Two faces? Is the TE David Hall at Presbytery different from the TE David Hall at Midway?
Central to the April 13, 2021 meeting of the Northwest Georgia Presbytery was judicial matters involving Midway Presbyterian Church. The trend continues to this day, and is likely to continue into the future given a fresh round of Ruling Elders on Midway’s Session being charged and suspended from their duties. The April 13, 2021 meeting was the same meeting where the Presbytery refused to hear a complaint from Deacon Crouse.
At the end of the meeting, TE David Hall (Senior Pastor at Midway Presbyterian Church), rose and offered the following motion before the Presbytery: ”I move that the Moderator appoint a committee to report to the January 22 meeting to recommend overtures to improve or clarify our judicial process.”
TE Hall explained the rationale, stating he could win an award for being a pastor of a church for having the most complaints of any church in a three-year period, five-year period, or a ten-year period. TE Hall indicated that there was a lack of clarity in the PCA Book of Church Order around the defined judicial processes. The award TE Hall referred to jokingly is no laughing matter.
Any Session experiencing the number of complaints and appeals Midway’s has should be met with serious internal prayerful reflection – not jokes from the Senior Pastor. Could it be Midway’s congregation is trying to tell its leaders that they are way out of conformance with the church’s constitution? Ecclesiastical Commissions of the Presbytery have agreed repeatedly that this is indeed the case and the perhaps unprecedented number of active cases at the Standing Judicial Commission of the PCA involving TE Hall and his Session is another disturbing reality. And there’s no sign of the trend slowing down.
Any Session experiencing the number of complaints and appeals Midway’s has should be met with serious internal prayerful reflection – not jokes from the Senior Pastor.
Other presbyters spoke in support of TE Hall’s motion expressing that there could be a stronger focus on shepherding, reconciliation, and mediation throughout the judicial processes of the church courts. The Moderator of the Presbytery then expressed his opinion that more could be done to see brothers get with brothers to solve problems as opposed to litigating. TE Hall’s motion passed unaminously.
At a glance, it would be easy to ascribe the sentiments expressed by the presbyters and the moderator to TE Hall’s motion which in the moment seemed like a genuine expression for reform centered on reconciliation. However given the continued (and predicted) purge he presides over on his own Session, which not only further divides a dividing congregation, but slanders the reputation of men who have served Midway Presbyterian Church faithfully for decades, calls into question his motivations. Is the TE David Hall at Presbytery different than the TE David Hall at his home church? The former has the complexion of a reconciler, but the latter seems unable to Biblically manage disagreement and is more typical of a master subdivider of his own congregation.
If you are a reader Midway Presbyterian Church, pray that hard hearts will be softened. Pray that the messages found in Acts 3 and Colossians 3 be at the fore of God’s will for Midway Presbyterian Church so that it’s legacy may extend to new generations of Covenant children:
”Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” and “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”