Joseph Donaldson

“Indeed, we say that those who were lost have their sins buried and are justified before God because, as he hates sin, he can only love those whom he has justified.” -Calvin

Michael, your take is misguided. There have been two cases you mentioned, and one is the Burk Parsons case, which seems far more justified than the Garris situation, especially seeing the fallout at @Ligonier. In general, the PCA is moving more conservative, and especially here in Ohio.

More PCA/presbyterianism thoughts... When we found ourselves in a position where we had to part from our former denomination, we considered just about every Reformed group out there. So much so that when someone is tempted to ask, “What about this group?” the answer is almost certainly yes, we considered it. Ultimately, we chose to commit ourselves to a three-year season of independence. We still have another year in that, and we will likely extend it for another three-year term. The reasons were simple. First, we were already in a difficult position, and we had no desire to rush ourselves into another one. We believed the most important thing was to tend to our own people, strengthen our church, and give ourselves time to see how things would settle in the years following the pandemic. Second, I have been very aware of significant issues within my preferred denomination, the PCA, particularly related to the weaponization of its courts and the manipulation of the BCO to allow pastors and elders into the denomination who are plainly at odds with its constitution and historic commitments. For that reason, we thought it best to take a temporary wait-and-see approach. I had some people tell me that I was not a real presbyterian because I did not immediately take us into the PCA, the OPC, or somewhere similar. Oh well. That is something I can live with. I still believe the PCA is worth fighting for. But if you are going to fight for reform there, you need to do so from a position protected from lawfare. That means being in a genuinely confessional presbytery where you have strong relationships and some institutional footing. Or frankly, it may mean standing outside the PCA while maintaining deep connections within it. It is extremely difficult to contend for reform from within a liberal presbytery or one filled with disengaged moderates. In those situations, what is often framed as courage can become needless self-destruction. Be careful, brothers. Anyhow, I will continue to do what I can from without. I intend to be a thorn in the side of clear bad actors in the PCA, such as @a4mrofficial. Y’all should pay close attention to that group. They are bad news. At the same time, I will gladly cheer on and support faithful men laboring for reform from within. There are more of them than most think. But ecclesiastically speaking, my main focus is where God has actually placed me: strengthening our church and advancing our own church-planting efforts in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. We are slowly forming a small, bare-bones church network centered around East River Church and the church plants we are helping establish, including Little Miami Fellowship in Xenia, Ohio, and Silver City Church in Mt. Sterling, Kentucky. We cannot afford to give up on institutions. Healthy institutions matter. They are one of the ordinary means by which faithfulness is preserved and passed down across generations. At the same time, the path back into them sometimes requires a season of deliberate semi-independence. Anyhow... If God has you in the PCA in a safe beachhead from which you can labor for reform, my counsel is don’t leave. Soldier on. Feed His sheep.

@megbasham @irishpresby @gavinortlund @drantbradley You critiqued his policies while claiming funding or affiliation with leftist groups. And you misquoted him. In my opinion, stating that a shepherd is for sale is worse.

@joefusdonaldson @irishpresby @gavinortlund @drantbradley I said nothing remotely close to this about Gavin Ortlund. I accurately critiqued a climate change video he released. Are you seriously trying to suggest the above is on the same par?

At trial, the Rio Grande Presbytery (PCA) found Rev. Zachary Garris NOT GUILTY of Charge 1 regarding his comments on slavery from June 2024. However, Garris was found GUILTY of Charge 2 for “unwholesome speech” per Ephesians 4:29, based on a 2023 interaction on X with Anthony Bradley. The Presbytery has indefinitely suspended him.

@thisisfoster @ZacharyGarris One of these things is not like the other.

I’m not the only one who has been warning about this kind of lawfare being deployed in the PCA, but these recent cases are exactly what many of us have been talking about. Consider two examples: Burke Parsons and @ZacharyGarris. I would be surprised if either suspension ultimately stands if appealed all the way through the process. But that is exactly the problem. The process is long. In the meantime, these men are suspended from office. They are sidelined from pastoral ministry. Their churches are disrupted. Their people are left without their shepherd. Even if the suspension is eventually overturned, the process itself becomes the punishment. That creates a dangerous incentive structure. Men can use the courts of the church to temporarily remove pastors over charges they likely know will not hold up under final review. The accusations are often tied to elastic applications of ninth commandment violations, claims of “harshness,” or other highly subjective standards. Take Garris. He was suspended for poking fun at Dr. Anthony Bradley by saying there are some things so complex that even a PhD cannot understand them. Frankly, that is funny. Dr. Bradley regularly invokes his credentials in ways that invite that kind of jab. To have a church lose its pastor, even temporarily, over something like that is absurd. This kind of judicial maneuvering does real damage. It chills ordinary pastoral speech. It rewards strategic accusations. It destabilizes local churches. And it sends a clear message to younger men: enter this denomination, and you may find yourself sidelined for months over charges that will eventually be overturned. If the older conservatives in the PCA do not step up and use their authority to stop this sort of procedural abuse, younger men are going to ask a very reasonable question: Why would I come into, or remain in, a denomination where the process itself can be weaponized against faithful pastors? This is not mainly about whether these particular men win on appeal. It is about whether constitutional process in the PCA will be used to secure justice or to exercise ideological control by other means. #SavethePCA

