December 07, 2005
Mea Culpa
I’m sorry.
I have said it in as many ways as possible that I love Grace Community Church and the leadership that I know. I still expect them to handle this well even though it may have been complicated by my action. As I have already said in this series of discussion, I can understand their frustration with me, and I can see how reflection on a simple principle would have altered the way that I acted.
Ben’s criticism of my handling of this brought up the only Biblically sensible argument to my mind that I had acted hastily and without due consideration of some important issues, the scriptural principle: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
No amount of attempted Scriptural argument has persuaded me that I have been wrong and most arguments could be summed up as, “That wasn’t nice.” That is hardly an argument that carries weight. All of us are used to being told we’re not nice when we are doing something right. But I wasn’t all right. And for that I am greatly convicted.
Though, I think that we need to be sure to distinguish between the biblically mandated injunctions of Scripture and discretionary judgment calls (i.e. wisdom), I think that reflection on this simple rule, the “Golden Rule” (Luke 6:31, Matthew 7:12) will adequately guide us to do both that which we feel is our duty and what is the most sensitive to any involved. It is when Ben brought that Scripture to my mind that Phil’s plea for courtesy hit me with force.
I did reflect on the rule. And I must honestly say that if I had reflected on the “Golden Rule” prior to my original post, I could have made some kind of a conscientious decision to be both public and sensitive to the needs of the local church in question. I am not naïve to think that my public act would have been any more popular, but I would at least be delivered of the sadness that I feel that I did not give the courtesy of at least a fair warning to my brothers-in-arms and an opportunity to make it public themselves.
My heart feels deeply for Christian Ebner, Phil Johnson, John MacArthur, and every other person of Grace Community Church that was hurt by my hasty action, and I humbly ask your forgiveness. My wife and I have prayed for all of you much today and it is our deepest felt wish that you will discover a way to take a good stand for righteousness while redemptively and compassionately helping any brother or sister that may be negatively affected by Christian Ebner’s choices and by mine.
While I am still of the mind that this should be challenged publicly, I do believe that the request for courtesy is fair. And I do believe that I would have wanted that for myself. I know, therefore, that I would have found a better way to have done it.
Phil, I would like to ask your forgiveness specifically because you are the face of the organization to me. I hastily chose an unthoughtful route. I think my motive is pure: I do desire your fruitfulness and success.
In Christ,
Bob Bixby
Posted by Bob Bixby at December 7, 2005 08:33 AM | TrackBack | eMail this entry! | 544 Words
This entry was posted in the following categories: Things I have learned
The comment section should now be working (8:30 AM). To comment, you must “preview” your statement. This will protect us from spammers. Thank you.
Our server was shut down, I could not even post my “mea culpa” as soon as I wanted and I know a number of other people want to comment. Fire away! This was, by no means, a deliberate shut down. I apologize. It was unfortunate that we are under a full-scale assault by spammers that incapacitated our server.
Posted by: Bob Bixby at December 7, 2005 08:37 AMTesting, testing….1, 2, 3….
Clarification:
On first click, click Preview.
Upon preview, type in the code in the offered line and click Post instead of Preview, or you’ll be typing in codes ad infinitum.
To Bob Bixby and the Readers of Pensées:
(NOTE: This response was composed on Tuesday, December 6. It was not posted until now due to the technical difficulties on this site. Two additional updates are included at the bottom of this post.)
Regarding the current discussion [about the individual in question from our church]…
1. The leadership of Grace Church was not previously aware of this situation.
This whole matter is one of the many difficult issues we deal with here at Grace Community Church. The individual in question is one of several hundred people who make up our music department (from soloists, to choir members, to instrumentalists). And his CD is one of the thousands of products we sell through Grace Books International. With 8 to 10 thousand regular attendees at our church, issues like this sometimes slip through the cracks. This, of course, is not an excuse for sloppiness on our part. But it is an appeal for some understanding as to why our elders were not previously aware of this matter.
2. The leadership of Grace Church is thankful to have been made aware of the situation, because now we will have the opportunity to specifically shepherd our sheep.
3. We agree that the situation is serious—bringing reproach not only on our ministry but, more importantly, on the glorious name of Jesus Christ. Thus, we are in the process of taking immediate steps to address the situation appropriately.
