At first, when seeing this post, I was upset at the "small minority" in the congregation that were upset about an AA couple getting married in their church, but more upset at the pastor.
The church's pastor, Dr. Stan Weatherford, says he was taken by surprise by what he calls a small minority against the black marriage at the church.
"This had never been done before here, so it was setting a new precedent, and there are those who reacted to that because of that," said*Weatherford.*
"I didn't want to have a controversy within the church, and*I didn't want a controversy to affect the wedding of Charles and Te' Andrea. I wanted to make sure their wedding day was a special day,"*said Weatherford.
"I was prepared to go ahead and do the wedding here just like it was planned, and just like we agreed to," said Weatherford. "I was just looking for an opportunity to be able to address a need within our congregation and at the same time minister to them."
from OP
It appears he didn't expect it to be an issue and disagreed with the parishioners, but a pastor is supposed to lead, and in this instance, he cowed to a few vocal, mean voices. He missed an opportunity to fulfill his role as teacher, shepherd, and leader, IMO.
There is a progression described in the Bible for how to deal with those in obvious error.
Link. I would've rather seen him taking these few members into his office, shut the door, ask them to state their concerns, then hand them a Bible and say, "Point to the verse supporting your position." When they couldn't, I wish he'd have said, "You're in error. This is a Christian couple who attends here, and they will be getting married here, period."
Had they threatened his job, he should've said, "Fine. You can vote me out. After I marry this loving, Christian couple." (Of course, it seems like many church members were unaware of what was happening (I'll post that in a minute), so I bet his job was safe.) But a pastor should be willing to put his job on the line to honor God and do the right thing, IMO.
Had they threatened to leave the church, I wish he'd said, "That's up to you. I'd suggest going home and praying and getting your hearts right with God."
Next step w/b to deal with these few with a small group confronting them, then if they still were recalcitrant, the entire church. Wish that had happened.
I am glad the pastor informed the couple of the few's objections, but I'd rather he'd encouraged them to have the ceremony there and round up other congregants to make sure the few posed no distraction/disruption at the church, not just moved it. If you're uncomfortable with controversy, pastor may not be the best career choice. Maybe a different position of service in the church would be a better fit.
His capitulation to the angry, racist few implies that both parties were somehow in the wrong and needed to reach a compromise. I understand blessed are the peacemakers, but the Bible also calls for boldness at times. IMO, the way he handled this really calls whether he is ready/able to stand up and lead a congregation in to question.
If this church offers weddings to other nonmembers, this couple should not have been excluded.