I know before I pen this blog posting that some people will misunderstand me. Risking that anyway, I’m going to speak my mind (and heart). I’m concerned for the church. Why? Because Sears is closing its last store in Chicago. On the edge of the Portage Park neighborhood, it’s all over. A liquidation sale will begin April 27. The Auto Center will close in mid-May. The location was perfect: the intersection of Milwaukee Avenue, Cicero, and Irving Park. But it’s all over. Though Sears has called Illinois home for more than 120 years, it’s all over for the last Sears store in the city of Chicago.

“What does that have to do with the church?” you may ask. “Everything” is my answer. Simply everything.

You see, it’s not that Millennials don’t need major appliances. They do. In fact, they’re reaching ages where they’re purchasing their first home. Demographic trends clearly indicate the growing sales of major appliances in America. But they’re not buying them at Sears.

Home Depot, yes. Lowe’s, yes. Best Buy, yes. Even J.C. Penney is bringing back major appliances to get in on the action!

Why not Sears? Because Sears has been deemed irrelevant. We need look no further than Kentucky Oaks Mall to see evidence of that. Big evidence. And how attractive is that colossal empty building, at the corner of Lone Oak Road and Bleich, now that Kmart has closed its doors? It’s all part of the demise of the Sears retail giant. It’s not that bricks-and-mortar stores can’t make it anymore, just not Sears.

Irrelevant.

Those aren’t the only “going out of business” signs in town. Churches are closing too. A large church structure within one mile of our own campus will hit the auction block on May 10. Congregants were there the Sunday after Easter. No more.

Irrelevant.

Please do not misunderstand me. The church is not an advertising scheme, or even a business. We do not adjust the “truth” with the winds of marketing trends or popular opinion. Christ’s gospel is not for sale.

But we better not be so foolish as to think that people won’t ever write us off as “irrelevant.”

I’d like to propose seven questions for your prayerful reflection. These speak for themselves, so I’ll be a man of few(er) words today. Perhaps these questions will spark some important conversations around our dinner tables.

1. As a church, are we so enamored by our successful past that we assume a successful future?
2. Are we humble enough to take an honest look at how our community sees us, and to learn some things (even some hard things) from their assessments?
3. Are we happier to be united around the gospel than we are to be united with people who are just like us?
4. Are we eager to change some things which are non-essential in order to advance those things which are essential?
5. Are we willing to do whatever it takes to speak CHRIST in the language of a generation that is highly suspicious of all organized “religion”?
6. Are we committed to the prize enough to take some bold leaps of faith, and to attempt some new and risky adventures in ministry?
7. Are we ready to be real?

Many young adults assume that “religious” people are phony, fake, and hypocritical. Let’s not prove them right.

And one more thought: we can chase cultural relevance all day long, and never get there. What we really need is contextual relevance: the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to relate the good news of Jesus to the gaping holes in the empty and distracted hearts of our neighbors and friends. Let’s give it our best shot.

I am old enough to remember one of the highlights of my autumn every year of my childhood: the Sears Christmas Catalog! “The Wish Book” it was called. Who couldn’t sit around with that and

dream for hours? But, though my Sears memories are fond and familiar, Sears is in a death spiral. The chain that once dominated sales of refrigerators, ranges, washers, dryers … and even awesome toys (which none of us really needed) … nearly done.

Irrelevant.

Water down the truth? No way! Truth like never before. May God grant us the wisdom to show the world Christ’s light, and salt, and relevance. The Savior of the world, our Lord Jesus, is oh so very, very relevant.

Pastor Charles

Eileen, Joshua, and I are attending “MLK50: Gospel Reflections from the Mountaintop” this week. The event is sponsored by the Gospel Coalition and the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, for whom I am serving on the Leadership Council this year. Wednesday night at 6:01 we were at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, exactly fifty years after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., at the site which is now enshrined as a national monument to civil rights. The bells were tolled as complete silence fell over the large, multiethnic crowd.

To say that this has been a “heavy” week would be the understatement of the day. To take up the subject of racial reconciliation and social justice is never an easy task, but it’s especially daunting when our culture seems so divided along racial and political lines. Anger is everywhere. The church does not speak with a unified voice when it comes to the issues of the day. In fact, evangelical Christians in America are perhaps more divided now than ever. Many older Christ followers align themselves with conservative candidates and causes, while many younger evangelicals expressly repudiate the alliances of their parents’ generation. It’s a perfect recipe for misunderstanding, labeling, and conflict in the church.

