by Worldview Weekend News Team, Op-Ed

   • Brannon does not attend church.
   • Brannon never teaches the Bible at all.
   • Brannon’s wife uses her maiden name as a board member to hide her identity.
   • Brannon’s ministry is a “sham.”

After Brannon Howse exposed Evangelicals and Muslims Together in interfaith dialogue, these were some of the lies and slander that were distributed across the internet. Not by Islamic Society of North America. Not by Muslim Brotherhood. Not by Council on American Islamic Relations.

These four lies are some of the latest accusations against the ministry of Worldview Weekend by the Executive Director of Grace To You and a few of their employees since our last article addressing their summer long attacks on Brannon Howse and Worldview Weekend. Yet, they have sunk to an even lower low by attacking Brannon’s wife.

After weeks of ignoring these attacks, we are now forced to respond because those of you who support this ministry have asked for the needed facts in order to refute the lies being repeated by others. Thank you for your desire to expose the lies of those attacking this ministry.

This article seeks to expose the lies and slander, but more importantly to remind all of us why we are seeing an increase in lies and slander and how every true Christian should respond.

We should not be surprised that we are seeing an increase in those that practice slander since 2 Timothy 3:1-5 tells us that as the days become more evil, slanderers will increase. Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines slander as “to make a false spoken statement that causes people to have a bad opinion of someone.”

The key here is a false statement. Sadly, many false statements have been made by the employees of Grace to You for the apparent purpose of causing people to have a bad opinion of Brannon Howse, Worldview Weekend, and now, apparently, Brannon’s wife.

Yet, why would a ministry like Grace to You want to do this to a Biblical worldview ministry like Worldview Weekend and a Biblical worldview teacher and radio talk show host such as Brannon Howse? Why would the employees of an internationally recognized Bible teacher want to malign the character and integrity of a man’s wife who is not a public figure?

The attacks from Grace to You and its employees started in earnest when Brannon exposed an interfaith dialogue that took place in his town between their friend James White and a Jew-trashing, Holocaust-denying, Hitler-defending, and Jihad-preaching Imam—an Imam whom Brannon has spoken and written about since at least 2010?

The lies of Phil Johnson and Grace To You employees are too many to name, but include the following:

• Brannon does not attend church
• Brannon never teaches the Bible at all
• Brannon’s wife uses her maiden name as a board member to hide her identity
• Brannon’s ministry is a “sham”

Brannon and his family do attend a particular church regularly, but do not broadcast the name of the church for many reasons. For example, on April 9, 2017, a Muslim man with multiple guns entered the Sioux Falls Worldview Weekend with his Quran, and then sat in his car and made videos on Facebook Live, in which he brandished 5 guns and 1,200 rounds of ammunition while telling Brannon Howse and Shahram Hadian that they should be “terrified” and “afraid.” This man has now been charged by both state and federal authorities and is awaiting sentencing. [Muslim man’s terroristic threat videos can be seen here: http://www.worldviewweekend.com/tv/video/muslim-not-arrested-showing-3-pistols-2-assault-weapons-threatening-video-parking-lot ]

Brannon’s family was urged by nationally recognized security experts, who are friends of his family and are concerned for their safety, that they should not keep a set routine or visit the same places over and over on a set schedule. Brannon also was not going to release the name and address of the church he attended just because he was being bullied online for days by Fred Butler and Phil Johnson, who both work for Grace To You. Why is it any business where Brannon and his family go to church? What would they want to do with that information?

Eventually, Fred Butler tweeted where the Howse family attends church. Knowing the threats to Brannon and his family from April 9th, 2017 [not to mention the other threats that have not been released to the public], why would an employee of a Bible ministry do this to a ministry leader and his family who have, in fact, promoted Grace To You for many years? Are donors giving to Grace To You so that their employees may spend their time on social media bullying and harassing people? Needless to say, Brannon and his family were forced to leave that church for their own safety and for the safety of this church.

Phil Johnson continued what we perceive as his online bullying of the Howse family by stating that Brannon should release where he attends church since it is so easy to find his home address. What Phil does not understand is that there are security measure in place at Brannon’s home that are not available to them at a church. Within a short period of time Phil and other GTY employees were in a Twitter thread that included a link to Brannon’s home address. Why would anyone in ministry take part in any way at potentially putting the Howse family at risk particularly after the Islamic threats of April 9th that has required the Howse family to take prudent security measure? What is the desired outcome for posting about and encouraging others to seek out church or home details of the Howse family. I guess that could be one way to permanently shut Howse up from reporting on the religious industrial complex and their Good Ole’ Boy Club activities. (Following Phil’s attacks on Brannon’s family online, Brannon did respond as most men would, but later apologized on social media and on his radio program.)

