Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.
– Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

No judging please, but I’ve always been a Beatles fan. Because it was a catchy tune and I was a child of the 60’s, I loved “Back in the USSR.” In the past decade, energized by Covid, 1^st Amendment rights and religious liberty have been trampled on. Our wonderful country is losing its foundation. Our Founding Fathers, including Thomas Jefferson, understood that religious liberty was foundational for all other rights. 

Last Sunday, on January 11^th, dozens of protesters disrupted the worship service at the Cities Church in St. Paul, some walking right up to the pulpit, others loudly chanting “ICE out” and “Renee Good,” referring to the woman tragically shot January 7^th by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. 

So, why this church? One of the church’s pastors, David Easterwood, leads a local field office for ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). The disruption was so significant that the worship services were forced to end prematurely. Video footage showed the protesters themselves shouting insults and accusations at youth, children, and families. No cause — political or otherwise — justifies the desecration of a sacred space or the intimidation and trauma inflicted on families gathered peacefully in a place of worship. That’s not a protest. It’s mob harassment. And it’s illegal to disrupt a church or its worship service. Under U.S. law, churches are private property, even when open to the public for worship. Churches have the right to set the rules for conduct on their premises and to remove individuals who violate those rules. 

Please understand this is not about one’s position on ICE or immigration. This is a freedom of religion issue. On this occasion it wasn’t the government interrupting the worship service as we saw during Covid, but citizen protesters. One part of the story that was particularly appalling was CNN journalist, Don Lemon, joining the protesters and defending their right to disrupt the worship service. Apparently, Lemon is ignorant of the law and our Bill of Rights. I wonder how he’d feel if a religious crowd invaded his studio, disrupting his broadcast. It would be illegal and wrong!

But what if this was some other issue like taxation and a worship service was disrupted because a politician happened to be a member. Or, if there was a questionable law enforcement incident and a worship service was disrupted because law enforcement officers were church members. There will be no end to this vile behavior if we don’t take a stand and call it out.  

For example, though it was Britain, Christians around the world were appalled when Isabel Spruce was arrested after praying silently outside an abortion clinic. Yet a similar incident and with greater consequences took place last October outside Chicago’s Broadview Detention Center. Federal agents struck Presbyterian pastor David Black seven times with pellet bullets as he prayed for those detained inside. Unbelievably, ICE agents attacked a clergy member in full public view while he exercised his First Amendment rights. But it gets worse. The next month federal officials further infringed on the 1^st Amendment by banning prayer outside that detention center. So, you can’t pray outside a government owned property? It sounds a bit like we’re “back in the USSR.” 

Religious freedom in America is under assault. Politicians mock the faithful’s claims of religious conscience, while government entities and actors treat religious freedom as obstacles to be overcome rather than as important values to protect. Individuals of all faiths or none, and from all points on the political and ideological spectrum, must be alarmed at the mounting assault on the free exercise of religion and freedom of religious expression. The erosion of one constitutional right—especially one as fundamental as religious liberty and the freedom of speech—sets a precedent for the erosion of other rights to the detriment of all Americans. America wouldn’t be America without the free exercise of religion.

So, what do we do when the protesters come or the government seeks to shut us down? 

This potential situation raises legal, ethical and biblical questions. The FACE Act (Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances) exists to protect people from intimidation or obstruction when they gather for worship or access to medical services. This law makes it illegal to use force, threat, or physical obstruction to intentionally interfere with someone because they’re obtaining or providing religious worship. Churches fall under this protection. Places of worship have legal protection from disruption or intimidation.

We must be clear. The Bible never instructs believers to respond with retaliation. Jesus taught restraint. Our Lord modeled calm in the face of hostility. We must be the ones who turn the other check. The early church often faced disruption. Their response focused on witness and integrity.

While we must defend the right to worship freely, we must also demonstrate how Jesus would respond. That means that we must stay calm. Emotional escalation fuels chaos. Studies on conflict resolution show that a calm presence reduces aggression and restores order faster.

Like Stephen of the early church. We should pray publicly and privately. Prayer re-focuses a room. It signals trust in God rather than control by non-believers. And as Stephen did, we must speak truth clearly both before, during and after the fact. Transparency builds trust.

Most of all, we must always love without compromising convictions. Christians can oppose disruption and still refuse hatred. Jesus did both. 

It’s important that we think about how we should respond if our church faces something like this because we probably will. Would our reaction reflect fear or faith? Would our words point people toward Jesus or toward conflict? Peaceful worship matters. Legal protection exists for a reason. We must prepare our hearts before a crisis. Christlike character shows under pressure. We must always do what is right, even if it costs us because we serve a greater Master. 

Pastor Martin Niemoeller modeled that. During the darkness of the Nazis, Hitler imprisoned this German pastor for eight years. Niemoeller spent time in prisons and concentration camps, including Dachau. Hitler realized that if Niemoeller, a First World War hero, could be persuaded to join his cause then much of his opposition would collapse. So, Hitler sent a former friend of Niemoeller to visit him, a friend who now supported the Nazis. Seeing Niemoeller in his cell, the one-time friend is reported as saying, “Martin, Martin! Why are you here?” To which he received this response from Niemoeller, “My friend! Why are you not here?” 

Like Christ-followers through the ages, we must do what is right even if it means we suffer for it. We serve a greater master, King Jesus!