I’m going to be honest with you: some things I’ve heard this week have perturbed me, while others have thrilled my heart. Many of our social ills are, in my humble opinion, complex and multi-dimensional by nature. I now have to sit before the Lord with my Bible open, as well as my heart, if I am to process and apply Christ’s gospel in a way that is honoring to Him. When it comes to any prejudice or racism in my own heart or behavior, I want to see it for what it is, and repent.

It just so happens that I am reading through Nehemiah in my daily devotions. Last night I was struck by Nehemiah’s responsibility to do his part to repair damaged race relations in his own day. The wall and the city could not be repaired until the underlying moral foundations were steadied and secured. Repentance preceded rebuilding. I see similar themes in Acts in the early church. As a pastor, I want to do this well. First Baptist Paducah, in many ways, must set the peacemaking standard for our city. No other congregation has the history, the location, the influence, and the resources to exert the kingdom impact with which God has afforded us. Let’s do it right! Our community is watching and waiting.

Dr. King was not a perfect man. He never pretended to be. But he did some things exceptionally well. He taught people the difference between just and unjust laws. By so doing, he taught us that there really is a moral law given by God. That might not seem like a big deal to you, but I would submit that what is most responsible for our contemporary cultural confusion and chaos is the absence of an accepted moral authority.

Most of all, Martin Luther King, Jr. knew the power of love. He knew that grace, not hate, was the way of Christ. It still is. Even in the face of the worst manifestations of evil, love is still the answer. Despite our best efforts, we will never reach complete agreement in regard to identifying political problems and formulating political solutions. And sometimes I’m surprised by the impatience and anger which can erupt in me when I perceive that others don’t interpret “politics” or “worldview” or “justice” as my categories demand. So, for Dr. King’s legacy of longsuffering love, I give God thanks and praise.

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb …”

It’s not just a dream. It’s as good as done.

Pastor Charles

We do not venerate Mary, the mother of Jesus. To worship her would be blasphemy, and would – perhaps ironically – contradict the express directive of Mary herself: “Do whatever He (Christ) tells you (John 2:5)!” We do not pray to Mary. We do not believe that Mary ascended into heaven, as the Bible never mentions anything remotely like that. We do not teach that Mary remained a virgin, because the Bible directly contradicts that.

That being said, I must also say this: as Protestant Christians, sometimes we are so fearful of giving Mary too much attention that we give her no attention at all. That is to our shame, as Mary is for us a wonderful example of faith, humility, and obedience to God – even when His providences are downright terrifying.

Do you remember when old Simeon took the child Jesus into his arms and blessed God (Luke 2:22-35)? Joseph and Mary were keeping the requirements of the Mosaic Law by presenting Jesus at the temple. Simeon turned to Mary and announced: “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

Mary was privileged to bear the Son of God. To teach Him to walk, and to talk. To comfort Him when He skinned His knee. To raise Jesus to be a man. But these privileges were to bring with them the greatest of sorrows. Nowhere is this more evident than at the foot of Christ’s cross.

John 19:25 records it like this: but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. Simon’s prophecy was being fulfilled through the tears. How could Mary have known when Jesus was a baby that her heart would have to break in this excruciating way?

Mary’s life was largely in the shadows. We see little of her in the Scriptures. But in the most awful moment of Christ’s agony, there is His mother. Mary, Christ’s faithful mother. Is there anything like a mother’s faithful love? It is not just a tender love; it is the toughest of loves. Where Mary used to kiss her boy on the forehead, His flesh has been grotesquely wounded by a cruel crown of thorns. Those hands and feet which Mary used to caress as a doting mom are now brutally nailed to an instrument of torture and death.

Because of her status, Mary must suffer largely in silence. She is not free to protest or to fight back. She can’t soothe Her son’s suffering in any tangible way. She can’t change this horrific situation. She can’t stop time. Like at Christ’s birth, Mary must trust God.

I think it’s profoundly interesting that, while the crowds are mocking and the priests are jeering and the soldiers are gambling, Mary is standing. A sword is piercing through her soul, but she is standing.

