A better calling? Pastor wasted his talents at Indian River County School Board meeting.

Christians are taught to believe we each have a calling in life that’s well suited to our particular talents and abilities.

Assuming that’s true ― and I believe it is ― then it’s hard to imagine there aren’t better uses for John Amanchukwu's time and energy.

Amanchukwu is a North Carolina pastor who was at the center of a ruckus at the Indian River County School Board's Aug. 28 meeting. In case you missed the video clips that were widely shared on social media, sheriff's deputies escorted Amanchukwu from the meeting after he attempted to read a sexually explicit passage from a book he felt was inappropriate for school libraries.

Prior to his removal, board chair Peggy Jones repeatedly asked Amanchukwu to stop reading the passage, which he would not do.

"It's unbelievable," Amanchukwu complained loudly as he was being led to the parking lot. "They put me out."

(It shouldn't really seem unbelievable to him at this point, since he's made numerous appearances at school boards around the country, some of which have ended with his ejection.)

By Monday, there were more than 1,000 views of the video showing his removal from the Indian River County meeting on YouTube. Versions of the same footage were being shared on other social media platforms, in some cases drawing very un-Christian comments about the way Jones handled the situation.

Coincidentally or not, Jones and at least one other school board member received death threats since the meeting, which surely isn't an outcome a Christian pastor would want.

John Amanchukwu, Moms for Liberty read obscene passages at school board meeting

Dozens of local residents, apparently organized by the Moms for Liberty political group, did essentially the same thing Amanchukwu tried to do at the meeting before his turn to speak.

They read passages from books they felt were obscene or in some way unsuitable for children. Each time, Jones cut them off before they had finished reading, saying the passages were inappropriate to be read aloud at a public meeting.

The difference was, the other speakers stopped reading when asked, while Amanchukwu continued to press on until he was removed from the speaker's stand. Those other speakers seemed to be well aware of a new state law, House Bill 1069, which requires school boards to ban any books that contain passages deemed unsuitable to read aloud.

Which is exactly what the board members did. As a result of the speakers' actions, the board unanimously voted that night to remove 34 books from school library shelves.

Reasonable people can disagree about whether a single passage, read out of context, should be enough to warrant banning a book from all students who might want to read it, but that's the standard currently in state law.

Reasonable people can also disagree about whether trying to read supposedly vile passages aloud at a public meeting is the best way to protect anyone, children or adults, from being exposed to those types of messages.

However, I don't think there's really any room for disagreement that Amanchukwu's appearance at the meeting was unnecessary at best.

Amanchukwu is a big deal in conservative circles. He's made numerous appearances on right-leaning media outlets and gives speeches nationwide on topics he says are close to his heart, including abortion and critical race theory. In May, he was a featured speaker, along with former presidential candidate Ben Carson, at an anti-abortion event at the Hard Rock Hotel in Daytona Beach.

The "support the mission" page on Amanchukwu's website is reserved for people who would like make donations to fund his travel expenses, including an option to pay $1,000 to sponsor a full trip.

He has a huge following on social media, so a lot of people obviously care what he has to say. So why was he wasting his time and energy at the Indian River County School Board meeting?

Tiffany Justice, founder of Moms for Liberty, told my colleague Larry Reisman Amanchukwu came to visit her. According to Justice, he knew about the book issue and heard there was a School Board meeting, so he attended.

Justice wouldn't say if Moms for Liberty covered Amanchukwu's travel expenses. If the group did, it clearly has more money than it knows how to spend.

Whether you agree with their methods, the local residents Moms for Liberty recruited to speak were successful in their efforts to get a bunch of books banned. Amanchukwu's appearance was just a sideshow.

So what was the real purpose of his visit?

I can't believe a man of Amanchukwu's faith would insist on reading material that would traumatize children or offend some adults unless there was a compelling reason to do so. (Given the new state law, there was not.)

I can't believe a man of Amanchukwu's faith would support the death threats made against school board members. (Although he's called the board's decision to ban the books "a triumph" in social media posts since the meeting, I haven't seen the first word from him condemning the violent words from people who claim to share his beliefs.)

And I can't believe a man of Amanchukwu's faith would take satisfaction in calling so much attention to himself on social media, since humility and servanthood are hallmarks of Christianity.

Amanchukwu seems like a well-educated man with a gift for oratory. Surely, he must hear a higher calling than traveling the country, trying to get tossed out of school board meetings for attempting to read naughty words aloud.

This column reflects the opinion of Blake Fontenay. Contact him via email at bfontenay@gannett.com or at 772-232-5424.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Why is a North Carolina pastor wasting talents on Florida book bans?