Live from the Nuke Free Zone

Last week or so, a pastor from a North Carolina church decided to become the religious light’s lightning rod for the time being by expelling all Democrats from the congregation, which has gotta at least wreck his tax status if anything. Well, what goes around comes around, fortunately: good riddance, I say to him; the twerp apparently realized just what he’d done and resigned today, or at least decided to play the martyr’s role about the whole debacle.

So, nine members expelled, forty more who left in protest, leaving the church with half its original congregation - presumably the ones who applauded at the original expulsion. Nice job, Chan! That’s how we build communities in this day and age!

Aggravating as the whole thing is, I gotta admit one of the lines from a member of the congregation strikes me with an even better mingling of outrage and worry:

“I don’t believe he preached politics,” said Rhonda Trantham, one of Chandler’s supports. “I don’t believe anyone should tell a preacher not to preach what’s in the Bible.”
. . .

Chandler attorney John J. Pavey Jr. said the pastor has not apologized for anything he said and would continue to speak out against abortion. He said the dispute inside the church had nothing to do with politics . . .

You heard it here first, folks: anathematizing members of a church congregation for their political views, ordering them to “repent” and vote Republican or else leave, is no longer “preaching politics,” at least in North Carolina.

Just thought I’d let you know.