Writing
for FOX NEWS, Todd Starnes covers the story:
“The
city of Houston has issued subpoenas demanding a group of pastors
turn over any sermons dealing with homosexuality, gender identity or
Annise Parker, the city’s first openly lesbian mayor. And those
ministers who fail to comply could be held in contempt of court.
“‘The
city’s subpoena of sermons and other pastoral communications is
both needless and unprecedented,’ Alliance Defending Freedom
attorney Christina Holcomb said in a statement. ‘The city council
and its attorneys are engaging in an inquisition designed to stifle
any critique of its actions.’”
Starnes
continues, “‘Political and social commentary is not a crime,’
Holcomb said. ‘It is protected by the First Amendment.’
“The
subpoenas are just the latest twist in an ongoing saga over the
Houston’s new non-discrimination ordinance. The law, among other
things, would allow men to use the ladies room and vice versa. The
city council approved the law in June.
“The
Houston Chronicle reported opponents of the ordinance launched a
petition drive that generated more than 50,000 signatures--far more
than the 17,269 needed to put a referendum on the ballot.
“However,
the city threw out the petition in August over alleged
irregularities.
“After
opponents of the bathroom bill filed a lawsuit the city’s
attorneys responded by issuing the subpoenas against the pastors.
“The
pastors were not part of the lawsuit. However, they were part of a
coalition of some 400 Houston-area churches that opposed the
ordinance. The churches represent a number of faith groups--from
Southern Baptist to non-denominational.
“‘City
council members are supposed to be public servants, not “Big
Brother” overlords who will tolerate no dissent or challenge,’
said ADF attorney Erik Stanley. ‘This is designed to intimidate
pastors.’”
Starnes
also wrote, “Among those slapped with a subpoena is Steve Riggle,
the senior pastor of Grace Community Church. He was ordered to
produce all speeches and sermons related to Mayor Annise Parker,
homosexuality and gender identity.
“The
mega-church pastor was also ordered to hand over ‘all
communications with members of your congregation’ regarding the
non-discrimination law.
“‘This
is an attempt to chill pastors from speaking to the cultural issues
of the day,’ Riggle told me. ‘The mayor would like to silence
our voice. She’s a bully.’
“Rev.
David Welch, executive director of the Texas Pastor Council,
also received a subpoena. He said he will not be intimidated by the
mayor.
“‘We’re
not afraid of this bully,’ he said. ‘We’re not intimidated at
all.’
“He
accused the city of violating the law with the subpoenas and vowed
to stand firm in the faith.
“‘We
are not going to yield our First Amendment rights,’ Welch told me.
‘This is absolutely a complete abuse of authority.’”
See
the report here:
Obviously,
city officials in Houston, Texas, are trying to use their authority
to bully and intimidate local pastors and churches from exercising
their God-given duty to proclaim truth as they understand it. And,
yes, such speech is emphatically recognized and protected in the
First Amendment to the Bill of Rights. Therefore, it is clear that
Mayor Annise Parker and the Houston City Council do not believe in
the freedom of speech; and their actions should be regarded as an
act of tyranny by any freedom lover--be they Christian or otherwise.
The
issue is NOT homosexuality or lesbianism; the issue is freedom of
speech and religion. And I would say the same if the folks
exercising their First Amendment freedom were homosexuals and
lesbians. In fact, can you imagine the outcry of the national media
if, instead of a lesbian mayor and pro-homosexual city council, the
mayor of Houston and city council were conservative Christians and
the clergymen being threatened with fine or imprisonment over their
freedom of speech were lesbians and homosexuals? Why, the outcry of
the national press corps would be deafening. As it is, for all
intents and purposes, the story is completely ignored by the vast
majority of the mainstream media. So typical!
The
audacity of Mayor Parker and the Houston City Council to demand they
examine and approve of a pastor’s sermons and private
communications with parishioners! This is so egregiously offensive
it is difficult to comprehend that we are talking about an American
city. But this is NOT the America of Washington, Jefferson, and
Madison. Furthermore, it is obvious that Texas is NOT the State of
Travis, Austin, and Houston. In fact, the namesake of the City of
Houston must be turning over in his grave. I doubt that the Mexican
tyrant, Santa Anna, ever dreamed up anything as dastardly as what we
see emanating from the twisted mind of Mayor Parker and her corrupt
cronies on the Houston City Council.
Unfortunately,
there is absolutely no doubt that the action of Houston city
officials is only a precursor of forthcoming acts of tyranny.
Most
of us are aware that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently
issued a statement saying it was going to begin “monitoring” the
sermons of America’s pastors after an atheist organization
complained that too many of America’s pastors were violating the
conditions of their non-profit tax status under section 501c3 of the
Internal Revenue Code (IRC).
See
this report:
As
an aside, I have to chuckle at the proposition that too many pastors
are speaking out on political issues from their pulpits. How many
churches have you attended lately? One could visit almost every
church in a given community and not find ONE pastor who regularly
speaks out on what some might call “political” issues. In fact,
a recent Barna research project discovered that some 90% of
America’s pastors deliberately refuse to address such subjects
from the pulpit.
