The city of Edinburgh canceled a Christian conference after complaints that Larry Stockstill, a preacher from Louisiana, would be the keynote speaker.
According to Premier Christian News, Stockstill, a preacher, author and pastors' mentor who also runs the church planting network Surge Project, was supposed to speak at the Surge Conference in June 2020. The conference is meant to help churches learn ways to grow.
Stockstill’s keynote address was titled “The Purpose and Privilege of Pastoring.”
Edinburgh received complaints about Stockstill, who has described same-sex relationships as "offensive", "repulsive" and "deeply grievous."
Stockstill preaches at Bethany Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
The group heading the conference, Destiny Ministries and Destiny Church Glasgow will need to find another location for the conference if the group wants Stockstill to speak.
In 2018, the Church of Scotland banned Destiny Ministries from using its buildings because of the group’s “fundamentalist doctrines.”
The cancellation comes after Franklin Graham was banned from the arena and conference center Liverpool ACC.
ACC Liverpool said Graham’s scheduled stop on his UK tour was making a “divisive impact” on the city. He was scheduled to speak on June 12.
Graham, however, said in a statement, “The Gospel is inclusive. I'm not coming out of hate, I'm coming out of love.”
“It is said by some that I am coming to the UK to bring hateful speech to your community. This is just not true,” Graham wrote. “I am coming to share the Gospel, which is the Good News that God loves the people of the UK, and that Jesus Christ came to this earth to save us from our sins.”
In an opinion piece for Christian Today, blogger David Robertson wrote that he worried about the freedom of preachers to speak.
“The implications of this are profound,” he wrote. “If you are a church that actually believes the Bible and follows Jesus, the progressive mob will ensure that you are hounded out of any public premises.”
Photo courtesy: Andy Falconer/Unsplash
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British Arena Boots Franklin Graham over 'Homophobic' Biblical Views
Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.