Should Churches and Christian Businesses Segregate?

Segregation is fully upon us – should it be?

The basic answer to the question in my title is this: it depends on what sort of segregation we are talking about. Some segregation is fully proper and biblical. If we take a very simple definition of the verb, we have this: ‘set apart from each other; isolated or divided.’ No probs there for the Christian in many cases.

For example, the very words ‘saint,’ ‘sanctification’ and ‘holiness’ all have as their root the notion of being set apart. Believers are set apart for God and his use, and we are set apart from the world. As Paul put it in 2 Timothy 2:21: “Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.”

Indeed, Paul was “set apart for the gospel of God” as he says in Romans 1:1. And believers are to be separated in various ways from the world and the world system. As we read in 2 Corinthians 6:14-15: “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?”

Church segregation

So individual believers can and should be separate and should segregate at times. But what about churches? Is it right for them to segregate? Again, it depends on what sort of segregation we are talking about. Consider the issue of church membership. There the church MUST segregate.

Church membership is only for actual Christians. They are in a covenant relationship with God and others in a local body of believers. Church discipline is a crucial part of church membership. But that is quite different from when folks roll up to church to hear the gospel on a Sunday morning.

In that sense anyone can come and visit a church. No one should be excluded. There should be no segregation in this sense. Blacks and whites, redeemed sinners and unredeemed sinners can all come. But membership is the exclusive domain of the born-again believer. See much more on this crucial distinction here: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2015/07/11/church-visitors-versus-church-members/

So a church is wrong to discriminate against, say blacks or women. But it is right to exclude some from the life of the church and ministry, including those who are not saved and those believers who are living in wilful sin. The church MUST segregate in that sense. But here I have in mind a new type of segregation: keeping out the unclean (the unvaxxed).

As I have said often now, this IS wrong. I am willing to go so far as to say that churches that are discriminating against those who have have had doubts about an experimental drug being injected into their bodies are not really Christian churches, but apostate churches. They have sold out and become a docile tool of the Total State.

Jesus never turned away the sick or the unclean or those considered to be impure by others. He welcomed them all. ‘Let only the vaccinated children come unto me’ is NOT what Jesus said. He excluded no one based on their medical condition, and neither should we.

Sure, some sensible steps can be taken in certain circumstances. Say your child has just come down with the measles. The wise thing to do would be to keep him home for a while, and not send him to school or Sunday School. But bear in mind that it is the diseased who are to be quarantined, not the healthy – just as the unclean were treated in the Old Testament. See for example Leviticus 14:7-9 and Numbers 5:1-4.

But so many churches have sold out on all this. Thankfully I did find one Melbourne church this past Sunday that did not demand my papers nor seek to exclude me from fellowship. But most are doing this. As one Australian Christian pastor has just written on the situation in Victoria:

Dear pastor, do you remember an important declaration penned by some brave Queensland pastors advocating against segregation? The declaration many in your state decided to oppose on the basis of ‘tone’ and ‘dubious association’? That declaration has accurately painted the exact same scenario you and many other Australians, especially Victorians, are now being forced to live in.

 

Did you just not see this coming? Because if that’s the case, this situation is quite concerning since we are talking about one who is called to oversee and protect the flock of God placed under his care. One who is called to keep watch but cannot see obvious threats that will, as you said in your own words, harm the church and stop her from fulfilling its dutiful ministry to all? That can’t work, can it?

 

Dear pastor, the care of your flock was given to you, not to Daniel Andrews. Make no mistake, you are responsible, not him. Christ has already ruled on what the life of the church is supposed to be like. That’s settled. There is to be no change on those matters.

 

If Christ says segregation is wrong and harmful, there is no point in time in which it is ok. Not even for a second. Why, dear pastor? Why then did you decide to usurp the authority of Christ over your congregation? Why did you believe that the Lord of the flock would be ok with you running the show as per what you thought would be best, in complete opposition to his word? https://caldronpool.com/dear-pastor-in-victoria/

Christian business segregation

But what about a Christian business? This is a bit different. While in theory they exist to serve God and others, they are also there to make a profit. Anyone – Christian or non-Christian – can normally partake of their goods and services. Consider a Christian bookstore. Should they segregate, in this case, against the unvaxxed?

