Concluding Remarks - Table of Contents
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
CONCLUDING REMARKS - TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 C.J.’s Limited Response & No Public Confession 1 C.J.’s 10 Month Refusal to Write 4 Writing Is Detrimental & No Allowance for Potential Sins 10 The Need for Discerning & Courageous Friends 15 C.J.’s First Response to RRF&D & AFA – Commentary Added 19 Correspondence with C.J. Regarding First Response 33 Correspondence with the SGM Board Regarding C.J.’s First Response 38 The Sovereign Grace Board Weighs in on Brent’s “Dissatisfaction” 50 C.J.’s Second Response to RRF&D & AFA – Commentary Added 57 Brent’s Return to Sovereign Grace Ministries & Pastoral Ministry 79 Summary of C.J.’s Responses to RRF&D and AFA 82 “Honoring” Brent’s Request for Greater Details 88 C.J.’s Numerous Denials and Rebuttals 90 Forgiveness Extended and a Succinct Summary 96 C.J. Only Beginning to Perceive Sin? 97 No Follow-Up by the Board of Directors Re: Allowance for Potential Sins 99 Brent’s Implication of Numerous Individuals 104 C.J. Referencing Himself as a Humble Example 105 No Damage Control in Sovereign Grace Ministries! 107 The Effect on Our Extended Family 113 What Happened to the A-Team? 114 Joshua Harris’ Humility & C.J.’s Absence at CLC Members Meeting 117 The Blackmailing of Larry Tomczak 131 C.J.’s Letter to PDI Pastors Regarding Larry – May 19, 1997 134 C.J.’s Letter to PDI Members Regarding Larry - October 15, 1997 145 C.J.’s Letter to the Seven Leaders - July 16, 2002 157 C.J.’s Letter to Justin – October 16, 2002 158 Receiving Legal Counsel to Reveal No Details 160 C.J. Unwilling to Ask Larry and Doris’ Forgiveness 164 Paul Palmer to be Commended 168 The Need for Confession Regarding Larry 172 Not Wise, Appropriate or Necessary to Confess Sins 173 Who Approved Keeping C.J.’s Sins Secret 176 Email Interaction Ended because of “Evident Fruitlessness” 180 Brent’s Incomplete, Incorrect and Revised Narrative 193 Phony Baloney 198 Brent Sharing His Concerns with the Sovereign Grace Pastors 201 End 202 CONCLUDING REMARKS JUNE 8, 2011 Proverbs 28:13 He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy. Introduction I have labored with the hope that this document, in addition to the previous two, will serve your soul, Sovereign Grace Ministries, and most of all the gospel. I remain grateful for the many years I was blessed by God to serve in your company and the company of so many people I love and respect. What follows is an expression of my love for you, my former friends, and the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ. I‘ve found no joy in writing a ―Response Regarding Friendship and Doctrine‖ (RRF&D), ―A Final Appeal‖ (AFA), and now ―Concluding Remarks‖ (CR). I believe the Lord led me, and enabled me to write, but it has not been a pleasant task. In particular, I have not enjoyed making my case in such detail. I wish it were unnecessary but general appeals to you for repentance have never been effectual. In fact, it is only in the face of overwhelming evidence, godly pressure from peers, and impending consequences; that one gains your attention and then with difficulty. RRF&D and AFA followed 10 years of correction. C.J., I am genuinely grateful to the Triune God for the fruits of pride you‘ve acknowledged, the changes you‘ve made and the input your received from others. But I also remain deeply concerned because you and the Board of Directors are unaffected on so many important fronts. That is alarming. So here is my last attempt to focus your attention. I hope you find it redemptive. C.J.‘s Limited Response and No Public Confession I made my final appeal in AFA. As a wrap up, I‘ve decided to write CR. It consists of concluding comments. I sincerely hoped this third document would be unnecessary but that is not the case having received such limited responses to RRF&D and AFA from you and the Board of Directors. While I appreciated the restatement of personal pride in your second response, the issues addressed remained narrow in scope when compared to the wide range of moral issues I brought to your attention. Furthermore, you again expressed no desire, and no need for a public confession to the movement or 1 the Sovereign Grace pastors. Nor did the Board of Directors affirm the need for you to do so. In RRF&D and AFA, I appealed for repentance and confession, not mediation. Over the past 12 months, I‘ve repeatedly laid out two simple conditions as prerequisites for meeting together, believing them necessary components of repentance. Here is what I reiterated in AFA. ―Two simple questions remain. First, are you willing to provide a thorough response to ―Response Regarding Friendship and Doctrine‖ and ―A Final Appeal.