EXCLUSIVE: John MacArthur Shamed, Excommunicated Mother for Refusing to Take Back Child Abuser

 By Julie Roys

On August 18, 2002, prominent radio pastor and author, John MacArthur, took time during an evening service to address a grave matter at his 8,000-member Grace Community Church (GCC) in Sun Valley, California.

A woman at GCC was living in sin, MacArthur alleged. And though shaming her publicly was “sad,” MacArthur said it was necessary to maintain fidelity to God and His Word.

So, as men were distributing the elements for communion, MacArthur stated: “I want to mention a sad situation, a person who is unwilling to repent. And the church bears responsibility before God to be the instrument of discipline. . . . This is what the Lord wants. He wants discipline . . . to be put out of the church, to be publicly shamed, to be put away from fellowship. In this case, it applies to Eileen Gray.”

According to MacArthur, Gray’s sin was that she had decided “to leave her husband, to grant no grace at all, to take the children, to go away, to forsake him.” This, MacArthur emphasized, meant rejecting “all the instruction and counsel of the elders, all instruction from the Word of God.”

MacArthur then encouraged the church to pray for Eileen and to “treat her as an unbeliever—for all we know, she may be.”

He also urged the church to pray for her husband, David Gray, who taught music and Bible to children at Grace Community Church (GCC) from 1994 to 2001. “Pray for David, for the sympathy and compassion and the lovingkindness of God to be his portion.”

MacArthur then invited the church to sing, “Amazing Grace.”

Today, David Gray is serving 21 years to life in a California prison for his 2005 convictions for aggravated child molestation, corporal injury to a child, and child abuse.

To be continued at The Roys Report REPORTING THE TRUTH. RESTORING THE CHURCH.

An Appeal to Joel and Victoria Osteen

MICHAEL BROWN



Dear Joel and Victoria, I hope and pray that you will read this letter and that you take to heart the things I'm sharing. I write as a friend wanting to help, not an enemy wanting to hurt, and everything I write, I write out of love for God, love for you, and love for the church and the world.

I have said many times that I'm glad to see your smiling faces on TV as you speak about Jesus rather than some stern-faced, joyless, angry Christian leader. And I believe you genuinely do care about people and want them to find wholeness in the Lord.

Joel, I appreciate the fact that you end every service by asking people to get right with God, having them pray a prayer where they say to Jesus, "I repent of my sins, come into my heart, I make you Lord and Savior."

The big problem is that you haven't told them what their sins are, and you haven't told them what real repentance is. And since you are speaking to people around the world, you can't possibly assume that all of them understand the meaning of sin and redemption and repentance. (Most American Christians don't even understand these things today.)

In short, you have not shared with them the whole counsel of God, and by telling them only part of the story, you have done what the false prophets of ancient Israel did: "You superficially treat the fracture of My people saying to them, 'All is well, all is well,' when nothing is well" (Jer. 6:14, my translation).

A true physician tells his patients what they need to hear, not what they want to hear. As one preacher of old, Jean Daille, once said, "Ministers are not cooks, but physicians and therefore should not study to delight the palate, but to recover the patient."

Have you been more of a junk-food cook than a physician? Have you been afraid to tell people their true condition? Have you been so concerned with making them feel good about themselves and giving them a sense of hope that you failed to diagnose their terminal sin disease?

Paul said to the elders of Ephesus, "I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God" (Acts 20:26-27).

Do you really believe in your heart of hearts that you have declared the whole counsel of God to your listening audience?

God has given you one of the largest platforms for the gospel in human history. Can you say before Him that you are "innocent of the blood of all"?

Have you ever taught extensively on the words of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount? Have you ever worked your way through one of the letters of Paul? If not, why not?

Proverbs tells us that, "Whoever rebukes a man will afterward find more favor than he who flatters with his tongue" (28:23). Do you believe God's Word, or do you feel you have found a better way to do His work?

I appreciate the fact that you hold up your Bible before you preach, as your father did, and you have people make a confession about God's Word, as you also learned to do from your father. But do you really preach that holy Word?

Shortly before Paul was martyred for his faith, he reminded Timothy that, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness" (2 Tim. 3:16).

He also gave him this solemn commission: "I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching" (2 Tim. 4:1-2).

Is this your pattern of preaching and ministry? Do you rebuke in love (Prov. 27:5) as well as exhort and encourage?

Perhaps it's time to ask yourself honestly where you fit in this warning from Paul: "For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths" (2 Tim. 4:1-4).

Wouldn't it be utterly heartbreaking if, on the day you stand before God, you discovered that you were one of these teachers? Wouldn't it be tragic if your efforts were found to be wood, hay and stubble on that great and glorious Day (1 Cor. 3:11-15)? And may I ask you candidly if you even talk about that holy day of accounting?

Some Christians have referred to you and Victoria as outright heretics, others have said that you are fighting against the Holy Spirit (since the Spirit convicts the world of sin but your preaching does not), others have said that you are a pagan religionist, while others have said that your superficial message of material prosperity cannot bear the weight of the gospel.

These are very serious charges, but rather than just saying, "Hey, I'm just going to love everybody and stay in my lane," perhaps you should ask if these leaders might be saying something you need to hear. Is there any truth at all in their words? Could it be that God's lane for you is different than the lane you're in?

It would be far better for you to see your TV ratings fall and your crowds dwindle than to displease the Lord. (Perhaps if you preached the whole counsel of God, your audience would end up even bigger.)

By all means, you should be an ambassador of hope and joy—that's all part of the gospel—but if you don't speak about sin plainly and without compromise and if you don't tell people that there will be suffering and hardship in this world as we follow Jesus, then the hope that you offer will only go skin deep.

