Hasta La Vista, Baity

When the North Carolina legislature asked Ron Baity to serve as a guest chaplain at the state house, the pastor of Berean Baptist Church said it was an honor. What he didn't know was how short-lived that honor would be! During the last week of May, when Pastor Baity was scheduled to open the session in prayer, a House clerk asked to first review the text. When she noticed the last line, she said, "We would prefer that you not use the name of Jesus. We have some people here that can be offended." But it was Pastor Baity who was most offended. When the clerk raised the issue with House Speaker Joe Hackney, Pastor Baity said plainly, "My faith requires that I pray in His name. The Bible is very clear." In the end, Hackney decided that the pastor could offer his prayer--but that it would be his last one. After that, Baity's services would "no longer be needed." A stunned Baity told Fox News Radio, "When the state tells you how to pray, that you cannot use the name of Jesus--that's mandating a state religion. They talk about not offending other people but at the same time, if they are telling me how to pray--that's the very thing our forefathers left England for."

For FRC, the controversy is personal. As part of our Watchmen on the Wall outreach to pastors, we partner with 50 ministers who network and lead other pastors in each state to advance faith, family, and freedom. Ron Baity is our volunteer pastor-leader in North Carolina, and he certainly understands the church's role in securing our liberty. So when the "powers that be" in the North Carolina State House told him that he wouldn't be allowed to finish the week as chaplain because he was praying a "sectarian" prayer, he knew better. And he also won't give up without a fight! That's why he enlisted the help of Attorney David C. Gibbs of the Christian Law Association, who had this to say about the Tar Heels' censorship. By the way, this isn't Baity's first run-in with North Carolina's PC police. Here's his testimony from an incident a few years ago and how our Watchmen on the Wall program has helped him.