I recommend everyone read Julie Roys’ article, “EXCLUSIVE: John MacArthur Shamed, Excommunicated Mother for Refusing to Take Back Child Abuser” as background for my article below.
“Great things are accomplished through the little ones, the weak ones, the vulnerable ones. When those cries for seeking, saving, protecting, and refuge are heard and honored, then our enemy is silenced. What power the voices of the little ones have if we heed their cries! When we silence the cries of the vulnerable ones (child or adult), we are not protecting God’s house. In fact, we are desecrating it, amplifying the voice of the enemy in the house of our God. When we follow our Lord, we bring his redemptive power to bear, not only in the lives of victims but also in our own. God takes the sins against the vulnerable and uses their cries to call us to transformation into his likeness. I know, for he has used the battered, broken lives of many victims to do his redemptive work in me. They have been his gift to me.
Jesus drove out those who took what was not theirs, those who made his temple unholy. He then welcomed the little ones and the weak ones, those who establish strength against God’s enemies and silence his foe. How then can we, the people of God, silence the little ones and the weak ones when they speak out and say, “Save us now”? We thwart God’s redemptive work in his people and in this world when we protect our institutions and titles and positions rather than the vulnerable.
May the body of Christ be bold in driving out unrighteousness and welcoming the vulnerable ones, thereby establishing power against God’s enemies and silencing his foes. May we go with love and truth into the dens of robbers, no matter where we find them, be they in our pews and communities or in our pulpits, and transform them into places filled with the glory of our great God, who became vulnerable for us.”
“Redeeming Power: Understanding Authority and Abuse in the Church” by Diane Langberg, page 142.
Baptist Pastor, J.D. Hall and his producer/co-host, David Morrill, have published a podcast/video in response to Julie Roys’ article linked above. In this video Hall and Morrill attempt to defend John MacArthur and discredit Roys, labeling her a yellow journalist, among other things.
Not only do they attack Roys, but they also claim George Floyd committed suicide, and mock Kyle J. Howard’s pronunciation of the word “trauma.” (I am told Howard has a speech impediment.) This behavior is something you might expect to encounter among some immature boys in middle school, but not in adult men who call themselves Christians. Sadly however, this behavior seems to be on the increase in some patriarchal groups of white Christian males.
[Note from editor: on 7/16/2022 I received word from Kyle J. Howard that he does not have a speech impediment. My sincere apologies to Mr. Howard. I should have went to the source and verified this information. See screenshot below.]
“I couldn’t help but think of the question I hear over and over: “Why don’t victims report?” I wished every person who asked would put themselves in the victims’ place. Into the witness seat where they had to relive their horror in front of an abuser who reveled in the details. Into the police station where they had to tell anyone who asked exactly what happened. Into the stirrups for a rape kit exam where the violation they suffered and the parts they wanted to hide were on full display, touched and photographed. And then, much of the time, the kit ended up buried in the back of a police station. Victims also had to face officers who asked what they’d been wearing. Or a prosecutor who just couldn’t be bothered. Or a judge who wouldn’t take the simplest steps to protect them. Why don’t victims report? Because most of the time, the only thing reporting accomplishes is heightening the trauma to almost unbearable levels. It invites an audience to view your sexual assault. It’s choosing to have no voice in the process after having it stolen from you. That’s why victims don’t report.”
“What is a Girl Worth: My story of breaking the silence and exposing the truth about Larry Nasser and USA Gymnastics” by Rachael Denhollander, page 362
Below are some clips from “Yellow Julie,” the YouTube video published by Hall and Morrill. I will make some comments after each clip.
Having watched this entire video a few times now, J.D. Hall makes it clear he has not had time to read the Julie Roys article which they are discussing. They have, however, undoubtedly discussed their intent to frame Roys’ piece as a desperate effort to take down MacArthur by digging up dirt on the poor guy from years and years ago.
As highlighted above in the Rachael Denhollander quote, many abuse victims do not want to ever talk about what happened to them. Others may not talk for years, for a number of complex reasons. This is why many States have discarded Statute of Limitations laws on sexual abuse crimes. In Roys’ article, she gives us the reason she is writing this article 20 years after the abuse occurred:
“In the months between her shamings, GCC members and staff repeatedly harassed and visited Eileen at home, urging her to obey the elders, according to Eileen and dozens of pages of court documents obtained by The Roys Report.
For all this time, Eileen has remained silent about her ordeal out of concern for her minor children. She added that she feared backlash from Christians in her community, who revere MacArthur and GCC.
But now, Eileen’s children are adults. And for the sake of vulnerable women and children at GCC—and at the many churches and institutions influenced by MacArthur—she’s speaking now.
Abuse is abuse no matter if it occurred yesterday or 20 years ago. It needs to be reported to Law Enforcement and the abusers and those who have enabled them need to be named. Eileen spoke up “for the sake of vulnerable women and children.” She has done a brave thing. She has done the right thing.
