AoR Board of Directors Insulate President Kober from All Accountability

Over the last seven weeks, I’ve made every effort to interact with the Ambassadors of Reconciliation Board of Directors in private regarding my concerns for Ted Kober, who serves as President and headed up nine months of work for Sovereign Grace Ministries; Ed Keinath, who co-authored with Ted the Report to the Board of Directors of Sovereign Grace Ministries published on April 10, 2012; and Bryce Thomas, one of seven Board of Directors for Ambassadors or Reconciliation and the person responsible for the Three Panel Review last December.  See Letter to the Board of Directors of Ambassadors of Reconciliation for background.

Inexplicably the Board has been unwilling to interact with me in any fashion.  Instead they sent this official resolution regarding all my concerns from their Board Meeting on May 4.

“The Board resolved that the President (Mr. Ted Kober) was not in violation of any actions as set forth in the Board policies and the Board further resolved that other matters brought up in Mr. Detwiler’s inquiry were not under the authority of this Board.”

I also wrote Ted Kober thirteen times from April 17-24 requesting the opportunity to interact.  He did not respond to any of those emails until I wrote the AoR Board on April 24 about his refusal to talk or meet.  As a result, Ted wrote a short letter three days later.  In it he claimed he had been too busy to respond to any of my emails, was praying and thinking, refused to meet “just between the two of you” (Matt 18:15), said he might consider meeting if my pastor and his Chairman of the Board were present and the “Rules of Procedure for Christian Conciliation, including the rules regarding confidentiality” were imposed upon the meeting.   

It took my breath away for the excuses, refusals and conditions.  Ted claimed he was too busy over the last eleven days to eke out a two sentence text like “I’m intensely busy right now but please know I want to talk as soon as possible to hear your concerns.  I’ll email you with some dates in the coming week.”  As I said to Ted on April 21, “Please show me the simple dignity of a response.  Sinners do that much.”  Not even that matter.  Ted showed no courtesy (or professionalism) of the simplest kind. Remember, we are talking about the President of Ambassadors of Reconciliation who is supposedly committed to the processes outlined in Matthew 5:23-26 and Matthew 18:15-17.  It was patently obvious Ted did not want to meet or hear my concerns.   

In the month of April, I also asked to meet with Bryce Thomas.  He too refused to respond until I brought it to the attention of the AoR Board.  I finally heard from Bryce on May 7, 2012.  Similar to Ted, he requested that our pastors be present and “we respect and abide by Rules 16 & 17 concerning confidentially of the Rules for Christian Conciliation of Peacemaker Ministries.”

Both of these men refused to obey the simple teaching of Scripture that commands us to meet in private as a first step.  They would not allow a face to face meeting.  Secondly, they requested that their rules concerning confidentially be adhered to.  These rules violate Scripture.  In other words, they’d meet with me but first I had to swear not to share the contents of our meeting with others.  I’d be required to take an oath that prohibited me from obeying Matthew 18:16 if that step was necessary.  “But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’”  Of course, Ted and Ed were well aware of that fact.  This was an obvious attempt to keep from involving others in the future if our time was unproductive or counterproductive.  See Ambassadors of Reconciliation Refuse All Reconciliation Attempts for background regarding my attempts to meet. 

Most importantly for this blog post, however, I want to point out the unwillingness of the AoR Board to do any kind of an investigation or inquiry.  I ended my April 24 email to them with this appeal. 

“As the Board of Directors for AoR you have a biblical, ethical and legal obligation to rebuke these men and direct them to make amends with haste.  Such an undertaking must include private confession and public restitution.  I hope you proceed expeditiously. 

“In short, these men have failed to live by the Standard of Conduct for Christian Conciliation.  Their personal and professional errors need to be cited by you in a public report so the same mistakes are not repeated in the future.  I recommend some disciplinary action be taken against them by your unanimous consent. 

“I have written in order to help Ambassadors of Reconciliation, not harm it.  I desire the greater good of Ted, Ed and Bryce.  That is why I bring these matters to your attention.  You are welcome to keep me abreast of the corrective actions you take so I can communicate those actions on my blog in order to see people’s confidence restored in your organization.”      

I received this letter in response.

April 26, 2012

Dear Brent,

The peace of the Lord be with you.

