For those of you trying to follow the splinterization of the (politically minded) religious right, the LA Times has an intriguing dispatch from the evangelical heartland, Colorado Springs, that shows just how much things have changed.
Consider the pulpit of New Life Church, where Ted Haggard thundered as president of the National Association of Evangelicals before his scandal-fueled fall from grace. His successor at New Life, Brady Boyd, is approaching things a bit differently.
From the Times:
“As far as me standing in the pulpit holding a voter guide, that’s not going to happen,” said the Rev. Brady Boyd, 40, who leads a congregation of 10,000 at New Life Church. He will use his position to teach the Bible to believers. “I won’t use it to influence their vote,” he said.
That suits many in his congregation just fine. “If he starts talking politics, that makes me very uneasy,” said Wolfgang Griesinger, 56, a political independent.
“It’s not his place to tell us who to vote for,” said Marsha Thorson, 54, a Republican who is leaning toward Giuliani.
Not at all different from what Haggard’s successor at the NAE, Leith Anderson, said recently -that he’d rather preside at a wedding or funeral than meet with a politician.
Hat tip: David Kuo’s J-Walking