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“Pain is unmasked, unmistakable evil; every man knows that something is wrong when he is being hurt.” ― C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain”
Special thanks to Jerome, Knower of All Things.
I think this should interest the leadership and members at Park Street Church. They have the money, for now, and are quite effective in setting up attractive churches.
Stephen Um was a big shot with The Gospel Coalition until he wasn’t.
Stephen Um was an original TGC Council Member, along with Andy Davis, Mark Dever, C.J. Mahaney, Mark Driscoll, Crawford Loritts, James MacDonald, Andy Davis, John Piper, etc, They sure knew how to pick them, didn’t they. TGC has a unique way of dealing with people they remove from TGC positions. They say nothing.
In April 2021, he was also a member of TGC’s Board of Directors.
An April 30 article announced a new chairman of TGC Board of Directors. Um is not included in the list of Directors, but there is no mention or explanation of his absence.
In May 2021, he was removed from TGC’s Board of Directors and Council. That’s how it works with this crowd. “Never explain.”
What happened? Stephen Um was accused of spiritual abuse and defrocked.
n March 31, 2021, Pastor Stephen Um’s call to Citylife Presbyterian Church was dissolved. The timeline of events leading up to the separation are outlined below.
- September 2020: The Session became aware of some concerns regarding outside business activities conducted by Pastor Stephen Um. After lengthy discussions with Stephen and various members of our church and Staff, the Session felt it was important to involve the regional Southern New England Presbytery (SNEP) for guidance. This was in line with the church’s obligation and responsibility as a member of the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA) denomination, and also allowed an objective third party to conduct an investigation. At the same time, Stephen was immediately placed on a leave of absence.
- October 2020: The SNEP initially formed a Committee to review the list of concerns presented to them by the Citylife Church Session. Based on the initial evidence found by the Committee the Presbytery called a meeting on 10/24/20 to vote to form a Judicial Commission to complete the investigation and rule on its findings.
- February 2021: The Commission completed its investigation and submitted its report to Pastor Stephen Um, who pleaded guilty to all charges. They then proceeded to recommend a sentence of censure of indefinite suspension from office. On 2/25/21, Stephen submitted his resignation to the Presbytery.
…It is only natural for us to feel disbelief and disappointment in watching a spiritual leader fall, but we are reminded to “put not your trust in princes” (Psalm 146:3-4), and remember that Jesus is our perfect spiritual leader. We invite you to join us in shifting our focus to care for those most deeply hurt (Psalm 34:15-18) and affected by these events and the actions of Stephen Um. There are many on Staff and members in our congregation who have suffered silently; some have already left the church. Our desire is to thoughtfully and carefully walk alongside these individuals, to listen to their stories and pain, to grieve with them, and allow God, the perfect healer, to do His work (Psalm 147:3).
Citylife Presbyterian Church is a PCA church in Boston.
In 2022, Stephen Um became a Baptist, working for the North American Mission Board of the SBC and as the Executive Director of SBC’s Christ Church Charlestown.
Christ Church Charlestown
That was quick. Since Calvinists now run the SBC, there is little difference between the PCA and SBC (I hear the cries of the faithful on both sides.) Here is the blurb from Christ Church Charleston.
Stephen Um
Executive DirectorDr. Stephen Um and his wife Kathleen have lived and served in Boston for more than two decades. He began serving on staff at Christ Church in 2022 in addition to serving as well with Send Boston as a preaching and theology mentor to our church planters. The Ums love Korean barbecue, hosting people, University of Michigan football, and impacting a new generation of leaders in our church and city.
Here is a link to the SBC Church directory in case you don’t believe it is SBC. Try to find any reference to the SBC on the Christ Church website. I mentioned this type of covert church in the Park Street Church posts. There will be many of them.
SBCs Send Boston
Here is a link to the SBC’s Send Boston. As you will see, it is part of the North American Mission Board. If you don’t think they believe there is a need for SBC churches in Boston, read this.
The opportunity to reach and guide a lost generation is here. Of the estimated 5.9 million people living in the metro area of Boston, the majority identify as Catholics. The second largest group is comprised of those who claim no religious affiliation. Many people live alone or individually, not as part of a family, and the number of single-parent families is high as well. The city is home to only 156 Southern Baptist congregations, which leaves the city with only one Southern Baptist church for every 38,179 people. With diverse neighborhoods and interests, Boston is a place where church planters and supporting churches can make a difference in the lives of people in need.
“Please pray we’ll see a rapidly growing number of church planters come to Boston to plant 100 life-giving churches by 2020 with at least one church plant in every one of Boston’s 24 neighborhoods,” says David Butler, Boston’s Send City Missionary. “There is a tremendous lack of churches all over the Boston metro area, and we want to remedy this by raising up church planters to plant evangelical churches all over our city.”
From planting a church to partnering with those already on mission in Boston, you and your church can make a difference; connect with us to learn how.
Residencies
Send Boston offers church planting residencies in Boston for leaders who want to prepare for a role in church planting.
They have lots of money, and I suspect they will do well. PSC beware.
Summation: Within a year, Dr Stephen Um is back in business.
I have noticed something odd. I do not know if it is relevant to this situation. It seems that a fair number of troubled pastors quickly transfer into new and well-paying jobs. Given the Internet, there should be no reason not to pinpoint such a pastor. I have often wondered if these problematic pastors’ buddies grease the wheels for them to transition into new and well-paying church jobs quickly.
It appears that these impaired pastors get back on the saddle too quickly. Why is this allowed if a pastor has caused such pain in a church? From the PCA:
We invite you to join us in shifting our focus to care for those most deeply hurt (Psalm 34:15-18) and affected by these events and the actions of Stephen Um.
