I found it very helpful. A debate over untethered empathy underscores how departing leaders, including John Pipers successor, approached hot-button issues like race and abuse. Hurt feelings arent always a sign that someone has been sinned against. Pastor, you have introduced the last three sermons that way. According to Pickering, Naselli had been the focus of an internal investigation at BCS due to allegations of bullying and spiritual abuse brought by about 12 former and current BCS students. However, this past spring, several church members also brought allegations of sin and misconduct against Naselli. This is another painful and confusing moment for us," Zuleger wrote. Overall, her professors and pastors modeled a way to engage the world not from fear and suspicion, but with openness and critical thinking., Theres much I love about Bethlehem. This idea has come up in the cultural conversation with more loaded and often less theological terms: the overly sensitive snowflake generation, the debate over trigger warnings, and the 2018 bestseller The Coddling of the American Mind. Even before Rigneys selection and the Naselli investigation at BCS, church leaders had begun to rethink what it means for the college and seminary to be a church-based school when the church now has three campuses instead of one. Two Bethlehem elders, Ken Currie and Chairman Kurt Elting-Ballard, responded that they are focusing our energy on the needs of our flock and had no other comment or statement to add.. What a thorough article. Pastor Jason | Screenshot/YouTube/Fellowship Church Church of the Highlands and ARC officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit when contacted by The Christian Post on Tuesday. Having just come out of an abusive system where women arent believed, it was like, Yeah, this is exactly what Ive lived, Mekala said. Zuleger also asked church members to pray for their leaders. I enjoyed your article. Piper cant step in, from what I understand. Bethlehem College and Seminary (BCS)which grew from the churchs lay training institute to an accredited programalso has reason to celebrate. There's domineering. Prior to ordination, Pastor Jason attended the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and the University of Chicago. Particularly since Donald Trumps presidency, theres been a deepening of divisions among American evangelicals, exposing disagreements not in theology per se but in how they as Christians see their greatest priorities and fears in society. He also expressed misgivings around the treatment of women, which he claimed was the result of attitudes that went beyond complementarian convictions, as well as around Rigneys ties to Wilson. For some, these three pastors willingness to listen to and advocate for congregants, their teachings on race and abuse, and their leadership at the downtown campus were particular assets to Bethlehem. He also did not respond to The Roys Reports repeated requests for an interview. He writes for The Gospel Coalition and has served as D. A. Carsons longtime research assistant. The stakes continue to be raised, said Josh Panos, a BCS alumnus. 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. Similarly, Lee at Bethlehems North Campus referred to the spiritual abuse accusations against Naselli as the result of concept creep, suggesting that conceptions of abuse and victimhood are being expanded too far. After Christ is a deliverance church. Mekala, her husband, and another BBC elder met with Tomlinson in December 2019, Mekala said. Jason Meyer has resigned from his position as the lead pastor of the Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, amid allegations of toxic and abusive behavior among the church's leadership. Thats part of our entire educational approach. (He declined to comment on Naselli or any specific faculty members. Whew! She requested that, prior to Rigney taking office, the elders make a statement to separate Rigneys views in the episode from the views and teachings of Bethlehem Baptist Church.. I dont see how there can be any interpretation other than empathy for the Romans 12:15 instruction to Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. God commands us to be compassionate. Some of the faces that appear in the compilation video of 150 Gods Grace at Bethlehem no longer belong to the multisite Twin Cities churchmost prominently Jason Meyer, Pipers successor and Bethlehems pastor for preaching and vision. A few Bethlehem elders responded positively to her letter, Mekala said. In the podcast Mr. Rigney basically said, show compassion but dont have empathy.. The three departing pastors from Bethlehem were based just a few miles from where George Floyd died in 2020. The other, and far more contentious, motion concerned an October 1, 2019, episode of Man Rampant, a podcast on Christianity, leadership, and masculinity hosted by Doug Wilson. It took a lot for him to leave the classroom behind. The implications were clear: He would not be sugarcoating in this class. "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. Youre going to have people on opposite sides saying theyre making mountains out of molehills and then other people saying youre making molehills out of mountains. Up until this point, I thought he