‘Our Daily Bread’ Removes Sponsorship of Woke ‘Joy and Justice’ Conference, Rebukes Organizers
The Joy and Justice Conference organizers quietly removed references to being sponsored by Our Daily Bread, following backlash towards ODB due to their partnership. In turn, ODB shared that “We did not agree to “sponsor” the event” and that conference organizers “used this language presumptuously on their website and social media platforms without our permission.”
Our Daily Bread is a well-known, non-denominational, non-profit organization with staff and volunteers in nearly 40 offices. Founded by bible teacher M.R. DeHann in 1938, they distribute more than 60 million Christian resources in 150 countries, with their ‘Our Daily Bread’ devotional being their most famous.
We previously shared that one of the keynote speakers at Jemar Tisby’s/ The Witness BCC’s Joy and Justice conference is Rev. Danté Stewart, the author of Shoutin’ in the Fire: An American Epistle, who happens to be pro-choice and LGBTQ-affirming. Likewise, The Witness BCC’s Vice President, Ally Henny, is also pro-LGBTQ, pro-choice, and pro-racism, exemplifying the culture and ethos of the organization.
After reaching out to the organization and voicing our concerns, we were contacted by Steve Harbridge, the Director of Marketing of Our Daily Bread, who told us in part:
“You expressed concern that our association with the “Joy and Justice 2024” conference may indicate that our organization has altered its convictions to accommodate cultural norms that are convulsing the church today. Nothing could be further from the truth! I can assure you we have not moved, and are not moving, from our historical convictions about a biblical sexual ethic.
Despite the cultural changes we’re experiencing in our society, Our Daily Bread Ministries remains faithful and unwavering in our commitment to conservative, biblical Christianity and its teachings on everything from believing in the infallibility of Scripture to salvation in Christ alone and God’s design for marriage and sex between one man and one woman. We produce our content from this biblical foundation, and it is this standard to which all our authors and employees adhere.
As an interdenominational ministry, we work with a broad spectrum of Christian organizations worldwide to distribute our resources and fulfill our mission. In the relationship with The Witness Foundation, we have worked on many projects, including the “Joy and Justice Conference.” We signed an agreement with them to provide our materials for distribution to the audiences they serve. We did not agree to “sponsor” the event. They used this language presumptuously on their website and social media platforms without our permission. We only learned about it when the social media post occurred.
Also, we were unaware of the conference speakers before our engagement. We were recently made aware that one of the speakers, Dante Stewart, has beliefs with which we are not aligned. Dante Stewart was not on our radar, and we were not aware of his position on the issue of sexuality, nor was sexuality addressed by him during the event.
However, I can assure you we are working to address this situation. We have learned a lot from this unfortunate experience and have tightened our review policy on these issues. While we cannot always control or anticipate everything that other ministries say or do, we have established a process we believe will prevent situations like this from occurring in the future.”
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