I hate to say it, but this has in fact happened to me. I was not allowed to enter a major Christian bookstore, one that I had been to zillions of times over the past three decades, and had spent zillions of dollars at. Not wanting to single this store out – almost all Christian businesses are doing the same sort of segregation – let me speak briefly to my recent unfortunate encounter there.

As I say, I am not wanting to pick on anyone in particular here. I was met there by a ‘guard’ who asked to see my papers. When I said I had none, he said he could not let me enter. Presumably he is being paid to exclude customers like me, and he was not the one making the decision here. So I could not get upset with him.

But I knew the store manager and I was able to get her attention, so we chatted for a bit outside of the store. She was apologetic and all that, yet she too was presumably doing what her bosses as well as Dan Andrews was demanding of her. I did point out to her what a terrific customer I had been for so long, and how sad it was to be treated like this.

I even had my list of books in my hand that I was hoping to purchase. She did offer to get them for me, but I told her she was the manager and far too busy, and thanked her for the kind offer. She did say that Covid was real and a problem. I responded by saying that so is AIDS, herpes, the common cold, and the annual flu, but I was not being asked to show my medical status on those infectious diseases.

I told her that if her store, and a hundred other Christian stores stood strong, banded together, and resisted these unjust and discriminatory orders, we could probably see things turned around. But all these businesses have basically just given in and complied without a whimper.

There is no resolve to stand up for what is right here. There is no determination to let their Christianity actually make a practical difference here. There is no Christian courage of conviction here. ‘We are just following orders’ is sadly the mindset for most of these folks. Um, where have we heard that before?

Concluding thoughts

With most churches and Christian businesses simply rolling over before the secular state and doing its bidding, we live in very dark days indeed. I thought that Christians – be they pastors or bookshop owners or whoever – were somehow supposed to be different. But it is all just business as usual it seems for most.

They seem to believe that above all they should not rock the boat and they simply should do whatever Big Brother tells them to do. So much for a Christian witness. So much for being set apart. So much for letting your light shine in a dark place. It is so very sad.

I close with some words from a new column by Rod Dreher. A few days ago I did a quick tour of the West and looked at all the segregation and bigotry taking place because of Covid hysteria and Statist overkill. In his new piece today Rod does a quite similar thing, looking at various places where this is happening.

He gathers together a number of pics making the rounds on the social media where we have fences running down the middle of grocery stores and the like, keeping the vaxxed and unvaxxed apart. He goes on to say this:

I don’t think these governments believe that fences and shopping restrictions directly hinder the spread of Covid. They are trying to make everyday life harder for the unvaxxed, and to turn them into social pariahs, to compel them to conform and get the vaccines.

 

Don’t you see what’s happening here?! This is also a trial run for the future. You will have seen academics, medical authorities and even governments declaring that “racism is a public health issue.” It is not difficult to imagine a future in which the state, in the name of health and hygiene, imposes restrictions on those it determines to be bigots. Does it sound far-fetched? Maybe. But look, if parents angry over what school systems are doing to their kids can be considered potential “domestic terrorists,” the potential is there. Do you really think that the Woke in power would not use public health as an excuse to punish their political opponents? https://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/covid-vaccination-mandates-pariahs/

All around us we see the rise of ugly Big Brother Statism, and the stealing away of our liberties and human rights. We expect the secular left tyrants to engage in this sort of behaviour. We do NOT expect Christian churches and businesses to happily go along with all this.

Hmm, what did Jesus say about situations like this? “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.” (Matthew 5:13).

[1849 words]

29 Replies to “Should Churches and Christian Businesses Segregate?”

  1. Hi Bill,
    Maybe it will soon be time for genuine followers of Jesus (the real church) to follow the model of the first Christians and start meeting together in our homes. The early Church flourished, as did Christianity in China last century, meeting this way.

  2. Great article Bill. I copied and posted it to Facebook.

    If you want to get a religious exemption go to https://www.jdfarag.org/exemption

    We are going to try ours at Koorong. Many shops are accepting our exemptions without really looking at them, I think they just don’t want to be fined.

