Jeff Bush refused to accept resignation and knowingly covered up sin without involving local church pastors on numerous occasions

Jeff Bush was the General Director of VBM during the time of this thread and is now the president of VBM. You can see below that there were 4 issues that came out in this email thread.

1. Lying to supporting churches regarding agreeing to things that the missionary did not agree to in order to get their money
2. Lying to the wife about personal life
3. Trying to resign and not being allowed to
4. Purposefully cutting the local church and local pastor out of the loop

Because it appears to not be a "heavy porn" problem and is not an "every month occurrence," you can see how they handle it below. This is just one example of MANY of how Jeff Bush covered for Austin "Jefe" Gardner.

There are other examples that show Jeff Bush would also be guilty of the same things Austin Gardner was found unfit and disqualified from ministry for including this one below:

• Deception to the church regarding missionary readiness to enter the field and the full disclosure for why they left.

Jeff Bush has allowed other families to remain at the mission even though there are known ongoing pornography problems or other serious and even doctrinal problems. [more to come] VBM leaders will help them, and it is usually justified because of their ministry's successes [and conveniently allows the VBM to keep tighter holds on families for “loyalty” reasons and blackmail insurance.]

The following email was forwarded to the VBM directors and discussed below:

Dear Mark Tolson,

Last Friday, I submitted my resignation letter to Jeff Bush. It feels like something inside of me has died.

I did so because I had not only had victory in my life, but also lied to my wife about it.

Having had enough and not being able to bear it any longer, it seemed like the most appropriate thing to do was to resign my position, tell my wife, and move on. After Friday class, I handed the letter to Jeff and spoke with my wife later that evening.

Jeff has been very gracious during this time. He and Mindy carved out time to meet with _______ and me on Saturday and we discussed what to do next.

When I handed him the letter, I knew that it was all over. My life would be set back by my own undoing by 5 if not 10 years. I knew that it would mean that I would have to live with people knowing that I had failed, that this process would somehow make me a 2nd class citizen.

Yet I realized that I needed to work on my walk with the Lord. If that was the price that needed to be paid, so be it.

LIke I said, something inside of me died because of it.

As we spoke with Jeff and Mindy, he kindly pointed out that my resignation was not the main issue and would only be a temporary fix. As I thought about that over the next few days, I realized that what he said was true.

"What does God want from me?"  This kept ringing in my mind.

As I looked through the Word and started writing down all the things that please Him or that he commands, the list became long, hard, and almost overbearing. As I pondered further, the truth that none of these things could be done successfully apart from the power of Christ emerged. Victory over pornography would also be accomplished the same way.

It was then that I had to ask myself if I would trust Christ for victory. My resignation was a way of saying I would take full responsibility for my actions. But when given another chance, my not wanting to take it was my way of saying I would not trust the Lord to overcome with the victory He has given and promised (John 16:33, 1 John 4:4, 5:4 etc.)

Having considered these truths, I have accepted the second chance to go on which I do not deserve. Now, why do I say all this?

For a number of reasons.

First, I wanted to make you aware that this has been an issue. Secret sins love anonymity and darkness. I would rather it be known and exposed. Sin is deceitful and hardens the heart (Heb 4:13) so I would rather be open about it to a level that is necessary.

However, I don't want to naively believe that hoping for the best will be all that is needed.

I have already taken steps to make some changes. Since covenant eyes has no screen accountability outside the browser on an iPhone (this is where most offenses occurred), I have switched to an android device and added even more walls.

Second, I probably need someone who will get in my face and ask me the tough questions.

As I thought about this, I wondered what others might be going through as well. Again the words in Heb 4:13 ring in my mind to "Exhort one another daily" for the purpose of staying away from sin that deceives and hardens.

And no, I am not asking you to call me every day.

However, I can't help but think how more accountability can be put in place for myself and perhaps others. It also seems that most accountability measures in the past have always been vertical (i.e. Jefe, Jeff) and I have not been held accountable by fellow missionaries.

I am told that in the Welsh Revival, they held "Experience meetings'. These were times where they would come together and stoke one another's love and fire for God. Perhaps this could be something we could replicate as the Asia team via Zoom or something. Maybe it would look like small gatherings (3-4?) so schedules can be more easily coordinated. "How are you doing?" When was the last time you looked or your eyes lingered?" "What is God teaching you right now?" "Are you pure and undefiled before God in word and deed?" These are some questions that come to mind we could ask one another. Perhaps this is something we could do?

