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Archives For June 30, 2015

Tuesday Briefing: Christian schools weigh marriage ruling amid liberty concerns

Meredith Flynn —  July 14, 2015

THE BRIEFING | Meredith Flynn

The_BriefingFollowing the Supreme Court’s ruling on same-sex marriage, churches and Christian institutions, including colleges and universities, are navigating the potential religious liberty ramifications.

Christian colleges in Michigan and Tennessee announced last week they would extend benefits to same-sex spouses of employees. But a representative for the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) told Baptist Press that as long as Christian colleges and universities “ensure that all of their policies are clearly tied to their religious beliefs,” the threats of losing tax-exempt status and being held liable for discrimination aren’t immediate.

“At this point, there is no reason to believe that religious institutions, who do immense good by educating first-generation and low-income students, providing thousands of hours of volunteer time to their communities, and are institutions essential to the fabric of their communities, would be targeted to be penalized in this way for their longstanding religious beliefs,” said Shapri LoMaglio. “The test for tax-exemption is public good, and our institutions absolutely serve the public good.”

Neither of the two schools who announced benefits for same-sex spouses–Hope College in Holland, Mich., and Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn.–are affiliated with the CCCU. Belmont, which was affiliated with the Tennessee Baptist Convention until 2007, added “sexual orientation” to its non-discrimination policy in 2011, BP reports.

Durbin says schools are ‘challenging area’ after marriage decision
U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said he doesn’t “have a quick answer” about whether religious schools that oppose same-sex marriage are protected from religious liberty concerns in the same ways as churches. “There’s no question this was an historic decision, and now we’re going to go through a series of suggestions for new laws to implement it,” Durbin told The Weekly Standard. “I can’t predict how this will end. But from the beginning we have said that when it comes to marriage, religions can decide what their standards will be.”

But on the schools question, Durbin said, “Getting into a challenging area, and I don’t have a quick answer to you. I’ll have to think about it long and hard.”

Baylor drops ‘homosexual acts’ ban from conduct policy
Christian school Baylor University in Waco, Texas, has removed “homosexual acts” from behaviors banned in its sexual conduct policy, the Houston Chronicle reported this month. However, a “Statement on Human Sexuality” on the Baylor website says, “Christian churches… have affirmed purity in singleness and fidelity in marriage between a man and a woman as the biblical norm. Temptations to deviate from this norm include both heterosexual sex outside of marriage and homosexual behavior.”

Carter says Jesus would be OK with same-sex marriage
Former President Jimmy Carter says he has no problem with same-sex marriage, and Jesus wouldn’t either. “I think Jesus would encourage any love affair if it was honest and sincere and was not damaging to anyone else, and I don’t see that gay marriage damages anyone else,” Carter told interviewer Marc Lamont Hill on HuffPost Live.

Carter did say he’s not in favor of the government being able to force churches to perform same-sex weddings.

Wheaton denied injunction against contraceptive mandate
Wheaton University in Illinois will be required to notify the federal government that it objects to providing emergency contraception through its employee healthcare plans, after a judge denied the school’s request for an injunction. That notification will allow health plan participants to receive free contraception coverage, Christianity Today reported.

“…[W]e remain hopeful for a time when the government will allow us to provide healthcare for our employees and their families in full accordance with our common faith,” said Wheaton President Philip Ryken.

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Church celebrates God’s faithfulness through building project

Meredith Flynn —  July 13, 2015
Pastor Don Hannel estimated 80% of the construction at FBC Pleasant Hill was done by volunteers.

Pastor Don Hannel estimated 80% of the construction at FBC Pleasant Hill was done by volunteers. Photos by Joe Springer

HEARTLAND | Meredith Flynn

In the year it’s taken to build a new church, Pastor Don Hannel and the members of First Baptist Church, Pleasant Hill, have seen God move in numerous ways. One moment that stands out: when they raised the 30-foot steeple in the air, pausing first to dedicate the building to the Lord.

“When we raised the steeple up…it went from a building to a church, a house of God,” Hannel said. “It’s just one of the moments you’ll never forget the rest of your life.”

The members of FBC Pleasant Hill met in their new sanctuary for the first time May 10.

The members of FBC Pleasant Hill met in their new sanctuary for the first time May 10.

