Pastor James Coates in Edmonton

Please pray for Pastor James Coates and his family as they face the hearing today. I know many of us have different opinions about these regulations... It's been a difficult time for us all, and no one has all the answers. But pastors everywhere should have the freedom to shepherd their congregations as God has called them. As brothers and sisters in Christ, we rally together when one of our own is in trouble, even when we disagree or are afraid.

If you have time, please consider also reading the following letter from another pastor's perspective. Definitely worth the read:

"Greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus from a fellow servant of Christ and your Michigan neighbor!
I am writing an open letter to you to ask you to apply Hebrews 10:33-34 and 13:3 for our brother and fellow Pastor, James Coates. I don’t know Pastor Coates personally, but we have a number of mutual friends and are fellow alumni of The Master’s Seminary. Before coming to Calvary Bible Church, I spent over a decade living and ministering in the former Soviet Union. It is the hard lessons our brothers learned there that compels me to write to you with an appeal:
Disagree with Pastor Coates all you want, but don’t dither on whether Christ or Caesar is head of the church or on whether pastors or politicians have been given ecclesiastical authority by our Lord.
Disagree with Pastor Coates all you want, but don’t desert him because you disagree with his decisions or feel he chose the wrong hill to die on.
When Canadian and American soldiers fought side by side in World War II, there were times where individual commanders made tactical decisions that their fellow officers strongly disagreed with. There were intense debates on what to do and how to respond in various situations. But they all held to a core principle of military brotherhood: When an allied officer came under heavy attack, the others rallied to support him…even if they disagreed with the tactics or field of battle their fellow officer had chosen. The alternative was to be mired in indecision, isolated by the enemy, surrounded, and destroyed one by one.
So when one of our own has been arrested—not for some scandalous moral failure or shipwreck of faith, but simply for holding worship services and preaching God’s Word out of deep theological and personal conviction—his brothers and fellow pastors should immediately rally to his support and defense…even if they disagree with his convictions or the way he implemented them.
In all of church history, no pastor who has ever been arrested has been 100% correct in all his decisions, applications, and judgment calls. Each and every one has made decisions that other pastors of his time and context could legitimately disagree with. But if full agreement, perfect wisdom, and inerrancy in application is the standard for receiving Hebrews 10:33-34 and 13:3 support, we will all desert each other one by one, and we will all face the opposition of the world alone. This should not be.
Have you ever wondered why 2 Timothy 4:16 says that no one supported the apostle Paul at his first defense? Why did everyone desert him? Fear was probably the reason for some. But were there no men of courage at all? Could it be that fear hindered some, but it was disagreement with Paul’s methods and decisions which hindered others?
Brothers, during my years on the mission field, I observed the intense disagreements that quite naturally take place between ministers of the gospel when they are faced with complicated and difficult situations which require tough judgment calls. But when one of their own is arrested, all dithering and debate immediately ceases, and everyone immediate rallies to the support and defense of their brother.
You may disagree with James. If you or I are ever arrested in different circumstances, I may disagree with pastoral decisions you've made, and you may disagree with mine. But we must remember that we are brothers and fellow soldiers in the cause of Christ. Brothers-In-Arms may strongly disagree on which hill to die on. But when one of our own has carefully and prayerfully chosen to take a stand, we should not dither over whether or not to support him. Pastors should never desert each other over tactical or applicational disagreements.
So “become a sharer” (Heb. 10:33), “show sympathy” (Heb. 10:34), and “remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them” (Heb. 13:3). You and your local congregation don’t have to die on the same hill he and GraceLife have chosen, but you have a spiritual and moral obligation to support and defend your brother in Christ.
In humility and love, I appeal to you on James’ behalf: Disagree, but don’t dither. Disagree, but don’t desert.
With Love and Respect, Bret Laird"

Appeal for Pastor Coates' release from prison set for March 4, 2021 | Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (jccf.ca)

Brave man. First heard about him on The Dividing Line with James R. White. Definitely something we should all be preparing ourselves mentally for. Governments usually don't give up powers.