was a pretty cool guy and authoritative in his teaching.. Are we not caring enough about our responsibilities to weep with those who weep? For twelve BBC students to submit allegations against N is not insignificant. By now, you WebOur Legacy. After Christ Christian Center. It is on YouTube, Race and Culture (??? Bowers had been a professor who looked forward to the first day of school every year and loved interacting with studentsand it showed. May they work it out together in a godly manner. In 1980, after only 5 years of ministry, the congregation took a huge step of faith and built a facility to hold 450 people. But it wasnt just the situation around Naselli. The congregation which has a membership of around 4,600 operates three campuses in the city. Feb. 06-Feb. 06. Also, any comments with profanity, name-calling, and/or a nasty tone will be deleted. Co-author of the entry on fundamentalism in the Encyclopedia of North Carolina (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2006), Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees (preachers and teachers,) you hypocrites! Piper quite dysfunctionaly spoke in regard to Wilsons repentance over his hurtful and honestly unsupportable writing, I believe in regards to Southern Slavery As It Was. Help us continue to be a voice for truth in the media by supporting CBN News for as little as $1. Janette and Steve Takata, who have attended and served at Bethlehem since 2003 and 1990, respectively, were concerned enough that Janette made a motion at the churchwide quarterly meeting in January. When Pastors leave a church due to a fear culture there is a massive problem with that church. The first, Your Empathy is a SIn: a Response to Desiring God is here: https://heresthejoy.com/2019/06/your-empathy-is-a-sin-a-response-to-desiring-god/. Elders and ministers at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota have resigned over what Pipers successor, Jason Meyer, calls an embrace of neo-fundamentalism and a unity culture that breeds fear and seeks to protect the institution. But when urged to make a public statement that BBC did not endorse Rigneys view, one elder instead directed Mekala to meet with Tim Tomlinson, who was then president of BCS. Yesterday I saw a Video from John Piper asking for prayer during his upcoming 7 week writing sabbatical. Tabb, in an October 2020 email announcing Bowerss final days at BCS, described him as being beloved by students and colleagues for his excellent teaching, good humor, compassion for the marginalized, and faithful friendship.. Are there good reasons for why Pastors are leaving the church? The motion passed on a voice vote and Takata told The Roys Report that three of the task forces five reports were eventually released to church members with redactions. On July 26, 2020, the congregation Your tax-deductible gift helps our journalists report the truth and hold Christian leaders and organizations accountable. . Skip to main content. A year later, Rigney, who had taught theology and literature at BCS since 2007, was named the schools second president in an announcement by Piper as chancellor. I have been majorly burdened for our church for the past several years regarding how we approach ethnic harmony and related issues in our culture, including partisan politics, Critical Theory, Critical Race Theory, intersectionality, Black Lives Matter, etc. In an emailed statement to CBN News on Wednesday, Ken Currie, Bethlehem Baptist's pastor for strategic implementation, said Meyer's resignation would be effective Aug. 1. 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.. They did great for a week when they simply sat with Job in silence. He said he felt a conviction that he couldnt in good conscience stay at BCS and by the end of 2020 his family left Bethlehem too. D. degrees. He feels overjoyed in his calling to love and lead the flock at Urban Refuge in the strength that God supplies. This organization investigates any level or kind of abuse within the church, and founded by Boz Tchividijian, (an attorney) and his team has done excellent work to help churches navigate through this kind of thing. The news of official grievances against Naselli, one of the best-known professors at BCS, spread among its 400 or so graduates. Among his concerns, the former assistant professor of theology and philosophy wrote that leaders used Scripture or Christian vocabulary to dismiss employee and student complaints, and that he felt pressured to tiptoe around addressing racial progress. Calvins Misrepresentation of God) to see the outcome as we see here. I was pretty disappointed. Bowers said that at BCS, Black lives matter feels more threatening than the racism that has made that phrase necessary.. Amid these accusations, I recommend trying G.R.A.C.E to investigate the matters facing Bethlehem. Let's re-learn to lament together," he noted. The Roys Report noted Meyer, the successor to founder John Piper, is the fourth pastor to resign from the megachurch in the past four months. I attended Bethlehem for nearly 3 years, belonged to one of the small groups. When met with issues that strike at the core of ones identity, its natural to have visceral responses, she tweeted. 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