Ep. 349: Mark Driscoll, Calvin University, Chuck Swindoll

MinistryWatch Podcast

FIRST SEGMENT Warren Hello everybody. I’m Warren Smith, coming to you from Charlotte, North Carolina. Natasha I’m Natasha Cowden in Denver, Colorado. We’d like to welcome you to the MinistryWatch podcast. Warren On today’s program, General Episcopal Theological Seminary thought it had found a solution to its financial woes—until 7 bishops intervened, saying they didn’t want to be in partnership with a conservative. We’ll have details. Also, controversial pastor Mark Driscoll got booted off the stage at last weekend’s Stronger Men’s Conference after calling out the conference host for his choice of entertainment opening night. And, Chuck Swindoll steps down as senior pastor of his church—but insists he’s not retiring. He’ll continue to preach the majority of the sermons. We’ll take a look. Natasha But first, Calvin University finds itself at the center of a lawsuit with its former president. Warren When Calvin University hired Wiebe Boer as its new president in May 2022, the school signed the former business executive to a lucrative five-year deal. The hope was that Boer, a Calvin alum and son of missionaries, could turn the prominent evangelical school around after years of budget cuts and enrollment decline while easing tensions with the denomination that owns the school. Natasha: What happened? Warren: For a while, it seemed things were working. Enrollment went up, and in January, Boer announced an ambitious plan for Calvin’s future. Less than two months later, however, everything fell apart. In mid-February, Boer resigned after the school’s board received complaints that he’d sent “unwelcome and inappropriate” messages to the employee of a vendor who worked on campus. When confronted by the board, Boer agreed to step down — leaving the campus in turmoil, with anger and confusion over how things went so wrong so fast. Natasha That anger has led to Boer being locked out of the school’s presidential residence and a lawsuit Warren: On Friday (April 12), Boer and his wife, Joanna, filed suit against the school in federal court, alleging that Calvin violated his employment agreement and defamed him — and that the school failed to pay him $400,000 in severance or to prove that he’d engaged in significant misconduct. Under the terms of his employee agreement, Boer was considered an at-will employee and could leave the school or be fired at any time. However, unless the board ruled that Boer was guilty of “serious misconduct,” he would receive his $400,000 salary for a year after leaving. Natasha: Remind us what Boer is accused of? Warren: In the complaint, Boer’s attorney stated that he exchanged texts with an employee of a college vendor for several weeks in January but denied the texts were inappropriate. They also claim he was given little time to defend himself and agreed to resign rather than be fired — if he could get severance and help shape the messaging around his resignation. Neither happened, according to the complaint. Instead, negotiations broke down, and Boer and his family were locked out of the presidential home — even though his kids were still in school in the Grand Rapids area. The complaint asks for lost wages and bonuses, compensatory damages for mental anguish and emotional distress as well as punitive damages. Natasha: Next up – an Episcopal Seminary nearly found a solution to its financial woes but there’s a catch. Warren: General Episcopal Seminary in New York could be saved, but it would require the school to accept help from a conservative donor. Seven progressive bishops in the church are calling the donor’s beliefs a deal-breaker. The deal would offer a long-term lease of the seminary to a nonprofit group, the School of Sacred Music. But a major donor to the school is a conservative Catholic donor who holds the Catholic Church’s historic positions on gender and sexuality. Earlier this year,