As Charles L. Bailey, Jr. stated in the book he authored, titled “In the Shadow of the Cross: The True Account of My Childhood Sexual and Ritual Abuse at the Hands of a Roman Catholic Priest:”
“These people, these evil beings dressed in priestly garb, are not men of God. They deserve no respect, no reverence, no tolerance.
We must come forward and expose these priests. Until we make them known, the clerical abuse continues.
It takes time – a lot of time. It is now forty-four years since my abuse started. Time heals all wounds? Baloney. The abuse has left permanent scars on us, scars deep into our souls.
We need to come forward, to tell our accounts of the abuse we suffered. Remaining silent keeps our children and grandchildren at risk. It is too late for us who are now adults, but we must save the young.”
Do you know who else attempted to minimize sexual abuse that was covered-up because it happened long, long ago? If you said Sovereign Grace Churches, you would be correct.
“When you gotta go twenty years back, I’m gonna call this a big, fat, nothing burger; with a side of feminism and also with a dipping sauce of who gives a crap.
Pastor J.D. Hall has revealed his heart and it is cold. David Morrill agrees with Hall, “Yep.”
I often read the Gospels and I can confidently say that Christ would never respond in this manner.
David Morrill: “The husband who, I don’t think they can verify he was being abusive, was convicted of actual abuse against the children and is now in prison. He was thrown in prison in 2005 and he is still there.”
(I believe the “they” who cannot verify that David Gray was being abusive are the GCC Elders, in which case I would have to question their critical reasoning skills, as well as their competency to hold the office of Elder.)
JD Hall: Okay.
David Morrill: So, she’s looking back and saying, “well the church didn’t report this as they were supposed to,” and they didn’t believe the wife. Although, as far as I can tell, she may have at least had some, some responsibility…
(Responsibility? Do you mean like reporting it the leaders of her local church? What else could she have done?)
JD Hall: For all we know there were jurors that didn’t believe the wife!
(Talk about yellow journalism! Pastor Hall has no factual reason to think there were jurors that didn’t believe Eileen Gray, quite the contrary, all the jurors did believe her! How do I know that? Keep reading.)
David Morrill: Right, I mean there were enough that they threw, when she reported it and he was indicted, and I mean, it was enough that he was convicted. I don’t know the details of the trial…
JD Hall: Which is like nine out of twelve, but for all we know, there were jurors who didn’t, who didn’t believe.
(Pastor Hall demonstrates that he knows very little about felony trials.)
“In California criminal cases, a jury trial is where 12 members of the community are assembled to hear the evidence and decide whether or not a defendant is guilty of the crime or crimes with which he or she is charged.
All persons accused of misdemeanors or felonies are entitled to a jury trial. The jurors must unanimously agree upon guilt before the defendant can be found guilty and convicted.”
Source
Julie Roys is a well respected journalist. Her research is thorough. You can count on her articles to be accurate, honest, and fair. She has presented a bevy of evidence that bolsters her article yet, according to J.D. Hall, “Julie Roys is a good microcosm for what we don’t want you to be as a listener to Pulpit and Pen.”
Okay, I’m no mind-reader, but I gather that Pastor Hall doesn’t want his listeners to be factual truth -tellers that form their opinions on solid evidence. Rather, he seems to prefer people who believe him and his “for all we know” opinions.
Apparently, J.D. Hall and David Morrill want you to follow their example!
Pastor Hall calls Julie Roys a “stinking nut job.” That’s the kind of pastor that attracts people to Christ – said nobody ever. Hall’s tirade continues and I find it all disgusting.
Then Morrill mocks Julie Roys’ comment “Hardy has an M.Div. from The Master’s Seminary but no professional counseling credentials.” Morrill can’t seem to comprehend how this fact is relevant. It’s fairly obvious to me. Let me continue with Roys’ words, which clearly show why the fact that Hardy has no professional counseling credentials was relevant:
“During the first counseling session, which included Shannon and Hardy, David admitted he kicked one of the couple’s children and tried to suffocate the child.
In subsequent counseling sessions, David presented Hardy with a handwritten, four-page list of “sins” against Eileen and his children, Eileen said. On one of these pages obtained by The Roys Report, David admits he used a “belt & rod way too harshly—brutally” on a child. He also says he “tied up” and “locked up” the child and was not always “adequately dressed” in the child’s presence.
According to Eileen, Hardy refused to take or read David’s list.
The Roys Report reached out to Shannon and Hardy, specifically asking about these events, but they did not respond.
However, in an official court declaration in 2002 concerning Eileen’s legal separation from David Gray, Hardy stated: “I am of the opinion that Eileen simply doesn’t like David . . . and is using what she alleges to have happened with the children as leverage to put David out of their lives.”