She does not faint. She does not hide. She does not run away. She stands. Right there with Jesus, Mary stands. Surely you would agree with me that this love is more than simply commendable or admirable. It is rock-solid. When most of the men have fled in fear, Mary stands in faith.

We stand on the Word, and not on the traditions of people. We stand on the Gospels, and not on the inventions of fantasy. We stand on Christ, and give His glory to no other. We do not worship Mary. But, when our hour comes, may we stand. Like Mary. Faithful to the end.

Pastor Charles

It’s time for Palm Sunday. Again.

For the Jewish people, Passover was an annual celebration of liberation from Egyptian bondage. And, by the time of Christ’s earthly ministry, Passover had become the perfect opportunity to express a desire for liberation from Roman bondage. Phonies claiming to be the long-expected Messiah had so often appeared on the scene, causing riots during the Passover season, that the Romans would bring in extra soldiers in an attempt to maintain order.

On the Sunday before Passover, Jesus came out of the wilderness on the eastern side of the Mount of Olives, as He fulfilled ancient prophecy of the coming Messiah (Zechariah 9:9). We often refer to it as Christ’s “triumphal entry” into Jerusalem. The palm branches were not symbols of peace and love nearly as much as they were demonstrations of Jewish nationalism.

At the same time, Pilate was parading on the west side of the Temple to oversee Passover, ready to put an abrupt stop to any chaos which might erupt.

At the same time, Jesus was riding on a donkey. Not a war horse, but a donkey. He wasn’t even wielding a sword. Or packing.

What kind of “Messiah” was this?

“Well,” the people must have reasoned, “we’ll give Him a royal welcome anyway.” You remember that part of the story: “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”

We don’t understand the scene nearly as well as they did. They knew that their waving of palm branches harkened back to the time when the Maccabees threw off Greek rule in Judea. They all knew what they were saying by doing this. It was a form of protest. And it was high time for Jesus to prove Himself to be the man of the hour. The political hero. The winner. Their guy. There was an undeniable political agenda, and not even behind the scenes.

What would Jesus do next? Would He go the way of the Antonia Fortress, where the largest garrison of soldiers was housed in Jerusalem, and where Rome kept an eye on everything? If He did that, it could be the perfect time for a mob to rush the place.

But He didn’t do that. He went through the Eastern Gate, and into the temple. And He didn’t go in to “cleanse” it but to shut it down.

Let me say it this way: by the end of the week, Jesus would manage to make sure that everybody was hacked off. Now don’t get mad at me. I’m just telling you what the Bible records. Palm Sunday was the strangest of days.

So how should you and I attempt to translate the strangeness of Palm Sunday into wisdom for today?

1. Every day we should remind ourselves that we are foreigners here (First Peter 2:11). It’s not supposed to feel like “home home.”
2. We should be careful not to wrap a flag around our Bible. Patriotism has its place, but we belong to a heavenly King, and are citizens of His kingdom (Philippians 3:20).
3. We should be suspicious of any kingdom other than Christ’s (John 18:36). That’s any earthly political sound bite or “savior.” We already have a Savior.
4. When we’re undone by turmoil in the media, or on the national or global scene, we should lift up our hearts to God in prayer. Christ is our Sovereign Lord!
5. As post-Christian America becomes a darker and darker reality around us, we should be careful to avoid any kind of angry or reactionary panic. We know who wins.
6. We should recognize our own propensity toward foolish pride in the form of self-centered myopia, hyper- yet misplaced emotionalism, and shallow faith.
7. We should check our motives for everything we do. Are we trusting more in the power of the sword, or in the power of the gospel of Christ’s redeeming love?

Triumphal entry? Kind of. But far more a funeral march. Because God’s hope will never come by a win at the ballot box. God’s hope will come in the form of a Cross.

CHRIST. Only Christ.

Pastor Charles

The pedestrian bridge was designed by the brightest of engineers to enhance student safety at Florida International University. Cyclists and pedestrians would be able to cross a congested eight lanes of traffic without fear. But, yesterday, the bridge collapsed. Cars below were crushed. The lives of at least six people were lost in the Miami-area tragedy. Now people are desperate to find out what happened, and who can be held responsible.

