?
...
While a group of seven elders plus one member of the Board of Overseers was charged with conducting this investigation, the full Board of Overseers is charged with reaching any conclusions and issuing any findings. In that capacity, we believe it appropriate to publicly mention the following:
One member of the Board of Overseers would be Matt Rogers, it seems. So the names from the BoO/BoAA side feature:
Mars Hill Board of Overseers
Michael Van Skaik
Larry Osborne
Jon Phelps
Matt Rogers
So Rogers was part of the BoO that concluded that Driscoll may have sinned but not in a way that disqualified him from ministry and that Driscoll was never charged with any serious stuff and that they were surprised he chose to step down.
But ... as reported by Warren Throckmorton campus pastors later read a statement that reads as follows:
The investigation of formal charges against Mark Driscoll has revealed patterns of persistent sin in the three areas disclosed in the previous letter by the Board of Overseers. In I Tim 5:20, it requires that an elder be rebuked for persistent sin. Our intention was to do this while providing a plan for his eventual restoration to leadership. The Board of Elders in agreement with the Board of Overseers are grieved, deeply grieved, that any process like that was lost to us when Mark Driscoll resigned in position and left the church. [emphsais added] Now is the time to move on and consider what God is calling us to next as a church as we participate in Jesus’ mission to make disciples in His name. Today begins a new chapter in the history of our church which has proceeded in one direction under one leadership for many years now, but I want you to understand this, God is our Father. That does not change. Jesus is the chief shepherd of the church and that has not changed.
The elders of Mars Hill Church acknowledge as we’ve gone through all of this investigation, and heard all of these stories, we acknowledge that we have personally led in some of the same ways that demonstrate some of the same ways that Pastor Mark had. And those things require repentance and forgiveness and restoration. We realize that there are ways that we have led as elders in ways that have been domineering, sometimes arrogant and sometimes boastful and at least for my part, I want to say I deeply regret those sins and I ask for your forgiveness. We want to lead you into the future in a way that displays more grace, more love as we speak the truth to each of you. If there are people that I have offended in ways I have pastored this church, I would welcome that you come to me and speak with me to allow me the opportunity to reconcile with you.
At this time Mars Hill Church is going to move ahead under the Board of Overseers established plan for transition. [emphasis added] Pastor Dave Bruskas will serve as the teaching and preaching pastor during an interim period of time until we establish a direction we are going as a church. The Board of Advisors are going to be working in the weeks to come on a plan for moving forward and for how that will unfold, what the next steps are, there are a lot of things to consider. As we discover what those things are, what the spirit shows us, then we want to communicate clearly to you and transparently to you what’s happening, the directions and the changes that will be taking place.
Recall that Wenatchee The Hatchet has pointed out the BoAA (of which the BoO is a part) has the power to authorize the dissolution of the corporation and the sale of assets. Go over here for a discussion of the bylaws. It's important to bear in mind that Matt Rogers has a spot on the BoO/BoAA and was also on the BoE. Rogers was on the team that has the power to authorize real estate sales and the dissolution of the corporation so, necessarily, Rogers had some involvement in the two processes that have been news. Rogers was also part of the group that stated Driscoll wasn't unfit for ministry.
But in the last week Mars Hill Pastor Steve Tompkins has made public statements expressing regret over the 2007 firings and trials. Tompkins has also made statements that seem to indicate that the Board of Elders as a group did find Mark Driscoll to have disqualifying sins with respect to ministry.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/warrenthrockmorton/2014/10/30/current-mars-hill-pastor-says-investigation-findings-showed-mark-driscoll-not-qualified-as-elder/
So that casts doubt, or should cast doubt, on Matt Rogers' claims that allegations about Driscoll's leadership style could be understood as slander if even he, as a member of the BoO/BoAA signed off on a letter that acknowledged that the sins Driscoll has been accused of are basically probably true--Rogers just didn't seem eager to accept the possibility that the sins were in any ones that disqualified for ministry.
So the BoE statement and more recent statements by Tompkins cast doubt on the veracity of the claims made by the BoO. Matt Rogers was the only person who was both on the BoO/BoAA on the one hand and on the BoE on the other. Well, as word gets around, Throckmorton has observed that Matt Rogers has ALREADY REGISTERED Bellevue Church.
http://www.sos.wa.gov/corps/search_detail.aspx?ubi=603448198
Governing Persons
So as of today, when Bruskas announced that the corporation known as Mars Hill Church is going to be closed, Matt Rogers is already the registered agent for Bellevue Church and its Chairman, with Thomas Hurst, Jason Skelton, and Roger Molvar as directors. Already registered. Matt Rogers was on all the boards and was part of the investigation which may or may not have actually been completed and part of the Board of Overseers deciding what happens to Mars Hill and amidst all that he found the time to register Bellevue Church with the Washington secretary of state, huh? As in, registered it before Bruskas made today's headline-making announcement.
There may need to be several spotlights on Rogers these days.
If you're the sort to send thank you letters to someone for the dissolution of the corporation known as Mars Hill Church don't thank a Warren Throckmorton or a Wenatchee The Hatchet. Thank Matt Rogers, since he was one of the guys who had the power and evidently seems to have used that power, to authorize the voluntary dissolution of the corporation.
