How they let the right man slip away
Joel Hunter is the pastor of the Northland Church, a board member of many Christian organizations, a noteworthy author and scholar. For a brief period of time he was also the President of the Christian Coalition. But he left (or was asked to leave) because he wanted to expand the agenda beyond opposition to gay marriage and abortion, wanting to take on issues like poverty and disease.
"I look forward to … expanding our mission to concern itself with the care of creation, helping society's marginalized, human rights/religious issues and compassion issues," Hunter said in a press release announcing his appointment.
The board of the Christian Coalition wasn't about to stand for that.
Roberta Combs, who is the chair of the coalition's four-member board of directors, explained the boards opposition to Hunter. "We're a political organization, and there's a way to do things, like taking a survey of your members and seeing what they need," she said. "Joel had a different way of doing things, so he just went out there."
It should be noted that Rev. Hunter is the author of a book criticizing the way the Religious Right has engaged in political tactics, titled Right Wing, Wrong Bird: Why the Tactics of the Religious Right Won't Fly With Most Conservative Christians.
Could the coalition have been unaware of Hunter's compassionate point of view before appointing him? That is a pretty big gaff.
I wonder what the board thinks of this:
"Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. ...Verily I say unto you, In as much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."
Do you think Jesus is too liberal for the coalition?