Dear ______,
Posted on April 4th, 2006 by Reformed Pope into the Uncategorized category
Dear Frank, Mark, Jack, Ken, Robert, Howard, Doug, Rich, Isaac, Asim, Scott, and wives,
Many people have asked me if I have told you how I feel in regards to my experience at CBC. For some reason they feel this will add legitimacy to "the blog" (thank you all, by the way, for making City Business Church "the blog"). I always respond to these comments the same way… "OF COURES I'VE TOLD THEM HOW I FEEL, I've told the whole world how I feel." Unfortunately, most people seem to think that the reason you are supposed to "talk to the person who offended you" is so that they can hide it from everyone else; I however, feel the reason to bring it up is so that the offender has a chance to work things out with the offended. That being said, here is your chance.
I have carefully documented all of my feelings here on this weblog. Please feel free to peruse through the many posts I have written and, if it makes you feel better, add "Dear _________ (insert your name)" to the beginning. I would specifically like to draw your attention to the "Why we blog"" section. In it you will find key insights to help answer the questions "WHAT HAPPENED" and "WHY".
Most recently I posted a comment titled "Well & Grace"; in it I address many of the concerns I have with your church and specifically list an instance where "Biblical Mandate" was not followed. This would be a great place to start.
You may use the comments section below or, if you choose, you can send an emailed response to mortonjp14@hotmail.com. I would also like to state that I would be more than happy to meet with anyone to discuss things face to face.
Please do not ignore my request. Despite the constant sarcasm you may find on this site, there is much truth in my words. DO NOT BE AFRAID OF ONE MAN'S OPINION.
I look forward to your response.
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April 4th, 2006 at 2:02 pm
Dear JP,
Thank you for your “open” letter which includes my name. I’m in Nashville for some “delightful” Music Industry meetings. Again, my recollections of you and your brother are through TCS and those wonderful basketball games. Remind me to tell you about the round of golf I had with Fred at the TCS scramble - he killed a duck at Broadmoor!!! I thought it was stretching it a little to call that scoring a “birdie”!!!
You mentioned that you have talked to me about how you felt with the “issues” you had at CBC??? Unfortunately, I don’t ever recall us having any conversation regarding such…I’m sorry if my memory is “senior momentus”…
Also unfortunately (or “fortunately” I’m not sure which
), I haven’t explored your many posts on this site to understand the complete nature or issue.
If you would like to email me directly with the info, that would be fine. I can’t “promise”,”guarantee” or “ensure” that all will be perfectly healed/restored.
But I am willing to hear you and to try and understand your journey.
Now, by responding in this manner, I probably make myself “vulnerable” to all sorts of sarcasm and arrows from your wonderful “collection of contributors”. That’s allright…life shall go on…
But…I have at least responded to your “letter”.
And…I will listen to you…
April 4th, 2006 at 7:46 pm
I’m not sure if this is allowed, guess I’ll find out. I’m selling some of Kevin Conner’s best on craigslist.com/portland.
They are 2 books not easy to come by in the states. One is the Christian Millenium, one is Kevin’s exposition of Revelation. (It’s not Interpreting Types. It’s his real thoughts.)
Anyway CBC doesn’t carry either, so check it out. I wouldn’t be selling except the tax man cometh.
April 4th, 2006 at 8:43 pm
… Jesus replied, “RP was going down from Portland to CBC when he fell into the hands of the church staff and elders. They stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving RP half dead. By chance, a pastor was traveling along that road. When he saw RP, he went by on the other side. Similarly, an elder came to that place. When he saw the man, he also went by on the other side. But as he was traveling along, a stranger came across the man. When the stranger saw RP, he was moved with compassion. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take good care of him. If you spend more than that, I’ll repay you when I come back.’ “Of these three men, who do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the CBC staff and elders?” (Luke 10:30-36 ISV)
…
I don’t know a single pastor who hasn’t preached on the parable of the Good Samaritan.
Can the ones who preach it recognize the parable when it is unfolding right in front of them?
While pondering the parable I noticed a detail I hadn’t considered before - simply, it was robbers (plural - a mob) who beat and robbed the man …
Robbers? Plural? What’s the point? Well, every pastor I’ve ever met was a well intended individual - but often I have observed that when several well intended individuals get together, they become a band of robbers as they work to protect / control and expand their domain … institutions do often beat and rob individuals … but, no one individual ever seems to accept responsibility for institutional wrong-doing.
