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.  

Mickey and Hannah,
My name is Tim Johnson. I now serve as the Chairman of the BBC's whole Elder Council. On behalf of the elders I want to apologize for taking so very long to offer a formal reply to your letter to the elders. That was not right. I am sorry; please forgive me. Where would we be without Jesus in moments like this? May the forgiveness we have in Christ help us be kind to one another, tenderhearted and forgiving.

Please know that, as far as I'm able to discern, I believe that each individual member of BBC's Elder Council earnestly seeks to shepherd in the fear of God knowing that we will give an account to the Great Shepherd. We pray that we will be found faithful.

You have requested that the elders authorize a 3rd party, independent investigation (of Bethlehem culture and leadership) by an organization which has experience with institutional abuses. While seeking to be faithful to the leading of the Holy Spirit, the elders of Bethlehem do not believe that such an investigation is warranted. The congregation has also spoken to this proposal and they voted against it. If we as a body are in error, we pray that God will make that clear to us.

The downtown campus elders over the next several weeks plan to continue to process all that has happened and to report, respond,and repent as needed. If you'd like to talk with me, I'd be happy to do so. My cell number is: [omitted].

In Christ, Tim

 Some comments: 

1. I appreciated getting something, though it did seem out of place given the other things that have been said to us by Kenny Stokes and Ken Currie. I appreciate the attempt to reach out and close a loop, though it was not what we were hoping for.  
2. I felt like the exhortation, "May the forgiveness we have in Christ help us be kind to one another, tenderhearted and forgiving" in the midst of a paragraph seeking to apologize felt like another attempt to pressure us to drop our concerns, as if to say, "Jesus teaches us to be kind and forgiving, shouldn't you do that?"  Thankfully, when I wrote back and said as much, he apologized for those words and said that he didn't intend to pressure us with Bible (though he acknowledged it could be perceived as such), it was just to stress the unity we had in Jesus and our shared need for him.  I appreciated that apology and acknowledgement.  
3. I also appreciated the word "repent." I believe that's the first time I've heard any pastor or elder mention the possibility of needing to repent over anything from the last year.  Even then, that hope of real change is tempered a great deal with his addition "as needed."  I believe it is very much needed, and not only from downtown elders as it wasn't only the downtown elders who made the decisions or performed the harmful actions.  
4. I didn't appreciate his other spiritual language (saying they are led by the Spirit, and that God will make it clear), seeming to use God's sovereignty and spiritual guidance as a cloak to actually avoid addressing issues.  
5. I was disappointed by his unwillingness actually address any of the concerns raised.  Even if they don't think an investigation is warranted, is there really nothing that needs to be said or done?  This email seems to say as much.  
6. He again appeals to the vote by the congregation as if the vote taken in July was equivalent to an exoneration.  This seemed to hide the elders' responsibility behind a vote taken by a (relatively) uninformed congregation.  
7. I was frustrated that he claimed the issues were only downtown issues. Andy Naselli is a North elder, all the elders were involved in dismissing grievances without an investigation on 3/16/21, all the elders were involved in the "tribunal" meeting on 4/20/21 where Bryan and Ming-Jinn were pressured to give an account for their actions, and Ken Currie is a lead pastor over all 3 campuses.  It's not like the decisions and actions from the past year were purely downtown decisions.  
8. I emailed him these concerns, and apart from his apology for the use of Bible he said that he did not think addressing the issues in another email would be constructive.  Instead, he offered to meet in person.  Since I was very disappointed with how our last in person meeting with Kenny Stokes and Chad Geyen was portrayed by Kenny, I declined.