[Vision2020] Ousted Church Dems Weigh Options

[keely emerinemix]

This pastor -- using the term quite loosely here -- is what's wrong with the 
church in the United States.   Biblical righteousness and discipleship is 
costly; latching onto the majority in power because of agreement on a few 
points and the touchstone of common vocabulary is pretty cheap.  In my 
prayers for believers in Asia, Africa and Latin America, I ask God that they 
not be led to follow the example of their brethren in the U.S., because we 
seem to be missing the mark by a wide margin.

Thanks, Wayne --

keely


From: "Art Deco" <deco at moscow.com>
To: "Vision 2020" <vision2020 at moscow.com>
Subject: [Vision2020] Fox News  050705:  Ousted Church Dems Weigh Options
Date: Sat, 7 May 2005 18:00:36 -0700

  Fox News
Ousted Church Dems Weigh Options

Saturday, May 07, 2005



WAYNESVILLE, N.C.  - A pastor who led a charge to kick out nine church 
members who refused to support President Bush (search) was the talk of the 
town Saturday in this mountain hamlet, with ousted congregants considering 
hiring a lawyer.

Pastor Chan Chandler (search) greeted people at the door of tiny East 
Waynesville Baptist Church on Saturday evening as the church choir practiced 
and even welcomed them to attend services Sunday morning - if there's room 
inside. But he was not prepared to talk about his mixing of religion and 
politics.

"On the advice of counsel, I've been advised not to have any comment at this 
time," Chandler told The Associated Press. "We will have a statement later."

Members of the congregation said Chandler told them during last year's 
presidential campaign that anyone who planned to vote for Democratic nominee 
John Kerry (search) needed to leave the church.

Longtime member Selma Morris, who was treasurer at the church, said 
Chandler's sermons remained political after Bush won re-election. This past 
week, his comments turned to politics again at a church gathering that ended 
with nine members voted out.

Morris said Saturday that some of the ousted members planned to meet with an 
attorney on Monday to discuss their options. "We're hoping he [the attorney] 
will make him leave so that the church members can come back," she said.

"This is very disturbing," said Pastor Robert Prince III, who leads the 
congregation at the nearby First Baptist Church. "I've been a pastor for 
more than 25 years, and I have never seen church members voted out for 
something like this."

Those who are still members did not know if the church would be open for 
services Sunday, or if Chandler would be in the pulpit to preach.

The 100-member East Waynesville Baptist Church sits on a bluff a short 
distance from downtown Waynesville, a mountain town about 125 miles 
northwest of Charlotte. A white steeple and stain glass windows adorn the 
simple brick structure, built in 1965, with a view of the mountains from the 
front steps.

Across the street sits the church's parsonage, a small brick ranch home with 
children's toys scattered in the front lawn. A small wooden sign out front 
reads simply "The Chandlers." No one answered the phone there on Saturday.

In the days since the nine members were ousted, many more members have 
reportedly left the church in protest.

"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," Isaac Sutton told The News and 
Observer of Raleigh. "I think I deserve the right to vote for who I want 
to."

Sutton, a deacon who worshipped at East Waynesville Baptist Church for the 
past 12 years, said he and his wife were among the nine voted out.

"I've been going to this church for 25 years and I've never had a problem," 
Sutton's wife, Lorene, told The Associated Press on Friday. "He's young and 
he thinks he knows everything."

Other former members of the church declined to speak with a reporter 
Saturday, citing the advice of their attorney. But the furor over politics 
at the church was the talk of Waynesville, a community of about 9,200 
residents.

"It's just an outrage for something like this to happen in America," said 
Heidi Jenkins, 52, as she held a garage sale at her home down the street 
from the church.

Prince said he noticed during the presidential campaign that more pastors 
made endorsements - although not from the pulpit - than in past years.

"It used to be that pastors would speak about the issues and not specific 
candidates," he said. "I think that line is being crossed."
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