because it is written, “You shall be holy; for I am holy.”
Reclaiming the Church: Biblical Christianity vs. Cultural Compromise
About this episode
Pastor Lance Halseth of The Rock Church in Sevierville, Tennessee, joins Philip Cameron for a frank, convicting conversation about the church's drift from biblical obedience and what it will take to reclaim a culture-shaping Christianity in America. Lance draws on his remarkable journey—from Knoxville Police Department officer to missionary in Haiti to planting and pastoring a thriving Tennessee church—to show how God tests the depth of our commitment before He expands our calling. He recently completed a seven-to-eight-week sermon series titled "Christianity on Our Terms," examining how believers have quietly redefined tithing, fasting, prayer, and love to make obedience more comfortable, "all the while calling it obedience." Citing 1 Peter 1:16 — "Be holy, for I am holy" — Lance argues that the church has become nearly indistinguishable from the surrounding culture in divorce rates, pornography, and moral compromise. The conversation turns to the Bonhoeffer moment Lance believes America is now facing: an estimated 33–35 million Christians sitting out elections, a church that has traded the fear of the Lord for a "bless me" culture, and pastors who fear men more than God. Lance's challenge to every shepherd is clear—preach the hard things, stand on biblical principle, and trust that confronting truth is how the church grows. Learn more about The Rock Church at www.therockchurchtn.org.
Part of our Church collection of conversations.
Quotes worth sharing
“We compromise what God's word says to make it easier to obey, and all the while calling it obedience.”
“The vines are covering that altar, and we need to get the vines off the altar and get back to what's the basics again.”
“God's not interested in our comfort — He's interested in our growth.”
What's Discussed
Pastor Lance Halseth of The Rock Church in Sevierville, Tennessee shares how God redirected his career in law enforcement — first to missionary work in Haiti, then to pastoral ministry — as a lesson in radical obedience. He unpacks his sermon series 'Christianity on Our Terms,' exposing how the modern church has softened biblical commands on tithing, fasting, prayer, and love to make obedience more palatable. Referencing 1 Peter 1:16 and the parable of the rich young ruler, Lance argues that comfort and materialism are the root of spiritual compromise. He warns that an estimated 33–35 million Christians sitting out elections reflects a deeper cultural abdication, and calls pastors to prioritize God's approval over human approval — preaching hard truths that produce genuine spiritual growth.
- From Cop to Missionary in Haiti
- God Tests the Depth of Commitment
- Church Looks Lukewarm Like the World
- Christianity on Our Terms Sermon Series
- Vines Covering the Altar Illustration
- Fear of the Lord Lost in Modern Church
- 33 Million Christians Sitting Out Elections
- Pastors Must Fear God Over Men
Scripture in this episode
Episode Transcript
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Intro
Philip:Hey, my friend. Welcome to "Daily Faith." My name is Philip Cameron, and I am absolutely delighted to have you with us. We are living in a day and age where the culture of the world has invaded the church. We are meant to be the salt and light. We're meant to be the ones that go out and change the world.
Philip:Instead of that, we sound like the world, we act like the world, we look like the world, and we need to do something about it in these, the most influential and important days in the history of mankind. And I've got a dear friend with me today, Pastor Lance Halseth.
Philip:I'll get my tongue untied in a moment. And he pastors The Rock Church in Sevierville, Tennessee, with his wife, Rhonda. And he's joining us today because he has this passion and burden in his soul to talk to the church about our culture values. It's not just the gospel. We've got to stand up for what we believe. You are watching right now Europe falling apart. A continent that was built on the church, built on the values of the church, on the culture of the church,
Philip:and as the nations of Europe decided to become post-Christian — that's how they describe themselves. Not important anymore. Religion's a thing of the past. And they took the culture of Christianity out of Europe. And guess what's happened to Europe? It's called Islam.
Philip:Their culture has been taken in because a backslidden church that has no cultural influence is susceptible to be overrun by a demonic cult. A demonic cult that has a cultural reference inside it. And so we're going to be talking about that today. If you love your pastor, you need to have him tune in today and watch this program because what we're going to be talking about affects you, affects the future of your church.
