STAND: A Day With Chief Justice Roy Moore
A Report on the Ten Commandments Rally
by Wesley Strackbein, August 27, 2003
Two Fridays ago, in the early hours of August 15, 2003, fourteen men and women including five Vision Forum interns, four full-time staff members, three members from Boerne Christian Assembly, and two members of the Fisher Camera Clan met together in Vision Forum’s parking lot, readying ourselves for a journey of purpose. Gathering around a fifteen-passenger van that would be home to our group for 30 of the next 50 hours, we paused to clarify our mission.
Our destination was clear: Montgomery, Alabama, some 840 miles away. Our plan was to take part the following day in a prayer breakfast and then a rally that were being organized in support of Chief Justice Roy Moore of the Alabama Supreme Court. Both events were to honor Moore’s heroic efforts to acknowledge Almighty God by refusing to remove the 5,300-pound Ten Commandments monument from the Alabama State Judicial Building. It was our plan to be at both functions to bolster him and his cause.
Only the day before, Chief Justice Moore addressed reporters in front of the monument, making it clear that he had no plans to remove it from it’s place of prominence in the rotunda. Yet he also made it clear what was at the heart of the debate: “The question is not whether I will remove the monument. It is not a question of whether I will disobey or obey a court order. The real question is whether or not I will deny the God who created us. ” As the leader of the San Antonio delegation, I read Moore’s powerful words to our group to bring the dispute into focus and to underscore how critical the standoff was between Moore and the Federal Courts. In short, the issue at stake was who would be looked to as the Sovereign source of law: God or man.
Then, to outline our reasons for heading eastward, we turned to Exodus 17:8-16 and read the story of Israel’s battle with the Amalekites. In examining the narrative, we read that Moses stood atop a hill and held high his rod as the battle raged in the valley below. Yet his hands began to grow heavy, and as his arms failed, Israel began to lose the fight. To alleviate Moses’ weariness and in turn propel Israel to victory, Aaron and Hur “stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side, and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. ” (Exodus 17:12)
In light of this passage, our first goal for the trip was quite simple: Like Aaron and Hur did on behalf of Moses, it was our prayer that we could hold up Chief Justice Moore’s hands and offer encouragement to him in the midst of a wearisome battle.
Reading further in the narrative, we learned that at the conclusion of the battle the Lord commanded Moses to write the story of the engagement “for a memorial in a book.” (vs. 14) so that those who came after would know what had happened. With this as background, we outlined our second goal: to record the events of the day on film as a permanent testimony for the ages.
At 6:25am, we edged away from the Vision Forum parking lot. The next two days would prove to be among the most profound and unforgettable of our lives. Across the grassy plains of Texas and through the bayous and swamps of southern Louisiana, we journeyed eastward on I-10, making our way to Mobile, Alabama, before heading north on I-65 to Montgomery. To gear our minds for the upcoming engagement, we listened to several apologetics tapes on how Christians can defend their faith by building their case on the authority of Scripture.
Sixteen hours after we began our trek, we arrived safely at our motel room in Montgomery. After grabbing a quick, but hearty meal at a nearby Cracker Barrel, we laid down our heads for a few brief hours of rest before the big day. Rising early, we all piled in the van and made the short trip to Frazier Methodist Church where the pastor’s prayer breakfast was being held in honor of Chief Justice Moore. The breakfast was to begin at 7am, so we scurried to set up our cameras and offered any help we could to the event’s organizers.
Rick Scarborough, President of Vision America, a Houston-based group that had relocated their office to Montgomery just weeks before so they could lend their full support to Chief Justice Moore, opened the meeting. In his remarks he compared Moore to a modern day Daniel who would go to the lions’s den before refusing to acknowledge God. Lawrence White, Co-Chairman of Vision America, followed Scarborough with a powerful message, calling pastors to stand behind Moore and not be scared into submission as many were in Nazi Germany when Hitler came to power.
Then Chief Justice Moore addressed the audience. “Let us be blinded no more, ” admonished Moore, referencing the hypocritical Pharisees whom Christ denounced as “blind guides” (Matthew 23:1). Speaking to this gathering of pastors, Moore made plain the gravity of his case and noted quite simply, “There is no excuse for not acknowledging the Creator God. “
With the prayer breakfast still in progress, we split up our group, sending five of our number over to the Alabama State Capitol Building to set up our second camera so that we could film the rally, scheduled to begin at 10am. By God’s grace, we secured press access and were given live audio feed as well as a place atop the press platform to mount our second camera.
When the prayer breakfast ended, the nine of us at the Church joined ranks with the rest of our crew in front of the Capitol Building just prior to the commencement of the rally. As we began to talk to those who were gathered in attendance below the Capitol steps, we met families who had traveled from all over the nation to stand with Chief Justice Moore. We met families from Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, Texas, Mississippi and Florida, among other states. We met two families who had come all the way from California. One had traveled 41 hours just to be there for one day. Many of these families came to Montgomery in response to an e-mail that Vision Forum President Doug Phillips had sent encouraging all who could make the trip to stand with Chief Justice Moore at the rally.
The rally kicked off with music from the Ten Commandments Choir, a presentation of the colors by a Montgomery Boy Scout Troop, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and our National Anthem.