It appears that the new churches don’t give a rip for the security of their members or the pain of those wounded. Of course, the SBC is well known for issues such as this.
One more pastor joins the fallen pastor conga line. They fall and jump right up again.
“the SBC is well known for issues such as this”
A haunt of jackals
I’m actually not so sure that Park Street Church has the money. I’ve heard that they’re significantly below their budget, somewhere around $300K for ministry & operations and another $300K for missions.
Someone do please correct me if I’m wrong on this.
Re: Um being in the conga line of disgraced pastors: ugh, it would have to be the SBC. This tracks, right? There are no guard rails for men in ministry.
From a ‘Kingdom Conversation’ videoconference last year hosted by Neal McGlohon of the Charleston (S.C.) Baptist Association and ‘The Cypress Project’:
https://vimeo.com/856462573
2m15s
NEAL MCGLOHON: “And we have Dr. Steven Um. I met him, gosh, I guess at least a year ago. He attends Christ Church Charlestown…And he has just gone full time with Send Boston, with our tribe. So that’s awesome…So, Dr. Um, you take it away, and we are privileged to have you with us today”.
4m30s
STEPHEN UM: “Thank you, Neil…to have a bunch of Baptist brothers invite me in and welcome me into their network, that’s a picture of the gospel right there. So it’s a privilege for me to be with you guys”.
A ‘guys night out’ of the NAMB’s Send Boston, Stephen Um posing with his bros at end of video:
https://www.instagram.com/send_boston/reel/C3BSzvCg1mM/
caption:
“2024 Send Boston Guys Night at the Celtics is in the books! Sunday night planters got together to connect, catch up, and cheer on the Boston Celtics! #raisebanner18 #titletown”
“One of the goals of Send Boston is to bring together a brotherhood of men on mission. We want nights like these to help foster a spirit of togetherness, collaboration and encouragement among these men to continue faithfully answering the call of reaching Boston with the Gospel. #wearesendnetwork”
As if the greater Boston area hasn’t suffered enough under abusive RC priests, the SBC now wants in on the action too.
Is it any wonder why so many new SBC church plants attempt to hide their affiliation?
Sorry for the snark.
TGC hasn’t completely scrubbed the site, but the bio page has not been updated lately,
https://ontario.thegospelcoalition.org/stephen-um-biography
Stephen Um is very well educated — here’s the summary page for his PhD dissertation,
https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/handle/10023/13396
My understanding of Presbyterian polity is that Teaching Elders (aka Gospel Ministers) are not considered to be members of a local church congregation. So they are not subject to disciplinary action at the level of the local congregation. The church structure to which they are accountable is the local Presbytery of elders of the various churches in the same region. This accounts for the Session seeking the assistance of SNEP in dealing with the matter.
The statement of the Session did not mention disciplinary measures other than the dissolution of call. There is mention of multiple charges, but no specifics.
——————–
This story strikes me as a bit odd. Presbyterians are not the same as Baptists, even new-Calvinist Baptists. They obviously have a significantly different understanding of who is qualified for baptism, but underlying this is a significantly different understanding of what it means to be a member of a church. For Baptists, it’s about individual faith relationship while for Covenant Theology-oriented presbyterians, there is a conception of the church as including non-believing children of believing parents. “Believe and be baptised, you and all your household.” I’ve been told by Presbyterian ministers (OPC, but I think PCA also adheres to the Westminster system and standards, though perhaps not as strictly) that even unbelieving adult children, if they are living under their parents’ authority, are to be baptized when the parents believe and are baptised. They are considered to be members of the church, though they are not admitted to the sacrament of Communion until after a credible confession of faith.
For an ex-ordained PCA minister to work for a Baptist church planting effort not long after resigning from the office of Teaching Elder/Gospel Minister strikes me as quite odd — his prior theological commitments ought to make this a poor and unappealing match.
Were the charges related in part to deviation from PCA doctrinal standards?
This strikes me as a strange story.
“There is a tremendous lack of churches all over the Boston metro area….”
The Archdiocese of Boston would be surprised to hear this.
At the beginning of The Session’s statement they describe something involving “outside business activities conducted by Pastor Stephen Um”, and at the end they cite “spiritual abuse”:
https://web.archive.org/web/20210414041208/https://www.citylifeboston.org/2021/04/session-statement-resignation-of-senior-minister/#.YHZroHbP32d
The Session pledged “to care for those most deeply hurt (Psalm 34:15-18) and affected by these events and the actions of Stephen Um. There are many on Staff and members in our congregation who have suffered silently; some have already left the church”.
Meetings of this Southern Baptist ‘Send Boston’ outfit often held at the suddenly-SBC Tremont Temple Baptist Church now pastored by 9Marksist Jaime Owens.
from his bio:
“…he met Dr. Mark Dever, Senior Pastor at Capitol Hill Baptist Church, and moved to Washington, DC to be an intern and serve as Mark’s personal assistant for the next two years…”
A ‘Send Boston’ guy promo-ing its upcoming College Night at “historic Tremont Temple Baptist:
https://www.instagram.com/send_boston/reel/C35uv7lA0OP/
That is just weird. I don’t have a better theological word.
Jerome,
“outside business activities”
Strange stuff. I don’t think he was guilty of just using the church computer to run a lawn care business…
This is actually a very common belief among us Presbyterians – it is part of our theological understanding of child baptism.
I hate the word “defrocked”. I prefer “de-ordained”.
And I’m not sure if Um was defrocked. The session statement says “a sentence of censure of indefinite suspension from office” was pronounced by the presbytery.
