Wcl july 2014

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C HRISTIAN

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EADER

Volume 1 • Issue 1

July 2014

Welcome to the Western Christian Leader

By Nicholas DeLaat

Trial by Fire Submitted by Dottie Rankin They have been taught by the Holy Spirit, trained by experience, tried by adversity and tested by fire, and they want to plant a biker church.

Hope for the Heart Biker Church was born of visions and words from God to three different bikers from two different motorcycle clubs. Jeff Bennett, Hoby Bruhn, and Troy Koffler followed that prompting from God, went out on a limb and a new church was born.

When you first see this group of guys, men of God is not what you are thinking. Leather, jeans and tattoos are the dress code, ruff and tumble is the impression, but hearts for God is the reality. The church will cater to the rough and ragged biker crowd, perhaps because the founders are all too familiar with the longing in the heart that comes along with belonging to that crowd.

But in the biker world, looks can be deceiving and stereotypes don’t fly.

The newly planted church rests foundationally on Mark 2:17 17 And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Hope for the Heart Church will cater to the rough and tumble biker world and will take up residence at Calvary Community Church at 631 Commercial Drive in Gillette WY. There will be Friday night services once a month to start with, beginning on June 13th.

The interesting thing about this church plant is three Christian Motorcycle groups came together with a common calling, they didn’t have a budget, they didn’t have a building, and thus far their personal ministries had taken place on their motorcycles.

However the men are quick to point out that it is not about them, it is not about the motorcycle clubs they belong too, and it is about God. Motorcycle clubs don’t offer salvation, God does. Period.

The church will welcome people who feel like they have been judged and looked down upon. The Hope for the Heart Biker Church will strive to reach people that traditional churches are not reaching with their relaxed, no-frills atmosphere. You don’t have to be afraid or self-conscience here, the setting is inclusive and non-threatening.

The motto is, 2 Wheels, 4 Wheels, No Wheels, Come as you are, All are welcome. And they mean it.

They chose Friday nights to meet because by their very nature, bikers will be out riding come Sunday morning. This is a good way to start that weekend ride. To begin it will be once a month with the first service being June 13th but if the need is there they are open to bi-weekly or even weekly services.

Sometimes bikers fail to connect with a local, traditional church and find it hard to overcome the “expectations” of appearance and they don’t feel they ever fit in.

There will be no such expectation at Hope for the Heart Biker Church. There is no preconceived notion of what a “proper church” should consist of, only a feeling on compassion for where bikers are and the willingness to meet them right there.

The first service for Hope for the Heart Biker Church is June 13, at 631 Commercial Drive in Gillette WY. The service will start at 6 pm and there will be refreshments available. Don’t be surprised to see jeans, leather, tattoos and maybe even a motorcycle podium. Come expecting to find acceptance, to find peace and to find God.

Welcome, and thank you for reading the Western Christian Leader, a new newspaper in the Powder River Basin that is freely distributed to every church in the Basin.

We are taking a unique approach. This is a non-denominational newspaper that will be expanding throughout the good ole’ west over the next few years. This first edition, as you may notice, may not have as much local content as you desire, but that will change soon. We need your help. This new monthly paper is an open submission newspaper, allowing you to provide content for free.

Did your church have a fundraiser? Submit your article and photos to us and we will print it for free. How about a good thing someone did in our great western community? That should be submitted so they can be recognized. Letters to the Editor for your opinion on the issues, absolutely we will print them.

Priests and Pastors can write in, content from every Christian church is accepted.

We only have three rules. This is not a religious partisan newspaper, and therefore cannot be bias toward any part of Christianity over another. Also, submitted articles (not letters) should be positive.

Finally, the truth must always be printed; not libel, rhetoric, or slander toward any church, belief, or person.

We at Patriot Publishing LLC are very excited to bring the west its own Christian newspaper. It will need to be embraced by the Church community in the Powder River Basin and the content will need to be filled by you!

So please feel free to get involved, get out those pens and pencils, dust off your camera, and let’s make the Western Christian Leader the newspaper that everyone in our great area deserves.

That all being said, let’s get down to this piece.

When should you turn to God? Most people who have been long imbedded in their church have come to realize that there are three (generally) kinds of

church go-ers. There are the holiday attendees, whom are Christian but not necessarily dedicated to their church. Some of these go to one church every Easter and Christmas, while others may jump churches every holiday. These are people of faith but have very little time and weekly service is not high on their priority list. Then there are the faithful who make church every Saturday or Sunday they can. Finally, there is the desperate.

Turning to God does not always require a church as the acceptance of God has to be in your heart. Most people however, start at a church to start their path to God. Unfortunately, most people who have lost Christ in their hearts or never accepted God in the first place wait for the bad times to do so. They turn to God in desperation, whether it be punishment, economic poverty, job loss, family loss, or a string of live events that has rendered the new Christian participant broken.

The reason I use the word ‘unfortunately’ is because most statistics show that after the desperate prayers and promises are over and life is back to normal, so is their practice of Christianity. Very few, who pray during their hour of need follow through with all the common promises to God and Jesus.

If you haven’t already, when is the best time to give your heart to God, to join in Jesus Christ’s teachings, and to start walking the righteous path? It is not in your hour of desperation but in your hour of happiness.

It should not be when you need God, but when you accept God. Granted, many who’s soul has started climbing the stairs to learn how to be a better person, to learn the teachings of Jesus, and to walk the footsteps of good as a result of desperation have stuck with it and are proud Christians to this day! That is a wonderful blessing, and if they accepted God permanently during that hour of tear based prayer they should be proud.

But you don’t have to wait for the low times in your life, you can also accept God in the good times as well.

So Good Things Can Run Wild

By Jon Bloom But we must take this in large measure on faith because under the curse of the Fall, our fallen perceptions often don’t see it and our fallen natures often don’t believe it. We are disordered and pathologically self-centered. We are out of sync.

The only things fallen humans tend to believe are those that sate our appetites, increase our personal prestige, align with our preferences, pleasantly interest us, operate within our desired timetable, and are convenient and comfortable. In the scope of the created universe, these add up to only a very few things.

From infancy through our elder years we so often feel frustrated. We don’t like to be told what to do, what to eat, what to wear, when to go to bed, when to get up, what to

study, when to study, where to study, what to clean, when to clean, and on and on.

We don’t like limits imposed on us by parents, teachers, bosses, spouses, children, neighborhood associations, government, or God. We buck against the constraints of morality, ethics, law, and even biology.

My point here is not that we shouldn’t challenge the evil that infects any authority or structure. We should. My point is that we have an indwelling evil propensity to challenge what is good. We have a bent to not believe God, that his design for us — which implies limits for us — is best for us (Genesis 3:4–6). We have a fallen desire to be autonomous, self-determining, sovereign gods.

Supreme Court Hobby Lobby Decision a Win for Religious Freedom, Not About Contraception, Christian Leaders Say The U.S. Supreme Court’s Monday decision allowing owners of closely held for-profit corporations with certain religious convictions to opt-out of parts of the “Obamacare” birth-control mandate was a win for religious freedom, some Christian leaders have said.

Jim Daly, president of Focus on the Family, said in a statement that the decision “shows that religious freedom continues to be the lifeblood of a country founded on the inalienable rights afforded to us by our Creator.”

“Religious groups and business owners should not have to violate their faith in order to follow the law. It’s not the role of government to define what we believe or what our faith includes,” said Daly.

“Fundamentally these cases were not about abortion or contraception: they were about whether government can require faith-based groups to violate deeply held beliefs.”

Russell Moore, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, wrote in a statement Monday that the Hobby Lobby decision was “a win for everyone.”

“Here’s why. A government that can pave over the consciences of the Greens can

steamroll over any dissent anywhere,” wrote Moore.

“Whether you agree or disagree with us about abortion, every American should want to see a government that is not powerful enough to set itself up as a god over the conscience.”

Moore added that he hoped “this decision is a warning to the White House to stop such a cavalier disregard of religious liberty.”

“More than that, though, I pray for churches that can raise up a new generation to prize freedom of conscience and religious liberty for all,” continued Moore.

“We won this case, and now is the time to thank God. But who could have imagined just a few years ago that we would even have to take such a thing to the United States Supreme Court?”

On Monday, the United States Supreme Court ruled in a 5 to 4 decision that Hobby Lobby and two other for-profit businesses were not obligated to provide certain forms of birth control as mandated by the Department of Health and Human Services.

In the majority opinion, authored by Justice Samuel Alito, the highest court in the land concluded that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act applied to closely

held businesses whose owners held a religious objection to the HHS mandate.

“The Government has failed to satisfy RFRA’s least-restrictive means standard.

HHS has not shown that it lacks other means of achieving its desired goal without imposing a substantial burden on the exercise of religion,” wrote Alito.

The decision also stressed that it only concerned the HHS mandate and not other possible insurance coverage issues, like vaccinations or blood transfusions.

Alito was joined by Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, and Chief Justice John Roberts. Dissents came from Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer, and Elena Kagan.

Other conservative leaders also hailed the Supreme Court decision. Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, stated that the decision was “one of the most significant victories for religious freedom in our generation.”

“All Americans can be thankful that the Court reaffirmed that freedom of conscience is a long-held American tradition and that the government cannot impose a law on American men and women that forces them to violate their beliefs in order

to hold a job, own a business, or purchase health insurance,” stated Perkins.

Numerous pro-choice and leftwing organizations denounced the Supreme Court decision, claiming it to be an attack on health care for women.

Ilyse Hogue, President of NARAL ProChoice America, stated that the decision was “an attack on women and our fundamental rights.”

“This ruling goes out of its way to declare that discrimination against women isn’t discrimination,” said Hogue.

“Allowing bosses this much control over the health-care decisions of their employees is a slippery slope with no end.”

Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association, said in a statement that religious liberty did not benefit from the Hobby Lobby decision.

“The Supreme Court has placed the religious views of corporate shareholders over the legitimate health care concerns of employees,” said Speckhardt.

“This isn’t religious liberty — it’s religious intrusion that will negatively affect many hard-working Americans.”

