Thursday, July 14, 2011

Gosh ...

This has certainly been a week for "constant change" in Sovereign Grace Ministries and the most recent shocking announcement is this;

"This past week we (the Sovereign Grace Board and Joshua Harris) came to the mutual decision that it would be best for Covenant Life Church and Sovereign Grace Ministries for Joshua to step down from his role as a board member.

While still committed to our shared theological foundation and partnership in Sovereign Grace Ministries, as well as a common desire to walk through this unique season in a God-glorifying way, this change seems wise in light of certain points of disagreement over how best to proceed. Joshua also faces a sizable responsibility of steering Covenant Life through this trial and stepping away from his board role allows him to focus entirely on that task.

What remains unchanged is our affection, respect, friendship and partnership within Sovereign Grace. Joshua’s work on the board for the last three years has been important and we still want him to be a source of counsel for the board. To that end, Joshua has graciously agreed to continue joining board meetings as requested.

We celebrate the fact that in our family of churches, unity in the gospel doesn’t mean unanimity on secondary matters. Ultimately we believe this change will better preserve our essential unity while allowing Joshua to focus his attention on leading Covenant Life and the Board to provide leadership for Sovereign Grace in a time of crisis".

It's a definite shame - many, many people were tremendously encouraged by Joshua's loving concern and pastorship at last Sunday's meeting addressing the recent trials. However I am sure that Covenant Life Church will benefit from his increased attention, even though he may be missed on the SGM Board.

Dave Harvey produced a quick second blog post noting "Where we differ and where we agree". As one may expect, both the Board and Joshua agree "98%". The key disagreement is that Josh stated he believed that God is lovingly discipling SGM at this time.

The Board - it seems - have yet to decide on that.

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