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Three Years After Getting Busted for Sexual Deviancy, ‘Reformed Predator’ John Crist Releases New Comedy Special

Three years ago, comedian John Crist was at the apex of his career. The darling of the evangelical world, he was poised for major success with a Netflix special and a book deal until his reputation tanked and burst into flames after allegations of sexual misconduct came to light- forcing both to be canceled.

Crist, a popular Christian entertainer known for his comedy routines and hip ethos, had his life come to a grinding halt in late 2019 ago after Charisma News broke the story that a host of women were alleging some very unsavory things, including harassing and manipulating young women, “sexting” multiple partners at the same time, committing adultery and fornication, and bribing women with tickets to his shows in exchange for sexual favors. Charisma did some good reporting, they had the pictures, texts, and receipts to prove it.

Unfortunately, Crist barely copped to the allegations in the Charisma piece, releasing a statement to the magazine where with a pretty stellar euphemism he acknowledged only that:

“While I am not guilty of everything I’ve been accused of, I confess to being guilty of this — I have treated relationships with women far too casually, in some cases even recklessly.” 

Stunning and brave. This non-apology apology might as well have said, “I’m sorry that the women were offended by my actions,” for how insincere and evasive it was. And that was basically it. That’s all he had to say about it. That’s the end of that.

He disappeared to get “healing” for sex addiction, claimed in the process that he almost killed himself (a tactic manipulators use to garner sympathy), and hid out of sight for a while, waiting for the requisite year to pass so that he could emerge back into the limelight to declare that he was now restored and ready to return to evangelicalism’s good graces.

16 months later he was back on the circuit, emerging from his imposed exile (made easy by the pandemic) and playing sold-out shows to undiscerning Christian eager to forget all the creepy, pervy, manipulations he did and never apologized for or addressed a year and a half prior.

Last week he took his biggest step forward in his redemption arc, releasing his new comedy special “What are we doing?” on YouTube, garnering half a million views.

Captioned “From the frustrations of ordering at McDonald’s and waiting in line at CVS, to the perplexities of expectant mother’s parking spots and getting baptized in the Nile river, John Crist has been there to observe it all and ask simply…What Are We Doing? his show does not make mention of the scandal at all.

By all accounts his fans love it, and we did not see anyone mention his brushed-aside sexual sins in the comments.

Apparently, you don’t even have to admit one’s sins and repent of them anymore in order for evangelicalism to forgive you for being a creeper. All you have to do is be funny.

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News

Former SBC President J.D. Greear Endorses False Teacher Andy Stanley’s Book

Proving time and time again that he has no discernment, former Southen Baptist Convention President J.D. Greear has endorsed Andy Stanley’s objectively wretched new book “Not In It To Win It” saying that the Northpoint megachurch impastor has “championed the primacy of reaching people as the task of the church” and that we should ‘wrestle with the questions” he raised in his book.

Stanley has been on our radar recently, after saying it doesn’t matter if the bible is true, so long as it’s ‘mostly reliable’, and saying that the “foundation of our faith is not the whole bible.

He’s said before that everyone is a little racist, claimed that ‘you have to offend white people’ or else they’ll never repent of racism, said from the pulpit “here’s an uncomfortable fact: white people fear black men” and went on a woke Critical Race Theory tirade by arguing “it’s not enough to be ‘not racist,’ you must be ‘anti-racist,” before telling them that they’re all racists in their hearts.

None of that matters to Greear, who apparently wants to promote him and give his blessing to Stanley, writing:

“‘For as long as I’ve known Andy Stanley, he has championed the primacy of reaching people as the task of the church. As he often says (quoting James, a first-century leader of the church), ‘We ought not make it hard for the gentiles who are turning to God.‘ I believe the issues Andy raises in this book are the most pressing questions facing the church right now, and they get at the heart of the Great Commission itself. I invite you to wrestle with them thoughtfully and prayerfully, as I have. If we are to represent Jesus in this generation, we must be people full of grace and truth, and that is no small challenge. Even in places where you come to different conclusions than Andy, you’ll be richer for having wrestled through these issues.’

