Former Naval Officer. Current Church Planter in New Haven, CT. “Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid. I am with you.”
Hello
@MarkMeadows
. Since you asked for a private meeting & my pastoral counsel when you first ran for office, I wonder if you’d still like it, even though you’re no longer an elected official? If not, I understand. But if so here it is: You can’t fool God; come clean & be free.
Feels like just a couple months ago that
@GovBillLee
’s pastor took the stage in my town to talk with this guy about pastoring elected officials for Charlie Kirk’s pastor conference.
🧵
1/ As a former member of the Presbyterian Church in America’s Standing Judicial Commission (“Supreme Court”) and longtime pastor in the PCA, I need to speak out against the vile miscarriage of justice in the
#pcaga
ruling in the Dan Herron trial.
🚨 BG (Ret.) Anderson in new VoteVets ad:
"Donald Trump is a walking, talking national security threat" and Jack Smith was right to charge him. Trump's reckless behavior may have put our Troops at risk.
He should NEVER AGAIN be in command of our Armed Forces!
#NeverAgainTrump
@sean_muldowney
I don’t think you have a fragile ego, I think you have an inner kindness that wants to be sure that your strong and clear words do not “break any bruised reeds.” Thank you for all you have written. Keep writing, please, as you are able.
@LisaDNews
@Jim_Jordan
Thank you for your reporting! Thank you for asking the important questions so that all the facts can come out! Meanwhile, there are already plenty of facts regarding Jim Jordan’s involvement to rightly call him an insurrectionist.
I remember when my professor R. C. Sproul parted ways with J. I. Packer and soon began inviting the likes of John MacArthur and Doug Wilson to speak at his Ligonier Conferences instead, and boy do I wish I had a Time Machine.
1/ When the Southern Poverty Law Center reported on our efforts to root out racism, some in the PCA were furious with us; but that Summer Tim Keller sought me out at General Assembly and publicly thanked me for the part I played.
Health Update: Today, Dad is being discharged from the hospital to receive hospice care at home. Over the past few days, he has asked us to pray with him often. He expressed many times through prayer his desire to go home to be with Jesus. His family is very sad because we... 1/3
@megbasham
@drmoore
I don’t mean to impose my religion on you or anyone,
@megbasham
, but I’d love to introduce you to a religion called “Christianity,” with a Savior who is “full of grace and truth.” Of course, if you are committed to your lifestyle of lies I’d understand if you aren’t interested.
“Empathy drives resources.” I heard Nelba Marquez-Greene (
@nelba_mg
) say that while sitting on our set in Times Square today. Her daughter was killed at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut. Nelba - who’s a licensed therapist - shared some wisdom w/ me when she got off the set.
The integrity and courage that
@stevemarusich
has shown has been exemplary. His former PCA presbytery should be meeting today to commend him & follow his lead in seeking justice for their victims of sexual harassment and pastoral abuse — but instead will be burning him in effigy.
A former teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), who was critical of the way the Central Indiana Presbytery handled allegations brought against Dan Herron, is now facing seven charges and possible excommunication.
@roddreher
You don’t have to be like this, Rod. There are so many other ways to live wherein you would experience joy and peace in step with the Holy Spirit.
@itsabentworld
@emlybelz
@CTmagazine
It may be hard to be a faithful church while embattled, but it is *impossible* to be a faithful church w/o acknowledging the faults within. This article, and its timing, is a gift of love, not only to the
#pcaga
, but to the victims. *Care for the victims* matters most of all.
@mattjwarner
@gracecollege
You lose your job but get to keep your integrity, reputation, sanity, etc. Meanwhile they lose getting to have you on staff, AND lose their integrity, reputation, etc. Stick in there.
6/ Tim Keller loves people deeply, and is loved very deeply by people. That is a life well lived. May the peace that passes all understanding be his now and forever.
