Park Street Church, Boston, Is Experiencing a Crisis of Leadership. Many Members and Staff Are in Pain. The Only Solution Is a Third Party, Independent Investigation.

Posted on by January 23, 2024avatar

Park Street Church 2014

“We need to remember that true love can wound like a surgeon’s knife in order to produce something far better, far more healthy, and far fuller. Are you willing to love like that? Are you willing to receive love like that?” Mark Booker

Who am I?

I grew up in Salem, MA, and became a Christian as a teen. I was the only Christian I knew in my town. While in college, I made my way to Park Street Church during the time of Dr. Toms. There, my life changed. I was taught how to study Scripture and the importance of missions. I made many friends who also took their faith seriously. Eventually, I met my husband Bill, who graduated from Dartmouth Medical School, and we left the area. However, the foundation for my faith was forged at Park Street, and all that I would experience in my Christian life was seen through the filter of what I had learned at PSC.

Years later, I saw the abuse of many young teen boys in my Baptist church. As a group of us confronted the church leadership over what we perceived to be failures in their response, I was startled at their response. We became the problem, not the abuser. It was my first taste of spiritual abuse, a term that was new to me. I started a blog, The Wartburg Watch, to find out if others had similar experiences. What I learned was a shock. Abuse was rampant in the Christian church, not only in the US but around the world.

I began to post stories of victims of church abuse: sexual, spiritual, physical, and emotional. My blog started to be noticed by journalists and media. The Washington Post featured my blog in The Crusading Bloggers Exposing Abuse in Protestant Churches. Since that time, I have been sought out by the media for comment and was featured in a book about abuse in the evangelical church. I have been writing for fifteen years, exposing and documenting abuse around the globe, but primarily in the States. I reflect on the lessons I learned at Park Street each time I write. Scattered throughout my blog are references to this church, which I love.

My involvement in the current crisis at Park Street

I have some readers in the Boston area, and some contacted me; they attend Park Street and were concerned about a letter sent out by Pastor Mark Booker. I, too, was disturbed by the letter and decided to write a post about my concerns. In the course of my research, I reached out to many people in the know. That contact resulted in discussions with various individuals, including members and others. Given the current climate at the church, I will not be revealing any names. My concerns grew, and this lengthy post summarizes those. I intend to write a follow-up post next week highlighting Michael Balboni’s important letter.

Park Street Church is not a typical evangelical church.

PSC is not a start-up in a rental space. It has historical significance while being known for its rigorous exposition of Scripture by academically gifted preachers. From Wikipedia:

Park Street Church has a strong tradition of missions, evangelical doctrine, and application of Scripture to social issues, as well as a notable list of firsts. Edward Dorr Griffin (1770–1837) served as the first pastor of the Park Street Church and preached a famous series of Sunday evening sermons attacking the New Divinity.[7] In 1816, Park Street Church joined with Old South Church to form the City Mission Society, a social service society to serve Boston’s urban poor.

I would sit in this historical church (on the Freedom Trail in Boston) and marvel at the teaching as well as the beauty of the structure. It was not unusual to see people drive two hours to attend the church during my time there. Its teaching and stability are known throughout New England.

In my opinion, some issues now threaten stability which I will explain. At the end of my thoughts, I will post three documents: Pastor Booker’s letter to the congregation, Dr. Michael Balboni’s letter, which carefully documents his concerns, and a letter by a former elder, Cindy Cutlip.

Pastor Mark Booker must publicly post his academic and work history, starting with college. Maybe this will end the conflict.

The senior pastor has traditionally been held in high theological and academic regard. Many have held PhDs. I understand the church experienced difficulty finding a pastor with a PhD. It was thought a Masters of Divinity would suffice. I know, yet I question that decision.

There is a concern that Pastor Booker’s training at Oxford does not meet the US standards for a Master of Divinity due to the peculiarities at Oxford where Booker received his divinity training. I have been researching churches and pastors for fifteen years. I have never found it more challenging to locate a pastor’s credentials. Even in his letter to the congregation, he defended his degrees yet didn’t elucidate them. There is a simple fix, and it will quell the concern. Release a carefully documented résumé. I genuinely don’t understand why he doesn’t do this.

The Park Street Petition is exhaustive and well-documented and should be followed by all who care about the church.

I had many questions about the members’ concerns. As I have read through their documentation, I can truthfully say that I have rarely seen such careful and encompassing documentation. I have a saying: “All truth is God’s truth, even if it is uncomfortable.” Sometimes, digging out the truth can be difficult.

I have looked at untold numbers of churches that have undergone a challenge like PSC. Often, critics will say. “Don’t air dirty laundry in public.” Sadly, many outside the church perceive the problems that have led to the “Great Dechurching.” Jesus said we should be a light on the hill. When the light shines, however, we don’t get to tell people what they see. They see our failings. We can be a light to show how we work in love and concern to solve our problems. We are all sinners. That means churches will have issues, sometimes serious issues. PSC can show the world how Christians work with one another.

In my assessment, the church is dealing with spiritual and emotional abuse.

Michael Balboni’s letter indicates some serious concerns. From the Petition:

Michael’s document and letter to the congregation make it clear that he is alleging spiritual abuse by Mark, which is often characterized by emotional or psychological abuse in a spiritual context. He mentions instances of staff voices being stifled and silenced, unhealthy control, coercion, a toxic fear environment, isolation, a staff member shaking in fear in considering possible retaliation from speaking out against Mark, and more. There seems to be an inconsistency between Michael’s allegations of abuse and the BoE’s portrayal of this as merely an issue of different styles of leadership.

It is easy to dismiss this as “different styles of leadership.” Unfortunately, the elders appear to be implying that abusive leadership is acceptable if it achieves the goal. That may work in corporate America, but it should not operate in the church. I recommend two books for congregation members who do not understand spiritual abuse.

Dr Michael Balboni’s firing is the “final straw” and an example of the problems at PSC.

Dr Balboni is an example of the quality of training usually found in the pastoral staff at PSC.

Michael Balboni, Ph.D., Th.M., M.Div, is a pastor at Park Street Church in downtown Boston. He holds a Ph.D. in theology from Boston University and completed post-doctoral training at the Harvard School of Public Health and at Harvard Divinity School. Before taking up full time ministry, he was an Instructor at Harvard Medical School and a palliative care researcher at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. As a theologian, his focus has included the development of a theology of medicine and a concentration in the theological underpinnings related spiritual care in a pluralistic, secular medical context

Yet Dr. Balboni found his talents subjected to the unChristlike hierarchy at PSC. He questioned Pastor Booker’s demands, which he believed conflicted with his understanding of Scripture. In his experience, the Body of Christ was treated more like a business entity pushing a product. “Just do it. That’s what we hired you for.”

For example, Dr Balboni preached at the 4 pm service. The leaders decided to stop this well-attended service and have all services in the morning. The reason there was an afternoon service was for the many people in Boston who must work or have other issues.

it is alleged that Pastor Booker asked Dr Balboni to violate pastoral confidentiality. The following is from the Petition but is documented in Dr Balboni’s letter which will be included at the end of this post.

Geoff mentioned that factual allegations were confirmed through discussion with Mark and Michael, and that the facts were not disputed. Some parts of Michael’s allegations that could be confirmed as objective facts regardless of personal interpretation include: Mark asking Michael to violate pastoral confidence the presence of fear among some number of staff members, Mark calling other ministers lazy, financially punishing Michael, restricting prayer, and admitting to being “just a bit dishonest” about upcoming minister terminations during the COVID-19 pandemic. If these facts were agreed on, would they not call into question Mark’s fitness as a senior minister? In a corporate world, this would perhaps be tolerated and addressed by additional leadership training; however, the leadership standard the church is called to uphold is to be “above reproach” (1 Timothy 3:2, Titus 1:7). Is it considered above reproach to call fellow workers lazy, be “just a bit dishonest”, and more?

The most disturbing aspect of Dr Balboni’s firing was an apparent game played by the elders. He was asked to document his concerns, which he did. Shortly after submitting this documentation, he was fired. The BoE (Board of Elders) appears to be doing a bait and switch. He had to write the letter, knowing they might use it against him. The BoE attempts to deny it, but they told him to compose the letter. This is another possible example of spiritual abuse.

  • On Oct. 8, Geoff Raux said that Michael was not forced to go through the process of submitting allegations, but that he was “strongly encouraged” to do so. Andrew Ziegler said that Michael initiated the process and went ahead after the BoE cautioned him to be serious. Together, these comments suggest that Michael willingly and of his own accord submitted charges, and that he was not pressured to do so, depending on what it means to “strongly encourage.”  However, Michael says that he “ultimately was told I had to write my concerns down or rescind my complaints and remain silent.” In her email to congregants on Oct. 7, Tracy Balboni said, “After expressing concerns this summer…Michael was requested by an elder, and wrote, a letter detailing his concerns over these issues July 2023, providing this to the Elder Board. He was reluctant to write anything, but was told he would have to write out his concerns or otherwise take back all concerns and remain silent.  As the latter option was not tenable, he proceeded with his letter.” The Balbonis’ accounts seem at odds with the BoE’s comments, and indicate that Michael was reluctant to submit charges and that he was pressured to do so by some number of members of the BoE, telling him that he must otherwise rescind complaints and remain silent – an unethical course of action in the case of suspected or observed abuse.

Oddly, the BoE told the congregation that Booker and Balboni agreed with much of what was written. They also claimed Pastor Booker did not read Dr Balboni’s allegations.

BoE said that Mark and Michael agreed on what happened, but had different views about it. At the Oct. 11 Q&A meeting, Geoff mentioned that the factual allegations were confirmed through discussions with Mark and Michael, and that the facts were not disputed. In Michael’s letter to the congregation, he says that the BoE did not allow additional witnesses to be interviewed, because he and Mark agreed on the facts. However, on Oct. 8th, Geoff said that Mark had never been shown the document containing Michael’s charges. This raises the question – how could Mark and Michael “agree on the facts” if Mark had never been shown Michael’s allegations? While it is entirely possible that Mark did not see the actual document containing the allegations, it would seem that he was made aware of its contents if he was able to agree on the facts. This seems either inconsistent or misleading.

Dr Balboni was subsequently fired. He claims that Pastor Booker is not up to his job. Given the crisis now before the church, I would have to agree. This conflict is at odds with thoughtful and effective leadership. The BoE appeared to claim that he disagreed with the “new” structure of how things will work. Before I get to that, let’s look at what happened to the other staff.

Many ministers, directors, and admin staff may be in fear of Pastor Booker and other leaders.

What is a power differential?

The power differential is the inherently greater power and influence that helping professionals have as compared to the people they help. Understanding both the value and the many impacts of the power differential is the core of ethical awareness. Written codes for ethical behavior are based on the strong positive and negative impacts of this power differential.

This means that a person with the power to fire an individual or affect the working environment, such as a senior pastor, has more power than a person lower on the hierarchal scale. The one with power  may create an atmosphere of charity, peace, or fear and “walking on eggshells.” Is PSC behaving like one more corporate entity or is it a living, breathing example of Jesus Christ, who is the head of all aspects of the church?

you seem to acknowledge that the use of power can be distorted and abused, taking advantage of the vulnerabilities of others. Any staff person working at Park Street was already vulnerable when it comes to the SM, who is in a position to fire them. What does that mean now in the light of Michael’s firing? Michael has stated that “one of the central claims in my memo is that there are at least nine ministers, directors, and admin staff who feel threatened by the senior minister within a toxic culture of fear.”,3 and yet, none of those people were interviewed by the BoE or its subcommittee during a time in which you said you were assessing whether or not Michael’s charges could be substantiated. You state that as far as you “are able”, you “aim to prevent these abuses of power”.

The petitioners also express concern that firings, resignations, and leaves of absence are on the rise.

Because there is concern that this is not an ordinary personnel decision. Why are pastors being put on involuntary leave? Why are staff at risk of being fired? Why can’t anyone talk about it?

Additionally, over the past several years there have been multiple inadequately-explained firings, some of which were portrayed as “resignations” or voluntary departures. Could these all be part of a bigger problem?

Is this a Congregational church being forced to accept a “top-down” or “guidance” structure versus a “consensus” structure? Is this the root of the problem?

Does the reader note the “con” in Congregation” and “consensus?” Both words go together. Does PSC practice a congregational, consensus model or a top-down model? It used to be congregational. Is it pivoting away from its roots?

One highly used meaning of the prefix con- is “with.” For instance, when you connect two objects, you link them “with” each other. When people convene at a particular place, they come there “with” others. In the same vein, when people congregate, they flock “with” each other. A consensus is a mutual feeling of agreement that people have “with” each other. And concord? Concord is agreement or harmony, or etymologically when one person’s “heart” is “with” another

It appears to this observer that PSC is changing structure, and it is a fundamental change, even if those in leadership deny that it is. In fact, could the firings and fear of the staff be due to this situation? Is a change being forced on the staff, and those who question the change are now on the outside and in danger of losing a job? From the Petition:

David Murgatroyd began by saying he would talk about the facts of how we got here and then gave an explanation of different types of leadership, focusing on consensus-seeking (bottom-up) vs. guidance-giving (top-down) leadership styles. He said that the Moderator and SM have shifted to a guidance-giving/top-down approach but that some long-standing ministers still prefer consensus-seeking/bottom-up leadership, and that people with opposing leadership styles will have conflict. Later, Geoff Raux said that during the investigation, Michael had a consensus-driven philosophy and Mark saw himself as a leader, and that tensions in these perspectives lead to the current situation, explaining that Michael’s allegations “didn’t come out of nowhere” and referencing a strained relationship between Michael and Mark from the very beginning. Geoff also said that Michael’s charges of unfitness stemmed from an employment matter that grew to lead Michael to think of Mark as not only a bad boss, but as a bad person – asserting that the matter underlying the situation and allegations was a staff issue between two people arising from leadership differences.The Board only interviewed Michael and Mark when conducting their investigation, despite Michael’s plea to interview other Park Street ministers and staff,

In Dr Balboni’s letter, he claims that Pastor Booker told him he wanted to “purge the membership.” This tactic has been seen in spiritually abusive churches. One such example is from the disgraced Mark Driscoll.

In one instance, the church’s elders were asked to weigh in on a new governing document and a few of the men sent an email that raised concerns, Cosper says. In response, Driscoll walked off stage after giving a sermon and fired all of them the next day.

“There is a pile of dead bodies behind the Mars Hill bus. By God’s grace, it’ll be a mountain by the time we’re done,” Driscoll said. “Either get on the bus or you get run over by the bus, those are the options. But the bus ain’t gonna stop.”

In my experience, many abusive churches that decide to pivot towards a more hierarchical structure begin to develop a” we vs. them” approach. The ones who question a rapid change from a governance structure become the enemy. In some situations, it has been said that it is better to winnow down membership to just five people if those people align with the vision of the changed church. In other words, we are all supposed to be 100% behind a pastor’s vision (often called vision casting.) But what about the vision of those in the congregation?

It is my opinion that a church takeover is in play.

It appears the word “congregational” is being deemphasized. From the Petition:

Park Street Church belongs to the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference (“CCCC” or “4Cs”). In a congregational church, there is no human authority above the congregation, so the “conference” is a voluntary association of independent churches.

