David Platt’s theology continues to shift from the good kind of radical to the bad, with the Mclean Bible Church pastor joining a bunch of Revoice teamsters and allies at the Theology in the Raw conference, whose theme is ‘Exiles in Babylon’
“To be a Christian is to be an exile. The Bible has a name for the country we’ve been exiled to: Babylon. As exiles living in Babylon, we need to think biblically, Christianly, indeed exilically—not partisanly—through cultural and political issues.
Some of the speakers at the event are Preston Sprinkle, Jackie Hill Perry, Thabiti Anyabwile, Chris Dates, and Greg Coles.
Readers of Protestia will recognize many of those names present, with a friendly reminder that we last saw Preston Sprinkle organizing the latest Revoice conference, which featured a devout Roman Catholic ‘who praised an X-rated gay BDSM film, and Chris Date, a self-styled apologist who openly, actively and vigorously rejects hell and the possibility of eternal damnation.
Jackie you can read more about here, Thabiti here, and Greg Coles? He’s also a Revoice acolyte who had to have theological reconstructive surgery after his queer LGBTQ positions were curb-stomped by the PCA at their recent General Conference. As far as the others, we don’t know much about them. Some may be fine, with the exception of having to have their discernment radars rejiggered.
Lest you think Platt is the odd man out from that serving of scallywags, the past President of the International Missions Board has drifted in other ways, from saying that he is part of the problem in promulgating racial injustice on account of his white skin, or telling congregants who “can’t live” with the fact that their church family may be members of the Democratic party, who may vote for them, campaign for them, fundraise for them, and even run for office under their banner, that they should leave the church. Oh, and his co-pastor was caught explaining how it’s difficult for him not to ‘torch all white people’.
Unfortunately, with his trajectory, we see many more of these and other conferences like it in his future.
(Evangelical Dark Web) Quick to slander and slow to apologize has certainly characterized the response of The Gospel Coalition to the Rittenhouse verdict. Yet the same could not be said of Big Eva with regards to the Derek Chauvin verdict and will likely not be said of the imminent verdict relating to the death of Ahmaud Arbery.
Whether this is because now is not the best time to express anti-White sentiment or whether because they cannot articulate a coherent rebuttal to the verdict, the major Big Eva publications including: The Gospel Coalition, Christianity Today, Mere Orthodoxy, SBC Voices, ERLC, Church Leaders, 9 Marks, Relevant Magazine, and Charisma Magazine are all reticent on the issue. This is despite the fact that Evangelical Dark Web has been consistently reporting on the cultural impact of this case from day one.
The best answer is that even ministries that share an audience with Evangelicals Dark Web have not really touched on this issue. But on YouTube, the silence is not the case. Christian Post only published a news article about the verdict as expected for a major event.
Even on Twitter, one is hard-pressed to find a Big Eva response. The condemnations of the verdict seem to exclusively come from super woke Black pastors and whatever Kyle J. Howard so happens to…
That jury in Wisconsin today basically said it’s ok to be found carrying a smoking rifle as evidence of your evil and still found not guilty.
Somewhere I read… Be not deceived. God is not mocked. Whatever a man sows, that He will also reap.
(Captsone Report) BOMBSHELL: SBC ignores its black Vice President Dr. Lee Brand + SBC 1st VP: ‘Even though we talk and virtue signal, it becomes apparent to me that I’m just the wrong kind of black guy.’+ Panel discussion highlights Leftward Drift and wicked leadership of Southern Baptist Convention.
Lee Brand said that in the five months since his election as First Vice President of the Southern Baptist Convention that he has been ignored as much as possible by the Southern Baptist Convention and its leaders like SBC President Ed Litton. Brand said that the SBC is good at virtue signaling on race, but it does not seem interested in what certain people have to say. (You’ll remember how it prevented a black woman from speaking at the SBC Convention.)
“I’ve been in the role of first vice president for five months,” Brand said during a panel discussion at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary (MABTS). “And it is safe for me to tell you that in as many ways as possible that I have been ignored. Even though we talk and virtue signal, it becomes apparent to me that I’m just the wrong kind of black guy.”
This is of particular interest since many Evangelical Elites continue to support, invite to speak, and otherwise praise disgraced plagiarist SBC President Ed Litton.
For the second time this year, openly LGBTQ artist Semler has taken the top spot on iTunes Christian and Gospel charts.
