Chattanooga: Strong in the Lord

"Finally, my brothers, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, and against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." - Ephesians 6:10-13

Mere words cannot accurately portray what I felt Thursday as the news began to present a clearer picture of exactly what happened just a few miles down the road from my place of employment. The words "Chattanooga" and "terrorist attack" just don't go together. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined my city undergoing such an horrific event.

Chattanooga, the city that I've called home my entire life (even though I've lived on the tip of northwest Georgia about a mile from Chattanooga for most of my 33 years), is not supposed to experience this type of thing. A cocktail of emotions like shock, grief, pain, fear, and anger was suddenly thrust upon the city that I love. 

As I sit here still trying to process the reality of what took place in my hometown, nearly 24 hours after the cowardly attack that killed four U.S. Marine soldiers, my mind turns to the scripture at the opening of this blog post. 

We're going to hear plenty of flesh & blood reactions in the coming hours and days. The investigation will likely reveal more things that make us cringe. There will likely be a massive politicization of the events that took place on 7/16/15. Folks will blame everything from gun laws to Obama to all Muslims. But I will never forget the response of the Church in my city on this day. 

I've never been prouder to be a part of the body of Christ in Chattanooga, Tennessee. There were prayer vigils, old fashioned pentecostal prayer meetings, and worship services across the city just hours after the gunman opened fire in two separate parts of our fine city. 

The Church rallied together and said "not in our city." And really, that's the biggest story of the day for me. I've been a part of the Church in Chattanooga my whole life. I know many Church leaders in our fine city who lead strong, vibrant churches. There are countless men and women who I have always counted on to get a hold of God. Chattanooga is home to many prayer warrirors. So it's with that background that I understand Thursday's attack as more than simply a terrorist attack by what appears to be a young Islamic radical. 

Thursday's attack was not just a strike on our military. It was an attack on a city with a thriving body of Christ. It was an attack on a city that was recently named as one of the most bible conscious cities in America for the second straight year (Barna Group). And we, the Church in Chattanooga, will not take it lying down. 

The Church, one writer of Scripture called it "the pillar and foundation of the truth". The Church, strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. The Church, this army of prayer warriors who go to battle not with weapons and ammunition, but who fight on our knees pushing back against the evil forces that influence those who pull the trigger. The Church, this triumphant band of men and women who take a stand in this evil day. The Church, this entity that will not allow our citizens to be overrun with fear and intimidation. 

We grieve with those who grieve. We mourn the loss of these incredible soldiers and we pray for the continued recovery of the injured like Chattanooga Police Sergeant Dennis Pedigo who's heroic actions on Thursday likely saved many more lives.

But please understand this, the Church of Jesus Christ is activated and ready for a fight. The enemy will not take Chattanooga. His cohorts will not cause fear and terror to reign in our streets. Chattanooga belongs to Jesus and we, the Church, will go to battle on our knees to ensure it stays that way.

Planned Parenthood Video: Grieved but not Hopeless

I'm not really sure what to say about the undercover video of a Planned Parenthood senior director discussing the selling of body parts and tissues from aborted babies in between bites of salad and sips of wine.

The only thing that comes to the surface after watching that horrific video is grief. 

I'm grieved that a human being would utter these words in such a nonchalant manner. I'm grieved that our President has lauded the efforts of such a barbaric organization in the past. I am grieved over the U.S. national media's non-existent response to the story nearly 24 hours after the video surfaced. 

I'm grieved that there are still some Christians, ministers even, who will not speak out about this issue. I'm grieved that there are still some who believe this is more of a political problem rather than a spiritual problem. 

I'm grieved that taxpayer dollars support an organization whose founder, Margaret Sanger, once wrote, "We should hire three or four colored ministers, preferably with social-service backgrounds, and with engaging personalities. The most successful educational approach to the Negro is through a religious appeal. We don’t want the word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population, and the minister is the man who can straighten out that idea if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members."

I'm grieved that anyone with a working brain would defend the barbaric practice of selling any body part or organ of an aborted child for profit. 

I'm grieved that this culture has so quickly fallen into such wicked and selfish behavior. I am grieved over the fact that some still believe electing a Republican for president in 2016 will suddenly fix everything that ills this once great nation. 

