Rifts Among Southern Baptists Lead to Churches Withholding Funds
Other articles about Jack Graham, Prestonwood, ERLC:
http://www.bpnews.net/48364/prestonwood-escrows-cp-funds-cites-erlc-act…
http://sbctoday.wpengine.com/texas-congregation-escrows-cp-over-concern…
David R. Brumbelow
One of the links that David Brumbelow mentioned links to the WSJ article itself that is not paywalled. Here it is:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/rifts-among-southern-baptists-lead-to-chur…
The crux of the matter seems to be this:
In a written statement sent to The Wall Street Journal, Mike Buster, the executive pastor at the church, said the decision was motivated by “various significant positions taken by the leadership of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission [the denomination’s public policy agency] that do not reflect the beliefs and values of many in the Southern Baptist Convention.”The funds would remain in escrow, he said, “until a decision can be made on current and future funding.”
Russell Moore, the head of the ethics committee, was among Mr. Trump’s most prominent conservative critics. He holds traditional conservative positions, but also pushed to strike a more hospitable tone toward gays and lesbians, and has expanded the issue of religious freedom to include standing up for the rights of others, including Muslims.
Jack Graham, the pastor at Prestonwood Baptist and a member of Mr. Trump’s evangelical advisory board, and many other Southern Baptists have said that Mr. Moore had belittled Southern Baptists who, in some cases reluctantly, supported Mr. Trump…
…Since then, Mr. Moore has made efforts to quell unrest within the denomination. He issued an apology for giving the impression that he was criticizing Mr. Trump’s supporters, and has issued several statements in support of Mr. Trump’s policies, though he also questioned the executive order on refugees and travel from seven Muslim-majority countries because of terrorism fears.
“I’m confident that Drs. Graham and Moore will come to a good understanding of the ERLC’s role on behalf of Southern Baptists,” said Kevin Smith, president of the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware, said. “As cultural challenges to religious liberty increase, we need resources for pastors and local congregations.”
I agree with Moore on a lot of this, and I wonder how much of the disconnect is because of competing visions as to what we expect from this political entity we call ‘America’ really is or should be.
"Our task today is to tell people — who no longer know what sin is...no longer see themselves as sinners, and no longer have room for these categories — that Christ died for sins of which they do not think they’re guilty." - David Wells
I find this absurd. I have already fled IFB and I don’t know that I find SB too much more palatable to be honest. The bottom line is there is no place in large swaths of evangelism including conservative SB churches for people that don’t march in lockstep with Christian evangelical political correctness. It is mind-numbing how divisive this past election has been in churches and families. From what I can tell, supporting or not supporting Trump has become pretty much the reason to “separate” these days.
Dear GregH,
Keep looking. In our area, you can find several churches that are orthodox, serious-minded, and do a pretty decent job of keeping politics out of the public meetings of the church. In our church, though I would surmise that most supported Trump, we have a small number who probably voted for Hillery, though I can’t be sure since I didn’t ask, and they didn’t say.
G. N. Barkman
Just b/c the majority (if one perceives such) of your church voted for Trump doesn’t mean your church supported Trump
My church - few talk about their vote - (really virtually no one)
I think many view this controversy to not be just about Trump. Instead, some rather sweeping caustic comments Moore made against any Christian voting for Trump (and little opposing comments about Clinton), plus other rather elitist type comments by Moore against the religious right and social conservatives. Moore has since apologized, with some saying his was a weak apology. Another issue concerned the building and zoning of a mosque. Mike Huckabee and others have also been critical of Moore.
In contrast, Moore also has his ardent supporters.
Southern Baptists obviously oppose Trump’s past immoral behavior, etc. But many voted for him as the best of two options.
But will Baptists disagree. Of course they will.
David R. Brumbelow
Gaines, pastor of the Memphis-area Bellevue Baptist Church, said he voted for Trump as president, who was not his first choice, having voted for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the primary election. But given the choice in the national election, Gaines cast his ballot for Trump because of the New York businessman’s pro-life stance.
People voted for Trump for a variety of reasons — economic, social, political, Gaines said. But in reference to Trump’s campaign slogan, Gaines noted that the only way to really make America great again is by winning people to Jesus Christ and mentoring them and changing society through the people they influence.
Gaines expressed his approval of nine of Trump’s 16 cabinet choices being Christians, but voiced disappointment with newly-appointed Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who was instrumental in the Boy Scouts opening their ranks to homosexuality in 2014.
“Overall I’m pleased with the appointments; they are better than what we could have had [with Hillary Clinton] ,” Gaines said. He also agreed with Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch’s view to interpret the Constitution “the way it was written, not rewrite it.”
“A lot of people like me chose the candidate who was more friendly to pro-life [causes] and marriage between one man and one woman,” Gaines said. “I do not support many of the things Trump has said, especially what he has said about women. But he was the best choice that we had [in this election].”
Gaines said he prayed for President Barack Obama and his family by name virtually every day of his eight-year term.
“I doubt that I missed 30 days during his time as president. I prayed for Michelle and Malia and Sasha, even though most people I know don’t even know his daughters’ names.
“I’m now praying for Donald Trump with that same commitment.”
Although saying he does not understand how God works in the electoral process, Gaines noted that “He raises some up and puts others down. I just want the Lord’s will to be done.”