Hardy accused Eileen in the declaration of having “a tendency to exaggerate” and exercising “faulty logic and irrational thinking.”
In contrast, Hardy said David Gray was “fairly laid back” and that after several monitored visits between David and his children, “our church concluded that monitors were not necessary.”
Hardy counseled Eileen to forgive David “even if he wasn’t repentant,” Eileen testified. “He would teach me over and over ‘the threefold promise of forgiveness’ . . .” she stated, “where you act as though it never happened, and you never bring it up again, and you never tell anyone about it.”
Eileen also testified that Hardy urged her to allow David back into the family’s home and to model for the children how to “suffer for Jesus” by enduring David’s abuse. Eileen stated that she was willing to endure the abuse herself but was not willing to allow her children to be abused,”
Changing gears just a bit, did you know that George Floyd committed suicide? Yep, that’s what Hall and Morrill claim. You all remember Floyd:
George Perry Floyd Jr. (October 14, 1973 – May 25, 2020) was an African-American man who was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest after a store clerk suspected Floyd may have used a counterfeit twenty-dollar bill, on May 25, 2020. Derek Chauvin, one of four police officers who arrived on the scene, knelt on Floyd’s neck and back for 9 minutes and 29 seconds. After his murder, protests against police brutality, especially towards black people, quickly spread across the United States and globally. His dying words, “I can’t breathe,” became a rallying cry.
The City of Minneapolis settled a wrongful death lawsuit with Floyd’s family for $27 million. Chauvin was convicted on two counts of murder and one count of manslaughter on April 20, 2021 and on June 25, 2021, was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison. The other three officers at the scene were also later convicted of violating Floyd’s civil rights.
Source
If the kind and compassionate Pastor Hall were King he wouldn’t allow a funeral for those who commit suicide!
Were I King I wouldn’t allow Pastor Hall to be a Pastor!
Pastor Hall and Morrill are not fans of Kyle J. Howard. Pastor Hall implied above that Howard’s entire Twitter feed is made up of false claims of racism. In the clip below Morrill claims Julie Roys has no credibility because she interviewed Kyle J. Howard. They also poke fun at Howard several times in the video for pronouncing “trauma” as “twauma.”
I trust I have provided enough information to demonstrate whether it’s Julie Roys or J.D. Hall and David Morrill that warrant your trust.
Wow . . I’m so disappointed in JD Hall.
So, Dee, I think I am remembering this correctly . . . I’m pretty sure JD mentioned to me a while back that his wife was in school to be a speech therapist. If that is true, I wonder what she thinks about JD’s intentional mimicking of Kyle Howard. Ugh!
Oh, hey, I’m first. Do you still play that game around here? LOL
This woman had to live in abject terror, and Hall’s response is, “Who gives a crap?”
What kind of a so-called Christian says this?
To be clear, Christians are called to “suffer for Jesus” at the hands of unbelievers, NOT at the hands of (so-called) fellow Christians.
And making fun of someone with a speech impediment? That’s mature and manly [she said with an eye roll].
Wow, the cult of John MacArthur has followers everywhere saying the craziest stuff to defend their little tin god.
“It’s a cult” and “Little cults everywhere.”
Yeah, you get the gold and silver!
Haha, Todd, and my apologies for not looking at who wrote the article! So sorry. Great job.
12 out of 12 jurors.
Related: GCC’s by-laws state elders must reach a unanimous decision for… whatever requires an elder decision. I assume that includes excommunications.
My personal theory is that you had some really awful counsel following the strict complementarian teaching, and the rest of the elders were asleep at the wheel.
Hi Todd. Thx again for an important post.
Regarding Hall and Morrill: “When people show you who they are, believe them the first time.” ~Maya Angelou
Racism, misogyny, speech mockery.
“Blessed are those who walk not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the way of sinners, not sit in the seat of MOCKERS. But their delight is in the law of the Lord and on His law they meditate day and night.” Psalm 1
That’s good to know, thanks Marco. I would guess that little happens at GCC without JM knowing about it.
What struck me was how much time these two “clowns” spend attacking Julie Roys…..
and brining up Floyd ??? What the #$& does that have to do with the convicted, not alleged, case of child sex abuse???
This should be taught in a logic class about how NOT discuss/debate a specific issue…. But then, this seems to be how most politics is “debated/discussed” these days….
Jeffrey Chalmers,
PS
I use the word “clowns” for several reasons..
1. I am taking the Biblical concept of not using a worse term to describe them
2. From thoughtful perspective with respect to what these “two” are saying, it is almost “comical”…. ( but not because of the seriousness of the crimes)..
3. I can not “stomach” the concept that at least one of them has the title of “pastor”….
I can’t help but wonder if Hardy avoided reading Gray’s sin list to avoid taking action… I believe ministers are mandated reporters in CA. Even that potential possibility disgusts me.
