“So our building of the visible Church becomes much like any natural business function, using natural means and natural motives.”
- Francis Schaeffer
My departure was abrupt, taking even me quite by surprise.
What happened?
I thought everything was wonderful, until I apparently crossed some sort of line. I was quite shocked when the primary preaching elder publicly chastised me for posting in an online men's group an article that expressed opinions "undermining of us and the standards of the church."
I'll be the first to admit to being somewhat of a maverick, but this took me completely by surprise.
I would have immediately taken the article link off of the Men's Forum anyway, as I strongly believe in complying—to the extent possible—with church leadership.
Faced with sudden censure, and distressed because I had been publicly accused without any prior private admonishing, I scheduled a private meeting with the elder who had accosted me. I then wrote him the following letter privately in preparation for that meeting:
Dear Pastor,
Because I'm poor at extemporaneous discussion and tend to forget important points, I'm responding to your recent allegations in writing. When we meet face to face, I'll gladly clarify and answer any questions you may have after reading this.
Knowing you to be a champion of Biblical law and justice gives me confidence (as Paul had before Agrippa) that you will hear and understand my defense. I pray we might reach mutual understanding, be at peace with one another, and continue working together as we have until now.
You texted me (and the elders) these remarks:
Duncan, stop using Signal to undermine the Elders and our standards.
We have been patient with you and yet you will not stop.
Duncan, your Romans 13 position is fine for you to hold privately, but we are not in agreement and your constant use of our meetings and our electronic forums to propagate it is undermining of us and the standards of the church.
You have even had private meetings with church members and officers to try to promote it. Stop.
If you don't relent you are at risk of being held to be schismatic and contemptuous of our leadership.
There are so many things we love about you that it pains me to have to speak this abruptly to you, but you have not taken our softer and more polite rebukes.
It's old and constitutes a long train of abuses.
Brother, these abrupt, public accusations pain and sadden me. I take Hebrews 13:17 very seriously, and I am sorry to learn I have made your work a burden. You needn't have made a public demand; I would have deleted the article immediately had you messaged me privately.
You say I've ignored "softer and more polite rebukes."
What rebukes? Have you ever requested that I stop expressing my opinion? Before today, you have done no more than express disagreement. And though you say we are not in agreement, we actually agree strongly about most doctrine and practice. Yes, there are a few obvious differences in our understanding of Scripture, but I have never misrepresented you as agreeing with my divergent views. Our strategies may differ, but our purpose and goals are identical; the advancement of King Jesus' Crown rights and his Kingdom Rule.
From its inception, I assumed the Men's Internet Group to be an open forum. Usually when I express an opinion, share an article, Scripture, or bit of history online, I'm simply ignored. Rarely do I recall a response with corrective Scripture, logical rebuttal, or even so much as a question. This is the first time any church leader has actively "cancelled" me.
Scripture requires us to "Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching." (2 Timothy 4:2) I have no memory of being "reproved" or "rebuked" or "exhorted"—publicly or privately—for expressing my views. I do recall being swiftly disagreed with, summarily dismissed, and occasionally belittled. I try not to react to slights, choosing to overlook them in love without taking offense.
Can you really believe that expressing a difference of opinion about Scripture or systematic theology is tantamount to undermining your position or your authority? I have never been "contemptuous of (y)our leadership." I have, rather, always spoken highly of you, strongly supporting you and our ecclesia in my every conversation with everyone. I have participated in evangelism, campus visits, pro-life activities, and school board meetings. I organized and promoted our church at our city Street Faire, I've supported homeschoolers, and I have often served the church's physical needs with my skills and labor, and have also sought to bless and encourage and aid individual members in as many ways as I have found opportunity.
Do not my actions speak strongly enough? I know you have enemies, but I am not one of them.
Do "church standards" trump Scripture? I live entirely by this standard. I have only and always solicited Biblical and logical responses to the beliefs I espouse, verbally and in writing. It is hurtful to be told that I have been abusive, much less guilty of "a long train of abuses."
As to meeting with others; are we not a fellowship, a community? These are all my brothers and sisters in Jesus. Colossians 3:16 admonishes me to let Christ's word live in me in all its richness, "teaching and admonishing one another" with what I learn from it. All my interactions with church members and officers are an expression of my obedience to the "one-another" Scriptures (please see the APPENDIX below).
Have church members or officers complained about me? Has anyone said I've led them astray, much less that they accept my viewpoints? My passion is to rightly divide the Word of Truth as the preeminent guide for my life and practice, and to sharpen and be sharpened by every interaction with my brothers. I listen to sermons as well as to each brother, and I search the Scriptures daily to evaluate the truth of what I hear.
Never have I attempted to turn anyone away from our church, or to cause any "schism" in our fellowship. I have always invited, encouraged, and sought to befriend and build up every member and visitor, always encouraging participation in and support of our community. I've even reached out to several who have left our church for one reason or another.
Pastor, you recently posted this in the Men's Internet Group:
"Remember, this is the Forum for our 70 Mighty Men to connect, encourage and cooperate."
Brother, please hear this appeal:
Suppressing discussion (except for heresy, obscenity, foolishness, and coarse joking (Ephesians 5:4)) will not advance your purpose. When the leaders in Acts 5 tried to cancel the disciples, it gained them nothing. I thought we were to be like The School of Tyrannus? Wise leadership encourages discussion and Biblical debate; you cannot raise up "Mighty Men" in a nursery school setting.
Summarizing my defense: I have never disrupted a formal meeting with my personal opinions. In informal forums (the Online Men's Group, our 2023 Sunday Night Meetings, and our Home Fellowship Groups), I have expressed opinions by question and comment, believing they were "open forums" with everyone encouraged to participate.
I believe that (with the few exceptions previously noted) prior restraint of discussion subject matter is unsupported by Biblical history, not worthy of the example given us by the apostle Paul, and utterly counterproductive of growing Biblically strong "Mighty Men." If our church's informal gatherings are not to be open forums, please publish a policy statement explicitly defining rules applicable to everyone.
Finally, I do not believe the consistory has jurisdiction to regulate private conversations. If a complaint about my behavior is brought to you, the appropriate Biblical response must be to inquire whether the complainant has already addressed me privately, and—if not—to instruct them to come to me first, prior to the consistory taking any action against me. Do you understand God's law in some other way?
Thank you for reading and considering this. I look forward a face to face discussion at your earliest convenience.
Blessings,
-Duncan
Thus ends my initial defense
I'll provide recollections of my subsequent in-person meeting with this leader. I'll also reflect on how and why I ultimately decided to depart, my personal "checkered past" of conflicts and Exoduses from other churches, and some thoughts on what the church ought to be and what I am now looking toward.
Meanwhile, please pray for this congregation and their leadership. Please also pray for wisdom for me as I seek to advance Jesus' Kingdom after this separation.
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