How can we not think about the tower in Siloam? If you remember Christ’s words in Luke 13, Jesus asks – in regard to the news of His day – referring specifically to the eighteen people who perished when that tower fell and crushed them: “Do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem?” The implication is that Christ’s questioners expected Him to say that those who died deserved to die, while those who did not die also received what they deserved. In other words, the people anticipated that Jesus would say that the survivors deserved to survive. Jesus’ stunning response is: everybody deserves to be under the falling tower. We all deserve to be under the collapsing bridge.

The moral of the story, in the words of Jesus, is simply: “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” I don’t need to tell you that this view of human “goodness” and the reality of human sin has fallen on hard times. I’m not even sure the church believes it anymore.

When you and I observe a tragedy, we ought to perk up and pay attention. It’s really a moment of grace, because it’s another chance to discard some of our mindless preoccupations and to focus our affection on the Sovereign God of the universe! We can embrace Christ as our only hope, or we can continue to meander aimlessly through the faux logic of this world and the meaningless assessments of trending news offered by most of the loudest voices in the media. We deserve eternal calamity, but there is still time to trust the Son of God.

People in South Florida need a refuge. So do we. When it comes to human depravity, there’s not a nickel’s worth of difference between Miami and McCracken.

I tried to find “bridge” in the Bible. I couldn’t. The word is simply not there. Maybe it’s because we don’t really need one. We don’t need one because God doesn’t need one. He divides seas, remember? No bridge required. Not only that, but we must pass through the waters of difficulty (Isaiah 43:2). If we are His, Christ goes with us into those torrents.

And, even if we drown – because of Christ – we do not die (John 11:25).

We are humbled by falling bridges. We should be. We are no better than yesterday’s victims. No better, friends. But Christ still saves all who trust in Him.

Pastor Charles

“This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life” (Psalm 119:50).

Eileen, Josh, and I are in Florida. Josh and his friends are enjoying Orlando. Eileen and I are attending the Ligonier National Conference. This year’s theme is “Awakening,” and we’re studying in-depth what God’s Word says about the spiritual fuel that is the necessary for revival. We’ve traced the great revivals of history in order to ready ourselves for revival in our generation.

It’s been great to catch up with some dear friends like Mac and Linda McKinley from SoCal. I won’t write much today because I have very little time, but I’ll send a couple of pics from the Sunshine State.

How do we seek God for spiritual awakening, even when we see no signs of it? You know by now how much I admire Joni Eareckson Tada. Well, Joni is here, and yesterday she unpacked for us the verse with which I began this blog posting. Despite quadraplegia, breast cancer, and excruciating pain,

Joni presses on for Christ. Joni assured us that each one of our trials, and each one of our tears, is used of our Sovereign God to ready our souls for revival: “God permits what He hates to accomplish what He loves.”

Perhaps you find yourself in a season of suffering right now. Difficult as it may be, this can be the sweetest season of your growth in grace. Trust the Lord, even now. Because Christ is risen, we know that God intends marvelous things for us! The awakening we need may be just over the next hill. So journey onward, Beloved.

50,000 people die, every day, without the hope of Christ. Oh, friends, how we need the Holy Spirit for such a time as this! Without Him, we have no evangelism, no discipleship, no fellowship, and in fact no power for Christian living on any level.

When Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones used to step into his London pulpit, he would say to himself: “I believe in the Holy Spirit! I believe in the Holy Spirit! I believe in the Holy Spirit!” Do we?

May His awakening come to us soon (Luke 11:13).

Pastor Charles

Over seven generations of ministry. Well done. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints (Psalm 116:15).

As I write today, mourners have gathered in North Carolina to pay their final respects to the Reverend Billy Graham, after a week of tributes to “America’s Pastor.” Who among us has not been impacted by Billy Graham? I included a photo of my peeps, including my niece Briana who lives in Charlotte, while we were at the Billy Graham Library last spring.

Graham was only the fourth private citizen in U.S. history to lie in honor at the U.S. Capitol. I am so glad. He represented Christ and our nation to the world. I was hosting a Romanian pastor for dinner last night, and he told me about a time when Graham preached in Timisoara. The Communists cut the wires to the sound system which was to broadcast the service to the overflow crowd, but the throng swarming outside the Orthodox cathedral began to sing and worship anyway.

