As I write, I’m sitting on a patio looking at the mountains of Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Angie and I will leave shortly and head back home, but it has been a wonderful time of rest and time with family. Yet my spirit groans. I hurt for our nation and the division that is ever growing. Just when I thought it had hit its peak and that perhaps things would begin to settle down…boom! It gets even worse. I honestly believe that Satan has begun to finally make strides in his fight against the church here in the United States.
When churches were shut down during the Covid-19 crises I kept quiet and urged caution in calling it a plot to quieten the voice of the church. When the protests started I could understand the pain and outrage of watching a man of color being killed slowly by a white man who had sworn to protect citizens of his city and I agreed with their desire to make their voices heard. I thought I was listening.
Then the looting, destruction, and burning started. I saw piles of bricks strategically placed so that “protesters” would have handy means of destruction and I wondered how anyone could miss the obvious signs of outside interference with a dark agenda. But honestly, I thought it would die down. Then the unbelievable. A kind-hearted, loving man who worked tirelessly to grow a church that could minister to the health and physical needs of all people as it ministered to their spiritual needs was cruelly and hatefully vilified for the sin of being a conservative voter. The church that ministered to the needs of any and all people no matter their race, ethnic origin, political beliefs, or sexuality was unceremoniously kicked out of the neighborhoods that truly needed all the services they offered.
Really….was anyone surprised that evangelical Christians overwhelmingly vote conservatively? Does it surprise you that a minister of God would agree with someone who stands against abortion, discusses the reality of two sexes, believes that marriage is intended to be between a man and a woman, espouses equality between races, and disavows white supremacy? What is wrong with that line of thought?
I don’t know how it came to this. I don’t understand how people who hold conservative values have somehow been turned into the “monster under the bed”. I know, without a doubt, that a liberal, one-sided, biased news media has certainly abetted that line of thought, but I don’t understand how they have been so successful in convincing people that anyone who disagrees with the groupthink of liberalism is automatically hateful, xenophobic and racist.
We evangelical Christians are called haters. You want to know what hate looks like? Who spits on someone who wears a certain hat? Who assaults someone because they are wearing a particular t-shirt? Who refuses to serve someone in a restaurant because they dare have on the wrong apparel? It ain’t conservative Christians!
So shame on you Birmingham, Alabama, for demeaning and vilifying a ministry that has been so good to you, who reaches out to you, who ministers to your needs, and who has your best interest at heart. Shame on you for putting political ideology ahead of the well being of your own people. There are a couple of old sayings that I believe are relevant to this situation: “Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water ” and “don’t cut off your nose to spite your face”.
I am a pastor. I believe the Bible and believe that it teaches values that line up with conservative beliefs. And that means I love all people regardless of their race and want the best for them in every way. Please…please…stop listening to the lies of those who tell you otherwise.
Say good things about COTB!
Bro. Tony