@JoshDaws No one really talks about the disservice done to him. He went hard in TFA, and I was looking forward to exploring his origins. But no. Guess not.

Domnhall Gleason has to be the best actor to ever appear in a theme park attraction and he’s appeared in multiple at Disney and Universal.

@megbasham @irishpresby You also said things about @gavinortlund that he disavowed conclusively and nothing happened. Also, @drantbradley is not a PCA TE

@irishpresby Anthony Bradley has said much worse about me. This man just one example of an about a half dozen.

I mean. Is he wrong?

@savipww ***and have Osgood Perkins help you

> be Kane Parsons > discover the Backrooms as a teenager on 4chan > teach yourself filmmaking from scratch > shoot a YouTube series in your bedroom > video hits 71 million views > A24 calls > build 30,000 sq ft of real Backrooms on an actual set > turn 20 years old > BACKROOMS tracks for a $40M - $50M opening weekend > about to become the youngest filmmaker in history to have a #1 box office debut a teenager found a creepypasta on the internet and is about to beat every Hollywood director alive

@MovieDweller What’s the cause? youtu.be/RQF82Kj-v0E. His analysis there seems spot on. Or are the movies just bad?

Movies now have shallow penetration. Even if one crosses $100 million domestic (rare), there are 350 million Americans, which works out to less than 10 million engaging with the “hit film.” Every movie is hyped and faked and forgotten as the American movie audience dwindles away.

What movie’s final scene left you an ugly, blubbering mess?

@AVARY I’d be worried about him more than anything. Odd behavior and all those injuries doesn’t add up to something pretty.

This whole situation sounds odd to me. This woman was able to handle the wild antics of Ken Russell, but she’s irritated by Tom Hardy playing Fishdom and being arrogant? Something is amiss to this story.

None of these really make sense or have emotional resonance unless you’ve watched every episode of the show.

No one is really noting the parallels between the new @starwars and the #PeakyBlinders finale. Both are non-movies that are essentially just extra long episodes of a TV show, much like the atrocious finale of @Stranger_Things. To say any are movies is grossly incorrect, regardless of quality.

I would like to say that this is a medical missionary connected to someone at our church and he’s fine as of this moment. None of his family have tested positive.

@nicksortor @grok why is Mark Cuban there?

🚨 BREAKING: The Trump admin has CONFIRMED an American has tested POSITIVE for Ebola, but they will NOT be brought back to the US They will be treated in GERMANY The CDC also confirmed they implemented a TRAVEL BAN on foreigners who've passed through Uganda, Congo, and South Sudan.

@JoshuaBarzon @douglaswils @canonpress Wrong person, bro

What are your thoughts about Doug Wilson?

@dandarling @JoshuaBarzon Thank you for saying this. I’ve always found this account weird.

@JoshuaBarzon Hero. Also maybe don’t use this good man, who went to be with Jesus a few years ago, as engagement bait?

What are your thoughts on Tim Keller?

Someone tell @elonmusk I saw Mennonites driving a Tesla. He might find it funny. I certainly did.

@JoelWBerry And the musical cue at the end is wonderful.

Marty Supreme is a movie that goes from a good film to a great film in the final 30 seconds.

The Americans. What if two of the worst shows in television history, the fake The Sopranos and the fraudulent Mad Men, had a baby? 🤮

@EKHyland @NaperPres Please stop trying to platform yourself.

Doug Wilson-branded Misogyny™️ does not spring up out of nowhere. What I witnessed at @NaperPres with Dane Ortlund (reinforced by male & female church members), was a softer, uniquely palatable form that functions as the soil to cultivate militant misogyny. It grows out of churches that quietly normalize male superiority, excuse partiality & unequal treatment, & teach people that women who raise concerns are the real danger. Note that Crossway was putting out Wilson's books while Dane was one of their publishing executives. Thank you @TheAtlantic and @helenlewis.