Date: August 2nd, 2001
'Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.' Gal 6:1-2
Dear brother George, Mark and Dan,
We have been here about 2 months so I thought it prudent to set forth the issues at hand and suggest a course of action that hopefully will be tenable for all parties involved. I would like to preface this letter by saying that I have delayed in writing and fully discussing these issues that I might have more time to pray and listen to all parties involved, as well I have thought about many passages in the Word of God, in order to seek what scriptures most accurately fit this situation. I understand that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the forces of darkness in heavenly places, the enemy is seeking to compromise the testimony and overthrow the faith of many. When Zachariah was asked ‘what do you see’, he said that he saw the golden candlestick, not the weakened condition or the compromise of his own day. I am believing the Lord to enable us to work out our issues to the end that the testimonies might continue to express His interests and purpose. Part of this means that we must speak ‘the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.’ Though it is unfortunate that we have to deal with these issues it seems to me of the utmost importance that we do so as swiftly as possible to avoid further damage to the work in San Luis Obispo and this ministry as a whole. I think there are three main areas that need to be considered if we are to go forward and see healing and restoration in the work and in David’s life.
There are many areas that we can look at in the history of San Luis Obispo, but the main issues at hand are regarding David. One of the main reasons that we are still in a quandary is the refusal of David to admit any culpability regarding the conditions of the assembly, his marriage or family. He sees himself as the one who is being persecuted and treated unfairly. The need is to explain to him why we are standing the way we are regarding his responsibilities in the assembly and the work. I think it is important for David to come to the place where he accepts that his behavior has led to the decisions regarding the Lord’s supper, preaching and leadership in San Luis Obispo and why he is not in the work, or full time in the work. Though we may not want to bring up things in the past, if there is going to be a reinstatement of any of the above responsibilities mentioned above, we can’t ignore the history that has led up to the present.
There are in my opinion three areas to address and consider:
How to deal with the grievous accusations: I do not want to delineate all of the reputed sins of David, there are many, but I would like to know how to proceed in the matter. Do we investigate the accusations that some say can easily be verified by two or three witnesses? Do we ignore them based upon the source? Do we ignore the accusations Judy is bringing forth, supposedly verifiable by her own journals of the past years? From what I understand Mark has specifically asked David if he was practicing some of the alleged accusations and David denied them across the board. Do we simply take his word and go forward or what? One thing that concerns me is that David has told me that if a person commits a crime and then repents he views that that person never committed that crime and he would testify on behalf of that person. Does this give him the right to say he never did these things that he is being accused of? I would also mention that David said he never hit his wife, but on further questioning he admitted to using an open hand and thus it is not viewed in his mind as striking or hitting. As well he told me that he did so twice, but to Roberto he said 4 different times. I am not trying to catch David, but this is not a clearing of the matter. Direction in these matters would be beneficial.
Final thoughts and conclusion:
As David is committed to live in this area to work out some of these issues and the idea of him moving to another location has been rejected, we should begin to work this out up here in San Luis Obispo. I think it is difficult for Dan and Mark to have a real clear picture on the day to day issues from 250 miles away, sometimes he talks as though he is only accountable to Fullerton. If there is to be any marriage counseling that is fine, but even here some of these marital issues cross over into assembly life, so we need to use wisdom in this as well. Having said this, I think before David is given any responsibility in the work there needs to be a hardy amen from brethren from various quarters in the work.
I am in no way unsympathetic to the difficult place that David is in, I know that he has suffered greatly in this past year and I do not want to add to this unnecessarily. I sincerely believe that we need to help him by letting him know how we are all looking at this. Not to have a confrontational time, but to seek to honestly and in a forthright way present to him the facts and seek to come to a common ground. David may also shed some light on the way he perceives these issues and the way he is thinking about every thing now, he seems to be thinking very clear and his speech is lucid. For now it is very awkward for the saints in San Luis Obispo, hopefully we can begin to move forward in these considerations.
May the God of all grace and mercy grant to us grace and wisdom to help our dear brother. I believe that God is able to do the impossible, to restore our brother and to defeat the intentions of the enemy in attempting to bring this ministry into disrepute. It is not time to ignore what we have at hand, but for all parties to come to proper conclusions. The work in San Luis Obispo is doing well, new ones are coming out, there has been consistent salvation and some who have left are returning saying that the Lord is doing a new thing. I desire this to continue and for David to once again make a valuable contribution in this ministry.
Sincerely, your brother in Christ,
Danny Edwards