‖ Second, do you see the need for a public acknowledgement to the blogosphere, a general confession to the movement, and a more detailed confession to the Sovereign Grace pastors and staff?‖ (AFA, p. 165) I was hoping for the earnestness, vindication, fear, longing, zeal, and avenging of wrong (2 Cor 7:11, NASU) that demonstrate godly sorrow. While not entirely absence, these virtues do not characterize your repentance on a broad scale. Just the opposite – they are noticeably absent. These expectations are biblical and in keeping with Sovereign Grace polity. They simply have not been met. Finally, none of my most serious concerns for Sovereign Grace Ministries were addressed by you or the Board of Directors. Furthermore, there is no indication that any correction, discipline, or accountability has been introduced by you or the Board to any of the individuals referenced in RRF&D and AFA. For example, Dave and Bob have taken no initiative to ask forgiveness for the abuses cited in these documents. This does not require mediation or more information. In fact, all the people referenced in RRF&D and AFA appear approved by you for their actions except one – me. I am reproved for falsely implicating all the others. Here again is what I said in RRF&D. ―Lastly and most importantly, I write because of my deep love for you and for Sovereign Grace Ministries. My greatest concern is for the increasing presence of deceit and hypocrisy rooted in self preservation and love of reputation. I‘d be overjoyed to see you acknowledge these things to the movement, whether or not you ask my forgiveness for anything specific. Comparatively speaking, the later is unimportant. Ultimately, this isn‘t about us. It is about something much bigger. Therefore, I provide the history that follows for your careful consideration.‖ (RRF&D, p. 3) And, ―Primarily, I hope and desire to see a restoration of integrity, truth telling and justice in Sovereign Grace so there is no lying, spin, manipulation, lording, 2 cover-up, or partiality. I am concerned for the movement. Some men have followed sinful aspects of your example and leadership – the kind referenced in this response. These men have acted deceitfully, judgmentally, unbiblically, and hypocritically. Their example in turn, has harmed others and been corrosive in its effect.‖ (RRF&D, p. 128) It is clear from both responses to RRF&D and AFA that you still believe none of these things are in issues in your life (except for sinful judging) or the lives of anyone you know in Sovereign Grace Ministries. You have not moved away from your fixed position as stated on July 2, 2010. ―Brent, I don‘t think Sovereign Grace in general or anyone I know in particular is ―lying, covering up, manipulating, lording, etc.‖ In AFA, I restated my concerns and conditions. ―Please humble yourself for the sake of gospel and respond to my appeals in a thorough going, written and public manner. If you do, it could have a tremendous impact on a large number of people, result in reform for Sovereign Grace Ministries and relational restoration in many other quarters for the glory of God.‖ (AFA, p. 167) Now it is time for closure. ―A Final Appeal‖ really was my final appeal. I hoped you would fully acknowledge your sins and then help others to repent who have imitated your example. We are far from that happening. I provided RRF&D (128 pages) on March 17, 20010 and AFA (165 pages) on October 8, 2010. You responded to them on December 16, 2010 (9 pages) and again on March 11, 2011 (10 pages). The Sovereign Grace Board of Directors responded to them on March 11, 2011 (3 pages). That means I waited an entire year for a total response of 23 pages. In addition to these documents, we‘ve traded correspondence over the past 18 months. I have included much of that extra material here in CR. It includes new material and additional comments on old material. For the most part, I present this material in chronological order. While your first response to me in December was meaningful it was woefully incomplete. I asked for a second response hoping your repentance would be complete. As a result, I was adjusted by the Board of Directors for being ―dissatisfied‖ with your first response and told my interaction with you had been ―fruitless.‖ That did not anger me but it was of concern to me. I was disappointed because you did not follow through on your promise to address the array of issues I raised in RRF&D and AFA. In this regard, your second response went no further than your first response.