If that name and all the queerish heebie-jeebies go with it sound familiar to you, it should. We wrote about her a few months ago after she shouted “Gay rights!” at a Switchfoot concert, a practice she advocates doing in order to publicly force ‘Christian’ artists to confront their homophobia and outdated and amoral views on homosexuality. (In response to that call out, Switchfoot’s Jon Foreman responded to the coaxing of a queer “Christian” artist questioning his pro-LGBTQ+ creds, telling her that LGBTQ+ people are always welcome at his concerts and that he supports gay rights and freedoms.)
Semler is a newcomer to the scene and is the performing name of Grace Semler Baldridge, a butch lesbian who’s married to a woman while purposeful altering her appearance to look like a man – giving the impression she’s about one upper chest surgery from becoming transgendered.
Semler previously unseated Lauren Daigle to briefly capture the top spot in the rankings around nine months ago with her ‘Preacher’s kid’ album and she’s done it again, passing CeCe Winans, We the Kingdom, and others with her ‘Late Bloomer’ Ep.
Not only is the album featured on iTunes, but the song “Hallelujah (In Your Arms)”, described by the artist as an “anthem of queer joy” is currently featured on Spotify’s Top Christian Artists playlist.
In a move that further shows the cowardice of many Christian musicians and artists, RNS reported that “they reached out to 10 Christian chart-toppers” seeking to ask them about their views of LGBTQ inclusion in the Christian music industry, and “none responded to invitations to clarify their stance.”
The day has come. Kyle J Howard, race-baiter extraordinaire, has himself stepped forward to claim the long-standing *informational* bounty we have put on his head.
To recap, Protestia, and formerly Pulpit & Pen have multiple issues with this rising star within the woke Christian world. While he would chalk it up to us being a bunch of white racists, it instead has to do with the fact that he has been lying for years about being a gang-member for intersectional points and internet clout, and has kept a dizzying clip of saying racist and divisive things; with some of the highlights found below.
It got to the point that it even necessitated a video about him, and his insistence that everything white or white adjacent is too traumatizing to bear.
Here is our contention.
Howard was born in incredible privilege, with the proverbial silver spoon placed there by two attorney parents. He was raised in an affluent Atlanta suburb. His brother capitalized on his privilege and became an attorney like his parents before him and Howard has been a professional student for most of his life.
However, Howard claims in his website bio that in High School he became “heavily immersed” in the Crips gang. Howard claims he carried a razor blade in his mouth, a .38 revolver on his hip, and drugs in his pocket.
Also according to Howard, he lived a double life. He has publicly stated that starting from age 12, he was diagnosed with clinical depression, had suicidal ideations, and other issues like being diagnosed as manic depressive, having ADHD, and also being bipolar. He was so depressed, he claims he played russian roulette with a gun to his head, spinning the cylinder and pulling the trigger.
Somehow, however, despite all these psychologica, educational and mental health challenges, he was a gang member by night, and was an honor student by day. He sold drugs at by the pale moon light while doing high school debate and keeping up his academics during the day.
His parents apparently weren’t aware of his secret life as a Crips member because he would intellectually debate his parents over supper and then go smoke weed and live the thug life. Howard has posted a photo of himself in a sideways ballcap as apparent evidence of his thuggishness.
Howard also claims he was a “battle rapper” in the “underground circuit” while excelling at his High School Latin class.
Howard claims that upon meeting his future wife, he gradually walked away from all the gang activity, while in the 11th grade, and they let him go willingly. Howard states that his then future wife was oblivious to his gang activity as well, likewise having no idea.
Now, if you’re asking why he would make up stories that would make even Ergun Caner blush, it’s simple: with someone as privileged as Kyle J. Howard is, it’s critically important that he identifies with the victim class.
To do so, he claims he was a secret gang member in high school, thus establishing his intersectionality creds, which he references over and over and over and over again, in order to attack the church and spread a race-baiting message of Howardian hate.
Consequently, we put out this offer: Protestia will pay anyone $3500 for any evidence substantiating that Kyle J. Howard was in any kind of ‘gang‘ (in high school or college)” while postulating that perhaps one of the 35 thousand active Crips gang members would remember Kyle J. Howard, the rich and affluent kid who joined their gang secretly, never told anybody about it at the time, and then left without anyone caring.
First off, we are pleased that Howard has finally and for the first time specified that the bounty is for information, and not a literal bounty on his head. He has previously said that he fears for his life on account of this offer, and has whipped up his mother in a frenzy because of it, so it’s good to know that he’s taking it in the spirit it was offered.
Second of all, Howard previously claimed that any information corroborating his story would put him in physical danger, while also claiming all of his former gang affiliates are dead or in prison so there were no witnesses left to testify on his behalf. Is Howard now acknowledging that it is safe to release this information?
