I’m so terribly sorry to hear that Tammy McLeod has just resigned. What an amazing person she is.

https://mailchi.mp/parkstreet.org/staffing-update

The honorable solution would be for Mark Booker to realize that the situation is untenable, likely to get far worse, and he should graciously resign to allow the parish to heal and resume growing. The Elders should grant him a generous severance under the theory that they are 80% to blame in having done an inadequate job in making his selection to begin with. The parish should collectively come together, admit that behaviors across the board were not the best, and begin a reconciliation and healing process. They should employ an interim pastor/reconciler skilled at congregational healing who should remain until both healing occurs and hard but necessary decisions are past. What is not appropriate is for the Elders and Pastor to decide that if they just stubbornly keep at it, they will outlast the critics who will depart and leave them in charge and unaccountable. If they do that, it will be the end of Park Street as it has been for most of its existence.

Unrelated, but something weird that I noticed. May be nothing, may be something.

Dave Young (who formerly worked at McLean Bible Church, and who now is an associate pastor and elder at Cherrydale Baptist Church), has recently had his full name removed from the Cherrydale Baptist website and is now listed on the Cherrydale website simply as “Dave Y.”

He was a close associate of McLean pastor David Platt, but subsequently left McLean for some reason and now works as an associate pastor at Cherrydale Baptist, where he is also on the elder board.

All of Cherrydale’s other pastors, elders, and staff have their full names listed, but Dave Young is only referred to as “Dave Y.”

This is a recent change, because just a few months ago Dave Young’s full name was listed on the Cherrydale website.

Now, for some reason, he is only referred to as “Dave Y” on the Cherrydale website.

https://www.cherrydale.org/who-we-are/church-leadership-and-staff/

https://www.cherrydale.org/who-we-are/church-leadership-and-staff/dave-y/

It is odd that everyone else has their full names listed, but not Dave Young.

Is Dave Young trying to avoid being detected as a pastor at Cherrydale when people Google his name?

Does Dave Young not want people to know where he works?

Or does Cherrydale not want people to know that Dave Young is one of their associate pastors?

The reason for this secrecy is unclear, but certainly it is very strange and unusual for a church to conceal the full last name of one of its pastors.

Dave Young also does not appear to have any sermons posted on the Cherrydale website. Searches for “Dave Young”, “David Young”, and “Dave Y” in the Cherrydale sermon archive all had zero results.

https://www.cherrydale.org/grow/sermons/?q=Dave+y&speaker=dave-y

Strange. A pastor with no sermons on the church website.

If anyone is interested, you can also check out Cherrydale’s bylaws here:

https://www.cherrydale.org/who-we-are/church-constitution/church-bylaws/

10 mentions of disciple/discipling/disciplinary, 4 mentions of excommunication, but only 1 mention of “Jesus”.

Cherrydale’s leadership also claims the right to prevent members from leaving Cherrydale:

“The Council of Elders shall have the authority to postpone action on a member’s voluntary resignation or transfer of membership to another church either for the purpose of proceeding with a process of church discipline or for any other biblical reason.”

Seems very authoritarian and controlling.

Anyway, I just wanted to bring to your attention that Cherrydale Baptist Church is now concealing the fact that Dave Young is one of their pastors, and has changed all references on their website to “Dave Y”.

Is this another scandal emerging? Are they hiding something?

Or has Dave Young decided to emulate Kanye West and shorten his name to “Dave Y” ?

Friend of Park Street Church: .
Only if they retroactively grant generous severance benefits to all the “bodies behind the bus” that Mark Booker is driving with glee and a false sense of personal and spiritual security.Had I known what I do now, I would have stopped giving to Park Street Church’s general fund years ago. Giving to the Missions budget was a safe option until recently when Booker got his grubby little hands on that money too.
.
Do read “That Hideous Strength” (after reading the first two books in Prof. C.S. Lewis’s trilogy for context).CEO Booker believes he and his lackeys are building something great…. NICE, National Institute for Co-ordinated Experiments… in reality they are building a local Tower of Babel.It’s only for their own fame and glory… and it’s only a matter of time before their work is frustrated and destroyed.The only question is when… will they give up the selfish pursuit before they destroy more lives or will they persist until the whole structure needs to be torn down.
.
I sure hope it is sooner rather than later!

Of course the leadership should treat departed(-ing) staff generously… that should always be the case unless they are guilty of some malfeasance. If they were not so treated, that fact adds another indictment against leadership at PSC. I know a number of PSC members thanks to my activities in Back Bay and downtown and I cannot imagine those folks allowing staff to be mistreated. This supports the theory that a small cabal has seized control of the parish.

Friend of Park Street Church,

So much for congregational governance! This is an example of authoritarian elder-rule at its worst. The Vicinage Council sounds like an archaic ole boys network, backing up church elders over the majority wishes of PSC membership. Authoritarian leaders think they are the only ones who pray for wisdom and discernment to know God’s will; members are not spiritual enough to hear God’s voice, you know. PSC should have commissioned a truly independent investigation from the get-go. Sad to see the once-great PSC fade into obscurity at the hands of poor leadership. May God bless ex-PSC pastors and staff who became victims of spiritual abuse by Mr. Booker and the Board of Elders.

Friend of Park Street Church: Only if they retroactively grant generous severance benefits to all the “bodies behind the bus” that Mark Booker is driving with glee and a false sense of personal and spiritual security. Had I known what I do now, I would have stopped giving to Park Street Church’s general fund years ago. Giving to the Missions budget was a safe option until recently when Booker got his grubby little hands on that money too.

The Missions Committee did in fact try to appropriate funds for the outgoing ministers , who had no immediate job prospects to go to when they left. Jason shut that down and has even threatened to dissolve the Committee.

They say “thank you for your service” publicly but their hearts say “good riddance.” The departed ministers did have an appreciation event run by the Park St offshoot recently.

Mark did not do this alone. The elders have also played a hugh part in this to.

Observant Outsider: Mark Booker has done well to decrease all of these at Park St.

Speaking of juggling hot potatoes, BREAKING NEWS on another front covered by TWW:

Pastor James Morris, son of Robert Morris, no longer with Gateway Church

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZY5V00J_-8

Where and when does the Park Street offshoot meet? Thanks.

elastigirl: i assume congregational governance does not allow for elder-rule polity?

Well, PSC is known as a “congregational church” … which to me means that church members have the right to decide their form of worship, confessional statement, and (most importantly in this case) who leads them. It means to me that they can choose (by vote) pastors and elders, to serve the congregation not to be overlords. This does not appear to be “congregational” model at PSC. However, if PSC is reformed in belief and practice, congregational doesn’t mean what it implies … authoritarian elders are in control of every jot and tittle.

The church is a non-profit. They must follow the by-law. The Attorney General office I believe has oversight of the non-profits.

elastigirl:
Max,

“Elder-rule polity simply does not allow for congregational governance”
++++++++++++

and i assume congregational governance does not allow for elder-rule polity. (?)

seems to me this ‘cabal’ has operated contrary to the governing by-laws of the church.

couldn’t legal action be taken?

is there an attorney in the house?

so much of this seems criminal to me, in every sense including ‘laws of the land’.

Is there anything in the bylaws (or charter) that outlines how the congregation members could remove a minister, elder, moderator, committee, etc from a leadership role or calling, if necessary?

Observant Outsider,

” Unfortunately, unless churches are conducting illegal activity or political speech, the state doesn’t want to get involved”
++++++++++++++++

wouldn’t leaders operating contrary to the bylaws (breaking the bylaws) of the organization be illegal?

Dee, the subject of this post reminded me that I have potatoes I can bake and eat for dinner tonight.

Friend of Park Street Church,

A GoFundMe was set up to support the ministers who had resigned and, in the space of a breath, $80,000 was raised to help support these ministers into the fall, roughly October. Many of us are prepared to keep giving as long as necessary for them to be well-situated in new positions. We love and support our brave ministers. ❤️

I have been thinking more about James Morris, and I would like to qualify my above post with the following caveat:

The fact that James Morris was, for all these years, seemingly fine with his father’s abusive evil theology and leadership practices/style is very concerning.

As far as is publicly known, James Morris was totally fine with everything going on at Gateway and Robert Morris’ twisted, manipulative, evil, and abusive teachings.

Now that Robert Morris’ crimes have been publicly exposed, James Morris is leaving Gateway.

But for a long time, he was part of Gateway’s senior leadership, and was presumably fully on board with everything Robert Morris and his underlings were doing, and the abusive theology that they espoused and preached.

As just one example: as far as I know, James Morris didn’t protest or express any disagreement when Robert Morris told his congregation that God would punish members of the congregation by letting demons attack them, if they didn’t donate enough money to Gateway.

It would seem that James Morris approved of (or at least was not bothered by) Robert Morris’ manipulative behavior.

I have not listened to any of James Morris’ sermons, but it seems very unlikely that Robert Morris would have appointed James Morris as his intended successor as head pastor, if James Morris didn’t share the same twisted, corrupt, and evil theological views.

So that is very concerning, and makes it difficult for me to see how James Morris is qualified to be a pastor.

If James Morris intends to pursue a career as a pastor, then I would urge him to genuinely repent for everything at Gateway that he was complicit with and a part of, as an associate pastor there.

I would urge James Morris to renounce the evil, corrupt, and twisted theology of Robert Morris/Gateway, and repent for all the damage and destruction that Gateway’s horrible theology has done to people’s lives.

I would urge James Morris to seek God’s Guidance in recalibrating his theological views, and I would urge James Morris to learn from Gateway’s horrendous mistakes.

I would urge James Morris to resolve to be the OPPOSITE of his wicked father.

I would urge James Morris to be a humble pastor, and a loving and caring and compassionate pastor, who views church members as people to be loved and helped by their pastor, rather manipulated and mistreated and abused by the pastor.

If James Morris continues to pursue a career as a pastor, I would urge him to REJECT his father’s evil and cruel legacy, and instead resolve to be the OPPOSITE of his father.

I know he is probably not reading this post, but on the small chance that he is, this is my advice for him.

From this week bulletin –

Informational Session | Sun Aug 11 at 1pm | Sanctuary
The Board of Elders will be sharing about their collective heart and vision for
the church and addressing some of the recurring issues raised in the processing
sessions held throughout June. Representatives from the Vicinage Council and
VOCA will also be present to speak about their work.

Representatives of VC? How about all of them. So we can ask how they could come up with the decision they did?. What about the board of elders not doing an independent investigation against the charges of spiritual abuse of Michael and the others as the list that grows longer every day.

Janice Graves: The church is a non-profit. They must follow the by-law. The Attorney General office I believe has oversight of the non-profits.

Non-profit?
Oh really?
Then how come they don’t have to file IRS form 990 like other non-profits?
What really makes it a sweet-heart deal is that they don’t have to make public where all that moohla goes.

Janiceg,

Is that a GAAP audited financial report like for profit companies have to do? Is it professionally prepared or put together by the preacher?

JaniceG, I suspect the rainbows are really pretty in your world, but a small touch of cynicism might be beneficial.

Thirty years ago I worked at an organization I loved and supported. Then things began to change. Some people spoke up, and others began to leave. Many were questioning leadership, and we were told to be quiet. I realized I could no longer stay and I found another job.

Sometimes it’s time to leave, and I think it applies to Park Street Church.

Janiceg: Informational Session | Sun Aug 11 at 1pm | Sanctuary
The Board of Elders will be sharing about their collective heart and vision for the church …

As I recall, a majority of church members voted their heart at the last meeting of the congregation, envisioning PSC without Mr. Booker moving forward. So much for congregational governance.

Max: As I recall, a majority of church members voted their heart at the last meeting of the congregation, envisioning PSC without Mr. Booker moving forward.So much for congregational governance.

Seriously!! That’s all the vision needed.

I am growing increasingly allergic to phrases like “vision casting.” I associate it with “bodies behind the bus.”

Scot McKnight & Laura Barringer in their book, Pivot, tend to agree.

mle bire: Is there anything in the bylaws (or charter) that outlines how the congregation members could remove a minister, elder, moderator, committee, etc from a leadership role or calling, if necessary?

Excellent question. No, there isn’t. At least in the bylaws. (Has anyone been able to view the mystery Charter?)

Here are PSC’s bylaws: https://www.parkstreet.org/about-us/bylaws/

Elizabeth Klein: I am growing increasingly allergic to phrases like “vision casting.” I associate it with “bodies behind the bus.”

“Vision casting” has been a term often used by the New Calvinists who have taken over churches in the Southern Baptist Convention. The “vision” is to change everything that was previously non-Calvinist in belief and practice (the default theology of SBC for 150 years); their modus operandi is stealth and deception. The “vision” is always accompanied by “bodies behind the bus” as long-standing church members who resist takeover leave (voluntarily or excommunicated), surrendering the church building and other assets they paid for in the hands of the new reformers.

Max: The “vision” is always accompanied by “bodies behind the bus”…

Just like Citizen Robespierre’s Vision Casting of the Republique of Perfect Virtue!
And Comrade Pol Pot’s Vision Casting of the perfect Democratic Kampuchea!
And all the Vision Castings (from Saudi to Talibanistan) of the Perfect Islamic Republic!

Why should it be any different when commanded by God instead of Al’lah or a philosophical theory?

nmgirl: JaniceG, I suspect the rainbows are really pretty in your world…

Farted out by Unicorns along with all the Free Ice Cream?

Joe:
Where and when does the Park Street offshoot meet? Thanks.

Joe, please shoot me an email at lanesusan68@yahoo.com. We meet on Saturday s but not every Saturday so I can get you one an email list to get you the information. Thanks. ~Susan

Some of us have been meeting at the Quaker Church “Friend’s Meeting” in Harvard Square at 1 PM on Saturdays. Today we’re hosting a potluck celebration for the ministers who resigned from PSC at 3pm.

Elizabeth Klein:
Dr. Scott Sunquist, president of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, preached at Park Street Church this morning.

I worry that, as a major evangelical figurehead with ties to PSC, that he is unwittingly giving legitimacy to a spiritually abusive system.

I wonder if he’s met with any of the pastors who’ve recently resigned, or elders who’ve resigned, or petitioners – or if he’s read the meticulously well-documented PSC Petition website? Or any of Dee’s TWW blogposts on PSC?

My guess is no.

Actually, I’m sure he seen the Boston Globe and Christianity today’s articles. I’ll bet he’s well abreast of the situation. I know he knows Gordon Hugenberger very well, and Gordon is still a professor, as far as I know, at Gordon Conwell. Maybe he went over to talk some sense into them. Who knows.

Susan Lane: Actually, I’m sure he seen the Boston Globe and Christianity today’s articles. I’ll bet he’s well abreast of the situation… Maybe he went over to talk some sense into them. Who knows.

I’d like to believe that. I think Dr. Sunquist is very pastorally sincere.

On the other hand, I highly doubt PSC leadership would be enthusiastic about inviting any guest preacher who’s inclined to talk sense into them.

The church charter… still super problematic that it’s been removed from the website. Has ANYONE been given access to it?

https://www.churchlawandtax.com/stay-legal/governance/do-members-have-a-right-to-inspect-church-records/

Scott Sunquist, Ron Hamilton, Gospel Coalition… these are all attempts for Park Street to regain credibility by having those leaders associate with them. Scott Sunquist wrote to Christianity Today to silence them and not write any more articles about CT. From what I understand, those efforts succeeded as a third article was squashed despite the 56% indicating that they have serious concerns about Mark Booker. I believe that most of these outside leaders believe Mark Booker’s claims; but they are missing the most obvious of obvious indications that Booker is a serial abuser: five pastors have left the church without a job, without any security, and with tarnished reputations. Multiple elders have left or been thrown out, gaining nothing from resisting and have lost so much in the process. These people have lost everything, for what? The reality is that those people have integrity by doing a very hard thing. Their actions indicate that they must have experienced something awful.

The elders and now this network of outside leaders are trying to repair the reputation of the institution, and sweep trouble all away to save this historic church. I imagine that Scott and Ron give the benefit of the doubt to Mark/elders, and there is a “leadership bias”, which causes other leaders to believe Christian leaders not those who bring allegations. There is also a “Caiaphas” bias among Christian leaders in which they calculate that the institution is more important than any innocent individual (John 18:14). Unfortunately, it does make them all complicit in Booker’s spiritual abuse; and they will have to give an account.

The only true weakness of Mark and the elders at this point is that God finally speaks and acts. God clearly warned Mark Booker last Labor Day. It shocked us all. It is now pretty clear that Mark was given a stern warning, but he has not listened. Rather, he has accelerated his “great purge.” Let’s hope that mercy leads to repentance. That has always been the best way for this saga to end.

What will be most difficult for me to stomach is that if in God’s mercy, God allows the “great purge” to succeed without any short-term consequence. Mark is counting on this. It is difficult for me to understand or accept that God would permit this outcome. But that does appear to be how this ends unless the God of Justice awakes.

Watcher:
Scott Sunquist wrote to Christianity Today to silence them and not write any more articles about CT.From what I understand, those efforts succeeded as a third article was squashed despite the 56% indicating that they have serious concerns about Mark Booker.

Whoa… very ominous, if true.

How do you know for a fact that Scott Sunquist did this?

Former Boston Girl,

I haven’t alerted the price yet.

For those of you who missed my comment, I am organizing a (peaceful) public protest for this Sunday, 8/4 starting at 7:30 AM. We will protest during the 830 and 11 AM services. We will meet by the Park Street station. Bring your signs and a bottle of water. We will picket, (sp?)sing, and distribute information about our concerns with Park Street. One participant would like to make T-shirts also, so please RSVP to LaneSusan68@yahoo.com.