Note that Greear repeats Stanley’s out-of-context butchery of Acts 15:19-20 “Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood.” One of the ways Stanley has made it easy for the gentiles to turn to God is basically writing off the whole old testament, saying we need to “unhitch” our faith from it, and opening up his church service with a Led Zeppelin concert.

As previously stated, in his book Stanely, who has mastered the art of clucking his tongue and speaking in an exasperated tone like everyone should come to his conclusion, makes the case that choosing sides in the current political and social war only sidelines the church. Instead, he says churches should remain neutral so as not to alienate anyone, using his own church’s response to the pandemic, (he closed down for a year and routine blasted Christians and lamented the fact that churches were fighting the government to stay open and have their services, saying he was embarrassed by it.) the death of George Floyd ( who he called “this generation’s ‘Samson‘ in a since-deleted tweet) and the 2020 election, where he’s said Christians can vote Democrat and run as Democrats all the want, and that there’s nothing wrong with it, repeatedly claiming an absolute equivalence of the current political parties.

Apparently, Greear feels much the same way and points to Stanley as the one to get the message out.

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News Op-Ed SBC

The SBC’s Scandalous Year

Southern Baptist messengers from all over the country are gathering in Anaheim this week for the 2022 Annual Meeting. Much has happened since James Merritt reminded us that “the world is watching” and played the gospel card at last year’s meeting. Here’s a quick recap:

Moore Departs

Leading up to the 2021 meeting, the president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Convention (ERLC) and lifelong Democrat Russell Moore finally left the SBC for woker pastures (despite his claim to be a “lifelong Baptist”), but not before he rolled a #metoo grenade under the SBC’s “big tent.” This grenade took the form of a “leaked” letter to then-president JD Greear, in which Moore claimed to be aware of multiple cases of sex abuse in SBC churches and entities (that he somehow failed to report to civil authorities) and that “some people” in the SBC wanted him to “live in psychological terror.”

Conservatives celebrated Moore’s exit, as his true nature as a theological liberal and SBC swamp creature had been well known to us for years and we welcome any development that helps evangelicals see the true beliefs of embedded institutionalists. Yet Moore’s letter provided the accusatory ammunition – largely directed towards unspecified SBC actors – for Moore’s progressive allies to open fire on anyone not sufficiently committed to their growing list of worldly, progressive demands on the SBC.

2021 Convention’s “October” Surprise

Attacks from Moore’s allies culminated in the “October surprise” of conservative presidential candidate Mike Stone being questioned in the convention halls by Hannah-Kate Williams, who later claimed to be brought to tears by the interaction with Stone and that SBC messengers were calling her a “whore” while walking by in the hallways.

Williams’ narrative was uncritically accepted and leveraged by insiders like North Carolina pastor (and ERLC “Religious Liberty Award” winner) Griffin Gulledge and Tennessee pastor Grant Gaines. Gaines brought Williams up to cry next to him at the convention microphone while he presented the motion that created the Sex Abuse Task Force to investigate the SBC Executive Committee – the same Executive Committee that Russell Moore had unspecifically accused of widespread wrongdoing (Mike Stone filed and later withdrew a $750,000 lawsuit against Moore). Messengers overwhelmingly voted to commission the task force in a motion that included a demand for the Executive Committee to abandon the common law practice of attorney-client privilege.

Sermongate

The messengers (with a healthy boost from cooperative program-funded NAMB plants) narrowly elected Alabama pastor Ed Litton – a man who planted his ministerial flag on racial reconciliation in response to the false “Hands up, don’t shoot” Michael Brown narrative. Almost immediately after Litton’s election, it was revealed that he had been plagiarizing sermons from other pastors including previous SBC president JD Greear and Gospel Coalition founder Tim Keller. A subsequent investigation revealed the widespread employment of Docent Research Group by pastors looking to outsource their sermon preparation to largely theologically-compromised seminary graduates. Litton’s plagiarism was subsequently excused by pastor Bart Barber, who claimed that Litton shouldn’t be in trouble for not citing sources (despite the fact that the issue was Litton copying entire sermons and claiming others’ personal stories as his own).

Abortion was also on the menu at the 2021 meeting, with the James Merritt-chaired (and Bart Barber-membered) Resolutions Committee bringing a pragmatic abortion resolution before the messengers that targeted abortion doctors while absolving abortion-seeking women of any moral responsibility. The messengers responded with a forceful rebuke, bringing to the floor and passing a morally-consistent resolution that recognized the culpability of mothers choosing to abort their children.