For us, it is the end of an era. My grandparents were impacted. My parents. My generation, and my family. Both Eileen and I attended crusades years ago. While we lived in Raleigh, we were privileged to love a church full of people who loved Anne Graham Lotz. Anne – whom Billy called “the best preacher in the family” – had brought Bible Study Fellowship to our community. The men’s group met in the church I served as youth pastor. That’s when I remember seeing the Graham family up close and personal enough to know that they practiced what they preached.

Even my son likes to listen to excerpts from Dr. Graham’s sermons. Gen-Z Joshua is drawn to Dr. Graham’s strong, compelling voice and his simple gospel message.

More than any other dimension of his life and ministry, I think that what I admired the most about Billy Graham was his humility. He lived on a reasonable salary, by choice. He made himself accountable to others, including his beloved Ruth. Billy recognized that the best of men are men at best, and he made every effort to safeguard against a scandal that would bring the honor of Christ into question.

Perhaps the best way for you and I to honor Billy Graham’s legacy is to share the gospel of Christ. Never forget that right now is the right time to do that, because “the buses will wait.”

Now, for Dr. Graham, none of those dignitaries matters. The global heads of state and the American Presidents from Truman to Trump, they are yesterday’s news. Billy Graham has seen Jesus. And Jesus is more than enough.

Pastor Charles

On one of our trips to the U.K., I was able to worship at Westminster Chapel in London. I was traveling with a friend who is a medical doctor, so it was particularly fun to visit the church pastored by Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones from 1938 to 1968. You may remember that Dr. Lloyd-Jones, a graduate of the medical school at London University, served as “Assistant to the Royal Physician” before he became a pastor. I have always admired MLJ because he stood so strongly against theological liberalism at a time when it was nearly battering to death the church in England. MLJ was a warrior. Against the prevailing tide, Westminster Chapel has enjoyed a rich history of faithful gospel preaching for nearly two centuries.

Thinking back to that trip in 2008, my mind raced forward to First Baptist Paducah now, and our present opportunities to make a global impact for the cause of Jesus Christ! Like Westminster in Buckingham Gate in central London, we are positioned near the center of our city’s cultural and commercial enterprises. This puts us near the schools and businesses where we can make a difference. After all, if there is an “inner city” in Paducah, we are close to it. Most often the toughest living conditions can translate into the richest spiritual open doors. Near London’s poorest slums, Westminster stood out as a light of hope. Even powerful leaders like Lord Shaftesbury were impacted by the church’s relentless gospel impact in the city. Orphans were loved and accepted and helped by the church, and people without employment began to seek the church’s help in finding a decent job.

Over the years, Westminster Chapel remained in its central location, and held its gospel ground. Her people were gospel warriors. In 1904, a gifted preacher from Gloucestershire was called: Dr. G. Campbell Morgan. Dr. Morgan had traveled extensively in the U.S. alongside the famed evangelist D.L. Moody. On the other side of the pond, there were important gospel connections between D.L. Moody and J. Wilbur Chapman, who attended a Moody meeting in Chicago. It went on from there. Billy Sunday was influenced by Chapman, and converted at a street corner meeting at the Pacific Garden Mission. Billy Sunday held an evangelistic campaign in Charlotte in 1924. That led to the Charlotte Businessmen’s Club, which eventually became an invitation to Mordecai Ham to preach the gospel in 1934. And, you may have guessed it, that would lead to the conversion of Billy Graham on the first day of November that same year. (And who isn’t thinking about Dr. Graham this week?) I include all of this history simply to remind you that faithfulness to Christ always matters! Moody, Morgan, Chapman, Sunday, Ham, Graham … warriors!

Back to London for a minute … under Dr. Morgan’s leadership, Westminster began to shake up the city. The church made massive inroads into the neighborhoods of rich and poor alike. Overseas missions were sponsored. Effective social reforms were accomplished in the name of Christ. Young adults caught a kingdom-sized vision for something that would endure long beyond their own lives. (When I was at Westminster, the part that thrilled me the most was seeing so many young adults worshipping our Lord Jesus right in the center of a post-Christian culture.) Christian impact and influences expanded to the ends of the earth.

