Canadian economist John Kenneth Galbraith once said: “All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership.”.Herbert Hildebrandt, son of Church of God pastor Henry in Aylmer, Ont., said his dad and the congregation showed that kind of leadership when confronted with the pandemic lockdowns..“My dad’s preaching going, ‘Something feels off, but I don’t know exactly what it is,’” Hildebrandt told the Western Standard as he recalled steps taken by the Ontario government a year ago..“And then, it’s week one and then week two, and week three, and then the narrative changes, and it’s week four. And then people were like, ‘Okay, hold on a second.’”.The congregation was ready for their pastor’s defiance long before four weeks became fifty..“There was a grassroots driven push, like if you’re going to step out, we will back you up,” Hildebrandt recalled..“The vast majority of the congregation was ready for him to take a step, and they have been consistently pushing him to keep doing that. He’s not acting as a lone wolf by any means. He’s providing leadership, but it’s also leadership that is being fostered through the congregation.”.Few Canadian clergy have openly defied the lockdowns and Hildebrandt believes he knows why..“Instead of leaders leading, they’re doing the same thing in many churches that they’re doing in politics, which is governing by poll. So it’s polling your congregation going, yeah, they’re kind of 50-50. And I know this because I’ve spoken to some that have said that… And they’re like, ‘I don’t really like what’s going on, but we need to just sit this out for a bit. Now is not the time.’”.Some believers have opposed the church instead of the government..“Some of our largest pushback outside of the political sphere is coming from churches that either disagree or do not want to get involved…a large group that is more than happy to do nothing besides criticize those that do. And some of that may be out of ignorance. And some of that may be because they simply just prefer to not have to do the heavy lifting right now.”.In an old Bible story, Queen Jezebel threatened Elijah’s life for unjust reasons. In his distress, he told God he was the last true prophet standing, but God said he counted 7,000 other faithful people..“That same analogy goes for us and my dad uses it a lot. It’s that, you know what, God still has his 7,000,” Hildebrandt said..“We’ve met so many wonderful new people that we never would have known without this [pandemic who] have really stepped out…from across this region, the province, Canada, and the world that we are now in constant communication and fellowship with, that has just made it worthwhile.”.A holy rebellion may be underfoot, he said..“The government is just so far out of their lane; they’re not recognizing any sort of sphere of sovereignty in the church,” Hildebrandt said..“Other pastors have risen up and said, ‘Enough’s enough,’ and they’re seeing the same thing. They’re shedding some people, they’re losing people. But at the same token, there’s many new people that are coming in and going, ‘I was looking for a godly leader. Thank you.’”.Aylmer Church of God has faced off against the government before. Twenty years ago, child protective services took the seven children from a couple in their congregation for a time because they spanked their children using a switch or paddles. Some families went to the U.S. as a result, and four families went to Chihuahua, Mexico where Herbert’s brother Peter pastored a church..More recently, Hildebrandt has thought about his family’s journey to Canada..“My family came early, right? When the first rumblings in Russia were going on in the Ukraine back in the 1870s, they went to Manitoba, and then Saskatchewan and other places,” Hildebrandt said..“My wife fled the Soviet Union as a German expat with her parents at six years old in 1989 and was able to get an exit visa and get out…My wife’s grandmother spent time in the work camps. Her grandfather was taken to the Gulag for some time. They know all this. And I’m not saying Canada right now is where the Soviet Union was in the ‘60’s or ‘70’s, but it’s a scary, scary proposition to see how quickly we can get our heading in that direction.”.Harding is a Western Standard correspondent based in Saskatchewan
Canadian economist John Kenneth Galbraith once said: “All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership.”.Herbert Hildebrandt, son of Church of God pastor Henry in Aylmer, Ont., said his dad and the congregation showed that kind of leadership when confronted with the pandemic lockdowns..“My dad’s preaching going, ‘Something feels off, but I don’t know exactly what it is,’” Hildebrandt told the Western Standard as he recalled steps taken by the Ontario government a year ago..“And then, it’s week one and then week two, and week three, and then the narrative changes, and it’s week four. And then people were like, ‘Okay, hold on a second.’”.The congregation was ready for their pastor’s defiance long before four weeks became fifty..“There was a grassroots driven push, like if you’re going to step out, we will back you up,” Hildebrandt recalled..“The vast majority of the congregation was ready for him to take a step, and they have been consistently pushing him to keep doing that. He’s not acting as a lone wolf by any means. He’s providing leadership, but it’s also leadership that is being fostered through the congregation.”.Few Canadian clergy have openly defied the lockdowns and Hildebrandt believes he knows why..“Instead of leaders leading, they’re doing the same thing in many churches that they’re doing in politics, which is governing by poll. So it’s polling your congregation going, yeah, they’re kind of 50-50. And I know this because I’ve spoken to some that have said that… And they’re like, ‘I don’t really like what’s going on, but we need to just sit this out for a bit. Now is not the time.’”.Some believers have opposed the church instead of the government..“Some of our largest pushback outside of the political sphere is coming from churches that either disagree or do not want to get involved…a large group that is more than happy to do nothing besides criticize those that do. And some of that may be out of ignorance. And some of that may be because they simply just prefer to not have to do the heavy lifting right now.”.In an old Bible story, Queen Jezebel threatened Elijah’s life for unjust reasons. In his distress, he told God he was the last true prophet standing, but God said he counted 7,000 other faithful people..“That same analogy goes for us and my dad uses it a lot. It’s that, you know what, God still has his 7,000,” Hildebrandt said..“We’ve met so many wonderful new people that we never would have known without this [pandemic who] have really stepped out…from across this region, the province, Canada, and the world that we are now in constant communication and fellowship with, that has just made it worthwhile.”.A holy rebellion may be underfoot, he said..“The government is just so far out of their lane; they’re not recognizing any sort of sphere of sovereignty in the church,” Hildebrandt said..“Other pastors have risen up and said, ‘Enough’s enough,’ and they’re seeing the same thing. They’re shedding some people, they’re losing people. But at the same token, there’s many new people that are coming in and going, ‘I was looking for a godly leader. Thank you.’”.Aylmer Church of God has faced off against the government before. Twenty years ago, child protective services took the seven children from a couple in their congregation for a time because they spanked their children using a switch or paddles. Some families went to the U.S. as a result, and four families went to Chihuahua, Mexico where Herbert’s brother Peter pastored a church..More recently, Hildebrandt has thought about his family’s journey to Canada..“My family came early, right? When the first rumblings in Russia were going on in the Ukraine back in the 1870s, they went to Manitoba, and then Saskatchewan and other places,” Hildebrandt said..“My wife fled the Soviet Union as a German expat with her parents at six years old in 1989 and was able to get an exit visa and get out…My wife’s grandmother spent time in the work camps. Her grandfather was taken to the Gulag for some time. They know all this. And I’m not saying Canada right now is where the Soviet Union was in the ‘60’s or ‘70’s, but it’s a scary, scary proposition to see how quickly we can get our heading in that direction.”.Harding is a Western Standard correspondent based in Saskatchewan