Some commentary on the controversial V-Vehicle issue by Bill Dye, pastor of the North Monroe Baptist Church.
Political Retribution is an Ugly Thing
Dye was one the many area pastors invited to hear a pitch for the the V-Vehicle tax from the politicians last fall. Here is The (Monroe) News-Star story on the meeting.
Lincoln Parish News Online 
03/28/2010 at 5:12 pm |
Brother Dye needs a spellcheck. Perhaps his boss man Bobby Jindal can bring it to him the next time helicopters in to attend services.
03/28/2010 at 9:26 pm |
I was raised a Southern Baptist. The day I left home at 18 was the day I walked away from the Baptist Church and never looked back. That preacher is a perfect example why.
03/29/2010 at 8:23 am |
This is such an example of a pastor operating outside his calling and area of expertise. Not only does he not have an understandong of the industry and politics involved, he is called to spiritual things not worldly. anytime Christians mix in politics there is trouble. Actions like this bring the true Church into disrepute with both the lost and the believers. So often Christ takes the blame for what we as fallen people do in His name; that why we are not the example: Christ is the only true Example. Some churches are not in tune with the Truth; some people in any church, even a True church, are not true. Do not attribute men’s actions to Christ then abandon Belief as a result.
03/29/2010 at 12:05 pm |
Holden, you are right, I’m a terrible speller. In fact, I’m so bad that even when I run spell check I still miss things.
As to credentials and calling, I grew up in the home where my father was head of a college business department so I was taught basic business from an early age. In addition to that, I majored in business and finance until I switched to Bible. My post graduate degree is in leadership, so I would argue that I am not completely naive to the issues. Being a preacher doesn’t mean that I am ignorant of how business and finance works. I studied it for years. I work and listen and deal with businessmen and women every day and it’s part of my calling to speak to the world in which they live.
Having said that, I think you guys might be missing the point of the blog. This isn’t a blog about economics. It’s a blog about leadership. Great leaders put aside petty differences and pull people together. They are consistent with their practices and they don’t allow personal agendas to dictate decisions. This decision on the V-vehicle plant felt like a politically motivated decision to me. If that is true, then it’s wrong. By punishing political opponents, they punish the constituency their opponents represent, and that is divisive.
03/29/2010 at 12:14 pm |
One more thing for the record. I was invited to Mayor Mayo’s luncheon to discuss supporting the V Vehicle project, but I did not attend the meeting and I never spoke publicly about the project. We felt that the decision on whether to support a tax was not part of our purpose as a church.
03/29/2010 at 1:00 pm |
To paraphrase Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Methinks the pastor doth protest too much.
03/29/2010 at 1:09 pm |
All of us are not as dumb as the minister thinks we are. He should know better because I used to occasionally attend his church, that is, until he got in bed with the politicians to raise my taxes.