POSTSCRIPT 11-1-2014
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2014/08/follow-up-on-sutton-turners-we-are.html
Let's note for the record Thomas Hurst's history of claims about the International paper building on behalf of Mars Hill:
From open letter posted on line around October 26, 2013
... Through much prayer and consideration, the Executive Elders and I believe strongly that Jesus wants us to set down deep roots here on the Eastside by owning our next location
...
We’re Still in Core Group Phase
As we walk down the path God has laid out for us, we want to share with you a bit of a paradigm shift: Bellevue is now in “core group” phase
...
The International Paper Property on 120th St.After many months of searching and narrowing down our choices, only one building in Bellevue is available that meets the needs of the church that God is building on the Eastside. A few weeks ago we made an offer on a property in the Bel-Red corridor on 120th St. which is currently owned by the International Paper Company.[all emphasis added]
...
“Good for Bellevue”We believe, though, that this property is the location that God wants us to use to further the mission of the Gospel through Mars Hill Church
...
Unfortunately we find ourselves in a position where we are going up against the government. Given the perspective, we are a small church with little chance of being able to make the government change their decision. However, we will continue to move forward with faith in a God who is bigger than any government. [emphasis added]
It was hard to argue that after about 8 years of going from The Vine to Mars Hill Eastside to Mars Hill Bellevue that whatever Bellevue Church hopes to be has been in the "core" phase unless by some verbal alchemy "core phase" lasts nearly a decade.
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2013/10/mars-hill-bellevue-in-core-group-phase.html
Obviously Mars Hill Bellevue didn't transition into the International Paper Building and early claims of the real estate being seized by way of eminent domain turned out to be untrue. Between Rogers and Hurst Bellevue Church has what appears to be an extensive history in the last year of having leaders who misrepresent (whether knowingly or not) basic things that have since come into question. It might be prudent to avoid taking statements from its leadership team at face value ... for a season.
POSTSCRIPT 2
It's worth noting that the guy who planted The Vine (if memory serves), Jesse Winkler, has a confession at Repentant Pastor. So in terms of that, for those already familiar with the history of a MH/A29 presence in Bellevue, the irony of Winkler's take these days vs. Rogers' take these days may be instructive. Winkler has written as of this year that the 2007 firing/trial process was wrong and that Paul Petry's heart for Mars Hill was in the right place. If Matt Rogers wants to stick to his established idea about the protesters from August 2014 he'll be doing so over against the man who founded what has become Mars Hill Bellevue in the last decade and that Rogers may or may not transform into Bellevue Church with success.
While the official news today is the announced closure of Mars Hill Church the thing to observe for a possible future is that Matt Rogers has already registered a UBI #. But first, we need to review what Matt Rogers has said in the year so far.
Rogers described those attending a summer protest at Mars Hill as leaving a bit of trash and slandering good men.
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2014/08/mars-hill-bellevue-pastor-matt-rogers.html
From Pastor Matt Rogers:
This past Sunday outside our building about 60 professing Christians led a protest, left a bit of trash, and slandered good men. Inside the building our church family worshipped Jesus. Let that image be what defines us. Others will cast aspersions, but we will worship Jesus.
Where, exactly, are those good men these days? Didn't Sutton Turner and Mark Driscoll both quit?
But let's continue observing what Matt Rogers has had to say whether as an individual or as part of a group.
First, it's important to note that Matt Rogers was on the Board of Elders
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-boe-members-part-6-pastor-matt.html
So if the Board of Elders was reaching a conclusion that Mark Driscoll had a disqualifying sin issue in his life Matt Rogers was simultaneously on the Board of Overseers as well as on the Board of Elders.
https://marshill.com/2014/10/15/pastor-mark-driscolls-resignation
What did the Board of Overseers conclude?
...
While a group of seven elders plus one member of the Board of Overseers was charged with conducting this investigation, the full Board of Overseers is charged with reaching any conclusions and issuing any findings. In that capacity, we believe it appropriate to publicly mention the following:
- We concluded that Pastor Mark has, at times, been guilty of arrogance, responding to conflict with a quick temper and harsh speech, and leading the staff and elders in a domineering manner. While we believe Mark needs to continue to address these areas in his life, we do not believe him to be disqualified from pastoral ministry.
- Pastor Mark has never been charged with any immorality, illegality or heresy. Most of the charges involved attitudes and behaviors reflected by a domineering style of leadership.
- We found some of the accusations against Pastor Mark to be altogether unfair or untrue.
- Other charges had been previously been addressed by Pastor Mark, privately and publicly. Indeed, he had publicly confessed and apologized for a number of the charges against him, some of which occurred as long as 14 years ago.
One member of the Board of Overseers would be Matt Rogers, it seems. So the names from the BoO/BoAA side feature:
Mars Hill Board of Overseers
Michael Van Skaik
Larry Osborne
Jon Phelps
Matt Rogers
So Rogers was part of the BoO that concluded that Driscoll may have sinned but not in a way that disqualified him from ministry and that Driscoll was never charged with any serious stuff and that they were surprised he chose to step down.
