Jordan Hall is my friend, one of my best friends. I blogged with him for years at this website. He’s supported me when I needed help most. I was licensed to preach at his church. We communicated with each other daily for years. When Jordan exited the ministry, he gave me Pulpit & Pen. I think he knew he could trust me with it. I think he knew I could be trusted to write a post like this one.
Jordan and I were raised in similar church environments and have always lined up fairly closely theologically (and politically). If there is a single thing I have rejected from my church upbringing, it’s Darbyism (more commonly referred to as pre-millenial dispensationalism). I remember well going to Seminary and learning how to teach others all the things I’d been taught at church my whole life. Some people leave Seminary as liberals, atheists, and heretics. I left more galvanized than ever, believing strongly what I’d always believed about Christ and His Kingdom…except for the Darbyism. I’m frankly disappointed that it is the pre-eminent eschatalogy view of my Bible Belt home.
The point of this post is not an explanation of why we should reject Darbyism. Like many Christians trained in theology and preaching, eschatalogy is my weakest area of expertise. There is a lot I don’t know in that area; there is much that I won’t understand until our Lord returns. Of one eschatalogical thing I am certain: the church is Israel. So, I’m not here to express any theological disagreement with Jordan’s upcoming book, The Hyphenated Heresy: Judeo-Christianity.
How could I? I haven’t read it. I’m confident, knowing Jordan, that he’ll rightly handle the biblical material. I am not so confident, however, in his co-author, Joel Webbon. You see, I think Joel Webbon is exactly the sort of man about whom Pulpit & Pen was created to warn. Pulpit & Pen is a discernment and polemics website. We’re concerned with downgrade here. Joel Webbon is, well, a entrepreneur dressed up as a pastor, though he is unqualified to hold that office. He reminds me more of the Stacey Keach character in American History X than he does a sincere and faithful preacher.
To those who may be drawing the wrong conclusion, this is not a cover my butt post. Lord knows if I thought what the evangelical peanut galley thought of my association with Jordan Hall, I would have disavowed him years ago. Friendship and loyalty mean more to me than the approval of evangelical gatekeepers. In good times and bad times, my friends are my friends. This is not a cover my butt post. It’s a get your head out of your butt post. If you are reading this and you think Joel Webbon is a faithful and loving servant of the Lord Jesus Christ to whom the church should listen, get your head out of your butt.
The point of this post is not to document the downgrade that is Joel Webbon. You can take my assertion or leave it from what is already known about him. Jordan Hall has always taught that discernment is a gift from God, one that should be trained. I know that Jordan is certainly trained enough to be able to recognize Joel Webbon for what he is. Knowing that Jordan knows what Joel Webbon is and still choses to partner with him disappoints me all the more.
It’s a sad day for the Kingdom, especially at this website, to see Jordan Hall partner will Joel Webbon as a co-author.
*Please note that the preceding is my personal opinion. It is not necessarily the opinion of any entity by which I am employed, any church at which I am a member, any church which I attend, or any educational institution from which I have graduated. Any copyrighted material displayed or referenced is done under the doctrine of fair
**Shortly after the publication of this post, I was contacted by Jordan Hall. He suggested that I publish his response the this article. Jordan’s response is below:
“I appreciate the opportunity to respond on the website I founded, and I’m appreciative to Seth for stewarding it since I’ve left, and making sure its many years of content stays up for people to use. Many of its articles are timeless and it serves as a testimony to the decade of work that went into the great Big Eva Resistance that is now in the final stages of being complete. For that reason, it’s a historic landmark for the movement.
Seth’s article highlights what is probably my only disagreement I’ve had with him over the years, of a philosophical nature, which has manifested from time to time in different circumstances. Seth has pronounced Joel Webbon disqualified for the pastorate, and therefore felt saddened enough I wrote a book with him that it required making an announcement of it at my former website. I assume he speaks of sins committed a dozen or more years ago, which he self-confessed and repented for at the time, and his church’s lack of a judgment that disqualified him. The presumption of permanent disqualification being a biblical concept is required for such a view. I’ve been abundantly clear that while I believe in practical terms it does, David Morrill at Protestia makes a compelling case that biblically it doesn’t. In any event, I’m unwilling to make charges of sin upon Joel’s church or undermine their decisions on that matter.
Meanwhile, both Protestia and myself pumped the breaks years ago on the endless association blaming because, as we determined, even our best of brothers, like the late MacArthur, will on occasionally be in the crosshairs, and we have a choice between denouncing the entire world or being hypocrites. Seth is fine denouncing the whole world, obviously, and that’s one of the things we’ve always appreciated about him. But it gets lonely there.
I’m not willing to engage in denunciation rituals against Joel or anyone else. And when he says or does things I disagree with I’m happy to say so if I feel compelled. But I won’t dishonor the decisions made by Joel’s church about his qualifications. And to this day, I’ve not even dishonored such pronouncements about me, even when not in my favor, because I don’t get to rewrite the Bible. I’d say that’s consistency.
Meanwhile, the book’s task, which is a defense of Covenant Theology as it relates to the topic of Israel, is necessary and the timing is pivotal because the Judaizing heresy is swallowing evangelicalism whole. I chose a co-author with reach, because the topic is so incredibly heated and the cowardice of pastors and “Christian influencers” is so palpable, it’s next to impossible to find someone to speak loudly and clearly on this issue. No one wants to be called horrible names and be denounced so loudly for taking a stand on the Bible. So…I found someone who doesn’t mind making such a stand, and doesn’t cower at being denounced.
There are that many left, and the days are short.
I’m simply unwilling to engage in the same type of personality-driven polemics that, over time, I’ve grown out of. I prefer to talk about doctrines more than people, or engage in the type of personality polemics that has us endlessly worried about protecting our own reputations.”
