Chad Kimball, a Washington native, was fired because of his bold defense of religious freedom.
The Tony-Award nominated performer had been working for several years on a production called “Come From Away” when he took to Twitter to express his frustrations with Governor Inslee’s restrictions that seemed to specifically target people of faith.
Kimball tweeted:
“Respectfully, I will never allow a Governor, or anyone, to stop me from SINGING, let alone sing in worship to my God. Folks, absolute POWER corrupts ABSOLUTELY. This is not about safety. It’s about POWER. I will respectfully disobey these unlawful orders. #inslee #Tyranny #truth”
Along with the tweet, he included a picture which outlined Governor Inslee’s restrictions imposed on religious services, such as the prohibition on choirs and church congregation members to participate in singing.
The tweet resulted in a flurry of controversy online. “Some people told me to take the [first] tweet down or apologize. But I wasn’t going to do that. I did nothing wrong,” Kimball said.
There were mixed reactions online. Some faithful Twitter users agreed wholeheartedly with Kimball. Others said they hoped he contracted COVID-19 and wished death upon him.
And others wished he would keep his faith to himself. “If you feel that strongly about it… pray and sing at home,” another user wrote. The producer of “Come From Away” soon informed Kimball that he was fired.
Kimball asked his friend and director of the show, Christopher Ashley, if the termination was because of the cast members’ feelings or because of his religious beliefs. “He said it was everything,” according to Kimball.
But Kimball, in his Christian boldness, is not going away without a fight. “Jesus never commanded us to not defend ourselves,” he said in an interview. “As Christians, we are commanded to seek out justice, truth and restoration. The law gives us opportunities to do all of those things.”
Kimball isn’t fighting for a monetary prize. He’s fighting because he was a victim of religious discrimination, and he feels called to stand for the faith.
And how often have we been told that we, as Christians, should keep our faith to ourselves like Kimball was instructed to do? To not to “impose” our beliefs on others? Even more importantly, how many of us put our “light” under the basket or denied Jesus Christ’s teachings because we didn’t want the attention?
If we only speak Christian truth in the privacy of our homes, then we must think long and hard that we may have become sad excuses for Christians. We are not called to hide our beliefs or deny our allegiance to God, especially when our faith is under attack or challenged by others.
“For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” Mark 8:38
Prepare to be challenged and prepare for their mocking (or worse) in this cancel culture age run by the pagan elite. I left the Air Force over 30 years ago when I had a “born-again” experience where I felt God’s immediate presence, and it led me to surrender myself instantly and publicly to Jesus Christ and His teachings on faith, family, marriage, life and justice.
Later when I ran for office, my political enemies encouraged the press to “ask” me why I left the Air Force to embarrass me, to make me look like a “foolish” fanatic right before the election. Rather than give the safe, politically correct secular response, I passionately told the truth and did not deny Christ, and I lost the race for state representative by 300 votes.
“They walked about in the flames, singing to God and blessing the Lord.” Daniel 3:24
Yes, amidst the flames and controversy, we are called to sing our praise for the Lord God loudly and with joy. Kimball saw the attack on people of faith by Governor Inslee and refused to stay silent.
None of us should be silent about Jesus – nor can we afford to be silent when we see evil taking control. Both our earthly and eternal lives are at stake.
