My good friend David French had been invited to speak at the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church In America (PCA). But when his invitation was announced, the right-wing faction within the PCA — along with forces outside the PCA — generated a mob-like response to have him canceled.

It’s tragic when individual Christians cancel other individuals who hold differing political views. But it is an outright catastrophe when an entire denomination does this. This week, the PCA caved into these right wing voices and canceled David’s invitation. This act sends a chilling signal that thoughtful and faithful voices like David’s are no longer welcome in the PCA.

What happened next illustrates a dynamic that makes the fight to preserve the soul of American evangelicalism feel so one-sided. The dynamic is this: while the extremists are willing to generate virulent mob behavior to cancel the voice of what I’ll call the “thoughtful evangelical,” those who support that “thoughtful evangelical” voice don’t quite know how to respond. We tend to stay silent.

We stay silent because it is so hard to respond to unfair attacks. Protest too loud, and you risk inflaming the mob further. But if you stay silent, the mob is encouraged that it can keep successfully canceling others, and in the long run, capture one institution after another.

I currently don’t have an answer for this conundrum. But I have an invitation.

It’s an invitation I especially extend to any of our listeners in the PCA. The PCA does not want you to hear from David at their General Assembly. But if you disagree, and you believe David represents a faithful and necessary voice for your church, you can invite people in your church to hear him — along with Russell Moore and me — in The After Party course. In this course, you can hear David talk eloquently about how Jesus invites us to submit all our political differences to him, such that the church becomes a place that can exhibit unity amidst differences. David’s vision of the church is the true and living Biblical hope, not the dead end of mob cancellation. Come hear his voice.