Current Events, Politics, Preachers

Famous Fundies: Chuck Baldwin

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Chuck Baldwin is the poster boy for what happens when a fundamentalist pastor starts believing his own end-times-driven, conspiracy-theory-laden, political posturing. It’s a wonderment to behold.

For the last 35 years Pensacola, Florida resident Chuck Baldwin’s titles have included fundamentalist pastor, Presidential Candidate, and political commentator. As of a week ago, you can now add to that list “Mountain Man Freedom Fighter Extraordinaire.”

First a little history…

In June of 1975, Charles Obadiah “Chuck” Baldwin started Crossroad Baptist Church with a handful of people. According to the church website, by 1985 “the church was recognized by the late President Ronald Reagan for its unusual growth and influence.” Unusual is certainly one word for it. For example, part of Chuck’s influence was being the chaplain of the Escambia County Militia during the 90’s.

By 2000, Baldwin was deeply enmeshed in politics, using his pulpit and his writing to denounce the run of candidate George Bush. He ultimately decided that the Constitution Party was the place for him to thrive. While remaining the pastor of Crossroads, he launched his own political career as as Vice-Presidential candidate in 2004 and as Presidential candidate in 2008 . Needless to say, he lost. (I, for one, was shocked!)

Although Chuck was vocal during the Bush years, his rhetoric under President Obama reached fever pitch. “We are all doomed. Doomed, I say! Tin foil hats will be available on the back table for the price of a small donation to my ammunition stockpile fund.”

Which brings us to the present…

One fine day not long ago (I tweeted about it at the time) Chuck decided that God was calling him to leave his Florida church and move to Montana taking his adult children and their spouses with him. The reason? Persecution’s a comin’! Flee as a bird to your mountain state! “Montana,” writes Chuck, “is going to be the tip of the spear in the freedom fight; and we believe God wants us to be part of that fight.”

Ponder this with me for a moment. A fundy pastor believes that persecution and hard times are coming for the country. He looks around at his flock and then somehow comes to the conclusion that the best move on his part is to yell “every man for himself!” and leave town post-haste, abandoning his church to fend for itself in this perilous age. Classy move, Chuck!

It’s worth noting that according to sources at Chuck’s church, his children’s in-laws (who attend the church) weren’t informed of the decision their children had made to move until Baldwin made his public announcement. I can only imagine those conversation. “Hey mom and dad? I’m going to Montana with Pastor Chuck. Sorry you have to stay behind and be persecuted and whatnot. See ya!”

Chuck also gave the current Crossroads church staff 30 days notice the day after his resignation. All of them. I guess that’s one way to make sure your predictions of economic hardship come true. One only hopes that the new pastor (who was hand-picked by Chuck himself) has the decency to re-hire them.

Now some of you may think I’m being a little hard on Chuck so I’ll go ahead and provide you with the man in his own words. He’s written much about his decision to move and the controversy that it has sparked. These essays have culminated in a piece called “Why We Are Moving” in which he explicitly states his reasons for leaving Florida to head to Montana.

[I]t is our studied opinion that America is headed for an almost certain cataclysm. As Christians, we suspect that this cataclysm could include the judgment of God. As students of history, we believe that this cataclysm will most certainly include a fight between Big-Government globalists and freedom-loving, independent-minded patriots. I would even argue that this fight has already started. And as this battle escalates (and it will most assuredly escalate), only those states that are willing to stand and fight for their independence and freedom will survive–at least in a state of freedom.

In many ways, the Mountain States just might become The Alamo of the twenty-first century, with, hopefully, much better results. But if not, I would rather die fighting for freedom with liberty-loving patriots by my side than be shuttled off to some FEMA camp after having been rejected and betrayed by soft-living, comfort-seeking, materialistic statists who simply “don’t get it” and have no desire to “get it,” which seems to be pretty much standard practice for a sizeable majority of people today–Christian and non-Christian–around most of the country.

I expect a fight. And I know I speak for the men of my family when I say, Bring it on! Freedom and liberty, along with the Natural Law principles of federalism and independence, are worth fighting for. In fact, they are worth dying for. So, living or dying, we intend to circle the wagons around the State of Montana and fight to our dying breath for the right of that State to live free! And while we are at it, we believe God will let us help many good, freedom-loving people of Montana find true inner freedom that comes from Christ alone. After all, any true student of American history knows that revival and revolution go hand in hand.

Yup. You read that right. They’re headed to Montana to start a new revolution.

End-time Theology + Hyper Political Activism + Fundamentalist Rhetoric = Disaster. Every. Single. Time.

