 |
| The view from the Allegheny River Retreat Center |
My wife and I moved to Franklin in January of 2012 when I was called to be the new pastor at the First Baptist Church of Franklin (the one next to the Sheetz station, the red brick one, not the other one). In the years since we've come to know Franklin and Venango County as a place that has a lot of positive things going for it, and as a good place to raise our daughter. I've worked closely during my twelve years here with my neighboring churches, with charities (including of course Mustard Seed Missions, which I helped to found and serve as the President of), and local government officials. I think I have a solid understanding of what this community needs moving forward, and what it doesn't.
For example: Franklin (and Venango County) would benefit if the new owners of Joy Plant #1 are able to find good tenants who will hire a significant number of workers at a living wage; that seems like a fairly obvious one. As a second example, we are blessed in this community to have Emmaus Haven, the Christian charity that runs the men's shelter in Siverly, but our community's people will benefit when Emmaus Haven is also able to open a shelter in our county to house women with children. Thirdly, we would benefit from an influx of doctors, nurses, dentists, police officers, and all the other professions that we, like most rural communities in this generation, need more of. The list could go on an on, but let me end it with this, our town and our county need to continue to have churches that preach the Word of God, maintain the faith handed down to us from our ancestors, and work together to help those in need in our community. At present, this is something we have, a tremendous resource, and something worth every effort that I and thousands like me put into maintaining what we collectively refer to as The Church.
On the flip side, there are numerous things that could change about Franklin and Venango County that would not benefit the people of our community, things that would be a detriment to the efforts of Christians and non-Christians alike. For example: While some might celebrate the jobs that a casino would bring, or the tax revenue, the dark side of gambling's affects on individuals and families would not benefit our community (that one is unlikely to come here is a blessing). A second example of the kind of developments that would be unhelpful to the health and vitality of our community would be the opening of a strip club, the closing of one of our libraries, or the loss of another significant employer.
None of the preceding thoughts are all that controversial. We all want our community to have good jobs and a safety net for those in need.
Which after a long-winded introduction brings us to the topic at hand, which is the proposed "Seven Mountain training center." Would it benefit Franklin or Venango County if this dream were to become a reality? It would not. That may feel like a very definitive statement, even a judgmental one coming as it does from a local pastor, but my belief on this matter comes from a lifetime of experience within the Church, a career of serving local churches, and an understanding of history, both secular and religious. Given that the future is unknowable, and what is better or worse for a community can be a subjective question (as our recent bruhaha over the Witch Walk demonstrated in spades), I will certainly understand those who don't see this in the same way that I do, but everything that I know about the Church, the Gospel, America, and democracy tells me that "Christian" Nationalism is a bad idea, and that Seven Mountain Dominionism is a particularly dangerous form of "Christian" Nationalism.
Why am I talking about "Christian" Nationalism attempting to come here to Franklin, PA anyway? When did this happen? In June of 2023, The Atlantic published an article written by Stephanie McCrummen about the efforts of Tami Barthen and her husband Kevin (the article is almost exclusively about Tami) who moved to Franklin, PA in 2017 looking to buy a retirement cabin, but instead bought the former Vision Quest property where they are in the process of turning it into a retreat center for "Christian" Nationalists under the name Allegheny River Retreat Center. The website for the planned retreat center doesn't mention anything (that I could find) about the theological and political nature of its purpose, but given the daily social media postings from "prophets" associated with the New Apostolic Reformation that populate both Tami's page and that of the ARRC, and her stated intention to make the property a "Seven Mountains training center," it seems only fitting that the churches and community of Franklin and Venango County take notice of this effort.
{The Watchman Decree: 'Christian' Nationalism's 'name it and claim it' dangerous prayer. I wrote this on 8/23/22 to explain why Seven Mountain Dominionism is so dangerous to the Church and to America. For those unfamiliar with the term, Seven Mountain Dominionism is a subset of "Christian" Nationalism, a specific type of effort at turning the country into a "Christian Nation." Throughout this essay I have continued my habit of putting the "Christian" in "Christian" Nationalism in quotation marks, not because it is a generally accepted grammatical practice, but in deference to my own dislike of the association of this movement, historically and today, with the love and peace of the faith and practice that I hold dear. There is nothing authentically Christ honoring about Christian Nationalism.}
Some of you may have met Tami and/or Kevin, I have not, and they may indeed be pleasant people to share a meal with, and in their own way be faithful Christians who are seeking to honor God with their lives. My purpose in writing is not to cast dispersions upon them, as people, I don't have any basis for judgment either way, nor any reason to share it if I did. Rather, it is the ideas behind Seven Mountain Dominionism (and "Christian" Nationalism) that are dangerous.
