{"id":1984523,"date":"2023-07-27T19:24:01","date_gmt":"2023-07-27T23:24:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/resist-tyranny-honor-god-new-documentary-explores-the-struggle-of-three-christian-pastors-fighting-pandemic-health-orders\/"},"modified":"2023-07-27T19:26:09","modified_gmt":"2023-07-27T23:26:09","slug":"resist-tyranny-honor-god-new-documentary-explores-the-struggle-of-three-christian-pastors-fighting-pandemic-health-orders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/resist-tyranny-honor-god-new-documentary-explores-the-struggle-of-three-christian-pastors-fighting-pandemic-health-orders\/","title":{"rendered":"New Film Explores Christian Pastors&#8217; Fight Against Pandemic Orders"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fresist-tyranny-honor-god-new-documentary-explores-the-struggle-of-three-christian-pastors-fighting-pandemic-health-orders%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1984523&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Three North American Christian Pastors Defy COVID Orders in New Documentary<\/h2>\n<p>Three\u2063 North American\u2062 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/topic\/christianity\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Christian<\/a> pastors who endured legal punishment from state and federal governments for\u2063 defying authoritarian <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/topic\/covid\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">COVID<\/a> orders to\u200c keep their churches \u2062open amid the pandemic are featured in a new documentary set to\u2062 hit select theaters nationwide \u2062on Friday.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThe Essential Church,\u201d produced by Grace Productions and starring Grace Community Church Pastor Dr. John MacArthur, is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/battle-to-halt-amazon-deforestation-laid-bare-in-film-the-territory\/\" title=\"Battle to halt Amazon deforestation laid bare in film \u2018The Territory\u2019\">feature-length documentary<\/a> that explores the \u2063struggle between Church and\u2063 government \u200dthroughout history.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThis upcoming feature-length documentary explores the ancient struggle between \u2063the Satanic World System and\u200d Christ\u2019s people through the story of Grace Community Church\u2019s legal battle, church history, and the church during worldwide lockdowns,\u201d according to the film\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/essentialchurchmovie.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">website<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>A\u200b Timeless \u200dBattle<\/h3>\n<p>Beginning with the Scottish Covenanters back in the 1600s and interwoven with stories about modern-day pastors, the film details through scientific, legal, and Biblical perspectives why gathering\u200d in person remains essential, especially \u200dat a time when the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/resist-tyranny-honor-god-new-documentary-explores-the-struggle-of-three-christian-pastors-fighting-pandemic-health-orders\/\" title=\"New Film Explores Christian Pastors' Fight Against Pandemic Orders\">world faced\u2063 unprecedented health fears\u2062 exacerbated<\/a> by federal agencies, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/chinese-government-erasing-western-retailers-online-stores-locations-for-voicing-human-rights-concerns\/\" title=\"Chinese Government Erasing Western Retailers\u2019 Online Stores, Locations For Voicing Human Rights Concerns\">state-run media outlets<\/a>, and politicians at every\u200b level of government.<\/p>\n<p>Shannon\u200b Paul Halliday, the film\u2019s\u200d director, \u2064told The Daily Wire that he wanted his \u200cdebut documentary to focus on\u200d presenting a timeless element for viewers about\u2064 a moment in\u2064 history that will stay relevant for years to come.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI really wanted it to transcend the lockdowns\u200d or transcend COVID,\u201d Halliday said. \u201cI think a lot of people have COVID fatigue \u2014 I have\u2062 COVID fatigue \u2014 so I didn\u2019t want it to be just\u200c a completely science-based type of argument.\u2062 We needed\u2062 to tell the story of the church,\u2062 and when you do that you\u2019re dealing with theological concepts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the Summer of 2020, Grace \u200cCommunity Church in\u2063 Sun Valley, California, garnered national attention after becoming \u2062the center of controversy when MacArthur and church elders stood up against state and local health guidelines by returning to in-person church gatherings. While the church reopened and members of the congregation returned to the sanctuary, the film gives an inside look at division MacArthur and Grace Community leaders faced with the government and among each other.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s never not any drama or anything like that,\u201d Halliday \u200dsaid. \u201cSo to \u200dshow our elder board and the division they had and how \u2064they worked through it I think is going to be\u2064 really interesting to people out there and might entice them to want to \u2064see the film.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/onelink.to\/dwapp\">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>After months of battling with Los Angeles County\u2064 officials, the Southern \u2064California church was ultimately rewarded with an <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JennaEllisEsq\/status\/1432791164151865349?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1432791164151865349%7Ctwgr%5Eca9d0a7a23e8a83243c7b430112c7ec1c04c653e%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&#038;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww2.cbn.com%2Fnews%2Fus%2Fjohn-macarthurs-church-receives-massive-settlement-after-defying-covid-health-orders\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">$800,000 settlement<\/a> based on Supreme Court rulings earlier that year, which declared that churches in California could be exempt from enforcement of some of the state\u2019s coronavirus \u2063policies.<\/p>\n<p>Also included\u2062 in the documentary are Canadian ministers Tim Stephens of \u2062Fairview Baptist Church\u200c in Calgary and James Coates of GraceLife Church of\u200d Edmonton in Alberta. Both pastors were among several clergymen\u200d imprisoned in Canada for refusing \u200bto shutter their churches as ordered by the Crown,\u200d receiving legal fines, public scrutiny enhanced by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/protesters-clash-with-cops-threaten-to-burn-dc-during-black-lives-matter-march\/\" title=\"Protesters Clash With Cops, Threaten To \u2018Burn\u2019 DC During \u2018Black Lives Matter\u2019 March\">legacy media outlets<\/a>, and more than 20 days of imprisonment.<\/p>\n<p>Halliday said that tying in Coates and Stephens was crucial to the\u2064 story because they communicated the real stakes when church leaders\u200b stood up \u2063to totalitarianism.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey made a sacrifice for conviction \u2014 a Biblical conviction\u200b \u2014 that Jesus Christ is the head of the church,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd there isn\u2019t any context or any emergency act that we should ever compromise for that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Actor and outspoken evangelist Kirk Cameron said the film will \u201copen your eyes to the darkness of our\u200c cultural moment and shine bright rays of hope and courage\u2064 for \u200dthe Family \u200bof Faith.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen churches in\u2064 the communist state of California were closed under COVID house arrest\u2063 by \u2062order of Governor Newsom, Grace Community Church courageously opened their doors to help the hopeless and \u200cthe hurting and hold back the storm of authoritarian control,\u201d Cameron said, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/hanfordsentinel.com\/events\/?_evDiscoveryPath=\/event%2F1803586-movie-screening-the-essential-church\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Hanford\u2064 Sentinel<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Halliday urged \u201canybody and everybody\u201d \u200dto watch the film.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople shouldn\u2019t \u200bjust assume they know what went on with Grace Community Church and with the global church,\u201d he\u200c said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Essential Church\u201d opens on July 28, 2023, in select theaters nationwide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Three North American Christian pastors who faced legal consequences for defying COVID orders to keep their churches open are highlighted in a new documentary. &#8220;The Essential Church,&#8221; produced by Grace Productions and featuring Pastor Dr. John MacArthur, will be released in select theaters nationwide on Friday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":429,"featured_media":1984524,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[541],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1984523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-daily-wire"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1984523","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/429"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1984523"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1984523\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1984524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1984523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1984523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1984523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}