IPCC Life

Monday – January 30, 2012                              Volume 23, Number 5

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Today’s News and Culture

Through the Lens of a Christian Worldview

By Clyde M. Hughes

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AROUND THE IPCC:

* CHURCH CONTINUES TO FEED THE NEEDY

* PENTECOSTAL CHURCH OF CHRIST OF BRAZIL (ICPB) CELEBRATES 75 YEARS

* FAITH FAMILY FELLOWSHIP

* MESSAGE FROM THE McNUTTS

* OPEN CHURCHES

* MID-EASTERN LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE - February 24-25, 2012

* LEADERSHIP 21, 1 PM, March 9 to Noon March 10

* IPCC PRAYER REQUESTS

AROUND THE CHURCH WORLD:

* A LETTER TO THE PASTOR

* AMERICAN LAWS FOR AMERICAN COURTS

* STARBUCKS DOESN'T KNOW BEANS ABOUT MARRIAGE

* DEFIANT JOY, We Still Need Chesterton

* OBAMA'S ATTACK UPON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM STANDS

* SERMONS AND QUIPS

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CENTRAL DISTRICT QUARTERLY CONFERENCE, Galion, OH – A good time of fellowship was had Friday night at the Quarterly Conference. Missionary Bonne Mowell spoke of her love for the people of Kenya and Kaimosi Bible College. She asked for no money, but we are aware of substantial needs. She receives little support and the school is attempting to complete a new dormitory, needing possibly $5,000 to complete. Kaimosi has been in existence for perhaps 70 years and has a reputation in Kenya of producing the finest and more mature pastors. It also ministers to the more poor students who cannot make it to the larger cities and pay heavier tuition. Please pray for Bonne and her work there. It is a magnificent enterprise for God. Pastor Rick Cox and the ladies of the church provided nice refreshments and desserts for fellowship following the conference. All missions contributions for all missionaries are to be addressed to: IPCC Dept. of Global Missions, P.O. Box 439, London, OH 43140

CHURCH CONTINUES TO FEED THE NEEDY (Frank Lewis, Portsmouth Daily Times front page) – Gary Newman, pastor of Sand Hill International Pentecostal Church of Christ, says God has given him a compassion for feeding the hungry, and he has set out to do that in many ways. “It started out in September with a vision to feed the community, to do an outreach like what a lot of churches are doing, but we set a goal to feed as many as we could,” Newman said. “So we started out with Thanksgiving dinner in which we ended up feeding 750 people a hot meal. With the total meals we sent out in boxes and all, we ended up feeding around 1,400 people.”

Newman said he has connected with a Huntington, W.Va., area food bank, Feeding America. “We go up there and we are able to get food at a low cost,” Newman said. “It still costs, but we’re able to get it at a good price. We try to do it every week.” Newman said, with a congregation of just 40 people, he has been financially strapped recently serving a growing number of people with boxes of food every week. “It has grown so much that we’re doing it twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays,” Newman said. “We’re putting out between 70 and 80 boxes of food to people twice a week. That’s 160 a week. The demand has grown so big because there is so much hunger because of the economy and everything that is going on. We’re just trying to do our part where we can. But it’s getting so tough. With the congregation that I have, we do everything we can do, but the more we want to do, the more we can’t do because of the finances.” Newman said people who want to help by making a financial donation should contact him at 740-821-0766, or send it to P.O. Box 1114, South Shore, KY, 41175. Newman said checks can be made out to “Sand Hill International Pentecostal Church of Christ,” or “Sand Hill IPCC.” He said all money will go to purchase food. “We’re USDA approved,” Newman said. “They come in. They give us so much food a month, and while we also like to help people from Ohio, when we give USDA out, the people must be from Greenup County.” In addition to the food giveaways, Newman said the church is planning a Fourth of July meal in which they will be serving hamburgers and hot dogs at the church, located off U.S. 23. Newman said people who want to find the church should go to the junction of 3117, and turn right. You turn on Piatt Street and then make a right on Second Street. “The vision is still right there,” Newman said. “We’re seeing a great move of the Lord in this ministry. And we know that he is with us because he tells us that we are to help others. So that’s what we try to do.” Frank Lewis may be reached at 740-353-3101, ext. 232, or flewis@heartlandpublications.com. (Pastor Gary was in the hospital with chest pains for a while a couple of weeks ago. Please pray for help in the above endeavor so he will not be over doing it.)

