Debunking The Latest Blast At Brodersen
““I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away.They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.”
(John 16:1–3 ESV)
On February 24 of this year Karl MacCorcrain officiated a same sex wedding.
After he posted pictures of the nuptials, the conservative wing of what was once Calvary Chapel exploded in outrage.
Here on this blog, a comment was left implicating MacCorcrain’s father, John Henry Corcoran of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa and of course, Brian Brodersen.
MacCorcrain’s officiating a gay wedding was offered as proof that Brodersen, CC Costa Mesa, and the Calvary Global Network were flying head first into apostasy.
MacCorcrain used to be on staff at Costa Mesa.
Key phrase there is “used to be”.
He hasn’t been on staff there since 2014.
For those of you who are numerically challenged, that’s four years.
When contacted by me personally, MacCorcrain was shocked that a line was drawn to either his father or Brodersen for his actions as an independent agent.
He was clear that he is not affiliated with CCCM or Brodersen.
There will be a statement forthcoming from him, which I will publish here.
Not content with maligning Brodersen and Corcoran with the actions of someone acting independently, our commenter also had to malign family members.
In a moderated comment, further gross accusations were leveled against Brodersen and, as a bonus, false accusations against me that were allegedly part of a file Costa Mesa kept on me.
Welcome to church.
For the record, Brodersen has been clear about his opposition to same sex marriage.
For the record, Karl MacCorcrain is not affiliated with Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa or any other Calvary Chapel.
For the record, there has not been a shred of evidence given by or to anyone to back up the allegations against Brodersen.
For the record, it seems that nothing is beneath doing or saying by Brodersen’s enemies to take him down.
For the record, the scripture I posted makes me very nervous…some people think that destroying a man and his family is a favor to God.
“And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.”
CC Costa Mesa has a file on you? I would love to get my hands on that one Dude.
well-reasoned and researched response to LewP Lew.
I
Phil,
It’s pretty ugly stuff…
Thank you, fil…
The Bible quotation in this article is an excellent application of this slanderous matter. As in the original context, this sort of slander comes from those who would count themselves as religiously “conservative.” There’s a certain irony there, then and now.
On a lighter note, what does that verse do for your sort-of/semi/kinda preterism? Waxing prophetic, eh?
SMH,
I am not any variety of preterist.
That verse hasn’t a whit to do with the Preterist POV
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Michael,
Just an administrative question: Is it correct that the son (MacCorcrain) and father (Corcoran) have different last names? A quick google search seems to show the son went by the name Corcoran while at CCCM.
Michael,
Pascal said it best… “Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.” Good for you in standing against this sort of hatred and slander.
KevinH,
The son chose to go by a combination of his and his wife’s last names.
Thank you, Duane…
Thanks, Michael. I figured there was some explanation for it. It just looked unusual.
I think – FWIW – those who validate gossip, by whatever means, will not escape the judgement that is coming to the source of the ‘facts’ so-called
Our tongues can be just as guilty of murder as any assault rifle … IMHO … that is not to be equated with a righteous, forceful verbal response, btw. ?
Em,
Amen…
Michael,
Any explosion you’ve witnessed had to have been fairly muted. Your article is the first I’ve heard of it. Maybe I’m not privy to the same chatter…if not, I guess that’s something for which I can be grateful.
Even so, I’m wondering if what you labeled as the “conservative wing,” is really a handful of churches.
For what its worth…
Tim
Tim,
I thinks it’s a group of known power brokers who refuse to give up…
I’m so sorry, Michael, that you keep getting attacked by these crazy people……especially when you are not even doing anything but trying to bring us together in unity and love.
So there’s a liberal wing of Calvary Chapel? 😉
Dusty,
Thank you and thank you for being there for everyone here…
Scooter…only in comparison… 🙂
Yeah, that whole guilt by association thing really sux sometimes. It’s brutal, but nothing new, for sure.
Interesting that they don’t feel this way because Brian has performed screwed up sinful “Straight” marriage…Oh year that’s right straight sin gets a pass as long as it’s between a man and a woman..lol such hypocrites.
#23…. sin is sin is sin and doesnt get a pass, but it can be forgiven, by God and man, can it not? (of course, forgiven and overlooked arent quite synonymous terms, are they?). ?
I get tired of misaligned logic that seeks to establish a “guilt by association” narrative played by people who will look for any thread to discredit someone; in this case, Brodersen.
@19
There is a third way. I think many of us would consider ourselves moderates rather than liberals.
OK, I must ask Ray Garza – 1st what is a screwed up sinful “Straight” marriage…?
2nd – I think the pastor performs the wedding ceremony / vows only – the couple over a lifetime perform the marriage.
But I guess the question is this – are there any marriages between a “straight couple that God does not bless?
#25, so, what is the “moderate” position within the Calvary Chapel rank and file on same sex marriage? 😉
Well here is a mess for the SBC and the DC Baptists regarding same sex marriage.
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/southern-baptists-threaten-to-cut-ties-with-d.c.-baptists-over-married-lesb?utm_content=buffera2b6e
Ugh….will it ever end?
Calvary Baptist DC isn’t a cooperating SBC church. If they were, they left in the 80’s. Maybe they are still on a list somewhere? Weird news.
That story MLD linked to on the baptist feud was strange, almost like one of those fake news stories.
It seems there are 2 entities – Calvary Baptist an individual church in the DC Baptist Convention which seems to have relationship, including financial with SBC.
SBC says to DCBC fix Calvary Baptist or we walk.
Josh, that’s good for the SBC.
MLD, where in that story is there a link that shows that church has an affiliation with the SBC? I couldn’t seem to find it amidst all those click bait ads every other paragraph 🙂
One of the links they provided in the story said that Calvary Baptist dis-affliated with SBC in 2012.
