Well-known pastor, speaker, and author Alistair Begg won’t be speaking at John MacArthur’s annual Shepherds Conference this year due to his controversial remarks about Christians attending LGBTQ+ weddings.
During his sermon on Sunday (Jan. 28), Begg told his congregation at Parkside Church in Cleveland that he stands behind the counsel he gave a grandmother, whom he encouraged not only to attend her grandchild’s transgender wedding but also to bring a gift.
Begg’s counsel to the grandmother became public after he spoke about it in an interview he gave for his book “The Christian Manifesto” this past September. The interview just recently surfaced on social media, resulting in widespread criticism.
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While preaching his sermon, Begg explained that his counsel to the grandmother was specific to that particular situation.
“If I was on the receiving end of another question about another situation from another person at another time, I may answer absolutely differently,” Begg said.
But Begg was very clear that he doesn’t believe the advice he gave was sinful and said there is no reason for him to repent. “I’m not ready to repent over this. I don’t have to,” he said.
According to Religion News Service reporter Bob Smietana, Begg will be removed as one of the speakers from MacArthur’s annual Shepherds Conference. The decision came after Begg and MacArthur spoke following Begg’s controversial LGBTQ+ wedding comments. The two mutually decided that it was best that Begg withdraw so as not to create an “unnecessary distraction.”
Nevertheless, no announcement as been made. Begg was still listed as one of the speakers Thursday morning (Feb. 1) but was deleted from the lineup later in the day.
Others scheduled speakers at this year’s Shepherds Conference include John MacArthur, John Piper, H.B. Charles Jr., Steve Lawson, Phil Johnson, and Bob Kauflin.
RELATED: American Family Radio Drops Alistair Begg Following Controversial Remarks About LGBTQ+ Weddings
Phil Johnson, executive director of MacArthur’s media ministry, Grace To You, and co-pastor of the GraceLife Fellowship Group at MacArthur’s Grace Community Church, told Smietana that Begg and MacArthur completely differ on how they’d counsel the grandmother in Begg’s account.
