"His People"

I had intended for the previous happy little post to be last for the week. Then I read the following: (apologies in advance for the sarcasm but it's better than throwing things)

Pastor claims church voted to reject black membership, resigns

Chris from Hoosier Pastor posted the entire story from the Daily Journal of Northeastern Mississippi by Charity Gordon. It tells of Pastor John Stevens' resignation as pastor of Fellowship Baptist Church in Saltillo, Mississippi after the church allegedly voted not to accept 'blacks' as members:

According to Stevens, the church made race an issue after a biracial
12-year-old boy, Joe, began attending Fellowship Baptist with his temporary guardians. The church was "afraid Joe might come with his people and have blacks in the church," Stevens said. "I could not go along with that.

Good for Pastor Stevens and the few members of the congregation that made a stand against this unrighteous idiocy. But that leaves an estimated 80% of the congregation wondering what all the fuss is about. They would be the ones who 'know' that Jesus was a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant Republican who carried a KJV Tanahk, looked a lot like Max Von Sydow and didn't care much for blacks, gays, liberals and foreigners.

Would the good folks who remain at Fellowship Baptist in Saltillo, MS help me out with a Bible verse, please? "For God so loved the..." What is that next word. It escapes me at the moment.

For God so loved...

The white people? Nah, that's not it.

For God so loved the racially pure? No?

For God so loved those with blonde hair and blue eyes? That not it either?

For God so loved the.... Come on now, it's on the tip of your tongue...

WORLD! That's it. For God so loved the world. God loves the whole world! Good for you.

Now, slap yourselves upside your collective head and go to that pastor and apologize profusely, beg him to take his job back and give him a big raise if he does. Go to that poor foster family and beg their forgiveness for this horrible mistake that you made in God's Holy name and tell them you'll do anything in your power to make it up to them (help with the expense of foster care would be a nice gesture). Go to that little boy who doesn't understand why he can't go to church or why his pastor no longer has a job and tell him that you now realize that God loves him no matter what his skin color is. Tell him how much you want him to come back to church and bring all 'his people' with him. Make a public statement of apology and repentance and retract that vote. Do some Bible reading and a lot of praying...

For starters...