HereIStand,
The whole thing is SUPREMELY disgusting….. I attended a GARBC 7-12 grade, fundamentalist school in the 1970’s and they pushed Los Angles Bible College, LABC, back then. LABC became .. “The Masters University”…. Ala Johny Mac kingdom..
I distinctly remember visiting LABC and their telling us they did not believe in secular humanist “psychology”..
also, I remember very “complemtarian” views …( but that was not the term then), young earth creationism, contempt of allot of science, yalso very legalistic, etc, etc..
In other words, they have always been like “this”, and my bet there are many, many examples of abuse cover up that have not come to the surface….
Unfortunately, this kind of behavior is par for the cause for JDH and all the other cosplaying little boys in his circle.
Another “christian” known by what he hates only.
“par for the course”, of course. #!*@ autocorrect!
Chewbacca Defense.
Get everyone sidetracked into something else and keep them busy arguing over irrelevant trivia.
Christians are especially prone to this; remember the sidetracking over “Are they Really Saved?”
Except ringing in Floyd they’re playing the Culture War Race Card instead of the Theology/Salvation one.
“And they’ll know we are Christians
By our Spite, by our Spite,
Yes they’ll Know we are Christians by our Spite.”
Just like Scientology.
I am going to trust Jesus Christ.
As for JD Hall, I believe he was the one who went to a church over in Dickinson ND and tried to take over their revival meeting. See, their theology differed from his, so he drove there from Montana and tried to disrupt the meeting and preach his own flavor of the faith. Pure undeniable hubris.
As far as the mocking and coarse language, that does not fly with me. Someone I love struggled with a speech impediment caused by palate structure. Orthodontics brought massive improvement, but occasionally you can hear it a bit. Mocking them for it would leave you feeling like you fought a buzz saw if you did it around me.
For the same reason, I detest our local group who is mocking the current president. I don’t care if you detest his politics or policies and say so. But calling him dumb, stupid, mentally off kilter, suffering dementia, etc when he has a break through of his stuttering and speech defect is out of bounds.
In the same way, I believe one of the many things individual Christians should be doing today is to be part of toning down the rhetoric. Lively, even spirited debate on any topic whatsoever is absolutely all right. But mocking, labelling, name calling, resorting to personal attack should be absolutely out of bounds.
Some of the changes in my own speech patterns I am working on are along these lines: it is not ok to call someone who opposes LBGTQ+ rights homophobic or transphobic. Nor is it ok to call someone who supports them a nancy or some words I consider dirty but you know so I don’t need to use them here. One of them, to we scots irish, merely used to mean a stick of firewood. It is not ok to refer to inner city black women as welfare queens, nor is it ok to refer to rural poor people as hicks, rubes, rednecks, bubbas, or white trash. It is not ok to refer to a person who dwells in a mobile home as trailer trash, or one who resides in an expensive home as a latte sipping elitist.’
More and more I agree with one side of my forbears that it is enough to refer to them either as Mr or Mrs So and So or as Brother or Sister. I won’t stop arguing points of contention and standing for what I believe, but unless we want to be living in the hell of real civil war, it is beyond time to stop being snarky.
Julie Anne Smith,
She is and she supports Hall completely. I checked with him. I, too, am disappointed.
How did you get from there to your scientific and professorial accomplishments?
Julie Anne Smith,
I let people have free reign. I am not an authoritarian. 🙂
I just realized…
J.D.Hall?
Pulpit & Pen?
His personal hit squad, the Pulpiteers?
“REMEMBER BRAXTON CANER!”
It is literally impossible to exaggerate the Arrogance of God’s Special Pets.
dee,
I went to Westmont College, before realling “backsliding” into the secular humanist domain of U.C. Berkeley. Westmont College was considered a “liberal Christain school”, and my “real” committment to “True Christinaity” was questioned.. whereas I like to think that I committement is to “truth”… (note, I use a little “t”)
but, Westmont was a nice transtion… intellectually/emotionally it has been a long journey that is still not over.. fundamentalist install a lot of “buttons” that can be pushed, and they can be pushed in completely unexpected ways.. There is obviously more to the story, but I am reutinely told I “lecture to much”!!
Little tin god is right.
MacArthur is more and more like Randall Flagg as time goes on.
Todd Wilhelm,
I would also guess it means there is no room for dissent. If a dissenting elder can hold up a majority vote, then either the elder will eventually fall in line or see himself out. Or maybe he’ll be disciplined by the rest of the board for being divisive.
You know, the ol’ Bent Meyer and Paul Petry maneuver.
I’ve never wanted to cuss so much as I did watching those clips. Part of me wants to dismiss them as “fringe,” as not being models of American Christianity and/or evangelicalism. Yet, this seems to be EXACTLY what Am. evangelicalism prides itself on as time and again we see pattern of abuse & cover crossing denominational lines. Woah.
Woe.