The 15,000-square-foot building now sitting on what used to be 10 acres of corn fields has been a labor of love for the congregation, who started exploring the possibility of expanding or renovating their facilities a few years ago. Their land-locked original location downtown Pleasant Hill, located about 15 miles from the Illinois-Missouri border, was built in 1917 and was in good condition. But it left them little room for growth–or parking.

About 80% of the work on the new building was completed by volunteers, Hannel said. His church members worked alongside several groups throughout the process, including Carpenters for Christ, a church-building ministry that started out of a Southern Baptist congregation.

The Carpenters groups that worked with Pleasant Hill hailed from Attalla, Alabama, and brought 120 men to the rural Illinois community last summer. In 10 days, they raised walls, set trusses, and nearly put on the whole roof.

They also set up the steeple, gathering with the Pleasant Hill volunteers to lay hands on it and pray before the crane hoisted it up in the air.

The steeple experience wasn’t the only instance Hannel described as a “spiritual moment.” There was the time a pastor from Talbotton, Ga., called to see how he could help. (Hannel’s church had helped build a church for the Georgia pastor on a previous Carpenters for Christ mission trip.) When Hannel replied there was some brick work to be done, the pastor and four other men came to Pleasant Hill to finish the job.

Then there was the man who had been attending Pleasant Hill who volunteered to spend several days last winter with his brother installing more than 70 interior doors in the building. A few months later, the volunteer and Hannel were talking in the new sanctuary when the pastor felt led to talk about how to have a relationship with Jesus. The man knelt there at the altar and prayed to receive Christ, the first person to do so in the new building.

And he’s not the only one. Revival started at Pleasant Hill through the building process, Hannel said. Seven people were baptized in the new building in June, with six more waiting.

On May 10, the church met in the new building for the first time, with 282 people in attendance. (Previously, they had been running between 130 and 150.) They dedicated the new facility two weeks later, with a Saturday open house and special worship service on Sunday.

There were times in the process when it was difficult to press on, and the church had to rely on the Lord for strength, Hannel said. But seeing those 282 people come in, “it was just like everything disappeared at that point.”

The pastor has been at Pleasant Hill for 10 years; the last one has given him countless stories of God’s faithfulness to tell over the next many.

“We need to write a book on this some day,” he said, “as many things as God has done through this.”

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Cultivating a healthy denomination in the 21st century

Meredith Flynn —  July 9, 2015

David_DockeryCOMMENTARY | David Dockery

In 1955, when Will Herbert wrote his classic volume “Protestant, Catholic, Jew,” one in 25 church-going Americans tended to change denominations over a lifetime. In 1985, one in three Americans changed denominations over a lifetime. In this current decade, it’s more than one in two, or about 60%, which means many Christians will change denominations in this century. Not only have we seen a decline in denominational loyalty in recent years, but an increase in the number of people who identify with a network, special purpose group, or parachurch group, rather than a particular denomination.

These accelerated shifts have changed the way many perceive the importance of denominations, resulting in additional changes to the denominational diversity that has developed in North America over the past 200 years. While there are significant changes to observe, we dare not miss the importance of geography as we address this topic.

As the country has migrated westward over the past hundred years, new movements and denominational offshoots have developed. Certainly geography has shifted, but the generalizations about geographical presence and denominational influence still hold. Roman Catholics continue to have great sway in New England, Lutherans are most prevalent in the upper Midwest, Baptists are a majority in the South, and Dutch Reformed are sprinkled across the heartland.

Perhaps even more important than geographical regions is the kind of city or town or place where one resides. Great differences in the understanding of denominational importance exist in metropolitan areas compared with rural towns. Suburban areas are where the majority of generic megachurches are located. Surprisingly, more than 50% of all churchgoing Americans attend less than 12% of all churches. Denominational labels mean less and less for the majority of these megachurches.

Sociologists at Boston University have tracked these changes, highlighting the differences on the east and west coasts when contrasted with areas in the middle of this country. About 30% of the people on the two coasts respond positively to the importance of denominational identity, compared with about 70% in the Midwest and the deep South. Such comparisons are even more exaggerated from rural to urban areas: 84% of people who live in rural areas persist in thinking that denominational identity is important, compared to less than half of that number in suburban and urban areas.

