Full Blast

We have often been asked (usually after a mailing or phone calling campaign) by people who have a misinformed idea about the establishment clause of the Bill of Rights how the Toms River School District can rent to a religious institution such as our church.  It was Child Evangelism Fellowship that won the landmark  case in the United States Supreme Court that established the equal access rule.  Now CEF has won another significant ruling that protects the free speach right of churches and prevents schools and other public institutions from discriminating against them.

Read about it here.  If you are a church renting a school, you need to know about these rulings.

 equal access constitution bill of rights cef

I have had a sense that people whose vote is informed by their faith are losing their interest in Obama.  This report by George Barna backs that up.
 obama mccain barna election2008

Here's the list.

 

Quote

Top 10 Most Socially Conservative Colleges - MSN Encarta

 gcc grove city college education conservatism

I have been following the sad story of Steven Curtis Chapman's family tragedy of losing their youngest daughter Maria in a terrible acciendent.  This past week, Steven and his family spoke about the tragedy of the accident that took Maria Chapman's life and how God has sustained them through it.  The videos speak for themselves.


What an authentic testimony of hope in the midst of grief.  These people are really "real".

Watch the family's appearance on Larry King Live here.

 steven curtis chapman scc chapman chapman

Caution: there is reference to a donkey in the beginning of this video that some consider a profanity.

jibjab politics election campaign

I read about something called the Gratitude Campaign this morning.  It is a trend started by a man from Seattle that pays respect to soldiers in uniform when they are in public places like airports. It all starts with a hand signal that you can do anytime you see a soldier in uniform. The signal is a new way to thank soldiers for their service without having to interrupt them or make them feel uncomfortable.

I found this YouTube video about the campaign that was posted by the Gratitude Campaign.  I think this is an awesome idea.  As the video says, its not about politics its about service



gratitude campaign service militiary thankyou

I believe that the shedding of innocent blood is one of the great sins that our nation must repent of if revival is to come to our land.  There are others as well, but this one is high on the list. No societal transforming revival has ever taken hold of a nation without the nation engaging in national repentence for the institutionalized sin that have become part of the nation.  If you want to understand this better, read the minor prophets where the prophets rail against the institutionalized sins of Israel and call that nation to repentence.  This is why a candidate for President's stand on abortion and other issues regarding a consistent ethic of life are so important to me.  With this in mind I came across a timely article that reminds me of the what is really in Barrack Obama's heart regarding these issues. I share experts and a link to the article for your information.

The Audacity of Death

By DANIEL ALLOTT
June 5, 2008

According to Barack Obama, Gianna Jessen shouldn't exist.

Miss Jessen is an exquisite example of what antiabortion advocates call a "survivor." Well into her third trimester of pregnancy, Gianna's biological mother was injected with a saline solution intended to induce a chemical abortion at a Los Angeles County abortion center. Eighteen hours later, and precious minutes before the abortionist's arrival, Gianna emerged. Premature and with severe injuries that resulted in cerebral palsy. But alive.

Had the abortionist been present at her birth, Gianna would have been killed, perhaps by suffocation. As it was, a startled nurse called an ambulance, and Gianna was rushed to a nearby hospital, where, weighing just two pounds, she was placed in an incubator, then, months later, in foster care.

Gianna survived then, and thrives now, because, as she told me recently with a laugh, "I guess I don't die easy." Which is what the abortionist might have thought as he signed his victim's birth certificate. Gianna's medical records state that she was "born during saline abortion."

As an Illinois state senator, Barack Obama twice opposed legislation to define as "persons" babies who survive late-term abortions. Babies like Gianna. Mr. Obama said in a speech on the Illinois Senate floor that he could not accept that babies wholly emerged from their mother's wombs are "persons," and thus deserving of equal protection under the Constitution's 14th Amendment.

A federal version on the same legislation passed the Senate unanimously and with the support of all but 15 members of the House. Gianna was present when President Bush signed the Born Alive Infants Protection Act in 2002.

When I asked Gianna to reflect on Mr. Obama's candidacy, she paused, then said, "I really hope the American people will have their eyes wide open and choose to be discerning. . . . He is extreme, extreme, extreme."