PENTECOSTAL CHURCH OF CHRIST OF BRAZIL (ICPB) CELEBRATES 75 YEARS - ICPB story of victory and a commitment to God (The computer interpretation has been rewritten by CMH) – On the 21st and 22nd of January, 2012, the 75^th anniversary of the Mother ICPB (Serra Talhada is the oldest church of the ICPB, the denomination in Brazil) was celebrated with a big party organized by the mother church. The festival had the theme: “I'm doing a great work so that I can't come down!” (Neh. 6:3)

The event was attended by several ministers from different regions Pr. Laercio Rodrigues (Litoral/Nordeste), Braz (Alagoana) as well as pastors from various fields Pr. Mauricio (Santa Cruz do Capibaribe,) Edvaldo Amorim (João Pessoa,) Jair Victor (Campinas,) Edivan Menezes (Água Fria,) Gilberto Eloi (Cortes,) Paulo Laurindo (Ponte dos Carvalhos.) The National Board was also present in the person of Rev. Daniel Silva (National Superintendent) and Pastor Heitor Fluguli (National Secretary.) They were days of victory for the ICPB in Brazil, where God was present and talking about a unique way for his people, “The Church does not stop, keep doing the work.”

 The march of the ICPB has served Brazil well, a church grounded in the Rock, preaching the true Gospel of Jesus Christ, a church that did not arise from separation or human will, but a church that was born in the heart of God and the dream of a man Missionary Chester Miller, and even today 75 years has preserved the good morals. (The church was started by Horace S. Ward and organized by Chester Miller.)

Our remembrance of the arrival of the missionaries to Brazil emphasized the missionary zeal that burned in the heart of Missionaries Chester Miller and Horace W, two men who had a dream and believed in this dream. God called these men for their great work and they said, “Behold us here, Lord, we have left our country of origin, came to the Brazilian hinterland to preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus,” thus was born the ICPB. At the opening of the anniversary Jair Pastor Victor (Campinas) was ministering of the word, bringing a simple word, but powerful and timely for the event. Pastor Hector brought a sensational study about the three types of churches "below average, average and above average church" showing examples and characteristics of each church, thus leading all members to reflect on what kind of church to which they belong. At the end, an invitation to those wishing to renew their covenant with the Lord and return to their first love was given. At the closing worship service, the Rev. Daniel ICPB invited all to a spiritual awakening, "We need spiritual shepherds!" he said. "We can not preach the gospel and take bread, we can not think of think of evangelism without social action" he said in closing.

The ICPB is growing and moving to a new spiritual level in the history of the Gospel in Brazil. Increasingly investing in missions is a beautiful vision that the Lord Jesus is giving the National Board. As the Lord said, “The harvest is great and the reapers are few.” Today ICPB needs you to continue growing not only the ICPB, but throughout South America. Come be part of this great work of the Lord! Think about it today and start getting your hands dirty and work to bring the Lord's name to places where it has yet to arrive. "He who has no history has no past or future, much less a present life."

May each member of the ICPB in any part of Brazil and the world learn to love this ministry, because like Gamaliel said of the Pharisees and lawyers, “If this work be of men it will stop more, if of God it will continue.” And even today the ICPB is standing and with this, God is pleased with this work is His. Wear the garments of a cooperator in this great work. ICPB a church of God, rooted in the Rock for 75 years. - Posted by Diego Ribeiro

(Note: Since founding the Pentecostal Church of Christ of Uruguay, the Pentecostal Church of Christ of Brazil has branched into Argentina, Paraguay, Venezuela, Spain (since withdrawn,) Senegal and Italy. Two-thrids the size of America,they have churches in every state except one in Brazil, including the Amazon Forest.- CMH)

FAITH FAMILY FELLOWSHIP, Jackson, OH – Pastors Cecil and Trudy Wright have reported they were pleased to have had Youth Pastor Thaddeus Williams and King's Commission students minister yesterday at the church about 80 miles away. Two of the KC students assisted in Sunday School classes for which the teachers were appreciative. Sister Trudy said the Spirit of the Lord was rich. The church was celebrating "Family Day" and experienced their highest Sunday School attendance ever! They expressed appreciation to Thad for bringing the KC students to their church and conducting the worship service. Brother and Sister Wright have been among the most faithful in their district to be involved in both district and General Conference activities. Brother Cecil lost his brother in Florida last week. Not long ago, having just purchased the church building, we found ourselves with the building vacated. The Wrights agreed to relocated their church about 10 miles and take over the payments of the church lifting a burden from our budget and growing the church where its previous owner had given up. The church is in a very needy area, the type of area Christ loves to focus on.

