The Southern Baptist Convention has expelled Matoaka Baptist Church whose pastor defended his blackface performance and his impersonation of a Native American woman.

Events leading to expulsion: The pastor, Sherman Jaquess, dressed in blackface for a church event, claiming to impersonate the late soul singer Ray Charles.
* Jaquess also portrayed a Native American woman at a “Cowboys and Indians” church camp event.
* These actions were highlighted by community activist, Marq Lewis, who accused Jaquess of promoting hatred and viewing African Americans and Indigenous Americans as lesser.
* Jaquess has not offered an apology and defended his actions, saying he pays tribute to Ray Charles and does not have a “racist bone” in his body.

Expulsion procedure: The decision to oust the Matoaka Baptist Church was made by the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention.
* The official reason for the expulsion is that the church was “deemed not in friendly cooperation with the Convention”.
* The Convention cannot dictate whom a church employs as a pastor but can remove a church from its membership.
* The church has the right to appeal this dismissal at the SBC’s full annual meeting.

Committee’s response: Community activist Marq Lewis praised the Committee’s decision.
* He expressed relief that the Southern Baptist organization chose not to associate with these actions.

Other Issues: The Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention has seen its third leadership setback due to its anticipated appointment of an interim president falling through.
* In a separate issue, the Committee had recently cut five full-time staff positions and two contractor positions amidst tight finances.

View original article on NPR

This summary was created by an AI system. The use of this summary is subject to our Terms of Service.