Of note: Barber – now running for SBC president – continues to support the morally indefensible pragmatism of treating mothers as unwitting victims of the (clearly male) operators of the abortion industry. His FAQ pushes a strawman version of abortion abolitionists as those who “dishonor” the pro-life movement, he promotes the false claim that ectopic and life-of-the-mother premature births are abortions (which would necessitate abortion remaining legal in some cases), and he deceptively leaves out the fact that SBC messengers passed an “abolitionist” resolution in 2021 as he refers only to the fact that the weaker Hyde Amendment resolution was not amended to include abolitionist language.

Deacongate

Fast forward nearly a year, and Ed Litton announced he would not be running for a second term as SBC president, breaking with the tradition of a president serving two years. SBC institutionalists immediately put forward Florida pastor Willy Rice as their choice for president. Soon after, Rice revealed in a video that his church had employed a deacon who had abused (groomed and committed adultery with) a student years ago, that Rice’s church had determined that the sin happened prior to the deacon’s conversion, and that the deacon was fully repentant and that he had been serving faithfully for years. Yet due to a “new understanding” of abuse dynamics, he was being removed from service as a deacon. The man was later determined to be Jeff Ford.

Subsequently, it was revealed that Texas pastor Tom Buck was the one who brought the issues with Jeff Ford to Willy Rice in private prior to Rice going public with the video dismissing “the deacon.” Rice initially did not believe the accusations about Ford, but upon confirming their truth (and discovering that Ford had more likely than not committed his sin after professing faith in Christ), Rice pulled his name from consideration and took up residence on Victim Place, changing his stance that Tom Buck had done the right thing to a claim that Buck was trying to “score points” against him. Following the same pattern of next man up, SBC insiders called in Bart Barber to take Rice’s place.

“Pridepost” Solutions

The Sex Abuse Task Force unanimously chose Guidepost Solutions in September of 2021 to conduct the investigation into the Executive Committee motioned by the messengers at the 2021 Annual Meeting, and after wrangling with the Executive Committee on the particulars of waiving attorney-client privilege began the formal investigation in November.

In May, Guidepost released the final report, which contained largely known instances of abuse and approximately 400 people currently or formerly connected with the 14 million-member SBC that were convicted or credibly accused of sexual abuse. Guidepost offered recommendations to the Task Force that mostly boiled down to creating a list of likely abusers to be voluntarily referenced by SBC churches in hiring and a compensation fund for apparent victims pulled from money given to the Cooperative Program – a recommendation that effectively holds innocent churches accountable for the misdeeds of others.

The big “bombshell” in the report was the revelation that pastor Johnny Hunt stood accused of forcing himself on another pastor’s wife while on vacation – an incident the wife claims was forced but that Hunt claims was mutual. Hunt was recently suspended from his position at his church.

Most importantly for the scope of the investigation, it was clear that there was no organized coverup or malfeasance from the Executive Committee, even as former EC General Counsel Augie Boto was revealed to have been keeping a list of established and potential abusers with connections to the SBC while claiming (correctly) that the SBC had no authority over cooperating churches.

Soon after the release of the full report, it was discovered that many of the cited documents in the report were inaccessible via the published hyperlinks and that the report contained quotes and information about pastors who had never been contacted by Guidepost during the investigation. Guidepost stealthily retracted at least one paragraph quoting a conversation between former ERLC vice president Phillip Bethancourt and Jim Richards of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention concerning scheduling. The conversation seemed to be included to reinforce the divisions between leaders in the SBC, but had nothing to do with sex abuse according to Richards.

Mere weeks after the release of the full report, Guidepost Solution’s commitment to the LGBTQ agenda was brought to the attention of Southern Baptists, causing many to question why a Christian organization would commission a secular firm holding views hostile to scripture would be allowed to investigate churches. The revelation forced the Sex Abuse Task Force into damage control, with SATF Chair Bruce Frank and Vice-Chair Marshall Blalock explaining that Guidepost’s spiritual convictions do not matter in the face of the company’s professional reputation. Yet the damage was done, and multiple state conventions including Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, and Florida publicly called for the SBC to cut ties with Guidepost.