104 thoughts on “Famous Fundies: Chuck Baldwin”

  1. Certainly is frightening when the narcissism and hubros of these boys reaches fantasy level and fever pitch. Even if this self-cracked nut never picks up a gun, you have to wonder how many lived he has harmed or even destroyed by this flight into hsi own vanity. And, of course, nobody in Fundamentalism is going to rebuke him from the pulpit and demand that he return to the meekness and sobriety of the true Christian faith.

  2. This is going a little overboard. I was going to vote for him, but then decided not to. Kinda glad. My problem was that he was using the pulpit as a political platform. If I recall right, the only “sermon” I partially heard he was applauded only when talking about something political, not about anything spiritually. Think it might be good if he stuck with one or the other.

    1. He does believe in separation of church & state which I thought was good when he was running.

  4. It frightens me that the political ideals I find least intolerable are the ones that attract loose nuts with this sort of religious and political insanity. When I find myself in the situation where I wouldn’t vote for many of the candidates who supposedly hold my values, I sometimes wonder if I shouldn’t reconsider my own ideals…

    1. Every ideology has its nutcases. Believe a thing because it is true not because it is the opposite of what some lunatic once believed.

      1. Well, the problem is that in my local area, I’d be hard pressed to find a candidate that I agree with in most respects politically who also wouldn’t legislate fundamentalist morality if they had a chance. That bothers me.

        4. meh. There’s a huge leap from “I don’t think you should…” to “I’m going to make a law against…”

          I don’t think people should smoke or use the word “impact” as a verb but I’m not for making laws banning either of those things. Besides, she would have to get 50 other Senators to agree with her that such a law was necessary. I love living in a representative republic. 🙂

        6. Yea I’m not saying that they are heading for legislation on masturbation, but is pretty funny that there is this video of her hanging around. It is one thing to say you won’t do it, but then to think that no one else should because, “the Bible says” well that is crazy.

    2. I find myself in the same predicament. I’m not exactly sure why the position of “Just do what the Constitution says!” attracts so many nutjobs. You’d think that sort of position would attract more people with common sense, yet it doesn’t; it seems like everyone on the national scene that holds this view is more like this guy than like any normal person.

      Sigh.

      1. I think “just do what the Constitution says!” appeals to a lot of the same people who don’t see the application problem of “just do what the Bible says!” It sounds pretty awesome as a rallying cry, but in the nitty-gritty, it’s a lot more complex than that. It usually turns out to be more “just do what [I think] the Constitution/Bible means!”

        2. I second the agreement here. Having a conversation with a strict literal constitutionalist is like having a conversation with a strict biblical literalist. It comes down to, “Well the Bible says…” (You should watch the link I just posted above cause it comes up a lot and it is very noticeable). Someone says this because it ends all discussion in their mind about the topic. Well the Bible says it so therefore there is no debate. What they don’t realize is that what they say the Bible says is not necessarily what the Bible says. What the literal constitutionalists say the constitution says really comes down to what they want it to mean, or how they’ve interpreted it to mean. That is shaky ground if you ask me on both subjects.

    3. My broken mind reveals itself through the irrational statements I make, religeous or political. It is better to remain silent and be thought to be irrational than to speak up and remove all doubt.

    4. He seemed normal and down to earth back in ’08. He was the closest person to having Ron Paul on the ballot. The libertarian candidate seemed like the next best. I wonder if anything could be out of context (even accidentally) about him. There’s probably never going to be a “perfect” candidate, so it’s better to just pick the closest to what you believe. It’s not like the person who wins is automatically all-powerful because that’s not the kind of gov. we have.

  7. I would find it more credible if he was preparing for a zombie invasion! I am totally down with that. Wait for me Chuck while I grab my shotgun 😈

    1. No joke! I’ve been trying to bone up on my ninja skills, as I’m of the camp that says the only thing that can stop the impending zombie apocalypse is a well trained counter army of ninjas!

  8. I’m totally on board for ditching FL for MT! WHY he did it is a bit extreme! Thanks for the info. I had known about him because of the signs posted in my neck of the woods, but didn’t quite know all of this. I wonder if he knows Doug Wilson in Moscow?

  11. “After all, any true student of American history knows that revival and revolution go hand in hand.”

    I love this statement. First, I am not a “true student” of American history if I don’t know that revival and revolution go hand in hand. Sorry, you apparently wasted all of that time getting those degrees if you missed this one “fact”. Secondly, “revival and revolution go hand in hand”? Maybe, a person would say that revival and revolution have occurred at the same time at points in American history. But to say that they go hand in hand just seems ridiculous. So funny that he seems to be implying one good thing that would come out of a bloody civil war – revival. So it’s not all bad.

  13. If the apocalypse is going to come with the current political climate it is because of idiots like him. Self fulfilled prophesy is the sure way to get exactly what you are looking for.

  14. This guy is small fry when compared to that fellow who has written all of those end-time novels (senior-moment; his name escapes me). 😆

  15. Phil Kidd thinks we’re headed for civil war too–but he thinks it’s going to be between blacks and whites (nope, not a joke: heard it from the man himself).

