Gossip? Slander? Only Elders can Comment?

Hey guys, just wanted to really quickly Respond to some pushback. Can you believe that?

I'm getting pushback online By the way, I'm I'm on the Hudson River if you can see if you're watching I'm collecting some firewood.

My wife wanted to have a bonfire. I'm gonna be at the men's retreat I'm gonna be having my own bonfire with the guys up there, but she wanted one and the driftwood is so good for that So I thought this is a beautiful spot.

I'll just do a little video here a little bit of a nature talk So I'm getting some pushback Mostly from people who didn't watch the podcast yesterday.

So so what good is this video gonna do? They're not gonna watch this Maybe they will I'll put it on X Long and short of it is

John. You shouldn't be talking about Steve Lawson's sin. You're not as pastor. You're not as elder and You don't have biblical authority this is biblically resolved you're gossiping you're slandering so This might not answer everyone's

Right, but let me just attempt real quick to give you a few thoughts that might make you see it in a different perspective

I don't think this is biblically resolved. Okay, that's one of the things someone said on Twitter The idea that a man who helps such authoritative and influential positions in the church and parachurch ministries can simply be disappeared

Without hardly an explanation What's unnecessary pressure and suspicion on those ministries that includes ministries that are connected to churches like grace to you?

Which is connected to Grace Community Church Master's Seminary, which is connected to Grace Community Church This was a sin

It wasn't an inappropriate thing that it wasn't what? Fully what was initially said by the elders of Steve Lawson's church

And if all these ministries wanted to mete out a punishment to Steve Lawson without naming the crime there is no basis for others to be warned by a first Timothy 520 and there's no pretext for the

Gentiles there is a pretext I should say for the Gentiles to blaspheme by a Romans 224 and so my concern is this the longer that this was getting delayed

And I maybe delays not even the word the longer this wasn't coming out And I mean the biblical category of sin that this was which

I would invite you go to Phil Johnson's Statement on X you can find it on X where he talks about more detail

But I talked about some of it and people were some people were upset about that. That's what I'm talking about now I think the longer that that did not come out as a biblical category of sin that this was at the very least an emotional affair of some kind You gave reason for the people who hate these legacy ministries

To do damage to say to show the hypocrisy you're you know when it's your golden boy

You don't apply the same equal weights and measures you do when it's a charismatic figure something like that, right?

It It was getting to the point where these ministries were I think about to to incur some damage

They already were there was and even the local church there are we've had comments on my YouTube page from people that are members of Steve Lawson's church that are just beside themselves and having trouble with their own leadership over this and And they feel like they're kept in the dark it just reinforces that whole elitist mindset that there's us plebes and then there's those at the top who get treated differently and This is a man who had a great amount of influence beyond I shouldn't say beyond but in addition to the local church there was a great amount of influence and These ministries that are connected to him their reputations are on the line people who respected

Steve Lawson Can't process this and they're in grief many of them When they don't know what happened some of them still think that he's okay

It was just inappropriate. It was a one -off. Maybe he'll come back. Maybe I can still use his stuff I mean, they're not informed to be able to know how to navigate those questions

It's just a mess when the biblical category of sin is not identified, but the punishment is there and everyone can see the punishment

That's the problem that I see Paul had no problem. By the way, the Apostle Paul Naming the sin of respected leaders.

I think of Peter even after there was repentance as a warning We got some waves

We got some waves. I Don't know what that's from. I don't even see a boat. Oh, that must be it I think the boats way down the river that is such a delayed effect

But we're getting the waves now anyway Now regarding the whole accusation of gossip and slander

Proverbs 26 20 states for lack of wood the fire goes out and where there is no whisperer contention quiets down and the word there for whisperer

It means It tells us something about the nature of gossip, right? It means you're going around and you're speaking low

So others will not hear what's being said And if you want to apply that to me or to Phil Johnson because he's public about this

I don't think that's where you should probably look. You should probably look at all the The people who were talking about this it was bubbling its way to the surface

There is even posts I can show you if I Needed to that from lower -level accounts starting to leak not leak but talk about this stuff it's not really leaking but just they were talking about this situation and So so not them but the people who were spreading it without wanting it traceable to them because they didn't want to No one wanted to come forward with this information

That's why I respect Phil Johnson for actually doing it No one did but the guys who are talking about this in the whispering tone that would be closer to The gossip that you find in Scripture that what we're doing is not that And then

I would just also bring up Matthew 15 19 where Jesus says we're out of the heart comes evil thoughts

He lists a bunch of them including slanders and that word slander blasphemia When it applies to God, obviously, it is taking away from God's attributes or attributing to him characteristics that don't belong to him at the root

This is an attempt by man to subvert God to make him less than us more and when it's applied to people In the form of slander.

It is much the same thing. We we We're trying to make less of them much of us and we lie by attributing false attributes to someone else's character

And so we're not doing that Phil Johnson's not doing that. He's not lying about Steve Lawson's character

He's telling you what the character actually is. He's he's exposing what it is. So so this does not apply

So the guys out there trying to call us Gossips or whatever like you're you're misplaced.

I think You're taking that attribute and it's it's misplaced If there's people that would be guilty of that You might want to look at those who spread this but didn't want it traced to them.

That would be at least closer. I would think So my working definition of gossip is the act of secretly sharing damaging information

About someone else for the purpose of elevating oneself It is off it often includes lying and produces slander and that's not what

Phil Johnson or myself Or I don't know if anyone else's come out there and shared what

Steve Lawson has done, but that's not what's happening, obviously so I just wanted to say that that's my

Defense and not just myself but Phil and others who aren't local elders and Steve Lawson's Church but who see that this is something that has far -reaching ramifications beyond that church and that You know, you know,

I just say this the the ecclesiocentric mindset go look at my podcast where I talk about ecclesiocentric if you don't know what

I mean, but that mindset that Like views the church and the elder led and these things as formulaic

Oftentimes it becomes ideological where that's the only thing that matters. You should only focus on the local church local church is important don't get me wrong, but it's like everything should be handled through this evaluation of elders and And what you know, what if this situation goes beyond elders, right?

Or, you know, it's outside the local church and has these far -reaching ramifications what if the situation what if the elders aren't doing

What they probably should be doing as elders and other people are left holding the bag and their ministries are damaged because of it and if it falls into the hands this this stuff of people who do want to do those ministries damage like you got to think prudentially about this stuff and I Think think about the the consequences of Letting this go for as long as it went while the punishment

Is public to people at least he's disappeared from these websites. It must be so egregious, but we don't know that's obvious But we can't name the sin

Does damage so that's my two cents Hopefully that was helpful I'm not under the illusion that's gonna satisfy everyone.

But Yeah, I felt compelled to talk about it. And I also wanted to show you just how beautiful this day is

Check it out That is beautiful. It's not the sunniest day, but But it's a nice one and and I'll show you this is kind of stuff when you come down on the river you get driftwood and It burns real well.