World Views

The Pastor in The Arena

We have run a gauntlet. Beverly Heights has emerged from the end of it, bruised, bloodied, but not defeated. We can walk with our heads held high largely do to the leadership of our Pastor, Nate Devlin. Nate had everything to lose. His position as Teaching Elder, that he had toiled so hard to obtain, his reputation, integrity, his health, as well as his family’s financial and emotional wellbeing, were all on the line. Nate and the session had to answer to the Presbytery for a plethora of complaints and false charges that snowballed into the formation of an Administrative Commission appointed by the Presbytery. The Commission’s job was to investigate the complaints, and to come alongside of the leadership of the church to restore “peace, purity and unity” to the body. Nothing could have been further from the truth, the commission sowed division and further discord in the church. In September 2023 the Administrative Commission blind sided Pastor Nate with a public reading of their “actions and recommendations report” in front of the Presbytery.

Not one teaching elder came to Nate’s defense publicly as he was eviscerated, slandered and humiliated in front of the Presbytery. He was openly mocked by members of our own congregation who were delighted to pile on. What good is there in belonging to a denomination where fellow Pastors don’t stand up for one of their own, when a gross miscarriage of justice is taking place in front of their very eyes?  Standing on the sidelines and saying nothing when you could stand for the truth is cowardly. Nate was forced into the arena to defend his reputation, integrity and his core beliefs. A lesser man would have capitulated to ‘Caesar’ and violated his conscience to survive. Not Nate, he stepped into the arena to give his all, fighting the good fight, win or lose.

I’ll leave you with an excerpt from a speech given by Teddy Roosevelt famously known as “The Man in the Arena” speech. We have a leader in Pastor Nate that has been tested in the Arena and won. As for me I would follow him through the gates of Hell and back. He is an inspiration and a courageous Christian role model for all to emulate.

 ‘It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat…  Still less room is there for those who deride of slight what is done by those who actually bear the brunt of the day; nor yet for those others who always profess that they would like to take action, if only the conditions of life were not exactly what they actually are. The man who does nothing cuts the same sordid figure in the pages of history, whether he be a cynic, or fop, or voluptuary. There is little use for the being whose tepid soul knows nothing of great and generous emotion, of the high pride, the stern belief, the lofty enthusiasm, of the men who quell the storm and ride the thunder. Well for these men if they succeed; well also, though not so well, if they fail, given only that they have nobly ventured, and have put forth all their heart and strength. It is war-worn Hotspur, spent with hard fighting, he of the many errors and valiant end, over whose memory we love to linger, not over the memory of the young lord who "but for the vile guns would have been a valiant soldier.” ‘ (Teddy Roosevelt, April 23, 1910, “Citizenship in a Republic,” Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris)

The Respect for Marriage Act

The Supreme Court’s ruling in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case, held that there was no right to abortion implicitly protected by the due process clause of the 14th. Amendment or by any other provision in the Constitution. The ruling overturned Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. In a concurring opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that the court should likewise reconsider the precedents that similarly relied on the concept of “substantive due process.” Among the cases he specifically mentioned was Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 decision that announced the discovery of a constitutional right to same sex marriage. Justice Thomas’s opinion is what initiated the knee jerk reaction by liberal ideologues  to pre-empt the overturning of Obergefell. Within a month of overturning Roe, the House of Representatives wrote and passed the Respect for Marriage Act which would codify into federal law same sex marriage. Every Democrat along with 47 Republicans voted to pass this law. The Senate has decided to wait until after the midterm elections to consider the bill, allowing a bipartisan group of Senators time to hammer out changes that would make the bill more palatable to Republicans.

Why should Christians be concerned? We have seen the consequences of the Obergefell ruling. Americans unwilling to assent to the new “orthodoxy” are being labeled as bigots and are vilified. Businesses, religious universities, adoption agencies and churches have faced censure, threats and lawsuits, over their sincerely held religious beliefs on marriage and human sexuality. Nondiscrimination and public accommodation laws and policies have been weaponized by local, state and the federal government in order to stigmatize, intimidate and coerce those who believe in a biblical definition of marriage. Many Americans have acceded to the beliefs that we should let bygones be bygones and after all no harm will come to anybody, we should not stand in the way of love between consenting adults, and many have friends who are in same sex relationships. Nothing could be further from the truth, the reality is that activists have relentlessly attacked those who do not comply and embrace the new ideology and will continue to do so until they have wiped out the entire concept of biblical marriage in America. If that is not enough we are being forced to embrace a nonbinary, non-biological definition of male and female and even changing our language to accommodate this chaos. Parental control of our children is being undermined in schools where they are being indoctrinated and groomed to question and change their sexuality. Boys and girls are being surgically butchered and given hormonal treatments by Doctors who condone this ideology. This is what letting bygones be bygones has led to. 