  16. I can’t fathom how Montana would be a spearhead for anything at all, besides maybe new revolutionary cattle herding techniques.

  17. It never ceases to amaze me the amount of men from the IFB who literally “make up” stuff for their credentials sake…but yet, have not even ONE legitimate credential behind their names. They have no shame about it either.

  18. Oh geez, some of my “constitutional party” friends were obsessed with this guy last election. I knew he was a nut-job even then but this Montana escapade takes the cake! Btw, a friend of a friend has it on very good authority that he had an affair with his secretary during his presidential campaign. Typical. 😉

    1. The stuff above is documented well. But spreading a rumour like that is slander. I am a NZ’er. I don’t even know who this guy is, but stating a rumour and then treating is as fact is awful 🙁

      Especially a rumour you heard from a friend who has a friend who knows someone “in authority”.

      1. Said friend’s mom worked for the guy and quit because of it. It’s not just a rumor. Anyway, I just found it ironical.

    3. Yeah, not really relevant, and needs to be more substantial than a friend of a friend, has it on good authority.

    4. Mrs.Sarah-
      You are dead wrong about the affair with his secretary. I’m sorry to disappoint you on that point. His secretary was esconced in the church office while he was travelling (with Mrs. Baldwin at his side) during the campaign. Nice try, though.
      And lest you think I’m a Baldwin apologist, I am certainly not. But, I know him well enough to know that this is not in his character.

      1. Having lived in the Florida Panhandle, I think it might be the brain-shrinking intense heat and humidity. It’s like living in a vegetable steamer.

  20. I heard of Chuck Baldwin while looking up presidential candidates last election. Most of his views were stuff I agreed with. Didn’t know he was that loopy though.

  21. OK, I’m not near a Bible right now, so I’m trying to remember where the “flee to the mountain” part is and what is supposed to motivate the flight. I may be getting it mixed up in my mind with the begging mountains to fall on you part, which refers to people who aren’t ready to meet God. Maybe someone can straighten me out. But why would he need to go all the way to Montana? The Appalachians are much closer to Florida, or even the Berkshires (where I suspect the food is better thank in Montana).

    1. It’s an ironic allusion to Psalm 11:1

      In the Lord I take refuge;
      how can you say to my soul,
      “Flee like a bird to your mountain,

      The point the Psalmist is making is that it’s the wicked who are telling him to flee but the Lord is his refuge.

      Rather a different thing than running off to the mountains because trouble is coming, don’t you think?

  22. He should probably stay away from Bozeman. He may find it a den of iniquity. No place will ever be an Eden for those people.

  23. Is this the same Chuck Baldwin associated w/ BJU & Trinity scandal? Or am I mixing up my famous fundy stories?

      1. I knew it was a Chuck of some sort. I’m sure I’ve heard of this guy before this controversy. Is he the one that used to post billboards right across from PCC about his church?

  24. MT was the home of Ted Kazinsky (the Unabomber). It attracts all kinds of wackos. That’s fine. They can start their own colony up there where they can’t really hurt anyone.

  25. I really feel sorry for the normal people who live in the mountain states. Every time they turn around, another nut job is moving next door to them.

  27. I find it funny that when these nutters want to flee what they believe is going to come from Washington, they come and sit just south of the Canadian border. I’m in SK, so that means one more nutter within driving distance….

      1. A few things that USians always seem to forget about Canada: a/ they actually have as many guns per capita as the US, but a better safety record, so are probably better shots; b/ they have the weather, and the wildlife, on their side; c/ they’ve already beaten back an attempted US invasion without breaking a sweat; d/ every Canadian I’ve ever met has been both smart and at least slightly crazy, exactly the sort that you don’t want to go up against in guerilla warfare.

        1. Theadosia: “they actually have as many guns per capita as the US, but a better safety record, ”

          That’s only because the beavers and moose ate all your ammo.

          Theadosia: “they have the weather, and the wildlife, on their side”

          But the US is too smart to fight weather and wildlife. We go for people. And I have never seen a moose in a Canadian military uniform, but that doesn’t mean I never will. Still, it’s awfully hard to pull a trigger when you don’t have fingers.

          Theadosia: “they’ve already beaten back an attempted US invasion without breaking a sweat;”

          That was a mistake on our part. We got turned around and thought we were invading Mexico. When we realized we were in Canada we went in the opposite direction.

          Theadosia: “every Canadian I’ve ever met has been both smart and at least slightly crazy, exactly the sort that you don’t want to go up against in guerilla warfare.”

          Where, exactly, in Canada do you live? Every Canadian I have ever met was polite and articulate. And. they. talked. real. sloooooow.