Guidepost’s recommendations to the Executive Committee included direct attacks on Baptist church autonomy, notably including a recommendation to form a so-called Offender Information System (OIS) which would track “known offenders,” including not only ministers who have been convicted of crimes but also those who have been “credibly accused,” which according to the report simply means an accusation is “not manifestly false or frivolous.” The recommendations also suggest creating a “Survivor Compensation Fund Program,” which would use Cooperative Program giving from churches to pay the alleged victims of abuse at other churches. Selling of SBC properties to replenish the fund was recommended. In total, Guidepost offered seventeen recommendations to the Executive Committee and sixteen to the Credentials Committee.

SATF Recommendations

In response, the Sex Abuse Task Force boiled down Guidepost’s recommendations to two:

  • Creation of an Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force (ARITF), which would study the recommendation to establish a survivor compensation fund and the recommendation to create a new, permanent SBC entity for the express purpose of dealing with abuse in the convention. The ARITF would report to the 2023 Convention.
  • Creation of a “Ministry Check” website, which would be “a record of pastors, denominational workers, ministry employees, and volunteers who have at any time been credibly accused of sexual abuse and who have been or are associated with a cooperating Southern Baptist church or entity.” The recommendation does not outline specifically how a determination of “credibly accused” will be reached, but it does specify that local Baptist churches or entities wishing to investigate someone may apply for grant money if needed to fund the investigation.

Left Versus Right

For years now, two general coalitions have existed in the SBC.

Conservatives, who have lined up behind pastor Tom Ascol of Founders Ministries, remain concerned with the encroachment of Critical Race Theory in SBC institutions, social justice, ministerial egalitarianism (Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church, for example), and the SBC’s seemingly insatiable appetite for bending to the demands of the prevailing culture around it. Churches and pastors in this camp are more likely to be Calvinist, hold to the regulative principle of worship, and emphasize the sufficiency of scripture. This camp was much more suspicious of government intrusion into the church during COVID, and many churches in this camp grew during the last two years.

Progressives – now represented by former ERLC official and institutionalist poster child Bart Barber (who claims conservatism) and partnered with the Evangelical Intelligentsia – are concerned about winsome engagement with the culture, racial reconciliation as a primary component of Gospel ministry, and moral disconnection of the church from secular politics. This camp is populated by SBC institutionalists, seminary graduates, and megachurch pastors, and emphasizes a “big tent” version of the SBC that welcomes anyone not explicitly denying the foundations of the Gospel (and even some who do). This camp is strongly Arminian, holds to an unapologetically innovative normative principle of worship, and while claiming to hold scripture sufficient often moves beyond it to synergize with the dominant political leanings of the day. This camp resents conservative Christian involvement or alignment with Republican politics, and often claims a “third way” exists which allows professing Christians to vote any way they want without any effect on their Christian witness. Southern Baptists who are Gospel Coalition contributors are exclusively in this camp, and they united in opposition to churches that remained open when the government tried to force them to close.

The next few days will likely reveal the future trajectory of the SBC. Will there be a similar resurgence and return to general faithfulness in the face of a hostile, demanding, and lost culture? Or will the SBC continue its precipitous slide into capitulating compromise and land the organization (ironically) among the largely irrelevant and apostate mainline denominations?

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Jemar Tisby Asserts Orgy-Loving, Jesus-Denying, Serial-Adulturer is a ‘Very Strong Christian’

Appearing on the June 1, 2022 episode of the ChurchLeader Podcast with Ed Stetzer, Jemar Tibsy, who has an openly pro-choice, pro-LGBTQ woman leading his Christian organization, explains that someone can be a”very strong Christian” despite being a sexual pervert, serial adulterer and one denies the virgin birth of Jesus.

Stetzer: Are you saying then you share a lot of the same theological beliefs you had before? Am I misstating this? However, it’s been pushed out, and now you’re understanding more deeply the black theological tradition, and maybe some of the fact that that may embrace some of those issues differently? I’m trying to help myself understand what’s your answer.

Yeah. So think about it this way. A lot of times in predominantly white Christian settings, the starting point for theology, for sermons, for teaching is the resurrection. And that makes sense. The starting point is a lot of times Paul’s epistles, right? In the very sort of logical, propositional way, Paul explains his theology.