As you might expect – like any local church – Westminster has seen both ups and downs. It has not been an “easy” ministry by any stretch of the imagination. But God has done amazing things! He brought to the church faithful pastors like Dr. R.T. Kendall, a Baptist from America. Kendall was a warrior. Trained at Oxford, Dr. Kendall would – like MLJ before him – speak gospel truth into the heart of a society driven by materialism and secularism.

First Baptist Paducah, will we do it? Will we stand strong? Will we love with gospel truth, and will we embrace with gospel arms?

Perhaps Billy (Graham, not Sunday) said it best: “I despise all this attention on me … I’m not trying to bring people to myself, but I know that God has sent me out as a warrior.”

Pastor Charles

“Our district is in a tremendous state of grief and sorrow. It is a horrible day for us.” Those were the words of Robert Runcie, superintendent of the school district in Parkland, Florida, where a former student – armed with a semiautomatic rifle – opened fire at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School as classes were ending yesterday afternoon. 17 are dead, including a beloved football coach who was attempting to shield students from the gunfire. Others are seriously wounded. No one will ever be the same.

The 19-year-old shooter, Nikolas Cruz, was taken into custody without incident. It was our nation’s deadliest school shooting since the 2012 attack at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. This is starting to feel like an epidemic. Either that or a bad dream.

We’re still reliving the Marshall County shooting from our own backyard, and now we’re watching nonstop video footage of more students escaping into the streets as SWAT team members advance on their unsuspecting school. Apparently the shooter had a gas mask and smoke grenades when he set off a fire alarm to draw as many kids as possible into his firing range. Horrific. Just the sounds of bullets firing and kids screaming, captured on students’ cell phones, are enough to make you cry.

And the sadness permeates multiple levels of this story. We’re already learning that Cruz had lost both of his adoptive parents, was deeply troubled, and was left in the care of a family friend last November. That situation did not work out, and he moved in with a friend’s family in the area. Posts on social media have confirmed previous volatile behavior and disturbing threats on the part of this young man.

This morning, as you might imagine, nearly everyone with a public platform is aiming the attacks at political opponents. Again, I feel like I’m stuck in the movie Groundhog Day. You can almost predict everybody’s script, as well as everybody’s blame game. We know the playbook by now. But I am convinced that we rarely get the bottom of anything anymore, because we refuse to talk about sin. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). That is an equal-opportunity indictment which owes no one political favors. America is seeing it up close.

Yesterday was Valentine’s Day. But, for the first time since 1945, Valentine’s Day was also Ash Wednesday. Historically, Ash Wednesday observances have emphasized two themes: our sinfulness before a holy God, and our human mortality. The prophet Daniel sought the Lord for the release of his people from Babylonian exile “with fasting and sackcloth and ashes” (Daniel 9:3). Later, in Jonah’s day, when the people of Nineveh repented, the king “arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes” (Jonah 3:6). Literally, in humility, that once-proud man sat down in the dust before our sovereign and mighty God.

Maybe we should sit before God and weep.

Like God told Adam, you and I are but dust, and to dust we shall return (Genesis 3:19). But, because of Christ, we know that a day is coming when God’s glory will again fill the earth (Habakkuk 2:14)! Gunfire will give way to peace (Isaiah 9:6; 11:6), and death will be no more (Revelation 21:4). We can barely imagine it now, clothed in these bodies of flesh, but soon we will be free from every reminder that Planet Earth is fallen.

I am so grateful that neither Ash Wednesday nor the season of Lent is the final word. The tomb is empty! “He is not here, for he has risen …” (Matthew 28:6). Sons of men and angels say, “Alleluia!”

Pastor Charles

Nearly 227 years ago, the First Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof …” Under that cherished amendment, two particular protections are enshrined. One we call the Establishment Clause, and it prevents the government from advocating a particular religion. The second we call the Free Exercise Clause, and it ensures freedom of belief and worship for every person.

Though we in America enjoy the most robust legal protections of any country in the world, are our fundamental religious liberties in jeopardy today? My short answer to that question is “yes,” and I will seek to explain. My aim is not to spark alarm as much as it is to spark worship, for we know – in the words of the old spiritual and American folk song – who’s still “got the whole world in His hands.”

