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Last month a Bremerton (WA) football coach was ordered to cease and desist offering a short prayer with players who chose to join him at the 50 yard line after the game.
Players from both teams have been joining the coach for more than 10 years in the short prayer.
The school district agreed that if he would stop the practice they would not fire him.
Seattle's King 5 TV reported that on the first Friday night after the censorship---long after the crowd and the football players were gone, coach Kennedy went out onto the dark field and offered a private prayer.
Things have changed.
Coach Kennedy has alerted the school district he "will" offer a prayer tonight following the game.
Why the push back?
The letter sent to coach Kennedy last month ordered him to stop praying, but said the school had failed to make the policy on prayer clear, so they did feel the prayers were well intentioned, just uninformed.
King 5 is reporting that at a news conference on Wednesday, the coach told the press he "will" pray at the game this week and has the support of a national Christian law firm.
Liberty Institute has sent a letter to the Bremerton School District asking them to rescind their letter of September 17, which forbids the coach to pray. And they are asking the letter be rescinded by 5 PM tonight.
The coach says he's going to say a prayer regardless of how the district responds.
Coach Kennedy says if he is fired, as promised by the district, he will file a law suit citing his First Amendment rights.
He has not chosen the easy path---the path most traveled.
We'll see what happens.
Yesterday I wrote about the push back by 64 legal experts and scholars, most professors in some of America's most prestigious universities, on the recent Supreme Court decision on so-called same-sex "marriage."
If you have not read it, please do.
I have personally signed their declaration. There is a link for you to do so as well.
From a legal perspective they, and others, claim the Supreme Court of the United States does not create law by their rulings. They cite Founder James Madison and President Abraham Lincoln in making their case.
There is a rising tide of push back among Christians and conservatives in America today.
The secular progressives and atheists have overplayed their hand, pushed too hard, become to arrogant and have awakened the decent God fearing citizens of this country.
And this awakening is not a fad. It will be sustained.
A coalition of black pastors are asking people to rise up and put an end to "anti-God policies"---specifically government funding of Planned Parenthood.
Bill Owens, head of the "Coalition of African American Pastors," says of funding PP, "Everything is wrong with the picture that we would pay to kill innocent babies."
"And," he says, "the part that is so disgraceful is there are more black babies killed. How many great people have been killed because of their agenda to eliminate our babies?"
They have started a movement called "Rise," calling upon people within and without their community to be prepared to "rise and act."
Another coalition of black pastors, "STAND" (Staying True To America's National Destiny), has demanded the bust of Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger be removed from the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery because she was a racist and a eugenicist.
Last week, US Senator Ted Cruz and US Rep. Louie Gohmert, also from Texas, sent a letter to the director of the National Portrait Gallery calling for the immediate removal of Margarate Sanger's bust.
Cruz said, "There is no ambiguity in what Margaret Sanger's bust represents: hatred, racism, and the destruction of unborn life." He said, "Not only should we continue efforts to redirect funds from PP, an organization founded by Sanger that is currently under criminal investigation, we must also work to ensure that inhumane life's work is in no way promoted."
Rep. Gohmert said, "It is a complete and utter outrage to display a bust of Margaret Sanger in the National Portrait Gallery. In addition to this, it is appalling to honor her as part of the 'Struggle for Justice' collection."
He said, "This prejudice must not be celebrated or exalted."
The letter was sent in support of the STAND group which included the signatures of 15,000 citizens.
There is a "rising"---an "awakening," a resistance beginning to take place in our country.
The commander of the military base in Hawaii has stood up and told atheists "no" to their demands to remove a sign that says, "God bless and keep you safe."
This is a time to persevere for biblical Truth.
Biblical Christians are often told they are "on the wrong side of history" regarding the moral issues of our day.
We are not. And we must not hesitate to present the gospel to a dark and lost world. We must embrace the distinctive message of the gospel.
Paul stood up in Roman times and wrote, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation."
The gospel is indeed the power of God unto the salvation of all who are separated from God by sin.
The gospel is also the power of God to sustain the Christian church in this world. It is the distinctive message that makes the church different---worth listening to.
As mainline denominations have acted on the belief that the best way for them to connect with contemporary culture is to become like them---assimilate into the changing culture to be accepted, they have begun a death walk.
Assimilating into sameness in our lost culture is not the way to reach them. A distinctive Christian, biblical message changes everything from an individual life to a culture.
Not to speak is to affirm.
I'll be talking more about this on the radio today.
Join me live at 9 AM PDT, or rebroadcast at 7:30 PM PDT from anywhere in the world. Here's how.
Stand Up. Be Counted.