The Cancel Culture In Our Midst
Cancel culture has become a common weapon in today's society. It is at work in social media, politics, our workplaces, schools and in our churches. The church in general, it seems, is not immune to any of society's ills. Instead it has become a home for them. Our calling is to be the "odd man out," not the melting pot, placating to every whim and fancy of the world. No longer the beacon on the hill, we have snuffed it out, leaving us stumbling in the darkness.
Beverly Heights, the Church I have spent the last 40 years in, has allowed a minority in the congregation to cancel our pastor, and run him and his family out of our "Red Doors" and onto Washington Road. A well orchestrated campaign starting with three individuals who recruited malcontents, ignited the rumor mill and began whispering in the ears of those willing to listen. The coup de gras was involving the local presbytery and the POA. They deluged the presbytery with pages of false accusations, half truths and reported every confrontation with the session and pastor framing it as bullying. Our pastor was accused of being a narcissist, bully, cult leader, false teacher, misogynist, alcoholic and heretic. The Presbytery bought it hook line and sinker placing feelings above facts and denied due process to Pastor Nate and the session. They manipulated minutia in the Book of Order to justify their kangaroo court actions. The Presbytery is afraid of pastors like Nate Devlin. He has integrity, is a principled man of virtue and speaks the truth unwaveringly and when given a chance, they will silence them.
One of the few presbytery meetings I went to was an ordination ceremony. The presbytery asked the candidate a few softball questions and then opened the mike for questions from the floor. My question was: "What would you do when asked to marry a couple living together out of wedlock?" The candidate was stunned by the question and after "hemming and hawing" for about 30 seconds finally blurted out he would not marry them. The kicker was, after the vote was taken, the moderator chimed in, "Oh, by the way, I would marry the couple, I think it is better if they are living together as a married couple than not married." The moderator was a pastor of a large church in the North Hills. I was shocked! I thought surely someone would have challenged her on that? I heard crickets, people were more concerned with getting to their free lunch. This is the presbytery we are being judged by and is one reason of many why we need to leave. (Nate was not at this meeting)
Once one dog in the neighborhood starts barking every dog within earshot joins in, not knowing why dog #1 was barking, but they like to hear themselves barking too. A perfect analogy for how cancellation works. It's a snowball effect and once it is large enough it just runs you over. Well congratulations folks you accomplished your goals! You have maligned the character of a good man, tortured him and his family for a year and finally run them out of the pastorate here and destroyed our church. Well done, good and faithful servants! Just remember this, the Lord will judge your actions and we know you by the poisonous fruit you bare.