Christian Radio Host Urges California Pastors to Break Silence on Pro-Family Issues
by Mary Rettig
September 27, 2005
(AgapePress) - A Christian radio talk-show host in California says God and history will judge the pastors in his state for failing to stand up for marriage and family. Paul McGuire, whose show is broadcast throughout the state and in other parts of the U.S., has recently been asking California mega-church pastors why they have remained silent on the issue of homosexual marriage while a bill allowing it has made its way through the state legislature.
There are some 25 mega-churches across the state, McGuire points out, and so far he says he has heard almost no outcry from the pastors of these largest congregations over the passage of a homosexual marriage bill in the state legislature. The Christian community leaders' failure to dissent has led him to a disturbing conclusion.
| Paul McGuire |
"I think that the pastors in California are intimidated," the radio host observes. "I think that they're frightened ... scared because it's a very liberal state, and they want to be politically correct. They want to be accepted by the papers and the media here; and, as such, on any of the key moral issues -- whether it's stem-cell research or abortion or gay marriage -- they are almost universally silent." McGuire says he frequently gets e-mail messages and phone calls from the members of large California churches, and many of these express frustration and anger at many church leaders' apparent unwillingness to speak out on pro-family issues. "Their congregants are outraged about their pastors' silence, and they are extremely upset," he notes, "but they don't feel that the pastors are accessible. They don't feel that the pastors will listen to them."
When California's mega-church pastors say nothing, particularly after all the media attention that has been focused on homosexual marriage and other key pro-family concerns, McGuire feels these church leaders are conspicuous by their absence. He says he is trying to hold these Christian leaders accountable and use a sort of "peer pressure" to get them to open their mouths and speak out against the evil that is prevalent in their state.
Mary Rettig, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.