Silence from Pulpit on Spiritual, Moral Issues Disturbs L.A. Radio Host
by James L. Lambert
September 16, 2005
(AgapePress) - The California State Legislature, controlled primarily by liberal Democrats, recently passed AB 849, a measure that would have essentially legalized same-sex "marriage" in America's most populated state. If it were not for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's pledge to veto the bill, homosexual marriage would have become law.
Paul McGuire hosts a three-hour drive-time talk show every weekday on radio station KBRT in Southern California. His listening audience extends from the Mexican border to north of Santa Barbara -- and he often uses his program to address social and political issues in the Golden State and to urge listeners to take action by contacting their elected representatives in Sacramento. AB 849 was just such a topic of conversation recently. Speaking to his listeners -- a large majority of whom are Christians -- he said he cannot understand why so many pastors were mute regarding this important bill.
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Paul McGuire |
"I recently interviewed Dr. James Dobson [of Focus on the Family] and Dr. James Kennedy [of Coral Ridge Ministries] on my program," McGuire stated this week. "They both agreed that one of the major reasons that homosexual marriage bills like AB 849 are being passed in California is that the pastors of California are not involved in these issues and are not alerting their people."The talk-show host continued, offering his opinion that "the number-one reason California keeps seeing gay marriage bills and other anti-family bills passing is that the pastors of California refuse to talk from the pulpit about the serious issues facing California families."
It is obvious, McGuire says, that those pastors' flocks would like the preachers to take on the tough issues. "The problem is not so much the individual Christians," he says. "The problem is the pastors."
He explains: "I know what the pastors of the mega-churches are preaching," he says, "because I have several thousand regular listeners in any given mega-church .... I am bombarded with e-mails from the members of these churches who are furious that their pastors are afraid to deal with issues like AB 849. They e-mail me or call me on the air because they do not feel that their pastor is approachable or willing to listen."
The radio host claims he could -- but chooses not to -- identify more than two dozen mega-churches in his state where the pastors "never talk about things like standing up for marriage from the pulpit. Yet, in every single one of those churches," he continues, "I have about 3,000 of their members listening to my show per day -- and they are angry that their pastors are silent."
McGuire says he is convinced the Church today suffers from "very serious spiritual deception among evangelical pastors who falsely believe ... they are being faithful to Christ [while] at the same time remain completely silent on the major spiritual and moral issues of the day like homosexual marriage."
McGuire doubts that Christians today would consider as faithful pastors who remained silent about slavery or stood by silently as Adolf Hitler came to power and began murdering Jews. "Then why would you consider the pastors faithful who are silent about God's institution of marriage?" he asks.
The radio show hosts recalls a statement by Christian theologian and author Dr. Francis Schaeffer. Schaeffer, he says, said "the great sin of the evangelical culture was the failure to stand for truth and its willingness to accommodate to the culture."
"Dr. Schaeffer was right!" says McGuire.
James L. Lambert, a frequent contributor to AgapePress, is the author of Porn in America (Huntington House), which can be purchased through the American Family Association. He is a licensed real-estate mortgage loan sales agent and can be contacted through his website.