    Oh dear it’s such a crazy world we live in.

    Thanks for keeping in standing faithful warrior!

  3. Sad thing is that this is what the majority of Christians want. Churches and businesses are just doing what the majority want. My church is doing well to not show any favoritism either way here in Melb and allow all to gather which has been good.

  4. Thanks Bill.
    It is one thing for say Target or Big W to exclude customers on the basis of their vaccination status (although I believe that in the long run they are only cutting off their collective nose to spite their face); it is quite another for churches to do this, whether in respect of attendance at services or in respect of membership. This should be anathema, as our Lord made no such distinction or segregation.
    Yet I hear of churches who hold separate services: one for the vaxxed, another for the unvaxxed; or one service, but the vaxxed in one part of the church, and the unvaxxed in another part. And so it goes on. And all on the orders of that great Christian leader, Daniel Andrews (sarc!).
    Rev 1:5 is relevant here: Christ is the Ruler of kings on earth, not the other way around. He issues the edicts and tells the leaders how to run the churches (as in the 7 so-called “letters” – really edicts), not Daniel Andrews or any other would-be emperor. I saw a video clip over the past weekend of a pastor in NZ, who pointed his finger at Jacinta Ardern and several of her ministers, and said bluntly, “Keep your noses out of God’s business!” Indeed! We need to say the same to Daniel Andrews.
    Alas, there are very few pastors who are prepared to do this. But I firmly believe that the time has come for true believers to forsake these compromising churches, and form house fellowships. The coming year is shaping up to be the beginning of persecution of Christians in this country; in particular of faithful, Biblical Christians. Yes, we risk fines and even imprisonment, but is that not what Christ warned about, Luke 21:12-17? So far it has been Monica Smit in Vic, and just lately Mariya Shmandiy in SA who have gone to prison: Monica is a Catholic; I’m not sure about Mariya. But where are the brave, Biblical Christians who will stand for Christ and defy these tyrants?

  5. Thanks for posting the interview, Bill.
    Yes, I knew about Paul Furlong, and just as I was writing I temporarily forgot. But the point I was making still stands: the Christian leaders have caved in and failed. to stand out. Meanwhile, it is the more. secular champions who are leading the charge. I’m sure you will concur.

  6. Hi Bill, I am sadly without a church here in the Western Suburbs of Melbourne. Would you know of any churches preaching the truth over this side of town?
    Thank you Jen

  7. Legal and other help for forced Vaccinations- Australia

    For support –
    http://www.redunion.com.au – Legal advice, letters, demands etc
    Hoodys Helpers – https://www.hoodyshelpers.com.au/
    http://www.knowyourrightsgroup.com.au

    http://Www.copyrightclaimservices.com
    hey have a series of 4 letters ending up with a demand – very powerful.
    -https://copyrightclaimservices.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/employment-letter-no-vaccinations.pdf
    https://copyrightclaimservices.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Notice-to-business.pdf
    https://copyrightclaimservices.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/mask-notice-NSW.pdf
    https://copyrightclaimservices.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Covid-app.pdf

    australiancontractlaw.info
    commonlaw.earth
    Tom Barnett  https://thebigvirushoax.com/dr-tom-barnett
    theaustraliaproject.org/
    flemingmethod.com  US
    I haven’t checked these out but am assured they are very powerful. The whole no jab no job is completely illegal. Tell your friend not to resign.
    and more immunity info – //immunityboostingexperts.com/dr-isaac-golden/

    Advocate Me – Serene Taffeha – http://www.advocateme.com.au

    https://www.reignitedemocracyaustralia.com.au/warning-employers/

    https://informedchoicenetwork.com/letters-for-employers/

    https://www.malcolmrobertsqld.com.au/workplace-mandatory-vaccination-letter/

    https://avn.org.au/information/vaccines-and-diseases/vaccine-refusal-forms/

    https://freeinformedconsent.info/

    http://www.hobartlegal.org.au Hobart Legal Community – Tasmania

    http://www.covidmedicalnetwork.com

    concernedlawyersnetwork.net

    Fair Work Commission – http://www.fwc.gov.au

    Fair Work Ombudsman – http://www.fairwork.gov.au

    bullyingnoway.gov.au

    Videos

    Australia One – Craig Cole, Victoria – https://rumble.com/vnsnby-australiaone-party-guidance-on-forced-vaccinations-for-employees-and-parent.html

