Florida church preemptively surrenders in culture war battle

Lutheran pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer is a man who was hanged for his defiant stand against the tyranny of Adolph Hitler and Nazi Germany. And he’s been credited with these words, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil. God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”

If Bonhoeffer was alive today, he might choose to share his words with the elders at Gateway Church of Christ in Pensacola, FL, where they made the decision to close the doors at Gateway Christian Preschool, an outreach of the church. According to the elder board, the reason for their decision to close is due to the preschool’s involvement in the state-funded Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK) subsidy program and how that involvement might become a “liability” to the church due to the religious teaching provided to the students.

Director of the preschool, Barbara Deem, stated that the elders were concerned about church/state challenges along with the possible demands from the Gay Mafia and LGBT radicals—a genuine concern in America where Christian business owners are routinely destroyed for standing on their Christian beliefs.

“Basically, they were asking whether or not there is separation of church and state, can your status as an independent entity be challenged because you may not want to go with what is politically correct?” Deem continued. “They cite things such as installing transgender bathrooms or teaching values that are opposed to what the church actually stands for and the values that each independent church holds high.”

Apparently, those “high” values aren’t as high as they should be. In reality, the threats they speak of are just an excuse to cover the cowardice on display by the so-called leadership at Gateway Church of Christ.

Just as it was in Bonhoeffer’s day, the church in America has been silent in the face of evil. It’s done nothing to halt the advance of the progressive movement designed to destroy morality and Christianity. During the election, I wrote a series of articles challenging church leaders to defy the Johnson Amendment prohibiting political activism—a rule Donald Trump promised to void but so far has done nothing—and preach from the pulpit against the forces of evil bent on destroying our faith and our Republic.

Attacks on our faith are likely to increase in intensity and frequency which is why we are commanded to put on the full armor of God to stand against them (Eph. 6:13). Not only did the elders of Gateway Church of Christ fail to don their armor, they unconditionally surrendered without the enemy even firing a shot. And in the words of Bonhoeffer, God will hold them accountable.

I leave you with another Bonhoeffer quote.

“Who stands firm? Only the one for whom the final standard is not his reason, his principles, his conscience, his freedom, his virtue, but who is ready to sacrifice all these when in faith and sole allegiance to God he is called to obedient and responsible action; the responsible person, whose life will be nothing but an answer to God’s question and call.”

When a Gateway Church of Christ situation enters your life . . . what will YOUR answer be?

 

David Leach is the owner of The Strident Conservative, your source for opinion that’s politically incorrect and always “right.” His articles can also be found on RedState.com.

His daily radio commentary is nationally syndicated with Salem Radio Network and can be heard on stations across America.