This is a posting about a progressive pastor in North Carolina who consistently preached a strong anti-Trump, pro-trans, pro-BLM message. He has now been fired.
Is that a cue for you to eye-roll and suggest, “Well hey, with that message, I’m not surprised“.
Ah but wait, the surprising reveal here is that his church is also very progressive, liberal, and pro-LGBTQ+, so why would they fire him, was he caught with his hand in the financial cookie jar, or did some sexual abuse scandal pop up?
Nope, it’s not that at all.
So why did he get fired?
Now that’s where this becomes interesting, so let’s explore this a bit more to see where it takes us.
Pastor Pushed out
Via an NPR story dated Feb 4th, we discover all the details that explain Pastor Benjamin Boswell was pushed out as the senior minister at Myers Park Baptist Church. As I mentioned above it really is a deeply surprising move because Myers Park Baptist is very much liberal.
Check out their website and you find this “Statement of Beliefs” – At MPBC, we have no statement of beliefs because our core belief is in soul freedom and the liberty of conscience, meaning our members are free to believe whatever they choose.
Wow, that’s a rather interesting statement and not the usual “We believe <list of very specific things> so don’t come if you don’t agree to any of this” that usually gets posted.
Further on you will also find their pro LGBTQ+ statement along with a very strong stance against racism.
I’m not religious, but if I was then I guess this would be a place I could potentially fit into.
So what the <insert word here that no church would find acceptable> is going on, why did the pastor get fired for adhering to what is clearly their published policy?
He preached sermons like the following just prior to the commencement of the Trump administration.
Via NPR …
Boswell likened the moment to what he called the “gathering dark of Hitler’s rule.” He added that Trump’s election would lead to the “crucifixion” of immigrant families as well as transgender and nonbinary people.
He was perceptive and spot on. His warning of what was to come is exactly how it has played out. At the time he delivered that timely warning the response from his congregation was a standing ovation.
For the curious, I found that sermon on YouTube from Nov 10 that he gave after the election result was clear …
If you check out a few minutes of the above then you will rapidly get a feel for who he is and the stance he takes.
Yea, I know, I’m not religious and am usually deeply critical of the religious, so it is indeed bizarre for me to be posting a sermon and advising “Hey, this is good stuff“.
Normally, I’d think, “Yes, he is perceptive and progressive, so I can happily support and endorse all that“, and I would most probably also eye-roll the “spiritual” bits. In other words, while I might not believe the religious bits, I would still very strongly consider him to be an ally in these bleak times.
This is the core of my interest here – why did a potential ally get tossed under the bus by the board of his own very progressive church?
So why did he get fired?
NPR dug into it all and even managed to get the recording of the board meeting where via a 17-3 vote they decided to get rid of him.
They have not published the actual recording but have instead given us a summary of what was said …
Marcy McClanahan, then head of the board, said the first reason Boswell needed to go was plunging attendance. Myers Park had gone from average weekly attendance of about 350 when Boswell arrived in 2016 to about 150 last year.
“Ben has been given every chance to change his words and actions to appeal to a broader audience,” McClanahan said, “but has not been successful in doing so.”
“We have got to put more butts in the seats, butts in the seats,” he said.
In a statement later, Dulin said he personally loved what he called Boswell’s “powerful prophetic preaching.”
In essence …
- He did his job. This however was was unpopular with some because they felt it was a message that pushed people away.
- The board was only interested in “popular and comfortable”.
No wait, hang on a second, are the board really that disconnected from the wider social shift away from religion due to the rise of Nones, people like me?
I get that he is the guy at the top and so they are blaming him for the decline. However, is it really down to him?
I’d seriously consider that a flawed bit of thinking.
The Microcosm of a common pattern
What is generally popular within either a religious or political context is often a message that panders to existing biases and prejudices. Hard truths, and messages of inclusivity and tolerance that challenge people to be better are often rejected, only to be replaced by the easy but wrong answers. We all saw this playing out on the political stage as the oligarchs promoted a torrent of rather popular lies to get the convicted felon elected. Now that he is in, some people are finding out the hard way that they were deceived.
Myers Park shrank, and as it did, so also did the budget. The board’s stance of “we need butts in seats” can be rather obviously translated into, “we need money“. If indeed pandering to what people want simply to get more money is the goal, then you do have to wonder if they have actually lost the plot.
They could indeed ramp up numbers with a MAGA friendly message, but is that really where they want to go?
The ousting of the pastor might indeed be popular with several people who felt “uncomfortable”, but it also resulted in three board members quitting, and has become a strong motivation for people to walk away.
Via NPR …
Bruce Griffin is a warehouse worker in Charlotte who joined the church more than five years ago. He says Boswell created a wonderful, welcoming community. Now, he’s bitter.
“I feel the church betrayed me,” said Griffin, standing outside the church during a meeting called to address the turmoil over Boswell’s departure. He said the meeting was all business.
“There was no hugging,” he said. “There was no fellowship.”
When asked about the fact that some white congregants said they felt beaten down by Boswell’s continued emphasis on social and racial justice, Griffin responded that as a Black man he felt beaten down every day.
Griffin said he planned to leave Myers Park.
Asked for comment by NPR, the fired pastor added this …
“My feeling is that as a progressive congregation, as a progressive pastor, our job right now is not to back away,” Boswell said, “but to double down.”
Once again, he is not wrong. You don’t pander to fascists and adopt the supposedly popular message if you wish to retain any integrity, but instead hold the line for the greatest good for the most number of people and refuse to back down. It really is the only way forward.
Why do we have so many different churches?
People tend to shop around until they find one that enables them to feel comfortable.
If challenged by the actual teachings and values of Jesus, then that will indeed be a very very uncomfortable message for many. The result is that we have a vast religious landscape filled with weirdness, and a diversity of rather whacky beliefs. It demonstrates a huge disconnect between religion and morality.
All in all, realising what has happened here with even the most progressive does indeed successfully make it a very compelling case for being non-religious, a stance where you can strive to actually do the right thing and not simply craft the illusion of being moral by adopting a religious persona.
Tragically, many love to believe that they are good and kind and caring and welcoming, without any of the burden of actually being good and kind and caring and welcoming.
We not only should, but we can be good and kind and inclusive and welcoming without being religious at all.