But ... as reported by Warren Throckmorton campus pastors later read a statement that reads as follows:
The investigation of formal charges against Mark Driscoll has revealed patterns of persistent sin in the three areas disclosed in the previous letter by the Board of Overseers. In I Tim 5:20, it requires that an elder be rebuked for persistent sin. Our intention was to do this while providing a plan for his eventual restoration to leadership. The Board of Elders in agreement with the Board of Overseers are grieved, deeply grieved, that any process like that was lost to us when Mark Driscoll resigned in position and left the church. [emphsais added] Now is the time to move on and consider what God is calling us to next as a church as we participate in Jesus’ mission to make disciples in His name. Today begins a new chapter in the history of our church which has proceeded in one direction under one leadership for many years now, but I want you to understand this, God is our Father. That does not change. Jesus is the chief shepherd of the church and that has not changed.
The elders of Mars Hill Church acknowledge as we’ve gone through all of this investigation, and heard all of these stories, we acknowledge that we have personally led in some of the same ways that demonstrate some of the same ways that Pastor Mark had. And those things require repentance and forgiveness and restoration. We realize that there are ways that we have led as elders in ways that have been domineering, sometimes arrogant and sometimes boastful and at least for my part, I want to say I deeply regret those sins and I ask for your forgiveness. We want to lead you into the future in a way that displays more grace, more love as we speak the truth to each of you. If there are people that I have offended in ways I have pastored this church, I would welcome that you come to me and speak with me to allow me the opportunity to reconcile with you.
At this time Mars Hill Church is going to move ahead under the Board of Overseers established plan for transition. [emphasis added] Pastor Dave Bruskas will serve as the teaching and preaching pastor during an interim period of time until we establish a direction we are going as a church. The Board of Advisors are going to be working in the weeks to come on a plan for moving forward and for how that will unfold, what the next steps are, there are a lot of things to consider. As we discover what those things are, what the spirit shows us, then we want to communicate clearly to you and transparently to you what’s happening, the directions and the changes that will be taking place.
Recall that Wenatchee The Hatchet has pointed out the BoAA (of which the BoO is a part) has the power to authorize the dissolution of the corporation and the sale of assets. Go over here for a discussion of the bylaws. It's important to bear in mind that Matt Rogers has a spot on the BoO/BoAA and was also on the BoE. Rogers was on the team that has the power to authorize real estate sales and the dissolution of the corporation so, necessarily, Rogers had some involvement in the two processes that have been news. Rogers was also part of the group that stated Driscoll wasn't unfit for ministry.
But in the last week Mars Hill Pastor Steve Tompkins has made public statements expressing regret over the 2007 firings and trials. Tompkins has also made statements that seem to indicate that the Board of Elders as a group did find Mark Driscoll to have disqualifying sins with respect to ministry.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/warrenthrockmorton/2014/10/30/current-mars-hill-pastor-says-investigation-findings-showed-mark-driscoll-not-qualified-as-elder/
So that casts doubt, or should cast doubt, on Matt Rogers' claims that allegations about Driscoll's leadership style could be understood as slander if even he, as a member of the BoO/BoAA signed off on a letter that acknowledged that the sins Driscoll has been accused of are basically probably true--Rogers just didn't seem eager to accept the possibility that the sins were in any ones that disqualified for ministry.
So the BoE statement and more recent statements by Tompkins cast doubt on the veracity of the claims made by the BoO. Matt Rogers was the only person who was both on the BoO/BoAA on the one hand and on the BoE on the other. Well, as word gets around, Throckmorton has observed that Matt Rogers has ALREADY REGISTERED Bellevue Church.
http://www.sos.wa.gov/corps/search_detail.aspx?ubi=603448198
| UBI Number | 603448198 |
| Category | REG |
| Profit/Nonprofit | Nonprofit |
| Active/Inactive | Active |
| State Of Incorporation | WA |
| WA Filing Date | 10/29/2014 |
| Expiration Date | 10/31/2015 |
| Inactive Date | |
| Duration | Perpetual |
| Agent Name | Matthew Rogers |
| Address | 620 106th Ave NE |
| City | BELLEVUE |
| State | WA |
| ZIP | 98004 |
| Title | Name | Address |
|---|---|---|
| Chairman | Rogers, Matthew | 620 106th Ave. NE Bellevue, WA 98004 |
| Director | Hurst, Thomas | 620 106th Ave. NE Bellevue, WA 98004 |
| Director | Skelton, Jason | 620 106th Ave. NE Bellevue, WA 98004 |
| Director | Molvar, Roger | 620 106th Ave. NE Bellevue, WA 98004 |
There may need to be several spotlights on Rogers these days.
If you're the sort to send thank you letters to someone for the dissolution of the corporation known as Mars Hill Church don't thank a Warren Throckmorton or a Wenatchee The Hatchet. Thank Matt Rogers, since he was one of the guys who had the power and evidently seems to have used that power, to authorize the voluntary dissolution of the corporation.
