Posted on 05/16/2024 7:58:18 AM PDT by Morgana
The controlled opposition at ‘The After Party’ is crying foul after founder David French had his panel discussion at the PCA’s upcoming General Conference canceled, following a public outcry from conservative Christians dismayed at his original invite.
Last week, in a bewildering and blisteringly backward move, the Presbyterian Church of America announced that David French would be a featured panelist at the 2024 General Assembly, speaking on “How to Be Supportive of Your Pastor and Church Leaders in a Polarized Political Year.”
They could have selected few worse people, given French’s partisan pedigree and progressive politics, made evident by the fact that he’s pro-‘same-sex marriage, supports ‘gender-affirming’ care for children, condemned Texas University for banning drag shows, and got upset when Christians called chemical castration of children “abusive.”
Two days ago, the PCA heard the will of the people, with the permanent committee announcing that the assembly panel would be canceled, sharing:
The concerns that have been raised about the seminar and its topic have been so significant that it seems wisest for the peace and unity of the church not to proceed in this way. Instead, the seminar time will be allocated to a prayer convocation that humbly petitions our God for the good of his church in a polarized political year, utilizing the means of grace provided by our Lord for his people.
The Administrative Committee shared that after making the initial announcement about his invitation, “the AC’s office has heard from a number of people voicing opposition to the panel as well as those wanting it to take place as planned” which a needlessly diplomatic way of saying the voices against French’s invite to those in favor were 100-1.
PCA Stated Clerk Bryan Chapell, who was the driving force behind the initial invite, apologized for his role in the matter, explaining “Had I known some of the ways that the panelist has expressed himself or been understood in past writings, I would have made a different choice for the purposes of this seminar.”
I apologize to the members and staff of the Administrative Committee for the controversy over the upcoming General Assembly seminar. Concerns about a panel participant have caused some brothers to be concerned for the witness of our church and other brothers to be concerned for how our church processes differing views while protecting reputations. I am thankful for both sets of brothers, and regret that my composition of panelists has put them at odds with each other.
The purpose of the seminar was to help our churches deal with political tensions and, instead, controversy has ensued. This is contrary to the intended purposes of the seminar and the purposes that AC members and staff have so conscientiously pursued with me over the last four years. We have worked together to advance the peace and unity of the church, trying to build trust and godly expression among those of differing viewpoints.
Had I known some of the ways that the panelist has expressed himself or been understood in past writings, I would have made a different choice for the purposes of this seminar. Without seeking to debate or invalidate the merits of any brothers’ concerns, I acknowledge that I did not become aware of significant background issues before making this decision. This was my mistake, and I apologize to the PCA that I love.
This left Curtis Chang one of the co-founders of the duplicitous After Party (the other two being Russell Moore and David French) to begin his ‘REEEEEEEEE’-ing ritual, keening into the Twitter ethers:
It’s not cowardice but conviction- at least at those sounding the clarion call. It also represents a threat to the viability and influence of Chang, French, and Moore’s ten-horned and seven-headed organization, suffering a well-deserved beast-beating.
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One wolf can do a great deal of damage to a flock. They'd better deal with it now.
Yeah, but why would his name even been raised as a candidate for the panel UNLESS his views had been known?
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