Living in Interesting Times
December 10, 2011
For those who have not seen it, friend John Starke has an interesting and important article over at the Gospel Coalition about a legal situation facing his church and others in the New York area. This is a matter worthy of prayer. John has only been pastor at his church for two weeks. No honeymoon period for him, obviously, and one can only imagine how discouraging such a development must be. Plus, whatever one thinks about the relationship of church and state (and, for the record, I am basically with Darryl Hart on that one), this seems less about church and state and more about simply making life difficult for churches.
Interesting times: militant atheism taking the public square by storm; church finances being crunched in devastating ways by the economy; and now the government dictating the ethics of rental agreements in a manner which seems designed to single the religious out for special treatment. Without being alarmist, we could be on the verge of a period of time in the US where faithful churches and organisations begin a long, painful journey into the cultural wilderness.
I heard Rick Phillips addressing the Westminster Board during the devotional time before business last week. Very soon we're going to be regarded by wider society as a crazy, fringe cult, he said. Then he added: just like the apostles in the first century.
We should pray for the Rev. Starke, his wife, his elders and his church; and yet rejoice that, whatever the nations care to do with us, God is still on his throne.
Interesting times: militant atheism taking the public square by storm; church finances being crunched in devastating ways by the economy; and now the government dictating the ethics of rental agreements in a manner which seems designed to single the religious out for special treatment. Without being alarmist, we could be on the verge of a period of time in the US where faithful churches and organisations begin a long, painful journey into the cultural wilderness.
I heard Rick Phillips addressing the Westminster Board during the devotional time before business last week. Very soon we're going to be regarded by wider society as a crazy, fringe cult, he said. Then he added: just like the apostles in the first century.
We should pray for the Rev. Starke, his wife, his elders and his church; and yet rejoice that, whatever the nations care to do with us, God is still on his throne.