POSTSCRIPT 11-1-2014
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2014/08/follow-up-on-sutton-turners-we-are.html
Let's note for the record Thomas Hurst's history of claims about the International paper building on behalf of Mars Hill:
From open letter posted on line around October 26, 2013
... Through much prayer and consideration, the Executive Elders and I believe strongly that Jesus wants us to set down deep roots here on the Eastside by owning our next location
...
We’re Still in Core Group Phase
As we walk down the path God has laid out for us, we want to share with you a bit of a paradigm shift: Bellevue is now in “core group” phase
...
The International Paper Property on 120th St.After many months of searching and narrowing down our choices, only one building in Bellevue is available that meets the needs of the church that God is building on the Eastside. A few weeks ago we made an offer on a property in the Bel-Red corridor on 120th St. which is currently owned by the International Paper Company.[all emphasis added]
...
“Good for Bellevue”We believe, though, that this property is the location that God wants us to use to further the mission of the Gospel through Mars Hill Church
...
Unfortunately we find ourselves in a position where we are going up against the government. Given the perspective, we are a small church with little chance of being able to make the government change their decision. However, we will continue to move forward with faith in a God who is bigger than any government. [emphasis added]
It was hard to argue that after about 8 years of going from The Vine to Mars Hill Eastside to Mars Hill Bellevue that whatever Bellevue Church hopes to be has been in the "core" phase unless by some verbal alchemy "core phase" lasts nearly a decade.
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2013/10/mars-hill-bellevue-in-core-group-phase.html
Obviously Mars Hill Bellevue didn't transition into the International Paper Building and early claims of the real estate being seized by way of eminent domain turned out to be untrue. Between Rogers and Hurst Bellevue Church has what appears to be an extensive history in the last year of having leaders who misrepresent (whether knowingly or not) basic things that have since come into question. It might be prudent to avoid taking statements from its leadership team at face value ... for a season.
POSTSCRIPT 2
It's worth noting that the guy who planted The Vine (if memory serves), Jesse Winkler, has a confession at Repentant Pastor. So in terms of that, for those already familiar with the history of a MH/A29 presence in Bellevue, the irony of Winkler's take these days vs. Rogers' take these days may be instructive. Winkler has written as of this year that the 2007 firing/trial process was wrong and that Paul Petry's heart for Mars Hill was in the right place. If Matt Rogers wants to stick to his established idea about the protesters from August 2014 he'll be doing so over against the man who founded what has become Mars Hill Bellevue in the last decade and that Rogers may or may not transform into Bellevue Church with success.
Friday, May 09, 2014
Warren Throckmorton: Mars Hill wants $40 million to purchase Bellevue College building for new facility
Wenatchee The Hatchet has already noted that Mars Hill Church has had a few job openings come up in the last year or so. One position that seems to have been filled was for a Capital Development Manager.
posted September 17, 2013http://marshill.com/jobs/capital-development-manager
see the posts linked to below
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2013/09/mars-hill-church-has-few-job-openings.html
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-mars-hill-opening-for-capital.html
It wasn't a hard guess to propose that the pending Mars Hill Schools had at least something to do with a pending capital campaign program and it appears that someone has informed Throckmorton that there's a campaign taking shape to get Bellevue College real estate for Mars Hill Church.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/warrenthrockmorton/2014/05/09/mars-hill-church-wants-40-million-to-buy-bellevue-college-building-and-build-new-church/
The price will be about $40 million, it seems. Now some commenter noted that this doesn't look like the real estate that Mars Hill was saying God wanted them to have last year. That seems to be a correct observation. Local coverage from October 24, 2013 seemed to stress the International Paper Building as God's will for Mars Hill.
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Church-Boasts-God-on-Their-Side-in-Property-Dispute-229184911.html
And since at least for the moment robots.txt hasn't covered this subset of Mars Hill Church associated websites we can link to and quote from Pastor Thomas Hurst's late October statements about how the International Paper Building WAS presented as God's will for Mars Hill Church.
http://web.archive.org/web/20131026120216/http://goodforbellevue.marshill.com/about/
capture from October 26, 2013
From the LETTER FROM PASTOR THOMAS HURST:
...
As we walk down the path God has laid out for us, we want to share with you a bit of a paradigm shift: Bellevue is now in “core group” phase.
While many churches plant with a core group of 25 people, or 250 people, Mars Hill Bellevue is currently a core group of 2,500 people. As we look ahead, the Bellevue elders and the Executive Elders are not just praying for 1,000 people, or 5,000 people on a Sunday, we’re praying for 10,000 people to worship on a Sunday at Mars Hill Bellevue…10,000 individuals whose lives are forever changed by the Gospel. To this end, we need to think, act and pray differently, starting today. If we wait until tomorrow, a year from now or three years from now when our lease is up, it will be too late.
With this in mind, we have found a site in Bellevue that meets these needs. I’m asking you to pray with us as we explore what it will take to move Mars Hill Bellevue to this new location, and how you can be a part of the mission.
The International Paper Property on 120th St.
After many months of searching and narrowing down our choices, only one building in Bellevue is available that meets the needs of the church that God is building on the Eastside. A few weeks ago we made an offer on a property in the Bel-Red corridor on 120th St. which is currently owned by the
International Paper Company.
