What to Discern from the Church Fracture Where David Platt Pastors - Part 1

Want to discern from the truth.

Fracture were David Platt, pastors topical discuss today right here on the Christian worldview radio program with the mission is to sharpen the biblical worldview of Christians and to share the good news of Jesus Christ. I'm David with the host Christian worldview is a nonprofit ministry. Thank you to our listeners for your encouragement and also your support and also to our national sponsor Samaritan ministries who provide a biblical solution to healthcare can find out more at the Christian worldview.orc David Platt is one of the most influential evangelical pastors in America, you probably heard of them. He came to prominence after the release of this best-selling book titled the radical taking back your faith from the American dream. He has served as president of the international mission board of the Southern Baptist convention. One of the largest missionary sending agencies in the world and since 2017. He has been the pastor at McLean Bible church, a mega-church with four locations located just outside Washington DC in Virginia now is tenure at the church has not been smooth, at least not of late. Prior to his sermon on July 4. Platt called out a what he called a small group of people in the church for hindering the election of three new elders. A subsequent vote took place two weeks later. Just this past week, but allegations of voting impropriety has now led to an actual legal challenge going on within the church.

It turns out that these problems are just the tip of the iceberg, a 17 page letter which we have linked on our website was sent to church leadership. Earlier this year detailing their concerns about the direction of the church. One of the recurring charges is that church leadership is wrongly focused on social and racial justice. A Facebook group called save McLean Bible church has been actively pushing back against Platt's leadership. Keep in mind this is a very influential church in the DC area now church divisions are certainly nothing new. But there are things to discern and learn from them so that churches can have unity that honors God's. We hope you join us as we can on the Christian rubies. We talk about this church fracture and what we can learn from it so they can have unity in our own churches. These divisive situations and churches are hard, because members of churches invest so much of their life into their church mean after all their faith in Christ is the most important aspect of your life and that centers around the church. They invest time and money and prayer into their church. Major moments of their lives take place in their church with her as worship services, their marriages, funerals, baby dedications annual holidays.

Church is also their social group so you when these kinds of fractures happen.

It really becomes a highly distressing situation. So it's a big issue when things go sideways at a church. So how to stay unified and not shipwreck or fracture churches were going to discuss today. Now before we get into the specifics of the issue at McLean Bible church and were just looking that at that as an example of what can take place when certain decisions are made that cause this lack of trust and lack of unity in the church. Let's talk about what it takes to cultivate unity in the church.

I just wrote down for things that I think will keep a church, unified if they are it sheared to very closely number one. Our church must be clear and committed on biblical doctrines that must be a major focus in the church. If you're kind of fast and loose with those things you're not committed on those things if you don't spend so you know a lot of your time thinking about what we believe and have that unity throughout all your leadership everywhere in the church there going to be cracks in your armor, so to speak that are going to be exploited. Number two second key to cultivating unity in the church is choosing or having qualified pastors and elders. According to Scripture, who are discerning of false teaching and teachers.

We see this all the time in the New Testament that Paul was constantly warning whether Timothy or Titus or others other churches he was writing to about being careful because false teaching and teachers inevitably come in to churches. It's just the way Satan and his minions operate in this world are always trying to compromise churches so unique qualified pastors who meet the qualifications of pastors and elders, as laid out in in Scripture. But there also are discerning of the fact that there going to be attacked and is going to be false teaching. Maybe even by well-intentioned people that it and try to make inroads into the church.

The third key to cultivate unity in the church is to focus on the fundamentals and this was something that we talked about with Matt Fletcher last week that in acts two. We see this this fundamentals of what the early church focused on they they taught the apostles doctrine that taught the word. They focused on fellowship of believers, as the purpose of the church.

It's for believers, not for nonbelievers and they had communion. They remembered Christ's sacrifice and was for prayer to pray together, to God to communicate with him will read some of the verses the passages of Scripture that that relate to these four points. The fourth point in cultivating unity in the church are having a unified church is to exercise church discipline and restoration. That's from Matthew 18 because if you don't do that if you let members of the church, sin, and sort of cortical get away with it.

If you're allowed to continue in sin and just go on. It infects and influences the whole congregation.

