Kathy, I don't know why we need a Christian flag to show our 
commitment to Him.  I think, substitute the Christian flag with the 
Maine state flag and give the honored place to the American 
flag.  This may keep peace and I think peace is what is needed.

earlier, Kathy Du Bois, wrote:
>Hi Guys,
>         Well, it looks like Greg and I might be in a bit of the 
> thick of it again.  Unfortunately, it isn't because of doctrine or 
> anything like that, it's over the position of the flags in our 
> church.  It would be interesting to see if you guys have anything 
> to say about it.
>         The Bangor area is pretty military.  Our airport doubles as 
> a civilian airport and a military base.  We have the longest runway 
> in  the country, so I'm told because of this union.  Many of the 
> troops who are either flying overseas, or returning home, go 
> through Bangor Maine.  We have a group of people, in the area, who 
> have established themselves as troop greeters to give them a warm 
> American send off or welcome no matter what time the military plane 
> arrives, day or night.  A few of the members of our congregation 
> participate in this.  Hopefully, this helps to set the stage for 
> what blew up today.
>           The church has always had two flags in the front of the 
> sanctuary.  One is the American flag and one is the Christian 
> flag.  In flag protocol, established by the military in the early 
> 1800s, the flag of the highest honor is supposed to be positioned 
> to the right of the speaker.  In a church, this would mean to the 
> right of the pastor.  Well, this protocol was established before 
> the Christian flag was even created so it doesn't mention the 
> Christian flag or how to deal with it at all.  Some pastors have 
> opted to just remove the flags from the sanctuary altogether to 
> stop the bickering, but our congregation wants the flags to 
> remain.  This leaves us with an interesting dilemma, which 
> flag  should receive top honors in a church?
>         First of all, I will say very emphatically that Greg and I 
> are both very patriotic.  We love our country and we are grateful 
> to live here.  We have no interest in protesting the war, or the 
> military and we never have, but, we believe that Christ should 
> receive top honor in His sanctuary.  If you go to any of the 
> offices of government, the court house, the town office, or any 
> military establishment, such as the V.F.W. or the American Legion, 
> you won't even see a Christian flag on display  and that is 
> okay.  We may say that we are one nation under God, but we aren't 
> and we aren't insisting that the Christian flag appear anywhere 
> outside the church.  However, as much as I love this country, my 
> first allegiance is to Christ.  I will protest when my country 
> becomes immoral, but I will cling to the cross of Christ no matter 
> who is in earthly power.
>         Well, at our business meeting, it came up today.  The 
> veterans among us are all protesting, some threatening to never 
> come to our church again, because the Christian flag is in the 
> honored position.  I have to say that most of the congregation 
> voted in support of Greg, putting Christ first.  Greg had even 
> talked to an army chaplain on the matter before today and the 
> chaplain agrees with Greg, but never the less, it's a small town, 
> so the winds of trouble are blowing again.
>         When I arrived home, I looked up the first commandment in 
> Exodus 20:3-6.
>
>         You shall have no other gods before me.
>You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in 
>heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.
>You shall not bow down to them or worship them;
>For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children 
>for the sins of the fathers to the third and fourth generations of 
>those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of 
>those who love me and keep my commandments.
>
>I don't know, perhaps I am making too much of the connection, but I 
>couldn't help but wonder if part of the reason that our society is 
>so messed up today is because other things, such as flags, have 
>replaced our love of the one true God in first place in our lives.
>
>         Unfortunately, the veterans, in all this, won't hear our 
> point because of their emotional commitment to the flag.  They see 
> us in the same way as they saw the Viet Nam protestors of the 60s 
> and, to be truthful, it is hard for us to respect their commitment 
> to Christ that they would be willing to break up community over 
> this.  We have done services in the past honoring the veterans, but 
> that doesn't seem to be remembered now.
>Just pray for us Guys.  I'd love to hear your thoughts.
>Kathy
>

John