Dec 6, 2020
John MacArthur Returns to Grace: A Recap-Jenna Ellis, An Election, a COVID-19 surge, Outbreaks, Court Cases, a Second Lockdown, and What’s Next?
Tomorrow, December 6th, John MacArthur will return to Grace Community Church after a 2-month departure to preach in the morning and offer a Q & A in the evening service. Presumably, the questions will be pre-screened and the laughter, canned. How fitting that after so much has happened, Los Angeles County is on the eve of another proper lockdown. If you didn’t know, California Governor Gavin Newsom had recently put forth another plan to “bend the curve” like Beckham and desperately try to stop the virus as ER occupancy has reached such a fevered pitch (pun not intended). I learned today that several counties have dipped below that threshold and will be implementing those stay-at-home orders either tomorrow or Monday.
Jenna Ellis: “The Cinderella Story of the Legal World”
That was an actual quote from Jenna in the WSJ. I kid you not. Did she perhaps read the Brothers Grimm version as well? For those of you who have made better use of your time, Jenna Ellis is the “senior legal advisor” and self-published and promoted “Constitutional Law Attorney” for the Trump Campaign. Calling yourself a “Constitutional Law Attorney” is as redundant a claim as calling yourself a Teaching Elder. It’s doublespeak. We know what lawyers do and their allegiance to protecting the Constitution, at least in an ideal world.
She was also Special Counsel for the Thomas Moore Society and the lead voice of the two cases that Grace Community Church is embroiled in. Now, in her Twitter bio, she has not updated that; however, a Twitter friend was nice enough to send me the TMSoc. website where they had done a full-Mahoney (whitescrubbed) of her association. I don’t know if this is quite a confirmation her resignation or her disassociation by the non-profit, but what remains is for her to remove her name as Cousel of Record from the two California cases. For my own comic relief and for the censure of the world, I pray that she is still on the GCC Legal Team. If true, I will miss her lie-atribes of the LA County Judges, and particular spin of simple legal procedures. She really doled out the charm to the “littles” who depended upon her constant tweeting and sugar-coated condescension.
Jenna, you will be missed. If I’m not mistaken, she was the one who had the insight to demand a trial and a trial the good woman will have, except…LiMandri and Paul Jonna will be doing the heavy lifting as they have done the whole time, even while Jenna was “The Voice of Grace” for a time. Now, she has moved on to bigger and better exploits like listening to drunk Michiganders testify, dismantling a democracy, and sitting by a flatulent Rudy Guiliani (trust me, no need to look this up).
Prediction:
2020. Sun Valley, CA. Campus filled with Poinsettias and trees in every nook, every corner. The tents and chairs and the chill in the air.
Morning Service: After a rousing 5 minute standing ovation, John MacArthur will wave back to the congregation the universal gesture for, “oh, thank you, but I need to say this” and after the applause dies down, he’ll say, “So, what did I miss?” An eruption of laughter the likes that Roscoe has never heard. Once more for the people in the back. Let the overflow hear the church bells ring.
Announcement regarding a retirement.
Update on the case against Grace and possibly, an update on the case against Newsom, Villanueva, et al. No mention of Jenna Ellis.
No mention of the election, just a knowing sigh to the fellow Trumpers about the state of things.
Then, back to the business of the Gospel. A sermon on this “crooked generation” with examples from the last two months, election and voter fraud aftermath. This has been a sermon he has been wanting to give for a long time. His vacation he considered “too short” when asked.
Evening Service. Several pre-screened questions none of which will be about the outbreaks at TMUS, Grace or about the lockdown, the biblical answer to adhering to authorities, Romans 13 and what Grace’s response will be under a Biden Administration (which doesn’t exist in their world currently).
Don’t adjust your computers, there is no error. I captured that image and nominate it for 2020’s year end theme. Isn’t that the general message of repentance? Something went terribly wrong, turn around and to the arms of Jesus. There is always time to return to Christ and do better. In the words of one of my favorite GIF’s, the reporter says, “2020 was a hot mess inside a dumpster fire at a train wreck”. I concur.
