Yesterday, some protestors marched into Cities Church in Minneapolis, MN to protest Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement. They disrupted the service, they say, because one of the Pastor’s at the church is a director of a local ICE office. They walked into the main service and walked up and down aisles getting in the face of congregants, completely halting the service.
Lead Pastor, Jonathan Parnell kept composure. He confronted Don Lemon, calling the protest “unacceptable” and “shameful”, saying it was wrong to interrupt a Christian worship service. He asked them to leave. He kept emphasizing that the church was having a worship service.
Of course it was wrong to interrupt the service. It’s inappropriate to do. I completely disagree with how this ‘protest’ was started by those on the left. They are blinded by their hardened hearts and celebrate unrighteousness. These ones who claim to be Christ followers, if they truly are, have lost the Gospel. They have replaced a Biblical and Christian Worldview for discord and deception.
Cities Church looks to be a sweet community that is well led by faithful men. As a Children’s Pastor, one of the first places I often go when checking out a church online is their info about their kid’s ministry. At Cities’ it looks like they invite children into the service with their parents. Check this out:
At Cities Church, we believe that our fundamental calling as parents is to
be the smile of God to our children. We are charged by God to bring our
children up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4).
God has designed us as parents to show our children what he is like. And
God is fundamentally a Happy Father—a Well-Pleased Parent. Therefore,
we want the pitch of fatherhood and the melody line of motherhood to be
Delight, Pleasure, Joy. We want our children to experience our delight in
God as it overflows in our delight in them. We want to receive the gospel,
display the gospel, and invite our children into the gospel.
This is so sound. My prayers go out to these families who had to experience this yesterday. Seeing children, obviously scared in the videos of the protestors makes me angry. It encourages me, though, to see those standing on the truth in the face of lies and hate.
And that’s the problem we come to. The other side of this believes THEY have righteous anger. They believe that they are standing for good. I know Christians on both side of this issue. Christians can disagree strongly about justice and policy. But Scripture is very clear about how we treat Christ’s church, how we speak about fellow believers, and how we conduct ourselves in worship. I would not want to be the one who tries to disrupt the Body of Christ.
Not wanting to take Scripture out of context… but this is a wise warning:
Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. 2 Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few. 3 For a dream comes with much business, and a fool’s voice with many words.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Ec 5:1–3.
What would I do in a situation like this? I hope that I would be like Jonathan Parnell and be calm and speak truth.
People get ready.