Gus,
“par for the cause” may actually fit in this case. 😉
I dunno…I’d rather go with the very real life David Miscavige over the fictional Randall Flagg. But I have personal experience with the former, the latter I only read about.
Not a complete surprise. On the Reformation Charlotte Facebook page I called out a blatant lie, my post was deleted and I was blocked.
Again, remember you’re dealing with people who’s theology was:
1) developed by someone (Calvin) who claimed to be a former Catholic, yet believed his Catholic infant baptism guaranteed his admission to Heaven upon death (something which evangelicals almost unanimously oppose),
2) the same as that of Augustine, only reworded (so, based on their criticism of Ed Litton, wouldn’t that make Calvin just as guilty of plagiarism?), and
3) had no problem using civil authority to enforce religious teachings.
Rotten root, rotten fruit?
Marco–It doesn’t matter how many elders you need, if the Senior Pastor (or whatever his title is) can stack the board with yes-men.
Headless–It is the same one. Though he now calls the site “Protestia”.
From above article: “This behavior is something you might expect to encounter among some immature boys in middle school, but not in adult men who call themselves Christians. Sadly however, this behavior seems to be on the increase in some patriarchal groups of white Christian males.”
Mark Driscoll made this sort of mockery and bad behavior cool and acceptable
Now all these guys think it’s okay.
But as touched on in the quote, much of the Evangelical Church is being led by immature man-boys who don’t know any better. But they should. No one should have allowed them into the positions of authority they occupy.
But there they sit anyway.
Instead of “Who let the dogs out?” we should be asking, “Who let the wolves in?”
“Julie Roys or J.D. Hall & David Morrill: Who Are You Going to Trust?”
Definitely would trust Julie Roys compared to the ‘boys’ above, who as mentioned really haven’t grown up or matured in multiple ways.
Miscavage’s official portraits achieve that “look fair but feel FOUL” vibe all the Christian End Times types try for (and fail) in their Antichrist.
Don’t know how it stacks up to The Walkin’ Dude, but with Miscavage it’s the eyes – the Predator’s Stare, Stone Cold Psychopath.
dee,
Badboys and their fangirls.
Ezekiel 16.
Giving oneself over to the Dark Side, which is extreme distancing from God. The loser life.
OTOH, ditch the Badboys and enjoy the Presence of our Creator God.
Yet another Properly Submissive Biblical Wifey.
“What is Thy will, My Lord Husband? How might I better Submit?”
(Yet another factor why I’m 66 and never married. The thought of having to be Equally Yoked with THAT…)
It is terrifying to know that JD Hall is the pastor of a church.
Bridget,
Exactly….
Mark R,
1) “ M. On what terms then are children to be baptized?
S. To attest that they are heirs of the blessing promised to the seed of believers, and enable them to receive and produce the fruit of their Baptism, on acknowledging its reality after they have grown up.” (Calvin:Catechism of the Church of Geneva, Vol 2, Tracts Relating to the Reformation)
“ But our writings clearly shew that the whole doctrine of Baptism, as taught by them (that is, the Roman Catholic Church), is partly mutilated, partly vicious.”(Calvin:Antidote to the Canons of Baptism). He clearly doesn’t think there is any similarity between them.
2) Hardly plagiarism when Calvin, like many of the Reformers, extensively quote and approve of Augustine
3) “ Things here are in the greatest confusion. All the neighbourhood is incensed against us, and fresh fuel is every day added to increase the flame. As if the wicked were not madly enough bent on outraging me, their animosity is whetted by the encouragement it receives from the countenance of the powerful. Moreover they now begin to put my books openly to the ban, for formerly they contented themselves with attacking them indirectly” (Calvin:Letter to Farel,15th May, 1555). Hardly the words of a man who could dictate to the civil magistracy.
Could be a ratings game.
Like in MSM, sometimes what is obviously ridiculous is still red letter headlines ‘cuz … ratings. $$$, entertainment, attention, coverage, notoriety.
Humbly saying and doing the right thing normally does not bring big bucks and headlines.
Roys is sensible, intelligent, measured, and normal. Never cheeky, nor flirty, nor cutesy, hip, cool; not a fangirly girl. Prolly not good for ratings.
When has Evangelicalism ever been sensible, measured, non-attention-getting, and normal? Probably formerly the case, but definitely before my time.
Ava Aaronson,
you got that right… all about attention getting…
John,
Feel the same way. Interestingly Julie Roys also reported that a wealthy group in Kansas is paying $100 million for an ad campaign across the US to help people understand Jesus in a positive night. Ok, but as people posted on Roys blog in the comment section, even if an ad points out how awesome Jesus is it makes little difference if the church which seekers go to is full of self-satisfied prideful leaders and pews full of many that exude hate or small mindedness. What is needed is repentance not billboards. But of course money can’t buy. repentance. Too bad.
And by the way, what’s up with these men feeling they need to defend McArther when the man himself stays totally silent on all these things?
