I want to thank the almost 900 people who came to our special service with Allan McConnell on Sunday night.  To those who prayed for and supported us in the weeks leading up to it, we are extremely grateful.  I also want to thank the STJ for their coverage of the service in the paper and on the internet.

The other thing that I want to do is explain clearly our purpose for having Allan come.  We did not seek a fight with Mark Duke or the Freedom Foundation — we were sought out by them after I had invited Allan to fill in for me during a Sunday night worship service in early March. Neither Mark Duke nor the Freedom Foundation were going to be addressed. After threats of marches, protests, and going door to door, the leadership of Elkdale decided that we would not only have Allan come to speak but that he would speak on the subject of what Mark Duke and the House of God believe and teach.  

Though there are many examples of areas where we disagree, two stand out as being out of line with Orthodox Christianity over the past 2000 years:  a denial of the fact that Jesus is fully, eternally, and equally God with the Father, and teaching that salvation is obtained by being godly, obedient or perfect rather than by faith in Christ alone.  Their beliefs and teachings would be no concern to us were it not for their coming in under the guise of being the one God has anointed to restore the church and the group that represents the true church.  It is at this point that every believer and every church has the responsibility to “defend the faith that was once and for all delivered to the saints.”  So, our purpose was to stand for Jesus and the gospel and in so doing, to bring glory to God.