33 pastors make presidential endorsements from pulpit

Most pastors get a bit squeamish when the subject of politics and the pulpit arises. For at least 33 pastors this past Sunday, the subject was tackled from head-on:

33 Pastors Flout Tax Law With Political Sermons

By Peter Slevin

Washington Post Staff Writer

Monday, September 29, 2008; A02

CROWN POINT, Ind., Sept. 28 -- Defying a federal law that prohibits U.S. clergy from endorsing political candidates from the pulpit, an evangelical Christian minister told his congregation Sunday that voting for Sen. Barack Obama would be evidence of "severe moral schizophrenia."

The Rev. Ron Johnson Jr. told worshipers that the Democratic presidential nominee's positions on abortion and gay partnerships exist "in direct opposition to God's truth as He has revealed it in the Scriptures." Johnson showed slides contrasting the candidates' views but stopped short of endorsing Obama's Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain.

Johnson and 32 other pastors across the country set out Sunday to break the rules, hoping to generate a legal battle that will prompt federal courts to throw out a 54-year-old ban on political endorsements by tax-exempt houses of worship.

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Asked why he felt the need to discuss the candidates by name and to be explicit in rejecting Obama and his pro-choice views, Johnson said he must connect the dots because he is not sure that all members of his congregation can do so on their own.

The congregation greeted Johnson's reasoning and his criticism of Obama with applause.

"When things of the world don't line up with Scripture," said Ed Kraus, 61, who executes reverse mortgages for a living, "he has a right to say they don't."

Ruth Stiener went a step further. "He has a duty," she said. "Heaven forbid that that is ever taken away from our pastors."

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"Senator Obama is a committed Christian and a man of deep faith," said Joshua DuBois, Obama's national religious affairs director. "And the notion that there is only one way to address issues like abortion, or that people of faith cannot support full civil rights for all Americans, is absurd."

Read the rest here.

A long Sunday at home...

...recuperating from a sinus infection. Saw this, and wanted to share:

Found @ www.reverendfun.com!

"Son, I'm Home": More parents move in with kids

Ran across this little bit today...read it but whatever you do, don't let your in-laws see this!

More parents move in with kids
In-laws, too, and others

By Greg Toppo and Anthony DeBarrosUSA TODAY

In the 1990s, your family came for dinner. Now they're moving in.

The number of parents, siblings and other relatives who live with adult heads of households grew 42% from 2000 to 2007, according to data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Leading the way: parents, up 67%, to 3.6 million.

The figures suggest it isn't only elderly parents moving in. The number of parents under 65 in these households increased by 75%, and those 65 and older were up 62%. Both groups outpaced the rise in the number of people in family households overall, which is up 6% since 2000.

"This is just a major trend," says Stephanie Coontz, a family history professor at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash., who directs research at the Council on Contemporary Families.
Coontz suspects that a host of factors — among them higher housing costs and the USA's struggling economy — are prompting families to combine expenses. Also, intergenerational households are more common among the country's growing number of immigrants, she says.

But Coontz also notes that parent-child relationships are closer now than in the past. The downside, she says, is the emergence of the so-called helicopter parent who may hover too closely, but the upside is a tighter bond between generations and, in many cases, closer friendships between grown children and their parents. "I don't know how many of my students have told me, 'This may sound weird, but I talk to my parents more than I talk to my friends.' "

Read the rest here.

Sunday AM Series: Romans

Pastor Joel Santti: Romans 13

"Be Subject"

-Submission one of the chief earmarks of the child of God.

Submission to Government

Subject because of Wrath (v. 1-4)
-this type of submission is less about personalities, and more about authority.
-one doesn't have to fear authority if one submits.
-obvious exception to this: when government edict conflicts with God's law (see Acts 5:28-29)
-the Christian should respect, esteem, and pray for public officials (this echoes Rom. 12:18)
-see also I Peter 2:13-17

Subject because of Conscience (v. 5-7)

Subject because of Love (v. 8-10)

Subject because of Our Redemption (v. 11-14)

Our Missionary Families

Last night was another milestone in the life of our church. The first missionary families supported by Reconciliation Church were selected by a vote of church members. We'd like to welcome the following missionaries to the Reconciliation Church family:

-Jim & Becky Carter, Alaska
-Adam & Brandie Crabtree, Greece
-Rich & Mindy Krecl, Israel
-Lionel & Carol Martin, Portugal
-Rick & Cheri Moeller, South Africa/Scotland
-New Testament Church Planting, USA

Coming Monday...

