Last week, New Orleans Saints Quarterback Drew Brees received harsh criticism from a New Orleans based website/publication for appearing in a Focus on the Family video urging students to bring their Bibles to school for the upcoming “Bring Your Bible to School Day” on October 3, 2019. Brees was criticized for expressing his own beliefs in Christianity (his 1st Amendment right, and a right and privilege for us all, as stated in our U.S. Constitution). And, alarmingly, his comments on the video were twisted into him being against the LBGTQ community because of the video being sponsored and distributed by Focus on the Family, which has taken an anti-LBGTQ stance in thee past. However, Brees said nothing even remotely related to the LBGTQ community in his video statement.
“Agendized journalism,” as I call it, has to stop. It is doing far too much damage to our nation. It is endangering what our nation has always stood for. It threatens to tear apart our democracy and puts our future as a nation at risk.
Upon learning of these events late last week, it put me in mind of and made me want to go back and watch one of my favorite movies, “War Room.” This movie is from 2015 and was produced and directed by the Kendrick brothers from Smyrna, Georgia. You may have heard of some of their other movies: “Flywheel,” “Facing The Giants,” “Fireproof,” “Courageous.” If you have not seen these movies I strongly urge you to do so. Watch them with your family.
According to their website, “Kendrick Brothers Productions exists to honor Jesus Christ and to make HIS truth and love known among the nations through movies, books, curriculum and speaking.” In recent years, I have thanked God many times for people such as the Kendrick brothers and many others around the world. In short, people who want to share and tell the most important story ever told. And, people who are not afraid to do so. And now, people like Drew Brees.
As I was sitting there re-watching “War Room,” I started thinking about similar events in the past and specifically an event in Bossier Parish. Events such as the situation Airline High School and the A.C.L.U. that happened back in 2015. Coverage of this situation dominated a large portion of our local news when it happened. As I said back then in 2015, I applaud former Airline High principal Jason Rowland (now Assistant Superintendent for Bossier Parish Schools) for standing up for a belief in which he believes so strongly.
In reality, this is a belief which so many of us hold so dearly close in our hearts, minds and souls. In my opinion, by far, the vast majority of Americans are getting absolutely sick and tired of having our rights as Christians trounced upon! America is a country that was founded upon Judeo-Christian beliefs! According to our constitution, separation of church and state does not mean there is to be no religion at all in terms of anything deemed as having to do with government or property of the state.
Separation of church and state means that our government can not tell us which religion we have to be. Thus, our government cannot force a single religion upon us as American citizens. I have talked about this in some of my previous BPT columns.
Well, with all of this being said, the true fact is, most of our rights as Christians have been all but taken away. The only rights seem to belong to those that disagree with Christianity. How totally backwards is this? Well, as comedian Earl Pitts used to say, it is time to “Wake Up America!” If we cease standing up for our rights, then one day pretty soon, we will have no rights at all.
In today’s United States, our Christian liberties have been dealt a harsh debilitating blow and our Christian rights are in serious danger of being controlled by a select elite few. As the movie “War Room” states in one of my favorite quotes/parts of the movie, taken from 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV): “If my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and I will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
Yes, my friends. God calls us to be warriors in His name and to stand up for what we know is right. And, to stand up for our beliefs. If you think about it, actually, this battle has been going on for thousands of years. The decision is ours. It is up to us. Will we stand up?
Randy Brown is publisher of the Bossier Press-Tribune. He can be reached at rbrown@bossierpress.com.
