Tag: defy

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Breaking Featured Righteous Defiance

John MacArthur Defied a Court Order this Morning and Had In-person Services. This is what Happened

Pastor MacArthur defied a preliminary injunction against him and Grace Community Church by an L.A court that prohibited them from having indoor services, setting himself up to be charged with a $1000 fine and face jail time for refusing to abide by the court ruling.

Speaking in front of a packed congregation, MacArthur was greeted by an almost 30-second standing ovation, with the church cheering him and thanking him for not bowing to Los Angeles County Health official’s efforts to shut him down.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1305199224607268865


MacArthur addressed one of the main questions he was receiving; why not just abide by the court order and have outdoor services, which they are allowed to do? The Shepherd explaining that to do so would practically and destroy their services and their ability to properly and effectively preach the gospel and serve the congregation. He said:

“You people are out of control. Are you happy to be at church?

Before we begin, the question has come up a number of times about why Grace church does not just comply with the orders that have been laid down for churches. And I thought it might be helpful to give you the list of things that are required of us as a church so that you understand how utterly impossible that would be. Here are the basic orders.

-No indoor meetings at all
-Pre-registration of every person who comes on the church property
-People only allowed on church property for scheduled events
-Every person who comes on the property is to be screened and have their temperature taken at the entry
-We all must maintain 6 feet of social distance at all times everywhere, including the parking lot and the restrooms
-Every other parking space must be left vacant
-Marked pathways to maintain social distance.
-Keeping people apart by staff monitors
-Everyone always wearing a mask
-Restroom monitors to control 6 feet social distancing at restrooms
-Tape on the ground marking distance
-Signs indicating these mandates and also full exposure on social media
restrooms are to be used during the service to minimize the rush. That would be interesting.
-No hymnbooks
-No communion
-No offering containers
-No pew bibles
-No singing
-No hugging
-No shaking hands
-Disposable seat covers changed between services
-And the services have to be shortened (laughter from congregation) that’s not a problem for me, right?

And based upon the separation, we could only meet in the tent with a maximum of 350-400 people (GCC has 10 times that on a regular Sunday) You can see these are the requirements that would completely shut the church down. Anyone who comes in contact with someone outside their family for more than 15 minutes must self-quarantine for 2 weeks.

Obviously this is not constitutional, but more importantly it goes against the will of the Lord of the church who calls us to gather, amen? So look at the person next to you and say ‘I don’t know who you are but I’m so glad I’m sitting next to you.’

Categories
Breaking Featured Righteous Defiance

MacArthur Plans to Defy Recent Court Ruling this Sunday ‘We’re going to have Church’

John MacArthur and Jenna Ellis appeared on Fox News at Night with Shannon Bream last night, where the 80-year-old preacher currently embroiled in a battle with L.A county health officials over his church having indoor services, elaborated on what his plans were for this coming service, after a Judge gave the county a preliminary injunction and ruled he was to cease having indoor services at full capacity.

“We’re going to have Church on Sunday. There is absolutely no reason not to have church as far as safety goes. A statistic- one in 100th of 1 percent of Californians have COVID. That’s the number. And yet no one in the entire state of California is allowed to go inside a church. Doesn’t make sense. Plus we’re under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ and he says have church, and we’re gonna have it.

Shannon points out that the law is not discriminating solely against churches but also affects any other large gatherings, but Ellis disagrees, saying that it is targeting churches because the state doesn’t have the same restrictions and enforcement on other large gatherings like protests, which they have lauded and encouraged participation in, nor did the ruling acknowledge or consider any meritorious constitutional arguments they claimed.

“When the government is allowed this type of broad, and arbitrary, unlimited and indefinite power, then our rights become mere privileges. And for the judge to characterize this simply as the county ‘allowing’ these types of worship services, that’s not for the county to decide. That’s why our founders put ‘free exercise of religions’ as a fundamentally, constitutionally protected right, so we’re going to stand up for pastor John MacArthur and Grace Community Church because he’s absolutely right, he gets to hold church.  

Ellis noted that she will file a formal notice of appeal tomorrow

Categories
Featured News Righteous Defiance

CA Congregation Travels 2 Hours To Face Arrest so Other Church can Worship, Defying Judge’s Orders

A judge who issued a restraining order against a California church opening during the pandemic and who threatened to arrest and fine the first 1000 people who showed up, had his plans thwarted when another church came to rescue, with members driving over 150 miles to attend the service and be counted as among the first to be arrested, sacrificing their bodies and freedom to free up members of the church under fire to attend and worship unmolested.

The move comes after a California judge declared that anyone who gathered under the church roof of Godspeak Calvary Chapel would be severely punished, issuing a restraining order against the church and its pastor, Rob McCoy after the local government sued McCoy and his church for holding in-person services of up to 200 people, which violates Covid-19
shutdown restrictions.

The attorney for the county also demanded that Pastor Rob McCoy be thrown in jail for opening his church this past Sunday and also requested that the judge order armed police officers to physically block entrance into the church to prevent congregants from attending.

Liberty Counsell President Matt Staver, whose firm is closely following the proceedings, explained that this was the first time that there has ever been such an order placed against a church.

The judge issued a restraining order against him, the church, and 1 through 1,000 John Does. He issued the order and said ‘anyone acting in concert with any of these individuals.’

The John Doe orders and the in-concert language means that anybody who dares go into that church building, at any time in the future, until this judge gives his blessing, will be held in contempt of court. There are already penalties and fines of $1,000 a day, and now this contempt that they would hold over you, for going into the building for worship or prayer, would result in you going to jail as well under this court order.

This has never happened before in America.

At the news of the fines and the restraining orders issued to potential John Does, 2500 people attended the service on Sunday. Staver recounts:

Part of this group was another church that drove two hours to this church to be the first 1,000 people to be arrested so that the people inside could have their worship services.”

It is an incredible thing that church members from another congregation, whose church wasn’t being attacked and subjected to this persecution, drove two hours to stand outside in the parking lot during the services to voluntarily receive citations or face arrest so others could worship inside, in defiance of Governor Gavin Newsom’s tyrannical and anti-christian policies.

We at Pulpit & Pen commend the courage of all involved.