Then Howard Phillips took to the lectern. Phillips’ words were pointed as he articulated the Constitutional case in support of the Chief Justice and chided the governor and attorney general of Alabama for not standing firm with him. Phillips made it clear that Moore was maintaining the rule of law, while Myron Thompson, along with the 11th Circuit judges, had proven themselves to be the “Benedict Arnolds of American jurisprudence. “
Other speakers who addressed the crowd were Sandy Rios of Concerned Women for America and Pastor Jerry Falwell. Falwell charged Christians everywhere to stand in support of Chief Justice Moore: “When God gives you a champion, get behind him. ” Ambassador Alan Keyes shared the podium as well and gave a rousing message, calling on President Bush as our nation’s chief executive to weigh into the controversy and free Chief Justice Moore from any obligation to remove the Ten Commandments monument. Chief Justice Moore then made his way from the top of the Capitol steps down to the stage below to address the crowd. “Let’s get this straight, ” said Moore with great passion, “It’s not about me. I will pass away, as every politician and pastor will, but the law of God will remain forever...[This case is] about the acknowledgement of God. “
Pastor Nelson Cash closed the rally with a prayer of benediction; and afterwards, many made their way down Dexter Avenue to the State Judicial Building to see with their own eyes the Ten Commandments Monument placed there by Chief Justice Moore two years before. Due to the gravity of Moore’s case, most were solemn as they viewed the monument, and everyone who had a camera stopped to take their picture beside the granite structure, knowing that it might be removed within only a few short days.
We took our own share of pictures, taking the opportunity to film comments from a few more families about the historical significance of the event. As we stopped as a group to reflect on what had so far transpired that day, we concluded that while our efforts had been far from perfect, God in his goodness had allowed us to accomplish the essence of one of our two goals: to record on film the story of the rally and the stand for God that it signified.
At that point, our desire was to be able to personally speak with Chief Justice Moore and thank him for his stand for righteousness. With our own mouths, we wanted to encourage him in his valiant fight for the truth. The likelihood of this happening seemed slim, given the busy-ness of the day and the many demands that the Chief Justice had on his time. But after the help of several key friends, including Matt Chancey, a fellow compatriot from Alabama, we were able to reach a staff member in the Justice’s chambers two floors up; and within minutes we were met by a burly, black man who was none other than Moore’s personal bodyguard.
As the last one of our group stepped into the elevator, and the doors came to a close, the bodyguard spoke firmly, “Once I see a face, I never forget it. Have you heard of a photographic memory? ” We knew immediately from his tone and commanding presence that this was not a man to be trifled with. Yet as we stepped off the elevator and through the door into the Justice’s office, his demeanor, while remaining firm, became one of encouragement. He escorted us to a meeting room, and while we waited for nearly half an hour, he gave us an inside picture into the character of Alabama Chief Justice Moore.
“With Justice Moore, what you see is what you get,” the bodyguard asserted. “He’s the real deal. ” The bodyguard, who, we later learned, speaks five languages among other distinctions, spoke passionately and articulately about the man whom he protects, noting that with Moore, it’s not about personal ambition, it’s not about political maneuvering. The Chief Justice is willing to give up his career, his financial stability — even go to jail — if that’s what it takes to stand for God’s honor.
He went on to say, “There is no man alive in America today that could do what he is doing right now. God has raised him up for this. ” We were utterly blown away. We had hoped to be an encouragement to Chief Justice Moore, and yet God was encouraging our hearts in learning from someone in his closest circle that his stand was no facade; that Chief Justice Roy Moore was a true champion of the Lord’s name and testimony.
After being regaled for some time by the bodyguard with many vignettes and inside stories about the battle for the Ten Commandments — and no, he would not let us put him on camera or even repeat his name — the Justice himself finally entered the room. Graciously, he greeted all of us with a handshake and allowed us to take pictures with him.
God gave us the opportunity we had prayed for. Realizing our time would be short, we verbalized to Chief Justice Moore our unqualified support for his cause. We wanted him to know that we were standing with him — and not just at the rally — but that we were praying for him, and doing whatever we could to let others know about his heroic and uncompromising stand for the right to acknowledge God.
At that point, as our group began to file out, I was given the opportunity of a lifetime. Chief Justice Moore agreed to let me interview him on camera. Aware of the import of the moment, our two camera guys quickly set up their equipment, while Moore left the room for a few moments.
Upon returning, the Chief Justice sat down at the head of the table, and I took a seat to his left. As the cameras rolled, I asked him what biblical character most inspired him. With whom in Scripture did he most identify?
“David. ” he answered. ”
“Why? ” I inquired further.
“Because he was very fallible, but yet had a heart that followed God. “
In total, we talked on camera for just under 15 minutes. As the interview came to a close, I asked, “What is your strategy over the new few months? ” I was expecting him to outline his legal strategy, his planned maneuvers on how he might best go about urging the Supreme Court to hear his case.
Instead, he paused, and as an unflinching fire entered his eyes, he answered with one word: “Stand. ” Then he paused, staring steadfastly into my eyes — it was a moment that seemed like an eternity. He then continued, “And having done all, to stand. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. ” As I shook his hand again, and as we left the room, I knew that I had just looked into the eyes of a hero; that I had just spoken with a man of God at a singular moment in history. This would be a story that I would tell my children.
I was there. We were there. We stood with this man. We held up his arms. We recorded his story. As we made the 840-mile trek back to Texas, we rejoiced at the events of the day: the showing at the rally, the personal time with Chief Justice Roy Moore.
His story is still being written. In the week that has passed since we left Montgomery, Chief Justice Moore has grabbed the attention of the nation as he has refused to obey the unlawful edict of the federal courts. On Thursday, a day after the deadline he was given to remove the monument, he boldly proclaimed before a watching world, “I will never, never deny the God upon Whom our laws and Country depend. “
The Chief Justice has remained resolute, even as many of those closest to him have betrayed him. The eight associate judges on the court as well as Alabama’s Governor and Attorney General have all abandoned his cause. On Friday, he was suspended from his office as judge.
Will we stand with him and “stay up his hands” during this dark and difficult hour? As others denounce him, will we come to his defense? I pray we have the courage to do so.