4/ * I am pleading with the Lord to surround and protect the victims of this vile church injustice and church assault with His love and strength and spiritual presence. They, courageous and full of integrity and compassion, are the apple of His eye.
@albertmohler
All you are doing is hardening your own base; you are persuading NO ONE, all the while treating as enemies sisters and brothers with integrity who have the love and wisdom and courage of Jesus in their hearts and lives.
Mike Pompeo, "who became a Christian at West Point" and is a member of an EPC church, is Exhibit A of how
@kkdumez
' thesis - that conceiving of Jesus in the image of John Wayne - is no mere theoretical heresy but produces actual deathmongers who make this world much, much worse.
After Khashoggi's murder, 'Trump sent Pompeo to reassure the crown prince of America’s support — and to give “the middle finger to the Washington Post, the New York Times, and other bed-wetters who didn’t have a grip on reality.”'
3/ * I resigned my membership in the PCA 2 yrs ago in part because of the rampant & growing misogyny I was experiencing. My effigy was subsequently excommunicated for leaving in ☮️ (cf. this other 🧵); so I write this as a former “insider”/now “outsider” …
@revjkessler
@vhobbs5
@DrJohnHardie
James, just now seeing this. You and I and everyone else on the Mission Anabaino video calls, supported Dan and opposed Kara & the other victims from the jump. Documentation exists of what he said about them & how we as a group responded. At BEST we were silent. At BEST. 😞
1/ The pastor referenced here is a Presbyterian Church in America pastor. I know I will never be able to do enough to repent and make restitution for my 35+ years in the PCA and the part I played to grow and expand a system built on a foundation of racism and misogyny.
I'm in the middle of finishing up a book on the Trump presidency and how the courage and dedication of many career public servants and Trump political appointees kept us from much worse outcomes that Trump and his inner circle thought.
2/ I am not able (and never will be) to say all that needs to be said. I will be adding to this thread for the foreseeable future. But I want to say three things upfront:
@PastorBenMarsh
Some men spoke words with passion and some other men listened and signaled their enthusiastic agreement! Ben! Don’t you see?? Those same men speak those same words in other settings; and those same men listening hear those same words in other settings, but this was DIFFERENT!
Today I sent
@POTUS
a letter calling for gun reform, expanded mental health care, and a task force on rapid response support following mass shootings. I am so grateful to the
#Tennessee3
for their leadership in the wake of
#CovenantSchool
shooting 4 weeks ago today. *
@CTmagazine
@HarvestPrude
More precisely, *some* cherry-picked schismatic conservative Christians that equate their faith with a temporal collage of disconnected public policy positions say that
@Tim_Walz
has alienated *them.*
Meanwhile:
15/ For myself, being in the “inner ring” almost destroyed me, and nearly destroyed my faith. But worse than what seeing oneself as an “inner ring man” does to one’s own soul, is what inner ring practitioners can do to the souls of others. C. S. Lewis FTW
@revjkessler
@vhobbs5
@DrJohnHardie
James, just now seeing this. You and I and everyone else on the Mission Anabaino video calls, supported Dan and opposed Kara & the other victims from the jump. Documentation exists of what he said about them & how we as a group responded. At BEST we were silent. At BEST. 😞
@JoshDaws
@PastorBenMarsh
Yet you chose to take the time to respond to
@PastorBenMarsh
’s tweet, so defending your reputation mattered more to you in that moment than defending the victims of abuse. You should probably reorient your priorities.
@godlywomanhood
@aimeebyrdPYW
Your experience is . . . your experience. Nothing more, nothing less.
Meanwhile, Aimee Byrd’s books & writings are born out of deep study and contemplation of the Word, deep respect for the rich wisdom found in church tradition, and a personal walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. 🙏
@darterdancer
SO THANKFUL for this dismissal with prejudice, making it the FINAL decision. You did indeed tell the truth from the very start, and have been of *immense help* and an inspiration to survivors of church abuse in *so many* different contexts.
