A Persecution Perspective in the St. Paul Protests

By Dr. Greg Cochran, ICC Fellow

The recent arrest of former CNN anchor Don Lemon reignited the debate regarding immigration enforcement in Minnesota. The arrest — because it happened as a result of protest activities at Cities Church in St. Paul — has forced Christians to consider the position their churches ought to take on the political hot-button issue of immigration. Why are Christians forced to be involved? How ought churches respond?

First, in response to the easier question, Christians are being forced to respond because those arrested chose to disrupt a congregation while the congregants were assembled for worship (as expected of Christ’s followers in the New Testament). Several different videos of the conflict went viral on various social media outlets, generating more buzz than either a hive of bees or a guerrilla marketing campaign might produce. And with the buzz came direct calls for the church to respond.

So, the second question relates not to whether the church ought to respond — both the activists and those offended by them demanded responses from the church; rather, the second question becomes how the church ought to respond. To this point, the responses have been conflated into merely two options, each framed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Lemon and activists on the left of the political spectrum insist that the matter demands allegiance to their righteous cause. Churches are expected to view the activist’s actions as a continuation of the long American traditions of freedom of the press (Lemon’s point) and freedom of gathering in protest (the political left’s main point).

On the other side, those supportive of President Donald Trump insist that the matter centers on the freedom of religion in general and, more particularly, the freedom to gather for worship without hindrance. Attorney General Pam Bondi said as much in her statement after the arrest of Lemon and three others:

“Make no mistake. Under President Trump’s leadership and this administration, you have the right to worship freely and safely. And if I haven’t been clear already, if you violate that sacred right, we are coming after you.”

The issue has clearly stoked the passion of political activists residing at either pole of the political spectrum. And, as is their wont, they envision this event at Cities Church as one which might increase their political momentum or at least add to the number of their adherents. Whether that happens or not, such an outcome ought not to be the target at which churches aim. Beneath the First Amendment, Christians have the even more fundamental responsibility of maintaining faithfulness to God. So, does this faithfulness to God offer any third-option response beyond the bifurcated debate emanating from the polar ice caps of our two political parties?

The teaching of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount might provide a different perspective that could speak to a polarized political public and, at the same time, connect the Minnesota church to Christians suffering persecution around the world. The different perspective in view is that of persecution. Is it possible to view what happened at Cities Church in St. Paul through the lens of persecution (as provided by Jesus in Matthew 5)? And if it is, would viewing the event through such a different scope offer Christians a better target at which to aim than political expedience? Maybe so.

The perspective Jesus offers in Matthew 5:10-12 proves to be broad enough to cover the events at the Minnesota church. Consider what Jesus taught to his first disciples:

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:10-12, ESV).

Notice a few of the key features of this teaching:

• Those persecuted for righteousness’ sake are blessed.
• You (all followers) are blessed when persecuted on account of me [Jesus].
• The persecution on account of Jesus/righteousness includes others uttering falsely all kinds of evil claims against Christ’s followers.

What if all three elements are present in the Cities Church conflagration? Could we conclude that the event was persecution? And, again, would this perspective be helpful?

It turns out, all three elements were present in the many videos posted to social media and shown in news reports. In fact, Lemon and those arrested with him are on video specifically saying false and evil statements against the church related to both Christ and his righteousness.

Note the following examples:

Attorney Nekima Levy-Armstrong said, “This cannot be a house of God while harbouring someone directing ICE agents to wreak havoc on our community.”

William Kelly, aka DaWokeFarmer2, blasted the congregation for their lack of righteousness, accusing them of being pretend Christians living a comfortable life sipping lattes while doing nothing for Somali children. He further condemned them for listening to their pastor, who wears a suit and profits off the Word — things he said Jesus never did. He posted a video of the encounter in which he walks up to Christians in the congregation and calls them “fake.”

Lemon cornered the preaching pastor and injected his opinion that the First Amendment gave the activists the right to protest. Then, the pastor clarified that he and his congregation were gathered explicitly to worship Jesus. To which Don Lemon replied that Jesus would rather be understanding and want the church to love “these folks.” Lemon also claimed that he is always worshiping because he himself is a Christian.

One X user, Tyler O’Neill, posted a signed investigative report submitted by Homeland Security Special Agent Timothy M. Gerber. That report claims one of the agitators said to children at the church, “Do you know your parents are Nazis[,] they’re going to burn in hell?”

These statements indicate that the Christians were targeted because they were Christians. Ostensibly, the reason this particular church was targeted was that one of the congregation’s pastors, David Easterwood, reportedly works for ICE in Minnesota. In the days following the incident, crowds of activists have called for him to resign not from ICE, but from the church. However, he wasn’t shown in the videos, and his presence at the church on the Sunday in question has not been established.

