With fake accounts “roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it,” we wanted to provide a list of all our official accounts on social media and alternative social media, so that you can know where we spend time.
As more and more people either intentionally jump from Facebook and Twitter or do so out of necessity after being blocked or banned by these juggernauts, it’s important that as these new sites coalesce and gain popularity and market share, that we have a presence. As such, we will update things accordingly as news ones or old ones wax and wane. For now:
Though he runs, oversees, or has his hands in multiple websites, the main three are Protestia here, Montana Daily Gazette here, and Pulpit & Pen here.
He can also be seen on our Protestia YouTube page.
PROTESTIA
We post to a variety of social media sites. While we usually share the same content across all channels, we routinely interact with people on our main Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/protestia. That’s where all the cool kids hang out, and where we are the most receptive to interacting.
Our previous Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/ProtestiaNow but we are winding it down and don’t post there anymore, as it’s hanging by a thread with the censors.
As usual, because we are cockroaches to the glory of God, we are unable to be squashed as we keep on carving out a new home wherever we can. Powered by our patrons who make it all possible, we have backups and multiple contingencies in place for every eventuality.
In short, there’s no one doing quite what we’re doing, and no one able to crush us underfoot.
“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: `This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock?
I have no patience to dilly-dally and obfuscate regarding the current crisis of the hour. For that reason, I’m forgoing the typical niceties, well-wishes, and half-hearted charitable assumptions that the person I’m writing about isn’t mentally retarded or morally wicked. So far as Mike Miller goes, it’s one or the other and I suggest the latter.
As the Social Gospel relieves its stenching bowels upon the one, pure, and holy Gospel of Christ’s death and resurrection, we have no time to waste. The dire consequences our nation now faces, from forced lockdowns of churches on one hand and new public funding for abortion on the other, it is just the tip of the iceberg coming for evangelicals now that Joe Biden and his merry band of transvestites and Planned Parenthood reps are in charge of the federal government.
And largely, we have Russell Moore and the Soros-funded Cominterns at the ERLC to thank (not to mention their sister organization, which happens to be raining homosexuals at the moment, The Gospel Coalition) for the crisis in the steeple’s shadow. As I told Newsweek magazine last year, if only 2% of the evangelical vote stays home, the church is about to enter a new Dark Age. And thanks to the ERLC, The Gospel Coalition, 9Marx, and the other incestuous band of grab-handing soy-sippers who run those organizations, Joe Biden is now God’s judgment upon the church.
I wrote another article earlier in the day, dispelling the outright falsehoods of Russell Moore’s SBC Voices (he runs the blog by fiat, handing out denominational appointments to all of its contributors for doing his dirty work) and their absurdly unfactual claim that Soros is not funding the ERLC.
The article I’ll now address was also posted at Moore’s Manchurian Blog, written as a guest post by Pastor Mike Miller of Central Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Texas. And this isn’t the first time that Miller jumped in to defend the SBC’s resident Democrat from Southern Baptist traditionalists and conservatives asking for him to be held accountable. He also did so in 2016, co-signing a letter in support for the man who “wishes [his] wife was more like Hillary Clinton.”
By the way, we have not always been critical of Miller, and wrote a glowing piece about him when he blasted a heretical book being sold at Lifeway Christian Resources. You can’t say we aren’t fair.
But it turns out, Miller is an idiot. So that was our bad.
For the sake of this article, I’m just going to respond to his comments tit-for-tat (we don’t link SBC Voices because we have a policy against Fake News).
Miller:
First, the report goes to great lengths to prove that the actions of Moore and the ERLC have caused some to stop giving to the Cooperative Program or in some other way to defer their giving. Stone assures us that the report “is not based on anecdotes or third-hand reports. It is based, almost exclusively, on documented facts.” However, these documented facts are based solely on anonymous comments from some state executive directors and reported third-hand through the Task Force.
Someone, please inform Miller that the testimony of numerous state executive directors satisfies the Biblical requirement for establishing a testimony (2 Corinthians 13:1). One can only imagine if Miller applied this impossible standard to women who are victims of abuse…the #MeToo movement that scuttled Paige Patterson’s tenure would have had a literal cow if they were told that personal testimonies don’t substantiate an accusation.
In reality, Pulpit & Pen and Protestia have documented dozens of churches that very publicly have left the Southern Baptist Convention or stopped funding it because of Russell Moore (here, here, and here are just some examples). Heck, some of the churches who have left over liberalism are black (which is only notable because Moore’s Critical Theory says their opinion are more valid). And, of course, my own church made national headlines when we – the largest Southern Baptist Church in Eastern Montana – left over Moore’s MLK50 crapshow (see below).
But to Miller, apparently, these are all just “anecdotal third-hand accounts.” The reason Miller can’t accept the indisputable fact that churches are leaving the convention over Russell Moore is for the same reason he can’t see evidence of voter fraud…he just chooses not to.
Moreover, we are given numerous anecdotes about churches removing funds over concerns about a supposed “leftward or liberal drift” in our convention. Unfortunately, this is not clarified or substantiated. Is the Task Force suggesting that Dr. Moore or the ERLC (or the SBC) is becoming theologically liberal? If so, where is the evidence?…To suggest even a hint of theological liberalism in the ERLC is easily demonstrably false.
It honestly amazes me that some guffaw at the notion the ERLC and SBC is becoming liberalized. Seriously? Still?
Let me try to avail Miller of his ignorance, but because it is intentional and self-induced, the prospects of success at this is small.
Please take me at my word when I say what I’ve linked (above) is just the tip of the iceberg and doesn’t reflect even 1/100th of the articles we’ve collected about Russell Moore’s extreme leftism.
So yes, in fact – heck yes – we are alleging the SBC and the ERLC is going leftward. Maybe Miller has missed the Malcom X Read-In at SEBTS and the SBC’s gaggle of new lady pastors, but the rest of us have not.
The one who doesn’t think there’s a “hint” of liberalism in the SBC or ERLC must mean only one thing – they themselves are a liberal and playing along in this sick, Satanic joke.
Rather, funds are being threatened because Dr. Moore did not toe the preferred political line of the concerned parties. The report mentions opposition to a presidential candidate (we can wonder if such concerns were voiced over Dr. Land’s opposition to Bill Clinton) and the appearance of a former ERLC staffer at a Joe Biden event.
I can 100% explain this disparity. The difference is, for mental midgets like Pastor Miller, Donald Trump led with a Biblical worldview despite the fact he has been, in times past, an adulterer. Bill Clinton, on the other hand, was a baby-butchering serial rapist while in office.
I’m not sure how Miller doesn’t recognize the difference.
First, is the Task Force suggesting that the mission of the ERLC is to support the Republican Party? If so, then what would this mean to all the African-American, Latino, and other minority pastors and congregations who vote overwhelmingly Democratic?
I do not know what the task force is “suggesting,” but clearly the Republican Party should be supported by any and all Christians. The alternative is a party whose platform is a point-by-point refutation of the Ten Commandments. And while Miller takes a shot at Critical Theory, assuming that “African-American, Latino, and other minority pastors” must homogenously support the anti-Christian candidate, let it be known that I don’t give a single damn about what lost people want the ERLC to do.
And in case I couldn’t be clearer, supporting the Democratic Party is a pretty good sign you’re lost, no matter your skin color.
Second, do we want to muzzle our ethical and public policy entity unless the target of criticism is the Democratic Party?
Yes. Next.
Dr. Moore demonstrated consistency in speaking about the moral failings of Donald Trump.
Right, retardo, right. Moore has absolutely shown consistency in speaking about the moral failings of Donald Trump. He has not shown consistency in speaking about the moral failings of Barack Obama or Joe Biden (being pro-abortion, pro-homosexuality, and pro-theft are moral failings). Yet, I haven’t heard Moore once criticize Joe Biden’s repeated plagiarism, the credible rape accusation against him, his lying about Burisma, or his serial-sniffing of little kids.
And all of this comes within a week of a member of the Executive Committee calling the Vice President of the United States “Jezebel.”
Tom Buck called Kamala Harris “Jezebel” because she’s a two-bit immoral hussy who slept her way to the top and promotes baby murder. The comparison works.
To summarize, the Task Force finds that Cooperative Program giving is suffering at least in part due to an easily disproved misperception that the ERLC is drifting politically leftward. This seems to be because Dr. Moore has spoken consistently with the expressed convictions of Southern Baptists
This is perhaps the most tone-deaf point sputtered by Miller’s keyboard. In the universe in which he resides, which apparently is not this one, Moore’s actions are “consistent with the expressed convictions of Southern Baptists.”
If this was true, there would be literally no controversy. The fact is, Moore’s politics are exactly the opposite of virtually every born-again Southern Baptist. The only ones who clearly agree with Moore are, frankly, observably lost people like Dwight McKissic and the unconquerably ignorant.
The second major issue addressed in the Task Force report has to do with an amicus brief submitted by ERLC that contains admittedly troubling language. And lest anyone think I’m watering it down, the language is poorly worded and seriously problematic. This is a legitimate concern. The ERLC has acknowledged the error, publicly. They have issued an apology, publicly. They have rectified the problem, publicly.
It was not an “error.” It was an intentional lie told to the court in order to cover-up the misdeeds of the North American Mission Board. I’m glad they apologized to us (after much public outrage), but they did not make things right with the court and it’s no excuse for dishonesty.
Some kind of ties to George Soros. I’m sorry, but I’m embarrassed that this was even included in the list. I suppose what is most embarrassing is that these kinds of accusations are apparently coming from pastors.
These soy-sipping fairies can swoon all day long on their fainting couches, but it’s absolutely indisputable that the ERLC has taken cash from Soros (see here). Miller can act like this is some kind of QAnon conspiracy, but it’s well-documented and easily proveable.
That the ERLC is not available or responsive. I can’t speak to this because I’ve never experience it or heard it.