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Western Christian Leader/July 2014

Eight Tips for Catholics

By Jennifer Fulwiler

History Could Happen Again

By Nathan A. Finn Jonathan Edwards wrote a number of books that became famous, even during his own lifetime. One of his lesser-known works was a 1746 book titled An Humble Attempt to Promote Explicit Agreement and Visible Union of God’s People in Extraordinary Prayer, For the Revival and Religion and the Advancement of Christ’s Kingdom on Earth. Edwards wrote the book after learning about a group of Scottish ministers who circulated a “memorial” in 1744 calling for seven years of prayer in anticipation of God’s coming kingdom on earth.

In An Humble Attempt, Edwards argued for all believers to engage in monthly “concerts of prayer” for worldwide revival and the conversion of the unreached peoples of the earth. As a postmillennialist, Edwards believed the salvation of the nations was one of the final signs that the millennium would soon begin. His prayer was that the transatlantic revivals that had occurred off and on for a generation would “go viral” and cover the entire earth.

Though its topic was inspiring, An Humble Attempt was not very influential during Edwards’s lifetime. It did not sell as many copies as The Diary of David Brainerd, did not influence theologians like Freedom of the Will, and did not define authentic spiritual experience like Religious Affections.

Nevertheless, some scholars argue that Edwards could be considered the “grandfather” of the modern missions movement among English-speaking evangelicals because of how the Lord used An Humble Attempt in the generation following Edwards’s death.

The Missionary Awakening In 1784, an English Particular Baptist pastor named John Sutcliff received a box of books from a pastor friend in Scotland.

Included among the books was a copy of An Humble Attempt. After reading the book, Sutcliff began to circulate An Humble Attempt among his fellow Baptist pastors. Inspired by Edwards, Sutcliff and his friends issued a call for the pastors of the Northamptonshire Baptist Association to set apart the first Monday evening of every month for prayer for the heathen and the coming kingdom. The concerts of prayer became popular among the younger pastors in the association and continued well into the 1790s. Sutcliff eventually published a British edition of An Humble Attempt in 1789 and wrote an introduction to the treatise.

When the Evangelical Awakening began in Britain in the 1730s, few Nonconformists were vital participants. Most of the “Methodists” were revived believers in the Church of England who were influenced by the Wesley brothers, George Whitfield, or a host of less-famous preachers in England and Wales. Calvinistic Dissenters such as the Particular Baptists were often skittish about the Evangelical Awakening due to a variety of reasons such as class differences between Nonconformists and Anglicans, concerns about the Arminian theology of the Wesleys, and the deadening influence of High Calvinism, especially among London Particular Baptists. It was not until the next generation when revival finally came to British Nonconformists in the form of what I call the Missionary Awakening.

Several of the pastors who answered Sutcliff’s prayer call became early leaders in the Missionary Awakening. Robert Hall Sr. and Andrew Fuller wrote influential treatises against High Calvinism and argued for an evangelical view of Calvinism influenced by Jonathan Edwards. John Ryland Jr. became the principle of Bristol Baptist Academy; many of Ryland’s students became strong supporters of missionary advance. Most famously, William Carey authored his influential treatise An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens, wherein he argued that the Great Commission is a binding command on every Christian in every generation. In 1792, these men formed the Baptist Missionary Society (BMS). Fuller served as secretary of the BMS for over twenty years and Carey became its most famous missionary.

The Spreading Flame From this small missions-minded “band of brothers,” the Missionary Awakening spread to other believers. Over the next decade or so, most of the Particular Baptists who had been influenced by High Calvinism rejected these views and owned the Great Commission as their own. The missions-minded Edwardsean Calvinism of Fuller and Carey became commonplace among most Particular Baptists. The Arminian Baptists also got in on the action.

The recently revived General Baptists, led

by the Baptist Wesleyan (!) Dan Taylor, formed their own mission society in 1816.

The Missionary Awakening also spread beyond the Baptist fold. In 1795, missionsminded Anglicans and Nonconformists formed the non-denominational London Missionary Society. Evangelical Anglicans associated with the famous “Clapham Sect” also formed the Church Missionary Society in 1799. Early leaders in the CMS included John Newton, Charles Simeon, and William Wilberforce. The CMS version of William Carey was Henry Martyn, who, like Carey, also served as a missionary to India and inspired many others to become missionaries.

By the early 1800s, the Missionary Awakening had crossed the Atlantic. Between 1800 and 1810, numerous local missionary societies were formed in the Northeast; many of these societies either supported the various British mission societies or focused on evangelizing Native Americans. In 1810, Congregationalists in New England formed a foreign mission society, followed by the Baptists in 1814.

Adoniram Judson, the Congregationalistturned-Baptist, was the central figure in the formation of each of these mission societies. In 1820, American Methodists established the Methodist Episcopal Church Missionary Society.

It Could Happen Again Those who followed Jonathan Edwards advanced his original vision for prayer, spiritual awakening, and missionary advance. Between 1780 and 1820, entire denominations experienced revival, sound doctrine overcame soul-deadening error, numerous new benevolent ministries were launched (I have only referenced the mission societies), and English-speaking evangelicals became passionate about fulfilling the Great Commission. It could happen again.

Knowing how God has worked in the past can help us ask some key questions of ourselves in the present. Are we praying for revival in our own spiritual lives?

Are we praying for the salvation of the nations? Are our churches setting aside a specific time for focused — even extraordinary — prayer for a global awakening through the advance of the gospel? Do we long for the Lord to move among us as he moved among those who came before us?

Like Edwards and his spiritual children, we should pray for global revival through the worldwide advance of the gospel.

While few of us likely affirm Edwards’s postmillennialism, we can still pray that the kingdom would advance and that the Lord Jesus Christ would hasten his return as the gospel takes root among every people group. We should pray for revival in our own lives, families, local churches, and denominations. And we should long to see that revival escalate into a full-blown spiritual awakening that transforms entire communities through the power of the gospel.

John Piper rightly argues that missions exists because worship doesn’t. Join me in praying for a global awakening of worshipers from among all the peoples of the earth as the Lord fulfills his promise from Habakkuk 2:14: “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lᴏʀᴅ as the waters cover the sea.”

“I feel like I’m losing my faith,” an acquaintance told me the other day. This person explained that she used to have an intimate relationship with God, but now feels empty inside, and has even begun to question whether God exists at all. She wanted to know how I recommend that she proceeds.

Even though I’m neither a saint nor an expert on the spiritual life, I get asked questions like this fairly frequently. Perhaps it’s because I’m an atheist-to-Catholic convert, or because readers of my personal blog know that I’m a spiritual spaz and therefore am likely to have been through a variety of rough patches in my relationship with God. Whatever the reason, over the course of the past six years I’ve had dozens of conversations with people who are struggling with doubts. Through these conversations, as well as meetings with confessors and spiritual directors about problems I’ve faced in my own spiritual life, I’ve learned a lot about traveling the rocky road of doubt. So for my acquaintance who’s questioning her faith, as well as anyone else who might be struggling with beliefs that used to come naturally to them, here are the top tips I think you might find helpful: 1. Make sure that the problem is doubt First, make sure that your main issue is doubt. Problems like clinical depression, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, etc. can lead to a lack of closeness with God that might initially seem like doubts, but have a deeper root that would be best addressed with a qualified Catholic therapist . Similarly, in my own life there was a time when I said I was experiencing doubts, but when I took a closer look I realized that it was simply a lack of consolation (i.e. a spiritual dry spell) rather than serious questions about the validity of the teachings of the Faith. “Doubt” is often used as a catch-all term that covers a variety of spiritual problems, so it’s important to take a second look to make sure that you’ve diagnosed the situation correctly.

2. Confess your sins Whenever I complained of problems in my prayer life, my spiritual director would always ask me if I’d made a good confession recently. Having doubts isn’t necessarily caused by being in a state of sin, but certainly our sins can fuel any existing feelings of distance from God. Visiting the confessional is a good first step to clear your spiritual slate before moving forward.

3. Listen to the Church’s side of the story This one seems obvious, but is surprisingly easy to overlook. When I talk to folks who have begun to embrace viewpoints that are contrary to Catholic teaching (such as those of the New Atheists), I often find that they have not spent much time listening to the Church’s counter-arguments.

I see this most often among people who were raised Catholic: There’s a feeling of, “If there were a good response to this I surely would have heard it in Catholic school or in a homily at some point, and since I haven’t, there must not be a good answer.” The Church has a two-thousandyear-old body of wisdom that covers pretty much every aspect of human existence, so it’s perfectly possible that even someone raised in a faithful Catholic environment could have misunderstandings about exactly what the Church believes in certain areas. If you haven’t done so already, find faithful Catholic authors and see what they have to say about the areas in which you’re experiencing doubts.

My spiritual director always used to say that we shouldn’t make big decisions when we’re feeling agitated, and never is this more true than in matters of faith. If you’re feeling stressed out, frazzled, angry, ex-

hausted, resentful, or otherwise unsettled, try to regain a sense of calm before you begin seeking answers to your questions.

As much as we like to believe that we can turn ourselves into truth-evaluating robots, the reality is that our abilities to assimilate and evaluate data are always impacted by our mental states—especially when it comes to those truths that cannot be deduced mathematically or through the scientific method alone.

5. Practice forgiveness Per the above, there are a lot of things that could cause a person to be in an unsettled state. However, the one that I see most often in people with doubts is resentment. When I am able to have long conversations with people who are having serious questions about their faith, more often than not the subject will turn to some unresolved hurt in their lives. It makes sense: Since God is love itself, to seek the truth about God is to seek the truth about love; and, naturally, our view of love becomes clouded when we’ve been hurt by those who were supposed to love us. Forgiving those who have wounded us is much easier said than done, and may even take months or years of work with confessors, therapists and/or spiritual directors, but I’ve found it to be a necessary step for evaluating doubts with clarity.