Do not like the manipulative way the letter is written and it actually discourages me from supporting.

"You have a spiritual and moral obligation to support and defend". Ugh. Reminds me of cult like mentality. Push and pressure and coerce you to fall in line and for those that don't attempt to fake a Godly command. Ignore your conscience and do what we tell you instead. 🙄

Thanks for reading! I know it was a long post...

Yes, I can definitely see your point. And guess what? I don't agree fully with the decision of Pastor Coates to defy the regulations, or the overall tone of Pastor Laird's letter either... We all have different opinions and ways of communicating. This was exactly my point! 😊 When one of our own is in trouble we should pray and have sympathy, even when we disagree. Hebrews 10 and Revelation 2 are God’s commands, not my words. Personally, this is something I've struggled with as well- I've had the worst bitter arguments with people within the church. The question is, how do we "stand side by side" with our brothers and sisters in the midst of it?

I do believe that we as Christians are going to be targeted more and more from the enemy in the coming days. And if we don't figure out how to fight together in the midst of our differences, we will be isolated and vulnerable. Would you agree?

I don't know him personally, but I have close friends that went to his church. The government is trying to make an example of Pastor Coates. You know what? I realized that this isn't just about the virus or one man anymore. What happens in this case will affect the freedom of Christian leaders everywhere. We already see it happening in other parts of the world. I just never thought I would see it so close to home. And you're absolutely right, we need to be preparing mentally and spiritually for persecution here. Thanks for praying!

Given the FACT that not a single one of the draconian restrictive measures imposed by all governments actually worked, the bogus COVID pandemic was a bioweapon against all citizens, and particularly churches and Christians. That is very obvious.

What should really have happened from day one is that all churches and all denominations -- regardless -- should have come to a formal agreement that NOT A SINGLE CHURCH would bow to the government directives to interfere with the constitutional right of freedom of worship. Right across North America. Had every church remained open, without any restrictions whatsoever, all the governments would have had to back off. Or jail millions for exercising their constitutional right.

We can be thankful that the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms in Calgary has taken up the case of Pastor Coates (as well as other related cases in Canada). The problem is that the courts have bowed to liberal and Leftist politicians, and may no longer uphold constitutional freedoms. Which means that Christians must now be prepared to defy governments and take the consequences.

I have personally written to premier Jason Kenney to immediately release Pastor Coates and dismiss all charges, and to also totally rescind all legislation pertaining to COVID restrictions. I have also sent him a copy of an article which reveals that thousands of lawyers worldwide are working on Nuremberg-type trials to hold all the COVID conspirators accountable for crimes against humanity. He has not responded, but that does not matter.

Everything about this bogus pandemic is bogus, but the politicians love to exert tyrannical power, now that the courts will not oppose them. So we have COVID Tyranny worldwide. We can hope and pray that Kenney will see the light and tender an apology to Pastor Coates, after releasing him.

BREAKING: Judge dismisses bail appeal, keeps Canadian pastor behind bars

“Notwithstanding Mr. Coates’ strongly held religious beliefs and convictions he remains subject to the rule of law which is itself a constitutional value of overarching importance,” stated Michalyshyn. He noted that “Mr. Coates intends to raise arguments that his charter protected rights have been breached,” which he added did not “persuade him” to overrule his bail conditions..."
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/b...ars?utm_source=featured&utm_campaign=standard

Now we have hard evidence that the courts in Canada (and the USA) will not uphold their Constitutions and Charter of Rights freedoms. However, the rule of law only applies to the ordinary citizens. It does not apply to the politicians or the judges which we have seen over and over again.

With trial against jailed pastor, Alberta gov’t will have to use COVID science, stop ‘fear-mongering’

In an interview with LifeSiteNews, John Carpay, who serves as the president of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), said Coates’ upcoming trial scheduled for May 3 to 5 will — for the very “first time” — force the government to show its evidence for backing lockdowns which restrict church attendance size.