The Congregational Church model seems to be on the outs, and a “new way” with “elders in charge” is being ushered in.

An “executive session” is a part of an open meeting that is intended to be kept secret. The information discussed during an executive session is not made public and is considered confidential.  For example, outside of a church setting, a corporate board might use an executive session to protect details like a person’s salary from being published.

PSC’s bylaws do not address the use of executive sessions, but if the bylaws state that the congregation is supposed to review the actions of the Board of Elders, then secret meetings just do not make sense. It strips all the power away from the congregation and lets the Board of Elders do whatever it wants.

The Members are to be able to review and modify decisions by the Board of Elders (BoE). If what we see now reflects these new policies and procedures, we expect that there will be members who want to review and modify them.

The 4 pm service cancellation is an example of the elders’ power.

It appears decision-making is decidedly in the hands of the elders at this point. It is only due to an uprising that the elders are “reconsidering” their decision to ax the 4 pm. This is one example of the problem with the “guidance” method.

The BoE is attempting to convince the membership that because PSC is a large church, “consensus doesn’t work. I disagree, and I have been in a much larger church with a consensus model.

David Murgatroyd also claimed that the generally smaller 4Cs churches are consensus seeking and larger churches like Park Street are guidance giving. He stated that since 2000, there was a need for ‘guidance giving’ leadership at Park Street and added that the Senior Minister (SM) and Moderator more recently shifted to the guidance giving approach. We were puzzled by the representation that a change to ‘guidance giving’ was something needed now at Park Street due to its size, since it was larger in the 2000s when by this statement the church relied on consensus seeking. The size argument doesn’t seem to be supported by Park Street’s actual history.

There is a problem with the corporate view of the church.

My generation is part of the problem. Many of us believed, back in the 1990s, that the church should adopt the structure of successful corporations. We were wrong, and this view has harmed the church. Here are two of many articles on this problem: Why Corporate Church Won’t Work and The Downside Of Hierarchy — In Business And The Church.

Brothers and sisters, we are the Body of Christ in all we do. We are not pushing Dove soap (as one example). In all that we do, in our churches and our outside lives, we represent our head, Jesus Christ, who is in no way to be sold like Dove soap. Our church should be viewed as an organic expression of our faith. Yes, it’s harder to run a consensus-driven church. It requires more meetings and lots of prayer.

Stop pretending that there is 100% unity. Unity can be achieved even though there are internal differences. Instead, there appears to have been an effort to make life easier for the church leaders by employing a “dictator” form of governance. “Don’t talk about it” is another form of spiritual abuse. Let’s say there was a vote, and the decision was 8-6. This means there is significant disagreement with the decision. Instead of maneuvering for the “winning” votes, leaders should figure out ways to deal with one another. That is a Christian view of the church instead of a corporate view. It takes more time, but, in the end, it will yield more fruit.

It is not clear which ministers were against it, but at the 4pm town hall meeting, Pastor Mark stated that he proposed the 4pm cancellation to “all the full-time ministers on our staff…last fall and again in April” and “we did not come to agreement.” It’s likely that a majority of ministers did not support the decision because if they did, that would have been shared with the congregation to support Pastor Mark’s argument.

The congregation was never made aware of disagreement among the ministers on this subject. It is also likely that the Board of Elders did not know about the ministers’ disagreement before voting to cancel the 4pm service, because the ministers were ordered to keep silent and refrain from voicing their differing opinions to the Board of Elders.

….It sure seems like it. Ministers who disagreed with the 4pm cancellation weren’t allowed to talk about it. Pastor Michael, after being put on “involuntary leave”, was not allowed to talk about it. Elders, when asked about these issues by concerned congregants, aren’t allowed to talk about it. It is not known if actual non-disclosure agreements are being signed, but the congregation must begin to ask why no one is allowed to tell them anything.

Let’s leave this topic with an observation from the Petition. This overall crisis is not about leadership style. It is about hurting and fearful staff and members.

Here is also an inconsistency between the BoE’s portrayal of this as a staff problem between two people and Michael’s repeated mention of more people involved than just Michael and Mark, whom Michael say have expressed fear of losing their job in the current staff environment. Does it make sense to attribute this fear among multiple staff to a disagreement in leadership style between Michael and Mark, rather than a more serious issue?

A Petition

Is PSC a place that avoids abuse and mistreatment? Is it a place for healing? At this moment in time, the answer is no for me. Here is what is said in the Petition.

You say that you want “to ensure that Park Street Church is a place where those who have been mistreated by others, whether through abuse or any kind of sin, are protected, defended, and healed.”. When you chose not to have a proper, independent investigation, you compromised the church’s ability to adequately assess such a critical matter. When you were presented with such a situation, you choose the exact opposite – you made unsubstantiated allegations against the individual making the charges, a minister who presumably would have a very different interaction experience with the SM than the BoE or the rest of us did, including interactions that others would not have witnessed, and you fired him. That type of protection, defense, and healing is not what God intends by shepherding.

It seems that now is the time to heal. The Petition presents a way to hear from the “down” folks in the “top-down” model. Maybe it’s time the BoE received “guidance from the pews. ”

       A Petition

Petition for a Special Meeting

Pursuant to the provisions of the bylaws Article IV., Section 1, A., ii, which grants the Congregation the right to review and modify decisions of the Board of Elders, we the undersigned members of the Park Street Church Congregation, hereby request that a Special Meeting of the Congregation membership be called as soon as possible in accordance with the provisions of Article VII, Section 3, C through G.

The Petitioners sincerely believe that such a Special Meeting is in the best interest of the Church and will ultimately restore the harmony of the entire Church community (1 Corinthians 12:12-26).

The Purpose of the Special Meeting is to review and possibly modify and/or rescind the following:

The decision of the Board of Elders who “rejected as unsubstantiated” the allegations submitted by Associate Minister Michael Balboni detailing troubling issues regarding Senior Minister Mark Booker

Decisions of the Board of Elders arising from that rejection

Here are a couple of FAQs from the Petition.

23. How can I know if the allegations in the petition are even true?

Yes, much of the information revealed in the petition may come as a shock to you, but there is reason to believe these things are really happening. Since none of the church leaders are allowed to speak freely about these issues, the details are not fully known, but there is enough evidence out there to at least be concerned for the church and start asking more questions. The hope is that eventually the full truth will come out.

After the submission of the petition, Pastor Michael wrote a letter to the Board of Elders and petitioners to explain that he had no role in the petition, which is true. In the letter, he confirms that he had indeed been suspended and expected to be fired.

Multiple church members have approached church leadership with concerns, individually and in groups, which is what the Bible suggests in Matthew 18:15-16:

24. Why a petition? Could this have been handled in a different way? Is this really the most Christ-like way to go about this? What does the Bible have to say about this?

“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.”

These approaches have not resulted in any change in church practice or engagement with those concerns. As a result, Matthew 18:17a describes the next step:

“If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church.”

Also, the Park Street Church Bylaws ask the congregation to check the actions of the Board of Elders. Making a petition is the method laid out by the bylaws.

The intent of the petition is to save our ministers and staff from being fired unjustly. It is about bringing light and truth to a difficult situation in a loving way. It is not meant to embarrass or shame church leadership. This website is password protected in order to “tell it to the church” but not the entire world.

A summation of thoughts

  • Pastor Booker must publicly display his education and work history.
  • Pastor Booker appears unable to deal with a Congregational church style.
  • Pastor Booker appears unprepared to handle a church of this size and history.
  • Michael Balboni’s letter appears to be accurate, as admitted by a church leader documented above.
  • Each instance in that letter must be dealt with.
  • Spiritual abuse is real and present.
  • Some members are concerned about a toxic church and seek a “tov” church. Why not try to do so?
  • The church leadership appears to rely on the corporate business model, not the Jesus model of the Body under Christ’s headship.
  • There is a”church takeover” in play.
  • Rethink the response to Dr Balboni. Why not change the outcome?

The only solution appears to be a third-party, independent investigation.

It appears that the church leadership should consider a service of lament for how things have been handled in the past few years. However, I doubt that they truly understand the seriousness of the situation. It appears that the BoE believes they have the expertise to do this. The church did have such an investigation regarding the spiritual abuse by another leader.

On Oct. 11, Stephen Adams explained that an external investigation was not performed for Mark even though one was for Kimberley, because the situation with Mark was more about the interpretation of Scripture and the qualifications of an elder, and that the BoE felt it was really the elders’ job. Geoff added that the BoE had the internal expertise to do this. Yet, from Michael’s letter, we see that the charges against Mark are of spiritual abuse, which Scripture obviously condemns (e.g., Jesus rebuking the Pharisees, John’s rebuke of Diotrephes in 3 John). Kimberley and Mark were both accused of spiritual abuse – and yet allegations against Kimberley received an external investigation and those against Mark did not. Why this inconsistency? Additionally, Telios Law’s report stated that “… allegations [against Kimberley] should have triggered a formal investigation into these matters rather than a 360 review” and “Allegations of abuse are more appropriately handled in an investigation.”

This situation goes way beyond a simple disagreement about Scripture and leadership style. In my opinion, the Body is hurting, and people are in pain. Some of this is due to the actions of Pastor Booker and many in the BoE and other committees. Yet those at the heart of the problem say they can investigate themselves since they have the “expertise.” If the recent past is any example, I would say that the expertise is lacking and outside help is needed. Few people in most churches are informed enough to understand, assess, and treat spiritual trauma.

While at GRACE, Boz Tchividjian explained why those involved in the entity cannot investigate themselves.

An investigator who is associated with the institution being investigated is not independent.  Furthermore, an investigator who has a fiduciary duty to the institution being investigated is also not independent. A fiduciary duty is a legal duty to act solely in another party’s interests. That sounds proper and professional until one realizes that the institution not only determines its own interests, but also is able to dictate those interests to those who are hired to investigate it. For example, attorneys owe their clients a fiduciary duty. Thus, when a practicing attorney or law firm is hired to conduct the investigation, the institution is in the drivers seat and the process is not independent. An independent investigator has a fiduciary duty to the truth, regardless of where it may be found.

Even when an investigator may not have a fiduciary duty to the institution, the investigation will still lack independence if the investigation agreement allows the institution to have any control over the investigator

The independence of an investigation is not defined by the words or assurances of the institution being investigated. It is defined by a structure that requires the institution to get out of the driver’s seat and give up control. This can be a profound step forward for an organization who is genuinely focused on demonstrating love and repentance to those who have been hurt.

I am now a member of a conservative Lutheran Church. My pastors intrinsically understand this. They remind us frequently that they are sinners and struggle with many issues we all struggle with. What this means is simple. We want to protect ourselves, our friends, and our institution. Before the Washington Post wrote about me, they investigated my resume and my claims. I was told there was a lawyer who oversaw that process. I had no control over their investigation, and that was hard since I wasn’t in the driver’s seat. Thankfully, I passed muster, but it was hard waiting for the “all is well.”

Here is an example of an investigative report by GRACE. I think readers will find it comprehensive.

Finally, (I bet you thought I’d never get here)

  • Church leadership is in crisis mode. They need to stop and listen. And listen. And listen again. Stop talking and integrate. Do not send out letters such as the one from Pastor Booker below. He appears to view some members of the church as being influenced by Satan. Never, ever use the Satan card in a conflict.
  • The elders must represent the congregation as much or more than they do the pastor. They are equally part of the Body.
  • Many people are hurting. They need the care, solace, and love of the church leaders and counselors.  The leaders must stop, listen, and care for those in pain.
  • Church leadership must give up unilateral control and join hands with the members, even those who disagree with them.
  • It is time for a comprehensive, independent, third-party investigation
  • I love Park Street Church, and much of what I perceive is due to the incredible care and teaching of the leaders of PSC. I wish for healing for all involved.

This is what I have learned in fairly short order. I apologize for any mistakes. My perceptions may be of help to those inside the church since I am now outside yet I know and love PSC.

The letter from Pastor Booker started this post for me. There is no reason he didn’t post his school and work experience in this letter. Why? Just do it. I have highlighted some red flags in this letter. I have been unable to find anyone who threatened the pastor. It certainly wasn’t the petitioners.

Mark Booker
Saturday, December 30, 2023

Dear PSC Members,

I wrote to you recently with some positive updates about our staff. I’m writing today on a more somber note to address the escalating difficulties of the past few years. I want to offer a window into my thinking and encourage us all not to resort to the ways of the flesh instead of the way of the Spirit. I ache deeply for this Body that the Lord has called me to shepherd, and I write with a shepherd’s heart toward you all.

First and foremost, I want our community to know that Park Street Church’s witness to the gospel of Jesus is currently being threatened in an unprecedented manner and intensity. As many people at Park Street Church, I am painfully aware that some members of our congregation believe that the chief threat to that witness is me and my leadership. Other members believe that the chief threat is the Moderator, the Board of Elders, the Personnel Committee, or even the Clerk. Still other members believe that the chief threat is those who have been signing petitions, or former members of our staff. However, I firmly believe that no one person or group of people is the sole source of threat or our enemy. I am convinced that our present struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places who would delight in nothing more than ripping this community apart and diminishing, or even extinguishing, our longstanding witness to Jesus. We are all capable of being a threat to the witness of Jesus. “None is righteous, no, not one.” (Rom 3.10, quoting Ps 14 and Ps 53). We are all sinners saved by grace, and every one of us, though redeemed by Jesus and washed by his blood, is capable of being used by the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places for sinister purposes. That is a very real threat, and it requires vigilance in all of us. Jesus’s words to Peter in Gethsemane are relevant to our present reality, “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mk 14.38).

Second, I want to share with you that there has been a sustained resistance movement to my serving as Senior Minister for several years. Most recently, among other things, there has been a troubling accusation that my academic credentials are insufficient, and that I intentionally misled the search committee and the congregation about my credentials during my candidacy.  When I first heard from the Moderator in late October about this baseless attack, I was deeply saddened, and, quite honestly, exasperated. The Moderator and I raised this issue with the Board of Elders in November to ensure that they were aware of it, and the Board of Elders were also troubled that this attack was being pursued. They provided counsel to me and received a letter from my academic advisor confirming the nature and rigor of my studies and a report from the chair of the Senior Minister Search Committee attesting that they were not concerned about my academic credentials. Nevertheless, a threat has been made that the group will publish the false accusations unless I resign.

Mandy and I have asked the Lord whether we should go, whether that would be healthiest for Park Street Church—not just in reaction to the opposition, but rather genuinely discerning if it was the Lord’s will and best for the church. I have always maintained that it is important for ministers to hold the particulars of their callings loosely, and to have an attitude of “anywhere, anytime, anyplace, Lord,” ever ready to accept his direction. We remain open-handed before the Lord, but we sense that many of these difficulties are much bigger than us and that some of them expose unhealth in our church which predated our arrival. Our conviction is that leaving the church in this state now would be unloving, would create further damage and division, and would preempt some of the long-term growth and healing that otherwise could take place. I have confidence in God’s calling to serve in such a time as this, and I desire to continue to serve faithfully among you, even as I am being refined and growing. Until the Lord makes it otherwise clear, I intend to give myself fully to him and to all of you in this ministry.