6. Watch out for hidden payoffs Another point that seems obvious, but is easy to overlook, is that the search for truth can be influenced by the payoffs that await different conclusions. For example, one person recently told me that she now believes that the main reason she lost her faith in college is because she secretly wanted to be “free” to live the immoral lifestyle that was popular on campus at the time.

7. Find a spiritual director Going through a time of doubt can be an alienating experience. Especially if it seems that everyone around you has a rock-solid faith life, you might be hesitant to talk to your family or friends about what you’re thinking. This is where a spiritual director can be extremely helpful: He or she can help you analyze your questions in a relaxed environment, and you don’t have to worry about it leading to arguments or tension the way it might with people in your personal life.

8. Keep praying (and ask others to pray for you) It’s a natural reaction to stop talking to God if you’re not even sure that he’s there to hear you, but keep doing it anyway. Tell him you have doubts. Ask for help. Ask him to guide you to the right people and resources—and don’t forget to remain open to any answers you might receive.

Ask others to pray for you too; if you don’t want to tell them you have doubts, just say it’s for a special intention. This may be the most difficult step of all, especially if you’ve been questioning your faith for a long time, but it is also the most important step.

The good news is that many people I’ve talked to over the years have come through their times of doubt to have a faith more vibrant than ever before; in fact, it seems like the worst periods of spiritual confusion often precede the most amazing spiritual transformations. So to anyone who’s experiencing difficulties in your faith life: Keep searching, keep praying, don’t lose heart, and know that I’ll be praying for you as well.

Western Christian Leader/July 2014

Letters to the Editor

Breaking: Hobby Lobby Wins

Photo courtesy The Christian Post/Sonny Hong

Candlelight vigil for adoptive parents of children stuck in the Democratic Republic of Congo, organized by Both Ends Burning, Washington, D.C., June 24, 2014.

Adoptive Families Separated from their Congolese Children Pressure Congress for Help Close to 800 children in the Democratic Republic of Congo are being blocked from uniting with their adoptive families in America. About 60 of those families met with members of Congress this week, asking them to pressure the U.S. State Department to get more involved.

For the families who have completed the adoption process, they are only waiting for an exit letter from the Congolese government giving their children permission to leave the country so they can unite with their family in America.

At least 10 children have died while waiting for their exit letter. About 41 other children are in critical condition and could suffer the same fate if they are not allowed to leave and get the care they need, Kelly Dempsey, counsel and director of Outreach and Advocacy for Both Ends Burning, told The Christian Post.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the families visited with members of Congress to explain their plight and plead for help. On Tuesday night, they held a candlelight vigil outside the Capitol.

One of the biggest frustrations, adoptive parent Linda Scotto told CP is no one will “tell us why” this is happening. “There are no answers coming out of the [U.S.] State Department or the Congolese government.”

Jenny Scott, a Christian missionary living in Guatemala, first adopted her son, Joseph, in January 2013, but has been unable to bring him home. He is currently living in an orphanage with 70 other children, even though he has a mother, father and three siblings waiting to welcome his into their home.

“Every day that he’s there, his life is at risk,” Scott said.

The emotional toil is “ridiculously hard,” added April Lloyd, whose son, Samuel, was adopted in August 2013. The waiting, she added, makes it “hard to function daily.”

The Democratic Republic of Congo is not the only nation where this is happen-

ing. There is “an epidemic in international adoption with stuck families all over the globe,” Dempsey reminded.

The main reason this is happening, Dempsey explained, is “we haven’t prioritized permanency for children anywhere in our government. We’re doing tactical oneby-one cases instead of having a broad foreign policy that promotes and protects a child’s best interest.”

Brian and Erica Parker adopted two Congolese children, a son and a daughter, two years ago.

“It’s so ridiculous,” Erica Parker said, “we’ve been their mom and dad since November 2012. We have their visa. We have their passport. We have everything we need, but without that exit letter, they stay in their foster care environment.”

The Parkers provide for their children financially but they cannot be with them to parent them in any other way.

“We’ve been financially responsible since November 2012. We’re doing everything a parent can do, except touch them,” Erica Parker explained.

Brian Parker added that he feels good that “some progress can be made” after meeting with members of Congress,” but the U.S. State Department is “not really working on our behalf. We would like them to start.”

The families have had at least one success story after their visit. On Thursday, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs passed resolutionH.Res. 588, calling on the Democratic Republic of Congo to issue the exit letters and to “expedite the processing” for “medically fragile children.”

Parents were not the only family members there. At least one brother, Finn Morrison, was with the group “to fight for my little sister.”

“We’ve waited almost two years to get her home from Congo,” he added. Finn is confident, however, that he will meet his sister one day, and when that happens, he will “run up, hug her, pick her up and twirl her around.”

US Foreign Policy Needs to Prioritize Protecting Children, Adoption Advocate Says

“Incredibly Classy”: Actress Amy Adams Discreetly Offered Her 1st-Class Seat to US Soldier Actress Amy Adams was waiting to board her flight to LA from the Detroit set of “Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice” when she caught sight of a US soldier in uniform waiting for the same flight. (Photo: Ernest Owens’ selfie with Amy Adams in coach/@ MRERNESTOWENS via Twitter/NY Daily News) ESPN2’s Jemele Hill also happened to be on the same flight and noticed that Adams approached the soldier and spoke with him privately.

Later, Hill tweeted, “Just saw actress Amy Adams do something incredibly classy. She gave her 1st class seat up for an American soldier. I’m an even bigger fan now.”

Adams, whose father served in the US military, flew coach back to LA. The five-time Academy Award nominee told Inside Edition, “I didn’t do it for attention for myself. I did it for attention for the Troops.”

Dear Editor, The Supreme Court has voted in favor of Hobby Lobby in a decision just handed down this morning. Justice Alito wrote the majority opinion. The ruling appears to be a very narrow one, holding that closely held corporations cannot be compelled to provide contraception coverage. It doesn’t apply to other mandated coverage. More on the content of the ruling when the decision is released.

By the way, I have to relate something Kathryn Jean Lopez just tweeted. Evidently the protesters on the anti-Hobby Lobby side are chanting “Out of our bedroom!”

You know, the people who want US to pay for THEIR contraceptive coverage.

By Paul Zummo

‘Increasing Pressure of the Feminist Movement’

Dear Editor, I strongly disagree with the ever-increasing pressure of the feminist movement creeping—no, boldly infiltrating—into the Restoration, New Testament churches. At what point in time has Standard Publishing accepted women as pastors? For that matter, when did it accept of the title “pastor” for those in ministry? Pastor, a shepherd, is another name for elder. Women are not qualified to be elders. Titus 1:6: “If any man be above reproach, the husband of one wife . . .” (New American Standard Bible, author’s emphasis).

I have heard many so-called “better interpretations” of 1 Timothy 2:12 (“But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet”), but the context of the preceding verse, “A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness” (v. 11), and proceeding verses provide explanation for why this command is given.

The one thing I hear most often when counseling those who want to implement their desires instead of following God’s way is the word BUT. A couple of examples are, “I know, see, and read what it says in the Bible, BUT . . .”and then their opinion overrules God’s Word. Another, “I know the Bible says my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, BUT it is my body, and I’ll do whatever I want to do with it.”

The same BUT argument is also used in the feminist movement! Again I am told, “I can read what 1 Timothy 2:12 says, BUT that doesn’t apply today. Times and society have changed; things are different now.

Well, the apostle Paul uses the word but too! The difference is—his words are by inspiration. The reasoning behind 1 Timothy 2:12 can be found in the three verses that follow (vv. 13-15): “For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived,fell into transgression.

But women will bepreserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint.”

There is no mistaking the gender, as men do not bear children.

“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16, 17). On this basis of inspired truth, I cannot see where any man or woman has the authority to make changes or insert their opinion.

God wants his instructions followed precisely. I’m reminded of the event where the ark of the Lord was being moved. “Uzzah reached out toward the ark of God and took hold of it,” innocently enough—so it would seem. However Uzzah was not authorized to touch the ark no matter the reason, and “God struck him down” (2 Samuel 6:6, 7).

For the same reason, women are not authorized to teach or exercise authority over a man (see 1 Timothy 2:12). Seems very clear to me that God is serious about what he wants and what he will or will not accept. “Let God be true, though every man be found a liar” (Romans 3:4).

I have confidently used Standard Publishing study material for decades. July’s issue of the Christian Standard causes me to seriously rethink it as truly being a publication “devoted to the restoration of the New Testament.”

—William Hesse Sr.

Keep up the good work!

Dear Editor, I absolutely love the new monthly Western Christian Leader. I could not put it down!

I have read it from cover to cover! Every article was great Especially liked “Stewardship: What Have We Done to This World?” and “Let me Tell You How You Should Vote” I have cut these two articles out and am using them in my daily prayer time.

I am a 71-year-old widow and have been a Christian for 50 years.

Keep up the good work!

—Niomi White

Bothered by Two Things

“Ms. Adams did it so quietly and quickly that it speaks to her character. I just thought it was incredibly generous and thoughtful.” -Jemele Hill, ESPN2

Dear Editor, I’ve been going to church for over 40 years, and I would like to talk about a sermon I just heard and this is a letter to the pastor.

What bothered me were your words, “A lot of it is luck” and “Maybe he [God] does give me a nudge in a particular direction every now and again. . . .”

Wow! Do you really believe in luck? Rather than the Lord guiding your life?

Forty years ago the Lord made it clear to me that he wanted me to go to Bible college. As an accountant, I knew that was financially impossible. Age 33, a wife and

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three young children, I couldn’t see how it was possible to quit my job and enroll in Bible college. But the amazing part is, the Lord made it all happen. My part on November 15, 1971, was to promise him that wherever he led, I would go. He did the impossible.

In looking back over my life, I can see the times and the ways he did “direct all my paths,” as promised in Proverbs 3:5, 6.

Most of the guidance from him has been recognized after it happened. But on one unique occasion, he spoke to me in a way that only he could have done—“Go see Mrs. Baker.” After losing a mental debate, I went to see Mrs. Baker. The whole story takes too many words for this letter, but the end result proved that he had directed me to see Mrs. Baker one last time before she went to Heaven.