4. We are disappointed that the matter became one of public scandal before it could be handled as a matter of private shepherding. The public discussion of the situation has greatly complicated our ability to shepherd it effectively.
5. We are hopeful that the situation will produce a greater concern for holiness within our people, especially as we continue to minister to those who work in the music and entertainment industries (and who, therefore, have an immense need for biblical wisdom and discernment).
6. We reiterate our commitment to holiness as a church, recognizing that, as believers, we are called to walk in the light and to be holy as God Himself is holy. We also rest in the fact that we are ultimately responsible to the Chief Shepherd, and not to any human court of opinion.
7. We would appreciate your prayers for us and for our church. Like any church, we have weaknesses. But we trust that, by God’s grace and through the teaching of His Word, both our elders and our congregation will continue to daily grow in Christ.
For the Chief Shepherd,
Nathan Busenitz
Personal Assistant to John MacArthur
nbusenitz@gracechurch.org
UPDATES (added Wednesday, December 7):
A. We are very appreciative of the public apology that was issued on this site, recognizing that such takes a great deal of both courage and humility.
The leadership of our ministry is not angry or embittered toward anyone as a result of this discussion. In fact, quite the opposite. We continue to thank the Lord for the ministry of Morning Star Baptist Church and her pastor. In our minds, Bob Bixby is a friend of our church, and we look forward to seeing him in person next March.
B. We also recognize that Bob’s apology does not excuse us of our responsibility in this matter.
In that regard, we have already met with the individual in question from our church. His response was very encouraging. He was very sorry to have caused the confusion he did, and is eager to do whatever is necessary to make things right. (In fact, he has already taken steps in that regard.) More importantly, he reiterated his desire to grow in Christlikeness as a holy man of God—indicating to us that his response was not merely superficial, but truly heartfelt.
In all of this, please continue to pray for us—that God would give our elders and staff great wisdom as we seek to faithfully lead the flock He has entrusted to us.
Posted by: Nathan Busenitz at December 7, 2005 12:05 PMBob,
As I was typing my post this morning, I saw that you had posted something titled “Mea Culpa.” I thought this might be an appropriate place for this URL: http://paleoevangelical.blogspot.com/2005/12/am-i-hypocrite.html
The general apology that I made needs to be specifically directed to you, so I ask your forgiveness as well. And sometimes these e-apologies are read as non-apologies, so if you find anything deficient in my request, please tell me. As best I can tell, I’veaddressed all the issues for which my conscience convicts me.
For His glory,
Ben
Posted by: Ben at December 7, 2005 12:12 PMWow!
I just spent my lunch hour and a little more( good thing I am the boss today:-), catching up on this blog-a-thon. As a member of Morning Star Baptist Church, and a huge fan of John MacArthur and GCC, I want to say I am really proud of Pastor Bixby for not being afraid to bring this issue to light, and for having the courage to admit where he erred. As a member of his church, I can honestly attest he did not do this for his “moment in the sun”, but for a genuine concern for GCC. It was through Pastor Bixby that I really learned about GCC and John MacArthur. In fact it was only this past year that I have joined the mailing list of “Grace to You” and have been devouring Pastor MacArthur’s books.
I am also proud of the response from Grace Community Church. I think they are handling it the proper way. I am grateful they have taken responsibility for their actions, and are dealing with the matter correctly.
I just want to sum up that I have personally been blessed in numerous ways by both ministries. Each Sunday I have the opportunity (sadly too rare in churches these days) of hearing the Word of God exposited. Pastor Bixby preaches God’s Word with great passion and accuracy. During the week I am also blessed by “Grace to You” and the books I read by Pastor MacArthur.
It is my hope and prayer that both of these ministries will grow out of this incident and that Christ will be magnified in all of this.
Sincerely,
Jason L. Scott
Posted by: Jason at December 7, 2005 02:36 PMBob,
I’m grateful for your spirit. Thanks for your willingness to lay it on the line four days ago, and then again today. Some people talk about leadership, yours is more than talk. I’m
sorry you’ve had to go through this thing - but I’m grateful for how God will use this in all of our lives. Your actions and honesty in the midst of this thing has been encouraging
to say the least.
Straight ahead friend!
Joel Tetreau
