It has come to my attention that Dr. Kelvin Washington, who I told you last week was “dramatically overqualified” for a seat on the Waynesboro School Board, seems to think that women are only qualified to submit to their husbands, and that there’s only one accepted kind of romantic and familial union, and LGBTQ+s don’t qualify there.
And when I say “seems to think,” I’m being generous.
Washington is the founder and lead pastor at New Valley Church in Waynesboro.
Impeccable resume – local kid whose teachers told him he wasn’t college material, proved them wrong by earning a BA, master’s and Ph.D.
And now he wants to give back to his community.
But what does he want to give back?
First, on women, needing to be submissive:
In God’s wise purposes, men and women are not simply interchangeable, but rather they complement each other in mutually enriching ways. God ordains that they assume distinctive roles that reflect the loving relationship between Christ and the church, the husband exercising headship in a way that displays the caring, sacrificial love of Christ, and the wife submitting to her husband in a way that models the love of the church for her Lord. In the ministry of the church, both men and women are encouraged to serve Christ and to be developed to their full potential in the manifold ministries of the people of God.
And then, on the romantic and familial arrangements:
Adam and Eve were made to complement each other in a one-flesh union that establishes the only normative pattern of sexual relations for men and women, such that marriage ultimately serves as a type of the union between Christ and his church.
Those passages are from the New Valley Church website, under the title: New Valley Church Statement of Biblical Doctrine.
To reinforce: Dr. Washington is the founder of New Valley Church.
This isn’t language on a statement of faith that he inherited from a previous lead pastor.
What I get for giving somebody the benefit of the doubt.
So, turns out, the initial concerns that I noted in my introductory column on Dr. Washington, about how his undergrad degree is from Liberty University, which is far-right, MAGA-aligned, and his master’s and doctorate are from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, which is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, which voted last week to affirm that women are prohibited from serving as pastors, were spot on.
ICYMI
I need to trust the old instincts more.
Evangelicals make up 25 percent of the U.S. population, as many as 90 million folks, per demographic survey data – and the idea that women are somehow at the same time equal, but also need to be submissive to men, persists in that tradition.
Evangelicals also have an issue with gays, lesbians and trans folks living their best lives.
Believe what you want to believe, but, no.
The other 75 percent of us don’t need those backwards views imposed on us, just because people like Kelvin Washington can talk a good game, have pieces of paper and fancy titles, and look good in a suit.
Dr. Washington’s candidacy popped up on the heels of a recent effort led by a local evangelical to bring the Fox News war over bathroom politics to Waynesboro.
The clarion call on that, from a Terrence Williams, who refers to himself on his socials as the senior pastor at the ironically named Reality Church:
They have been allowing males in female bathrooms and locker rooms, and they need to hear some voices of resistance.
Williams’ goal was to pack the May 12 Waynesboro School Board meeting with people who would repeat the MAGA talking points – not sure what the end goal there was, except to prep the battlefield for the November elections.
ICYMI
- Waynesboro: MAGA pastor trying to whip up anti-trans frenzy in school system
- How many trans kids in Waynesboro school bathrooms are we talking about here?
- Leave the trans kid alone: If you want to protest, there’s plenty worth protesting
- Winners, losers in the stupid Waynesboro Schools trans bathroom debate
Was Terrence Williams playing John the Baptist here?
It sure does feel like there’s an organized effort to inject a narrow view of Christianity into our K-12 schools.
Though, I’ll assume that Dr. Washington emerging as a candidate for a School Board seat in the aftermath is just a coincidence, just out of trying to be fair.
Also in the interest of trying to be fair, I reached out to Dr. Washington to give him a chance to explain how women can both be equal, but also be required to be submissive.
This is the answer that I got back:
I believe that husbands and wives are equal in value and dignity as partners with distinct roles. Any intimation that I believe women are unequal is a mischaracterization of the record. I’m running in this election because every student deserves access to the same educational opportunities that I received in Waynesboro Public Schools, and, sadly, that’s not the case for all students. I will work tirelessly to ensure every student is given the tools and environment to be successful in their chosen path in life.
I mean, that’s fine – but, are girls in Waynesboro Public Schools only going to get access to “the tools and environment” that enable them to be “successful” in “submitting to her husband”?
I was doing some fact-checking on the original story here, which was focusing on the matter involving women needing to be submissive, when I came across the item about “the only normative pattern of sexual relations for men and women” item, so, I offered Washington a chance to offer a comment specific to that.
The response:
Every student has the right to feel safe and supported in during their educational journey. When I am on the School Board, I will strive to ensure a strong learning environment for every child.
Again, fine, but is Dr. Washington going to give voice to the Terrance Williamses of our community who want everybody back in the closet before they get access to “a strong learning environment”?
I’ll note here – I first raised these issues to Dr. Washington on Thursday, four days ago, and I half-expected the New Valley Church website page where the church’s views on women and the LGBTQ+ community to undergo a quiet update, to soften the hardline stances.
That the page didn’t get updated is something I’ll actually applaud – I wouldn’t want somebody running for office to pretend to stand for something that they don’t really want to stand for just to get elected.
That said, our country was founded on the principle of a strict separation of church and state for a reason.
Waynesboro needs to keep moving forward; Kelvin Washington would take us in the other direction, to the good old days when women stayed in the kitchen, and LGBTQ+ people had to pretend that they didn’t exist.
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Chris Graham
