tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771487.post2412512890608540438..comments2024-03-27T15:43:53.969-04:00Comments on Adventures in Autism: An Open Letter of Rebuke to Dr. Mark Brewer of Bel Air Presbyterian ChurchGinger Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04200286625735078479noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771487.post-44588276110959811102021-10-18T02:24:34.105-04:002021-10-18T02:24:34.105-04:00Mark Brewer was an amazing pastor, and he helped m...Mark Brewer was an amazing pastor, and he helped me through many difficult trials when I attended Bel-Air Presbyterian Church. From the way your letter was written, I can not imagine that anyone would believe you were sane at that time. I understand dealing with your son was difficult because of his autism, but you were taking out your anger and frustration on the wrong people. Since you were previously a therapist, I hope you got help. And, I will be praying for you.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09846440932170588804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771487.post-82966920816941720222014-06-10T15:14:19.097-04:002014-06-10T15:14:19.097-04:00Yes. Sometimes you have to sue to get someone to ...Yes. Sometimes you have to sue to get someone to act. You should have done so. It would have been the appropriate course of action since the Bible doesn't mean much to them.<br /><br />It's quite simple. You ask for records to be delivered by a date. They don't deliver the records. You ask again and give them a date. And if they don't comply with full records, you find a lawyer. Don't try to follow the Bible literally. It doesn't work well as a legal document. The only way organizations change is when LAW requires them to do so.SavvyDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02380401063646153237noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771487.post-46726030668658857602013-01-07T23:23:55.850-05:002013-01-07T23:23:55.850-05:00Thank you for your loving response. However, neit...Thank you for your loving response. However, neither the church nor Mark Brewer ever responded to these letters. God will indeed judge us all.Ginger Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04200286625735078479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771487.post-14278131721605598072013-01-07T23:16:21.921-05:002013-01-07T23:16:21.921-05:00My heart goes to the Taylor family. None of us in...My heart goes to the Taylor family. None of us including MarkBrewer has the answer for Autism.For you to accuse him for not responding is wrong. Forgive him and move on with your life. I have known Mark Brewer since 1992.If he has done something wrong, then God will certainly deal with him. God has not called you and me to be the judges.But, we are called to love one another as Christ Loved us. If you do not forgive him and the church,God will deal with you. My Ex father in law ws aConartist.He is a very rich minister.His own accountant told me horrible things this man has done. I could not consider him as my father in law t all. I exposed him.I took the law in my own hands and embarrassed him. I have paid heavy price for this.My daughter died.The hospital killed my son. Much more happened. No mater what they do,God always protects His servants. Lert not any evil fall upon you.Be very careful.FORGIVE MARK AND THE CHURCH. LET GOD BE THE JUDGE. GOD BLESS YOU ALL.InKorrekthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18001869201862525903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771487.post-7220297198255308042009-05-29T11:29:56.347-04:002009-05-29T11:29:56.347-04:00AK,
So sorry for the delay in answering you. Thi...AK,<br /><br />So sorry for the delay in answering you. This comment slipped by me.<br /><br />I pretty much agree with your assessment. I have heard many of the same analysis from others. I think your experience is common. I too began making comparisons between BAPC and the much more biblical (but flawed) church I grew up in. <br /><br />Absent is the vulnerability of the pastors that spoke into my life as a young believer. Instead BAPC has a velvet rope up between the leadership and the lay people. Well, the leadership and the laymen who are not wealthy or famous. Absent is good teaching, especially from outside sources. I realized that for years I had never been encouraged to read or listen to any other teachers or pastors. Absent is any system of accountability. <br /><br />It is just really a lot of parties and very shallow teaching/study/service. All icing and no cake.<br /><br />Paul chided the church at Corinth for being too influenced by the corruption in the culture of the city around them. Bel Air is a model for that problem. We moved to Maine two and a half years ago, and after being out of the LA culture for a while, we were embarrassed at how much sin and bad behavior we dismissed at the church because we had just gotten used to it living in that city, and how dang lazy we had become. <br /><br />Scott and I had a conversation shortly after we moved here, and got some distance from Bel Air and all the people influenced by it, that went something like this:<br /><br />‘You know, we should have left three months earlier when the screwed over ________, but we just thought there must have been some reasonable explanation or big misunderstanding. But now that I think about it, we should have left six months before that when XYZ happened. And a year before that, you were home sick one Sunday and a baby started crying in church, Mark stopped his sermon to tell the family to leave the sanctuary and many of the congregation applauded him. It was totally disgusting. And remember when….