March 18, 2013
To whom it may concern, Recently I learned that some people were offended by the 2010 Great Commission Churches (GCC) Explanation of Criticisms statement, specifically the underlined portion below: At times, there are negative criticisms against GCC churches. Why is this? There are three reasons. First, some bring up issues from the 1970s and 1980s that were either invalid or were corrected many years ago. Second, some people have gone on blogs to take a relationship conflict public rather than follow a constructive and Biblical process of reconciliation. Third, some who oppose God and His word are critical of obedient Christians who are actively sharing their faith in Christ. Some people were offended because they had made an attempt to pursue reconciliation with a GCC church, but it did not result in the resolution they desired. They talked to the leadership but were not satisfied with their response. Usually these individuals do not contact the GCC office or another Christian ministry for mediation. Instead the matter is left unresolved and these individuals criticize the church privately to their friends or publicly through internet blogs. Although I don’t encourage individuals to make their conflicts public via the internet, I nonetheless understand how some people might feel. Perhaps they made some effort to pursue reconciliation but then they lost hope that the church would truly understand their concerns. Or perhaps they did not realize that the GCC national office is available to mediate conflicts within a local church. Therefore, I regret that in my 2010 statement I did not acknowledge the efforts of some individuals to pursue reconciliation. And I apologize to any who may have been offended by my failure to acknowledge this. Also, I do want to mention that there is a fourth reason why some may criticize GCC. They believe before God that GCC is teaching false doctrine and believe that they have a moral responsibility to warn others of that false teaching. In that regard, I can understand why an individual would go public if a church association is clearly teaching false doctrine contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ. However, my hope is that before a person did so, he or she would take time to interact with the national office of that association to ask questions about what that association truly believes. I say this because it is possible for a church member or even a church pastor to say things that are not necessarily representative of the association as a whole. Or a church leader may have made statements years ago that do not accurately reflect what he believes or what pastors in that association believe in the present. For your information, at times I read anonymous internet posts which claim that GCC teaches one thing, when in reality the allegation misrepresents the beliefs of GCC today.
When people have phoned or emailed me to ask questions about GCC’s beliefs, it has been good and Christ-honoring dialogue. So, I personally welcome any inquiries into GCC beliefs. As a member in the National Association of Evangelicals, holding to the NAE Statement of Faith and the NAE Code of Ethics, GCC is committed to accountability on Biblical doctrine and ethics. Also, member churches in GCC have agreed to be accountable to what the Scripture teaches as well. So, if there is a situation where a person thinks that GCC or a member church is teaching something contrary to the Scriptures, the GCC office would want to be notified of that so that God’s word would be honored. In regards to the 2010 GCC Explanation of Criticisms statement, it is no longer on the GCC website. When the statement was written in 2010 we in GCC had little hope that reconciliation was possible with those who posted criticisms of GCC on the internet. However, a few months later the Lord brought about reconciliation between GCC and some of our primary critics from the past, Larry Pile and Bill Taylor (http://www.gccweb.org/about/history/reconciliations). In the past, Larry had made posts on the internet that were critical of Great Commission. This reconciliation truly was an act of God that has encouraged us greatly. As a result, we removed the 2010 statement, hoping that other people who post on the internet would be willing to personally communicate with us as part of a process of reconciliation. That is our ultimate goal: reconciliation. For those people who feel that they have been hurt, our desire is to see them experience the healing power of Jesus Christ. For those who believe that GCC needs to change, our desire is to hear their criticisms so that we can become more like Jesus Christ. I know some think that our primary desire is to get the person to stop saying negative things about us privately or on the internet, or they think that we are motivated by selfinterest in some other way. But this is not my personal motive before the Lord. I realize that there will be a day when I will stand before Jesus Christ. My desire is to please Him today by caring for and listening to individuals who have a complaint or concern. In light of this, I would like to make a promise and an appeal. The promise is that we in GCC will do all we can to pursue peace with anyone who has a concern with a GCC church or with GCC—whether that concern is with an individual, or with the teaching of GCC or of a GCC church. For those who initiate with our office, our commitment is to listen with humility and empathy, and to do all we can to honor God and that individual with the goal of achieving reconciliation. The appeal is that you initiate with the GCC church or with the GCC national office if you have some concerns. It will take some courage and some effort to initiate this process....but it will result in a blessing to everyone involved. If you feel uncomfortable taking either of these steps, another alternative would be to reach out to a third party (perhaps your pastor or a ministry such as Peacemakers) who could act as a mediator. We in GCC would be very happy to participate in such a process. As for Larry Pile and Bill Taylor, the reconciliation occurred, not through each of us posting on the internet but when we had personal interaction together,
through email, phone, or face to face. Christians that I meet with in the National Association of Evangelicals encourage pursuing reconciliation in this way. (In that regard see my statement which was posted on the National Association of Evangelicals website as a resource: http://www.nae.net/resources/news/844-achristian-perspective-of-internet-criticisms.) My appeal is that we all follow this path of reconciliation. When we reconciled with Bill Taylor and Larry Pile, we sought to live out this verse: “To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit” 1 Peter 3:8. In particular, I noticed the connection between harmony and sympathy. As I made a good faith attempt to be sympathetic and to see things from the other person’s perspective, I was encouraged by the harmony that occurred. After patiently listening to Bill and Larry’s concerns, we acknowledged those things in the past that were wrong, and with their counsel we were able to make some positive changes in GCC. After we were reconciled, here is what they said: "A...series of phone discussions between GCC Director John Hopler and I concerning a number of remaining issues of concern resulted in those being resolved as well. Therefore, I wish to state that GCC has resolved to my satisfaction all issues of concern I have had over the past 34 years regarding GCC teaching and practice. ...At the same time, I recognize that there may still be problems in the future, just as there may be within and among churches of mainline denominations. In such cases, it is my recommendation that these be reported to GCC Director John Hopler, at jrhopler@gmail.com." Larry Pile "I have found John [Hopler] to be, as the Director of Great Commission Churches (GCC), a man of his word. As we worked recently through issues that have divided us over these 35 years, it was John's persistence and honesty that unlocked shut doors leading to ways that reconciliation could take place and relationships mended. I would encourage you to share openly and honestly with him as I believe he wants the best for the Lord Jesus Christ." Bill Taylor Jesus Christ was born into this world and died on the cross so that we would be reconciled to God and to each other. I promise to do my part in pursuing harmony with you. My appeal is that you take a step as well by contacting a GCC church, a third party meditator, or me at jrhopler@gmail.com.
God's grace to you in Jesus Christ, John Hopler Director, Great Commission Churches