Have you ever wondered about how your message plays out among Christians who are going through hell on Earth because of their faith in Jesus? Have you ever thought about what your message sounds like to persecuted believers today who just had to leave their homes and possessions behind to flee for their lives?

And Victoria, if I may speak with you for just a moment, your recent comments that have gone viral have drawn a stream of well-deserved criticism, even if some of it came in an ugly and wrong spirit.

The reality is that our lives are supposed to revolve around God; He doesn't revolve around us. And even though worship and praise are good for us too, since they focus our attention on who God is and bring us into His presence, we do not worship or serve Him for ourselves but for Him. As Paul wrote, Jesus died for all so "that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised" (2 Cor. 5:15).

This is Gospel 101, as basic as it gets, yet you turned things upside down during that one regrettable moment on TV, a moment that reflected a wrong, off-base theology that starts with us and that says God is here to please us rather than starting with God and recognizing that we are here to please Him.

Joel and Victoria, I know these words have been strong, but they are written with love and concern. And since I have no connection to anyone on your team and I don't know of any way to reach you directly, after prayer and reflection, I felt that this was the best way to go, addressing public statements publicly, jealous for the Name of Jesus, jealous for your massive listening audience, and jealous for both of you.

Without a doubt, there are many people you have helped; you have also hurt far more than you realize. I pray you will take this to heart.

Michael Brown is author of Can You Be Gay and Christian? Responding With Love and Truth to Questions About Homosexuality and host of the nationally syndicated talk radio show The Line of Fire on the Salem Radio Network. He is also president of FIRE School of Ministry and director of the Coalition of Conscience. Follow him at AskDrBrown on Facebook or at @drmichaellbrown on Twitter.

Megachurch pastors said to form new political party

The pastors are reportedly focusing on right-wing issues to sway next year’s general and presidential elections

By Cho Yeon-hyun, Religion Correspondent

A right-wing Christian party is reportedly being formed ahead of next year’s general and presidential elections with some of the country’s leading megachurch pastors, including Yoido Full Gospel Church senior pastor David Yonggi Cho and Kumnan Methodist Church pastor Kim Hong-do. The anti-Communist, pro-U.S. Citizens’ Campaign for Setting Right Church and Country, with Rev. Choe Byeong-du as chairman, plans to hold a Christian leaders’ forum from Aug. 29 to 31 at the Yangsoori Training Center in Namyangju, Gyeonggi, where it is inviting leaders from some 3,000 churches. Following around 90 lecture meetings around the country, the organization recently held three Christian leader forums at the Seoul Walkerhill Hotel.

New Puritan Spiritual Training Center Director Rev. Jeon Gwang-hun, who spearheaded the forum effort, predicted that the event would serve as a preliminary meeting for the launch of a new Protestant Christian party.

“There is a growing consensus that the church needs to address the serious situation of social collapse, since it cannot be left to politicians alone to handle,” Jeon said. “While the goal of this forum is the ten topic discussions, I expect it will ultimately lead to a debate over a Christian party.”

Jeon said that he would put himself forward if veteran figures such as Cho and Kim undertake preliminary efforts on behalf of those seeking to establish a Christian party “in order to save a country that faces crisis due to leftist North Korea puppets and anti-Christian forces.”

Cho’s associates confirmed that he would be attending the event, while Kim’s said they were unable to give a confirmation.

Jeon also said an official press conference would be held some time next week in connection with the party’s establishment.

Jeon previously established a Christian party at the time of the 2008 general elections, earning 450 thousand votes and failing to win a National Assembly proportional representation seat by a margin of around 50 thousand. At recent gatherings, he has been calling for a new Christian party with a stronger commitment to eradication of “pro-North Korea leftists” and antagonism against other religions.

According to a publicity poster that was distributed for the forum by the organization and features the faces of Cho, Kim, and Rev. Kim Sam-hwan, the event will see the gathering of pastors from 3,000 leading churches in South Korea and feature discussions on ten topics. They include “the repudiation of country by pro-North Korea leftists and Communist unification,” “the Korean sukuk law and abnormal propagation of Islam,” “human rights issues in North Korea.”

The topics also include laws regarding homosexuality, attacks on the church by Internet media, church corruption and secularization, the Korean Teachers’ and Education Workers’ Union (KTU, Jeon Gyo Jo), and distorted representations of Christianity in textbooks.

Political megachurches

By Jang Bong-kun

Church leaders holding large crucifixes reading “megachurch” snatch a lunch tray from a child who is eating lunch at school desk, saying, “Being poor is a sin! Free meals are sinful!”

They wear sashes reading “No free lunches” and “Soliciting voter participation.”

The Election Commission of Seoul on Friday embarked on an intensive clamp down on illegal campaigning by religious organizations calling on believers to vote in a referendum led by Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon to against free school lunches for elementary and middle school students. The commission, in particular, sent reportedly an official document to nine Protestant megachurches including President Lee’s Somang Church, Kumnan Church, Kwanglim Church and Yoido Full Gospel Church. Conservative megachurch leaders have denounced liberals and progressives as “Reds.”

The commission also plans to dispatch the control officers to large churches and temples.

The commission’s measures came after the Seoul Chapter of ruling Grand National Party (GNP) discussed a plan to use religious aggregations for campaign in a breakfast meeting on Thursday where GNP Chairman Hong Joon-pyo, Lee Jong-koo GNP Seoul Chapter Chairman and Mayor Oh attended.

In addition, the commission reported Choi Jin-man, chairman of Kiturami Group and Taegu Broadcasting Company, to prosecutors for giving employees of the group directives to vote in the referendum.