Comment from webmaster of Jesus-is-Savior.com...
America owes a debt of gratitude to this faithful man of God, Dr. Kent Hovind. In a day when children's faith in God's Word is being utterly shaken by God-hating evolutionists, we need preachers now more than ever before! I thank Dr. Hovind for allowing the Lord to do such a wonderful work through him. Thanks to the Biblical ministry of Dr. Hovind, millions of children have been delivered from the LIES of evolution. END
The following is Dr. Hovind's account of how Satan is attacking his ministry, and how you can help...
On
March 29, 2000, I, Kent E. Hovind, was peacefully obeying the
command of my Creator by conducting the various aspects of our
ministry when Escambia County building inspector Rene Pelotte
and one assistant came onto our church property in their
official capacity, without invitation and in direct violation of
our clearly posted "notice."
Rene and her assistant entered one of our buildings and
proceeded to ask questions about whether we had acquired
Escambia County's permission to build the science building on
the property. One of our 30 staff members called me out to the
building where I met with the inspectors. I told them we have
nothing to hide and are doing nothing illegal or unsafe, but
they were not to return in an official capacity unless they
could prove they had jurisdiction over our church. I then gave
Rene a copy of the posted notice which explains the laws, and
told her that we were a church ministry and that she had no
jurisdiction on church property.
When she indicated she disagreed, I told her that she would have
to leave immediately unless she could prove she had
jurisdiction. I explained to her that the Bible said Jesus was
the head of the church and that civil government had no
authority. The first amendment to the Constitution of the United
States and the Florida statutes are very clear on this matter
also, as well as the Religious Freedoms Restoration Act. I also
told her that there was a long history of government rulers
attempting to regulate the church of Jesus Christ and that since
most churches in the last 100 years have become corporations of
the state, (which indeed grants jurisdiction) I could see why
she may not understand how the county's regulations did not
apply to a true, unregistered, unincorporated church. I told
both Rene and her assistant that they were welcome to come
anytime in a non-official capacity and we would gladly give them
a tour and let any inspectors look at any work we do, and even
offer advice. We would value their expert opinion and
experience. We have nothing to hide and are doing nothing
illegal or unsafe.
A few days later Rene came back in spite of our clearly posted
notice to issue a $50 citation to me. I told her I could not
sign it since she had no jurisdiction. I also told her that she
must leave unless she could prove jurisdiction. She said I must
contact their office within 72 hrs. We sent a letter and called
them within 72 hrs requesting a hearing on this matter, but our
requests were ignored. The next thing I heard about the matter
was the call from the Sheriff telling me that a warrant had been
issued by Judge Patricia Kinsey for my arrest! I never did see a
copy of the warrant, even though I asked for it several times. I
went down to the jail and was booked like a criminal, posted
bail, and went home the same day. I have met with the county
officials several times to try to resolve this conflict. I told
them, "The question at issue is a simple one: Does the Escambia
County, Florida civil government have jurisdiction over a Church
of the Sovereign God of the universe?"
We are not the aggressors in this case. We were simply trying to serve the Lord and the county stuck its nose where it has no business (Churches that are 501c3 corporations cannot get out of the permitting process). Disney gets no permits and allows no county or state inspections. In 1967, the Florida Legislature granted Disney autonomy through Chapter 67-764 Laws of Florida. This information is also available in Chapter 163.167 Florida Statutes, and in particular, subsection 9, which grants Reedy Creek (i.e. Disney) the same powers and duties as any other Florida county or municipality. See Reedy Creek Improvement District - Lake Buena Vista,Florida. The Amish never get permits or inspections of their buildings in any state, including Florida. They have a long history of maintaining their sovereign status, as do the Anabaptists. It seems like this same battle needs to be fought every generation so Caesar can be reminded where his power stops. We are not asking for an "exemption." This would imply the state has jurisdiction. We are simply asking them to admit they have no jurisdiction over the Lord's church.
As a
church of the Lord Jesus Christ, we answer to a much higher
authority than Escambia County. We are not lawless. We believe
everyone, including the government, should obey the laws of the
land unless they are in violation of God's Laws. Our buildings
are safe. At our expense we hired a state licensed electrician
to inspect our electrical system to insure it was safe and would
meet or surpass the county's electrical codes. We think the
state's electrical codes are an excellent standard to insure
safety and we read and follow them. We also had two certified
engineers inspect our building. They stated in writing that the
building is safe. If the inspectors were truly concerned about
safety, they would have accepted our invitation (extended five
times) to come in their private capacity and look at our work.
It is obvious that safety is not the issue. The real issue is
one of the state controlling the Lord's church.
