NCWLife Host Calls Out Grace City Church, Art Azurdia

Street Talk and Other Stuff Host and Evangelical Christian Mike Magnotti with a reminder that forgiveness doesn't equal an absence of repercussions

Art Azurdia preaching.

Mike Magnotti is host of “Street Talk and Other Stuff” on the NCWLife Channel in North Central Washington, and in his most recent episode he called out Grace City Church for bringing in Art Azurdia to be a faculty member of The Vector Academy. The Vector Academy is GCC’s nine-month unaccredited academy, meant to be an alternative to college, that will “prepare the next generation of church leaders,” according to GCC marketing materials.

Arturo Azurdia was pastor at Trinity Church in Portland and a professor at Western Seminary, until he was accused of cultivating a sexually-abusive relationship by a female student at Western. He admitted to sexual misconduct and resigned from ministry. He even wrote in a confession that he has “disqualified” himself from the “office of elder” through his actions.

“Because of my sin I have disqualified myself from the office of elder. Furthermore, I have no desire to pursue ministry of any kind,” Azurdia wrote. “My focus is entirely directed at making right the very thing I have ignored for too long: the well-being of our marriage.”

Yet it only took about 20 months for Azurdia to return to the preaching circuit, according to this article by Protestia.

In addition to dipping his foot back in those waters, he also popped up on Grace City Church’s marketing booklet for The Vector Academy, which is how I first heard of him. I put together this story beat slideshow of what I knew about Azurdia, The Vector Academy and a few of the other faculty members at that time.

I also mentioned Azurdia to Magnotti one day as we were having a cup of coffee. Since then he has been following up on Azurdia’s involvement with Grace City Church and reached out to them five different times asking about Azurdia and how he is involved in Vector.

The leaders of GCC have not responded to his requests for comment, or mine. But Magnotti and I are coming at this story from different perspectives. He’s asking GCC about Azurdia as a fellow evangelical Christian, and believes in the power and the forgiveness of Jesus Christ.

“Forgiveness is an action which sets the abused party free, but does not negate the responsibility of the abuser to be held accountable for their behavior,” says Magnotti.

Watch the full episode here.

“I am calling Grace City to account,” he says. “Why are you allowing a sexual predator, a man who has admitted he is unqualified for ministry because of sexual impropriety to be in authority over Wenatchee’s youth?”

Good question, Mike.

I hope you get an answer.