Rick Santorum Attends Service at Bellevue

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum, his wife, Karen, and three of their children attended the 9:20 a.m. service at Bellevue this morning. Santorum did not speak, but he and his wife were brought up onto the stage so that Steve Gaines could pray for "you guys." Gaines introduced Santorum as being from Pennsylvania, having attended Penn State, having served in the U.S. Senate for 12 years, and having served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 4 years; however, no mention was made of the elephant in the room (pun fully intended), Santorum's current bid for the presidency.

Watch the video montage from both Sunday morning services.

No sooner had the Santorums left the auditorium Steve took a swipe at the Catholics. If they still stream the services on all those flat-screen TVs throughout the building the Santorums probably heard him on their way out.

While I realize Catholics aren't the only ones who have "catechism" classes, in the U.S. that's what you think of. His little chuckle right after he said it indicated to me that he either thought he was being cute or it just slipped out (he surely had "Catholics" on the mind having just prayed over them) and he was embarrassed. Kind of hard to tell if it was his "aren't I funny!" heh heh or his "oops, didn't mean to let that slip" heh heh.

Of course, at Bellevue they don't have "catechism" classes. Instead they have Step Classes patterned after Rick Warren's S.T.E.P. classes. Prospective members must attend the first of now two four of these classes where they're indoctrinated in the ways of Bellevue before they're accepted for church membership. Used to be you could simply transfer your letter from another Baptist church or present yourself for baptism with your profession of faith and you were a member. Now you have to "do things." I've not heard of them forcing people to sign covenants to join the church, at least not yet, but that wouldn't surprise me.

Then having completed "Step 1," new members are "strongly encouraged" to attend the second subsequent classes where they're given "spiritual gifts" and "temperament" tests. Anyone who's interested can search the archives and comments here to see some in depth discussions about this New Agey practice.

Steve was very careful not to endorse Santorum. In the 11:00 service he made it clear that "we didn't pray he'd win." That's true, but when you say things like "God didn't come to take sides; He came to take over," and "We so desperately need for God to raise up godly leaders," and you're standing three feet away from a presidential candidate who's nodding in agreement... well... it's kind of a slippery slope.


Aside from jeopardizing the church's 501(c)(3) status, a non-endorsement is probably a good thing. If I were running for public office I think the last place I'd want to visit would be a Southern Baptist megachurch. Just look at the records of politicians who've visited Bellevue and FBC Jacksonville alone during the past four years.


1. Mike Huckabee "preached" at Bellevue in February 2008, and we all know how his bid for the presidential nomination ended.


2. Tennessee gubernatorial candidate, Zach Wamp, accompanied by Ricky Skaggs, visited Bellevue on a Wednesday night in August 2010. In spite of a very enthusiastic reception by many in attendance, Wamp lost in the Republican primary.

3. Tennessee gubernatorial candidate, Ron Ramsey, visited the prior Sunday. He received a somewhat more tepid welcome than Wamp and went on to lose in the Republican primary.

4. Myron Lowery, then mayor pro tem of Memphis, visited Bellevue in August 2009. He lost in the mayoral election two months later.

5. Willie Herenton, then Memphis mayor, visited one Sunday a few years ago. Well, let's face it. Herenton has always been a loser even when he garnered the most votes in elections. However, he lost by a landslide to Steve Cohen in the U.S. House of Representatives Democratic primary in 2010.

6. Jacksonville mayoral candidate, Mike Hogan, is a longtime FBC Jax member. In May 2011 Mac Brunson called Hogan and his wife to the front to pray over them. In spite of what came to within an inch of being a formal endorsement by Brunson, Hogan lost the race to a little-known Democrat.

7. Florida Republican gubernatorial candidate, Rick Scott, visited FBC Jacksonville in 2010. He went on to win the general election but just barely.

8. Scott's Republican opponent in the primary for the governor's race, Bill McCollum, was accompanied by Mike Huckabee the Sunday he dropped by FBC Jacksonville.

9. Newt Gingrich visited FBC Jacksonville recently. He's steadily dropped in the polls since.

Based upon the track records of other politicians who've appeared in Southern Baptist megachurches, I predict Santorum will lose in the primary. Okay, I realize at this point that's kind of a given, but if you're Santorum do you really want to accelerate the process?


Oh, and Bellevue? I have a request. Would you please invite Barack Obama to visit sometime before November? He needs your "touch"!

Local news coverage:

Commercial Appeal >> Santorum visits Memphis to shore up support; polls show state now a toss up

WMC-TV >> Bellevue, barbecue on Santorum's plate in Memphis

WREG-TV >> Republican presidential hopeful spends the day in Memphis

ABC24 >> Rick Santorum Makes Pit Stop in Memphis

Be Joyful! (But only when I say you can.)