Understandable, it’s all Bible. You know, we learned from it all. In the black church tradition, oftentimes the starting point is the Exodus, the literal liberation of enslaved people. Oftentimes the starting point is the Old Testament and the prophets who speak against injustice, who call out the powers that be for mistreating and abusing their power.

Right. So it’s, it’s all the same Bible, it’s all the same faith, but because of our lived experiences and locations, we have sort of really foundational pillars that really shape our public engagement with justice issues.

So I’m trying to be in the line of a Martin Luther King Jr, of a Fannie Lou Hamer of a Medgar Evers, all very strong Christians who saw integrally the connection between Jesus and justice.

What I have faced in predominantly white settings is a highly individualistic understanding of the world, and particularly racism that doesn’t really give due attention, in my view, to the issues of policies and systems and power when it comes to racism.

Very strong Christian?

Martin Luther King Jr. was an absolute scumbag by any discernable standard. He was a womanizer who routinely cheated on his wife. He participated in orgies, treated women like sex objects, and alleged;y laughed while a woman was raped in the same room as him.

If that wasn’t bad enough, King was a heretic. He denied the Virgin Birth, denied Scriptural inerrancy, had very troublesome views of the atonement and was by all accounts a theological liberal. For example, here’s a paper from King denying the Virgin Birth and calling the resurrection “historically and philosophically untenable.” From start to finish, King denied the fundamentals of Christianity, practicing a liberation and social-gospel theology.

Yet Tisby dscribes him as a “very strong Christian.”

It’s almost enough to make you think he doesn’t even know what it means to be one.

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Charismatic Prophetess Says We Can Ride Saber-Toothed Tigers and Pterodactyls in Heaven

When Kat Kerr, our favorite pink-haired charismatic prophetess isn’t weaving an unbiblical tale of witchcraft and false theology by claiming that she has a picture of thousands of lioned-faced angels frog-marching chained demons across the sky in order to go to heaven for judgment, or that Miscarried Babies are Reincarnated For the Next Pregnancy, or even that there’s a place called ‘Jello-land’ in heaven that contains chocolate waterfalls and candy houses, she’s claiming we can ride dinosaurs in heaven.

Speaking to chief-enabler Steve Shultz on episode 80 of Wednesdays with Kat and Steve, Shultz asks her whether or not people can ride various dinosaurs in the afterlife.

The answer is absolutely YES! And I know sometimes your head goes to its ‘natural mind’, and I tell people ‘put your natural mind on the shelf and be wide open…The things of the Spirit are discerned in your spirit, not in your natural head.

And you have to think of a world where there is no fear. There’s no attack, there’s no violence of any kind whatsoever, but every thing loves everybody. Every thing loves everybody, not just every person loves everybody. And so everyone is at peace, they’re in joy, they’re in celebration. Even the creatures, your pets, even the terra firma, even the plants, the flower sing, the pebbles sing and jump up and down and shout, worship.

…So when I say yes there’s saber-toothed tigers, why wouldn’t there be? God made them. He made the dinosaurs before he put you on the earth. They were here, there’s evidence they were here, nobody can do that. And that was a very very, very long time ago.

She continues

And so yes, you can have a sabre-toothed tiger as a pet, you can ride the pterodactyls. They have a place in heaven where you can see every kind of dinosaur he ever made, and they’re all friendly. I think that was my second or third trip when he took me to show me. I’ve always liked archaeology or that study in science. I loved the archaeology and I loved all this stuff like that I was fascinated with space, outer space.

…So if I’m going to talk about heaven, I’m going to say things that are beyond your imagination. And so that’s what the Word says. It says ‘of course, unless except for the Spirit of God showing you these things, we really wouldn’t know.’ And even the Spirit of God catches people up. The father catches me up. Sometimes Jesus comes and takes me himself.

I don’t just go on my own, I’m on assignment by them to reveal heaven and earth, and I can just tell you, yes, those kids are going to have an amazing time in heaven.

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Ex-SBC Prez. Formally Suspended from Church After Sexual Assault Allegations

First Baptist Church of Woodstock has formally suspended Pastor Emeritus Johnny Hunt, according to a letter by Jeremy Morton, Lead Pastor issued to the church, after it was revealed Hunt, 69, had allegedly sexually assaulted another pastor’s wife a decade ago.