I was unaware of this effort to open a retreat center or this article about it until last week. I contacted Tami via FB instant messaging, after seeing that she has the article pinned to the top of the Retreat Center's FB page and also uses an image of it on her business card, to let her know that I would be writing an article about this proposed retreat center from the perspective of someone who believes strongly in the Separation of Church and State as well as Religious Freedom (two ideals that are anathema to the "Christian" Nationalist movement, as they are to Fundamentalists in every religion). I asked her if she wanted to clarify anything from the article. In the ensuing conversation with instant messaging, Tami indicated that she had never heard of the New Apostolic Reformation (she shares multiple posts daily from that movement's prominent and nationally known leaders), that in addition, "I don't know what Christian Nationalism is," and stated that you cannot judge someone by a magazine article (which, again, she displays prominently inviting others to read it). In the end, Tami told me that my "tone" was accusatory, but declined to state anything from the article that she believed was a mischaracterization. That's the long way of saying, I tried to offer the people behind the Allegheny River Retreat Center the opportunity to disclaim their apparent connection to Dutch Sheets, Lance Wallnau, the New Apostolic Reformation, and/or "Christian" Nationalism, but was rebuffed.
To read the article from the Atlantic, click here: THE WOMAN WHO BOUGHT A MOUNTAIN FOR GOD, by Stephanie McCrummen, The Atlantic, 6/20/23
To read the article from the Atlantic, together with my response to it, click here: A response to: "The Woman Who Bought a Mountain for God", a nationally published article (on 6/20/23) about "Christian" Nationalism in Franklin, PA
I have written much over the years about the dangers of "Christian" Nationalism both to the Church and to the government, and especially to the rights of those who don't conform to the particular definition of the Church that would then be backed up by governmental coercion. In fact, I'm still working on my series: Listen to the Word of God: 62 Scripture passages that refute 'Christian' Nationalism. I've made it to number 30, Listen to the Word of God: 62 Scripture passages that refute 'Christian' Nationalism - #30 - John 17:16 & 18:36, but it'll be a while until I can work all the way to #62.
Let me make a few brief distinctions between the type of patriotism that can honor God and the "Christian" Nationalism that endangers the Gospel, the Church, and any nation it attempts to control.
1. There is a key difference between prayer for the government that hopes to make our democracy better for all who live in this land...and "Christian" Nationalism's willingness to overthrow the government and end democracy in order to win.
2. There is a key difference between working with, or conversely protesting against, the government as an exercise in freedom...and "Christian" Nationalism's claim of a God-given right to rule in his name over everyone else.
3. There is a key difference between influencing culture and the government for the better, seeking to make them more moral and righteous...and claiming that only you, and those like you, have the answers as to what that culture and government should be, and that those who disagree are in league with the Devil.
I am fully in favor of the first half of those three statements, and in fact I've done my share of all three. But that's not what the committed "Christian" Nationalists have in mind when they envision what America would look like under their rule, they have the second half of those statements in mind.
We have a good community here in Franklin and Venango County, it isn't perfect, we all know that, but it is one of the better places to live in our world today. Working to maintain it is important to us all. That being said, this is America, if they can raise the millions the project will need, the Allegheny River Retreat Center may indeed become a beacon of "Christian" Nationalist training that attracts speakers and guests from all over the country. I'm not proposing that anyone take action to try to stop them from fulfilling their dream, and certainly don't want anyone to harass Tami or Kevin online or in-person, in part because I do believe in everyone's freedom of religion, including those who don't reciprocate. Maybe this "prophecy" of what this retreat center could become will result in a functioning enterprise here in our town, maybe it won't.
No matter what happens next, the answer to falsehood is truth, the answer to darkness is light, and the answer to hate is love. I truly believe every bit of that sentence. So, if the planned "Seven Mountain retreat center" becomes a reality, my response to this militancy will be truth, light, and love, I won't respond with anything else even though I know in my heart, my mind, and in my soul, that this is not a good idea for our local churches or our town.
There certainly isn't time here to make the case that "Christian" Nationalism is the destructive force that I know it to be, I have however written and taught on this subject for years, so anyone seeking to learn more about this movement and how dangerous it is to the Church and America can simply continue reading some of the links below.
Here is a six hour seminar outlining what the Biblical relationship is between the Church and human government: What Every Christian Should Know About: The Church and Politics
Scripture Abuse: 2 Chronicles 7:14, idolatry, nationalism, and antisemitism
The irrefutable rejection of Christian Nationalism by the New Testament
The blasphemous "One Nation Under God" painting by Jon McNaughton
No comments:
Post a Comment