My brother (a Southern Baptist pastor) is the nicest person in the world and for some reason, his church is still affiliated with the Great Satan, but even he has pointed out the ERLC is unapproachable. And for the record, my brother hates this blog, but he doesn’t lie about the ERLC being evasive. Denying this is silliness. Moore doesn’t leave his 600k home in his gated, white-privileged subdivision to talk to the little people.
ERLC stance on immigration. I admit that I have not read everything the ERLC has published on immigration, but I have read a lot. Literally everything I’ve seen is in full agreement with the 2011 SBC resolution “On Immigration and the Gospel” and the 2018 SBC resolution “On Immigration.”
Did the 2011 SBC resolution denounce border security and call a border wall “a golden calf”? Nice try, but that resolution didn’t accuse Southern Baptists who believe in national sovereignty of idolatry.
Silence on religious issues for California churches during the pandemic. ERLC was not silent. However, it would seem that their consistent position was simply not favorable to some. In July 2020, an ERLC Explainer was published after California Governor Newsom imposed new restrictions on churches. The article is a cogent explanation as to why this executive order was not a violation of the constitution because it did not unfairly target religious groups.
Uh…the ERLC initially came out and told Christians it was our DUTY to submit to government tyranny and shut down. You’ll notice Miller point out that the ERLC stated their position (in a blog post) in July, months after the lockdowns began. But the ERLC has not lifted a single finger in any legal way to help churches facing government closures. If anything, Moore has consistently sided with the government against Southern Baptist churches trying to stay open amidst a largely undeadly chest-cold.
The amicus brief the ERLC filed in support of a New Jersey mosque as well Dr. Moore’s response to a messenger who questioned him about this at the 2016 meeting. To begin with, in this court filing, the ERLC demonstrated consistency with Baptist history and the Baptist Faith and Message.
As I pointed out at the time, this move from Moore had NOTHING to do with religious freedom, but ingratiating his version of the Popularity Gospel and being given accolades by the leftists in the Beltway, for whom he lives to please. So far as SBC polity goes, the ERLC website says its mission to is advance and protect the liberty of SOUTHERN BAPTISTS. He’s not paid 4 million dollars to help Mosques open.
Moore’s support for attending homosexual wedding showers and receptions. I’ve personally heard Moore speak to this issue. Without question, it’s a hard one.
The hell it is.
It is literally not a hard question as to whether or not a Christian should attend a celebration of sodomy and a ceremony profaning marriage. Is Miller serious? Judas. Priest.
Can we all just admit that if our resident “ethics” guy says it’s okay to go to a faggy vow ceremony that he ought be given a pink slip? Ethics 101 would require not calling that which is evil, good (Isaiah 5:20).
Listen, folks. This type of moral preening from men like Mike Miller should be rejected as quickly and as vociferally as Russell Moore can ask his peons to write it. I’m way to busy pastoring a church and lobbying in Helena for pro-life, pro-child, and anti-censorship legislation to countenance this level of morbid jackhattery with a carefully censored tongue.
Literally damn these people. They’re not brothers in Christ. They’re not ignorant pagans. They are intentionally deceptive warriors fighting on behalf of the devil himself.
This Scripture suits men like Mike Miller well…
Yet she increased her whoring, remembering the days of her youth when she played the whore in the land of Egyptand lusted after her lovers there, whose genitals were like those of donkeys, and whose ejaculate was like that of horses (Ezekiel 23:19-20)
The Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee task force charged with studying and reviewing the effectiveness of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) released their findings yesterday, damning the embattled organization with faint praise for a bit of support (or at least tolerance) engendered to them by a handful of churches, but overall noting them to be “a source of significant distraction from the Great Commission work of Southern Baptists.”
The full report can be accessed here and all the appendices here. In the report, the committee describes how the ERLC has been by and large obstreperous and uncooperative throughout the review and investigation.
Commissioned early last year, the task force sought to assess “whether the actions of the [ERLC] and its leadership are affecting Cooperative Program giving or the further advancement of the Cooperative Program” by seeking to discover to what degree the ERLC’s positions and President Russell Moore’s statements and actions have been the cause of Churches withholding their funding, which has been in decline. (In SBC Churches, they all give a portion of tithes and offerings so that they can be pooled together in a way that maximizes their impact, with some doing to their missions board, some funding ERLC, some helping fund post-secondary education, etc.)
Mike Stone, chairman of the task force and former Executive Committee chairman explained that the report was not “based on anecdotes or third-hand reports. It is based, almost exclusively, on documented facts received from the chief executive officers of various state conventions.” He further writes:
The task force sought to find objective verifiable facts…and based on the statistical information we received, the direction of the ERLC is a significant source of division and creates a very real challenge to reversing CP decline.
This sentiment is echoed by leader of a large state convention who explains that “The ERLC has been a stumbling block not worth the mission dollar investment.”
The task force sent out a host of questionnaires to all of the SBC’s state conventions, and while a minority of them responded, those that did represent 60% of the SBC’s 47,000 churches that gave 74% of Cooperative funds.