And it is true that a Presbyterian congregation cannot fire its minister. As far as I know (I’m a Presbyterian elder from Australia), firing a minister is done at presbytery level – the level above the local church and is usually a committee made up of representatives from the relevant churches in an area.
If someone has a complaint against the minister, they should naturally go to session (the committee that runs the congregation), who then refer the matter onto presbytery. Alternatively, the individual can contact presbytery directly.
About 20 years ago in Australia, the Session of a presbyterian church was sacked after presbytery discovered that the church was run by a cult. The cult left the church, but the building and bank accounts remained part of the denomination.
Samuel Conner,
From the dissertation summary: “The evidence shows that the most conventional way of describing water in Second Temple Judaism was the life-giving usage, rejecting the majority assumption that water always symbolizes revelation. It further refutes the limited view of the Spirit as a mere communicative organ inspiring prophecy, showing the Spirit to be a powerful agent for creative and eschatological life.”
I had no idea that “the majority” assumed that water always symbolizes revelation, or that anyone believed the Holy Spirit is “a mere communicative organ.”
It’s interesting how easily the men we read about at TWW jump denominations, as if they never believed what they professed to the churches they led. Mr. Booker, who jumped from being an Anglican priest to being Big Cheese of a Congregational church is another example.
In a way, I suppose it’s good that an Anglican would join up with Congregationalists instead of wanting to throw them in jail or in the stocks, as in the bad old days when people took their denominational distinctions very, very seriously.
Theology aside, why would an “unbelieving adult child” agree to be baptized? So the parents under whose “authority” they live don’t put them out in the street?
We live in Boston. About ten years ago we noticed transit ads on the MBTA for new churches, all claiming to not be like old churches, and pop-up congregations starting in various neighborhoods. I did a little investigating to find almost all of them affiliated either with SBC or PCA. The former take pains to camouflage their SBC roots but you can bore into their websites to see “Partners” like the NAMB. Both denominations are clearly pouring a lot of money into startups in New England but it appears that their constituencies are limited to immigrants from other states or countries most of whom are new postgraduates from local universities. Unlike other regions, we have not seen large numbers of startup charismatic churches outside of minority and overseas communities. Natives here are either settled in their parishes or distanced by the multiple church scandals local and national. I predict that these startups will have some staying power if their funding levels are maintained and will eventually alter what it means to be evangelical in New England, but their influence and numbers in the broader culture will be virtually nil. They will soon resemble Sunbelt churches and trade members right and left without much overall growth. New England is allergic to Southern religion and religious styles and their “missions” are mostly using yesterday’s fishwrap as their models.
Chris Webster,
From inside the Reformed theological system, it makes much better sense (I am not an “insider”, but I’ve been close enough to get a sense of how things look from the inside and how the theological system compellingly coheres for those who embrace it). A way of looking at it is to consider the question of “Israel and the Church.” For Baptists, these are basically two completely different things. For the Reformed, the Church is (as I understand it; insiders please correct/perfect my language) “Israel enlarged”. So Reformed see continuity where Baptists see discontinuity. One of the continuities is the “rite of admission”; circumcision in the OT, performed on non-consenting infants, is thought to correlate with or correspond to “admission to the christian church” baptism in the NT. Israel was not a collection of believing individuals; it was a collection of tribes bound covenantally to YHWH. Circumsion is the rite of admission to the OT covenant between YHWH and Israel. Baptism is the rite of admission to the NT covenant between God and the Church.
Reformed ecclesiology differs in significant ways from Baptist (and even Reformed Baptist) ecclesiology. The question of “who is eligible for baptism” is just one of the differences.
Another (ad IMO really significant; it comes up again and again at TWW) difference is that while Baptists think in terms of very high degrees of local autonomy, Presbyterians have explicit institutional layers of accountability, the Presbytery and the General Assembly, above the local congregation’s governing structure, the Session of Elders. This is, IMO, one of the glories of Presbyterian polity and it’s one of the things that I find “strange” about this story.
For an ordained Presbyterian minister to “switch sides” and promote the spread of unaccountable Baptist congregations (even if predestinarian in their soteriology) seems “out of band” to me. I suspect that Dr. Um may have been re-evaluating his theological commitments for some time and perhaps was “looking for the exits.” The seemingly tranquil character of the proceedings (the accused is reported to have confessed to all charges) suggests that the parting was kind of amicable.
That Dr. Um is working for and promoting the work of Baptists indicates (IMO) a significant change in theological orientation. The Reformed take ordination vows very seriously. I believe that one of the vows is to uphold, without meaningful deviation, the doctrinal standards that define the teachings of the church one is ordained to serve. Unarticulated violation of such vows would, I think, be considered a serious betrayal of the trust of those to whom the person ministered. I wonder whether this may be an element of the unspecified spiritual abuse that is mentioned in the Session report.
> I have often wondered if these problematic pastors’ buddies grease the wheels for them to transition into new and well-paying church jobs quickly.
Dee, I suspect that this is not the case here, though of course I could be completely mistaken in my interpretation of what is a sparse set of data.
Neil Cameron has drawn attention to the language of “suspension from office” as the action taken by the Presbytery to which Dr. Um was accountable. This sounds like a less severe measure than “removal from office”. It sounds like he was not “de-frocked”, but rather “suspended from duties”. It sounds like he retained his status as Teaching Elder but was not permitted to perform the functions of that office, such as teach in local congregations or administer the Sacraments.
This suggests (to me, but what do I know?) that the Presbytery may have been hoping for some kind of future change (the nature of which we cannot discern because we are unaware of the charges brought against Dr. Um) that would permit removal of the suspension and a return to ministry functions.
