In Los Angeles County alone, 707,000 people are known to have been infected with the virus, and 9,438 people are known to have died from it. From what we hear now, the vaccine is 94% effective, so why reduce your odds?” MacArthur’s response: “As it is now, you have a 99.998% chance of having no lasting effects from COVID. 6, MacArthur was asked about the COVID-19 vaccines and whether Christians should take them. 27, with an explanation given to congregants that he was “at home resting.”Īt a question-and-answer session with his congregation Sunday night, Dec. Some critics seized upon the fact that Pastor John MacArthur was missing from Sunday services Dec. Over Christmas week, Twitter remained abuzz with reports that Grace Community Church in Los Angeles - which has led the public fight against all health restrictions - had become the source of a viral outbreak among its staff and congregants. The New York case addressed a specific set of restrictions. However, the nationwide effect of the New York ruling remains uneven because of variations in government-imposed restrictions. Supreme Court ruling on the New York case Thanksgiving Eve, a small flurry of related litigation has been sent back to lower courts for review and, in some cases, new cases have been dropped. The appeals court denied that request on a 2-1 vote. Harvest Rock Church then filed an emergency injunction with the federal appeals court, hoping to get permission to hold indoor, in-person services on Christmas Eve. He added: “The Constitution is not a suicide pact.” “The state has a compelling interest in curbing the spread of what is now the world’s deadliest infectious disease,” he wrote. “The Constitution is not a suicide pact.” Judge Bernal was not sympathetic to the rerun of the Harvest Rock case, noting the state’s restrictions did not prohibit outdoor worship or worship in general. District Court Judge Jesus Bernal for a second time denied the church’s request to avoid the governor’s mandate - despite what the Supreme Court had ruled in New York. Gavin Newsom’s restrictions on public gatherings - emboldened by a late November Supreme Court ruling against extreme COVID restrictions in New York.Īs a result of that high court ruling, a case brought earlier by Harvest Rock Church, a nondenominational church with multiple campuses across California, was sent back to a lower federal court for review. Meanwhile, other California churches continued their legal fights against Gov. We’re the largest food distributor in Southern California.” According to the recent report I got, over 13,000 Saddleback volunteers have served over 3.5 million pounds of food to over 300,000 families. “We partnered with every school district in Orange County. ![]() ![]() Then the church created pop-up food pantries at schools and in neighborhoods, he explained. The first month of COVID, we fed 45,000 families.” Typically, in a normal month, we feed about 2,000 families. Saddleback had three food pantries already up and running. There are a lot of people out of work, and they’re hand-to-mouth, and 126 food banks shut down in Southern California when COVID started, because there was a rush on food. “We looked around and made a list of all the different problems that COVID was creating. These challenges have caused Saddleback to innovate again in ministry, Warren reported. “They might have a discrimination case if theaters weren’t closed, football games weren’t closed, concerts weren’t happening. He disagrees with pastors who contend churches are being persecuted by the government because of public health restrictions. We’re averaging about 80 people a day coming to Christ - 80 people a day.” Most of that, he added, has come through one-on-one evangelizing, not by his sermons. Those all stand on their own.”ĭuring the pandemic, Saddleback members “have led over 16,000 people to Christ,” he said. “You take one circle out, we’ve still got four other circles. Saddleback and its 14 California campuses and four international campuses are built on five purposes, not just one, he told the magazine. They’re in a hurry to get back to worship because that’s all they’ve got.” And if you take worship away, you’ve got nothing. ![]() Most churches only have one purpose: worship. The pastor, who is known for innovation in church growth and evangelism, said COVID-19 has “revealed a fundamental weakness in the church. Warren made the comments in an interview with Relevant magazine published Dec. You wear a mask for love of your neighbors, yourself.” I’m not doing this out of fear I’m doing this out of love. “The good shepherd prays for his sheep, cares for his sheep. I’m not,” said Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in Southern California. ![]() “Some churches are willing to gamble the health of their people.
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