It is always interesting to listen to Democrats at election time. With the mid-term elections coming up, they have been loudly proclaiming their condemnation of violence in response to the attempted assassination of President Trump. It is in stark contrast to their previous rhetoric after a shooting where they screamed for gun control. It is also in stark contrast to their previous rhetoric where they told their followers not to serve anyone who wore a MAGA hat or shirt and to drive them out of their business. They have proclaimed on national television that President Trump does not deserve to live and someone should take him out. It is consistent with their philosophy that they have written into State and national laws. They first proclaimed that they could not tell if an unborn baby was a person and protected by the Constitution until it could live outside the womb at six months (Roe vs Wade). However, they wanted to continue aborting the child up until birth so they pushed through Planned Parenthood vs Casey in 1992 which proclaimed that the woman had a right to abort the baby if it threatened her happiness right up to birth and they are now pushing to extend that beyond birth for babies that manage to survive an abortion. They have pushed that doctrine ever since. Once you give someone right to eliminate those who get in the way of your happiness, it is just a matter of deciding who that person is. In addition to claiming to want President Trump dead, they have sought to eliminate him legally with attempts to impeach him on fake charges and discredit him and other conservatives through false accusations made public just before an election to alienate their followers so the Democrat candidate can win and then dropped the charges after the election because they knew they won’t stand up in court. However, by then the damage has been done and the candidate never gets to defend themselves against the charges so the public is left with the impression that he is guilty. That philosophy has also been the basis for them pushing euthanasia of the severely sick and critically injured and for denying them medical treatment. It has also been the basis for them pushing assisted suicide for those who are severely depressed. How can we trust them to defend our right to liberty and the pursuit of happiness, if they won’t defend our right to life?
Fifth Sunday of Eastertide May 3
Involve New People-It is not enough to just have everyone take a year off. The church must actively seek to involve new people. A full-time search committee should be established that actively meet with members to talk with them about their interests and help them find areas that interest them. Too often search committees are called a couple weeks before the church’s annual conference to fill vacant elected positions and they have little time to seek qualified people. As a result, they often nominate the same people they know well, even though the people may have little interest or experience in that area. As a year-round committee, they can get to know more members and seek to help them find areas that interest them before openings occur. When openings occur in committees during the year, the search committee can help the committee chairman find suitable replacements. The interest survey previously mentioned is a good way to help members discover where they would like to use their gifts. Before members go off their position after six years, the committee should meet with them again to help them explore other areas to see if there are other areas that interest them. The committee should be familiar with the various functions of the church and how to help members explore their interests. (I deal with it in my book for pastors and church leaders “Rebuilding The Kingdom”). As the committee locates new talents, it can help the church expand its ministry into new areas and involve more people in the church. The committee can also help each committee define its mission and draw up a mission statement to help them focus their work.
Modern Welfare-study course
https://www.udemy.com/course/modern-welfare/?referralCode=931702A039452801BE72
Fourth Sunday of Eastertide-April 26
Explore- One of the most important ways to find what our gifts are is to experiment in different areas of the church to find what we enjoy doing and do well. This is one of the most neglected areas of the church today. Most churches are run by a small group of people who have always filled the same positions. While they complain that no one wants to work, they give very little opportunity for new people to become involved. The church must provide opportunities for members to become involved in various areas of the church so they can find their interests and talents. One way is through a requirement that limits everyone to two three-year terms and requires everyone to take a sabbatical every seventh year. This helps prevent workers from becoming burned out and enables new people to become involved. It also gives members on their Sabbatical time to shop around to see if there are other areas that might interest them. Some churches have a Sunday where each church work group has a booth in the fellowship hall and members can wander from booth to booth talking with people who belong to that work group. Some churches even invite Christian community service groups to have a booth for those called to serve beyond the local church. There are also interest surveys available. I have written a booklet, “The Important I” which helps with determining what would be a good career (part-A), and outlines areas in the church and community that offer opportunities for volunteer work (part-B). It includes an interest survey and can be obtained by E-mailing me at robert.barr34@yahoo.com, requesting the booklets, “The Important I” and put “booklet” in the subject line.