For the many of you who are fatigued by the present challenges or who just want the church to be a place of peace and unity and love, I understand. I am sorry for all that we are going through, and I am sorry for my part in it as well. I long and pray for this to change, as I suspect we all do. But, for as long as we are in a time of challenge, may each of us seek to take up our cross with Jesus. He is not absent in this trial, and he will—if we yield to him, firm in our faith—use this trial to refine us, to purify us, and to make us more like him. In that sense, these times of trial can become to us real gifts from God. They do not feel like it, of course, but these are the moments where our character can be more deeply formed, where our dependence upon the Lord can increase, and where our learning can be substantial.  Let us neither lose heart nor revert to the flesh in challenging moments. May each of us be able to say with the Apostle Paul, “Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God” (2 Cor 4.1-2). The Lord knows. He is our judge. May he make our hearts pure, grant us the grace to walk by the Spirit and not the flesh, and lead us to repentance, starting with me.

I am praying for you, and am grateful for your ongoing prayers for Mandy, our kids, and me as we seek to faithfully serve the Lord and you.

Your servant in Christ,

Mark L. Booker, Senior Minister

Cindy Cutlip’s Letter

Cindy was a member of the BoE when she resigned.

The problems facing us at Park Street Church at this time are much greater than simply “Mark Booker vs. Michael Balboni” or the decision to remove the 4 pm service. Mark Booker became pastor of an unhealthy Park Street Church church in February 2020. As Mark once stated, “There was lots of dirt swept under the carpet” which he inherited as he stepped into his role as our senior minister (SM). These flaws can no longer be swept neatly under the carpet. Today we stand witness over a divided, wounded Park Street Church.

It was with deep grief that I tendered my resignation from the Park Street Church Board of Elders (BoE) in March 2023. If a single cause for my anguish were to be stated, it would be my concern with the leadership strategy that has evolved in our church, utilized by the moderator and senior minister to direct key committees. Stated plainly, I lost confidence in the leadership of Park Street Church. I stopped believing the BoE was a safe and truthful place but was rather a toxic environment where loyalty was forced and confidentiality demanded as standard practice. I could no longer be complicit and stand with a group who collectively did not seek godly wisdom nor pursue accountability to the congregation. Rather, decisions were often made in secret and without full transparency. Although this leadership style is not new, the divisiveness that it creates between leadership and the congregation appears to have been exacerbated recently.

God’s mandate to the elders is to shepherd, teach, and pray. When shepherding is abandoned, we see the results in Ezekiel 34:4 “The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them,” and toxicity seeps in. Toxic is a strong word, and I don’t use it lightly. However, in this day many churches have become war zones instead of places of healing. In the book  A Church Called Tov, the authors describe the culture of toxic churches, comparing them with “tov” (good) churches. When a church’s culture is rooted in compassion, it creates an environment of safety, security and openness. On the other hand, if a church culture is toxic, it drags everyone down with it. As I read this book, I could sadly see many similarities between toxic church culture and Park Street Church culture. Hallmarks of toxic churches include extreme confidentiality to keep secrets, leadership that looks towards external success over character, eagerness to increase numbers of members instead of assessing leader character issues and how people are treated. Toxic cultures induce fear for anyone who speaks against the agenda of top leadership. Other signs of toxic culture cited in A Church Called Include coverup of truth, secrecy, refusal to examine outside critique, and unhealthy exercise of authority and control. “People resign and leave with no explanation and only insiders know why. The one who leaves is encouraged to “end well”, which means–don’t talk. Secrecy remains” (McKnight & Barringer, 2020). Wade Mullen quotes in this book: “An organization or culture that perpetuates abuse will question the motives of those who ask questions, make the discussion of problems the problem, condemn those who condemn, silence those who break silence, and descend upon those who dissent.”

A Church Called Tov goes on to state that a toxic church crafts words designed to manage the narrative. Some examples include:

  • Discredit the critics.
  • Demonize the critics.
  • Spin the story.
  • Make the perpetrator the victim.
  • Silence the truth.
  • Suppress the truth.
  • Issue a fake apology.

In stark contrast, elements of a “tov” church culture include: empathy and compassion, grace and graciousness, putting people first, truth telling, justice, service and Christlikeness. In words we say we strive to be a culture of “tov” at Park Street Church, but in actual action, we can observe many behaviors and attitudes that are consistent with the above signs of toxicity.

Mark Booker was hired into this dysfunctional system with a real opportunity to make a difference – to transition Park Street Church into a healthy “tov” church. Despite this opportunity and the encouragement from many, we have not seen evidence of his desire for this objective. Rather we have seen evidence of his continued fostering of a controlling style of leadership. There is a reluctance within a majority of the BoE to address questions about the multiple powerful committees of Park Street Church (Personnel Committee; Membership Committee; Nominating Committee and its quiet counterpart, a subcommittee of the Deacons). These committees run without adequate transparency or accountability, with the most powerful leaders refusing to honestly address the people’s concerns regarding these committees. Truth is veiled.

I write to state that our beloved Park Street Church is in crisis. We are led by a select few leaders who are not well representative of our diverse church family. This has set up a culture that has divided us from each other. A toxic church is a divided church. The fruit we see is quarreling, suspicion, fear, and dread. We see brothers and sisters in Christ devouring each other. We have seen cruelty in order to get our own way. We form walls of hatred or neglect against those who differ from us, or do not align with our ideologies and preferences. We sometimes even use God’s word to cut down anyone who disagrees with us. Instead of being a pure, whole, united people, we are divided and warlike, seeking to spend time with those who make us feel good all the while pushing away or disempowering anyone who does not agree with our beliefs. How our God who brought us together must grieve over the state of his church, His beloved bride.

In light of where we stand as a church in our own sin and disgrace to God, both individually and collectively, in leadership as well as in congregation, it is time to repent and turn away from our self-focused, divisive and cruel ways. We need to finally reach the end of ourselves and fear our Lord and God. This is the beginning of heavenly wisdom which honors God and people. This is the beginning of the most excellent way that offers good fruit to each other and anyone within our sphere of influence. This is the way of Jesus. Do we want this, or would we prefer to stay where we are right now? I believe the answer and hope is obvious.

Park Street Church is a congregational church. We, as a congregation, need to take responsibility for our part too. We choose the culture to which we belong, for better or for worse. Many of us are fearful to speak of suspicions that institutional leadership is guiding us astray from the ways of Jesus. I am encouraged to hear so many people speaking out and asking good, albeit difficult questions during this time. This is good news!! I affirm congregational voices. How wonderful that so many brothers and sisters care about the Body of Christ here at Park Street. How I wish all leadership would be eager to hear from all voices, even those with differing opinions. Proverbs 11:14 exhorts us that “for lack of guidance a nation falls, but victory is won through many advisors.” The leadership should be rejoicing in having members that want to be engaged.

I hear one consistent suggestion from so many voices across the congregation: We believe an outside independent investigation is vitally important and needed. I wholeheartedly agree. This investigation should be a church-wide study that looks into all aspects of church life and ministry of PSC. Our diverse, multifaceted church is a whole body made up of many members. Therefore, a whole-church investigation is needed. Why would we only want to look at the arm or the eye of the church when the whole Body may be diseased and hurting? It is crucial that an external investigation be a truly independent investigation. In an independent investigation, the investigator is in control of the investigation, not BoE, administration, or any committee of PSC. This could be a loving step forward for PSC if the leaders sincerely seek authentic and healthy change and healing of our broken Body.

Michael Balboni’s Letter

This will be the subject of discussion next week. See if you can find the “red flags.” Please click on link.

Michael Balboni Letter

Comments

Park Street Church, Boston, Is Experiencing a Crisis of Leadership. Many Members and Staff Are in Pain. The Only Solution Is a Third Party, Independent Investigation. — 176 Comments

  1. Elder-rule polity seldom works for the benefit of the congregation. Too much inner ring quest for power and control. Too many elders are pastor yes-men. Too many elder boards have an agenda crafted behind closed doors, unknown to members. I believe the Biblical model for church governance is congregational in nature rather than by elder-rule … IMO.

    “Third party, independent investigation” … is that really possible if the church which pays for it?

  2. Thank you, Dee, for putting all of this down in a great format. That was a lot to read. We wrote a letter to a church when we left it and we had moments of doubt. Michael’s letter confirmed we did the right thing. I am not sure what a good model for the church is because the local church I really like have the same 10 men rotate in and out of the elder board. Big church, yet the same men.

  5. The standard professional degree for pastoral ministry has been the Master of Divinity, and further education usually means a Th.M. Or a D.Min. A Ph.D. Is an academic degree and is becoming a little more common for some pastors. Some gifted pastors manage to be quite fruitful and effective without the customary degrees and training. However, one contemporary concern is the amount of online education which sometimes seems to be less than adequate preparation. In addition to education, however, are the requisite character qualities. Is the candidate a good person? Can he or she function as a shepherd and servant and model of the cruciform life? Is he or she a good cultural fit for the church? Does the candidate love God supremely and also love others (instead of just loving the position or job)? Pastoral ministry is a very demanding calling whether it’s at Park Street or thousands of much less prominent churches.

  6. Wow! That was a difficult read …on several levels.

    The recurring theme running through my mind by the unveiling of multiples layers of church bureaucracy, and the frequently expressed ‘employment fears & jeopardized status’, was the wide gulf spanning the attitude, expectation, public perception and subsistence differentiated by voluntary servanthood, as opposed to compensated professionalism.

    For me, there is an unavoidable contrast/collision between the vital distinctions in mentality and motivation defining the ‘amateur enthusiast’ vs the ‘recompensed professional’.

    Yes, agreed: ‘The workman is worth his wages’, and of course; ‘Do not muzzle an ox treading out the grain’.
    I’m on board …I totally get this.

    However, I’m unconvinced that God intended for densely populated Megachurches to perpetually exist beyond initial formation of his church. The more intimate ‘house church’ model is what I visualize throughout the NT, with a much smaller logistical footprint …and commensurately reduced human resource administration requirements …and clashing of pastoral egos over population-driven shared jurisdictions.

    The humble shepherding of a perpetually unnoticed unpaid ‘amateur’, lacking impressive credentials (but is known for his devout love for God and man) offered sacrificially in bi-vocational capacity …versus the ‘personal ambition and perceived market value’ of the religion careerist’s financially-motivated business model, is necessarily conceded …when ‘turning pro’.

    The commonality shared between the soldier continuously employed as a member of a standing army (funded by taxpayers), the armed patriot defending their family and homeland, and the hired mercenary …is that they each bear arms, though for clearly varying motivations, levels of loyalty and willingness to risk their lives in sacrifice.

    The inspiration, ideology and allegiance of the army’s soldier and the patriot-defender, is grounded in a personal stake in the defense of their local community, reverence of the king’s law and dutifully upholding the national interest.

    The mercenary by contrast, is an itinerant professional combatant, plying his trade across national boundaries wherever needed. This ideological ‘free-agent’ possesses no inherent loyalty toward ‘king or country’, nor is their service inspired by virtuous ideological principles.

    Although they’ll agree to fly anyone’s flag, defend anyone’s land and mimic anyone’s creed (for a price) …the highest value they recognize and serve …is their OWN. Any ‘perceived loyalty’ they allegedly possess, exists only through the limited terms of their compensation contract. They are uncomplicated pragmatists, ruled by a simple ‘quid pro quo’ transactional relationship. (‘You ought not feel offended …it’s strictly business!’)

    I’m NOT suggesting that aspersions be cast upon the character of anyone involved …I’m saddened by the unseemly drama and the hurt inflicted/suffered on all. Corporate church climate like this, should be a red flag to the otherwise, uninformed congregants …and to any unwary visitors. This is a ‘less salacious’ train wreck than what is typically discussed here, but nonetheless, a grievous scene doubtlessly impacting God’s mandate to his church.

  7. Mark L. Booker’s letter seems like a cut-and-paste of all the other buzzword-y, Bible-word-y self-defenses that we see from all the other Big Cheeses who feel threatened. It’s so cringe.

    Can’t anyone just be real and normal instead of this big act?

  8. Reading Michael Balboni’s letter, I get the feeling that he’s been at my church over the past year. Unnngh.

  9. I know Park Street and Mark Booker well. When Mark was hired by PSC out of a small ACNA start-up congregation, I thought at the time that “this is a bridge too far for him” and that he will be severely stressed dealing with the history, complexity and size of PSC, not to mention some of the underlying tensions in the parish that have long been unresolved. I also wondered about the delta between his Anglican training and background and the Calvinist congregational directions at PSC. I suspect the old story has replicated itself… a job that exceeds one’s background and capabilities causes severe insecurity which then manifests itself in a more authoritarian approach. The suggestion for an independent investigation is apropos and the best way to navigate out of this chaos.

  10. Cynthia W.,

    It’s just so weird. Why should Booker feel so threatened? Why not just clarify his bio?

    The bio I’ve seen online says, “After completing theological study at Oxford U…”

    Ok, so exactly what kind of theological study was it, if it wasn’t an M.Div. or D.Min. or a standard ministry degree?

    Just say so! Case closed.

    Except now the allegations of Booker’s spiritual abuse are very serious and must be thoroughly investigated.

    Park Street Church has chosen instead to treat this as a management problem, and has brought in consultants from the VOCA Center to work on leadership issues. However, I gather that VOCA is only focusing on interviewing the staff (some of whom already feel threatened) and then will provide a confidential report only to the Personnel Committee, which fired Michael Balboni! (Someone please correct me if my facts are wrong here.)

    Red flags all over the place. Bringing in VOCA looks like such an obvious image repair tactic to me.

  11. Sandy Williams: The standard professional degree for pastoral ministry has been the Master of Divinity, and further education usually means a Th.M. Or a D.Min. A Ph.D. Is an academic degree and is becoming a little more common for some pastors.

    Standard in the US, other countries may use different names/meanings for the degrees (other than PhD which is fairly standard).

    Mark L. Booker called to Park Street 2 February 2020

    previously Church of the Cross in Boston (ACNA) which he planted in c.2009. Wayback machine has

    “Mark is originally from Colorado, and he used to work professionally in the great outdoors. After completing theological study at the University of Oxford, he ministered in congregations in Jackson, MS, and Washington, DC, prior to moving to Boston. In addition to ministering at Church of the Cross, Mark serves as the regional leader for the New England Region of the Apostle’s Mission Network in the Anglican Mission. Mark and his wife, Mandy, have four young children.”

    Previously Church of the Resurrection, Washington, DC (ACNA) 2005 to 2009 pastor but not head pastor https://rezchurch.org/boston-anglican-mission

    Previously Jackson, MS. There are a couple of ACNA churches near there now. One was then Reformed Episcopal Church [REC] (St. Stephen’s, Flowood, MS; REC is part of the ACNA); the other seems relatively new. Can’t find a

    “completing theological study at the university of oxford” which can mean many things. One question might be when and by whom was he ordained?

  12. Elizabeth Klein: “After completing theological study at Oxford U…”

    Ok, so exactly what kind of theological study was it, if it wasn’t an M.Div. or D.Min. or a standard ministry degree?

    “studying” could be taking one class or one course. Online even?

