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May 11, 2005
Exhibit E: Exclusive Q&A with Dr. Olin Ivey, Associate Minister at Pilgrim Congregational Church
I talked with Dr. Olin Ivey (Associate minister at Pilgrim Congregational Church in Chattanooga, TN and board member of the Urban Century Institute) on May 10, 2005, about the East Waynesville Baptist Church crisis.
Q: Have you heard about the East Waynesville Baptist Church situation?
A: Sure. I've read your Daily Bailout piece and seen the news.
Q: You're a minister at a progressive church in Chattanooga, just three hours from Waynesville. Do you think this case is isolated?
A: No. It is not isolated. This has been going on since the Sunday after the election at conservative churches everywhere. And a number of Baptist churches made it very clear, beginning with that Sunday, that any of their membership who had voted for Kerry were not welcome in the fellowship, threatening to kick them out. The other message was "you're going to hell if you voted for a Democrat."
Q: What will the religious consequences be for these churches?
A: A deep schism within the broader Christian fellowship will continue to form. It's been there for years, between progressives and ultra-conservatives pulling in opposite directions. Progressives have pushed for more open and affirmative congregations while the fundamentalists have closed down discussion and asserted that you must believe one particular way in terms of politics as a test of faith.
Q: You read my story. What did you make of the teenagers supporting the minister at East Waynesville Baptist Church?
A: The whole thing reminds me of Nazi Germany when Hitler used the youth to bring about revolution. It's so important to know history. With young people, you always have idealism. In terms of Christianity, new converts or members have a sense of new commitment which new Christians are almost always more conservative and zealous about. The minister obviously galvanized the youth in this case.
Q: How should a church deal with politics?
A: The church is always involved in politics because what counts most for people is usually real, but that does not mean that church should be aligned with a political party. Politics in church should be individual, not collective. In this case, if the church was collectively involved in politics, or the minister was using the church that way, then their tax-exempt status should be brought in question.
Posted by wjbailes at May 11, 2005 07:49 PM
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Comments
I have followed your interviews and updates on this church/pastor situation in Tennessee and appreciate your interest in it, particularly for the sake of the flock. I'm a Baptist (not Southern) and a minister as well, obviously anyone with any good sense and love of God at work in him is ashamed of this young preacher's actions, knowing that God's calling and capacitating of his ministers is to preach and teach His Word not anything more than that or less than that.
Still if I may opinionate for a moment on politics and really more so on the American Spirit that I've seen displayed over my short life, I'll appreciate your giving me a hearing. In comparing that spirit with Jesus' Spirit I observe an interesting and similar phenomenon at work. I find that the people who are true servants in the offices of our State, all the way from the Presidents of our nation's history to the men and women employed in thousands of offices, from the Congress men and women in our capitals to those deployed on the battlefields around our world, there is a demonstration of valor, of honor, and sacrifice that doesn't depend on being part of a certain political party. And this demonstration of commitment has shown that these men and women of our history have been willing to give of themselves even to those who would oppose them and work toward their demise politically or personally.
To think of a soldier like John Kerry who was willing to lay his life on the line for those who didn't always agree with him or for those who didn't always want him to succeed in life is a tribute to this spirit. Or to see a president like Ron Reagan give his life and spirit to a nation of people of which one of them even wanted to kill him and many others wanted to defame or ruin him if possible is another tribute to this spirit. I believe that this American Spirit is what sets America so apart from so many other nations around the world, and I don’t say this to bring praise to America but rather, as is my calling in life, to bring glory to God. Because it is clearly that through His grace the spirit of our nation is what it is, as it shows forth the wonder of His own Spirit that is seen in the life and death of Jesus. The American Spirit says I will give my all for my fellow countrymen, even to you who might hate me, oppose me, and want nothing to do with me, still I give of my energies, my heart, and my very life for your good. That is a Spirit worth talking about, worth imitating, and worth keeping alive!
Saddest of all is that this spirit isn't getting through to multitudes of Clinton and Kerry hating Republicans who would just as soon annihilate these leaders and their supporters like Chad Chandler has demonstrated. And no doubt it isn't getting through to many Bush bashing Democrats as well, who in like fashion will never have anything to do with our president or his supporters, but rather would just as soon ship these people off to another planet or if it has to come to this give them a taste of their own medicine and do away with them altogether. May the American Spirit win out, so that we may see more of God and his grace showing forth in us and our country and see less of this hateful, divisive, and destructive Anti-American Spirt.
Posted by: Modern Day Pilgrim at May 15, 2005 04:02 PM