One church in Pike County, Kentucky doesn't seem to want to join the 21st century...or the late 20th century for that matter. Just recently the Gulnare Freewill Baptist Church voted to effectively ban and will not condone interracial relationships from their church.
The man responsible for this resolution is Melvin Thompson, who has said that not only is not a racist and this was a simple "internal affair." Thompson has said on the matter, "I am not prejudiced against any race of people, have never in my lifetime spoke evil about a race...That's what this is being portrayed as, but it is not."
This mandate is coming off the heels of the Church Secretary's daughter Stella Harville and her African then boyfriend and now fiancé Ticha Chikuni visiting the church about a month ago. The couple sang a song for the congregation. Soon afterwards Stella's father, Dean Harville was informed that the two were no longer allowed to sing at the Gulnare Freewill Baptist Church.
Stella, who was raised inside this church since childhood was completely appalled by the response they had for her. "I think part of me is still in shock and trying to process what's been going on the past few days," she said. "I really hope they overturn this."
But what amazes or for a better word puzzles me is the lack of need for major church officials to take a vocal stance on this problem. Stacy Stepp, pastor of Gulnare Freewill Baptist Church was against the resolution, it doesn't seem like he has done much of anything to stop it from being brought for a vote in the first place. The National Association of Free Will Baptists in Antioch, Tennessee has said no official stance on whether or not they support the marriage ban or interracial marriage for that matter in any of their other 2,400 churches globally.
The executive secretary of the NAFWB said that many interracial couples attend Free Will Baptist churches. I wonder how many of these couples would feel if they learned that the churches they give their time, money and free time to condone this kind of hateful backwards thinking.
The vote passed 9-6, and although about 40 people that day's service, many of them either left or declined to vote. It's fair to say that not everyone in the church follows Thompson's beliefs, they are guilty of letting them prosper in a place of God. Those people who remained silent or left or just as bad as the ones who voted for the ban, since they had the opportunity to stop it from happening. They have allowed a place that is supposed to be a representation of Jesus' love, acceptance and understanding; distorting God's message into division, fear, intolerance and hatred.
Since this church believes the Bible, and more importantly Jesus to be inerrant, never in any of the books of the New Testament Jesus speaking against interracial marriage. But he did adamantly speak against hypocrisy. And in the old testament when Aaron and Miriam criticized Moses for marrying his Cushite wife Zipporah he lambasted them with leprosy. (Numbers 12:1-16)
I think Susan B. Anthony put it best when it comes to people and religion, "I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do because I notice it always coincides with their own desires."