@vhobbs5
1. Utterly grievous. May God be with the victims.
2. Not surprising, sadly. The
#pcaga
is who the
#pcaga
is.
3. The reasoning, assuming it’s on par w/the preliminary ruling, is pure sophistry.
4. The PCA is not a safe space for women, or anyone. It is safe for some UNTIL IT ISN’T
4/ Several years later our other daughter graduated from college and took a job in NYC, choosing to live on the Upper West Side so she could attend Redeemer as well. Tim Keller is one of my heroes because he was a faithful pastor and preacher for both of my daughters for years.
Nope. I can name 💯 PCA churches (including the ones I pastored) that have never received such a letter. But if
@MeltonDuncan
wants to shrug it off because “every”
#PCAGA
church has members in it that “target children” with “grotesque racism” that is beyond ugly in multiple ways.
8/ Some of the men in this picture (including me) were on monthly teleconference calls with Dan Herron, when he detailed the supposed abuse he was enduring from “schismatic” people who were “slandering” him and “spreading gossip about him.” We, INCLUDING ME, supported him.
3/ Tim helped us connect our daughter with members of Redeemer who were students at SAB or even dancers with the New York City Ballet itself. Nearly every Sunday for 5 years our daughter would walk a few blocks with a group of her fellow dancers to worship the Lord at Redeemer.
@theapostleGH
Seriously. Pining for the long gone days (if they ever were) when the PCA was J. I. Packer/John Stott/Eugene Peterson adjacent rather than John MacArthur/Al Mohler/Doug Wilson adjacent.
2/ Three years later, when our daughter was offered a scholarship to be a year-round resident student at The School of American Ballet in NYC, one of the reasons we could say yes, sending our 13 year-old to live at the Lincoln Center, was the presence of Tim Keller and Redeemer.
On
@CNN
this morning I talked about the upcoming National Safer Communities Summit and the opportunity for the gun safety movement to come together and plan for next steps to combat gun violence.
@JesterWootton
@ThouArtTheMan
@wartwatch
Years ago I thought well of Todd Pruitt/Carl Trueman (I’ve had pleasant conversations w/both); looking back I realize it was because of
@aimeebyrdPYW
’s endorsement of them. But who they’ve revealed themselves to be since is clear: They are ugly, ugly men.
@ToddGwennap
Proud of you, my friend.
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
My hands are shaking with so much rage I can barely tweet. The PCA court system is a dumpster fire that’s burning abuse victims alive.
I want to write more but all that comes out is “🤬 Dan Herron 🤬 mafia of enablers 🤬 vile 🤬 disgusting 🤬 blood on their hands 🤬
#PCAtoo
”
6/ The PCA I entered into, while limiting ordination to men, otherwise empowered women for ministry.
The *current* PCA banned their women missionaries from serving in any leadership role, and will soon be considering a ban upon any woman reading Scripture publicly in worship.
“Are you willing to consider that your positive experience w/i a patriarchal system…may not reflect the experiences of other women? That the problem isn’t flawed individuals but rather a flawed system that creates ungodly disparities between humans created in the image of God?”
13/ This tweet from a wise practitioner speaks for itself. The self-importance/self-confidence with which the SJC carries itself (& which is implicitly granted to them by so many PCA pastors & elders) hinders them from “acting justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly” with God.
I’m not surprised, but disappointment nonetheless. The BCO and the men deciding these matters are wholly ill-equipped to do so despite them thinking otherwise. Abuse victims seldom stand a chance in such a flawed “judicial” structure.
@ThouArtTheMan
@kristenmcknight
@wartwatch
Religious grifter protip: Just add the words, “by grace” to whatever fool things you choose to say, and presto, you can fool everyone, including God.
Aimee Byrd has helped a lot of people find their courage. She has also helped reveal a LOT of false christs — and ministers ministering in the name of those false christs. Lord, have mercy.
