Remember last year's SBC Annual Meeting in Louisville? There was quite a commotion over Mark Driscoll, whom some fondly call "Big Papa D".
Remember last year's SBC Annual Meeting in Louisville? There was quite a commotion over Mark Driscoll, whom some fondly call "Big Papa D".
The GCR Task Force included the following FAQ and response on its website:
“The South is dry and will vote dry. That is, everybody sober enough to stagger to the polls will". Will Rogers
I am mad, really mad! There used to be sacrifice involved when serving in Christian organizations. Sometimes, far too much sacrifice. However, that is changing – BIG TIME!
Digression alert: Soon after meeting with Doug Pittman, I had the opportunity to speak at length with Tom Rich. Once again, I was grateful for the "heart-rending" experience at my former church. Once again, as he told me his story, I felt like I was reading a playbook as I heard about the responses by Mac Brunson and the so-called "leadership" at FBC Jacksonville.
Yesterday, I had the privilege of listening, in church, to a panel made up of four scientists who happen to be Christians. They discussed their professions, how their faith impacts their science, and vice versa. All four proclaimed their sense of awe for God’s incredible creation and the complexity of the world He has made. Yet, all four of these Christians would be in serious trouble at my former church and in many others. All of them believed in an old earth and some form theistic evolution. Yet, as I listened to them, I could sense their passion for the Lord as well as their dedication to the Scriptures.
Are Christian conferences just an American phenomenon? Across the pond in jolly old England, Christian leaders can attend a conference that involves “teaching” and “worship”. This annual event held in Brighton is designed primarily for Christian leaders, but welcomes students and twenty-somethings. Incredibly, 5,000 delegates from 50 nations attend this annual conference.
The first time I ever heard the phrase “The Scream of the Damned” was on March 19, 2009, right around the time that Dee and I began our blog The Wartburg Watch. It absolutely INFURIATED me! How dare someone suggest that my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ “screamed” on the cross and that He was ‘damned’, which means “condemned, especially to eternal punishment”. I believe “damned” is a sensational word that implies someone is being sent to hell. After reading C.J. Mahaney’s book Living the Cross Centered Life, I discovered that this ridiculous phrase originated with R.C. Sproul (see yesterday’s post).
When I was growing up, my mother often warned me that I would be judged by the company I keep. When companies invite speakers to their annual meeting, Wall Street watches very carefully because these speakers can often indicate the direction the company is going to pursue. Rest assured that a company would never feature a speaker with whom they disagreed.
Our review of the Ehrman/D'Souza debate will probably differ from others. We were not looking for the clever knock out punch, but increased insight into our opponent.
Here is an assessment of the debate by its moderator, Larry Taunton, who is the head of the Fixed Point Foundation.
http://www.fixed-point.org/index.php/blog/216-whywesuffer
On October 7,2009, The Wartburg Watch took a trip to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to listen to the debate entitled: God and the Problem of Suffering. This debate was sponsored by the Carolina Apologetics Club, which utilized the Fixed Point Foundation and its resources in order to put on a world-class debate. It was advertised on campus thusly.
“Dinesh D'Souza is a best-selling American author and speaker who has become a front line defender of Christianity. D'Souza is an accomplished debater and former policy analyst in the Reagan administration. His most recent publication, What's So Great about Christianity, is a defense of the Christian faith.
Bart Ehrman is a distinguished professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A best-selling author, Ehrman holds a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary and is perhaps most famous for his contribution to the study of the "historical Jesus." In many of his best-selling books, Ehrman challenges traditional Christian beliefs about the divinity of Christ, the resurrection, and other aspects of Christian faith. He recently wrote the book God's Problem, addressing the Bible's views on the problem of suffering.
The debate will be moderated by Larry Taunton, executive director of Fixed Point Foundation”.
It is crucial to realize the importance that Bart Ehrman holds in these circles. He relishes in demolishing the simplistic arguments that Christian students bring to the classroom. He claims an evangelical heritage, attending Moody Bible Institute and Wheaton College before losing his faith at Princeton. He has written a number of books highlighting Biblical “errors” and theological missteps. Many arrogant Christians, including a few pastors, have attempted to “demolish” him and usually end up on the receiving end of a club. However, Ehrman has his weaknesses, which are becoming evident the more he publishes and debates.
