Category: Opinion

Just when you think things couldn’t get more bizarre, they have. This past week a petition was launched calling for the marriage of two iconic characters from Sesame Street, Bert and Ernie. The petition asks that the marriage be executed in a “tasteful” way in order to “Let us teach tolerance of those that are different.”

The petition was filed on the activist site Change.org that has become the equivalent of a national blacklist registry of individuals and organizations who hold to a conservative view on marriage and sexuality. While the site has had some success in intimidating organizations such as Apple and most recently Starbucks to comply with their demands, Sesame Street held strong and stated that Bert and Ernie are best friends and as puppets, they do not have a sexual orientation.

By the time many of you read this, Congress may have found a solution to the current debt-ceiling crisis. The immediate danger may be averted—temporarily.

The real issue, however, isn’t the budget, the debt ceiling or anything else, as much as it is a philosophical battle over the direction of the country. This is the root of the intransigence and increasing bitterness exhibited by both parties.

People defend philosophies more vehemently than they do money. It’s like defending one’s religion as one side against the other claims to be the only source of truth. And make no mistake, politics and political ideology have the force of religion in America.

Let’s talk about debt.

Of course the recent struggles in Washington sorely tempt me to opine on the egregious spectacle we have just endured. However, our status as a non-profit ministry (and hopefully some common sense) limits any political comment. But one obvious fact can be safely asserted: debt has consequences.

Let’s look at our spiritual debt, our financial debt and our love debt.

What we owe (and what we don’t owe) spiritually. We could never have satisfied the debt and depth of our bankruptcy before God. The just “wages” for our sin was death and severance from God and His glory (see Rom. 3:23; 6:23). But “when we were helpless … Christ died for the ungodly” (Rom. 5:6). This is the liberating good news of the gospel. Our debt of sin has been paid with Christ’s atoning blood. Jesus cried out on the cross, “It is finished!” (Jn. 19:30). His literal statement in the original language was, “Paid in full!” The debt of all our sins is fully, forever canceled!

China has vowed to crackdown on “sex-selective abortions” to close the gender gap, according to an AP report on Tuesday. … Read More

On Monday, charismamag.com posted an op-ed from Michael Youssef questioning the timing of Campus Crusade for Christ’s pending name change. Mike Adamson, director of communications for the organization, believes the article contained significant error. Here he offers a deeper explanation of the name change.

I understand that magazines and websites are not able to fact-check everything that gets reprinted. But unfortunately, today that resulted in the repetition of statements that are simply not true. Thanks for the opportunity to correct and clarify those.

First, Michael Youssef indirectly quoted Campus Crusade for Christ Vice President Steve Sellers as saying the name of Christ was hampering our effectiveness. That was never said. It is not remotely true. It does not reflect, in any way, our thinking and motivation. It’s our hope that Youssef was himself repeating an unverified fallacy from another source.

“It’s not a Christian organization if Christ isn’t in the name.”

I hear that one a lot. In fact, I’ve heard it in relation to Campus Crusade for Christ changing their name recently. Some people are upset that they seem to have dropped the “Christ” part, when in fact it was the “Crusade” word that caused them trouble with certain international outreaches.

But everyone’s a critic, and they had to get upset about something. Campus Crusade announced its name change two weeks ago to “CRU.” For those outside the organization, “Cru” is an informal nickname that their campus staff have called themselves for years. It has enormous equity among what’s probably the largest outreach in the organization—not to mention their next generation of leaders—and among the five final name choices, they made that selection.

Many faithful Christians feel that Campus Crusade for Christ’s announcement to drop Christ from their name is one more confirmation that there is a wholesale departure from the bedrock foundation of their faith. A woman recently asked me, “Where will this end?” Certainly, she is not alone in feeling overwhelmed and confused at the changes taking place today. 

While I am not one who questions the motives of CCCI’s current leadership’s decision to drop “Christ” out of their name, I do question the wisdom of their timing. In a time when political correctness has run amuck and the name of Christ has been eliminated from many Christian organizations (like The Christian Children’s Fund which is now ChildFund International), the faithful feel that Campus Crusade’s decision is yet another rug pulled out from under them.

Some Christians are rightly skeptical of CCCI Vice President Steve Sellers’ words assuring them that, “the ministry will still be committed to proclaiming Christ around the world.”