MESSAGE FROM THE McNUTTS – Dear Ones: We greet you in the wonder of God’s love! Another New Year. Another opportunity to discover the unfathomable riches in Christ Jesus! 14 diploma students and 2 degree, present and engaged in their respective courses of study. Two new degree teachers. One of which is our new principal, Silas, and Rueben, the educator as respectfully referred to. We thank the Lord for the unity of the Spirit, we are experiencing among KBC Staff and IPCC Missionaries. We pray that the” endeavor to maintain It” will continue. Our goal is to” train faithful people so that they in turn will train other faithful ones”. That means we must be faithful. By His Grace and by being filled with the Holy Spirit daily He will be enable and lead us to those whose desire is the same. As in education, it is good if it is caught. If it is taught without connecting with the students so that they assimilate it for themselves, then it falls to the ground. Then we try again until it is caught. And it’s important we persevere. It is a challenge, but we follow our Lord. He took the challenge and won. We purpose “to follow in His Steps and receive the same reward and hear Him say “Well done thy faithful servant, enter the joy of the Lord!” Thank you again for the big role you play in the ministry here. Thank you so much for all your love, prayers and support. All our love and prayers, Paul & Barbara

OPEN CHURCHES – Marion IPCC (OH) - The Marion Church is in need of an interim pastor during the illness of Brother Houck. Marion is about 50 miles north of Columbus with a population of about 36,000. Contact D.O. Ervin L. Hargrave at 740-852-0448.

Ashland IPCC (KY) - Ashland has a beautiful and large church plant, complete with a very modern gymnasium/fellowship hall. Contact Clyde Hughes, 740.852.4722 or hqipcc@aol.com

Mead IPCC (OH) - Mead has a very modern and large brick church with an unfinished gymnasium and an annex across the road used for their fellowship hall. Contact Clyde Hughes, 740.852.4722 or hqipcc@aol.com

MID-EASTERN LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE - February 24-25, 2012, Pearl Street Pentecostal Church, Elizabeth City, NC – Rev. Eric Gilbert will be the featured speaker at the upcoming leadership conference of the Mid-Eastern District. Pastor Eric Gilbert is the founding and lead pastor of 3trees Church in Russell Springs, KY. Beginning with only six people, 3trees is now experiencing growth that many previously thought to be demographically impossible. Eric is passionate about the mandate on his life to be a Spirit-Empowered, Life-Giving voice, encouraging people of all ages to have a greater experience in God. This call to be a voice and a conviction to speak the truth as plainly as possible, produce messages that are straight-forward and to-the-point, but also deeply compassionate. Eric is married to his high school sweetheart, Amanda. They have two children, Natalie Grace and Dawson Chandler. He feels his greatest responsibility in life is to serve his family as husband and father. All IPCC churches are welcome to attend. For information, contact Janice Boyce at jwboyce@inteliport.com or 252-338-3003.

LEADERSHIP 21, 1 PM, March 9 to Noon March 10 – Featuring Ron Luce of Teenmania and Acquire the Fire at Victory Temple, 2443 Valle Greene Drive, Fairborn, OH. Ron is probably the leading specialist in youth ministry in the nation leading youth events across the nation as large as 73,000. Sessions with Ron Luce will be 1:00 to 4:15 PM on Friday; 7:00 PM Friday; 9:00 to Noon on Saturday. Registration costs are $30 for CGMA/IPCC members and $40 to others. (Lodging will be on your own.) Registrations may be sent to Leadership 21, 4506 Hardin Wapak Rd., Sidney, OH 45365. Include your contact information and church name. (An additional FUSE Rally with Ron Luce will be held Saturday at 6 PM at the Vandalia Christian Tabernacle at 836 S. Brown School Road. You must contact the CGMA National Youth Director, James Coffey at 865-742-0988 for admission information for that special event.)

