Doing God's Work

Well, that was a surprise. After overseeing the removal of nine members of East Waynesville Baptist Church, Pastor Chan Chandler told the news media that it had all been a misunderstanding and then scheduled a follow-up church business meeting for Tuesday night. Instead of explaining at that meeting how people might have misunderstood what was really intended by voting out the nine members if it wasn't to kick them out, he offered his resignation and walked out of the church himself.

I have to admit that I didn't see that coming. He stirred up a lot of trouble for his congregation by bringing overt political action into the sanctuary, and then when he started to face resistence and adverse publicity, he simply walked away. One of his statements as he left is most telling: "For me to remain now would only cause more hurt for me and my family." His principled stands, religious, political, or whatever--stands he claimed he was making because of their biblical necessity--were abandoned because they would hurt him. He's left East Waynesville Baptist Church in turmoil, but roughly forty members followed him out the door. Among the members who remain, it has been suggested that some of those Chandler had brought into the church had been brainwashed. Maybe they'll all be able to set up their own little congregation, one that's not inclined to disagree with whatever Chandler might proclaim from the pulpit.