God & Gas Drilling

Submitted by don on Fri, 11/27/2009 - 1:48pm.

WARNING: The content of this message may offend some sensitive readers on either side of the aisle.


> Then Moses returned to the Lord, and said, "Alas, these people have committed a great sin, and they have made a god of gold for themselves." 
Exodus 32:31


> Then said Jesus, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do... " 
Luke 23:34 


> Then I said, "The world will not breathe free until the last gas driller is strangled with the entrails of the last Baptist preacher." 
DY (with apologies to Denis Diderot and Jean Meslier)


Any preacher worth his salt can quote Bible verses to justify almost anything. As a born-and-raised Southern Baptist who had 5 years perfect attendance in Sunday School and read the Good Book cover to cover, so can I. The two verses of scripture and my own paraphrased sentiment above, neatly sum up how I feel about many of the clergy and elders in Fort Worth, Texas and the Barnett Shale.

I admit to struggling with the forgiveness part of that equation especially when otherwise good Christian men and women willfully disregarded God's creation when drillers came calling. Few, if any, took time to investigate the false claims by drillers that, drilling was okey-dokey even though information to counter those claims was available.

Collectively, churches are among the largest landowners in many communities. They are often located in the heart of neighborhoods and are generally trusted by neighbors. Gas drillers may be evil but they are not dumb. When mapping out their assault on Fort Worth, they understood that churches were the low-hanging fruit that would jump-start their campaign. And they were right.

Today, Fort Worth has about 2,000 gas wells. According to Chesapeake CEO, Aubrey McClendon,"... we've drilled only about 15% of the wells we ultimately need." He can thank Fort Worth area churches for helping him become the highest paid CEO in the USA. He can also thank Mayor Mike "Gasfather" Moncrief who invoked God's name at an industry convention in 2008, "To be sure, the good Lord has blessed Fort Worth once again."

According to the actions of the following churches and others like them, Creation Care does not include the City of Fort Worth. 

1) Reverend Paige Patterson, Supreme Monarch of the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and former head of the Southern Baptist Convention may be the baddest apple in the clergy barrel. This arch-conservative minister apparently thinks that clean air is part of a liberal agenda and wants no part of it.

When Patterson leased the minerals under the campus he, effectively, helped permit the drilling of 14 gas wells in a low-income neighborhood. He also leased church property for the pad-site across the street from a planned elementary school. Steve Doeung, a man who knows a thing or two about injustice and an alumnus of the Seminary, wrote Patterson a letter asking him to consider, "the very real, life and death issues" of gas drilling. Patterson's curt reply? The drillers and elected officials say it's safe. Praise the Lord! Pass the divine dollars and, "Thank you for your interest", Mr Doeung.

Read both letters verbatim at, Drilling Reform for Texas.

Rev. Patterson is the same guy who said of women, "Ladies, the highest and noblest calling of God is that of mother and grandmother." He went on to compare female submissiveness to men as like, "an encounter with a police officer." My sweet wife would beg to differ.

For fun, Rev. Patterson kills giraffes, leopards, lions and African buffalo, the heads of which he likes to display at Christian sporting banquets. He brags about having slaughtered 3 of the "Big 5" game animals.

"Father forgive them.... " 

2) Back in 2005, I paid a visit to Pastor Billy Taylor of Sagamore (Hill) Baptist Church. The legendary Fort Worth church was the owner of 50 pristine acres of tall grass prairie, a nearly extinct ecosystem. I pleaded with Rev. Taylor to resist the offer by Chesapeake Energy to purchase the land and mineral rights. Rather, I proposed that he sell or donate the unused land to a group who wanted to preserve it. Taylor declined to even consider our offer. The land, adjacent to a city-owned preserve and a cherished neighborhood, is now owned by Chesapeake Energy. The neighborhood group evolved into FWCanDo and picketing the church was our first public protest. After cashing their dirty check the church abandoned the low income neighborhood and built a new church elsewhere. As fate would have it, a gas well is right next door.

"And if you defile the land, it will vomit you out..." 
Leviticus 18:28

3) In 2007, Pastor Don Couch at New Beginnings International Church in east Fort Worth was so hot to cut a deal for 12 gas wells on church property that he was willing to clear-cut a grove of trees near the church calling them, "nuisance woods." Despite neighborhood concerns, the drilling company tried to buy off residents, one by one, so they could obtain a High Impact waiver from City Hall. They failed BUT, since then, the leases have been sold to Chesapeake. Rumors are that, the church will pack up and leave making it easier for drilling to commence.

"Love thy neighbor as thyself. There is no commandment greater than this."  
Mark 12:31

4) I wish I could report that the place of my Baptism, Handley Baptist Church, did not succumb to Barnett Shale greed. Alas, that is not the case. I met with the pastor in 2007 to ensure he knew all the facts. I gave him a copy of Dirty Ol' Town to watch with church elders. But it was too late. The spell of "manna from Heaven" had already been cast. A few months later at a mineral lease "signing party" held at the church, a group of peaceful sidewalk protesters were unfairly ticketed for trespass after church leaders called the police. Their crime: Wanting to protect their neighborhood. 

"In their greed they will exploit you with false words."  
2 Peter 2:3

5) Bishop Kenneth Spears, pastor of the 4,400 member, First St. John the Baptist Church, was one of the first to evangelize about the Barnett Shale. Without considering the health and environmental impacts he enthusiastically embraced the financial benefits of gas drilling. In 2007 he said, "God put something valuable underneath the inner city. I think of it as manna from heaven." Chesapeake spokesperson, Julie Wilson and gas drillers everywhere fell to their knees in gratitude. 

In a 2008 CNN interview Spears invoked Biblical scripture and even credited his prayers "over that ground" with saving his church from certain doom. Dear Bishop Spears: Dirty money does not come from God. 

"Now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. 
Acts 3:17

Again from Acts: 
"In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent." 
Acts 17:30


In Benediction:

"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."
Matthew 6:24, 


Amen.

DY


Further reading on Faith and the Environment:



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