July 28 marked the theatrical release of a documentary by Grace Productions, The Essential Church.
This full-length film looks at the experience of several churches during the 2020 pandemic, including Grace Community Church in California.
Two Canadian pastors (James Coates and Tim Stephens) are featured prominently because their defiance of shutdown orders resulted in arrest and imprisonment. Both their churches were locked down by state authorities.
The story of Grace Community Church is explored in the most depth, both the internal struggles of the leadership to discern the biblical response to the pandemic, as well as the legal challenges that were brought against the church for refusing to shut down.
The documentary effectively ties the conflict between church and state into an historical context, using the example of the Scottish Covenanters to show that faithful believers have always been willing to pay the price for defending the Lordship of Christ over his church. And the abuse of state power is tied to the biblical metanarrative of the conflict between the Seed of the Woman and the seed of the serpent. Satan seeks to oppress the church through the power of the state.
This movie is an important contribution to the conversation about the relationship between church and state, and I hope it encourages an honest and open discussion about the church's response to the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns.
(This lengthy article is in three parts and begins here.) Perhaps the most alarming result of 2020 is illustrated by a famous psychology experiment from the 1960s. The behavior of the subjects was so startling that the experiment was discontinued...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
(This lengthy article is in three parts and begins here.) Civil magistrates may not assume to themselves the administration of the Word and sacraments; or the power of the keys of the kingdom of heaven; or, in the least, interfere in matters of...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
I was encouraged to see two recent articles posted on The Aquila Report—one by an OPC pastor and the other by an ARP pastor—both of which address the church’s response to COVID and the need for us to reflect and repent. This has...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