Philip:And Pastor Lance is going to be talking with us today about that as well. As you know, we've got a mission work in Moldova that started 37 years ago. I adopted a wee boy from an orphanage in Timișoara, Romania. And in the last 25 years, we've been building homes for young girls and boys that are at risk of being trafficked. They use them up to 30 to 50 times a day. And we bought this amazing place, this village of homes on the largest lake in Moldova.
Philip:And we opened that up, and young girls come from all over the country. Every girl you're watching right now, if a trafficker gets them, that young girl will create $300,000 a year income for the trafficker. And we take them into our homes, we put them back in school.
Philip:We share the gospel with them, and the most unbelievable thing has happened. These orphans that no one wants, the despised, the least of these, have become incredible missionaries for the gospel. And all through the summertime, they go out and have youth camps.
Philip:And each of the village homes at Vatra — the place is called Vatra Village — and each home adopts a village in the country, and they go out and find every widow and every broken family. We have youth camps all year long, bring wood supplies, rebuild houses for people that are in such dire poverty. You can't understand the poverty. It's the poorest country in Europe. And these orphans that no one else wants are being used by God to bring the gospel of Jesus. And it comes in the form of warm clothes and wood for fires and digging
Philip:widows' gardens. And we connect with an evangelical church in the village and share the gospel. It's amazing. We're working right now on two new homes in a place called Ungheni. At the moment, we can take girls 16 and up in our homes in Vatra Village. And there is a dire need, a dire need for kids between the age of four and 16. We've just had an experience. My wife has just returned, and they
Philip:helped a poor family. A drunkard husband beating and battering his wife and using her sexually. And she had had nine kids. She was 33. And we went one week, and we went back to see them, and she had discovered in the meantime that she was pregnant with a little baby, her 10th baby. And she couldn't take it anymore, and she killed herself. She hung herself.
Philip:And we are now trying to finish the second of the two homes in this new place called Promise House, and it's amazing. My daughter, Melody, was with my wife, leading a team of 21 from a great church in Texas, Elevate Life Church, and she made a video while she was at the new homes. Watch this.
Hi, friends. I'm here once again at our Promise House in Ungheni, Moldova. Some of you may not know what Promise House is. Promise House is for kids under 16, from babies up to graduating high school. So that is what Promise House is. And we've got a team. We've been giving you updates of all the construction inside the house. But today, this week, it's beautiful weather here in Moldova, and we've turned our efforts outside lately, because we've been so busy inside,
our outside has gotten a little bit neglected. So we're continuing work here at Promise House. If you've ever considered donating to Orphan's Hands, and maybe you haven't in the past but have been thinking about it, I'm going to challenge you today to take that step and say, "God, I'm going to let you use me in the life of a child, a child that has been abandoned, a child that's been abused, a child that's been neglected. Their parents have disappeared. They don't even know where they are.
But, God, today, I'm going to be the one that comes to them, running to them willingly to help, and give, and love." So we need you. We need your support. We need your love. We need your generosity so that this house is not just a home, it's not a safe covering, it's not a warm bed, but it's a place where these kids can come to know Jesus. So if there's ever a time to get involved, now is the time, and we need you.
Philip:Both of these houses are getting close to being finished, and we need a miracle of people to help us support these homes. Each of our homes takes about 300 people giving $1 a day to make it possible. All that you see — Vatra Village, the vans, the incredible support that we must put underneath each home — it takes about 300 people giving $1 a day. You can change a life for $1 a day.
Philip:In a time when gas is over $4 a gallon, a dollar a day will not change your financial outcome. In fact, it will bless you because when you give to the poor, the Bible says you lend to the Lord, and we are looking right now, desperately looking, for 300 people to give $1 a day. Could you be part with us? Could you help us rescue these little kids that come from hell? I can't explain to you. You see my daughter getting upset because she had just left that family
Philip:that had nine kids, and the mother had just killed herself, and we are now desperately trying to finish the second home so we can get those kids into a place of safety. If I could take you there and help you meet these kids and say, "Look, I can save them all for a dollar a day," there is not one of you that wouldn't say, "Philip, I can do that." You can help us right now. We've got a great, easy way to get in contact with us. You can make a check out to Orphan's Hands.
