Cheryl Schatz

Mark,
I am very happy that you are considering cleaning up your article for publication and sending it to you. Good job!

I’m sorry you might have been offended about my comment regarding Frank. I think you were right, and i apologise to Frank for that.

Thank you, Mark, for your humility. While I try very hard not to do moderate people’s comments to remove things they have said, and usually people don’t say things unless they are hurting themselves, I do want to support those who come here and watch over them in case their integrity might be in question. I especially feel this way towards those who I have come to know by their comments over the past months and even years for some. I can see that they love Jesus like I do and I want my blog to be about unity and not be the cause of further division in the church. I still haven’t finished reading all the comments myself but if someone was calling you a liar or hinting that it was your motive to lie, I would feel compelled to defend you too. I want you to feel as much at home here as the others.

i have read numerously and in several places on your blogs where people are clearly attacking Grudem and Piper, rather than their views per se.

Wayne Grudem and Bruce Ware have been criticized on my blog for their views and the effects of their views. They are in a class by themselves along with CBMW in dividing the body of Christ. For the most part I don’t think their motives are called into question unless their writing has shown that they know the truth and they are withholding that truth. That appears to be the case for both of them in one point or another. That doesn’t sit well with me. I hope it doesn’t with you either. We don’t want to find ourselves protecting any man who distorts or withholds the truth with knowledge. This is a place where we can discuss these things and I give leeway to those who have been hurt by these things. If there is something especially harsh being said, I appreciate any who speaks up either publicly or privately to me so that I may try to bring our focus back and stay away from unwarranted personal attacks. It is not my intention to be inconsistent. I just may need a little more help as I can be overwhelmed too. This after all is a secondary part of my ministry and not my full focus so it cannot get my full attention as far as time goes.

I think the thing that I would like to encourage all is that we work hard to make our own comments as an example to all. Our best teaching is what we do ourselves as an example. I try hard to follow that although I have feet of clay too. It is my highest focus to honor the Lord Jesus first and then from there work on respect, patience and encouragement. Where I succeed in that, the honor goes to Jesus.