And that was BEFORE today’s all-encompassing POLITICIZATION of Big Evangelicalism.
Nobody gives a crap? Really? I seem to remember someone in the Bible saying something about millstones and people who hurt kids. And there was that thing about whatever you’ve done to the least of these you’ve done to someone else. Silly me I can’t remember but I’m sure the wise pastor would know.
As for it being 20 years ago… https://julieroys.com/john-macarthur-church-supported-convicted-abuser-pedophile/
Ahhh, the joy and satisfaction of bootlicking, says the sociopath who wears the boots.
Big E has had a continuum of isms… with the blind leading the blind:
Centralism of pope and pastors, so fall in line.
Capitalism of church as business, so empty your pockets.
Politicism so vote for OUR GUY.
IOW, kings and collections are the thing. Those who refuse to bow … do they enter the furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, only to find fellowship with our Saviour Himself? The question.
Mark R,
It happened in a former churches, both Baptist and nondenominational. The results were predictable.
… who has followers who adore him and think just like him! Whew!!
I repeat, anyone … anyone … anyone with a touch of charisma, a gift of gab, and a bag of gimmicks can be a successful “pastor” in America. Their success depends on gullible followers who don’t have a clue what the Bible teaches or who Jesus is.
You were first and second! J.D. Hall, on the other hand, is way down the list!
… is perhaps the most populated cult of personality in Christendom. By and large, they are an arrogant and mean-spirited bunch … especially the ones in pulpits.
What else are they going to do through the day? They certainly aren’t out pastoring the flock and telling folks about Jesus as they ought.
Sometimes, we all feel like losing our Christianity for just a moment to cuss what needs to be cussed. There is none better than “Pastor” J.D. to stir up such emotion. So cuss away and ask for forgiveness next time you pray.
Yes, this is Driscoll’s legacy.
Wolves in sheep’s clothing? Nah, the wolves have found that shepherd’s clothing works much better.
Not even Wolves, Max.
These are feral junkyard dogs.
Wolves have more class than that.
Max,
M. Driscoll is not the only one to blame…. Driscoll was just VERY course in his language….
In my 30pulse years “in country” has HUG likes to say ( i.e. in fundamentalist, evangelical land), I noticed a very strong “river of thought” that I would characterize, at a MINIMUM, as unloving, uncharitable… Toward any “opposition to our side”…. Very much a “we are the Christian soldier” … in my fundy church we would sing “ Onward Christian soldiers!”…..
A number of years ago, when I was deeply in my “secular humanist, atheistic scientific world” I began to realize that my colleagues were not this bunch of evil people that I was brought up to believe….. in fact, there was a wide range of people, with a wide range of “moral compasses”…. What my fundy teaching did do, and I am eternally grateful for, is that I do believe in the “sin nature”, and there is a fundamental struggle between being righteous, and being selfish, and mankind tends to go the self-centered direction.. … this serves me well in my world
Agreed. There have been other fundagelicals who contributed to bad-boy pulpits. But I contend that Potty-Mouth-Macho-Man-Dude-Bro Driscoll released the beast in New Calvinist ranks. You can still walk into SBC YRR church plants, close you eyes, and hear Driscoll coming from the pulpit. Driscoll’s spirit is alive and sick in a multitude of churches.
Max,
I am not “dissagreeing” with your assesment of M. Driscoll… maybe I am saying he is part of a long line of “leaders” that are “corrupting” American Christianity..
I would say that good old Johny Mac has as well… he is “more sophisticated” in his corrupting approach, including getting others to do his “dirty work”, as this OP demonstrates!!
Agreed. Driscoll is/was a “New” Calvinist corrupter … JMac, an “Old” Calvinist corrupter … both in a long line of corrupters of various theological persuasions. It’s the stuff that Ezekiel wrote about … these boys will pay an awful price here or there … God doesn’t take such sin and rebellion lightly.
Did anyone see this??? I guess sleeping pills and anti anxiety medication made him do it!
https://hillsong.com/newsroom/blog/2022/03/an-important-message-from-the-hillsong-global-board/#.YjTUzBZOnDs
Hands down team July Royce
Did anyone see this??? I guess sleeping pills and anti anxiety medication made him do it!
https://hillsong.com/newsroom/blog/2022/03/an-important-message-from-the-hillsong-global-board/#.YjTUzBZOnDs
=======================================================
I had not seen that, Shauna. Thanks much for bringing it to our attention.
Hillsong’s Board must be using the same playbook that RZIM’s Board used. It shows they view their “giving units” as gullible dolts that will believe anything they say.
Here are a few key quotes:
“At the time of his announcement, the Hillsong Church board did not make a public statement because we were still working through a number of issues privately with Pastor Brian. These issues are now public, and therefore we would like to share with you the details.”