Much has been made of the fact that an amendment guaranteeing religious freedom was included in New York’s recently-passed same-sex “marriage” law. Senators Mark Grisanti (R-Buffalo) and Stephen Saland (R-Poughkeepsie) touted this effort, saying it was instrumental to securing their support for the legislation.

The problem for people of faith, however, is that the language is sorely lacking. The bill claims to protect pastors from having to perform same-sex ceremonies and churches from having to host gay weddings or receptions, but these protections were already present under existing constitutional protections. The “Marriage Equality Act” failed to include religious freedoms protections for individuals and non-religious affiliated organizations.

Previously, I talked about the Sojourners-sponsored ad headlined “What Would Jesus Cut?” The ad, signed by Jim Wallis and more than two dozen leaders of the Religious Left, urged our leaders to ask themselves what Jesus would cut from the federal budget.

Called “the leader of the religious left by The New York Times, Rev. Jim Wallis has a long history of denouncing his own country. In Agenda for Biblical People (1976), Jim Wallis refers to America as a “fallen nation.” In an article in Mission Trends, Wallis approvingly predicted that “more Christians will come to view the world through Marxist eyes” and that “so-called ‘young evangelicals’ . . . [will] see the impossibility of making capitalism work for justice and peace.”

In part one of this series I made clear, from the words of Jesus and the New Testament, that ministering to the poor and the needy among us is the work of Christian individuals and the church, not the secular government. Jesus said, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.”

Today’s religious left wants to change that to, “He has anointed the federal government to preach good news to the poor.”

The Christian gospel is a message of salvation, not a message of income redistribution and raising our neighbor’s taxes. Jesus said that the way to serve the poor is by giving generously of our own resources. “But when you give a banquet,” He said in Luke 14, “invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will   be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

The headline of the full-page ad asks, “What Would Jesus Cut?—A budget is a moral document.” The text continues, “Our faith tells us that the moral test of a society is how it treats the poor.”

The ad was produced by Sojourners, a self-described “evangelical” organization whose slogan is “Faith in Action for Social Justice.” The ad was signed by Sojourners President Jim Wallis and more than two dozen religious left pastors, theologians and activists. They urge our legislators to ask themselves, “What would Jesus cut?” from the federal budget.

 How would you answer that question? My answer would be, “It’s a nonsense question. Your premise is faulty. Your priorities are not His priorities.” 

 Jesus had many opportunities to confront the Roman government about its spending priorities. It was, after all, one of the most brutal regimes in history. If the question “What would Jesus cut?” has any biblical relevance, we should be able to cite instances where Jesus lectured the Roman oppressors the same way the religious left lectures America. 

Every time I hear a report on how God is using the My Hope outreach in countries around the world, it thrills my heart. As this letter is being mailed, a wonderful effort is under way to take the gospel across Haiti.

Believers in Haiti are praying for loved ones or friends who need to hear the gospel, then inviting them into their homes to see or hear evangelistic broadcasts prepared by BGEA specifically for that culture. Two of the programs in Haiti include gospel messages from me that were recorded earlier, and another has a message from Franklin on the Prodigal Son.

The programs are presented using TV, DVD and radio, as well as a new kind of battery-powered video mini-projector for places without electricity. After a broadcast, hosts give their personal testimony and invite guests to “turn to God in repentance and … faith in our Lord Jesus” (Acts 20:21, NIV).

There has been a lot of speculation about the end times lately, especially in light of recent storms. I saw firsthand the devastation and carnage that accompanied the fierce, deadly tornadoes that swept across the South and the Midwest this spring.

I’ve seen lots of disasters in my lifetime, but the scenes that I witnessed in Alabama and Missouri were among the most horrific I’ve encountered anywhere.

Many are asking if the seemingly growing numbers of such catastrophes could be an indication that the return of Christ is drawing nearer. Jesus said that such tragedies—in addition to wars and persecution—are indeed the “beginning of birth pains” (Matthew 24:8), and these certainly appear to be increasing in frequency and intensity.

