The small group of dissidents called a congregational meeting. They went to court to try to stop the installation of Mr. Braxton in April. The truth is that they did not get much traction until they mentioned to the Daily News the $600,000 compensation package — which included salary, a housing allowance, retirement benefits and tuition for Mr. Braxton’s 4-year-old daughter. It became front-page news with Mr. Braxton identified as the “600K Pastor.”
From then on, there was no putting the wafer back in the sacristy. Everyone picked up the story. Anonymous emails circulated around the congregation attacking the pastor and his style. Mr. Braxton told me that he realized he had become the embodiment of a conflict within the church and had to leave so that healing could take place.
Jean Schmidt, the chairwoman of the church council and a supporter of Mr. Braxton, expressed the hope that Riverside will learn a lesson from this period of adversity. This is a time, she said, for “deep soul-searching” that will ultimately “allow us to move forward as a stronger and more unified congregation.”
Buried in the 10th paragraph is the core issue from the dissident group that initiated the campaign against this pastor: [blockquote]Riverside is also known for being highly democratic, so much so that any 10 members can call a general meeting of the congregation. The church overwhelmingly voted to hire Mr. Braxton back in September. [b]But from the start, a small group of dissidents complained about his evangelical style, which they said put a greater emphasis on personal salvation than on doing social justice. [/b]They recoiled at his penchant for the “altar call,” in which he asked people to step forward and witness their faith.[/blockquote]
Serena Jones made a good point: there are plenty of tensions that are difficult within the congregation. Although it is an integrated congregation, I have some suspicion that there were two different forms of liberalism competing. I also suspect that Braxton was used to being adored as a pastor – whereas in Riverside, every pastor has to earn it. He was blindsided by the “democratic” nature of the church.
I can only assume that prior rectors were compensated at or near the same package…..so # 1 has probably hit the nail on the head…