HOUSE DENVER PUBLIC STATEMENT

This is an open letter to the Church dated June 1, 2025.

My name is Peter Young, Senior Pastor of BridgeWay Church in Denver, CO. I am one of the two members of a Leadership Consulting Team (LCT) that mediated private discussions with four departing leadership couples and the House Denver Elders Team over the past year. I wish to note that I am expressing my own views and am speaking independently of my other LTC colleague.

It is with sincere sadness, love, and concern for those who have been hurt, as well as for those within the leadership and congregation of House Denver, that I respectfully share my thoughts. I come in awareness of my own shortcomings, of mistakes I have made in this situation over the past year, and in the fear of the Lord. Yet, I come with conviction and hope because God has healing, reconciliation, and blessing in mind for all parties impacted by this situation.

It is with reluctance that I am making a public statement, as I had hoped it would be resolved privately with Brian and his immediate team, seeing how parts of their leadership culture are unhealthy. But occasionally, as Matthew 18:15-17 is being followed, a statement is necessary. Reconciliation is what I wish to see. I desire to see both those hurt in this situation healed, and for Brian and his immediate team to make some adjustments.

If you have not done so, please read the public allegations at housedenveraccountability.com. The mediation process referred to on that website ended at the close of March 2025. Prior to that time, my role was mediative between the two parties described above, not investigative. However, after the mediation concluded, I took the liberty to speak with some other people who signed the petition in order to hear their stories. The total number with whom I have spoken is less than three dozen.

I can only testify to what I have heard from those with whom I have spoken and my own personal observations during this journey. I cannot speak to all the charges on the public petition document, but I can affirm that the following has been occurring to a varied degree over many years.

• All concerned experienced in communication some form of unhealthy relational ethics or low-level spiritual abuse. The definition of unhealthy relational ethics and low-level spiritual abuse is found below.
• Factors most commonly cited included: Controlling the narrative, blame shifting, dishonor, unwillingness to acknowledge error, defensiveness, use of guilt, character attack, or shame as motivational tools, conditional acceptance, use of hurtful words, suppression of doubt or questions, lying to avoid blame, demand for loyalty, relational avoidance, and lack of true accountability.
• People were concerned that they had not seen any acknowledgement of sin, genuine repentance, an apology, or a request for forgiveness.
• Most felt that Brian and his close team do not see how aspects of their communicative leadership hurt people relationally or violate godly relational ethics.
• Finally, most of the people I spoke with shared that they had not been hurt by the current Elders team at House, who serve in a lay capacity, nor with other pastoral staff or leaders at House Denver. Concerns centered on communications with Brian Kim or occasionally his very close associate, Troy.

Having shared the above, I want to offer a higher perspective.

This situation represents an opportunity for Brian, the congregation, and the leadership of House Denver to come more fully into their God-given calling. House Denver is an important spiritual gate in the area for prayer, worship, and the broader purposes of God. God is moving right now to provide them with revelation and grace for the required leadership adjustments. The Father wants to pour out an even greater measure of His Spirit on this church and bring new growth, as health comes to Brian and his close team. To this end, I have respectfully submitted some proactive recommendations privately to the House Denver Elders Team.

For those hurt by Brian or his close team over the years, I wish to offer my sincere apologies as another voice and leader in the Denver area for the hurt or spiritual abuse you have experienced. Many were directly hurt; others were swept up by the hurt others close to you experienced. This hurt has caused you emotional pain, perhaps questioning of God, or it has eroded your ability to trust other leaders. My prayer is that God will draw near to you, heal your hurt, and that you will go on to thrive in your discipleship journey. Please offer forgiveness in your heart towards Brian or his team, even if no apology is given.

To the House Denver congregation, I am sorry you are having to hear another public statement. I believe the necessary action steps and adjustments can be made by Brian and the Elders, should they so choose. Please rally in love and support at this time, pray for your leadership, and consider how to be part of the solution moving forward.

To those in the internet/podcast community, let’s not add additional fuel to the fire through loud chatter. House Denver has strong people on their outside counsel, a good broader leadership team, and pastors in the area who would be willing to step in to help Brian in the journey ahead.

For leaders in the broader Church in Colorado, we should have no tolerance for spiritual abuse in our ministries. If people are hurt by us, regardless of our intention, our response as leaders is to respond in humility, request forgiveness, and move to empower, bless, and honor them. As leaders, we must take accountability for our actions.

We are all affected by this situation. When one part of the body is hurting, we are all hurting. When one part is out of alignment, it affects the unity of us all and our ability to stand together as the Ekklesia for meaningful impact in our city and state. As a Church community, let’s all do what we can to support Brian, House Elders, and the House Denver community as he and his team hopefully choose to pursue more healthy leadership practices. The Lord’s love and grace is available to us all.

In love and hope,

Pastor Peter Young

Definitions:

Relational ethics refer to the moral principles that guide how people treat one another in relationships. Healthy relational ethics described in the Bible include love, mutual respect, honesty, transparency, accountability, empathy, compassion, kindness, humility, encouragement, long-suffering, and repentance and forgiveness when wrongs or conflict occur. Unhealthy ethics include lying, dishonor, blame shifting, relational avoidance, favoritism, gossip, slander, unwillingness to acknowledge sin, pride, devaluation, manipulation, control, exploitation, defensiveness, or emotional harm. You can read about these in Eph. 4-5, Col.3, and Gal. 5-6.

Spiritual abuse is the intentional or unintentional misuse of power, authority, or influence within a spiritual context to control or manipulate for self-driven purposes that exploit or violate the autonomy, dignity, or emotional well-being of an individual or group. At its core, spiritual abuse distorts the healthy purpose of shepherding, which should be for relational connection, empowerment, freedom, and spiritual growth, into a tool for loyalty, control, fear, or prioritizing the leader’s purposes at the expense of others. It often arises out of the leader carrying avoidance/dismissive or fear-based relational attachments, rather than secure love-joy-based relational attachments. Characteristics of low levels of spiritual abuse include dishonesty, omission of truths, controlling the narrative, blaming others, use of guilt, character attack, or shame as motivational tools, conditional acceptance, suppression of doubt, questions, or dissent, demand for loyalty, and lack of true accountability.