Gaines should step down...

[Grump]

[fox]

[Grump]

[Sandy]

[Grump]

[William Thornton]

[Grump]

[Sandy]

[ET]

[William Thornton]

[Robert Kurtz]

[Sandy]

[ET]

Sandy, after enduring this ordeal for the past 5 months or so, I would have to answer that if SG resigned and that was all, there would still be issues left to be resolved. There are still serious concerns about the lack of any substantive by-laws in an organization that claims 30,000 members (the actual number is closer to 18,000 - the church gets returned mail for close to 12,000 "members"). Can you imagine any large organization having nothing more to govern itself than a 1-page, 70 year old set of by-laws? Oh, we have "policies", but those can be as changing as the wind.

As for the conspiracy theories, I think that's a stretch. I know of no "high-placed, influential members" who have called for SG's resignation, at least not publicly. Even the seminary president you mention did not call for Gaine's resignatioin. If you (PDF download in this link from the seminary's web site), you'll see it was the newspaper writer who created the stir by applying a general statement to Bellevue's particular situation. The reporter asked a general question. Dr. Spradlin answered it in general terms and the writer told the seminary president he "had just made tomorrow's paper".

You don't know how much many of us appreciate Dr. Spradlin for taking the heat and not backing down or issuing one of those lame "I'm sorry if I offended any one", so-called "apologies".

As you and fox seem to love conspiracy theories in conservative churches, I would like to know who these "high-placed, influential" church members are (even if by title only) that have supposedly called for the pastor's resignation. To date and to my knowledge there have been NO calls for SG's resignation from ANY high-placed, influential members.

Most of the high-placed, influential members of late have been doing back flips through multiple hoops to justify how a pastor can keep a known pedophile on staff for close to 6 months and not be questioned about the wisdom of such an action.

I know of 3 men who were asked the question Dr. Spradlin posed in his clarification: "If a minister knows of child molesting and does nothing about it, what should happen?"

The current and former chairmen of the deacons answered: "We'd back our pastor 100%." Another "high-placed, influential" member of the church who is also on the board of the seminary responded, "I don't have to answer that."

If you have no problem with those responses to such a question, then you have no chance of understanding the battle for openness, truth and honesty that is going on at Bellevue Baptist Church these days.

[Robert Kurtz]

[Sandy]

[ET]

[Jim1964]