Philip:So simple. Our address is P.O. Box 25, Clinton, Tennessee. So easy. Clinton, Tennessee. And the zip code is 37716. An easier way still is by going online to dailyfaith.tv. And there's a giving page there. Make sure your gift is marked for Promise House. And you can go to our website, orphanshands.org. There's a ton of videos and stuff that will catch you up on all the stuff we've been doing for 37 years.
Philip:Long before Ukraine became famous in the world for the war with Russia, we have a home in Odesa. We were there about five years before the war was, and we continue to care for girls who struggle every day with drones and all kinds of vile stuff, bombs exploding around them. And we have an 800 number, 833, and if you just dial Daily Faith into your keypad, a real live person will pick up the phone and your dollar a day can be part of an absolute miracle for a wee girl that has no hope outside of us and outside of Jesus. Let the Lord speak to your heart, if you would. I'd really appreciate it.
Philip:Lance Halseth is pastor of The Rock Church in Sevierville, Tennessee. He's got a very interesting story how he went from law enforcement to the mission field, and that's quite a leap, believe me. And he now pastors a church in Sevierville, one of the hottest areas. If you have never been to Dollywood, you need to go. We miss Dolly. She was an amazing woman. My grandkids read her books that she provided, and every time a book would come, we would say, "Auntie Dolly has sent us another book." And Lance comes from right in her neck of the woods.
Philip:Lance, I'm so thrilled to have you on "Daily Faith." God bless you, my friend.
Lance Halseth:Good to be here. Thank you for having me. Always great.
Philip:And tell us the backstory. How on earth does a cop who is halfway to retirement — and you're thinking, "I'm on the downside of the hill" — you end up where?
From Cop to Missionary in Haiti
Lance Halseth:In Haiti.
Philip:Oh my goodness. Yeah. Tell me how the Lord maneuvered you to Haiti.
Lance Halseth:Well, I don't know that we have enough time on this program. But I'll do my best. I was employed at the Knoxville Police Department for many years and did a lot of things with the police department.
Lance Halseth:And about midway through retirement, God started knocking on my heart to say, "Hey, I have a better plan for you. It might not seem like it." And so literally, Philip, it took me two years after confirmation after confirmation. "Lord, I don't know that I heard you right." Almost like the cellphone going through the mountains. "I don't know. Did I lose connection, Lord? Did I hear right?"
Lance Halseth:And so finally, the Lord, almost like he grabbed me and said, "Here's what I want you to do. I want you to move to Haiti. I want you to give your life for the people of Haiti." And so over the course of two years, me and my wife both worked for the city of Knoxville. We both quit our jobs. We sold everything we had other than a five-by-five storage unit.
Philip:Oh my goodness.
Lance Halseth:And we moved to Haiti, and we thought we would be there for 30 years. And during that time, we did a lot of things. We built homes for those that needed homes. We put roofs on for those that needed roofing. I taught at the university, and we met a lot of people. And then two years later, God called us back.
Lance Halseth:And I look at that time in Haiti as really God's preparation to get me here.
Philip:Absolutely. Well, when Abraham offered Isaac, God knew that the ram was up in the mountain all the time. He had pre-positioned the answer. He just wanted to see if Abraham was willing to go and do it and obey Him. And in my life, I've learned so many times in 37 years of mission work in Moldova, God is always testing the extent of your commitment. How far are you willing to go?
Philip:What is the challenge? And sadly, in the church today — and this is bringing us to the subject we want to talk about — is that when I was growing up, your word meant everything. The church was respected, and we were part of... There was an awe around the church. And we have successfully destroyed that over the last decades, that we are now the laughing stock of the world, and we no longer have the voice that we need to have.
God Tests the Depth of Commitment
Philip:And you believe that is because the church has compromised culturally, and that's a fascinating scenario. Tell us how the Lord has shown you this.
