Won't be long before I go to jail too

Last week I honored Father Norman Weslin for his stance for LIFE.  This week I thought to honor another notable defender of the unborn. I'm happy to call Pastor Walter B. Hoye II my friend and thought to share this picture of the two of us. I nearly titled it "Thorns in the Killer's Side" because it delights us to be such a pain in side of those who profit from abortion.

Pastor Hoye serves the Progressive Missionary Baptist Church in Berkeley, California. His blog is here. Pastor Hoye has been a fierce defender of human life since the premature birth of his son - only 2.1 pounds at birth but no less a living, breathing, precious human being.

A year ago this month, Pastor Hoye was arrested under Oakland's new "bubble law" which states pro-life advocates can't be within eight feet of any individual within a 100 foot radius of an abortion clinic. Clinic workers came out to harrass Pastor Hoye, they held up cardboard placards to block his sign. 

His sign read; "Jesus loves you and your baby. Let us help you." The abortion clinic workers made false accusations against Pastor Hoye and had him arrested. Because of the Bubble Law, Pastor Hoye had the foresight to have his demonstration video recorded. You can see his "crime" here - note who is harrassing whom. At his trial, the clinic workers spewed lies and manufactored "unidentified clients" who were upset by his presence in front of the clinic.  There was no supporting evidence provided and the video proves their testimony false. Typical of the injustice of the courts with regard to the issue of abortion, the jury found him guilty. He was sentenced to thirty days in jail. Here's what Jesus had to say about that;

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

From his jail cell, Pastor Hoye wrote a letter to America's clergy whom he addressed as his "brothers, men of the cloth."  You can read it in it's entirety here (pdf alert) as I'll only quote it briefly;

In the spirit of the prophet Ezekiel, I write to my fellow watchmen on the wall… Ezekiel's assignment stood against the prevailing wisdom of his day that called for the leaders of Israel to play it safe and avoid unpleasant topics of conversation…. to speak God's Word whether orf not people wanted to hear it… it is clear… that being a watchmen meant Ezekiel was personally held responsible for the people he ministered to… It was Ezekiel's God-given duty to warn the people of any danger, impending or otherwise… any failure to issue the warning would make him accountable to God for any suffering that consequently resulted…. Like Ezekiel, if we fail to warn the people of impending danger, their blood will be on our hands… like Ezekiel, we are to warn the wicked of God's eternal judgment, hoping that the wicked would turn from his or her wicked ways.

The letter in it's entirely is prophetic and historic and I encourage you to read it prayerfully. In the letter he notes that every 72 seconds a black baby is murdered in the womb of his or her mother and that a black child has less than a fifty percent chance of being born. While President Obortion the Empathy-Challenged stacks the court with eugenics-friendly racist judges, black American's are being born below the replacement level. Pastor Hoye decries abortion as black genocide noting death in Black America outpaces life.

Last week in Washington DC, Pastor Hoye was given the "John Wise Award" at a Family Research Council dinner for his personal sacrifice in the cause of justice.  John Wise (1652-1725) was a leading pastor and defender of Liberty in our nation's founding era. He served a Congregational Church in Massachusetts for most of his life until his death. He was noted for his activism and protests against British tyranny. In 1687, he led his fellow townspeople in a revolt against a tax levied by the royal Governor Andros without the consent of the legislative body. As a result, he was tried, convicted, fined and jailed. Later the Governor was deposed and Pastor Wise was vindicated. His writings and sermons produced a number of phrases that were repeated verbatim in our Declaration of Independance.  Gotta love that… the talking points for the Declaration of Independance were taken word for word from a pastor's sermons.

Last night we watched a show on the National Geographic Channel called "Locked Up Abroad." Afterwards, as a family, we talked about some of our experiences overseas - we laughed about the time we ended up stuck in Ghana police station after our bus driver was arrested.  I remember in the mid-90's when the police in Vietnam opened the doors to my room at night, shined flashlights on me to do a bed check. They monitored the messages I preached in state-regulated churches and gave me rigid guidelines. Last night the consensus as a family is that we are closer to these days than we think right here in Amerika. Just last week I heard even home Bible studies are being harrassed. Unless the good people of this nation speak up, free speech will be a thing of the past. It'll soon be hate crime to preach the Bible and say things like marriage is the union of one man and one woman for one life.

My sense is it won't be long before they lock me up.  One thing is for certain, it won't shut me up. My question for you is what are you willing to go to jail defending? And, knowing we lose the freedoms we don't fight for, how long do you plan to stay out of the fight?  I believe we will win the war for LIFE and there will one day be a national memorial to the unborn in DC. Will your grandchildren be proud of you on that day, or will you be found on the wrong side of history?