Newspapers in Florida are reporting that Sean Allen, one of Truett Seminary's brightest graduates, has been receiving death threats at his church.
Allen is pastor at First Baptist Church in DeLand, Florida. He has been receiving hostile notes and death threats ever since he removed both the U.S. flag and the Christian flag from the church's sanctuary.
It's no secret that many Christian Nationalists have little tolerance for those who refuse to join them in equating the symbols of the nation with the symbols of faith. Those in DeLand, however, seem more extreme than most.
Pray for Sean. He and his family have taken a leave of absence from the church.
8 comments:
Bruce,
Your article about an extreme example of overreacting to a situation doesn't surprise me. You major on the minors anyway. My question to you is did Pastor Allen consult his church before removing the flags? No one condones death threat or hostile notes, but did he handle the situation with care? There are some hills that are not worth dying for.
You are in a minority when it comes to removing the U.S. Flag and Christian Flag from a church auditorium. Show me in scripture where having flags in the church sanctuary is a sin and I'll get ours removed tomorrow. Otherwise, find some other subject to whine about.
Bruce,
One more point that you will probably ignore is that your article is not factual. Pastor Allen has received only one note that was considered a veiled threat. That is one more than he should have received, but it would be nice if you would not resort to sensational journalism.
After reading the link concerning this situation, I'm not sure how bright a graduate he is. It sounds like he unilaterally took the flags out of the sanctuary on his own. Also, making a decision like that less than a year after coming to the church is not wise either. I can assure you, Bruce, that your view which seems to agree with Pastor Allen is the extreme position.
Jim,
I posted your comments as examples of how blind many Baptists are to the idolatry of nationalism.
You can't serve both the Almighty God and a domesticated god who serves as a mascot for any nation.
Choose you this day whom you will serve. As for me and my house of worship, we will serve the Lord.
Not much of a surprise that it caused a conflict. First, the flag is a lightning rod in our time. Second, he changed something that people were used to. Whatever has been done for ten years in a Baptist church finds its way into the Biblical revelation. Taking a critical look at the false gospel of civil religion is a sure path to starting a church fight. I feel for the guy, and I hope he and the church can work through this. Thanks, Bruce, for posting it.
Mike
Jim,
If your church were in Mexico, France, Rwanda, or Venezuela, would you have a flag in the sanctuary? If so, which? What would that flag have to do with the gospel and faith in Christ Jesus?
If your church were composed of various international groups, would you fly the flag of each nation represented? Is faith tied to allegiance to any one national identity and political system? What message does the flag proclaim to a visitor from a different land?
Having lived in three countries and among many nationalities, I don't care to have my faith confused with any brand of nationalism. I serve one Lord, and Cesar is not a sufficient stand-in for Christ.
It's hard to fully grasp all the angles of this situation and make any kind of judgement without knowing more of the story. From the news article it does appear that the pastor gave a theological explanation for his actions to several individuals and/or groups of people from the church. Of course, some people are prone to keep quiet in a group when controversial matters arise; thus, the infamous nasty anonymous notes to the pastor (always from a concerned member).
The situation may have been avoided with a little more tact and diplomacy on the front end of the matter (but this is pure speculation); however, the pastor is young and may not be fully cognizant of all of the Baptist church dynamics and unwritten guidelines (most of which you do not learn in seminary and ones you do not know until you violate).
When I was a younger pastor (which has been a few years ago now), I'm confident that in my zeal for God I went about some things in a less than democratic way.
I do agree that there is a danger in equating the symbols of our nation too closely with the Christian faith. I can remember years ago having mixed feelings when we would recite the pledges during Vacation Bible School (thankfully God has delivered me from reciting these where I serve now). Somehow, I never understood what the pledges had to do with Bible School. I thought we were there to teach the boys and girls about Jesus!
I do remember not including the pledges one year in our Bible School. You would have thought that I had removed the pulpit, choir, and the hymn books all in one week. I found out real quick that some people do things in church not because they have a theological or even logical reason but because "they've always done it that way" (i.e., following the traditions of men).
I think the solution to problems such as these is to help people to see why we do the things that we do. We have to ask, "what is the purpose in flying the American flag in church?" If it is for a special purpose and emphasis, that may be one thing. But if there is no valid purpose, then why do it? Flying the flag in church does not make a person more patriotic and more Christian than someone who does not? Similarly, we have to be sensitive to our context. "Who is present?" We never want to give people in our congregation the impression that our God is the God of the American people only. He is God of all and over all.
Where I serve now flags are seldom posted in our sanctuary. However, on special occasions they are brought out. When they are posted, it is incumbent upon us as leaders to explain what the flag means and equally what it does not. If the American flag or any other secular symbol posted in our sanctuaries ever obscures our presentation of the message of Christ, then it should be removed. The Gospel is too important!
For His Glory!
Joe Alain
Bruce said:
"Choose you this day whom you will serve. As for me and my house of worship, we will serve the Lord."
I'm not sure I know that verse. Can you find that in Scripture? If you are referring to Joshua 24:15, then you are taking the verse out of context.
Someone who has commented please explain to me how having an American Flag and a Christian Flag in a worship service is idolatry. I don't believe there is anything wrong with patriotism. I love my Lord and I love the country that He has allowed me to live in. Why is it that liberals are always down on America and are a part of the "Blame America First" crowd? I for one am grateful for the religious heritage of our great nation. And I am not ashamed to show it!
Jim,
All comments are for those who have eyes to see.
One of us is blind.
I'll pray for you.
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