There\u2019s a scene in the Lord of the Rings, where the hero, Frodo Baggins, is in a very dark place. He and his friends are on a quest to destroy a magic ring. And yet, they\u2019re being relentlessly hunted by hordes of evil creatures, and so their prospects looks dim. <\/p>\n
At one point they pause to rest, and Frodo, exhausted and discouraged, says to his friend Gandalf. \u2018I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.\u2019 And Gandalf responds, \u2018So do all who live to see such times. But it is not for us to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.\u2019<\/p>\n
As you probably know, 10 days ago the Supreme Court of SC ruled that 29 churches of our diocese must give our property to the National Church\u2014about 500 million dollars worth. And so while this ruling will certainly be appealed, a day may come when our staff will arrive at work and the locks will have been changed. This has happened in other churches around our country. <\/p>\n
And so make no mistake, we\u2019ve lost a major battle in this conflict. Some have used the imagery of the Exodus. We\u2019ve left Egypt, we\u2019ve come to the Red Sea, but now we can hear the chariots of Pharaoh behind us. And unless God intervenes in a mighty way, our future will be radically different than we thought. <\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a> and you may find the audio links there<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There\u2019s a scene in the Lord of the Rings, where the hero, Frodo Baggins, is in a very dark place. He and his friends are on a quest to destroy a magic ring. And yet, they\u2019re being relentlessly hunted by…<\/span><\/p>\n