An official response to our open letter

Below is an email from Tim Johnson, the new Chairman of Bethlehem's elder council (Kurt Elting-Ballard was the former Chair.  He and Tim Johnson have apparently swapped roles and Kurt is now the vice-Chair (which Tim previously had).  It was sent on Feb. 11, 2022.  A few comments below the email.  

Reflections on the Prophetic Visions Shared at Bethlehem 1 Year Ago

Last year on this date (3/26) there was an amazing Bethlehem downtown family meeting.  It was definitely my highlight of the year at church.  I'm writing about it now to share the visions with those who weren't there and to reflect on them.

A Letter From Pastor Steven Lee to the North Campus of Bethlehem Baptist Church

This was sent August 10 to the North Campus email list.  Portions of this letter were read at a 8/12 smaller Q&A that was hosted at the Downtown Campus.  It's reproduced below for future reference.  (I've redirected the links so they point to the correct site without the email tracking.)

Bethlehem Stories

A collection of stories I'm aware of from people harmed at Bethlehem Baptist Church and its connected ministries

Bethlehem Baptist Church 

Lydia Arant – Bethlehem Librarian 

Stephanie Denzer – BBC Ministry Assistant

1. Downtown Women's Staff Report - specific examples of mistreatment of women
2. Downtown Women's Staff Report - lack of follow up

The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk

It is hard to pick the right adjective to describe this book.  It certainly was incredibly helpful in giving clarity and understanding to trauma and its impacts on both the body and mind.  My typical word to describe this type of book is "excellent," highlighting the importance,

"But Look At The Fruit"

As we've raised our concerns at Bethlehem, one common response has been, "But look at the fruit." Several elders responded to our open letter by pointing to the good things happening at Bethlehem. One elder pointed to heartfelt Sunday worship and helpful sermons. Another elder pointed to good ministry happening overseas. Another one described an encouraging Global Focus week. And they didn't really engage with our concerns. So it seemed as though they were saying, "But look at the fruit!" I'm using fruit here as an umbrella term for any seemingly good ministry happening, either at Bethlehem itself (e.g. small groups, Sunday morning worship and preaching, Bible studies, etc.) or in the ministries it has launched (e.g. church plants, Global Partners, Campus Outreach, etc.)

Exodus 2:23-25

Exodus 2

23 During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. 24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.

Spiritual Abuse at Bethlehem

I believe that the leadership and system at Bethlehem Baptist Church are spiritually abusive.  I do not say those words lightly.  It has taken us some time to get to this point.  When we wrote our open letter and our one month retrospective, we deliberately avoided the term "spiritual abuse" because we weren't sure it fully applied.  Since writing the letter, we have learned a great deal.  We've learned more about what spiritual abuse is, we've heard more personal stories, and we've also learned more about what the elders have been aware of and done in the last years.  Collectively, that new information made us realize the actions we thought seemed "off" were actually far more sinister than we initially thought.  I now feel comfortable using the term "spiritual abuse" to describe what the elders are doing and have done at Bethlehem.  Why?