Destiny’s pastor preaches hate. The Rocklin church is a stain on Placer County
Rocklin’s Destiny Church is reckless and negligent. But we already knew that.
When California imposed strict restrictions on all indoor gatherings to slow the spread of a deadly virus, Destiny held services in defiance for months.
Last winter, when Placer County ran out of available Intensive Care Unit beds and saw COVID levels spike, Destiny knowingly exposed its congregants and their neighbors to the spread of the virus by actively encouraging them to attend indoor services. In December, a former member of the congregation said six people tested positive after attending an in-person service at Destiny.
Destiny Pastor Greg Fairrington has proved himself to be a menace to Placer County by encouraging people to take actions that defied state COVID-19 guidelines and exposed people to coronavirus.
Most recently, Fairrington has found a new way to abuse his role as a religious leader in the community by telling his congregants to support the recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom, potentially jeopardizing Destiny’s tax-exempt status by testing IRS regulations that restrict political campaigning inside churches.
“You afraid of Gavin Newsom? My God, do your job as Christians on Sept. 14, and vote ‘yes’ on recalling an immoral governor,” Fairrington said while pointing to a screen behind him that delivered the same message.
“Are we afraid of a vaccine, liberal school boards, racial social agendas, (critical race theory), LGBTQ agenda?” he asked. “The gender-neutral doctrine, anti-America, radical groups like Black Lives Matter?”
Whether he is unhinged or purposely trying to draw attention to himself, Fairrington deserves to have his church’s tax-exempt status stripped away. The issue, however, is that his delusional preaching could harm other churches and religious institutions in the area.
“Destiny may be able to survive without the tax exemption, but the vast majority of religious institutions across the nation would not,” said Rev. Alan Jones, pastor at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Sacramento. “He’s entitled to his opinion, and I would strongly support that, but not being preached from the pulpit.”
Jones said he takes the Johnson Amendment, which prohibits churches from directly or indirectly participating in political campaigns for or against candidates, very seriously. For example, when Congressman Ami Bera has attended services at St. Mark’s, Jones has told Bera he is not allowed to promote his campaign. The same policy stands for any other politician or political candidate who attends services at St. Mark’s.
The word that comes to mind when Jones thinks of Destiny is “hubris.”
“Destiny is a very successful enterprise, it has drawn thousands of people, but there is a danger in the success that breeds arrogance,” Jones said. “It deeply saddens me that so many people are under the influence of a voice that is doing so much damage.”
Indeed, Destiny is a business, with a cafe, a gym, a preschool and elementary school and a performing arts center. In June, the city of Rocklin partnered with Destiny for a fireworks show. By partnering with Destiny, Rocklin sent a message that the church’s homophobic attitudes and its unprincipled and unethical behavior are OK.
Jesus’ values of selflessness and compassion are nowhere to be found in the ideas shared by Destiny’s leaders and members — rather they are more aligned with fear, hate, extremism, and the alt-right.
In December, when protestors with Black Lives Matter and Pride flags showed up to protest Destiny’s flagrant disregard for public health orders, members of the Proud Boys showed up to counterprotest, defending the church. Identified by the FBI as an extremist group, the Proud Boys participated in the white supremacist, neo-Nazi “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the January 6 insurrection on the US Capitol.
In January, at another protest outside the Rocklin church, a Destiny member with a Bible verse on the back of her shirt pushed a protester holding a “LOVE” sign, decorated with LGBTQ Pride flags. The church member launched into a homophobic rant before storming off.
During a recent sermon, Fairrington played a clip from a YouTube video in which the San Francisco Gay Men’s Choir sings a satirical song with the lyrics “we’ll convert your children.” In response, Fairrington says, “that’s wrong, that’s vile.” Careful, pastor, your blatant homophobia is showing.
What else can this be labeled but fear-mongering and demagoguery?
Under the Johnson Amendment, pastors and religious leaders are allowed to preach on social and moral issues. At St. Mark’s, Jones has spoken often on social issues including immigration and homelessness.
“I preach social justice a great deal from the pulpit, but sometimes people confuse a moral stand with a political stand,” Jones said. “There’s a long, well-established tradition of social justice in our congregation. And there are other congregations in our city and county you could say the same about. But we always stop short of endorsing a candidate.”
In a sermon on July 18, Fairrington says church leaders should be compelled to speak in favor of the recall as it’s a moral issue — not a political issue — because Newsom is an “immoral” governor. It’s an ironic point, given that Fairrington’s own morals are deeply lacking.
Fairrington preaches hate from his pulpit. He has shown himself to be a spiteful bully who represents the worst of Rocklin and Placer County. If he insists on preaching politics, he should take up another line of work.
This story was originally published August 6, 2021 at 6:00 AM.