The amount of pastors showing up in my notifications yesterday revealing that they cannot view & treat women as friends is terrifying. Pastors! The women in their congregations are either infantilized or sexualized. Dehumanized. Always a threat or someone who needs to be managed.
@esaumccaulley
@TGC
That review achieved probably the very opposite of its goal; it demonstrated that Amy Peeler's book is even more necessary (esp. for folks like the reviewer) and remarkable than I had already thought! Can't wait to read it!
@JJ_Denhollander
@CTmagazine
This is a POWERFUL, beautiful, and LOVING interview. Your wife's words are indisputable. You and your wife have been brave on every front, and you have MANY allies.
(In other news, pleasantly surprised to learn I've been blocked by
@CJMahaney
. No idea when or why.)
5/ Robin describes me here. Lord, have mercy. I am trying to repent. I am thankful for fields of green where I am free to and encouraged to repent of my own racism and misogyny.
@jdhutch64
It’s the hostility and arrogant tone that really discourages me. So many are so self assured and have everything figured out and really tell on themselves. It’s painful and destructive. It’s the ethos of too much of the PCA.
@aaronjhann
@darterdancer
@stevemarusich
When I began my term on the SJC I thought ascertaining innocence or guilt was the aim; instead subtle (and sometimes overt) pressures were brought to bear attempting to conform me to the real purpose: "the maintenance of order and protecting PCA interests." It was disillusioning.
@DukeChronicle
Helpful words from Mary Barra’s Commencement Address given shortly thereafter:
“You will mess up. Will you run? Will you look the other way? Will you hope that they blame someone else or will you own it?”
Safe in the PCA? A 🧵
Serving as a pastor for 27 yrs didn’t provide any protection for me when a pastiche of piously worded threats, lies, and feverishly insane accusations were spread about me by male elders to other male elders.
What about for those who aren’t pastors?
Asa Hutchinson: "I am not going to support somebody who has been convicted of a serious felony or who has been disqualified under our Constitution and that is consistent with RNC rules and I hope everyone would agree with me."
@liamsadams
One of the sad ironies is that (as related to me by a former Assistant Minister @ Redeemer) Sauls himself was apparently fired by Redeemer for racist practices, but signed an NDA in exchange for a large severance & positive recommendation. Image management as the modus operandi.
17/
📬 My own conscience (as Kierkegaard put it, “This Must Be Said So Let It Be Said”) — the only potential reader that I may safely presume will actually read this 🧵.
📬 Kara, Abigail, and the other brave sufferers enduring the Herron case in the
#pcaga
. Lord, have mercy.
11/ The PCA I entered into had signatories of The Lausanne Covenant, which has powerful words committing us to the pursuit of Social Justice.
The *current* PCA is full of white male pastors and elders who use the words “social justice” as a slur.
@Kasparov63
Why doesn’t it remind you of Obama picking Biden? Surely a *lifetime* of public service in multiple ways is no “blank slate.” I respect and am deeply thankful for you but I think you are misreading this. At any rate, full speed ahead! Let’s do this!
@megbasham
@drmoore
I don’t mean to impose my religion on you or anyone,
@megbasham
, but I’d love to introduce you to a religion called “Christianity,” with a Savior who is “full of grace and truth.” Of course, if you are committed to your lifestyle of lies I’d understand if you aren’t interested.
21/ Meanwhile, for an outstanding overview read the 06/22 article in
@CTmagazine
. Stupid that I have to say this (because FACTS ARE FACTS they don’t need the “right” people to report them), but the reporter has a deeper pedigree in the PCA than most anyone.
7/ The PCA I entered into cheered when George H. W. Bush resigned his membership from the NRA.
In the *current* PCA, powers that be are in bed with the NRA, or at best silently complicit.
The owners of Daniel Defense, manufacturers of the Uvalde murder machine, are members of Presbyterian Church In America (PCA).
They also run Assets For Christ, which has PCA Pastor John Fender on staff. PCA is in bed with murderous weaponry.
