Signs a Church is becoming a Cult, Part 2

See Signs A Church is Becoming a Cult, Part 1 LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY STRUCTURES AND FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY While the leader may claim on paper that he is accountable to others, in reality he is responsible to no one. For example, the executive elders sit on Mars Hill's Board of Advisors and Accountability (BOAA), so they end up policing themselves. In addition, the church's public financials list personnel costs of $12,047,038 without revealing salaries and other benefits paid to the executive elders. Also, the owner of all church properties is listed as "Mars Hill Church, a nonprofit corporation" though the actual members of Mars Hill Church LLC are the three executive elders and not the church by name. SQUELCH ALL DISSENT On his blog Naked Pastor, David Hayward points how a regime like Mars Hill works if the silence of the masses is kept. Amy Laura Hall, Associate Professor of Christian Ethics, Duke University, adds via email, "The word 'reconciliation' is used to squelch open accountability to injustice and domination." Driscoll often talks of unity at Mars Hill as though they are a family though anyone who questions this narrative faces retribution. This dynamic was on full display at Mars Hill in 2007 during the first of many staff purges when Paul Petry and Bent Meyer were abruptly fired and shunned for questioning changes to the church's original bylaws. Former staff cannot speak publicly about Mars Hill because they are required to sign non-disclosure agreements. Driscoll's supposedly tongue-in-cheek suggestions for dealing with those leaders who question his authority included breaking their noses, adding, "There's a pile of bodies behind the Mars Hill bus and by the grace of God, it will be a mountain when we're done." According to Robert T. Smith, a former deacon, "The same abusive tactics we've seen today where elders are immediately dismissed if they dissent was what was used to change the bylaws in 2007." EMERGENCE OF BLACK/WHITE GROUP THINKING Hayward expounds on the appeal of black and white thinking that enable abusive churches like Mars Hill succeed. "In a culture that is increasingly fuzzy in its spirituality, beliefs and ethics, it can be nice to be a part of something that is clear about what it believes and how to live." Furthermore, Churches with cult like tendencies keep their members in line by promoting a polarized us-versus-them mentality. Members like those attending Mars Hill are encouraged to avoid television, newspapers, and put blind trust trust in their lead pastor. Since Turner came on board, at least 42 elders have left Mars Hill with Turner arguing that those who resign should not receive any severance pay. Currently, the church counts 65 elders among its leaders. This high percentage of ex-elders coupled with the other staff and volunteers who have departed led some staffers to give Turner the nicknames "Sutton Turnover" and "The Hatchet Man." According to a reliable unnamed source, Bruskas told dozens of former elders and staff, “No elder or staff has ever left and regretted it and all wish they left sooner.” MOVING BEYOND MARS HILL These cult like attributes extend well beyond Driscoll as an individual pastor. They can also be found in other hipster and New Reformed Christian leaders including Driscoll's colleague Steve Furtick of Elevation Church in Charlotte, Acts 29 Network co-founded by Driscoll with the late David Nicholas, former president C.J. Mahaney of scandal riddled Sovereign Grace Ministries and one of Driscoll's mentors for a brief period of time, and the Emergent Village that sprung out of the Young Leaders Network where Driscoll was once a member of its official vision group.