As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“The Department of Justice is backing Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., in its lawsuit against Mayor Murriel Bowser for unfairly applying a ban on outdoor church services of more than 100 people during the COVID-19 pandemic.” - C.Post
“…it seems necessary to amend the statement, ‘We must obey the government unless the government explicitly tells us to disobey God,’ to something like this: ‘We must obey the government (1) unless the government explicitly tells us to disobey God, or (2) unless the government exceeds its jurisdiction so as to speak authoritatively into a sphere regulated by another, God-instituted authority.’” -
CHBC sued, “contending the district’s restrictions in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic violate the congregation’s First Amendment rights and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
“The pastor of a 3,000-seat California church said he will stop fighting Santa Clara County and hold services in the church parking lot as per local COVID-19 guidelines after fines rose to over $112,000. The county said it will not forgive the fines.” - CPost
“After reportedly receiving over $100,000 in fines and facing a lawsuit, North Valley Baptist Church (NVBC) in Santa Clara, California, has decided to drop its legal battle with Santa Clara County and to worship outside instead of indoors.” - C.Leaders
“I believe it is possible for the California State Government and communities of faith in California to have a more coordinated and united effort in addressing the Coronavirus pandemic and civil unrest in our society.” - Kendall Laughlin, Jr.
My heart goes out to churches in places where COVID-related health orders have made it impossible to “gather in a normal way,” to use a phrase from Grace Community Church’s (GCC’s) “Statement from Pastor and Elders.”
Much of the debate over whether churches should submit to COVID-related rules in California has been inaccurately framed. “We must obey God rather than man,” they say (drawing from Acts). Using phrases like “ban on indoor worship” or even “ban on worship,” they represent the options as totaling two: We can (1) obey God by continuing to meet, disobey the manmade rules, and stand up for our rights or we can (2) disobey God by not meeting at all, comply with oppressive orders, and watch our liberties be slowly stripped away.
“While I knew that restrictions have made it harder to immigrate to this country by crossing the border illegally from Mexico or applying for a work visa from China, I didn’t realize that new rules also affect those who flee persecution for their religious faith.” - TGC
“…there is one exception that is clear. When our biblical responsibility to obey government authorities (or any other earthly authority) conflicts with our responsibility to obey God, we must choose to obey the higher authority…..May we too have the grace to disobey government authorities when they command us to do things contrary to the clear teachings of God’s Word.” - P&D
Discussion