SHAME ON YOU CHRIS ROSEBROUGH / PHIL JOHNSON / JUSTIN PETERS RE JD HALL

(3) F4F | The Fall of JD Hall - YouTube

Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. (Ephesians 5:11).

It is likely that a number of people in Sydney Montana are rejoicing and praising the Lord following the arrest of JD Hall on the 11th of May for DUI, and the later charges of domestic violence with a weapon and embezzlement. Hall is no longer listed as the pastor of Fellowship Baptist Church in Sydney, Montana, and he has been removed from the staff of Protestia (originally Pulpit & Pen).

It is difficult to comprehend the attitude of Chris Rosebrough, Phil Johnson and Justin Peters during the above "discussion" dated 7th of July. This video appeared to me to be a blatant attempt to block others from publicly evaluating Hall's "ministry". The seriousness of the accusations against Hall does not warrant the accusation of "gloating" or "gossiping" against those who have ventured to express their views publicly. Does Justin Peters claim to know the intentions of the heart? (Hebrews 4:12). Someone who sets themselves up as a pastor with a public profile should be tested biblically and should be held accountable and publicly exposed. (1 John 4:1). It is pertinent to point out that the discussion is not limited exclusively to Rosebrough and his cronies, and that others do actually have the right to discuss and question Hall's "ministry", particularly in light of recent events. Isn't this precisely what these three "watchmen" do in cases that do not involve their own particular clique? Was Paul gossiping about the problem at Corinth? (1 Corinthians 5:1). The church should operate in an atmosphere of complete integrity and openness, especially when things go wrong. 

Our three "watchmen" described how they had implored and admonished Hall on multiple occasions privately regarding his "pugnacious" attitude. Phil Johnson compared Hall to the infamous pastor, J Frank Norris, who shot and killed an unarmed man in his office in 1927. {1}  Rosebrough, Johnson and Peters obviously recognized how dangerous Hall was, both spiritually and physically, and yet they decided to limit their actions to private admonitions!

In such a dire situation it would have been appropriate to put some sort of plan into place. Although the JD Hall situation did not fit the guidelines in Matthew 18, it would have been wise to set up a meeting and remonstrate with Hall as a group. After that, it would have been appropriate to approach Hall's church elders. I believe that this step would have been futile at that time, but at least it would have demonstrated their concerns. According to Micah Hershberger, Hall fired the elders of Fellowship Bible Church in 2014 as a result of their attempts to hold him accountable following the suicide of Braxton Caner. {2} It appears that during 2014, Fellowship Independent Church quickly degenerated into a church with an unhealthy pattern of leadership. In other words, Hall allegedly appointed yes-men as elders, and FBC was effectually transformed into an autocracy. As such, any attempt to hold Hall accountable would have been futile prior to recent events. 

The last step would have been for our three "watchmen" to warn the body of Christ publicly about Hall on their platforms instead of turning a blind eye and essentially propping him up. Paul did not hesitate to publicly call out Peter, his fellow apostle, when he was in error and in danger of damaging the body of Christ. (Galatians 2:11-14). It appears that different criteria apply to many discernment ministries where their own camp is concerned. Given Hall's aberrant behaviour and his alleged arsenal of weapons, it is clear that the concerns of Phil Johnson that Hall posed a life-threatening hazard to others was no exaggeration. How then can we explain his reticence to sound the alarm? (Ezekiel 33:6).

If your brother sins against you, go and confront him privately. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, regard him as you would a pagan or a tax collector. (Matthew 18:16-17).

Justin Peters' dishonesty

   

Justin Peters: "For the last several years I have not publicly connected myself with Jordan, I have not promoted any of his teaching.." (23:00 mark) 

Justin Peters at Fellowship Bible Church Church 7th March 2021: Good morning. I hope everyone is doing well this morning. It is a joy to be with you, it truly is. I have been here once before and it's been a while, seven eight or so, nine years ago maybe, it's been quite a while, so it's a joy to be back. I appreciate so much Jordan's friendship and the kindness and support that he has shown me.." {3} 

To add to the reticence of these "watchmen" to publicly expose Hall as an extremely dangerous man, we are also faced with further difficulties regarding the dishonesty of Justin Peters. Peters' rightly exposes all kinds of dishonesty and lies amongst false teachers, but apparently the rules do not apply to him! We now have to try to make sense of his own dishonesty in falsely stating that he had not publicly connected with Hall for "several years". I have given Justin Peters the benefit of the doubt on previous occasions, particularly regarding the Doreen Virtue incident. It should have been clear to both Rosebrough and Peters that Doreen Virtue had no business seamlessly switching her New Age platform to a Christian "ministry", including detailed accounts of her dubious vision of Jesus, both online and in her book. {4} Rosebrough and Peters' managed to bring some correction to Doreen Virtue, but the whole mess could have been avoided if they had done their due diligence and acted wisely instead of making excuses for yet another Calvinist. 

We have heard nothing further from our three "watchmen" regarding Hall since their attempt to close down the discussion on the 7th of July. Does this mean that they will follow the pattern of other hirelings who choose to ignore troublesome issues hoping that they will go away? The sin of partiality is very serious, particularly for those claiming to operate discernment ministries. (Proverbs 24:23). This is especially relevant considering their wholesale condemnation of Word-Faith NAR prosperity teachers and other heretics. (James 3:1). If we can’t take the plank out of our own eye, then we have no chance of addressing the errors of others. (Matthew 7:5). 

But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. (1 Corinthians 11:31).

1. Lessons from the Megachurch Pastor Who Killed a Man (thegospelcoalition.org)
2. (1) The Jordan Hall Story - Corruption, Cover-Up & Abuse - YouTube
3. SermonAudio - Media Player
4. WOLVES IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING: FALSE PROPHETS AND BIBLE TEACHERS IN THE LAST DAYS: DOREEN VIRTUE: BEYOND REPROOF (bewareofthewolves.blogspot.com)

J.D. Hall Removed from Church for ‘Failure to Demonstrate Repentance’ (julieroys.com)