After much thought and prayer, I decided to write you and share my heart.

—Tom Burbrink

‘Other Areas that Need Planting’

Dear Editor, My husband and I feel blessed to have both been raised by Christian parents in Restoration churches. We continue to watch them serve the Lord as they are getting older. Our 16-year marriage has been built on Christian principles. We seek the Lord’s guidance in all areas of our lives. We are striving to teach our two children to live for Jesus and serve him each and every day, not just “at church.”

Being raised in areas of the United States with multiple Restoration churches in our hometowns, we grew up with ample opportunities to serve and fellowship with many others who held the same principles.

Church camps, youth retreats, and even monthly Sunday evening singspirations were just a few of the ways we fellowshipped with other Christian church members. Those times were precious to know that we could come together with other Christians who held the same beliefs on those essentials of the church that were so important to us.

A recent job change for my husband has taken us to the South. We live in a highly populated city. However, we now live in a state where the Restoration church we both grew up in is almost nonexistent. This has been a surprise to us. Our desire to serve the Lord remains constant, yet we struggle to understand how the Restoration church is not as vibrant and alive here as it is in many other states of our great nation.

A recent trip back home allowed us to attend our home church and get caught up on some of the CHRISTIAN STANDARDs we used to look forward to getting each Sunday. Our parents save them for us so we can read what is going on in the Restoration churches. We noticed your article on the Restoration megachurches and growing churches of the United States. It was interesting for us to read the lists of these churches and see how many of them are within the same states. It never occurred to either one of us that we would one day live in a state where the closest vibrant Restoration churches are possibly hours away.

We attended the North American Christian Convention last year with our children.

We enjoyed it very much but were saddened to know that most people in our state would have been as clueless about the convention as those Dudley Rutherford interviewed in his preconvention plug; what is the NACC? We had attended the National Missionary Convention in Lexington, Kentucky, the November before and heard him promoting the convention in Cincinnati.

Our purpose in this letter is to simply let you know the reaction we had to reading your list of growing churches. We are so pleased that the Restoration churches are growing and serving in certain areas of the country. There are, however, other areas that need planting. There could be such a harvest here. We pray that someday the Restoration Movement will be intentional to move South and to all areas of the country that are lacking a strong Restoration church presence.

—The Meadows Family

Like ‘Extended Families’

Dear Editor, Small churches make up the majority of churches of any denomination; here are some of the reasons why: 1. a lot of people are afraid of large churches; afraid they will get lost or become just a number.

2. small churches become extended families.

3. small churches can reach out to their communities more effectively than large churches; examples: a. establish a day care center for Alzheimer’s patients b. use the parable of the talents to bring money and other people of the community in. c. reach out to groups that need a place to meet (i.e., Weight Watchers, yoga classes, Alcoholics Anonymous, writer groups).

Large churches always try to do things in big ways and get tangled up in the process; small study groups exist in name only, not size.

If you can get other members of the community in the door, they might possibly become members of your church.

In regards to lengths of speeches or sermons, the speaker and the topic are of more importance than length; witness Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Had A Dream” speech.

—Donald R. Underhill

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Western Christian Leader/July 2014

3 Challenges Every Youth Leader Must Take

By Greg Stier - Christian Post Guest Columnist

Bad News for Atheists: Scientists Say Universe Shouldn’t Exist if Big Bang is True According to research from King’s College in London, the current model of the Big Bang predicts that our universe should not exist.

New research bears bad news for the Big Bang theory of the universe’s origin.

Scientists at King’s College in London have found that the current model of the Big Bang would have resulted in a universe that collapsed soon after its formation.

According to the researchers, the rapid cosmic expansion physicists would expect to see after the Big Bang would have caused a good bit of turbulence—a situation worsened, not helped, by the so-called “God particle.”

This “God particle,” the Higgs boson, should have crushed our universe, shifting it into a lower energy field in which collapse would have been inevitable.

While it is doubtful astrophysicists will discard the Big Bang model, it might suffer a worse fate: the death of a thousand qualifications.

“When we hear the term Big Bang theory, many people assume it was conceived in its present form and has remained unassailed ever since. In reality, it is a very

pliable model,” wrote Answers in Genesis scientist Dr. Danny Faulkner in September 2013. “Several assumed variables in the equations have been changed to make the numbers match new findings. Today’s Big Bang model little resembles the one your grandfather learned, and it is likely to continue morphing.”

Conversely, the idea of the “God particle” doesn’t really present a problem for creationists. According to them, the Higgs particle tells us about how the universe works now—not necessarily how it originated.

“The Higgs boson particle probably does exist. God upholds the creation with the power of His word, and I think this is just a humanly seen manifestation of that,” Faulker said.

Within the creationist system, it is not surprising that godless models of creation come up short. The universe not only requires an ultimate causeless cause, but a constant sustainer keeping it in existence.

Hebrews 1:3a states of Christ, “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.”

Massachusetts Abortion “Buffer Zone” Law, Which Pushed ProLife Prayer Vigils Far From Clinics, Struck Down by US Supreme Court According to a Washington Post report, to the increase of pro-life protesters on the the US Supreme Court, on Thursday, weekends. struck down the abortion “buffer zone” law Representing the side of the protesters that kept a 35-foot protest and vigil-free at the Supreme Court was Mark Rienzi, zone outside of who remarked Massachusetts on the decision: abortion clinics.

“The govern“The government cannot re(Photo via Bosment cannot reserve its public sidewalks for ton CBS Local) serve its public Planned Parenthood, as if their The decision sidewalks for was unanimous Planned Parentmessage is the only one women in finding that the hood, as if their should be allowed to hear. Tolaw violated the message is the day’s decision confirms that the First Amendment only one women First Amendment is for everyone, rights of protestshould be alers. lowed to hear. and that the government cannot “For a probToday’s decision silence peaceful speakers.” lem shown to confirms that the arise only once a First Amendment week in one city is for everyone, at one clinic, creating 35-foot buffer zones and that the government cannot silence at every clinic across the Commonwealth peaceful speakers. That result is good is hardly a narrowly tailored solution,” news for Eleanor McCullen, and it is great Chief Justice John Roberts said, referring news for the women she helps.”

In his last letter to Timothy Paul penned his own epitaph, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7.) In doing this Paul gave his younger protege penetrating insights into his heart before being beheaded by Nero.

Paul’s bold claim gives us three challenges as youth leaders to take both in our lives and ministries. Let’s take a look at each and how they apply to us.

1. Fight the good fight.

It’s interesting that when Paul refers to the good fight in Ephesians 6:10 he is referring to spiritual warfare. He wrote, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

I personally believe that this was Paul’s personal “good fight.” It was how Satan attacked him in his private life. Maybe it was a battle with lust (2 Corinthians 11:29.)

Maybe it was jealousy over those who preached the gospel more eloquently than he did (2 Corinthians 11:6..) Perhaps it was a battle with a physical ailment that made him struggle with the Lord in frustration (Galatians 4:15.) Or maybe, just maybe, it was a combo platter of the things listed above.

Satan used one/some/all of these (or something else) to attack the great Apostle and try to bring him down. Paul wrote, “Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you….’” 2 Corinthians 12:7-9.

This was Paul’s good fight. He fought against sin and Satan and came out victorious through Christ!

Whatever set of struggles you are facing right now just know that they are part of your “good fight” package. Satan wants to use these to destroy you. Jesus wants to use these to transform you. From lust to pride to grumpiness to greed God can use these struggles to make you fully dependent on Him. As you fight the good fight in the power of Christ you’ll be able to experience increasing victory in these challenging areas.

Personally, I believe Satan especially to target youth leaders in these areas of temptation because teenagers are a key demographic. 85% of those who trust in Jesus do so by the age of 18. Strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter. Bring down the youth leader and the teens will scatter. Youth leaders take heed, gird up and fight the good fight!

New Faith-Based Film, “The Perfect Wave,” Starring Clint Eastwood’s Son, Scott Eastwood, Opens July 11 Clint Eastwood’s son and rising Hollywood star Scott Eastwood (“Gran Torino,” “Flags of Our Fathers”), Rachel Hendrix (“October Baby”) and Cheryl Ladd (“Charlie’s Angels”), star in the Christian film, “The Perfect Wave,” which is set to open in select theatres on July 11. “The Perfect Wave” follows the true story of Ian McCormack, who grew up surfing the waters of New Zealand. (Photo courtesy: alarryross.com) The film, which was shot on location in South Africa, Australia, Bali, Mauritius and New Zealand, opened in South Africa earlier this year and is already receiving positive reactions from U.S. audiences.

“The Perfect Wave’ is a strong witness to the redemptive power of Jesus Christ,” said Jim Young of Crossroads Church UMC in Jacksonville, Florida. “It is excellent for youth groups, college and career, as well as the whole family.”

In “The Perfect Wave,” Ian (played

by Eastwood), yearning for adventure, sets out on a journey with his best friend to surf some of the most famous and challenging destinations throughout Australia, Southeast Asia and Africa in search of the mythical “perfect wave.”

During his adventure, Ian falls in love with a beautiful, free-spirited girl, Annabelle (portrayed by Hendrix).

Ian’s pursuit of her leads him to the African island of Mauritius, where his life is forever changed by an encounter with a school of box jellyfish during

a fateful evening swim. Infamous for ca provides a vehicle to help spread venom so deadly that a single sting God’s message of never failing love can kill a man, Ian is stung multiple to an even broader audience.” times, and pronounced dead shortly “The Perfect Wave” is scheduled after his arrival at the hospital. to open with a limited release in Following a divine post-mortem en- Jacksonville, Florida; Los Angeles/ counter, Ian miraculously awakens Orange, California; Washington, with a transformed understanding of DC; Dallas, Texas; Chicago, Illinois; life and a chance to begin anew.

