Letter from a Senior Pastor

2012-03-06

The following is a letter is from a senior pastor of a church in a major denomination. He is now a high leader in the same denomination. It is left as is, with the exception of the removing of names of people and of the church. Comments are in brackets to fill in some of the context.

I was the recipient of this letter many years back. A man whom I considered a friend wrote a public email berating me and a few others for leaving the church over doctrinal issues. I had already been going to that church for bad reasons, so I had eventually left along with a few others. Upon receiving this email from this man of whom I spoke, I responded to all of the recipients, which included the pastoral staff, defending my position as to why I left. In return, the pastor responded, and this was the pastor’s response.

---Beginning of Letter

Your letter was quite disturbing to me on two levels:
First: Your accusation that [church name] is turing away from the true Gospel of Christ beginning from the elders down to the church membership.
Second: your public announcement of this with out ever first speaking with any of the elders--which is clearly against Jesus's teaching in Matthew.
Though your letter went out public, this letter will be kept between you and I unless you decide to copy it to your friends. I will send a copy of this to [woman pastor].

Your letter was unfair for numerous reasons:
Your suppposedly quote people of which we have no control or knowledge if what you are quoting is accurate or not?. Who you are quoting? Who are the elders you are talking about--I assume of course [female pastor]., but who taught what you claimed form the book of Acts? I know I never taught such a thing. [former pastor]? [Context: a female Sunday School teacher taught a room full of young adults that Acts 2 referred to the harmonious blending of the religions of the world]

If you had concerns during your sunday class about the content of the sermons why didn't you approach us instead of turning the class into a time to undermine the leadership. Every pastor is due honest feed back and response.

I won't discuss your section on creation because I need to know what you are referring too--.
But I would ask you: Which creation story are you speaking about?
Where did the serpent come from?
How about the tree of good and evil? Who created such knowledge--such states?

Your claims of slavation were however the most disturbing.
First I myself do not embrace how [female pastor] expressed herself--I however know her well enough that I can approach her and know she is no advocate of cheap christian grace. [The female pastor openly stated that she adheres to universalism, that is, everyone is saved regardless of whether they believe in Jesus Christ or not]

She does not, as I do not, as classical christainity has never done, embraced a Christain only salvation.That is only Christians are saved. But we are saved by the wholeness of God, Father ,Son and Holy Spirit through Jesus death and resurrection.
Methodism teaches a Trinitarian view of God.
The trouble with your view of salvation is your only lifting up of the second person of the Trinity the Son.
We worship One true God Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We proclaim without a doubt that Jesus is the Son of Godf, Savior of the world, that we must beleive or have faith on him!

The difference is for thsoe who have never heard or who are still contemplating the Gospel that has been told to them. We believe to embrace the Father is to embrace the Son and the Holy Spririt. God is One

When a person who has never heard the gospel, repents asks God to forgive them and repsond to the preventing grace of God they are responding to the fullness of God: Father Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus who has died for them and rose for them has acted on their behalf, even if they do not know, was his sacrifice for nothing.

Jesus himself never gives the qualification for salvation as only believing in him!. Over and over his teachings of the last judgement point to those who repsonding in faith and justice and maynot even know they have are saved! Matthew 25.In fact those who say Lord Lord are often ones Jesus does not even know!
Is salvation just based on acceptance of Jesus? Or God's actions in Jsus on behalf of humanity?
What of Jesus' words on the cross-"-Father forigve them they do not know what they are doing?" Does God answer that prayer? If they are forgiven do they go to hell?
The cross is much more powerful than I feel you give it credit.It covers even my enemies even Jesus enemies which we are called to love. It is the power of God unto salvation!

Am I a universalist? No! but I cannot believe that only those who understand Jesus and believe in him are saved. The wholeness of God will not permit such a view God will not be divided up like that.
Finally the truth is:
The Seminary that you gratuated from is not accepted by United methodists because it does not think or believe they teach-
1. The Word of God contains everything nessary for salvation that is what we teach. there are no words such as inerrant or infallible in our doctrine. In fact we believe the Bible though primary should not be the only gift we use to determine our faith, 2000 years of Christian tradition, experience and reason.
2.We do not embrace a limited atonement. He died for the world.As in Adam all have died so in Christ shall all be made alive.
3. We have always been a people of the heart and compassion. When so called "truth" flies in the face of compassion we choose compassion and leave the rest to God, trusting in Jesus as the ultimate Word of God--love incarnate.

Finally [...] I believe the world is at a cross roads--do we believe In Jesus way or not? Is grace grace? or Peace peace or love love-or are we going to continue to judge by outward apperances, doctrines quote our holy books while at the same time believing it is not God's will "That none should perish no not one!" ? Is that God's dispostition or not? Does God destroy forever those who do not beleive as we do but who are responding to God's unrelenting grace in acts of justice thus revealing their fruit as good trees? Are we embracing a false grace and peace and love that is just another set of requirements and beleifs we use to judge each other by? God forbid!
I thank God that my God is large Father Son and HolySpirit and I thank God for Jesus's great sacrifice that enables all humankind the possibility of being one new humanity as Paul writes in Ephesians.
I hope the faith that you have embraced will stand by you when you doubt-what will happen to you if things don't always add up to as they do now? I hope your congregations will not pick your sermons apart in their Sunday school classes as you try to teach people who fail, doubt, cry, hurt and die to believe again in the God who loves them without end in Christ? I hope your faith will not be dogged by secret fears of failure and constant hounding that maybe you taught something wrong? I hope you never choose truth with a lower case letter over Love which is always the Truth.
I am sorry that you never spoke with me or [female pastor]. that all I hear iis in second hand criticism.
But I believe the issue of The Fulness of God is too big to surrender to to a small doctirne of believing in Jesus only and Christian only salvation. Jesus actions on the cross are too powerful for that and his resurrection to hopeful for the world to tie up in quoted verses.
[...]
[Senior Pastor]

---End of Letter

As you can see from this letter, this church is very liberal. Here are some of the beliefs that they and many of the churches in their denomination hold to:

Here are some of the issues in this particular church that were rather curious:

Here are some more comments I have about the letter above:

Jesus clearly says in John 14:6: “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” How could the pastor say that Jesus never claimed to be exclusive? His lack of Bible knowledge came through many times.

Also, the pastor may be right that classical Christianity never embraced a Christian-only salvation. They are called heretics.

Lastly, the being saved by the Trinity is an interesting concept that is foreign from the Bible, for it says in 1 John 2:23: “Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.” All of those people out there that believe in one God but reject Jesus are not saved. And sadly, I do not believe that the leadership of that church was saved either.

Do not make the mistakes I made. Do not go to a church that believes a bunch of false doctrine for any reason. This is not to say that we should not love these people, but we must be separate from them in religious service. I was not as particular about these things back then. I have long come to the conclusion that we must be separate from those who teach false doctrine. “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty” (2 Corinthians 6:17-18).

Pray for this church. Both the pastors and the people there were kind to me, and they have a heart for people. Those leaders are not there anymore, but they need to get saved by believing on Jesus alone.