You can read more about the details here, but the gist of it is that 12 years ago while on vacation together with another pastor and his wife, Hunt is accused of making inappropriate comments to her about her body such as her tan lines, and then manoeuvered himself into her room, where he is alleged to have pinned her to the couch, got on top of her, forcibly removed her clothes, and groped her and put his hands and mouth on the breasts and body. Afterward, he apologized to her and the husband and they all did some counseling and collectively decided not to bring it up ever again.

In the letter posted on the church’s website on June 3, Morton informs the congregation of all the steps the church has taken to ensure their safety, assuring them that any abuse or potential abuse will be investigated and taken seriously, then explains the fate of their former leader:

Second, we have recommended to our former pastor, Johnny Hunt, a clear process of counseling, accountability, and restoration. We also believe it is in the best interest of FBCW to suspend his role as Pastor Emeritus. While we are forever grateful for the supernatural work of God over the last 30+ years at FBCW, we believe this decision aligns with our biblical theology as a church regarding spiritual leaders being above reproach (1 Tim. 3:2).

Two weeks ago, Hunt copped to the interaction, but not on any of the details. After the news first hit, Hunt tweeted out a brief message, reiterating that he “vigorously denies the circumstances and characterizations set forth in the Guidepost report” and that “I never abused anybody.” later, he put out a message on social media to his church family at First Baptist Woodstock, further denying the claims against him.

Though he doesn’t go into any detail, he describes their interaction as a “brief, improper encounter” that was fully “consensual” but which he fled after feeling conviction about it. He states in no uncertain terms “it was NOT abuse NOR was it assault” and that “the most absurd allegation is that this brief, consensual encounter constituted assault.”

Hunt further castigated the report by Guidepost as being “sensationalized” and emphatically asserts that he did not groom her or arrange the encounter, all the while the story as told by guidepost has some truth to it, that “the allegation made in the report is false” and that “there are other details in the description that are stated as fact which did not happen.”

We’re on the record of saying that basically everyone in this story ought to be fired, as they’re all disqualified.

Hunt has not posted anything on his social media since the announcement from his church.

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ELCA Fires First Transgendered Bishop on Account of ‘Racism’

In what will likely be the last story we ever write about her, Rev. Megan Rohrer, the first (they) transgendered bishop to lead the ELCA has been fired by resigned from her role after the head of the evil ELCA, the Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton asked for her resignation.

The act was sparked over an incident that happened within her synod, proving if you live by the wokeness, you die by the wokeness. Rohrer’s fired Nelson Rabell-González’ of the Misión Latina Luterana community on the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe after he was accused of abusing a fellow ‘pastor’ through ‘misogyny, disrespect, and threatening comments‘ and ’embezzling monies from the California Immigrant Relief Fund’ to be racist, and to stop his anti-racism work.

This was said to be ‘racist’ and they called for her head, which was handily delivered.

In a message on Facebook, she says she is a victim of “misinformation, bullying and harassment” and that in true virtue- twerking fashion, points out that she could endure and fight the system, but then she would be a “poor role model” for her “black trans children.”

After previously showing up on our radar for claiming that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were Transgender Slaves, we hope to never hear from her again.

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SEBTS Says ‘Anonymous Couple’ was Source of Tom Buck Letter Leak, Shuts Down Further Inquiry

How convenient. In a STATEMENTS FROM SOUTHEASTERN ON MATTERS SURROUNDING THE BUCK ESSAY, Danny Akin has shared with the world that his seminary has “concluded a careful investigation into the involvement of any SEBTS faculty and staff (Karen Swallow Prior and Ken Whitfield), in the sharing of an essay written by Jennifer Buck, and with the intention of blackmailing her husband, Tom Buck” and that they surmised that “nothing was discovered to indicate that any staff at SEBTS were involved in the sharing of the essay or in any attempt to blackmail Dr. Buck.”

Ie: they investigated themselves and then exonerated themselves of any wrongdoing.