After all, the church should be a group of sanctified or being sanctified believers, not ones where such a sin is being overlooked and swept under the rug. Now the verses that correspond with those four points are just listed out first was from first Timothy 46 and this is the apostle Paul writing to his understudy pastor younger man in the faith Timothy who pastored at several different release a couple different places where Paul went on his missionary journeys and he writes to Timothy in first Timothy four. He says in pointing out these things to the brethren so you're the pastor point them out to those in the church you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus constantly nourished on the words of the faith. I listen to these words he uses and of the sound doctrine which you have been following, but have nothing to do with worldly fables, or for false doctrines fit only for old women.

Paul writes on the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness. You need to live an exemplary life. Timothy, you need to fulfill these qualifications of an elder moving out of verse 11 of first Timothy four. He tells Timothy prescribe and teach these things. Focus on your doctrine. Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity. Show yourself an example of those who believe first 13 until I come give attention to the public reading of Scripture read God's word. That's the perfect part of your worship to give attention to exhortation and teaching do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the Presbytery in verse 15 take pains with these things be absorbed in them. Another its focus on sound doctrine. The reading of Scripture focus on the fundamentals, so that your progress will be evident to all. Verse 16 pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you, that really dealt with. The first point of being clear and committed on sound biblical doctrines keyed of having a unified church else go over to first Timothy 231 chapter earlier where Paul gives Timothy the qualifications for pastors and elders in the church. These men just are supposed to be men have to have a lifestyle and a character that's a beyond reproach. So he writes in first Timothy three starting in verse one is a trustworthy statement. If any man aspires to the office of overseer elder net has to be an aspirational yes to want to do.

It should be just just compelled to do it. He's to aspire to. It needs to have the desire inside himself. It is a final work he desires to do and overseer elder then. And here's the list of what the qualifications must be he must be above reproach in his life, he must be the husband of one wife there is that the specification that should be a man not a woman. This elder must be temperament, prudent, respectable, hospitable, and here's a key one able to teach in other words, he has to be able to teach the word of God must be able to teach. You must be a good teacher of the word that's going to be one of his responsibilities. Verse three not addicted to wine.

Of course, not a pugnacious, which means kind of a person of conflict, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money.

There should be none of that an elder pastor. He verse four.

She must be one who manages his own household well keeping his children under control with all dignity verse five.

But if a man does not know to manage his own household.

How will he take care of the church of God, whether it is not just kind of his spiritual life in a vacuum, it must be lived out in his home. He must be in a have a good marriage and he must have his children being raised in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. His children are out of control. Verse six he must not be a new convert to the face so that he will not become conceited in the fall under the condemnation incurred by the devil. He must have a good reputation with those outside the church so he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil that granted these are very strict and sobering qualifications for someone who is going to lead the church be a pastor elder, but that's exactly what God wanted to be because this is the body of Christ. This is the most important institution that God established in the entire world world is the one that God promises to bless the church and so those that lead it must have those things are going back to our our point, our second point of unified church must have qualified pastor elders who have a discerning spirit being able to protect the flock from false teaching and teachers next point was focusing on the fundamentals.

This is from that passage in acts two were the early church. They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles teaching there is to the word of God preaching and to fellowship with fellow believers, to the breaking of bread into prayer. Now there can be more to a church. Of course than that, but there shouldn't be any less than that those of the four fundamentals upon which a church should be built so adding anything to that, though, should be done with careful, careful discernment, because whatever you add to that will actually impact the church if you had lots of programs or ministries and if you have multiple services. Two kinds of services that you start doing videos and you have a certain kind of music environment that is all going to affect the character of that church, amassing all that's wrong but you need to be really careful that none of those things are adding or taking away from those four fundamentals of teaching God's word fellowship, remembering Christ's death in prayer.

We do want to be distracting from those things we talked about this last week. Finally, the last thing is, which is exercising church discipline with the purpose of restoration a comes from Matthew 18 it says if your brother sins, go and show him his fault, in private if he listens to you, you have won your brother there. Step one step two. If he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact May be confirmed. Step three verse 17. If he refuses to listen to them no plurality people tell it to the church. Step four and if you relive refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. In other words, he needs to be disfellowshipped from the body in order to bring him to a point of repentance, unrepentant sin, whatever it is, should not and cannot be tolerated by the church of Christ. But the point is not to get to step four that the purpose is not just to punish the unrepentant sinner. The purpose is to restore that person's that's why there is this process of doing so hopefully that person will be restored before comes to having to be expelled from the local body the Christian worldview. David Wheaton returns in just a moment at Samaritan ministries.

