American Pastors Network President: Anarchy, Toppling of Monuments Supports Growing Fear of Next Civil War

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With the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) occupation in Seattle dissolving after gunshots left one dead, protestors in many U.S. cities are emboldened to knock down or deface monuments of national founders or heroes such as Teddy Roosevelt, Christopher Columbus, George Washington, Francis Scott Key, and others. Authorities seem paralyzed to protect and preserve public property.

The demonstrations that have led to the militant takeover of blocks of Seattle and the toppling of statues from east to west support the growing suspicion that civil war is imminent, according to American Pastors Network President Sam Rohrer.

“It is important to confront what is happening in America’s streets,” Rohrer said. “This is particularly important in light of this month’s Rasmussen poll findings that over 34% of all Americans and 40% of registered Republican voters believe the U.S. will experience a second civil war within the next five years.

“The open anarchy in the streets is one problem,” Rohrer continued. “But the toppling of monuments across the country is another troubling action. With the toppling of monuments of people who fought to end slavery in America, and then the toppling of the statue of Francis Scott Key the writer of the national anthem of the United States—“The Star Spangled Banner”—there is more happening than meets the eye.

“Instead of destroying monuments, Americans and especially Christians should leverage God’s purposes for monuments by reflecting on God’s provision and blessings in this nation and thank Him for how He blesses this nation with greater justice and more freedom when we follow God’s moral law, and how He judges this nation with a great evidence of injustice and less freedom whenever we reject God’s moral law—just as God instructed Joshua and His people after He freed them from 400 years of Egyptian slavery,” Rohrer concluded.

Photo by Juan Giraudo on Unsplash

APN President: Pennsylvania Impeachment Controversy a Civics Lesson in Separation of Powers

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As states continue to roll back pandemic-induced restrictions, efforts to impeach Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf (D) regarding his use of power during the crisis have escalated. Rep. Daryl Metcalf (R-Butler County) introduced legislation bearing five articles of impeachment that allege unlawful unilateral action by Wolf.

The controversy is a prime opportunity for all parties and members of government to reacquaint themselves with bedrock constitutional principles, according to American Pastors Network President Sam Rohrer.

“Two building blocks of free society in general and constitutional government in particular are the principle of separation of powers and its sister principle, checks and balances,” Rohrer said. “The division of governing authority among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches is an often touted yet often neglected ingredient in the American experiment of self-governance. Our state’s and our country’s founders knew that both the soul of man and the nature of government crave power. Consequently, they equipped each branch of government to contain the other branches.

“The question of whether Pennsylvania’s executive branch overstepped its lawful bounds during the pandemic will likely generate complex argument and discussion,” Rohrer continued. “The discussion can be a healthy one, if only to remind the citizens and elected officials of Pennsylvania, and of the United States, that freedom requires the limitation of all branches government.”

To listen to a Stand in the Gap Today program featuring Rep. Darryl Metcalfe discussing the impeachment legislation, please click HERE.

Photo by Katherine McAdoo on Unsplash

How Fathers Can Help Restore the Family and Unite the Nation

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by Sam Rohrer

***This article was originally posted on CNSNews.com HERE.

Where are the fathers? A generation ago, the Supreme Court defied the God of heaven and declared legal the murder of our babies—and our fathers were silent.

When the Ten Commandments were declared to be poison to our children’s minds, our pastors were silent. When the courts and culture continue to attack God’s model for family by redefining marriage and human sexuality, why is there such continuing silence?

At my organization, the American Pastors Network, we believe God’s judgment on our nation is in part because fathers and pastors a generation ago refused to oppose evil and actively resist tyranny. The question is, what will our pastors and we as fathers do now? As Mordecai said to Esther of old, if we are silent now, evil will prevail, and freedom will be lost.

Father’s Day is a good time to consider God’s expectation for fathers.

As a father of six and grandfather to fourteen, I’ve thought much about my role and the fact that fathers create a child’s first image of God. Men, are we demonstrating that God is faithful, loving, patient, and kind?

Is our discipline consistent and just?

Are our children learning God’s protection and provision of needs?

Does the love we show for our wife model Christ’s love for the Church?

Do we teach the fear of God in our home by living in the fear of God ourselves?

