slugshooter Posted May 8, 2005 Report Share Posted May 8, 2005 Dems Voted Out of Church Weigh Options RICK HAVNER May 07, 2005 6:51 PM EDT WAYNESVILLE, N.C. - A pastor who led a charge to kick out nine church members who refused to support President Bush was the talk of the town Saturday in this mountain hamlet, with ousted congregants considering hiring a lawyer. Pastor Chan Chandler 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 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." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevebeilgard Posted May 9, 2005 Report Share Posted May 9, 2005 Re: Why Politics & Religion Don\'t Mix. IMHO were you just as outraged when jesse jackson said "stay out da bushes"? wrong is wrong, is worng. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnf Posted May 9, 2005 Report Share Posted May 9, 2005 Re: Why Politics & Religion Don\'t Mix. IMHO This sound like a young overzelous paster. As far as I know there is no proceedure in the rules that govern the Baptist denomination. I think this is probibly a very isolated example of a young guy stepping accross a line that shouldn't be stepped over. This is simply not something done in a mainstream Baptist church. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckee Posted May 9, 2005 Report Share Posted May 9, 2005 Re: Why Politics & Religion Don\'t Mix. IMHO This is unusual and an isolated incident. To use this as an example of why politics and religion don't mix is just as poor judgement as that pastor made. ...IMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slugshooter Posted May 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 Re: Why Politics & Religion Don\'t Mix. IMHO It probably happens more than you guys think. Every church I have ever been in the pastor has made comments of a political nature and has made suggestions as to who would be the better candidate. This guy just took it to the next level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slugshooter Posted May 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 Re: Why Politics & Religion Don\'t Mix. IMHO [ QUOTE ] were you just as outraged when jesse jackson said "stay out da bushes"? wrong is wrong, is worng. [/ QUOTE ] Please elaborate because I have no idea what you are talking about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin R10 man Posted May 12, 2005 Report Share Posted May 12, 2005 Re: Why Politics & Religion Don\'t Mix. IMHO Your all wet yet again slugo....that is exactly what started this great nation, its the libs that are trying to overturn all of our founding fathers beliefs and morals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckee Posted May 12, 2005 Report Share Posted May 12, 2005 Re: Why Politics & Religion Don\'t Mix. IMHO [ QUOTE ] It probably happens more than you guys think. Every church I have ever been in the pastor has made comments of a political nature and has made suggestions as to who would be the better candidate. [/ QUOTE ] I don't think your all wet slugger , but I also don't see anything wrong with a pastor discussing the election and the candidates in church. Who we vote for, has a great bearing on what we believe (spiritually). Bringing to light what a candidate believes and stands up for is a good thing. This pastor in question however, over-stepped his boundaries, bigtime IMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carbonhunter Posted May 12, 2005 Report Share Posted May 12, 2005 Re: Why Politics & Religion Don\'t Mix. IMHO [ QUOTE ] Your all wet yet again slugo....that is exactly what started this great nation, its the libs that are trying to overturn all of our founding fathers beliefs and morals. [/ QUOTE ] WRONG...this nation started because people wanted to be FREE, and have a voice.....religion had nothing to do with it. may have had something to do with the laws, but had NOTHING to do with what led to our wanting seperation from England. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slugshooter Posted May 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2005 Re: Why Politics & Religion Don\'t Mix. IMHO [ QUOTE ] You're all wet yet again sluggo.... [/ QUOTE ] I was earlier, it was raining pretty hard when I came out of Wal-Mart earlier tonight. Hows the weather up there where you live? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParrotHead Posted May 13, 2005 Report Share Posted May 13, 2005 Re: Why Politics & Religion Don\'t Mix. IMHO [ QUOTE ] WRONG...this nation started because people wanted to be FREE, and have a voice.....religion had nothing to do with it. may have had something to do with the laws, but had NOTHING to do with what led to our wanting seperation from England. [/ QUOTE ] Sorry but you’re wrong – Are we to assume this is now the history lessons being taught in public/government schools? The Pilgrims were English Separatists who founded Plymouth Colony in New England in 1620. In the first years of the 17th century, small numbers of English Puritans broke away from the Church of England because they felt that it had not completed the work of the Reformation. They committed themselves to a life based on the Bible. Most of these Separatists were farmers, poorly educated and without social or political standing. One of the Separatist congregations was led by William Brewster and the Rev. Richard Clifton in the village of Scrooby in Nottinghamshire. The Scrooby group imigrated to Amsterdam in 1608 to escape harassment and religious persecution. The next year they moved to Leiden, where, enjoying full religious freedom, they remained for almost 12 years. In 1617, discouraged by economic difficulties, the pervasive Dutch enfluence on their children, and their inability to secure civil autonomy, the congregation voted to emigrate to America. The people that came to this country came to escape religious persecution. It wasn't for some 150 years later that it was determined that a seperation from Englands govenmental controls (and taxes) was necessary. Freedom to "have a voice" was never a consideration but rather a result from the foundation of our Bill of Rights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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