While some of the state executives who responded “reported little to no negative effect from the ministry of the ERLC,” the report notes that “No state convention reported data that any church had verifiably increased Cooperative Program support because of an appreciation for the ERLC.”
In contrast, several state executives reported many instances of churches either reducing their giving or flat out refusing to give any funds at all, along with withdrawing from the state and/or national conventions on account or the ERLC, citing the actions and directions of the ERLC and Russell Moore as a reason for doing so. They write:
One state convention reported that more than 250 churches are considering withholding or negatively designating funds or have already done so. This number represents a significant percentage of the churches currently in friendly cooperation with that state convention.
Some churches are considering a complete withdrawal from the SBC because of the belief that the national convention is moving in a liberal direction. The ERLC is listed as one of those concerns. The state convention reported that serious concerns about the ERLC exist with 10 of the top 30 CP-giving churches, potentially impacting a total of $2,448,000 from those 10 churches alone.
and
Another state convention verified that $1,147,000 has been withheld due to the ERLC. Based on communications with other churches considering the same approach, the state executive estimated that $1,500,000 of Cooperative Program giving is in jeopardy in the state.
As far as what exactly the ERLC and Russell Moore has done that has the people so vexed, they cite these concerns:
The open opposition of a candidate for president of the United States
The accusation of receiving funding from an organization with ties to George Soros
Amicus brief in support of a New Jersey mosque
That the ERLC is not available or responsive
ERLC stance on immigration
Silence on certain issues including timely public support for the religious liberty of California churches during the COVID-19 pandemic
The appearance by a recently departed senior staffer on an online panel sponsored by the Joe Biden campaign, contributing to perceptions of a leftward political drift.
Dr. Moore’s stated support of attending homosexual wedding showers and receptions
Disrespectful and condescending responses to the questions of messengers. Repeatedly noted was the response given to Pastor John Wofford of Armorel Baptist Church at the 2016 annual meeting.
That conservative political figures are criticized more frequently and more harshly than moderate to liberal figures
These of course are all true and we have covered them at length here.
The report also dedicates a large portion to the amicus brief in McRaney v North American Mission Board – how it was botched, was unacceptably handled, was the source of friction between the ERLC and the task force, and was cited by many pastors as a cagey, stupid thing that was done that contributed to the breakdown of confidence and trust in the ERLC.
Summarizing their findings, the task force writes:
…that the current perception of the leadership and direction of the ERLC by many Southern Baptists is a substantial impediment to the growth of the Cooperative Program. Without quick and significant changes in that perception, the findings suggest the potential for a measurable decline in the near future and beyond.
They conclude with a series of recommendations, which amount to “tell Moore to stop popping off about his never-Trumpism or publicly opposing political candidates for office. Focus your message on where the SBC and BF&M2K has already spoken.
Stop lying, stop being so secretive, inaccessible, and hard to reach. Come up with a plan to understand how you’re contributing to disunity within the ranks and what steps you can take to mitigate that, and let us vet your amicus briefs so that you don’t embarrass us again and show you don’t know what you’re doing.
Charismatic “prophet” Todd Bentley, the only huckster in the whole of Christianity that Dr. Michael Brown has ever bothered to condemn (and that only slightly), is up to no good, revealing that he’s had a string of angelic encounters and personal visions from Jesus who told him that the time of waiting is done, and that he’s about to embark on a new 25-year ministry mandate.
We have written extensively about Todd, chronicling his malfeasance from lauded anointed revivalist and miracle worker, to drunkard, adulterer, liar, and sheep-fleecer extraordinaire, all the while being lifted up by a cadre of ne’er-do-well’s as a great, supernaturally gifted man of God.
Bentley, you will recall, went relatively radio silent last year after being newly accused of drug use, adultery, and sexting, some of which he admitted. A “New Apostolic Reformation” (NAR) tribunal report was launched and they found that Bentley was guilty – a pointless summation, as Bentley had already checked out and declared the whole thing a scam and witch hunt anyway.
Despite these findings, Bentley has been able to maintain a high level of ministry support, with the revelation of decades of grossly immoral behavior being viewed as “just a scratch” to his reputation. This should surprise no one, however, as charismatics and NAR adherents historically have enjoyed infinitesimally low levels of discernment when it comes to the sinful behavior of their leaders, and this case has sadly proved to be no different.
Now, he’s back.
In a 27 January 2021 Facebook post, Todd revealed his vision and plans for the year and beyond, which were in part precipitated by visiting angelic hosts.
He further explains:
[Jesus] spoke to me about picking up the mantle in a new 25-year mandate focused on the Harvest and the nations…I did pray and received what I believe the Lord spoke to me in faith and I’m ready to walk it out this year.
Todd reveals he is launching not only a new Podcast and new TV media ministry, but he’s going to get his show on the road, taking on a bunch of speaking engagements and putting on a series of revivals and crusades in the spring and summer.