IPCC PRAYER REQUESTS – (We try to limit prayer list to our ministers and their immediate families to make it more manageable. Thank you for understanding.)

Tony Rabern, husband of Deborah Rabern has been diagnosed with early Prostate Cancer. Please pray for him.

David Howes, father to Jennifer, has been in ICU with Congestive Heart and other issues. He was stepped down over the weekend.

General Secretary Anthony Ralph is wearing a heart monitor for his arrhythmia. Please pray for him.

Georgia Kent is the wife of Edgar Kent. She is recovering from a second cornea transplant on the 27th on the same eye.

Leva Bloomfield - widow of IPCC hero Wells Bloomfield, former DO of the Tri-State and Southeastern Districts and last full-time Assistant General Overseer. Leva has been back in the hospital and is not doing well.

William Houck, pastor of the Marion IPCC is still in very serious need of a miracle having bone cancer in different parts of the body and cancer in the lymph nodes and prostate. He is under the care of hospice and is declining. Please pray for Nancy as she is being greatly taxed, physically and emotionally.

Jim Sawyer, Dr. Grinder’s son-in-law, is still undergoing treatment of his serious wound and needs your continual prayer. He continues to improve.

Jane Auxier - long-term pastor of the Baltimore IPCC and former District Secretary

Dr. Robert Cannon - Former General Secretary, 50 year pastor of Echoes of Faith Richmond and board member of BHBC for about 48 years

Clifford and Eunice Edwards - Former General Treasurer and treasurer of BHBC

Pauline Ferguson - widow of Johnny Ferguson, hero of the Tri-State District as DO and long-time pastor of the Ashland IPCC

Edith Greet - missionary to India since 1947

Dr. Tom G. Grinder - former General Superintendent of the IPA for 6 years, former AGO of the IPCC for 6 years and General Overseer of the IPCC for 8 years

Lucille Hardeman - Daughter of Johnny and Pauline Ferguson and key member of the Ashland IPCC

Gilbert and Stella Hargrave - Parents of General Treasurer Ervin Hargrave

Arlene Hughes is in about her sixth year since signs of Alzheimer's was noticed.

Alma McCarty - widow of Cecil McCarty, former Central DO and Raymond Adkins pastor to a number of churches

Delcia Miller is advancing in her Alzheimer's.

Gladys Miller, longest serving minister in the IPCC at 70 years and former pastor

Wayne Pendleton, son-in-law to Janice & William Boyce and Board Member at the Pearl St. Church.

Gary Shonkwiler - longtime pastor of the Portsmouth IPCC and district board member

We need to be much more serious as we pray for the children of ministers and for the health of all of our ministers. There are ministers dealing with issues they are not at liberty to disclose. Please pray for them. Please pray for the peace of Jerusalem and the safety of Israel and the effect it will have on Israel's security. Jesus is coming soon!

Please pray for our international workers:

Glenda Atcheson, working with our Mexican churches, but forced to stay this side of the border due to the murders and kidnappings of Americans.

Becky Brogden is working in Jerusalem

Evan and Bettie Erickson are dealing with Bettie's recovery and recent fracture of the hip.

Edith Greet is in semi-retirement in her apartment in Kochi, India

Thomas Vadakekut is the Chief Functionary of Bethel Foundation in Kochi, India

Rick and Carol Koetz. Rick serves as our Field Secretary for Kenya and District Overseer for the Pentecostal Evangelistic Fellowship of Africa

Paul and Barbara McNutt work and teach at Kaimosi Bible College

Bonne Mowell teaches and works at Kaimosi Bible College

Ryan Peterson teaches and works at Kaimosi Bible College

Clint Taylor in charge of ministry in the Philippines working under the direction of his mother, Janet, who now serving as the General Overseer of the work there.

AROUND THE CHURCH WORLD:

A LETTER TO THE PASTOR: Dear Pastor, I’m writing this because I know how you feel when I don’t live up to your expectations of me. So, I think if I tell you some of my problems, you’ll be more able to understand me.

