The news about the Kentucky county clerk who, despite the recent landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling permitting gay marriage,  refused to issue marriage licenses to gay couples has garnered much attention across the entire political and religious spectrum.  I normally prefer to avoid the political/religious rhetoric but my Bible reading of 1 Peter this week touched upon this very topic of Christians submitting to every authority instituted among men whether king or governor, so I felt it was more than just coincidence. There is an important distinction between one’s personal religious beliefs and our government. The county clerk in Kentucky held fast to her deep Christian conviction against gay marriage despite being held in contempt of court for defying a federal court order to comply with the law of the land. She chose to go to jail rather than betray her conscience and she was praised in many Christian circles as a hero because of it (this Protestant even had a private meeting with the Pope last week!). For that she may very well be in good standing before God on that big Judgment Day. But from a legal standpoint her actions were misguided to have crossed over from the personal into the public political arena.
She has absolutely every right to her personal religious beliefs and the government cannot infringe upon that right whatsoever. However, as county clerk she took an oath of office to “ . . . faithfully execute the duties of my office without favor, affection or partiality so help me God.”And so therefore as a public servant she gave her word to follow the law of the land. If she no longer can do so her option is to resign from office rather than renege on her oath. There are many examples of public servants who forego their personal beliefs while serving in office. For example, capitol punishment is still carried out in some states despite the respective governors’ personal objection to death penalty laws. Indeed, the federal judge who ordered this county clerk to be jailed for defying his court order to issue marriage licenses  is apparently a devout Christian. But he even stated at her contempt hearing that his personal opinion is not relevant and to allow it to supersede his judicial authority would set a dangerous precedent.
Similarly, all of the U.S. Supreme Court members who rendered the gay marriage decision are either Christian or Jewish. My point about this is that Christians are constitutionally protected from government infringing upon their right to worship Christ Jesus and conversely they need not attempt to implement their freedom of religion within government with such short-sighted methods. I’m not sure what this county clerk thought she hoped to achieve ignoring proper channels and acting outside of the law. She certainly drew a lot of attention to herself but she won’t have succeeded in overturning the U.S. Supreme Court decision. No one would’ve imagined gay marriage even five or ten years ago and yet here we are in a secular world that not even the framers of our constitution would ever have contemplated. But personally I’m not threatened by a society and government or a hostile world in general no matter how turned around it appears.  No contemporary trending social mores will ever cause me to feel otherwise. Isn’t this what we’re warned about in Scripture to begin with?

From Pastor Mark’s Heart
October 4, 2015

*Note: many portions of this column are tongue in cheek.  Especially the title.  I love teleworking.  Mostly because I don’t do any real work but shhh…
I don’t know about you guys, but frankly, I love when the pope visits DC.  I got to work from home for three days this week!  Thanks to the Holy See!  (What the heck is a See anyway.  If I were the pope, I’d have people refer to me by a much better nickname like the AllFather or the Super Robe or the White Wizard.  I’ve been reading too many comic books.)
The reason I got to work from home was because of the potential traffic gridlock caused by blocked off streets and massive amounts of tourists that was anticipated, so my employer decided to allow employees to telework if they needed to.  I heard some people were planning on sleeping at work or going in at noon and staying past midnight just to avoid traffic.  Because let’s be honest, driving in traffic in this area makes one really appreciate gun control laws.  But ironically, for those that did have to commute, it didn’t really turn out to be that bad.
Maybe it was because of the amount of employers approving telework in anticipation of the traffic or people changing their commuting schedules to avoid any issues.  Maybe it was divine providence because the pope really does have a landline upstairs.  Whatever the reason, those that did brave the outside during the pope’s visit probably had a much easier commute than expected.  For a region that prides itself on having only 1 road between Maryland and Virginia, that’s pretty good!  (In other news, seriously, get it together Maryland and Virginia.  Build a bridge or something.  It’s not that hard.)
Often times, we’re so much more afraid of what the consequences we imagine could be than what reality actually turns out to be.  In matters of faith, this is probably a concept many of us church-going Christians are all too familiar with.  “But if I commit to an oikos group, my Saturdays will never be free.”  “But if I tell people I’m a Christian, they might expect me to be good all the time.”  “But if I go to a missions trip, I might have to… do stuff... and not be able to shower.”  Yes, these are all very true potential consequences, except the showering part – this is purely optional but highly recommended for the sake of your teammates as well as the gospel.
But, in Christianity, there is no such thing as teleworking.  Jesus’ Great Commission is not a message to a select few super Christians.  The Bible is not a book to be read only by Christian nerds.  Our faith is not meant to be a lamp hidden under a bowl.  We are supposed to live what we believe no matter what the consequences.
And the truth is, the consequences are never really as horrible as they seem.  On a personal level, some of my greatest experiences of true vulnerability and community have been within an oikos context.  Telling people I’m a Christian at work has allowed me to share my faith with those I might never have spoken to about Jesus.  And every missions trip I’ve been on, not only have I showered (except that 1 time when I wanted to see how black my scalp could get), but I’ve seen God move incredibly in the lives of others as much as myself.  I also know for a fact that many others in our church have had similar if not even greater outcomes.
So, church, let’s step out in faith and say yes to the Lord in things both big and small.  No doubt, there is potential for some traffic on the 495 of our souls (my old English professor just threw up).  But the truth could be so much sweeter than what we fear.

From Pastor David’s Heart
September 27, 2015