Dinesh D’Souza cut his teeth on challenging the entrenched political bureaucracy at Dartmouth College while a student and became a powerhouse within the neo-conservative movement. However, as a committed Catholic, he has begun to move into the issue of the defense of Christianity in light of the prominence of the New Atheism.
What is the bottom line from our perspective? It was a great beginning and even accomplished something important. What frustrates us to no end is the instant criticism from local Calvinista, JD Greear as well as Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary which featured JD's remarks on it’s blog. Here is the criticism:
http://jdgreear.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/10/ehrman-dsouza-debate.html
“I have to admit that I was not all that pleased with the outcome of the Bart Ehrman-Dinesh D'Souza debate last night. I have enjoyed a number of D'Souza's writings, and am much more (obviously) in his camp, but don't feel that he well represented the biblical position on the problem of evil. Ehrman was at his best, raising all the right questions. I found D'Souza's answers mostly flat, unsatisfying, and not really representative of the biblical/Christian position.
"Of all bad men religious bad men are the worst."
–Reflections on the Psalms, CS Lewis
"Of all bad men religious bad men are the worst."
–Reflections on the Psalms, CS Lewis
"Of all bad men religious bad men are the worst."
"Of all bad men religious bad men are the worst."
–Reflections on the Psalms, CS Lewis
"Of all bad men religious bad men are the worst."
–Reflections on the Psalms, CS Lewis
It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations.
It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations.
It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations.
"It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till. What weather they shall have is not ours to rule".
From Lord of the Rings:
All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
From Lord of the Rings:
All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by frost.
We are still in disbelief that Tom Rich was “outed” by FBC Jax and that his identity was disclosed to many leaders in the church. We will address this matter in greater detail tomorrow.
Today, we want to focus on how the subpoenas were obtained from the State Attorney’s Office in Florida. Please bear with us as we repeat the key facts of the case. Tom Rich had been a member of First Baptist Church Jacksonville for close to two decades. As far as we can determine, he respected Jerry Vines, the long time pastor of FBC Jax. Vines retired in January 2006, and Mac Brunson assumed the helm several months later.
Rich was disturbed that Mac Brunson received a valuable lot in a gated community almost immediately after arriving at FBC Jax. It appeared that the pastor's salary package just wasn't enough. The renovation of a wing of the church into a lavish suite for the pastor seemed extravagant to Tom Rich. Mac Brunson’s “abusive preaching”, especially during fundraising campaigns, really bothered Rich too. He wrote an anonymous letter explaining some of his key concerns. Had Tom Rich signed his name to the letter, he surely would have been kicked out of the church as had befallen other members who spoke out against the pastor.
In August 2007, about a year and a half after Brunson arrived at FBC Jax, Rich began his anonymous blog. He shared his candid concerns about the church he loved. Apparently, dissenting opinions ARE NOT ALLOWED at FBC Jax, even by an anonymous blogger!!! It’s important to note that Rich’s blog is still available for all to see, so if you’re just a wee bit curious, go to fbcjaxwatchdog.blogspot.com and read through some of Tom’s blog posts. They may sound a bit like what you are reading here on The Wartburg Watch.
Two nights ago as I was contemplating the topic that will be addressed in this post, I turned on my radio. Providentially, it was tuned to a station to which I rarely listen. I believe it was God ordained because a Roman Catholic lay leader was giving what might be called a sidewinder sermon had he been Baptist. He cogently condemned abortion and upheld the sanctity of life, citing Scriptural references that man is created in the image of God. He then turned to the subject of evolution, carefully elucidating the problem of natural selection and citing that man has a soul. Several times he peppered his talk with, “Can I get an Amen?”
This Catholic discussed Mary in a very unique fashion. He said that God honored women by choosing to send His Son to be born of a virgin. He said that much of society’s denigration of women would decline if only they realized the honor that God bestowed upon all women by choosing Mary to bear the Savior.
Over the last couple of weeks, I have been researching First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida, and to my absolute shock I have discovered that the church's pastoral staff has a terribly low opinion of Catholics. Perhaps that's why this wonderful Catholic sermon had such a profound effect on me. The pastors and congregants at FBC Jax might be surprised to learn that most evangelical theologians do not agree with their assessment of Catholicism. In fact, Jimmy Smryl’s “teachings” on Catholicism might be considered “fringe". And he has the gall to call Catholicism a cult?
What follows are remarks made from the pulpit at FBC Jax. I have provided the links to these inflammatory statements at the bottom of the post. It's extremely important to note that FBC Jax has removed these sermons from their web site. If they are so certain of their teaching, why would they censor their own sermons?