I don’t get to church every Sunday night because I have so many things to do. You know, ministry is not just in church. Why last Sunday night, I had to go over to cousin Sue’s house and talk to them about some of the problems they were going through. You know, I felt like my ministry there was maybe even a little more important than what I could have done at church. But I was still feeling bad about missing church until I overheard you say that you were missing Quarterly Conference because you had more important things to do. I guess we all have to choose our priorities. You mentioned the last time I saw you that I had not been to Sunday school very faithfully, either. You know, you’re right! It’s just more of those ministry things though. We all have to choose. Besides, I’ve been a Christian all my life and I know about everything they’re going to say in Sunday school so I really don’t need it. Sunday school is for those less experienced Christians. I was feeling bad about that too, until I heard you say that you weren’t attending the Sunday school seminar because all they did was repeat the same old things over and over and that those things were just for younger ministers. Your remarks really encouraged me. Thanks! I know, I know! My kids haven’t been coming to youth service. But they have their own activities. Why, do you realize that Johnny was hearing his friends cuss at school and he actually told them to quiet down, there’s a girl coming down the hall. Why my kids have their own youth service. But then, you told the youth leader we weren’t going to the youth rally and you weren’t raising money to send the kids to youth camp because we had our own activities. I guess you and I are alike. We just don’t need outside activities. You preached about me a couple of weeks ago because I had some justifiable complaints about the way you pastor and preach. Well, you made some good points and though I know I was right about what I said, I felt bad for saying them. I know I told someone I could do the job better than you and that was wrong. But then, out in the foyer after you preached, you were giving the District Overseer and other leaders down the road seemingly saying you could do the job better. You helped me realize that we have a responsibility to set our leaders straight everyplace we go, even if our leaders never hear the complaint. From now on, I’m following your example and letting people know where you can improve. Airing my complaints about you ought to help me understand what I should pray about, if I ever get around to it. Last month you preached on tithing. And you really made me mad. You said I may not go to heaven if I didn’t tithe. But, I’ll have you to know, that my tithes pay for groceries for the neighbor, I give to the United Way, and, when, Bless his heart, Brother Oral Rogers got in that financial mess and the devil was in the bank and the bank was coming to take over his ministry, my tithes got him out of that mess and look what he’s doing around the world. And when Brother Henny Penn told me I’d might be able to raise the dead if I put some seed money into his ministry, I just know it was God telling me to send him last week’s tithes. But I picked up the Conference Report last week that gave the amount of tithes you pay to the Conference. And Brother, I respect you more than I ever have. Because if you live on the income that your tithes represent, you ought to have the faith to raise the dead! You taught me that we shouldn’t be so imprisoned by our commitments since our commitments must be interpreted as flexible. Well, I feel better talking with you now. You know, our church would have so much less stress if just everyone took life and responsibilities as serious as you and I. At ease with my faith, Everett Offinon - CMH

AMERICAN LAWS FOR AMERICAN COURTS (Frank Gaffney, TownHall.com) (Not an endorsement of Newt, but rather a discussion on Sharia Law in American courts ) – Shortly before Newt Gingrich's decisive victory in South Carolina last week, he was asked a critical question by a Palmetto State voter: Would he support a Muslim candidate for president? The former Speaker of the House answered in a way that was both characteristically insightful and profoundly helpful with respect to one of the most serious challenges our country faces at the moment. Mr. Gingrich responded by saying it depends on a critical factor: Is the candidate "a modern person who happens to worship Allah"? Or "a person who belonged to any kind of belief in shariah, any kind of effort to impose that on the rest of us"? Speaker Gingrich observed that the former would not be a problem, while the latter would be a "mortal threat." The Georgia Republican went on to assert the need for federal legislation that would prevent shariah from being applied in U.S. Courts. Muslim Brotherhood front groups like the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) are squealing like, well, stuck haram (or impure) pigs. After all, they have been working overtime to try to obscure the true nature of shariah and to prevent the enactment of legislation that would interfere with the considerable progress being made below the radar in states across the country: the insinuation of shariah into the American judiciary. Resorting to their standard technique of ad hominem attacks, CAIR and its friends have derided Mr. Gingrich's stance as "racist," "bigoted" and "Islamophobic." Such comments evidently were not persuasive to South Carolina voters—and they should be equally dismissed by everybody else. The simple fact of the matter is that shariah defines the fault line between people who are Muslims but can love our country, respect and enjoy its freedoms and support our form of government and Constitution on the one hand, and those who are obliged by doctrine to oppose all those things. Worse, adherents to shariah must—in accordance with that doctrine—seek, as Speaker Gingrich says, "to impose it on the rest of us." For the latter Muslims, the preferred way of achieving such submission is, as Mohammed taught, through violence. Where that would be impractical and/or counterproductive for the moment, however, their doctrine encourages the use of stealthy techniques to advance the same, supremacist goal.