Susan Lane: I would hope the Dr. Sunquist would be clever enough to see through Mark’s veneer and see that what he’s doing is not healthy for PSC, nor the greater church, nor are witness to the world. It doesn’t take a brain scientist to see that.

Enabling abuse has nothing to do with a lack of intelligence, knowledge, or even sincere piety.

It primarily has to do with misplaced loyalty to an abuser, and/or institutional protectionism.

Even when the facts about alleged abuse are confirmed, they’re either denied or minimized. The abuser gets all the grace and credibility; the victims get vilified.

Often there is a naive arrogance at work with church leaders: “I’m the pastor / biblical scholar / elder, etc., so I know what to do.”

This is the default response when allegations of abuse are made. Both in the church, and in the world.

Elizabeth Klein: Enabling abuse has nothing to do with a lack of intelligence, knowledge, or even sincere piety.
It primarily has to do with misplaced loyalty to an abuser, and/or institutional protectionism.
Even when the facts about alleged abuse are confirmed, they’re either denied or minimized. The abuser gets all the grace and credibility; the victims get vilified.
Often there is a naive arrogance at work with church leaders: “I’m the pastor / biblical scholar / elder, etc., so I know what to do.”
This is the default response when allegations of abuse are made. Both in the church, and in the world.

.
Very well stated! And for these men, they think a degree in exegesis and homiletics or classes in counseling are equivalent to credentials in investigations of abuse… they can all go work in the District Attorney’s office now… who knew?!
.
Ronald (Ron) E. Hamilton

Paul N. McPheeters

Nicholas (Nick) R. Granitsas

Jonathan (Jon) Paul

Terry H. Shanahan

Thomas (Tom) Petter

Peter (Pete) Balentine

PSA: GRACE is holding a webinar on spiritual abuse on August 22 from 11 AM – 3 PM.

Description:

“This live training event will focus on defining, recognizing, and developing skills to prevent and respond well to spiritual abuse in a church setting.

Spiritual abuse is a common reality with damaging effects. The very nature of spiritual abuse often obscures understanding and recognition. Churches must reckon with the reality of spiritual abuse as we seek to build healthier communities.

… This webinar will focus on defining, recognizing, and working to prevent and respond to spiritual abuse in a church setting. Dr. Lisa Oakley and Mike Sloan will address spiritual abuse from several key perspectives, including the Christian faith, an evidence-based lens, and practical considerations. This interactive event is designed for church leaders, staff, church goers, and all who care about healthy church communities.

All participants will receive an interactive packet and other resources.”

HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!

(Boy, do I wish Vicinage Council members, PSC elders, Scott Sunquist & GCTS faculty would go to this…)

Here’s the link to register: https://netgrace.regfox.com/spiritual-abuse-webinar

(Mike Sloan is GRACE’s Director of Safeguarding. Dr. Lisa Oakley co-wrote the book Escaping the Maze of Spiritual Abuse. Her doctorate is in spiritual abuse, and she’s researched spiritual abuse in the U.K. She serves on the GRACE board.)

Elizabeth Klein: Enabling abuse has nothing to do with a lack of intelligence, knowledge, or even sincere piety.

It primarily has to do with misplaced loyalty to an abuser, and/or institutional protectionism.

Even when the facts about alleged abuse are confirmed, they’re either denied or minimized. The abuser gets all the grace and credibility; the victims get vilified.

Often there is a naive arrogance at work with church leaders: “I’m the pastor / biblical scholar / elder, etc., so I know what to do.”

This is the default response when allegations of abuse are made. Both in the church, and in the world.

I know you’re right, because I have childhood trauma in my history, and I will tell you that as these themes have come up, even though they’re at a lesser scale, some of it has been very triggering. The gaslighting along with the, “You just have to obey me because I’m an authority figure, regardless of whether or not I’m doing something unethical,” and then the people who witness the abuse who refuse to acknowledge it, and just surround the abuser with support and denial. Honestly, it makes me sick to my stomach sometimes.

A repost of links…

Financial Support for ministers who have resigned from Park Street Church
.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-park-street-church-ministers-in-transition
.
.
Financial support for Tammy McLeod
.
https://give.cru.org/0258770

NAAH:
Observant Outsider,

Watcher,

Dear Watcher and Observant Outsider,

… Although Dr. Sunquist’s sermon was not overtly ‘taking sides’ in the administrative mess, I am shocked at his PROHIBITING CT ——suppress free press! It is devastating to me because I have great respect for GCTS where most of the PSC pastors were trained…

Watcher, how do you know that Sunquist did this?

I’d really like to believe that Sunquist wouldn’t do such a thing.

But if you have the receipts…

Observant Outsider: president of Gordon chastised CT

Please note that Dr Sunquist is president of Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary and not Gordon, which is a different institution. Thanks!

Absolutely Dee! – We need to know the answers about the charter, Mark degree ect….
I 100 percent agree that the person needs to be aononymous to the audience reading the blog.

Blessings to the person with the courage to bring this information to light!!!

dee,

dee:
To all PSC

I have been contacted by a person who wishes to remain anonymous. This person can access some internal documents, such as the PSC charter. They are willing to answer insider questions if they are able.

I know this person’s identity, but I will not share it. Do you think this would be helpful to you?

Absolutely helpful. Thank you, Dee!! Any transparent answers to relevant questions are so important here.

Elizabeth Klein,

Elizabeth, my source is someone who would know what they’re talking about and I won’t get more specific than that. Watcher may have the same source (we may know each other for all I know!) but I’ll let them add in what they wish. As I said, the exact content and frequency of these conversations I don’t know much about. It does seem that he contacted CT and was critical of their publication of the first article.

Sardis,

I think the investments are absolutely insulting them. I also don’t think the lack of transparency is by accident. It almost seems like they are thinking that if they stick their fingers in their ears and hum loudly enough for long enough that the issues will go away.

Elizabeth Klein,

Sardis,

dee,

??? how much was paid to ‘pacify’ the 8 pastors who have left since 2021
to VOCA to ‘prove’ Kim Morrison was abusive
to consult about PSC adm.
to 4C — secret invitation for RH to Feb meeting,
consult Vicinage council 2x (2nd time w/ strong objection from petitioners)

PSC is a non-profit organization—indirectly supported by ALL US tax-payers
WE HAVE THE LEGAL RIGHT TO KNOW— how do we exercise this right ?

I have been pushing such questions to my hind brain for so long, on the premise they represent a lack of faith; that I must prayerfully wait for God’s justice and mercy.
GOD IS IN CONTROL. THEY ALSO SERVE WHO ONLY STAND AND WAIT

Dee,
Your love for the Lord is amazing: you waste no time while waiting — for your personal burden and for the PSC congregation. THANK YOU !

Lord, have mercy on us.

Watcher: This now includes those passively offering support of abuse by simply being present which now includes Gospel Coalition and the NAE (with Walter Kim preaching at PSC earlier in 2024). OR those organizations that are actively supporting abuse by trying to prop up PSC, including the CCCC and now Gordon-Conwell (GCTS).

Since my comment yesterday that the Board has not posted updated minutes since April 3, minutes from April 17 – June 19 were posted (perhaps the Elders DO listen… or at least read this blog…). The May 15 minutes show that we can add one more institution to this list: Westminster Theological Seminary, with Jonathan Gibson, professor of Old Testament, scheduled to preach on August 4.

Observant Outsider: my source is someone who would know what they’re talking about and I won’t get more specific than that.

.

Watcher: I am not at liberty to provide sources or proof.

.
If either of your sources decide they are willing to go on the record, please email Dee. I have a reporter who is interested in interviewing them if they are willing to speak on the record.
.
I don’t want to put pressure on them… the cost to speaking out is clearly very significant when CEO Booker is pulling in the “big names” with fancy degrees (confirmed ones, as well!) to cover up his ongoing abuse and deception.
.
Again, Mark Booker is not well. He needs medical attention… the longer these theobros drink his Koolaid, the longer all this will take to fall apart (which is inevitable) and the more people will be hurt. Many clearly care little for the “collateral damage” of the “bodies behind Mark’s bus.”
.
To you theobros, I say, have a care for your OWN soul, even if your calculations mean others are expendable. “The [holy] fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Fear the Lord and walk in His light and you will find peace.
.
And to those of you theobros and “elders” who claim to believe in congregational guidance from God, start acting in accordance with your claimed theology…. take heed from the 56% who have concerns about Mark’s character and fitness for ministry.
.
Alternatively, you could just be honest and state you don’t believe that God speaks to the people in the pews in the same way that He speaks to you who call yourselves shepherds and elders… that the Holy Spirit is selective in communication with the people who don’t (yet!) read Hebrew and Greek or have the time and money to earn a theological degree. If God is selective in communication like your actions show you believe… then man up and say it. Look up integrity (consistency, wholeness) in your expensive seminary books and plan how you will get from the cowardice of (not so) hidden theology of your own exceptionalism… to a new life of integrity. You won’t regret walking into a new life of wholeness… you can be healed and then become part of Jesus’ work of healing, binding up, and freeing people. You won’t regret following Him in humility and honesty.
.
But, please, do stop pretending you are congregational in your view of how God communicates…. you are only fooling yourselves… we as onlookers all see your pastoral-exceptionalism-theology and elder-exceptionalism-theology for what it is…. denying it just makes you look ridiculous. If the stakes weren’t so high, it would be amusing in the same way infants play hide-and-seek by covering their eyes and thinking they are no longer visible.
.
In closing: grow up; we can see you.

Watcher,

Please feel free to call me Elizabeth!

About Scott Sunquist, president of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, rebuking Christianity Today after Daniel Silliman’s 1st article about Park Street Church got published:

I believe you.

I have now heard this from 3 people: you, Outside Observer, and someone else I was on the phone with just yesterday.

I completely understand your need to protect your sources, as I am doing this here as well.

If, however, I am proven wrong on this account, then I will gladly apologize, and correct the record here on TWW.

Sunquist calling PSC a “great church” from the pulpit this past Sunday is easily verifiable, here 32 minutes in: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr9AJNjDpqc.

And YES!!!! What if, instead of this kind of institutional protectionism, key evangelical leaders would call for abuse allegations to be properly investigated??

Ideally, the church or Christian org would themselves commission a truly independent investigation, conducted by trauma-informed experts in forensic investigating. Such as GRACE, not like that rinky-dink Vicinage Council “investigation” – egads!!!

But when the church refuses to do that (or claims that it already has, as PSC has done), then investigative journalists can actually do the church a giant favor here – even though it never feels that way to church leaders. Unflattering press never does!! But the church can’t begin to heal until the boil has been lanced, and the infection has been cleaned out, and until an objective and accurate diagnosis re: cause & effect has been made.

Only then can repentance begin. And God’s kindness leads to repentance.

Church, we have GOT to do better than this. The next generation of pastors must do better than this.

It’s killing our Christian witness.

And honestly, 6 years after the #ChurchToo movement burst across the scene, we should all know better.

Did you skip the abusive gaslighting “processing session” earlier this summer after the Special Meeting on June 3rd? No worries! You can attend an especially thorough gaslighting session in a couple of weeks! It’s sure to rearrange your mental furniture and expand upon why CEO Booker is the REAL victim these past few years.
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Booker’s favorite boy band, The Vicinage Council, will send a band member to be sure the gaslighting is done just right… why keep the spiritual rot at Park Street Church when it can be spread to local churches and a couple of theological seminaries? Another rep from the expensive VOCA crew will also join the cabal. So much potential for provoking flashbacks in one room! Put it on your calendars!
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Informational Session
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SUN, AUG 11 | 1 pm | Sanctuary
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The Board of Elders will be sharing about their collective heart and vision for the church and addressing some of the recurring issues raised in the processing sessions held throughout June. Representatives from the Vicinage Council and VOCA will also be present to speak about their work.

Friend of Park Street Church:
Did you skip the abusive gaslighting “processing session” earlier this summer after the Special Meeting on June 3rd?No worries! You can attend an especially thorough gaslighting session in a couple of weeks!It’s sure to rearrange your mental furniture and expand upon why CEO Booker is the REAL victim these past few years.
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Booker’s favorite boy band, The Vicinage Council, will send a band member to be sure the gaslighting is done just right… why keep the spiritual rot at Park Street Church when it can be spread to local churches and a couple of theological seminaries?Another rep from the expensive VOCA crew will also join the cabal.So much potential for provoking flashbacks in one room!Put it on your calendars!
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Informational Session
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SUN, AUG 11 | 1 pm | Sanctuary
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The Board of Elders will be sharing about their collective heart and vision for the church and addressing some of the recurring issues raised in the processing sessions held throughout June. Representatives from the Vicinage Council and VOCA will also be present to speak about their work.

The key thing you guys, is to ask the hard questions. Don’t feel sorry for them and don’t back down to ANY of them, ESPECIALLY Mark’s pit bull Jason Abraham. Literally, if these people try to side step questions or ignore you, literally everybody in the sanctuary should get up, turn their backs on the entire lot of them and refuse to sit down until they apologize and state, on record, that they’re going to listen to their congregation and honor, not disparage, their petitions, like that for an investigation into this unscrupulous SM and them as well.

Ask them why they refused an investigation by an impartial, third-party organization with real expertise in spiritual abuse and legal merit as the congregation requested, but instead chose an organization that did a pat investigation and painted them in a favorable light?

I’m so sick to death of their fake show at pretending to hear the congregation at these meetings when they don’t listen to anything that anyone says, especially the soft spoken people, and circumvent answering questions on technicalities, nor validating concerns, regardless how reasonable the argument.

I think they should include a member of the Telios investigation team as well, so we can ask Mark why he tried to eliminate evidence when one of the main complaintants harassed Kim’s son and , frankly, why he was participating in the investigation at all when he was in a position to fire Kim, knew one of the complaintants for 20 years, and it was a total conflict of interest? We could also ask, on record, how Mark came to know this Telios firm, and whether he had a personal relationship with someone at the firm. Why also did he deny the defense’s right to contest the credibility of one of the witnesses, what any responsible attorney would do? That among several other devious things they did during that investigation attempting to circumvent evidence presented against them, unscrupulous vipers that they are. Forgive me if I’m questioning some rando spiritual abuse charge against a female minister who was tremendously successful at growing a ministry to the poor in a church that had asserted itself as complementarian, even accused by one former elder as “stealing money from the missionaries” because of her great vision for the ministry and bold budget requests, and had absolutely no performance issues nor volunteer complaints prior Why? Because the rich complementarians in our congregation got their undies in a bunch when people started asking why we can’t have a female SM and why we won’t allow enough females on the board to reach a majority. As Mark put it to Kim, he had “too many arrows at his back” to support her, a successful female leader that made them feel threatened and emasculated.

They’ll probably have one of their elders get up who’s a real estate attorney, claiming that he’s a “lawyer” and he knows the law, and is someone who advises them and “can speak to these issues.” In reality, they don’t have one flipping elder who has expertise in employment law, and no wonder, because Mark would be guilty of 1000 infractions. Ahh, but they do have the Personnel Committee, whom was not elected by the congregation but chosen by the Moderator, (no bias there) and has no authority to push back against the SM and BoE for legal infractions. Gosh Mark, why did you push our ministers out the door, when they had no ethical failures, unlike yourself, did nothing contrary to church doctrine, had no performance issues, and were endeared by the congregation? Why do/did nine ministers oppose you and eventually flee from their positions here? Why? Because they didn’t want to let you do stupid, ignoramus things like cut off a major artery to seekers, namely, the 4 PM service, and they wouldn’t let you force your pick for Missions Treasurer without going through the due process of letting the Missions Team vote. You actually brazenly FORBADE ministers from discussing their concerns about some of your genius ideas with the elders, a group designed to help keep your power in check, in the spirit of checks and balances that America embraces. Nope. You’re not the footwashing, servant-leader that Jesus was, “you’re a Director.”

Why was it said in a congregational letter that the BoE was “aware of the ethical issues that several ministers and elders brought forth about Mark,” like his attempts to coerce information from private conversations that ministers and elders had with congregants and others, along with all the arguments, the congregation has now seen in writing from former minister and elders but you didn’t see a real problem with this? Well, your congregation, 55% of 450+ people that attended the special meeting, found it a major problem, 117 petitioners (roughly 12% of the congregation) found it a major problem, but you, our governing body, totally disregarded them.

Mark, why did you forbid the Missions Team from doing a sidebar, when you were trying to change the process of things to put yourself in control, in the style of a communist regime? In fact, you threatened to disband them when they wanted to discuss the issues apart from you, to bring back a cohesive argument to the things you were trying to push off on them. Why do you fear transparency so much and your BoE the same?

Why have we seen a massive reduction in offerings? Why? Because you broke trust with the congregation in the Kris Perkins and 4 PM issues, and it continued to go downhill from there, even after your bike accident where you seemed to sorrowfully repent in front of the congregation and promised to change, but clearly didn’t, as my next point will demonstrate.

Why did you sign your commitment to, but later blatantly ignore, the parameters set for reconciliation between yourself and the ministers from an organization that we paid $100,000 to help you and the BoE mediate these disputes? Why do you refuse to share your CV and a copy of your degrees, and answer the question as to whether you disclosed during your interviews that one of your MAs from Oxford was NOT truly Masters as we know it, but a Bachelors degree, an act of deception that would result in termination in most ethical organizations. Also, your other “Masters“ was not a 90 credit, 3+ year curriculum of courses like Gordon Conwell, but a short stint of research and thesis writing, with the pretty Oxford name attached to it. Well, you do have the bachelors from Rhodes as well, although no one authenticated it by checking for transcripts as normal employers do, because we love names anywhere from the Ivy League, or Oxford and Cambridge.