<br /><br />After doing that for like a half hour, we realized that we should have started getting uncomfortable and asking questions when the executive pastor got divorced and remarried shortly after we arrived there. But we were ‘comfortable’ and having fun with our friends and quite frankly, we were asleep.<br /><br />Since leaving Bel Air, it has been hard to find a home church because now that we have a good understanding of how corruption in the church works, and what the warning signs are, we can visit a church once and leave with a laundry list of things that they are doing that are contrary to God’s word. After Bel Air we went to a little church of about 100 people, that a friend was pastoring and God really used in healing us from what we had been through, but he has moved on and I don’t think it is now what it was then.<br /><br />Here in Maine we have been with a home church, and a very small church of 40 or so that meets at a school. <br /><br />Since going through what we did, Scott and I have real questions as to whether or not a church can grown to a size of several hundred or a thousand or more and actually still be the true church. Some sort of transition seems to take place between 100 and 200 or so members where “Every member a minister” ends, accountability starts to fall away, iron stops sharpening iron, and the “church” begins to behave like a corporation. It becomes about serving and protecting the building, the property and the program and not about serving Christ himself at all costs.<br /><br />If we were back in LA, I think that we would just get together with friends who were true disciples of Jesus and start worshipping and serving like the church in Acts did. There is no lack of deep, excellent teaching from pastors like Tim Keller, RC Sproul, Voddie Baucham, Paul Washer, John Macarthur, John Piper, and on and on, so you don’t need to leave home any more to get good preaching. <br /><br />Just start being the church together.Ginger Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04200286625735078479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771487.post-29526946184427063482008-11-25T05:18:00.000-05:002008-11-25T05:18:00.000-05:00Ginger-I was Googling Mark Brewer because his name...Ginger-<BR/><BR/>I was Googling Mark Brewer because his name came up in conversation today. I was simply looking for his C.V., but this came up first. Interesting.<BR/><BR/>I attend (attended?) BAPC for close to 7 years. I found myself pulling back this summer, attending less and less, as I have been bothered for some time about our relationship.<BR/><BR/>There isn't one. <BR/><BR/>It isn't that I never tried. Once upon a time I really wanted one. Funny thing, BAPC never wanted ME. There were many emails to sign up for information, or volunteering or small groups that were never answered. In multiple times of need -- spiritual/practical -- I was turned away with a bland, "Hope that works out for you." <BR/><BR/> The one that hurt most, I don't know why, was going to a BADD audition, finding myself the only one interested in helping in a certain position... AND BEING TURNED AWAY ANYWAY. For a volunteer job! Year after year.<BR/><BR/>My purely anecdotal, one-dimensional impression of BAPC is that it is elitist and pulpit-driven. Mark is clearly intelligent, can put on a good sermon, can tell funny stories with self-jests -- but I find myself squirming. He can't make all those cutting remarks against himself without showing something: He has real self-loathing.<BR/><BR/>I hold BAPC up against my home church in Seattle (which is not in any way perfect) and find many life-saving pieces missing:<BR/> * Mission statement: "Every member a minister" vs. "Making... greatest city for Christ". Sharing the load in humility vs. Hubris.<BR/> * Pulpit driven vs. member driven. A church whose responsibility, vision, and work is carried by the WHOLE body is not easily brought down.<BR/> * Classes? Library? How can a church grow responsibly if it doesn't feed and grow its members? BAPC doesn't even have a room designated a library, let alone anything to put in it.<BR/> * Sunday morning vs. 7 days-a-week Christians. A case can be made this is more a matter of topography and demographics, but BAPC lacks the vision that would entice people there for more than their personal sermon hour. Back home the church's every nook and cranny is in use all day every day, and, in some cases, all night. There's a waiting list for small groups to get to use the kitchen to volunteer to make meals for the homeless. <BR/><BR/>Now THAT'S the kind of volunteering that I can be happy being turned down for.<BR/><BR/>P.S. I'm curious Ginger: Where did you go when you left BAPC? My progression has been Glendale Pres., Hollywood Pres., BAPC.Aubrey'sKidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05078175595264947365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771487.post-62352927558500016192008-05-14T22:16:00.000-04:002008-05-14T22:16:00.000-04:00Confronting Sin in Your Christian Brother<A HREF="http://dailydiscernment.wordpress.com/2008/05/14/confronting-sin-in-your-christian-brother/" REL="nofollow">Confronting Sin in Your Christian Brother</A>Ginger Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04200286625735078479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771487.post-21809375026421223352008-05-14T21:35:00.000-04:002008-05-14T21:35:00.000-04:00David,"Which is more bizarre? That I notice these ...David,<BR/><BR/><I>"Which is more bizarre? That I notice these things or that they are actually happening in my home church?"