The Muslim Brotherhood in America calls this "civilization jihad." It seeks through, for example, the use of shariah in U.S. courts to insinuate their program here at the expense of our constitutional rights and state public policy. A sense of how far along we are in this process was provided by a study conducted last year by the Center for Security Policy. Entitled Shariah Law and American State Courts: An Assessment of State Appellate Court Cases, the report is a microcosm of U.S. jurisprudence. Its findings were alarming: Out of a sample of 50 cases, in 27 instances in 23 states, the courts involved allowed the use of shariah to adjudicate the dispute.

In almost all of the cases, that outcome was at the expense of the constitutional rights of American women or children. Under shariah, they simply do not enjoy the same stature and are not entitled to the same freedoms as they are under U.S. Law. In November 2010, seventy percent of the voters of Oklahoma approved an amendment to the state constitution that would have barred shariah from being used in Oklahoma's courts. No sooner had the balloting ended than the local franchise of CAIR—an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing trial—asked for an injunction on the grounds that such a prohibition would violate Muslims' constitutional rights. A federal judge agreed, and was recently upheld by an appellate court.

Fortunately, those who concur with Newt Gingrich on the nature of the threat posed by shariah and who want to prevent its further penetration into this country have another option. Three states—Tennessee, Louisiana and Arizona—have already enacted a statute known as American Laws for American Courts (ALAC). It prohibits the use of any foreign law in the state's courts that would interfere with U.S. constitutional rights or state public policy. While shariah would certainly be covered by ALAC, it is not singled out for special treatment. No challenge has been mounted thus far in any of the states where it is the law today. And some 20 other states are actively considering ALAC's adoption in the current legislative session. The Muslim Brotherhood and its friends desperately hope to stave off the further enactment of American Laws for American Courts. They recognize that it can effectively thwart a key part of their civilization jihad in this country. They also have seen that, wherever ALAC is considered, more and more of our countrymen are becoming aware of the problem Newt Gingrich has helped define: the threat from shariah and the need to keep its adherents from imposing that toxic, anti-constitutional doctrine on the rest of us, whether by stealth in our courts (among other places) or through terrifying violence. For all these reasons, we should ensure that neither shariah nor any other form of foreign or transnational law is allowed to trump our constitutional rights. To the Muslim Brotherhood's fury, ALAC is a way of doing it in a constitutionally sound and highly teachable way.

STARBUCKS DOESN'T KNOW BEANS ABOUT MARRIAGE (Tony Perkins) – Coffee isn't the only thing brewing at Starbucks. So is controversy—as customers learn about the company's bold blend of liberal politics. This week, the coffeehouse jumped into a fierce battle over marriage in Washington State, home to the Seattle-based company. While the state is still sharply divided over same-sex "marriage," Starbucks has decided to sweeten the pot for homosexual activists and join the attack on local families. According to Starbucks Executive Vice President Kalen Holmes, the bill to legalize counterfeit marriage "is core to who we are and what we value as a company." A preview of the endorsement came last November, when Starbucks signed on to a legal brief that argues traditional marriage is "bad for business." For customers, who were already having a hard time swallowing the company's partnership with Planned Parenthood, this may be the final straw. Despite the coffeehouse's meddling, families in Washington State are doing their best to keep the legislation at bay. Local groups say the bill has enough support to pass, but as we witnessed in Maryland last year, the outcome could hinge on a single vote. Don't let Starbucks do all the talking. Speak up and contact your leaders.