JOY. That was today's sermon topic. Well, actually the sermon was entitled "Are You a Friend of God?" I've always thought that whole "friend of God" thing borders on sacrilege or at the least seems somewhat simplistic and man-centered. (The song I Am a Friend of God has been described "like a song that a kindergartner would sing. It makes God seem like our pal Jake that we hang out with at McDonald's.")

Still, bear in mind that great emphasis was placed on the expression of "joy" in today's sermon.

Steve told the story (for about the hundredth time) about how he learned to "lift holy hands" while in college. He's not telling you that you have to lift your hands when you worship, but it is in the Bible, so draw your own conclusions about his feelings on the subject.

He then explained why Christians should be joyful and not go around with clouds over their heads.

Then he burst into song. This has become an almost weekly tradition.

Finally, nearing the end of his sermon... somewhere near the conclusion of point 6 of 7... there was a disturbance. During a pause a woman off camera began shouting. I don't believe it's racist to acknowledge that the woman was very likely black, a detail which is irrelevant other than to offer a possible explanation for the style with which she traditionally worships.

Watch what happened.

Steve is always trying to reach out to and attract all races of people to Bellevue. Then the cameras zero in on every black person they can find, but there still aren't that many. There's a reason for this. Those who attend predominantly black churches typically have a different worship style from those who attend predominantly white churches. That's not criticism of any style. It's just a fact. That's probably the main reason why Sunday mornings are still the most segregated hours of the week. On a positive note, we are seeing many of the walls come down as evidenced by churches like First Baptist Atlanta and others. In spite of trying to convince people otherwise, Bellevue isn't quite there yet.

Last Sunday he ranted (again) about people who move because people with a different skin color than theirs move into the neighborhood, and he was all "how dare you!" about it, yet when he moved here, he didn't move his family to an inner city or "minority" neighborhood. Does he really think people moved out of, say, Frayser because people with a different skin color moved in? Or could it be because they got tired of hearing gunshots every night? Steve's neighborhood isn't gated (I'm surprised), but his house is on a quiet cul-de-sac in a very nice upscale neighborhood outside the Memphis city limits. (The significance of that, among other things, is he doesn't have to pay Memphis city taxes which account for about half the tax bill for people who live inside the city limits or in annexed areas.) If you think about it, moving Bellevue from inner-city Memphis to Cordova 20+ years ago was motivated in great part by "white flight."

And yet he wants to criticize city council for considering certain ordinances. If you're not paying Memphis city taxes, should you really have a say in how the city of Memphis does things? He criticized people for not wanting their kids to go to public school with "those people" (his words) while he sent his to private, lily-white ECS. When he got only a smattering of applause, he remarked that wasn't a very big hand. Maybe that's because most of the audience grasped the hypocrisy in what they'd just heard.

Things backfired this morning in the 11:00 service. After half an hour of being encouraged to be joyful(!), to praise God by "lifting holy hands," and a rousing rendition (solo by Steve) of What a Day That Will Be, a lady in the audience apparently could hold it in no longer and shouted, "GLO ree! GLO ree!! GLO ree!!! THANK YA, LORD! THANK YA!! THANK YA!!!" {then something muffled}

Steve stopped (you could practically hear the whir of the hamster wheel) and said, "Amen. If you will... just a second. Let me say this. I appreciate your... I appreciate your joy... but I'm speaking right now, and the Holy Spirit's speaking through me and He never interrupts Himself. So let me finish my sermon and then you can have joy, okay? Thank you.

"Number 7............. amen? Everybody okay? {muffled audience response} All right... we're all... everybody's all right. Everything's cool. Nobody's... that's fine."

"The Holy Spirit's speaking through me and He never interrupts Himself"? Thinks rather highly of himself, doesn't he? God spoke through a donkey, too. What's the point? Maybe the Holy Spirit was speaking through the lady!

What does he expect? That's how the people in many predominantly black churches worship! They're enthusiastic, they constantly respond to the preacher during the sermon, and they aren't by any stretch of the imagination, quiet. Steve rebukes people if they don't clap or say "amen" at the right time. Then he devotes an entire sermon to being joyful, lifting "holy" hands, and expressing that joy, encouraging "amens" and applause at just the right moments, but when one woman doesn't follow the script... bam! Sit down and shut up! After being publicly called out, do you think that woman will ever darken the door of Bellevue Baptist Church again? Not only will she not ever come back, she's going to tell ALL her friends what happened, too. Nice job lo♥ing Memphis, Steve.

If that woman today hadn't gotten wound up before then (it was near the end) she probably wasn't going to get any louder. Like one would try to tune out a crying child, he could have just ignored her and kept going and there probably wouldn't have been another outburst, but she didn't shout "Glory!" on cue, and we can't have that. Remember "Amen Kelly" and the dream? (Whatever happened to him anyway?) He had to be dealt with because he was interrupting Steve's train of thought.