The space is about 180,000 sq. feet on 10.5 acres of property, located directly on the new light rail line being developed in 2017. The City of Bellevue has plans to develop the area immediately surrounding this site with retail, restaurants, and urban housing.
After renovations the property could feature:
Seating for 3,000+ per service
Local Bellevue Church office space
Central Operations office space
Media & Communications space
Much larger Kids Ministry area
Space for Mars Hill Students
Training classrooms for a future Bible college
Ample parking space on-site
Large common areas
Mars Hill Bible College
Part of this vision includes opening a Bible college. Recently we sent out proposal requests to the best Bible colleges in the U.S. with the intention of partnering with one of them to establish an accredited Bible school at Mars Hill Bellevue. We want to provide sound theological training for your children as we raise up the next generation of leaders and church planters.
We’re Not Done Yet
Upon submitting our offer for this property, we’ve hit a snag.
Sound Transit, the government agency responsible for building and operating the light rail transit system, has purchased this property to protect their interests, even though we offered to outbid any other offers.
Sound Transit intends to use this property to build an Operations & Maintenance Satellite Facility (OMSF), basically a large barn they will use to maintain the light rail trains, much like the one located in Georgetown just south of downtown Seattle. They have five locations in mind for this facility, and this property on 120th St. is currently their top choice.
“Good for Bellevue”
We believe, though, that this property is the location that God wants us to use to further the mission of the Gospel through Mars Hill Church, so we are continuing to pursue this property and work with Sound Transit to come to an agreement that works well for everyone involved.
We believe a Mars Hill church at this key location is far better for the church, better for the City of Bellevue, and better for the community and local economy than a transit maintenance barn. We will provide:
Immediate benefit to local commerce (restaurants, hotels, transit and more).
More jobs to Bellevue (150+ employees).
Much needed conference/multi-use space to Bellevue.
Ridership for Sound Transit will increase due to our large events and regular attendees because we will be located directly on the transit line.
We plan to use the existing structure, which supports local green initiatives and the development plan for the Bel-Red corridor.
The City of Bellevue can benefit greatly by having both Mars Hill Church’s largest facility and the Sound Transit OMSF located in the city. While Sound Transit has several options for their maintenance barn, we only have one option for our church. Our intention is to work with Sound Transit as they decide by the end of the year whether to use this location or choose one of the other locations that they have available to them.
Unfortunately we find ourselves in a position where we are going up against the government. Given the perspective, we are a small church with little chance of being able to make the government change their decision. However, we will continue to move forward with faith in a God who is bigger than any government.
Given the swiftness with which Mars Hill Church has been purging media content in the last two months and introducing robots.txt to its various sites to preclude the use of The WayBack Machine don't be too surprised if by Monday morning the link above to the screen capture of Good for Bellevue ends up dead.
Now near the end of the post Throckmorton mentions something about concern about declining donations potentially creating trouble for a fundraising campaign. That's "possible" but even if overall attendance went down at MHC from FY2012 to FY2013 and even if the percentage of attenders who gave nothing or under $499 in a fiscal year reached an all-time high the mid-tier and high-end donors were giving more than ever to go by what has been publicly disclosed.
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2014/01/mars-hill-church-comparing-fy2012.html
For the various times Sutton Turner has spoken as though Mars Hill Church is not especially wealthy, and in spite of Mark Driscoll having told Mars Hill Church "We're not a wealthy church" in 2013, Mars Hill seems to have at least some deep pockets at its disposal and hiring a capital development manager signals you want to start something big enough that capital development is on your radar.
posted September 17, 2013http://marshill.com/jobs/capital-development-manager
see the posts linked to below
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2013/09/mars-hill-church-has-few-job-openings.html
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-mars-hill-opening-for-capital.html
It wasn't a hard guess to propose that the pending Mars Hill Schools had at least something to do with a pending capital campaign program and it appears that someone has informed Throckmorton that there's a campaign taking shape to get Bellevue College real estate for Mars Hill Church.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/warrenthrockmorton/2014/05/09/mars-hill-church-wants-40-million-to-buy-bellevue-college-building-and-build-new-church/
The price will be about $40 million, it seems. Now some commenter noted that this doesn't look like the real estate that Mars Hill was saying God wanted them to have last year. That seems to be a correct observation. Local coverage from October 24, 2013 seemed to stress the International Paper Building as God's will for Mars Hill.
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Church-Boasts-God-on-Their-Side-in-Property-Dispute-229184911.html
And since at least for the moment robots.txt hasn't covered this subset of Mars Hill Church associated websites we can link to and quote from Pastor Thomas Hurst's late October statements about how the International Paper Building WAS presented as God's will for Mars Hill Church.
http://web.archive.org/web/20131026120216/http://goodforbellevue.marshill.com/about/
capture from October 26, 2013
From the LETTER FROM PASTOR THOMAS HURST:
...
As we walk down the path God has laid out for us, we want to share with you a bit of a paradigm shift: Bellevue is now in “core group” phase.
