https://jemartisby.substack.com/p/should-we-disrupt-church-services/
~~ recommended by newestbeginning ~~
This is a thoughtful discussion by Reverend Tisby about whether Church services should be disrupted to protest injustice. He asks if you see an injustice being committed or about to be committed, what lengths would you go to protect the victim? Would you break a law? Would you put yourself at risk?
He likens the protests in Minneapolis to the Civil Rights protests... I am listening to his podcast now and think that it might break you free from Plato's cave, NB
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They removed an exhibit at a historic site in Philadelphia about George Washington enslaving people. I’m here to prevent whitewashing the past.
About three dozen protestors entered the sanctuary of Cities Church in St. Paul and staged a protest so disruptive that they halted the service.
They were there protesting the fact that one of the church’s leaders, David Easterwood, serves as the leader of the local ICE field office.
They were there protesting the murder of Renee Good and the tyranny of ICE in their communities.
But their protest invites the question: Should we disrupt church services?
The Debate
People who agree that ICE must be stopped disagree on methods.
The question is not about protest in general, but about entering a religious building and deliberately halting worship.
What if the other side did that to some other worship service?
Should there be some sort of agreement on both sides that worship services are off-limits?
Are there other ways to protest, even during worship, that are still distracting but don’t entail halting the service altogether?
The Real Question
The question isn’t whether a protest lets worship continue.
The question is whether worship can continue unchanged while injustice is named.
I explore this debate and its nuances.
I also bring in the historic “kneel-in” movement of the 1960s, scripture from the Old and New Testaments, as well as some theories I’ve written about in my books.
Large segments of the American church should be the object of a mass movement for justice.
Opponents and moderates will decry such activism as divisive, disrespectful of the law, and militant.
Those objections echo the ones activists have heard throughout history.
Change must come to the U.S. church. It is up to Christians who comprise the church to end compromise with injustice within the church.
In This Episode
00:00 Disrupting Worship: A Call to Action
06:15 Protests in the Name of Justice
11:34 The Debate on Sacred Spaces
18:07 Order vs. Justice: A Moral Dilemma
21:19 The Case for Disruption
29:54 Historical Context of Protest
37:08 Biblical Perspectives on Worship and Justice
44:29 The Church’s Role in Social Justice
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