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Here's why churches fracture you have elders and pastors are only mildly concerned with sound doctrine, but they're majorly concerned with how the church appears they want to attract people from the outside world. They want to appear culturally and step they do want to look like their haters. The leaders of a church may not have very good discernment about what's going on, not only in the world but ask you.

More importantly was going on in the professing Christian world. They may understand the trends and the false teaching. That's always rampant from in all ages in the Christian world they never discipline members of the church there could be even un-biblical divorce and a going on in that church and that won't be addressed by church leadership or maybe an adulterous relationship or any things you see I Paul addressed in the let his letter to the Corinthians or there constantly trying to tweak things in a church as if it's like a business or you can't tweak your marketing strategy to try to see what might increase sales and make it the mom momentum going and then when they treat things they might do it discreetly so hoping people don't notice in the church or on the other hand, they might do a very brusquely and just have a very heavy-handed approach to making changes in the church and therefore when you have that dynamic. Well, you have people who are probably more discerning in the church will been there for a long time Missy was taking place and then you get these divisions and fractures like what is taking place at McLean Bible Church in Virginia right now speaking at McLean Bible Church by the acronym MBC looked on Wikipedia. It was founded in 19 61 x 5 families in northern Virginia its first service was held on Easter Sunday at an elementary school senior pastor Lon Solomon who was became the pastor, 1980. He has a very interesting biography. He was born and raised in a Jewish home in Virginia but he became a born-again Christian in the spring of 1971 and then as a mention he became senior pastor of the church in 1980 and he served for 30 believe was 37 years as pastor of this church going from a very small church to a very highly influential church in the Washington DC Metro just outside that particular metro area in 2017 courting article David Platt was confirmed as the pastor teacher of the church later lead pastor replacing Lon Solomon that's hard to know exactly how many people go to the church. I've seen some articles online saying there was as many as 16,000 coming at one point.

Not sure if that's true, but in a recent article because this story was even featured in mainstream media was in the Seattle Times.

We have a LinkedIn website.

They say the church has about 2500 members and meets over four locations.

So who is David Platt, their new lead pastor of the church I went Wikipedia as well and Wikipedia is not necessary. A trustworthy source but just for kind of basic facts. David Platt is he is married and the father, for he graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in journalism and he obtained his M.Div. is THM and his PhD from New Orleans Baptist theological seminary which is one of the six seminaries of the Southern Baptist convention. He was a senior pastor at a church in Birmingham, Alabama from 2006 to 2014. Apparently, according to Wikipedia, the youngest mega-church pastor in the US at that time. Years later in 2014 he became the president of the Southern Baptist convention's international mission board I mentioned earlier, lots of major position he held there. Then in February 2017 he began serving as the interim teaching pastor McLean Bible Church of Virginia that David Platt is the author of many books including the New York Times bestseller radical taking your faith back from the American dream that I think it's important to understand what that book is about. I personally haven't read the book, so I went to online to a review to one of the I think very highly respected reviewers, which is Tim Challis's got a very popular website Charlies.com is from Canada. I believe he's a year pastor elder in his own church, but he writes very regularly online is a very popular website, she wrote a review on radical David Platt's book back in 2011. So this is 10 years old now. This review but I think it gives a good summary of what this book is about, because it really was a highly influential book and he said this whatever David Platt is selling Charlies rights people are buying at last count 750,000 copies of radical were in print and they had been on the New York Times list of bestsellers for 52 weeks now 750,000 copies that may not be the final number may be much more than that by now. But that isn't incredibly huge number.

That's what Shelley says.

He says that is no small achievement. So he he's written that book.

I'm not sure I was.

Other books of done but that book did incredibly well. He says by the time you finish radical you be charged up you be ready to sell your home to give up your car to move across the world to ditch the American dream in favor of moving across the world to do mission work. But here's the thing, Charlies rights, you'd better do it quickly because a couple of weeks later, you'll probably be back to normal. Back to ordinary Platt will get you all fired up your rights. That's a good thing. Elisa can be. But in the midst of all the excitement I worry about excitement, fatigue, after all radical as far from the only book of this kind, the kind of book that seeks to shake up the Western church to get the church to do something more, something well radical read the book do hard things or crazy love by Francis Chan and radical by David Platt and all the rest and you will get worked up every time. But the reality is that for the vast majority of us, our lives will not look much different two weeks or two months or two years later is not that the books are bad is not that the books are bad as much as they give us a little to work with as we move from fantasy of being radical to reality. From the abstract moving across the world to personal in the middle of reading a book. It is easy enough to say I am going to give it all away but then you realize that your wife has are the book and isn't quite as eager and then you realize that you have children and hauling them halfway around the world would have a profound effect upon them and then you realize it's been six months and you still haven't done anything. In fact, the excitement has passed away and you realize that life isn't so bad, there may be some lingering guilt that you have moved across the world. But, you realize that it isn't just so easy to extract yourself from all of this. I am concerned Charlies rights that it is difficult to read this book radical and believe it's message and not feel that normal life is dishonoring to God you get that line.

