Pastor claims church voted to reject black membership, resigns

[RamboLiberal]

A pastor who says his congregation voted not to accept black membership has resigned. The church says it never made such a decision.

The Rev. John Stevens says Fellowship Baptist Church in Saltillo voted not to approve blacks as members during a scheduled Sunday night business meeting Aug. 6. Because of the decision, Stevens stepped down from the Baptist Missionary Alliance congregation that has an average Sunday morning attendance of 30 people.

According to Stevens, the church made race an issue after a biracial 12-year-old boy, Joe, began attending Fellowship Baptist with his temporary guardians.

The church was "afraid Joe might come with his people and have blacks in the church," Stevens said. "I could not go along with that. There would always be a wall between us, so I resigned that night."

<snip>

Since Stevens' resignation, one church member who was not at the Aug. 6 meeting has called the former pastor and told him he was in favor of what he did. Stevens estimates 80 percent of the church is against having blacks as members of the congregation.

http://www.djournal.com/pages/story.asp?ID=226460&pub=1&div=Lifestyles

Stories like this make me wish there truly is a judging God and a Hell. These "self-proclaimed Christian" bigots will get a big shock on judgement day!

[wakeme2008]

1. Especially when they see Jesus

This image of what Jesus may have looked like is on the cover of Popular Mechanics this month.

http://archives.cnn.com/2002/TECH/science/12/25/face.jesus/index.html

[ret5hd]

2. why dammit!!! ...he looks just like a dagburned terra-ist!

[faithnotgreed]

7. popular mechanics? thats interesting

Jesus was definitely dark/jewish/mediterranean whatever so i dont have any qualms about the likeness but just curious that this is on the cover of popular mechanics

cool
i will have to look at that

[Joe Bacon]

12. Not according to my aunt

she SWEARS he had blue eyes and blond hair and white skin. I asked her where that was in the bible and she says her pastor told her that she just needed to believe that is true.

[krispos42]

3. Mississippi. Of course...

Do these people really think Heaven is segregated?

[yorkiemommie1]

5. no people of color allowed. period.

no 'separate but equal'. st.peter is under orders to turn away people who have too much melanin.

[IndianaGreen]

4. "It's not God so loved the white people; it's God so loved the world."

Well, what can you expect from a denomination that thinks gays are perverts and that Jews must be converted.

[melnjones]

6. Props to that pastor. nt

[Divine Discontent]

10. Ditto! I hope he sees this somehow... He shows the heart of Christ . n/t

[4morewars]

8. Praise white jesus !

[Jamastiene]

9. Good for him.

He did the right thing. The only way to get it through to thickheaded people is to take a stand. They don't know what to do then. I highly suggest we all follow suit. Racism has to be confronted and condemned for what it is: hate.

[ninkasi]

11. What kind of god is it

that people with so much hatred of minorities in their hearts even entertain so absurd a suggestion as banning blacks, or any others, from worshiping with them? What kind of worship does this petty, vengeful, spiteful god demand, that a church would act in so hateful a manner? This is not a church which has succeeded in leading the members to love, and harmony, and worship of a savior of all mankind.

This is the face of the Republican fundie bigots. Felix Allen would no doubt feel completely at ease in this congregation. This is absolutely unbelievable in today's America, that so much bigotry can still exist outside of KKK and neonazi organizations. If these people truly believe in god, it is no god I can ever accept. It's like we entered a time warp, and are now in the era before integration, and equal rights. They probably wouldn't be very receptive to gays, either.

[JVS]

13. Good on him for resigning

[Miss Chybil]

14. Welcome, Joe, to the wonderfully convoluted world of "organized"

religion. You will never forget this moment.