Church boots 9 over politics

[redstar2000]

A Western North Carolina church expelled nine members this week because they refused to support their pastor's Republican views, members say.

The members, three of them deacons at East Waynesville Baptist Church, were voted out Monday night at the church in Haywood County, just west of Asheville.

All nine walked out after Pastor Chan Chandler told them he expected them to sign forms supporting his political and moral beliefs. After they left, members who remained voted to boot the dissenters.

"He went on and on about how he's going to bring politics up, and if we didn't agree with him we should leave," said Isaac Sutton, 75, a deacon who was voted out after 12 years at the church. "I think I deserve the right to vote for who I want to."

Chandler could not be reached for comment.

Now, the church, which sits in the mountains nearly 300 miles west of Raleigh, is in turmoil. Several members are talking with a lawyer.

Waynesville attorney David Wijewickrama said at least nine members have called his office. He said he doesn't yet know the details of the case but has agreed to review it.

"They sound like the upstanding members of the church who have been there for decades," Wijewickrama said. "These are not the type of people who would scream wolf."

Sutton, of Clyde, and other members said the pastor often told the approximately 100-member congregation, from the pulpit, that they should not vote for candidates who support abortion rights. In October, just before the presidential election, Chandler said anyone who planned to vote for Democratic candidate John Kerry should leave the church, two members told The News & Observer.

Since then, Chandler's frequent political sermons have caused a deep rift in the congregation, said Selma Morris, 78, a member for more than 30 years.

"I told him, 'You owe God an apology, and you owe the congregation an apology, because you used his pulpit for political purposes,' " said Morris, the church treasurer. "You don't do that in a Baptist church."

She said Chandler was undeterred.

Although she was not at the meeting Monday and is still a church member, Morris, of Waynesville, is among the members who called a lawyer. She said the votes violated church bylaws. She also said that she expects the church to lose its tax-exempt status because, under federal law, tax-exempt organizations cannot endorse political candidates.

"I've been in church all my life," Morris said, "and I've never witnessed anything like this."

[redstar2000]

Is this a car magnet to die for?

http://www.bushfish.org/

[bed_of_nails]

Great, now I have vomited all over my computer screen.

[The Garbage Disposal Unit]

'nuf said.

[OleMarxco]

Abolish God! :angry:
Keep religion out of (burgeouise) "politics", and seperate Church and State (After we Abolish the State too&#33

[Individual]

Anarcho-Maoist Antipope

An Anarcho-Maoist Antipope?

You are one confused little boy. I'm sure you've got oogles of defense behind your rediculous labels, they just don't mean shit. You are obviously very confused on life.

The Anarcho-Maoist scheme is one thing.

Do you even know what an antipope is? In assuming you were taking the rest of your title seriously, you most certainly are no antipope.

Way to infect yourself with a ficticious anti-church slogan adapted from Trissy the genius.

[Severian]

A little update here: the preacher ran into a lot of blowback and had to resign his post, taking some of his followers with him.

Among those opposing him was a deacon who explained he was a Democrat because he was a union member. Among those expelled was at least one Republican who didn't like preachers telling people how to vote.

I'd say this turned out to be one for secularism and the working class when the dust settled.

Or of course you could just condemn them all as "Godsuckers" and ignore the differences among 'em.

Associated Press article

[redstar2000]

Originally posted by Severian
I'd say this turned out to be one for secularism and the working class when the dust settled.

In the sense that it generated some bad publicity for the godracket, yeah, I guess we won one.

But I didn't see any mention in your link that any of the participants had given up on religion.

Or of course you could just condemn them all as "Godsuckers" and ignore the differences among 'em.

There's no reason why we can't take note of the differences...and still condemn them all as godsuckers.

After all, I did exactly that by beginning this thread.