Hey, I'm not unsympathetic here. I recall a lady (who shall remain nameless) whose "amens" used to interrupt my train of thought on a regular basis. Anyone who's heard her will likely know who it is. She was always so loud, so constant, and so predictable... two "amens" with the same emphasis on the syllables... "a MEN! A... men!" after almost every sentence that came out of the preacher's mouth. And yet... I don't recall Steve ever requesting she tone it down a few notches. Considering who she's married to, he wouldn't dare!

You could see "lifted hands" at the bottom of the screen during part of his sermon this morning. Why didn't he chastise them? Well, those did look like white hands. Maybe big tithers or children of big tithers? Hmmm.

Oh, and this seems to be the new Sunday 11:00 a.m. look now.

Yeehaw!

Dr. Danny Akin, president of SEBTS, preached at Bellevue on August 4th, kicking off the first week of "Awesome August." Dr. Ergun Caner was originally scheduled to preach on the 4th, but with his recent issues he seems to be keeping a low profile.


Dr. Akin preached a very good sermon, seemingly without the need to "embellish" anything.


Zach Wamp, Tennessee Republican primary gubernatorial candidate, was in attendance, as was bluegrass and country singer and string player, Ricky Skaggs, who campaigned for Wamp. (Wamp lost in the August 5th primary. Ron Ramsey, another failed Republican gubernatorial candidate, attended a service at Bellevue Sunday morning.)


Ricky sang during the service, and at the end of the service, Steve got him up on stage to "sing with me." In the end Steve gets Ricky's guitar tuner... and a little something more!

This is what ensued. Enjoy!

The line blurs again...

... between the church and crass commercialization. VeggieTales Live!, a quasi-religious version of stage shows such as the popular and profitable Sesame Street Live is coming to Bellevue Baptist Church on October 26, 2010. Showtimes will be at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. and tickets are $25 for "Gold Circle" seats or $15 for general admission.

Let the silliness begin continue!

Bellevue says 'you're out,' gay softball coach claims.

Click on title for link to Commercial Appeal article.

I'm quickly throwing this together now so people can discuss it if they want. I want to finish reading through the comments on the Commercial Appeal's site and will post some links and further commentary later.

Update: Since I have neither the time nor the desire to read 2000+ comments, here is the follow-up article. Steve Gaines' public statement (the unedited version) is below.

Commercial Appeal >> June 23, 2010 >> Ousting gay coach necessary, Bellevue Baptist pastor says

Steve Gaines Speaks

I don't think this would have ever been an issue if someone hadn't, as indicated in the article, tipped off the church, perhaps someone who knows her or assumed she's gay based solely upon her appearance. The latter is a terribly slippery slope down which no one should be going. Besides, I saw her on the news, and her appearance didn't "scream" anything to me. She is simply, as she describes herself, athletic in appearance.

I've even wondered if there wasn't some threat against the church involved. For example, "You're letting this softball team with a gay coach play on your fields. If you don't tell her she's not welcome, we'll go public with this." If that was the case, how'd that work out, guys? Of course I don't know if that happened or not and am not suggesting it did, just wondering.

I don't think we've heard the whole story by any means. To say the "no PDA" rule prohibits gay people from playing on softball teams seems rather lame. As one CA commenter asked, "Were they having orgies on the mound when someone hit a home run?" It doesn't seem likely that was the issue, rather an excuse.

I can sort of see where the church was stuck in the middle on this one. It was a no-win situation if someone were threatening to "out" her (which apparently someone did).

However, Bellevue created these potential problems when they opened the fields up to outside teams. Just like they created the annual "Celebrate America" (excuse me) "Starlight Spectacular" monster when they invited the whole community, then wondered why they had to close the building after they found people making out inside and climbing onto the roof and had to spend the next day cleaning cigarette butts, beer bottles, cans, and trash off the grounds.

This certainly doesn't help Bellevue's witness to the Memphis they claim to "LO♥E" so much and their "God Loves You Just the Way You Are" campaign. I guess it's okay to come as long as you don't come out. But for heavens sake, they need to clean up their own house first! If a fraction of the stories I've heard are true, Bellevue has a LOT of housecleaning to do.

I'm not condoning homosexual behavior either, but apparently if you go to BBC and are "just" an adulterer, fornicator, child molester, drug addict, rapist, felon, liar, or stay in the closet, that's okay. Just don't touch alcohol or openly associate with a gay person.

Bellevue has forever blown any opportunity to be a witness not only to this woman but to her teammates and much of the rest of the community. Actually, based upon the comments I've read so far it seems the ridiculous mishandling of the Paul Williams situation already did irreparable damage to Bellevue's reputation in the eyes of many.

Oh, wait. I think I've got it! Maybe the church's defense can be this is what they meant by the "no smoking" rule.