*This article has been updated for accuracy. But if you see what I see, and if you experience this community (leadership, faculty, and students) as loving, and supportive and fair, and if you share my excitement about the future with Joe Rigneys leadership and under Gods merciful providence, then I believe we will together walk in truth and love, and have a great impact for the glory of Christ.. Naselli often started the semester with an explanation of Malcolm Gladwells terminology of direct speech vs. mitigated speechdirect being the commands you give when a plane is crashing, and mitigated, the niceties you use as a matter of courtesy. Pray for me, and I'll be praying for you. She described how hard it was to leave a church theyd helped plant, even as disagreements about race and gender emerged. . God commands us to be compassionate. But its more difficult to shift peoples thinking the other way, though more resourcesbooks like Somethings Not Right: Decoding the Hidden Tactics of Abuseand Freeing Yourself from Its Power by Wade Mullen and A Church Called Tov: Forming a Goodness Culture That Resists Abuses of Power and Promotes Healing by Laura Barringer and Scot McKnightare changing how people see abuse within the church. Rigney has become known for raising concerns about the sin of empathy, a topic hes written about on Desiring God and discussed in a video series hosted by Doug Wilson. WebIn 2012, Jason Meyer became the senior pastor. The elder council concluded in April that the charges against Naselli were not true, but the pastors were three of four elders who dissented in hopes that further investigation could take place. Brian Tabb, a BBC elder and dean at BCS, told Takata in an email that he could understand her concerns. This prompted many members of the task force to leave the church, according to Janice Perez Evans, a task force co-leader. The episode, which argued that empathy is sin because it leads to siding unquestioningly with aggrieved parties, deeply upset several people at Bethlehem. Speaking as a 18 yr attender at BBC (currently planning on leaving) the closest Piper ever got to decrying Wilson was during a interview with Joe Rigney. This is another painful and confusing moment for us," Zuleger wrote. Rev Patricia Downes. WebFor more information about enrolling in services, please contact Mary Ali at [email protected] or 260.456.4534 ext. Ming-Jinn Tong, pastor for neighborhood outreach, announced his resignation and Ph. He has previously served congregations in Lake Benton and Blaine, both in Minnesota. Meyer served as the lead pastor at Bethlehem since 2012 after Piper resigned after leading the church for 33 years, according to ChristianHeadlines.com. The three departing pastors from Bethlehem were based just a few miles from where George Floyd died in 2020. WebPastor Jason serves as Pastor of Holy Nativity. Meyer had stepped down from the BCS board of trustees as well. Would you consider making a tax-deductible donation to help our journalists continue to report the truth and restore the church? In the end, seven of the 17 original members of the task force ended up leaving Bethlehem, which some elders saw as confirmation that their misgivings about the group were justified. Please contact Pastor Jason if you are in need of financial suppor t or And are people on either side pitting truth and grace against each other and distorting the way of Jesus? He says the accusations against him were (1) that I have subordinated the gospel, (2) that I empowered victims (coddler), and (3) that I allowed compassion for others to steer and dictate my leadership direction.. Another four faculty and staff left the college and seminary in the past year. This moment is hard. James Lutzweiler Theyre drawn to Reformed theology and Pipers Christian hedonism, which is reflected in the schools motto: Education in Serious Joy., In a classroom full of men who would give their lives for the gospel, to have somebody whos supposedly training you for ministry doubt your commitment to that gospel because youre not convinced hes right about everything is really hard to deal with, said Karl Grant, who studied under Naselli in the seminary, as the sole Lutheran in the program. Bethlehem uses the phrase ethnic harmony, believing ethnicity is a better match for the the cultural categories described in the Bible than race, which is primarily biological or physical. Toward that end, the site requires that people use their full name when commenting. The church formed an ethnic harmony task force in 2019 to review issues such as representation and diversity within the church and leadership. He doesnt need us, but by his grace and through his Son, we belong to him. "Jason Meyer's resignation is not due to impropriety or moral failure, and we thank God for Jason's ministry among us for the past nine years, first as Pastor for Preaching & Vision for Bethlehem's three campuses, and then since last summer as Pastor for Preaching & Vision at the Downtown Campus," the statement concluded. Help is Here a new sermon series; Upcoming Events. While