Category Archives: Abuse

What About Matthew 18?

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This article, which appeared originally on the Presbyterian Advocacy Coalition site, is reproduced here with permission. A PDF copy can be downloaded here.

What About Matthew 18?1

The Use and Misuse of Jesus’ Command

Jesus, in Matthew 18:15–17, gives you instructions on how to handle serious conflict with a fellow believer. If your brother sins against you, go to him and show him his fault. The goal is to win your brother over. Should that fail, take two or three witnesses. If that fails, take it to the church. (In the Orthodox Presbyterian Church [OPC], in which I serve as a pastor, we have a formal judicial process outlined in the Book of Discipline to help carry that out properly.)

Not every perceived offense ought to trigger the process of Matthew 18. Many offenses can simply be forgiven and passed over in grace. Remember that Jesus did say something about removing the plank from your own eye before searching for the speck in someone else’s. But something that is serious between brothers and sisters, something that interferes with fellowship, something that really needs correcting, can and should prompt us to go to the other party.

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When Shepherds Harm the Sheep

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In the church of Jesus Christ, those serving under the Good Shepherd have the responsibility of protecting the flock entrusted to their care. For pastors and other leaders to harm the sheep ought to be unthinkable — but it happens. Equally tragic is the fact that too often fellow officers in the church fail to take action to protect the sheep.

Michael J. Kruger, President of Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte, NC, is well known for his academic work on early church history and the formation of the canon. He recently authored Bully Pulpit: Confronting the Problem of Spiritual Abuse in the Church.

This post is not a book review. An excellent review can be found here (p. 20). Rather, this gathers some thoughts used as I discussed the book with some fellow pastors a few weeks ago.

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The Lasting Benefits of Overture 2: Part 2: History — How Do We Recognize Abuse?

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Guest author of this blog is Glenn Jerrell, retired OPC pastor. Recently he posted on The Aquila Report “The Lasting Benefits of Overture 2: Part 1: The Overture Itself.” Here is the second part of his reflections.

A story is told about Dr. Edmund P. Clowney in a faculty discussion at Westminster Theological Seminary. They were weighing the pros and cons of establishing a seminary on the west coast. Dr. Clowney presented reasons to go forward with a new seminary. No one presented reasons why they shouldn’t. As a faithful presbyterian he wanted to hear the other side, but there was silence. What did he do? He summarized the reasons why they should not begin a new seminary. In giving the “other side” he convinced them, at that point in time, not to propose a new faculty on the west coast.

Dr. Clowney’s urge for both sides to be heard is so typical of the OPC. Concerns raised about Overture 2 at the recent OPC General Assembly were heard and were instructive. Brothers in the faith were genuinely divided over issues that bring into focus pastoral care on all levels of the church. If the OPC is anything, it is about Christ’s undershepherds serving Christ and his people by being willing to bring even painful issues to the assemblies of the church. To put it casually we are willing to “hash it out, while listening and hearing each other.” That hashing it out can range from painful, to tedious, all the way to gracious and edifying. So, when substantive concerns are raised, we take them seriously, we engage with each other, we don’t bury the subject/issue no matter where our opinions fall in the spectrum of things. We help each other in discussions.

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Does Your Tongue Attack God?

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Cursing, taking God’s name in vain, violates the Third Commandment (Exodus 20:7). In the third chapter of his Epistle, James warns how easily we sin with out tongues. He underscores that point when, in James 3:9–10, he points out the utter contradiction of using our tongues to bless God and then using the same organ to curse men, who are made in the likeness of God.

What sets mankind apart from the rest of creation? God made us in his image. Instead of just speaking us into existence, the pattern set earlier in Genesis 1, God deliberately creates mankind, male and female, in his own image and likeness. Although sin warps that image, mankind is still image of God. That gives value to human life (Genesis 9:6) and is reason to protect even the most vulnerable in our culture — the yet to be born and the elderly. Taking life unjustly sins, not only against the victim, but also against the God who created that person in his image.

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Three Complaints, a Summary

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When the General Assembly of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church met last summer, how did it deal with three items on its agenda that involved how Aimee Byrd and Rachel Miller had been treated in some church circles? (The General Assembly is the broadest body in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.) A friend of mine recently asked if anyone had written a summary of the actions the assembly took regarding those items. I was not aware of such a summary, so I tried to help him by providing the following.

Introduction:

               A complaint, as the term is used in the constitution of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC), is not simply a gripe or objection, but rather, a written document “charging a judicatory with delinquency or error.” (Book of Discipline IX.1) A complaint is first brought to the body that the one complaining believes has erred, giving it the opportunity to make a satisfactory correction. If the complainant is not satisfied, the complaint may be appealed to the next higher judicatory.

               The Rev. Glenn D. Jerrell authored three complaints against the Presbytery of the Southeast (PSE), of which he is a member. All three dealt with actions, or failures to act, as the presbytery dealt with officers who had made sweeping, public attacks against several members of the OPC. When the presbytery denied his complaints, he appealed them to the 87th General Assembly (GA), where they were numbered Complaints 7, 8, and 9 (because the Assembly did not meet in 2020 due to the pandemic, an unusually large number of complaints were before the body).

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