“The first issue was approximately a decade ago and involved inappropriate text messages from Pastor Brian to a member of staff, which subsequently resulted in the staff member resigning. At the time, Pastor Brian was under the influence of sleeping tablets, upon which he had developed a dependence. He immediately apologised to the person. We also worked closely with Pastor Brian to ensure he received professional help to eliminate his dependency on this medication, and this was achieved successfully.”
[note:I am sure they could provide the billing records to prove Pastor Brian actually received professional help!]
“The second issue involved a complaint received in 2019. Following an in-depth investigation, it was found that Pastor Brian became disoriented after a session at the Hillsong Conference, following the consumption of anti-anxiety medication beyond the prescribed dose, mixed with alcohol. This resulted in him knocking on the door of a hotel room that was not his, entering this room and spending time with the female occupant.”
[note: That’s the best they could come up with? Haha. Sounds like he better go back to the professional he saw to kick the sleeping pills and alcohol abuse.]
Nah, the devil made him do it.
Goes well with this:
https://www.memri.org/reports/ny-imam-ibraheem-al-hoori-women-subservience-and-obedience-their-husbands-act-religious
I dug out that information about the charity (which still has hundreds of millions of dollars left to spend, at least per their 2019 Form 990) and passed it around a few months ago. I’m glad Julie Roys is doing something with it. That said, $100 million dollars could be FAR BETTER SPENT on what Catholics call “corporal works of mercy”–you know, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, burying the dead. That kind of money could make a significant difference in people’s lives, yet it’s being used for advertising. Advertising in a country where pretty much everyone has heard of Jesus, the vast majority of the population has darkened the door of a church at least once in their lives….
And yeah, I’m Judas who complained about the perfume that was used to anoint Jesus would have been better sold and kept for the common purse. Except I’m not an ad agency getting a piece of a $100 million dollar ad buy, just an observer who thinks that the name of Jesus would be better served with that money by doing works of mercy in his name. I’m incorrigible.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/nh-pastor-charged-child-pornography-possession
No offence intended, and I’m NOT making excuses for Brian Houston….
Some people can experience some very strange side-effects from sleeping pills and / or anti-anxiety medication. While I’ve never personally taken either sleeping pills and / or anti-anxiety medication myself, and I know some people who have benefited from them, I have encountered some people who have experienced some very strange side-effects – sleeping pills and / or anti-anxiety medication can affect the executive function in the brain. One person I met was unable to stop themself from uncontrollably throwing plates….needless to say, the person stopped taking the medication.
Perhaps that should be written
pastorBrian….he has disqualified himself from holding the title of pastor, Elder, etc.Mr. Jesperson,
There is no end to it. The pastor is being held on a $3,000 cash bond – that seems very low to me.
You may recall that I wrote an article on the “peeing pastor” in which a pastor urinated on a woman during a flight from Las Vegas to Detroit. His blood alcohol content was .175 -more than double the legally intoxicated limit. He claimed he had also taken ambien. Maybe, maybe not. I just think it a bit coincidental that these bad-behaving pastors seem to use that as a convenient excuse.
BTW, the peeing-pastor was sued and they reached a settlement out of court. I called the woman to see if I could find out how much she received, but the call went right to voice mail and she never returned my call. I would guess she likely had to sign an NDA.
Here is a link to the article – http://thewartburgwatch.com/2020/11/04/peeing-pastor-daniel-chalmers-resigns-from-catch-the-fire-raleigh-church/
I’m actually surprised this is being handled as a state crime. I would have thought the Feds would have taken this. Not sure what is going on here.
Houston, Hybels and the “Peeing Pastor” all claimed Ambien + liquor made them do it? … all of them?!! Didn’t they read the warning that comes with the prescription … surely they heard about this possibility in the news … or perhaps their doctors advised them not to mix drugs & alcohol?! Nah, they just all had trouble keeping their pants on. Future “pastors” need to come up with another excuse when they fail morally … this one is getting old.
And I suspect that he is off somewhere now being “restored” so he can return to the pulpit (probably by Robert Morris). Aren’t there enough real-deal pastors out there that we don’t have to return one to ministry who pees on airline passengers?!! What’s he going to do next?! Not to mention that there are no examples in the New Testament of Peeing Pastors being restored to ministry.
I agree that Ambien and related sleeping pills can cause unusual behaviors and a person may have no recollection of the activity. However, the statement also stated he took more medication than prescribed and mixed it with alcohol, which he would have known was wrong to do. This is clearly just a bunch of excuses. Neither Brian, nor the leadership of Hillsong is willing to be deeply honest about this. In the statement there is clear evidence of patterns of sinful behavior and lack of repentance that disqualify him from church leadership.
Danny “The Peeing Pastor” and his wife, Shara, have retreated to Bethel Temple, Redding, CA.
They have changed the name of their ministry from “Love Wins” to “At His Feet International Ministries.” They have also changed their last name from “Chalmers” to “Vithoulkas.”
