There are often times when my mind weighs in on hot button issues as I consider a “pastoral response.” Not being a pastor—but having served in various ministry leadership roles—makes this not too much of a stretch. I feel for pastors who take a stand—and pay for it.

For example, what do you do when unmarried couples are living together and are faithfully attending your church? And what if they want to become members? And are generous givers?

What about the “gay couple” who wants to join your fellowship? Or the transvestite who attends faithfully, raising questions in the minds of children. Just how aggressive can you be in speaking truth (in love, of course) even if that leads to “cease and desist.”

One of the more common conflicts within our churches today is immigration. Depending on where you show up for a weekly worship service, attitudes on illegal border crossers can trigger fighting words. Words like “compassion” and “kindness towards the stranger” often are void of workable solutions.

So along comes Donald Trump—a man so fed up with a lax border policy that he demands a fix. Recently, the Trump team removed restrictions on conducting deportation raids in schools, houses of worship, and hospitals. The previous folks in charge mostly discouraged their immigration agents from entering “sensitive locations” to enforce our laws.

Those days have passed.

Evening newscasts—both nationally and in Chicago—often pitch humanitarian stories of people who live in the fear of what’s next. Why, these sad tales are enough to make you want to say, “Give these border violators whatever they came here for.”

And that’s exactly why we’re in this messy situation.

Enter, stage right, Pastor James Pittman. His New Hope Community Church in Palatine, Illinois, (about 30 miles northwest of Chicago) did the unthinkable. He has one of those church signs that usually lets you know service times and have clever sayings like, “Call on God. He’ll never send you to voicemail.” Or, “Jesus rose from the dead. You can’t even get out of bed!”

But Pastor Pittman took it upon himself to “preach” a sign message on immigration. His church sign posted on February 5th:

“Heaven has Strict Immigration Laws. Hell has Open Borders.” 

Actually, hell fire and brimstone broke loose after news channels spread the message all across Chicagoland and beyond.

One might ask, are you kidding me? A pastor posted such a thing? Why, he must be a racist!! At least that’s what one troubled soul accused him of. Well, Pastor Pittman looks very black to those who know him. Because he is!

Moreover, here is what he posted on the church Facebook page:

“We want to be clear concerning this sign. We did not mention nor intended this sign to be about US immigration policy. We understand that immigration is a hot topic today and wanted to use that to turn people’s attention heavenward. We did not mention any country or any people group. We do not believe that all go to heaven and wanted the community to examine their relationship with Almighty God. People are getting triggered by the word ‘immigration.’ We took a stand on ‘immigration’ to heaven, not to the United States. Are we not free to use the word immigration on a church post?”

The answer to that question, pastor, is apparently “No.” You have entered the murky waters of controversy. Note this response given to the Daily Herald from a nearby school board president:

“It is unfortunate that a couple of phrases that some adults feel to be clever are posted in the face of many innocent schoolchildren having to ask parents, friends, and adults what they mean and why. Pulling kids into the edginess and politics of the moment is absolutely inappropriate and causes real fear for our school-age children.”

Imagine if Pastor Pittman had posted on his sign, “Thousands of your neighbors are going to hell.” What would the kids and neighbors think then??

I support this pastor for his courageous voice. It’s tough to speak truth. Makes me want to “put another dollar in the plate.” (A ridiculous line from a country song that illustrates our pathetic idea of stewardship.)

Oh, the price a pastor pays for speaking up.