In other words, if you're kind of a normal person who has a normal life in you, living in American house and get a job in raising kids. It is doing the normal thing that somehow your life is some somehow dishonoring to God. Maybe we need to learn to be faithful in our own neighborhoods before believing will be faithful in other things. That's from Tim Shelley's review of David Platt's book radical that there is more to the review thing that is read a few paragraphs from it and all the say to that, that very few Christians are called to quote sell it all and live in the hot on the other side of the world. I mean after all, if you think back to the early church.

The Christians that Paul traveled to and minister to date is lived in towns and homes and they raise their families. They had jobs they paid their bills. They weren't living this quote radical life. As the apostle Paul was. Some of them were poor, some of them had some money, some of the more wealthy. God uses all types of people for his purposes, so it's all true mystic to say just give up the American dream.

Your your cortical your regular life in America when someone has to earn money and someone has to pay the bills, especially for those who are living radical lives as missionaries on the outside, the world and who's gonna pay for the churches and churches don't produce a good or a service to sell where they can operate as a business would. Someone has to work and live. These quote non-radical lives. This American dream life to pay for all this other missionary church work going on in the midst of it all. So David Platt is a very popular very influential in demand and as you can hear in a little bit. He's a passionate compelling communicator and I want to say again, I'm not on the inside of this issue of what's going on at the church he pastors at McLean Bible church.

I've heard never read both sides of the issue, but I'm not doing the program today to to take sides but rather to discern and learn from both sides and how Platt's decisions have led to this once stable church McLean Bible church leading to this fractured moment and how this can be helpful for us to understand for our own churches as well so this past week. I just happened across this sermon that David Platt had given at his church on Independence Day, July 4, there was on some website and the article in the surrounding that the video was about that David Platt had called out some people in his church, forgetting the way of the nomination or election of three elders that have been put forward so I decide to to hear what she had to say to his church and after listening to his message before his sermon about calling out these members of the church.

It was just really hard to believe that he is after you saying this to people within his church in front of the entire church congregation. So after hearing it you can hear parts of it in a second here. I decide to go to try to figure out will what is the other side, the side he's he's criticizing and complaining about what are they saying, what are they upset about what are their complaints against the direction of the church and I dug in a little more and found out that there is a group of men in the church were very unhappy with the direction that David Platt has led to church and had written a 17 page letter to the pastors and elders of McLean Bible church and as I read the letter I just couldn't believe how compelling and how biblical and how discerning some of the things they were writing.

Now I don't know the behind the scenes story, but their understanding of what a church should be and what church leadership things they should do and not do, and what kinds of teaching should be embraced and what types of teaching should be pushed aside was actually really helpful to me to read this a gave me greater insight to understand what's taking place within the church will get to that letter from these men to the elder board of McLean Bible church bullets first get to what David Platt said that July 4 day, just a few weeks ago to his congregation about what's taking place in his church before we dive together and the word today.

I need to address a dynamic that is taking place in our church family right now in a way that I don't think I've ever had to do or wanted to do in all my years as a pastor, I want to be careful with my words just interject when I heard that as a set up to what he was about to say. I thought oh what's coming. I had no idea what was going on. The church at that point we had a meeting this last Wednesday night for the purpose of affirming God's call in the lives of potential elders, pastors in our church family. I mentioned last on this for the most important things we do as followers of Jesus in the church to recognize and celebrate God's grace and biblically qualified leaders. He raises up among us, and Wednesday night was a great night of worship and praise three elder nominees shared a bit of their stories to get a glimpse of God's grace in their lives. And if you weren't here. You missed a blessing. It was so encouraging hearing from these brothers together. We got to know them more with laughter then we were encouraged in our faith by them. All three of them pointed us to Jesus.

So you can tell already that pastor David Platt really wanted those particular three men to be elected to the elder board and these were guys that she wanted.