</I><BR/><BR/>I really connect with you on this statement. While we were in the process of leaving Bel Air and trying to wrap our brains around what we were going through and the just plain horrible and unbiblical behavior we were seeing in the staff and lay leaders, we gradually went from a very naive place of, "well if we just point out that scripture instructs us on this matter, then of course everyone will want to do it", and running into detour after road block after full frontal assault, to "OHHHHHHH! They don't WANT to do what scripture says! They just want what ever their appetites want! I get it now!"<BR/><BR/>In the process it was like light bulbs going on here and there every few hours illuminating a different part of the picture and specific scriptures that we had a broad understanding of before, suddenly became bright neon in their meaning and how they applied to what was happening. (Has it been like that for you? “Hey… is that an occult symbol on the stage?” “Wait, did he just say Hitler might be in heaven?”)<BR/><BR/>We didn't start out to blast a pastor on his sin, just to address one hurtful thing that one church member did to another, and in the process, because we stuck to scripture, and didn't just give up when people told us to, one closet full of secrets after another opened up to us and we got to see what was really going on there behind closed doors.<BR/><BR/>(There are many stories there, but they are not ours to tell. We can only tell our story and encourage other’s to tell theirs.)<BR/><BR/>And suddenly those verses on the apostasy in the church meant something. We have never really been last days focused people, so scriptures on judgment (both at the end of life and at the end of days) just kind of faded into the background for us because we checked ourselves and made sure we never got too far from the confession and repentance that are proof of life, so knew we were covered.<BR/><BR/>But seeing the very subtle rebellion going on at Bel Air, and then seeing how INSANELY hard the resistance was to any correction, well it just showed us how church corruption comes about and is allowed to flourish. (There are good people there, but they have either been bullied into submission or run out, or the just fled. There are a group of people there that I think of as “Good Men Doing Nothing” because they have just gotten knocked down so many times when they tried to confront sin that they decided that you could not fight city hall and gave up. Ergo, Satan keeps his foothold and evil continues. But you get them alone and you will hear how hurt and upset they are.)<BR/><BR/>Once you see it, like the process you are going through now, once you wake up to it and start to measure and think critically about what is really being preached in the pulpit and practiced in the offices, you start to see it everywhere. <BR/><BR/><BR/>Brewer and Hinnman blew you off with something dismissive (usually the first response). If they were passionately following Christ, wouldn't they want to pull out their bibles with you and dig in?<BR/><BR/>Why didn’t the conversations get launched with your comments:<BR/><BR/><I>they’ve brushed me off with “there are different translations of the bible”</I><BR/><BR/>"Great! Which translations say what, and what is the original greek and what scholars say what about that?<BR/><BR/><I>or “Jesus nailed the Law to cross”</I><BR/><BR/>"But what about Matthew 5:17-19 where Jesus says that:<BR/><BR/><B>“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.<BR/><BR/>For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.<BR/><BR/>Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."</B><BR/><BR/>"Jesus didn't seem to be 'nailing the law to the cross, but bringing it to life".<BR/><BR/>"And if the law means nothing to Christians, then why did Paul write the book of Romans."<BR/><BR/><I>or “no one can understand Revelations.”</I><BR/><BR/>"Well God put it in there, so He must have wanted us to study it and try to understand it. And if no one can understand it, then why did you guys to a 10 week series on it in 2006"?<BR/><BR/>(but by the time you got that far they probably would have left for a building planning meeting, or to plan the Easter services at the Hollywood Bowl that costs the church around $100,000 every year).<BR/><BR/>When you consider the excuses for the dismissal of issues that people raise, you start to see that they might have used scripture, but they didn't use it properly. Cite a 'grace' verse, and imply that you have to forgive, but never cite any of the verses that show that grace is always a response to repentance.<BR/><BR/>I understand that particular argument is a staple of Roger Dermody's. When people confront him on some sin that he has committed against them, his response is often something to the effect of, "well people often expect pastors to be perfect, but we're flawed people. We need forgiveness too". While never admitting to any wrong doing or apologizing or setting right the thing he did wrong.