Lance Halseth:Well, you look at the church at large today, and I think it looks almost like the church is lukewarm in the United States. But I think the reason is, I think we take God's word, we read it, and yet at times it's so hard to obey, and so how do we make it a little bit easier?
Church Looks Lukewarm Like the World
Lance Halseth:And we compromise what God's word says to make it easier to obey, and all the while calling it obedience. And I just completed a seven or eight-week sermon series at our church called Christianity on Our Terms, and we looked at loving on our terms, fasting on our terms, and praying on our terms. All these things, from tithing to fasting, to loving, to serving, where we have taken these things — obviously it's in God's word — and we've made it easier to obey, like I said, all the while calling it obedience.
Lance Halseth:And it's just something God's pressed on my heart to speak to the church at large to say, "Listen, let's get back to biblical Christianity, and what does that look like?"
Christianity on Our Terms Sermon Series
Philip:Wow. Well, when Noah left the ark, the Bible said the first thing he did — God sent him out of the ark after the flood, after building the ark for 120 years, all the stuff he had done — God sent him out of the ark, and the first thing he did, he took the doors and he made an altar. And he sacrificed. He took the animals that he'd spent 120 years saving, and he took those animals and sacrificed them on that altar.
Philip:But the Bible says that he began to be a husbandman. He began to grow grapes. And the Bible said he couldn't find the altar for the vines. The vines had covered the altar. And I believe in the church today that we've done all this stuff, and we've stayed true, but now the day we're living in, the culture we're living in, is that the vines are covering that altar, and we need to get the vines off the altar and get back to what's the basics again.
Lance Halseth:Yeah, statistics show us that the church isn't much better than the world. You can break that down to divorce rate, to adultery rate, to those addicted to pornography. It's in the church. And it's not just in the church, it's very prevalent within the church, almost indistinguishable between us and the world, and we have to sit back and say, "Why is that?" I think it has a lot to do with how we take God's word, we compromise it, and then live in such a way that we believe we're pleasing the Lord, but are we?
Vines Covering the Altar Illustration
Philip:That is the truth. I remember growing up in our church back in Scotland, and one thing that my father, as the pastor of that church, he instilled in us the fear of the Lord. And I see no fear of God anymore in the church. God's our buddy. Our songs are almost like bedroom songs rather than actual songs of His majesty, and it's all fuzzy wuzzy, feely wheelie stuff. And the truth of the matter is, we serve the most terrifying force in the universe, and that is God Almighty.
Philip:And 1 Peter 1:16 says this, "Be holy, for I am holy. As I am holy."
Lance Halseth:Yes. And the Lord calls His people to be salt and to be light and to be different than those in the world in the way we live our lives. And I was reading an article the other day that said there's probably somewhere between 33 and 35 million Christians that will sit out this election. And I don't understand why we, as the church, should be sidelined or decide to be sidelined, but we need to pursue the Lord.
Fear of the Lord Lost in Modern Church
Lance Halseth:We need to do those things that He's called us to do. And I think we have to understand that He has a better plan than we have for ourselves. And if we would just yield ourselves to Him and pick up our cross daily and follow Him and live the way that He would have us to live in biblical Christianity, man, we could really change the world in which we live in.
Philip:If the Christians in America were to vote — and forget Donald Trump, and forget all the daily politics that are going on right now — if you were to vote according to principle regarding the sanctity of life, protection of marriage, protection of physical and surgical abuse of children regarding their gender. If you were to take five or six of the basic principles, the cultural principles of the church, and say, "I'm going to make my vote."
Philip:And because your vote, you are required to vote. Don't criticize the mess America's in if you won't go and vote. But if all the Christians in America would vote scripturally, this country would never, ever again have anything other than a Christian-based government in it. And we are neglecting our responsibility and are culpable. We are culpable for 63 million babies that have been killed inside the mother's womb.