Thread.
@AsaHutchinson
Integrity was restored to the White House two years ago. I am praying you can restore integrity to the Republican Party so that voters can have a choice between different expressions of integrity.
8/ The PCA I entered into welcomed and empowered black men like
@JemarTisby
and
@MalcolmBFoley
.
The *current* PCA silences, expels, and demonizes them.
It has taken me years to get to the point where I can publicly share my experiences of racism in Reformed and evangelical spaces. This is my testimony. This is my witness.
#LeaveLOUD
@TheWitnessBCC
🎧:
1. Utterly grievous. May God be with the victims.
2. Not surprising, sadly. The
#pcaga
is who the
#pcaga
is.
3. The reasoning, assuming it’s on par w/the preliminary ruling, is pure sophistry.
4. The PCA is not a safe space for women, or anyone. It is safe for some UNTIL IT ISN’T
The Presbyterian ChurchMen have concluded their ChurchMan business & duly communicated this to other ChurchMen.
"Fathers and Brothers,
Please find attached the final decision of the Standing Judicial Commission in Case 2022-10, PCA v. TE Daniel Herron ...
@aaronjhann
George Bourne — who I had never heard of before this thread — now replaces Reepicheep, Hermione Granger, Walker Percy, Jackie Robinson, Roberto Clemente, Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Albert Pujols, Bono, my own brother, my own father, and Jason Bourne himself, AS MY GREATEST HERO.
He offered his help — help he has apparently given to dozens of others around the PCA who have suffered similar stories of spiritual abuse — help for which I was and am deeply grateful.
49/x
@newvangelicals
Yep. “You,” “are,” “saved,” “by,” “grace,” “through,” and “faith” all narrowly defined by white male conservative 20/21st century American Protestant (I’m all of those, btw 😁) gatekeepers; all the while oblivious to the grief their narrow definitions bring the Holy Spirit.
@JosiahHawthorne
This is brilliant. And the “Jesus” that these violent and tiresome people believe in is a synchronistic mash up of Jesus and John Wayne; i.e. Tashlan, not Aslan.
Real journalism is such a profound gift to *everyone.*
[Also worth noting how many people requested (& received) anonymity *out of fears of reprisals*!!! Almost as if there is no difference between the culture of this church/denomination and the culture of our fallen world.]
🧵A backstory on the making of this article, which mainly deals with CPC. But it comes out of my reporting more broadly on the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) and the Nashville Presbytery’s handling of Sauls’ discipline…
🧵
18/
📬 Members of the PCA, both clergy and laity, who are grieving the ongoing injustice of this and similar situations within the church.
📬 Fellow sufferers in other settings who have endured/are enduring similar injustices and sufferings.
10/ The PCA I entered into was (rightly) aghast at President Clinton’s betrayal of his marriage vows.
The *current* PCA is full of pastors and leaders who condone, play the corrupt “what about” game, or remain complicity silent in the face of Donald Trump’s multiple betrayals.
64d/x
Rather, I was referring to what I have observed to be an “increasing” devotion within the PCA to extra-confessional and contra-confessional parachurch expressions of patriarchy, like the CBMW. In my view the PCA ought to purge itself of that toxic and destructive nonsense.
12/ The PCA I entered into was a faithful, supportive, & participating member of the
@NAEvangelicals
.
The *current* PCA voiced its hostility towards the NAE’s support of racial justice & environmental stewardship; and voted to dissolve its relationship with the NAE last Summer.
Both are ministers in good standing in the PCA. I spent 35+ years in the
#pcaga
and became increasingly aware of the prevalence of such vile and godless views. A haunting Q: Was the high percentage always there (and I was just becoming more aware), or was the percentage growing?
Fact: if you can draw a circle, you can make a Venn diagram depicting the overlap between “dudes who use the Bible to legitimize gender hierarchy” and “dudes who admire 19th C theologians who used the Bible to legitimize racial hierarchy.”