On a quiet Sunday morning in June, as worshippers settled into the pews at Allen Baptist Church in southwestern Michigan, Pastor Jason Burrick grabbed his cellphone and dialed 911. When a dispatcher answered, the preacher said a former congregant was in the sanctuary. "And we need to, um, have her out A.S.A.P."
Half an hour later, 71-year-old Karolyn Caskey, a church member for nearly 50 years who had taught Sunday school and regularly donated 10% of her pension, was led out by a state trooper and a county sheriff's officer.
(Wall Street Journal)
Turns out the unfortunate Ms Caskey was being "shunned" by the pastor's decree. Her fault? Questioning the pastor's authority. Apparently it's all part of a movement among "some conservative Protestant pastors to bring back church discipline," the Journal reports.
Some say that contemporary churches have grown soft on sinners, citing the rise of suburban megachurches where pastors preach self-affirming messages rather than focusing on sin and redemption.
Just mentioning.
No comments:
Post a Comment