Do we focus on building character in our children to live and think like Christ so His character and nature will be seen through them?

Imagine the impact in our homes and our culture if we did.

Fathers hold the key to our families and nation. In Deuteronomy chapter 6, God told parents to teach our children five things:

  1. We must lead our children to faith in the LORD because He is the only God.
  2. We must lead our children to a fervor for the Lord by loving Him with all their heart, soul and mind.
  3. We must lead our children to fear the LORD because that is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom.
  4. We must lead our children to a familiarity of the LORD by learning of Him daily and diligently.
  5. And then, when God blesses—and He will—we must lead our children not to forget the LORD and what He has done.

If we as fathers would teach our children these things, our homes would be healed, families restored, and the nation united. The more fathers emulate God—the heavenly Father—the better the husband and father we will be. As our fatherhood model, God is the wise Father. He is the Great Counselor and Comforter—just, kind, merciful, and patient. He is the Instructor, Guide, Protector, and Shield. He firmly disciplines, but does so in love. He loves so much, He gave His Son—the perfect sacrifice—to save our souls. He is the humble servant, yet the greatest leader. He is the model—in every way—of what an earthly father should be.

Photo by Jude Beck on Unsplash

Nationwide Unrest Over Tragedy in Minneapolis Reveals Deep Moral Chasm in America

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With a police station burned in Minneapolis, calls for the National Guard and a nation in turmoil after the death of George Floyd, American Pastors Network  President Sam Rohrer says the unrest has revealed America’s ongoing moral problem.

“In the absence of moral restraint, sin begets sin,” Rohrer said. “The very word ‘sin’ is not popular in our current culture. But until we acknowledge the reality of evil, sin and lawlessness, we can never obtain what most people want—love, peace and joy. It was sin and evil for the police officer to take the life of George Floyd. It is sin to view any life as less sacred than another. It is sin to destroy other’s property, to be in rebellion to authority and to break any number of laws. It is sin to justify angry rebellion as legal ‘protesting’ or ‘peaceable assembly.’ It is sin for public officials to justify rebellious rioters as ‘understandable’ actions arising from the sins of previous generations. It is sin to excuse destruction of people’s livelihoods by burning their neighbors’ businesses to the ground. It is sin for public officials to incite lawbreakers and encourage further division among Americans by their callous and incendiary comments. It is sin for the Chinese Communist Party to issue propaganda in worldwide social media by characterizing Americans as hypocrites for condemning the rioters in Minneapolis as wrong while encouraging the protestors in Hong Kong who wish not to live under the iron fist of Communist leaders. It is sin for all people not to condemn these evil actions we see as sin!

“This is the time for all Americans to ask: Do we want freedom to remain in America? Do we wish that civility and respect for others returns to our nation? Do we long to be secure in our homes, property and persons? Do we hope for a return of justice where there is an objective standard for truth, justice and equality? Do we wish for leaders who renounce the sins of lying, deception, bribery, corruption and selfish pursuits? I do.”

For those also answering “yes” to these questions, Rohrer said there is only one solution—and in today’s culture, it’s about as unpopular as “sin.”

“That is God, the Bible and the Ten Commandments,” he continued. “As stated by William Penn in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and later by other founders, unless the citizens and leaders of this nation voluntarily submit their thinking, desires and actions to the limitations of the Ten Moral Commandments of God, then freedom, liberty and the pursuit of happiness cannot endure. The choices before us today broadly are these: God or no God? Truth or no truth? Right and wrong or no right or wrong? Sin or no sin? Jesus Christ as the Way, Truth and Life or no Jesus Christ, in any way, and death and bondage? The former choice brings love, healing and redemption. The latter brings hatred, death and condemnation. This is the choice for all people, children and parents, pastors and pews, politicians and constituents, police officers and military, governors and president, judges and juries. This is not my opinion. It is what God says, what our founding pastors preached, what our Founding Fathers believed and what our government buildings proclaim from the engravings of truth. As engraved on the ceiling of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives is a verse from the Bible that is a very clear reminder: ‘And ye shall know the Truth (God, Jesus Christ and the Bible) and the Truth shall set you free.’ May we as a people see, hear and understand the reality of the day. Time is not on our side.”