  8. Once again Bill, what a succinct and God inspired article.

    I too have spent 100’s of dollars, if not 1,000,s of dollars at the Christian Book Shop near Blackburn Rd.
    Also I have spoken at length to the Manager pre Covid and we were on the same page about how the Western Christian churches where falling away, some years ago.

    But now I order my books online as it’s pointless for me to go there now.
    As I said in my previous comment my Church in Ballarat (Rise Christian Church) welcomes all unvaccinated, vaccinated, or any other seekers that that may be outcasts as Jesus would do the same.

    Keep up the good fight Bill and I may see you at the next protest in Melbourne, amongst the 10’s of thousand’s who are standing against this evil dictator, Andrews!!

    Terry, New Gisborne

  9. One church I visited simply asked if a person was vaccinated (legal requirement in our state) and accepted the answer.

    Another, where a relation goes, didn’t seem to notice.

    However, the crazies were there, in a couple of instances, worried that an unvaxed person would be a risk to a vaxed person. Truly the madness of crowds, the effectiveness of media propaganda and the ignorance of the masses.

    I explained to one that when I went to Africa I was inoculated against smallpox, but the locals weren’t, so I was protected. Their status was then irrelevant to me. But even then, she didn’t get it!

  10. Thanks Bill…

    This is for you, Jen Dening.
    We are meeting as a Bush Church in Geelong.
    Yes in a Memorial Park under The Gum Trees @ 3pm each & every Sunday. (in fact, this week we’ve a BBQ AFTER service).
    Geelong is NOT too far to come – we’re 45-60mins away on Ring Road from Western Surburbs.
    We’ve Congregants from Melton.
    Contact me (through Bill) for details.
    Love & Blessings in Jesus Mighty Name, Melinda

  11. “I am willing to go so far as to say that churches that are discriminating against those who have have had doubts about an experimental drug being injected into their bodies are not really Christian churches, but apostate churches.”

    Could not agree more with this statement.
    The church I used to go to here in SA has services for the vaxxed and unvaxxed.
    Thankful the church I go to now is not interested in any of this baloney (must be in the minority though).

  12. I am blessed to have two Catholic churches nearby that do not discriminate, in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. I know of one that would not listen to Andrews’ mandates and successfully relied on the protection of Mother Mary and Jesus throughout the lock downs. I suspect there are more our there that quietly go about their business in the same way.

    I had an interesting time at the Rebel store in Eastland yesterday. The girl at the front who was checking passports was most hopeful and understanding, Whilst I wasn’t allowed to enter the store, a product was brought to me that I was interested in buying. However, I wasn’t able to actually buy the product. When I suggested cash, the manager (after this proposal was put to him) said no. This is despite the fact that the counter was no more than ten metres away. I could have used click & collect (and waited an hour to collect) but haven’t done so before and didn’t want to spend the time on my phone when I had a young child to look after. You would think that they would provide some method for payment at the front of their store, but perhaps they do not believe that the customer comes first. Perhaps also they have not recognised the need to do this, because the unvaccinated either use a fake certificate or stay way.

    My Rebel experience was in contrast to many other stores in Eastland, where there was no checking of certificates (so far) and very friendly service.

  13. Hi Jen Denning

    I go to the Rise Christian Church in Ballarat and they also have an Out Reach Church in Baccus Marsh north west of Melbourne.
    I go to both service’s at different times.
    The website address is;
    admin@risechristianchurch.com.au
    and there office number is 0353359989 and the Pastor’s name is Harley.
    They are a loving and welcoming church and above all preach a sound and Biblical Theology and would love to see you there Jen.

