Man, oh, man, they won’t invite Pastor Joe to the Kansas State Legislature again. They invited Pastor Joe Wright of Wichita Central Christian Church to deliver the invocation and he told God on ’em. Now God knows what they’ve been up to.
And no sooner has their guest chaplain concluded his prayer and three Democrats on the state legislature are on their feet at microphones protesting, “He can’t talk like that about us!”
Representative Delbert Gross called the invocation “gross,” “derisive,” “sanctimonious,” and “overbearing.”
Representative David Haley called it “blasphemous” and “ignorant.”
Representative Sabrina Standifer echoed the indignation.
What in the world had Pastor Joe said in Topeka which incited the righteous wrath of three democrats from Hays and Kansas City?
Well, I have secured the entire text of the invocation so that you can evaluate it for yourself. What was it that democrats didn’t like?
Heavenly Father, we come before You today to ask Your forgiveness, and to seek Your direction and guidance.
We know Your Word says, ‘Woe to those who call evil good.’ And that’s exactly what we’ve done.
We’ve lost our spiritual equilibrium.
We’ve inverted our values.
We confess that we’ve ridiculed the absolute Truth of Your Word in the name of moral pluralism.
We’ve worshiped other gods and called it ‘multiculturalism.’
We’ve endorsed perversion and called it ‘alternative lifestyle.’
We’ve exploited the poor and called it a ‘lottery.’
We’ve neglected the needy and called it ‘self-preservation.’
We’ve rewarded laziness and called it ‘welfare.’
Father, in the name of ‘choice,’ we have killed our unborn, and then in the name of ‘right to life,’ we’ve killed abortionists.
We’ve neglected to discipline our children and called it ‘building esteem.’
We have abused power and called it ‘political savvy.’
We have coveted our neighbor’s possessions and called it ‘taxes.’We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it ‘freedom of expression.’
We’ve ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it ‘enlightenment.’
Search us, O God, know our hearts today, try us and show us any wickedness in us. And then cleanse us from every sin and set us free.
Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent here by the people of Kansas and who have been ordained by You to govern this great state. Grant them Your wisdom to rule and may their decisions direct us to the center of Your will.
I ask it in the name of Your Son the Living Savior, Jesus Christ.
Amen.