There are three key reasons why The Respect for Marriage Act should not be codified into federal law.

1. It prioritizes the gratification of adult sexual desires superseding the the welfare of children as a societal goal. This view of marriage prioritizes “happiness” for adults and ignores the fact that uniquely only the marriage of an opposite sex couple can procreate.

2. Religious freedom repercussions:  More of the same attacks on people who hold to beliefs of Biblical marriage and sexuality. Activists will be emboldened by federal law and will be more egregious and numerous in their attacks upon people of faith.

3. States Rights objections: The act requires every state to recognize as valid a  marriage solemnized in another state. Therefore, If one state decided to legalize polygamy other states would be required by federal law to recognize it as well. The sky is the limit as to what one state could do to the other 49. (think California)   

We are not on the precipice of a moral abyss, we are sliding over the edge. Every successful society of mankind that has ever walked this earth has had to recognize the importance of marriage being between a man and a woman and the subsequent family that arises from the conjugal relationship between them. Families are the building blocks of any society. Values, ideals, and institutions that lead to human flourishing must be preserved - and that includes marriage.

What can we do? Call your state’s Senators and raise your objections to this law. Vote wisely in the midterm elections for those candidates who do not support attacks on marriage. Stay informed of the attacks on religious liberties and court rulings. Pray that the Supreme Court will overturn the wrongly decided Obergefell decision. Talk to family, friends and coworkers to raise awareness of this insidious evil.

The House Excludes the Hyde and Helms Amendments From Appropriation Bills and Biden Nominates A Lesbian Rabbi to Religious Freedom Commission.

We are reminded once again that elections have consequences. The House Appropriations Committee has succeeded in eliminating both the Hyde and Helms amendments from spending bills, by a partisan vote of 217-208. Not a single Democrat voted to retain either of them. When the bill goes into reconciliation, the Vice President can vote to break the tie. The Minority party can not use the filibuster which would take 60 votes to overturn. What does this mean for us as Christians? Simply stated, we will be funding through our tax dollars abortions here in the U.S. via Medicaid and also for abortions abroad. Hopefully there will be a Democrat or two that will break the tie in the Senate if everyone else votes along party lines. Pray for some Democrats to cross over and vote NO to this outrage. Speaker Pelosi has crowed about this in public stating her kudos of having five children in six years and being a devout Catholic which gives her the bona fides to weigh in. To her this is about equity in women's healthcare and it ensures that all women, regardless of income will have access to abort their children on the taxpayer dime. Archbishop Cordileone of San Francisco has a different opinion of what constitutes a devout Catholic. "No Catholic in good conscience can favor abortion" and furthermore he said," Our land is soaked with the blood of the innocent, and it must stop." Joe Biden who supported the Hyde and Helms amendments for 45 years in the Senate did a flip flop on  the eve before his nomination in order to secure it, also claims to be a devout Catholic. 

President Biden nominated Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum to the International Religious Freedom Commission. The Rabbi is married to Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. Besides being a lesbian I wonder if the fact that she is married to the president of the AFT who was also in the mix to be nominated by Biden for the Secretary of Education, had anything to do with the rabbi's nomination? Biden also nominated two Muslims for religious freedom posts. Rashad Hussein is his nominee for ambassador-at-large for international freedom and Khizr Khan. Khan spoke at the 2016 Democratic Nomination about his son  an Army Captain who died in Iraq in 2004. You may remember that he accused Trump of never making a sacrifice for his country and for never reading the Constitution. Tony Perkins a Marine, former policeman, Christian Minister and President of the Family Research Council is still serving  on the Commission until 2022. Nominated by Mitch McConnell, he has been smeared by the left as a homophobe, transphobe, a white supremacist and the leader of a hate group. (that would be the Family Research Council) What kind of representation will these new nominees bring to the table for God fearing Americans? Plenty if you are  "devout" like Nancy and Joe.