Tennessee Baptists Abolish Church Rather Than Allow Female Pastor
The Greater Tabernacle Church will lose its membership with the local Baptist Association because it voted to have a female pastor.
Click here for reuse options!“It’s hard because I know a lot of members are scared they’re gonna lose the building, scared they’re gonna lose their property,” Pastor Shonda Reynolds-Christian told NewsChannel5.
The tiny church’s 40 members voted Reynolds-Christian in after their former leader passed away.
It seems there is disagreement about what God said about the matter.
“I was called,” Reynolds-Christian told Channel5, “I just believe that God opened up the door and that’s how it happened.”
The Lawrence County Association of Baptists disagrees.
“Because God said that,” The Baptist Association’s Minister Mark Kemper said, explaining why the church is being kicked out, “and it’s not anything we decided on our own, we take God for his word.”
Reynolds-Christian retorted she believes this is “more how man feels and not about God.”
Without its membership, the church will be dissolved. The deed on the building says the property will be given to the Baptist Association if the church is no longer a member of it, Channel5 reports.
Copyright 2015 Liberaland
17 responses to Tennessee Baptists Abolish Church Rather Than Allow Female Pastor
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Larry Schmitt October 20th, 2015 at 08:28
How very “Christian” of them.
John_St_John October 23rd, 2015 at 01:43
Actually it is the doctrine of Paul the so called American Evangelicals are following. Their Christ is just a stuffed prop for them to bow down to.
rg9rts October 20th, 2015 at 09:35
God heard that and SHE is not happy with them
Charlie Seivard October 20th, 2015 at 09:52
Southern Baptist or just a Baptist in the south just can’t take time to hear the word of God because they talk too much.
Larry Schmitt October 20th, 2015 at 10:00
So what are they supposed to do about a church now? Most of them are probably on the older side, and for older African Americans in the South, church is very important. But the Association doesn’t care about that.
Jimmy Fleck October 20th, 2015 at 10:20
If the church rules state that women cannot be pastors (I don’t know for sure that this is iron clad for this Baptist church or not) then what did they expect to happen when they voted a woman to be pastor? Churches typically are not democracies. The rules are set from the leaders on top and you either follow them, get the leaders to change the rules, or find a different church.
Gindy51 October 20th, 2015 at 13:09
Do away with ALL of them.
Suzanne McFly October 20th, 2015 at 16:21
I am sure this action is making God very upset about creating us.
Warman1138 October 20th, 2015 at 17:01
I guess men and women are not equal under the local Baptist Association. The church should start their own and tell the Association to get lost.
Larry Schmitt October 20th, 2015 at 17:15
What will they do for a building? The deed specifies it goes to the association.
Warman1138 October 20th, 2015 at 21:34
Get another.
Dwendt44 October 21st, 2015 at 00:16
Yup. Around here a small group rents a room from the local school or if small enough, meet in someone’s home. As the group grows, if it does, they look around for a church building or some other building that they could call their own. A church builds a new bigger church, the old one is recycled by a small newer group.
Chris October 20th, 2015 at 19:00
Gimme that old time religion. Not.
Wonder how the “Association” stands on women’s suffrage or even the abolition of slavery. Not a bunch of deep thinkers. If they were to truly study the New Testament, they would discover that there were a lot of women who led churches in the early days of the Church. Well, before the patriarchy made its presence known.
Dwendt44 October 21st, 2015 at 00:14
That seems to be a pattern. The ancient Hebrews had a Goddess as well at Yahweh. The misogynists wrote her out of the scripture. In the early days of the christian church, they did the same thing. Mary was one of Jesuses closest disciples; she’s almost ignore these days.
John_St_John October 23rd, 2015 at 01:40
Which Mary? Magdalene or the one who was his mother? And what about the sisters of Lazarus?? They too were spoken of as having followed and retaught the words of one Jesus of Nazareth… of whom the Roman’s left no mention of in any of their tax records or other legal documents preserved from Judea of the 1st Century C.E.
bpollen October 21st, 2015 at 06:47
Baptist. So’s the WBC.
“Dat is all da people need to know!” – Baron Von Raschke
John_St_John October 23rd, 2015 at 01:37
If the Baptists kick them out of the building, burn it to the ground.