Thursday, May 12, 2005
Pretty Close To What I Thought
Tuesday, I hypothesized that the North Carolina Baptist Church brouhaha was not what it at first appeared to be. Bear in mind that I condemned the church's pastor upon initial reporting on Sunday.
Turns out my Tuesday prognostications were pretty close to the truth. The embattled pastor resigned Tuesday night.
I have said all along that politics is not something the church should do -- Christians should, but not the church. Sounds to me like this pastor tried, but came a little close to the edge of that distinction and some of his parishioners thought he fell over it.
I think this story also says something about what a pastor's real ministry should be. The pastor should be raising Christisn in his/her congregation can take the political fight forward, not advancing the fight personally.
Turns out my Tuesday prognostications were pretty close to the truth. The embattled pastor resigned Tuesday night.
Chandler said the nine members initially left voluntarily. But some were trustees of the church and other members thought it prudent to make their actions official.Christweb also has some reporting that illustrates that the story was overblown in the press. (HT: Sheep's Crib)
The pastor said the church had undergone several months of disharmony, some of which he speculates was the result of his preaching about Christians' responsibility to be reflective of the Bible in how they vote.
More hesitatingly, according to Baptist Press, he also speculated the disgruntled members may have felt threatened in their leadership positions because of the church's recent influx of new members.
I have said all along that politics is not something the church should do -- Christians should, but not the church. Sounds to me like this pastor tried, but came a little close to the edge of that distinction and some of his parishioners thought he fell over it.
I think this story also says something about what a pastor's real ministry should be. The pastor should be raising Christisn in his/her congregation can take the political fight forward, not advancing the fight personally.