1. "And Catholics and Muslims and Hindus, and Buddhists and Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses can come to Jesus Christ and be saved." Note that Catholics are listed with Hindus and Buddhists, which are non-Christian faiths.
2.”Our struggle with assigning such a title (editor’s note: cult) to Catholics is not due to a lack of evidence, but rather to a lack of theological conviction as well as relativistic infection within the body of Christ. Translated: we are no longer passionate about the integrity of Jesus and are so afraid of offending a friend that we allow the nature and character of God to be demeaned in the name of peaceful relationships.”
Note: Smyrl claims that all Christian who disagree with his position are either “afraid” or "lack theological conviction”. He does not even consider that there are those, myself included, that believe that he is both theologically and historically incorrect.
3. Smyrl then quotes one such “cultish leader” to compliment him. I doubt Father Newman is thrilled with this backhanded endorsement.
“Do not make it a regular practice to quote cult leaders in a positive manner. [Yes I believe the beliefs and practices of the Catholic Church are cultish, but that is for another day.]
However, one Catholic Priest got it right, even though his solution is theologically flawed. In a letter to his church members, Jay Scott Newman of the St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Greenville, South Carolina took a bold stand towards those who voted for the continuous murder of the unborn. A portion of his letter (Newman’s) states:
“Voting for a pro-abortion politician when a plausible pro-life alternative exits constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil, and those Catholics who do so place themselves outside of the full communion of Christ’s Church and under the Judgment of divine law. Persons in this condition should not receive Holy Communion until and unless they are reconciled to God in the Sacrament of Penance, lest they eat and drink their own condemnation.”
Note: What I find disconcerting is Smryl’s lack of respect towards Jay Scott Newman, the Catholic priest. It is customary to refer to such a priest as "Father". One of the reasons why I am labeling “Jimmy” as a "redneck" is because he is showing disrespect by not using the priest's official title.
Secondly, I am concerned that Jimmy links voting against a pro-life candidate as cooperating with evil. Deb and I always vote for the pro-life candidate in each Presidential election; however, we both know committed Christians who voted for the opponent in the hopes of providing relief from hunger and health care for all. We strongly disagree with their conclusions, but we don't go around slamming them.
Just how does Jimmy prove theologically that Catholicism is a cult?
Interestingly, Jimmy uses criteria developed by Dr. Danny Akin, President of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. We have contacted Dr. Akin’s office for a response, and he will hopefully provide some insight when he returns in a week. We have e-mailed Dr. Akin, asking whether he considers Catholicism to be a cult and if his criteria were properly used in this particular case. We will post his response when and if it is received and promptly forward it to Jimmy Smyrl.
However, there is no judgment on Catholicism, positive or negative, to be found on Dr. Akin’s “official” web site or in a Google search. Here are the criteria from Jimmy’s sermon. The words in blue are a direct quote.
“Brooks Alexander, co-founder of the Spiritual Counterfeits Project, notes that a cult has a false or inadequate basis of salvation and/or a false basis authority. Dr. Akin lists four criteria of a cult that includes Alexander’s criteria. These four will be used for our analysis.
Breaking News
We have some pretty compelling evidence that Mac Brunson lives quite well in his McMansion with a handsome salary, a wife and son under his employ, and what appears to be a recession proof gig at First Baptist in Jacksonville. However, Mac was apparently whining about how poorly he was being treated by the church. We have learned the hard way that some in church leadership have different definitions of words that often stray from the more common usage of these words. We belief this is done purposefully. One such word, “gossip”, has been used recently to terrorize elderly ladies and throw them out of churches. See last weeks post on the widow at Prays Mills Baptist Church.
About eight years ago my husband and I purchased a preconstruction condo in the Santa Rosa beach area of Florida’s panhandle. We had lived in Texas and spent many happy years vacationing in the Destin Beach area. We realized that the location of this condo was a sure winner. At its completion, units were sold out and the price skyrocketed to three times the purchase price. One year went by, and we began to notice that the market values were slipping. About six months after the slide began, we sold our unit for a little over twice what we paid for it, kicking ourselves for not selling when the market peaked. We were the fortunate ones, however. Within a few months, real estate in Florida took a nosedive! We have friends who bought beach front property for close to one million dollars, financed it because they planned to flip it, and were stunned when the market value plummeted to the $400,000 range. This all happened around the time that Mac Brunson came to FBC Jax.
