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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>For those of you following any of this <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Christ</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Church</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>
stuff, the following is the elder’s letter kicking me out and my
response. Does this mean that my wife and I, and my children, are no
longer “kirkers”? <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>thanks<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Michael<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<h2><b><font size=5 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:18.0pt'><a
href="http://poohsthink.com/?p=472"
title="Permanent Link to The Elders of Christ Church Kick Pooh Out">The Elders
of Christ Church Kick Pooh Out</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h2>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><a href="http://poohsthink.com/?cat=1"
title="View all posts in General Pooh Thoughts">General Pooh Thoughts</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The
Elders just kicked me out of Christ Chruch as a member not in good standing (as
of this morning I thought I was a member in good standing), and they did so
just in the nick of time: my duties as a full time graduate student end
tomorrow at 5 pm and Chris Schlect had promised to help me formulate charges
against them by about now. Below is first my response to them, and then
following that is their letter to which I’m responding (perhaps not the
best ordering, but I sort of prefer this way by now):<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>May 11,
2006<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Dear
Elders,<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>I just
received your letter. I am certainly horrified that the Session of Christ
Church, as a group, would now be willing to impulsively take such a quick turn
in their approach to me and sign their names to the numerous lies, rhetorical
deceit, and subterfuge contained in just this one short letter. This kind of
arrogant unaccountability can only lead you as a Session to greater corruption,
which saddens me greatly. I have of course been bringing my concerns and
accusations to you for half a year in countless ways, and at every step I have
been belittled, discouraged, or else simply ignored—and at times I have
even been mocked. Any later punctuations for the public record expressing your
willingness to meet with me have not been “invitations” at all, but
rather self-defensive arguments; and what follows these hollow claims has
consistently revealed your hypocrisy in making them. Your recent “go
ahead and file charges” conjoined with “you don’t even
believe what you are saying and you are living in a fantasy world” is a
good illustration of your warm “invitations” to go to you about my
concerns. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The
meetings between me and Wilson were only made available because Peter Leithart
did precisely what the elders of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Christ</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Church</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> were responsible
to do, yet refused to do; Leithart did not have the responsibility that you did
to do what he did. Your reference to these meetings in your own defense is
shameful deceit. Leithart was not prompted by the elders of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Christ</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Church</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>;
rather, Dr. Leithart initiated bringing me and Doug Wilson together as equal
parties so that I could finally express my concerns and accusations to him
privately. Doug Wilson would have never encouraged meetings like this since he
was busy merely accusing and belittling me. Leithart did this with the attitude
that he was sufficiently “sympathetic” with both sides, an attitude
completely antithetical to that exhibited by Wilson, Jones, and Lawyer since
even before 6 months ago. And of course <st1:City w:st="on">Wilson</st1:City>’s
refusal to listen to me and his continual self-incrimination during these
meetings is not the same thing as the elders of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Christ</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Church</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>
willingly hearing my concerns—you have in fact successfully refused to
listen to any of my concerns the last six months. These meetings initiated by
Dr. Leithart reveal only your failure to act according to your most basic
responsibilities and now it reveals your own incoherent hypocrisy, not my
refusal to make my concerns and accusations known to you. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The
steady response of Wilson and others attacking my character, intellectual
ability, and even mental sanity over the last six months is clear enough
evidence that my concerns and accusations have been registered perfectly well.
