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Pastor Dan is furious at the leadership of the Trinity Congregation:
there is a pastoral issue here. You never, ever, ever call out a specific member of your congregation from the pulpit. Ever. When you stand to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, that is what you do. You give them good news and the hope of redemption. If you have to condemn them, you do it in private with some of the elders. Because worship is a time to give thanks and praise to God for God's good works, not to reprove specific individuals, not to pronounce judgment on them.As an extension of that principle, you do not embarrass members of the congregation. Never. Intentionally or otherwise. The last thing you want to do is provide a stumbling block to somebody else's faith. Your role, as pastor and preacher, is to protect, defend, and build up the flock you have been given, not to drive them off by accident or on purpose.And the last - the very absolutely goddammit I really mean it last thing you want to do is embarrass somebody's else parishioner...It's not your community, [then] you've got no business messing in it. You stay the freak out of the way, you do not provide a distraction, you let people get on with their business without causing more trouble - and more personal embarrassment - to that parishioner. You do not drive the gospel in like a damn shank and then wonder why they walk off with a bemused expression. Even if everything Pfleger and Wright said was 100% on the money - and it wasn't - there is still the issue of the personal effect it had on a member of the congregation.You. Do. Not. Embarrass. People. It is not pastoral.For the Obamas, Pfleger's assault on Clinton from the pulpit was the final affront. They left Trinity. And they were right to do so. Forget the politics for a second. The Obamas spend every day, every hour, every instant, in politics. Their church is, supposedly, where they can step back from the flashing lights and the shouting heads and the focus on this primary and that fundraising deadline, take a deep breath, and tap into a more spirtual, timeless, perspective. Put the politics into perspective, and in that way, inform their practice of it. But if their pastors insist on bringing the politics into the pews, what's the point of membership in the church? If the Obamas want to hear Hillary lambasted, they certainly need not dress up in the Sunday best and open a prayerbook for the privilege.