I am grieved over the lack of revival in our churches. I am grieved that church attendance has been reduced to 45 minutes to an hour, once a week for many American congregations. 

I am grieved that this wake-up call may only last a few days before we go back to business as usual. 

Yes, I am grieved. But I'm not hopeless. 

Even in my grief, I see the hand of God moving. Even in my grief, I still expect a mighty outpouring of the Spirit on my generation. Even in my grief, I see God raising up prophetic voices to proclaim His name among the heathen. 

Even in my grief over the lostness of humanity, I still believe awakening is coming.  

Same-Sex Marriage: Five Takeaways for the Church from the Supreme Court Decision

With the expected, yet somewhat surprising Supreme Court decision allowing for same-sex marriages in all 50 states, the normal "news dump" Friday turned into a headline-making free-for-all.

Opinions flowed like milk and honey. Some were good. Some were bad. Some were just flat out mean. And I'll admit, I had to hit the delete button a couple of times myself. It's real easy to get in the flesh over matters such as this one.
For me, the immediate reaction was that of shock. I really thought, based on Justice Kennedy's remarks during testimony a few weeks ago, that the court would not rule this way. After the shock gave way, a mood of semi-despair settled in.

After I had some time to reflect on the landmark decision, however, my shock and near despair turned into hope. As I began to read the scriptures and seek the face of God, one word kept coming to mind "opportunity." With the Holy Spirit's guidance, I quickly penned down some takeaways that the American Church can utilize going forward.

1. We can stop being surprised at the sheer blindness of humanity

Maybe I'm the only one that seems surprised that rational human beings, even in their lostness, can be so wrong about a subject like uniting two people of the same sex in "holy matrimony." It's as if the definition of up was changed to down and left was changed to right seemingly overnight. In my study of Jonah today, I read where God told the prophet, "should I not be concerned about Ninevah, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 people who don't know their right hand from their left?" (Jonah 4:10)

There are way more than 120,000 people in America who fit that description. If God was concerned, rather than surprised at the wickedness of the city of Ninevah, the Church should focus on the lostness of sinful humanity rather than try to reason with the unreasonable.

2. We can finally come to grips with the fact that America is a pagan nation

This is a hard pill to swallow. The good old U.S. of A. was founded as a Christian nation. America has long been at the top of the list of missionary-sending countries in the world. We have the Bible-belt. Not to mention the substantial Christian-right political machine that has been responsible for getting Republicans elected for decades now.

With this decision, we American Christians should be free to forget the idea that the restoration of America will come via some evangelo-political solution. We are now free take on a similar posture to that of the early Church who "turned the world upside" amidst a hostile, hedonistic culture.

3. It's time to stand on Kingdom principles rather than place any hope in the Constitution

In case you haven't noticed, our government no longer regards the singular document upon which this nation was to be ruled. The Supreme Court no longer interprets the law, rather it has become a legislative force that even the finest of legal minds cannot contend with.

If you are looking to the Constitution for hope or help, forget it. Stand on the God's Word. Nothing more. Nothing less.

4. The light shines better when the darkness is pervasive

"The light shines in darkness, but has not overcome it." - John 1:5 MEV

It's dark. Really dark. But we have the light. In fact, we are the light. As the body of Christ, our light can not be overcome by the dark. It's impossible.

In other words, opportunity is everywhere! We Christians are about to stick out like a sore thumb. In light of that fact, now is the time to understand what a decision of this magnitude means. Now is the time to understand the Kingdom principles I mentioned in point No. 3. Now is the time to allow God to break your heart for the very same people who spent Friday, June 26 celebrating.

"Always be ready to give an answer to every man who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you, with gentleness and fear." - 1 Peter 3:15 MEV

5. If you have no sense of urgency right now, wake up

The days of "business as usual" are long gone. We can no longer conduct ourselves in a manner that would indicate all is well. All is not well. The leaders of our nation have crossed a line. Judgment is not coming to America. Judgment is already here.

It's time for the Church to stand up. The house is on fire and millions of Americans are oblivious to the raging inferno in their own living room. It's only right for us to yell "FIRE!!!!"

Get in the Word. Get into the presence of God. Seek His face. Pray. Plant that church. Start that bible study. Talk to those people God has laid on your heart for weeks.