If you have been following us on Twitter (I apologize if I have offended anyone! I tweet things that make me laugh…things that make light of the serious and sometimes it’s not always the right thing to do), you have seen the comments under Grace Community Church or John MacArthur quite bitterly attacking some of their stances. Thousands of angry comments per tweet of those who rightly are angry about some of the downgrading of COVID-19 and it’s dangers. Now, that so many people have been affected by this virus, how will Grace Community Church and John pivot the narrative? To conserve the previous message would be utterly without grace, reason, or empathy during the worst time in our nation’s history.
— John MacArthur had said that “No Christian will vote Democratic”. Hundreds of African American Pastors and Southern Pastors who historically voted Democratic disavow MacArthur altogether. Twitters friends, Christians, joked, “well, I guess I lost my salvation” as they came out of the polls. So devastating was this statement that it emboldened the arrogant Reformed Baptist and Non-denom TMS pastors to denounce any pastor as “reprobate” who did not speak for Trump in similar fashion.
— I facetiously tweeted that Grace Community Church would have a Restoration program waiting after the election for those members who voted Biden. Members actually thought it was a good idea!
— Yes, John, there is a Santa Claus, and there is a pandemic. If you don’t believe me, here’s TMS alumnus and former adjunct professor, Dr. Dallas Bailes to describe some of the horrors he has seen:
Bailes learned, “there’s a lot more to this disease than life or death.” He described people getting off ventilators with permanent lung damage and a 41-year-old Broadway actor who had his leg amputated while on a ventilator. In just the past few days, new research is showing a prevalence of COVID-19 patients suffering from blood clots and strokes. People in their 30s and 40s, with otherwise mild COVID-19 symptoms, are having strokes, according to studies.
— Two outbreaks! TMUS is currently at 7 Staff and 14 Students, but write in their donation letter that it’s a “handful”. (I’ll include the letter in the TMUS Part 2).
— One bright spot. Accreditation restored. But still, the main problem, the conflict of interest among the Board continues. The report from MacArthur’s own words was considered to be “an attack…an attack on me” (from the Chapel message in 2018), but was it? Good grief, no. When someone tells you that you have not met the standards, it is a deficiency, not personal. Cure the deficiency and everything will be fine. I’m sure the WASC board enjoyed listening to those recordings.
Despite the fact that the TMU Board had shifted a bit at the beginning, as soon as the coast was clear, they turned around and made three more nepotism hirings and firings. They essentially did whatever they wanted to, but obscured the fact that to everyone concerned that the same people were in charge, which is why you’ll see the exception on the WASC report.
Conclusion: This. Has. All. Gone. Too. Far.
In the words of a famous Georgian, this has indeed all gone too far and as we continue to process what cannot be understood because they wrest the narrative to their own end. They own the details. They don’t answer an honest inquiry, but render everything “an attack” which falls outside of their true aim. They scatter when light is shone on their misdeeds and throw temper tantrums when their motives are questioned. Often for “filthy lucre”. Mostly, because “money is the root of all evil”.
This is an ongoing story. It will never end and it will take the Holy Spirit himself to bring people the vision necessary to discern for themselves. I could show you evidence all day long, someone else could speak about their COVID experiences and the loss of a loved one, while others, too, could write articles on the subject from a different perspective, but as long as a place like Parler exists, we’re going to have to wait for a miracle. If you have been affected by the loss of family and friendship during this time because you spoke out, you are my hero and I’m truly sorry, but truth has its consequences. Disassociation with the truth is a 21st c. disease which only the good Lord Himself can cure.
We pray for the health, physical and spiritual, of every reader and to all of those who really hate what we say. It honestly comes from a good place. It honestly comes from knowing and loving the people at Grace and the years I spent seeing these things firsthand. It wasn’t all bad, believe me. It benefits me nothing to write what I do. Quiet the contrary. It has been utterly heart-breaking reading some of the things that people have written me, but I have been led to the edge over and over asking myself, “can God love us still? Has he always been faithful? Knowing this, is He Still Sovereign”. In tears, I answer, “As Ever. Let’s go”.
