A Sincere Apology

I need to apologize to our entire church family.

Today during one of our services I inappropriately 'called out' and corrected two teenagers who I felt were being a distraction.  My comments were off target, made in anger, and reflect poorly on the values of Rock Bridge. There is no excuse for this from me or from God's pulpit. I have spoken with and apologized to the specific family but now I need to do so to our entire church.

Our church has a core value of Christ-like acceptance and my words and their tone violated this foundational principle of Rock Bridge.  Additionally, they created an "unwelcoming" atmosphere and uncomfortable moment in our service.  We strongly believe that only the Spirit-brought conviction of God should make anyone ever feel uncomfortable at RBCC, not our actions or words. I apologize to all of you and any guests who may have been with you.

A second core value our church shares is radical dependence on God and His Word.  We believe that only God can change people and author salvation in their lives.  We believe He does this in large part through the sharing and teaching of His Word. Today, I incorrectly believed that my particular method of presenting and communicating God's Word was more important and more powerful than the simple message of His Word.  My dependence was not on God or His Word but on myself and my presentation; that is sinful. As a result, I took the attention off God and His truth.  I apologize for the negative effect on your worship experience.

I am deeply sorry for my words and the anger behind them.  Along with our elders, our staff, and my wife, I will seek to repent, resolve anger biblically, choose words wisely, and rest in the sufficiency of God's grace.
Today, I need to ask for your forgiveness.

Matt Evans