While many churches plant with a core group of 25 people, or 250 people, Mars Hill Bellevue is currently a core group of 2,500 people. As we look ahead, the Bellevue elders and the Executive Elders are not just praying for 1,000 people, or 5,000 people on a Sunday, we’re praying for 10,000 people to worship on a Sunday at Mars Hill Bellevue…10,000 individuals whose lives are forever changed by the Gospel. To this end, we need to think, act and pray differently, starting today. If we wait until tomorrow, a year from now or three years from now when our lease is up, it will be too late.
With this in mind, we have found a site in Bellevue that meets these needs. I’m asking you to pray with us as we explore what it will take to move Mars Hill Bellevue to this new location, and how you can be a part of the mission.
The International Paper Property on 120th St.
After many months of searching and narrowing down our choices, only one building in Bellevue is available that meets the needs of the church that God is building on the Eastside. A few weeks ago we made an offer on a property in the Bel-Red corridor on 120th St. which is currently owned by the
International Paper Company.
The space is about 180,000 sq. feet on 10.5 acres of property, located directly on the new light rail line being developed in 2017. The City of Bellevue has plans to develop the area immediately surrounding this site with retail, restaurants, and urban housing.
After renovations the property could feature:
Seating for 3,000+ per service
Local Bellevue Church office space
Central Operations office space
Media & Communications space
Much larger Kids Ministry area
Space for Mars Hill Students
Training classrooms for a future Bible college
Ample parking space on-site
Large common areas
Mars Hill Bible College
Part of this vision includes opening a Bible college. Recently we sent out proposal requests to the best Bible colleges in the U.S. with the intention of partnering with one of them to establish an accredited Bible school at Mars Hill Bellevue. We want to provide sound theological training for your children as we raise up the next generation of leaders and church planters.
We’re Not Done Yet
Upon submitting our offer for this property, we’ve hit a snag.
Sound Transit, the government agency responsible for building and operating the light rail transit system, has purchased this property to protect their interests, even though we offered to outbid any other offers.
Sound Transit intends to use this property to build an Operations & Maintenance Satellite Facility (OMSF), basically a large barn they will use to maintain the light rail trains, much like the one located in Georgetown just south of downtown Seattle. They have five locations in mind for this facility, and this property on 120th St. is currently their top choice.
“Good for Bellevue”
We believe, though, that this property is the location that God wants us to use to further the mission of the Gospel through Mars Hill Church, so we are continuing to pursue this property and work with Sound Transit to come to an agreement that works well for everyone involved.
We believe a Mars Hill church at this key location is far better for the church, better for the City of Bellevue, and better for the community and local economy than a transit maintenance barn. We will provide:
Immediate benefit to local commerce (restaurants, hotels, transit and more).
More jobs to Bellevue (150+ employees).
Much needed conference/multi-use space to Bellevue.
Ridership for Sound Transit will increase due to our large events and regular attendees because we will be located directly on the transit line.
We plan to use the existing structure, which supports local green initiatives and the development plan for the Bel-Red corridor.
The City of Bellevue can benefit greatly by having both Mars Hill Church’s largest facility and the Sound Transit OMSF located in the city. While Sound Transit has several options for their maintenance barn, we only have one option for our church. Our intention is to work with Sound Transit as they decide by the end of the year whether to use this location or choose one of the other locations that they have available to them.
Unfortunately we find ourselves in a position where we are going up against the government. Given the perspective, we are a small church with little chance of being able to make the government change their decision. However, we will continue to move forward with faith in a God who is bigger than any government.
Given the swiftness with which Mars Hill Church has been purging media content in the last two months and introducing robots.txt to its various sites to preclude the use of The WayBack Machine don't be too surprised if by Monday morning the link above to the screen capture of Good for Bellevue ends up dead.
Now near the end of the post Throckmorton mentions something about concern about declining donations potentially creating trouble for a fundraising campaign. That's "possible" but even if overall attendance went down at MHC from FY2012 to FY2013 and even if the percentage of attenders who gave nothing or under $499 in a fiscal year reached an all-time high the mid-tier and high-end donors were giving more than ever to go by what has been publicly disclosed.
http://wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com/2014/01/mars-hill-church-comparing-fy2012.html
For the various times Sutton Turner has spoken as though Mars Hill Church is not especially wealthy, and in spite of Mark Driscoll having told Mars Hill Church "We're not a wealthy church" in 2013, Mars Hill seems to have at least some deep pockets at its disposal and hiring a capital development manager signals you want to start something big enough that capital development is on your radar.
Friday, October 25, 2013
Mars Hill Bellevue in Core Group Phase? A brief overview of how The Vine was planted in 2005 and became what is now Mars Hill Bellevue, courtesy of Mark Driscoll and friends
http://goodforbellevue.marshill.com/about/
from Pastor Thomas Hurst:
We’re Still in Core Group Phase
As we walk down the path God has laid out for us, we want to share with you a bit of a paradigm shift: Bellevue is now in “core group” phase.
Exactly what Hurst means by "Core Group Phase" is impossible to know but what it cannot possibly mean is that the Mars Hill presence at Bellevue is less than roughly six years old.