When I was in law school in the 1980’s, and when I first became interested in constitutional law, any mention of “religious liberty” in the classroom seemed always to be within the context of limitations on the government’s endorsement of religious activity – à la the focus on “separation of church and state.” The U.S. Supreme Court in Stone v. Graham (1980) had held that state laws mandating the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools were outside constitutional bounds as a violation of the Establishment Clause. Many evangelical Christians became concerned that America was “taking God out of schools.” It is my contention that such myopic unease became a distraction from what was really happening in American life.

The deeper problem was not that the government was failing to actively support a Judeo-Christian ethic. Would that our crises be so manageable! The problem, then in its more embryonic stages, was a subtle undercurrent in the psyche of our nation. Slowly but steadily – within academia, the arts, the media, and the political elite – more and more Americans were being convinced that a Judeo-Christian ethic is an actual threat to any intelligent civilization. As even the “know-ability” of objective truth claims was questioned at every level within America’s significant structures of power and influence, the unsuspecting masses were lulled into an understanding of “truth” that was neither sensible nor sustainable.

In due season, our courts would begin to reflect our cultural confusion and chaos. In just a few short years, we moved from requiring the government to justify any encroachment on religious freedom to requiring the individual to justify his or her departure from a thoroughly secular – yet government-endorsed – worldview. I say “worldview” instead of “ethic” because I believe that ethics are a practical impossibility when there is no commonly accepted and objective moral foundation.

I make no claims that balancing individual freedoms with compelling government interests is always a simple task, but I do want to highlight an important trajectory. The Supreme Court in Sherbert v. Verner (1963) strengthened religious freedom. But the Court in Employment Division v. Smith (1990) began to roll back the scope of protections afforded by the Free Exercise clause. That case involved the illegal smoking of peyote during a religious ritual, so perhaps many of us did not notice the constitutional drift, but suffice it to say that the train had left the station.

Fast forward with me to more recent history. The Iowa Supreme Court, drawing upon that state constitution’s equal protection clause, held that a law defining marriage as a relationship of one man and one woman is a distinctively “religious” understanding (2009). A federal district judge in San Francisco, striking down California’s voter-approved Proposition 8 with a stroke of his pen, made the same determination (2010). But that’s not all. Both cases characterized laws supporting traditional marriage as the byproduct of “animus,” which rendered such laws blameworthy and without any legitimate rational basis. Was there any doubt where the train would go from there? Once marriage is deemed both religious and hateful, it must be drastically redefined by any enlightened society.

Enter, stage left, Obergefell v. Hodges (2015). Led by Anthony Kennedy, five Supreme Court Justices followed the blossoming script and imposed same-sex marriage on the entire country. What concerns me more than the Court’s decision in that case is the cultural fallout from it: the further erosion of religious freedom in America. As the advocates of “sexual rights” have made clear in every jurisdiction where they have achieved victory, holdouts who resist their ideology are sure to pay a heavy price for it. If the gathering clouds are any indication of the coming storm, the conscience of the individual will be no safe haven from the assault. In fact, one’s publicly expressed religious convictions may be the modern version of the “Kick Me” signs which we used to tape to each other’s backs in middle school – minus the fun and laughter.

Now we anxiously await news surrounding the Court’s upcoming decision in Masterpiece Cake Shop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. Will the conscience of a Christian artist be protected by law, or will Jack Phillips face the intolerance of a culture which prides itself on tolerance? Only our Sovereign Lord knows where we’re headed from here, and we can trust Him regardless of the outcome. Please pray for Jack. Pray for his attorneys, and for the Alliance Defending Freedom as an organization and as a gospel ministry. Pray by name for the Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court. When it comes to grace and truth in the public square, speak up. I’ll quote my friend, Josh Hershberger: “The best way to defend religious liberty is to use it.” Do so humbly, tactfully, and winsomely.

Adam K. Hersh writes in Stanford Law Review (January 2018): “The conflict between religious accommodation and nondiscrimination is fundamentally a conflict between two visions of government power.” Indeed. Sometimes the threats uttered by strong cultural forces capture our hearts – at least for a moment – and we fear the lion’s den. But then we remember the prevailing verdict: “And God gave Daniel favor and compassion” (Daniel 1:9). So fear not, sisters and brothers! Right now is the time for Christ’s Church to shine like never before. This is our moment. We are here, and Christ is risen.

Pastor Charles