Basically, you got caught in several unethical actions, but, after a controversial exit from Church of the Cross, your career as a minister would end if Park Street forced you to resign, especially after all the public attention to our current situation. Yet, IMO, someone who behaves so brazenly disrespectful of our congregational process, controlling and spiritually abusive toward our ministers, lacking in ethics in his actions, and so lacking in truly contrite repentance, does not deserve to be a minister. I’m sorry if you may have to endure A difficult transition, but that’s where it’s at.

I have been rather viciously incredulous in this post, but it’s because I feel incredibly betrayed by this leadership, people who are supposed to be not just Christians, but excellent models of such. I also feel betrayed by the CCCC in their bias toward Mark, and by Dr. Sunquist, President of Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, who pressured Christianity today to not continue reporting on Park Street issues. I feel hard-pressed to find an honest Christian leader at all in the present times, and, like many, I feel jaded and disillusioned. The discussion about Mark’s fitness as SM is very clearly NOT over, as much as his friends on the remaining BoE would like it to be. They have sidestepped many issues that were raised, interfered in allowing evidence in Kim’s investigation, withheld information that painted Mark in a negative light from the VOCA investigation, proceeded to ignore the congregation’s request to have a legitimate firm, investigate Mark’s alleged spiritual abuse of the ministry staff (even in spite of massive complaints and resignations from ministers) but instead, forced a second, pat investigation from the CCCC, suppressed congregants from speaking at meetings who spoke against Mark, and other issues that I did not state here.

You can’t hide anymore, because we’ve seen the evidence from so many former ministers and elders that we built trust with over many years. Certainly, the congregation will trust them before we trust a man we’ve barely known 4 years with a questionable history, and a tumultuous, irresponsible handling of his position since he was installed. Honestly, Park Street needs a leadership reboot to regain its integrity, but perhaps that can’t happen all at once. We need to start by evaluating honestly, our current SM.

Susan Lane: if I don’t hear from enough people I will cancel.

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Hi, dear sister Susan!
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Even if there are two of you holding signs, you should still hold your protest if you feel that God is leading you to do so. Ignore the numbers and just go if that is what you are being led to do.
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God will use a small number of people to accomplish His plans. What is more important is that we walk by the Spirit.
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In Judges 7, the Lord pared down the army of Gideon from 32,000 to 300.
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Judges 7:2
[2] The LORD said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’
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I also thought of the miracle of Jesus using the boy’s small lunch to feed thousands. We bring our small amounts to Jesus and He includes us in His miracles.
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So if Jesus is moving you to protest, don’t worry about the numbers. If Jesus is in it, it will be enough for what He wants to do… to bring help and healing to Mark’s illness, to shine a light on the deception of his co-abusers, to open the eyes of those still deceived, and to start the path of getting an accurate diagnosis from a professional and independent investigative team.

Last Thursday I sent a message to the GCTS alumni office asking them if it was true that President Sunquist quashed a CT article about PSC. I told them that as an alum (someone who paid them big bucks years back) that I thought I had a right to know about alleged actions of the President. I also brought up his recent sermon and told them I thought his description of PSC as a great church was gaslighting the congregation. I have not heard back from them. If I do not hear back by early next week I’m contemplating a phone call. I’m sure they will see me as a “crank” and, perhaps, not worthy of a serious response. But I’m trying to do what little I can to shine a light on what is happening.

Elizabeth Klein: What PSC leaders studiously avoid doing, is holding any kind of an open Q & A Town Hall session, where they honestly and transparently answer tough questions asked by congregants, in front of the whole congregation.

Not a phony Town Hall, where the leaders pick & choose which questions they’ll answer in advance. But a real, unscripted one.

C’mon, PSC leaders. I know some of you are reading this. You, who are soooooo fond of cheerful submission for everyone else in the PSC bylaws, but cheerfully ignore many of the Bible verses in the PSC bylaws that elders (and all Christians, actually) have committed to obey. You who are so fond of telling everyone just how responsible you are for the congregation.

Then take responsibility.

No more “Informational Sessions” where you can do all the talking & create your own narrative, based on smaller “processing sessions” where you attempt to massage the rabble rousers on your own comfy terms.

Stop talking. Stop spinning. Start instead, honestly & transparently answering tough questions, in front of the entire congregation that you’re so fond of ruling over, the way Jesus specifically warned His followers not to do.

You realize that every standard primer on spiritual abuse insists that radical transparency is the only way to rebuild trust, and to heal.

But you don’t have the guts.

AAAAAMMEEENNNNN!!!!!!!

Hi gang,
I’m officially canceling for tomorrow. My weather app says there’s a 50% chance of rain and I’m not trusting it.

Perhaps it might be better to wait and see what happens next week at the “informational meeting“ that the Board of Elders is having. If people will be fed up enough that they’ll be more ready to protest at that point then we’ll try again. If a miracle happens, and the Elder Board humbles itself to accept the congregation’s desire to have, at the very least, a serious investigation into the allegations against Mark then that’s even better. Of course, that means that their own actions would come under investigation as well, but maybe God will speak powerfully to them and they will own up. We’ll wait and see.

Blessings to you all,
~Susan

Elizabeth Klein: Spiritual abuse coverups happen the same way sexual abuse coverups do.

Pulpit spiritual abuse cannot happen in a church unless it is enabled, protected and covered up by church elders. Someday, a Christian author writing a book on spiritual abuse will use PSC as an example – at this point, it’s worthy of a whole chapter.

christine:

Do any GCTS people remember the short tenure of James Emery White as President of Gordon-Conwell?He lasted less than a year and I remember there was chatter that he inflated his resume with regards to Oxford.Does anyone have documentation of this?

… Even if inflating his resume as the reason for his short tenure was gossip, you would think the GCTS people would be hesitant to engage with people who have credible accusations of inflating their academic credentials.

I looked up GCTS’s current Academic Catalog just now. It states the policies & procedures around violations of academic integrity (p. 128-129). It’s pretty standard fare; cheating and plagiarism are strictly prohibited (updated with a section on AI):

https://www.gordonconwell.edu/registration/student-resources/academic-catalog/?utm_source=adwords&utm_term=&utm_campaign=Leads-Performance+Max-Test&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_mt=&hsa_acc=1594517229&hsa_grp=&hsa_tgt=&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ad=&hsa_src=x&hsa_kw=&hsa_ver=3&hsa_cam=21181514815&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqL3xm_bdhwMVqjIIBR3IqhjcEAAYASAAEgKl4vD_BwE

However, I feel like GCTS’s academic integrity policies should spell out other forms of cheating, such as inflating your educational credentials or lying on your resume. While GCTS can’t control what their alumni do, they should state what their expectations are.

And I’d like to believe that GCTS would not tolerate faculty members lying on their resumes.

Also, GCTS’s Community Life Statement needs to be updated. Notice statement #10:

“We believe where conflict or sin occurs in the Gordon-Conwell community, a biblical process, such as stated in Matthew 18:15-20, should be followed to seek correction, forgiveness, restitution, and reconciliation. We will seek truth and peace in love.”

https://www.gordonconwell.edu/community/practices-policies/community-life-statement/

Anyone who’s done ANY reading or had any experience with church abuse of any kind, knows just how common it is for Matthew 18 to be weaponized against victims. Why?? Because whistleblowing against abuse IS ALWAYS DIVISIVE!!!

Just look at the many, many, many times the Park Street Church situation has been mislabeled as a “conflict” issue. It’s not. It’s a still unaddressed spiritual abuse issue.

There should be a whole lot of careful caveats re: the use and misuse of Matthew 18 added to GCTS’s Community Life Statement.

The more you cling to the arrogant elitism of the 1930’s the more irrelevant you will be in the 2030’s. Lake Avenue Congregational Church in Pasadena CA is the CCCC mega congregation with a weekly attendance of 4000. A friend of mine was speaking to their new pastor, Dr. Matthew P. John at the CCCC national conference last week. She mentioned PSC….and he didn’t recognize the name. He has never heard of the distinguished and glorious Park Street Church. That’s probably a good thing. It means he doesn’t know that the CCCC found a way to keep the pastor who lied on his resume and then alienated his best staff members.

I can’t remember if it was Mark himself or someone connected to him like his lead pastor from DC (who believe it or not also was accused of spiritual abuse and also got the denominational leaders to protect him) but they said that “The Bully Pulpit” is such a terrible book because it would mean that ~30% of pastors would be unqualified for the job. And yes, about 30% of them sure are!

BTW, Andrew Ziegler is going around telling people that they want a SMALLER church. This is pretty obvious at this point, their actions show a desire for a “purge.” What Christ-following leader can earnestly say they want their ministry to have fewer people?

Observant Outsider:

BTW, Andrew Ziegler is going around telling people that they want a SMALLER church. This is pretty obvious at this point, their actions show a desire for a “purge.” What Christ-following leader can earnestly say they want their ministry to have fewer people?

As Max pointed out, Mark Booker, his sycophants in leadership & their followers view themselves as the faithful remnant. PSC’s motto is now “Jesus above all,” which for all intents and purposes means “Mark above all.”

Mark is the only human at PSC who really matters. All other humans are expendable. 1 Corinthians 12:21 be damned.

It’s just like what Mark Driscoll said about his own heart and vision for church (only he was at least much more crassly honest about it):

“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. Either get on the bus or you get run over by the bus, those are the options. But the bus ain’t gonna stop.”

PSC’s elders not only don’t care how many people leave, but they are actively trying to get people to leave. Laypeople as well as ministers.

What I want to know is, just how honest will the elders be about this at the upcoming Informational Meeting, when they’re going to supposedly share their great heart & vision for PSC?

It’s been crystal clear what their real heart and vision for PSC has been for months.

I’d be very interested for someone to report back on the Informational Meeting after this weekend.

As a GCTS alum myself, I would really urge GCTS alumni who are reading TWW & know about all the *alleged* spiritual abuse at PSC, to reach out to GCTS and explain what’s going on, and how traumatizing it really truly has been for congregants, pastors, former pastors & elders, etc.

Plenty of GCTS alums (and I imagine a few current students) are really hurting at PSC.

As a Park Streeter wrote to me just this morning:

“GCTS exploits the success of its graduates; GCTS should also take responsibility for ameliorating their pain, not making it worse or ignoring it.”

Exactly right.

GCTS alums who are among the PSC bodies behind the bus here:

– Pat Chen
– Kris Perkins
– Raymond Kam
– Tammy McLeod
– Tim Leary

I would also include Ben Rey, who really did co-plant Church of the Cross. Ben Rey became associate minister there, only to be fired by Mark Booker, who then had the gall to claim that he had been the one to plant CotC instead of Ben Rey & Jamaal Crone.

Reach out to the Alumni Office. Reach out to President Scott Sunquist. Reach out to Eric Convey, Director of Development. Reach out to Tom Petter, if you took a class with him (Tom Petter served on the Vicinage Council.) Their contact information is all readily accessible on the GCTS website.

Speak out, on behalf of your wounded and traumatized GCTS brothers and sisters.

Explain abusive systems to GCTS admins or faculty who aren’t getting it (some of whom may insist that they’re already informed enough on the subject).

Explain that GCTS’s role in PSC’s current mess is calling for a truly independent investigation that is conducted by trauma-informed experts in forensic investigating. Show them a GRACE report, so that they have a concrete example of what you’re talking about. Compare, say, the 145-page report that GRACE did into Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia to the rinky-dink (18?) pages of the superficial Vicinage Council’s report.

Tell them that their instinct towards image repair tactics and institutional protectionism towards PSC is only shoving the rot under the carpet, and wounding the *alleged* victims even further.

Again, all of GCTS desperately needs to go through GRACE’s Safeguarding Initiative. From the president on down to every single faculty & staff member, and student.

Former Boston Girl:
Elizabeth Klein,

I still have not received a reply to the message I sent to the alumni office last Thursday.Thinking about calling tomorrow.

GOOD. Thank you!!!

Btw, Michael Balboni is also a GCTS alum. I didn’t realize that when I wrote earlier.

Elizabeth Klein,

Elizabeth Klein,

Hi Elizabeth:
Praise the Lord for inspiring you to speak up as a GCTS alum and to invite your peers to meet this challenge together for the Lord’s glory. May I ask whether you are also a member of the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference (4C)? If so, please consider launching a similar appeal to the top executive of 4C regarding the Vincinage Council’s ‘co-operation’ with the PSC’s board of elders— which ignored the majority congregational vote on June 2, 2024. It was a blatant disregard for 4C’s historic aim: TO PRACTICE CONGREGATIONAL POLITY UNDER THE HEADSHIP OF JESUS CHRIST. Every fired PSC GCTC minister had spoken the truth with love in their reports for the 6/2/24 meeting. These reports can be made available to the top executive of 4C. After prayerful and thorough examination by him/her: any 4C member church and/or minister proven to commit willful disobedience to congregational polity should be ex-communicated from this God-honoring and faithful historic Conference.

FYI: I am only a lay member of PSC but unspeakably grateful to the Lord for leading me to PSC long ago, even before Pastor Kris Perkins arrived. I volunteered and served under him for 2 years— blessed by his ministry as the Lord’s faithful, loving and humble servant of the PSC congregation. The Moderator of the 6/2/24 meeting disallowed personal presentation of his testimony; therefore he sent a written report which I read with grief yet amazed at his grace and patience by keeping silent for 3 years.

Praying for the Lord to grant you courage and wisdom to serve Him as led by His Spirit,

NAAH

Looks like my comment from last night was posted as I was writing my last comment haha.

NAAH:
Elizabeth Klein,

Elizabeth Klein,

The Moderator of the 6/2/24 meeting disallowed personal presentation of [Kris Perkins’] testimony; therefore he sent a written report which I read with grief yet amazed at his grace and patience by keeping silent for 3 years.

Oh absolutely, and that’s why his testimony had such a profound impact. He absolutely hated having to speak up and publicly criticize anyone, but only did so, because it was necessary for the congregation to know the truth about Mark Booker’s behavior.

All that having been said (I don’t mean this as any kind of knock on Kris Perkins’ grace and patience!!), any current regime of a church expects former pastors and spiritually abused laypeople to be quiet about what they went through.

Evangelical culture basically demands this; if you speak out, you’re “divisive” and “bitter,” etc.

And if that doesn’t do the trick, then they can always try an NDA for good measure.

Observant Outsider:
I can’t remember if it was Mark himself or someone connected to him like his lead pastor from DC (who believe it or not also was accused of spiritual abuse and also got the denominational leaders to protect him) but they said that “The Bully Pulpit” is such a terrible book because it would mean that ~30% of pastors would be unqualified for the job. And yes, about 30% of them sure are!

BTW, Andrew Ziegler is going around telling people that they want a SMALLER church. This is pretty obvious at this point, their actions show a desire for a “purge.” What Christ-following leader can earnestly say they want their ministry to have fewer people?

Like anyone is surprised by this. And the elder board has been saying since the Town Hall meeting, “Oh no, no one’s trying to force this church to become a traditional church. no one’s trying to get rid of of the contemporary church.”

So, I’ve known this for a long time. Mark and his posse are trying to reduce this church down to this homogenous little group of wealthy, white, traditionalists, with a few “acceptable people of color“ thrown in for good measure. (“Acceptable people of color“ is a term that I’ve heard social workers use, when white people will salt their groups with wealthy, highly educated, people of Asian or Indian descent, but never truly embrace real diversity) I stand back and laugh at how people think this man is anointed, when he was given a bustling, robust church with a healthy diversity with a capable group of ministers, and a healthy level of giving, although we certainly had our challenges. So what does he do? He takes this big beautiful gift that God gave him, carves out the heart of it, and just keeps the portion that makes him comfortable. Could anything be more clear than the fact that this man was not equal to the task of leading a flagship urban CCCC church as large as we WERE, and diverse, politically, ethnically, and socio-economically (SORT-OF,) with a large group of ministers, some of whom had considerably more experience in ministry than he did? Could anything be more clear that this has absolutely nothing to do with God’s will, but the will of Mark’s ego? Why would a shepherd drive sheep away from his flock? It’s ignorant and makes absolutely no sense from a Godly perspective. The Great Commission is to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth, not to create a wealthy country club for Christians within the walls of a historic church.

Mark Booker is childish. No two ways about it. I’ve had several interactions with him, including one after Kris Perkins’ last sermon where Mark mocked me to another minister right while I was within earshot, as were many congregants, and they said my name, loud enough that it could be heard through the entire sanctuary. Two weeks prior to that I had gone into his office after the 4 PM service and begged him to let Kris stay. He tried to tell me that Kris’ departure was a mutual decision and I knew that was a lie. So, after Kris’s last sermon, I asked him, and Kris flat out said, “No, I never wanted to leave.“ I think I said, “he’s such a liar” and I could see that Mark heard me. So, Mark made a snide comment to the other minister in reference to my support of Kris, and the other minister laughed and said, “Ah, Susan Lane!”