Continuing in the pattern of slanderous actions by Phil Johnson, the Director of Internet Ministries, Gabriel Powell, sent an email to a supporter of Worldview Weekend. His exact words are: “…the problem with Brannon’s ministry,.. he doesn’t teach the Bible at all.”

So does this mean when Brannon has had Dr. John MacArthur on twice in the past two years, that the Bible was not taught? Is this individual not aware that Dr. MacArthur personally commended Brannon Howse personally and his ministry while speaking to the 2015 Branson Worldview Weekend attendees. Is this individual not aware of Brannon’s many radio and television programs on Twisted Scripture, Twisted Theology or What Every Christian Should Know? (These are also the names of two books written by Brannon.) Worldview Weekend has hundreds of radio and television programs that are in-depth Bible teaching, including digging into the Greek and historical context of the Biblical text. Why would an employee of Grace To You put out such a lie? Again, are donors supporting Grace To You so they can spend their time lying about and attacking a Bible ministry?

The slander continued when Phil Johnson attacked Brannon’s wife by publicly claiming that she uses her maiden name as a board member of WVW to hide that she is Brannon’s wife. This is an outright lie!

If Phil had bothered to send an email to Brannon or call his cell phone number, which he has, he would have learned that Brannon’s wife, along with others, serves on the board of Brannon’s ministry and her maiden name is mentioned on official filings because, according to the Social Security Administration, that is her name. The accountant for Mr. & Mrs. Howse did not fill out the paper work with the Social Security Administration after she married Mr. Howse in 1991. Thus, every tax return since 1991 has listed her maiden name. In fact, every home they have purchased as a couple has been titled using her maiden name. This is NOT done by Brannon or his wife, but by their attorneys, accountants, and the title companies. Why? Because whenever her Social Security number is used, the attorneys and accountants see that the Social Security Administration only knows Brannon’s wife under her maiden. This is not illegal or unethical.

[[{"fid":"81957","view_mode":"media_responsive","type":"media","attributes":{"width":"100%","style":"max-width:800px;","class":"media-element file-media-responsive"}}]]

Mrs. Howse has worked full-time hours for Worldview Weekend for many, many years as a volunteer. She is not a public figure and should not have been publicly maligned as she has been by Phil Johnson of Grace to You.

Phil and his boss will perhaps be shocked at how most women will perceive this behavior of Phil Johnson toward a wife and mother who has quietly and faithfully served alongside her husband in ministry—ministry that has included helping with the administration of over 300 Biblical Worldview Weekends throughout the United States of America, of which most were free of charge. Ministry that has included helping to administrate the several free Contend conferences that saw over 500 high school and college students attend from 26 states in one year alone. Ministry that has included opening her home and feeding literally hundreds of Worldview Weekend speakers, broadcasters and volunteers over the years.

Phil Johnson apparently has no shame and is the opposite of a gentleman, but the epitome of an internet bully who has dragged a quiet, gentle lady into his street brawl to use as cannon fodder for his civil war against her husband—a war that Phil initiated because Mr. Howse dared to expose one of the Good Ol’ Boys whom Phil has been friends with for years and with whom he continues to speak at conferences. Apparently Mr. Johnson is willing to publicly malign a Proverbs 31 woman in order to wound and upset her husband for daring to expose evangelicals and Muslims together in interfaith dialogue. Perhaps Mr. Johnson and Islam do have something in common—the disrespecting of women.

Apparently, Mr. Phil Johnson of Grace To You claimed that because Mrs. Howse’s maiden name appeared on public filings, that this meant that she was using her maiden name to hide that she served on the board of Brannon’s ministry, which led to his calling Brannon’s ministry a sham. The ministry has the IRS required number of board members, and our last check showed that John MacArthur’s two sons serve on his board. Is Phil making an issue on the internet over that? At the end of the day what business is it of Phil’s as to the corporate structure of the Worldview Weekend ministries?

It is interesting to note that in apparently digging around in the tax filings of the Worldview Weekend Foundation ministry, Phil did not highlight that many years the filings reveal that Brannon took no salary from the Worldview Weekend Foundation. Did that not fit Phil’s narrative? Brannon has forgone a salary from the ministry many years so that resources could be put toward hosting free Worldview Weekend rallies and other gospel centered projects.