One more important point regarding place: The majority of churches are still found in rural areas, while most people now live in urban and suburban areas, pointing to another reason for decline in the importance of denominations for people in this century.

Furthermore, most of the mainline denominations have sadly lost their way. Some have become disconnected from their heritage, and even more so from Scripture and the great Christian tradition. Some today are not only post-denominational, but also on their way toward becoming post- Christian as their conversations focus on issues of inclusiveness and universalism, sexuality and inter-religious spirituality. Postmodern influences, shifts in population and perceptions regarding denominations, and the decline of mainline denominations have combined to bring about changes that frankly are hard to calculate.

So, what does this say about the future of denominationalism? I want to say that while denominationalism is in measurable decline, denominations still matter. Certainly the kind of structure that denominations provide for churches is important. The Christian faith needs both “structure and Spirit,” to borrow words from historian Jaroslav Pelikan, in order to carry forward the Christian message.

If, however, we focus too much on structure, we wind up with unwanted bureaucracy. Should we focus too much on the Spirit, we unwittingly move toward an amorphous form of Christianity. Let us pray for balance even as we hold out hope for the future of healthy denominations to serve the cause of Christ and cooperatively advance the good news of the gospel message.

David S. Dockery, president of Trinity International University, is the editor of “Southern Baptist Identity: An Evangelical Denomination Faces the Future.”

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Family and friends remember Melissa Phillips

Meredith Flynn —  July 8, 2015

Melissa PhillipsThe life of Melissa Wootton Phillips was celebrated July 7 at a memorial service in Springfield, Ill. Melissa, 53, an associate executive director for the Illinois Baptist State Association, died July 2 after a nearly year-long battle with cancer.

“She knew that joy and peace come from loving the Lord,” said her oldest daughter, Laura. That’s what enabled her mother, Laura remembered, to look at a doctor near the end of her life and say, “I’m not scared. I’m not.”

“She wasn’t scared because she knew the Lord,” Laura said, urging those in attendance without a relationship with Jesus not to leave the church before exploring the thing her mother had staked her life on.

“If ever a woman lived for the Lord, it was Melissa,” said Mike Keppler, pastor of Springfield Southern Baptist Church. At her memorial service, Melissa was remembered as an active, dedicated member of that congregation, and an advocate for missions.

Keppler recalled how she promoted Weeks of Prayer for missionaries, crediting her parents, James and Mary Lou Wootton, for passing along that particular gift. The Woottons served as missionaries in South Korea while Melissa was growing up.

“She evidenced a life of missions,” Evelyn Tully, former director of women’s missions for IBSA, told the Illinois Baptist. Melissa served four years as vice president for missions support within Illinois Woman’s Missionary Union, and led a mission team to Kazakhstan during the state’s partnership with that country. She was also active in her church’s missions programs for children, teens and women.

She began working at IBSA at the age of 18, newly graduated from high school and recently married to Doug Phillips. The couple later had two daughters: Laura, married in 2013 to Caleb Adams, and Melinda, married this summer to Adam Holler.

“Her value to IBSA was evident from day one, as was her value as a friend,” IBSA retiree Janet Craynon, who hired Melissa, told the IB. “I saw her through days of juggling her work, a young family and church involvement—all with an amazing ease and dedication to excellence.”

Melissa had recently celebrated 35 years with the Association. “She could help us find anything, do anything, solve anything,” said IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams, whose son is married to the Phillips’ daughter Laura.

“She was the person who did whatever you needed,” Adams said. He also noted that Melissa was Christ-like in special ways. “Her unique light shined on us in a way that reflected God’s glory.”

He read aloud verses from Fanny Crosby’s 1875 hymn “All The Way My Savior Leads Me,” dedicating the third verse to Melissa:

All the way my Savior leads me
O the fullness of His love!
Perfect rest to me is promised
In my Father’s house above.
When my spirit, clothed immortal,
Wings its flight to realms of day
This my song through endless ages—
Jesus led me all the way;
This my song through endless ages—
Jesus led me all the way.

Along with her husband, daughters and sons-in-law, Melissa is survived by her parents, James and Mary Lou, four siblings, and several nieces, nephews and cousins.