The headline on the Thursday edition of the British paper, The Telegraph, heralded some very bad news for British Anglicans. It declared, “Aging Church of England ‘will be dead in 20 years.’” They buttressed their argument in two ways:

1. The average age of a Church of England attendee is 61 (you do the math).

2. In the last 40 years, church attendance has been cut in half.

You would think that the Archbishop of Canterbury would wake up and smell the coffee. Instead, a few weeks earlier he finally came clean. Well, he was forced to come clean. For years he acted as if he was an impartial arbitrator between the believing Anglicans [who make up the majority of Anglicans worldwide] and the apostate ones lead by the American and Canadian Anglicans/Episcopalians. He has always called for “unity,” a way of saying to the believing Anglicans, “just shut up and let the apostates have their way.”

Now, a document has leaked to the press affirming his quiet desire to ordain homosexual bishops all along, not only in the United States, but in his own backyard, in England. The document entitled Choosing Bishops—The Equality Act 2010 affirms that, “someone in a sexually active relationship outside of marriage is not eligible for the Episcopate.”

But, it contains legal advice that calls for celibate homosexuals to be eligible for ordination to the Episcopate. This is double talk.

It is too early to make a final judgement on what is currently known as “The News of the World Phone Hacking Scandal,” where journalists pursuing stories appear to have systematically hacked into mobile phones, stolen personal information and allegedly made payments to corrupt police officers.

It is too early because we do not know who authorized these actions and whether such illegalities occurred elsewhere within Rupert Murdoch’s vast News Corporation media empire, which includes The Times, The Sun, The Sunday Times and Sky television. Yet if we cannot yet make a final judgement, we know enough to be angry. Some of our society’s most fundamental standards have been trampled on and there has been a complete disregard for those most elementary British values, the rights to decency and privacy.

Why have gay activists instigated media attention over ex-gays and the husband of Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann?

Apparently, Mr. Bachmann, who has a Ph.D. in clinical psychology, operates several counseling centers which also offer services to homosexual clients seeking to overcome unwanted same-sex attractions.

But because even one ex-gay proves that homosexual behavior is not innate or immutable, the gay lobby’s fear of their former members results in false claims and attacks aimed at preventing homosexuals from exercising their right to self-determination. They cannot bear to have even one homosexual leave homosexuality, hence their outrage at Bachmann.

I know because I am ex-gay myself. I suffer more harassment as a former homosexual than I ever did as an out and proud homosexual.

It is interesting to me that one of the greatest states in our Union, New York, has recently made legal the marriage of two people of the same sex. There is a lot of sin in the world, and along with God I am against all of it, to include any that may operate within me.

However, when something as profound as this happens in our nation and I barely hear a peep from people who call on the name of the Lord Jesus, that scares me.

I’m not afraid of the many disasters that are happening simultaneously in our world. I’m not afraid of all the wars that are currently raging on almost every continent on the globe. The potential for nuclear accidents globally doesn’t frighten me.

What terrifies me are good men and women saying and doing nothing when politicians we voted into office are making moral laws that contradict everything a Holy God stands for.

Already, many candidates and major media are moving into full swing for next year’s elections. We must first understand what must be done before we can identify who can best help do it. Perhaps as important as any time since our founding, those who believe in divine providence and eternal principles must become well informed and actively involved in the political process.

Christians, pastors and all church leaders must totally reject the lie that “separation of church and state” means people of faith must remain silent, uninformed and uninvolved. Those who recognize truth and stand for it can turn the tide.

Our nation’s founders knew that the limits of the Constitution were placed on the government, not the people or religion. The right to stand up and support first principles is both a privilege and a responsibility. True freedom grants citizens the right to choose and we have a responsibility to choose right. The Bible declares, “Righteousness exalts the nation”¹ The psalmist affirms, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.”² “When the righteous increase, the people rejoice.”³

That is right…profile me and all men who were born in the Middle East, have a Middle Eastern profile or have Middle Eastern names. Why you say?

  • To spare humiliating 90+-year-old women who are suffering from cancer. 

 • To spare the traumatizing of little children

  • To spare the dignity of millions of innocent Americans who have done nothing and most likely will do nothing to have them experience the shameful, mindless and cruel striptease acts at the airports

I know … I know there is going to be howling from the Islamists in America such as CAIR and their defenders in the ACLU … “Discrimination,” “Islamofacisim” … and all of the wailing of fear that the word “profiling” engenders.

When our Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776, they considered religious freedom one of Americans’ most fundamental … Read More