Wow! We sure hit a nerve down in Jacksonville. The defenders are on the move and are quite blunt. No wonder people have bodyguards down there. They sure go for the jugular. We are believers and find what is happening at FBC Jax inexcusable. Imagine how the liberal press in going to view this.
Finances, family employees and cognitive dissonance
Not to be, but to seem, virtuous — it is a formula whose utility we all discovered in the nursery.
CS Lewis
What you do speaks so loud I cannot hear what you say.
Abraham Lincoln
I grew up with this guy. He used to be the pastor at my Grandmother's church, and did roughly the same thing there. I suppose I owe him though, he's one of my earliest influences in becoming an atheist.” (Referring to Mac Brunson) See comment #5 by Sara at this link:
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2009/04/mac_brunson_baptist_tyrant_and.php
Before we launched The Wartburg Watch, we knew of the controversy surrounding an anonymous blogger who was a member of First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Florida (FBC Jax). However, our focus early on was aimed at what we considered to be more “important” matters within Christendom. As the situation at FBC Jax has played out over the last several months, the issues surrounding this case have become vitally important to us. We cannot stress strongly enough that anyone who believes in religious liberty, free speech, and Christian righteousness and honesty should be following this situation very closely. It's our intention to spend the rest of the week focusing on this most unusual case between "FBC Jax Watchdog" and First Baptist Church of Jacksonville.
Before presenting the facts of the case, we want to make a few things patently clear.
1. We have absolutely no ties to Florida. Furthermore, neither of us has ever lived there.
2. We do not personally know Mac Brunson, anyone on the Board of Trustees at FBC Jax, or Tom and Yvette Rich. In other words, we do not have a horse in this race.
3. We initiated contact with Tom Rich after reading about his situation and offered to tell his story on The Wartburg Watch. Since that time, we have talked with him on a few occasions.
4. We are deeply committed evangelical Christians who were members of Southern Baptist churches up until this year (2009) when we began to take notice of the shenanigans happening within the denomination. If you have been reading our blog, you already know several of the issues in the SBC that are troubling us.
5. We are attempting to obtain statements from Mac Brunson, Mr. Hinson, and the Florida State Attorney General’s Office.
This story is exhaustively discussed in Tom Rich's blog, which can be found at the following link:
It is our intention to categorize the issues outlined at Tom Rich's web site in order to help our readers understand the incredible breadth of the controversy. Perhaps our comprehensive look will be of benefit to those who are confused about what is truly going on here.
*****************************************************************
When we researched and wrote our series about Pray’s Mill Baptist Church in Douglasville, Georgia, we thought we had heard it all. Get ready… What has taken place at FBC Jax is even more mind-boggling. As long time Christians, we are both shocked and disgusted. Furthermore, we are appalled and taken aback by what has occurred. We are grateful that we have been Christians for a long time because this situation would shake the faith of any compassionate person.
What follows is addressed specifically to Mac Brunson, trustees of FBC Jax, church leaders, and church members.
We do not live in your state and have no known personal experience with any of you. This series will be written from the viewpoint of two Christians on the outside looking into your church. What do we see? From our vantage point, what we see is incredulous! We can well imagine how this story will play when the national media latches onto it, and we have no doubt that it will make headlines across the globe. The scandalous things that have happened will make a fascinating read for both Christians and non-Christians alike. Our sincere prayer is that you will consider what we are sharing with an open heart and rectify an obvious injustice before a watching world.
Here is a brief overview of what has occurred. Mac Brunson was called to pastor FBC Jacksonville in 2006. Within three weeks of his arrival, he was reportedly given a land gift estimated at $250,000 by a member of FBC Jax. Pastor Brunson built a large home on the lot which is purportedly worth around $900,000. We will outline other expenditures in our next post. A member of FBC Jax, Tom Rich, became troubled by what he was seeing in his church. After realizing that some members were being asked to leave the church, Tom wrote an anonymous letter to Pastor Brunson outlining his concerns. However, Pastor Brunson wanted the anonymous letter writer to identify himself, and Tom declined because he did not wish to be “thrown" out of the church.
