Someone Gets it - Pastor says religion and politics should be seperate

[PatGund]

Kudos to Pastor Gregory A. Boyd, of Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, Minn.

While an evangelical "megachurch", Rev. Boyd constantly turned down those in his church who wanted the church's rubberstamp for their political cause of the day. Finally he did six sermons called “The Cross and the Sword” saying that the church should "steer clear of politics, give up moralizing on sexual issues, stop claiming the United States as a “Christian nation” and stop glorifying American military campaigns."

And it cost him 1/5th of his membership. But the 4/5ths that remain are stronger and richer for having stayed.

http://articles.news.aol.com/news/_a/disowning-conservative-politics-is/20060729195809990004?ncid=NWS00010000000001

The saddest part though, was this post here:

"Mr. Boyd gave his sermons while his church was in the midst of a $7 million fund-raising campaign. But only $4 million came in, and 7 of the more than 50 staff members were laid off, he said.

Mary Van Sickle, the family pastor at Woodland Hills, said she lost 20 volunteers who had been the backbone of the church’s Sunday school.

“They said, ‘You’re not doing what the church is supposed to be doing, which is supporting the Republican way,’ ” she said. “It was some of my best volunteers.”

It's very sad that these people were so shallow in their faith that they felt the church's role should have been to support *politics* rather than to support their faith. What they wanted was the churches rubber-stamp on their political beliefs - and left when they didn't get it.

Church should not be used to support a *political* belief. Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, Pagan, Unitarian, Democrat, Republican, Green, Libertarian, etc. If your faith leads you to support a political action or cause, so be it. But to see your churches' function as *support* for that faith is, at best, misguided, and, at worse, mocking of the very faith one claims to be. I would be just as offended by a Unitarian's saying their church's "purpose" is to support the "Democratic Way", or for any faith - my own included - to see their purpose as supporting political group x, y, or z.

Kudos to this pastor again. He could have taken the easy road like many of the evangelical "megachurches". But he listened to what his faith and heart said. The 1000 that left are poorer spiritually as a result - but the ones who remained and those who have since joined are richer as well.

[ixion]

1. Big Kudos and Accolades to Pastor Boyd.

Any 'chruch' that supports the 'republican way' should be paying taxes, because they're no longer a chruch.

[PatGund]

7. Yep!

Absolutely agreed on. I don't care what faith or politics they're espousing, the minute they cross over the political divide, they are no longer a church and should lose tax-free status

[Catchawave]

2. K & R for Pastor Boyd !

[CurtEastPoint]

3. Here's his e-mail .... tell him!!

Pastor's address is [e-mail]

or...

The church's contact form can be found at http://www.whchurch.org/content/page_153.htm

Thank him!

[ktowntennesseedem]

4. The church is "supposed" to be supporting "God's way"

which has nothing to do with politics whatsoever. Sounds like the theology of this pastor and church are far too conservative for this old liberal heretic, but a hearty "Amen" to him for sticking to this principle when so many others have abandoned it.

They may have lost many parishioners, and might have trouble gaining new members once the word gets out about "those liberals down at Woodland Hills." But they just as easily might attract more people than ever, if as I imagine there are others in that community tired of seeing politics rather than faith dictate the actions at their churches. Best of luck to them all.

[yellowdogintexas]

5. some of their faith statements are remarkably broad for

an evangelical group ..well painted and more accepting than you would find in say a straight and narrow Baptist/Church of Christ or other group.

Ha ha they almost sound like Methodists in some of the bullet points.

I say the man has great moral strength to stand up to his congregation in this way. I may share his info with a couple of my ministers; my church is an island of liberal tolerance in a red sea of reactionary political views.

Several of the known great liberal political leaders of our area are members of my church and I sometimes think that part of our growth and stability is the liberal reputation of the congregation and the ministers.

Except for the inerrant Bible part and the you must be immersed part I almost think I could enjoy Woodland Hills.

[ktowntennesseedem]

6. Not suprising.

I haven't had time to check out the church and learn more about them, and I was wrong to assume the "evangelical" label meant they were too conservative for me. But any church that didn't kick their pastor out the door for refusing to substitute GOP for GOD has to have its head on straight. I'm certain that I would pay them a visit if I ever find myself in that area.

Sounds like you go to a church similar to mine. I'm Baptist as is my church, but we both go against every stereotype that you could think of. Unlike most every other Baptist church these days, we still believe in church-state separation. We still practice immersion, but if anyone wants to join us who was baptised some other way they are welcome, and we don't care one way or another. We don't belittle their former baptism or earlier faith tradition and make them get dunked before they're good enough for us the way every other Baptist church around here does.) And inerrancy is a word that is never used at all, unless it is to illustrate what a foolish and unnecessary belief it is.

[yellowdogintexas]

8. good to know! Methodist here. And you know we take

everybody.

LOL there is a Methodist church near here which is nearly holy roller status, so say my ministers. The Great Umbrella of the United Methodist Church strikes again.

[texpatriot2004]

9. Say like Separation of Church and State, for example...

History proves that mixing politics and religion is lethal. That's why we have had, until this evil regime took over the White House, the Separation of Church and State.

"Be ye not deceived" I say to right wing Christians and Bushies! Be ye not deceived.

Hitler gained power the same way; fundamentalist religious types supported him too.

I saw 2 great bumper stickers yesterday about Christians:

One said, "so many right wing Christians so few lions" and the other was a quote from Gandhi that read, "I like your Christ, it's your Christians I do not care for, they are so unlike your Christ."