In the days after the vote, many within my church came to know of my voting decision as well as my wife's vote which was the same. It wasn't something I was declaring but it became known. Since then I'm aware of a few families that are leaving our church and another that is close. I am in shock. I have been living life with these families. Our values declared by our life and words. They've seen us pursue doing foster care. They've seen my wife, me, and our teenage son continually pursue ways to help the homeless in our community. They've heard me teach. In the end, their perception is now that I am pro-abortion. I've been told that I have likely disqualified myself from the pastorate. We are heartbroken. I can't eat. I've missed work. I'm utterly devastated by what my choice may do to our community of faith. We are not a big church so weathering storms like this gets very personal.
I guess my question is this, have I missed something? Have I entered into this decision unaware as to the expectation on pastors in regards to how they vote? Right now we feel very alone. To see people who have lived life with me for years suddenly doubt my heart. They've seen my core values displayed in our choices and sacrifices. All of that has become void. Filling in a certain box with a marker has completely changed how they see me.
Wow! So Christianity has boiled down to a single issue in some people's minds. That is terribly sad to me. To be “pro-life” is a lot more than to be anti-abortion!
Two days later Scot posted his reply, to which I give a hearty AMEN! Read the whole thing, because if I tried to excerpt it, I would destroy it.
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