Pastor A. J. Hamilton wrote the following about Mars Hill in Bellevue:
http://marshill.com/2010/10/07/when-mars-hill-became-multi-campus-church-2006-present
Bellevue was an A29 church plant which then converted to a MHC campus and exploded in attendance. We then sent their campus pastor out to plant another church in San Diego and an existing A29 planter took the role. It is no wonder that Bellevue has aggressive church- and campus-planting strategies that other campus leadership teams look to for best practices.
Then there's Mark Driscoll's sales pitch for why Jesus loves church mergers and you should, too:
http://pastormark.tv/2011/11/29/jesus-loves-church-mergers-and-so-should-you
Mars Hill Bellevue
In the mid-2000s, a Mars Hill elder planted church on the Eastside of the greater Seattle area called The Vine. This plant was led by a Mars Hill pastor at the time, Jesse Winkler. The Vine started with a small core group from Mars Hill and eventually grew to be somewhere between 100 to 200 people.
Many people from that area were still driving into Seattle to attend Mars Hill in Ballard, and the number of people grew so large that we decided to consider planting a church east of Seattle. We met with Winkler and asked him if he wanted to continue as an independent church with us planting another one far enough away from his church so as to not drain his people, or if he wanted to become a Mars Hill Church. He took some time to fast and pray, seeking God’s will, and was convinced God was asking him to partner with Mars Hill to lead one church made up of people from The Vine and Mars Hill. The Vine church became Mars Hill Eastside in 2008, which eventually became Mars Hill Bellevue.
After the merger, the church saw immediate growth, going from 200 people to over 500 people almost overnight. Some Sundays, men were asked to stand outside in the wet and cold of Seattle to listen via speaker because we couldn't fit everyone into the small funeral home in which the church met for the multiple services. Since then, there has been much fruit, as Mars Hill Downtown Bellevue just moved into a new building in the heart of Downtown Bellevue and is seeing over 2,000 people worship Jesus and serve the surrounding community, hundreds of which are a result of new Christians who met Jesus and were baptized at Mars Hill Bellevue.
Additionally, Mars Hill Bellevue, along with some other Acts 29 churches, helped fund Westview Church in San Diego, California, with Pastor Jesse spearheading that plant. And the church has sent a core group of a couple hundred over to our newest location, Mars Hill Sammamish (which I’ll talk about later in this post).
So what's in the link?
http://blog.marshill.com/2011/10/31/the-day-bellevue-opened-grandly/
The Bellevue church started four years ago, after merging with The Vine in a Redmond funeral home. It was a quiet launch, but it was only a few weeks before the church outgrew its space. Three years ago it moved into a remodeled gym at Eastside Christian School, near Bellevue College, but the group has been in pursuit of a more permanent situation since. Pastors discovered the John Danz building about two years ago. The church overcame a number of obstacles, including raising $2 million dollars to renovate the space, before its grand opening yesterday.
In the '70s and '80s, the Danz building played home to one of the biggest four movie theaters in the area. In the past 10 years, its served as a Good Guys and an Underhill's furniture store. It now has a new purpose. Pastor Mark Driscoll was so moved by what is going on in Bellevue, he committed to preaching a couple evening services a month at the new location. "This is a fantastic place," he said, spectating the growth. "I feel like I'm a kite, and God's a hurricane."
And while we're at it here's a post published September 2, 2010.
http://www.theresolved.com/4732/resolved-church-plants/
Jesse Winkler is planting Westview Church | www.westviewchurch.com
Jesse planted The Vine church in Seattle, Washington in 2005. In 2009 The Vine was adopted as one of the sites of Mars Hill Church and God put a calling on Jesse to move back down to Southern California and plant a church in Rancho Penasquitos of North County San Diego. Jesse is married, has four children and has been a guest speaker at The Resolved Church a number of times. Currently Pastor Duane is serving as one of Jesse’s virtual elders until he is able to find and develop qualified elders. Jesse is currently having soft launch vision and core group gatherings and is officially launching in November 2010. Here’s a word from Jesse about it:
But somehow after roughly eight years of Mars Hill having some kind of leadership presence in Bellevue through Acts 29 partnership and later assimilation ... Thomas Hurst says that Mars Hill Bellevue is currently in "core group phase". Does the core group phase last eight years?
Is this Pastor Thomas Hurst the same Thomas James Hurst who took the cover photo for Mark Driscoll's Confessions of a Reformission Rev? Because if so Hurst has been in a position for the last eight years to know that Mars Hill has had a presence on the Eastside that goes back long enough that today's Mars Hill Bellevue can't realistically be said to be in "core group phase" now by any stretch of the imagination. Eight years is a long time to just be in "core group phase" and Driscoll's reference to how well Bellevue was doing earlier this year suggests that Driscoll himself didn't consider MH Bellevue in core group phase when he said about Mars Hill "We're not a wealthy church" or when he told us about how Jesus loves church mergers and you should, too.
from Pastor Thomas Hurst:
We’re Still in Core Group Phase
As we walk down the path God has laid out for us, we want to share with you a bit of a paradigm shift: Bellevue is now in “core group” phase.