There is a tone of shock expressed in the Session report. We don’t know the details, but it is consistent with Dr. Um’s transgressions being doctrinal in character. For committed Presbyterians, the theological system is inviolable. You don’t mess with it and you don’t change your views on it. There are vows taken that are intended to bind the consciences of ordained ministers to compel them — in order to keep their promises to God and to their fellow ministers — to not deviate from the theological system.
Dr. Um’s change of vocation, from “Presbyterian minister” to “consultant in Baptist church planting”, IMO suggests a change of private theology that might be shocking and discouraging to both lay and ordained Presbyterians who take their theological system seriously.
It seems to me very unlikely that Dr. Um’s peers in SNEP would have agreed with his change of vocation or would have assisted it. It seems more likely to me that they would have been deeply grieved.
Dr. Mohler and his Mohlerites have been working hard to move SBC to be more PCA-like. Perhaps they feel they are far enough toward that goal to bring in some Presbyterians without much concern from the SBC masses.
Oh yeah, this is modus operandi for SBC church plants. SBC New Calvinist church planters employ stealth and deception to conceal their true identity. You have to look hard to discover SBC-affiliation … as you note, it is usually tucked away in a remote corner of their website.
NAMB has an annual $60 million church planting budget, with a goal to plant 1,000 new churches per year in North America. They will pour funds into target areas to insure that their plants are successful.
Samuel Conner,
I agree
SBC’s “church planting” program is more about planting reformed theology than Gospel churches.
I am wondering if, once the SBC completes its “reformation” and becomes an authoritarian structure, will this work like it used to? Or will they just disassociate and become nondenom to retain autonomy?
The discussion in the comments makes me wonder if the SBC will become “un-Baptist” and revert to infant Baptism. I’ve wondered this since I realized the connection between TGC and the PCA.
Young reformed church planters gladly take SBC church planting funds even if their hearts are anti-SBC. SBC’s reputation is tarnished these days, but their church-planting dollars still buy reformed church planters who conceal SBC-affiliation. If you were to survey attendees at most SBC church plants, most wouldn’t know they are Southern Baptists!
Samuel Conner,
I mean, he could have just changed his theology to not believing in infant baptism, and the suspension and move to the SBC would make more sense. I suspect that’s not what happened, just from long experience watching these situations, but it’s not impossible.
The mission is to plant reformed theology … not to be confused with the Great Commission.
Unless, as ishy wonders, the goal is to become explicitly “republican/representative”, in the sense of the nature of the regional and national hierarchy, and to embrace and promote Covenant Theology, they aren’t planting “Reformed” or “reformed” theology. They’re planting, from all appearances, something closer to “predestinarian independent baptist” theology. To have local congregations led by elders, but to have no recourse to appeal to authorities above the level of the local congregation, is not in the spirit of Reformed ecclesiology.
If SBC actually does become like PCA in its polity, that would IMO be a good thing in terms of checks and balances on the conduct of what are currently independent leaders. I don’t see that happening. “Local autonomy” is deeply ingrained in baptist thinking, and I would think is also highly desirable from the standpoint of the authorities in these independent congregations. What seems to be happening is more of an ‘a la carte’ approach of adding certain visible features of the Reformed churches without the internal coherence of Reformed understanding of “what the Church is.”
that’s probably a good way to describe Mohler’s version of “Calvinization of the SBC” … to take the denomination back to their theological roots without appearing too Presbyterian in practice … let’s call it ‘a la Mohler’
They don’t but the SBC does.
It sure is a privilege. They are paying him and bet the $ is not insignificant
Jerome,
I assume that they are paying for the tickets?
Todd Wilhelm,
Look at the website. Nothing is mentioned about their affiliation with the SBC. Do those people know they are being counted as Baptists? We had one guy deny he was a Baptist. I proved his church was a covert Baptist church. He still claimed he wasn’t a Baptist even though he was a member.
The charges had nothing to do with straying from PCA theology. It is amazing how quickly folks see the light and join a different denomination when money is involved. It took my husband and I 2 years before we joined out lutheran church. We needed to be sure that we understood and could apprehend their theology.
Catholic Gate-Crasher,
Typical evangelical claptrap.
I call this the “J.D. Greear Phenomenon”
I was thinking the same thing.
Boston is very Irish and very Catholic and has no desire to convert to various sects of independent Protestantism.
So many thoughts/questions running through my mind, I can’t even form a cohesive sentence..
Who paid for the tickets to the Celtics game? Somebody please tell me they didn’t use Cooperative Program money.
And the NAMB…. church planting…. Just a random series of my thoughts : Under Ezell (and before him) they go after the big cities with lots of targets and all of the modern conveniences and comforts, jobs, money. They are NOT planting churches; they are invading existing churches in stealth takeovers….. And, they are more than willing to enlist failed pastors, hirelings, to do it.
I am ashamed of my former ‘religion’.
Samuel Conner,
I heard from a former CityLife Chestnut Hill what the main charge against Um was (which I think the Session statement should have plainly stated).
It wasn’t doctrinal.
That’s so true. I still remember the video in which he had to tell the folks they were Baptist because he would be the SBC President.
Elizabeth Klein,
I heard this as well but I could not find any documentation of it. He is probably in charge of money in this position.
But I believe that Stavros is completely correct about New England’s religious culture. The startups may have some success. But New Englanders *are* constitutionally allergic to Southern-style religion. So, either the startups will have to adapt to the culture, or their success and growth will be limited.
Wow.
And…Chestnut Hill? Yikes. Why do these folks always focus on the most affluent areas?
Well, to be fair, Charlestown isn’t particularly affluent…unless it’s been gentrified, maybe? I understand *everything’s* been gentrified. Even Southie!