Yes when it came time to affirm them because no one had expressed any biblical concern about them. We were not able to because I want to listen closely to the words I'm about to say a small group of people inside and outside this church coordinated a divisive effort to use this information in order to persuade others to vote these men down as part of a broader effort to take control of this church now, he might as well have just dropped a bomb in the middle of the sanctuary when he said that is matter fact he repeated exactly what you said there a second time, I will play it again, but this was a incredibly strong accusation against certain people who are likely sitting in that room that day when a pastor ratchets it to that level. She wants those people he doesn't careful people leave the church.

He wants them to leave the church because he sees them as being in the way.

There was no sort of reconciliation reaching out. How can we figure this out.

They had reached a point where this is it. These people need to be called out anyone else who joins them. We are the enemy. There was a coordinated effort started by a small group of people and expanding to others to deceive people into thinking that if they voted for these men than our church would and so here are some of the lives of people being told as they entered the building in that loving that night and just hear all the buzzwords and scare tactics that were used in BC would be gone down the road of leaving the gospel behind leaving the Bible behind embracing liberal theology and cultural Marxism that the author of the Communist manifesto three would change our stance on abortion and sexuality we would allow critical race theory in black lives matter and defunding the police to drive our agenda as a church. I could go on and on with ideas that are on questionably. So these are serious allegations that David Platt is making against members of his church basically calling them liars. The Christian worldview. David Wheaton returns in just a moment. David Wheaton here volunteer host of the Christian worldview radio program. Listeners are often surprised to learn that we as a ministry pay for airtime on the radio station website or app on which you hear the program.

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Now back to today's program with host David Wheaton, but I have noticed one thing I'm not ascribing it to David Platt that now that critical race theory has become exposed.

I think you're seeing. It is a pushback against it by parents and school boards, and you see it in conservative news outlets people understand what critical race theory is now your seeing those who are trying to defend it, saying it's like a bogeyman.

It's a fear tactic this is and were not critical race theorists or the site. This is the actual history of America's not critical thought theory. This is actually the way America really was aware to systemically enjoy unjust from the beginning. White people are racist, even if they don't know it in the country and the church needs to be completely reformed in the pursuit of social justice David Platt continues just to clearly communicate.

Again, the seriousness behind this behind all of this does this information and deception is a small group of people who have stated that their purpose is to take control of this church.

I never was able to find that stated purpose anywhere in my research, but perhaps it's out there and as he repeated that I thought to myself I wonder if David Platt has ever considered that he's only been at this church for.

I think just under four years now and these people who are pushing back against them have likely been members for years and years and years. So you wonder if David Platt has ever had the thought that all this controversy and conflict that has come up has something to do with his leadership in his decision-making. As the. The newer pastor of McLean Bible church. You'll notice this other word disinformation is used a couple times this is becoming a very popular word to use as well, especially from like the Biden administration there out to and what they call it disinformation.

Facebook uses it a lot. It's as if there is a truth committee that needs to be out there to make sure that everything is truthful.

According to them, and nothing David Platt doing that. But that word itself is becoming a buzz word that we shouldn't allow anything that you certain people. The experts whoever the arbiters of truth are the ones that have to keep people to save us from things that they think are false.

So next, David Platt pivots to a revote they're going to have two weeks later which was just this past weekend where the same elders are going to be voted on and David Platt is appealing for more people from the church to be involved in the vote.

Because the first time around. Only 25% of the congregation voted and so would allow this as he said this very small group of people to influence the voting.

Now he makes his appeal for everyone in the church to get involved and devote the way he wants them to vote.

I cannot emphasize enough how important this is. Adjuster schedule your vacation plans. Your whatever in order to be here that Sunday morning, July 18.

