The Religious Freedom Bill

As you know, Indiana is about to pass the Religious Freedom bill, a law that is designed to allow business owners the right to deny service to someone based on their religious beliefs.

The bill, as you also know, has caused quite a stir amongst the masses, with most people falling along three main reactions:

1) Totally agree with it. It's about time.

2) Totally disagree with it. Christians are a bunch of bigots and haters and phobes.

3) Agree with it in principal, but think it's bad press for Christians. Aren't we supposed to just love and accept everybody?

That's about it. You might find you fall somewhere in between those lines, but in general, that has been the response.

So, I'd like to weigh in.

Problem #1 is this: It is sad, in my opinion, that the need for this law even exists. One would think religious freedom would be covered under the 1st Amendment, and that would be enough. Sadly, in today's world, and certainly in the eyes of our government and judicial systems, it is not.

Religious freedoms -- particularly those of Christians -- are being trampled daily. Take a stand for Jesus in public, and the ridicule comes from all sides. Take a stand for Jesus in your business, and you face a lawsuit.

Problem #2 is this: This bill -- in the eyes of the non-believing public -- does indeed make Christians look bad. It makes us look like hate-mongers who want shun everybody who doesn't think like we do. It's not true, of course, but the media is never going to tell you that.

A good friend of mine wrote these comments on my FB wall: "Do you think the PR created by this kerfuffle is reflecting well or poorly on Christians and Christianity? How's our light shining right now? How are outside businesses regarding Indiana and the passing of this bill? Does the passing of the bill and it's "protections" that is claims to offer make it all worth it?"

Those are good questions to ask, and valid concerns for the Christian community. And I'll admit, I don't have great answers for them, except to say that the reality is that Christians rarely get good PR for anything in the media, even when they do something good, which is far more often than not. In the end, we have to take a stand for what we believe is right, and hope we get it right.

Problem #3 is this: This bill does indeed open the door to some potentially damaging behavior. There are some fringe nuts out there who will abuse this law. But there are a few things to remember... There are ALWAYS people who abuse certain laws, no matter what they are. Laws that are already in place are being abused by those who simply choose not to conform to civilized society. Non-discrimination laws get abused everyday.

Also, we must remember that this law doesn't just affect Christians. It affects ALL religions. So why people have chosen to single out Christianity as it relates to this law is beyond me. Muslims, Jews, Buddhists and Christians all alike are protected under this bill.

Problem #4 is this: Please explain to me how this bill is any different from "No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service."? What if a poor, black, gay man who can't afford shirts and shoes wants a hamburger?

Problem #5 is this: None of the opponents of this bill are shedding a tear for the bakery owner that lost their business and has had their lives ruined because they refused to make a cake for a gay couple. In a town where there's probably 20 bakeries, that couple singled out this Christian owner, and ruined their lives. Nobody is crying for the countless other Christian owners in this country who are right now facing the same perils, not because they are discriminating, but because they took a stand for Jesus. There's a term -- it's called "reverse-discrimination" -- and it happens daily to Christians in this country. This bill doesn't condone discrimination, but it does indeed provide protection to those owners who have a valid religious concern from being unduly and unfairly prosecuted for taking a religious stance. Was it wrong for that Christian baker to refuse that cake? Perhaps. Should they be punished? Perhaps? Do they deserve to lose their business, face millions in fines, and have their livelihood taken away? Absolutely not!

Problem #6 is this: The perceived discrimination many claim this bill will cause is just that: Perceived! Made-Up, Potential, Possible, etc. It's not real, at least not in the terms in which it has been portrayed the media and the bill's opponents. It's not happening, and to any great degree, it's not going to happen. 99.9% of the people who opposed this bill will NEVER suffer any ill effects from this bill. Why I know this is Problem #7.

Problem #7 is this: The media and the bill's opponents are totally ignoring the massive good and humanitarian help that is initiated, operated and supported by Christians in this world on a daily basis! It is estimated by studies I've seen that the vast majority of the civic charities in this country are either run by, or at least have their roots in, some sort of Christian outreach.

Name me one food bank you know of that isn't run by some sort of Christian organization. Name me one suicide prevention organization that isn't Christian backed. Virtually every civic organization, outreach program and needy supply charity out there are Christian-based, Christian-run, or their membership is chocked full of Christians!

Worldwide missions programs are run by Christians! Islam isn't reaching out the the hungry and deprived of the world. They're not building free hospitals in Zimbabwe, or even in the ghetto suburbs of Chicago! Only Christians are doing that. Indeed, most hospitals in this country have some sort of Christian base behind them.