Stavros49,
This is a great comment. Here is something else to think about. The NAMB is a secret SBC organization. One cannot learn leaders’ salaries, which, in my estimation, are well into the six figures. They will not tell the members how much they spend on the churches. They are also known to buy houses for the church planters.
Over the years, I have suspected that there have been a number of failures of these church plants. I have tried to get the NAMB to release the number of startup failures. They refuse to do so.
The SBC is experiencing a rapid decline in membership, and this year, that included baptisms. I believe they are jumping into New England to save them. I don’t think it will go as well as they hope. In the meantime, the SBC is facing the probability of a large number of lawsuits for sex abuse. I wonder how the locals will react when they see how huge of a scandal this is. It is reminiscent of the RCC.
Yep.
That sounds interesting. I would like to read about it. Do you have any links, etc?
And yes to Dee’s observation, too.
I should also add: very Irish *and* very Italian. Recently I’ve been reconnecting with cousins I hadn’t heard from in decades, and I’m amazed at how many of my Italian-American relatives married Irish-Americans, just as my dad did. Irish-Italian — the classic Boston Combo.
Catholic Gate-Crasher,
They mean that there is a lack of churches run by their specific little coterie.
defrock, de-ordained, whatever … these guys need to be permanently disqualified from ministry! … jumping to another church or denomination with business as usual just ain’t right
A textbook case of the “Quiet Revolution” … plant reformed theology in partnership with the SBC without the congregation knowing it! Only tell them if you become SBC President. It’s the darnedest thing I’ve ever seen.
I think I would need some evidence. I checked the PCA website and it is specifically ‘infant’ baptism that is allowed. Admittedly they likely differ about what age an infant ceases to be an infant. It is probably about the age they consider the child to have reached their ‘age of discretion’. Some checking seems to be 10-12 as the usual age with a few having an older minimum age.
I could see them allowing baptizing older children of new believers if the older child or even legally adult child does not have the mental capability to join as a properly catechized new member.
Max,
The lack of “transparency” , IMHO, is one of the main reason TWE exists… it is especially disgusting when there are so many example in scripture of the opposite, along with redemption, reconciliation, and true repentance
It is really disgusting how much of this missing from so much of organized Christianity..,
I’m a relatively new TWW reader, and I truly appreciate the insights and resources posted on the recent blogs. As I’m unpacking my own history with unhealthy churches and spiritual abuse, this specific blog resonated with me in a different way. I live in the Charlestown neighborhood, and long time attendee of Park Street (not a member tho). Even though Charlestown is close to downtown, around 2019 I felt a desire to worship within my local neighborhood, but not willing to leave PSC entirely. I found First Church in Charlestown – which was also a congregational church. There was a new pastor and his family who were actively trying to revitalize the church and build connections with the neighborhood. Because the FCC website continued to list it’s history as a congregational church, I never realized that it was actually a bridge to the SBC. I could never pinpoint why my instincts were on alert each time I would attend a service or had conversations with some of the leaders.
Around the same time, I had started reading the book “Emotionally Healthy Spirituality” by Peter Scazzero, which helped validate that some leadership behaviors didn’t match up. I eventually stopped attending. A couple years ago I read that pastor and his family announced they were moving out of the area, and had sold the historic FCC building to another church that was currently meeting in a local school… Christ Church Charlestown. I never made the connection until reading this post, and when I tried to find an old website for First Church in Charlestown and uncovered the specific mention of the SBC membership on the FCC wikipedia site: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Church_in_Charlestown
The original First Church in Charlestown had been around since even before Park Street, I believe it was even listed on early charter/archive docs as one of the 3 churches in helping to form PSC.
Lather, Rinse, Repeat,
Lather, Rinse, Repeat,
Lather, Rinse, Repeat,
Lather, Rinse, Repeat,
Lather, Rinse, Repeat,
Lather, Rinse, Repeat,
Lather, Rinse, Repeat…
My guess is that Um would probably have been happy to adjust his PCA convictions to SBC ones. He needed a job.
Romish Popery doesn’t count.
When my diocese (which had been hunting for a new site for a real Cathedral) bought Crystal Cathedral at the Crystal Cathedral fire sale, the Real True Christian media lamented in ashes and sackcloth that Scripture would never be taught in Crystal Cathedral again, only the doctrines and works of a Godless False CULT.
The Treaty of Westphalia ended the Reformation Wars in 1648, and there are those who still haven’t gotten the word.
Oh, definitely. And those are the only churches that count.
We use the words “Suspended” or “Laitized”.
As our friends in Houma, Louisiana, used to say about Confederate re-enacters, “They still fightin’ the WAH.”
Without it, we will never see genuine revival and spiritual awakening in America. Oh, we will continue our feeble efforts to do church … but we do it without the presence of God in most places … and don’t even miss Him!
This belief exists for some covenantal SBC’ers. I know James Borland believes in familial election; I’ve heard him say so. Basically, the only person in the family whose election matters is the male head–everyone else is elected because of the head’s election. It totally falls apart as a theology the more you think about it, but people do believe this.
I thought the Real True Christians didn’t think Robert Schuller was Really Truly Christian, either.
Samuel Conner,
I am in a denomination very similar to the PCA, and never once have I ever heard of an unbelieving adult child still living in the home being baptized if his/her parents are.
ishy,
It may make more sense if one thinks of “election” as “unto special service” as opposed to “out of a deplorable fate.” That may make sense if one sees continuity between Old Israel and the Church, with the “group election” being unto the special status of “kingdom and priests unto God.”
Not defending one view or another; just trying to sympathetically interpret. I don’t know what one ought to think.