    I took a First Aid Class, however, I’m neither a medical doctor nor a nurse, nor in any medical profession.

  13. Erp: Standard in the US, other countries may use different names/meanings for the degrees (other than PhD which is fairly standard).

    Exactly. While Mark Booker is writing a letter to the whole congregation, instead of being “exasperated” at “baseless attacks,” why not just publish the letter he got from his academic advisor at Oxford U., which confirmed the “nature and rigor” of his studies?

    Boston is an academic town. PSC has a lot of academics & students in their congregation. They are going to ask questions. You should want a thinking congregation to ask questions!

    Since Booker claims that there is a simple and adequate answer here, he should have just provided it in his letter to the congregation.

  14. “ Last Sunday, I attended this service. It is a longsih sermon. However, about 2/3 of the way through,
    he discusses how the patriarchy has hurt women throughout the ages.
    He also discussed the marginalization of women and children throughout the ages.
    He contrasted this with Jesus. Women were the first to spread the Gospel after the Resurrection. I almost yelled, “Amen.”
    (E-church TWW 08.06.23)

    How things change!

    A month before Mark Booker was interviewed by Fr Lilias in the Wellsprings of Faith series on YouTube which you can listen to here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmFZ5TMCmEE. Well worth listening to and it might counter some of the assertions made by his detractors at Park Street. In the interview he said he studied at Wycliffe Hall when Allister McGrath was Principal and Michael Green a lecturer.

    Anyway, see what you think

  15. Ava Aaronson,

    Exactly…
    I will show any of you my degrees and transcripts…. And I clearly list my degree, date, and Institution…… in professional settings…this is a “no-brainer”, and standard operating practice, SOP
    Also notice, I do not “pull my degrees” on this blog…because it is generally irrelevant…

  17. A quick resumé. Lived in Kansas for the first 8yrs of his life. Then moved to Colorado Springs. Family attended non denomination Bible churches. He went to Rhodes College (Presbyterian) in Memphis. He was a white water rafting guide in adventure company in Colorado. Went to Wycliffe Hall. Returned to Jackson MS and was ordained a deacon. Then to Church of the Resurrection Boston, then to Park Street.

    It’s still better if you watch it for yourself. Lots of insights

  18. Elizabeth Klein: “After completing theological study at Oxford U…”

    I have taken graduate level courses on subjects that interest me … for example, archaeology and waterfowl biology. While I could claim that I “completed a study”, I wasn’t pursuing a degree in those fields. I was just acquiring knowledge for avocational interests. I never listed those studies on my professional resume in a way that would imply I had a degree in those areas. It would be more appropriate to add such information in an “additional training” section of your curriculum vitae, rather than imply you had degrees from those institutions. I suspect there are ministers who do those things, but certainly wouldn’t be the right thing to do if it was meant to deceive others into thinking it was what it wasn’t.

  20. Stavros: a job that exceeds one’s background and capabilities causes severe insecurity which then manifests itself in a more authoritarian approach.

    “power is distilled from fear, that those who wish to wield it must at least seem to be curing the ills of the nation” [or church]

    (Quote from new novel by Giuliano da Empoli)

    In contrast, Jesus did not wield power and influence via fear. But He warned that the World, the flesh, and Satan the Enemy – they all do exactly that, wield power via fear.

    Fear of truth, fear of transparency, fear of church parity … etc.

    The parity in the Body of Christ is that the ground at the foot of the Cross is level.

    If a church leader is elevated and chipping away at the agency of each church member, it’s no longer church. It’s a cult. When a leader is elevated, the church sets itself up for this.

    – Never elevate “leaders”. They should be doing their job like everyone else. Nothing special about doing your job and one job is not above others.
    – Acknowledge and recognize everyone in the Body of Christ equally doing their job: Rom 12, 1 Cor 12, Eph 4. Gifted. Anointed. Appointed.
    – Retain each member’s agency.
    – Retain Jesus as the Church’s only leader and authority.
    – Maintain balance among all members.
    – Exclude or expel 6 dangerous behaviors from fellowship, 1 Cor. 5. (The Bible has examples of how dangerous these behaviors are: Cain killed Abel in a jealous rage; Nabal was an out-of-control Domestic Violence substance abuser drunk; slanderers put Daniel in a den and Jesus on the Cross. Etc.)

    Finally, in this era of information and the Internet, we all have access to infinite teaching.

    Churches having an administrative leader(s) to keep things organized makes sense.

    But relying on one lone same guy each week to expound on and explain the Bible seems deficit, lame, outdated, or highly limited to a group of seeking, growing followers of Jesus. The “pastor”-led church in its current form seems highly outdated.

  21. Lowlandseer,

    Nobody at PSC is saying that Mark Booker didn’t study at Oxford U., though.

    The question is, what was his actual theological study there, and why is he refusing to clarify?

  22. Max,

    Some of them are good like GRACE. Some aren’t and put the church before the victims like Ministry Safe (in my opinion.)

  23. JJallday,

    For many, the elders served as the pastor’s yes-men, essentially his protectors. I always wonder about the same men joining the board year after year after year of “sabbatical.” Sadly, the elders have become we are really important and at the top of the food chain..”

  25. Elizabeth Klein: The question is, what was his actual theological study there, and why is he refusing to clarify?

    Big red flag flying high.

    Integrity. Transparency. Truth. All basic requirements of church leaders.

    Otherwise, pivot to sales and marketing, and be right at home. There’s a place for obfuscating, just not in church leadership.

  28. Ava Aaronson: Retain Jesus as the Church’s only leader and authority.

    The authority and influence of Jesus are waning in the American church. After His resurrection, Jesus was invested by the Father with absolute Lordship over the Body of Christ. “Jesus came and told His disciples, ‘I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.'” (Matthew 28:18)

    Yet, many church leaders within the institutional church operate as if ‘they’ have absolute authority over God’s people. They wield an illegitimate authority. If you are in a place like that, get out … you will never experience what it is like to be under the influence of Jesus if you continue to hang out there. Jesus doesn’t attend such places.

  31. Stavros: Edit
    I know Park Street and Mark Booker well. When Mark was hired by PSC out of a small ACNA start-up congregation, I thought at the time that “this is a bridge too far for him” and that he will be severely stressed dealing with the history, complexity and size of PSC, not to mention some of the underlying tensions in the parish that have long been unresolved.

    Good insight. It appears It is over his head.

  33. Erp,

    Thank you. I do not understand why he does not clarify this and give specifics. If he did, it would shut down this conversation.

  34. So byzantine, so complicated, and frankly?
    Hard to follow.
    Why the obsession with advanced degrees?
    It would appear that they’d much rather have a pliant PhD, than somebody with the heart of a shepherd.

  35. ms: to Wycliffe Hall at Oxford for theological study

    Do we know what year(s) he claimed to be there? Perhaps Oxford has a yearbook available at U.S. libraries which would confirm his attendance/graduation?

  37. Lowlandseer: Well worth listening to and it might counter some of the assertions made by his detractors at Park Street. In the interview he said he studied at Wycliffe Hall when Allister McGrath was Principal and Michael Green a lecturer.

    Watched it through. It still doesn’t answer the question. His education is of interest to the people of his church and his unwillingness to put it down in writing is strange. Either he is playing games or something is wrong.

  39. Muff Potter: somebody with the heart of a shepherd.

    A leader with the heart of a shepherd is honest and transparent with integrity. With or without advanced theology degrees.

    It doesn’t take a PhD to be honest and transparent.

    Even with a PhD, if there is neither honesty, nor transparency, nor integrity, the degree is not worth the paper it’s printed on.

    The constituency is rightly mandating honesty, transparency, and integrity from their church leader.

    Obfuscate or truthfully answer these appropriate questions that are relevant to the profession. The choice.

  41. On a side note, but also from a legendary Boston landmark with tradition, this is what most folks are actually seeking in their local church:

    “Making your way in the world today
    Takes everything you’ve got;
    Taking a break from all your worries
    Sure would help a lot.
    Wouldn’t you like to get away?

    “All those nights when you’ve got no lights,
    The check is in the mail;
    And your little angel
    Hung the cat up by its tail;
    And your third fiancé didn’t show;

    “Sometimes you want to go
    Where everybody knows your name,
    And they’re always glad you came;
    You want to be where you can see,
    Our troubles are all the same;
    You want to be where everybody knows your name.

    “Roll out of bed, Mr. Coffee’s dead;
    The morning’s looking bright;
    And your shrink ran off to Europe,
    And didn’t even write;
    And your husband wants to be a girl;

    “Be glad there’s one place in the world
    Where everybody knows your name,
    And they’re always glad you came;
    You want to go where people know,
    People are all the same;
    You want to go where everybody knows your name.

    “Where everybody knows your name,
    And they’re always glad you came;
    Where everybody knows your name,
    And they’re always glad you came… ”

    Where Everybody Knows Your Name [Cheers Theme] by Gary Portnoy.

  42. Ava Aaronson: Strange or obfuscating(?),

    I have been doing this so long,I think of strange scenarios. For example, his resume is fine but he doesn’t delare it publicly to see who he can “trap” into saying something to show they can’t be trusted. But, I still believe he is obfuscating. Why is my question.

  43. dee: see who he can “trap” into saying something to show they can’t be trusted.

    Seems like such a congenial guy. From white water rafting guide to Wycliffe Hall. Millennial Man. What’s not to like?

    But the above tactic you mention is specifically in the playbook of the Strongman, according to Dr. Ruth Ben-ghiat’s research. He fortifies himself with an inner circle of diehard loyalists.

    Church, beware.

  44. Max: ms: to Wycliffe Hall at Oxford for theological study

    Do we know what year(s) he claimed to be there? Perhaps Oxford has a yearbook available at U.S. libraries which would confirm his attendance/graduation?

    I doubt Oxford has a yearbook (individual colleges might have something). Wycliffe Hall at Oxford makes sense since it is the evangelical place there. Note the relationship between Oxford colleges/halls and the university proper is odd. Colleges/halls have a great deal of independence to the point that at one time heading one of the major colleges was far more important than being theoretically in charge of the university.

    Since he dis an undergraduate degree according to one source at Rhodes College in Memphis (traditionally affiliated with PC(USA)), his studying at Oxford would be post graduate or studying at Wycliffe as an independent. I did a wayback machine search to 2002 on Wycliffe. The obvious course of study then would seem to be a two year course leading to an “Oxford Diploma of Ministry” (which is not an Oxford University degree but is taught at Wycliffe, http://web.archive.org/web/20020220232044/http://www.wycliffe.ox.ac.uk/course_dip.html) or a two year course leading to a “Certificate of Theology” (this is Oxford University http://web.archive.org/web/20020220232525/http://www.wycliffe.ox.ac.uk/course_cert.html).

    I note that to be ordained a priest in either Reformed Episcopal or ACNA, I would expect a check on his education by his diocese. My guess is he has either the diploma or certificate but does not have an Oxford University degree that people might have inferred and does not want to admit that.

  45. dee,
    Your comment here is part of my point from above..
    In any properly functioning professional environment, credentials are either cited, regularly available, or easily obtained “upon request”.. this is just SOP for a properly functioning org…
    In fact, in churches that do not “require higher ed” in their preachers, such as Calvary Chapel, they are PROUD of this and routinely proclaim their preacher did not go to cemetery ( not a a typo, that is what they call it)…

    Soooo, my point, you are exactly correct in wondering why he does not clearly state is ed…. That alone, is VERY troubling…. Think good old Ravi..

  46. Ava Aaronson: He fortifies himself with an inner circle of diehard loyalists.

    “Of all the passions, the passion for the Inner Ring is most skillful in making a man who is not yet a very bad man do very bad things.” (C.S. Lewis)

    Yes-men abound on Elder Boards. To be at the right hand of “Pastor” is an honor, a place reserved only for diehard loyalists. The lure of the Inner Ring has been the fall of many who were once pleasing in the sight of the Lord, but who compromised to please “Pastor” instead. It all ends in an ugly mess, for God will not allow a precious Inner Ring to prosper long in the Body of Christ.

  47. dee: Sadly, the structure of churches attracts the narcissists.

    IMO, that is more true in churches with elder-rule polity than congregational governance. Churches which have congregationally-appointed deacons (who serve) tend to have fewer leadership narcissists than those which have Pastor-picked elders (who rule).

  48. dee,

    It seems to me that the members should heed their founder’s advice when he said “ Another thing is certain: we must extend to our neighbor an affection which has the same general qualities with that which we bear to ourselves; tender, constant, persevering. Whenever we think of him, though we have nothing to say or do, our hearts must go forth in real love and sincere wishes for his happiness. Be he a stranger, be he a supporter of opinions opposite to our own, be he an enemy, or in one word, be he a Samaritan, he is still our neighbor. We must regard his errors and sins, even when they are pointed against ourselves, without any of the censoriousness or bitterness either of party spirit or personal resentment, but with real compassion. Whatever of Christ he has, we must love and honor, however he may oppose and vilify us. Whatever of sin he has, we must be ready to forgive. “Love your enemies; bless them that curse you; do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you.” Whatever provocations we meet with, we must never suffer a feeling to rise towards any person but what is consistent with the kindest wishes for his happiness. If we feel indignation, it must be because he has sinned against God. But we may not wish him evil nor rejoice at his calamities. We may indulge no personal ill will, no malice, no revenge, no anger, peevishness, or impatience. A Christian “must—not” “be” “soon angry.”
    “ “Charity—thinketh no evil.” It indulges no evil surmisings against a neighbor. It gives the most favorable construction to all his doubtful actions. It imputes no bad design where it is possible to suppose another. It never construes the actions or designs of others in a way which bespeaks anything but perfect benevolence.”
    (Sermons by the later Edward D Griffin, vol 2).
    It also seems to me that the main complainant’s nose is out of joint for some reason. TWW shouldn’t take sides when the matter is ongoing. You’re not shining a light, you’re stirring the pot.

  49. Erp: My guess is he has either the diploma or certificate but does not have an Oxford University degree that people might have inferred and does not want to admit that.

    Thank you. Good research there.

  50. Thanks, Dee.

    A disheartening development. May God be glorified in restoration of PSC to its former glories.

    —-

    Thinking about the general problem of leaders who inflict harms on their subordinates within the organizations they lead, (and riffing on a dichotomy mentioned in Dr. Balboni’s letter) I think that there could be a 3rd option, other than 1) lack of management/people skills and 2) deficiencies of character or virtue.

    For embodied image-bearers, the capacity to experience “compassion” or “empathy” is a trait that varies from person to person, for reasons that have little to do with skill in management or with the fundamental character of the heart. As I understand it, there’s a structure in the brain called the “mirror system” that is (depending on one’s point of view) the biological substrate or correlate of “compassion” or “empathy”.

    The ability to experience compassion/empathy assuredly varies from person to person, and I suspect that it can happen that a person who is innately less functional in this way could be prone to injuring people without intending to, simply because of the intrinsic way his mind works, that makes it harder for him than for the “median” person to anticipate how his words and actions will affect others.