Furthermore,
I am NOT IMPRESSED with the so called “Pulpit Freedom Sunday” in
which pastors are encouraged to deliberately speak out on topics
considered taboo by the IRC on one particular Sunday of the year.
Nationwide, some 1,500 pastors reportedly participated in a recent
“Pulpit Freedom Sunday.” That’s 1,500 out of over 300,000
evangelical pastors in America. Do the math.
I
ask you, what is the big deal if a pastor decides to speak out on
salient political and cultural issues on ONE Sunday? What about the
other 51 Sundays? Tune in to Liberty Fellowship in Kalispell,
Montana, folks. EVERY SUNDAY is “Pulpit Freedom Sunday” at
Liberty.
Watch
my messages online here:
Then
again, Liberty Fellowship is NOT a 501c3 church. And that is what
makes all the difference. And sooner or later, Mayor Parker and
others of her ilk are going to get around to that. And when they do,
the lunacy of America’s pastors and churches allowing themselves
to become creatures of the state via their acceptance of the 501c3
non-profit tax status is going to come home to roost.
What
these pastors and churches of Houston, Texas, (and the rest of the
country) don’t realize--or have ignored--is that when they
voluntarily accepted the 501c3 categorization of the IRS, they
also voluntarily accepted the rules and regulations of the IRC.
Therefore, the government does not recognize them as churches and
pastors but as mere corporations and corporate officers. And,
tragically, they are right. That’s exactly what a 501c3 “church”
is.
A
501c3 “church” is nothing more than a government-created
non-profit organization, equal to ten thousand other non-profit
organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU),
Amnesty International, Doctors of the World, American Humane
Association, National Audubon Society, Greenpeace, American Red
Cross, American Heart Association, March of Dimes, American Cancer
Society, Lutheran World Relief, Habitat for Humanity, AARP
Foundation, Common Cause, Boy Scouts of America, Big Brothers Big
Sisters of America, League of Women Voters, and the National
Football League (NFL). Yep, you read it right: the NFL. Oh! We can
also throw in the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Professional
Golfers Association (PGA).
Again,
sooner or later, Mayor Parker and Company will awaken to this
reality. And that’s when the real battle lines will be drawn.
So,
let’s acknowledge that the vast, vast majority of America’s
501c3 pastors and churches have completely abdicated their freedom
of speech and freedom of religion to the IRS and make no pretense
about it. Barna’s research says 90% of America’s pastors
deliberately refuse to address political issues from the pulpit--the
very same issues that violate the stated rules and regulations of
the IRC. Then, let’s also acknowledge that the vast, vast majority
of America’s church members have deliberately laid their religious
convictions on the altar of IRS tax benefits for donations to
“charitable organizations,” i.e. “churches.”
When
push comes to shove (and it certainly will), America’s pastors and
churches are going to be forced to come to grips with the fact that
they have--either wittingly or unwittingly--surrendered their
spiritual authority and freedom of religion to Caesar through the
acceptance of the government 501c3 non-profit organization status.
At this point, they then must decide whether they will continue to
function as a creature of the state by continuing to accept the
501c3 non-profit organization status in exchange for their willful
silence, or, will they choose to break free from the shackles of
government bondage and become a true church under the authority and
sovereignty of Christ by renouncing the 501c3 non-profit
organization status?
The
shot fired in Houston, Texas, by the mayor and city council is
indeed a “shot across the bow.” And, in typical fashion, it is a
large metropolitan area that is firing this shot of tyranny against
the sacred principle of religious liberty. The sage assessment of
Mr. Jefferson is proven dead right. And, as already noted, we can
certainly expect the federal government, via the IRS, to join in the
barrage.
But,
as I see it, this fight is long overdue. For too many years,
America’s churches have operated as creatures of the state without
any seeming repercussion. This lack of aggressive intrusion into
church affairs has accomplished two things: 1) It has given pastors
and churches a false sense of security, and, 2) It has given time
for pastors and churches to be thoroughly indoctrinated in the
devilish philosophy that it’s okay for the church to operate under
the auspice and “benevolence” of Caesar. Now, it appears that
the façade is beginning to be lifted; the dragon is awakening.
That
the Church will once again be forced to truly recognize who their
Master is, what their spiritual authority is, and where real liberty
comes from, is not a bad thing at all. It just might be the
beginning of what America needs most: fiercely independent,
unshackled pastors and churches that are courageously and fearlessly
proclaiming the Biblical Natural Law principles of liberty, which
have been mostly ignored for well over a century. It will also give
genuine believers an opportunity to identify real Bible churches
from phony, government-created non-profit organizations pretending
to be churches.
It
took religious persecution in Colonial America to bring about a
Great Awakening, which then produced the great separation from the
British Crown and American independence. It appears that it’s
going to take religious persecution once again to bring about
another Great Awakening, which very well could produce another great
surge of liberty and independence in our land.
Houston,
Texas, might be the beginning, but it most certainly will not be the
ending.
©
Chuck Baldwin
