Tag: church

The Church of Woke

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All of us need to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are uniquely made, that we are here on this earth for a purpose, and that our lives have transcendent meaning.

If these innate characteristics go unfulfilled, or if life’s trials simply wear us down, our hearts become hardened and our spirits flaccid.

Wittingly or unwittingly, we find ourselves on a quest for the seemingly elusive someone or something that has placed these components deep within us.

We instinctively know that whoever or whatever is the originator of these inner sensibilities is greater than ourselves.

What we are not always cognizant of, though, is the fact that also built into us is the need to bow down to a power that is greater than ourselves.

And bow down we all do.

Like it or not, we all serve somebody. So who do you serve?

Some of us have the peace of always having had the answer to that question. Others have drifted in and out of certainty. And then there are those who don’t think that any of the things described above pertain to them.

But of course they do, as hopefully they will someday be able to recognize in themselves.

At the present time, a newfound spiritual group has assembled together. Members of the group have populated the social media with a creed of sorts, establishing a religion that could aptly be called “The Church of Woke.”

The fledgling church exhibits attributes of religious institutions that have come before it. However, its belief system is antithetical to the time-honored faiths of our country and of the world.

Members of The Church of Woke claim to seek a world in which no inequality exists and everything is paid for without anyone ever having to work. Rather than comparing our nation to other countries, they compare it to the utopia that their religion claims to offer.

The Church of Woke is dead set on disparaging, demeaning, and destroying all things related to traditional religious institutions. It adamantly rejects what it views as archaic absolute standards. Above all else it embraces moral relativism, which has no philosophical leg to stand on. No reasoning allowed, just sheer emotion. According to The Church of Woke, the only way forward is to tear down everything.

Adherents harbor a fierce hatred for America. This is because the notion that our country is the repository of evil has been drilled into their heads. The whole Western World is viewed as having a sinister history, ideology, and political bent. Wrongs are categorized as “systemic” and are therefore incapable of ever being corrected.

The Church of Woke is enlisting new members every day and converting them to the “correct” way of thinking. Services have taken the form of street protests, and prayers, the endlessly repeated worn-out chants of radicals past.

Followers of The Church of Woke consider themselves to be today’s chosen people. No way do they have to follow traditional rules of law. They are completely free to express any degree of hostility toward anyone they wish. They are also allowed to punish anyone who fails to bow to them.

Yes, we all serve somebody. And the reality is, the choice of whom we serve has clearly become a binary one.

And the People Shouted Hallelujah

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In a bold move last week, President Donald Trump announced that his administration would seek to immediately reopen houses of worship across the country.

Next came an order to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to classify churches, synagogues, and mosques as “essential places that provide essential services.”

“Some governors have deemed liquor stores and abortion clinics as essential, but have left out churches and other houses of worship,” President Trump said in the White House press room, punctuating his statement with the words, “It’s not right.”

“The people are demanding to go to their church and synagogue, to go to their mosque,” the president said, adding that in America “we need more prayer, not less.”

Spirituality, by virtue of its existence, is essential. In America, its manifestation has historically been safeguarded by the words contained in our inspired foundational document.

Hard to believe that we could ever have been denied the necessity of the soul.

President Trump had another message for officials who have little sense of urgency and seem content to delay indefinitely when it comes to allowing houses of worship to reopen.

“If they don’t do it, I will override the governors,” the president said.

His remarks have been mischaracterized by the Democrats and the antagonistic media from the moment they were uttered. Many of the same partisan organizations and individuals show little or no regard for a paramount constitutional right—the free exercise of religion.

Some of the so-called experts have weighed in, indicating that President Trump does not have the authority to override governors who are dragging their feet on the reopening of religious institutions.

As head of the executive branch, the president maintains the authority to utilize the Department of Justice (DOJ) to accomplish the objective of securing the cooperation of the governors.

Among the many options, lawsuits can be filed and judges can impose limitations on the actions of governors who are in violation of federal and/or state constitutions. Attorney General William Barr has already demonstrated that he is willing to enter the fray of legal challenges to governors’ orders.

The free exercise of religion is included in our First Amendment precisely because the founders understood the essential nature of religious liberty. To ever have given houses of worship a “non-essential” label not only runs counter to the First Amendment, but it has the potential to hinder a primary life process in which an individual and/or groups engage, particularly in times of distress or anxiety.

Our country’s first president would have been on board with our current president in understanding the necessity for spirituality and religious expression.

As shown in Arnold Friberg’s famous painting “The Prayer at Valley Forge,” the image of then-General George Washington on his knees has inspired Americans since the work of art was first unveiled in 1976, the year of our nation’s bicentennial.