As my wife and I process our moving forward, we would love to talk with you about moving forward as well. If there is a time that we could talk, that would be much appreciated.

In summary,

* I have confessed my sin to my wife and we are working through this in our marriage

* I am moving on in faith, trusting the Lord for the victory He provides

* I am taking drastic measures to set up more accountability

* I am wondering what team-based accountability might look like.

* Can we set up a time for you and your wife to talk to _________ and me?

Thank you for your prayers, and I look forward to hearing back from you soon.

Jeff's response in a group email between the VBM directors and "Jefe" [Austin Gardner]:

I was present for the activity this morning and just now getting to this. Allow me to clarify the whole story, since __________ seemed to write Mark as if Mark was already aware of what was going on.

_________ asked to speak to me Friday after class. He handed me an envelope and told me he was resigning. I asked him why and he told me he had not had victory over being deceptive (specifically by telling supporting churches he agreed when really he didn’t agree with what they stood for, and telling his wife all was ok when he had been lusting. Said not looking at porn but lusting and did searches on swimwear or nighty’s, etc.). I told him I needed to talk with him and his wife before I can accept a resignation letter. He talked to his wife Friday night and we met Saturday morning. I asked his wife what she thought and she said she loved him for confessing and wants to do what’s right. I told him whether he quits or doesn’t, his main issue is an internal one and will not be fixed because of a change of position (i.e. _____________ and others still do not have victory after quitting). I gave him my thoughts on what he needs to change and how to do so. I asked him if he was willing to change or wanted to quit. Seemed he thought self-punishment and humiliation would bring him to his knees. I told him he needs a heart change, not an execution. I asked him to think over things and we met again Monday. Both he and his wife were ready to work on things and move forward. He asked me who he needs to tell and I told him if he has repented then let’s move forward without needing to make this public. I have no intention of hiding or covering up anything, I felt if he was repentant and wanted to do right, I’m willing to help him. I told him that I’m not his conscience and if he wanted to talk to jefe or Tolson, that’s his call. We agreed to have check-ins and work on things. I hope all this makes sense. I was not trying to keep anything from anyone, rather trying to stomp out any fires as I serve jefe and you gentlemen. I think ________ wants to genuinely do right and get it off his chest, so he thinks telling those above him will keep him in line. I told him the fear of the Lord is his best accountability partner.

I’m willing to answer anything y’all have, I was truly attempting to restore a brother. If this was an every month occurrence, more drastic measures might need to take place, but that was not the case in this situation.

Here to serve,

Jeff Bush

Africa Field Director Mark Coffey responds:

I didn’t get the idea you were trying to cover up or hide something.

I’m glad he’s sensitive to these things and glad to know he’s not in heavy porn.

Going forward how are we going to handle these situations with the guys’ pastors, especially with Jefe not being the pastor now?

Here to serve,

Mark Coffey

Psalm 16:11

Jeff shares his opinion next about not needing to tell the local church pastor:

I don’t have a good answer, but if it’s something we can privately fix, I don’t see why others need to be involved. If it’s a serious issue, I think we need to let their pastor know. In other words, blowing the whistle on issues that can be resolved is unnecessary. I would think most pastors would be grateful and not think we’re cutting them out. That’s just my opinion.

Here to serve,

Jeff Bush

Mark Coffey Africa Field Director responds by sharing his opinion about whether things should be shared with local church pastors:

In my opinion I don’t think we should go to pastor unless the missionaries refuses to repent about something.  I think the missionary needs to.

I think it would be wise for us to tell the missionary he needs to let his pastor know if it’s something serious like this, especially if it’s something he turns in a resignation for.  That way when the missionary gets the green light to return to the field, his pastor is aware of the problem and feels confident in him returning.  It’s not just VBM making a decision and giving him a green light.

I think what we don’t want to happen, for example, is for _________ to return to the field and then 6 months later still not have victory and comes back.  He then tells his pastor that he is resigning and also says he tried to resign before but VBM told him that he didn’t need to.  I believe the Pastor would be pretty upset that VBM knew about a sin problem but didn’t make sure it was brought to the pastor’s attention.

Here to serve,

Mark Coffey

Psalm 16:11