...we have missionaries to introduce. One of our new missionaries' countries flag is below. Can you guess where?

P.S. Sermon notes also on the way...

Mickey Mouse: target of Jihad?

I'm not kidding. The loveable American icon is the target of an Muslim cleric's fatwa (religious decree) which labels Mickey as "a soldier of Satan" who "should be killed in all cases". You can't make this stuff up:

"Saudi cleric Sheik Mohammed Munajjid said the cartoon character Mickey Mouse should be killed. Munajjid said in an interview with a religious Web site that under Islamic law, rats and mice are considered "repulsive" and as "soldiers of Satan."

"For children they've become something great and beloved. Like this Mickey Mouse, who is seen as a great figure, even though under Islamic law, Mickey Mouse should be killed," said Munajjid."

No word on Donald Duck's fate...

Notable quote...

"If there is no God, nothing matters. If there is a God, nothing else matters."

-Unknown

Something to think about...

I don't want the blog to morph into a constantly running commentary on the culture, but some things are pertinent enough to warrant mention here. This is one of those, written over at the Christian Theology blog. The question was in response to one of the major party candidates for president being unable to tell Rick Warren when life began. Further, they told Warren, neither theology or science could answer the question.

"Rick Warren led a recent debate between candidates for president at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest CA. One of the most thought provoking parts was when one of the candidates said that when human life begins was something that could not be known either through “Theology” nor “Science”. Well either way you go with that one it seems obviously wrong.

Beginning either with theology or the sciences it seems that whether or not the product of conception is alive and/or human has become pretty obvious. There are still a lot of things to think about on the nature of human life but haven’t we gotten to the place where we understand that the offspring of a male human and a female human is both alive and human? What else is there for it to be? Dead and Bovine? Say that for some reason we can’t know whether or not it is human life. Shouldn’t we then protect it until we find out for sure? Seems only reasonable."

On the Ray Boltz tragedy...

Doug Eaton writing at the Christian Theology blog has some pertinent thoughts about Christian musician Ray Boltz's bombshell that he is a homosexual. I will link to his whole blog, and here's some of what Eaton wrote:

So what should we think about the “coming out” of such a notable Christian figure, especially since he is now claiming to be happy? Besides the obvious sorrow we should feel for the destruction caused to Mr. Boltz’s family by divorcing his wife and the grief of his four children, and sorrow for Mr. Boltz himself as he is now living outside the revealed will of God, this should cause us to think for a minute about the deceptive nature of our enemy.

Eaton also hits a nerve as he talks about a disturbing trend which has crept into American Christianity: the primacy of self-happiness, self-actualization, or veiled hedonism:

All we have to do is listen to Christian music, Christian conferences, and even the preaching in many churches to see this is this trend. The true gospel has been substituted. Instead of preaching law and gospel where we are told the truth that we need to come to Christ because we are sinners deserving of wrath, and that the wages of sin is death, what is preached in its place is sorrow and self-esteem.

Shocked

Shocked. That's the only way I can describe my feeling after
a friend of mine called me and directed me to this item on
Christianity Today's website. I like many people have been
impacted by Ray Boltz's (right) ministry of music. From songs
like "Thank You" to "I Pledge Allegiance to the Lamb" to "The
Anchor Holds", Boltz sold millions of records, won many awards,
and toured the world. What's the larger lesson of his news?
Maybe it's a cautionary note that anyone can fall away. Paul's
words in I Corinthians never rang more true than tonight:
But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

Sunday AM Series: Romans

Pastor Joel Santti: Romans 12

The Christian's Service, the Christian's Conduct

-service to God begins with possessing a Christlike mindset (Rom. 11:34)

Verses 1-8 (Service)

-"beseech", literally "beg".
-living sacrifice: Christ wants our lives.
-reasonable service

-be not conformed: don't let the world squeeze you into its mold.