33 Million Christians Sitting Out Elections
Philip:If we had spoken up... I remember coming here, Lance, with my dad, and it was during the prayer in school issue. One woman said, "You're not going to have prayer in school." And I would sit with my father, a young man in pastors' homes having supper after church, and the pastor would laugh and say, "Oh, this is America. They'll never take prayer out of schools. No, no, no." Oh yeah? She did. And then abortion. "They'll never legalize abortion." They did because the church culturally failed.
Lance Halseth:I believe we could be in a Bonhoeffer moment, to take our country back. And you look at America, and I believe we're the greatest nation on Earth. But because we as Christians have gone away from really obeying God's word like God would have us to do, we've gotten comfortable. We don't like anything inconvenient.
Lance Halseth:And I'm reminded of the rich man that came to Jesus, says, "What must I do to follow you?" And he says this. He said, "Go your way, sell everything you have, give to the poor, and then come be my disciple." And it says that he went away saddened. Why? Because he had great possessions.
Lance Halseth:I wonder how many Americans, if the Lord called them, "Hey, here's what I want you to do. Go sell everything you have, give to the poor, follow me," I wonder how many would walk away saddened because they have not only great possessions, but I have an easy life, or I have a comfortable life, or I have this, or I have that. And I think that has something to do with why we are so willing to compromise God's word.
Philip:That is so true. And you've been sharing this and teaching this in your church in Sevierville. Yeah. And how are folk responding to it?
Lance Halseth:I think it's great. I wrote an article for "Harbingers Daily" back in March of this year, and it caught pretty good traction. And so I decided, you know what? If other people are reading about this, it must be on the heart of other people as well. And so usually, we at our church, we teach line by line, verse by verse. On Sunday right now, we're going through the Gospel of Luke. But I decided to take a seven or eight-week pause and go into a sermon series, and let's discuss some of these topics. Let's discuss some of the areas in which I've seen where we compromise, kind of get away from what God calls us to do, make it a little bit easier.
Lance Halseth:And let's be confronted with these things. So that's how we grow spiritually. I know in my life, some of the times I've grown the most is when I've been confronted with facts and with truth because it gives me a choice. I either reject it or I receive it. And if I receive it, man, God grows me. I mature in my faith. And I've seen great response. And that's the benefit of it.
Lance Halseth:People don't... Sometimes they misconstrue truth for condemnation. We have so trained the church in the bless me culture. What's God going to do for me now? I'm here this morning. I got up this morning and came to church. How is God going to bless me for sacrificing to drive in my air-conditioned car from my house to here? And nowadays, many will just stay home in their pajamas and watch it online. But unless we understand that we are called by God, not for comfort — God's not interested in our comfort, He's interested in our growth.
Philip:That's right. And I think what you're talking about is so important. What advice would you give to other pastors and leaders who are dealing with the same pressures or cultural compromise in their ministries today?
Lance Halseth:I think we have to get away from trying to be men pleasers and realize that we're going to stand before God one day. And we're going to be held to a higher account, the Bible says. And so that, honestly, that kind of puts a little fear in my heart. I need to obey what God says over being liked by men.
Pastors Must Fear God Over Men
Lance Halseth:And so I think so many today — not all, there's some wonderful Bible teachers and some great leaders of the faith — but so many today, whether they're on podcasts or whatever, they are so wanting to be liked or have the most clicks or whatever, that they're afraid to really hit these hard issues. And I believe God, in these last days, is wanting His church and those that He's called to shepherd His flock to stand on these hard things and say, "Church, let's come back to what it is, to walk with Jesus the way He intended the church to walk."
Philip:Well, that is such good stuff, Lance. We need this preached in every church in America. If we could stir the church, if we can waken up the sleeping giant, it would obliterate communism. We don't have to fight this nutcase in New York. We just need to have a revival. We don't need all these politicians that are now pushing... Can you believe that America is falling for communism? It's crazy. It is the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my life.
Philip:It's crazy. And it is because of a cultural failure. And my goodness, our time is gone, but I want to thank you, Lance, for coming here and proclaiming truth. And every pastor, whether you believe it or not, you are responsible. It's not filling a Sunday, guys. It's proclaiming the truth. And if you'd like to get in contact with Lance and find out about his church, it is called The Rock Church. It's in Sevierville, Tennessee, and the website is really easy.