This is extremely important for our church. I want you to hear from me that I we genuinely love and care for you. We have an opportunity to say together as a church. What happened Wednesday night is not who we are as the church of Jesus Christ and wasn't just that night as part of a bigger picture that's been going on for a long time. We received constant emails. We tried to address on individual levels for members sharing things that are deeply concerning including pages I read last night and I'm hesitant to share examples because of how hurtful they are. Just to give you a glimpse I saw one email from one of the main leaders in this group. Using race to say that MBC is no longer McLean Bible church, but it's now melanin Bible church that is not acceptable for the body of Jesus Christ. That language has no place whatsoever here and I was sure to assure ugly and painful. Even here, relative point out the approach is being used by people giving leadership to this group. In these meetings and we need to say loud and clear that definitively does not represent who we are as a church now again I cannot verify whether or who said it's the melanin Bible church. But this is what he said he made a big point about it. He continues in this next section, I think, gives a hint at the issue that is dividing and breaking up this church will not apologize for our increasing diversity or our commitment to humbly address racial issues from God's word is reuniting together on a glorious mission to proclaim this good word in our great God and the city were 5 million Pleasanton women, boys and girls caught a road that leads to an eternal hell. The good news of God's love for the know whether you agree with or believe what he saying you have to say that this is one compelling speaker and this is no doubt why he has become such a popular evangelical leader in this country because he compellingly makes his points and gets people really whipped up and on his side. We are clear, pivotal moment in our church opening back up after a global pandemic ready to enter into a new chapter of our church standing on the shoulders of brothers and sisters have gone before us faithfully ready to run after the city with the gospel. Caring for orphans and widows, the poor and those in need to reach the next generation of the gospel is an exhilarating meetings all day Friday talking about how to reach the next generation would also, I thought, God help us to give our time and energy to this do not see trends go to wake us up.

I wanted so badly to pray over three brothers with their wives here Wednesday night, all of whom are eminently qualified to Paul's in light of what happened. This is clearly a man who senses that this is a pivotal moment in his church, and may be for himself as a pastor you can see as I listen to this. Why I had to think wow what is going on here and I really want to look into what the other side was saying as to how it got to this moment were again he speaking to the congregation of his church.

I believe that all four locations and land. This is not ultimately about a small group people versus church leadership.

This is about the members of McLean Bible church deciding working to move forward together as a church family in a way that is different from this world.

God is bringing us together to say in a fresh way. Spirit of God do among us what only you can do to bring unity out of disunity bring harmony out of discordant melt hearts form lines exalted truth overlies bring error into life, don't do what only you can do.

We need you okay you can watch the entire message that he gave before his message on July 4 we have it linked@ourwebsitethechristianworldview.org and I was just thinking as I was listening to it.

What are you thinking about. I'm sure there are some people who listen to him and think man this guy while he's on the right side of history.

This is this is the guy he's passionate and clear and biblical and what's the matter with these people who are pushing back against them. Hi me. This guy has no God on his side and then I'm sure there are some others of you would think this guy is really laying it on. He's covering for something he is trying to do. He is a hidden reef. You watch out for him the things he's trying to institute here is using code language and he seems very phony. I'm sure there are some of you think that as well. Whatever you think it certainly was quite a way to start a worship service at his church and just shows you the degree to where this situation is, McLean Bible church so you've heard David Platt's perspective on what's taking place that there are a small group of people who are infecting more people and these people are racist. Melanin Bible church and trying to take over the church and keep the church from fulfilling its mission to preach the gospel to the people of Washington DC in that area.

But as in anything there's always another side of the story in only God knows the truth so I start to look at the other side of the story and as I began to read around. I realize that is been a lot reported in this and by the way, this is very public information on that reporting submit you that's confidential or I'm betraying someone's trust.

I read these articles and got these videos just online, like anyone else can. And so I begin to look at what the decide that he was talking about.

I was saying, I came across as I mentioned earlier, this 17 page letter that these men had written to the pastors and elders of McLean Bible church with their concerns about what it been taking place in the church since David Platt became the pastor I was going to give a slight preview of it now because her not have time to read the letter this week will get into it next week. You can read in the meantime, if you'd like. It's very worth reading. I it's very compelling reading and it teaches us things about cultivating church unity roads not to go down the. The letter was posted on a website called capstone report.

I'm not that familiar with that website.

I'm sure you can find it elsewhere as well. We have a link that our website the Christian worldview.org to make an assumption that the men who wrote this letter to the pastors and elders of the church are part of the group that David Platt was talking about in his recent sermon and you can be the judge.

