‘Get Louder’ Faith Summit in Miami calls on pastors to reject cultural norms

At its second “Get Louder” Faith Summit, hosted in Miami, Fla., on Tuesday, Liberty University’s Standing for Freedom Center called on the Bride of Christ to reject intersectionality, critical race theory, and other antithetical worldviews slithering their way to the pulpit, and to embrace Scripture’s inerrancy and absolute truth.

Special guest speakers included conservative podcast host Allie Beth Stuckey; bestselling author Eric Metaxas; pastors Rob McCoy, David Engelhardt, and Greg Locke; CEO of the Babylon Bee Seth Dillon; political commentators Charlie Kirk and David Harris Jr.; Chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition Ralph Reed; and Senior Legal Advisor for President Trump Jenna Ellis. The event followed the center’s first Faith Summit, which took place in September at Liberty.

“This ‘Get Louder’ Faith Summit series was an outstanding success,” said Ryan Helfenbein, executive director of the Standing for Freedom Center. “We are abundantly grateful to God for the ability to gather as one body of believers to worship Him, to proclaim that Church is essential, and to rally against the increasing attacks on the true Gospel in modern America. The Center will continue to fight for the principles and values that we hold dear and, above all, continue to fulfill the Great Commission — sharing the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

John Forystek and his group At Liberty Band peppered worship songs between speeches and panel discussions.

In her opening monologue, Stuckey summarized the thesis of her new book, “You’re Not Enough (And That’s Okay): Escaping the Toxic Culture of Self-love.”

“When you buy into the lie that you are enough, that you are sufficient, and that you have everything you need inside of you for guidance, wisdom, and fulfillment, what you start to believe is that you are your own god,” Stuckey said. “Not only does (this worldview) demand self-worship and self-idolatry, but it also means you become the arbiter of truth, and you become the arbiter of morality.”

“In this cult of self-affirmation, the god is self, and the only form of righteousness is ‘doing you,’ the two highest values are authenticity and autonomy,” she added. “But, if the god is self, and autonomy and authenticity become your highest values, if they are not subjected to the Word of God and to the standards of Christ, they will be used to justify anything in the name of self-service.”

During a “Cancel Culture and the Church” panel, Pastor Tom Ascol of Grace Baptist Church in Cape Coral, Fla., and the president of Founders Ministries talked about cultural threats facing the American Church, namely how many pastors have watered down morality for the sake of political correctness and appeasing the cancel culture mob.

“The culture is leading us rather than us leading the culture,” Ascol said. “The church is trying to mimic (what culture deems appropriate), as if we’ve forgotten our marching orders, and we think that to win people, we have to be nice to them and get them to like us. …”

Pastor David Engelhardt of King’s Church in New York City added that many pastors avoid preaching about morality because they’re afraid of mob repercussions.

“We’ve had so little substance at our pulpits,” he said. “The Church has been so silent on the substantive issues of morality.”

During a panel discussion titled “Church is Essential,” Rob McCoy, pastor of Godspeak Calvary Chapel in Thousand Oaks, Calif., encouraged churches to fully open despite state social distancing mandates.

“Watching church on television is like watching a fireplace on TV,” said McCoy, who opened his church despite mandates. “You can see it, you can hear it, but there’s no warmth.”

Metaxas closed the day with a cautious warning to Christians if they avoid the public square.

“Without the Church, there is no America. Without the Church of Jesus Christ, we would have not been able to govern ourselves and become what we are today,” he said. “… You need to do your part in speaking up. And perhaps your voice will tip the scales, and we will get a reprieve from the governor of the universe, and we will continue be able to be free and to spread freedom.”