Philip:It's www.therockchurchtn.org. And I'm sure there's a whole bunch of information available from him. Lance, thank you so much for being with me. I hope you'll come back in the future. And maybe one day you can come over the mountain and sit in the studio with me here in Clinton, Tennessee.
Lance Halseth:Yeah, I'd love that. Hey, thanks for having me. This has been great. Thank you so much.
Philip:Remember, you are the salt of the earth, and what you do for Jesus is important. We are so happy you joined us today. Please pray for these new homes in Ukraine and Moldova, and God will bless you. Thank you for watching us. We hope you can have a great day. Stand up, stand up for Jesus. You're in a cultural war. We'll see you again. Bye-bye.
For over 25 years, the Cameron family has been changing the lives of orphans in Romania and Moldova. From providing running water, flushing toilets, and clean wells, to coal for heat, new windows, as well as food and clothing. They champion the physical needs of the orphans in these broken and desolate countries. Many of Moldova's orphans are saved from the horrors of trafficking through homes founded by the Camerons, and in the process, orphans become daughters and sons.
They come to know their Heavenly Father and are forever changed by the love of Jesus. God helped the Camerons lift these amazing young men and women out of darkness. Now, no longer orphans, they want to return and invade that very same darkness with the light of Jesus Christ. The Orphan's Hands equips these daughters and sons to become missionaries. Your monthly gift of $31 will allow us to rescue and take in more girls and boys, saving them from the hell of human trafficking. Your monthly partnership will allow us to care for those in The Orphan's Hands homes in Moldova and the Ukraine.
If you want to join Philip and Chrissy in taking care of these precious young people, please contact us today by calling 833-DAILYFAITH. You can also give by going online to www.dailyfaith.tv, or by writing to Post Office Box 25, Clinton, Tennessee 37716. So many lives depend on what we do. Thank you for loving the lost.
Common questions
What does Lance Halseth mean by 'Christianity on our own terms'?
Lance says the church takes God's Word and quietly softens it to make obedience easier — whether that's loving, fasting, tithing, or praying — and then calls that watered-down version obedience. He ran a seven- or eight-week sermon series at The Rock Church called 'Christianity on Our Terms' to confront those compromises head-on.
How did Lance Halseth go from being a Knoxville police officer to doing mission work in Haiti?
About midway through his career, Lance felt God persistently calling him away from law enforcement. After two years of seeking confirmation, he and his wife both quit their city jobs, sold nearly everything they owned, and moved to Haiti — where they built homes, put on roofs, and Lance taught at a university. God eventually called them back after two years, and Lance now sees that season as preparation for his current pastoral role.
Why does Lance think the American church has become so willing to compromise biblical standards?
Lance points to comfort and material prosperity as the root issue. He draws a parallel to the rich young ruler who walked away from Jesus because he had too much to give up, suggesting that many American Christians are similarly unwilling to accept anything inconvenient — and that comfort has made them more interested in what God can do for them than in genuine obedience.
What does Lance say pastors and church leaders should do differently to push back against cultural compromise?
Lance urges pastors to stop being 'men pleasers' and remember they will one day stand before God and be held to a higher account. He believes too many leaders today avoid hard topics because they want clicks, likes, or broad approval — and that God is calling shepherds in these last days to speak difficult truths and lead the church back to biblical Christianity.
How does Lance connect the church's cultural compromise to broader societal problems like abortion and the removal of prayer from schools?
Lance and Philip argue that each cultural loss — prayer in schools, the legalization of abortion — happened because the church failed to stand on its convictions and vote according to biblical principles. Lance frames the current moment as potentially a 'Bonhoeffer moment,' saying that if Christians consistently obeyed God's Word and engaged civically on core moral issues, the country's direction could be fundamentally changed.
Topics
halsethcultural compromisebiblical obediencefear of the lordchurch and culturechristian votingrevival