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Ready challenged the deacons. Instructing them in the rules of democratic church polity , he emphasized the responsibility of whole congregations to make decisions and for deacons to recommend actions rather than to act unilaterally. Disputes arose so often that the pastor and deacons argued even over whether to hold board meetings. On one occasion, when Pritchard had announced a regularly scheduled meeting, Shuttlesworth exerted his pastoral authority and canceled the meeting. "It is not necessary:' he reasoned, "to have conflict and argumentation every month:' The deacons responded that the church's constitution required regular meetings. Shuttlesworth prevailed in most of these parliamentary clashes, increasing his stock with some of the less powerful members. One member, Nora Bennett, showing support for Fred, told him the score: "You're the only pastor that has been here for years that lets us know anything about the business of the church, and that's what they are mad at you aboue'49 In another instance, controversy boiled over concerning whether a women's missionary organization in the church, raising money for a trip to Birmingham, should funnel their collections into the general church fund for disbursement or keep it in a separate bank account. Contrary to their own practice in collecting funds, the all-male deacons decided that the women's group should deposit their monies in the general fund. Shuttlesworth shared that view, but again he opted for confrontation. Calling the deacons on their inconsistency, he noted that they kept their collections separate from the church's general fund. Thus, he argued, they had no right to insist that the women kick in their funds. The pastor advised the women's missionary leader to hold onto the money until the matter was resolved. When the matter came up for business, tempers flared, and verbal exchanges were sharp. In a meeting of deacons and trustees, Pritchard bluntly asserted: "We ain't gonna have no preacher running this church, and we don't want no women running it. We're gonna run ie' In the heat of debate, one pro-Shuttlesworth member cursed the deacons, and Shuttlesworth himself threatened to resign: "If this is your level of religion, the church has to decide whether they want me as a pastor or you:' "You're a young man:' Pritchard warned. "You better get with us:' The pastor countered, "No, you get with me. I'm a young man, but I am still pastor of this church, and that's what you can't accepe'so The pastor also initiated controversial policies that grated on the sensibilities of middle-class members. Acase in point was Shuttlesworth's all-too-public practice of printing the amounts of members' weekly offerings in the church bulletins every Sunday. Adhering to the dictum "Don't bring our business out 61 Ready on the street:' Pritchard and company vigorously objected to Shuttlesworth's actions. Although some congregations still make such figures a matter of public record, few members want their contributions open to general scrutiny. Most churches pressure their administrators to keep financial giving patterns a confidential matter among the parishioner, the church treasurer, and God. For his part, Harris argued that the pastor had no right to publish offerings byname, asking Fred, "Why you got to put that up on the board? You know you ain't got no business:' Fred interrupted, "Well, it's their [the congregation's] business what you turn in, isn't it?"S! Each incident escalated the tension and soured the relationship. Matters started to come to a head beginning in September of 1951 when, midway through his bachelor's degree work at Alabama State, Shuttlesworth accepted a full-time teaching job. To the deacons' way of thinking, Fred had thus breached his contract with the church. The congregation had accepted his essentially part-time status as pastor because they expected him to finish his degree on schedule and assume full-time duties on graduation. Now, however, it appeared that he had other intentions, and the deacons complained about "part-time pastor , full-time pay." When confronted, Fred asked them pointedly, "Whatcha gon' do about it? Besides, what do you want me to do, baby sit you all? I can't teach you anything:' When the deacons delivered an ultimatum, "Stop teaching or else:' the pastor asserted, "You just gave me my answer; I'll take the 'else: whatever it is. I'm gonna to sit right here in the boat and let you rock it...

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