Tom hoped that much needed changes at FBC Jax would be made. In August 2007 he began blogging anonymously as "FBC Jax Watchdog" about the issues he had with his pastor and his church. In December 2007 the "Watchdog" criticized the by-law changes that were made at First Baptist Jacksonville. This seems to be a trend within Southern Baptist churches, so if it hasn't yet happened at your church you might want to do a little research into why they are being altered. Here's a clue: the changes to the by-laws appear to be giving pastors all the control. Then in May and June of 2008 Tom addressed Mac Brunson's erroneous comments about Sheri Klouda. Remember that Brunson and Patterson are very close friends. Tom published Klouda's response on his blog.
When Pastor Brunson began to solicit large sums of money from his congregation to benefit the church infrastructure, Tom expressed his deep concerns on his blog. Apparently, the pastor requested that the congregation "give a million in two weeks". Can you imagine the pressure that must have been applied to motivate congregants to give over and above their regular contributions? At the same time, Florida was experiencing a precipitous decline in property values. The real estate bubble was beginning to burst during this time.
On September 28, 2008, during the Chest of Joash Service (aka commitment Sunday), commitment cards for 2009 were collected, and the total pledges were only half of the church's budget. Furthermore, the "give a million in two weeks" campaign was terribly unsuccessful. Not that much money went into the church coffers. Haven't we discussed something similar on The Wartburg Watch recently? We hope you are reminded of Martin Luther who caused great trouble for the indulgence preachers.
Pastor Brunson and the church trustees must have believed that the "Watchdog" alone was to blame for the tremendous shortfall, not the failing economy. The very next day, September 29, 2008, John Blount, FBC Jax church administrator, called the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office to report "an Internet incident with possible criminal overtones." At that point the church leaders sought to discover the Watchdog's real name. Tom Rich didn't even find out about this investigation until recently.
Robbie Hinson, a sheriff's detective attending FBC Jax, reportedly opened a criminal investigation into the Watchdog's identity by obtaining subpoenas from the State of Florida Attorney General's office. By the way, Detective Hinson has served as Mac Brunson's personal bodyguard. Since when do pastors (besides Mark Driscoll) need body guards? These subpoenas forced Google and Comcast to reveal Tom Rich's name. The case was closed on November 13, 2008, with a report that simply stated: "Investigation closed, no crime found". Incredibly, there was no record of any investigations or interviews done by Detective Hinson in the file.
Tom, and his wife, Yvette, were visited by two church leaders on November 28, 2008, and given a letter outlining Tom’s 16 (!) sins, along with letters prohibiting Tom and his wife from “trespassing” on church property. He was accused of "church misconduct". Ladies, please read the following very carefully… Yvette, Tom's wife, was accused of associating with a church member who was guilty of church misconduct. Here's a warning for wives at FBC: Be careful, if your husband loses his temper, you are also in sin for associating with him! EGADS!!!
On February 10, 2009, Tom was contacted by John Blount (church administrator) who informed him that they were taking the matter before the board of deacons. Tom requested fifteen minutes of uninterrupted time to defend himself against the allegations. Blount responded by saying that Tom could only discuss two things: whether he is the owner of the blog and whether the blog is sinful. Nothing else, period! If you haven't watched the movie Luther, please be sure to do so. Again, the similarities are uncanny. Luther couldn't discuss his concerns about heretical Catholic teachings with Cardinal Cajetan or address them before the Diet of Worms — he would only be allowed to recant. Martin Luther's refusal to cower before the Pope and his henchmen changed Christendom forever. Since Tom would not be given the opportunity to defend himself fully before the deacons, he told John Blount he would not attend.
Tom was reportedly told that he could not come back to FBC Jax unless he met with the trustees. There was a bit of a problem. Tom had left the church and joined another fellowship by this time. However, he graciously agreed to do so if he could bring legal representation and/or make a recording. According to Tom, they informed him he COULD NOT. Such a staunch position begs the question — Why not? What were the trustees afraid of since they were following Biblical principles closely… Didn’t Jesus allow for witnesses?
Tom and his wife had to join their current church by statement of faith since FBC Jax reportedly would not give them a letter of transfer. (Yawn…been there, had that happen, too).
Here's an important question and its surprising answer which contains a little known piece of information you may be reading here first…. Did anyone at FBC Jax reveal to the congregation that they were trying to discover the names of two other anonymous bloggers?