Campbellsville, Kentucky; Elizabeth“I’m very inspired by this film. There town, Kentucky; London, Kentucky; is a terrific spirit of adventure and Frankfort, Kentucky; Orlando, Florian important reminder that you just da; and Bismarck, North Dakota. Adhave to trust God and go for it. Not to ditional markets are expected to be mention the film captures the beauty added in July. of some of the best surf spots in the world,” said Congressman Dana Rohrabacher of California.

“The Perfect Wave” has been described by Director Bruce Macdonald as a “love story with four pillars:” a mother’s love, a young man’s love for surfing, first love, and most importantly, God’s love. He added, “This film shares the amazing s tory of God’s plan for Ian’s life and reminds viewers that no matter how far you run, you can never outrun God’s love.” (Photo courtesy: christianfilmdatabase.com) The film was directed by Macdonald, an internationally renowned commercial director, “I’m very inspired by this film. There is and was produced by sevena terrific spirit of adventure and an imtime Emmy-winning U.S. Proportant reminder that you just have to ducer S. Bryan Hickox. trust God and go for it. Not to mention “I have been blessed to share the film captures the beauty of some of my story throughout the world,” the best surf spots in the world.” -Consaid Ian. “The release of this film gressman Dana Rohrabacher of Caliin South Africa and now Amerifornia.

2. Finish the race.

Paul had a race to win. He made this clear in his words to the spiritual leaders of Ephesus in Acts 20:24, “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.”

Paul’s race was specific (he was focused primarily on reaching Gentiles.)

Paul’s race was strategic (it centered on planting thriving churches in ever widening swaths across the ancient world.)

Paul’s race was strenuous (it took every ounce of his strength and eventually cost him his life.)

You have a race to run too. The writer of Hebrews makes this clear, “…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” Hebrews 12:1.

The race marked out for you is specific, should be strategic and will be strenuous. And it should have as it’s epicenter “the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace” to and through your target audience…teenagers.

3. Keep the faith.

Paul challenged Timothy to do what he had been doing for decades…to keep the faith. He wrote, “What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us” 2 Timothy 1:13,14.

We have a Biblical responsibility as youth leaders to “guard the good deposit” of sound theology that has been delivered to us through the Holy Spirit via godly men and women over the centuries.

To guard it we have to have it. To have it we need to engage with it. So, with this in mind, let me ask you a few questions: -Are you reading Scripture both devotionally and theologically?

-Are you a student of the Bible and theology?

-Could you spot out false doctrine if it were being taught to your teenagers?

-If so, would you be able to take your students to specific Scriptures to win them back to a sound faith?

As shepherds sometimes we need to fight off wolves. To do that we must learn how to wield a staff effectively. Paul knew how to do that when some of the Galatians started accepting a “yes, it’s by faith but you must also ______________” gospel.

In the same way, we must keep the faith and help our teenagers to as well.

May we all, along with Paul, be able to proclaim at the end of our lives, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.”

Western Christian Leader/July 2014

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The Seven-Year Itch and the Joy of Lifelong Marriage

By David Mathis German politician Gabriele Pauli shocked her conservative party and sent waves through news outlets worldwide when she proposed in September 2007 that marriage should only last seven years.

Described at the time as “Bavaria’s most glamorous politician,” the 50-year-old, twice-divorced, motorcycle-riding Pauli campaigned for party head, in part, with the hopes of institutionalizing what some have called “the seven-year itch.” Her plan was that marriages would automatically dissolve after seven years, at which point the spouses could renew their union or go along on their own merry ways. Pauli did not win in her bid for party leadership.

Seven-Year What?

The “seven-year itch” is a widely recognized psychological term suggesting the seven-year mark as a common time when spouses sense they have drifted away from each other and desire to explore other romantic interests. It’s also the title of an iconic 1955 motion picture, which popularized the phrase in relation to marriage.

Or did the film create the idea altogether?

The script, which would sound like relatively tame theater today, teetered on the edge of scandalous 60 years ago. It was about a married man who, after sending his wife and son away to Maine for the summer, discovers an attractive single lady (played by Marilyn Monroe) has moved into his building. At first he resists his desires to flirt, but soon he initiates toward her, though ultimately she rejects his overtures.

Following the movie’s success, the idea of a “seven-year itch” caught traction in a culture of no-fault divorce and became a convenient excuse for boredom with monogamy. Subsequent research claimed initially that such a seven-year itch was confirmed by the data, but more thorough investigation eventually pointed to four years, then other research to twelve years, then still more to three years. Increasingly, the studies are finding there’s no magic number at all, and the number seven, as well as any kind of typical point of “itch,” has just been a myth for decades.

As Long As We Both Shall Live

On June 29, 2007, just a few months before Pauli was announcing her idea in Germany, my wife and I stood before our pastor, our friends, and our family — and most importantly, before our God — and vowed to each other, . . . I will be faithful to you In plenty and in want, In joy and in sorrow, In sickness and in health, To love and to cherish, As long as we both shall live.

As long as we both shall live. No exceptions. No out-clauses. Not just in plenty, joy, and health, but also in want, sorrow, and sickness. No allowances for any sevenyear itches or any other excuse. We left father and mother, covenanted to become one flesh (Genesis 2:24), and have taken Jesus’s words with utter seriousness, “What God has joined together, let not man separate” (Matthew 19:6). Neither of us would say that marriage has been easy, but here in 2014, with it being seven years this week, we can say it’s a glorious thing that there are no outs but death.

want to keep everything at surface level.

We wanted to truly know each other, and become our true selves in Christ, not just the best face we could put on before marriage. We could have tried living on and on with a façade of harmony, and never strained to go deeper, and experienced only the thin joy that comes from keeping everything at the surface. But we wanted more (we still want more). We wanted greater joy. We wanted fuller satisfaction. We wanted the greater pleasure that comes only on the other side of pain and difficulty. We wanted the better relationship that comes only after things first get worse.

And marriage with no exits but death has forced the issue.

For Witnessing to the World

But not only is “as long as we both shall live” better for us and for our children (much could be said about that), but we’re better able to witness to the world. The world is full of relationships with strings attached. In some of those, like employment, conditions are good and necessary. But when every relationship is fraught with conditions, it can feel like there’s no rest for the weary.

The world needs to see in Christian marriages a pointer to the Savior who, without conditions, chose to set his love on his bride, the church (Ephesians 1:4–6), and through thick and thin, with all her failures and unfaithfulnesses, continues working to “sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:26–27).

When the exceptions and conditions are gone at the most fundamental level, a man must learn to “love his wife as himself” (Ephesians 5:33) and discover the joy of Acts 20:35: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” In the covenant, we can no more leave behind the reality of our marriage than we can abandon our own bodies. “Husbands should love their wives as their own bodies” (Ephesians 5:28).

Seven years is a relatively short time, but we’re far enough in at this point to celebrate with some substance that we’re in this for the long haul. Here at our seventh anniversary, we’ve tasted enough of the benefits, not without the difficulties, to be grateful that we’re walking this path of covenantal marriage without any exceptions and outs, as long as we both shall live.

Photo Courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS/ FRERE; PIERRE EDOUARD

5 Great Prayers to Say Before Going to Bed at Night 1. A Child’s Bedtime Prayer Now I lay me down to sleep.

I pray the Lord my soul to keep.

If I should die before I wake, I pray to God my soul to take.

If I should live for other days, I pray the Lord to guide my ways.

Father, unto thee I pray, Thou hast guarded me all day; Safe I am while in thy sight, Safely let me sleep tonight.

Bless my friends, the whole world bless; Help me to learn helpfulness; Keep me every in thy sight; So to all I say good night.

2. Now the Light has Gone Away Now the light has gone away; Savior, listen while I pray.

Asking Thee to watch and keep And to send me quiet sleep.

Jesus, Savior, wash away All that has been wrong to-day; Help me every day to be Good and gentle, more like Thee.

Let my near and dear ones be Always near and dear to Thee.

O bring me and all I love To Thy happy home above.

3. Jesus, Tender Shepherd Jesus, tender Shepherd, hear me: Bless Thy little child to-night; Through the darkness be Thou near me, Keep me safe till morning light.

All this day Thy hand has led me, And I thank Thee for Thy care;

Thou hast warmed me, clothed me, fed me; Listen to my evening prayer.

May my sins be all forgiven; Bless the friends I love so well; Take me, Lord, at last to heaven.

Happy there with Thee to dwell.

4. Lord, I have Passed Another Day Lord, I have passed another day And come to thank Thee for Thy care.

Forgive my faults in work or play And listen to my evening prayer.

Thy favor gives me daily bread And friends, who all my wants supply: And safely now I rest my head, Preserved and guarded by Thine eye.

5. The Day is Done The day is done; O God the Son, Look down upon Thy little one!

O Light of Light, Keep me this night, And shed round me Thy presence bright.

I need not fear If Thou art near; Thou art my Savior Kind and dear.

For Being Ourselves and Fighting Our Sin

The stresses, strains, tensions, and pains of marriage caught both of us off guard early on. Our dating was so peaceful — too peaceful, it turned out — and engagement only had a few speed bumps. But once we were both all in, both fully believing this was our unbending commitment till death, with no loopholes or exegetical outs, then, with the conditionality of dating and engagement aside, and the unconditionality of covenantal marriage now in place, we were finally free to be real selves. Which was such a good thing, though it soon got a little messy.

But these were good messes to make, ones we desperately needed (and still need). All along the mess had been inside us (and still is), in our selfish and sinful hearts, and the real cleaning couldn’t begin happening until it was out in the open. We both previously had Christian roommates and disciples who had pressed on our own sin and pushed us toward Jesus. But something about this lifelong covenant — something about knowing that the gig with this one roommate is for the rest of life — forced us to speak up about the quirks, idiosyncrasies, and sins we otherwise could have ignored for a few months or a couple years.

As two rescued sinners, banking on Jesus for eternal redemption and for increasing redemption here in this life, we didn’t

Living Life as Ministry

By Laura Gates Ministry with TWR for me has looked different then I imagined. In fact it probably looks a whole lot like your everyday life.