Is Phil's public behavior that of someone who should be an elder at Grace Community Church? Is this the kind of behavior of someone who should regularly teach at the Shepherds’ Conference?

What does the Word of God say about spreading lies? Proverbs 12:22 declares, “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord…”

How can Phil Johnson actually serve as an elder at Grace Community Church and be put up in front of pastors to speak at the annual Shepherds’ Conference when the Word of God gives clear Biblical requirements for what an elder is to do and not do? Does Phil Johnson really meet the requirements of an elder?

According to Titus 2:8 an elder is to practice “sound speech that cannot be condemned…” 

According to Titus 1:8 an elder is to be sober minded, which means sensible, and to have self-control…”but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self controlled.”

According to I Timothy 3:3d, “an elder must …not be quarrelsome.”

When are we going to see Bible teachers actually practice what they preach when it comes to qualified elders and church discipline of their inner circle? Are we to assume there is a rod of wrath only for sheep that get out of line while a blind eye is turned when underlings act ungodly and attack the sheep of another shepherd’s fold?

Then there was a parody account that was created using Brannon’s name, logo, and picture. We have reason to believe that this account might have been set up by one or more employees at Grace To You. This social media page was used to send out tweets that we believe included sexual, as well as racist tweets, as though they were coming from Brannon Howse. Many people were fooled. One tweet claimed Brannon’s favorite password was “SUCKITj@mesWhite. Are you as offended as we were by this? Another tweet contained racist words being sung about Ben Carson. Here are the words of a "song" that this parody account tweeted out in Brannon's name and picture: "In the words of my dear friend Dr. Ben Carson, boop, bop flippity jiggity don shaggitty.” Would not most people deem this to be a racist joke? Of course, they would.

There were jokes that Brannon's church has his dog as a deacon, even jokes about Brannon actually being the father of Trump's children. This, again, is not only an attack on Brannon and his character, but also Brannon's wife.

The public has a right to know if one or more individuals who work for Grace To You were involved in this, or knew who was or took part in any manner whatsoever. One tweet claimed that the person's Internet Technology department was going over a voicemail to see if it was the voice of Brannon Howse who was using the words G-D and the F word. They later pulled that tweet and stated they could not verify that it was Brannon Howse. Well, of course they could not, because it was not Brannon. Was the Grace To You IT department spending the donors’ money on this type of foolishness?

Many of the adjectives used on this fake account were also used by either Phil Johnson or GTY employee, Fred Butler on their real social media pages. Some of the graphics used on this fake account were also used on Phil Johnson’s social media pages. In addition, many of these vile and disgusting tweets were tweeted at Phil and Fred’s personal twitter accounts. There is reason to believe, if they were not involved in some way with this fake account, they might know who was involved. Whoever set up this account used a purchased phone number to hide behind and send harassing texts to Brannon from a California area code. The individual mocked Brannon and said he was buddies with Phil.

Apparently, Phil has no problem with what James White did since he stated on social media it was not unbiblical, and that Jesus Himself was involved in interfaith dialogue. Hard to believe that Phil would state this, but the social media statements are very public and have been screenshot and put in articles by others.

Perhaps Phil does not understand the difference between a dialogue and an interfaith dialogue. Jesus was not involved in an interfaith dialogue. An elder must be able to rightfully divide the Word of truth according to Titus 1:9 and Titus 2:7. If Phil actually thinks Jesus was involved in interfaith dialogue, then there clearly seems to be an issue with his ability to rightfully divide the Word of truth since 2 Corinthians 6:14-17 and Romans 16:17 are just two verses among many that declare that interfaith dialogues are not Biblical.

There are countless numbers of people who have witnessed the ungodly behavior of Phil Johnson and a few of the GTY employees under his charge. Some of them have been so troubled that they have released public statements concerning what they personally witnessed, (a few are posted below this article).

How should we respond to the lies and slander coming from Grace to You employees? How should you respond to those who lie and slander you? I think we can encourage one another to respond five ways:

1. Don't be quick to answer the lies and slander of a fool, for that is exactly how Proverbs 10:18 describes one who slanders and lies:

“Whoever hides hatred has lying lips, And whoever spreads slander is a fool.” Proverbs 26:4 counsels us to not be quick to answer a fool: “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, Or you will also be like him.”

We should not respond to every lie and slander but if the lies and slander reaches a certain level, then Proverbs 26:5 says respond: “Answer a fool as his folly deserves, that he not be wise in his own eyes.”