<BR/><BR/>The pattern I see in what happens to most people is that if you survive the first round of brush off/misuse of grace scriptures, and come back and say, "wait a minute, that is not correct theology" or "but you didn't address the problem", the side stepping becomes more skillful. "Let's talk more about this" but then your calls don't get returned and you begin to get "phased out". <BR/><BR/>But the thing that people need to understand about Bel Air is that there is NO system of accountability. If something really bad happens there (which it does) and if the leader ship does not want to address it properly (which in my experience it doesn't) then there is literally no way of holding to account the people who are in serious sin at the top.<BR/><BR/>Mark does what he wants, and he is not checked by the session or anyone as long as he is keeping the major donors happy. Decisions there are made on cost-benefit analysis (not scripture) and conflicts go to who ever has the most political power.<BR/><BR/>It is exactly the same as a worldly economy, except people smile more and say, “I will pray for you brother”.<BR/><BR/>Your comments bring to light the purpose that his sermons fulfills. Not to bring people closer to the real Christ, not to teach biblical Christianity, but to be inspirational and moving.<BR/><BR/>To put people's hinders in the seats and keep the donations rolling in. <BR/><BR/>Doesn't matter if it is horribly theologically incorrect or scripturally unbalanced or even as crazy as suggesting that Hitler (whose last act on earth was to murder his wife) might be in heaven?<BR/><BR/>To get by, things just have to sound good and look good. And when people there wake up, it usually one at a time, and they either leave or are dispensed with before they can 'cause any trouble'.<BR/><BR/><I>I know we are called to be patient and loving, but I really think something is wrong with the leadership of Bel Air and may be consciously serving Catholic interests.</I><BR/><BR/>There is something wrong. And keep in mind, the people that Christ was patient and loving with were the broken and the humble. The religious leaders who were taking advantage of their positions and distorting God's word for their personal gain… not so much.<BR/><BR/>As far as the interests that are being served, I don't see them so much as "Catholic" (theologically or association wise), but merely just the same corruption blossoming that is in full bloom in the Catholic church. <BR/><BR/>A church does not just suddenly start the wholesale slaughter of those who differ from them, the covering up the molestation of children by its own people and the hoarding of billions of dollars while proclaiming "excess wealth" a new sin. It takes time for a church to get that far off course. <BR/><BR/>If Rome is a seasoned gray haired man in its sin, then Bel Air is the enthusiastic college student that can talk the Christian talk, but is in private sin. <BR/><BR/>The rebellion is there, but it is subtle, so one might assume that it is just a function of youth. Until you try to offer correction or any kind of challenge, and you find that no challenge is tolerated.<BR/><BR/>If you will allow me another analogy, the cancer started growing there the minute that actual accountability to scripture ceased to exist (there is only an appearance of an accountability process with the elders, for example, I am told by someone still there, that our complaint to the elders was not in the reports that they should have been in, so it could be that Mark saw that it never went through proper channels for the session to consider).<BR/><BR/>The cancer is causing symptoms now (People leaving injured by the staff, a 12 million dollar building project that ended up costing 22 million, no audit of exactly where all that money went, many staff getting 'laid off' because of the budget problems, private grumblings about mistreatment and legal violations, public discussion about the sin in the senior staff (like this one) rearing its head, pandering to the wealthy and popular at the expense of congregants who are struggling) but you have to look closely right now to see those (as you have done here).<BR/><BR/>But things are ramping up there and the symptoms are getting more obvious and the complaints louder. People are becoming less afraid to talk about it (although many still are afraid of retribution).<BR/><BR/>Anyway, I have gone on too long. I could talk all day about what we learned leaving there.<BR/><BR/>I will go back and listen to the sermons you reference. I am curious. <BR/><BR/>I would encourage you to keep asking questions, do it lovingly and biblically, if you believe Mark's preaching is unbiblical, which you have made the case for here, then go through a Matthew 18 process like Christ's directs you to.<BR/><BR/>I can pretty much bet that you will be derailed and run out of the church no matter how earnest you are or how well you do it, but do it anyway. Simply because Christ commands it. <BR/><BR/>The way I see it, and referencing Eph 5:11, if an earnest believer sees sin in his church's leadership, he has two biblical choices, confront the sin in obedience to Matthew 18 or choose not to have fellowship with darkness and leave.