he was trying to work for resolution, she didnt know where to go with her own frustration and anxiety. Mekala, her husband, and another BBC elder met with Tomlinson in December 2019, Mekala said. Beneath this constellation of hot topics, though, theres also a deeper philosophical disagreement over how to approach the various conflicts themselves. At Bethlehem, the biggest source of frustration and disappointment, in many cases, came not from the grievances themselves but from the resistance and attitudes people said they faced when they tried to bring those grievances forward. Help us continue to be a voice for truth in the media by supporting CBN News for as little as $1. Rigney acknowledges that a criticism of empathy sounds provocative, and hes made efforts to explain and defend his position online. So, at the January 31, 2021, meetingjust months before Joe Rigney was installed as president of BCSTakata moved that the elders make a public statement separating the views expressed by Rigney in Man Rampant from the views and teaching of BBC. If you find over time that Johnathons perceptions are true, you will rightly seek out another place to study or work. Are there good reasons why members are leaving? After Christ Christian Center. We put a high premium on education in serious joy, and therefore we think the emotions are important, he said. ", "We also have troubles that have played out at Bethlehem over the past year. As another biblical example, Im reminded of Jobs 3 friends. They did great for a week when they simply sat with Job in silence. That was a very heated conversation. These tensions came to a head at a contentious BBC congregational meeting on January 31 in which two members, Steve and Janette Takata, submitted motions for the church to consider. Janette Takata pointed out that Rigney was identified as being from Bethlehem in the video and that a BCS professor and Bethlehem elder posted a five-star review of the episode. WebNOW!!! This dysfunctional mess is the logical outcome of John Piper and his theology and its methods. Is there a way to do any rebuke or admonishment when someone is hurting?, he asked. When Pastors leave a church due to a fear culture there is a massive problem with that church. Up until this point, I thought he was a pretty cool guy and authoritative in his teaching.. . The church went on to revise its stance on divorce and start a ministry response team to care for victims. The resignations and fractures in leadership at Bethlehem Baptist Church (BBC) extend to the congregation and have been simmering for years. Keep in touch with Julie and get updates in your inbox! Hes good at multi-syllabic word salads, but hes basically a fast-talking hyper-aggressive con artist who just happens to have chosen the church as the source of his narcissistic supply. One of the things that gets brought up in the abuse conversation is that abusers and their communities gaslight and minimize what theyve done, said Rigney. Jason refers to an article in his letter, which describes neo-fundamentalism as one of six groups into which evangelicals are fracturing. Heres a short definition offered there, but youd have to read the entire article for the more complete definition: Neo-Fundamentalist Evangelical Neo-fundamentalists are those who have deep concerns about both political and theological liberalism. Naselli, associate professor of theology and New Testament at BCS, spoke up to identify himself as the five-star reviewer and said that if the motion passed, hed quit. Piper has hosted and defended pastor and author Doug Wilson over the years, even as hes become an increasingly contentious figure in evangelicalism for his teachings on slavery, women, and other issues. Then they got themselves in trouble (ultimately with God) when they opened their mouths and spoke words without knowledge in their attempt to fix Job. Jesus Word speaks as loud today as it did then. Its not bad to feel hurt., The BCS alumna said that he went on to say, We came from a generation where Nasellis teaching philosophyand Don Carsonsis completely normal. Im stumped over this direction. . Bowers had been a professor who looked forward to the first day of school every year and loved interacting with studentsand it showed. Thank you for this comment, Pastor Lamb. WebThrough biblical truth and personal stories, author, pastor, and theologian Jason Meyer encourages the weary and anxious believer by shining light on the nature of reality, the nature of God, and the intersection of the two in our daily, rubber-meets-the-road lives. Ann Mekala and her husband, who was on the ethnic harmony task force, left the church a couple years ago. Share Podcast Audio Download. Students saw the effects too, where professors were becoming less willing to find merit in concepts that have become associated with CRT, such as institutional bias. Give a gift of $30 or more to The Roys Report this month, and you will receive a copy of Escaping the Maze of Spiritual Abuse by Dr. Lisa Oakley and Justin Humphreys. 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