    I have no idea whether this thought is relevant to the topic of the OP, but in a wider sense I think that this issue argues for assessment of pastoral candidates for how functional their minds are in terms of the ability to experience compassion/empathy. That might be controversial from the perspective of employment law, since high function on the compassion/empathy “scale” could, if made a prerequisite for employment in certain roles, be regarded to be discriminatory against those less “abled” in this aspect of brain function.

    Still, it (or proxies for it, for example “ability to work harmoniously with subordinates”, “ability to disagree peacefully”, “ability to graciously receive constructive feedback”, etc; though these might be problematic in hierarchical power systems) could be made part of the job description, which might help to self-select out candidates who are less “abled” with respect to this important aspect of pastoral function toward the flock.

  51. Lowlandseer: It also seems to me that the main complainant’s nose is out of joint for some reason. TWW shouldn’t take sides when the matter is ongoing. You’re not shining a light, you’re stirring the pot.

    If I believe that people have been abuse, as I do Dr Balboni, it is the history of my blog to stand beside those who are hurting. If i avoided all string of the pot, I couldn’t do what I do. In this case, I love that church and understand its history more than those outside of the church. I spent hours and hours, basically all last week after returning from my mother’s funeral reading everything I could find as well as interviewing the folks. Earlier Wednesday, I realized what was going on, in my opinion. It is a church takeover, in my opinion, and I will explain this more on Monday. It describes the whys of this situation well.

    However, I do expect a blowback and am not surprised at your comment. AS for “thinketh no evil”…you should avoid this blog at all costs.

  52. Max: IMO, that is more true in churches with elder-rule polity than congregational governance

    Yes! That is why the apparent downgrading of the word “congregational” is disturbing.

  54. dee: apparent downgrading of the word “congregational” is disturbing

    A separation of clergy vs. laity, pulpit vs. pew, elders vs. congregation was never in God’s plan. No one is more important than another in the Body of Christ, all have equal footing in the congregation of the Lord. Some are called to be servant leaders, but never overlords. Church leaders who downgrade the congregation downgrade themselves in the Kingdom of God.

  55. Lowlandseer: It seems to me that the members should heed their founder’s advice when he said “ Another thing is certain

    Lowlandseer is not seeing correctly as the church was not founded by a pastor, but by 26 members. This is why part of its DNA has been congregational, not pastor dominated. How easy it is to subtly alter reality with just a few words.

  56. Max,

    Exactly….. Church is NOT supposed be run like a business, or a military…. In a “top down manner”…. Christ, and later Paul clearly state that we should be servants of others…..
    I have tried to honestly to look at some of the “big shots” that TWW discusses and tried to figure out why I should believe that they deserve to have “authority” over anyone…. And I always come up empty….

  57. Remember when God’s people wanted a king to rule over them?

    Seems not much has changed.

    Did not work then and won’t work now.

  58. watchman: Lowlandseer is not seeing correctly as the church was not founded by a pastor, but by 26 members. This is why part of its DNA has been congregational, not pastor dominated.

    Good catch. Lowlandseer appears to be part of the hierarchical, Reformed crowd. They are not enamored with the little guys having input. Leaders alone are the vision makers.

  59. dee,

    Excellent question. My understanding is that VOCA will only be sending a confidential report to PSC’s Personnel Committee.

  60. Elizabeth Klein: It’s just so weird. Why should Booker feel so threatened? Why not just clarify his bio?

    I think that’s the question all reasonable people would ask. “If you have nothing to hide, just provide the information.”

  61. dee: Did he discuss it with the elders?

    If he did, and they all found it reasonable, I would think the whole group is way out of touch with normalcy.

  62. Lowlandseer,

    It is PSC leadership that is continuing to stir the pot by refusing to be transparent with their congregation, and refusing a 3rd party, independent investigation.

    Do read Michael Balboni’s 17-page letter, if you haven’t already. What a courageous Christian!! He fell on his sword and sacrificed his own personal comfort and pastoral position for the good & health of PSC. Michael’s letter is filled with love and grace – AND serious allegations that cannot be ignored.

    I personally have no beef with Mark Booker. Quite the opposite: several years ago, he did a wonderful job ministering to a friend of mine who had terminal cancer. That doesn’t mean that these extremely serious allegations can be ignored, though.

    PSC has had a troubled culture of leadership, even before Booker became senior minister. I was a member for 20 years and left in September 2017.

    I am immensely grateful to Dee for publishing this blogpost. Shining a light is often painful, because our sins are exposed (John 3:20).

    It is my fervent hope and prayer that this kind of exposure will ultimately lead to PSC becoming a “tov” church. PSC will not get any healthier by dodging or window-dressing their problems.

  64. Elizabeth Klein: I personally have no beef with Mark Booker. Quite the opposite: several years ago, he did a wonderful job ministering to a friend of mine who had terminal cancer. That doesn’t mean that these extremely serious allegations can be ignored, though.

    Mr. Booker is a gifted preacher, a winsome person and skilled at bringing the secular and the urban lost into the Christian community. The selection committee recognized all of that when he was appointed Senior Minister in 2020. However, the role demands that one offload many of the managerial tasks of day-to-day church operations to lay managers with skills in that arena in order to continue one’s focus on good preaching and effective pastoring. AT PSC, those operational roles are demanding and complex. For one individual to assume the mantle of “CEO” and try to run it all is a prescription for failure if you don’t have both the skills and the ability to separate the roles of pastor and CEO. Why they set Booker up with an impossible situation is beyond me but an independent assessment of who is good at what, and what should they be doing, is long overdue. I think they will find that blame should be apportioned among a group of people, not just on Mark.

  65. Elizabeth Klein: VOCA will only be sending a confidential report to PSC’s Personnel Committee

    Then it’s not truly a third-party, investigation of the matter. Such communication should be unfiltered and delivered directly to the church body which needs to know what’s going on with Park Street leadership. These things seldom work out well for the Body of Christ, which should be under congregational governance not elder-rule … under the authority of Christ and not men … a prayer-sought word from God rather than a committee report. Is anybody else yet getting sick and tired of these games?

  66. Jeffrey Chalmers: Church is NOT supposed be run like a business, or a military…. In a “top down manner”

    Churches which do operate outside the Kingdom of Heaven on earth in the here and now.

  67. dee,

    Who is taking it over? The Anglicans? I don’t think so. Mr Balboni comes across as a Harvard medicine man peeved at not being given the recognition he thinks he deserves. (He has written a book after all).

    Elizabeth Klein: Do read Michael Balboni’s 17-page letter, if you haven’t already. What a courageous Christian!!

    I did read it.

    Stavros: However, the role demands that one offload many of the managerial tasks of day-to-day church operations to lay managers with skills in that arena in order to continue one’s focus on good preaching and effective pastoring.

    A pastor is a pastor. Maybe the blame should be placed at someone else’s door.

  68. Max,

    An elder’s wife at a former church told me she and her husband met “at seminary.” I asked, “Oh, where at” because I was curious, given that my husband has an M.Div. from a relatively large evangelical seminary.

    Turns out she and her husband had taken a single summer school class at a Bible college.

    Cue major eyeroll.

    Nothing against supplemental college extension programs, I did one for two years after my Bachelor’s and learned a ton. But I also don’t call it “graduate school,” either on my resume or in casual conversation.

  69. Stavros: I think they will find that blame should be apportioned among a group of people, not just on Mark.

    Absolutely. The story is not about a young minister who was in over his head at a large church, but about the elders who let him call all the shots and enabled his every whim instead of guiding him. For all the talk about “guidance giving,” the elders have done Mark the greatest disservice by failing to give him guidance and correction.

    While Mark bears responsibility for his own actions, things could never have gotten to this point had the elders addressed shortcomings or sins as they arose, instead of excusing them, hiding them, and presenting a facade of perfection, allowing problems to fester and grow. We are all sinners, so why would anyone expect Mark to be perfect or insist that he is? What an unbearable burden! “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8)

    But we have a great savior who promises that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9) I continue to pray Romans 8:28 for Mark and for PSC: it was only when the prodigal son hit rock-bottom that he came to his senses. I also pray Romans 8:28 for those who have been hurt, some of whom have already seen that promise fulfilled.

  70. The whole issue about ambiguous credentials at Oxford brings the misleading claims of Ravi Zacharias to mind, so the faster he is clear, the better.

    I googled to see what the theology degrees offered are. You can read them here:
    https://www. theology.ox.ac.uk/graduate-study (I put a space between the www and theology so it isn’t a link that needs to go through moderation.)
    There is no MDiv, but that would not necessarily be a problem since different countries higher educational degrees are often different. An MDiv in the US takes 3 years with the focus on courses and practicums. There is no dissertation.

    The courses offered at Oxford vary. Some are post graduate diplomas: 9 mo to 1 year of study; Master of Studies degrees in various subjects, which seem to run about 9 months to 1 year but require a dissertation; Master of Philosophy degrees in various subjects with similar requirements to Master of Studies. They also offer a Doctor of Philosophy degree which is 3 years of research.

    If he studied at Oxford, but won’t say what degree he earned, it makes me wonder if he simply got a post-graduate diploma requiring 9 mo to a year of study.

  71. dee: It is a church takeover, in my opinion,

    It certainly has all the hallmarks of a stealth takeover. Some parts remind me of your account of the takeover at First Baptist of Durham.

    Concerned persons at Park Street would probably be enlightened by “When Narcissism Comes to Church” by Chuck DeGroat and the Diane Langberg video called Narcissism and the Systems it Breeds. It is on Youtube.

    Given the description of the powerful committees by the elder who resigned, any “independent” investigation that goes to the personnel committee is going to be a waste of money since they will have the power to bury it. Congregants need to demand that investigation is shared in full with the congregation.

  72. Sarah (aka Wild Honey): she and her husband met “at seminary.”

    Turns out she and her husband had taken a single summer school class at a Bible college.

    Yah, well, two people took a First Aid Class together…

    … so I guess they met while they were in Med School together.

  73. Lowlandseer: we must extend to our neighbor an affection which has the same general qualities with that which we bear to ourselves; tender, constant, persevering. Whenever we think of him, though we have nothing to say or do, our hearts must go forth in real love and sincere wishes for his happiness.

    Gal 6:1 says that if anyone is caught in a trespass, those who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. That is love for “everyman.”

    On the other hand, for an elder caught in sin, 1 Tim 5:20 specifies not gentleness but a public rebuke.

    Eph 5:11 commands that we not only don’t participate in deeds of darkness, but expose them.

    There are two witnesses here in Cindy Cutlip and Michael Balboni that there is corruption among the leadership at Park St. Church. Together, the patterns they describe are not unique. They show up in situations of domineering leadership and spiritual abuse repeatedly in church after church. The patterns themselves are their own witness.

    The most loving and compassionate thing a congregation can do for a leader in a pattern of sin is to expose it. To fail to do so is to create a broad path for them to pile up sins for judgment.

    I noticed that you have decided that Michael Balboni apparently has his “nose out of joint.” Reporting that a superior has made repeated attempts to pressure you to reveal pastoral confidences doesn’t seem to fit the pattern of a person with their nose out of join, but that’s your interpretation of it.

    Perhaps it’s an example of the common phenomenon where a person who sets out to “thinketh no evil” of anyone applies that principle in practice differentially to leaders accused of wrongdoing versus those who are bringing charges against them, perhaps not even realizing it.

  74. Sarah (aka Wild Honey),

    I’m inclined to think that he probably took a full time two year theology course at Wycliffe which in most US schools would earn some sort of degree but not at Oxford. I think this because I don’t think his ACNA or the Reformed Episcopal church denomination would have ordained him without that education (plus a bachelors from Rhodes). Certainly the US Episcopal Church would not. The only exception might be for a well established minister in another denomination who swam some river or another to the ACNA but that is not Booker.
    I can see two scenarios, first he was embarrassed that he didn’t have a US style degree for his theological training so he fudged the public description (not technically a lie since people in the know about CoE training would have a good idea how to interpret it) now he is embarrassed to admit he was misleading people not in the know. Second scenario, he doesn’t have the education and the ACNA let him become a minister without the necessary education; this would be super embarrassing for the ACNA; it is not as though they don’t have people who know people at Wycliff.
    Note this is mostly separate from whether he is a toxic pastor, in over his head, or mostly fine.

    BTW I note the Park Street Church annual congregational meeting should be next month.

  75. Ava Aaronson,

    Thank you for this comment. As a cross cultural worker who trains ordinary unschooled believers to lead churches and plant reproducing churches among other ordinary people , I am completely unimpressed with theology degrees. Jesus was pretty clear and it was reiterated by Paul that leaders are chosen based on character. Godly character, which can be observed by Christians and non-Christians alike. In my mind the fact Booker doesn’t want to be honest about his studies is the problem, not his lack of a degree. Even more concerning is the clear fear among those who work with him, the axing of a 4 PM service (which it appears nobody but him wanted to get rid of) and firing staff after baiting them to tell the truth. None of this speaks well for Bookers character. Which is the real reason to question his position as a leader of Gods people.

    The leaders I train and work with – men and women, a few of whom never studied beyond middle school- are gentle, peace loving, kind, and filled with the Holy Spirit. They lead well because they embrace a role to train others and give away authority. Their names are known only to God and their small network of house churches. They stand as bright shining lights against the dark world of CEO abusive pastors.

  77. Fisher: I am completely unimpressed with theology degrees

    They sure ain’t what they used to be! I’m definitely not impressed with who the SBC seminaries are cranking out these days … a bunch of young New Calvinist rebels. They hit pulpits preaching Paul instead of Jesus … and it’s a version of Paul that even Paul wouldn’t preach! Yep, young folks feeling a call into ministry need to get a hold of Jesus, rather than a theology degree.

  78. Fisher: In my mind the fact Booker doesn’t want to be honest about his studies is the problem, not his lack of a degree … None of this speaks well for Bookers character.

    Exactly. The Kingdom of God has been built on real deal believers, Spirit-filled men and women, called by God as servant leaders … rather than degree-packing pulpiteers. Oh, it’s possible for the latter to also be the former, but they are becoming a rare & endangered species.

  79. Grieving: The story is not about a young minister who was in over his head at a large church, but about the elders who let him call all the shots and enabled his every whim instead of guiding him.

    And if that is not corrected at Park Street, the elders will be enabled by the congregation to do it again.

  80. Fisher: In my mind:
    1. the fact Booker doesn’t want to be honest about his studies is the problem, not his lack of a degree.
    2. Even more concerning is the clear fear among those who work with him,
    3. the axing of a 4PM service (which it appears nobody but him wanted to get rid of)
    4. and firing staff after baiting them to tell the truth.

    None of this speaks well for Booker’s character. Which is the real reason to question his position as a leader of God’s people.

    Well-stated. Sums it up. (I added numbers to create a list.) Yikes, all 4 of these are very concerning, so some folks saying this is one great guy, are missing a whole lot of reality here.

    And by the way, why are folks here researching the Wycliffe Hall possibilities? Why do the man’s work for him, with assumptions, guesses and could be this or that? It’s obvious there was some sort of class taken, no more. If it were more, it would have been stated. It’s deception without blatant lying.

    The man needs to state his case. Truth is, this man has yet to tell the truth. That’s THE problem that only this man can solve.

    Taking a First Aid course is not Med School, so what’s going on here?

