Thoughts offered on patriotic services

Randall Bales will never forget the day Abraham Lincoln showed up for worship on the Fourth of July at University Baptist Church in San Antonio. “No one knew he was coming, so we started the service like we normally would,” recalled the pastor. He had arranged for impersonator John Voehl to walk in from the back of the auditorium, offering a first-person account of his spiritual journey.

“His premise was that during the period of 1863 when [the outcome of] Gettysburg was uncertain, that Lincoln had a moment when he gave his life to Christ,” Bales recalled.

“Now, of course, a lot of that’s supposition, but that’s the premise in the testimony and he talked about prayer and being a leader relying on God. It was a wonderful weaving together of historical references in the Civil War era to the relationship one can have in Christ, so it had an evangelistic focus as well as patriotic and really worked out well.”

As the July 4 holiday approaches, Southern Baptist churches in Texas are finding creative ways to celebrate their freedom in Christ and the price that was paid for religious freedom in America.

At Houston’s Fallbrook Church, Boy Scout Troop 272 will post colors on the Sunday prior to July 4 and then members will sing the “Star Spangled Banner” as the American flag is waved.

Executive Pastor Olus R. Holder Jr. cited Romans 13 to reference God having ordained all governments as a rationale for the patriotic emphasis.

“God has ordained the United States of America to be a bearer of the gospel. We’re the beacon light for Christianity,” Holder told the TEXAN. While the Fourth of July represents freedom, he said, “From a church perspective, Jesus Christ is our spiritual freedom,” a concept the church will emphasize in the midst of the celebration.

At Northside Baptist Church in Highlands, the Sunday nearest the Fourth of July is an opportunity to “thank God for the good things about our country and speak out against the moral failings of our country,” stated Pastor David Brumbelow.

Brumbelow finds it strange that a practice he has seen in church all his life is now “vehemently challenged,” describing some “fretting over a patriotic service causing confusion over our allegiance to Christ and to our country.”

When his comments appeared last year in his “Gulf Coast Pastor” blog, all but one of those commenting were in agreement. But when the remarks were republished at “SBC Voices,” the contentious discussion that followed covered over 40 pages of posts.

“It seems that like the ‘public invitation’ and using the ‘sinner’s prayer,’ most criticism of having a patriotic worship service is more a criticism of the abuse, rather than the proper use of them,” Brumbelow wrote.

Brumbelow said it is easy to use an American cultural theme like Thanksgiving to teach Christian concepts to international students. “They can see believers praying for their country, striving to better their country,” he said, believing they’ll be inspired to do the same when returning to their own countries.

Sometimes the presence of national and state flags in a worship service can be confusing for visitors from other countries, shared Emi Millard, a member of Nassau Bay Baptist Church.

Several years ago her church prominently displayed an over-sized American flag during a Fourth of July service, prompting questions from Japanese visitors. Coming from a nation where the flag symbolizes worship of the emperor, the Christian couple found it troubling.

Millard explained the intent of celebrating “a nation founded by people who wanted to follow God freely,” easing the visitors’ concerns.

“It’s not about political correctness, but just being sensitive if you have international congregations,” she cautioned. “We can get so caught up in our excitement about being Americans that we forget to celebrate with humility and thankfulness.”

The daughter of a Japanese mother and American father, Millard moved to the U.S. to begin her college education at a Baptist school.

“This is a country that was born for independence. We never had a king or a dictator. We should teach the kids that these are freedoms we ought to be honoring and acknowledging,” she added.

The pastor of a Vietnamese congregation in a large Texas city is grateful for the freedom to worship in America. He travels to Vietnam often to preach and teach, but must minister within the restrictions of a communist government that registers churches.

And yet among his own congregation, he finds different opinions regarding patriotic celebrations. “Most don’t want to mix it with church. They consider that political and something personal you do at home,” he said.

Among the first wave of Vietnamese refugees fleeing persecution in 1975, a strong anti-communist perspective dominates, while those coming to America in the last five to 10 years have mixed feelings on such issues, he said. With so many community observances available on the Fourth of July, the church prefers to keep the focus on Christ, he said.

Francis Calimbahin, pastor of Caprock Church in Arlington, will use the upcoming Fourth of July to remind the multicultural congregation of the persecution of believers around the world. Although he immigrated from the Philippines over 20 years ago, most members are either first- or second-generation immigrants and include Hispanics, Africans, Puerto-Ricans, and Vietnamese.

“They are very American and understand freedom and the sacrifice people made,” Calimbahin said, adding that he finds no hesitation among the congregation to celebrate a patriotic holiday from a Christian perspective.

David Toledo, associate pastor of worship and creative arts at First Baptist Church of Keller, said he finds the Psalms to be full of references that give evidence for recognizing God’s blessings and commands in national matters.

“We need to provide our congregation the opportunity to thank God for his provisions for our nation and reaffirm our commitment to him,” he said, “but there is a delicate balance to be found.”

While God and country are synonymous for many people, Toledo finds that view coming out of popular culture and not the Bible. “It is far too easy to fall into the trap of sentimentality and lose sight of the purpose of our worship services.”

He designs worship services focused on God and his work of salvation through Christ. On national holidays like Independence Day and Veteran’s Day, he includes appropriate Scripture references and emphasizes hymns such as “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” or “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.”

When singing “America the Beautiful” and “My Country ‘Tis of Thee,” Toledo makes sure the congregation sings more than just the first stanza as secular gatherings would do.

“Many of our patriotic songs have stanzas that are directed towards God explicitly, so I use them as an opportunity to teach our congregation and facilitate our worship services.”

He said he stays away from “God Bless the USA” and “God Bless America,” citing what he said is a lack of depth needed for worship services. “I never want my congregation to focus on our nation and lose sight of God,” he insisted.

Special concerts and other events outside of Sunday morning worship can provide an appropriate time to emphasize patriotism musically, Toledo suggested. “This allows our congregation to express the appreciation in a way that doesn’t take away from the corporate worship experience.”

A separate patriotic event that draws the community often lends itself to an evangelistic opportunity.

“Anytime you’ve got a big group of people at church, no matter what it is—share the gospel somehow,” reminded Jack Harris, personal evangelism associate at the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. “Make it fit. Be culturally adaptive,” he advised, recalling that the apostle Paul used secular occasions to preach Christ.

“The greatest freedom in the world is freedom in Christ,” he said. “It’s not a tricky thing to make that application. People try and make it much more complicated than it is.”

He suggests the church host a picnic near the Fourth of July and use the occasion to invite friends and neighbors of members. The pastor can get up, take about 10 minutes and share the gospel.

In her latest “Fresh Ideas” column, Baptist writer Diana Davis of Indiana offers other suggestions to churches celebrating the Fourth of July:

—If your church has a great view of local fireworks, post an outdoor sign inviting neighbors to bring lawn chairs and enjoy them there. As church members serve watermelon and sodas, they visit with guests and invite them for worship on Sunday.

—Plan a fun, small-townish kids’ parade for your community. Get permission to block the street in front of the church, or stage the parade route in the parking lot. Advertise it everywhere, and be sure to create a Facebook event so members can invite friends.

—Invite community leaders to attend a Christian Citizenship Sunday worship service. Ask them to arrive early at the pastor’s office for prayer and seating instructions. During the worship service, introduce them and invite church members to stand to indicate they’ll continue to pray for the leaders.

—Take a moment during worship to invite worshipers to kneel and ask God’s blessings on our country.

—Print a list of government leaders, from school board members to the president of the United States. Invite church members to select a leader, send an encouraging note, and commit to pray for that leader this year.