The Board of Directors of Ambassadors of Reconciliation has received your appeal and will consider it in accordance to the policies and procedures of AoR at our next meeting on May 4, 2012.

In His Service

AoR Board of Directors 

I drew some encouragement from this letter since I am familiar with the “policies and procedures of AoR” which clearly warrant an evaluation.  I wrote back. 

From: Brent Detwiler 
Sent: April 30, 2011, 5:26 PM
To: AoR Board
Cc: Ted Kober; Edgar Keinath; Bryce Thomas
Subject: Letter of Concerns

AoR Board,

I received your letter today.  Thanks for taking up my concerns at your May 4^th meeting. 

I appreciate hearing from you.

Brent 

I waited 11 days but heard nothing so I emailed them again. 

From: Brent Detwiler 
Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2012, 3:14 PM
To: AoR Board of Directors
Cc: Brent Detwiler
Subject: RE: Follow Up with AoR Board of Directors

May 15, 2012,

To the Board of Directors of Ambassadors of Reconciliation,

Rev. Dr. Richard L. Thompson, Chairman (Billings, MT)
David Schlachter, Secretary (Billings, MT)
Rev. Dr. Rick Marrs (St. Louis, MO)
Edith Block (Watertown, WI)
Francis Taman (Calgary, Alberta- Canada)
Richard D. Peters (Amery, WI)
Bryce Thomas (Hickory, NC)

Greetings in the name and love of Christ Jesus our Lord!

Three weeks ago I wrote to expresses my concerns for Ted Kober, Ed Keinath, and Bryce Thomas and their unprofessional counsel and conduct in the work done for Sovereign Grace Ministries.  I summarized as follows.   

“In short, these men have failed to live by the Standard of Conduct for Christian Conciliation.  Their personal and professional errors need to be cited by you in a public report so the same mistakes are not repeated in the future.  I recommend some disciplinary action be taken against them by your unanimous consent.” 

You promptly responded two days later on April 26 and promised to consider my appeal at your next Board Meeting.  You said:

“The Board of Directors of Ambassadors of Reconciliation has received your appeal and will consider it in accordance to the policies and procedures of AoR at our next meeting on May 4, 2012.”

I appreciate your pledge but I’ve not heard from you so I decided to inquire with regard to your progress.  Could you provide me an update and answer these questions?

Have you followed through on considering my appeal in accordance with your policies and procedures?   If so, what did you conclude should be done? 

1.  
   1. Have you followed through on considering my appeal in accordance with your policies and procedures?   If so, what did you conclude should be done? 
   2. As a result, do you plan to investigate my charges?   
   3. Do you see a need for a public report citing their errors?
   4. Will the “Standard of Conduct for Christian Conciliation” be applied to Ted, Ed and Bryce? 
   5. Do you plan to take any disciplinary action against these men?

I am glad to provide you any and all information necessary for a thorough review of this matter.  Please let me know how I can be of assistance.  I look forward to hearing from you.

By His grace,

Brent

A few days later the AoR Board wrote this letter.

May 18, 2012

Dear Brent,

The peace of the Lord be with you.

At our regular meeting on May 4, 2012 the Board of Directors for Ambassadors of Reconciliation considered your concerns and passed the following resolution (Bryce Thomas abstained):

The Board resolved that the President (Mr. Ted Kober) was not in violation of any actions as set forth in the Board policies and the Board further resolved that other matters brought up in Mr. Detwiler’s inquiry were not under the authority of this Board.

“May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you.” 2 Corinthians 13:14

In His service,

AoR Board of Directors

Here are my four follow up emails.  None of them were answered.  

From: Brent Detwiler 
Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2012 4:02 PM
To: AoR Board of Directors
Cc: Bryce Thomas; Ted Kober; Melissa Richholt
Subject: Questions Regarding Resolution of the AoR Board
Importance: High

To the AoR Board of Directors,

I received your May 18 letter today.  I admit to some perplexity regarding your resolution.  As a result, would you please send me a copy of “the Board policies” you used in making this determination.  I also wrote you regarding my concerns for Bryce Thomas.  Did you make a similar resolution for him? 

I’d also appreciate knowing what “other matters brought up in Mr. Detwiler’s inquiry were not under the authority of Board.”  A clarification regarding the matters you have in mind would be most helpful. 