Third of all, this does nothing to substantiate his claim that he was in the Crips gang. It’s a picture of Kyle wearing what looks to be either a black or navy bandana around his neck. That’s it. That’s the sum of his offering. It’s basically a man wearing a Harley Davidson shirt or bandana and claiming it’s proof he was in the Hell’s Angels, but at least that one has some tenuous suggestive ties. We made it a point to be fairly lax in what we would consider evidence or proof that he was in a gang, but this picture does not even come close to rising to that occasion. It also makes us further Howard’s sincerity and his ability to understand what it means to substantiate.
For example, he had a lot to say about the Rittenhouse trial, claiming that the young man is a white supremacist and racist who *clearly* cried big ole fake crocodile tears on the stand, and that he *purposefully* instigated and sought out a situation that would position him to have the ability defend himself by murdering other people. Rittenhouse, he says, is seeking to become a ‘warrior of white supremacy.’
Howard was able to see the same videos we did and have all the same facts we had, and read ALL THAT into the trial and verdict. Given this, it’s unsurprising that he can present a picture of a guy with a bandana, and declare that this is proof-positive that he substantiated his claim and therefore is worthy of collecting the fee. (Notwithstanding the rest of it and the horde of discrepancies.)
More than half of mainline pastors are seriously considering leaving the ministry altogether, according to a Barna study, which polled over 500 protestant senior pastors.
The report, which sought to look at in part at the burnout rate of pastors in the last year, found that while overall 2 in 5 pastors seriously considered leaving the ministry, that rate was much higher among mainline denominations, which comprised of the usual mix of villainous scripture traitors. Basically the ‘Seven Sisters of American Protestantism’- Disciples of Christ, Episcopalians, ELC, United Methodists, PCUSA, United Church of Christ, and American Baptist Churches- with a couple of other queer-affirming ones mixed in. In this group, 51% said they were considering hanging up their collars for good.
Another group with was more apt to quit were the pastrixes. Barna Reports:
Other significant differences arise among gender, with female pastors being far more likely than male pastors to have considered giving up full-time ministry, and ministry tenure. Specifically, roughly one-third of pastors who are considering resignation have been in ministry for about 20 years but have been at their current church for seven years.
According to David Kinnaman, President of Barna Group:
“This is a growing crisis for church leaders in America. Now is the time for the Christian community to come alongside their pastors to pray and support them so they can continue to lead in healthy ways. Pastors, too, need to proactively guard their health and well-being, taking a holistic assessment of how they are doing….More than ever, the Church needs resilient leaders who are humble, agile, rooted in prayer and who are committed to being healthy as an essential aspect of effective leadership.”
We’re all for this here at Protestia. As far as we’re concerned, the more mainline pastors and lady preachers quit, the better.
Megachurch ‘pastor’ Apollo Quiboloy and his two top administrators have been and charged with “orchestrating a sex trafficking operation that coerced girls and young women to have sex with the church’s leader under threats of “eternal damnation” according to a Justice of the Department release.
Quiboloy, 71, is head of The Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KJC) Church, a restoration church in the Philippines that claims 4 million members in the country. They believe that only those within their denomination will be saved, and that their pastor had a miraculous birth that was foretold by God himself. The pastor is a multi-millionaire several times over and maintains “large residences in Calabasas, California; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Kapolei, Hawaii despite his main home being in Davos City.” The indictment further reads:
“Quiboloy, Dandan and Salinas were participating in a conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion, as well as the sex trafficking of children. These three defendants allegedly recruited females ranging from approximately 12 to 25 years of age to work as personal assistants, or “pastorals,” for Quiboloy. The indictment states that the victims prepared Quiboloy’s meals, cleaned his residences, gave him massages and were required to have sex with Quiboloy in what the pastorals called “night duty.” The indictment specifically mentions five female victims, three of whom were minors when the alleged sex trafficking began.
The leader, who has publically stated he is “The Appointed Son of God,” would tell the women and girls that if they do not satisfy his deviant sexual urges, they risked hellfire and damnation for the sin of refusal.
While the churches in California were raided, Quiboloy himself is currently believed to be residing in the Philippines and was not there at the time. If extradited and convicted, he faces a minimum of 20 years.
The sixteenth album in our series showing our brothers and sisters in Christ gathering for church service as faithful believers. While going to church does not make one a believer, refusing to faithfully attend a local church should seriously call that faith into question. This is a glimpse of what the global church is up to, and will feature images in chronological order, week to week, of the men and women being obedient to the scriptures. As always, click to enlarge.