The privilege of getting to stay home and train-up our kids is something that I am so grateful to be able to do. I love that I get to see them grow and change. I love that I have the time to connect with our supporters and to invest in the lives of those who live in our neighborhood and are part of our church. It’s a ministry focused on those around me, in my sphere of influence and with those I encounter each day.

Really ministry looks a lot like living life.

My days hold activities such as preparing meals, changing diapers, cleaning, reading kids books and playing super heroes with Neal. With Tyler traveling a lot the last 6 months it has been easy at times for me to feel like I am not doing much. That each day is always the same and wonder if I am really making a difference as I wash the dishes once again, change another dirty diaper and have another playdate with friends for the kids. However, I have been given the gift of time with all Tyler’s trav-

els. During his last trip I realized what a unique opportunity I have to minister and invest with those around me. Not only do I have the opportunity to share with so many about the ministry of TWR and explain why we make the sacrifices that we do for the spread of the gospel, I also have the time, while Tyler is away, to bless and support others through meals and other means. I get to share with Neal the joy that we have in serving the Lord and how important it is for daddy to go places to share Christ with those who have never been able to hear about Jesus. Tyler’s trips have been filled with encouraging and meaningful conversations with those at TWR, and the Lord has graciously sustained the kids and I as we have stayed at home so he can serve in the places where he is currently needed in this ministry. We have been talking together about how blessed we are by the Lord through all these things.

I love how this Puritan Prayer, on Christlikeness, that I was reading showed so well how life/ministry, for me, really are: “…Cause me to be a mirror of thy grace,

to show others the joy of thy service, May my lips be well-tuned cymbals sounding thy praise, Let a halo of heavenly-mindedness sparkle around me and a lamp of kindness sunbeam my path.

Teach me the happy art of attending to things temporal with a mind intent on things eternal…

Help me to walk as Jesus walked, my only Savior and perfect model, his mind my inward guest, his meekness my covering garb…”

So, ministry for us, especially for me, can be explained and seen simply as life – stepping out and being intentional with the time and resources God has given me, showing compassion for others and serving others with the kids by my side. It’s life; not always glamorous, not always very exciting, however it’s exactly where God has me working for His kingdom and His glory and I wouldn’t want it to be any different.

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Western Christian Leader/July 2014

Gillette

Hobby Lobby: the Bible Verses Behind the Battle

By Daniel Burke, CNN Belief Blog Editor Printed with the expressed written permission of CNN.com For the Greens, the Christian family behind the Hobby Lobby chain of stores, their battle with the Obama administration was never really about contraception. It was about abortion.

After all, the evangelical Greens don’t object to 16 of the 20 contraceptive measures mandated for employer coverage by the Affordable Care Act. That puts the family squarely in line with other evangelicals, who largely support the use of birth control by married couples.

Like other evangelicals, however, the Greens believe that four forms of contraception mandated under the ACA - Plan B, Ella and two intrauterine devices - in fact cause abortions by preventing a fertilized embryo from implanting in the womb. (The Obama administration and several major medical groups disagree that such treatments are abortions .)

“We won’t pay for any abortive products,” Steve Green, Hobby Lobby’s president, toldReligion News Service. “We believe life begins at conception.”

Evangelicals as a whole may be relative newcomers to that view, but since the 1980s it has become nearly gospel. (The Pew Research Center has a helpful guide to other religious groups’ stance.)

As Christianity Today editor Mark Galli has argued, evangelicals arrived at their current stand on life issues through a combination of factors, including biblical interpretation, moral accounting and political calculus. Others also add the influence of early architects of the religious right and the example of the Catholic Church, which has opposed abortion for centuries.

But given the importance of scripture to evangelicals, it’s no surprise that groups like the National Association of Evangelicals cite the Bible in the second sentence of their policy stance on abortion: And because the Bible reveals God’s calling and care of persons before they are born, the preborn share in this dignity

(Psalm 139:13).

You’ll see that verse, Psalm 139:13, cited quite a bit when it comes to evangelicals and abortion. In it, the psalmist says to God, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.”

(You’ll also see that verse cited by many Mennonites, so it makes sense that a Mennonite business, Conestoga Wood Specialties, joined a companion challenge to Hobby Lobby at the Supreme Court.)

If God knew you in the womb, the thinking goes, then you must have been at some stage of personhood, and that provides biblical justification for the idea that life begins at conception, according to evangelicals and other Christians.

In addition to Psalm 139, you’ll also hear evangelicals and Mennonites cite several other Bible passages that they believe affirm the sanctity of human life.

Genesis 1, for example, says that mankind is made in God’s image; the Ten Commandments make murder a crime against God; and Job, the old Testament sufferer, frets about what would happen if he mistreats his servants because: Did not he who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same one form us both within our mothers?

Again, you see the divine and womb interacting, which is why evangelicals like the Greens so strongly oppose contraception that prevents embryo implantation in the womb.

Still, those verses may not be on the Greens’ minds after Monday’s decision.

Instead, Steve Green has said, they’ll be thinking about Daniel 3:17-18 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

Family Life Church 480 Wyoming 50, Gillette, WY 82717 (307) 687-1083 New Life Wesleyan Church 1000 Comanche Ave Gillette, WY 82718 (307) 682-5642 St Matthew’s Catholic Church 900 Butler-Spaeth Rd Gillette, WY 82716 (307) 682-3319 Westside Baptist Church 604 W 10th St Gillette, WY 82716 (307) 682-3505 Harvest Church 2200 Greenway Dr Gillette, WY 82717 (307) 696-3424 Central Baptist Church 1170 Country Club Rd Gillette, WY 82718 (307) 682-2543 Calvary Community Church 631 Commercial Dr Gillette, WY 82716 (307) 682-9553 Gillette Christian Center 6201 Swanson Rd Gillette, WY 82718 (307) 686-6680 Trinity Lutheran Church 1001 E 9th St Gillette, WY 82716 (307) 682-4886 First Presbyterian Church 511 Carey Ave Gillette, WY 82716 (307) 682-7264 Grace Bible Church 4000 Collins Rd E Gillette, WY 82718 (307) 686-1516 Seventh-Day Adventist Church 901 Apricot St Gillette, WY 82716 (307) 682-8465 Prince-Peace Lutheran Church 203 W Flying Cir Dr Gillette, WY 82716 (307) 682-4509 Roadway Alliance Church 811 Hemlock Av Gillette, WY 82716 (307) 686-7738 Sunrise Worship Center 901 Apricot St Gillette, WY 82716 (307) 685-8180 Jericho Baptist Church 211 S Brooks Ave Gillette, WY 82716 (307) 686-5626 Christian Church 100 W Flying Cir Dr Gillette, WY 82716 (307) 682-3316

Photo Courtesty of THE MOM CREATIVER

Christian blogger Jessica Turner’s post encouraging her fellow mothers to don a swimsuit this summer has gone viral.

Christian Blogger’s Post Encouraging Moms to Don Swimsuits Goes Viral

Blogger Jessica Turner’s post encouraging mothers to don swimsuits went viral.

Writing on her blog, The Mom Creative, Turner noted that she was saddened that so many of her friends avoided swimsuits and instead “only put their feet in the pool,” or were “concerned about what they look like and what others will think to embrace the joy of swimming with their kids.”

“When women stay on the sidelines because of insecurity, we are modeling unhealthy behavior to our children and we are missing out,” argued Turner. “Your swimsuit does not define you.”

The mother of two who is currently expecting her third, included pictures of herself in a swimsuit with her two children, as she continued making her argument.

“When we went to the beach in April, I weighed a few pounds more than I wanted to. But you know what? I put my swimsuit on anyway and RAN INTO THE OCEAN with my kids,” she said, adding that her son later told her that his favorite part of the day had been jogging on the beach with his parents.

“I refuse to miss my children’s high-

pitched, pool-induced giggles because of my insecurities...Because at the end of the day, it is not about me. It is about my kids,” she said.

Turner’s post was picked up as a topic for discussion at HuffPostLive on Thursday and on Friday was featured on The Today Show.

Writing on Wednesday, Turner expressed excitement over the feedback that her post had generated.

“May I first say thank you to each of you who have encouraged me in the past week. I never expected a picture of me in a bathing suit to flood Facebook like it did,” she wrote. “I am humbled by your kindness and inspired by your courage. Truly.

I’ve cried many times this week, reading your comments and emails. So thank you for inviting me into your story.”

Turner also announced that that she would be releasing a book, “The Fringe Hours,” in February 2015.

Turner’s husband, Matthew Paul Turner, is also a writer who writes blogs on the contemporary church at Jesus Needs New PR and writes a column for The Daily Beast.

