Where Was Mac?

Today the Florida Times Union published a front page story critical of Jacksonville community leaders who volunteered to serve on Mayor John Peyton's anti-crime panel last year. The attendance overall at 7 meetings held since December has been around 50%. Mac Brunson, pastor of the First Baptist Church Jacksonville agreed to be on the panel's "Steering Committee", but unfortunately Mac has only made 2 of the 7 meetings held since last December, for an embarrassing 29% attendance rate.

Here is the table from the newspaper today that shows Mac's 29% attendance at the Steering Committee meetings; notice he made the first two but has missed the last 5.

That is quite embarrassing, that our pastor has volunteered to help reduce crime in our city, yet can't find the time to make it to but 29% of the meetings as a member of the Steering Committee. As reported here on this blog last year, in August before the Day of Prayer Mac talked about how the high murder rate is unacceptable, in fact he said: "There are people in our city that have to live everyday with gunfire in their neighborhood; no one should have to live like that, I don't care WHO they are!" and then he followed that with: "I wouldn't put up with that in my neighborhood...in fact I have 5 or 6 guns, I wouldn't put up with it." Of course Mac lives in an exclusive gated community backing up to a golf course, so its a good thing he has those guns to protect himself. But I wonder, is Mac all talk and no action? Is he really concerned about crime in our city? Or was it just politically expedient for him to say he was, but when it comes time to roll up the sleeves and get to work on the problem he can't find the time? To quote Ed Hearle, a member of the law enforcement committee who has made all of the meetings: "Seems to me if you agreed to serve on something this important, you'd be there half of the time."

This leads one to ask another question that was never answered: to what extent did FBC Jacksonville follow through with its offer to help Pastor Daniel Jones rebuild his church? In the Sunday evening service on September 30th, 2007, Mac Brunson publicly offered to help Pastor Jones get his church facilities, which are located in a crime-ridden part of our city, back and usable after there were nearly burned down by arsonists not happy with the influence Pastor Jones was making in that part of the city. We ask this question because the Times Union reported just a few weeks ago that its been a year since the arson of Pastor Jones's church, and six months since Mac Brunson offered his help, and Pastor Jones was still not back into his church facilities. One would hope that FBC Jax followed through with that commitment to help, but one wonders after seeing the Times Union article.