George O. Wood

Jackson: I Will Not Be Civil With Those Who Support Gay Marriage

Just the other day we noted that Dr. George O. Wood, general superintendent of the Assemblies of God, asked that his name be removed from Sojourners' "Covenant for Civility" which was created in order to try and establish a more civil discourse on controversial issues of the day among "Christian pastors and leaders with diverse theological and political beliefs."

It seems that Wood, under pressure from freelance writer and conservative Christian blogger John Lanagan, had his name removed rather than pledge to be civil with perceived heretics who don't share his views on issues like abortion and gay marriage.

And now it looks like Lanagan has gotten Bishop Harry Jackson to withdraw his name from the Covenant as well:

In the second prominent defection from the Jim Wallis engineered Covenant for Civility, Bishop Harry Jackson has asked for his name to be stricken from the document.

Jackson now joins Assemblies of God General Superintendent George O. Wood in taking this stand. “I don’t want to be in covenant with those who support homosexual marriage,” said Jackson.

Like AOG General Superintendent George O. Wood, Jackson was introduced to the document by the National Association of Evangelicals, and never told about the pro-abortion, pro-homosexual signers.

The document, while presented as a call to civility, actually presents those who sign as members of the Body of Christ.

Jackson said that he would be calling Dr. Wood to let the Assemblies of God leader know that he, too, was pulling out.

The entire point of the covenant is not that those who sign agree on contentious issues, but rather that they merely pledge to be civil and respectful when disagreeing on those issues.

But apparently Jackson is simply unwilling to even try to be civil with those who support marriage equality.

Good to know.

Vowing To Be More Civil, But Only With Those With Whom You Agree

A few weeks ago, we noted that Sojourners had release something called "A Covenant For Civility: Come Let Us Reason Together,” which was aimed at creating a more civil discourse on controversial issues of the day among "Christian pastors and leaders with diverse theological and political beliefs."

In addition to a handful of Religious Right leaders like Harry Jackson, Samuel Rodriguez, Robert George, and Chuck Colson, Dr. George O. Wood, general superintendent of the Assemblies of God, also signed on ... who is now demanding to have his name removed from the list because of theological differences with some of the other signatories: 

"I do not want my name or the Assemblies of God to be associated with persons who claim to be in the Body of Christ yet reject the moral teachings of Scripture," Wood told freelance writer and conservative Christian blogger John Lanagan.

...

Some of the other signatories that have raised a red flag for conservative Christians include Brian McLaren, author of A New Kind of Christianity; Lillian Daniel, senior minister of a First Congregational Church which is pro-gay; and Dr. Ken Brooker Langston, director of Disciples Justice Action Network which is pro-choice.

"The problem is the tent that has grown so large on the signatures of this that are including people who are supportive of gay marriage and abortion rights," Juleen Turnage, spokeswoman for the Assemblies of God told Religion News Service.

"He (Wood) just felt that he could not become a part of a large tent."

The entire point of the covenant was to bring together Christians leaders of "diverse theological and political beliefs" who would pledge to "contribute to a more civil national discourse." 

And Wood was on board, at least until he learned that "leaders with diverse theological and political beliefs" meant that not every person who signed would share his theological or political views, at which point he backed out. 

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George O. Wood Posts Archive

Kyle Mantyla, Wednesday 04/21/2010, 10:27am
Just the other day we noted that Dr. George O. Wood, general superintendent of the Assemblies of God, asked that his name be removed from Sojourners' "Covenant for Civility" which was created in order to try and establish a more civil discourse on controversial issues of the day among "Christian pastors and leaders with diverse theological and political beliefs." It seems that Wood, under pressure from freelance writer and conservative Christian blogger John Lanagan, had his name removed rather than pledge to be civil with perceived heretics who don't share his views on... MORE >
Kyle Mantyla, Monday 04/19/2010, 11:56am
A few weeks ago, we noted that Sojourners had release something called "A Covenant For Civility: Come Let Us Reason Together,” which was aimed at creating a more civil discourse on controversial issues of the day among "Christian pastors and leaders with diverse theological and political beliefs." In addition to a handful of Religious Right leaders like Harry Jackson, Samuel Rodriguez, Robert George, and Chuck Colson, Dr. George O. Wood, general superintendent of the Assemblies of God, also signed on ... who is now demanding to have his name removed from the list because... MORE >