As much as possible, avoid giving credibility to those who lie and slander. Don’t punch down to people who really don’t have any Godly credibility to start with, lest you give them the underserved attention they seek.

Yet, if the lies and slander does rise to a level it deserves a response—then prayerfully consider setting the record straight so people are not deceived by the lies and slander of those who are revealing their ungodly spiritual fruit.

2. I Peter 3:14 says that we should rejoice, for blessing comes to those who suffer for righteousness sake: “But even if you should suffer for righteousness sake, you are blessed. And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.”

3. Don’t return slander for slander or evil for evil and don’t be the source of personal conflict. We have spent months quietly watching the slander from the GTY employees and not responding to their lies and slander with slander in the desire to obey the Word of God that declares in I Peter 3:8-9:

“Finally all of you, be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.”

Titus 3:2 admonishes us: “to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men.”

Our theological and national security issue with the interfaith dialogue between James White and Jihadi-Imam, Yasir Qadhi, were kept on the issues and never involved personal attacks. In fact, our radio and television programs specifically mentioned some of the positive work by James White. Yet, Phil Johnson jumped into the middle of a legitimate debate and never addressed the issue at hand Biblically, but only set out to make personal attacks on the messenger while ignoring the Biblical and national security validity of the message.

To this day, our goal has been to follow the Biblical admonishment of Romans 12:17-19:

Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.

4. Practicing slander and lies reveals one’s spiritual condition, according to Colossians 3:8-10:

“But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him.”

5. As Christians we should expect the soft persecution of lies and slander when we contend for the faith, expose evil, and refute false teaching according to 2 Timothy 3:12:

“Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.”

As more and more men rise from within as Paul warned about in Acts 20, each of us will find ourselves being the subject of lies and slander from those inside the visible church. Let’s know when to respond and when not to respond. And when we respond, let’s do it in such a manner that even our enemies are convicted by our Spirit-led and scripture-soaked response.

-Worldview Weekend News Team

October 2017

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Pastor Andy Woods

Sugar Land Bible Church, Texas

Sometimes the Lord providentially allows events to transpire in order to reveal deep levels of spiritual sickness within His body, the church. From my perspective, such was the occurrence of events in June and July of 2017 involving James White, Yasir Qhadi, and Brannon Howse. Several months earlier, an “interfaith dialogue” had occurred between White and Qhadi. White, a well-known Christian apologist, had invited Qhadi, a Muslim apologist with known terrorist ties, into a Christian church for the purpose of “educating” Christ’s body about Islam. Throughout the course of the “conversation,” which took place before the assembled saints of God, Qhadi was allowed to make several theological mis-statements and unbiblical comments without ever being directly and immediately challenged nor corrected by White. In other words, Qhadi was given cart-blanche permission to propagandize for Islam within an ecclesiastical setting without being inconvenienced by rigorous cross examination.

Beyond this, throughout the evening, White seemingly claimed solidarity with Qhadi by consistently referring to him as “a kindred spirit” and even his “mentor.” All of this was done under the banner of “evangelism” and alleged “love for Muslims.” Of course, the biblically informed believer will recognize several New Testament violations forged by such a practice (Rom.16:17; 2 Cor. 6:14-17; Eph. 5:11; 2 John 9-11). The involvement of Howse in the whole matter was merely inadvertently discovering the video of the event while doing research on another project. Howse then made the decision to make the Christian public aware of the video in an attempt to expose how Islam is effectively using the issue of interfaith dialogue in order to make inroads into the evangelical church. Had White, at that point, simply admitted a lapse in judgment, the whole matter would have likely died down. Unfortunately though, this was just the beginning of the controversy.

Instead, White doubled down and went on a public rampage defending his actions and simultaneously impugning the motives of his critics. However, the greatest surprise of the whole affair came when some of the most visible, well-known, conservative, Bible teaching ministries in the country leaped to White’s defense. Of special note was Phil Johnson of “Grace to You” ministries who regularly tweeted throughout the summer months in defense of White (while personally attacking Howse) as his ministry’s “Executive Director.” And from the undeniable viciousness of his social media attacks on Howse and others, I feel strongly that Phil has disqualified himself from being an elder, but that’s a whole other story. So why did they do it? No one can really definitively answer this question. However, from where I sit, the answer relates to the fact that White had been such a past faithful theological ally of their particular brand of Christianity, that his “ministry” was just too important to allow to be potentially damaged through legitimate public criticism. In other words, because White had been such a loyal friend in the promotion of Reformed Theology, Hyper Calvinism, Lordship Salvation, Sovereign Grace Soteriology, and even (in some cases) A-millennialism, White was deemed to be one of the “good guys” and therefore was deserving of a pass involving the Qhadi dialogue. Representatives from other like-minded “ministries” all but verbalized as much. Although these same folks had in the past aggressively and legitimately challenged authentic compromise emanating from those outside of their theological orbit, a different standard was now evidently being applied since one of their own was in the cross hairs.