SEBTS previously agreed to open to a third-party investigation and to waive any attorney/client privilege on the matters at hand, but then as the letter notes “discussions around the scope of the proposed investigation and the firm to conduct the investigation did not reach an agreed-upon conclusion” which is just another way of saying that SEBTS got cold feet and backed out.

Thankfully, a mysterious anonymous couple suddenly appeared only yesterday, falling on their sword, taking all the blame, and then went back to remaining anonymous, absolving SEBTS completely. They write

On June 8, 2022, SEBTS was informed that an anonymous couple had reached out to Rachael Denhollander to take responsibility for the attempted use of the Buck’s article draft as retaliation for Pastor Buck’s raising concerns related to an individual at Willy Rice’s church. This couple provided corroborating information to validate that they were the original actors and that they acted alone. They affirmed that the individual they contacted at Southeastern, Keith Whitfield, informed them that Dr. Prior would not corroborate the article, and that they both urged them not to publish it. Further, the couple confirmed that no one else was aware of or assisted them in these efforts. They have expressed deep grief at the harm they have caused.

With the emergence of this new couple, whose identity, SEBTS is officially out, washing their hands of any further responsibility to discuss the matter or partake in any further investigation.

“Based on this information and the efforts that SEBTS has undergone in reviewing and attempting to retrieve any helpful information related to this matter, we believe it is no longer necessary to participate in an independent inquiry….While some may still have “but what about” questions, we believe the investigation and new evidence is sufficient to bring this matter to a close regarding SEBTS’ involvement.”

Of course, some questions remain. While we’re all in the spirit of transparency and full disclosure, why isn’t either SEBTS or Rachel Denhollander telling Tom Buck who attempted to blackmail him? Is this what mishandling an abuse allegation looks like? Also, how did the couple know that only KSP could corroborate the draft? Were they contacted by text, or by phone? Why didn’t they warn Tom, a fellow SBC pastor? Why did they lie to him for so long? Etc.

We’re not saying it didn’t happen, only that these fresh new revelations make things sound even squirrellier than before. Tom Buck seems deeply unhappy and skeptical of the statement, calling it a joke and blasting Akin for the “grossly inaccurate statement.”

The saga continues.

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News

Christian Book Publishing Company Eerdmans Doubles on Pro-LGBTQ Stance. ‘We’re Not Confused’

Photo by Agustin Gunawan (via Unsplash)

A week after ‘Christian” book publishing company Eerdman’s openly promoted Pride month in a company blog along with some accompanying LGBTQ-affirming book recommendations to read, receiving a tsunami of backlash in response the company has doubled down on their previous position, insisting that they’re not confused and that their standard practice is to publish books that represent “experimental positions” of theology that serve the church.

By way of context, Eerdmans Publishing Company is a long-time publisher of Christian books. Established in 1911, they’re an independent publisher of religious books, from academic books and scholarly works in theology, biblical studies, and religious history to popular titles in spirituality, ministry, and cultural criticism. Some of the more well-known recent books they’ve published are In Quest of the Historical Adam By William Lane Craig, a commentary on Galatians by N. T Wright, The Gospel According to John by D.A. Carson, Spiritual Depression by Martyn Lloyd-jones, and many, many Bible commentaries.

In an extended Twitter thread they explain:

This weekend, we took down our post because the overwhelming vitriol was alarming, and we wanted to protect our authors. We stand by our EerdWord post, so we have tweeted the link again.

But we think we should also offer some explanation. Some of the replies to our original tweet could be summarized as: “With this tweet, you have gone over to the dark side. Your company is now useless and we hope you go bankrupt and your employees become jobless.” For those who thought that cursing and reviling would be an appropriately Christian response to an invitation to try to understand LGBTQ+ Christians, we offer no response.

Their self-revelation speaks for itself, and it grieves us. For our conservative Christian readers and friends who may be disturbed by the slander of the revilers, we want to explain the misunderstandings they voiced.

The revilers say we have changed our position and begun to teach heresy. There are several problems with that accusation. We do not think it is for us as a publisher to define doctrine for the church. We are not the pope, or an ecumenical council, or even a pastor.

Our role is to publish books, representing both settled and experimental positions, that serve the church in its ongoing deliberations. We therefore routinely publish books that contradict each other on many contested doctrinal points. We publish conservative and liberal books; we publish Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant books.

