“Mohler, who had been pressed heavily by Phil on this issue for nearly an hour, who had just stated moments before that he is open to anyone examining his ministry and methods for dealing with social justice, refused to engage Phil in meaningful discussion.”
(Jeff Maples – Reformation Charlotte) This week marked the 2019 annual Shepherds’ Conference at John MacArthur’s Grace Church, a traditionally very conservative, biblically-grounded gathering of like-minded believers to teach and preach the Word of God while exhorting believers to go into the world and do the same. MacArthur and Grace Church, while not classically Reformed in doctrine, are both conservative in theology and Calvinistic in soteriology (the doctrine of salvation). In other words, in MacArthur’s 50 years of ministry, he’s held unapologetically and unwaveringly to sound biblical ideology.
This year, The Shepherd’s Conference invited three Evangelical leaders — leaders who have been under fire over the last year for their prominent roles in advancing the cause of social justice. These leaders were Ligon Duncan, Mark Dever, and Al Mohler.
During the conference, a Q&A session was held which was moderated by Phil Johnson, executive director of MacArthur’s Grace To You. The session was largely overtaken by the topic of social justice, and the concerns of many who see these men as complicit in — if not outright perpetrators of — this movement. Johnson asked some very direct questions, and the conversation, by any discernible standards, got heated really quick.
It was very obvious to anyone with a modicum of common sense that Mohler was extremely uncomfortable and offended by Johnson’s directness — Al Mohler became noticeably angry.
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