  81. Muff Potter:
    So byzantine, so complicated, and frankly?
    Hard to follow.
    Why the obsession with advanced degrees?
    It would appear that they’d much rather have a pliant PhD, than somebody with the heart of a shepherd.

    As near as I can determine, guy fudged his resume and the “elders” didn’t do the due diligence.

    Now he won’t come clean and other issues with the leadership are coming out of the closet.

    In the unlikely event that I ever go back to church – it will not be “elder led”

  82. Jack: In the unlikely event that I ever go back to church – it will not be “elder led”

    Yeah. “Jesus led” churches are a whole lot better. As I said upstream, the authority and influence of Jesus are waning in the American church. In our feeble attempt to do church without Him, we’ve substituted an illegitimate authority.

  83. Eyewitness: Congregants need to demand that investigation is shared in full with the congregation.

    If they don’t, then the investigation cannot truly be considered a third-party independent look at the matter. A committee at Park Street doesn’t need to see the report first and filter/redact its contents for review by church members. The pew is faced with a big decision, individually and corporately, and need to see the full report.

  84. Max,

    Philipians 2:5-11 (written by PAUL)
    In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

    6 Who, being in very nature a God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
    7 rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
    8 And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—
    even death on a cross!
    9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
    and gave him the name that is above every name,
    10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
    11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.

    My simple question: How many of the “bad boys” we read about on TWW behave this way??? It seems that this behavior, or at the very least, stiving for this behavior, should be a criteria of “spiritual leader”…

  85. Eyewitness: I googled to see what the theology degrees offered are. You can read them here:
    https://www. theology.ox.ac.uk/graduate-study (I put a space between the www and theology so it isn’t a link that needs to go through moderation.)

    The problem with googling the current situation at Oxford University is that things have changed a lot between the time he likely studied there [when McGrath was Principal of Wycliffe (1995-2005)] and now. Pre-2005 also fits with when we first have a date for him as working as a priest or at least priest-in-training (2005 in Washington, DC with previous experience in Jackson, MS). In addition it is the individual theological halls and colleges that provide seminary training not the university (at Oxford these are Wycliffe [for the more anglo-protestant] and St Stephen’s House [for the more anglo-catholic]) so you have to search the Wycliffe web site via the wayback machine to get the situation then. Post that time Wycliffe Hall set up an alliance with Ravi Zacharias (Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics in 2006) then separated from it among other things (including an investigation by the Church of England which found its theological training insufficient and another by the university which was also negative).
    Wycliffe can act independently of the university and does when interacting with the Church of England in regards to education for priests-to-be. For instance now ordinand training approval goes through the Common Awards procedure validated by Durham University (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Awards).

  86. Elizabeth Klein: My understanding is that VOCA will only be sending a confidential report to PSC’s Personnel Committee.

    Commonly called “The Fix Is In”.

  87. Max: The Kingdom of God has been built on real deal believers, Spirit-filled men and women, called by God as servant leaders … rather than degree-packing pulpiteers

    Max, I think you’ve heard too many glib sermons in your life.
    This comes across to me as a lot of Christian buzzwords.

    Plus it begs the question of what exactly are “Spirit-filled men and women”, “real deal believers”, or who is “called by God”. All too often those get defined as “MEEEEEE, NOT THEE!” in the game of Holy one-upmanship.

    Plus among Pentecostals you see a lot of corruption justified as being “Called by God”. It’s another reason why I’m very skeptical of those Prophet types who get a Direct Message from God every 30 seconds. (Getting Called by God is by definition a paranormal experience, and in my personal experience paranormal experiences without natural explanations are rare – I’ve only had two in my adult life.)

    As for the connected disdain of “degree-packing”, I’ve been on the receiving end of Holy Nincompoops proud of their Godly ignorance and taking it out on anyone with more book-learning than themselves. Like God wants you to become a Holy Spirit lobotomy, an MP3 playback loop of Bible Verses and Christianese and nothing else.

  88. Max: Yeah. “Jesus led” churches are a whole lot better.

    But so many of these Megas, Ministries, and Televangelits claim to be “Jesus led”.
    This does not do much for the credibility of the phrase.
    The words lose all meaning, like “Democratic” or “People’s” in the official name of a Third World Dictatorship.

  90. Jeffrey Chalmers: . Church is NOT supposed be run like a business, or a military…

    It’s interesting, though, that church leaders could learn a few, from select military leaders like Dick Winters who led “Band of Brothers”.

    “Another lesser-known aspect of Major Dick Winters’ post-war life is his dedication to education. After his service, Winters worked as an instructor at the Army War College, where he shared his experiences and leadership insights with future military leaders. His teachings emphasized the importance of leadership, discipline, and taking care of one’s troops.

    “Winters’ commitment to passing on his knowledge and values underscores his belief in the importance of leadership beyond the battlefield. He recognized that the lessons learned during his time in Easy Company could benefit future generations and help shape effective leaders in the military and beyond.”

    Quote from @VisionaryVoid on Twitter, in a discussion about Major Winters and Easy Company.

  91. Headless Unicorn Guy: Elizabeth Klein: My understanding is that VOCA will only be sending a confidential report to PSC’s Personnel Committee.

    Commonly called “The Fix Is In”.

    100% The “investigation” can then be used as part of the false narrative.

  92. Lowlandseer: A pastor is a pastor. Maybe the blame should be placed at someone else’s door.

    There is blame that falls on many doors.

    Blame falls on the senior pastor for being deceptive and abusive. Ongoing public scrutiny will no doubt result to his soon removal.

    Blame falls on the group of people protecting him. They will no doubt attempt to distance themselves from him once his lying and abusiveness becomes increasingly clear and public. But those elders and personal committee members will also be swallowed up by this fiasco. They failed to properly evaluate and check out his credentials. They also failed to listen to multiple staff members crying out against the authoritarian and abusive tactics of Booker, Abraham, and now Roux and Ziegler. The elders went along with the innocent sacrifice of Dr. Balboni “for the greater good of the church”. That whole group is going to fight tooth and nail, because their own skin will now be on the line. But their enablement will become clearer, and I imagine that it will lead to their stepping down or removal.

    Blame falls on congregation as a whole, who are asleep at the wheel, naive, and distracted. Blame will especially fall on those congregational members who throw darts at the innocent and give free passes to the guilty. Why does this same storyline just keep on repeating itself?

    Maybe this will all lead to the revival of Park Street Church, especially its congregationalism, which historically empowers the people, and expects its leaders to empower their people. That is the coup d’tat, which has now fully shown its teeth. Praying for the defanging of authoritarian no-it-all-ism, and maybe some repentance too, and then fresh wind.

  94. Headless Unicorn Guy: As for the connected disdain of “degree-packing”, I’ve been on the receiving end of Holy Nincompoops proud of their Godly ignorance and taking it out on anyone with more book-learning than themselves.

    During my long tenure in the American church, I experienced a lot of Holy Nincompoops who had degrees!

  96. Fisher,

    “Their names are known only to God, and their small network of house churches”. “They stand as bright shining lights against the dark world of abusive CEO leaders.”

    It’s encouraging to find a kindred spirit here of similar opinion, despite this view lacking consensus. Most of the abuses depicted in the articles discussed here, have occurred in large churches or well-funded Christian educational institutions & organizations. The character of ‘the perps’ whom are (too often) the subject of our conversations, is instinctively drawn to the prospect of indulgent opportunities conspicuously located upon lucrative soil.

    An established assembly of mega proportion confers a measure of public prestige, while offering a generous compensation package and sufficient pastoral/support staff, to insulate the CEO from the indignity of performing menial ministerial tasks.

    The allure of accumulating wealth, unchecked autocratic dominion and illicit pleasures from SA grooming prospects, is too often the hidden agenda …eventually exposed.

    Rejecting the mega-model of church composition & administration …helps to disincentivize the typical forms of grift. True enough, abuse can be found in modest assemblies as well, although I believe it harder to conceal when congregants transparently gather in one room within a residential setting, versus being fragmented by concurrent ministries. The arrogant, salary seeking CEO mentality is self-culling, in a low-profile house church environment.

    Dense, ever changing congregant population, multiple sub-groups dividing family members, large facility campus featuring unmarked rooms and locking doors, frequent anonymous visitors and special guests …inspire decreased accountability.

  98. Fisher: In my mind the fact Booker doesn’t want to be honest about his studies is the problem, not his lack of a degree. Even more concerning is the clear fear among those who work with him, the axing of a 4 PM service (which it appears nobody but him wanted to get rid of) and firing staff after baiting them to tell the truth. None of this speaks well for Bookers character. Which is the real reason to question his position as a leader of Gods people.

    Excellent summation.

  99. watchman: blame that falls on [3] doors:

    1. Blame falls on the senior pastor for being deceptive and abusive.

    2. Blame falls on the group of people protecting him.

    3. Blame falls on the congregation as a whole, who are asleep at the wheel, naïve, and distracted.

    Maybe this will all lead to the revival of Park Street Church, especially its congregationalism, which historically empowers the people, and expects its leaders to empower their people.

    Praying for the defanging of authoritarian know-it-all-ism, and maybe some repentance too, and then fresh wind.

    Prayering, also. Let us pray.

    [Numbers added to Blame List.]

  100. Congregational church polity; Two or three strong personalities or rich businessmen or politically astute members actually CONTROL the church. In theory, everybody has the same power; the reality is totally different. Two or three un-elected or un-chosen individuals who you cannot fire or recall will hold the power. That’s the reality of congregational polity.

  101. senecagriggs: Congregational church polity; Two or three strong personalities or rich businessmen or politically astute members actually CONTROL the church.

    Darn, sounds like a few Calvinist churches with which I am familiar.

  102. Sarah (aka Wild Honey):
    Max,

    An elder’s wife at a former church told me she and her husband met “at seminary.” I asked, “Oh, where at” because I was curious, given that my husband has an M.Div. from a relatively large evangelical seminary.

    Turns out she and her husband had taken a single summer school class at a Bible college.

    Cue major eyeroll.

    Nothing against supplemental college extension programs, I did one for two years after my Bachelor’s and learned a ton. But I also don’t call it “graduate school,” either on my resume or in casual conversation.

    watchman: The elders went along with the innocent sacrifice of Dr. Balboni “for the greater good of the church”. That whole group is going to fight tooth and nail, because their own skin will now be on the line. But their enablement will become clearer, and I imagine that it will lead to their stepping down or removal.

    The probability of that happening is inverse to the length of time that passes.

    Those in power likely control the levers that will allow them to delay, and delay will raise their chances of hanging on.

    Congregants will be counseled to show patience, which on the surface seems reasonable, but it will work against the exposure of the truth. If congregants wish to reclaim their church, the most power they have is in public exposure and diverting their tithe money to other worthy causes. Attend only as often as needed to preserve your membership, but attend all members meetings. Concerned congregants should network together and act strategically.

    I am sorry for what is happening. It causes so much pain in the body of Christ.

    Make sure that any agency hired to do an investigation opens up interviews to anyone in the church. There are some that only interview the people the elders suggest and it is imperative that the report be shared with the whole congregation.

  103. senecagriggs: Two or three strong personalities or rich businessmen or politically astute members actually CONTROL the church… Two or three un-elected or un-chosen individuals who you cannot fire or recall will hold the power.

    2-3 big donors are the paid church workers’ (IOW: pastors’) Bread & Butter. Fact.

    TBH, is there any other kind of church, once it runs on salaries, but nothing to do with the gifts of the Spirit? Rom. 12, 1 Cor. 12, Eph. 4.

  104. Max,

    ““Jesus led” churches are a whole lot better. ”
    ++++++++++++++++++++

    no disagreement.

    practically speaking, how would this work?

    (i mean, all christians at odds with other christians, including cruel and disgusting jerks, believe they are in sync with Jesus.

    group a thinks Jesus is leading like this; group b thinks Jesus is leading like that. group c thinks Jesus is leading like the other.)

    …the irony of subjective Jesus, and each individual person thinks they’re being objective.

  105. elastigirl: the irony of subjective Jesus, and each individual person thinks they’re being objective

    Yep, everybody is right in their own eyes. It’s the stuff that 30,000 worldwide denominations are made of … with all of them having a corner on the truth, each with the one and only true gospel.

  106. Lowlandseer,

    So, uhm, do ya think Edward D. Griffin was referring to insolent, dictatorial church pastors/elders/leaders when he gave this sermon???

    A wordy, graceful “suck it up buttercup” sermon to the pew peons?
    I doubt it.

  107. Spiritual abuse is real. And healthy churches no doubt exist. And in between those two is a vast gray area of people doing their best and others nonetheless getting hurt, a gray area of confusion and difficulty in discerning the best or right way forward. I have lived through church splits and seen the truth of Lincoln’s words that portray that confusion so well: “Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God and each invokes His aid against the other.“

    Unfortunately, this article is poorly researched. The author has interviewed one side and heard what she wanted to hear. Likewise many who frequent this site are looking for the latest case of spiritual abuse at which to be outraged.

    In reality the majority at Park Street are blessed by Mark Booker, an excellent preacher with a humble shepherd’s heart. The elders have worked tirelessly and prayerfully to navigate a complex situation. Many, many attempts at reconciliation were made between the complainant minister and the new senior minister. There have been a small but vocal minority of voices staunchly opposed to Mark Booker since he was first called. It has proven painful to the whole church but no doubt most painful to those most centrally involved.

    Do pray for Park Street, but don’t pray one-sidedly based on this article.

  108. Lowlandseer: It also seems to me that the main complainant’s nose is out of joint for some reason. TWW shouldn’t take sides when the matter is ongoing. You’re not shining a light, you’re stirring the pot.

    Sometimes the pot needs to be stirred.
    Just like a good soup or stew on low heat.

  109. Eyewitness: Make sure that any agency hired to do an investigation opens up interviews to anyone in the church. There are some that only interview the people the elders suggest and it is imperative that the report be shared with the whole congregation.

    100%

      (Reply & quote selected text)

  110. Quick thoughts: congregational governance vs elder led or ruled governance is NEVER just a difference in leadership styles. It is a difference in the core theology of the church.

    A quick reading of 1 Corinthians 12 will show that yep, it is fine and dandy if all Christian groups do not see eye to eye on practices and theologies. There never will be a one size fits all church.

    Also, the only head of then church is Jesus Christ. There is a tired old saw that denigrates the idea of every person’s hat being his church. That is all it is: a power play from the past trying to convince people they MUST belong to SOME duly authorized church.

    If you are born again, you are a member of the Church and that is quite enough!

  113. linda: If you are born again, you are a member of the Church and that is quite enough!

    Amen and Amen! Being a member of the Body of Christ trumps church membership.

  114. Priscilla: Likewise many who frequent this site are looking for the latest case of spiritual abuse at which to be outraged.

    Priscilla, welcome to TWW. This may be a good place for you to explore the reality of the widespread of abuse in the evangelical church.
    This comment shows your own “poor research.” Many people commenting here have been abused, some in ways unimaginable. I don’t know if you have been educated in being careful to judge the motivations of people. This is something abusive churches do quite well and to the detriment on their ministry. Only God knows the motivations of the heart. We humans can only judge the actions arising from those inner thoughts.
    Your statement shows a baseline ignorance of spiritual abuse. And, in so judging, you have participated in the abuse that is evident to me at PSC. I pray you are not one of the leader.