What is the outcome of these things? In my view, God has sovereignly allowed them to bubble to the surface for the purpose of exposing a deep-seeded party spirit existent within His Church. Such partisan loyalty is nothing new. In Corinth, Christ’s church was divided over loyalty to mere men, whether they be Apollos, Cephas, or Paul (1 Cor. 1:10-13). Today, in the very sectors of Christianity where one would least expect it, a pervasive loyalty to man apparently trumps love for biblical truth. If such partisan division exists within these sectors of “conservative” Christianity, where else do they exist? How infectious is this spiritual disease to the over-all health of Christ’s church? Only God knows. More importantly, He and only He can remedy this ailment. I believe that the events of the summer of 2017 demonstrate that He is just now beginning to do so. Yet, these very events were providentially allowed for the purpose of revealing a pernicious spiritual disease within contemporary Christianity that He is now only beginning to rectify. We can expect God to do nothing less, especially since His Word clearly states, “Let judgment begin in the house of God” (1 Pet. 4:17). 

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Jeff the GK

The GateKeepers

As a lifelong supporter of Grace To You and Pastor John MacArthur, who grew up attending Grace Community Church as a child and then again after I got married, I am extremely disappointed in the lynch-mob mentality (as Phil Johnson and the elders of Grace Community Church put it) of men like Phil Johnson, Fred Butler and the support that they receive from Grace Community Church and Grace To You. To think that I’ve always looked up to this ministry as the pinnacle of what example I want to follow and model my actions after… I am extremely disappointed.

It is clear, in my opinion, that Phil Johnson has a beef with Brannon Howse and Worldview Weekend. I am not sure what that beef is, but I honestly can’t think of another reason why he would act in such vile ways. To see him not only attempt to discredit Brannon’s ministry, but to stoop to such slander, gossip and flat out lies as to suggest that Worldview Weekend is a sham, making the false claim that Brannon doesn’t have a board, and then to involve Brannon’s wife by claiming (falsely) that she put her maiden name on the list of board members to fool the IRS (which would be a crime, if true… which it’s not!). And that’s not even all of his claims. But you can see how despicable his actions have been. Based on the false accusations, slander and lies that Phil threw Brannon’s way, it is clear that he was attempting to destroy, not just refute a claim. The fact that Phil Johnson was always my favorite speaker makes this even more difficult for me to grasp.

The silence coming from Pastor John MacArthur on both the IFD issue and on the continuing behavior of his right hand man, Phil Johnson, is deafening. To think that the Executive Director of Pastor MacArthur’s ministry is behaving in this fashion without any oversight is appalling.

I fully support Brannon and Worldview Weekend. The claims made against him and this amazing ministry are blatantly false, and I believe Phil Johnson, Grace To You, the elders of Grace Community Church and John MacArthur owe Brannon and his followers a heart-felt apology for the despicable actions of Phil and their ministry.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Kimberly Hibbert

Madison, Ohio

The only way I can possibly describe what has happened this summer is to say that my eyes have been opened. My eyes were opened to the unbelievable lack of shepherding coming from pastors I have followed for years and years. My eyes were opened to the lack of elder qualifications in men who have taught me and helped form my biblical theology and belief system. My eyes were opened to an unbiblical hierarchy of protecting comrades instead of standing for truth found in God’s Word. And all of this from a well respected ministry that teaches humility in all things, glory only for God, kindness for others, and how slander and gossip are sin. Allow me to open your eyes.