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Marriage ruling finds favor with 49% of Americans, 28% of practicing Christians

Meredith Flynn —  July 7, 2015

The_Briefing

THE BRIEFING | Meredith Flynn

While 62% of American adults believed nationwide legalization of same-sex marriage was inevitable, slightly less than half (49%) are in favor of the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 26 decision in favor of it, Barna reports. 43% disagreed with the decision, and 7% were unsure how they felt about it, according to the researcher’s July 1 report.

When it comes to how Christians feel about the Court’s decision, Barna found, 28% of practicing Christians (defined as “those who say their faith is very important to their life and who have attended one or more church services during the past month”) approve of legalized same-sex marriage, compared to 43% of people who identify as Christians but don’t qualify as practicing.

Only 2% of evangelicals support the Court’s decision. Read the rest of Barna’s report at Barna.org.

U.S. Episcopal Church votes to approve same-sex marriage
Right after the Supreme Court made it legal nationwide, the U.S. Episcopal Church moved to approve same-sex marriage in the denomination, The Christian Post reports. Episcopal clergy are now authorized to perform same-sex marriages, but can opt out, according to two marriage-related resolutions passed in late June at the denomination’s General Convention.

The resolutions were opposed by 20 bishops who issued a minority report stating, “The nature, purpose, and meaning of marriage are linked to the relationship of man and woman,” and by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who said the decision “will cause distress for some and have ramifications for the Anglican Communion as a whole, as well as for its ecumenical and interfaith relationships.”

Church violence survivors share in Charleston grief
After nine people were killed in a South Carolina church last month, Southern Baptists who have experienced similar tragedies expressed their sympathy and grief over the June 17 shooting.

“I don’t know if you ever recover from something like that,” said Cindy Winters, whose husband, Fred, was killed in his Maryville, Ill., pulpit in 2009. “I think you learn how to get through it, but I don’t think you ever get over it this side of eternity,” Winters told Baptist Press. “I know one day I will when I’m with Jesus. Obviously only by the grace of God am I able to get up each day and go forward, and find beauty and meaning…and find goodness in living.”

Burned churches receive assistance from Baptist missions agency
African American churches in need of assistance after a recent spate of church fires can receive help from a fund established by the North American Mission Board, the domestic missions agency of the Southern Baptist Convention. “Southern Baptists should be the first to condemn acts of hatred toward African Americans,” NAMB President Kevin Ezell said, according to Baptist Press. “Regardless of the causes of these fires, as brothers and sisters in Christ, we need to come alongside and offer whatever assistance we can.”

None of the fires have been deemed hate crimes, and only some are suspected arsons. However, one confirmed arson case is Charlotte’s Briar Creek Road Baptist, a predominantly black Southern Baptist church.

Barnabas Piper: Parents, ‘Don’t fight unbelief in your kids’
“At least don’t think of it as fighting,” Piper said in an interview about his new book “Help My Unbelief.” “Belief, ultimately, is a miracle, death made life by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit can work in myriad ways, and questioning is a significant one,” Piper, son of preacher and author John Piper, told Ed Stetzer.

“As parents our job is to declare and display the work of the Spirit, our relationship with God, so that children can see where the answers to those questions truly lie. Don’t argue; answer. Don’t fight; exemplify. Don’t give up; pray.”

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Illinois Disaster Relief teams on the scene at home and out west

Meredith Flynn —  July 6, 2015
Illinois Disaster Relief volunteers help clean a home in Colorado.

Illinois Disaster Relief volunteers help clean a home in Colorado.

HEARTLAND | Morgan Jackson

After severe storms swept across Northern Illinois June 22, several of the state’s Disaster Relief teams moved quickly to respond. By June 24, four volunteers were in Coal City to meet with homeowners and assess damage. More than 50 volunteers on chainsaw teams from Salem South, Capital City and Three Rivers Associations worked over the next few days while staying at First Baptist Church, Coal City.

On June 30, IBSA’s Disaster Relief Coordinator Rex Alexander got word of a new need in the community of Sublette, which was hit by a tornado on the same evening as Coal City.

“This area has been closed off to volunteers due to safety issues of gas leaks and electrical wires being down,” Alexander reported. “They are now opening up this area and requesting assistance for a large number of chainsaw jobs…” Alexander also was working to recruit assessors and chaplains to work in the area. The response was expected to begin Monday, July 6.

Outside Illinois, recent flooding in Colorado, Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma  caused severe water damage in many communities. The first of several waves of ministry teams from Illinois arrived in Colorado June 15.