Muslims aren't running suicide-prevention hotlines. Buddhists aren't helping young women with unplanned pregnancies. Pagans aren't out there on the streets trying to feed the homeless!

The Red-Cross, Salvation Army, United Way, Boys & Girls Clubs, Kiwanis, and thousands of other charities across the globe -- all started and/or run by Christians!

So it pains me to hear so many people rise up and claim that the first thing Christians are going to do under this law is start discriminating against others. It pains me to hear that Christians are not "loving" and "accepting" of others. It pains me to hear that people think this bill will cause Christians to turn their backs on people in need. Because history has shown, and continues to show, that for real Christians, the exact opposite is true.

No, it isn't happening, it isn't going to happen, and I believe the attempts to block this bill have little to do with protecting people's rights, and more to do with attempts to force others to further capitulate to a liberal agenda. I've said it before: Disagreement is not only disallowed, but outright support and accommodation is demanded. And if those demands aren't met, you face judicial punishment in the form of any number of lawsuits.

Just as I believe that my right to own a gun trumps any attempts to outlaw that right under the perception that I might one day choose to act unlawfully with it, I also believe religious freedom, and the rights of business owners to run their businesses as they please, trumps any "perceived" persecution or discrimination.

We have a moral obligation, I believe, as citizens to help protect the rights of others. And that includes the basic instinct to make sure others are not discriminated against unduly, for unjust reasons. But we also cannot trample on the basic rights of others because of the "possibility" that someone might act unlawfully.

Moreover, while it is incumbent upon us Christians to show God's love and the redemptive grace of Jesus to everyone we can, we must also do so while taking a stand for the convictions on which we base our faith. If we violate those convictions, and the truth of the Bible, just to accommodate someone's feelings or whims (or their money!), then how can we ever expect anyone to take our faith in Jesus seriously? Is our faith only valid as long as it doesn't offend the next guy?

The bill, of course, may die a financial death. Money, unfortunately, usually trumps everything else, and if the people and representatives of Indiana see that this will cost them money, that may do it in. And you can bet on this: the bill, if implemented properly, will most assuredly hurt those who abuse it. It won't take long for word to get around about those who are snubbing customers out of pure bigotry. Those who DO abuse the law will pay a steep price for doing so.

In the end, this law will meet the fate of the voters, because that is how it was birthed. There is a reason our Generally Assembly in Indiana is vastly majority Republican. That's because they were voted in that way by the people of Indiana. And there was no chicanery here regarding this bill. This is a bill that their constituents wanted and supported, and was passed legally. If what I've heard on the news is true -- that the vast majority of Indiana residents oppose this -- then I suppose they will vote differently for their representatives next time, and eventually this law will see its demise.

As for me, I will protect and stand for my religious beliefs -- and my religious freedom -- at all costs.

Dr. Foster: Goodbye to a Friend.

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of once again serving as the emcee for the Mooresville Spotlighter Show Choir Invitational. It was my 23rd year serving in that capacity.

In the interest of full disclosure, I don't mind telling you that it's a pretty good payday for me, and worth the almost 15 hour day I put into it each year.

But that's only one of the reasons I keep going back. The other reason is because it's fun. It's fun because the kids make it fun. If you're not familiar with high school show choir, you should take the time to go see a show sometime. It's 20 minutes of high school kids giving all they've got to sing and dance and put on a good show. At an invitational, you might get to see anywhere from 15 or 20 shows like that throughout the day.

In the downtime between the choir performances, its my job to keep the crowd entertained, and for the most part, this just involves me having fun with a bunch of teenagers; teenagers, in this setting, who aren't interested in getting in trouble or bothering anybody, but rather, just looking to have a good time. Their unbridled teenage joy is intoxicating in a way. I enjoy it very much, and apparently, they enjoy me, because they keep asking me to come back year after year.

But yesterday took a sad turn for me, as I learned early in the morning about the passing of a dear friend of my family, Dr. Julia Foster.

Most of you didn't know Dr. Foster, and yet what you also probably didn't know is that she has impacted your lives almost as much as she impacted ours. That's because she helped save my son's life.

If you've ever met my son Cody, then you know what a cool, vibrant, handsome and talented young man he is, and I can tell you that were it not for Dr. Foster, and her love, her devotion, her knowledge, and her compassion, you might never have had the pleasure of knowing my son.

You see, Cody was born 11 weeks premature. Some of you know that, but others might not. My wife's water broke when she was 26 weeks into her pregnancy, and Cody was born via C-Section at 29 weeks. He was immediately placed into the Pediatric ICU at IU Hospital, where he would remain for the next eight weeks.