For our multi-volume series showing the progression of the Church worldwide experiencing the lockdown and pandemic, from March 2020- July 2021, click here.
The new parental leave benefits for city employees allow up to 12 weeks of paid leave for men and women “for pregnancy loss, including all abortions for any reason,” according to the Post. The policy also allows leave time for parents of newborns and adoptive parents. Parental or bereavement leave for employees who have abortions appears to be a growing trend.
In October, the City Council of Portland, Oregon also approved expanding bereavement leave to include abortions. And earlier this year, the British bank Monzo attracted news attention when it began offering new paid leave benefits for employees who miscarry or abort their unborn bab-
Several weeks ago, news broke that John Blanchard, lead pastor of the 4000-member Rock Church International in Virginia Beach, VA, was busted by police for trying to hook up with an underage prostitute, joining 16 other men arrested who were caught up on the sting by law enforcement. Blanchard was quickly released on bail and appeared at the church service the next Sunday, blowing a shofar from the stage and offering a prayer, without addressing his arrest
A statement on the church website reads
“Under the guidance of our legal counsel, We cannot make a statement or comment concerning the accusations against Rev. John Blanchard at this time. We are all committed to walking in integrity and truth at Rock Church International and will continue to take steps to do so. Pastor Blanchard has voluntarily stepped back as lead pastor and from all his ministerial duties until this present situation is totally resolved. During this season, Bishop Anne Gimenez will be stepping in as Lead Pastor and sharing the pulpit with Pastor Robin Blanchard.”
We shared how this was not the first time Blanchard was accused of gross sexual sin, explaining how his church gave him a pass in 2019 and swept an illicit affair with a former member and employee of the church. At the time he suffered no consequences for it, but his public arrest is even more than they can bear.
Rock Church, now realizing that they might actually have to pull the trigger and deal with their pastor’s sexual sin, rather than sweep it under a rug, have updated their statement to express their newfound deep and abiding horror at the sin of it, and to reiterate how “committed” they are to ferreting it out wherever it may be.
Rock Church encourages godly lifestyles by all of its members and leaders, in keeping with the tenets of the Bible. The Church condemns sexual immorality of any kind and in any form by its members and leaders and especially holds its leaders to a high standard of accountability on any lifestyle choices that could reflect negatively on the reputation of the Church or disparage the character of the Savior whom it purports to represent.
Rock Church is committed to honesty and integrity in dealing with charges or accusations of sexual misconduct or immorality among its leaders and will support any investigation arising from accusations of violation of this standard among its staff and leaders in an effort to find the truth and to protect its members, church families and their children, at all times.
Under the guidance of our legal counsel, We cannot make a statement or comment concerning the accusations against Rev. John Blanchard at this time. We are all committed to walking in integrity and truth at Rock Church International and will continue to take steps to do so. Pastor Blanchard has voluntarily stepped back as lead pastor and from all his ministerial duties until this present situation is totally resolved. During this season, Bishop Anne Gimenez will be stepping in as Lead Pastor and sharing the pulpit with Pastor Robin Blanchard.
As followers of Christ, we must remember that redemption, salvation, grace, mercy and healing are all gifts given to the children of God. Although everyone must address their own convictions and consequences, our assignment as believers is not to condemn, but to be agents of God’s love, healing, justice, and reconciliation. (Romans 3:23-“for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”) If we are to walk in eternity with Christ, our position must be one of truth, love, faith, mercy, justice, and forgiveness.
Thank you for your prayers and support. The outpouring of love has been overwhelming and we appreciate all of those who have reached out to be an encouragement to us! We would ask that the privacy of the Blanchard family be respected as they walk through this difficult journey together.
Yesterday Blanchard was arranged in the Chesterfield County courtroom. He faces a felony charge of Solicitation of Prostitution from a minor age 16 or older, as well as a charge of Use of a Vehicle to Promote Prostitution. If found guilty, he faces between 1-5 years in prison. According to 13NewsNow:
“Blanchard’s lawyer asked that the judge consider changing the conditions of Blanchard’s bond which stipulate he cannot leave the state. The lawyer said there is church business outside of Virginia and that Blanchard travels for his job. (Note, given that he has stepped down from ministry, what would this be?)
Prosecutors objected to the defense’s request, based on the nature of the charges. The judge said another hearing was needed to consider whether the conditions of the bond should be changed. The judge set a hearing for Nov. 17.
The judge asked Blanchard to “maintain good behavior” until Blanchard’s trial which is scheduled to take place on Jan. 6, 2022.”