R,
I didn’t learn about this until I asked, trying to understand the implications of Reformed understanding of “what the Church is.” I have not encountered this as a matter of practice either. The question was, “in this circumstance, what does the theological system prescribe?” Perhaps there is a diversity of views on this matter within the Reformed world. My interlocutors, ordained ministers in the OPC, may not be representative, but their answers do seem to me consistent with what I understand of Reformed system. Which was the point of bringing it up — it seems a large theological jump from Gospel Ministry in a confessionally Reformed denomination to church planting in a Baptist association.
My husband grew up in churches where if you hadn’t been “saved” in that church, you were categorically unsaved. “The church of you and me and I’m not too sure about you.”
Ridiculous! There’s only one Body of Christ. When you come to Christ in one church, you are a member of all of them.
mle bire,
Thank you for your comment. The SBC is running around New England with pockets full of money. I’m sorry to see the former Congregational church taken over by the SBC. There will be more of these surprises.
Wikipedia has an article about it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fellowship_(Australia)
dee,
The NAMB is not “planting” churches. They are quietly invading and overthrowing existing churches.
I would assume that the stealth take-overs are saving them quite a bit of money, allowing them to purchase more upscale houses in gated communities.
Stephan Um’s ‘outside business activities’ might just make him Kevin Ezell’s kind of guy!
As one of the people who do believe this, I guess one of the big differences in opinion can be explained thus: Baptists assume that their kids are unbelievers; Presbyterians assume their kids are believers.
Check out the Westminster Confession 10.3 and 28.4. It explains it better than I can.
Also the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith has it in 10.3
This. Plus people who live in towns like Somerville and Cambridge tend to be allergic to organizations that are anti-LGBTQ. I remember how, several years ago, one of my friends (Jewish, but he’s called the unofficial mayor of Somerville) telling me how a congregation that had been associated with Vineyard USA had become unaffiliated because they couldn’t agree with Vineyard USA over LGBTQ people. He wanted to know how unusual that was and I said, “very unusual as far as I know.” His thought was that organizations that tended to reflect anti-LGBTQ sentiments were going to remain small and relatively inconsequential, at least in Somerville and Cambridge.
I doubt also that the ‘startups” could get a foothold in Southern Cali.
The region is saturated with ‘evangelical’ culture, and has more ‘mini’ and ‘mega’ churches than you (generic you) can shake a stick at.
Muslin fka Dee Holmes,
Dee Holmes comment is insightful. In addition to being allergic to Southern religion, New Englanders (and Quebecois too!) are fiercely opposed to the Culture War agenda of most evangelical churches, including their anti-LGBTQ stances, their attitudes on patriarchy, abortion and public schooling, and their overall pessimism about the world in general. In a generally prosperous and self-reliant, socially liberal yet fiscally conservative area, evangelicals have struggled for years to connect with people. I am old enough to recall the large evangelism-empowerment conferences of the 1970s sponsored by the Evangelistic Assn of New England which had little effect. In my neighborhood in Boston, evangelicals are generally reviled as ethical neanderthals and there is at a minimum a studied distancing from them or at most a social stigma attached. At work, one hides one’s affiliation with such churches.
But Max’s comment above also suggested a double meaning that may be gaining traction in southern New England. The “Quiet Revolution” in Quebec was the short period in the late 1960s/70s when the Catholic Church was ejected from its prominent role and lost most of its membership in the Province. It was an abrupt cultural change and simply catastrophic for the Catholics… in no other country has secularization proceeded so rapidly. The sexual scandals of the New England Catholic archdioceses started a similar collapse here. The leadership scandals of the evangelicals may finish the process. We may eventually resemble the “burned over districts” of upstate New York, a hotbed of religious entrepreneurship in the 1830s and now mostly secularized.
I agree, but many do not.
Ivy League.
The highly educated vs the uneducated.
Then there’s the 4 Atheists of the Apocalypse: Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris, Dennett, vs. Others, such as John Lennox. All highly educated with completely opposing views.
Education is not always the key. Neither is money. Nor legacy.
Boston has all three in spades.
Familial or familiar spirits.
Many cultures practice ancestor worship and the sacredness of lineage or legacy with regard to familial spirits.
OTOH, from Ezekiel 18:
“The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him.”
Many examples: Prophet Eli & sons, King David & sons.
Apparently, God has no grandchildren.
So the affiliation is a stench? It requires a deodorizer? How bad is that!
Agreed and and they are targeting churches that have good infrastructure as well.
Stavros49,
I agree with your assessment… The practice of “covering up our dirty laundry” is (has) come back to really undermine any “authority” this orgs had…
… in many ways, the “modern” electronic media has parallels to the printing press of Martin Luthers time. Leaders “think” the can “control the narrative”, but once the Jeanie is out of the bottle….
However, one could argue back to this point using our current national political climate…. If you keep yelling false narratives that a sub culture wants to hear, they will believe it…
Ava Aaronson,
Bad…..dare I say evil?
They are doing both in my area. The young reformers are planting new churches and “revitalizing” (taking over) struggling traditional (non-Calvinist) churches. In the latter, they come in by stealth and deception deceiving pulpit search committees on their theological leaning, convert from congregational to elder-rule church governance, plant reformed theology via preaching and teaching … all of which eventually splits the congregation. Long-established members leave behind the church and property they had financed over the years in the hands of the NeoCal rebels. It’s a sad thing to behold.
Church people, put on your Thinking Caps. Wake up.
Emergency Alert. The SBC Bait ‘n Switch is on, smooth as caramel with a bitter vinegar finish.
Most likely. Plus, the NeoCal takeover of SBC is making it look more Presbyterian these days.
Jeffrey Chalmers,
Indeed. Stealth, then stalk, then steal.