Now, I hold the other minister accountable also, but, as Mark likes to say, “the buck stops with the SM.” He is responsible for driving the culture of the church, and there he was mocking me like a 12-year-old, as I was giving an emotional goodbye to a minister that I’ve known for 15 years, and one that I had just learned, Mark had driven out without cause. Honestly, after that, I think I’ve saw maybe a handful of sermons, because from that point on I knew I was watching a very juvenile pastor preaching from the pulpit, and one that wasn’t trustworthy.

There is absolutely no way anyone can tell me this man is a person of character and integrity at this point.

In addition to holding Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary accountable for supporting the abuse perpetrated by CEO Mark Booker, it’s also time to ask Christianity Today why they are bending the knee to GCTS’s president Scott Sunquist’s outrageous and bizarre decision to contact CT about publishing on the abuse at Park Street Church. The CT board needs to know about this request for continuing the cover up.
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Also, Park Street Church “elders,” who would you prefer to cover this sad chapter? Spotlight of the Boston Globe? Or Christianity Today?
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Scott Sunquist, what is your preference? You want to silence CT? Sure… but have you considered the alternatives?
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Christianity Today Board of Directors
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Chair
Claude Alexander
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Members
Katherine Alsdorf
David Bere
Noemi Chavez
Timothy Dalrymple
Bob Doll
Daniel Fong
Tami Heim
Nona Jones
Walter Kim
Michael Lindsay
Ross Mason
Lauren Green McAfee
Peter McGowan
Jerry Pattengale
Meritt Sawyer

These people also need to know what is going on in the name of their organization.
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Conservative Congregational Christian Conference: Board of Directors
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MUTIMA PETER, Portland, ME

DAVID BODANZA, Leominster, MA

MIKE HADADD, Derby, VT

JOHN FANELLA, Rochester, PA

GAYLE BUFORD, Oveido, FL

JOE MARLIN, Gloucester City, NJ

JOAN GRANITSAS, Revere, MA

DAVID MCKINLEY, Schwenksville, PA

BOB TOLSON, Fort Morgan, CO

MARK GORGANS, Chesapeake, VA

DAVID MECKLEY, Loysburg, PA

TJ TURNER, Woodbury, MN

https://www.ccccusa.com/about-us/our-leadership-board-of-directors/

NAAH:
Elizabeth Klein,

Elizabeth Klein,

The major thing I plan to do is simple: send to 4C copies of the testimony of each of the 4 fired PSC pastors, and of the 5 PSC pastors who signed a letter of non-support of the senior minister. Please pray with me.

God bless you, NAAH!!!! Thank you so much for doing this. I will pray for you, and hope that other TWWers will do so as well.

Also, it shouldn’t take seminary training in CCCC polity for a layperson to discern and clearly state right from wrong here. Spiritually abusive systems often use polity & procedures as excuses not to do the right thing – the truthful, just, and usually socially and financially costly thing.

The Holy Spirit works within laypeople, too! Even if this includes publicly rebuking church leaders for their sins (a la 1 Timothy 5:20 – a Bible verse I daresay PSC elders aren’t too fond of!).

I’m no expert in CCCC polity, but my guess is that you either won’t hear anything back from the aforementioned CCCC leaders – or if you do, it’ll be, “Blah blah blah blah congregational autonomy.”

Which IMO, doesn’t EVER render any Christian leader powerless to state a non-binding opinion or recommendation (that a church is perfectly free to ignore, anyway).

Such as: “Abuse allegations of any kind are extremely serious, and must ALWAYS be thoroughly and independently investigated by trauma-informed experts in the field.”

The embarrassingly obvious flaws in the slapdash Vicinage Council report tends to indicate that the CCCC doesn’t even have denom-wide guidelines on abuse prevention & response (even guidelines that are non-binding on individual congregations).

The CCCC, like GCTS, needs to up their game and do much better than this.

If the Gospel really is the hope of the world, then maybe start acting like it?

Stop automatically siding with the powerful & engaging in knee-jerk institutional protectionism the way the world does. Stop being primarily guided by the fear of bad PR, $$$$ or lawsuits.

Instead, walk in step with the Spirit.

Realize that preaching the Gospel isn’t nearly enough, if the church you’re preaching at, or aligning in ministry with, is engaging in spiritual abuse that is teaching lies about who God is.

Be like Jesus. Leave the 99 behind and go after the 1.

Friend of Park Street Church:
It’s past time to let these people know what is going on…. And if they know and are silent, that’s more than problematic.

Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary: Board of Trustees
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– J. Christy Wilson
– Diana C. Bennett
– Patti Arey
– Claude R. Alexander, Jr.
– Garth T. Bolinder
– R. Bruce Bradley
– Michele Breene
– Soon Chung
– Barry H. Corey
– Thomas J. Colatosti
– Stan D. Gaede
– Gerald L. Hector
– Peter G. James
– Priscilla H. Lee
– Caleb Loring, III
– Garry Anthony McDowall
– Leonard J. Moon
– Shirley A. Redd
– Chi Kong Shue
– Daniel Vogelzang
– David Wright
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https://www.gordonconwell.edu/about/leadership/board-of-trustees/

I totally agree with you. But the problem here is that the GCTS trustees with PSC connections are Bookerites.

Such as Diana Bennett and Daniel Vogelzang. There may be others.

Sardis: What is going on with PSC’s finances? I personally know many who have stopped giving, and we all know that last year’s giving fell significantly short of budget expectations. The Board of Elders haven’t posted updated minutes (latest is April 3, so much for transparency) but on February 7 they discussed that they were appropriating “investment income” and “use of reserves” to cover the deficit, and that this was “not a permanent solution.”

PSC has never published any information about their investments or endowments. They only share the Ministry & Operations budget and the Missions budget at annual meetings. Could the endowment/investments be insulating the Board from the congregation? They have enough funds to survive or cobble together new sources of funding?

If so, this is a warning to all congregational churches. It’s not just that PSC had prestige, high giving, and history, but that it had other sources of funding that insulate leadership from observing the bylaws and congregational nature of the church. It allows the Board to continue to steamroll ahead and ignore the congregation they are supposed to care for.

as someone who was on the missions committee for five years, from 2014 to 2019, I can tell you that endowments typically are earmarked very specifically for specific ministries, like the missions ministry, for example. I also had concerns about the endowments which are in the millions for the missions committee, because those are specifically set aside to support missionaries, even if something should happen to the church. There are $2 million, however, of “discretionary funds“ built into that endowment fund which the missions committee can delegate for specific purposes. For example, if a missionary retires, or temporary housing while on sabbatical in the US, special mission trips or missions-related needs that crop up.

Only one time in the past was a loan ever made to the broader Church from this fund, an elder informed me. However, this last year, a loan was made for the $300,000 deficit that we had, due to the issues surrounding Mark’s leadership and the need for multiple investigations into these matters. The sad thing is though, we still never got real answers to the tough questions about Mark’s unethical behavior that we’ve been over 1000 times on this blog, in special meetings, and emails to the board of elders, and on and on. It’s apparent that the elders will protect Mark even to the detriment of the church.

My main concern was, with Mark wrenching control from Julian over the missions committee, and forcing his pick for missions treasurer without the committee’s approval is putting him in position to get a hold of these funds for his own purposes. He lost the trust of the church for the reasons we’ve been discussing for nearly a year, people began to withhold their tithes, and the finances are hemorrhaging badly. Rather than recognizing that he is hurting the church, he refuses to resign, and the elder board, knowing that his ministry career may well end if he left Park Street on bad terms, is protecting him.

Some elders have assured me that the main missions endowment funds are government protected and safe, and strictly audited every year by a third-party firm to ensure that the money is going exactly where it’s intended to go.

So, the main concern is with regard to the discretionary $2 million that is set aside truly for missions purposes. People, including the public, should be very worried about Mark going completely against protocol and against our congregational structure in order to exact control over funds like this. I don’t think there’s more of an indication of a corrupt leader.

Yet somehow, some PSC people still aren’t listening. The New England chapter of the CCCC doesn’t care. Dr. Sunquist, President of GCTS, was willing to go against free press in order to suppress information about Park Street trouble getting out, And would apparently like us to believe that there’s no problem with any of this, and that Park Street is still a great and wonderful church.

What they don’t realize is that the honor and integrity of Park Street could return, even in the public’s eyes, if they would truly come to terms with these issues, state them, discipline those who were involved, and come up with an action plan, and follow it. (Imagine that!)

These Christians have forgotten how God commands that we come to him, broken, and truly repentant, especially in situations like this, seeking forgiveness from those we’ve hurt, and not vague apologies, but a real accounting and consideration of the hurt that’s been done. Trying to save face and giving pat answers to the congregation about what’s been done, an empty attempts at reconciliation.

1. Demand Mark’s transcripts immediately, not for viewing by the public, but an independent committee chosen by the congregation, not the elder board and not the nominating committee, because we know that both have been stacked with Mark’s supporters.

2. Demand an investigation of the search committee as to whether Mark disclosed that one of his masters was truly a bachelor degree.

3. Demand that his choice for missions treasurer step down immediately, and a candidate be brought forward and interviewed and voted on in front of the missions committee as is our protocol.

4. Demand that Jason Abraham stepped down as moderator due to as many transgressions against the congregation, sharing its voice.

5. Demand that the committee that is reviewing the bylaws is the committee selected by the congregation not the elder board and not Mark.

6. Demand that the written statements of all ministers who have supplied them and all elders, be taken seriously and be investigated appropriately by an investigative firm with legal merit and spiritual abuse.

7. Demand that immediate disciplinary action be taken against Mark for forbidding ministers from consulting with the elders or other ministers on his plans, even before those issues were brought to the elder board, because Park Street embraces a culture of open communication, not paranoia and control.

8. Demand that Mark receive immediate discipline for refusing to allow the missions committee to have a sidebar conversation about his plans to take over control of certain elements of the missions committee, as this is a direct violation of our congregational process. Good leadership recognizes and values the input of the leadership and committees within their church, they don’t fear it.

9. Truly, we should demand that Mark resign, and that the ministers who’ve left who have not obtained a new position and would like to return be allowed to return. In lieu of that, he should be put on a leave, so that he cannot continue to publicly manipulate the congregation while the allegations against him are investigated.

Feel free to add your own.

In addition to the $361k deficit on the Ministry and Operations budget, the Mission budget had a deficit of $134k. This was largely due to the decrease in offerings and collections, which was $530k less than projected. The 2024 budget also projects that offerings and collections will actually increase in 2024 from what people gave in 2023. Undoubtedly that isn’t going to happen. The 2024 budget already included a $300k increase in investment income and interest, how much more are they going to draw from that to cover their losses? Who are they going to have to fire or stop supporting when half of the church stops giving? It seems like the fiscal reality may be one of the few ways to hold them accountable that they cannot manipulate and ignore their way out of.

Timothy Isaiah Cho today on Twitter:

“One important question to ask when considering joining a church in a denomination is how accessible, transparent, and understandable their process is for keeping leaders accountable. If a denomination has a convoluted process that requires blind faith, it is guaranteed to fail.”

Another tweet by Timothy Isaiah Cho today:

“A reminder that church discipline and excommunication mean nothing when done by a church that sides with abusers. In fact, by excommunicating you, they’ve actually cut themselves off from Christ.”

Susan Lane: Quite a few people have received letters, myself included, requesting that we meet with the elder board to review our membership status. Some of them were just petition leaders, not boldly outspoken in any way. It’s unconscionable that a congregational church would call a congregant’s membership into question because they used the rights assured in the bylaws to petition and to call the leadership’s actions into question. Yet somehow, the CCCC is ok with this?

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If any of you feel comfortable, please share your letter from the “elders” when possible. It would especially be helpful to read one or more before Sunday’s / tomorrow’s professional gaslighting session at 1:00 pm.
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I’m already feeling a headache coming on just thinking about it… can’t wait for the mental gymnastics on the park of abusive CEO Booker, co-abuser Jason Abraham, and their cast of characters who are enabling and covering up sin.
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Maybe we need DARVO bingo cards… see who can check off five in a row first of the most common and expected abusive and gaslighting statements.
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Adding an ING to DARVO for and extra large bingo card!
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D – Deny
A – Attack
RVO – Reverse Victim and Offender
I – Intimidate
N – Negate and minimize
G – Gaslight, baby!
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In case you run out of ideas for your bingo card for the abusive meeting, here is a Wikipedia article with some examples. I think it needs some links to the Park Street Church Wikipedia page…. CEO Booker and crew have managed to accomplish many of these!
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_abuse?wprov=sfti1#Spiritual_abuse

Let’s see if I can make this happen. I’ve never attached a link to this blog before. This is my meeting to assess membership status letter from Park Street. You may have to copy and paste into your browser, but here goes:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QCJxiN4IEon59W7Z-NNzmQqh1sdm_dg2/view?usp=drivesdk

Susan Lane,

“Please do not take our warning lightly.” Who do these people think they are? Will they be burning people at the stake on the corner of Park and Tremont? I laughed out loud when I read that sentence.

Susan Lane: Yet somehow, the CCCC is ok with this?

I’m afraid that the 4Cs as a denomination seems as rotten as PSC. Consider that the VC reports are reviewed by the 4Cs Credentials Committee, so I would say that anything written in these reports are indicative of what this denomination believes. Ignoring their erroneous conclusions about Mark and endorsement of abusive leadership, here are the official/quasi-official positions of the 4Cs:

-It’s better for associate ministers to resign after a new senior minister begins. The SM should have full discretion over who remains on staff and the effect on the congregation doesn’t seem to be much of a factor here.
-Other pastors are totally qualified to judge spiritual abuse and don’t have any inherent bias when assessing another pastor’s behaviors. In fact, mentoring and advising the person being investigated is not a conflict of interest.
-If several people accuse a person of having a bad relationship, the fact that other people have good relationships with the accused is relevant evidence.
-In their first report, they declared “the truth has been discovered and that an additional investigation is not necessary.” But that wasn’t true and they had to be called back to review additional evidence and testimony. This is contrary to Matthew 5:33.
-Demanding to know private conversations between a minister and an elder isn’t technically confidential so it’s all ok.
-It is unethical for resigned ministers to make any comments on alleged abuse. It’s not unethical to trash the former SM and blame the church’s problems on him.

Elizabeth Klein:

Also, you [PSC Board of Elders] do realize that spiritually abusive churches are famous for abusing church discipline, right?? If you don’t want PSC to be considered spiritually abusive, then why are you following that predictable playbook??

What playbook??

The “playbook” on what spiritually abusive churches often do, that they should NOT at all be doing, is in any of the standard primers on spiritual abuse that have been published in recent years.

I recommend the following:

– Bully Pulpit by Reformed Theological Seminary prez Michael Kruger
https://www.amazon.com/Bully-Pulpit-Confronting-Problem-Spiritual/dp/0310136385

– Something’s Not Right by Dr. Wade Mullen
https://www.amazon.com/Somethings-Not-Right-Decoding-Abuse/dp/1496444701

– A Church Called Tov by Scot McKnight & Laura Barringer
https://www.amazon.com/Church-Called-Tov-Goodness-Promotes/dp/1496446003

– Pivot by Scot McKnight & Laura Barringer
https://www.amazon.com/Pivot-Priorities-Practices-Transform-Culture-ebook/dp/B0BX187ZTD

– Escaping the Maze of Spiritual Abuse by Dr. Lisa Oakley (board member of GRACE https://www.netgrace.org/board-members) & Justin Humphreys
https://www.amazon.com/Escaping-Maze-Spiritual-Abuse-Christian/dp/028108131X

– Redeeming Power by Dr. Diane Langberg
https://www.amazon.com/Redeeming-Power-Understanding-Authority-Church/dp/1587434385

Also, to hear personal stories of what spiritual abuse looks like in actual church systems, I recommend Johnna Harris & Jay Coile’s Bodies Behind the Bus podcast:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bodies-behind-the-bus/id1601586078.

Susan Lane,

Susan Lane,

Former Boston Girl,

Dear Susan, our sister-in-Christ who always speaking the truth with love !

Praise the Lord—your link worked perfectly.
I have yet to receive such a letter. BUT I have written > 10 letters/emails to the SM and Moderator since 2021; and after Feb 2023, sent cc to every current and fired PSC ministers, and every Vicinage councll members. None of the recipients replied to me except (a) 2 auto-replies from 2 Council pastors–w/ no follow up (b) brief replies from Kris Perkins (e.g. 5/9/24: Do not grow weary. God hears your prayers and is attentive to the situation unfolding. Rest in Him even if you are in the middle of a storm)

New strategy to defend our original PSC: Wait another week for me and many others to whom BoE will send letters to ‘explain’ our sins, with enclosure of letters they consider most offensive. We can simply post all those letters on TWW as well as on the PSC Notice Boards before every future worship service. This will be a small feat compared to what Martin Luther did. But more effective and less unsightly than burning stakes in that famous corner.

Love and prayer from NAAH

NAAH,

Corretion of typo:

It was after Feb 2024 (NOT 2023) That I wrote to SM and BoE w/ cc to vicinage council members

NAAH

NAAH,

I have a couple other ideas as to where you can send your obnoxiously unanswered letters, if you’d like to email me. (I’m pretty easy to find…)

NAAH,

NAAH, I wasn’t going to burn any stakes! I promised you all that my protest would have been peaceful if I had held it. Although I will say, that if this were the colonial era, certain people would have been tarred and feathered and thrown into the Boston Harbor by now. Thankfully we tend to be a bit more civilized these days.

