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Author Topic: Evergreen Board Members  (Read 32196 times)
UffDa
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« on: March 21, 2018, 09:24:24 pm »

So do anyone know who is currently on the Board of Trustees at Evergreen? Any documentation on what their role or responsibilities are?
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Heidi
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« Reply #1 on: March 21, 2018, 10:24:43 pm »

I am wondering why the Board members would be the ones who decide on this. 
Where are the Pastors in all the locations.  It seems that the Pastors should be the ones who make the decision.
The Pastors are the gate keepers to the church.   
If Evergreen is One church, many locations, where are the pastors.
Just asking.

HA

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UffDa
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« Reply #2 on: March 21, 2018, 10:45:35 pm »

So far Lynn Newman and Jim Bird are on the board. In 2010 Mark Bowen was on the board(his own words on ECC financial statement video on YouTube). Not sure if he still is.
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Digital Lynch Mob
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« Reply #3 on: March 22, 2018, 06:48:22 am »

Because Suzanne leveled the charge of a cover-up by multiple pastors, this is being handled by the board. Also Mark B. is on the board but has removed himself as he was one of the pastors being accused.
« Last Edit: March 22, 2018, 01:53:45 pm by Digital Lynch Mob » Logged
UffDa
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« Reply #4 on: March 22, 2018, 09:06:51 am »

DLM!,
Has this info been announced publicly? ie the church at large or just the leadership?
Is there an interim replacement for Mark Bowen (or Mark Darling if he’s on the Board)?
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Digital Lynch Mob
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« Reply #5 on: March 22, 2018, 09:16:55 am »

The church released a statement on Feb. 26 to that affect.

http://www.evergreenchurch.com/update/
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UffDa
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« Reply #6 on: March 22, 2018, 10:00:01 am »

Thanks for posting the link. Is this in a newsletter? I’m not finding it on any of the church websites.
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DarthVader
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« Reply #7 on: March 22, 2018, 10:14:10 am »

As someone who attends an ECC location and has since 2003, I am very troubled..

1) That the board is secret (if not, any ECC folks who know, feel free to post the names of the board members beyond Jim Bird, Lynn Newman and Mark Bowen (Chairman, recused from this matter) - I won't hold my breath waiting.
2) That the board is composed entirely of pastor hand-picked members (and church staff).  In no way can a board selected by pastors be considered to be independent of the pastors who appointed them, the church staff on the board, less so.  I know of no one who understands corporate or non-profit governance who would say this is a structure with adequate checks, balances and accountability.

These two reasons, more so than any other are why I contributed to the GoFundMe campaign.

Imagine this for a headline on our local NBC affiliate, Kare11, the after this investigation is done.   "In a "shocking" result, local mega church pastors cleared of all allegations by the board members they appointed and their fellow church staff on the board"....Doesn't have a very "independenty" sound to it does it? Sorry for the snarkiness. I usually try to be more thoughtful, but this bothers me to no end.  Governance only matters when it matters but then it really matters..
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Rebel in a Good Way
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« Reply #8 on: March 22, 2018, 11:53:15 am »

Darth Vader, I understand why you're troubled.  I was in a church with this exact structure and it ended up in the local newspaper.  More than once (we left after they failed to make adequate changes).  Even worse than the bad press was the aftermath for the members.

This was a non GCC church, btw. 
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Phoenix
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« Reply #9 on: March 23, 2018, 06:32:57 am »

As someone who attends an ECC location and has since 2003, I am very troubled..

1) That the board is secret (if not, any ECC folks who know, feel free to post the names of the board members beyond Jim Bird, Lynn Newman and Mark Bowen (Chairman, recused from this matter) - I won't hold my breath waiting.

1.  Are you saying you didn't know the board exists or that you don't know who is on it?
2.  If you still attend or contact info for a pastor/staff member have you simply asked about it?  If not, ask and then judge if there is some secrecy to this board.

I heard of the board by my 3rd to 4th year attending and asked who was on it.  I was given the names with no reservation.  I also asked the purpose, duties, qualifications for and how one became part of the board.
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DarthVader
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« Reply #10 on: March 23, 2018, 07:12:07 am »

Hi Phoenix -

I think the current crisis may have precipitated a change in policy - I asked Lynn Newman (in writing) when this began who was on the board and was told (verbally) it was non-public information - there is apparently some concern that supporters of Suzanne might attempt to influence them.

That there is a board is documented and what its function is has been documented on the ECC website.  That the names of who is on the board is not documented in any public facing website or documents (e.g., like an annual report) is a fact (unless someone can show me somewhere), which makes ECC an outlier vs. most other churches.

All that being said, if anyone would like to post the names by location of the board members from The Rock, Urban Refuge, Lakeville, Plymouth and Evergreen, I will humbly withdraw my comment and apologize.

Although the observation that 1) 3 of 8 board members are staff and the remaining 5 were hand picked by pastors would still be true, and still be very poor governance, hard to defend if the board ever made a decision that faced external scrutiny, in my opinion.
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Phoenix
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« Reply #11 on: March 23, 2018, 07:38:29 am »

Hi Phoenix -

I think the current crisis may have precipitated a change in policy - I asked Lynn Newman (in writing) when this began who was on the board and was told (verbally) it was non-public information - there is apparently some concern that supporters of Suzanne might attempt to influence them.