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/w...nce?utm_source=featured&utm_campaign=standard

Looks some some politicians never learn. John Carpay has been speaking out about the uselessness of lockdowns, masks, distancing, etc. for quite some time, but none of the Canadian politicians want to do the right think and go back to normal.

canada has over 37 million people, and right now about 30,000 active cases. so, less than 1%.

but, as usual, liberals, just like 11th hour when she was still here, want the gov. to keep everything closed and folks locked in their homes...

LIBERALISM = TYRANNY

This is quite evident all over the world. Too many people hate freedom and love slavery. Now everyone is enslaved to COVID Tyranny.

when all this started up about this time last year, i heard several commentators say that people were going to embrace the lockdowns, want to close their workplace and work from home, and not want to go back.


i did not believe them, thought folks would not have those attitudes.

boy was i wrong.....

you got it Sis.. praying for them..

Pastor James Coates is being released shortly and all charges will be dismissed (apparently).

Yes, praise God! And thankful for all who prayed and spoke up for this injustice!

Unfortunately he has some health issues that were exasperated during this time. He never should have been in jail to begin with, much less solitary confinement. Please continue to keep him in prayer.

https://www.jccf.ca/pastor-james-coates-to-be-released-from-jail-as-crown-withdraws-charges/

Psst... the word is "exacerbated".

"Exasperated" is akin to "frustrated". "Exacerbated" is "made worse".

Today he got a $1500 fine. If he pays it, he will be free, if he doesn't, his trial is May 3, and he would have to stay in jail till then.

Alberta is an exception in Canada. William Aberhart and then Ernest Manning were preachers with a "Back to the Bible" radio broadcast, that the whole rural areas of Alberta listened to. Alberta was mostly farmers, ranchers and rural dwellers, so many were reached with the gospel. When these men turned to politics, to change the way things were run, they were both elected by landslides, for many years. It was the only Canadian province to have preachers for premiers, and laws based on the Bible.

Then people started moving to cities, and urban population became more important than rural. Manning was my premier through my schooling days. In 1972, a smart man, former football player with the home town Eskimos, got elected, everything changed. Alberta became a secular province. Lougheed, the new premier, was not a bad man, and fought Pierre Trudeau from stealing oil, for a fake oil crisis in the 70's, which belonged as a provincial resource. (Justin Trudeau realized his father failed, his goal is to shut down all oil and gas in Alberta. Which he is doing!)

Anyway, Alberta was the most Christian province in Canada 50 years ago. Now it persecuted Christians. How tragic!
I do have questions about how Romans 13 figures into this!

"Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. 4 For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.
6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7 Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor." Romans 13:1-7

Paul wasn't talking about some bizarre rules, he was talking about Caesar & the Roman Empire! Who became the worst murders and persecutors of Christianity early on.

I admit, I don't get why people can go Costco, Walmart, corner grocery stores, restaurants and bars, but they can't go to church. Church is a comfort in a time of trial. It's worship of God, who is worthy of all praise.

BUT, Romans 13 basically says, OBEY the authorities. This pastor did not obey the authorities. And others who have been put in jail for holding services. But they broke both God and human law.

The Rebel News, a right wing News source is helping fund the lawyers fees for all pastors put in jail for preaching. They want no fines paid, and trials, to establish precedents. They write for a largely Christian audience, but the owner of the media company is Jewish. He has an agenda it is plain to see.

Anyway, I would love to see this pastor out of jail. But if he won't pay the fines, he is going to be staying in jail longer. (It's actually a Remand centre, minimum security. I lived just down the road from it, when I lived in Edmonton.) Very new, modern, built maybe 8-10 years ago. I know losing your freedom is terrible, but he did break the law!

Thanks, you're right!

I'll admit I tend to bloviate at times in my call for justice. Forgive me for making a tiny grammatical error in my passion. Thank you for taking the time to read this thread and for caring about this issue.