Susan Lane,

My dear Susan:

Excuse me — I never dreamed of your burning people on stakes !
My nightmare was: a wolf in sheepskin trying to pin you down because you are determined to speak the truth with love, rather than ‘cheerfully submit’ to witchcraft. Even so, fear not the one who destroys your PSC membership. “HAVING HEARD THE WORD OF THE TRUTH, THE GOSPEL OF YOUR SALVATION, HAVING ALSO BELIEVED, YOU WERE SEALED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT OF PROMISE, WHICH IS AN EARNEST OF OUR INHERITANCE, UNTO THE REDEMPTION OF GOD’S OWN POSSESSION, UNTO THE PRAISE OF HIS GLORY.”
Amen

NAAH

🙂

NAAH:
Elizabeth Klein,

“… If that investigation [by a less biased and better trained organization such as G.R.A.C.E.] confirms what most seem to believe, that the testimony of our ministers whom we have known and trusted for many years, and in some cases decades, is true, then it will be confirmed that Mark is not qualified for pastoral ministry anywhere (here or elsewhere). He will have to find another career to support his family. I our Elders care for Mark and would prefer to spare him further humiliation and his family further embarrassment, and if they want to see him continue a career in ministry somewhere, then they should encourage him to resign as soon as possible.”

Even if Mark were to resign, my fear is that PSC leaders would inevitably “pass the trash.”

That’s a crass phrase used to describe the common practice of church leaders restoring “fallen” (often abusive) pastors to ministry elsewhere. It’s what got the Catholic Church in deep doo-doo in the Globe’s Spotlight investigation.

(A caveat: I don’t like describing any human as “trash” because every human, including Mark Booker, is made in the image of God. But I do think that abusive leaders trash the integrity of their own ministries – and for whatever reason, such behavior patterns are often impervious to substantive, lasting change.)

(Another aside: has anyone else noticed that Terry Shanahan of Vicinage Council fame & on GCTS’s Thriving in Ministry Team “has been a part of numerous Pastoral Care teams to help restore pastors to ministry”? Anyone else raising an eyebrow, wondering what such “restoration” involves???)

Church leaders, here are some wise reflections from Katelyn Beaty, in the wake of the Robert Morris scandal. (I wonder what Terry Shanahan would say in response to this):

“Swirling in the background of pastor comeback stories is the horror that these important men would deign to take “a regular job.” As anyone in the faith-and-work conversation knows, Christians are tempted to think of work as operating on a tier of spiritual importance, with overseas missionaries at the top, followed by people in full-time church ministry, followed maybe by nonprofit work, with the rest of us barely cutting it as accountants and teachers and plumbers and therapists. The Protestant Reformers rightly bestowed dignity upon ordinary human labor and ordinary, non-priestly callings such as marriage and family. But disgraced pastor comebacks suggest we’ve forgotten this spiritual heritage, and believe that the church or God needs these men back in the spotlight to get on with good kingdom work.

This is idolatry…

I wonder if an addiction model isn’t instructive here…”

Elizabeth Klein,

Elizabeth Klein,

God moves in a mysterious way.
I assume all PSC pastors are registered 4C pastors: what privileges do they have?
We must earnestly seek justice, hope based on God’s law.
I have failed to rest in peace since July 2023, but will keep trying.
Let us read the book of Job daily

NAAH,

Not necessarily ordained by 4C’s. My experience with PSC is that they in the past sometimes ordain their own-not through any denomination.

Some reflections on Scripture that help us understand the situation at Park St:

“Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.” John 3:20-21

Mark and the Elders are hiding in the shadows. They offer no specific refutations or evidence to support how Mark is fit for PSC. Instead, all information must go through different bodies (BoE, VOCA, VC) who will decide the correct interpretation and you just have to trust their authority without proper explanation. If they were truly confident that God is on their side, they would stand up for their decisions in public. “Good decisions are never toxic.”

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” Exodus 20:16

Mark, Jason, and other elders are objectively lying repeatedly. Mark even lies to and keeps information from Jason, let alone elders outside of “the circle”. This is one of the Ten Commandments for crying out loud. If a church doesn’t know how to judge sin of such a basic level, how can we call it a church?

“You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.” Matthew 23:27-28.

The reality is a spiritual death has occurred and PSC and the events of the last year are the decay that is setting in. Some can smell the stench, others deny it’s there. I don’t know what’s going to happen at PSC, but given the trajectory since the June special meeting, I fear that only something catastrophic like financial ruin will change it. If our assessment is correct, God’s judgement will come to Mark, Jason and PSC. God help those who remain.

*HAVE* been mentioned!

Sigh…

Elizabeth Klein,

Two of the witnesses against Kimberly cited in the Telios report have been able to experience forgiveness for Kimberly and have moved on from their conflicts with her. They do NOT feel reconciled with Mark: they feel like he used them and manipulated them and have never been able to make peace with him. This should tell you all you need to know about Mark: his sinfulness is more damaging to people alleging abuse than they person they allege abused him. This saga might be what takes Mark down: notice how the VC report does not comment on Kimberly and cites “ensuing legal matters.” Did Mark conspire with Telios Law to accomplish a pre-determined outcome? Is Telios Law designed to be a bludgeon for church leadership to silence questioning congregants? PSC members: these are the questions you should be asking.

Editors: edit at request of author
This. I really needed to read these words this morning. I hope you all can see it with this link.
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Friend of Park Street Church,

Totally agree on the substack! I read it this morning and it was just what I needed.

For those who may not have discovered Broken to Beloved yet – it has been such a source of healing for me. Highly Recommend!

http://brokentobeloved.org/

They are also hosting a gathering in September in Richmond that looks to be a great time. I would love to attend and trying to make it work. I think they also said there may be a virtual component as well. http://brokentobeloved.org/

Elizabeth Klein,

Can you quote it here ? I am not able to see it. Also did anyone go to the meeting Sunday? I would have but am home with Covid

Liz:
Elizabeth Klein,

Can you quote it here ? I am not able to see it.

Broken to Beloved Substack

Forced Forgiveness: Misinterpreting Matthew 18
Episode 7 with Scot McKnight
AUG 13, 2024

Have you ever had Matthew 18 used against you?

Far too often, the forgiveness passage in Matthew 18:15–17 is weaponized against those who experience hurt and harm. Victims are forced to face their abusers, and there is no real resolution.

My contention is that churches misuse this as a template for everything that happens that needs to be reconciled, and it’s a mistake…When there’s a power differential, I think Matthew 18 should not be used.

In many cases, victims are offered a “fauxpology” along the lines of “I’m sorry you felt that way” or “That wasn’t my intent.” More often than not, the victim is re-traumatized while the abuser is defended, restored, and continues on with little to no consequence.

For context, here’s the passage, taken from the New Revised Standard Version:

15 ‘If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. 16 But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax-collector.

In his book Something’s Not Right, author and Institutional Response Specialist [Dr. Wade Mullen] at G.R.A.C.E. writes:

“There are no shortcuts to authentic confession, restitution, and repair. A person must know what it is they have done and the harm they have caused before they can even hope to offer an apology that heals. Truth must always precede confession, and an apology offered without a full acknowledgment of the truth is more likely a concession—a tactic designed to disarm a threat.”

He goes on to further clarify the distinctions between concessions and confessions. Where concessions are false apologies filled with blame-shifting, excuses, justifications, or even gaslighting, a true apology demonstrates surrender, confession, ownership, recognition, and empathy.

Mullen says that “A truth-filled apology will contain a majestic quality. A concession, on the other hand, will lack that freeing quality. It does more to confuse than heal because it doesn’t name specific wrongs, so you are left feeling unsure of what the wrongdoer is taking responsibility for.”

When victims are forced to face their abusers, it is wrong. More so when made to go alone. In cases where other members of the leadership team (staff, elders, deacons, board members, etc.) are present and part of the process where false apologies are given and forgiveness is coerced or forced, they are complicit in the abuse.

You can never demand that an abuser go one on one with the abused. So I don’t think this text, this text is not designed for that situation. It’s designed for an interpersonal conflict that’s manageable and yet requires repentance. And if there is no repentance, there is going to be no reconciliation.

It is an almost universal response from churches and Christian organizations to jump to the defense of their leaders and institutions, citing Matthew 18 as a biblical mandate to forgive and forget. To mend and move on.

What typically happens is that the victim is silenced or dismissed while the abuser is defended and elevated. In serious cases, there may be a short, mandatory leave of absence or sabbatical (I can almost guarantee it’s paid), or perhaps a short stint to some sort of “rehab” program. Six months later, all is restored. We’ve seen and heard this story over and over again.

So what is biblical forgiveness?

Yes, forgiveness is important. Yes, it is often more for our own benefit than for the one who wronged us. Yes, we can forgive without the an apology or repentance. Yes, we can forgive those we may never see again.

And, forgiveness cannot be forced. It must be a freely made choice on our part.

In this week’s episode, I join New Testament scholar Scot McKnight as we dive deep into the original language and nuance of this often misused passage.

Discover what it really says about interpersonal conflict and its role in cases of abuse or an imbalance of power. Learn about the role of repentance as implied in the original Greek, even when it doesn’t show up in our English Bibles.

This isn’t about holding on to our offenses, grudges, or dismissing what happened to us. It’s not about releasing our abusers from accountability or letting go of our desire for justice. It’s not a permission slip to live in bitterness and resentment. It’s also not about all the cliches and platitudes we’ve heard in churches about forgiveness:

Forgive and forget.

Let go and let God.

Unforgiveness is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.

We don’t have to take such a black and white, binary view on forgiveness. More than one thing can be true.

This is about the ways forgiveness has been weaponized and abused in the church. It’s about having a truly biblical and scholarly understanding of how those passages are meant to be understood. It’s about protecting ourselves from future manipulation and further abuse.

If you’ve had forgiveness forced on you, or Matthew 18 weaponized against you, this episode is for you.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Have you experienced this? Do you agree or disagree? What are your thoughts or views today? Let me know in the comments!

Guest Spotlight

Scot is a New Testament scholar who has written widely on the historical Jesus and Christian spirituality. He is a Visiting Professor of New Testament at Houston Theological Seminary and at Westminster Theological Centre (UK). He earned a bachelor’s degree from Cornerstone University, a master’s from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and a doctorate from the University of Nottingham. He has written more than 80 books, including the popular The Jesus Creed, which won an award from Christianity Today.

Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/007-forced-forgiveness-misinterpreting-matthew-18-with/id1751410316?i=1000665115800

Broken to Beloved is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that works to provide those wounded by spiritual abuse and religious trauma with practical resources moving toward healing and wholeness, and to provide pastors and church leaders with resources to grow in trauma awareness and implement safeguarding practices.

Get more information or give a tax-free donation here: https://www.brokentobeloved.org/support?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email.

Hi, Dee. I hope you are feeling ok these days!

Could you delete the URLs above to the Broken to Beloved substack website? A few of them are linked to my account over there and I want to avoid any retaliation from Mark & his cabal by remaining anonymous.
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I’ve posted the full text of the article here, so deleting the URLs won’t remove the content from the conversation.
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Thanks so very much and I’m thinking of you!

PSIF Announcement
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Subject: Minister to Internationals Announcement
Date: Tue, 13 Aug 2024
From: Park Street Church
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August 13, 2024
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Dear Park Street Church,
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I’m writing to share the good news that Polo Kim has accepted the call to serve as Minister to Internationals at Park Street Church. We’re thrilled to have Polo joining our ministerial team, and very grateful to God for his provision for this important ministry. Throughout the process, we repeatedly saw God’s hand in leading Polo to us and us to him. Thank you for your prayers for this process, and we look forward to welcoming Polo, his wife Dandan, and their two boys (ages three and one-and-a-half, see the picture below) to Park Street Church in the coming weeks. We are still sorting out the timing of his arrival due to a visa issue, but our hope is that Polo will be able to officially begin this role by the time Park Street International Fellowship restarts on September 8.
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I want to thank the members of the search committee—Wenbo He, David Rix, Julianne White, and Andrea Zvara—who worked diligently and prayerfully with me during this process. They were a committed group, and working together with them was deeply encouraging and enjoyable. I also want to thank the members of PSIF who contributed valuable input to our search committee at the beginning of this process. Finally, I’d like to thank the members of the three interview teams who met with Polo during his visit to Park Street on August 2–3. Your input was helpful and clarifying.
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As we sought to fill this position, we were looking for someone with a deep heart for God who is relational, a good listener, a unifier, a bridge-builder, and who has a passion to disciple others and to be on mission. Time and time again in this process, we saw these qualities in Polo. We were also very hopeful that we could find someone who had firsthand experience as an international student, and Polo certainly does: born in Korea, he was raised in Taiwan and came to study here in Boston as an undergraduate at Northeastern. It’s also worth noting that Polo knows Park Street Church. He lived in the Van Baay House and served as an intern to PSIF from 2018–2020. In fact, he met his wife Dandan at PSIF and they were married at Park Street in 2019! Polo has a Masters of Divinity degree from Gordon-Conwell, and we believe Polo will bring the right gifts and experience to our team as he seeks to disciple internationals, and to provide oversight to our ESL ministry and the Van Baay House.
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Reaching and discipling internationals in Boston has been a fruitful ministry of Park Street Church for decades. It’s an important and exciting part of our mission! As a beneficiary of that ministry in the past, Polo is excited to come full circle and take up the leadership of this ministry moving into the future. He has a heart to be on mission, to cultivate loving community, and to disciple internationals in the way of Jesus, and we trust God will use him to bless this ministry.
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Thanks be to God for his provision for this role in Polo, and please do join us in praying for Polo and his family and for our PSIF community during this time of transition.
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Grace and peace in Jesus,
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Mark Booker
Senior Minister

Elizabeth Klein,

Hi Susan:
I just re-read Dee’s leading blog on the top of this article:
she quoted the 7/22/24 letter from our Moderator, ending with this mutual prayer statement:
PLEASE PRAY FOR ME AND THE REST OF THE ELDERS, AS WE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR YOU.

I am wondering if you can contact him to ask:
(1) what does he want you to pray to God for? –promise to do it cheerfully
(2) thank him for offering to pray for you–let him know how to pray for you cheerfully

We are serious about being cheerful. Prayer is serious, though not always cheerful. But the Lord may grant us cheerful hearts, the best medicine for PSC to heal.

dee: I wonder if he has confirmed that or if he is taking it on faith?

SNORT!!!!

It saddens me to see a new GCTS grad swept into the PSC vortex, tho. He’ll find out very soon how obsequious he’ll need to be towards Booker & the current leadership regime, in order to survive.

dee: I wonder if he has confirmed that or if he is taking it on faith?

Aaaahahaha! Too funny!

dee: I think I deleted the correct ones.

.
You are the best for so many reasons! Thank you again, so very much, for shining a light on this terrible situation at Park Street Church. Providing a space for us to communicate is so helpful and grounding, even when Mark and others are lurking around…

Hm, I don’t want to speculate too much about Polo’s motivations. I never knew him personally, but coming from PSIF is a good indicator as much of PSIF knew from Ray that what was happening was wrong. There are several people on staff who are staying because they’re afraid of what will happen to ministries if Mark can have his way completely. Maybe Polo wants to protect the PSIF community from collapse. Now, I don’t think this will be sustainable and Mark will inevitably have more conflict with staff (Michael and the other ministers acted as a “buffer” protecting staff from Mark and taking his attention away). There are quite a few congregants on Mark’s “side” who are just conflict-adverse and want the church to just be at church again (the willfully ignorant position). There are very few who are completely bought into the the conspiratorial, cult-ish narrative.

Observant Outsider:
… There are quite a few congregants on Mark’s “side” who are just conflict-adverse and want the church to just be at church again (the willfully ignorant position). There are very few who are completely bought into the the conspiratorial, cult-ish narrative.

This is just what I would have expected. But unfortunately, being conflict-averse in such situations can wind up doing just as much damage.

Elizabeth Klein: Joshua Pease

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Just found his website and it has a link to a Washington Post article from 2018. The silence of ALL types of abuse needs to stop.
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The sin of silence: The epidemic of denial about sexual abuse in the evangelical church
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By Joshua Pease
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MAY 31, 2018
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/posteverything/wp/2018/05/31/feature/the-epidemic-of-denial-about-sexual-abuse-in-the-evangelical-church/
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If any of you can’t read it, I’ll copy and paste it here. Just let me know!

Friend of Park Street Church: The sin of silence: The epidemic of denial about sexual abuse in the evangelical church
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By Joshua Pease
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MAY 31, 2018
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/posteverything/wp/2018/05/31/feature/the-epidemic-of-denial-about-sexual-abuse-in-the-evangelical-church/
.

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Just came across this quote that EXACTLY describes the Vicinage Council! It’s really troubling!
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“Partly, church leaders tend to circle the wagons out of arrogance. “I’ve worked with churches across the theological spectrum, from fundamentalist to progressive,” [*] says. “They say: ‘I’m the man God’s placed in charge. I have the Bible. I know how to handle this.’ ”
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*the founder of GRACE, Basyle ‘Boz’ Tchividjian
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https://www.netgrace.org/our-founder

Elizabeth Klein: Serious concerns about Telios Law has been mentioned in several threads and comments on over at Twitter (yes, I still call it Twitter).
Including tweets by Rebecca Hopkins @reb_hopkins, a journalist for The Roys Report and Christianity Today…
For those with info on the *allegedly* botched investigation into Kimberley Morrison, Rebecca Hopkins’ email address is: rebeccahopkinswriting@yahoo.com.