For nearly 2000 years, it has been the conviction of Christians
that Jesus is the head of the church and the state has no
jurisdiction over the Lord's church. Millions of Christians in
the early centuries died rather than submit the Lord's church to
Caesar (See Foxes Book of Martyrs). It has only been in the last
100 years or so that many have bowed the knee to make Caesar the
head of their church (See: www.hushmoney.org, or order the book -
In Caesar's Grip ($15) from CSE for more. We are a peace loving
people who simply wish to serve the Lord. We cannot ask a lower
authority like the civil government for permission to do what
God has called us to do. If we did, how could we object later if
Caesar asked to approve our teachings or make us hire people who
violate clear scriptures? Our buildings are safe and built up to
or beyond the code. We are not looking to do anything illegal.
Ever since 1999, when this property was given to the Church of
the Lord Jesus Christ, we have not knowingly submitted God's
church to any lesser authority. Our decision to build without
permits from the county was based on our understanding of the
Bible and, to a lesser degree, the constitutions of the united
States and the State of Florida.
Ever
since Jesus established His church the civil magistrates have
resented not having authority. The followers of Jesus have been
persecuted, tortured, and burned by the civil magistrates to
attempt to make them surrender the authority of the church to
Caesar. The disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ were constantly
harassed by government officials who tried to regulate their
lives as they obeyed the Lord. From Acts 4 through 28, all but 3
chapters record examples of this. We see from Acts 16 how we are
to handle ourselves when this happens. In verse 19 the leaders
saw they would lose money (just as county officials see permits
as a source of income), so Paul and Silas were beaten and
imprisoned. In verse 37, we see that Paul and Silas demanded a
public apology from the rulers and magistrates for their illegal
actions. We have filed our own suit against the county to force
them to admit they have no jurisdiction, leave us alone, pay for
the damages they have caused our ministry and apologize for
their treatment of God's servants.
Even though most other "churches" in the county as wellas
Pensacola Christian College see nothing wrong with bowing to
Caesar and asking permission of the heathen to obey God's
commands we cannot and will not. Just as there are two types of
churches in Russia (the state regulated church and the free
church), so it is in America. The record will show that the
property at 29 Cummings Road has been built on several times in
the past and the proper permits and inspections were obtained
while the property was not owned by Faith Baptist Fellowship. In
1999, the entire property was given to Faith Baptist Fellowship,
which is not a creation or corporation of the state of Florida
or any other state. Since that time, this ministry has never
asked for any permits from the state or county. If it is the
money they want for the permit fees, we are willing to give that
if needed. If it is control they want, we are not permitted by
our Lord to grant this.
I do not wish to be in a legal battle. I only wish to serve my Lord Jesus Christ and preserve my rights, and those of our church, as our Anabaptist forefathers fought and died to preserve for us. Some have said, "Wouldn't it be easier just to pay the $50 permit?" Ask that question to the three Hebrew children who wouldn't bow to the Babylonian idol. Read your Bible and see how much was written from jail for reasons like this. Control is the issue. When 7000 of the best and brightest young men were taken captive into Babylon in Daniel's day, only three refused to bow a short time later. See Daniel 3:12. I'm sure the 6997 had good excuses for why they disobeyed the first of God's ten commandments they had been brought up with and I'm sure they thought the three not kissing the dirt that day made a bad choice, but we only know the names of those three today. They were right and the 6997 were wrong! My job is to study God's Word, try to obey it, and leave the results up to God. Just as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not know what would happen when they were thrown into the furnace, we do not know the outcome of our stand. Please pray that God will turn the hearts of those involved. Governor Bush is very involved in our case and may rule in our favor. We have already spent a small fortune defending ourselves in this costly legal battle. We have no intention of ever giving in. We are convinced that we are on the side of both the Lord and the law. We praise God for sending us Maury Adkins to help us in the bewildering world of legalese. Please pray for him as his health situation is not good. An old injury to his stomach in a car accident years ago has now become a cancerous hernia requiring special surgery in the next few weeks.
What the king does or threatens to do I cannot control. I only know I cannot bow and I pray I will not burn! The battle has been costly and we would welcome any support from those who love the Lord's work and freedom. Please help us by writing or calling the three men who can turn this around for us:
Don Mayo (850) 595-3487
e-mail: don_mayo@co.escambia.fl.us
Willie Junior (850) 595-4930
e-mail: district3@co.esacmbia.fl.us
Governor Bush (850) 488-4441
e-mail: fl_governor@myflorida.com
And pray for us, brethren,
Kent Hovind