Paycheck over pledge or promise.
Nothing to do with the HS gift of pastoring, as in Rom 12, 1 Cor 12, Eph 4.
It’s what happens when a Holy Spirit GIFT to the Church devolves to be a paid position, a livelihood to support a family.
Pastoring in the NT is not a job. It’s a gift from the Holy Spirit to the Church.
Church people do their career jobs to put food on the table and pay the bills. They also allow the Holy Spirit to give them a spiritual gift that is a GIFT to the entire church.
NT Christians supplied room and board for traveling church leaders, no more.
Max,
Paradoxically we see too much top-down interference between denominations (some through parachurches) as it is. In any case, they often don’t need to switch denominations. The proper safeguard is spiritual moral alertness like ours.
I dare say that less than 10% of churchgoers realize this truth.
Samuel Conner,
Lots of authorities above the congregation, but no appeal to them.
Neil Cameron,
Cutting losses (they’ve got funds where those came from). Be sure they left sleepers to send word of future opportunities to ringleaders in new chamaeleon guise.
Cynthia W.,
Who is behind Rev Booker has put the congregants in the stocks only more politely.
Stavros49,
Welcome to Great Britain which has all the rigidity of stereotyped religion (with a mostly secular label) with none of the humanity or prayer of genuine Spirit. In 30 years I suppose it will reach California despite (as I gather) Californians being too zoned out to care much either way, and in 60 years the south and the new midwest. From commentaries I understand that “Stranger Things” contains many Anglo-Canadian cultural references. Both the churches where I was told “you need to find a church that is a better fit” were “evangelical” because I couldn’t be evangelised (there are things I know already).
Jerome,
What happens to men who aren’t interested in whatever sport the Celtics do? Aha, religion is sport.
Max,
Very odd that the Sabbath, the day of rest, is a pastor’s big career day: shine, bring in $$$, meet & greet, entertain, educate, organize, administrate, oversee, public appearance, public speaking, dress for success, look at the camera, etc.
Isn’t there a commandment: Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy?
#4 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God.”
Granted, Jesus said the Sabbath is for man, not the other way. But Sunday Sabbath as a pastor’s #1 career day x 52 wks a year is hardly rescuing an ox or healing the lame. (Healing is also a gift, so no work there; it’s the power of the HS.)
Seems a tad contradictory, hypocritical. Just slightly …
If it’s neither work nor career, why the big paycheck? Why the livelihood? If it is a GIFT from the HS, why charge $$$ for what the HS gives to God’s people? Are there moneychangers in the church?
Max,
It would seem that those who have taken a vow of chastity, poverty, and service, are on higher ground in this matter.
IAC, they are not making money, certainly not on the Sabbath. Servitude is not exactly livelihood. No home and family to support. Some monastic communities do engage in industry. Traditionally, certainly they attend to their own needs with gardening and so on.
LGBTQ is the worst thing there is in fundagelical culture.
You can be a crook, wife beater, and all-round’-jerk-wad, just don’t get caught being gay or lesbian.
Rom 12, 1 Cor 12, & Eph 4, in the Bible, does not hide this.
No secret sauce. No inner circle, no secret passage, no covert code. NO FEE!
LOL … all these seminaries & their profs, Xian publishers & their best sellers … the profit people… guess they’re not talking about this ‘cuz THERE IS NO MONEY IN THIS TRUTH.
Church as business, the American way. And maybe beyond America, too.
Then a pastor’s flagrant unprofessional lying deceiving ways are exposed and it’s…
… business as usual, ‘cuz church is a business, a career.
Church as a business*, as a career, seems to produce career criminals.
*Again, the monastic life of poverty, chastity, and servitude does not seem to qualify. God help the orders that need to clean out their ranks of predators and perverts. Many more do good works in a life of service.
Ava Aaronson,
But that’s too ROMISH for Real True Christians like Um.
“NO POPERY!” (unless it’s MEEEEEEEE)
“I have followed pastors from all over the world who are forced to step down due to many difficulties and suddenly pop up as pastors in a new church. I call this the conga line of fallen pastors.”
The thing about passing a hot potato from one dudebro to another is that whoever holds it too long will burn their fingers.
Samuel Conner,
Well, I guess it depends on how seriously you take infant vs. believers’ baptism. Personally, while I believe infant baptism (but not baptizing an unbelieving adult, mind you) best expresses God’s covenant relationship to his people, I really can’t get my knickers in a wad about it. There are good arguments on both sides.
R,
What I CAN get my knickers in a wad about is re-platforming pastors who disqualify themselves. In this case, it’s hard to tell what in the world Um did.
Sums it up.
Another dictum or doctrine from the Rules for Thee but not for Me Gang.
Creed. Narcissis replacing Nicene.
On order. Thank you for mention
This is IMO a really interesting point.
If the growth plans of such “stealth” congregations were primarily oriented to “growth through conversion of unbelievers”, the fact of SBC affiliation would (IMO) not be much of an issue. Does SBC have a bad odor in the general population of people who are not believers?
ideological Baptists strongly dislike authority structures above the level of the local congregation. Sometimes this seems to be related to concern that such authorities could pressure local congregations to distort the Gospel message.
That these congregations are concealing their affiliation suggests to me that their growth model is to recruit people for whom “affiliation with supracongregational authorities” is a problem. That suggests that they are interested in people who are already attending independent churches and are ideologically opposed to forms of polity that have “above the local congregation” authority structures.
Perhaps I’m way out of touch or otherwise am a complete naif, but it seems to me that the news of SBC bad behavior is growing but is nowhere near the level at the height of the revelation of abuse and coverup in RCC.
