Jason Webb was the Senior Pastor of Elmbrook Church in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area. He resigned the pastoral position in 2018 when it became known that he was engaged in multiple affairs. An old comment at Reddit highlighted how much of a loss the scandal was for Elmbrook and this blog wanted to capture it.
“It isn’t the original scandal that gets people in the most trouble – it’s the attempted cover-up.”
Tom Petri
And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,
Philippians 1:9-10 ESV
Jason Webb
There is news about former Elmbrook Senior Pastor Jason Webb that this blog will tackle in the next few days. While I was researching information for a post I saw something that was very interesting that I wanted to add to this blog. Jason Webb resigned from the role of senior pastor in 2018 because he was having multiple affairs. You can read about that in, “Preserving Jason Webb’s and Gary Gregg’s Email to the Elmbrook Congregation Announcing Jason’s Resignation as Senior Pastor” , “How Elmbrook Church Should Respond to a Painful Situation in a Way that Helps the Brookfield Megachurch, Jason Webb’s Family and the Greater Milwaukee Area” and “An Open Letter to Jason Webb (Former Senior Pastor of Elmbrook Church)“
When Jason Webb resigned from Elmbrook there was an interesting comment at Reddit that is quote interesting. This blog wants to capture it and add it to the posts about Elmbrook Church.
Before this sub tears into another church leader for resigning due to misconduct, keep in mind that Jason wasn’t just another church leader.
In his 4 years as head pastor, he brought the church from division to unity. He pushed and pushed for outreach programs to the inner city and directed the church to assist refugees and immigrants, just as Christ instructed us to. He and his family live in the Sherman Park neighborhood, roughly a half hour from the church, in an effort to reach out to communities that are so often forgotten by the white suburban churches. He preached a platform of inclusion and acceptance, two terms that bring about mixed feelings in many conservative churches.
He generally veered away from politics, but he made his views on Trump known, and he called on parishioners to confront the fact that Trump is in no way a Christian leader. He would occasionally use something the president said as an example of how the country is quickly losing its sense of decency. He also helped the church confront its feelings around Kaepernick’s protest, BLM, and other movements that have invoked very divisive feelings.
He did all of this in Waukesha County, one of the most conservative counties in the state, and yet he earned the respect and the love of all of the parishioners.
So before we mock him for his hypocritical and destructive actions, just keep in mind how big of a loss this is not only for Elmbrook, but for Milwaukee as a whole. Even if you’re non-Christian or atheist or you hate the institution that is the church, I would ask that you try and recognize the loss that this is. Don’t forgive him if you don’t want to – don’t give him a pass because of all the good he’s done. Simply recognize what this means for Milwaukee. There’s no doubt that the church will continue its mission of outreach and unity, but Jason was always a major part in that from the moment he came on staff because he always seemed to truly practice what he preached, up until now.
Wondering Eagle 