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Do any of you know if these concerns are posted anywhere else besides Twitter? It would be helpful to read them…
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Whistleblower: Two of the witnesses against Kimberly cited in the Telios report have been able to experience forgiveness for Kimberly and have moved on from their conflicts with her. They do NOT feel reconciled with Mark: they feel like he used them and manipulated them and have never been able to make peace with him. This should tell you all you need to know about Mark: his sinfulness is more damaging to people alleging abuse than they person they allege abused him. This saga might be what takes Mark down: notice how the VC report does not comment on Kimberly and cites “ensuing legal matters.” Did Mark conspire with Telios Law to accomplish a pre-determined outcome? Is Telios Law designed to be a bludgeon for church leadership to silence questioning congregants? PSC members: these are the questions you should be asking.

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Such good points! I’ve been wondering about the Telios law firm for a while… unless they have attorneys licensed to practice in Massachusetts and who do investigations in person here, it’s seems strange to hire a Colorado law firm for such a matter. Unless they are potentially bringing a case based on federal law, they would need to have attorneys licensed in Massachusetts to file a complaint there.
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https://teliosinvestigations.com/
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A little reading on their website makes me wonder more about past work they have done…
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One of their attorneys published this book. Have any of you read it yet or seen it cited in professional literature?
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Handling Allegations in a Ministry https://a.co/d/elJ52Pu

Tug of wars like this between clergy and laity should never happen in the Body of Christ. It’s a test of endurance to see who can hold out the longest … a game that no one really wins … a clear sign of church leadership failure to drag the congregation through this agony.

Friend of Park Street Church: .
Just came across this quote that EXACTLY describes the Vicinage Council!It’s really troubling!
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“Partly, church leaders tend to circle the wagons out of arrogance. “I’ve worked with churches across the theological spectrum, from fundamentalist to progressive,” [*] says. “They say: ‘I’m the man God’s placed in charge. I have the Bible. I know how to handle this.’ ”
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*the founder of GRACE, Basyle ‘Boz’ Tchividjian
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https://www.netgrace.org/our-founder

Thank you for finding that quote from Boz!! Yep, I’ve thought of that quote of his about a bajillion times in the PSC situation.

“I’m the man with the Bible & I’ve done pastoral counseling over the years, so I’m an expert on abuse!”

No, you’re not. You are embarrassing yourselves, though.

There are several statements from Kimberley and John Knight that are similar to what have been shared in these testimonies. Additionally, an above commenter here described issues with the witnesses and another commenter on Wartburg said something about the Telios report being very poorly written. Where there’s smoke there’s fire…

Broken to Beloved Events September 26 & 27, 2024

We’re just SIX WEEKS away from our first live event!

We’re offering some incredible resources and practical tools for learning about the effects of abuse and trauma on our lives, relationships, faith, and churches.

If you can’t join us in person, live stream tickets are now available! 

As much as we’d love to see you in Richmond, we understand that traveling can be tough or prohibitive for some. Now you can still learn with us from the comfort of your own desk or home!

Live stream tickets allow you to stream the main event from your mobile device or computer. We hope to offer a live chat and online community aspect as well, so you don’t miss out on making connections and meeting some new friends.

If you want to purchase a live stream ticket, just go to the event page, scroll to the bottom of the page to register, and choose the Live Stream option. You’ll receive the link the week of the event.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to hit reply.

I hope you can join us!

Toward healing and wholeness,

Brian Lee
founder & executive director

————————————

Conference
Thur, Sept 26

For pastors and church leaders, this event features pastors and authors Steve Carter (Grieve, Breathe, Receive and The Thing Beneath the Thing) and Geoff & Cyd Holsclaw (Does God Really Like Me?).

Steve will be sharing:

– from his depth of experience and pain in both working at and choosing to leave Willow Creek

– how to process our grief and lament in the light of unexpected change. 

Using a faith-based approach to attachment theory, Geoff & Cyd will talk about:

– the default assumptions we hold about others, themselves, and the world

– how they shape—differently—our feelings, thoughts, and relational experiences

– how these distorted and distorting defaults are being repaired to God’s good design so that can become churches of faith, hope, and love.

Read more and register here.
https://www.brokentobeloved.org/conference

————————————

Gathering
Fri, Sept 27

For those wounded by the church and their advocates, this event features therapist and bestselling author Aundi Kolber (Try Softer and Strong Like Water) and be hosted by yours truly.

Aundi will invite you to learn a different posture toward your pain. She’ll teach you:

– An overview of the nervous system & why trauma matters

– An exploration of a trauma informed perspective on faith as a resource in healing

– Strategies to deepen self-compassion, resilience, and the sacred work of inhabiting our Belovedness.

Read more and register here.
https://www.brokentobeloved.org/gathering

We’ll also have a few other special guests, breakout sessions, and a time to connect with others in our community.

https://www.brokentobeloved.org

Elizabeth Klein,

It seems like Telios Law’s conclusions are entirely dependent on what church leadership wants them to be. In almost all of the cases documented in the links you shared, she discounted survivors’ testimony and characterized their abuse in a way that was extremely deferential to leadership. The only exception is in the CAJ case described in the Christianity Today article, where it seems like the organization actually took steps to separate itself from the investigation, there were very active survivor advocates involved throughout the process, and Theresa’s work was reviewed by an independent third party.

So it is not surprising that one of the few times she actually found spiritual abuse in an investigation, it was done to vindicate the actions of PSC leadership. It is appalling to me that in Kimberly’s case she relied on a single person’s testimony of abuse to find PSC’s actions justified, but in her other investigations she has ignored dozens of survivors and witnesses who presented evidence of abuse.

It really is crucial to keep in mind that as a lawyer, she has an obligation to act in the best interests of her client, which is the church that hired her. She is not a prosecutor representing the general public in pursuit of justice, nor is she an independent third-party with no stake in the outcome of her investigation. I would personally love it if lawyers got completely out of the business of conducting church investigations, because I do not think it is possible to reconcile the competing fiduciary and ethical obligations.

Elizabeth Klein: The CCCC just had their General Assembly. An update was given on PSC, including a presentation of Mark Booker’s educational credentials, aiming to prove that Mark Booker has the educational equivalent of an M.Div.

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I just tried to find more information on this on the CCCC website, but the page for the annual General Assembly loops and won’t load. Is there an agenda or meeting minutes for this?
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From your comment, it sounds like the CCCC is REALLY doubling down on supporting CEO Mark Booker! Can’t a single person in power admit to being deceived by Mark? We have so many former true Elders and true Pastors who eventually saw his choices for the abuse they were… and still are…
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Ugh, how much longer will he be allowed to run roughshod over people around him?! When will we see an end to this insanity?!
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And when, when will his enablers wake up?

Tweet by Timothy Isaiah Cho:

“You know things are terribly wrong when people care more about the institution of their church than the people of their church.”

Seeking Truth: It really is crucial to keep in mind that as a lawyer, she has an obligation to act in the best interests of her client, which is the church that hired her. She is not a prosecutor representing the general public in pursuit of justice, nor is she an independent third-party with no stake in the outcome of her investigation. I would personally love it if lawyers got completely out of the business of conducting church investigations, because I do not think it is possible to reconcile the competing fiduciary and ethical obligations.

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Yes, yes, and yes! I’m trying to wrap my mind around how this work is ethical for a lawyer. I guess I need to do some more reading…
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A hypothetical: Can an abusive organization hire an attorney to conduct an “investigation” into misconduct and start interviewing victims / survivors / those with lived experience? And then give all that evidence to the organization? Isn’t the lawyer just on a fishing expedition on behalf of the organization?
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Question: What legal weight is given, if any, to such “investigations” if / when a civil or criminal case is later brought before the courts?
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On what basis can an attorney claim objectivity (to determine if evidence meets a certain level of reliability) when their work is to do what is best for their clients… the organization that hired them? Aren’t they acting as both the advocate and adjudicator / judge?
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And since Telios was hired by Park Street Church, all their evidence is turned over to CEO Mark Booker if the full report, but kept from those who are able to refute its false conclusions? That was an expensive digging operation!
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Super confused about how this practice is legal… are there no complaints to the various state board of bar overseers? Next research topic: Telios lawyers’ licensure info, bar memberships, and a search for bar complaints…
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Similarly, all the evidence that Ron Hamilton was waving around in that slim folder in his propaganda video… all that just goes to CEO Booker, his sycophant “elders,” and other cabal crew members and no one else?
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Whoever mentioned it here earlier is absolutely correct… Telios is likely to be Mark Booker’s downfall!

Headless Unicorn Guy,

P.S. Under separate cover.

“Criminal Lawyer Reacts” channel on YouTube, commenting on Alpha Male of Alpha Males Influencer Andrew Tate’s self-snitching video of “What I Want in a Lawyer”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFjPpIztTYY
9 minutes, some cussing, and Tate himself is a thoroughly-repulsive man to everyone except his starry-eyed minions/suckers (who follow him like a Celebrity Pastor’s pewsitters).

Friend of Park Street Church: .
This is all truly terrifying!And just published on August 12, 2024!
.
And wow, Rebecca Hopkins, Audrey Luhmann, Libby Magee Coles, we need them and others like them to track all that is going on and has already happened with:– CEO Mark Booker,– Anglican Church of North America,– Church of the Cross,– Park Street Church,– Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary,– Christianity Today, and– Westminster Theological Seminary….
.
… am I forgetting any institutions that are helping circle the wagons?Oh, all the local pastor-friends and Mark’s good buddy, Ron Hamilton of the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference!
.– Ronald Hamilton, CCCC Conference Minister– Peter Balentine, CCCC Vice-President and pastor of Washington Street Baptist Church in Lynn, MA– Nick Granitsas, CCCC Past President and interim pastor at Forestdale Community Church in Malden, MA– Paul McPheeters, CCCC Northeast Regional Pastor– Jon Paul, Pastor at Free Christian Church in Andover, MA– Tom Petter, Pastor at Trinitarian Congregational Church in Wayland, MA– Terry Shanahan, CCCC Past Northeast Regional Pastor

*mouth gaping*…. And I only read the first report. I’m disgusted.

And I have long wanted to sound off about this: SO many of these issues and evidence provided have highlighted serious Human Resources issues. One, that I had wanted to discuss, but got so disgusted when I read it that I literally threw my phone across the room, was when Debbie Gallagher, our Clerk, stated that the information Mark was attempting to get from the ministers, specifically Michael in conversations he had with Shannon, where Mark brow beat Michael to give him information, was not information that was privileged, but essentially innocuous information. OK, then why did Mark need to browbeat the Michael over such information? Secondly, Shannon, was a direct report of then Associate Minister Michael’s, who is a direct report of Senior Minister Booker. I’m spelling out the hierarchy here. Therefore, if she wanted to share information with her direct manager in confidence, especially not wanting it to get back to someone who was in a position to fire her, she ABSOLUTELY had the right to do so, in the same spirit of someone going to an Employee Relations person about something similar. I don’t care if she relayed that Mark had been verbally abusive, or that Mark had a weird nose and she hated how he dressed. The point was, Shannon had every right to share with a minister she felt safe with her concerns about someone in leadership with whom she had a conflict. End of story.

If Shannon and Michael would be willing to speak to this, they should drag this leadership team through court as they sorely deserve. I’m furious, that they would publish something like that in a letter to the congregation, something such clear garbage when it comes to Human Resource practices and basic common sense. It is painfully clear that they think they are untouchable because they are a church and they think that they have different rules to follow. In fact, they think they’re so untouchable that they wrote something this asinine in a letter to the congregation. And apparently, they’re not wrong because the CCCC didn’t find this to be a problem either, not that any of them have any expertise in employment law, not that you should need it. This is common sense that an employee has a right to express concerns to another manager, even if hypothetically it were a manager above her own manager,(which is not the case in this scenario) and do so with the expectation that the information will not be shared if she does not desire it to be. Of course, in a case of sexual or physical abuse, the manager would be required to report it to the authorities. I hope to God that there are some people in government or lawyers who are reading this stuff and are paying attention.

In this one example alone, Mark clearly abused his authority, and the church leadership and the CCCC denominational leadership just covered for him with a weak excuse that was total bull. You better believe I’m flipping livid. It’s one thing when management in a corporation lies to cover their leadership, which is an abuse of trust, but when it’s in Christian leadership and at several levels, I’m absolutely beside myself because they are not just deceiving the congregation, they are driving Christians away from Christ because now they cannot even trust their own church leaders, and the deceitful leadership tarnishes the image of Christ.

In Old Testament times people would have torn their clothes over such deception if they found it among their people. Me? All I can do is languish in my rage and, of course, pray that God would restore sanity to Park Street Church.

NAAH:
Susan Lane,

Hi, Susan Lane andFriend of PSC
Please let me know where this was published on 8/12/24,
also send me the original link.
It is shocking but I wish to make sure I read it correctly.
Thanks

https://open.substack.com/pub/rhopkins/p/why-i-an-investigative-journalist?r=615qq&utm_medium=ios

NAAH,

Are you referring to the August 12th substack article about Telios Law? https://rhopkins.substack.com/p/why-i-an-investigative-journalist

Friend of Park Street Church,
Susan Lane,
shellshocked,

Dear Shellshocked, (and Susan, Friend of PSC, Seeking Truth)
Your link is winderful because it allows me to understand how tricky Telios Law can be– to pervert rather than promote justice: in the case of PSC, for our beloved Pastor Kim Morrison, who graciously kept silent for 3 years till the congregational vote was required on 6/2/24.
However, I am specifically hoping to see whether there is a public article exposing the following ‘network’ of highly-respected institutions on which the PSC congregation for many decades have trusted for spiritual integrity and love and justice, as reported by the blog of Friend of PSC on 8/17/24 — as shown below– NAMING REAL NAMES OF PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS!

This is all truly terrifying!And just published on August 12, 2024!.
And wow, Rebecca Hopkins, Audrey Luhmann, Libby Magee Coles, we need them and others like them to track all that is going on and has already happened with:– CEO Mark Booker,– Anglican Church of North America,– Church of the Cross,– Park Street Church,– Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary,– Christianity Today, and– Westminster Theological Seminary….
.
… am I forgetting any institutions that are helping circle the wagons?Oh, all the local pastor-friends and Mark’s good buddy, Ron Hamilton of the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference!
.– Ronald Hamilton, CCCC Conference Minister– Peter Balentine, CCCC Vice-President and pastor of Washington Street Baptist Church in Lynn, MA– Nick Granitsas, CCCC Past President and interim pastor at Forestdale Community Church in Malden, MA– Paul McPheeters, CCCC Northeast Regional Pastor– Jon Paul, Pastor at Free Christian Church in Andover, MA– Tom Petter, Pastor at Trinitarian Congregational Church in Wayland, MA– Terry Shanahan, CCCC Past Northeast Regional Pastor

SNB alum: Elders eventually stand for (re)election.In the meantime, make sure that the Bylaws aren’t revised to change that; e.g., lifetime appointments.It’s a waiting game that the Congregation can only lose if enough members abandon ship.

Yes, but how do you make sure that PSC’s bylaws aren’t revised? By submitting yet another petition that just gets ignored?

PSC’s bylaws have already been interpreted in whatever way leadership deems convenient. PSC’s new Bylaws Committee will only serve to streamline that process.

And sure, elders eventually have to be reelected. But who’s to say that a new slate of elders wouldn’t be just as loyal as the current one is? Look what the Nominating Committee did this past year. What the Personnel Committee did. Etc. etc.

The whole culture of PSC has to change. The whole heart of leadership has to change. And that’s after a real, independent investigation into spiritual abuse allegations.

Scot McKnight says that a church only turns around from toxic to tov (good, healthy) after at least seven years of painfully honest, grueling soul work – and that’s AFTER church leaders recognize that they’ve gone the wrong way and must do a 180.

PSC leaders aren’t even there yet. They’re not even close. They’re just doubling down.

I think it’s still very much worth exposing PSC for what they are, and what they really believe (not just what they say they believe), which is made clear by their rotten fruit.

Because PSC is not a safe church, and outsiders should be protected.

Those still on the inside who are wounded and have been fighting the good fight, at great cost: PSC’s turnaround is NOT on your shoulders! Shake the dust off your feet, and move on. Worship where you are valued, as a redeemed and precious image-bearer of God. Where you can grow, and also serve and contribute.

Go where people can see Christ as work within you, not where you’re accused of doing the devil’s work because you say inconvenient things that the leadership prefers to shove under the carpet.

Go where you actually can “cheerfully submit” to your church’s leaders, without stifling your Spirit-given conscience.

Tweet by Timothy Isaiah Cho:

“Is your church a place that will take whistleblowing seriously no matter how it is done? Even if the way the truth comes out is done wrongly, the church should not let that affect how it handles the truth.

Too often, churches are only concerned about the way the truth comes out and not the substance of that truth.”

Elizabeth Klein:
But who’s to say that a new slate of elders wouldn’t be just as loyal as the current one is?

as loyal *to Mark Booker* as the current slate of elders is

dee: I am deeply concerned about Telios. Their approach appears similar to MinistryWatch, which many believe is merely a protection for the church. We experienced a similar situation when Jules Woodson’s case was blowing up. The church and her abuser, Andy Savage, got MinistryWatch involved. However, it was too late, and things were spiraling towards savage stepping down. We received a call from a Ministry Watch person asking if we could contact Jules Woodson about them. “It’s an emergency,” they said. They seemed to be attempting to stall Savage’s resignation, so we did not reply. Savage resigned hours later. A group of us does not recommend that group, which, on their website, states they are there for the protection of churches, not the victims.