Again, in the interest of full disclosure, I must tell you that Cody, at such a young age, was relatively healthy, at least in contrast to the complications he could have faced with such a premature birth. But he was little and his tiny lungs were frighteningly fragile. At 2.7 ounces, his little body fit into the palm of our hands, and we would give him baths in a cereal bowl. The tiny bear his older brother bought for him from the hospital gift shop was bigger than he was and dwarfed him in his incubator.

Dr. Foster was the head pediatric doctor in charge of the ICU. We obviously were introduced to her right away, and she immediately provided a calmness to us that would remain constant throughout the next several weeks.

If you've ever had a premature baby, especially one as small as Cody, then you know that the first several weeks in the life of a baby that tiny is a daily physical roller coaster ride for the baby, and an equally emotional one for the parents. The well-being of the baby can change literally from hour to hour, day to day. We could leave him one night doing so well, only to arrive the next morning to new complications. Hurdles you thought you'd jumped and left behind can be met with new ones only hours later.

Each day was an emotional battle doing all you can do help, and yet ultimately feeling absolutely helpless as you watch the physical battle the baby goes through everyday.

At that time, almost 18 years ago, Dr. Foster was a very young (although she would coyly dismiss my questions about her age) and very pretty single woman, but she carried herself with a professionalism that instantly set you at ease. And she immediately was able to help you understand that she knew what she was doing, and that she wanted our baby to be healthy every bit as much as we did.

Every day should she would hold our hands -- often literally -- and explain what Cody was going through at that moment, and what the plan was going to be to get him through that day. Every day was different from the next, and so each day's plan was usually specific to that day. And each time there were options available, she would ask us what we wanted to do, to which we almost always replied, "Whatever you think we should do."

I remember one day, early on, she was explaining a couple of different options for treatment that day. I finally broke down, and I said simply, "Dr., we have no choice but to trust you and your judgment, and to put his life into your hands. I am just a guitar player. I have no option but to trust that you can help save our baby's life."

I remember she teared up a bit at that. Not because it scared her, but because she honestly cared for and loved Cody as much as we did, and she understood in a way very few others could our fear and our feelings of hopelessness. Together, she led Ginger and I through one of the toughest stretches of our lives.

Through it all she was calm, and compassionate, and loving, and her skill was unmatched. With her holding our hands throughout, it was as though we simply willed Cody to grow, and breathe on his own and eventually gain enough health and strength to come home with us where he belonged.

Later, even for a couple of years after, we would invite her, and she would come, to Cody's birthday parties, and our older son's, Cory's, too. During Cody's time in the NiCu unit, she got to know older brother Cory too, and would even take the time to help Cory get to see and spend time with his little brother. She became much more than a doctor to us. She became a member of our family.

As life would have it, as Cody grew older, we drifted apart from Dr. Foster. When Cody was 12 or 13, we had occasion to go to IU Hospital, and we stopped by her office to see her. She recognized me immediately, and was astonished at how Cody had grown. She hadn't aged a day, still as pretty and caring as always. We found out she'd married, the lucky bloke! But she'd decided to continue to stay with the Dr. Foster name, simply because that's how we all knew her. We also found out her and her husband had moved to a house just a few doors away from where my Mom now lives. We promised to visit sometime.

We never did.

Isn't that always the way? Thinking you've got another day somewhere down the road to do something you really ought to do today?

Yesterday, while I was at the Show Choir Invitational, I found out she'd passed away from a very sudden brain tumor. She was 50 years old. Her memorial service was being held that very day at a nearby church. I immediately informed Ginger, and she told Cody, and they paid a visit. They met her Mom and Dad and siblings, told them Cody's story, and thanked them for the role their daughter played in Cody's life. And ours. I cried a few tears, I must admit. Because she is so dear to me, and because I couldn't go say goodbye.

To this day, I can't imagine anyone who could have helped us more through those scary days than Dr. Julia Foster. And in the past 24 hours, I've been thinking about her a lot.

And you know, something kinda crossed my mind today. Back in those days, I did the best I could to keep things light. You know, cracking jokes every now and then, being silly, sharing my goofy idiosyncrasies. There were times, I think, when Dr. Foster thought me a little odd, which, quite frankly, has happened with a lot of people who know me. Heck, my own Mom still thinks I'm a little odd. Every now and then, even when she didn't quite know how to take me, she would still get a little smile on her face when we'd interact. And I think she loved my family as much we loved her.

And yesterday, while I was sad I couldn't go to her service, I think perhaps I was where I should have been. Where she probably would rather me have been. Not mourning her, but enjoying myself, having a good time with a bunch of kids. For someone who spent her life saving kid's lives, maybe me helping brighten some teenagers' day honors her more proper.

Yeah, I think she would have liked that.