Don Ile, from Greater Wabash Association, was supposed to lead his team to Colorado Springs. But storm-related issues and a tornado forced them to Berthoud, about 50 miles from Denver.

Another Illinois team from Williamson Association, led by Jerry Cruse, was delayed in arrival. But after staying overnight in Kansas, they were able to get to Colorado and start work.

Before arriving, Ile said they didn’t know what to expect. “We’ve been told there are major water problems; they’ve had at least a couple tornadoes…possibly some chainsaw work and tree situations, but more flooding than anything. People are happy we’re coming. We just hope to accomplish what some of their needs are right now.”

After a couple days on the job, Cruse said, “Our team draws closer to God all the time as we’re helping people. We just pray others grow close to him too through seeing us work and our interactions.”

While taking a break, Ile described his current view: beautiful, snowcapped mountains to the west, sunshine, perfect weather. But a booming thunderstorm the night before was a poignant reminder to the team why they were there, despite the picturesque landscape.

Their first task involved moving a large amount of a homeowner’s belongings in order to strip all carpet on the lower level. They faced a number of problems: no dumpster, stopping the spread of mold, not being able to power wash.
Ile sounded in good spirits, though. “Every house has its own challenges, but we’re doing good, we’re getting there.”
Both teams said God was certainly good to them during their travels, and that their goal was to help as many families as possible during their time in Colorado.

For more information about Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief, go to www.IBSA.org/dr.

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Melissa Wootton Phillips, 1961-2015

Meredith Flynn —  July 3, 2015

Melissa PhillipsSpringfield | A faithful and remarkable servant of Jesus Christ went home Thursday night. Melissa Wootton Phillips died July 2 after battling cancer for almost a year. During that time she continued to serve Illinois Baptists admirably in her capacity as Associate Executive Director of the Church Cooperation Team of the Illinois Baptist State Association (IBSA).

“Melissa’s service to the Lord, and to the churches and staff of IBSA over the past 35 years, has been truly immeasurable,” said IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams. “Her professional competence and sacrificial work ethic were always wonderfully complemented by her sweet spirit and servant heart. Whether it was managing finances, personnel policies, our major building renovation, our IBSA camps, or a host of other operations, Melissa served IBSA tirelessly and with great integrity.”

Melissa is survived by her husband, Doug, and two daughters, Laura (who is married to Caleb Adams) and Melinda (who married Adam Holler on June 13), her parents, James and Mary Lou Wootton, and four siblings. Melissa and Doug have been vital and active members of Springfield Southern Baptist Church.

At her passing, Melissa is being remembered as a woman of great faith, a missionary heart from her upbringing as the daughter of missionary parents serving in South Korea, and for her contribution to Southern Baptist work in Illinois.

IB Family Photo

Melissa (far right) and her family, who served as missionaries in South Korea, were featured in a December 1974 issue of the Illinois Baptist newspaper.

“While many of us at IBSA travel the state every week to serve churches, Melissa has been the executive who has made that possible by supporting and administering our work from the home office,” Adams said. “Executive Directors have come and gone, but Melissa has been a rock of stability and consistency on which our IBSA staff family and the churches we serve have always been able to depend.

“On a personal level, not everyone probably knows that in 2013, Melissa’s oldest daughter, Laura, married our oldest son, Caleb. So to me, Melissa became more than capable executive or even close work friend. She became family to my family, and our families are now lovingly intertwined. “So on many levels, and in many ways, I will miss her more than words can express. I believe we all will,” Adams said.

Visitation is Monday, July 6, from 4-7 p.m. at Staab Funeral Home in Springfield. The funeral service is Tuesday, July 7, at 11 a.m. at Springfield Southern Baptist Church, with Pastor Mike Keppler and Nate Adams officiating. Additional visitation time at the church will precede the service from 10-11 a.m. Burial will follow at Oak Ridge Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to Springfield Southern Baptist Church Building Fund.

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Cultures in conflict are key topic at Southern Baptist Convention in Columbus

Meredith Flynn —  July 2, 2015

Columbus_SBC_blogNEWS | Lisa Sergent

The signs up at the Greater Columbus Convention Center read, “Welcome Southern Baptist Convention,” while banners on the lampposts declared “Gay Pride Festival.” With only a day separating these gatherings, their juxtaposition—and shared subject matter—was especially noticeable.