Dee, how are you???

I think you might mean MinistrySafe?

Ministry Watch is Warren Cole Smith’s operation.

NAAH: However, I am specifically hoping to see whether there is a public article exposing the following ‘network’ of highly-respected institutions on which the PSC congregation for many decades have trusted for spiritual integrity and love and justice, as reported by the blog of Friend of PSC on 8/17/24 — as shown below– NAMING REAL NAMES OF PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS!

Hi, hi, NAAH! I am hoping someone involved will be willing to “go on the record” about this and that a journalist will publish an investigative article on this. To summarize posts above:
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(1) There are credible sources that report that the president of GCTS called CT to criticize their first or second or both articles about Park Street Church. There is no follow up coverage from CT… which is weird given all that has happened since the second article. I don’t know when Scott called CT (after both articles or just the first one.)
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(2) The VC council names are already public as well as their various churches and the CCCC. Their support of Mark is glowing… I hope that Ron is the driving force behind protecting his mentee Mark, but it would take someone on the VC to break ranks with Ron to say so. Additionally, Pete’s comments at the “Informational Meeting,” or “DARVO Bingo Night,” recently show he still agrees with Ron that Mark is the victim in all of this.
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(3) AFTER all the rot has been revealed at PSC, representatives from GCTS and Westminster Seminary have supported CEO Booker by preaching at PSC and not criticizing him publicly. One even said, “this is a great church!” Or something to that effect. Their alliance with CEO Booker is public and still available on YouTube.
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(4) Anglican Church of North America ordained CEO Booker with his lack of adequate credentials. I’m not sure if anyone has contacted their leadership directly to ask what was on his CV at the time.
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(5) Church of the Cross is one of CEO Booker’s former employers. It’s clear Mark lied about founding / planting this church and then fired the real pastor who did. I mentioned this church because they have likely suffered under Mark’s leadership as well. Abusers do NOT abuse once or in one setting. They are unwell, hurt those they calculate they can without consequences or detection, and WILL continue to do so until they are stopped and get the medical care they desperately need.
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(6) I’d like to go back and find CEO Booker’s full CV… wasn’t he at a church in the Washington D.C. area before moving up to Boston? And in Colorado before that? Basically, the current wreckage in Boston Is unlikely the first time Mark has been so willfully dishonest, destructive, deceitful, despicable, incompetent, and ABUSIVE.
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In summary, we need to know more. If there are witnesses, victims / survivors / those who have lived experiences, insiders, former Booker-loyalists who have had the scales fall from their eyes and have seen clearly, we hope some, many if possible, will go on the record together.
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HOWEVER, surviving abuse means your self agency was taken away from you and you were used for the benefit of others for their own goals / plans / interests. Survivors do not OWE anyone else anything in regard to whistleblowing! If there are any who, within the context of good and safe self-care have the bandwidth to speak out, great! But those of us who already SEE, can be involved in whistleblowing even if we aren’t able to be first person sources for investigative journalism.
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In the meantime, Mark needs to be stopped so that his reach of soul-damaging choices is curtailed as soon as possible. There are already waaaay too many “bodies behind the bus!” To quote non-pastor Mark Driscoll… another deeply disturbed and sick man who needs to get medical help.
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I hope this helps clarify the lists I posted above. I’m naming names because organizations are made up of real people… people who are responsible for what the organization does. If they don’t agree with what is going on, in their OWN name, they need to part ways or speak up or both. They are legally liable and should be named publicly for the record.
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In closing, I’d be overjoyed to correct the record if anyone named above is willing to speak out against how their names are being used to enable the abuse starting with and radiating out from Mark Booker. Until then, they are on the growing and disgusting list of dangerous enablers of abuse.

THERESA LYNN SIDEBOTHAM

Theresa Lynn Sidebotham is admitted to practice law in the states of Colorado and Texas, the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS).
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She is not licensed to practice in Massachusetts.
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I will look up her Texas, Tenth Circuit, and SCOTUS history soon. Below is Colorado and Massachusetts information.
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————————————-
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Colorado Supreme Court – Attorney Information
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Name License Status Registration / Bar Number
SIDEBOTHAM, THERESA LYNN  Active 36713
Is in Private Practice
Carries Professional Liability Insurance
Yes Yes
(What does this mean? – Click Here for more information)
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Admission Date: 10/25/2005
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Business Information
Phone Fax
855-748-4201 
775-248-8147 
Firm Name
Telios Law PLLC 
Business Address
P.O. Box 3488 
MONUMENT, CO 80132
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There is no public disciplinary history on file for this attorney within the state of Colorado.
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https://www.coloradosupremecourt.com/Search/Attinfo.asp?Regnum=36713
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————————————-
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The United States District Court for the District of Colorado
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Attorney Status
.
https://www.cod.uscourts.gov/CMECF/AttorneyStatus.aspx
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Theresa Lynn Sidebotham
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Telios Law PLLC
P.O. Box 3488
19925 Monument Hill Road
Monument, CO 80132
.
Email: tls@telioslaw.com
Phone: 719-271-2342
Fax: 775-248-8147
Admission Status: In Good Standing
Fee Status: paid
Date of Admission: 7/20/2009
.
————————————-
.
Look Up An Attorney | Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers
.
Click on each Attorney for more details.
.
First name: [null]
Last name: Sidebotham
.
Your search did not return any results. Please refine your search and try again.
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https://www.massbbo.org/s/attorney-lookup
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————————————-
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Here is her extensive profile page on the Telios Law website.
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https://telioslaw.com/our-team/theresa-lynn-sidebotham

Friend of Park Street Church,

Friend of Park Street Church,

Hi Friend of PSC———- and all siblings in Christ on TWW
May the Lord bless you for digging out the details ‘to satisfy my curiosity’ 🙂

The real (and probably the ‘ONLY’ reason) I need the info is: My longest and dearest friend at PSC told me last week, plainly and honestly, to confirm full support of the SM. In the good old days sometimes after am service we go to XY’s office to enjoy the beautiful view of Boston Common, sharing the homemade lunch warmed up by microwave. But we have not met in person in the past year.

End of 2023 when I doubted if K Morrison resigned, I emailed XY, who said absolutely it was a voluntary departure. I assumed this was necessary for job security. XY has complicated personal burdens. she had to say this for job security– with multiple chronic burdens. I made no further comment or inquiry.

I rarely get sick. But was struck with a violent GI bug around the same time Dee got COVID. Could not go out or do anything at home except sit at the PC. Last week surpised by XY’s email– Have not seen you at PSC > 1 year. How are you?

This sentence in a hymn keeps circling in my mind: ‘That He who made all nations is not willing one soul should perish, lost in shades of night.’ Maybe, I am the only person XY would patiently listen to —- by the grace of God.

Before I answer XY, I must pray for wisdom, gentleness and love. Hope you (and others) will provide precise, specific truthful info on the firing of Kim. I dont want XY to get fired…having served even before Gordon arrived.

Our SM or Jason may read this blog of course: no problem— I am speaking the truth which will make us free.

Tim Leary resigned.

Well, if Pastor Booker ever wanted Park Street to be a one-man-show this may be as close as he’ll ever get.

It’s sad news, and I’m tempted to post the laundry list of ministers, with their titles and years of service, that have been either terminated or pushed into resignations because of our bullying, highly unethical Senior Minister Mark Booker, but there may be a silver lining to this dark cloud. Stay tuned.

The following is an email from the Senior Minister of Park Street Church, Mark Booker:

August 20, 2024

Dear Park Street,

I’m writing to let you know that Tim Leary has resigned from his role as Director of Graduate Student Ministries. I want to thank Tim for his 14 years of service in this role, and I do encourage all of us to pray for Tim, Sarah, and their four kids, as Tim continues to minister full time with InterVarsity. Pray for God’s blessing upon the Leary family and upon Tim’s ministry.

Many of you will know that for about thirty years Park Street has partnered with Cru and Intervarsity in ministering to undergraduate (Cru) and graduate students (IV) on the campuses of Boston. As a part of those partnerships, we have designated a Cru staff member (most recently Tammy) and an IV staff member (most recently Tim) as directors of undergraduate and graduate ministry, respectively, at Park Street Church. While the directors have not been on our payroll, they have been partners with us in ministry to students and assisted in Sunday services, and we have supported them in their ministries on campus.

The only regular ministry at the church focused solely on graduates or undergraduates is the weekly lunch that we offer for undergraduate students following the 11:00 AM service. That ministry has been on break this summer, but it will be resuming in September coordinated by two volunteers. During this transition period, Leonard Mosiah, Minister to Youth, will be providing oversight for our ministry to undergraduates.

Ministry to undergraduate and graduate students remains a priority for us. We are very grateful for the fruitful partnerships that we have enjoyed with Cru and IV over the past few decades, and, as we look to the future, we want to take some time to discern the best way forward for our community’s ministry to students. We invite you to pray for godly discernment.

As always, but particularly at this moment, if you meet graduate or undergraduate students at one of our worship services, please be sure to welcome them. Consider taking them out to coffee or lunch—or even inviting them to your home for a home-cooked meal! If they’re an undergraduate, encourage them to make plans to join other students for lunch after the 11:00 AM service. If they’re an international student, invite them to Park Street International Fellowship which meets on Sundays from 1:00 to 3:30 PM in the Fellowship Hall. Also, note that our annual University Sunday, where we highlight our heart for students and faculty, is taking place next month on September 15. Let’s work together to embrace the students among us.

I look forward to seeing you at church camp later this week or at worship on Sunday.

In Christ,
Mark

Janice g: Friend of PSC on 8/17/24 — do you have an internet address for this?…or is the petitioner’s website.

Hi, Janice G. I am happy to clarify… Can you be more specific? I’m just not sure I understand your question. Sorry! But glad to give more info if I have it!

Friend of Park Street Church,

this comes from naah on 8/18 513pm

However, I am specifically hoping to see whether there is a public article exposing the following ‘network’ of highly-respected institutions on which the PSC congregation for many decades have trusted for spiritual integrity and love and justice, as reported by the blog of Friend of PSC on 8/17/24 — as shown below– NAMING REAL NAMES OF PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS!

The reality is that each time Mark pushes a minister out, their ministry will languish. City engagement pales in comparison to what it was under Kimberley (though COVID certainly created greater needs and more opportunities). Mark already had pulled Damian away from Cafe to focus on his regional fiefdom. Given that Mark has expressed a desire to ax Tuesday Cafe and the ambiguity of a previous communication, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear if Cafe were to be eliminated entirely. As I’ve said before, Polo can try his best but most at PSIF understand how poorly Ray was treated. Tammy is employed with Cru and her (and Tim’s) position at PSC was different than other ministers. Cru staff have been the connectors between PSC and local college students, but I don’t see them recommending their students to attend PSC right now. I would imagine Tim/IV would be similar with grad students. This is why Mark is calling for congregants to especially welcome these groups, because they are losing their best recruiters. Though cancelling the 4pm was already a signal that “young people need not attend” PSC unless they like hymns and rigidly traditional services.

Here’s a Kansas City Star article about IHOPKC’s concerns about hiring Telios Law:

https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article291229595.html

The top of the article says:

“Reality Check is a Star series holding those with power to account and shiny a light on their decisions. Have a suggestion for a future story? Email our journalists at RealityCheck@kcstar.com.”

Observant Outsider:
The reality is that each time Mark pushes a minister out, their ministry will languish. City engagement pales in comparison to what it was under Kimberley (though COVID certainly created greater needs and more opportunities). Mark already had pulled Damian away from Cafe to focus on his regional fiefdom. Given that Mark has expressed a desire to ax Tuesday Cafe and the ambiguity of a previous communication, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear if Cafe were to be eliminated entirely. As I’ve said before, Polo can try his best but most at PSIF understand how poorly Ray was treated. Tammy is employed with Cru and her (and Tim’s) position at PSC was different than other ministers. Cru staff have been the connectors between PSC and local college students, but I don’t see them recommending their students to attend PSC right now. I would imagine Tim/IV would be similar with grad students. This is why Mark is calling for congregants to especially welcome these groups, because they are losing their best recruiters. Though cancelling the 4pm was already a signal that “young people need not attend” PSC unless they like hymns and rigidly traditional services.

And of course, we know why the young people are getting pushed out; because they tend to be more outspoken, less disciplined about tithing, and less supportive of the more formal strict traditional values and structure (though not all.) It is very clear that Mark and his elder board dittoheads like and demand complicity because they’re narrow-minded who think that they have a command on God‘s full will and intent for Park Street Church, which we know, is fluid, flexible, and can be spoken through a member at any level in the church, just as the Holy Spirit can work through any member at any level of the church.

But the joke’s on Mark Booker and his dittoheads, because now they are very much in over their heads, with 1/4 of their original ministry staff, attendance atrophy, offering atrophy, and atrophy of the morale and trust of the congregation which they never deserved.

So, Pastor Booker, you wanted an uppity, elitist, Anglican Church, full of automatons, and you have it. But what you have lost, is the conduit to refresh membership through the younger generations, who would keep the church going for generations to come. You’re foolishness in kowtowing to the traditionalists and showing gross disrespect and disregard for The contemporary service has limited God’s reach within the community, hurt ministries that outreach to the community, hurt the conduit to new missionaries as they tend to start out in their 20s and 30s, and will likely be the death of the church. Your shortsighted desire to please the wealthy traditionalists within the church has destroyed the church as a whole. I’m sure God has a reckoning in store for you, and I don’t know what that is, or if it be spiritual or physical or both, but I hope for your sake it’s more than just a knock off a bike, and I hope this time you will listen to Him and let God lead instead of forcing your stubborn agenda upon the church.

If you were truly anointed and called to this church, you would never have to begin through deception by misrepresenting yourself, nor engage in deception, forcing through your agenda, and forcing your friends and followers into staff/elder/committee positions without respecting our congregational process. No question. It is shameful that so many people in the congregation should feel so betrayed and so jaded because they are faced with a dishonest church leadership that refuses to acknowledge any wrongdoing regardless of the evidence. It is clear that your lofty educational credentials have protected you with regard to the CCCC and Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary’s and disheartening that such organizations do not take the congregation’s concerns seriously enough with such a disastrous situation happening within the church. One would hope that such vanity and shallowness would not make its way into Christian organizations, but clearly it does. I know in my heart of hearts, that you and the people who are protecting you are testing God, and I don’t want to be there when he knocks you off that pedestal.

Elizabeth Klein: Here’s a Kansas City Star article about IHOPKC’s concerns about hiring Telios Law:
https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article291229595.html
The top of the article says:
“Reality Check is a Star series holding those with power to account and shiny a light on their decisions. Have a suggestion for a future story? Email our journalists at RealityCheck@kcstar.com.”

Thank you for finding this!
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A quote from Sidebotham showing she is the judge or adjudicator of what meets the standard of proof in her “investigations” into abuse. She can argue that the evidence does or does not meet a particular standard, but she can’t be both the hired attorney for an organization and a neutral judge of her clients.
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“It’s understandable that persons would be hurt and upset if their specific allegations could not be substantiated,” she said. “Unfortunately, it’s impossible for every investigation to substantiate all allegations. That does not necessarily mean a determination that the allegation is false, only that we did not meet the standard of proof of preponderance of the evidence.”
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Those with concerns and who have been personally affected, it’s worth it to consider a complaint to the board of bar overseers. This needs to stop happening under the appearance of practicing law.

“… Forgiveness is not the absence of accountability or boundaries. Accountability and boundaries are acts of love, which hold offenders to the fullness of the image of God in them.

Forgiveness is not the same as reconciliation or restoration of relationship. Sometimes forgiveness is only possible when we walk away from relationship…

Forgiveness leads us to life, not death. If what’s being required of you forces you closer to situations that put you in danger – physically, emotionally, spiritually, or psychologically – that’s not biblical forgiveness.

These points are simple, but they’re lacking in many churches. Every Christian survivor of abuse I know, male and female, has been told to ‘forgive’ and stay in abusive relationships by church people. One man I know was told, ‘Forgive [your abuser], or die trying.’

This work is about saving lives.”

_____________

Wise words by Susannah Griffith, author of the book Forgiveness after Trauma.

Something for wounded PSCers to keep in mind, as PSC goes down the road of so-called healing by shoving the rot under the carpet and trashing the motives of whistleblowers – beginning with that solemn assembly that the Vicinage Council ignorantly recommended.

Griffith’s book on biblical forgiveness is incredible. I learned so much. I totally agree with Griffith, that a lot of Christians have lousy theologies of forgiveness and reconciliation. I expect those lousy theologies to be coming to a theater near you at PSC.

“Every time we treat someone with dignity rather than shame, respect rather than disregard, concern rather than exploitation, kindness rather than brutality and careful attention rather than turning away – we are doing things that are the reverse of trauma and evil.”

– Dr. Diane Langberg

vs. Paul McPheeters of the Vicinage Council at PSC’s Informational Meeting (paraphrase):

“Don’t use phrases like ‘spiritual abuse’ because it just unhelpfully raises the temperature of communication at PSC.”

In other words, DO turn away from paying careful attention to all of the sinful actions by PSC leaders. The exact opposite of what is needed to heal trauma.

By all means, totally deny the possibility that spiritual abuse could even be occurring at PSC. Make absolutely sure it’s not investigated by qualified by experts at GRACE, which has real spiritual abuse experts such as Dr. Lisa Oakley & Dr. Wade Mullen on their team.

