Fired Atlanta fire chief to give testimony at Abilene Baptist
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Former Atlanta fire chief Kelvin Cochran is scheduled to speak at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 18 at Abilene Baptist Church.
Dr. Brad Whitt, of Abilene Baptist Church, was blown away when he
heard the former Atlanta fire chief’s story at an executive committee
meeting for the Georgia Baptist Convention.
Cochran told of growing up in abject poverty and of watching his neighbor’s house burn to the ground. The latter influenced Cochran’s decision to become a firefighter, Whitt said.
Those are the stories Whitt expects Cochran to share when he speaks at Abilene on Sunday night.
Cochran became Atlanta’s fire chief in 2008, and in 2009, he was appointed U.S. fire administrator by President Obama.
At the time of the Convention meeting, Cochran had been suspended as Atlanta’s fire chief for distributing to employees a book he had written and self-published called Who Told You That You Were Naked?
Some claim that statements made in the book are anti-gay and discriminatory.
At the Convention meeting, Cochran spoke little of the controversy surrounding him, Whitt said.
The Martinez pastor was so impressed with Cochran’s personal testimony that he invited him to share it with the congregation at Abilene.
That was before Cochran was fired, before the fire storm that stirred up debate about religious freedom.
“One thing you’ll find with me, I’m not a political guy,” Whitt said. “I don’t want politics. We don’t preach politics from the pulpit. This guy is coming to share his story because his story is something I think our (community) needs to hear.”
Whitt said that when he invited Cochran to speak, he believed Cochran would be reinstated. Whitt wanted Cochran to share stories such as how he met his wife, his life in the church and his relationship with Christ.
And that is what he expects Cochran to talk about Sunday.
“In his talk to the Georgia Baptist Convention, he was very careful, very respectful, very tight-lipped about anything going on in Atlanta,” Whitt said. “What he told us was his story.”
Whitt said it is his personal belief that Cochran will be a force to be reckoned with if he ever chooses to run for a higher office, and that in firing Cochran, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed might have damaged his own career as a result of his “extreme bias.”
“Southern Baptists are a large population here in Georgia,” he said. “I think (the debate) is going to be a force behind the new (religious freedom) legislation coming through the state House.”
20 comments:
Soon, the Baptists and smaller congregationalist churches along with the Catholic Church (I hope) will be the only ones holding out against secularism, abortion, gay marriage, and other modern evils. Interesting, we get there through the Magisterium and they get to the same place through "sola scriptura," both carried on the "Wings of the Great Speckled Bird."
Gene,
True. I have discovered that it is much easier to have a serious conversation with a hard-core Baptist than with a Methodist or an Episcopalian, despite the common misconception that we have more in common with the latter two.
JBS, that is because it is a matter of belief vs unbelief.
As I have mentioned before, unbelief is the very specific phenomenon of people in the Church, both clerical and laypersons, who have lost their faith but continue in the Church in an effort to turn it into a social work organization or a huge resource for humanistic endeavors. The best of these people are merely naive or misguided; the worst hate the Church as founded, do not believe the articles of the Creed, and scoff at tradition and dogma. I distinguish this "theological" unbelief from the unbelief of us sinners who fail to behave according to our belief. Sin, even in devout believers is, in effect unbelief. Hence, the sinner's prayer, "Lord, I believe help thou my unbelief."
We are talking City of God/City of Man here…and we may not know the True Church completely until His return (I know that may sound Calvinist, but it is Augustine, too.
The mainline prot churches are swimming in unbelief and, I believe, are all but lost. But, the congregationalists will be faithful to the end…"…and will the Son of Man find faith on earth when he returns?"
je sui Kelvin??
Secession has been tried before in the South. It was a bad idea then and is a bad idea now.
The right of states to secede is actually a good idea which is still often debated. Sanity has to prevail somewhere…and it sure isn't in this Union at this point. But, the issue is a theological one…perhaps a better analogy would be "the Reformation was a bad idea then and it is a bad idea now." Now, there is a debate.
At least there is the humor of a fireman maned Kelvin.
Gene, the Orthodox Church isn't going anywhere on the issue, either.
Given the (Orthodox) Church's rather tragic history under both the Turks and Communists, I think it's safe say to say many Orthodox would sooner die than be compromised by the Pink (or is it Rainbow?) Shirts.
I've always wondered why secession is automatically assumed to be a 'bad idea'. Indeed, the word seems to be blasphemy in the United States*—which it is, I suppose, to those who worship at the altar of the American Civil Reigion and regularly burn incense to the harlot called Washington DC.
And before anyone accuses me of 'hating America', please note: I do not 'hate' America. I am, however, becoming increasingly disillusioned by her so-called government.
*Ironically enough, liberals tend to be the ones having conniption fits on this issue)
What ever happened to Puerto Rico's request to become part of the United States? They held a referendum recently that approved the request.
JBS, yeah, and Guam, too. But, we don't want it to flip over from too many people.
Chief Cochran is free to believe whatever he wants and even to say whatever he wants on his own time, but not to exploit his position as a public official to distribute that book to the people who work for him. Try that in the private sector. If the situation were reversed, and he was pushing, quote, "pro-gay propaganda" on the people who work for him, most people here would be calling for his head.
JBS & Gene
This is the process to be admitted as a state from what little I know of it.
A majority of the people of a territory approves by referendum the desire to become a state. The government of the territory is then directed by Congress to organize a constitutional convention to write a state constitution. Congress is NOT obligated to admit states even in those areas whose population expresses a desire for statehood.
Disclaimer: the following is completely off-topic
I wonder (and indeed, input from the various lawyer-types here would be appreciated):
Who, exactly, could decide to sell land to another nation?
Like, for instance, selling the state of California to China? I assume Congress would, since it is the legislative body.
Would it need permission from the people of California to do so? Or could it do it without Californian assent? Could it overrule a referendum enacted by the Californians by its own legislation?
It's just something I've wondered.
Flavius: You should watch more football.
Flav - Yes, off topic, but interesting nonetheless!
You mean we might could get rid of Kalifornia that way? I'm for it! How about New York while we are at it. Maybe we could cede it to France and build a 20 foot wall around it and provide ingress and egress.
Maybe we could make Atlanta and Chicago fiefdoms of some Third World country and build walls around them, too, with no ingress or egress.
It would be interesting if the South tried to secede from the other portions of the country that have less divorce, less violence, fewer health problems (I,e diabetes), better schools (that stay open 180 days a year), higher literacy, highways and bridges that are maintained, cleaner air and water, etc. it's also well-known that Southern red states like Georgia take in more federal money than they send back in taxes -- so good luck to the New Confederacy in breaking even. The federal government may also want to hold onto its property, like Robins,or be reimbursed. But hey,it's worth a try. LoL.
Now Daniel, why would you think that cold, hard facts about our beloved South would deter the nearly deluded from their secessionist fantasies?
BTW, Today is Robert E. Lee's birthday…a role model of honor, loyalty, and faith who was one of the greatest generals in history. Booker T. Washington praised Lee and Stonewall Jackson (unlike their Northern counterparts) because they established black Sunday schools and reading classes so that Blacks could learn to read the Bible and their souls could be saved.
And, in other news, in St. Louis today, a bunch of Blacks protesting Michael Brown burst into a university auditorium where another bunch of Blacks was celebrating MLK Day. They took over the stage, screamed, yelled, etc. (you know the drill) and there were angry confrontations by both groups. Don't you just love it…the fruits of the liberal agenda.
Post a Comment