Where the tone of the letter and what the content of the letter is shows that these are people who are, because I racist and intent on taking over the church. The article before the letter starts out by saying division at McLean Bible church over pastoral accountability began long before recent business meeting fireworks for at least a year, church leaders and even some elders urged David Platt to stop what they considered the website considers his reckless activities this letter which I will read next week to the elders of McLean Bible church was sent in February, 20, 21, and outlined in 17 pages. Many of the concerns about the leftward drift of MBC and its issues involving elders, oversight, transparency issues with staff oversight in its move toward promotion of critical race theory and other divisive ideologies. The letter starts out by saying, as you know, several months ago we provided the elder board with a paper discussing are grave concerns regarding the gospel. The church justice and racism. Acronym GC JR that's a class that was instituted at McLean Bible Church by David Platt in leadership today be right again to share our deeper underlying concerns in the following key issues and elder oversight, lack of transparency, biblical preaching and teaching staffing outside influences on the church. We believe that these issues are the root of MBC's current predicament, and regrettably believe that they call into question the fidelity of McLean Bible Church to Scripture, we are concerned that secular worldly ideologies have improperly influenced the teaching of Scripture.

MBC confusing and dividing the church body, ultimately undermining the preaching of the gospel MBC.

However, we believe that God can sovereignly use serious problems to very beneficial and as seen in Paul's rebuke of Peter and Peter's repentance. Please understand this comparison. The apostle Peter is intended to highlight that even the greatest church leaders are nevertheless fallible and I take that to mean that you have a very popular evangelical leader David Platt. We can't look to him as being infallible that he can and has made mistakes, the letter lists out 20 categories of a church where they believe David Platt and the elders are taking the church the wrong direction.

The give bullet points under each one. Elders quickly listen, philosophy, board composition, nomination process functionality church polity budget transparency, biblical preaching and teaching syncretism homiletics or preaching law gospel distinction doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture, legalism, hermeneutics, interpretation of Scripture ecclesiology. We discussed that last week. Theology proper shepherding impact of staff hiring and training in partnership with outside organizations.

So there's all these categories of things they address where they see error grievous error going on in this church and the they lay out the letter in bullet point so all this read the first on one of time to get into the whole letter is a mention, but the first one has to do with the philosophy and they say the letter bullet point, according to the McLean Bible church Constitution. The elders are responsible for guarding the reputation and doctrinal integrity of the church. We believe the elders have not properly exercise oversight of church doctrine as MBC has undergone major theological shifts, including embracing a social justice interpretation of Scripture and corresponding un-biblical prioritizing of unity at the expense of doctrinal truth which must exist before.

Love can unite the reference. First Peter 122 so as I got into the letter.

I realize that none of these men who wrote this letter aren't some while died racist un-biblical church takeover types that David Platt seem to be referring to, but rather they have taken a very biblical measured comprehensive and even reconciling approach to the troubles that have been taking place at McLean Bible church now again going back to the very beginning of the program.

The point of covering this topic is to learn from this very difficult fractured situation at this church. The tendency today in evangelicalism is to turn away to look away when situations are bad member. The The Fall of Bill Hibel's at Willow Creek Church sure Ravi Zacharias and so forth. These things tend to be ignored. They're not positive they're negative, and in the church is very willing to quickly look away. I do not think that is a good idea in and in Scripture.

There are all kinds of negative examples in Scripture that we need to learn from.

So this situation McLean Bible church is one where don't look away.

This is very public. It's in the Washington Post. It's being covered very broadly. Let's learn what has gone wrong there as best we can. Not being on the inside so that we can be wiser in the leadership and in the various aspects of our own churches. That's what were doing the program will do part two next week. Thank you as always for joining us on the Christian worldview radio program you can listen to past programs, order resources for adults and children sign up for our free weekly email and support the ministry perhaps become a monthly partner by going to our website the Christian worldview.org if you have healthcare needs get in touch with our national sponsor Samaritan and you can click on their banner on our website as well because we live in a fallen world, there is going to be sinful situations that arise not only in the broader world but also in the church as well, but we can look to the one who is perfect and realize that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

So until next time think biblically live accordingly. Pray for McLean Bible church that God's best in his will would be done and stand firm. The mission of the Christian worldview is to sharpen the biblical worldview of Christians proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. We hope today's broadcast encouraged for that and figure replay of today's program or to sign up for free weekly email to find out what must I do to be saved to your website the Christian worldview.org or call us toll-free at 1-888-646-2233 Christian worldview as a listener supported ministry and furnished by the overcoming foundation, a nonprofit organization can find out more order resources make a donation become a monthly partner and contact us by visiting the Christian worldview.org bowling toll-free 188-864-6233 writing to Box 41, Excelsior, MN 55331 Xbox 41 Excelsior, Minnesota 5531. Thanks for listening to the Christian worldview. Until next time think biblically and live accordingly