This is poorly worded. What I mean to say is that this suggests that the target population from which these churches hope to recruit most of their new members is a population in which “rejection of denominational affiliation” is common. That suggests that the target population is not unbelievers for whom arguments about polity are not matters of great importance, but rather people who are already believers with strong opinions on the subject.
I believe that to be an accurate statement. Abuse within SBC has not received the level of media attention that RCC has experienced. Even among SBC’s 47,000 churches, sexual abuse within the denomination is not something that the average Southern Baptist is aware of (and SBC national leadership is working diligently to make sure the word doesn’t get out). If it’s not in the church bulletin, congregations don’t know about it.
While the depth of SBC sexual abuse sins is yet to be revealed, I suspect they are lagging well behind the RCC and Boy Scouts. Nevertheless, parents need to keep a close eye on children attending any of these organizations. God forgive us!
Given that ‘nones’ tend to trend more progressive than Christians, I would say yes. The stealth congregations tend to hide not only SBC (or PCA) affiliation but also that women are excluded from certain important roles and that they are anti-gay. The SBC hasn’t exactly been quiet on its views on such matters and the intro to their wikipedia article would inform people who were unaware quite quickly.
i.e. “Nondenominational(TM)”.
Before the rise of Papa Chuck and Calvary Chapel, “Nondenomnational” got defined as “SBC with the labels painted over”.
i.e. Whipping up the Base.
Borland is a bit of an odd duck, but if I take what he said at face value, he really believed that elected male family heads were special for being elected. There was quite a bit of ego involved with his explanations. This is similar to what I’ve seen from other New Calvinist leaders–they are special, everyone else is peons or not even human.
I remember it vividly, because his explanation of this ended up in a rather dramatic class argument with him.
Herrenvolk und Untermenschen.
Creepy. Kinda like a Mob operation or something.
But then, in Jesus’ day, the religious elite stealthily executed the Son of God.
So nothing new under the sun.
For the Celtics game? From the pictures in the Instagram post, it wasn’t just tickets, looks like they were in a luxury suite.
Nothing but the best for GOD’s Speshul Pets.
ANd how do you pay the bill for a luxury suite?
“TITHE! TITHE! TITHE! TITHE! TITHE!”
And once again, a typical move by a pastor who believes he’s done nothing wrong: leave (or be kicked out of) the prior church and start (or move to) another one IN THE SAME GENERAL AREA.
That way, his followers can go with him, splitting the old church in the process.
I had an instance of this growing up: the pastor “took leave” (never explained what happened), came back, then resigned. He took around two dozen of his close followers and started his own church. (They tried to “resign their membership” via an UNSIGNED LETTER – it was clear that if we had accepted it, they would have returned, claiming there was no “official” resignation, and stolen the building from the remnant who remained.)
Give ’em time…
“A lie told once remains a lie but a lie told a thousand times becomes the Truth.”
“Propaganda works best when those who are being manipulated are confident they are acting on their own free will.”
“Propaganda must therefore always be essentially simple and repetitious.”
— Reichsminister Goebbels, Public Relations Front Man for a famous Austrian Cult Leader
Paid for by NAMB mission funds and widow’s mites perhaps?
New Calvinist modus operandi … stealth and deception in Jesus’ name?!
Livin’ the dream … Jesus would have been right there with them (not)
Code for “reaching Boston with reformed theology” … Calvinism = Gospel to the new reformers
Well, the Televangelists already have dibs on all the Social Security Checks…
…like Fat Hermann.
It is astounding not one elder of Park Street Church has made an effort to talk to any of the Park Street Five. These are their front line, most effective and respected senior staff members. Clearly none of them are interested in hearing what they have to say. I have never seen such administrative, ecclesiastical and leadership incompetence. Shame on each one of these cowards who are pompously hiding their heads in the religious sand. You are a disgrace to every doctrine of reconciliation
You forgot “arrogance”.
WOW…
As a “retired” pastor for over 20 years (in Massachusetts), I am reminded of how difficult is can be to pastor ANY congregation in New England.
Dr Um was my professor of NT theology at GCTS, and I had the opportunity to enjoy some great conversations with him back then. I will always remember him as a great human being, tireless pastor, great theologian, committed father and husband, and very compassionate BROTHER IN CHRIST!
Where is the grace and/or compassion in these threads? Just a bunch of idiots trying to impress each other with good grammar, underlying arrogance and typical New England “frozen chosen” commentaries. Don’t you guys have a family member, a neighbor, a coworker, to lead and love towards the cross? What do any of you REALLY know about full time ministry? Any congregation should be blessed to have Dr Um as part of their team, doing ANYTHING.
Most of these comments are an embarrassment to the gospel of Jesus Christ….and a great, documented reason for most of your friends/families NOT TO visit YOUR congregations this coming Sunday (or Saturday).
Thank you. Being accused of good grammar made my day.
As for being an idiot, I have my good days and bad days.
But one thing I take pretty seriously is pastors who screw up and then go and inflict themselves on a new group of unaware members. My goal is to educate people. Whether or not they forgive him, allow him into the pulpits, etc., is on them. I imagine you are unaware of the number of pastors who have “fallen.” I believe most of them do not belong in the pulpit. Getting thrown out by one’s denomination is a severe slap. If the PCA didn’t think he should be a pastor, why should everyone else? Unless you don’t think much of the PCA, which I could understand.
Hector Quinones,
Happens every time, on both this and other church corruption whistleblower blogs.
Every time a crooked preacher-man comes under scrutiny, the comment threads fill with drive-bys from Pastor’s Pets and Defenders of The Faith and Sock Puppets going fangs-out denouncing the whistleblowers with GAWD’s Holy Wrath.
Every. Single. Time.