Lastly, are you, the Board of Directors, responsible for enforcing the “Standard of Conduct for Christian Conciliation” as it pertains to the conduct of Ted (President/Conciliator) and Bryce (Board Member/Facilitator)?  Or am I to conclude you have found both men in complete compliance with this standard as it pertains to the work they did for Sovereign Grace Ministries?

Thanks for your kind consideration in providing me answers to these questions.

Love in Christ,

Brent

From: Brent Detwiler 
Sent: Monday, June 04, 2012 2:49 PM
To: Melissa Richholt
Subject: FW: Questions Regarding Resolution of the AoR Board

Hello Melissa [Ted Kober’s assistant],

Could you help me out please?  I’m at a lost what to do since I haven’t heard back from the AoR Board regarding my inquiry from May 23.  I’d be most grateful if you could find out if and when the Board plans to respond.  I’d also be happy to talk directly with Rev. Dr. Thompson by phone.  I’ll be out of town Tuesday-Thursday but he is welcome to call me on Friday or thereafter at 704-932-0304.  He can also email me this week at abrentdetwiler@gmail.com.  I’ll have access to the internet.

Thanks for your assistance.  

Brent  

From: Brent Detwiler  
Sent: Friday, June 08, 2012 12:04 PM
To: Melissa Richholt
Cc: Response from Board 
Importance: High

Hello Melissa,

What did you find out from the Board of Directors this week? 

Thanks

Brent 

From: Brent Detwiler  
Sent: Saturdya, June 09, 2012 11:00 AM 
To: Melissa Richholt; AoR Board of Directors
Subject: Request for Audience
Importance: High

Rev. Dr. Richard L. Thompson
Chairman of the Board

Dear Sir, 

I would like to request an audience with the Ambassadors of Reconciliation Board of Directors in order to discuss my grievances.  I am willing to fly to Billings, Montana for such a meeting.  I’d also be willing to participate in a conference call with the Board when in session. 

Please let me know if you are willing to arrange for such a meeting.  This is my final attempt to ask you questions and share my concerns in private.  I hope you will act as an ambassador of reconciliation in keeping with the name of your organization.

By His grace,

Brent Detwiler 

There are several important take-a-ways from this interaction. 

First, Ted Kober, Ed Keinath and Bryce Thomas feel no obligation to obey their own teaching regarding reconciliation and more importantly the teaching of Scripture.  They are content to be hypocrites. 

Second, these three men are unwilling to be evaluated or consider correction in a biblical manner.  They must control the environment and bind the conscience in order to keep issues confined and prevent the involvement of others if necessary. 

Third, the AoR Board of Directors is a puppet Board.  They are willing to insulate their President, a prominent employee, and a Board Member from all accountability.  With no investigation whatsoever they boldly resolved that “the President (Mr. Ted Kober) was not in violation of any actions as set forth in the Board policies” and purposely ignored charges against Bryce Thomas.   

Fourth, the AoR Board of Directors is an unaccountable Board.  They refused to answer hard questions, consider outside input from someone wronged by their organization, or apply the standards of conduct they espouse in the Standard of Conduct for Christian Conciliation.  

In each of these ways, Ted Kober, Ed Keinath and Bryce Thomas are like C.J. Mahaney, Dave Harvey and Mickey Connolly and the Board of Directors for Ambassadors of Reconciliation is like the Board of Directors for Sovereign Grace Ministries.

In addition, the Report to the Board of Directors of Sovereign Grace Ministries written by Ted and Ed was a grave disservice to tens of thousands of people.  It too was like the material published by C.J. and Dave on the SGM website over the past year.  Inaccurate, misleading, biased, unsubstantiated and most seriously, refused to deal with mountains of evidence against SGM.  It is no wonder C.J., Dave and Mickey love the AoR report and view it as the epitome of fairness.

Lord willing, I will post my critique of the report next week.  All the things contained in the critique are the things I wanted to talk with Ted, Ed, Bryce and the AoR Board about in private.  Just like C.J., Dave, Mickey and the SGM Board, they refuse to hear my charges. 

Please forward this post to friends or direct them to my blog at http://abrentdetwiler.squarespace.com/.  You are also welcome to link my blog to your Facebook page or whatever.

##

Please Help - All Gifts & Tax Deductible Contributions Are Kept Strictly Confidential