Reportedly, Detective/Bodyguard Hinson also got a subpoena to obtain the identity of a blogger connected with Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, Tennessee. This megachurch near Memphis has also been criticized by an anonymous blogger. What's that all about? We have provided links to two blogs dealing with the issues at Bellevue Baptist Church (which we will discuss soon).
http://www.savingbellevue.com/
http://www.newbbcopenforum.blogspot.com/
Surprised? Why would those affiliated with a Southern Baptist church in Jacksonville, Florida want to obtain the identity of an anonymous blogger engaged in publicly criticizing a Southern Baptist church in Tennessee? And why was this blogger so upset? In a nutshell, a Bellevue pastor had been molesting his own child for years. By the way, don't leaders in the SBC claim that Southern Baptist churches act independently of one another?
How about another zinger? An anonymous blogger who had been reporting on Darrell Gilyard was also investigated by Detective Hinson. Gilyard is now serving a three-year prison term for lewd molestation of a minor, among other things. In case you missed it, here's a link to the Jacksonville news report:
Need we remind you that Darrell Gilyard was the darling of some of the Conservative Resurgence crowd, including Paige Patterson, a former SBC President and close friend of Mac Brunson, and Jerry Vines, a former SBC President and Brunson's predecessor at FBC Jax? Remember our coverage of Darrell Gilyard, whom some leaders in the SBC labeled as "the next Billy Graham"? Please refer to our blog post on this deviant pastor who has wrecked many lives during his long career. Here's the link.
There was reportedly a subpoena of some kind issued to discover either the intent or the identity of the blogger reporting on Darrell Gilyard. That blogger's name is Tiffany Croft. Why in the world would FBC Jax need a subpoena to obtain Tiffany Croft's name? Her identity was discovered prior to Gilyard confession and plea bargain deal. In the aftermath of this fiasco, Gilyard is in prison, Tiffany Croft is a hero, and those who promoted Darrell Gilyard (Patterson and Viines) appear extremely foolish. We believe Tiffany Croft is due a number of apologies as well as accolades for her courage in identifying a wolf in sheep's clothing through her anonymous blog. If you'd like to visit her web site, here's the link:
http://www.tiffanycroft.blogspot.com/
Justice has now been served with regard to Darrell Gilyard (although he should have gotten more time in the slammer), and those connected with FBC Jax made a terrible mistake by investigating Tiffany Croft!
If the above subpoenas actually did occur, then there is something very strange going on…. How is FBC Jax tied to Bellevue Baptist Church and Tiffany Croft? Do the circumstances surrounding the investigation of these other two bloggers need to be investigated by any federal agencies since it crossed state lines into Tennessee? Is this the beginning of a nationally coordinated intimidation of those who question SBC churches and pastors? We are deeply troubled.
What follows is a list of concerns that we intend to look at over the next few days. We would like to save FBC Jax and Detective Robbie Hinson some undercover work. They may contact us directly at the following address:
We will be more than happy to answer any questions. If those connected with FBC Jax would like to share any details or thoughts with us, feel free to use that e-mail address and we will be glad to include pertinent information in an upcoming post. We personally guarantee confidentiality and promise (cross our hearts!) that we will not hire detectives to hunt you down!!!
Here are a few of the questions we will be addressing:
1. Is it ethical for a pastor to accept lucrative gifts from church members? Does "living large" help or harm a pastor’s witness?
2. Why did FBC Jax believe it was entitled to know the identity of anonymous bloggers when the church leaders did not follow all of the Biblical mandates in dealing with controversy?
3. Why was “potential criminal behavior” cited as the reason for the subpoenas when there was no concrete evidence of the criminal behavior described?
4. Why did “Mac Brunson's "bodyguard" become the investigative officer involved in obtaining the subpoenas and submitting the charges? Is there a conflict of interest here?
5. If FBC Jax professes to preach the whole Gospel, why is it afraid to be a light on the hill so that the whole world will see Jesus and praise Him? If FBC is truly following God, they should be delighted that Tom Rich is talking about the senior pastor and his lifestyle because Mac Brunson is the shepherd of FBC Jax and, as such, is an example of godly behavior.
6. Is there a program in place at FBC Jax that would allow the less affluent church members to receive gifts of lots in gated communities from fellow members, as their pastor did?
Finally, our hearts go out to Tom and Yvette Rich. I (Dee) have had the opportunity to speak with them at length. They are delightful people who answered my questions candidly. There is no doubt in my mind that they are a brother and sister in Christ. Too bad no one in the "so-called" leadership of FBC Jax ever met with Tom over a cup of coffee to hear his concerns and hash this out. Too busy filling out subpoenas, we suppose….
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