Interesting.

Although the observation that 1) 3 of 8 board members are staff and the remaining 5 were hand picked by pastors would still be true, and still be very poor governance, hard to defend if the board ever made a decision that faced external scrutiny, in my opinion.

I'm not arguing this point, in fact I tend to agree.  However to clarify, I believe people can be nominated to the board and the board itself then votes on membership.  The nomination process is unknown.  I suspect anyone could nominate someone but given not many know about this I suspect the pastors and the board itself is the source of most or all nominations.
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DarthVader
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« Reply #12 on: March 23, 2018, 08:19:59 am »

Hey Phoenix - I actually have good insight into the nomination process...

1) Each location has one (non staff) board member in addition to the three staff members on board.
2) When there is a vacancy either due to a term expiring (not sure of the term) or someone stepping down, all the pastors at the location with the vacancy confer among themselves as to good candidates, they then ask their number one choice to serve, moving down their list until someone says yes.
3) My understanding is the choice the pastors make is accepted without a vote by the board they are joining.

In summary, the pastors pick, and as you might imagine, the more "senior" pastor at a location, probably has outsized influence.  Now let me caveat, this is how it's done at my location, other locations could have a different process, but no location has the congregation vote on board members (that I am aware of) 

Luis, from Lakeville mentioned an advisory board (which is church location specific), not the ECC board that apparently Lakeville members do vote on, but that board just advises the locations pastors on location specific issues.
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UffDa
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« Reply #13 on: March 27, 2018, 05:31:10 pm »

Still no word on who is on the Evergreen Church Board of Trustees. I will be contacting the Minnesota State Attorney General office tomorrow regarding regulations of a 501(c)3 charitable organization. I hope to get clarification if Board Membership is to be made public or if (as a church) it can be allowed to be private information.
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UffDa
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« Reply #14 on: March 27, 2018, 05:40:16 pm »

This weekend I looked at the various websites of evangelical churches in the Twin Cities and I found that all of them (the ones I looked at) had their Board of Trustees or Board of Elders (including Pastors and Ministry Leaders) published on their website. Oftentimes, they had a photo, email, and sometimes a personal phone #. The information was easy to find and I didn’t have to send an email, make a phone call, or request in person.
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UffDa
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« Reply #15 on: March 28, 2018, 03:01:35 pm »

I contacted the MN State Attorney General’s Office and because Evergreen Community Church is a religious organization they have a lot of filing exemptions with the state and federal government. Evergreen’s EIN# is 41-1318349 in case anyone wants to pursue this further.
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Scout
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« Reply #16 on: April 07, 2018, 03:18:54 pm »

While meeting with Lynn Newman (EC Director of Operations) and Jim Bird (Director of Finances) we (my friend who was there to take notes) were told that they are on the current Board of Trustees and have been for some time.  They said Mark Bowen has been on it with no term limits but was removed when I named  him as one of the ones that knew of the abuse and covered it up.  The other 5 individuals on the Board of Trustees are one member from each location.  I was very clear in asking if this BOT (the one given the power to take the BOT's attorney's findings and determine if Mark Darling is guilty or innocent) is made up of new members since my "allegations" or if they are the ones that have been serving prior to January 5, 2018.  Lynn's response was that they are the same members who have been serving prior to January 5, 2018.  A new BOT was not selected.  Lynn and Jim would not name the other 5 lay members.  Their reason being that they did not want us victims to influence them.  Yet,  Mark Darling, Mark Bowen, Brent Knox and Doug Patterson know who they are and could unduly influence them.  Additionally, Lynn said that the BOT has been sequestered like a jury.  Well, two of them were sitting in front of me.  How would Mark Darling, Mark Bowen, Brent Know and Doug Patterson feel knowing that I had time alone with the "jury" (Lynn's words)?

All for now...scout
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Huldah
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« Reply #17 on: April 07, 2018, 03:36:29 pm »

While meeting with Lynn Newman (EC Director of Operations) and Jim Bird (Director of Finances) we (my friend who was there to take notes) were told that they are on the current Board of Trustees and have been for some time.  They said Mark Bowen has been on it with no term limits but was removed when I named  him as one of the ones that knew of the abuse and covered it up. 

Is this legal? The lack of term limits, I mean. According to Minnesota law, to the best of my understanding, individual members of nonprofit BOTs can only serve three years:

Quote from: 2017 Minnesota State Statutes
315.06 TRUSTEES, TERMS, ELECTION; QUORUM.

The term of office of the trustees is three years or less as prescribed in the constitution or articles, and until their successors have qualified.

Source: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=315&view=chapter#stat.315.01

Is there a religious exemption? Or am I misreading the law?
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UffDa
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« Reply #18 on: April 07, 2018, 07:59:56 pm »

Scout, Thank you for the update. The secrecy about the BOT is very disturbing. I wish I had paid more attention to the leadership hierarchy when I was a member. Has your lawyer had any contact with Jim and Lynn? I wonder if there are more legal ramifications for ECC in how they manage the church.
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UffDa
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« Reply #19 on: April 20, 2018, 10:48:40 pm »

Rhetorical Question: If you have discovered the names of any of the BOT would you post them online?

I have found 3 names of the BOT that are not Lynn Newman and Jim Bird (1 a pastor besides Mark Bowen & probably not part of the investigation)
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