I have just recently specified my accusations once again in emails to the
Session. And yet here you say that I have not brought my concerns or
accusations to you for almost half a year; and you even suggest that I have not
made specifiable accusations. The pattern is clear here: you will lie and say
anything you want, regardless of what the clear facts are. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>You have
not been willing to provide support, evidence, or argument in your claims
against me; the “proof-texting” of numerous dates of correspondence
in this letter only evidences further rhetorical dishonesty, not careful
citational support for your slanderous claims. The Session of Christ Church has
therefore decided to become a band of liars and cowards. In order to claim here
that I am no longer able to fulfill my membership vows you simply twist my own
words after ripping them out of context. You have not presented a cogent reason
why I would be released as a member not in good standing nor have you given me
the ability to defend myself against whatever fresh accusations you wish to now
bring against me. You continue to not even answer simple questions from me nor
even respond to my correspondence in any way that acknowledges what I have
written to you. This is consistent with how you have treated me the last half a
year, and how <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Wilson</st1:place></st1:City>
has treated me for far longer. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>You also
would know that the incredible burdens I am currently under due to your recent
aggressive stance towards me, my business, family, and my full time status as a
graduate student are to be lightened enormously very soon. I have put off all
sorts of personal and professional meetings and tasks over the last three weeks
because of this. In fact, my duties as a full time graduate student will end
completely tomorrow at 5pm; Wilson and Jones are not ignorant of academic calendars
or my current burdens. Whatever formal charges I have been considering and my
expressed determination to begin meeting with elders individually would have
obviously been expressed by me, at this point, after 5pm tomorrow. We are now
even nearing the time that Chris Schlect promised to begin helping me formulate
charges against you. I can find no other explanation for the impulsiveness of
your removal of me and my family from membership, although this is perfectly
consistent with your cowardly stance against me. There are no important effects
that would come about soon because of this impulsive decision of yours outside
of my inability to file formal charges against you, or my right to request
private meetings with the elders as a member. Also recall that I just recently
asked you what Sunday would work best for me to spend 10 minutes before the
entire congregation. You did not respond to this of course, but rather
formally, and unjustifiably, removed my ability to do this. This is simply more
evidence that your cult-like status is moving closer to a full cultish
expression. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>This is
by no means my full response to this letter; I simply wanted to briefly
acknowledge here my receipt of your letter in some kind of meaningful way.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Yours,<br>
Michael Metzler <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The
Letter I am responded to:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>May 11,
2006<br>
Michael Metzler<br>
<st1:address w:st="on"><st1:Street w:st="on">P.O. Box</st1:Street> 8282</st1:address><br>
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Moscow</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">ID</st1:State>
<st1:PostalCode w:st="on">83843</st1:PostalCode></st1:place> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Dear
Michael, <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The
session of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Christ</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Church</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> received your
letter of May 9, 2006 in which you emphasize that “the Session is
required to discipline [you] formally.” We certainly agree with all your
quotations from Mother Kirk, and we continue to excommunicate and suspend
members as their circumstances require. But we have never excommunicated
someone for disagreeing with us or for being emotionally confused. You’re
a brother, and your own letter says that you have lost “any remaining
emotional ability to show up at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Christ</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Church</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> in a spiritually
healthy manner.” In other words, you have lost the ability to uphold your
membership. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>You say
that we are “required to finally listen to [your] concerns and
accusations.” But you had face-to-face meetings about your concerns with
pastor Wilson with pastor Leithart mediating (meetings 2-6-06; 2-20-06) and
then you declined to pursue those meetings further (your correspondence 2-22-06).
In addition, you’ve had ample opportunity and invitations from us to
bring your concerns formally or informally (our correspondence 12-28-05;
1-19-06; 1-31-06; 3-18-06; 3-20-06), and you have not done so for almost half a
year. In our most recent letter (our correspondence 5-4-06), we made the offer
yet again to hear you out carefully, if you requested it. You declined again
(your correspondence 5-9-06). From the start, you have not followed through on
your numerous threats to bring charges while either apparently urging us to
formulate them for you (your correspondence 3-20-06) or saying we refuse to
hear you (your correspondence 5-4-06). You need to take responsibility for
specifying your own accusations and for not requesting to meet with us. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>In your
most recent letter you speak of our “tyranny” and
“harassment.” Similarly, in the past, you’ve suggested that
we’re guilty of spiritual abuse and of being a cult. We’re, now,
merely freeing you from our supposed “tyranny.” In light of the
above comments, our May 4 letter, your continued inability to heed the golden
rule on your blog as we exhorted (our correspondence 1-23-06; 5-4-06), and your
own choice to withdraw from worship with us while not pursuing your accusations
in an orderly manner, this morning the elders voted to release you and your
family from membership in Christ Church. Obviously, given the above, we do not
release you as a member in good standing. We wish this could have turned out
differently. May the Lord have mercy on us all and bless us all with greater
sanctification, creativity, and joy. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>For the
session of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Christ</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Church</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>, May 11 2006, <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Douglas
Jones <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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