Exactly what Hurst means by "Core Group Phase" is impossible to know but what it cannot possibly mean is that the Mars Hill presence at Bellevue is less than roughly six years old.
Pastor A. J. Hamilton wrote the following about Mars Hill in Bellevue:
http://marshill.com/2010/10/07/when-mars-hill-became-multi-campus-church-2006-present
Bellevue was an A29 church plant which then converted to a MHC campus and exploded in attendance. We then sent their campus pastor out to plant another church in San Diego and an existing A29 planter took the role. It is no wonder that Bellevue has aggressive church- and campus-planting strategies that other campus leadership teams look to for best practices.
Then there's Mark Driscoll's sales pitch for why Jesus loves church mergers and you should, too:
http://pastormark.tv/2011/11/29/jesus-loves-church-mergers-and-so-should-you
Mars Hill Bellevue
In the mid-2000s, a Mars Hill elder planted church on the Eastside of the greater Seattle area called The Vine. This plant was led by a Mars Hill pastor at the time, Jesse Winkler. The Vine started with a small core group from Mars Hill and eventually grew to be somewhere between 100 to 200 people.
Many people from that area were still driving into Seattle to attend Mars Hill in Ballard, and the number of people grew so large that we decided to consider planting a church east of Seattle. We met with Winkler and asked him if he wanted to continue as an independent church with us planting another one far enough away from his church so as to not drain his people, or if he wanted to become a Mars Hill Church. He took some time to fast and pray, seeking God’s will, and was convinced God was asking him to partner with Mars Hill to lead one church made up of people from The Vine and Mars Hill. The Vine church became Mars Hill Eastside in 2008, which eventually became Mars Hill Bellevue.
After the merger, the church saw immediate growth, going from 200 people to over 500 people almost overnight. Some Sundays, men were asked to stand outside in the wet and cold of Seattle to listen via speaker because we couldn't fit everyone into the small funeral home in which the church met for the multiple services. Since then, there has been much fruit, as Mars Hill Downtown Bellevue just moved into a new building in the heart of Downtown Bellevue and is seeing over 2,000 people worship Jesus and serve the surrounding community, hundreds of which are a result of new Christians who met Jesus and were baptized at Mars Hill Bellevue.
Additionally, Mars Hill Bellevue, along with some other Acts 29 churches, helped fund Westview Church in San Diego, California, with Pastor Jesse spearheading that plant. And the church has sent a core group of a couple hundred over to our newest location, Mars Hill Sammamish (which I’ll talk about later in this post).
So what's in the link?
http://blog.marshill.com/2011/10/31/the-day-bellevue-opened-grandly/
The Bellevue church started four years ago, after merging with The Vine in a Redmond funeral home. It was a quiet launch, but it was only a few weeks before the church outgrew its space. Three years ago it moved into a remodeled gym at Eastside Christian School, near Bellevue College, but the group has been in pursuit of a more permanent situation since. Pastors discovered the John Danz building about two years ago. The church overcame a number of obstacles, including raising $2 million dollars to renovate the space, before its grand opening yesterday.
In the '70s and '80s, the Danz building played home to one of the biggest four movie theaters in the area. In the past 10 years, its served as a Good Guys and an Underhill's furniture store. It now has a new purpose. Pastor Mark Driscoll was so moved by what is going on in Bellevue, he committed to preaching a couple evening services a month at the new location. "This is a fantastic place," he said, spectating the growth. "I feel like I'm a kite, and God's a hurricane."
And while we're at it here's a post published September 2, 2010.
http://www.theresolved.com/4732/resolved-church-plants/
Jesse Winkler is planting Westview Church | www.westviewchurch.com
Jesse planted The Vine church in Seattle, Washington in 2005. In 2009 The Vine was adopted as one of the sites of Mars Hill Church and God put a calling on Jesse to move back down to Southern California and plant a church in Rancho Penasquitos of North County San Diego. Jesse is married, has four children and has been a guest speaker at The Resolved Church a number of times. Currently Pastor Duane is serving as one of Jesse’s virtual elders until he is able to find and develop qualified elders. Jesse is currently having soft launch vision and core group gatherings and is officially launching in November 2010. Here’s a word from Jesse about it:
But somehow after roughly eight years of Mars Hill having some kind of leadership presence in Bellevue through Acts 29 partnership and later assimilation ... Thomas Hurst says that Mars Hill Bellevue is currently in "core group phase". Does the core group phase last eight years?
Is this Pastor Thomas Hurst the same Thomas James Hurst who took the cover photo for Mark Driscoll's Confessions of a Reformission Rev? Because if so Hurst has been in a position for the last eight years to know that Mars Hill has had a presence on the Eastside that goes back long enough that today's Mars Hill Bellevue can't realistically be said to be in "core group phase" now by any stretch of the imagination. Eight years is a long time to just be in "core group phase" and Driscoll's reference to how well Bellevue was doing earlier this year suggests that Driscoll himself didn't consider MH Bellevue in core group phase when he said about Mars Hill "We're not a wealthy church" or when he told us about how Jesus loves church mergers and you should, too.
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