And not just in America, but in other continents and nations where he has demonstrated an ability to draw tens of thousands of people eager and desperate for a morsel of the financially-focused, prosperity gospel he preaches.
I am also working on a new series of online training schools, and several revival harvest America, Africa, Europe and Asian mission soul-winning crusades.
The wolf cometh anew, apparently.
Pray for our brothers and sisters about to be ravaged. [Editor’s note: That is, ravaged by a false teacher, from a false ministry, to whom God did not speak, who dares still to speak in the name of God. Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, anyone?]
The Gospel Coalition has a creative new solution for how Christian adults should process suffering and pain in light of their faith: read more children’s books, as they offer immense therapeutic and spiritual value.
In the article titled Why Suffering Adults Need Children’s Books, author Quina Aragon describes how she turns to children’s books and picture books in her darkest moments, explaining that “it’s suffering adults who especially need the ministry of children’s books.”
She explains that “When trauma occurs or when we’re acutely stressed, we curl up in a fetal position,” and that in order to climb out of that state of fetal vulnerability, we don’t need “pious stoicism” like being told that God is sovereign, or other theological tomes. Rather, “in our pain, we need a break from the philosophizing of Job’s friends. Instead, we need literature that will fertilize what tends to erode over time—our childlike imaginations.”
Whether in picture books or novels, children’s literature reminds us of spiritual realities we’ve studied and debated but not paused to enjoy. Their simplified poetry or prose help our emotionally fatigued hearts to slow down and revel in God’s willingness to condescend to our ash heap of dashed dreams with fresh ones.
She argues that books about simple things like bugs and flowers “fertilizes our imagination” and makes us marvel at God’s creation, while also helping us acknowledge that we’re all afraid of the proverbial dark. Children’s books help us see the monsters for what they are and appeal to the child in us, a simple remedy given because Christ already views us as “little children.”
When we fear the night-cloaked unknown, or when we’re in the dark night of the soul, we need children’s literature to teach us emotional honesty again, to suggest we’re not alone in our struggles, and to remind us of promises we know from God’s Word—“a lamp to [our] feet and a light to [our] path” (Ps. 119:105).
She concludes that if you want to alleviate your suffering and heal, the ministry of children’s books is a must.
Though she doesn’t name which books are the best, we imagine best-sellers like Peppa Pig, Green Eggs and Ham, Winnie the Pooh, Barbie’s Big Day, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Corduroy, Barney’s Magical Picnic, Are You my Mother? Hop on Pop, The Giving Tree, Where’s Waldo, Goodnight Moon, and whatever else the kids are reading nowadays, would be way up there as the primary tools to help us cope with our suffering and crippling loss.
[Editor’s note: Or you could forget all that blather and read the Psalms themselves.]
Family Feud host and self-professed Christian Steve Harvey stunned his fans after appearing in a video on his YouTube page where he denies that Jesus is the only way to heaven and engaged in all sorts of syncretistic, pluralistic theobabble.
The 4-minute clip titled “How Steve Harvey Prays” (subtitled ‘There’s many ways to serve GOD and keep your faith) shows him visiting the Grand Mosque in the United Arab Emirates where he proceeded to say:
There’s no one way to Heaven, no one way to paradise. It’s like television, now there’s over 800 channels on cable, and they’re all pretty entertaining. So I’m pretty sure that to get to Heaven, there’s got to be more than one route. Because somebody watching another channel or taking another channel than you, they’re still getting entertained, and they probably still getting to Heaven.
This nonsense would be a far cry from the biblical text, where Jesus reveals in the book of John, “Unless you believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins” and “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.”
These are primary, foundational beliefs, and denying them is tantamount to denying the nature and the person of Christ.
Translation: Steve Harvey is not a real Christian believer.
Pray for his conversion, that God would save him, and reveal the truth to him.
Twitter has continued its trend of science-denying activism by suspending two of Lifesite News’ accounts for the sin of calling President Biden’s Assistant Secretary of Health a “man.”
Both their main account and their “We Can Defend Marriage” account received the banhammer for tweeting about transgendered politician Rachel Levine, who is most definitely a man but believes he’s a woman.
Biden names transgender ‘woman’ as Assistant Secretary of Health. ‘Rachel’ Levine is a father of two who divorced his wife in 2013 after 30 years of marriage.
Certainly provocative in our day and age, and also 100 percent true.
Lifesite’s YouTube channel also received a 2-week ban a few days ago for one of their videos on vaccines, which the media giant says violated its’ “community guidelines.”
It is not the first time Lifesite have been axed for going against Twitter’s rules on junk science. They recently spent almost a year locked out of their feed for tweeting out an article that was negative towards transgender activist “wax-my-private-area-or-I’ll-sue-you ‘Jessica’ Yaniv.”
Lifesite has no plans to relent and take down their post.
[Editor’s note: Lifesite should follow the appeals process, and if Twitter won’t give up its’ moronic stance, then it should be pursued legally.]
