That's actually a pretty fair way to handle it.

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It is, and I really don't understand why some people don't understand the distinction between marriage (a legal contract regulated by the state) and a religious wedding. The two things are quite distinct, and some churches will remain bigoted against gays and blacks while others will be inclusive - no problem with that at all.

But it's good to see at least one Baptist church doing the right thing.

I am from North Carolina and attended NCSU. Pullen Baptist Church has always been a very forward thinking congregation and they are very well respected in the city. Good to see that they have kept that tradition going.

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The voice in your head that says "you can't do this" is a LIAR!!!

Although I would balk at making any effort to impute a moral stance to Jesus (the "WWJD"--or What Would Jesus Do?--trinkets of yesteryear never impressed me), I agree that there is a great deal of difference between a moral right and a legal right.

I have long believed that each congregation should be entirely autonomous, with no governing authority higher than the congregation's own elders (or bishops, or presbyters)--just as I believe that each state should be considered autonomous, with no authority above its state legislature and governor--so I cannot quibble with the congregation's right to act according to its own leaders' best judgment.

But I find these folks' views on interracial couples to be quite odious...

Ky. church's ban on interracial couples voided - CBS NewsIn other words, we were getting too much negative publicity to get away with this.

No, if you would read the article again, it clearly said that one of the pastors went to the association that oversee's the church and the association voided the policy. It had nothing to do with bad publicity (though I imagine the bad publicity was probably not appreciated) and everything to do with the governing body's policies overriding those of the individual church's vote.

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The voice in your head that says "you can't do this" is a LIAR!!!

Given that I was perhaps being overly cynical, is there anything about this situation that can be seen as instructive re: the debate now going on regarding states rights? The relationship between the church and the association to which it belongs seems roughly analogous to the state/fed gov. relationship, but I suppose if the church isn't protesting the its vote having been voided, or threatening to secede (as it were), that's probably as far as the comparison goes (he said, answering his own question).