Cornerstone Church of God 406 S Brooks Ave Gillette, WY 82716 (307) 686-6429 (307) 257-3876 Church of Christ 1204 T-7 Ln Gillette, WY 82716 (307) 682-2528 Mike Morrison Ministries 2 W McKenzie Rd Gillette, WY 82716 High Plains Community Church 3101 W Lakeway Rd Gillette, WY 82718 (307) 685-0044 First Baptist Church 501 S Gillette Ave Gillette, WY 82716 (307) 682-4816 LDS Church Gillette Stake 1500 Ohara Dr Gillette, WY 82716 (307) 686-2077 First United Methodist Church 2000 W Lakeway Rd Gillette, WY 82716 (307) 686-7339 Abundant Life United Pntcstl 1612 U.S. 14 Gillette, WY 82716 (307) 687-0074

First Assembly of God Family Life Center 601 Carey Ave Gillette, WY 82716 (307) 682-3308 Vineyard Christian Fellowship 585 Westside Dr Gillette, WY 82718 (307) 686-2485 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 2903 Allen Ave Gillette, WY 82718 (307) 686-3051 Church of Jesus Christ of LDS 805 Dalbey Ave Gillette, WY 82716 (307) 682-4140 Calvary Missionary Baptist Church 600 E Longmont St Gillette, WY 82716 (307) 682-9779 Emanuel Southern Baptist Church 1851 Chara Ave Gillette, WY 82718 (307) 686-4132 Church of God of Prophecy 1303 W 4th Ave Gillette, WY 82716 (307) 686-7347 Corp-The President-The Church 311 E Walnut St Gillette, WY 82718 (307) 686-0267 Christ Our Redeemer Lutheran 1010 Beaver Dr Gillette, WY 82718 (307) 686-4080 Gillette Friends Worship Group 1008 Pioneer Ave Gillette, WY 82718 (307) 682-2269 First Church of the Nazarene 42 W 4-J Rd Gillette, WY 82718 (307) 682-2562 Open Door Church E 2nd St Gillette, WY 82716 (307) 685-3337 Antelope Valley Baptist Church 2801 Antler Rd Gillette, WY 82718 (307) 682-1602 Moment of Truth Gillette, WY 82716 (307) 687-1352 Faith Community Church 177 American Rd Gillette, WY 82716 (307) 682-7333 Bethlehem Community Church 1120 Wyoming 50 Gillette, WY 82718 (307) 682-1389 Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church 122 S Gillette Ave Gillette, WY 82716 (307) 682-3225

Newcastle

First Baptist ChurchNewcastle 903 S Summit Ave Newcastle, WY 82701 (307) 746-2188 First United Methodist Church 23 N Seneca Ave Newcastle, WY 82701 (307) 746-4119 Foursquare Church of Newcastle 1525 S Summit Ave Newcastle, WY 82701 (307) 746-3618 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 120 Ash St Newcastle, WY 82701 (307) 746-4131 Cambria Community Church 154 Sheridan St Newcastle, WY 82701 (307) 746-2321

Country Church 24693 U.S. 16 Newcastle, WY 82701 (307) 746-2594 Christ Episcopal Church 310 S Summit Ave Newcastle, WY 82701 (307) 746-9684 Newcastle Christian Academy 301 Delaware Ave Newcastle, WY 82701 (307) 746-9663 Gateway Fellowship 627 Pine St Newcastle, WY 82701 (307) 746-8091 Wright Wright Baptist Church 225 Ranchero Dr, Wright, WY 82732 (307) 464-0464 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Wright Blvd Wright, WY 82732 (307) 464-0192 Prairieview Assembly-God Church 514 Bison Ave, Wright WY 82732 (307) 464-1182 St Francis Church 214 Wright Blvd Wright, WY 82732 (307) 464-0028 Bessed Sacrament Catholic Church 624 Wright Blvd Wright, WY 82732 (307) 682-3319 Sundance United Methodist Church 306 E Ryan St Sundance, WY 82729 (307) 283-1954 St Paul’s Catholic Church 805 Oak St Sundance, WY 82729 (307) 283-2383 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 702 S 7th St Sundance, WY 82729 (307) 283-2078 Church of Good Shepherd 602 Main St Sundance, WY 82729 (307) 283-1863 Mt Calvary Lutheran Church 706 S 4th St Sundance, WY 82729 (307) 283-1170 Sundance First Baptist Church PO Box 616 Sundance, WY 82729 (307) 283-2776 First Baptist Church of Spearfish 1120 N 5th St Spearfish, SD 57783 (605) 644-7337 Church of Christ 369 U.S. 14 Sundance, WY 82729 (307) 283-2914 Gateway Baptist Church 6 Antelope Lane Sundance, WY 82729 (307) 283-1756

Carlile

Oshoto Community Bible Church 1103 Cabin Creek Rd, Carlile, WY 82721 (307) 467-5237

Moorcroft

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 501 U.S. 14, Moorcroft, WY 82721 (307) 756-9255 First Presbyterian Church 100 S Belle Fourche Ave, Moorcroft, WY 82721 (307) 756-3554 St Patrick’s Catholic Church 212 N Belle Fourche Ave, Moorcroft, WY 82721 (307) 682-3319 Spearfish, SD: Countryside Church 625 Woodland Dr, Spearfish, SD 57783 (605) 642-0585

Not in our Church Directory? Submit your church’s information by email at WesternChristianLeader@gmail.com

Western Christian Leader/July 2014

Page 7

Saint Francis Caracciolo

Worship Where the Wild Things Are

By Marshall Segal One of the unavoidable realities of corporate worship in this world is distraction.

Our minds are already prone to wander completely apart from anything happening around us in that room. But anyone who’s been in church for more than a few minutes knows there are always more things going on than we can ignore. Unruly children, unresolved conflict, uninhibited personalities, untalented singers, unsilenced technology, and an unending list of other disturbances.

If you’re like me, those moments can be a real challenge. After all, I’ve come here to meet God, to hear from him and offer my worship to him. The movement, tensions, and noises are keeping me from him, right? They’re stealing my attention in some of the most precious minutes of the week. Distractions in church can quickly give rise to impatience, irritation, exasperation, and even anger.

Five Ways to Worship in the Wild

But I wonder if we’ve missed the point of the wildness in corporate worship. Yes, God mainly wants to speak to us through his word, but what if he has other things to say in less grammatical, less authoritative ways? What if God wants these unwanted distractions to show us more of himself and more about what it means to love his children than we could see alone at home with our Bibles?

Here are five ways God might just bless and inspire your worship in the wild, where you’re really not sure what might happen next.

1. Screaming Babies or Unruly Infants Any church with young families knows well the cries of new life. The little ones that are so adorable and beautiful before and after a service can temporarilybecome annoying or inconvenient when they speak up during the announcements or a sermon. But this is new life. If we realize what’s happening — a new human being added to our church family, a future man or woman, potentially a husband and father or a wife and mother — we would have every reason to be blown away by our creating God, rejoice in the gift of this baby girl or boy, and bear patiently with this screaming image-in-process.

2. Bad Singing Some of you are this person, and you know it. Some of you are married to this person. Some of you sit a couple pews away from this person week after week.

You’ve thought about a move, but that’s too big of a statement in a small church.

Some people simply can’t sing very well.

Despite the beautifully good heart, the ensuing sound would make more sense in the local zoo than the church’s choir.

We’ve all been commanded to sing (Psalm 47:6–7), but we’ve not been equally gifted for it. The miracle, though, is that any of us, who were once dead in our sin, would sing to our God at all. Each of us was made to image and worship God, but we all turned away from him, offended him, and earned his wrath. But God overwhelmed our rebellion to win our worship through Jesus.

Our hearts will always and only find their greatest satisfaction in God. That’s what worship is. Our hymns and songs give voice to that happiness. God is not listening for pitch, but for heart in worship.

Anyone singing to any tune, in any octave, with whatever rhythm to God is a stunning, miraculous, wonderful thing. We should be developing an attitude that rejoices in all the voices that are lifted to make much of him.

3. People with Disabilities This may not be a typical Sunday experience for you, but lots of families in our

churches are living with the realities of mental or physical disabilities. For sure, disabilities are not always a distraction in worship. Most of the time they are not. In some cases, though, a person may shout or groan or act in ways they can’t control, and it will cause a scene.

We believe disabilities are not an accident, punishment, or curse. They are suffering designed by God to unveil his surpassing worth and glory (John 9:3). It is especially important that disabled people — often so rejected in the rest of the world — feel welcome and loved in the family of God. By caring for them and their families, we declare the good news that any disability accompanied with faith in Jesus promises an eternity of health and happiness. This temporary strain is a means to prepare us all for God. Let the unexpected noises or activity remind you of the glorious purpose God has given these cherished children for the sake of the whole church.

4. Bad Musicians Similar to singing, sometimes there are really bad musicians on our worship teams. Let’s face it, some people “learned” guitar or bass or drums for the sole purpose of serving on Sunday morning. And they’re bad. They’re untrained, inexperienced, and unmusical.

But whether a musician is gifted or not, simply by standing up there, they’re communicating a desire to serve and worship.

They’re setting aside lots of time and energy and maybe much pride to try to play an instrument so that their family and friends can sing to their God. For some, it’s an unusually humble sacrifice. It should make us ask if we’re willing to go outside our comfort zones — where we might fail or embarrass ourselves — for the sake of the church’s worship.

5. Even Cell Phones Nobody wants his or her cell phone to ring in church. No one wants to interrupt corporate worship to introduce a couple hundred people to their latest ringtone. It’s happened to many of us and is almost always unintentional and embarrassing. So if the phone ringing threatens our attentiveness and engagement in worship, think about how it affects the poor offender. Between the surprise, guilt, and glares, they may not recover that morning.

Take that brief inconvenient moment to pray for them — and the rest of those around you — that their mind’s attention and heart’s affection would be preserved for and stirred toward worship despite the distraction. Satan would love for that stupid cell phone to undo the important work God is doing through his word and the fellowship of his people. We can spoil his evil desires for us by silencing our sinful inclinations toward pride, irritation, or judgment, and instead praying for our brothers and sisters in worship.

Love Limits and Embraces Distractions It needs to be said that our moments together on Sunday morning are sacred and precious. We ought to do everything we can to make the most of those minutes and help others do the same. This will mean striving for excellence when we serve, not talking during the sermon, monitoring our children’s behavior and noise level, silencing our phones, and a hundred other loving courtesies.

But distractions will come, and far from being undone by them, God might mean for us to see them as unexpected opportunities to go deeper in worship. He may mean for us to worship him in ways that weren’t written into the worship order, ways that lovingly honor others and so give him greater glory.

“Heavenly Humor” A friend was in front of me coming out of church one day, and the preacher was standing at the door as he always is to shake hands.

He grabbed my friend by the hand and pulled him aside.

The Pastor said to him, “You need to join the Army of the Lord!”

My friend replied, “I’m already in the Army of the Lord, Pastor.” Pastor questioned, “How come I don’t see you except at Christmas and Easter?”

He whispered back, “I’m in the secret service.”

