Last week we noted that, after being confronted about The Oak Initiative and its anti-Muslim activities, Samuel Rodriguez admitted that his role as a board member and supporter of the group did not square with his reputation as a moderate evangelical leader.
As such, Rodriquez promised that he was going to resign from the group:
He knew instinctively as I read to him the Oak Initiative’s views about Islam and the Muslim Brotherhood that this was an affront to what he wished to stand for. While he pleaded ignorance with regards to the details of the Oak Initiative’s agenda and website (he claimed he had barely been involved), he assured me that by the end of the day he would resign from the Board and make clear his regret. Five hours later I received an email with his letter to the Executive Board of NHCLC responding to Tabachnik’s article and detailing the steps he was taking to denounce extremism, steps that include his resignation from the board of the Oak Initiative.
Today Rachel Tabachnick, whose recent article on Rodriguez set this chain of events in motion, reports that Oak Initiative founder Rick Joyner has confirmed that Rodriguez has in fact resigned … but only because he is too busy with other projects:
Dear Rachel Tabachnick,
Thanks for your inquiry. Sam Rodriguez did recently resign from the board of The Oak Initiative citing as the reason being that his increased responsibilities with editing a new Spanish version of Charisma Magazine would prohibit him having time to give a meaningful contribution to The Oak. We have a deep appreciation for Sam Rodriguez and will miss his contribution to The Oak, but congratulate him for this new endeavor.
This change should be reflected on our website soon. Thanks again for the inquiry.
Rick Joyner
Rodriguez promised that he would do three things: resign, voice his regret for associating with this group and denounce their extremism.
He appears to have accomplished the first step, but we have seen no evidence that he has done either of the latter two. And if Rodriquez was compelled to resign from the organization because of its anti-Muslim extremism, why is his resignation is now being attributed to his “increased responsibilities” elsewhere?
