The church is the last institution standing, and it’s under attack.

When Antonio Gramsci gave his playbook for promoting Marxism and taking over societies, he was very clear in his intentions and exactly how it would play out.

The “long march through the institutions” has been incredibly successful here in the United States. Gramsci believed that socialism could easily spread if four areas of culture were infiltrated: schools, universities, media and churches.

We’ve seen the slow take over of our education systems, starting at Kindergarten all the way through higher education.  Every facet of education has been infiltrated by Marxist ideology.

We have all seen our media sources slowly be taken over by propagandists rather than reporters.  

And now this week, we were witness to a Southern Baptist church in Minnesota whose worshippers were shouted at, verbally assaulted, spit on and forced to be confronted by out of control, anti-American, anti-God protestors. A woman who appeared to be in her early 20’s was yelled at by a protester, “you drink your coffee, you got your jewelry, you have your nice clothes, but what do you do to stand for your Somali and Latino community?” 

An attorney for the Racial Justice Network, Nekima Levy Armstrong, who helped organize the group of protestors, was interviewed and asked if she was hoping the pastor who works in the local ICE field office was going to be present during the protest.

She responded by saying, “It didn’t matter to me if he was present or not. The reality is that it’s unconscionable and unacceptable for someone to claim to serve as a pastor while also being responsible for a lot of what is happening here in our community as a result of thousands of ICE agents descending upon the state of Minnesota…to think about someone claiming to be a pastor, looking like he cared…looking calm, but on the flip side, being an overseer for these agents…”

The church was targeted because a pastor works for the US Government and has been tasked with upholding the United States Constitution. 

 

Ms. Armstrong, who has since been arrested for her role in the protest, claimed it is “unconscionable” to serve as a pastor AND arrest criminals, child sex offenders, and fraudulent business owners.

The behavior from the left comes as no surprise.  They don’t want our freedoms protected, only theirs.  They don’t want the freedom of speech or freedom of religion to exist unless it’s their speech and their religion.  

But what also doesn’t come as a surprise, and I wish it did, is the behavior of the church leadership.

According to an article from Minnesota Public Radio, the Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptist Convention, of which this church is a part of, called the protest “an unacceptable trauma.” Trey Turner, who leads this Convention stated, “I believe we must be resolute in two areas: encouraging our churches to provide compassionate pastoral care to these (migrant) families and standing firm for the sanctity of our houses of worship”.

Mr. Turner, who oversees 183 Southern Baptist churches across Minnesota and Wisconsin, believes that Christians must be unwavering, firm and determined in providing pastoral care to migrants BEFORE ensuring church goers are protected while they worship Jesus.

Mr. Turner, you are wrong.  As Christians, we must be resolute in two areas: protecting a country where people are free to worship and taking action when those rights are infringed upon.  

What’s missing today among American churches is the resolve of the Black Robed Regiment. These were clergy members in the 1700’s who served both in the pulpit and on the front lines for our independence.  These pastors were blamed by the British for colonists even thinking they could live lives separately from the oversight of the monarchy. 

In Benjamin F. Morris’ book, Christian Life and Character, he states, “The ministers of the Revolution were, like their Puritan predecessors, bold and fearless in the cause of their country. No class of men contributed more to carry forward the Revolution and to achieve our independence than did the ministers. . . . [B]y their prayers, patriotic sermons, and services [they] rendered the highest assistance to the civil government, the army, and the country.”

The pastors of the 18th century led their churches to fight against tyranny, to protect their God-given right to worship and fellowship with other believers. They knew that without the faith of the people, without the ability to self-govern with a Biblical worldview, our independence would never come to fruition and the Revolution would fail.  America would be a laughing stock to the rest of the world, and Britain would regain their power, which would result in every colonist who fought for liberty immediately being accused of treason to the crown.  

These protestors today have no idea the origins of our freedom, and neither do most Christians.  They don’t realize the courage of those who stood in the pulpits when liberty was on the line.  

In the mid-1700’s, churches had British soldiers protesting their services and declaring their role as pastor and patriot to be ungodly. 

Today, we have leftists doing the same.  Unfortunately, our pastors aren’t drawing on the well spring of courage their predecessors once did.

Tennesseans, this fight will come to our churches, too.  I know this to be true for two reasons.  One, Marxists won’t stop.  They have come too far and have easily captured the three other institutions of our culture. The American church, although largely weak and lacking courage, is our last hold out.

Two, I know it to be true because of the number of churches who refuse to acknowledge the spiritual battle our country is in.  The Church is not being trained for war, to arm themselves with the sword of the Spirit and the breastplate of righteousness. It’s not being trained on how to participate as a citizen of the greatest country and a resident of one of the most conservative states in our union. 

Tennessee Stands exists to do just that.  We will continue to train. We will continue to equip.  And we will continue to empower us all to fight for the same freedoms the Black Robed Regiment stood for, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence and the pursuit of liberty for all.