beaconchurches

Since disengaging from the ABC, I have deliberately kept a lower profile (daily blogging dropped off to once every several weeks and then seldom about the ABC, few comments were posted here on Beacon Churches, even fewer comments were made regarding the ABC, etc.). When a fellow challenged me about why my blog was so quiet, I gave it some thought. Did we do the right thing in withdrawing? So as a "thinking out loud" piece, I posted an expansion of something done here on Beacon Churches on my now almost completely inactive blog (http://hisbarkingdog.blogspot.com/).

However, reading a Baptist message board was shocking tonight as a former General Board member of the ABCUSA had some interesting things to say about my recent blog mention of Dr. Medley's visit to a W&A church. Here are some of the comments in the various posts for your general "edification":

Dennis McFadden is at it again. Apparently he missed slamming the ABC after he left the denomination so, he had to have a nostalgic return to gloat about leaving and write an attack post about the ABC and our General Secretary.

You can see my response on my blog at http://freebaptist.org and there is a link to his original post in my blog.

Someone else added:

. . . why give Mcfadden a wider audience? I imagine you are the only one here who follows his blog.

One former denominational official (formerly of the SBC, now a pastor in the ABC) added his opinion:

Ditto what JerryL said... There's a word (in fact, there are several) to describe McFadden and his kind, but I'm not free to repeat it/them in the public forum...

I really appreciated the final comment by our former General Board friend.

What was most disturbing to me is that I really believe he had declared he was going to stop doing this kind of thing. Sad . . . McFadden's audience, at least at one time, was fairly wide as a well known attack blog. I don't always seek to rebut his material but, I have grown tired over the years with his one sided attacks on our spriritual, hardworking, and dedicated General Secretary. Dr. Medley deserves better.

Permit me to say for the record that I agree that Dr. Medley is both dedicated and very hardworking (in addition to being one of the kindest and most gentle men I have ever been prvileged to meet). He has a thankless job. His stewardship of it has been exemplary of what the vast majority of Executive Ministers and pastors in the eastern part of our country expect of him. His practice is completely consistent (as far as I can tell) with his theology, understanding of Baptist polity, and his particular view of biblical authority as articulated in numerous public and private gatherings. And, by the fact that only one region left the ABC over the "recent unpleasantness on matters surrounding the issue of sexual orientation" as Dr. Medley called it, his theology and practice are obviously representative of the churches that participate fully in the ABC. He should probably be given another four year term when his current one is up.

BTW, if any of you go to the link to the fellow's blog, be aware that it is replete with inaccuracies and demonstrably false statements of fact (e.g., it has always been Transformation Ministries and never Transforming Ministries no matter how often he repeats that error. And, it was not my "fantasies" but an e-mail from a member of the General Executive Council who characterized the GEC reaction to PSW's departure as a sign of collective relief and "good riddance.").

Indeed, I hardly ever write about the ABC at all any more. In fact, since being asked to stop commenting last December, the recent August post was my FIRST blog about the ABC in the last EIGHT MONTHS. Hardly a preoccupation with the subject.

Hi Dennis,
You can't possibly take Bonney seriously. And Flick? please... And while they fancy themselves as leaders in the denomination, the only thing they get credit for is leading it down hill. Flick was kicked out of SBC for betraying the family (he had been a DOM). When they found out about his radical liberalism he was voted out. Unlike ABC AMs there appears to have been some measure of due process and demonstratable cause. Also, unlike victims of the ABC purge, he is still ranting about his anger nearly 20 years after the fact. Like you, most of us are just moving on, enjoying Jesus and seeing the Kingdom grow. And if there ever was validation for what the TM part of the family did, B and F certainly provide it.
On a related note Bonney is participating in banning a poster on BL for defending himself against one of the famous BL spurious attack campaigns. "Norm's" repeated efforts to be understood have been redefined as an insult... http://www.thinkingbaptists.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1729&p=12040&sid=9a47ae8926d7b907ea72aa69c0f19b36#p12040
And why wouldn't it be insulting to them to be confronted with integrity?
Art

The problem, Dennis, is that you dare to have a different opinion than they and then have the audacity to share it with anyone.

When I was on the search committee of my church, Art did a phone contact for us and reached a pastor who was seeking to leave the Evergreen Region where he at that time resided. He made the comment that 3 or so blocks from his church was a statue of Lenin then said: "they got rid of communism in Russia and imported it over here."

Not only is that appearing to me truer and truer (is that a word?) but we have to remember that in a communist society, only one point of view is allowed.

