The sticky note of “scandalizers”

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MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Thursday, May 29th.

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Good morning. I’m Mary Reichard.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: controversy within the Presbyterian Church in America.

Last week, the denomination’s chief administrative officer Bryan Chapell revealed a list of names of men he says hurt the church’s reputation by attacking other Christians.He called them “scandalizers.” That revelation has triggered multiple appeals to investigate Chapell’s character, along with letters of concern, and many questions about how the PCA will handle the fallout. Reporter Zoe Miller has more.

ZOE MILLER: All it took was a small sticky note to set a controversy in motion.

BRYAN CHAPELL: Longing for relationships is up, depression is way up, anxiety is way up …

That’s Bryan Chapell, the Presbyterian Church in America’s stated clerk. He appeared on a recent episode of the Gospelbound podcast. The episode covered the challenges modern churches face with generational divides. The show’s host Collin Hansen brought up the subject of men who spend too much time performing for the applause of their peers by trying to scandalize others. And that was when Chapell brought up his list.

CHAPELL: Those are the names of the scandalizers, the people who have invested hours every day attacking others for their supposed lack of faithfulness, for their compromise…whose identity comes from scandalizing others. And every name on that list has either left his family, left the faith, or taken his life - every name on that list.

Chapell then briefly held up the sticky note. It was only on screen for a split second, and he says he didn’t intend for anyone to read it. But when a video of Hansen and Chapell recording the podcast was published, viewers were able to pause, zoom in, and read most of the names on the list.

Since the interview’s May 20th release date, Chapell’s list of so-called “scandalizers” has made the rounds on social media. It’s triggered multiple formal complaints against him, and drawn official letters of concern from sister Presbyterian denominations. Many people are asking the question: what should be done?

Some of the men on the list are pastors in good standing with the PCA or with other Presbyterian denominations. A number of them dispute Chapell’s characterization of them as “scandalizers.”

CARL TRUEMAN: I have no idea why my name appears on Dr. Chapell’s list.

Carl Trueman is a professor of Biblical and theological studies at Grove City College and an ordained pastor in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. I asked him why he thought his name was on the list.

TRUEMAN: My writings, lectures, sermons, and podcasts are not characterized by attacks on other Christians.

Trueman told me that Chapell apologized to him privately.

TRUEMAN: But public actions have public consequences. The existence of and display of such a list is having a negative impact on the relationship between the PCA and other NAPARC denominations. As far as the PCA response goes, I’m sure that they are taking this seriously, and working hard towards a satisfactory resolution. At a minimum, public and private apologies to those named on the list are appropriate, because Dr. Chapell has caused genuine pain and distress for those named and their families.

Another name on the list is David Winecoff, a minister who died in 1993 in a mountain climbing accident. Winecoff’s friend, pastor Doug Hart, believes that the list was a serious offense against Winecoff and his family.

DOUG HART: He (Chapell) had made the statement that everybody on that list had either left the faith, their family, or taken their own life…and David never left his family, never left his faith, he was in good standing as a pastor, no charges against him or anything. And his family loved him dearly. So the only possible reason he could be on there is he’s suggesting that David took his own life, which grieved me as his friend.

Hart has since sent in a formal request to investigate Chapell’s Christian character on the basis of this list. In PCA polity, that’s called a 31-2 request.

HART: Well, you know, we talk a lot in the PCA about being able to disagree agreeably, and you know iron sharpens iron, and sparks fly, but the best thing to do is treat each other as brothers and not as enemies even when we differ. And so for David to be on the list of…whatever that was..just to me is remembering… To harbor that resentment that must be there is just injurious to our church.

The North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council, or NAPARC, is a group of Presbyterian churches connected by shared doctrine and fraternal bonds. Several men who appeared on Chapell’s list are elders in other NAPARC churches.

FRANK SMITH: I don’t think that the actions of an individual should affect fraternal relations…

That’s Frank Smith, a pastor in one of the sister denominations. He also appears on the list. Smith ran a newspaper in the early 2000s that covered some controversial PCA news. He thinks that may be the reason Chapell included his name. He believes that the PCA’s bond with its sister churches can be strengthened by properly handling this incident.

SMITH: As a matter of fact, assuming an appropriate response by the PCA, the outcome may very well help to effect stronger bonds.

Despite the seriousness of the incident, Smith feels sympathy for Chapell’s situation.

SMITH: Well, I am saddened by this current scandal. You know, it’s always difficult when someone by his own actions creates this kind of situation for himself, and particularly so in the latter stages of his career.

For Smith, the appropriate response to a situation like this is humility and reflection.

SMITH: What should our response be? It should be prayer, prayer for the person and his family…humility, willingness not only to forgive, but also willingness to recognize that there, but for the grace of God, go I. And of course, also with the hope that out of this can come a sweetness, out of bitter can come a sweetness.

Chapell is a member of the PCA’s administrative committee, and they’ll meet to discuss this issue next Friday.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Zoe Miller.

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