No doubt the names have been changed to protect the guilty! But it’s a God anointed thing – to fight against the attacks of the devil. Watch for more on an upcoming post.
A rose by any other name would still be a Peeing Pastor.
Todd Wilhelm,
he sure has a weird way of “catching the fire”
Name changes, repositioning, rebranding, … oh, the Hollywood of it all.
Or maybe, the Madmen, Madison Ave. of it all. The enterprise and entrepreneurship of “christian” capitalism. The gospel what-would-Jesus-do of ministry? But Jesus would do none of this. This has nothing to do with Jesus.
When ministry as a capitalistic venture fails, however, renaming and rebranding is precisely what one does to recover after a fail.
All of the Apostles, especially latecomer Paul, were failures. None of them rebranded. From Saul to Paul or Simon to Peter had nothing to do with public image rebranding but rather with Jesus’ call to a new life, which culminated in martyrdom but never a Hollywood lifestyle.
The Apostles were never the cool kids; they were the called kids. Called to humility, service, God’s purpose, and sacrifice.
Bethel in Redding.
Home of Grave-Soaking Necromancy and virile muscular Dead Raising Teams.
Which keeps attempting to buy out and take over the town like the Rajneeshees with Antelope OR or that Jerk with the Kirk in Moscow ID.
Why does this not surprise me?
P.S. I know a couple Redding expats. When asked about Bethel, their response was “That CULT?”
And if I remember right, Peeing Pastor is white and the woman he peed on is black, which adds a whole new dimension to “ain’t drunks wonderful”?
Also I suspect Peeing Pastor is no stranger to The Secret Sip. To still be able to walk at .175 BAL plus Ambien would require building up a tolerance.
“Drink because you are happy, but never because you are miserable. Never drink when you are wretched without it, or you will be like the grey-faced gin-drinker in the slum; but drink when you would be happy without it, and you will be like the laughing peasant of Italy. Never drink because you need it, for this is rational drinking, and the way to death and hell. But drink because you do not need it, for this is irrational drinking, and the ancient health of the world.”
— G.K.Chesterton
“Touch Not Mine Anointed”?
Cutesy Name/Slogan and all.
Only cost (in the words of Mr Evil from Austin Powers) “One Hundred Million Dollars”.
The Don Draper who got the account must be laughing all the way to the bank.
Even negative attention is still attenton.
Infamy is still Fame.
“I’m gonna be –
I’m gonna be –
I’m Gonna Be FAMOUS!!!”
— Theme to Total Drama Island, Cartoon Network’s parody of elimination-game Reality Shows
As a European, I have one question: what’s this with the clothes?
Why do so many evang. men dress like they are in military or hunting camouflage? Or like they’re lumberjacks?
Very strange.
They had better look up the “Lumberjack Song” by Monty Python’s Flying Circus – an eye-opener, I tell ya, a real eye-opener!
😉
Muslin, fka Dee Holmes,
I wondered too.
Don’t all crimes aboard airliners in transit across state lines automatically take on Federal jurisdiction?
This is exactly why you should never hand the devil a microphone.
Trying to show off how Manly, Rugged, and TOUGH they are.
POSERS.
The most extreme type example was a Survivalist(TM) poser interviewed during the Eighties. Must have weighed at least 150 kilos, military BDU cammies, over a Goering of stolen valor pinned to his chest, bragging about “When Push Comes to Shove, The Most Plentiful Food Source in the Cities Will Be HUMAN FLESH! Prepare to Do What Must Be Done to SURVIVE!”
Headless Unicorn Guy,
🙂
That must take a lot of masculine insecurity. If you’re comfortable in your masculinity, you don’t need to pretend.
To project the Marlboro Man image, bad-boy Driscoll personality, macho dudebros. Most of them have never been in the military or gone hunting, let alone chopped down trees! But in their minds, they are rough and tough … when the devil jumps out of a bush to scare them, they scream like women.
When is Julie Roys going to expose the coverup of sexual abuse by Doug Wilson and the CREC? No one is talking about that.
Sean,
I have written a number of articles about Wilson including the Sitler mess. Do you know more about things? If so, send me an email.
Sounds very plausible.
First, with a lot of these PASTORS and Christian Leaders who show up on this blog, Sexual Abuse of Inferiors is a Privilege of Rank. Like a pre-Christian Roman Paterfamilias having Absolute Sexual Rights over all Animate Property in his Household.
Second, this is the Jerk with his Kirk who’s always plotting to take over Moscow Idaho and become its Tsar Putin AND Patriarch Krill all in one. Thirst for Power, craving to Dominate, and More Hypermasculine Than Thou – that combination often expresses itself through Rape, whether directly or indirectly. “PENETRATE! COLONIZE! CONQUER! PLANT! PENETRATE! COLONIZE! CONQUER! PLANT!”