Well, tonight is the night that the event is being held at our church to raise money for the Israeli hospital. I have a clear conscience that I did my best to get the information out to the church that no one on our church staff would bother explaining to the congregation. I tried to explain that our church has no business sponsoring and advertising an event to raise funds for a hospital that performs abortions - no matter all the other good things the hospital does - they still perform abortions. I tried to explain that the impetus of the event may not have been conviction on our pastors part to help the Jews in this manner, but the impetus may have been financial interests of "prominent deacons" and other men in the biomedical field. I did my best to make the argument that hosting this event at our church, an event NOT explicitly proclaiming Jesus as Messiah may harm our ministry in Jacksonville, and does a disservice to those lost people (Jew and Gentile) who attend.
How sad that our pastor never did address the concerns that discerning members have about holding this event at our church. How sad that staff members approached by various members had little to no information about the event and offered no answers other than to "go talk to the event's advisory panel". I received an email from a seminary student at Southwestern Seminary who is quite shocked that Mac Brunson is sponsoring this event at his church - this student explained that Mac preached a sermon at SWBTS recently on the lack of discernment in our churches today - yet here is Mac not having the discernment to tell this group to have the event at another venue, and not having the integrity or wisdom to know that he has a duty to explain fully the reasons why this event is a worthy event for our church. But this is a new day at FBC Jax under Mac Brunson.
I hope some of our members go. Maybe some members who attend will report back here. Here is a list of questions deserving an answer:
1. Were our ushers there to greet the attendees?
2. Did our ushers greet the visitors and hand out visitor's cards and collect them?
3. Were any of the Christian symbols covered for this event, such as crosses, or the names of Jesus displayed below the pulpit?
4. How many times was the name Jesus mentioned?
5. Was the gospel ever presented in any form or fashion?
6. What was Mac's speech about?
7. Were the names "M-EDG" or "Florida Israel Biomedical Initiative" mentioned?
8. How many people attended?
9. What kind of music, if any, was played?
10. Who was the host or master of ceremonies for the evening?
11. Did this have the feel of a church service, or was it more of a political event, a fund raiser?
12. Were deacons and FBC Jacksonville staff present? Which deacons were present for this event?
13. Did Mike Cohen or John Perry of M-EDG speak at the event, or were they mentioned or present?
14. Were any comments made by the speakers regarding the objections to this event being held at FBC Jax?
15. Who is the 501(c)3 organization collecting the funds and responsible for distributing them to the hospital?
