The Rev. Joel Hunter, pastor of a nondenominational megachurch in Longwood, Fla., said he resigned as the coalition’s incoming president because its board of directors disagreed with his plan to broaden the organization’s agenda. In addition to opposing abortion and same-sex marriage, Hunter, 58, wanted to take on such issues as poverty, global warming and HIV/AIDS.
“My position is, unless we are caring as much for the vulnerable outside the womb as inside the womb, we’re not carrying out the full message of Jesus,” he said in a telephone interview yesterday. “They began to think this might threaten their base or evaporate some of their support, and they said they just couldn’t go there.”
Four state chapters – in Alabama, Georgia, Iowa and Ohio – have broken away from the national organization in recent months, and some of the mutinous state leaders cited Hunter’s pronouncements as a factor.
I think this is a good thing for Christian’s who feel along his lines (of which I am one). I’m sick of every conversation being about abortion and gay marriage. There are many other important issues out there that the church does a poor job addressing at the national level.
It would be except for the fact that he resigned, and clearly the litmus test for a new president is abortion and gay marriage. It sounds like it will be until there is some kind of turnover in the board.
There was an article in Newsweek a week or two ago about broadening of Evangelical base issues. God I hope so. The new archetype for Evangelical kids seems to be Bono, which is quite a departure from the Ralph Reed agenda. I didn’t get to finish the article because I was reading it in the orthopedist’s office and he made me put it down so he could jam a needle into my inflamed biceps tendon. I kind of lost my train of thought after that.
Do you think it is the lack of focus on those issues specifically, or just the breadth of his aspirations that turned them off? I can’t see the CC being against those causes, so what’s the problem with widening the umbrella?
Do you think it is the lack of focus on those issues specifically, or just the breadth of his aspirations that turned them off? I can’t see the CC being against those causes, so what’s the problem with widening the umbrella?
He gave an interview on NPR where he stated that the CC was myopic in view and living in the past (granted, he used more diplomatic terms). He said that they seem to have gay marriage and abortion as their exclusive topics, and he felt this was alienating a whole lot of Christians. I found myself agreeing wholeheartedly. Unfortunatley, the CC refuses to alter its course and, as a result, is losing membership. I see this as another litmus test to the mood of the country: less polarization, more centrism.
My view? The oft used cliche of ‘What Would Jesus Do’ should be asked when it comes to things like the environment, AIDs, genocide, church v. state, etc. Lets put it this way; I’ve been going to church my whole life and it wasn’t until a few months ago that I heard a minister give a sermon on the death penalty, applying Jesus’ teachings to the idea and stating the official position of the church (I go to a Methodist Church, which opposes the death penalty, if that matters). The result? My mind was changed 180 degrees. I had never thought of it in those terms. I’d like to hear more church leaders tackle big topics like this in a frank, open, and Christian based way.
I think a most Christians disagree with a lot things that the right does; poor stewardship of God given resources, support for the death penalty which some equate to abortion, fiscal irresponsibility, destruction of church v. state divisions and protections, allowing activist judges, allowing education failures…the list goes on. What gets me is this; most people picture right wing Christian folks and left wing Black folks. Yet, most Black folks claim to be Christians and that community in general is known for a great deal of spirituality. What’s up with that?