The U.S. Supreme Court nomination debate heating up since Justice Anton Scalia’s recent death is a historical moment for all Americans, especially Christians. The next Justice joining the Supreme Court will be a member of a very exclusive group whose decisions they make about our country will have far-reaching effects.
A law professor once made a comment about the U.S. Supreme Court that the individual justices on that court have a greater impact and influence on our society’s daily lives than either the President or any member of Congress. When you consider the full spectrum of cases they make final decisions on that shape our culture and society this is so true. One well-known example of this is the Miranda case. Everyone knows Miranda from movies and TV. But did you know that it originated from a Supreme Court case out of AZ in 1966? Ernesto Miranda confessed to a crime but the Supreme Court decided police must first advise a suspect of the constitutional rights against self-incrimination and the right to a lawyer. And thus to be Mirandized is to be advised “You have the right to remain silent, if you give up that right anything you say . . .” well, you know the rest.
Miranda was a 5-4 majority vote decision (so only 5 of 9 justices are needed to decide the law of the land!). Furthermore, the justices decide which 100 cases or so that they will even consider each year which is less than 3% of the thousands of possible cases filed for review. They’re influence throughout U.S. history is tremendous. They decided desegregation in public schools in 1954. They decided the 2000 presidential election. Recent cases involved issues of free speech, voting rights, campaign contributions, race-based college admissions and death penalty laws. All lives are touched, regardless of socio-economic class.
But in the Christian context, they’ve decided many controversial issues such as gay marriage, prayer in the school, creationism vs. science in education and abortion. You may be frustrated with the way the Court has seemingly decided against Christian values. God has been systematically removed from our culture and educational system. I think what has been occurring is that the American public is realizing for the first time that Christian traditions such as prayer in the school are technically unconstitutional under the doctrine of separation of church and state and that a vocal minority of non-Christians can successfully challenge these traditions in court and win. But did you know for the first time in the 225 year history of the Court, none of the justices are Protestant Christian? All are either Roman Catholic or Jewish and all are Ivy League law school grads.
The Republican controlled Senate is attempting to block President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee until after the presidential election in the Fall (although, the thought of a President Trump making his choice for Supreme Court is probably a shock to their senses). Judge Scalia’s replacement may very well turn out to be the pivotal swing vote to break the tie between an equally divided conservative and liberal Court. It’s likely in the coming years the Court will re-visit the landmark cases such as abortion as well as capital punishment to name a few. So I hope you see just how influential these Justices can be and take notice of the judicial process whose decisions ripple and reverberate across our entire country for generations. Does that make you sit up and take notice with a greater sense of urgency to vote in the Fall? I hope so. This is both our civil right and responsibility as Christian Americans.

From Pastor Mark’s Heart
March 20, 2016

This past week, an epic showdown took place that has been much anticipated for a very long time.  This battle has been talked about, blogged about, speculated about for months.  People have gotten into huge arguments over which side is right, which side is the one they are pulling for.  No, I am not talking about the Republican or Democratic debates.  I am talking about the preview for the new “Captain America: Civil War” movie due to release in May 2016.
I’ve been a comic book fan for quite a long time.  I can talk about comic book characters and story arcs longer than most people can talk about anything.  I know more about Wolverine’s origin story than my own children.  I have a collection of comic books stored in four huge plastic bins in my old bedroom in my parents’ house in NJ that I refuse to let my mom throw out.  I’ll be 33 years old this year.  My mom hates me.
We have this nook in the entryway of our home that my wife Mina likes to decorate with seasonal paraphernalia like garlands and bells at Christmas.  I make sure that a Batman figure is prominently exhibited in front of the display.  Whenever Mina takes it down, I promptly put it back up despite her warnings of impending death.  My wife hates me.
My kids have tons of super hero Legos and other figurines.  I get really upset with them when they mix up the pieces and lose them.  I yell at them and make them put them back in the right places and play with them “with the respect due to Silver Surfer and Green Lantern.”  My kids hate me.
Some people might say, “David, it’s time to grow up.  Let’s move on from comic books and focus on, you know, raising your children.”  To them, I’d respond, “Is being a grown up that fun?  Is it really that much better to let go of things you used to love as a child but is frowned upon now that you’re older?  Am I supposed to stop laughing at fart jokes now too?”  As the apostle Paul said, “BY NO MEANS!”
Sometimes, we the church take being a Christian too seriously.  We sit around and debate matters of theology and church business as if we are the very gatekeepers of all that is holy.  We sit in service and worship with frowns on our face, perhaps in concentration, but where is the joy?  Where is our childlike faith?  Where is our unbridled excitement and anticipation to be with our Father?  Maybe for some of us, we’ve been at this “church” thing too long.  Maybe for some of us, we feel like God stuff has to be serious stuff – this is the Creator of FOREVER we’re talking about, right?
Yes, this is all true.  And 1 Corinthians 13:11 says “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.”  But I think this has to do with matters of spiritual maturity, not necessarily the posture of our heart before our Father.  As a father myself, nothing makes me happier than when my kids are happy…especially when they’re just happy to be with me.  So while we should all be growing up into adults in terms of spiritual maturity, let’s remain children in our joy and anticipation of being with our Father.
Also, who wants to watch Captain America: Civil War with me?  My mom, wife, and kids all refuse to go.

From Pastor David’s Heart
March 13, 2016