“Heavenly Humor” provided by

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Saint Francis Caracciolo Confessor Born October 13, 1563

Villa Santa Maria, Province of

Chieti, Region of Abruzzo,

Kingdom of Naples

(modern-day Italy) Died June 4, 1608 (aged 44)

Agnone, Province of

Isernia,Region of Molise,

Kingdom of Italy Honored in Roman Catholic Church Beatified June 4, 1769, Rome by

Pope Clement XIV Canonized May 24, 1807, Rome by

Pope Pius VII Majorshrine Church of Santa Maria di

Monteverginella, Naples Feast June 4 Patronage Naples (Italy), Italian cooks Francis Caracciolo (October 13, 1563 – June 4, 1608), born Ascanio Pisquizio, was an Italian Catholic priest who co-founded the Congregation of the Clerics Regular Minor with John Augustine Adorno. He decided to adopt a religious life at the age of 22.

Biography St Francis Caracciolo was born in Villa Santa Maria in the Abruzzo region, in the Kingdom of Naples. He belonged to the Pisquizio branch of the Caracciolo family and received in baptism the name of Ascanio. From a young age, he had a reputation for gentleness and uprightness. While still a youth, he was attacked by one of the several skin complaints collectively described as “leprosy” in those days. He was cured in consequence, it is said, of a vow to devote his life to the service of God, and with this end in view he went, at the age of about twenty-two, to study for the priesthood at Naples. In 1587 he was ordained priest and joined the confraternity of the Bianchi della Giustizia (The White Robes of Justice), whose object was to assist condemned criminals to die holy deaths.

Congregation of Minor Clerks Regular (Adorno Fathers) Five years after he went to Naples, a letter from Venerable Fr. Giovanni Agostino Adorno of Genoa to another Caracciolo, Fabrizio, begging him to take part in founding a new religious institute, was delivered by mistake to the newly ordained priest, and he saw in this circumstance an assurance of the Divine Will towards him (1588). He assisted in drawing up rules for

the new congregation, which was approved by Pope Sixtus V, July 1, 1588, and confirmed by Pope Gregory XIV on February 18, 1591, and reconfirmed by Pope Clement VIII on June 1, 1592.

The institute founded thereby, named the Congregation of the Minor Clerks Regular (the “Adorno Fathers”), is both contemplative and active. Perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is one of the pillars of their life. To the three usual vows a fourth is added, namely, that its members must not aspire to ecclesiastical dignities outside the order nor seek them within it. Perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is kept up by rotation, and selfmortification is practised. The motto of the order “Ad majorem Resurgentis gloriam” (“to the greater glory of the Risen One”) was chosen because Francis and Augustine Adorno made their profession at Naples on Low Sunday, April 9, 1589. Upon making his profession, Caracciolo took the name Francis in honor of the saint of Assisi.[3] The new Congregation of the Minor Clerks Regular thus established was one of considerable severity. The Clerks bound themselves to various practices of daily penance. In spite of his refusal Francis Caracciolo was chosen general on March 9, 1593, in the first house of the congregation in Naples, called St. Mary Major or Pietrasanta, given to the congregation

by Sixtus V. Even in his capacity as superior of the Order, he insisted on sharing simple tasks: sweeping rooms, making beds, washing dishes.

As a priest Francis spent many hours in the confessional. He also begged in the streets for the poor and gave away most of his possessions to the needy.

He made three journeys to Spain to establish foundations under the protection of kings Philip II and Philip III. He opened the house of the Holy Ghost at Madrid on January 20, 1599, that of Our Lady of the Annunciation at Valladolid on September 9, 1601, and that of St. Joseph at Alcalá sometime in 1601, for teaching science. In Rome he obtained possession of St. Leonard’s Church, which he afterwards exchanged for that of Sant’Agnese in Agone, September 18, 1598, and later he secured for the institute the church of San Lorenzo in Lucina (June 11, 1606) which was made over to him by a papal bull of Pope Paul V, (which was, however, annulled by the bull “Susceptum” of Pope Pius X, November 9, 1906).

St Francis Caracciolo was the author of “Le sette stazioni sopra la Passione di N.S. Gesù Christo” (The Seven Stations of the Passion of Our Lord, Rome, 1710). He loved the poor.

Like Saint Thomas Aquinas, a relative on his mother’s side, his purity was angelic, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia. Pope Paul V desired to confer an important bishopric on him, but he steadfastly refused it. His frequent motto was “Zelus domus tuae comedit me” (Zeal for thy House has consumed me). Invited by the Oratorians at Agnone, in the Molise region, to convert their house into a college for his congregation, he fell ill during the negotiations and died there on the Vigil of Corpus Christi, Wednesday, June 4, 1608.

Veneration St Francis Caracciolo was beatified by Pope Clement XIV on June 4, 1769, and canonized

by Pope Pius VII on May 24, 1807. His liturgical feast day is June 4. In 1838 he was chosen as a patron saint of Naples, where his body lies. At first he was buried in Basilica of St. Mary Major, but his remains were afterwards translated to the church of Santa Maria di Monteverginella, which was given in exchange to the Clerics Regular Minor (1823) after their suppression at the time of the French Revolution.

St Francis is also the patron of Italian cooks.

Page 8

Western Christian Leader/July 2014

Tens of Thousands of Christians Flee Isis Attack on Nineveh; Historic Christian Villages Emptied

Photo courtesy of REUTERS/JIM URQUHART

Brian Brown, president of National Organization for Marriage, addresses supporters of a traditional marriage rally at Utah’s State Capitol building in Salt Lake City, Utah January 28, 2014.

IRS to Pay $50,000 to National Organization for Marriage for Leaking Confidential Information to Human Rights Campaign

The Internal Revenue Service will pay $50,000 to the National Organization for Marriage due to the leaking of its confidential tax documents to the Human Rights Campaign.

The judgment means that the IRS has now admitted that it was the source of the confidential information, John Eastman, chairman of NOM and part of the legal team that brought the suit, explained in a Tuesday phone interview with The Christian Post.

In 2012, HRC published confidential tax documents listing 2008 NOM donors.

The two groups are political opponents. HRC supports redefining marriage to include samesex couples while NOM supports the traditional definition of marriage.

The list included former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who, it was clear at the time, would become the Republican presidential nominee. Several liberal news sites, such as The Huffington Post, republished the list.

After the list was published, Joe Solmonese left his position as president of HRC to become national co-chairman of President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign. In that new position, he criticized Romney for donating to NOM’s defense of marriage efforts. Romney, he argued, helped fund “a hate-filled campaign.”

Someone at the IRS gave the confidential documents to Matthew Meisel, a gay rights

activist, the lawsuit revealed through emails between Meisel and a colleague. When asked to testify, Meisel invoked his Fifth Amendment right to not incriminate himself and refused to reveal who at the IRS provided him with the documents.

While admitting guilt, the IRS claims the release of the documents was an inadvertent mistake because it failed to redact the confidential information. This story, though, is inconsistent with the Meisel emails in which he claimed to know a “conduit” within the IRS to obtain the information, Eastman said.

NOM has asked the Department of Justice to offer immunity to Meisel so that he can reveal his source within the IRS without fear of prosecution. Justice has said it will neither pursue prosecution of nor offer immunity to Meisel.

NOM will be looking into how to proceed with future cases, Eastman added. There are other potential civil actions that NOM could pursue, including suing Meisel, HRC or The Huffington Post.

While HRC quickly removed the confidential information from its website after NOM informed HRC the documents were confidential, the documents are still available at The Huffington Post. Under federal law, it is a felony to publish tax documents that are known to be confidential.

Over 50,000 Iraqis, mainly Chris- Local sources indicate that less than tians, from the Nineveh township of a hundred elderly and infirm have reQaraqosh, 12 miles east of Iraq’s mained behind out of an initial populasecond-largest city Mosul, were dis- tion of 45,000. placed the night of June 25 as a reNon-Christians in the multi-cultural sult of shelling by the armed forces of Nineveh Province are also under the Sunni extremist Islamic State in threat from ISIS. They include YeziIraq and Syria (ISIS). The township dis, Shiites, and liberal Muslims, all of includes the historic Christian villages whom ISIS regards as infidels without of Keremles and Bartella. With the human rights. collapse of the Iraqi ISIS is an al Qaarmy in Mosul earlier ida-inspired terrorThe attack “portends this month, the only ist group that has a humanitarian catastroarmed defenders of controlled large phe for all the people in Qaraqosh are memswathes of eastthe Nineveh Plain, and bers of the Kurdish ern Syria for over a a disastrous emigration Pershmerga militia. year, and has made of Christians out of the (Photo courtesy: PR major territorial adcountry.” -Hammurabi HuNewswire) vances in Iraq in man Rights Organization A Christian Solithe last month. In darity International areas under its con(CSI) team is in the trol in Syria, ISIS area to assist with relief efforts. Ac- has desecrated churches, executed cording to CSI’s local partner, the religious minorities, abducted and Hammurabi Human Rights Organiza- killed priests, and ordered Christians tion, the ISIS attack against Qaraqosh to choose between converting to Is“portends a humanitarian catastrophe lam, paying the traditional jizya tax, or for all the people in the Nineveh Plain, “facing the sword.” Thousands of Iraqi and a disastrous emigration of Chris- Christians fled Mosul for Qaraqosh tians out of the country.” after ISIS took over the city on June “Those who had cars drove. Those 11, and ISIS later claimed to have exwho didn’t went on foot,” a local Iraqi ecuted 1,700 Shi’a Muslims in the city.

Christian told CSI. Since the commencement of the The displaced have taken refuge in US-led Operation Iraqi Freedom in churches and monasteries across the 2003, more than two-thirds of Iraq’s Kurdish-controlled region, threatening Christian population has fled the to overwhelm NGOs and local admin- country to escape a campaign of taristrators who were already dealing geted abductions, assassinations and with a humanitarian crisis after the fall church attacks. Many who remained of Mosul on June 11. in Iraq found refuge in Qaraqosh and After taking control of Mosul, ISIS other nearby predominantly Christian militants cut off electricity and run- villages. ning water to Qaraqosh and the sur“With the targeting of one of Iraqi rounding areas, putting pressure on Christians’ last safe places,” Dr. John local residents to leave their homes. Eibner, CEO of CSI-USA, warned, Following this assault, nearly the en- “the Iraqi Christian community is clostire population of Qaraqosh has fled. er than ever to extinction.”