![]() While COVID-19 represented a unique season, we expect governing authorities to continue to encroach on the church and the family. Nathan: The evangelical church in North America is not accustomed to facing the kind of government overreach we experienced during the pandemic. They provide a compelling illustration of the kind of conviction and courage that is much needed in light of the changing landscape of our culture. ![]() Beyond that, the stories of GCC and GLC needed to be told. The pandemic exposed a number of weaknesses in the broader evangelical church, ranging from the church and the believer’s relationship to governing authorities to a biblically robust ecclesiology. James: When Nathan approached me about joining him in this venture, it was easy to see the need for it. 1.) Why did you two decide to write this book? What audience do you have in mind? And how are you hoping this book will serve churches everywhere? Busenitz and Pastor Coates were gracious enough to answer a few questions about their new book, and the biblical principles and circumstances that led their churches to reopen in defiance of government restrictions. Several months later, in February of 2021, James Coates was arrested and spent several weeks in jail because his church was not complying with local mandates.ĭr. In the summer of 2020, Nathan Busenitz was one of the Grace Community Church elders who signed “Christ, Not Caesar, is Head of the Church”, which gave a biblical explanation for why Grace Community Church was reopening, despite local government restrictions on gatherings. And for his preparation to lead GraceLife Church of Edmonton, James Coates has an MDiv and DMin from The Master’s Seminary. Busenitz is the executive vide-president, dean of faculty, and associate professor of theology at TMS. The authors, Nathan Busenitz and James Coates, are Master’s Men. This book looks at how, and more importantly, why, two churches-Grace Community Church in Los Angeles and GraceLife Church of Edmonton, Canada-reopened in defiance of local health orders issued during the COVID-19 pandemic. Government: Taking a Biblical Stand When Christ & Compliance Collide. Competing rights and interests must be respected, accommodated, and balanced … Individual rights and freedoms are not absolute.Last month, Harvest House Publishers released God vs. “These claims are unsupported by and wholly inconsistent with the facts of this case,” Shaigec concluded. The judge dismissed an assertion made by Coate’s lawyers that the pastor was ticketed on the day he gave a sermon that was critical of the Alberta government in an attempt to censor him and to “impose a chilling effect.” He also said the decision to ticket Coates was made after numerous attempts by health authorities to get GraceLife Church to comply with public health orders. Shaigec said in his decision that the government was not targeting the church or its pastor, but responding to many complaints from the public. During his testimony, Coates called masking hilarious and said restrictions were part of “an agenda to transform the nation.” ![]() He argued provincial regulations meant to curb the spread of COVID-19 infringed on his and his congregants’ constitutional right to freedom of religion and peaceful assembly. He was released March 22 after pleading guilty and was fined $1,500.Ĭoates challenged the one charge he still faces under the Public Health Act during his cross-examination in May. ![]() He ordered that the trial reconvene at the end of June to decide on the constitutionality of Alberta public health orders that have limited attendance at places of worship.Ĭoates, who is a pastor at GraceLife Church in Spruce Grove, Alta., spent a month in the Edmonton Remand Centre after he violated a bail condition not to hold church services that officials said were ignoring measures on capacity limits, physical distancing and masking. “The question today is whether the purpose, manner, or effect of enforcement of that law on December 2020 violated James Coates’s religious freedoms. Provincial court Judge Robert Shaigec dismissed the application on Monday. Pastor James Coates made a charter application in relation to a ticket he received on Dec. A judge has ruled that the religious freedoms of an Alberta pastor who is on trial for violating COVID-19 regulations were not violated.
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