Meanwhile, the President, who claims his position on marriage is still evolving, made it clear which side of the marriage movement he's on by blasting New Hampshire leaders for exercising their right to repeal gay unions. Asked by a reporter what the President thinks of the push to overturn the same-sex "marriage" law, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Obama "believes strongly in stopping laws designed to take rights away." Interesting, since that implies the President thinks same-sex "marriage" is a right to begin with. In the past, President Obama has said the definition of marriage should be left to the states. Now he's opposing a bill that does what he claims to support! Regardless, the state's Judiciary Committee has already voted to wipe the law off the books and send the measure to the floor. "It's very significant," said state Rep. David Bates. "This will be the first place ever, anywhere in the world, where a legislature has reversed its position on same-sex 'marriage.'" Although Gov. John Lynch (D) promises to veto the repeal, conservatives are still confident that they have the votes to override him. That's not the case in New Jersey, where liberals won't have the backing to overcome Gov. Chris Christie's (R) opposition to their bill. A measure to legalize counterfeit marriage had just been forwarded to the state Senate floor when Gov. Christie, keeping his campaign promise, announced he would oppose it. "The institution of marriage is too serious to be treated like a political football. I would hope the legislature would be willing to trust the people the way I'm willing to trust the people." Although his statement threw some cold water on the effort, leaders still intend to force it. Encourage them to spend their time on the state's real priorities by emailing them. After going down to the wire in the last session, Maryland is trying its luck at legalizing same-sex "marriage" for the second time. Liberals think their odds have improved in the only state to gain Democratic seats in the last election. Senate President Mike Miller has sent mixed signals on the bill--first promising to hold a vote, while also telling reporters that he sees same-sex "marriage" as "an attack on the family."

In Maine, homosexuals activists are hoping for a different result after voters overturned the state's counterfeit marriage measure at the ballot box. Winning the law back will be a tall task in the state, especially after such a recent defeat. Fortunately, two states have a chance to make a permanent dent in the Left's hopes by passing marriage amendments in Minnesota (which votes on November 6) and North Carolina (May 8). Check out http://www.thecloakroomblog.com/2012/01/2012-will-bring-new-assaults-on-mariage/ for the latest on marriage battles in your area.

DEFIANT JOY, We Still Need Chesterton (Chuck Colson, Breakpoint) – To read Kevin Belmonte’s recent book Defiant Joy: The Remarkable Life & Impact of G. K. Chesterton, is to feel a powerful sense of longing.

Chesterton, as many of you may know, was the twentieth-century writer of Orthodoxy, The Everlasting Man, the Father Brown mysteries, and other important works. His stalwart faith influenced great numbers of people in his own time and afterwards, including C. S. Lewis and Dorothy Sayers. Chesterton’s time, in the early part of the century, was in many ways as religiously and politically polarized as our own. Yet Chesterton transcended the rhetoric and the propaganda with his genial good nature and wonderful sense of humor. He fought hard for his beliefs and principles; seldom has there been a Christian who defended the faith more valiantly. But very seldom has there been one who did it with such wit, wisdom, and grace. Chesterton made friends of his opponents as few have done before or since. His friendship with the atheist writer George Bernard Shaw was as legendary as their many public battles over matters of faith. After Chesterton’s death, Shaw wrote a kind and generous letter to his widow, closing with an allusion to The Pilgrim’s Progress: “The trumpets are sounding for him.” Belmonte points out, “Shaw did not share Chesterton’s hope of heaven, but something of that hope had found a place in his memory. And this says much about how faith, wedded to a great heart, can be winsome and compelling—despite great differences in how people look at the world.” I said earlier that reading Kevin Belmonte’s book about Chesterton will fill you with longing. I said it because there is such a longing, a great need for advocates like Chesterton in our day. We’re constantly engaged in battle over our most cherished beliefs and institutions, all of which are under attack, and we must fight to preserve them. But we’ve forgotten some of our most powerful weapons, the ones that Chesterton wielded so well. We’ve forgotten that faith must be “winsome and compelling” if it’s going to make a difference in the world. We get caught up in shouting matches and forget that Christians are supposed to win battles not by driving our enemies away with our fierceness, but by drawing them in through our Christlike love. But G. K. Chesterton never forgot that. Belmonte quotes Philip Yancey, who wrote: “We could use another Chesterton today...When society becomes polarized, as our has, it is as if the two sides stand across a great divide and shout at each other. Chesterton had another approach: He walked to the center of a swinging bridge, roared a challenge to any single combat warrior, and then made both sides laugh aloud.”