And do it quickly! It's not the time to measure that cave for curtains. Don't hide. For goodness sakes, your church's tax-exempt status doesn't matter.

Yes, God has everything under control. But He allows these things to happen to give his people a sense of urgency.

"Blow the ram’s horn in Zion, sound the alarm on My holy mountain! All the inhabitants of the earth will tremble, because the day of the Lord has come, because it is near." - Joel 2:1 MEV

Opportunity is here!

Hey Church, Let's talk about Sexual Ethics

The old mantra, "sex sells" has proven true once again. Over Valentine's Day weekend, "50 Shades of Grey", the film adaptation of a highly successful erotic novel, netted over $90 Million at the box office. That makes it the second highest opening weekend of any February movie release. Dubbed "mommy porn" by some critics, 50 Shades has been roundly condemned by church leaders across America for its portrayal of an adulterous affair highlighted by sadomasochistic elements that crosses into domestic abuse territory.

Coincidentally, there were two highly publicized reports of sexual exhibitionism across the country over the same weekend that the film opened.

In one story, a man and woman who had just met on a trolley began making out in a very public area of a strip mall in Chula Vista, California. The couple reportedly rolled around on the ground kissing and caressing each other in full view of many people before things got really crazy and well, you can read the rest here.

In another story from the weekend, a couple snuck into a football stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee and reportedly took pictures of their rendezvous, posting them to multiple social media platforms.

What in the world is going on?

I can't point to the release of 50 Shades and directly link the film's opening to these acts of indecency, but I can absolutely point to the fact that there's a spirit of sexual degradation loose in this country.

While there are multiple movements aimed at ending sexual slavery & trafficking, millions support a film portraying and even celebrating the reality of such sexual behavior.

Sadly, many "Christians" helped drive the box office totals for the movie.

Combine all of that with what's happening with a homosexual agenda that has organizations spending millions on "equality" projects, and you see there's an all-out war on Biblical sexual ethics.

Seeing the spirit of this age move in such drastic measures to promote deviant sexual behavior, don't you think it's time for the church of the living God to lovingly raise its voice on issues of sexuality?

I recently listened to a series on love, marriage, & relationships by a prominent mega-church pastor. He touched on a lot of things, but sadly adultery, fornication, homosexuality, cohabitation, divorce and pornography were not among his chosen topics. Those things didn't even come up during the course of the weeks-long teaching.

This man has 5,000 or more people on a regular weekly basis in a major metropolitan area of the United States. He's not the only one either. Others have skirted around the homosexual issue for years. It seems as if skating around the topic of sexual ethics has become a norm in the mega-church setting.

I'm not saying these ministers should stand up and blast homosexuals or those addicted to porn or cohabiting couples, but if the subjects are never even broached in the church setting, how are congregants going to deal with these real-life issues?

Honestly, if a regular attendee is living an immoral lifestyle and hasn't been confronted with his or her sin through the normal course of Biblical teaching, something is wrong. Just ask the Corinthian church how that ends up.

The church has the key to moral sexuality. God did not gloss over the subject of sex in His word. In fact, God created sex. And with that wonderful gift to humankind, He laid out a set of guidelines and instructions to use it properly. So, it only makes sense that His people, the Church, would talk about sex in the proper context.

No, I'm not talking about being crude in discussing every last detail in a mixed setting, but the Word of God is great at outlining the sexual ethic without having to venture into terribly uncomfortable, explicit detail (even though Leviticus doesn't spare the minutest detail).

In this ever-increasing sexually immoral society, it's time for God's people to speak up and gracefully teach on Biblical sexuality. Pop culture isn't afraid to teach the masses a distorted message on sexuality. We have God's answers. The creator of one of the greatest expressions of human love and relationships gave us an owner's manual on the subject. Shouldn't we consult it from time to time?

Is the Church ready for the LGBT community?

In recent months, I have searched out every resource I can find to help me better articulate what I believe. I read books and commentaries from the greatest of theological minds. As a lifelong student of the Word, I feel like I can answer just about anyone.

Boy, was I wrong.

I came to that realization when I came across a tweet that floored me, recently. I re-tweeted it and added my own commentary on the subject.

Here, it's self-explanatory.