So I find myself wondering about the parable - were the priest and levite among the robbers / bandits in the first place, and as they traveled back the way they came they simply could not look at / assist the victim because they had been among those who injured him? Were they afraid the victim might have identified them, and so “walked by on the other side”? Before getting upset that I insinuated a priest and levite might have been among the robbers, consider Jesus many charges against the religious elite in his day (pharisees, teachers of the law, hirelings (John 10, Matthew 23, et al)). One can not impart ‘holiness’ and ’sinlessness’ to someone simply because they bear the title pastor, priest, etc.
All this leads me to ask: how long will individuals who have taken part in institutional wrong-doing ignore their individual victims? The road to chapel is fairly littered with their wounded.
And, how is it, no one ever seems to face up to this:
“So if you are presenting your gift at the altar and remember there that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and first go and be reconciled to your brother. Then come and offer your gift.” (Matthew 5:23-24 ISV)
…
I make no presumptions of guilt or innocence, but for RP’s sake, would like to see a real discussion, between brothers, for the purpose of reconciliation, without hiding behind religious rhetoric, credentials and offices, and the ever convenient plausible deniability of institutionalism.
April 4th, 2006 at 10:47 pm
Insightful words John esp. about the group mentality. I once had an argument with the pastor’s wife at the MFI church I was attending. At the next service, 2 elders pulled me aside after church and told me that they had the pastors’ back and that they were not going to let anyone hurt them.
My heart and attitude were wrong so I apologized and asked forgiveness, but I couldn’t also help thinking how strange that the elders felt it necessary to protect the pastors from a lamb.
The reason for the argument was because I was in the hospital with a blood clot in my lung. They had told me they were going to come see me on a Sunday afternoon. They didn’t and didn’t call to let me know they weren’t coming. (Understand this was like the 500th time they’d broken their word to me.)
Then the wife refused to speak to me for weeks. That should have been my ticket out the door.
Anyway, good comment. Group mentality. So true.
April 4th, 2006 at 11:41 pm
excellent post john.
April 5th, 2006 at 6:46 am
In M. Scott Peck’s book “People of the Lie”, there is a discussion of corporate evil in the section named “Mylai: An Examination of Group Evil”. While evangelicals have labeled Peck a “new ager” for his universalist leanings, it is none-the-less a thought provoking chapter.
April 5th, 2006 at 11:50 am
Very nice John444… now we’re cookin’
I’m diggin’ the ‘book recommends’ that peeps are throwin around.
April 5th, 2006 at 1:02 pm
I’ve been thinking about the ‘biblical mandate’ mentioned. I come up with
1 Timothy 5:20, which calls for an elder in sin to be publicly rebuked.
Also, Revelation 2:2, which tells believers to ‘test those who say they are apostles’, and when they(the false apostles) were tested they were found to be liars. Since an apostle is listed as the first of the five ministries in Eph. 4:11, it seems obvious the others should be subject to the same testing.
Is this a good example of the ‘biblical mandate’ ?
April 5th, 2006 at 4:36 pm
testing??? what kind of testing? Does the bible give any directions on how feeble humans are to carry this out?
April 6th, 2006 at 7:57 am
Hmmm…in context, it seems the party in question was caught lying. In order to catch someone in a lie, it would require questioning them.
So the idea that questioning church authority is wrong is an incorrect view.
Does that help?
April 6th, 2006 at 8:28 am
Witnesses - whether the ‘witness’ of the Holy Spirit (your ‘discern-o-meter’ 1 Cor. 12:8-10 ), or 2-3 human witnesses … problem with human ‘witnesses’ in an institutional setting, is that they are often hand-picked yes-men (and women) who are effetively sworn to protect the institution and administrators thereof.
April 6th, 2006 at 9:34 am
Ditto!
April 6th, 2006 at 11:18 am
In some cases, the ‘feeble’ party hires a lawyer, the lawyer attaches assets
to the wrong doing party, and the assets must be sold to pay for the wrong done. This is currently happening to the catholic organization in Portland. This is what happens when wrongdoing gets swept under the rug
for the sake of personal appearence. It kind of smells like doom for the mega institutional church.
April 6th, 2006 at 3:55 pm
lawyers are god’s chosen ones.
April 7th, 2006 at 5:25 am
And all along I thought Justin was just making a money grab, but it turns out he was following the will of God!
April 8th, 2006 at 7:59 pm
Amen!