James MacDonald Posts Repentance Letter on Facebook
“I was, am, and will remain very sorry for the careless and hurtful words that were illegally recorded and publicized,” the apology states. “I immediately sent written apologies where appropriate, grieving what it revealed about the state of my heart at the time, as well as the hurt caused to those who trusted us to be a more consistent example of Christlikeness. I have no excuse and am truly sorry.” - Christian Headlines
What MacDonald is “apologizing” for here is basically for getting caught. He’s technically correct that Illinois is a “two party consent” state inasmuch as permission for recording conversations is concerned, but Illinois has never really applied that law to journalists like Mancow Muller and Julie Roys, who are the main people who revealed his comments to the world.
Word to the wise; if you don’t want to be on record saying something, don’t say it.
One thing that puzzles me about this article, though, is the comment that Harvest “linked arms” with the SBC, despite differences over the form of church government (Harvest is presbyterian leaning into episcopal with pastors having 50% vote on their elder boards, making them basically bishops in effect) and the continuation/cessation of spiritual gifts. This is going to be a hard nut to crack for the SBC, and probably also Harvest, going forward.
Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.
When he gives account for every idle word that he has spoken, will he complain that they were recorded illegally? Bert is right: this is not repentance, this is a backhanded swipe at the people who exposed his sin.
Discussion