Lyle Shelton: Please pray for reconciliation in the CDP

The Christian Democratic Party’s crisis would have been over months ago if it were not for two small factions continuing to fight each other in court.

Assertions from anonymous sources to Eternity News last week blaming the party’s Receiver are wide of the mark.

The truth is that pro-longed receivership, apart from a delay due to the Covid lockdown, is the sole fault of the factions refusing to agree on a process to elect a valid board.

Giving all party members a say was rejected by the factions last September.

Since then they have refused to agree on the validity of branches authorised to provide delegates to elect a board, despite Justice Rein of the New South Wales Supreme Court imploring them to sort out their “squabble”.

Their fight has been in and out of the court all through October-December and only shows signs of ending now that they have burned through at least $490,000 of party funds, not counting their own legal costs which must also be substantial.

Much of this loss has been incurred since both factions combined to fight the Receiver in court last October and unnecessarily prolong the receivership.

They could have ended the receivership well before Christmas if they had agreed to an all-member vote or if they had come to an agreement on which are the valid branches.

They refuse to budge on either and time and money is being wasted on a colossal scale.

That a Christian ministry is in such a position is an embarrassment.

I have reluctantly gone public because anonymous sources from the two factions have provided information to Eternity that is untrue, as any casual observer of the court processes can attest.

Despite the damage done because of their dispute, I still believe there is a future for the CDP.

With religious freedom and Christian values under unprecedented pressure, I believe Christians want a Christian political party now more than ever.

If that voice in the parliaments of our nation is to be the CDP, its two factions will need to lay down their weapons quickly as their present trajectory has them on a path of mutually assured destruction.  Or more importantly and tragically for God’s intent for the Party, the CDP’s destruction.

Eternity also reported that CDP leader Fred Nile and I had fallen out.

This is not the case from my perspective, as to fall out you would have to have a disagreement with someone.  Unfortunately, I have been denied access to Fred, who I greatly admire, and therefore have had no opportunity to discuss these issues with him, except for two short coincidental meetings, one at a public event and once at the office in the presence of staff.

Despite relocating my wife Wendy and me from Queensland, considerable success in raising money, raising supporters and members for the CDP, I was disendorsed as Rev Nile’s promised successor last September, without even the courtesy of a phone call or meeting.

All requests for Wendy and me to meet with him to discuss this have been frustrated.

Senior leaders in the body of Christ here in Sydney last year wrote to both Rev Nile and me offering to mediate in the spirit of Matthew 18.

They are yet to hear back from Rev Nile.

The situation with the CDP is grievous, particularly so when God’s people are crying out for leadership in the political arena.

Please pray for a reconciliation and a breakthrough.

Thank you.