One Voice for Public Policy - (Of Course) It Happened on Pentecost!

Something very good happened on Pentecost. That is certainly true of the original Pentecost as God showered His Spirit on those assembled. It also appears this was the case this past Sunday – Pentecost Sunday – as two very good legislative goals became legislative realities.
 
The first of those realities was the unlikely and dramatic defeat of the (misnamed) Equal Rights Amendment which would have been put on the 2026 ballot – an amendment which, if passed, would have embedded abortion up to birth as well as various radical sexual ideologies directly into our State Constitution. In fact, given the anti-religious atmosphere among the legislative majority, it is hard to escape the conclusion this was, indeed, a God-orchestrated happening, as many legislators and others were given the strength to resist these latest assaults on our common culture. And all of this came on the heels of a second unlikely legislative event a few days before, namely, the signing of a bill restoring the full spectrum of religious liberties to the Minnesota Human Rights Act.
 
These are notable legislative happenings because they are key to preserving the Church’s ability to freely speak and act out the Gospel in a culture that desperately needs it. For had either of these gone the other way, the Church - and especially its schools and other auxiliary organizations -  would likely have been embroiled in a steady stream of future lawsuits alleging the Church to be guilty of various forms of discrimination.
 
Also notable was the extraordinarily large number of pastors and laity from many different denominations and many different faiths who came together and engaged in the political process by communicating with their legislative representatives – an engagement that appears to have made a significant difference in the eventual outcome. By the thousands, people expressed their great dissatisfaction with a majority political party which appeared to show no respect for people of faith – any faith – Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Mormons, etc. In fact, going forward, one can be hopeful that this showing of solidarity will continue and will be an on-going reminder to the radical secularist elements in our society that they are not free to use the tools of government to discriminate against people of faith.
 
That said, I would end on a cautionary note. Though we were successful in restraining some seriously harmful initiatives this session, we should not assume this will be the end of such anti-religious attacks. Indeed, they will almost certainly continue and even increase in intensity in the years ahead. And so, we in the Church must resolve to work harder to address the underlying reasons for the existence of such anti-religious attitudes in the first place. That is, we need to recommit to educating ourselves and our children so that we better understand and more highly value the religious liberties we still enjoy.
 
We need to continue to advocate for the rights of parents to serve as the primary authority in the lives of their children, especially in regard to their education. Specifically, we must continue to press the State of Minnesota for the adoption of **Education Savings Accounts (ESAs), since they have proven to be the most effective tool in restraining the radical anti-religious elements within society at-large and public education in particular. ESAs are the mechanism that gives parents the financial means either to choose a religious education for their children if they so desire, or to resist the radicalism within public schools by reminding those in charge of public education that they are no longer dealing with a financially “captive audience,” and therefore, they must respect the concerns of parents. Simply put, ESAs are the tool that all parents need, whether they ultimately choose a public secular education or a religious education for their children.
 
And so, in the end, we give great thanks to God for the religious liberties that have been preserved to us through the recent decisions of our Minnesota legislature, while at the same time, we pray for the resolve to do what’s necessary to more deeply ground ourselves and our children in God’s Word going forward.

** If you wish to help make ESAs a reality here in Minnesota, as they already are in 14 other states, please help support Opportunity for All Kids (OAK). OAK is supported and endorsed by the Minnesota Districts of the LCMS.

In Christ,

Rev. Fredric Hinz
fred.hinz@mnsdistrict.org
507-317-9634

Public Policy Advocate
Minnesota South and North Districts   
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod