So it looks like the LGBT movement got its way in a small California town over the weekend as a pastor was forced out of his role as pastor.
Justin Hoke who served as the Pastor of Trinity Bible Presbyterian Church in Lake Shastina, California was forced to step down as Pastor after an elder of the church asked him to resign.
The primary reason the elder asked him to step down is that he said there would potentially be a mass exodus of members who would leave the church if he did not step down.
Justin Hoke shared the following on his Facebook page:
As of today, I am no longer the pastor of Trinity Bible Presbyterian Church.
After much prayer and counsel, I have decided that it is best to briefly communicate what has taken place.
1. I was informed by our other elder that he felt he could no longer follow my lead as Pastor of TBPC.
2. I was informed that essentially all but one couple in membership would leave the church if I continued as pastor of TBPC.
3. Our other elder and the couple felt that those who left would likely return if I would leave.
4. Our other elder was agreeable to stay and assume the pastoral responsibilities.
Therefore it was determined that it would be in the best interest of the local body for us (TBPC and the Hoke family) to part ways.
So what happened exactly?
On New Years Ever, the church put up a sign outside that read,
BRUCE JENNER IS STILL A MAN
HOMOSEXUALITY IS STILL SIN
THE CULTURE MAY CHANGE
THE BIBLE DOES NOT
The sign was actually vandalized on or around January 8th but was quickly repaired.
But things didn’t stop here.
Church members told the other elder of the church that all but one couple would leave the church if he was not removed from the pulpit.
There was also a protest organized in the community to support the LGBTQ movement in a response to the church sign. According to SFGate,
On Sunday, a couple dozen protesters from the surrounding Siskiyou County stood across the street from the church waving rainbow flags and holding cardboard signs with messages such as “All we need is love.” A follow-up protest by the same group is planned for this Sunday.
Amelia Mallory is one of the three women who organized the first “Shastina Love Rally,” and she says the point of the protest is to not denounce the Christian faith but to encourage acceptance of all types of people, including those in the LGBTQ community.
“We’ve really had to refine our message to be one strictly of love and support for anyone who feels like they are the target of the sign,” says Mallory. “Debating religion is unproductive, for one, and we also don’t want anyone to feel like we are against Christianity as a whole. People are welcome to their own beliefs, but can’t be surprised if people take action against such a public display.”
The Daily Wire was actually fortunate enough to be able to speak with the former Pastor Justin Hoke to get his reaction to everything.
According to Hoke, he was inspired to create the sign after seeing the news story in which a biological male who identifies as female “threw a fit because a clerk had accidentally referred to him with the masculine gender [pronoun].”
Hoke said that because “the culture has drawn a line in the sand and dared [Christians] to step over,” he came to the conclusion that the church should accept the challenge — not with hate, but by simply preaching “the gospel.”
The pastor also noted that he wasn’t “fired,” but that the church faced a potential fracture in the wake of the fervor surrounding the sign, and that in order to keep the church intact, he felt it was best to vacate his position. Hoke repeatedly stated that he wanted to be circumspect in the way he spoke about the incident because he “loves” the people at Trinity Bible Presbyterian.
Regarding the protesters, Hoke said: “I believe they’re sincere — sincerely wrong, but sincere. I believe that it is hypocritical that their position is taught in schools and pushed on children, while our position is asked to be kept within the walls of the church.” He added that he hopes and believes that “within their midst, there are people whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life, and that the command for all Christians is to preach to them the gospel faithfully, calling them to repentance and faith, that they might be changed by the Holy Spirit and brought into the family of God.”
This type of thing makes you wonder if anywhere is safe anymore to preach the Gospel and call sin what it is, sin.
dan