The JD Hall Scandal: Ecclesiastical Failures All Down the Line

https://julieroys.com/j-d-hall-removed-church-failure-demonstrate-repentance/

As sad and pathetic as the JD Hall episode is, this follow-up article only further demonstrates how askew this congregation is. We already know that JD Hall is unqualified to lead a congregation and this was evident even before the recent revelations. They simply confirmed this to be the case. He is not Biblically rooted in his thinking and now his conduct and response to exposure simply shine a light on this.

The congregational leaders are upset with him – he's a thief, apparently a pill popper, and a wife beater, and I'm sure there's more. But fundamentally they agreed (and presumably still agree) with his deranged Right-wing Christianity that has nothing to do with the New Testament but is instead a syncretism of select doctrines, Right-wing ideology, and nationalist metanarrative.

Unlike most Evangelical churches which won't exercise church discipline even in the face of egregious sin, this group in Montana had enough sense to depose Hall. But then to my astonishment they actually called the police on him.

Not for his domestic abuse – which though detestable in every way, I don't believe the Church should call on law enforcement in such instances. And yet many do believe the Church must do so in such cases.

But Hall's congregation didn't call the police on this issue. Worse, they called because of the money he stole. This is disgraceful. The New Testament is clear – suffer yourself to be defrauded. It's only money. It's all on JD Hall. If he repents he'll have to work to make that right. He didn't steal from these individuals or their 501c3 non-profit corporation. He stole from God. That's condemnation enough.

But to involve the civil authorities? Is there no sense or judgment at all? You choose to go to the unbeliever for justice and additionally you give them jurisdiction within the confines of the Church? You go to Egypt for help?

For shame. Is there no wisdom left? Does no one read the New Testament let alone take it seriously?

This error in judgment and conduct is the rotten fruit of Hall's teaching. Like all such false teachers he frequently confuses his pronouns – 'we' is sometimes the Church, sometimes it's America. As such American ideology and cultural values are confused with the identity of the Church, its calling, and its ethical imperatives. Calling the police, getting revenge, and using violence may be the American way but it's not Christ's way. To equate the two is to reject the Christ of Scripture.

Well, his congregation may be done with him but they're following through on his teaching and have failed to understand the gulf that exists between the Church and the powers that be. These Providentially ordained powers are legitimate but they're not for us to call upon – especially in the context of the Church! What folly – a clear case of the blind leading the blind. It's tragic and testifies to the fact that once the headlines have faded, people forget the story, or reduce it to the tale of one person's fall. No, the story is bigger and it plays out in a much larger context and over a longer span of time.