8/25/18 

 
To our elders, Mark, Joe, Pete, Josh: 
 
It is with great heaviness of heart that we write this letter to men whom we have loved, submitted to, 
and prayed for. We have not come to these thoughts hastily or without prayer, but have sought the 
Lord before bringing this to you.  
 
By your own admissions (your letter to the GCC congregation from 8/23/18), you have each committed 
sin that we believe disqualifies each of you from holding the office of an elder. True repentance, then, 
would dictate your resignation as these violations of 1 Timothy 5:19 and 1 Timothy 3:1-7 disqualify each 
of you. You have abused your authority, abused Christ’s church, and have brought shame upon Christ’s 
name. It is disingenuous to say you will tender your resignation “if the church sees fit,” rather than to 
submit your resignations to the church in true repentance and humility. Under the guise of protecting 
the helpless and abused, you have abused and continue to abuse Christ’s sheep and shame the name 
of Christ through your actions. This reveals your lack of true repentance, and true repentance is what 
we are calling for in this letter. 
 
We are so thankful to God for granting the gift of repentance to our brothers Rob and Frank. This is 
what we and others have been praying for. We love you, Frank and Rob, and as we’ve already shared 
with you, we forgive you based upon your confession of sin and turning from it in fruit-bearing 
repentance.  
 
As for Pete, Josh, Mark, and Joe who have yet to follow the godly example of our brothers, we are 
pleading for you to repent of “particular known sins” (LBC 15.4) before God and your fellow members of 
GCC: 
● Please repent​ ​for your sin of bringing a charge against Pastor John without witnesses in 
violation of 1 Timothy 5:19, a more serious offense than we think you even realize. (See Calvin 
here​.) 
● Please repent​ for breaking the ninth commandment (Exodus 20:16). As the Westminster Larger 
Catechism explains, “The duties required in the ninth commandment are, the preserving and 
promoting of truth between man and man, and the good name of our neighbor; ...a charitable 
esteem of our neighbors; loving, desiring, and rejoicing in their good name; ...unwillingness to 
admit of an evil report, concerning them.” 
● Please repent o ​ f not following Christ’s instructions for dealing with sin in Matthew 18:15-18. You 
didn’t first address the matter of the sin you are accusing Pastor John of with him alone, giving 
him opportunity to repent (if needed), before telling it to the church.   
● Please repent o ​ f lording it over the congregation, all in the name of “protection,” instead of 
following the selfless example of Christ, a servant (Matthew 20:25-28). You have shown us a 
textbook example of abuse, and in your case, spiritual abuse over Christ’s sheep by claiming to 
stand against the oppressors, all the while acting as oppressors yourselves.  
● Please repent f​ or not fulfilling the qualifications of an elder in 1 Timothy 3:1-7: 
○ You have not been above sin’s reproach (3:2), but have brought reproach on yourselves, 
on the entire GCC elder board, on Pastor John, on GCC, and upon the name of Christ 
himself. 
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 ○ You have not acted sober-mindedly or exercised self control (3:2), but you acted hastily 
and with zeal not according to knowledge (Romans 10:2) when you unilaterally made 
decisions to withdraw GCC from ARBCA and CBS and place Pastor John on leave.  
○ You have not acted in a respectable manner (3:2), but have treated your church family 
with heavy-handedness and disrespect.  
○ You have not been gentle, but sinfully aggressive (3:3) as you have forced your will upon 
the congregation without congregational input and you silenced the flock by not 
allowing for any questions.  
● Please repent ​of claiming to do these things in love, and yet doing the exact opposite of what is 
described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-6. You have been impatient in waiting to bring public accusations 
against an elder and in hastily pulling out from ARBCA and CBS; you have been arrogant and 
rude; you have insisted on your own way (“the 40 page report”); you have not rejoiced in the 
truth, but have strung together alleged facts to create the impression of wrongdoing. Love 
always hopes, believes the best of others, and bears with them in suffering–all things you have 
neglected to do with Pastor John, his wife and family, and the members of GCC. So what you 
have called love (over and over again) is anything but biblical love, and you need to repent.   
● Please repent​ of your imbalanced view of law and gospel exhibited through your treatment of 
Pastor John and the people of GCC. You have acted with all law and no gospel in your cop-like 
accusations and “internal investigation” of a fellow elder. But our Lord says in Matthew 7:2, “For 
with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be 
measured to you.” Based on the way that you have treated Pastor John, this should keep each 
of you awake at night with dread. Please repent! 
● Please repent​ of not walking “in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 
with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to 
maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:1-3).  
 
In light of the above, we call for the immediate resignation of Pete Smith, Mark Flin, Josh Rusev, and 
Joe Godal. Ultimately, we desire reconciliation with each of your men upon confession, repentance, 
and forgiveness of your sins. But in order for these things to occur, your resignations are 
non-negotiable. 
 
Likewise, Nick and Rob-roy, we are calling for your repentance and resignations as elder candidates for 
contributing to the charges brought against an elder. While the congregation may never know the full 
extent to which you were involved in attacking an elder so deviously, the Lord will judge both of your 
hearts for the sin you’ve committed from behind closed doors.  
 
Joe, Mark, Josh, Pete–Through your authoritarian abuse while in your positions of shepherds of Christ’s 
people, you have violated the trust of the people of GCC. How could any of us trust you to shepherd us 
after the way we’ve been treated by you? How can you expect us to sit under your ministry or 
preaching on the Lord’s Day without wrestling with the turmoil you have caused?  
 
But we can rejoice in the Gospel. “​If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins 
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness​” (1 John 1:9). “​Let the wicked forsake his way, and the 
unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to 
our God, for he will abundantly pardon” (​ Isaiah 55:7).  
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May God have mercy on your souls, soften your hearts, and cause you to fall on your knees in true 
repentance. May he grant you his forgiveness and the GCC congregation’s also, and may he somehow 
use this terrible mess you’ve caused for his glory and our good.  
 
For the glory of Christ and the good of his church, 
 
David & Paige Giarrizzo 
 
P.S. Please do not reply to this email with your copied and pasted “you should have waited to send this 
email until you read the report” line. By replying in this way, you have contradicted your previous 
repentance (8/23/18). You have disqualified yourselves and we are calling you to repentance and 
resignation for your sins. Your “40 page report” is only the physical evidence of your sins and will 
further condemn you before God and our congregation.