Phil Johnson, an elder at GCC, has been a part of Pastor John MacArthur’s ministry since 1981, and is a very close associate of his. I have appreciated his sermons and teachings over the years, but have sadly noticed a change in his tone over the past year. This change became dramatic over the course of this past summer, as he constantly interjected himself into an issue where he didn’t belong. His incessant badgerings on social media to anyone who dare ask a question became the norm, and his tweets left one wondering if he truly remembers whom he represents. But his unbelievable attacks on Brannon Howse are what drove me to speak out. I couldn’t be silent when I watched a “pastor” question Brannon’s salvation, claim he didn’t attend church, criticize him for selling emergency products, go after his wife for not legally changing her last name, ridicule the way he set up his business, call him a “conspiracy theorist,” and refer to his followers as “mindless.” (To think that he would go after Brannon’s wife is beyond disgraceful. Her maiden name is being used on legal documents since she had never changed it with Social Security when they married, not because they had any nefarious intention to deceive people, as he suggested.) Is this the behavior of an elder? Is this the behavior of Pastor MacArthur’s right hand man, one who represents his ministries? He seemed to be grasping at straws trying desperately to attack Brannon, using as many people as he could find to jump on his unholy bandwagon. The real motivation for his apparent hatred towards Brannon is a mystery, but is truly driving this man to act in such a way that disqualifies him for ministry, in my opinion.

In the wake of an eye-opening summer, I’m left with the realization that their ministry is focused on propping up their own reputations, standing up for those within their elite club of friends, and wavering on biblical truth. I’ve lost much respect for men I once deemed worthy, and will no longer support a ministry founded upon hypocrisy rather than glorifying Jesus Christ over all. I’m very thankful for ministries such as Worldview Weekend, who teach discernment, discussing the issues of the day all in the light of Scripture. Oh, that we’d have more men like Brannon who are willing to stand up against unbiblical practices without concern for the consequences, as we are all called to do as followers of Christ.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Jill Cox

Ojai, California

As a close friend of the Howse family, and as an avid follower of Worldview Weekend, I have unfortunately had a front row seat to the personal attacks carried out on social media all summer long by Phil Johnson, Executive Director of Grace To You and elder at Grace Community Church, and Fred Butler, employee of Grace To You. I have not only witnessed firsthand what the stress has done to Brannon’s wife, I’ve also seen the endless amount of hours Brannon has had to devote to defending himself on an issue that is completely clear from scripture. Ironically, the horrific mud slinging came from a ministry which he has supported & promoted for years—on the air, in published books and during conferences. Pastor John MacArthur, the head of this ministry, has been silent. And this silence has created much division and caused much confusion over the course of a very long summer.

Pastor John was a friend of our family years ago. He stayed at our house in San Francisco, went on a sports mission trip with my Dad, and spoke at a conference in Washington state last minute when my Dad asked him to help out. I have read most of his books and have listened to his podcast for more years than I can count. I have always trusted his opinion on biblical matters, and regularly have consulted his books and commentaries to answer my theological questions. When the issue of Interfaith Dialogue (IFD) first came to light in early June, I immediately consulted the many sermons and transcripts of Pastor John’s online to find answers that I knew would be biblical and God-honoring. He didn’t disappoint.

When Pastor Johnson protested Brannon’s use of one of Pastor John’s sermons to help prove IFD is wrong according to the Bible, this caused much confusion for me. How could Pastor Johnson get so angry and vicious against someone who spoke so well of his pastor, and the head of his ministry? It just did not make sense.

What followed were endless attacks against the ministry of WVW. Endless. Vile. Personal. It was never about the issue of IFD. They were against Brannon from the start. It became obvious to all. Or most.

A positive result from all of this, however, has been the fatal puncture in a ministry idolatry bubble I have had for years and years. Much respect has been lost in the men who run this ministry, but rightfully placed back onto my Lord and Savior. Men fail, but God is faithful. I’m praying that those who are defending the indefensible will be convicted through God’s Word and the Holy Spirit, and come to realize the seriousness of the issue of IFD. I’m also praying that those who represent a once highly respected ministry will understand they are also representing our Lord Jesus on social media to a watching world.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Additional resources:

http://www.worldviewweekend.com/tv/video/muslim-not-arrested-showing-3-pistols-2-assault-weapons-threatening-video-parking-lot

Videos of comments by Yasir Qadhi:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7cadZL0FHY

Program #1 on James White & Yasir Qadhi:
http://www.worldviewweekend.com/tv/video/evangelical-minister-calls-jihadi-imam-mentor-says-he-senses-kindred-spirit-him-during

Program #2 on James White & Yasir Qadhi:
http://www.worldviewweekend.com/tv/video/minister-james-white-does-not-refute-jihadi-imams-lies-about-jesus-church-invites-him-make

Program #3 on James White & Yasir Qadhi:
http://www.worldviewweekend.com/tv/video/minister-james-white-gives-jihadi-imam-platform-speak-islamic-lies-unchallenged-program-3

Program #4 on James White & Yasir Qadhi:
http://www.worldviewweekend.com/tv/video/refuting-islamic-propaganda-jihadi-imam-yasir-qadhi-program-4-4