@27
You need a hobby.
In my own experience, I do not know of any Calvary Chapel pastors, conservative, moderate, or even liberal (which I don’t think there is such an animal), that affirms same-sex marriage.
Scooter, the individual church does not – but the. the DC Baptist Convention which Calvary Baptist is affiliated, does.
I am not saying anything bad about the SBC.
Thanks, MLD. I was thoroughly confused by that article.
pstrmike, you need a sense of humor.
Some state conventions give to the SBC and the CBF. I suppose Calvary is CBF. It is an interesting thing going on. I can’t imagine they want to be linked with SBC. Our views are well know. Anyway, yeah, that’s confusing.
pstrmike, I doubt you are theologically moderate. I would bet that CC only reaches from fundamentalist to conservative evangelical. Do you mean moderate for CC?
The SS marriage is well we all know where I stand on that. But the fact that they went after a family member is typical and in some circles I ran it considered valient and a virtue. It shows you are a real man and you are not afraid to take anyone out or go after people close to them. I always found that strange, but I am a degenerate apostate so what do I know.
MLD @ 26 – my answer would be of course there are straight marriages that God doesn’t bless. I’m pretty sure I attended one this past Friday night. It was sad. God was not mentioned once in the entire ceremony. The “officiator” was a woman ordained online by The Church of Latter Day Dudism. I’m pretty sure God did not put his seal of approval on that marriage.
Corby – is that any different than a Jewish or Hindu wedding that also exclude the one true God?
How about weddings performed by those two lesbians in the article above. Their ordination is just as illegitimate as the online one you mentioned.
MLD – no, but your question was ” are there any marriages between a “straight couple that God does not bless?” And my answer is yes.
Corby – it seems you are saying that God blesses Christian marriages or at minimum those performed by Christian clergy.
Back in Luther’s day, he wanted only civil weddings before a magistrate and that once a year the married couples should gather at the church steps so he could say a blessing for them.
At the very least, this couple could be perfect candidates for marriage but it is nullified as the officiant is a druid or dudism.
I think God blesses marriage (I don’t include same sex as that is outside the definition of marriage) for everyone as it is one of the estates he has set up for good society.
Marriages are as blessed by God as far as the people want them to be blessed.
Follow God and you will have His blessings.
MLD – that is not what I’m saying. You are reading that into what I’m saying, into a vacuum. I’m simply answering the question. I think that there are marriages between straight couples that God does not bless, regardless who who performs it or culture.
But I think you are making an artificial extrapolation if you are saying God blesses marriage in the way you did above. That is essentially the equivalent to saying that God blesses non-murderers since that is also “one of the estates he has set up for a good society.”
I don’t know that I’ve even spelled this out for myself before because I’ve never really defined it for myself in these terms. But right now, this is an in-process thought, I tend to believe that God doesn’t “bless” any marriage that (a) doesn’t match his definition of a marriage as you indicated, and (b) He isn’t invited to be a part of.
In light of that, there are plenty of marriages performed by Christian clergy with supposed Christian couples who have no relationship with Christ whatsoever, that I don’t think God blesses, even though they invoke His name in it. It’s not about the ritual or the act even if it’s done according to God’s pattern. It’s about the hearts of those involved. It’s the application of the principle Jesus talks about with murder or adultery. The point isn’t the action, the point is what is in the heart.
This is why I personally rarely did weddings. I felt a degree of responsibility. I felt like it was my job in the premarital counseling to give the couple the understanding that there is actually a third person in the marriage; God Himself. If God isn’t in the marriage it isn’t a Godly marriage. By doing the ceremony I was giving my own stamp of approval that they are at least starting on the right Godly foot. If I wasn’t convinced of that I wouldn’t do the ceremony, which is why when people looked up the church online and asked if I could officiate this weekend, I would say no, not without going through my own process. But that’s me. I know plenty of guys who would say yes and marry just about anyone. That’s between them and God, not me.
I will say that at least one couple I know of that I married did get divorced, and it’s because they both stopped putting God in the center of their marriage.
Some of this is me thinking out loud.
Corby,
“Some of this is me thinking out loud.” I understand.
I think it works like this – God instituted marriage as a left hand (civil) kingdom thing to create families and stability in society and in a common grace way, he blesses these marriages.
I for one do feel that Jewish, Hindu and Druid marriages are blessed by God as God reigns in his civil kingdom just as much as he does in the church.
or at least that is where my thinking out loud leads me 🙂
I would like to know what any of you define as “God blessing a marriage”… Signs, wonders, longevity, children, winning the lottery?
Peace that passeth understanding.
Contentment.
Love.
#49 Xenia
As I consider Christian marriage to be a sacrament, I would agree, but I would place those attributes as the fruit of God’s blessing in that sacrament…
my view of blessing is very simple. God has pleasure in his institutions. Marriage is important enough that in a strange way it enters the 10 commandments in honor your mother and father.
Now, in the case of my marriage I would not object to his grace manifesting itself in some winning lotto numbers.
But remember, the original claim was that God does not bless some “straight” marriages.
MLD, marriage enters the 10 commandments in several of the commandments. But it you mean enters, as in “for the first time,” then I agree.
To “bless” means to speak goodness over something. That’s the sense I’m using it. God approves of this. I don’t know what we need any manifestation to demonstrate it. For the most part we have a clear idea of what God approves of in scripture. This is why I don’t think I can agree with MLD insofar as God blessing Hindu marriage.
Thank you, so much Christine.
All of mankind is under the blessing of God’s common grace regardless of their spiritual state. God causes “his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45) God’s institution of Marriage is one of common grace of blessing for all.