Church and Society-L
After President Bush, we had President Obama who showed us how far from Christian values our nation has drifted. Many younger voters have no church experience and get their values from the secular press. President Obama openly attacked the value of life by promoting abortion, attacked the value of law by pushing to defund the police, and attacked the value of the family by pushing Gay privilege and gender confusion. He also attacked the church and tried to suppress Christians who sought to promote Christian values. They thought they had control of the elections and could remain in power, but were shocked at the response of the voters who elected Donald Trump to restore Christian values. He sought to remove programs that violated the value of life, the rule of law, and the family, but he was hampered because he remained within the law and would not make laws through executive order and did not have the support of Congress who could make the laws. However, he repealed many of President Obama’s executive orders that violated the law and undercut moral values. The voters apparently forgot how bad things were under President Obama and believed Joe Biden when he said he would restore America. However, he followed the same destructive path as President Obama. Americans have shown that they still have some support for moral values by reelecting President Trump. He now has a Republican dominated Senate and House but unlike Democrats who are united in tearing down moral values, Republicans are not united in supporting them. While Democratic party leaders pressure their representatives to support the party policies, regardless of what their voters want, Republicans still seem interested in listening to the voice of the people, so it is important for voters to be informed on the issues and let their representatives know how they want them to vote. While laws can prevent actions, like killing, stealing, and divorce, the church must teach values and lead people to Christ to help people really understand and believe the moral values, which can eliminate the hatred and greed that lead to the killing and stealing. Presidents like President Bush and President Trump can open the door to allow the church to teach moral values, or Presidents like President Obama and President Biden can close the door and prevent the church from teaching them. That is why it is important who we elect. For a full understanding of Christian values, see my series of lectures on Christian values vs manmade values.
Church and Society-K
In 2001, terrorists struck the twin towers. I believe God allowed that to tell us that He would no longer protect us unless we turned back to Him. It was Rosh Hosanna, the Jewish holiday reminding them of the coming judgement where God would judge men and they blew the trumpets to sound the warning and read the Scripture that told that if God’s people would turn from their wicked ways and pray, God would hear their cry and would heal their land. They did not know that God allowed it to serve as a wakeup call. Unfortunately America did not listen. They rushed back to church for a little while, but did not change their ways and many soon drifted away from church again. George W. Bush was in office and trying to maintain the values that made America great but laws can only control evil when they are enforced and then they can only control actions, they cannot control feelings. It can stop a lot of killing but it cannot control the hatred that causes it. Unless people value life, they will find a way to kill. Unless people value the law, they will not obey it if they feel they can get away with it. Unless people value marriage, they will not preserve it. Many churches no longer teach the value of life, the value of law, and the value of marriage and many in church have gotten their values from the world.
Church and Society-J
While people tend to become absorbed in the present, they fail to see the long term changes. When I started ministry in 1970, Christian values prevailed in this country. They were taught in the churches which led to them being taught in the schools and on the media, and enforced in our courts. Even most of those who did not believe in God held them in theory, if not always in practice. People would tell you killing was wrong and the law applied to everyone equally. The courts ruled on the application of laws as written. The family was sacred and divorce was frowned on. Women were to be protected by keeping men out of their bathrooms and showers. While not always true, it was what people sought. Since then we have been in a struggle between the powers of life and the powers of death. Liberals have been pushing man-centered values. The churches have fallen silent allowing liberal teachings to infiltrate our schools and our media, and even our churches. They teach that life is only valuable if it benefits you. They have pushed abortion, assisted suicide, and euthanasia (mercy-killing). They have used the courts to benefit themselves and their friends and threaten their opponents. They act like laws are guidelines to be ignored if they get in your way. They look down on marriage and push for easy divorce, and push their Gay agenda, teaching it to children, and teaching them that they can be any gender they want, encouraging them to destroy their bodies with sex altering drugs and surgery. While liberals call for the complete separation of church and State, they are seeking to destroy the church or at least prevent it from interfering with their plans to take control of the country. The separation of church and State was intended to prevent the government from interfering with the church in teaching Christian values but liberals are using the government to prevent the church from teaching values, so they can spread their own values.