A reminder that the Gideon Knox group offers access to interesting and important content often banned, throttled, or hidden by Big Tech and our social media Overlords.
These are today’s links provided via The Insurgency. To have this daily The Insurgency update sent directly to your email inbox for free, click here.
As the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) grapples with sex-abuse scandals and pledges to do more, the SBC Credentials Committee is in the process of botching a high-profile case right before our eyes, behaving in a scandalously uncaring way, outright lying, obfuscating, and making further victims of the people they are supposed to be investigating.
THE BACKROUND
In 1998, a 17-year-old teenager named Jules Woodson was sexually abused by 22-year-old Andy Savage, the former youth pastor of Woodlands Parkway Baptist Church, now known as StoneBridge Church. This occurred after building up a relationship with her and grooming her to be receptive to his sexual advances. (Longer story here)
After the incident, she reported it to the Associate Pastor Larry Cotton. He tried to gauge how ‘complicit’ she was in the abuse, suggesting she may have been a willing participant in it, but ultimately chose to tell Senior Pastor Steve Bradley, about it and that the church would handle it.
They never did.
No further action was taken by the Church. Bradley did not go to the police, seeking to handle it “in house” and did not report it, as was his legal and fiduciary duty. Because of this, Andy Savage remained on staff and still lead Youth group for months after that.
Seeing that nothing was being done and no further actions were being taken, Woodson told her story to her female discipleship group, at this point emotionally distraught and hurting badly. With the information now out, it resulted in Savage leaving, with rumors swirling that perhaps he kissed a girl, but that it wasn’t that big of a deal and many were upset that he was going.
Woodson explains, “The church, however, never came out with an official statement addressing what had happened and/or what was being done about it. Instead, they held a going-away reception for Andy at the church in which he was allowed to simply say that he had made a poor decision and that it was time for him to move on from our church.”
In fact, years later the pastors and the deacons at the church, including Steve Bradley, contacted Woodson’s parents and asked if they would be ok to bring Andy Savage back on staff – a request the parents patently refused.
Lest anyone doubt the veracity of the story, the associate Pastor Larry Cotton eventually moved on to a new church. After allegations of his involvement in mishandling the case, the church took the allegations seriously and put him on leave. He resigned from the pastorate shortly thereafter, releasing a statement, confirming that the events happened as described, and expressing regret at how it was handled and that he should have gone to the police.
Facing his own pressure, Savage was forced to address the sex crime from the pulpit at the new church he moved on to, Highpoint Church, where he minimized his actions, exaggerated his response, and kept on framing it as “an incident that happened 20-plus years ago.” Because of the statute of limitations, he cannot be charged. Facing sustained pressure, he later resigned from the church, eventually acknowledging that his actions in the non-consensual sexual encounter were an “abuse of power.”
THE UNCARING SHEPHERD
Now comes the time of reckoning for Senior Pastor Steve Bradley, still the pastor of Stonebridge Church decades later.
Woodson has reached out multiple times to Bradley, who has steadfastly refused to respond to her or even acknowledge her.
The only public statement Bradley has ever made is a comment in the Houston Chronicle, saying that the Church was “heartbroken 20 years ago when this happened and we remain heartbroken,” but was clear that it is “simply not accurate” to say “that I or anyone else on the staff at StoneBridge Church participated in a conspiracy to cover-up this sexual misconduct.”
So heartbroken that he has refused to talk to her or contact her in any way, shape, or form, despite her reaching out to him multiple times across multiple channels?
Again, he did not report it to the police, did not tell the congregation the nature of it, sought to keep him on, and sought to bring him back after he acts were exposed.
In 2019 she sent this letter to Bradley, which he has not responded to or acknowledged (please click the link to read in full), where she details the hurt she’s experienced that he’s never once contacted her or responded to her, despite the story going national. She says:
Your lack of compassion towards me as I have tried to seek closure and healing for the physical, emotional, and spiritual abuse I suffered as a member of your congregation has been reprehensible. This was my church and you, Larry, and Andy were my pastors and spiritual leaders…I trusted you all. You have no idea the despair, isolation, and self-devastation I’ve experienced because I was thrown under the bus, not just for Andy’s sake, but for your sake, and the reputation of the church.”
She asks him some questions that she has been struggling with for for a long time:
Why did you not immediately call the police when you learned of my abuse?
Were you/are you aware that in the state of Texas, clergy are mandated reporters of child sexual abuse?
Why did you not immediately pull Andy from his position on staff when I first reported my abuse?
Why did you allow Andy to resign instead of firing him?
Why were you not transparent and honest with the congregation that Andy had sexually abused a minor in the youth group?
Why did you, nor anyone on staff, ever reach out to me after I reported the abuse to offer support, help, or to ask me what I wanted and needed?
Why did you allow and/or think it was appropriate to throw Andy a going away party at the church?
And then she makes one final plea:
Though you have refused to respond to other people’s attempts to dialogue with you regarding the ways you have mishandled my abuse, my prayer is that by reaching out to you personally, you will finally choose to handle things differently. I have been deeply wounded by your words and actions from 20 years ago and continuing to this day. I sincerely request that you respond to my inquiries not only with honesty but with empathy as well.
