{"id":461,"date":"2008-06-09T01:01:14","date_gmt":"2008-06-09T01:01:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2008\/06\/another-chapter-in-the-sad-story-of-jeremiah-wright-and-trinity-united-church-of-christ.html"},"modified":"2008-06-09T01:01:14","modified_gmt":"2008-06-09T01:01:14","slug":"another-chapter-in-the-sad-story-of-jeremiah-wright-and-trinity-united-church-of-christ","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/06\/another-chapter-in-the-sad-story-of-jeremiah-wright-and-trinity-united-church-of-christ.html","title":{"rendered":"Another Chapter in the Sad Story of Jeremiah Wright and Trinity United Church of Christ"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’ve been following a story that has scarcely been reported in the news. So far, I’ve only seen it at the TIME<\/em><\/a> and Fox News<\/em><\/a> websites. No doubt this story has been ignored by the media because it has little impact on the presidential candidacy of Barack Obama, who has now withrdrawn his membership from Trinity Church. But for those of us who care about the church of Jesus Christ, this next chapter in the Jeremiah Wright\/Trinity story is both sad and worthy of our attention.
\nAccording to news sources, two years ago, Jeremiah Wright began a process that would lead to his retirement from Trinity Church. Following a course that was not standard in his denomination, Rev. Wright hand-picked his successor, Rev. Otis Moss III. Rev. Moss was full of promise as a brilliant, winsome, caring pastor. I heard Rev. Moss interviewed on the radio a couple of months ago, and I was most impressed with his discretion and quiet wisdom . . . a far cry from the histrionic Rev. Wright. (Photo: Rev. Otis Moss III)
\nSunday, June 1, was the day Jeremiah Wright had established for his official retirement. We would become the Pastor Emeritus of Trinity Church and Otis Moss would assume full authority as the new Senior Pastor. But this did not happen. Instead, Rev. Wright hung onto his role as Senior Pastor, while allowing Rev. Moss to be merely the Pastor. Rev. Wright also told his prot\u00e9g\u00e9 that he needed additional “supervision,” and that he had to fire one of the staff people he had hired. On June 1, which was supposed to be Rev. Moss’s first day as Senior Pastor, Rev. Wright didn’t even show up. A few hours after the worship services, Rev. Moss left for a vacation. No kidding!
\nAccording to TIME<\/em>, Trinity church officials are mostly playing mum about this story. Many members of the church are understandably distressed by what seems to be a flat-out power play by Jeremiah Wright.
\nNow I freely admit that there is much I don’t know about this situation. But, on the surface, it looks like a classic case of an older pastor who is unwilling and unable to let go of his church when the time is right. This often happens in churches where the pastor is the church founder, or in cases like Trinity Church, where a pastor has had a long and influential ministry. During Rev. Wright’s thirty-six years at Trinity, the church grew from 87 to over 6,000 members<\/a>.
\nAs someone who recently had to let go of a beloved church I pastored for sixteen years, I can understand some of what must be brewing in Rev. Wright. Yet I am deeply saddened by his actions and their impact on this church. Unless something is seriously wrong with Rev. Moss and his leadership, for which we have no evidence, then Jeremiah Wright seems to be injuring something he worked long and hard to nurture . . . not unlike what his actions may have done to the political future of Barack Obama. From my admittedly underinformed perspective, it seems like Rev. Wright is once again letting his ego get the better of his judgment.
\nToday I’m praying for Trinity Church, that God’s peace will be granted to them. I’m praying for Jeremiah Wright, that he will have the wisdom and grace to step down as he had promised. And I’m praying for Otis Moss III, who must be terribly hurt and discouraged. May God work his will in this church!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’ve been following a story that has scarcely been reported in the news. So far, I’ve only seen it at the TIME and Fox News websites. No doubt this story has been ignored by the media because it has little impact on the presidential candidacy of Barack Obama, who has now withrdrawn his membership from…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-church-life"],"yoast_head":"\nAnother Chapter in the Sad Story of Jeremiah Wright and Trinity United Church of Christ - Mark D. 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Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=461"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}