-Steve Gaines, SBC president.
http://www.bpnews.net/48350/gaines-qa-from-trump-to-prayer-for-revival
David R. Brumbelow
GregH,
I’m fairly certain that you would find that most who contribute here, even if they disagree with you politically, don’t attend churches that are political in nature. In fact, I would say that most of us in this version of fundamental Christianity wouldn’t want our churches to focus on politics over scripture, and would likely not be part of one that did. My pastor did nothing more than point out that neither candidate had claims on scriptural righteousness, and preach that we are not to put our trust in princes. Since he came from NJ, and from some private conversations, I know our pastor didn’t vote for Trump (though I know he couldn’t vote Hillary either). I don’t know how most people in my church voted. We don’t have any such “Christian evangelical political correctness” at our church.
That fact that people might disagree with you strongly here says nothing about what is preached in the churches we attend (or, for that matter, what teams we like, what hobbies we have, etc.).
Dave Barnhart
[dcbii]GregH,
I’m fairly certain that you would find that most who contribute here, even if they disagree with you politically, don’t attend churches that are political in nature. In fact, I would say that most of us in this version of fundamental Christianity wouldn’t want our churches to focus on politics over scripture, and would likely not be part of one that did. My pastor did nothing more than point out that neither candidate had claims on scriptural righteousness, and preach that we are not to put our trust in princes. Since he came from NJ, and from some private conversations, I know our pastor didn’t vote for Trump (though I know he couldn’t vote Hillary either). I don’t know how most people in my church voted. We don’t have any such “Christian evangelical political correctness” at our church.
That fact that people might disagree with you strongly here says nothing about what is preached in the churches we attend (or, for that matter, what teams we like, what hobbies we have, etc.).
I certainly am not referring to any pushback I get here. That is fine. I am referring more to the fact that we are visiting churches and did throughout the past election season and very very often, it sounded like the preacher was listening to Fox News when he was studying. There are always the hot button issues as well of course. I am speaking of that but also what the themes in conversation during the sunday schools have been and in general what people respond to during messages (with a hearty hay-men :) ).
It is just an overall feeling you get and then on top of that, I hear from pastor friends who tell me they have to address the division from the pulpit during the past election because people were mad at each other. One said he had multiple people leave his church because he would not support Trump strongly enough.
GregH,
Like I said before, keep looking. When you find a church that is serious about the Bible, I doubt that you will hear much about politics from the pulpit. :)
G. N. Barkman
Look for Russell Moore to resign. For someone who is involved with the SBC ERLC, he seems blind to some of his own ethics. On his blogsite, he talked about watching Dancing With The Stars with his mother. Strange.
Wally Morris
Huntington, IN
I am referring more to the fact that we are visiting churches and did throughout the past election season and very very often, it sounded like the preacher was listening to Fox News when he was studying. There are always the hot button issues as well of course. I am speaking of that but also what the themes in conversation during the sunday schools have been and in general what people respond to during messages (with a hearty hay-men :) ).
I was in a church a few years ago where the pastor had no issue taking the sermon into political issues - it was usually a one-off shot at the liberals or abortionists or homosexual activists or whatever in a sermon, and it became a noticable trend - to the point where I could look at the sermon title and predict the target of the week, which he usually hit on. It got old really fast, and others in the congregation began to get frustrated as well. We ended up leaving that church, and a very small part of the reason why was because I simply got tired of hearing politics in a pulpit.
Trump apparently thinks that the restrictions that are put in place on ministers regarding political speech from the pulpit are terrible and should be scrapped. I’m wondering just how many ‘christian’ churches would delve into politics all the time if he or Congress did remove that limit. I think it would be a catastrophe if Trump did remove it - but it might be a really good thing in the long run, because it would separate God’s ministers from guys who just want a platform.
For the record, I was #NeverTrump before the election.
I’d be interested in everyone’s feedback on how to handle political questions in a Sunday School class. I always struggle with them because a big part of me wants to talk about it, but another part of me says to just move on and save everyone the headache. And that’s before you get into the difference between trashing the ‘enemy’ and seriously dealing with legitimate questions from people who want to know.
"Our task today is to tell people — who no longer know what sin is...no longer see themselves as sinners, and no longer have room for these categories — that Christ died for sins of which they do not think they’re guilty." - David Wells
[Jay]I’d be interested in everyone’s feedback on how to handle political questions in a Sunday School class.
Stick to the text
This from Grasping God’s Word: A Hands-on Approach to Reading, Interpreting and Applying the Bible
In any Sunday School class, the teacher must always have control - keep the discussion on the Biblical issue. If someone wants to pull the class toward a political issue, the teacher must tactfully yet firmly keep the class focused. If someone keeps bringing up political issues, have a a private conversation with the person.
If you want to discuss a “political question”, plan far ahead so that the “political” question has a Biblical basis. A teacher can show the various sides of a political question from Biblical teaching, using the political question to teach the Bible.
The number of “political questions” is almost endless and can easily dominate a class or the pulpit. Most people will grow tired of an endless emphasis on the political - That’s not why they came to church.
Where an intersection of the political and Biblical happen, use it as a good teaching opportunity.
Wally Morris
Huntington, IN
It strikes me that when we look at things closely, we find that those who are most addicted to power are also the ones who are most likely to be in grievous moral sin. Last November’s election was a great example, and a former pastor of mine noted that he thought it was rare for someone to be both politically and spiritually involved without great compromise.
And what a tragedy that Prestonwood is separating on this. Separating because someone pointed out obvious facts about the guy I admit I voted for? Seriously?
Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.
Discussion