Thread by @jdhutch64

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1/ As a former member of the Presbyterian Church in America’s Standing Judicial Commission (“Supreme Court”) and longtime pastor in the PCA, I need to speak out against the vile miscarriage of justice in the #pcaga ruling in the Dan Herron trial.

2/ I am not able (and never will be) to say all that needs to be said. I will be adding to this thread for the foreseeable future. But I want to say three things upfront:

3/ * I resigned my membership in the PCA 2 yrs ago in part because of the rampant & growing misogyny I was experiencing. My effigy was subsequently excommunicated for leaving in ☮️ (cf. this other 🧵); so I write this as a former “insider”/now “outsider” twitter.com/jdhutch64/stat…

4/ * I am pleading with the Lord to surround and protect the victims of this vile church injustice and church assault with His love and strength and spiritual presence. They, courageous and full of integrity and compassion, are the apple of His eye.

5/ *I believe Psalm 52, among a number of others, was inspired by the Holy Spirit and given to this world for times like this.

6/ I am just so grieved. But, given that I have seen (and been too complicit in) “how the sausage is made,” I am not AT ALL surprised. I agree with my sister:

7/ I also want to say on the front end that I know a number of the people involved, including Dan Herron himself. We are both in this picture, for example:

8/ Some of the men in this picture (including me) were on monthly teleconference calls with Dan Herron, when he detailed the supposed abuse he was enduring from “schismatic” people who were “slandering” him and “spreading gossip about him.” We, INCLUDING ME, supported him.

9/ To that point, here is a tweet I just sent on another thread:

10/ Meanwhile, *this* is how a believer in Jesus responds to the #pcaga’s ruling, with a Psalm of lament. HOW LONG, O LORD??

11/ Not sure if this parallel (and much less important) thread came through in my tweet 3/ above, but here it is again, to help explain my context and perspective.

12/ But now, back to the #pcaga decision to exonerate Dan Herron, and condemn the victims. Though written for a separate situation, this powerful post from my friend applies perfectly to this situation as well. GRIEF.

aimeebyrd.com/2023/02/22/on-…

13/ This tweet from a wise practitioner speaks for itself. The self-importance/self-confidence with which the SJC carries itself (& which is implicitly granted to them by so many PCA pastors & elders) hinders them from “acting justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly” with God.

14/ For those in the PCA, look at the current members of the SJC. I personally know at least 16 of these 24 men, and served alongside at least a half dozen of them on the SJC. Some have served on the SJC for YEARS. No one can deny that these men are in the PCA’s inner circle.

15/ For myself, being in the “inner ring” almost destroyed me, and nearly destroyed my faith. But worse than what seeing oneself as an “inner ring man” does to one’s own soul, is what inner ring practitioners can do to the souls of others. C. S. Lewis FTW lewissociety.org/innerring/

16/ For whom am I writing this thread? There are SO MANY different potential audiences — each with their own unique circumstances and needs — that this thread may go on interminably. But at the very least I am writing this thread for the following potential readers:

17/
📬 My own conscience (as Kierkegaard put it, “This Must Be Said So Let It Be Said”) — the only potential reader that I may safely presume will actually read this 🧵.
📬 Kara, Abigail, and the other brave sufferers enduring the Herron case in the #pcaga. Lord, have mercy.

18/
📬 Members of the PCA, both clergy and laity, who are grieving the ongoing injustice of this and similar situations within the church.
📬 Fellow sufferers in other settings who have endured/are enduring similar injustices and sufferings.

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📬 Folks of good faith in (and for that matter, outside of) the PCA, who don’t yet see the injustice of the SJC’s ruling in the Herron case.

20/
🤷‍♂️ Maybe I’m forgetting someone, but can’t really think of anyone else for whom I might be writing this 🧵. If a person isn’t open to being shown the injustice of the SJC’s decision there’s nothing I can do for them. As T. S. Eliot prayed, “Teach us to care and not to care.”

21/ Meanwhile, for an outstanding overview read the 06/22 article in @CTmagazine. Stupid that I have to say this (because FACTS ARE FACTS they don’t need the “right” people to report them), but the reporter has a deeper pedigree in the PCA than most anyone.christianitytoday.com/news/2022/june…

22/ The @CTmagazine article (not to mention the Indiana Daily Student articles I will also link) sheds far more light on the situation than the performative religious cosplay produced by the male-only man-made construct that is the PCA’s SJC. Read them.

specials.idsnews.com/hope-church-pa…

23/ Follow @vhobbs5 for FACTS surrounding this whole nightmare.

24/ So much wisdom in this thread, which raises great questions begging for answers 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼

25/ If you haven’t yet, please consider joining the PCA Abuse Advocacy email list 👇🏼

26/ Now take a look at this thread — every single word of it is SPOT ON:

27/ This accords with my 35+ years of experience in the #pcaga. The Scriptures are unchanging, but the PCA’s Book of Church Order, not to mention the separate Rules of Assembly Operations and the Standing Judicial Commission Manual, are plainly man-made documents.