Bradley never answered.
THE CREDENTIALS COMMITTEE
In 2019, the Southern Baptist Convention put on the Caring Well conference. This was done with the stated goal of responding to and hearing from sexual abuse survivors, along with announcing the formation of a new branch of the Credentials Committee (CC) dedicated to dealing with allegations of sexual abuse. JD Greear wept tears from the stage, his voice shaky, promising to do better.
They told survivors they wanted to hear their stories, and that they could trust the SBC would respond accordingly, with the ERLC’s Russell Moore saying, “We think this is going to be a hugely beneficial move in terms of empowering Southern Baptists to act with accountability and transparency on these matters.”
Despite Jules Woodson being arguably the most well-known face of abuse in the evangelical church and in the SBC, she was not invited to speak.
Instead, in keeping with the SBC’s 11th Commandment, all the women brought on stage did not report their abuser and did not name them. One wasn’t even a member of the SBC, but rather the OPC. In short, they didn’t invite anyone who reported their Baptist abuser.
After the announcement of the new committee, Woodson submitted her case, being one of the most visible SBC victims. After all, two pastors had to resign over what happened to her, with one of them acknowledging his complicity in the cover-up. For this reason, she was sure they would look into it. She got an email back saying that they had received her email, and inquired if she had further questions.
Upon hearing that the CC was investigating 16 Churches, Jules Woodson asked if Stonebridge and Steve Bradley were on that list. She received a response back from Christy Peters, telling her that the CC isn’t designed to “investigate” but rather “inquire,” and that the status of an ‘investigation’ was private, even to those reporting. It ended with Peters inviting her to submit any churches she feels she must. Which she had already done.
This revelation confirms that the Credentials Committee is a bureaucratic nightmare, with the one submitting not even being told if they plan to do anything with his/her information, or to what degree they have or will follow up. Furthermore, they are essentially toothless when it comes to what power they wield and what change they can bring about, due to the constraints of their purpose. In an article on the ERLC website: A guide to understanding the Credentials Committee proposal, this is made plain.
A year passes.
Nothing.
She does not hear from them and no one contacts her about it.
Woodson assumes that nothing came out of it, with no much time passing and no follow-up. It wouldn’t take a whole year to ascertain the truth here, would it, with so much ink being spilled about it?
THE DAMNABLE LETTER
On November 16, a year after her submission, 2020, Jules Woodson received the following letter from Mike Lawson, chair of the Credentials Committee.
Parts bolded by us.
Dear Ms. Woodson,
The Credentials Committee desires to reach out to you personally and inform you of our decision regarding Stonebridge Church. As we have not been able to connect via phone or Zoom, please receive this letter in the spirit from which it was drafted: to sincerely thank you and inform you. Thank you for your patience as we have worked and prayed our way through this process.
First, we wish to thank you. Thank you for being willing to share your story and for drawing attention to the need for churches to make an intentional effort to prevent abuse and to care well for victims of sexual abuse. Thank you for the effort it took to provide us with all the information regarding your abuse. It helped provide an understanding of what you experienced and continue to face as a result. We want you to know that we read and grieved over the information available to us including: your blog, articles, and your interview with the New York Times that we watched in its entirety. We prayed for you and all the victims, and, more recently, for you and your mother as you care for her in these difficult days. Thank you, for your boldness and courage in coming forward with your story.We believe that you and others like you are making a difference in how churches respond to reports of sexual abuse and helping them create intentional policies and practices that will help prevent such things in the future.
Your story has been a particular force in transformative change at Stonebridge Church. In recent years, they have taken significant and extensive steps to improve policies, practices, and procedures to better serve their people. These steps are set up to offer increased protections and improved responses to reports.
Our committee has considered the information available to us regarding StoneBridge Church’s relationship with the Southern Baptist Convention. Our committee’s assignment as outlined in SBC Bylaw 8[1], is to consider the current relationship between a church and the Convention. Neither our committee nor the Southern Baptist Convention has any authority over another Baptist body as stated in Article IV [2] of the SBC Constitution. This committee’s role is to determine if a church is in friendly cooperation with the Convention and make a recommendation to the Executive Committee when we determine a church is not currently in friendly cooperation with the Convention as described in Article III [3] of the SBC Constitution. At this time, we do not have any information that causes us to conclude that the church does not have a faith and practice which closely identifies with the Convention’s adopted statement of faith, and we have determined that StoneBridge Church be removed from inquiry.
While the nine of us on this committee have a very limited and specific task, we care about you and other survivors. We requested and have been granted access to trauma-informed counselors. If you think they might be of any help to you as you continue your healing journey, we will gladly connect you to them. We know that receiving this information may be difficult, and we are sorry for any pain it may cause.
