Over the past few years, there has been a massive exodus of Californians packing up and moving to other states, such as Texas or Tennessee, as they are fed up with the politics, cost of living, and dysfunction that comes with living in Gavin Newsom’s Golden State. Famous actor and outspoken Christian Kirk Cameron recently explained why he decided to flee from California.
Cameron echoed a commonly held criticism of California that it completely mishandled the COVID-19 pandemic with draconian regulations that restricted freedoms, further sparking division in the state. “It’s pretty clear that California has been moving in a particular direction for a long time,” he told the Washington Examiner. The actor illustrated how the state created “so much division” where he desired a “healthy freedom mindset.”
The Christian actor quipped that Gov. Gavin Newsom was the “U-Haul employee of the year” for his role in driving people out of his state. “Ultimately, the Cameron settled on Tennessee as his new home, a state with a vastly different culture and philosophy on governance.
“As Pastor Jack Hibbs has reminded us, we can all be Tennesseeans and join in on the parade of praise and of repentance, fasting, and prayer, asking God to have His hand of mercy on your state — whether that’s California or New York or New Hampshire or Minnesota or South Dakota, wherever you are,” he said.
Furthermore, Cameron found that Tennessee has become home to many people like himself where there are “a lot of California refugees,” including a substantial number of “creatives” who have fled Hollywood. “It’s shocking how many Californians are here,” he reflected. “And when I see them in the grocery store, I tell them, ‘Don’t California our Tennessee.’”
Tennessee is well known for its Christian conservatism, especially compared to California. Cameron encouraged Californians experiencing “serious economic problems and division” to consider moving to the Volunteer State, where “God, family, and country” are important values.
The Christian Tribune previously reported on Cameron’s testimony explaining how he came to putting his faith in Jesus Christ. “I simply never really thought about God,” he said. However, Christianity became more important to him after attending church with a friend.
“As I continued to ask questions and find answers to my questions, I became persuaded that Jesus really is who He said He is, that the Bible really is the word of God, and the most important decision I could ever make would be to humble myself and trust Jesus Christ as the lord of my life,” he said.
Cameron eventually surrendered his life to Christ noting that it was the most important thing he had ever done. “Of all the things I’ve ever done in my life — of all the people I’ve met, the places I’ve been, all the cool experiences I’ve had — nothing compares to the joy of knowing Jesus Christ as my lord and savior.” As he illustrates, the knowledge that Jesus died for our sins so we could attain salvation usurps all other earthly joy.
Featured image credit: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kirk_Cameron_(6872022057).jpg