On an off-note, I can't seem to log in to the site Flick and Bonney moderate any more. I can log in--over and over and over and over and over, but all it gives me is the log in screen again. I've been wondering if I was being banned as well for thoughts on other message boards. Flick and Joshua think it's a problem with my computer though that's the only site I have trouble with.

I had the same problem the last time I tried to log-in over there. I had to step away for a few months anyway. I wasn't finding anything edifying there. I've got other sites where I can go that are less toxic for my soul and spirit.

On two Baptist forums the same person posted links to his blog. He and I got into quite a dustup today over the whole thing on another forum. I decided to delete my last inflammatory posting and take our dispute to the private message arena. We were able to work to a compromise and we are both moving on. Tehrefore, in fairness to my more progressive friend, this will be my last post on this subject.

JonKershner wrote:I had the same problem the last time I tried to log-in over there. I had to step away for a few months anyway. I wasn't finding anything edifying there. I've got other sites where I can go that are less toxic for my soul and spirit.

Interesting. I had stopped logging in some months ago as well feeling the same way. I really wasn't finding anything there to read and what I was reading wasn't doing me any good. I was browsing over there a couple of weeks ago though and found that one of the members had previously attended Bill Gothard seminars and I was interested in PMing her. The last advice I got was to reset cookies on the computer and the browser. I now have my computer open to all cookies--a setting I'm not really comfortable with--and I still can't log in. I don't understand how it could be my computer and the cookie function when I can log in here, at another message board and my blogs and stay logged in as long as I like but I can't stay logged in over there for more than a second or two.

DMcFadden wrote:On two Baptist forums the same person posted links to his blog. He and I got into quite a dustup today over the whole thing on another forum. I decided to delete my last inflammatory posting and take our dispute to the private message arena. We were able to work to a compromise and we are both moving on. Tehrefore, in fairness to my more progressive friend, this will be my last post on this subject.

I respect your decision. Better to agree to disagree and move on in peace rather than to work either of you into bad health.

Cookies can do funny things to browsers. I hadn't thought of that. I would guess that setting the computer to accept cookies wouldn't be enough. You probably also have to delete the old cookies.

Just as a matter of practice, we delete all our cookies, files and history when we shut the computer down every night. I just went in and deleted all the board cookies at that boards site and still can't log in.

Their tech is suppose to be working on it. He didn't know anyone else who was having that problem so I gave him your name. I hope you don't mind.

Odd that we happen to be members of not only that board but two others.

I don't mind, but I won't be trying to log in there anyway, so for me it's irrelevant. Once every few months I lurk there for a few minutes, but that's the extent of my participation there.

It's not too odd that we are in three forums together. I followed Art to the forum we've been discussing, and I followed you to the other one. I hope you don't mind that. I'm glad I did.

You evidently BOTH have more patience for abuse than I do. My infrequent lurkings revealed (to my shock) that my name was being trashed. Honestly, if I had to do it over again, it would have been better for me to skip it entirely. I allowed myself to get drawn into a futile and embarassing dust-up on one of the forums (fora?) since the other one I refuse to post to anymore. Rather than move the ball of understanding down the field, it only brought out the worst in me and my interlocutor. It contributed nothing to the kingdom, only raised my blood pressure, and left me sad and grouchy for two days. "Enjoy" your time on the other side.

Hi Dennis,

I rarely check the other forums, but was surprised to see the dust up. I don't think that calm reaction to Tim's distortions have raised my blood pressure, but I suspect you are right that the Kingdom doesn't gain much by the interaction. On the other hand, for one who values the family, there is still the place to speak against those who would tear it down. I saw Tim's angry attack upon you as an attack upon the whole family.

A clue that it should be ignored is that the attack was unprovoked. Was Tim the same one who said posting about someone was not ethical. One should enter into dialog, not slam people who are not posting on the forum? And as far as that goes, the removal of the picture gave me a chuckle. The pictures they posted of me were lifted without permission. In any event, I have come to learn that posting with B or F really is courting a non Christian spirit. (Whether or not they personally are Christian isn't my call). And trying to play by rules they enforce is counterproductive as they do not follow them themselves.

What this episode shows is that we need to spend much more time in prayer for those who undermine the family, take shots at friends, and demonstrate disloyalty to the Kingdom. Perhaps Jesus can yet change their hearts. I pray so. And may He continue to change mine as well. I do need more wisdom as we strive to be harmless as doves.

Art

DMcFadden wrote:You evidently BOTH have more patience for abuse than I do.

This got me thinking. I think the last 13 years, and especially the most recent 7 or 8, have both drawn out of me, and taught me, a lot of patience for abuse. Then again, I get enough abuse at church and at home. I don't need more on a forum in which I participate for Christian fellowship and dialogue.