The congregants and the preaching pastor on that Sunday were targeted with many false and evil accusations against them. Clearly, the parties placed under arrest chose their targets not because they were an opposition political party fighting for ICE or Homeland Security or the Trump Administration or the GOP. They targeted them on account of their being called by the name of Christ. They berated them on the basis of righteousness. They said evil things falsely against them. According to Jesus’s own words in Matthew 5, then, these Christians were persecuted on account of him. All three elements appear.

So, the final question to answer is whether this persecution perspective is helpful. And the answer is that it certainly should be, primarily because this is the lens Jesus crafted for his followers to use in situations like this. When others utter evil statements against you falsely on account of Jesus or his righteousness, recognize that you are targeted because Jesus is on display. According to Matthew 5:12, you might even rejoice at being counted among God’s faithful prophets of the past.

What this lens provides for Christ’s followers is a way of seeing differently and staying true to ultimate priorities. As for seeing differently, polarized political parties forced the event into only two positions. But Pastor Jonathan Parnell wisely corrected Lemon in the confrontation, telling him, “We’re here to worship Jesus because the hope of the world is Jesus Christ …” In taking this approach, Pastor Parnell was displaying the righteousness of Christ. He was leading his church to stay focused on Christ and his righteousness.

It was Lemon and the activists who insisted on morphing the righteousness of Christ toward a political outcome. And if the church and Pastor Parnell were not willing to be so morphed, the activists would need to make them pay the price of discomfort until they acknowledged the righteousness of the activists’ political cause. Understanding Matthew 5:10-12 can help Pastor Parnell and the Cities Church congregation to stay faithful to Christ and to exalt the worship of him above any and all political causes. They will be pressured to take further action — whether that means firing Pastor Easterwood or joining efforts to serve Somalis. To this point, Pastor Parnell has maintained the standard of Christ. Following the recent arrests, Pastor Parnell stated, “We are grateful that the Department of Justice acted swiftly to protect Cities Church so that we can continue to faithfully live out the church’s mission to worship Jesus and make him known.”

In addition to helping Christians see political events differently, this persecution perspective also empowers the church to stand firm. Political winds will blow. Powers will press for allegiance. Pressure will mount for Cities Church to make statements and take action on one political side of this conflict or the other. But seeing the blessedness of being recognized with Jesus might offer a greater incentive to simply continue doing what has been done to this point — living out the church’s mission to worship Jesus and make him known. Neither political party may be happy with that determination, but the reward — according to Jesus — is worthy of rejoicing.

Finally, this persecution perspective might better connect Cities Church with other Christians facing persecution around the world. Admittedly, this aspect of the persecution lens gets tricky — maybe even controversial. After all, no facilities in St. Paul were burned, no Christians were beaten or killed, and no young girls were kidnapped. In other words, if this is persecution in St. Paul, then what is the word for the suffering Christians are facing in Nigeria?

While it might be unnatural for us to use the term “persecution” to describe the events in St. Paul, Jesus rightly employs it in Matthew 5. As noted above, the elements of persecution are there. But we tend to reserve the term “persecution” for more intense expressions — beatings, kidnappings, and imprisonments. And those more intense forms of persecution tend to happen to “them” (Nigerians, North Koreans) who live “over there” (Africa, Asia).

In fact, using the term only in severe degrees of persecution disconnects churches, almost dichotomizing the church into either the “persecuted church” or the “non-persecuted church.” But the New Testament makes clear that Christ longs for and expects a singular church: he prays for it in John 17; he testifies in Acts 9 that persecution against his followers is nothing less than persecution against him directly; and he insists that the cross he bore was to unite his followers into one people (Ephesians 2).

Maybe taking on the persecution perspective would help churches in the West to identify better with churches in more hostile areas. Such a different perspective better reflects New Testament teaching. For example, Paul writes to Timothy, “All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12, ESV). What Paul’s declaration means is that Christ’s church will always face opposition. The church is salt and light. Opponents of Christ will at times recoil at this salt and hate the light because their deeds are evil. The recoil ranges from evil insults to arson and kidnapping, but it is recoil away from the righteousness of Christ.

Pastor Parnell and Cities Church can identify with pastors in Nigeria and North Korea — not because they experienced the same degree of persecution — but because they experience the same Christ and the same recoil against his righteousness. Identifying persecution in the events can help the church stay focused on Christ and his righteousness. If a pastor in Nigeria can keep his congregation focused on Christ after having a worship service stormed by terrorists who shoot and kill some of his congregants, then surely Pastor Parnell can take confidence that he and his congregation can maintain focus on Christ in the wake of political pressure to bend to cultural powers.

The post A Persecution Perspective in the St. Paul Protests first appeared on International Christian Concern.

https://persecution.org/2026/03/05/a-persecution-perspective-in-the-st-paul-protests/