“The Church Has Lost its Voice” says David Barton, looking at the Johnson Amendment and how it affects the Church
We look at the Johnson Amendment and the importance of removing this amendment in America. Some may not know exactly what it is, or how it affects the Church. Kenneth Copeland, Pastor George Pearsons, Bishop Keith Butler and David Barton do an outstanding job educating us all as they have an in-depth conversation about the Johnson Amendment. Initially put into practice by then Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, essentially states that tax-exempt organizations cannot express certain opinions about political candidates.
As David Barton eloquently points out, the original intent of America and the Church was vastly different from how things are today. “When a Church gets a 501(c)3 letter, it’s called a ‘Letter of Recognition’. It doesn’t grant anything. It recognizes that you’re a Church…The reason we don’t tax Churches, and the reason they’re tax exempt, John Marshall… said, ‘the power to tax is the power to destroy’…If you can tax the Church, you can destroy the Church. You can cut out their free speech…” Bringing a deeper clarity as to how the Johnson Amendment is being used in today’s culture, David expresses these words, “Suddenly in America, we can’t do what the Bible says anymore; at least we’re told that. So, the Johnson Amendment is what is used by the critics to say the Church has lost its right of free speech from the pulpit.” To add an even more surprising reality, David points out, “…unions are 501(c)3, they endorse all the time and they speak about anything they want to.”
It is simply because the Church has listened to what the government has implemented as opposed to what the Bible commands that we have arrived at today’s reality. As David physically points out message after message that was preached from the pulpit, creating a stack of messages in front of the very chair he is speaking from, he concludes, “The Church has lost its voice.”
Because the current events are not being talked about in the pulpits across America, many believers want to stand up for what the Bible teaches but aren’t fully confident in knowing what exactly the Bible teaches. When David began to ask the question of what people in the Church want their pastors to preach about, he passed on the questions to George Barna, and comprised a list of the top 12 issues.
God is about to pour out His presence and His glory upon the face of the whole Earth. There is no greater deciding factor when wondering whose Kingdom you are part of, than when the Kingdom of God arrives. It doesn’t matter what someone says or proclaims to be, clarity comes when the Glory of God is revealed. We are either with Him or we are against Him. Now is the time to speak out in boldness and truth for the Kingdom of God. But, not only must we speak it, we also should live it out each day in our daily lives. Be encouraged in your faith to understand, not only what the Bible says about such important realities, but also the urgency of the hour, and so much more. We want to hear from you! Write to us at [email protected]. Greg and Steve shared in this segment.
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