Posted on 05/11/2005 9:59:48 PM PDT by Crackingham
When Pastor Chan Chandler proclaimed a few weeks before last November's election that East Waynesville Baptist Church would become a political church, parishioner Ann Stokley says her "jaw dropped to the floor."
That the young pastor would call John Kerry supporters out as unfit Christians may not have been that surprising during a heated election in this county of some 60 Southern Baptist steeples nestled in the Appalachians. But Tuesday night, six months after the election - and a week after nine members claim they were kicked out of the church for refusing to vote Republican - Mr. Chandler, a Haywood County native, resigned Tuesday night under pressure from both outside and inside the chapel. A number of his supporters left with him.
"We're there to learn and worship, not worship Bush," says Ms. Stokley, a registered Democrat. "I just couldn't believe what I was hearing coming from the Lord's podium."
If the rupture of this congregation was an extreme event for a church, it is also part of a simmering debate nationwide about how politicized the pulpit should be. Even in an era of intense partisan divides, the reaction of parishioners here suggests that even in the heart of "red-state" America, many want to see some boundary drawn between the demands of their faith and their ballot-box choices.
"This case actually illustrates that Christians are not ignorant citizens being led around by the nose," says Matthew Staver, an attorney with the Liberty Counsel in Florida, which promotes free speech for clergy. "The people in the pew are thinking for themselves."
Up until his calls for Democrats to depart, Ms. Stokley gave Pastor Chandler the benefit of the doubt. Still, his words troubled her deeply enough that she avoided him outside the sanctuary. "The pastor stands on the front step after the service, but you can always go out the side door," she says.
The case reverberated far outside the wooden doors of the East Waynesville church, rankling even staunch Southern Baptists. Traditionalists in the Southern Baptist Convention point out that Baptists, as far back as the Constitutional Convention, lobbied hard for the separation of church and state.
"What Republicans are learning is that nobody is a total lock," says Paul Froese, a sociology of religion professor at Baylor University. "It's not like they've just captured conservative Christians and are walking away with them. If they start to look too self-righteous, that can turn off a lot of Christians in the long run."
He stands to cost them their tax-exempt status.
Gotta give credit where credit is due. Kerry is a csumbag and his political beliefs go completely against the grain of Christiam beliefs.
There ought to be more preachers like him.
"We're there to learn and worship, not worship Bush," says Ms. Stokley, a registered Democrat. "I just couldn't believe what I was hearing coming from the Lord's podium."
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This coming from the Party of hedonism, same sex marriage and anything goes in the Oval Office offended when they went to church?
Maybe there is some hope left for a few of them.
How can any Christian NOT vote Republican?
I find it strange that the argument is whether or not a minister has the right to admonish those who support unrighteousness. Certainly he could've been less confrontational, but to what purpose? How dense does a person have to be to not connect his or her relationship with Christ as being in danger when supporting abortion? Some plain speaking would seem to be in order just to erase any doubt.
As to the government being able to pull the tax-exempt status of a church, it just doesn't jibe with the first amendment on its first two points. A minister, lay person or member of the congregation ought to be able to stand up and talk about the morality of issues, inside the sanctuary or out. If a member doesn't like what he's hearing in his church, no one is forcing him to attend it. What happens in a church is the members' business and not the government's, unless there's some sort of criminal activity involved.
How many Black churches lost their tax exempt status after their preachers campaigned for Democrats?
>>>Perhaps they think one party balances the budget and the other party plunges us in debt?<<<<
Which one does which?
NC pingable?
Similarly, many liberals are for helping the poor, while conservatives believe they should keep what they earn. Yet liberals have perverted the charity for the poor as a continuing handout to them.
Again, both parties have areas lacking in the arena of faith.
I've yet to see a press interview with the parishioners who voted the Dummies out or with Mr. Chandler. This story is extremely one-sided.
Exactly, TR. This was originally brought up by the local TV station, was picked up in DemocraticUnderground and publicized from there. No prizes for seeing that the probable route was increasing partisanship on the part of the Dem members, leading to disruption of the church, leading to the paster laying down the law. Since the MSM will only listen to lefties (and particularly lefties NOT in command of the institution in question), the only question was how long Pastor Chandler could hang on if he wasn't going to answer clearly and in public. I couldn't even get my letter to the editor before he resigned, but I will tell you all this:
The editor's email address rejected my post. I figure it was because of too many responses as the one actually published was far more radical than what I wrote.
In Christ,
Deacon Paul+
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