Awaiting the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, the case that will likely determine whether same-sex marriage is legal in all 50 states, SBC leaders and messengers talked marriage and a host of other issues that threaten to isolate the gospel from the people who need it.

Columbus_blog“Whatever happens in the culture around us,” Russell Moore, president of the SBC’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, reminded attenders at the Pastors’ Conference, “it does not take one bit more gospel to save the people protesting us than it took to save us, the people who were once protesting God.”

But there weren’t a lot of people protesting Southern Baptists in Columbus. In fact, for several years now, the controversial conversation has been inside the hall rather than parading the sidewalks outside, with messengers taking up issues—such as same-sex marriage and ministry to transgender people—that would not have been handled so candidly a decade or two ago.

“For most of this last century Southern Baptists have been comfortable in the culture in their soft cocoon,” Moore said in his convention report. “Some said that the Southern Baptist Zion was below the Mason-Dixon Line. Those days are gone, and not a moment too soon. Those days are over, thankfully.”

Southern Baptists are taking on hard issues.

Firm positions, softer hearts
“The mission of the church isn’t to un-gay people. The mission of the church is to win people to Christ,” Houston pastor Nathan Lino said at a breakfast hosted by the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. He challenged churches, asking why they try to “run off” homosexuals and transgendered people. “Do you realize that it’s a miracle they are there? It’s because of God and it’s glorious.”

Former lesbian, now pastor’s wife Rosaria Butterfield agreed that salvation comes first. “I was not converted out of homosexuality, I was converted out of unbelief and then God went to work.” She spoke as part of a panel called “The Supreme Court and Same-Sex Marriage: Preparing Our Churches for the Future.” The panel was the first of its kind staged during a convention business meeting. Some panelists reinforced a fortress mentality for churches. Others introduced a new kind of missionary to the culture. Moore observed that Butterfield is probably the “Lottie Moon of the 21st century mission field, a Presbyterian ex-lesbian sitting right here.”

SBC President Ronnie Floyd framed the field this way: “The Southern Baptist Convention has not moved, the culture has moved. We stand on the Word of God that abides forever, always has been, and will forever be.”

‘Bonhoeffer moment’
On the final day of the convention, Floyd and eight past SBC presidents held a press conference stating their commitment to biblical marriage. The statement, endorsed by Floyd and 16 living past convention presidents, served notice to the nation and to the Supreme Court that they “will not recognize same-sex ‘marriages,’ our churches will not host same-sex ceremonies, and we will not perform such ceremonies.”

The presidents also stressed the need for churches to be prepared by having clear bylaws and constitutions that say what it means to be married in their churches.

Paige Patterson, president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, urged Christian colleges, universities, and seminaries to do the same. He said he could see a time when accreditation would be withheld from Christian educational institutions that do not approve of same-sex marriage or transgenderism.

Patterson said what concerns him most are the churches “that have never thought through their bylaws and constitutions. Challenges will probably come to those small churches that are ill-prepared.”

At the same press conference, Jack Graham, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, concurred: “We want to challenge pastors and church members. This is coming and it’s coming now. The trajectory is on breakneck speed…We encourage Christian leaders everywhere to make some noise and to be a voice.”

Other threats to religious liberty were also highlighted at the convention:
Former Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran spoke at the Pastors’ Conference. Cochran was fired from his position for stating on one page of his 160-page book, “Who Told You That You Were Naked?” that homosexuality is sinful. “There are self-inflicted sufferings and the ones God allows,” Cochran said. “What I’m experiencing is a God-allowed suffering that has nothing to do with me, but that God is using in and through me.”

And Barronelle Stutzman, the Washington state florist who was sued for not providing flowers for a same-sex wedding, made an appearance during the ERLC report. She lost her case and is in danger of losing her home and business. After Moore shared her story, she came to the stage for prayer.

“This is a Bonhoeffer moment for every pastor in the United States,” Floyd warned in a sermon citing the example of pastor and Nazi-fighter Dietrich Bonhoeffer. “We will not bow down nor will we be silent. We will hold up and lift up God’s authoritative truth on marriage. While we affirm our love for all people, we cannot deviate from God’s Word.”

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