Andrew Thorburn ‘remarkable leader, a gift’: church hits back

City on a Hill senior pastor Guy Mason has defended Andrew Thorburn as ‘a man of great character, conviction and integrity.’

City on a Hill founder and pastor Guy Mason speaks with Andrew Thorburn, who quit as Essendon CEO after one day over his links with the church. Source: YouTube

The fundamentalist Anglican church at the centre of the religious scandal surrounding the appointment of Andrew Thorburn as the boss of Essendon has defended Thorburn as its chair.

“I want to take a moment to connect and share my personal thanks and appreciation for reaching out and offering your words of support, prayer, and encouragement,” City on a Hill senior pastor Guy Mason has written overnight to his congregation.

“It has been a difficult couple of days.

“Andrew is a remarkable leader. He has been and continues to be, an incredible gift to our church. I am incredibly thankful for Andrew and his courage, humility, and love. He is a man of great character, and I am inspired by his conviction and integrity. It is these very character traits that would have made him a great success at Essendon.”

Mr Mason also defended his church against damning comments made by Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews.

Andrew Thorburn at The Hangar, Essendon Football club

“Despite media grabs and comments from our premier, City on a Hill has always been about Jesus. Knowing Jesus and making Jesus known is the heartbeat of our church community,” Mr Mason said.

“It is important to remember, the gospel continues to be good news of great joy for all who believe.

“In times like this it is easy to be disheartened. It is confronting to see the increasing pressure upon Christians to compromise their faith. It is disheartening when the gospel is misrepresented or distorted.

Mr Mason said his church would continue to profess its controversial views.

“In the end, our battle is not against flesh and blood. Our battle isn’t against any one individual, any organisation – or any footy team for that matter,” Mr Mason wrote.

“How then do we live out our faith? How do we continue to persevere in the way of Christ? Not by compromise, or anger, or bitterness, or defensiveness. Rather, we persevere in righteousness. We stand firm in the gospel of peace. We take up the shield of faith. We continue in the way of salvation. We hold fast to the life-giving Word of God, and we pray.”

He said his congregation were “not people of darkness”.

“We are people of light. As those who have been brought into the life of Christ, we are now called to shine his light into the world. In the face of injustice, we must offer hope and life to all. In the face of opposition, we are to extend love. In the face of lies and the distortion of truth, we must continue to hold out the Word of life with conviction and faith. In the midst of fear, we must rest securely in God’s grace and be people of courage, integrity, and hope. And as we gather this week in our churches and in our Gospel Communities we must pray – we pray for boldness and for love.”