A new flag controversy has captured the attention of some in the media and on social media. The new controversy is not about the Confederate flag or the rainbow flag, although those two symbols have their own proponents and detractors. This new controversy involves both the Christian flag and the flag of the United States of America.
In Shelby, N.C., the Rev. Rit Varriale, pastor of the Elizabeth Baptist Church, decided, on July 4th weekend, to display the Christian flag on the same flagpole as the Stars and Stripes. However, in violation of flag etiquette, he displayed the Christian flag over (on top of) the American flag.
A fellow pastor, the Rev. Walter Wilson, pastor of Focus Missionary Baptist Church, just down the road from Varriale’s church, had done the same thing a few months earlier. The action was taken to protest the Supreme Court’s decision regarding gay marriage.
Pastor Varriale is a former U.S. Army Ranger so, he says, the issue is not about patriotism. According to an online news service, “I really don’t need a lecture on patriotism; I’m willing to give my life for my country. When you think of military mottoes, for example, God and country, God first and then country,” Varriale said.
The two pastors know the move is sure to turn heads, but say they’re okay with that. “We know that not everyone is going to agree with that. But that’s not going to make us sit down and stop talking about what’s important,” Pastor Wilson said.
In the church I serve, we do not have an American flag on display either in the sanctuary or on an outdoor flag pole. We do display the flag outside the building on national patriotic days such as Memorial Day, July 4th, Veteran’s Day, and on Sept. 11.
It is a choice I made in my previous church and one I continue in my current church. It’s not as though we do not love our country. I served an enlistment in the United States Marine Corps. After college, I did a stint with the Tennessee Army National Guard. I served a few years as a chaplain with the Georgia Defense Force, an auxiliary of the Georgia Army National Guard. On our church board, the Rector’s Council, every single member is either a military veteran or a law enforcement officer.
The issue is not patriotism. It is symbolism.
The church is not an agency of the state. The church is, in a sense, an embassy of the Kingdom of God. It is not subservient to the state any more than an embassy of another country is subservient to the host country. An embassy is, in theory, sovereign ground.
In the United States, flag etiquette dictates that the American flag take the dominant position, with other flags being in a lesser position. But, for churches, that would mean that, symbolically, the Church is subservient to the nation — whatever nation that is.
Is the Church subservient to the government of Cuba, Russia, Iran, or any nation? It is an important question. The answer, theologically, is “No.” Neither is it subservient to the government of the United States. An exception can certainly be made for military chapels or academies.
So, generally, we do not have a national flag in our sanctuary. There is an American flag in our fellowship hall where the Marine Corps League and the Military Order of the Devil Dogs meet. Flag protocol is observed there.
If we were to have a flag in our sanctuary it would be a flag of the Church. If we were to regularly display a flag on a pole outside, it would not be a national flag. On special days, as loyal Americans, we “render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s.” But the sanctuary, the worship services, the proclamation of the Word, the offering of the Sacraments, the very ground on which those activities take place — those belong to God and God alone.
The church does not belong to the state, although it usually voluntarily submits to most laws and statutes. The church belongs to God.
[David Epps is the pastor of the Cathedral of Christ the King, Sharpsburg, GA (www.ctkcec.org). He is the bishop of the Mid-South Diocese which consists of Georgia and Tennessee (www.midsouthdiocese.org) and the Associate Endorser for the Department of the Armed Forces, U. S. Military Chaplains, ICCEC. He may contacted at [email protected].]
