On a quiet Sunday morning in June, as worshippers settled into the pews at Allen Baptist Church in southwestern Michigan, Pastor Jason Burrick grabbed his cellphone and dialed 911. When a dispatcher answered, the preacher said a former congregant was in the sanctuary. "And we need to, um, have her out A.S.A.P."
Half an hour later, 71-year-old Karolyn Caskey, a church member for nearly 50 years who had taught Sunday school and regularly donated 10% of her pension, was led out by a state trooper and a county sheriff's officer. One held her purse and Bible. The other put her in handcuffs.
The charge was trespassing, but Mrs. Caskey's real offense, in her pastor's view, was spiritual. Several months earlier, when she had questioned his authority, he'd charged her with spreading "a spirit of cancer and discord" and expelled her from the congregation. "I've been shunned," she says.
Her story reflects a growing movement among some conservative Protestant pastors to bring back church discipline, an ancient practice in which suspected sinners are privately confronted and then publicly castigated and excommunicated if they refuse to repent. While many Christians find such practices outdated, pastors in large and small churches across the country are expelling members for offenses ranging from adultery and theft to gossiping, skipping service and criticizing church leaders.
I had hoped to marshal my thoughts into something, well, cohesive, but I find this article too emotional for me, even after two weeks of thinking about it. So here, I present simply a summary of what's in my head:
1. On first glance, this article seems to be yet another example of the hypocrisy of the church. I find it incredibly convenient that pastors are using this 'doctrine' to settle what appear to be personal vendettas. For a pastor to think himself above reproach and use this shunning tactic as a means of silencing his critics is disgraceful. It seems remarkably un-Christlike to me, as well. And yet, because of my own experiences with Churchianity, it's hardly surprising.
2. Part of my journey from Christian to atheist has been about resolving my anger issues with the church and Christians. Don't get me wrong, I still yell at my TV when Pat Robertson says something crazy on his little show, but I've been trying not to condemn Christians on sight, if that makes any sense. Here's the thing, though. Karolyn Caskey's pastor had a 71-year-old woman arrested for attending church. Full stop. He, in his infinite wisdom, decided this woman deserved to go to jail with criminals because, in essence, she disagreed with him. I may not share Karolyn Caskey's religious beliefs, but I respect her right to have them. I mean, this lady served her church for longer than its pastor has been alive. It's just––he should be ashamed of himself. The only word I can really think of to describe this pastor's actions is mean. What he did to this woman was intentionally humiliating and bullying. It was mean.
3. I hear about this kind of stuff, and it makes me sad and grateful all at the same time. I'm grateful because I realize I've escaped from this madness. My sadness, though, comes from the realization that, well, this kind of thing probably isn't going away anytime soon. It's naive of me, I know, but there's a part of me that will always wish that we, as a society, can just move on and grow the hell up. I just... is this really how adults are choosing to resolve their differences? I read somewhere else that Mr. Burrick is in his twenties; maybe he's simply immature. Still, I'm in my twenties (and probably younger than Mr. Burrick) and I damn well know better. I'm fired up about this, and I realize it. After six years working at the retirement home, seniors hold a special place in my heart; I can't help but side with Karolyn Caskey. She deserved her pastor's respect, and she didn't get it, and that angers me. It's all the worse that at least half the congregation sided with the pastor and turned their backs on a woman who'd devoted her life to her church––they should all be ashamed, too.
In conclusion, I think I should simply say that this is a club I'm glad I don't belong to anymore. And I hope Jason Burrick grows up and apologizes.
Edit: After stewing on it a little longer, I realize that my anger stems largely from the story of Karolyn Caskey's service to her church. She reminds me of my grandmothers' (note the plural) own years of serving their respective churches. And if anyone tried to evict any of my 4 grandmas from their churches, or had them arrested, I could reasonably see myself being provoked to violence. You don't do that to grandmas, period.
It bothers me all the more that the pastor, who has nothing on Mrs. Caskey in terms of wisdom and life experience, felt he had the right to do what he did. Aside from his own sense of self-importance, I suspect, in part, it had to do with her being a woman.
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