<BR/><BR/>If you do choose to do the former, please allow me to offer you the benefit of what I learned the hard way. I wrote a bible study called “Wonder Women Fear God Only” from all that I learned while leaving Bel Air. I have a long chapter on how to do the Matthew 18 process well, incorporating lots of other scripture. I will post it to my other blog, DailyDiscernment.com.<BR/><BR/>It is really interesting to you your take on the corruption at Bel Air, because it comes from a completely different direction that our perspective, but yet is it is still a scriptural one.<BR/><BR/>Feel free to share your thoughts here (critical thinking is desperately needed in the church today), but both my husband and I strongly encourage you to do Matthew 18. You have already done step one (confronting in private) you actually should do it again in front of witnesses and bring it before the session before writing about it publicly.<BR/><BR/>I will leave them up as I believe that because Mark refuses to repent of his sin, and because we have gone all the way through the process, that he is an apostate and we are required by 2 Tim 5:20 to rebuke him publicly.<BR/><BR/>If you believe that he is an apostate, an unbeliever or “continuing in sin” then you should write about it openly, regardless of personal consequences.<BR/><BR/>BUT<BR/><BR/>If you believe he is your pastor or your Christian brother, you should do him the kindness of confronting him in love according to Matthew 18. Even if he does not accept it or behaves badly.Ginger Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04200286625735078479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771487.post-86886647467867581512008-05-14T17:51:00.000-04:002008-05-14T17:51:00.000-04:00I just read this and I certainly sympathize with y...I just read this and I certainly sympathize with you. <BR/><BR/>Two weeks ago, Mark gave a sermon that was somewhat interesting on the topic of “salt and light.“<BR/><BR/>Brewer quoted Sir Francis Bacon who has often been called the “father of modern Freemasonry” as well as strong ties to Rosicrucians. Bacon also believed that America was the new Atlantis and would be the site of a new, utopian society (aka new world order).<BR/><BR/>The other person he quoted was Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and called him a “great Christian.” Before I looked him up, I was hoping he wouldn’t be questionable because hope you’re just mislead and not misleading. But looks like Pierre was an evolutionist and a JESUIT. I don’t have to tell you that every Protestant should know who the Jesuits are being there has been no other group in history more determined to bring all people under the Pope’s rule and the elimination of Protestants. There’s a ton of information on them but the 60-80 million Protestants killed during the Inquisition alone using some of the most horrendous torture instruments ever devised should be a red flag. The Catholic Church alone is responsibility for upwards of 150M (possibly up to 500M) throughout history. This is plain fact. Again, the Roman Catholic Church IS unquestionably the beast in Revelations. <BR/><BR/>To be fair, he had a great sermon on grace not too long ago. But then he followed it up with a picture of the Last Supper by DiVinci and showed possible people we may see in Heaven. I guess the point was to be nice to people because you never know but…well, let’s just look at the examples used and their affiliations:<BR/><BR/>• Adolf Hitler – Occultist / Thule Society <BR/>• Bin Laden – suspected Islamic terrorist<BR/>• George Bush – Skull & Bones aka The Order of Death, Bohemian Grove member (both Luciferian), family biz partners w/ both Nazis and Bin Laden’s too – go figure<BR/>• Ozzy Osbourne – promotes Satanism<BR/>• Ghandi – rejects Christ with self-empowered religion <BR/>• OJ Simpson – haven’t heard of any repentance from him yet, but he may ask for his sins to be forgiven<BR/>• Billy Graham – 33 Degree Freemason (which, yes, by default means he’s a Luciferian; check their ‘bible’: “Morals & Dogma”) Kinda makes me wonder about 34 degrees.<BR/><BR/>I’ve brought to light that on BAP’s altars are Odin’s Cross and the Octagram (which represent Baal and Ashtoroth) b/c God’s Word is quite clear (many times over) that He hates pagan idols on His altars. <BR/><BR/>Which is more bizarre? That I notice these things or that they are actually happening in my home church? Secondly, if I’ve pointed out anything that is false, please correct me. God just instructs us to:<BR/><BR/>And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.<BR/>Eph 5:11<BR/><BR/>As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. These promote controversies rather than God's work—which is by faith. <BR/>1 Timothy 1:3-4<BR/><BR/>I’ve brought up other issues that are clear in the bible with Brewer and Hinnman and they’ve brushed me off with “there are different translations of the bible” or “Jesus nailed the Law to cross” or “no one can understand Revelations.” <BR/><BR/>For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.<BR/>Romans 16:18<BR/><BR/>For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions. But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane<BR/>1 Timothy 1:6-9<BR/><BR/>And of course, let us not forget 2 Peter 2.<BR/><BR/>I know we are called to be patient and loving, but I really think something is wrong with the leadership of Bel Air and may be consciously serving Catholic interests. <BR/><BR/>In His name,<BR/>DavidEzekiel3https://www.blogger.com/profile/05706814472748556319noreply@blogger.com