        2. I’m actually from the other side of the world, but I have a disturbingly large number of Canadian friends and acquaintances. Maybe they just export the crazy eccentrics with a worrying expertise on all kinds of improvised weapons. Also remember that the Commonwealth would likely send support to Canada – do you really want to face hordes of Aussies? Between the accents and strategic drops of decent quality beer, US morale would be in tatters within days. And don’t laugh at the Kiwi troops, their defence budget may be tiny, but they taught jungle/forest warfare and tracking to the northerners in WWII and Vietnam and they can build an entire field base and artillery emplacement out of No 8 fencing wire.

          On moose – have you ever seen the Mythbusters’ moose special? A bunch of determined suicide moose wouldn’t need guns to make the roads impassable.

        3. How did having a border with Canada turn into a war with Aussies? If you guys are that easily confused, then when you get here to invade us, we’ll just tell you this is great Britain and send you across the ocean…..

  28. What is so wrong with them moving to Montana? There, they can wait upon a mountain top for Jesus to beam them up. The sooner the better.

  30. Lolling at the “STOP READ THIS – OBAMA’S NEW WORLD ORDER” ads on the right hand side. Google Adwords is hilarious. It cannot pick up on sarcasm. I saw an ad for Muslim dating site yesterday when Kirk sent his email. I guess it found the words “Mock Jesus”.

    1. Apparently Baldwin got to crazy for even Ron Paul because Baldwin was never shown on Paul’s website as an endorsement and in October went to Barr. Baldwin was never mentioned in the Triangle Campaign for Liberty. out of nearly 400 members. Baldwin is not included in any of the group’s scheduled “meetups,” the principle function of Meetup group. Bob Barr, BJ Lawson, Mike Munger, and other national and local candidates are mentioned here, but not Baldwin. Of course, anyone is free to join a Meetup group and post a discussion thread, but that doesn’t necessarily reflect the group’s endorsement of Baldwin as a candidate. Just wondering if Rand Paul’s “endorsement” was another delusion of grandeur.

    1. I can see it now, in a few years, there may be a Waco Style shootout between Chuck Baldwin and his followers and the “evil Feds.”

      Sigh….

  33. I’m just glad this guy didn’t get into office, with all those presidential benefits like declaring wars and pushing ‘the big red button’.
    – shiver, shiver –

    1. Yeah, the thought of Baldwin with his thumb on the button is definitely not one of my most pleasant imaginings.

    2. Constitution party candidates are never really a threat of getting into a “major” office. Ross Perot was scary enough, and he maxed out around 10% of the popular vote & no electoral college support. Most of them run for the resume’ line of “former Presidential candidate”. Green Party & Libertarian party actually seem to run to push some of their ideas into the 2 main parties platforms. I don’t think Constitution & other wacky parties have any purpose than simple resume’ building.

  35. So Montana is going to be the new Alamo.
    I’m a Texan, and we know what happened at the Alamo.
    Does Chuck Baldwin?

  36. Montana? Why not Arizona? They’re already standing up to the man aren’t they? Is he looking to join someone fighting or start his own fight?

    1. Fundies believe in separation, escapee. He’s not looking to join someone. He’s starting his own fight. Anything less would be compromise.

  37. You’re thinking of them softies over in Toronto (otherwise known as the Centre of the Universe).

    The saying is that in the rest of Canada, when you slide off the road into the ditch, you say “Oh my!” Here on the prairies, we say – “Hold my beer and watch this!” 😀

  38. That lst comment of mine was a response to Bassenco, way up the thread – somehow it was dumped here at the end.

  39. He’s also the poster child for “delusions of grandeur”. I’ve always loved the Y2K survivalist mentality that says, “I love lost people, but if you come to my door hungry during the coming apocalypse, you’ll be shot on site…God bless!”. Tell me, who would Jesus kill? (WWJK)

  40. This guy is probably bipolar. Currently he’s suffering from persecutory delusions. See it a lot.

  42. Yikes….This gives me such an upset feeling in my gut. I wonder how his wife is taking this? At SOME point, you have to wonder if, in her private moments, if her hubbie is going get the family killed? Apparently “My kingdom is not of this world” never entered his mind?

  43. A couple of my aquaintances think I need all Chuck’s emails to them forwarded to me. So I had already heard the Baldwinster was going to be my new neighbor. However, at the end of Chuckie’s email was the statement that God has told him to ask for money. “Frankly, I need $20,000 immediately” he states.
    Should I send a check or money oreder? 😉

    1. Gold bullion, please.
      Surely he doesn’t want the currency of the state he is so against.

  44. “The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum” -Noam Chomsky

  45. I don’t agree with the way Chuck handled his church situation, or every position he holds. However, he is correct regarding globalism and co-opt’d & tyrannical government. He’s also (very) wise to prepare for the worst (yet pray for the best).

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