Read more here . . .

obama abortion Gianna Jensen

I traveled this week to western Pennsylvania to pick up my Becca from Grove City College for Easter break.  I drove out there with Matt and Bria on Thursday.  We arrive in time to attend "Warriors for Christ" with Becca.  This organization states its purpose is "to usher in God’s Spirit of revival on campus" through prayer and praise and worship gatherings.  It was really awesome to join 100s of students in the school's beautiful chapel and hear them praising God.  One song that I heard before really caught my attention.  It is the song "Hosanna" by Brooke Fraser.  One line from the song gave me real hope that God is stirring the hearts of our youth.

I see a generation
Rising up to take their place
With selfless faith
With selfless faith

I see a near revival
Stirring as we pray and seek
We're on our knees
We're on our knees

My prayer is that God usher in his Spirit at Grove City and on campuses across the nation.

Almost 20 years ago Christine and I moved down the shore from North Jersey to plant a church. I had been involved in starting up two other ministries while continuing to pastor our local church. Neither of them involved putting it all on the line as this new venture would. This time we left the security of a parsonage, a church building, a salary and a group of people that loved us for the pioneering of a new church from scratch--no people, no money, only a dream. The denomination that we were part of at the time gave us their blessing and said, if you come up with anything maybe we'll throw some support your way.

It was the right time to start a church in Northern Ocean county. At that time, the county was one of the fastest growing counties in the U.S.A. We could have picked up property in our target area for about $150,000 that is now going for over a million. We packed all our earthly belongings and our two preschool age children into the moving van and made the treck down the Garden State Parkway. I didn't have a stable job, or even a permanent place to live. We moved into my sister's house in Ocean Grove which was vacant for the winter, and I was a "tent-maker", making a few bucks to put food on the table by being a public speaker for the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

We started the church on Palm Sunday about six months after our move down the shore. Three years later, the congregation met on another Palm Sunday to vote the church out of existence. It was the painful culmination of three years of conflict, missed opportunities and failed leadership.

Why, you may be asking, are you dredging up all this painful stuff up after all these years. Well this morning I opened the paper and stumbled upon the obituary of one of the primary leaders of the faction in our church plant that opposed the direction our church was going and lead to its closure. This individual had written a letter that circulated around our congregation that had been very critical of me in the most personal way, focusing on such things as my struggle with my weight and the kind of clothes I wore.

The individual was not even 60 years old at the time of death. As I read the obituary, I realized that this person's life had been visited by some profound tragedies after their brief time in our church. I also realized that my interactions with this individual had been based on assumptions about the person's spiritual condition that may not have been true.

I think the most interesting thing about this obituary for me personally is that it came across my desk the Sunday after I gave a talk on the subject of "relationship fitness" which focused on our need to forgive people who have hurt us. I talked about how unforgiveness puts up a wall in our hearts and hinders revival and the presence of the Holy Spirit.  As I read about the individual's life of triumphs and sorrows, I realized that the person probably rarely thought about me or the pain that was caused by the actions taken 20 years ago even though i have thought about the individual and those painful events many times over the years. I came to understand in a very personal way how true it is that unforgiveness hurts us more than it hurts the person who has wronged us.

I felt God was saying to me, "Find the unforgiveness that still lives in your heart and kill it once and for all--tear down the wall that keeps you from having true intimacy with Me." After I read the obituary I thought about the Psalms of David in which he prays down judgment on his adversaries. I suppose I could have had a feeling of vindication about this person's tragedies and untimely death. I did not. I just felt sad. I was sad for all kinds of reasons, but mainly because I never really reconciled with this person while they were still on this earth. Maybe we will have the chance to do this in heaven.

I suppose it is a risky thing to post such a personal expose' of my feeling and failures, especially if you are a member of SonRise reading this or someone who is thinking of visiting our church. All I can say is, this is me--warts and all. Please be patient with me--God is not finished with me yet.

Read why the  Giant's winning the Super Bowl tonight staved off the Apocalypse here.

NY Giants Super Bowl champions