Come Down, Lord!

  Three years ago I decided - along with my elders - to use this blog to make a public statement about Sye Ten Bruggencate.  That post (a response to an article published by The Roys Report ) was followed up by two subsequent posts.  At the time I  believed this was the right course of action.  I had sought the counsel of my own elders as well as some other men I trusted, and it was our view that public statements needed to be made.  Three years have passed, and for me, at least, a great deal has changed.  I can't speak for the other men involved, but if I were to do it again I certainly wouldn't bring matters like these before the public.  I sincerely regret that decision.   I have also come to reconsider what I concluded in that third (and last) post.   Writing on behalf of myself and another minister I said, " It is our considered opinion that Sye has permanently disqualified himself from public ministry." That was, indeed, our opinion at the time. Other minister

When I was examined (in October 2011) by the Canadian Presbytery of the ARP I was asked about Federal Vision.  I told the court it was heresy.  I said I believed Doug Wilson and company were espousing heresy. Following the meeting I was taken aside by men who knew Doug Wilson and urged to consider the possibility that I had misunderstood them.  In the years that followed I encountered many reformed men who thought very highly of Doug Wilson, and the general consensus was that he had been misunderstood.   Over and over again I was told he didn't believe what I thought he believed.  I didn't have the time to pursue it myself, so I chose to believe these men.  I took a charitable view of Wilson and Moscow and eventually began recommending some of their resources, though with some misgivings.   Then, in 2020, Doug Wilson (and the church in Moscow) took a stand against covid regulations.  I was thrilled.  I was still more grateful when (in 2021) Gabe Rench publicly stood up for Cana

Over the course of the last year, I have had plenty of time to privately reflect on what transpired through 2020 and 2021, and I have concluded that on some points I was in the wrong.  I have decided to address those things here.  Some may disagree with what I have concluded, but I write here first and last for Him. First, I believe I was sometimes overly harsh and severe in my writing.  I have since removed several blog posts, which I now believe lacked grace and char ity.  I still believe the churches should have remained open through the lockdowns, but I wish I had written with a better understanding of my own heart and a more charitable view of my brothers in Christ.  I was appalled by what I saw in those days, but in my zeal to speak the truth I sometimes lacked compassion and grace.  Second, when I was wronged by colleagues in the ministry I had a choice.  I could have covered what I believed to be sin, but I chose instead to expose it to the public.  I wrote about some of it on

"The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot. The lines have fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage (Psalm 16:5-6)." What does He mean by lines?  Charles Spurgeon wrote, " Lines refers to division of the land by lot and the measuring of it by ropes and lines." So Jesus - the speaker in this Psalm - is speaking of His portion.  He is talking about the lot that God is maintaining. He is talking about what God has assigned to Him as the God-man. This is the One who said He had no place to lay His head.  This is the Christ who suffered horrendously; and yet here He is saying that the lines have fallen unto Him in pleasant places! How can He say this?   A healthy rich man with his family surrounding him could surely say this. But how can Jesus - in the midst of this fallen world, enduring what He endured, living as He lived and facing the cross - say, "the lines have fallen unto me in pleasant pl

[Edited May 2024] For 12 years I enthusiastically subscribed to the Westminster standards.  I signed my copy of the Solemn League and Covenant , I taught my children the catechisms, and I prayed earnestly that they would grow up to subscribe in full to the Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF).  For much of that time I was convinced that given enough time I could persuade any Baptist of the error of his ways.  I even went so far as to tell some Baptists brothers that withholding baptism from their children was sinful.  I grieved when Presbyterians became Baptist; and if you had told me of a man who had gone from being a Baptist to a Presbyterian only to become Baptist again I would have felt embarrassment for him.  Sounds more like a ship “tossed to and fro” (Ephesians 4:14) than a man.  But here I am writing to say that I am that man.  Even four months ago I was certain I would always be Presbyterian.  But after a period of prayer and intense study I have concluded that I was wrong.

 "Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners." There is a promise in this text that is often missed. Jesus was grieved by the failure of the disciples, but He was also at perfect peace.  He knew what He was about.  He knew what was in men.  No one had to tell Him. This - of course - was why He had come.  So He grieved at their faithlessness, but He was not anxious.  He was saddened by their failure to watch and pray, but He was not angry.  They had proven to be what they were: unstable, doubting and weak; but Jesus meant to show them again who He is: merciful, faithful, steadfast and strong.   Klaas Schilder wrote, "He knows they have left Him quite alone, and that they can never enrich Him because they are mere fragments of misery.  And now fully aware of that, He goes to take up the cross for them.  Knowing that they have nothing to give H