What Is It?

The modern National Black Robe Regiment (NBRR) is a network of national and local pastors that equips and empowers pastors to engage in their Biblical and historical role to stand boldly for righteousness and transform society through spiritual and cultural engagement.

The early American pastor had a reputation as a courageous and fearless leader, causing the British during the American Revolution to dub them “The Black Regiment,” a reference to their clerical robes. Those pastors boldly proclaimed the Word of God as it applied to everything in life, whether spiritual or temporal—about eternal life in Christ, taxes, education, public policy, good government, the military, or any other current issues that the Bible addressed.

“If there is a decay of conscience, the pulpit is responsible for it…. If satan rules in our halls of legislation, the pulpit is responsible for it. If our politics become so corrupt that the very foundations of our government are ready to fall away, the pulpit is responsible for it.” – Charles Finney

Today, the struggle is for the heart and soul of America. Never before has there been such openly orchestrated frontal attacks against America’s core beliefs, including traditional morality, public religious expressions, the rights of conscience, inalienable rights, common sense economics, and limited constitutional government. An American Revolution, not with guns, but with the same pastoral fervor and leadership is needed today.

This resource is designed to help pastors fulfill that calling.

Historical Origins

The Black Robed Regiment was the name that the British placed on the courageous and patriotic American clergy during the Founding Era (a backhanded reference to the black robes they wore). Significantly, the British blamed the Black Regiment for American Independence, and rightfully so, for modern historians have documented that:

There is not a right asserted in the Declaration of Independence which had not been discussed by the New England clergy before 1763.

It is strange to today’s generation to think that the rights listed in the Declaration of Independence were nothing more than a listing of sermon topics that had been preached from the pulpit in the two decades leading up to the American Revolution, but such was the case….

Read the Full Article Here!

Helpful Resources

Use these resources in your church or consider sending them to your pastor or priest adding a personal note of encouragement to not keep silent on the divisive issues facing our culture.

WallBuilders does not necessarily endorse or agree with all the information from unaffiliated organizations. Listings are provided as additional resources that may be utilized to affirm, enhance, and/or supplement Black Robe Regiment efforts.

Other Groups

http://www.blackrobereg.org/
https://www.danfisherbrr.com/

Legal Resources

ACLJ information for 501(c)(3) incorporated churches

Liberty Counsel and First Liberty have a number of very useful resources for churches and pastors to assist you in informing your church family about today’s issues. Use these resources to learn about what you can and can’t do politically.

• Political and Legislative Guide Chart For Pastors and Churches
• What May Pastors and Churches Do? By Matthew D. Staver
• Pastors and Patriots Action Pack
• Religious Liberty Protection Kit
• Church & Government: Know Your Rights
• Pastors & Politics

This article and this article from the IRS lists activities that are and are not permissible for 501(c)(3) incorporated churches.
Read WallBuilders corrections to an intimidation letter from the Americans United for Separation of Church and State sent to pastors and churches in 2006 attempting to intimidating Christians and churches from being involved.

Christian Legal Organizations

• Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF)
• American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ)
• Christian Legal Association (CLA)
• First Liberty
• Liberty Counsel
• Thomas More Law Center
• The National Legal Foundation (NLF)
• Pacific Justice Institute (PJI)

Historical Resources

The sermons and proclamations listed below come from WallBuilders’ Collection. There are many more beyond this curated list available on our Resources page.

Sermons

Election Sermons

These sermons were preached to government officials at the state capitol upon the annual opening of the legislature

• 1781 Election Sermon by Rev. Jonas Clark
• 1788 Election Sermon by Rev. David Parsons
• 1790 Election Sermon by Rev. Daniel Foster
• 1830 Election Sermon by Charles Boardman
• 1861 Election Sermon by Rev. Henry Parker

Governmental Sermons

• 1681 Sermon Before Judges by Edward Fowler
• 1800 The Voice of Warning to Christians by John Mitchell Mason
• 1864 Capitol Sermon by Byron Sunderland
• 1895 People Responsible for Character of Rulers by Henry Van Dyke

Patriotic Sermons

• 1775 on Liberties by Rev. Jacob Duche´
• 1840 Christian Patriot by Rev. Mellish Irving Motte
• 1891 Church and Country by Bishop William Stevens Perry

Proclamations

The American practice of calling days of fasting or thanksgiving was so strong that by 1815, civil governments had issued at least 1,400 official prayer proclamations. Thousands more have been issued since that time—a tradition that now spans more than four centuries of the American Story, and one that continues to the present day since a 1952 federal law requires that every president issue a prayer proclamation on the National Day of Prayer, commemorated the first Thursday of every May, and observed by every president since Dwight D. Eisenhower.

• 1777 Fasting Proclamation by Massachusetts Bay Colony
• 1789 Fasting Proclamation by Connecticut Governor Samuel Huntington
• 1793 Fasting Proclamation by Massachusetts Governor John Hancock
• 1795 Fasting Proclamation by Massachusetts Governor Samuel Adams
• 1782 Sabbath Day Proclamation by Pennsylvania President John Dickinson
• 1777 Thanksgiving Proclamation by the Continental Congress
• 1778 Thanksgiving Proclamation by New Hampshire President Meshech Weare
• 1779 Thanksgiving Proclamation by Virginia Governor Thomas Jefferson
• 1779 Thanksgiving Proclamation by Pennsylvania President Joseph Reed
• 1780 Thanksgiving Proclamation by Massachusetts Governor John Hancock