    Priscilla: n reality the majority at Park Street are blessed by Mark Booker, an excellent preacher with a humble shepherd’s heart. The elders have worked tirelessly and prayerfully to navigate a complex situation. Many, many attempts at reconciliation were made between the complainant minister and the new senior minister.

    It is comments like this which leave me perplexed. You did not provide specifics. For example, why did you not post the pastors resume? You could clear up many things by simply doing that.

    As for my “poor research” let me clear up what I do. I have been doing this for 15 years and I am probably one of the more educated on what constitutes spiritual abuse. I write a story when I believe the people who spoken with me. I believe these people and it is not just on “complainant” minister. Good night! You sound like a lawyer. This is not a courtroom but a church and it is high time the leaders start acting like they are part of the church body.

    PSC has problems and a comment like this does nothing to clear up the questions or address the problems. It is just one more “I don’t like what he said but I love my pastor.” Years ago, someone said that to me after 30+ boys were molested in a church. My answer than is my answer to you. “Glad you’re happy. Some others are deeply wounded.” Yes, people are wounded in your lovely church. Try to reach out in love the next time you address those who disagree with you. This is something I learned many years ago when I was at PSC. It is a lesson I carry to this day.

  115. Lowlandseer: You’re not shining a light, you’re stirring the pot.

    I call it disturbing the peace. Jesus said in Luke 12:51: “Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!”

    If Christian watchblogs don’t stir the pot for fellow believers, who will?! The Body of Christ are in this thing together. When a part of the Body is going through a mess like this, the rest of us need to shout from the rooftops, disturb the peace, make trouble, stir the pot!

  116. Lowlandseer: TWW shouldn’t take sides when the matter is ongoing. You’re not shining a light, you’re stirring the pot.

    If I took this advice, I would rarely be allowed to speak. I have revealed many things on this blog about abuse in “ongoing” situations.

    Let’s talk abut. You know about “power differentials,” right? Or at least you should after reading this blog and commenting for a long time. It is usually those in the wrong end of the power differential who are pushed aside and silenced. This is a bit in which the other side has a voice.

    You must find it interesting since you are frequently commenting here.

  117. dee: “I don’t like what he said but I love my pastor.”

    Good Lord, how many times have we seen church folks rally to the side of a beloved bad-boy pastor?! They offer defenses like “I know he has a moral problem, but he sure can preach!” … “So what if he was involved in some hanky-panky; boys will be boys – even pastors” … “I know he has spiritually abused others, but he has always been nice to me” … etc. etc.

    I suppose we should just give all bad-boy church leaders a standing ovation and blog about something else, like favorite dish recipes! Informing and warning appear to be out of vogue in church circles, lest ‘my’ pastor ends up under the abuse spotlight with a multitude already there. “Touch not mine anointed” doesn’t apply to those not anointed (anointing doesn’t abuse).

  118. Max: “Touch not mine anointed” doesn’t apply to those not anointed (anointing doesn’t abuse).

    I’ve always wondered about that one too…
    Don’t they gotta’ be ‘anointed’ first?

  119. Muff Potter: Don’t they gotta’ be ‘anointed’ first?

    If these rascals were ever anointed, they forfeited that mantle when they started to abuse others emotionally, physically, sexually, spiritually. In my opinion, that sacred touch is never restored to a “pastor” no matter how many ministry time outs they have, no matter how much unrepentant repentance they demonstrate, no matter how long they are into restoration mode, no matter how many times they say “I’m sorry” and get a standing ovation from the pew. It just doesn’t work that way in the Kingdom of God.

  120. Max: I suppose we should just give all bad-boy church leaders a standing ovation and blog about something else, like favorite dish recipes! Informing and warning appear to be out of vogue in church circles, lest ‘my’ pastor ends up under the abuse spotlight with a multitude already there. “Touch not mine anointed”

    Well said.

  121. Max–firewood put on the back porch before the storm. It is sheltered, un iced, and hubby carrying it in. So far no power outages for which we are grateful. In two days we should be up in the 50s.

    Springs a comin’.

  122. Priscilla,

    Maybe it’s time for an independent investigation to take place and help the leadership navigate the “complex” situation rather than the unqualified Voca Center Park Street leadership retained for an undisclosed amount of money with no guarantee the findings will be made public.

  123. Max: Yep, young folks feeling a call into ministry need to get a hold of Jesus, rather than a theology degree.

    My opinion?
    Those young folks would be much better off by getting a skilled trade.
    This probably won’t endear me to some here, but I think college is way over-rated, and one of the biggest legal rackets in America.

  124. linda: Springs a comin’

    Ahhh … crappie fishing, mushroom hunting, looking for arrowheads, hiking, outdoor adventures with the grandsons

  125. I thank the Lord for bringing me to PSC 30+ yr. ago. Although I did not have time to volunteer as a deacon or elder, I have been supporting PSC ministries in prayer and financially. I respected and am grateful for the preaching of every senior minister, including Dr. Booker, as well as the services and friendship of the ministers in charge of multiple PSC programs. I have never investigated the resume of any minister, because I trusted the Personnel Committee to follow the Holy Spirit’s guidance. Suddenly, at the end of Sept. 2023, I was painfully shocked to find out three PSC ministers were FIRED since Dr. Booker came, i.e. they did not ‘RESIGN’ as announced and printed on the bulletins. Furthermore a 4th minister would soon be fired. Those 4 ministers were seasoned ministers with different background— age, gender, culture, ethnicity, education etc. It is difficult for me to figure out how Dr. Booker could not get along with all of them. The first minister he fired was at PSC when I joined as a new member. I volunteered under him for 2 yr. He was an effective, innovative but humble leader, a great role model for his kids. I am familiar with human resource issues based on our family business before I came to Boston, and my professional work in a non-proft org in Boston for 40+ years (now retired). Regardless of his CV, my major concern is that Dr. Booker did not or could not inform the congregation exactly why these 4 seasoned ministers left PSC. I am praying that our omniscient God will gracefully heal and renew PSC as a beacon of light for His glory.

  126. Muff Potter: My opinion?
    Those young folks would be much better off by getting a skilled trade.
    This probably won’t endear me to some here, but I think college is way over-rated, and one of the biggest legal rackets in America.

    Two college degrees and I don’t disagree with you. Of course both degrees cost my dad and I less than $10,000.00 back during the dinosaur age.

  127. Max–dogwoods, redbuds, forsythia, lilacs, paperwhites, daffodils everywhere.

    And tornado season then too.

  130. Ava Aaronson: linda: the only head of the church is Jesus Christ.

    Yes! Solves many problems.

    IMO, the organized church has largely lost touch with the living Jesus.

  131. watchman,

    On the face of some of it, Pastor Booker looks like the average over-nervous person in a senior position. However, what struck me as egregious is that he (clearly, on purpose) made Rev Balboni look complicit in a certain serious matter when he wasn’t. Also that there is only one person with the sole stranglehold on PR.

    Water should be brought by the choir in flasks. Any church attender needing the loo in the middle should be allowed; some choir / organ lofts may have a secret corridor to the loo? It is a good thing loudspeakers have already been provided throughout the building in any case.

    My hunch is, certain matters were overdue for attention all along e.g prayerful discernment on all business and practical matters and alertness.

    It would appear from many accounts that most upwardly mobile Anglicans (worldwide) are prone (by result of their training) to corner cutting. That may also be the case for some congregationists who are presbyterian-leaning (leave the heavy lifting to a designated echelon).

    Now that spiritual gifts (except as too narrowly defined) are out of fashion, general church bodies and leaders alike, are too prone to missteps whether semi-aforethought or otherwise.

    In contrast, according to St Paul “love believes ALL things” that are implied in Jesus’ voluminous teachings, and not just selected headline doctrines.

    Lack of prior prayerful discerning and alertness – by everybody – makes the effect of all sorts of ordinary ups and downs far worse.

  132. Ava Aaronson: pivot to sales and marketing

    And now that’s very shocking too, to small customers and the public at the butt end of “contracts”.

    The Fundamentals were marketed about 150 years ago by a pioneer of brand-named “premium oats” (contrasting with ordinary harvested crops) who joined the staff of one of the Moody institutes (according to historian Tim Gloege in Guaranteed Pure). Far from a minimum to forestall competition within the “gospel” cartel (not confident enough in their unique gifts), they have become a maximum to belief not even to be attained. Holy Spirit powered discernment by all has been replaced “wholesale” by manoeuvring in the flesh by those “able”.

  133. Ava Aaronson: Never elevate “leaders”

    The impress of “dutifulness” on:

    – the 17 year old hospitalised Ravi
    – on one of the young Ortbergs who was forced by a parent to discuss his emotions in public instead of being allowed to coolly drop out of a heavy-going “voluntary” position
    – on Long junior subjected to “restoration” / “conversion” before age 20
    – on Rev Goligher
    – on Smyth junior
    – on clergy I knew who said they needed to be ordained “for their conversion” –

    whatever the variety in overt concrete outcomes, don’t takers and givers of the poisoned cup realise?

    The givers of it, who gave it to them in turn previously? And back, up the succession? Real and not pretend Holy Spirit belief needs its “apostolic succession” too, in order to give ministers backbone.

    If your sect or faction “rationalises” Holy Spirit, expect these many varieties of occurrences, bland or not bland.

  135. Another wonderful day for worshipping here in our neck of the Ozarks. In theory the freezing rain is over and the ice is melting. In fact some areas of the ground are still well below freezing, so our current fog and light mist are freezing in those spots. We continue to warm for the next several days, and sunshine returns next week.

    The Church is also stumbling around in the fog right now. We have sold our birthrights for a mess of pottage when we decided to elevate hirelings above the rank and file. My personal suspicion is that the church is going to continue to expire for a time. Just watch a video of Zozobra in Albuquerque writhing and twisting as the flames devour old man gloom. That is a picture of the church today, writhing and twisting in misery as the manmade systems falter, fail, and ultimately will be destroyed.

    But I have no fear. Either here or in the hereafter (His choice, not ours!) the Church shall rise triumphantly without spot or wrinkle and worship our Lord forevermore.

    We are trying to do church without Jesus. We are trying to provide the sacrifice on altars made with human hands. Just as kings did not work for Israel it won’t work for us. We can never have a better idea than what God has designed.

    And His design requires no special buildings, no special clothing, no special foods, and no shamans. And it is freely available to all.

    Even so come, Lord Jesus!

  136. Lowlandseer: Resurrection

    Which has been completely replaced by disembodied Souls (not people) floating around Fluffy Cloud Heaven like a Silicon Valley zillionaire digitally uploading his consciousness into The Cloud, shedding the meat forever to live as an Algorithm of ones and zeros.

    Or like a Shade in Hades.

  137. Christine: the unqualified Voca Center Park Street leadership retained for an undisclosed amount of money with no guarantee the findings will be made public.

    i.e. “One Hand Washes the Other…”

  138. Muff Potter: Those young folks would be much better off by getting a skilled trade.

    Especially in today’s situation.

    This probably won’t endear me to some here, but I think college is way over-rated, and one of the biggest legal rackets in America.

    They’re highly-expensive Day Cares with all the amenities of a high-end cruise ship and an upscale Galleria (complete with a “foodservice” of a mall fast-food court), fueled by ever-increasing student loans.

  139. linda: Max–dogwoods, redbuds, forsythia, lilacs, paperwhites, daffodils everywhere.

    And tornado season then too.

    6 out of 7 ain’t bad!

    I bet they call daffodils “Easter lilies” where you live.

  141. I’ve read the OP and all the linked articles, documents, etc., but I’ve not yet finished reading all the comments….I was reading this comment by you, Dee, and decided I needed to comment. 🙂

    dee: If I believe that people have been abuse, as I do Dr Balboni, it is the history of my blog to stand beside those who are hurting. If i avoided all string of the pot, I couldn’t do what I do. In this case, I love that church and understand its history more than those outside of the church. I spent hours and hours, basically all last week after returning from my mother’s funeral reading everything I could find as well as interviewing the folks. Earlier Wednesday, I realized what was going on, in my opinion. It is a church takeover, in my opinion, and I will explain this more on Monday. It describes the whys of this situation well.

    However, I do expect a blowback and am not surprised at your comment. AS for “thinketh no evil”….you should avoid this blog at all costs.

    Dee,

    I agree with you that Dr. Balboni has been abused by Mark Booker.

    As I was reading through Dr. Balboni’s letter, many of the examples he wrote about, as well as the other information he included, reminded me of how a man who is an abuser treats (abuses) his wife and children. Same playbook, different people.

  142. Ava Aaronson: Sarah (aka Wild Honey): she and her husband met “at seminary.”

    Turns out she and her husband had taken a single summer school class at a Bible college.

    Yah, well, two people took a First Aid Class together….

    ….so I guess they met while they were in Med School together.

    🙂 🙂 🙂

  143. Pingback: What in the world is happening to evangelicalism in 21st Century America? — GetReligion - Capital Digital News

  144. Muff Potter: This probably won’t endear me to some here, but I think college is way over-rated, and one of the biggest legal rackets in America.

    In my province a “college” is a trade school or “polytechnic”.

    My university degree wasn’t got me hired, my polytechnic degree (diploma) did and for more money.

    The kicker is to go into management you need a university degree. Go figure.

  145. Sarah (aka Wild Honey): An elder’s wife at a former church told me she and her husband met “at seminary.” I asked, “Oh, where at” because I was curious, given that my husband has an M.Div. from a relatively large evangelical seminary.

    Turns out she and her husband had taken a single summer school class at a Bible college.

    Nobody can inflate their resume like a Christian.
    Except maybe Psalmanazar the Formosan Cannibal, circa 1700.

  146. Max: Elizabeth Klein: VOCA will only be sending a confidential report to PSC’s Personnel Committee

    Then it’s not truly a third-party, investigation of the matter.

    MOre like “The Fix Is In.”

  147. Headless Unicorn Guy,

    The ideal bunch to refer the matter to is called God And All His Angels, they even pay you for praying, and they reveal all the results to everybody – especially the good ones!

    The only funny economy that isn’t dodgy is God’s spiritual one, and the only one christians (mostly) don’t trust.

    Glory Be To The Father,
    And To The Son
    And To The Holy Ghost
    As it was in the beginning,
    Is now, and ever shall be,
    World without end, Amen.

  148. linda: Off topic but we are in the throes of an ice storm. Prayers appreciated!

    Linda,

    So far, I’ve only read as far as your comment….I just read your comment….praying that all went well. 🙂

  149. Stavros,

    For healing to start, Mark Booker’s employment has to be terminated, for cause. His enablers have to be held accountable–and his enablers MUST either resign or be fired and agree to NEVER hold any leadership position in Park Street Church. This includes the organist. Only once these people are gone, can Park Street Church begin to heal.

    Chris May, Minister to Women, needs to be fired. Doug, her husband, was an elder at Park Street Church while she was a minister. Chris May’s Spiritual Director is Adele Calhoun, who is an avowed occultist and has published many books on the Enneagram. Chris May teaches non-Biblical mystical practices from the pulpit, to people she does not know, especially meditation practices. These practices are known to induce mental health problems in a minority of people–which is why these practices have been traditionally taught in small groups, where the teacher knows the students well and where the teacher is available for support should things go awry.

