Mitt also wants to speak at SC church?

Posted: Monday, December 03, 2007 11:28 AM by Mark Murray

From NBC/NJ's Aswini Anburajan
Not only will Romney give his speech on faith and Mormonism on Thursday, but the ex-governor is also trying to speak at South Carolina's only megachurch. According to Ron Carpenter, the head of Redemption World Outreach Center in Greenville, SC, Romney has been pressing hard to speak at the church, which has 13,000 members.

Carpenter told me that he is still thinking and praying on allowing Romney to speak at Redemption World. Obama spoke there recently, and there was a huge backlash from white Christians and Republicans for letting that "Muslim" speak, although Obama is a Christian.

But Carpenter is a huge fan of Obama, and says he's open to any candidate who would want to speak and make a testament to his "Christian" faith at the church. But at the same time, he hedged at the idea of letting other Dems come to the church.

Carpenter said that Republicans love coming there because redemption is the headquarters for a church network that includes several hundred churches and millions of members. Carpenter has never endorsed because he says he's looking for that candidate who could have a social agenda that cares about the plight of the inner cities and can connect with his mixed race congregation and have socially conservative values.

I asked him if he had ever heard of Mike Huckabee and he said he really hadn't...

First Read contacted the Romney campaign about Carpenter's assertion that Romney wants to speak at his church, but his campaign hasn't yet responded. *** UPDATE *** A Romney spokeswoman emails us, "To our knowledge, no one directly involved with the governor’s scheduling has had discussions with the Redemption World Outreach Center about the Governor speaking there."

*** UPDATE II *** The Romney spokeswoman, in a follow-up email, stresses again that the campaign hasn't contacted Carpenter, and that Romney has no plans to visit his church.

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Comments

South Carolina is also the home of Seacoast Church and NewSpring Church. According to Outreach Magazine's most recent list, these churches are both very close in size to Redemption. These churches also have great influence in South Carolina and beyond. So it's incorrect to say that Redemption is "South Carolina's only megachurch."

Clif Guy (Sent Monday, December 03, 2007 11:58 AM)

Good news for Romney, who leads again in the latest Iowa poll released this morning. Just in time to stop the storyline of Huckabee crushing him: http://www.campaigndiaries.com/2007/12/and-plot-thickens-new-early-state-polls.html

Daniel, NY (Sent Monday, December 03, 2007 12:04 PM)

"Obama spoke there recently, and there was a huge backlash from white Christians and Republicans for letting that "Muslim" speak, although Obama is a Christian."

Thank you, morons, for making us the laughing stock of the world. Are evangelicals the new nazis?

? (Sent Monday, December 03, 2007 12:10 PM)

The fact that a mega-church of inbred sheep thinks Obama's a Muslim is as good a portrait of why this country is in the mess it's in. Stupid people electing stupid, power-hungry people, instead to listening to voices of reason. The Germans in the '30s would've sympathized with these jerks.

Class Warrior, D.C. (Sent Monday, December 03, 2007 12:20 PM)

Mitt Romney is a class act. He is a person with great character and values. It is a shame that people cannot see past his religion. We are not electing the leader of our church. Romney is exactly what our country needs at this time. He is right on immigration, he is right on our taxes and the economy. Wake up America! A person with Romney's character and experience in the real world does not come around that often. Judge him on his vision for America and nothing else.

John, Lake Worth, Florida (Sent Monday, December 03, 2007 12:25 PM)

If I was going to speak to a church, i would be speaking at Osteen's church in Houston....

16,000 seats.......

jerry/corpus christi texas (Sent Monday, December 03, 2007 12:35 PM)

I never thought that support for partial birth abortion reflects on one as a social conservative? I dont know of Pastor Carpenter, so his thoughts of this may vary from other Christian leaders. When any church, Christian or other opens its pulpit to a candidate I believe that it should be open to all to protect its tax exempt status. Dont really agree but I believe its the law...

lets think (Sent Monday, December 03, 2007 4:31 PM)

The Church of Jesus Christ (LDS) is often accused by Evangelical pastors of not believing in Christ and, therefore, not being a Christian religion. This article http://mormonsarechristian.blogspot.com/ helps to clarify such misconceptions by examining early Christianity's comprehension of baptism, the Godhead, the deity of Jesus Christ and His Atonement.

The Church of Jesus Christ (LDS) adheres more closely to First Century Christianity and the New Testament than any other denomination. Harper’s Bible Dictionary entry on the Trinity says “the formal doctrine of the Trinity as it was defined by the great church councils of the fourth and fifth centuries is not to be found in the New Testament.”

Perhaps the reason the pastors denigrate the Church of Jesus Christ (LDS) is to protect their flock (and their livelihood). It is encouraging that Paul Weyrich, Wayne Grudem and Bob Jones III, (along with Jay Sekulow, Mark DeMoss, and Dr. John Willke, a founder and past president of the National Right to Life Committee.) have rejected bigotry and now support Mitt Romney on the basis that he is the most moral candidate with the best qualifications.

R B (Sent Monday, December 03, 2007 9:35 PM)

Right you are John .. there has probably not been such a candidate with the business acumen and execution of Romney ever .. (exc. Perot) .. too perfect is not a negative in my book ..

carl loeber, san jose, ca. (Sent Monday, December 03, 2007 11:49 PM)

Jerry- I'm laughing- you're right- choose the BIG one :)

?- I agree, how sad that the people who are the loudest to praise Christ are the ones who are acting the least like Him. (I, of course, am talking about those who opposed Obama's presence and not Evangelicals in general- just a disclaimer- don't want to offend anyone).

Classwarrior, I would probably have phrased it a little differently, but I agree. When will this truly become the land of the FREE, the home of the brave, and the standard bearing country with freedom of religion, when the strong "christian" south still has so much control over a political (non-religious) election?

As much as I care about "social/value" issues, they are really a very small concern compared to health care, the war, immigration, the economy, etc. So WHY do those issues rule every election?

Please people, let's worry about the country's safety and freedom first, and then focus on the nity-grity of social concerns.

Kira, Utah (Sent Tuesday, December 04, 2007 5:14 PM)

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