John Carter – September 30, 2025
“St. Mark’s Lutheran Church is the only faithful church in Humboldt County.” This is the banner and challenge which Pastor Ty Bramwell has laid out in various social media posts. On one such occasion he ends this statement with “prove me wrong.” Since I am a pastor of one of those faithless Humboldt County churches, it seems appropriate that I, at the very least, bat an eye at his bold declaration. That is why I’m going to take him up on that challenge here… kinda. I am seeking to prove Pastor Bramwel’s argument wrong. Whether or not I prove that to him is a whole different story.
I would like to point out that initially, I agreed with Pastor Bramwell’s statement; at least in the way that it was first shared with me. I first heard of this claim through thumbnails and brief descriptions. But it wasn’t until I listened to one of Pastor Ty’s videos to hear him out that I realized, we are not on the same page; same book, but not same page.
For the brevity of internet scrolling and trolling I am going to make each of my arguments brief. Then I’m going to leave a list of unaddressed questions or comments. This means that I’m going to give myself just enough rope to make my point, offend Pastor Ty’s repeat offendees, and then to leave the rest on the seat between Pastor Ty and myself as we continue our back seat drive to the celestial city.
There is only one true and faithful Church in Humboldt County.
That is the invisible “C”hurch. The one holy catholic (universal) and apostolic Church. However, the visible local “c”hurches may be at times more or less faithful. I will expand on this premise as we go (1 Cor. 12:13; Eph 4:4-7; 1 Peter 5:4).
A local (visible) church can be faithful in part, but never in whole.
The 7 churches in Revelation, and the 15+ other churches to which Paul’s letters are addressed prove this. Even 2 Timothy 2:13 emphasizes this point. Faithfulness is not dependent on the Church, but Christ upon whom the churches hope. Even those NT churches which were steeped in sin were still treated as true churches. Faithfulness in the New Testament is not perfection. If faithfulness is measured in perfection then no church anywhere is faithful. Remember the mess of a church in Corinth? Even the Apostle Paul was able to begin a letter with a glowing declaration of their orthodox faith. But if Paul can call the church in Corinth “orthodox,” then there’s hope for the Baptists too!
1 Corinthians 1:2–9
To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge—even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you—so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (ESV)
A faithful church is not necessarily a perfect church.
Although there is only one true and faithful “C”hurch, that does not mean we cannot say that a given church is not true or faithful. Said positively, even when mixed with error, we can affirm that a given church is true or faithful. To use Pastor Ty’s analogy, a brownie with poop in it is still a brownie. Yet he and I both would love to have a pure poop-less brownie. That is why we who are pastors are tasked to teach the word so that through the preaching of the word, Christ’s church, and churches, are purified. Ephesians 5:25-27 demonstrates this in two ways. First, the church is washed and made clean through the word, therefore the word needs to be clean. Second, all churches are presently being cleaned and therefore not yet pure, and therefore no church is truly faithful as Pastor Ty is asserting. For what clean person needs a bath (John 13:10)? But a washed person still needs to be freshened up along the way (John 13:8).
There are more false churches* in Humboldt County than true churches.
If you disagree with that statement, you might be in a false church. Let’s be honest, without a teleprompter or notes, Tucker Carlson presented a clearer gospel message on national television at Charlie Kirk’s funeral than most pastors in Humboldt County could do if they read off a script. If you still disagree you might still be in a false church. In my theological circles a real church must, (1) rightly preach the word, (2) rightly administer the sacraments (ordinances), and (3) practice church discipline. A church is certainly more than this but definitely not less. I would affirm that all churches have at least some deficiencies, whether known or unknown. That is why I am accustomed to using the word “healthy church” in contrast with an “unhealthy” church. Other words to describe an unhealthy church would include “deficient” or “defective.” Either of these categories are still in the realm of being a real church and even part of the one true church. However, “apostate” churches are truly synagogues of Satan* (Rev. 3:9). At this point, I believe Pastor Bramwell would classify First Baptist Church of Fortuna as “heterodox” but not yet apostate.
Although Pastor Bramwell and I may disagree on what a faithful, healthy, orthodox, or heterodox church is, I can confidently say we are probably closely aligned when it comes to identifying an apostate church or synagogue of Satan. To prove this: if you are in a church* that affirms or has a female pastor, if you are in a church* that affirms of welcomes homosexuality, if you are in a church* that rejects words like, sin, wrath, repentance, or hell, if you are in a church* that preaches a ‘word of faith’ or ‘prosperity gospel’, if you are in a church* that neglects the Law (antinomianism) or Gospel (works based salvation), or if you are in a church* that rejects the incarnation or other miracles, then you are in an apostate church* (a synagogue of Satan). If I wasn’t clear enough, churches* like Bethel, Elevation, and those down stream, as well as every Methodist, Episcopalian, Universalist, Seventh Day Adventist, Mormon, JW church* in Humboldt County are rightly classified as apostates. To be fair, I do believe that people are, by the grace of God, saved under these ministries (Philippians 1:15-18). However, those who God has called to salvation will eventually also be called to a church that truly and faithfully preaches the whole word of God.
{Hey Pastor Bramwell, got any tips for getting water off a duck’s back?}
Random question or comments for discussion
These are other thoughts I do not have the time to expand on at this time, but are worth addressing.
- Presently would St Marks ever transfer a current church member to another church? I’m thinking of someone such as a “crypto-Calvinist.”
- How does one deal with passages which speak of there being tares and wheat, sheep and goats in the same field and fold until the end? Matthew 13:24-30; 25:31-46
- If the church is the gathered saints, and any one saint has bad doctrine would that not make St. Marks an unfaithful church the moment a saint with bad doctrine is present?
- If at any time the Lutheran Missouri Synod (LMS) changed their documents or adopted documents, (A) would that not make their forebears unfaithful? And (B) would not the fact that those documents are the express standard of LMS belief now displacing the LMS’s doctrine of sola scriptura?
- Many of Pastor Bramwell’s arguments are very close if not the same as “only KJV-ers.”
- If I may play the role of CS Lewis for a brief moment, it is not that I think Pastor Bramwell’s declaration is too precise, rather, I don’t think that it is precise enough.
- I think the posture of Pastor Bramwell’s doctrine is in need of James 3:2. I absolutely believe conviction should be stated boldly and without reservation. I abhor the “tone police” and safe spaces. There are certain doctrinal positions that leave no room for wiggle. But there are other doctrines which allow room for grace as those holding them need time to “reform” their theology.
- Ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda: “The church reformed, always reforming.” Pastor Bramwell knows, as well as I do, that the visible church is in constant need of reform. Not the progressive new wave theology degradation that wolves call “new insights.” But those reforms which take us back to “the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). I commend Pastor Bramwell for contending for this faith. I hope he would not do so in such a way as to reform himself out of the church or the faith delivered to her.
So what is the sum of the matter? Well first, Pastor Bramwell, if you still knock First Baptist Church of Fortuna, a Reformed Baptist church, out of the faithful category, all I am inclined to say is, “how very Presbyterian of you.” For those who don’t know, that’s a joke, and a very good one at that too! Secondly, I would love to come on your show and discuss these and other points further. I’m certain it would be lively. Lastly, may Christ’s Church continue to be built upon the confession that “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God” as the gates of Hell tremble and cower before the ever-advancing Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 16:16-19).
Grace, Peace, Mercy,
-Pastor John Carter
First Baptist Church of Fortuna
Musica Theologica 