    Terry, New Gisborne

  14. I think that line, “They have sold out and become a docile tool of the Total State,” is a good one Bill. Al Mohler put it this way, that “the church must not become a coercive arm of the State,” which it would not likely become consciously, but has indeed become unwittingly, as you have captured in that line. I feel like we are living in parallel universes, those who have woken up vs. those who imagine they are still living under a much earlier Wester paradigm when governments and health authorities were operating according to the science and could generally be trusted to tell the truth and work in the best interests of the people.

    I have begun reading “United States of Fear: How America Fell Victim to a Mass Delusional Psychosis” by Mark McDonald M.D. and I read this quote this morning:

    “America’s Frontline Doctors had clearly hit a nerve. We had told the truth about the pandemic and the failure of our government to properly respond to it. Our punishment was universal censorship. Everything we had said was factual, medically sound, and backed up by empirical evidence, but we had challenged the pandemic narrative, and that was not allowed. I returned to Los Angeles with first-hand experience of the seriousness of the crisis-not a medical crisis, but a crisis of misinformation, censorship, and government overreach.

    From the exposure I had received in Washington, D.C., calls started coming in from live radio shows and podcasters. For several weeks, I was scheduled for an interview nearly every workday. The topic was always the same: fear and the push to trade freedom for the promise of safety. Very few physicians were addressing the topic of harm being done to children from this twisted Faustian bargain. Although controversial, it was impossible to deny that Americans were paying a steep price to treat their anxiety. For the first time in my life, I saw the removal of civil liberties occurring under the guise of safety. And fear was fueling it.”

  15. Although the segregation of the vax and unvax has not happened here in the West yet, there are those who are vaxed displaying irrational fear of the unvaxed, and some have been very vocal about it. When I first read of the churches in Victoria bowing the knee to dictator Dan, I immediately questioned their Christian faith. It seems they are just a social gathering because they have lost their saltiness and their light has gone out. Christ and the Holy Spirit can no longer reside in a congregation that preaches another gospel, one that rejects God’s word for a man who hates God. These are sad days indeed, and will only get worse.

  16. We are to be IN the world not OF the world. Unfortunately too much of the church has been in the world so long they are now of the world!

    A lot of times people use a candle metaphor with the church I will use those old camping lanterns. The ones with the raisable wicks where when it is up quite a bit it shines bright giving off a good amount of light but if you turn it WAY down you BARELY have a flame that doesn’t even light up the whole lantern much less give off any light to see by. Too much of the church barely has a flame they can’t even see where THEY are going much less guide someone else. They might be able to barely inch along but only they would see where they are going. When the lantern’s flame becomes THAT low the person is overcome by the darkness. The worldlier the church gets the lower it’s flame, it’s light, and thus the darkness overcomes it. darkness can only overtake light when light is dimmed. (If you’ve ever been in a room with a dimmer switch on the lights you know how dark it gets when you dim the lights especially really low.)

    Now imagine my person with a extremely low flame lantern in the middle of a dark warehouse, no windows, very large. Do you think people even a few feet away see him??? His light is so dim he might not even be illuminating immediate family much less close friends. With a congregation full of low flames, including the pastor, I doubt they could find anything in the Bible! What is even sadder is some so called churches don’t even have a low flame but NO flame. They are enveloped in darkness and believe they are bathed in light!

  17. Hi Mr Muehlenberg,

    My church won’t turn someone away based on medical status either. Email me if you want to know which one.

    I find it quite bewildering how many churches have simply caved to this statism. It doesn’t help that some have members whose doctors (presumably under pressure to support the narrative) have told them not to be around unvaxxed people, but separating a congregation into two services is still the wrong sort of division.

  18. This crowd of Christians is fond of WWJD – What Would Jesus Do – but perhaps they should ask WWJA – Who Would Jesus Avoid??? Would Jesus avoid the sick??? Would Jesus avoid those who choose different medical advice than Caesar’s doctor??? Would Jesus even make it into their church without a QR code???

    Jesus was rejected by the first century Jews because he wasn’t the messiah they were looking for. Is he the the still the Son of God Christians are looking for???? How many Christians today would be yelling “crucify him, crucify him”?????

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