Sincerely, The SBC Credentials Committee
We here at Protestia see a few things worthy of mention. The CC claimed to have “tried” to contact Jules Woodson via phone and Zoom, yet Jules has NO record of any such attempt. No one called her. No one questioned her further. No one called to get more details or information. Nothing.
Furthermore, the committee had her email address from when she submitted her grievance and corresponded with Christy Peters, and yet Woodson received no emails. That they would not speak to her about this at all is unconscionable.
The Committee further stated that they read her blog, yet she has no blog.
They affirm that Stonebridge has been “transformed” due to her story, and yet the Pastor has refused to talk to her or acknowledge it and the SBC’s most famous victim. All this while protesting they did not cover up the sexual abuse, despite that being both demonstrably and factually false. How is refusing to speak to or acknowledge victims evidence of “transformation”?
Why should anyone believe Stonebridge would handle new sex-abuse claims in a serious manner, rather than just cover them up, if to this day the Senior Pastor insisted that they did nothing wrong 20 years ago? He was legally obligated to report it to the police and he buried it instead.
Ultimately the Credential Committee is saying that one can be in “cooperation with the SBC” despite having a proven track record of permitting and covering up sexual abuse, so long as they affirm the Baptist Faith and Message 2000. At this point it seems clear that there is no sexual abuse case that could be reported to the Committee that would result in a church being declared not in friendly co-operation with the convention.
THE NEWEST INFORMATION
Jules Woodson shared this on Twitter last week., about her ongoing issues with the Credentials Committee.
I am so livid at the SBC Credentials Committee right now I could scream!!!
Yesterday, a fellow advocate and friend, @writer_dee, spoke with Mike Lawson and Stacey Bramlett via a Zoom meeting on my behalf. One of the purposes for the meeting was to address their massive failures regarding my submission…Specifically their lack of communication and failure to speak with me.
Stacey made a point to say that their decision is final…that it’s too late to go back and change anything. I find this to be extremely disturbing considering they really don’t seem to know what they are doing. Remember, they never once made an effort to speak with me regarding my submission even though they claimed to have done so!!!
What training and/or guidance do they have in evaluating abuse in the church and cover-up, and how it relates to a church being in good standing with the SBC, as well as communicating/listening to survivors?
They then proceeded to tell Dee Ann that the reason they had such difficulty in making a decision regarding Stonebridge was because they never received an actual submission from me, it came from someone else so their hands were tied, so to speak.
This is completely false as well. I personally sent a submission by mail and received an email a short time later that confirmed they received my submission. [Editor’s Note. See included picture.]
After the call Mike sends a short email to Dee Ann stating…’Thank you for your time. I spoke in error. It was in fact Jules who submitted to the Credentials Committee. My apologies.’
Is this a joke?!?! They had just spent all this time explaining to Dee Ann about how they were put in an ‘awkward position’ regarding Stonebridge yet their entire statement was based on erroneous information as it WAS me who presented the request.
They further admitted to basing their decision on the information they received after speaking with the church, yet they never once made an effort to speak with me!! Are you kidding??? They trust the church and pastor that covered up my abuse when I originally reported and who continues to deny wrongdoing or respond to my questions to this day???
Even after the Associate Pastor has admitted it was abuse – that it should have been reported to the police, and has since stepped down from any position of authority in his current church?
In summary, the SBC Credentials Committee is a total sham. They are NOT a safe resource for ANY survivor!!! They have lied on multiple occasions. They don’t know their head from their ass and certainly can’t keep their stories straight. They have ZERO training in how to do their jobs in any capacity and perhaps don’t even know what their job is. SBC YOU MUST DO BETTER!!!
This is a terrible injustice. The Credentials Committee has botched and mishandled this case for over a year now, and they are continuing to drop the ball. Not only dropping it, but punting it clear out of sight. We pray it’s out of incompetence and not out of maliciousness, but at the rate it’s going, we can’t be sure.
What we do know, is if this is how they are going to handle things they CANNOT be trusted with other victims and other churches and ought to be thoroughly and publicly repudiated.
We ask that you retweet this article and tag all these individuals, as well as anyone else you can think of, and keep on doing it until they listen.
(Lifesite News) A class of third-graders in a California elementary school were forced to undergo a lesson on “social identities,” designed to indoctrinate them on Critical Race Theory. The lesson required the children to classify their racial and sexual identities before “ranking” themselves based on their “power and privilege.”
Investigative filmmaker and writer Christopher F. Rufo revealed details of the Marxist-inspired curriculum in an article entitled “Woke Elementary,” published on his eponymous website. According to Rufo’s Twitter account, the filmmaker hopes to expose Critical Race Theory in schools and is already partly responsible for Trump issuing an executive order “banning critical race theory from the federal government.”
After discovering that Critical Race Theory was being taught at R.I. Meyerholz Elementary School through “whistleblower documents and parents familiar with the session,” Rufo explained that a third-grade teacher at the school had asked his students to create “an ‘identity map,’ listing their race, class, gender, religion, family structure, and other characteristics.”
The purpose of the exercise was to teach the children that they…
