TALLAHASSEE — A Tampa pastor who once prayed over President Donald Trump in the Oval Office was charged for unlawful assembly after he encouraged parishioners to attend church services on Sunday.
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said today he obtained an arrest warrant for Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne of The River at Tampa Bay church for violating local public health emergency orders.
Chronister said Howard-Browne ignored warnings against holding meetings of 10 or more people and instead bused congregation members to the 4,000-member church for two services.
“Our goal here is not to stop anyone from worshiping,” Chronister said. “But the safety and well-being of our community must always come first.”
Howard-Browne was being charged with unlawful assembly and violation of public health emergency rules issued to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Chronister said. The charges are second-degree misdemeanors.
Calls to the church for comment went unanswered. But Howard-Browne said on Facebook today that Christians are “turning each other in” because of the coronavirus rather than preaching the Gospel.
……..
- Discussion
-
A Tampa pastor who once prayed over President Trump in the Oval Office was charged for unlawful assembly after he encouraged parishioners to attend church services on Sundayhttps://t.co/Lx2OXkQIgs
— POLITICO (@politico) March 30, 2020Chronister: "They have access to technology allowing them to livestream their services over the internet and broadcast television for more than their 4,000 members to watch from the safety of their own homes. Instead, they encouraged people to come and gather at church."
— Patricia Mazzei (@PatriciaMazzei) March 30, 2020
With all due respect to a man of the cloth, but Pastor Howard-Browne is a moron — or worse, he may be selfish and greedy. Nearly every other house of worship has canceled services or gone to live streaming. They are adjusting to the “new normal;” why isn’t this pastor? Could it be that he’s afraid the revenue stream from the collection plate is going to dry up?
Whatever the reason — he is not tending his flock as a good shepherd would. If he cared about his congregants, he would have stopped the in-person services immediately to protect his people from this virus. That he hasn’t makes me wonder what kind of pastor he is. Doesn’t seem like one I would want to follow.
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.