As the story goes, a young Pennsylvania senator named Isaac Potts was against the war that gave birth to America. His opposition would not last long, though.

One day he happened upon a man who was immersed in deep prayer. At his side a sword lay placid on the ground. The solitary figure turned out to be General Washington himself, asking the Almighty to assist him in his cause of emancipating a nascent country.

Reflecting on the prayer, Potts became convinced that the American Revolution “was the cause of God, and America could prevail.”

President George Washington would later say, “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.”

Perhaps much like something President Washington would have said if faced with the same circumstances, President Trump let governors and officials across the land know that religious institutions, and the worship services they provide, play an essential role.

He has spoken for the searchers whose life-sustaining spirituality is, and always will be, essential.

And the people shouted hallelujah.

Take Me to Church…Online

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At a time when society is experiencing a heightened degree of anxiety, many folks appear to be turning inward in search of the faith that they knew as a little child.

Our country has a treasure chest of faith traditions that are proving to be invaluable during these trying times in which we now find ourselves.

As human beings we need one another. This is a self-evident statement. Nevertheless it is a soothing one when freely acknowledged to self and others.

We have been forced to remain separate, but through the isolating experience we seem to have gained a greater appreciation for loved ones, colleagues, and even would-be friends.

While getting in touch with our most basic needs, many of us have discovered that the need to be together in worship is greater than we had ever imagined.

Saving grace to the rescue. Although our houses of worship have had to close their physical doors, digital windows the internet-over have been flung wide open.

Those, who for whatever reasons, had stopped attending holy wooden, steel, and brick and mortar structures are now filling digital pews in greater and greater numbers, thanks to online streaming and on demand viewing.

Ministry Brands is a leading provider of software for online religious streaming for churches, ministries, and faith-based organizations in the United States and Canada.

As indicated in a recent release by the company, its online service, ChurchStreaming.TV, reported an unprecedented surge in internet worship, due to the lack of availability of physical worship facilities during this period of home “sheltering.”

Amazingly, the streaming service has quadrupled its internet usage over the same period in 2019.

Life.Church is an evangelical multi-site worship center that serves congregants at 34 locations in 10 Midwest states. The church created technology back in 2006, Church Online Platform, which facilitates online services and makes it available to other churches free of charge.

Online church attendance through Life.Church’s platform has continued to increase significantly, breaking records with each consecutive weekend that passes. The church indicated in a news release that more than 7 million people attended services during the March 21-22 weekend, which was almost double the participation of the previous weekend. Thousands of new churches have been signing up to use the Life.Church technology.

Easter is rapidly approaching, which for many people is the highest of holy days. It remains the largest worship attendance day for Christians of all denominations.

Churches, ministries, and faith-based communities of all sizes are preparing for the challenge of holding Easter Sunday services while still practicing distancing. Online worship is the answer to many a prayer.

One of the most influential Christian congregations in Hollywood, Churchhome, is perhaps best known for its services held at a theater in Beverly Hills, where the front rows are reserved for celebrities.

In conventional times, the church draws thousands of people to its five locations spread throughout California and Washington.

“I think we have an opportunity, actually, to engage at a deeper level,” Churchome lead pastor Judah Smith told Fox News. “We’re finding that actually being home, engaging face-to-face is going to lead us actually to an interesting place in faith and I think will change how we worship going forward.”

Chruchhome, Zoe Church, Mosaic, Radius, VOUS, and Hillsong, are among the new breed of trendy worship centers that are attracting the famous. These churches have somewhat of an advantage over the more traditional denominations, because they have always incorporated the internet in their ministries, via online platforms and apps.

In addition to churches providing digital alternatives, an increasing number of pastors have turned to a much older concept to gather together their congregants; that being the drive-in venue. Churchgoers are driving into church parking lots, maintaining the appropriate distance from adjacent cars, and turning their radios on to listen to sermons. Some drive-in theaters that are now barred from showing movies are instead opening up their premises for local churches to utilize.

Although the future remains uncertain, new blessings will undoubtedly continue to emerge in this period of worship innovation.

In an article in Christianity Today, David Taylor, an assistant professor of theology at Fuller Seminary, writes, “I’ve discovered recently that my prejudices against media technology reflect an embarrassing ignorance about how such technologies might serve the deaf, the elderly, the homebound.”

Taylor adds, “Consider, then, not how this season of experimentation will make people woefully dependent on disembodied technologies, but rather how it may bring to your attention the people in your community who will be blessed long-term by adjustments that you make.”

Hope to see you at the online altar.

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