Yes, we certainly could use another Chesterton. But let’s be grateful we still have the works of that great man to study and learn from—many of which, including Orthodoxy and Everlasting Man, two of my all-time favorites, you can find in our online bookstore at BreakPoint.org. And we also have for you have Belmonte’s vibrant new biography—a wonderful reminder of the magnificent example Chesterton has set for us.

OBAMA'S ATTACK UPON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM STANDS (Michael Cook, Bioedge.com) – Church-affiliated institutions must cover free contraception for their employees, the Obama administration has announced. As a concession to outraged religious groups, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said their hospitals, colleges and social service agencies will have an additional year to comply with regulations under President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul. The plan takes effect on August 1, but institutions who have sought an exemption will not have to comply until August 1, 2013—after the election in November.

Ms Sebelius said that access to contraception was a fundamental part of healthcare: “Scientists have abundant evidence that birth control has significant health benefits for women and their families, it is documented to significantly reduce health costs, and is the most commonly taken drug in America by young and middle-aged women.” Despite protests, the Obama Administration seems confident that this will not become a religious liberty issue. “This decision was made after very careful consideration, including the important concerns some have raised about religious liberty. I believe this proposal strikes the appropriate balance between respecting religious freedom and increasing access to important preventive services,” Sebelius said in a statement. A number of important religious groups disagree strongly. A spokesman for an Orthodox Jewish group, Nathan Diament, complained about the “underlying rationale for its decision, which appears to be a view that if a religious entity is not insular, but engaged with broader society, it loses its 'religious' character and liberties.” The National Association of Evangelicals said that employers with religious objections to contraception will be forced to pay for services and procedures they believe are morally wrong. “No government has the right to compel its citizens to violate their conscience.  The HHS rules trample on our most cherished freedoms and set a dangerous precedent.” "In effect, the president is saying we have a year to figure out how to violate our consciences," said Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. "To force American citizens to choose between violating their consciences and forgoing their health care is literally unconscionable. It is as much an attack on access to health care as on religious freedom. Historically this represents a challenge and a compromise of our religious liberty." Politically, the move is puzzling. America, a leading Catholic magazine, observed that “the exemption will surely prove an election year headache for the Obama administration as it adds powerful fuel to the fire for those alleging that the administration's policies and practices often trample religious liberty… Clearly a lose-lose proposition in an election year.” On the other hand, supporters of the measure insist that it is a women's rights issue. Louise Melling, deputy legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, pointed out in the Washington Post that nearly all women, including many Catholics, use contraceptives at some stage. Furthermore, religious institutions employ many who do not share their faith and many states already require contraceptive coverage. Religious freedom “does not give religious groups the right to impose their beliefs on others,” she said.

SENTENCE SERMONS AND QUIPS – Leadership and learning are indispensable of each other. - John F. Kennedy

When you are completely absorbed or caught up in something, you become oblivious to things around you, or to the passage of time. It is this absorption in what you are doing that frees your unconscious and releases your creative imagination. - Dr. Rollo May

In every work of genius, we recognize our once rejected thoughts. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Any leader who takes complete responsibility for the morale of an organization is assuming more influence than is realistic and is setting himself up for failure. Morale is everyone’s job. - Keith McFarland

The foundation stones for a balanced success are honesty, character, integrity, faith, love and loyalty. - Zig Ziglar

As a leader, your time should be spent on things that are required, bring a high return, or are highly rewarding. - John Maxwell

Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions. - Albert Einstein

In the modern world of business it is useless to be a creative original thinker unless you can also sell what you create. Management cannot be expected to recognize a good idea unless it is presented to them by a good salesman. - David M. Ogilvy

Creativity is thinking up new things. Innovation is doing new things. - Theodore Levitt

Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. - Proverbs 3:27

Success is dependent upon the glands - sweat glands. - Zig Ziglar

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Edited by:

Bishop Clyde M. Hughes

International Pentecostal Church of Christ

P.O. Box 439

London, OH 43140

740.852.4722

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