We are not confused. We are a publisher that serves the ecumenical church. With regard to Christian understandings of LGBTQ+ people, Eerdmans has been publishing books for quite a few years by authors who have come to an affirming conclusion on biblical and theological grounds. This is not new for us. At the same time, Eerdmans has continued and will continue, to publish books by and for people who have not come to this conclusion. Eerdmans does not publish books that deny the existence or ignore the voices of LGBTQ people, propagate false teaching about discredited/harmful “therapies,” or in general condemn/revile LGBTQ people. Too much of that has been done over time, and we want no part in continuing it. We reject the tendency to promote division and discord by categorizing Christians into two camps, considering “us” to be right about everything and “them” to be wrong.

We decline to swear loyalty to one faction’s “us” and join their hostilities against all corresponding “thems.” So, we reiterate our invitation, especially to our conservative friends, whom we value and respect: use #PrideMonth to read a book by LGBTQ+ Christians and their allies.

As always, our aim is not to tell you what to think. It is to provide books that we believe will promote informed and charitable thinking. 

While Eerdman pretends to be neutral on these matters by insisting that “we do not think it is for us as a publisher to define doctrine for the church,” their position is untenable, in light of their goal to “serve the church” and “serve the ecumenical church” in their publications.

Would they publish a book that denies the miracles of Jesus, or openly denies his virgin birth? How about that he is a created being? Would they release a book of “experimental theology” that argues Jesus was a homosexual who had relations with the other disciples- a sort of exploratory thought-piece on the cutting edge of Christian belief, done to prick the conscience and stand as a “contested doctrinal points” contra alternate settled theories?

If the answer is yes, then to hell with them. If the answer is no, then they have defined Christian doctrine and made themselves out to be liars, and we know where they go.

We end with this observation:

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Alabama Baptists Leaders Call for SBC to Sever Ties with Guidepost After Revelations

Alabama state conventions leaders have called for the Southern Baptist Convention to sever ties with Guidepost Solutions, the organization tasked with investigating sexual abuse within the SBC after it was revealed that the organization was rabidly pro-LGBTQ.

The leaders note that their call has nothing to do with quelling or stifling the investigations of sexual abuse, but rather one of principle.

As State Convention leaders, our usual practice is not to speak to issues related to the Southern Baptist Convention and how business is handled by the leadership. However, the recent tweet from Guidepost affirming the LGBTQ+ movement has caused us much concern. We respectfully request that our SBC leadership sever ties with that organization. This action should not be seen as lacking strong support for the sexual abuse survivor community. We must do better in dealing with the challenges related to sexual abuse.

BUDDY CHAMPION, president of the Alabama Baptist State Convention, chair of the Alabama Baptist Executive Committee, and pastor of First Baptist Trussville

MORGAN BAILEY, first vice president of the Alabama Baptist State Convention and senior pastor of Macedonia Baptist Church, Ranburne

JARMAN LEATHERWOOD, second vice president of the Alabama Baptist State Convention and pastor of House of Hope and Restoration Church, Huntsville

GREG CORBIN, chair of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions and senior pastor of Lakeside Baptist Church, Birmingham

MEL JOHNSON, vice chair of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions and lead mission strategist of the Autauga Baptist Association, Prattville

CRAIG CARLISLE, chair of the Sexual Abuse Task Force of the Alabama Baptist State Convention and director of missions of the Etowah Baptist Association, Gadsden

MELISSA BOWEN, vice chair of the Sexual Abuse Task Force and retired attorney, Prattville

RICK LANCE, executive director of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions

Previous to this, Randy Davids, the President and Executive Director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board called for the SBC to cut ties as well, writing:

 I do not believe the Southern Baptist Convention should be connected in any fiduciary way to any organization that is consulting with us on such an important topic yet does not share our biblical perspective of human sexuality….

Guidepost Solutions’ recently tweeted value statement on human sexuality is in sharp contrast to the Bible’s family and marriage values and our confessional statements summarized by the Baptist Faith and Message. Amos 3:3 asks, ‘Can two walk together unless they agree?’ Given the disparity of conviction on the issue of human sexuality, I don’t believe in this situation we can, or should, walk together. It undermines my confidence in any proposed future relationship between any SBC entity and Guidepost Solutions.