A Former Member of PSC,

Dear Former PSC member
Grateful for your warning. But XY is absolutely the opposite of whom you guessed. Never wants or tries to be a leader. Very quiet, subdued, having went thru life w/ so much detours since birth—confident God alone is trustworthy. I am afraid XY is caught in Satan’s snare blindfolded. Please pray for XY

Anyway: As I read thru your blog, I had to re-live the writhing agony in the past year. My spiritual mentor instructed me not to quit PSC, in order to retain the right to vote. Look what happened to the 6/2/24 vote. I was baptized as an infant but never officially joined a church till 1986 at PSC. The PSC debacle is much more devastating to me than looking at the US political atmosphere now— having ‘pledged allegiance to the Flag ‘ as a naturalized citizen in 1985. We must keep the faith: do what is humanly possible, and leave the impossible to God. Amen

Elizabeth Klein:
“Every time we treat someone with dignity rather than shame, respect rather than disregard, concern rather than exploitation, kindness rather than brutality and careful attention rather than turning away – we are doing things that are the reverse of trauma and evil.”

– Dr. Diane Langberg

vs. Paul McPheeters of the Vicinage Council at PSC’s Informational Meeting (paraphrase):

“Don’t use phrases like ‘spiritual abuse’ because it just unhelpfully raises the temperature of communication at PSC.”

In other words, DO turn away from paying careful attention to all of the sinful actions by PSC leaders. The exact opposite of what is needed to heal trauma.

By all means, totally deny the possibility that spiritual abuse could even be occurring at PSC. Make absolutely sure it’s not investigated by qualified by experts at GRACE, which has real spiritual abuse experts such as Dr. Lisa Oakley & Dr. Wade Mullen on their team.

Ugh! Seriously, I don’t even have to look for the definition of spiritual abuse, nor crack a book on the topic to know that Park Street is clinically guilty of spiritual abuse. All you have to do is look at how they have circumvented so many of the congregation’s questions about Mark’s behavior, or petitions to have meetings that have been waylaid until after decisions have been made, and then the manipulative way Mark and the BoE tried to get everyone to feel sorry for Mark and affirm his leadership when no one even had any real information to go off of except his very poor performance as minister thus far, and his wife’s soft and flowery message about what a wonderful husband and father Mark was – only serving to make us feel even more guilty for assessing his ethics and job performance. (I don’t fault her, I fault Mark and Andrew Ziegler who put her up to that. She was just speaking from the heart, but the point was it was grossly inappropriate in a congregational meeting where we were assessing whether or not Mark should continue in his employment with Park Street.) Of course the elder board denies his poor performance, and pretends that it’s all a product of past leadership. Right. But the sickest part of that meeting was elder Kirsten Peltz getting up, when people are raising issues about lies, bullying, deception, and abuse that have happened behind the scenes at PSC under Mark’s leadership, and she read a scripture about “needing to obey one’s leaders.“ Well, that’s what Hitler told everybody, too, but he didn’t forward the idea that God was endorsing it. Kirsten did, as did Nathan Skinner, who selected a closing hymn about “obeying the Lord.” Using God as an excuse to force congregants not to question unethical behavior, is very much spiritual abuse. Hello Paul McPheeters?

Let me share a phrase with you that might interest you: ”Conflicting Truth”

“Should people respect authority?” Well sure. “Should people call out leaders who are bullying subordinates and behaving unethically?” Of course. Both phrases are true, but the way you both used phrase number one was manipulative, and intended to silence and suppress people who had been hurt by Mark’s actions AND you claimed that God was endorsing your statement. My friends, that IS spiritual abuse, and it appears to be systemic in Park Street Church, as we’ve heard accounts of many, many examples from former ministers and former elders, who troubled themselves to put them in writing, thank God, so you can no longer tell us that we’re imagining things.

Thank you, Elizabeth for bringing all this to the forefront, along with such great research and insight into the Telios scandal also.

Park Street is clearly very lost right now, and the Christian organizations who are protecting them from dealing with the truth in the name of saving face are not helping. I don’t know what good will come of all the information coming out but I think the healthiest thing for anyone to do is to steer clear of Park Street right now. I hope at some point they will have the courage to confront their own sinfulness, and to “come to the altar” in repentance, where “the father‘s arms are open wide” as Cory Ashbury of Elevation Worship sings in his rendition of “Come to the Altar.” Link to the song below.

https://youtu.be/rYQ5yXCc_CA?si=fMRoKtEbk-_9rzZr

Susan Lane:

… Park Street is clearly very lost right now, and the Christian organizations who are protecting them from dealing with the truth in the name of saving face are not helping. I don’t know what good will come of all the information coming out but I think the healthiest thing for anyone to do is to steer clear of Park Street right now…

Totally agree.

Tweet by Robin Jester Wootton:

“The hubris of some [Christian] leaders these days to insist they are defending the faith or shepherding the kingdom is really astounding. They have forgotten that the only sacrifice that counts in the kingdom of Jesus is self-sacrifice, not throwing anyone else under the bus.”

Max,

I wouldn’t know Max, I haven’t been allowed to set foot on the premises since I spoke out at the Easter service.

Susan Lane,

Dear Susan:

Praise the Lord for this SILVER LINING!
Let us pray this PSC remnant will flourish exponentially by the grace of God.
Please let us know all possible ways we can support it.

NAAH

Susan Lane,

Sounds like church to me!

Max,
Elizabeth Klein,
dee,

Ah! Don’t you guys realize the Lord is answering Susan’s ‘incriminating’ question on Easter Sunday?! The Elephants (n=5, trunks and all) have migrated over here, from the other side of the Hill (where Susan was expelled).

JESUS is calling: If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. I am the good shepherd: I know my sheep, and my sheep know me.

Just as I am, Thou wilt receive, wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
because Thy promise I believe, O Lamb of God, I come.

000000000000000

Sardis: Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them.

Thank you so much for pointing us to these verses!
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This text is sandwiched in between, and understood in the context of these related topics.
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Matthew 7:12-29
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The Golden Rule
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[12] “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
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[13] “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. [14] For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
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A Tree and Its Fruit
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[15] “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. [16] You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? [17] So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. [18] A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. [19] Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. [20] Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
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I Never Knew You
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[21] “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. [22] On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ [23] And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
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Build Your House on the Rock
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[24] “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. [25] And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. [26] And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. [27] And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
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The Authority of Jesus
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[28] And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, [29] for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

NAAH:
Max,
Elizabeth Klein,
dee,

Ah! Don’t you guys realize the Lord is answering Susan’s ‘incriminating’ question on Easter Sunday?! The Elephants (n=5, trunks and all) have migrated over here, from the other side of the Hill (where Susan was expelled).

JESUS is calling: If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. I am the good shepherd: I know my sheep, and my sheep know me.

Just as I am, Thou wilt receive, wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
because Thy promise I believe, O Lamb of God, I come.

000000000000000

Thanks NAAH. I want you to know that when I heard them announce they had finally set up a new location for our “fellowship“ (a church according to the law, but it’s structure is a bit different) tears started streaming down my face. It was hard to stick my neck out and speak up at that Easter service, hard to deal with the backlash that I received at that service, and hard knowing that so many people were talking behind my back. I knew some would be talking about my diagnosis which some people who know my testimony judge me solely by, and saying that my “outburst“ and rebellion against the leadership was a product of that and perhaps my poor upbringing, not the fierce sense of injustice that I felt by watching the Senior Minister tear apart a church family.

There were times when I questioned my actions, but God reassured me many times over with emails from people I didn’t even know thanking me for my courage, the five ministers, themselves, thanking me in person, and of course, so many of you who have been so supportive. And truly, there were so many others who stood up against the PSC leadership before I did, either overtly or behind closed doors like elders Cindy Cutlip (truly, being one of the first,) John Knight, Leslie Liu, Yannick Assogba, ministers Tim Leary, Julian Linnell, Tammy McLeod, Damien Long, and Ray Kam, and former ministers Kris Perkins and Kimberley Morrison, then so many others to follow. I knew I wasn’t acting just upon my own observations, and my heart knew that my actions were Holy Spirit-inspired.

But I began to cry when it was announced that we had confirmed the new location, and all five ministers would be joining us, because when I stood in front of that congregation on Easter, I said with authority, “I am not losing one more minister to this man,” speaking of Mark Booker. God made it so.

Tweet by Hannah Oliver:

“Spiritual abuse is the misuse of power with the intent to control or manipulate another person. This abuse is especially sinister in that it intends to harm the person by coercively controlling the victim. It leaves scars of the soul, and has just as much impact on person as other forms of abuse.”

Susan Lane,

Dear Susan:

John 7:37-38 (AKJV) In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

I love watching wildlife documentaries with elephants on a family trip. The leader’s long thin tail ends with a tuft on which the next elephant’s trunk is meticulously secured. Never too tight or too loose—just happy campers strolling along in rhythm.

In my frontal lobe, I formatted a funny video which I must share with you: Five seasoned PSC ministers endowed richly with His Word but side-lined for 5 months! Do you know how much water can be stored in each belly? In His time, our Lord gave the Marching Order first to Damian, then Ray and Julian, Tamny and finally Tim— holding (but not pulling) tails. We the long-suffering PSC congregation shall be joyfully and thoroughly showered and blossom into whatever fruit the Holy Spirit wants us to yield, for His Glory !

Observant Outsider:
Hi Susan, is there a way that one can donate to this new church? I’m sure I’m not the only Wartburg member that would be interested in supporting the community.

I’m sure there is, but I would have to find out from one of the leaders. I’ll shoot them an email and see what I can find out. Thank you so much! So thoughtful!

Observant Outsider: My prediction is that this new church will thrive while PSC languishes.

That’s usually what happens when some knucklehead messes the last one up.

OK gang,
FYI our new gathering is called Restoration Fellowship, and you can find more information about when to attend an opportunities to give at the website here:

https://www.restorationfellowshipboston.org

I hope to see you all there!

Be blessed today!
~Susan

I’ve been reading a number of things on the national domestic violence (DV) website recently. DV includes coercive control, emotional abuse, psychological abuse, and spiritual abuse. Those who witness the abuse are often survivors as well.
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Here I are a few short resources from this organization that have really helped me.
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The Importance of Self-Care – The Hotline
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https://www.thehotline.org/resources/the-importance-of-self-care/
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When Your Family Member Abuses Their Partner | The Hotline <— this one is helping me process watching a pastor or “pastor” abuse people within the community of people following Jesus.
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https://www.thehotline.org/resources/when-your-family-member-abuses-their-partner/
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5 Powerful Self-Care Tips for Abuse and Trauma Survivors – The Hotline
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By Shahida Arabi
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https://www.thehotline.org/resources/5-powerful-self-care-tips-for-abuse-and-trauma-survivors/
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“Shahida Arabi is a graduate of Columbia University graduate school and the bestselling author of The Smart Girl's Guide to Self-Care and Becoming the Narcissist's Nightmare, a #1 Amazon bestseller. Her work has been featured on The Huffington Post, The National Domestic Violence Hotline, MOGUL and Thought Catalog.”

PSA: GRACE is holding a FREE webinar on Monday morning, September 16 at 10 AM.

Description:

“Join Wade Mullen and Chuck DeGroat as they delve into the urgent need to transform toxic church systems. They will explore how pastors and congregations can move beyond survival mode to foster deeper character formation and systemic renewal.”

Chuck DeGroat is a familiar name to many TWWers. He’s an author, spiritual director & licensed therapist, who specializes in issues of abuse & trauma, and pastoral & leadership health.

Dr. Mullen is the author of the book Something’s Not Right: Decoding the Hidden Tactics of Abuse–and Freeing Yourself from Its Power. Mullen’s dissertation was about the image repair tactics that evangelical institutions resort to while in crisis mode.

I would highly recommend their spiritual wisdom & counseling expertise to you Restoration Fellowship folks!

Here’s the link to register: https://buff.ly/477arc4

Elizabeth Klein,

Thanks for the link, Elizabeth! I will pass it on. Sounds like good information for any church organization. Feel free to stop by and visit if you’re ever in the area!

Max,

Hi Max:

We do look back in order to learn how we made each mistake (not to blame others) but praying for the Lord to renew our spirit with repentence, humility, wisdom and courage to serve him better every tomorrow. CS Lewis’ ‘The Great Divorce’ is a book I treasure more and more as I grow older and older. Most interestingly, Lewis even laughed at himself by ‘reporting’ his meeting w/ his guardian angel, George Macdonald ! Since then I bought many of G. Macdonald’s books– hope you will read at least one of them.
Lead on, O King eternal, till sin’s fierce war shall cease,
And holiness shall whisper the sweet amen of peace.
For not with swords loud clashing, nor roll of stirring drums,
But deeds of love and mercy, the heavenly kingdom comes.

Susan Lane: GO back

It occurred to me once while reading Scripture that God told Abraham to “Go” … while his son Isaac was commanded to “Stay” … and to Isaac’s son Jacob, He said “Go back.”

Likewise, I suppose the call on each believer is different when it comes to hearing and obeying God … go, stay, or go back. If we don’t see His hand in a particular ministry – with men in control and not God, “Go” would be the appropriate response, IMO. Some of us might be in a bad situation, but hear God saying “I’m about to do something new there … Stay”. Others might miss God altogether, come to our spiritual senses, and are called to “Go back.” The tension created when we get in such snags help us to grow in Christ if we listen carefully and follow Him.

Susan Lane:
Elizabeth Klein,

Thanks for the link, Elizabeth! I will pass it on. Sounds like good information for any church organization. Feel free to stop by and visit if you’re ever in the area!

Thank you, Susan. I think the GRACE webinar will be an amazing resource for any church & I’m glad I can make this one.

I would love to visit Restoration Fellowship!

I miss my own church after a summer away & look forward to reconnecting & getting my bearings as a new deacon there. But once the fall is well underway, I plan to come visit RF sometime.

Susan Lane,

Max,

Elizabeth Klein,

Dear All
I am only a lay PSC member without seminary training, never a leader, never can be. However, I am always thanked the Lord for the faithful service of these 6 ex-PSC ministers, whom I have known and respected for decades. Therefore, regardless of the reason(s) each of them left PSC, I am determined to leave the details behind. Trusting in God’s mercy and promise, I will simply and prayerfully join all the believers in this new fellowship, to run together upwards and forwards with our eyes fixed on Jesus our Savior.

Max,

A resounding EXACTLY to both of you. They need to stop diminishing what was done and pretending that the congregation is just overreacting. meet the problem, head-on and address it. But now they’ve spent so many months, denying multiple issues I’m sure they feel like they have too much to lose to admit that, yes, Mark did use his position to bully the other ministers, to coerce information from the other ministers that he should not be privy to, to force his own picks into various positions in ministry leadership, with total disregard to our congregational process, to stack the deck for himself. Let me tell you, had I known that the present Missions Treasurer had not been vetted by the Missions Committee properly there’s no way I would’ve voted for her. I think many, and the congregation would feel the same, and honestly, if they were an ethical organization, they would admit the error and make her step down. The Nominating Committee (NomCom) gave us this big lengthy treatise on all the hard work and prayer and discernment that goes into their decisions and why their picks were so much better than the Petitioners, and then *BAM* you get someone on the Annual Meeting ballot who hadn’t even been appropriately vetted by the Missions Committee. Sorry guys, you can’t spin horse apples into gold on this one.

I have known Brian Lacey for many years, and have priced his friendship, but when these things are called out and you get someone running up to the microphone to say how wonderful everyone is, and how hard-working and prayerful everyone is, is not helpful. The fact is even good people get deceived by Satan sometimes, and even good people do wrong sometimes. But as Judge Judy puts it, “Denial is a river in Egypt,” and it is not going to help us get to the bottom of some of these problems that have surfaced, to repent, to atone, to make amends, and takes strides that we have accountability so these issues don’t resurface, and of course, to find true forgiveness upon true repentance.

Susan Lane:
My apologies for the many grievous typos and horrific punctuation above. I’m tired and just plain lazy at this point this evening. Sorry!

Hi Susan:
May the Lord comfort, heal and replenish you physically and spiritually, here and now.
Your question to SM on Easter Sunday, Pastor Michael Balboni’s presentation to the BoE in July 2023 and the earnest prayers by the majority of the congregation is being answered by our Lord– who inspired, nurtured and empowered a PSC remnant to unite as the Restoration Fellowship: to start bearing fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. We shall find rest, water and angelic food like Elijah did. After the wind, earthquake and fire, he was recommissioned by a small whisper: NOT to run back to scold/judge/destroy Jezebel, but to aggressively serve the Lord on multiple new tasks beyond his limited scope of time and space.
Let us continue to trust and obey ! Amen

Susan Lane: force his own picks into various positions in ministry leadership, with total disregard to our congregational process, to stack the deck for himself

PSC ceased being a “congregational” church when it hired Mr. Booker.

Susan Lane: even good people get deceived by Satan sometimes

The problem with deception is that you don’t know you are deceived because you are deceived.

Tweet by H.L. Griffin – #ACNAToo:

“The number one thing that goes wrong when leaders learn of abuse or other misconduct allegations is that leaders who didn’t have the lens or character to detect fairly obvious problems in the first place, trust that as long as they see themselves to be Sincere & Reasonable (is there ever any doubt about this in their own minds?), that the Lord will guarantee that their judgment will now function adequately for Such A Time As This & that they can figure out what to do.

… Would you believe that it never occurs to most leaders facing an abuse crisis to actually consult an expert who is trusted & respected by abuse survivors?”