    What’s going on in Park Street Church is sadly commonplace in high demand, unhealthy religious organizations. Steven Hassan, PhD / Freedom of Mind Foundation has spent his whole career studying high demand organizations, helping organizations heal from abusive leadership, such as Mark Booker by improving communications skills, understanding and rebuilding trust. Park Street Church is fortunate that the Freedom of Mind Foundation is based in Newton, MA, a Green Line trolley trip from Park Street Church. If Park Street Church is serious about recovering from Mark Booker, they MUST hire this organization and not some out-of-state mealy mouthed consulting group (which Park Street Church leadership tends to prefer).

  150. linda: Another wonderful day for worshipping here in our neck of the Ozarks. In theory the freezing rain is over and the ice is melting. In fact some areas of the ground are still well below freezing, so our current fog and light mist are freezing in those spots. We continue to warm for the next several days, and sunshine returns next week.

    Linda,

    I’ve been slowly reading through the comments….when I read your comment, I wanted to reply before I continued reading….

    Thank you for including your beautiful descriptions in your comments. 🙂 I’ve enjoyed the conversation between you and Max about firewood, trees, crappie fishing, the coming Spring, etc. 🙂

    To me, your comments (and Max’s comments, too) speak of hope. 🙂

  153. B.: … books on the Enneagram … teaches non-Biblical mystical practices from the pulpit, to people she does not know, especially meditation practices. These practices are known to induce mental health problems in a minority of people–which is why these practices have been traditionally taught in small groups, where the teacher knows the students well and where the teacher is available for support should things go awry … sadly commonplace in high demand, unhealthy religious organizations.

    Enneagram method pushers, who depend excessively on the personalities of their forebears, appear to explicitly muddle up profiles of gifts, with therapy and character needs.

    Never combine therapy needs with religion.

    Never look to religion bosses to tell you what your gifts are – use separate coaches or reputable college teachers in your specific study subjects or listen to agnostic friends.

    Never think you can pigeon hole your family just because your religion bosses pigeonholed you.

    I was at the butt end of this sort of thing in churches so many times under the guise of arts, or the charismatic, or discipleing – wave after wave of fads.

    No-one needs synchronised “meditation methods” foisted on them. Just be interested in what’s going on around you and what you find in books on all subjects of your own accord and contemplate that. Invent your own method in life.

  154. B.,

    At best an enneagram snapshot at any random moment is a light hearted poem and should be called an enigmagram, and you should devise your own science for critiquing it.

  155. well in the letter PSC nominating committee sent this week, there are notes under the candidates nominated by the congregation members as “… this person did not best exemplify the qualities of Elder”.
    It is a publicly issued document and will be read by thousands of people (and be on file). What is the ground of commenting on someone as not qualified publicly? – It is not approved by Mark is what I heard.

  157. jupiter,

    I am disturbed. I have been sent what was said about these folks. My husband called it “spiritual defamation.” I will be writing about this next week.

  158. jupiter: “… this person did not best exemplify the qualities of Elder”

    which may mean that they were not yes-men enough to enter the inner ring … sometimes rejected elders are the best qualified to hold that sacred office

  159. Michael in UK: Enneagram method pushers, who depend excessively on the personalities of their forebears, appear to explicitly muddle up profiles of gifts, with therapy and character needs.

    I know of the Enneagram as a pop psychology fad of some years ago. Something about analyzing your personality and fitting it into one of nine personality types. With some sort of diagram that looked like either sacred geometry or a real offbeat thaumaturgic circle.

    For pop-psych, give me 1970s Transactional Analysis any day. (Best known by it’s best-seller “I’m OK, You’re OK”.) Now that was a pop-psych and personality analysis that actually made a lot of sense. Also easy to understand, as it was written in plain language with a minimum of jargon.

    P.S. According to Wikipedia, another type of Enneagram had something to do with a Russian mystic named Gurdijeff some 80-100 years ago. (Now this Gurdijeff was One WEIRD Dude. “Food for the Moon” – search that exact string sometime…)

  160. Just so people know exactly, again for the sake of clarity and truth,

    This is the weekly eNews email that went out as of Friday January 26, 2024:
    https://www.parkstreet.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2024-PSC-Candidate-Slate-with-Petition-Jan-26-2024.pdf?ct=t(ENEWS_January_26_2024)&mc_cid=3313a42b9f&mc_eid=d55e50c178

    Note that a number of people were raised as candidates “by petition.” However, the Nominating Committee were not able to vet such people or this person was “did
    not best exemplify the qualities of Elder.”

    I will note that some of these should come as a surprise:
    Robert Andersen was the Church Administrator for some time, 2011-2019, in between Bob McKenney and the current Michael Ahearn.

    As I had mentioned in another comment, the Church Administrator is a de facto elder.

    Nick Dedeke already served as an elder, and A. Howland served on the Nominating Committee including as chair.

    This is one very puzzling mystery to me and I will have to dig deeper.

    Note: I am not currently very involved with Park Street Church for various reasons, but I am quite knowledgeable about the history, procedures, officers, some of the ministers, the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference, etc. I guess the best way to describe it is “I’m an outsider for at least the last decade although I was a very long-time insider.”

    Feel free to vet the information I have email you, Dee.

  161. Philaletheian, the friend of truth: Just so people know exactly, again for the sake of clarity and truth,

    This is the weekly eNews email that went out as of Friday January 26, 2024:
    https://www.parkstreet.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2024-PSC-Candidate-Slate-with-Petition-Jan-26-2024.pdf?ct=t(ENEWS_January_26_2024)&mc_cid=3313a42b9f&mc_eid=d55e50c178

    Philaletheian, the friend of truth,

    I’ve tried the link you provided a few times and it didn’t work, and I think I might know why….it appears the file has been updated. updated-Jan-29-2024 is now included in the file name (I’ve not checked the actual document to see if there are any notes about what’s been updated. 🙂 ).

    Below is an Internet Archive file I made of the updated file I found — I’m fairly certain it’s the one you provided the link to, only updated. 🙂

    https://www.parkstreet.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2024-PSC-Candidate-Slate-with-Petition-updated-Jan-29-2024.pdf?ct=t%28ENEWS_January_26_2024%29&mc_cid=3313a42b9f&mc_eid=12c7a53432

  162. researcher,

    The link thing has been a real problem. After working with the link all day on Monday, it stopped working at 8PM. I thought it was me. But some others thought that there were some interesting tricks going on. Remember, Park Street has its own server. Also, it is possible to where views are coming from. Even yesterday, sometimes links worked and then they didn’t. Interesting.

  163. Headless Unicorn Guy,

    Enneagrams are manipulative because they are Freudian and based on how to look down at yourself and others, the way miserable nuns mainly taught, hence its popularity in religion.

    “I’m OK you’re OK” is quite good when sincere and not diluted by bait-and-switch; it ought to help preserve good boundaries.

    My old employer bought into the real Myers Briggs (not the cheapskate roadshow substitutes) which is based 100 % on your real strengths and advises how to potentise both your big ones and your small ones. I thought myself a INTP (the only time I did it) 😉

    For personality damage you should listen to Patrick Teahan, there are many causes outside you, he is on U tube but I haven’t started applying the method he recommends, yet.

    The period 1914-37 had a colossal effect on my life. To find history boring like most politicians and preachers do, is denialism. Because of consumerism consuming them, religion consumers have become codependent.

  164. Because the ACNA embraces evangelicals of many backgrounds. The Four C’s is also welcoming to many varieties of Christian denomination. I don’t see this as a problem.

  165. Yes, the public nature of this discussion is dangerous to the individuals involved. This blog reads like a tabloid: no specific allegations are made, but the writer insinuates the worst of behaviors on the part of your pastor, based only on hearsay (ie: staff are “in fear”—-nothing is provided to substantiate any claim!). So many comments read like a gossip column. As a visitor (and one who has NO PASSWORD), I am grieved by this very public conversation about your leadership. How is this forum at all a biblical way to solve problems at PSC??

  166. Cynthia,

    Welcome to the blog, Cynthia who has NO PASSWORD. I believe that openness and transparency is essential for those of us who live in the light. I do not require passwords although if you use a bad word you will find yourself in moderation.
    I didn’t insinuate anything about your pastor except to say that he will not openly post his educational credentials. I read Michael Balboni’s letter. I believe what he had to say was important give that he was a close associate of the pastor. Under US law, I have the right to believe who I want to believe. Dr Balboni has been honest about his issues. It seems to e that Pastor Booker is the one who may not be as honest.
    Are you saying that Dr Balboni is not reliable? Are you saying that he lied? You must be insinuating that since you call what he has to say (and documented it was) “hearsay.”

    It is obvious that you have not studied the role blogging has paid in bringing the issue of abuse to light in today’s postmodern evangelical church. I suggest you spend some time doing a little bit of research. You might be surprised. And yes, this may be a biblical way to solve the problems at PSC. Did you ever read about the prophets in the OT? They had unique ways of communicating as well.

  167. Cynthia: Because the ACNA embraces evangelicals of many backgrounds. The Four C’s is also welcoming to many varieties of Christian denomination. I don’t see this as a problem.

    Perhaps I don’t understand what you are saying here. ACNA is very much a hierarchical church. 4Cs are congregational. The problem is that they are not one and the same. This has nothing to do with being nice to congregationals and everything to do with how decisions are made. That is the problem and it most likely the problem that is currently on display at PSC.

  168. Cynthia: the public nature of this discussion is dangerous to the individuals involved.

    Huh???
    Are you saying that open and honest, no holds barred discussion is dangerous? Did you know that is why my grandparents left Russia? The police enforced a “keep silent” rule. I imagine you have not studied spiritual abuse. There is a great book, a short yet succinct read on the subject. The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse. https://www.amazon.com/Subtle-Power-Spiritual-Abuse-Manipulation/dp/B0B52JY5DQ/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2BQU54KR6VYU9&keywords=the+subtle+power+of+spiritual+abuse+by+david+johnson&qid=1706841095&sprefix=the+subtle+pow%2Caps%2C131&sr=8-1
    I think you have been sucked in by the evangelical thought police. There I nothing dangerous about this discussion. I feel so sorry that you feel that it is. Do some reading and shed your fears. Our Father loves a healthy and transparent discussion, free of spiritually abusive tactics. I wish you well.

  169. Main-line protestant denominations in the USA have requirements for ordination. Most require a M.Div, field-education site, Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) – basically hospital chaplaincy and individual psychological counseling and testing.

    Plus a lengthy ordination paper – that they have to defend before other ministers in that particular denomination. Ministers then send their profiles to churches searching for a pastor. Then there are in person-meetings with a search committee. Once they receive their first call they can be ordained.

    Three distinct religious communities have each played a part in the on-going conflict at PSC. They are the ACNA, 4Cs and PSC leadership. So if none of the three groups verified SM educational degree, blame part of it on them.

  170. Cynthia: nothing is provided to substantiate any claim

    As if you are not only demanding articulacy in the face of uncharted flabberghasting occurrences in their precious spiritual milieu (which it perhaps isn’t for you) but passively-agressively expecting them to present you with a cut and dried open and shut case – oh and ignoring those who have already given detailed substance. Why are you despising fear?

    Cynthia: ACNA embraces evangelicals of many backgrounds. The Four C’s is also welcoming to many varieties

    As if you were pretending to not know the difference between people from anywhere and everywhere in the congregation, and alloying the authority basis from lack of trust in Holy Spirit in their proper one, as janiceg and Dee have pointed out. The C of E / ACNA and their associates such as Vineyard and NF have swallowed power ministry methods wholesale since the 1960s and the likes of congregationists and presbyterians are naturally vulnerable.

  171. Cynthia: Cynthia on Thu Feb 01, 2024 at 09:11 PM said:

    Yes, the public nature of this discussion is dangerous to the individuals involved.

    You’ve hereby admitted the gravity yourself, and in a comfortable country like the United States too. My mother didn’t get round to telling us we had an uncle whom she is last known (we belatedly figured out) to have seen when he was 12 and she 16, when it was commonplace for families to say someone had died to delay their tracing for a few months.

  173. On 2/4/24, heard live worship 11am service of PSC and sermon of Rev Booker on BOSTON PROTESTANT AM radio at 590 on the dial, whilst driving in auto. WheN home found TWW website and read about what the problem was about that Rev Booker mentioned in the publicly broadcast on radio sermon and entire worship service.
    ZI am grateful for the witness of PSC when I was in University from 1964 to 1968, 1973.
    I pray and hope the problem can be fixed in a proper and Christian way. Fortunately no local publicity in local secular meDia, newspapers or radio/TV, but this website for those who care about PSC, a great and wonderful Boston, MA, Church, Visible Church…

  175. I know Adelle Calhouse and have studied her works. I strongly oppose her mysticism as well as Chris May’s I think the Enneagram is bad pop science. But I can say with absolute certainty that nothing that they say, preach, practice, or believe resembles anything occultic.

  176. We know that PSC has had two absolute requirements for the senior pastor for decades. He must adhere to traditional Reformed doctrine and he must hold an earned PhD. For example, when the Minister of City Engagement was advertised it said “Education: Given the high-profile context of this position with government, university, and religious partners, the Minister of City Engagement must have at least a Master of Divinity degree… Candidates with a Master of Theology or Master of Urban Ministry degree could be considered for a Director level position.” This position offered two possible levels which were determined only by education. The M. Div is the minimum requirement for the “Minister of City Engagement.” But without, that three-year degree, this person would not qualify as a “minister.” The Master of Theology (which Mark holds) only qualified them for the lesser role of “Director.” By our own professional standards, our pastor isn’t academically qualified to be the Senior Pastor, an Associate Pastor, or even an Assistant Pastor. He is qualified to be a “manager.”

    I attended a church where the senior pastor was a retired fireman. He was a great preacher. So, all things are possible…but not all things are probable. But the other issue is character, isn’t it? Do we see good “management”? Well, what does a good manager do when his leadership philosophy is “everyone needs to know that I am the final authority”? And virtually all your “underlings” have twice, three, or five times the education you possess? Do you support them and encourage them? Yes, if you are a mature leader. Not this time. First, you forcefully assert your final authority over them. One at a time you tell them in no uncertain terms what they can and cannot say or do. Then you insist that they must sign a “loyalty oath.” You make it perfectly clear that you are the top of the pecking order. If they don’t completely submit, you call them before the personnel committee and threaten them. Then you collude with your administrative accomplices and come up with reasons to get rid of them. And then you promote the docile.

    I have three questions. What outstanding characteristics did the search committee see that caused them to ignore one of our two basic requirements? Clearly, there are questions about administrative skills, interpersonal skills, and leadership skills. The preaching matches the lack of training. Can someone please tell me? What is that extraordinary gift that so many of us just can’t see? It is really possible that someone could list an MA degree on their CV and “forget” that they didn’t take a single class or write one paper to earn it? When the leadership became aware of the dishonesty and lack of qualification how is it possible that they affirmed his ethical and academic reliability?