Faith and Freedom 4.21.12

Prayers for America filled the hall at the Chase River Front in Wilmington on Saturday. Hundreds of Christians gathered to hear local and national pastors speak on how we can "engage and transform our culture", in the words of one of the speakers. That same speaker, Pastor Chris Rue, reminded us that the early churches were named not for their unique doctrines, but for the cities where they were located, the world in which they were placed to be examples of order and discipleship. Pastor John Betts cited several statistics that demonstrate how a spirit of abandonment and insecurity has gripped our nation in recent years as God has been removed from the public square. Government can never fill that void, and he encouraged us to bring restoration through the revealed truth of our position in Christ. Pastor Bill Schloneker reminded us that not only do we have a voice, but we are called to use it. He exhorted us to speak with courage and clarity, to call for caution as a warning against irresponsible government policies, and most of all to speak with compassion and consecrate all of our words by bathing them in prayer. Dr. C. L. Gray described the historical world views that define the opposing sides of our current health care debates. Starting with Hippocrates and Plato, he succinctly stated the clear conflict between valuing individual well-being vs the 'collective good.' He implored us to consider the impact of our biblical worldview on politics and health care. Fr. Tom Flowers showed us a video produced by the Catholic church that powerfully asked the question, "will you vote the values that will stand the test of fire?" He reminded us that there is no secret ballot to God and that the virtue of our elected leaders reflects on us as well. Pastor C. L. Bryant exhorted us to protect the endowment God has given us in this nation, including the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. He spoke against the lies being promoted in our culture, including the idea that simply being poor or oppressed necessarily means one is more virtuous. His stand against black liberation theology comes from his own experience as the President of the Texas NAACP. He left that position when he became convinced that theology contradicted God's Word, and he has paid a heavy price for his conviction. Pastor Bryant believes we have been in a defensive posture too long, that we must now stand and be ready for this fight. There were two statistics that brought me to tears on Saturday. The first was that for the first time in American history, over 50% of 8-17 year olds have never been inside of a church. The second was worse; last year more black children in New York City were aborted than were born. As a people we have always banded together to resist an enemy from without, but now we face enemies from within, even within our own government. Will we stand together still?