Church stops black wedding

[Danus]

Would you also expose your church to the public?

No I would not, but if the media got wind of it I would just deal with it.

I hear you.
I don't know what I'd do. I think the pastor had to have thought this out.

option A. Defy the members, and face their retribution which could come in a variety of ways, the least of which would be helpful to them.

option B. Tell the couple they can't get married in the church and why; still perform the ceremony like he did at another facility.

B1. Address the congregation in private and minister to them over this and tell no one outside the church. BUT, have to explain it if word got out and still distance yourself from them.

B2. Let the word get out thereby separating yourself and exposing the church, and minister to the church in private.

B2 seems like the best way to handle it as a pastor for all concerned.

 

[DarkHorseRising]

No, you're wrong. The pastor married the couple in a different facility, and will now deal with the problems in the congregation without further outside distractions.

If that is the case, it's an even worse outcome. The racists won. Ultimately, they (and not God) are the ones who decide who gets to enjoy the sacrament of marriage and under what conditions.

Anything else now is just lip service. Pathetic that it takes the media to shame Christians into accepting other races.

 

[joethemechanic]

Something funny going on here. Almost like it was a staged media event.

Why would they be welcome in the church but not allowed to get married there?

And does a church have the right to be wrong? I mean if a church refuses to marry a certain ethnic group or a mixed couple don't they have the right to be raciest?

I may think they are wrong, but don't Klansmen and Nazis have the right to control what goes on in their own churches?

 

[Nick]

Except that the couple remains unmarried, due to this "extreme minority" that you describe. This leads me to believe that within the majority of those professing to be against the overt racists, there must exist a plurality of individuals who are silently complicit in it.

An extreme minority can't accomplish anything unless people are willing to follow them.

In this case that appears to be the case, that people are following this minority, probably because the minority has power in that particular church. Your comment seemed to be addressing Christianity in general, so I responded accordingly.

The rest of the congregation going along with it doesn't make the racist minority any less wrong.

 

[Nick]

Something funny going on here. Almost like it was a staged media event.

Why would they be welcome in the church but not allowed to get married there?

I doubt it was a staged media event.

Perhaps this was the last straw? I don't think we should presume to know all the details anyway.

And does a church have the right to be wrong? I mean if a church refuses to marry a certain ethnic group or a mixed couple don't they have the right to be raciest?

I may think they are wrong, but don't Klansmen and Nazis have the right to control what goes on in their own churches?

A church can be wrong. The church certainly has the legal right to refuse to marry couples as they see fit, although if it's discrimination then the church's right may not be so secure. I'm not too sure where the line is on this one, but regardless of the laws of the land, in this case the church is absolutely wrong on doctrine and general conduct, and should be called out as such.

 

[Potluck]

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Didn't Abraham marry an Ethiopian?

 

[Classik]

. Didn't Abraham marry an Ethiopian?

And Samsom Delilah, King Solomon 700 wives, most of which were foreign women.()My bad exapmples here

 

[evenifigoalone]

I think most Christians would have been against this. Too bad the ones in that church weren't, or didn't do more to speak up.

If that was my church, I like to think I would have left and found a different one.

 

[jasoncran]

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Didn't Abraham marry an Ethiopian?

the hebrew children were never a pure race. the children of joseph were part egyptian. moses kids kenites and miriam was an ethopian.

 

[Mike S]

If that is the case, it's an even worse outcome. The racists won. Ultimately, they (and not God) are the ones who decide who gets to enjoy the sacrament of marriage and under what conditions.

Anything else now is just lip service. Pathetic that it takes the media to shame Christians into accepting other races.

The important issues in this case are being played out within the Christian community, not outside it. The media, and hostile spectators, can stand on the perimeter and make stupid comments, but ultimately they're unimportant.

 

[jasoncran]

if that was the case then we christians dont need the holy spirit.

racism is still around. i know i can easily find a black church that wouldnt allow me to marry anyone of a colored race in that building. the door swings both ways on this issue2

 

[DarkHorseRising]

The important issues in this case are being played out within the Christian community, not outside it. The media, and hostile spectators, can stand on the perimeter and make stupid comments, but ultimately they're unimportant.

And yet change didn't occur until the media shamed them into action...

If the Church's attitude is that outsiders are unimportant, that's their right. My thoughts would be that if they were truly interested in winning people over to Christ (as opposed to acting as a social club for the status quo) ,they'd be somewhat interested in the concerns outsiders have about the unBiblical racism going on.

Apologies for yet another stupid comment.

 

[Pizzaguy]

Lewis: True Christians can sometimes be sadly mistaken and I don't know their doctrine. But you are right: this is not Biblical behavior.

And it's likely to be used by secularists who have plenty of agendas of their own.

Makes Christians look bad and makes the south look bad, too. :bigfrown

I want to say it's GOT to be a fabricated story - but it IS Mississippi. (See what I mean about the south?)

 

[Mike S]

And yet change didn't occur until the media shamed them into action...

Really? Changed by an after-the-fact media story! LOL

You have a lot to learn about how things work. The ongoing church activities do not begin, nor end, with a keyhole look at a single event and the nonsense comments made by outsiders it generates. I know you want to think your opinion is important but...

Apologies for yet another stupid comment.

Yeah, well.

 

[Lewis]

God does not care what color you are, God also does not care about so called mixing, if a white marries a black God does not care about that at all, He intended for us to mix anyway. But the devil has people thinking otherwise. As I said on this forum before, when they cracked the human Genome, scientist couldn't tell who was who, meaning if you were black or white. That takes you right back to Acts 17:26 From one blood, God made all nations of men.