Stop the madness RT @RNS: “My son wears princess dresses,” A Christian mom on raising her gender nonconforming child" http://t.co/AEq5ILuabf
— Joel Barker (@joelabarker) January 16, 2015

This is where I found out just how ready I was to give an answer on a subject that many in the Christian community wish would just go away.

I quickly found myself in multiple debates about everything from the gender non-conformity of a four year old child to LGBT equality.

It was probably my subsequent tweet that lit the fire.

Hey Christian parents, let's be culture non-conforming. Loving & graceful, but smart enough to recognize Satanic influence.
— Joel Barker (@joelabarker) January 16, 2015

I make no bones about the fact that I believe 100-percent what the Word of God says about homosexual practice. I can fully articulate what and why I believe that, but how in the world do you respond to this?

@joelabarker Not forcing our kids to fit in specific boxes or otherwise shaming 'non-conforming' behavior is hardly satanic influence
— carrie (@Cali8083) January 16, 2015

Before long I found myself in conversations with dozens of LGBT supporting "Christians." Even the mother of the four year child from the interview conversed with me via Twitter.

I was called out by the writer of the article.

If you're a straight "pastor" saying a 4 year old boy wearing a dress is "satanic": YOU are the one doing the harm.
— ELIEL CRUZ (@elielcruz) January 17, 2015

And the mother was quick to try and clarify her point.

@joelabarker @elielcruz Exactly what we're doing! We don't even know if he's NGC; we're just letting him know it's okay if he is.
— Lisa Bohn (@lisa_bohn) January 17, 2015

I still don't understand how a rationally thinking human being can say that a boy playing with girls toys and wearing princess garb is an LGBT issue (the story was published on the writer's blog titled Faithfully LGBT).

I have seen many little boys clog around the church in his mother's high heels. Does that make an innocent child predisposed to gender non-conformity or a homosexual lifestyle? Of course not.

While part of me wants to lash out and go all Romans 1 on everyone involved, that would do very little to actually address the issue. These folks know the scriptures. Many in the LGBT "Christian" community have learned to twist or dismiss every scripture regarding homosexuality in the Word.

Yet, they're still a people who God wants us to love. They are still a people for whom Christ died.

We cannot simply leave it at "that's an abomination" or even my preferred response "that's a demonic spirit." We can't just leave it there and actually reach the people.

For at least four hours over two days, I found myself simultaneously defending God's Word and attempting to reach out with love and understanding to a handful of people from the LGBT community via Twitter.

The writer of the article later tweeted something that brought a sobering reality to light.

I started the GSA at AU only 4 years ago. I've dealt with about 7 LGBT students who attempted suicide. People are dying. #FaithfullyLGBT
— ELIEL CRUZ (@elielcruz) January 17, 2015

These are real people with real issues and real emotions. It's more than a simple problem with no feelings attached. Believe it or not, the struggle these folks face isn't just about sex and lust–as many in the evangelical world have believed for decades.

Kids and adults alike are confused. Some are conflicted with their feelings and emotions. Most feel like complete outcasts, especially when it comes to the Church. Many have taken their own lives.

It's true that Jesus accepted everyone, but I cannot find one story where anyone left His presence the same way the came. And, I believe, therein lies the answer.

Are we allowing gay people to even come to Jesus? Are we more defensive in our posture toward the homosexual than say the drunkard who can't seem to keep the victory over the bottle for more than two weeks at a time?

Is there enough room for the Spirit to move within our churches that makes deliverance possible for those who are seeking it? Is there enough grace within our community of believers to make change possible?

Make no mistake, nothing about this issue is easy. From the virulence that exists in the so-called "gay agenda" to the massive amount of hurt and fear that many homosexuals have experienced at the hands of hateful "Christians", there's a lot of baggage to work through.

Thankfully, we have a Savior who said,  “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28, MEV)

It's time we allow God to break our hearts for the gay community. Beyond that, it's time we allow the Holy Spirit to truly move in our congregations in such a way that the most bound and blind among us can experience lasting freedom.


Note: For more on LGBT and the church, please check out the ministry of Dr. Michael Brown. Dr. Brown faces these issues head-on on his national radio program, In the Line of Fire. He has also written books like A queer thing happened to America and Can you be gay and Christian that serve as real life references for how to handle questions from the gay community while showing love and grace toward them.