Kathy,
You said this very well. Even though we love our country, our first
devotion has to be to Christ. Not only that, but worship of God is the
purpose of the church, even when it means standing against immorality in our
country or any other.
I will pray God's wisdom for you in resolving this contraversy. I will also
pray for unity and that all involved will focus on what's important.
JulieMelton
visit me at
www.heart-and-music.com
Keep smiling!
>From: Kathy Du Bois <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Electronic Church <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Church controversy again
>Date: Sun, 23 Apr 2006 16:19:56 -0400
>
>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
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