Well, since then, many churches air now streaming and holding on line worship service is.

But one church in Baton Rouge has continued to hold large gathering some with more than 1200 people.

A few states have exempted.

Religious service is from their state wide stay at home orders, but Louisiana is not one of them.

The leader of Life Tabernacle Church pastor Tony Spell, joins us now live.

Thanks so much for being with us, Pastor.

Thank you, Lindsay, for having us on today.

We're honored to be here speaking with you.

So you were arrested and charged with misdemeanors for holding service is last week, and that violated the governor's orders.

Yet you allowed well over 1000 people into your church again yesterday.

I seem that you follow other law, so why not follow this one?

We have had to service is since my arrest, because we hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal and we're in doubt but writes from our creator.

Our rights are not derived from my local and national governments, but our rights will be ride and given to us by divine creator God.

Our foreign missionaries sewer in Communist nations and Islamic nations today are preaching the gospel who also go against their governing bodies to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is essential for people salvation and will be.

You have said that people have quote nothing to fear.

As of today, Louisiana has more than 14,000 cases, and more than 500 people in your state have died from the virus.

So isn't there a difference between fear and wisdom as far as taking precautions based on actions that can put lives at risk?

Yes, that's great point.

The Bible actually teaches.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

We have nothing to fear but fear itself.

What is worse, people who are imprisoned in their homes for the past 23 days are people that are saying we can't stay indoors anymore.

We need to get out and the churches that place that is their third place to get out, too.

You know that everybody who gets out is defying the governor's orders because he has a stay at home order.

But it seems like the narrative is the church is the one under attack, while our large retailers have people in there by the thousands right now.

Yet there's a double standard in our nation, one for retailers and one for churches.

We want people.

Yesterday was Palm Sunday.

We're six days from the largest Christian holiday of the year.

People are gonna be coming in from across America as they did yesterday to our service is because they never missed an Easter Sunday worship in their life, and we promised them that our church doors would be open for a worship experience.

Okay, so you will be back open again on Easter Sunday?

No question asked, no questions asked.

We have three service's weekly.

We have our next one tomorrow night at 7 30 The majority of my church members have been laid off because they're being non essential workers in the petrochemical industry.

Others are a Section eight and very impoverished group of people in our city who depend on us for food and clothing and shelter.

So this is why we continue to operate not only under our constitutional rights but under our God given mandate?

Sure, but let's just say that you have the right to do it.

At what point is it irresponsible?

You've just said that a large portion of your congregation that they're impoverished and so they likely don't have health care.

And so if they do get sick, then Well, I mean, at what point are you responsible?

What point is there kind of blood on your hands, so to speak.

There would never be blood on our hands.

We screen everyone that comes through the door.

We checked them for we check their temperatures.

We asked them a series of questions that has been getting to us from the Senate of disease and control of lead.

So way.

This in fact, I'd be Old England day to day basis because we operate seven days per week.

So you would have to prove that people who I have only left their homes and come to our church got the sickness.

Here we practice better social distancing our sanctuary that is being practiced in the hundreds of storms that remain open in our city, which mosh pits of violent people who were irate and fighting over rolls of toilet paper right now.

Well, you brought up the stores and you said that your church is imposing any more of a threat than grocery stores that air.

They're open right now, But stores are, in theory, limiting how many people can come inside in order to enforce social distancing.

And 1200 people were inside your church at one time yesterday.

So why is going thio your church less of a risk that go in a Wal Mart, for example?

It less of a risk Because this is an attack on the freedoms of Americans.

And this is in persecution of the faith.

This is about shutting the doors to the church.

We'll see that narrative come to be true in just a short while.

America's economy.

They never recover from this Lindsay.

But we know the church is going to continue to operate.

Even if every business shudders in America, the church will go underground and continue to operate.

So we're breaking no laws.

No laws can be put upon, um, worshippers and religious gatherings who have the right to assemble our rights to assemble are your rights of the press and freedom of speech.

So the narrative is false.

If this was about deaths, the 10,000 deaths than 150,000 babies who were innocently murdered yesterday in abortion clinics across the world would be spoken up for.

This isn't about deaths.

This is about taking freedoms from the greatest nation in the world.

You're saying you're not breaking any laws, but you were arrested, right?

And and I guess I guess my question to you is it sounds like you're taking this personally that this is an affront to religion in particular.

But a lot of churches have moved.

Their worship service is toe online.

So So why wouldn't you do that?

I mean, it seems like something you could consider to do that you're still able to get the word out about God.

Well, we have.

We have live streamed.

Our service is a cz well, and we have about 300,000 viewers in those service is from what I gather.

However, we still assembled because the word of God commands us to and Hebrews 10 25 2nd Timothy 3 15 and some 35 18.

Among a few verses.

It's not the same Lindsay to sit behind a computer screen and worship as it is to go into a great congregation.

And she'll the spirit of unity in one mind and one accord in one place.

It is not the same because, yes, center up really quickly because, I mean, the Bible also said there were two or more are gathered there.

Am I in the midst, So I'm just curious.

Why is that not sufficient?

Then It's not sufficient because that is one verse that says together, however, an axe to him.

One, it says they were all with one mind and one accord and in one place that was about 500 on Dhe then and then in some 27 4 This is our desire to assemble into the house of God.

So I have two attorneys that are have presently filed suit against the man who has arrested me, not for breaking the law, because I asked him which law I broke.

And they said you had defied the governor's emergency orders.

What those air not lost those air not lost their strong recommendations.

I strongly recommend that my grandchildren pick up their toys, but they don't do it.

Okay, Pastor spell.

We really appreciate your time.

Thank you for joining us.

God bless America.

Hi, everyone.

George Stephanopoulos Here.

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