-renewing your mind: this is an ongoing process (Phil. 4:8)

-think soberly: implies seriousness.

-"members one of another" : the body of Christ in interdependent.

Verses 9-21 (Conduct)

-"Abhor that which is evil"

-"Rejoicing in hope"

-"Bless them which persecute you"

-"Provide things honest in the sight of all men"

-"overcome evil with good"

100!

Yes! 100...posts on the blog. Actually 101 for those of you scoring at home. We've been plugging away at church news, sermon notes, news about our culture, faith, and a little humor now and then since March 2008. Here's to more blog posts. Thanks go out to all of you who actually read these things!

Saturday chuckle...

Saw this bumper sticker tonight. I had to laugh, as anyone who's ever owned a truck will as well...

Sunday AM Series: Romans

Pastor Joel Santti: Romans 11

Paul's Two Questions

#1: Has God totally set aside Israel?
-Paul says no; he is an Israelite himself.
-Israel existed throughout the Old Testament.
-They experienced God's protection many times (the exodus, wandering in the desert, etc.)
-God always has a people.

#2: Did Israel stumble so they could fall?
-Paul says no.
-Israel rejected the Gospel, they were set aside by God.
-God then turned to the gentiles as the primary vehicle for the Gospel.

Key verse 11:22 "Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off."

9/11 plus 7

There are a few seminal moments in the life of a nation where you ask someone, "where were you when you heard..." and they'll instantly tell you where they were, what they were doing, and how they felt. The assassination of President Kennedy is one of those moments. Those who were alive in 1941 can tell you where they were when they heard that Japan had attacked a place called Pearl Harbor. On September 11, 2001 one of those moments which sears itself into the memory of a nation occured. On that early fall day, 19 men hijacked four commerical airliners, turning them into flying bombs.

Brief Chronology
-At 7:45am (CT), American Airlines flight 11 out of Boston's Logan Airport crashes into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.

-At 8:03am, United Airlines flight 175 (also from Boston) crashes into the World Trade Center South Tower.

-At 8:30am, President Bush speaking from an elementary school in Florida, states that America has suffered an "apparent terrorist attack."

-At 8:40am, the FAA orders all flight operations at U.S. airports to be stopped. This is the first time in American history this has occured.

-At 8:43am, American Airlines flight 77 crashes into the Pentagon.

-At 8:45am, as President Bush leaves Florida, the White House is evacuated.

-At 9:05am, the WTC South tower collapses.

-At 9:10am, United Airlines flight 93 crashes into a Pennsylvania field.

-At 9:28am, the WTC North tower collapses.

-At 10:02am, New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani urges New Yorkers to stay at home and orders an evacuation of the area south of Canal Street.

-At 12:04pm, President Bush speaking from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana asks for prayers for those killed or wounded in the attacks and says, "Make no mistake, the United States will hunt down and punish those responsible for these cowardly acts."

-At 1:49pm, Mayor Giuliani was asked about the number of people killed. Giuliani says, "I don't think we want to speculate about that - more than any of us can bear."

-At 3:00pm, news is revealed that Osama bin Laden, suspected of coordinating the bombings of two U.S. embassies in 1998, is involved in the attacks.

-At 5:54pm, Bush arrives back at the White House where he is to address the nation that evening.

-At 7:30pm, President Bush addresses the nation, saying "thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil" and asks for prayers for the families and friends of Tuesday's victims. "These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve," he says. The president says the U.S. government will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed the acts and those who harbor them.

-At 9:49pm, it is reported that Attorney General Ashcroft told members of Congress that there were three to five hijackers on each plane armed only with knives.

In closing, two fitting tributes (both from Christian music legends). The first, "There She Stands" by Michael W. Smith (warning: you may need a Kleenex nearby). The second, "The Ones Left Standing" by Wayne Watson.

Time is getting away...

We're "bee bopping" our way through the week and we look up and WHAM! it's Wednesday. So, coming Thursday, sermon notes (tardy) along with things about the significance of tomorrow, September 11th. In the meantime, where were you when you heard...?

Comment: A pundit who gets it...

It isn't often one of these political "talking heads" gets it right but a couple of days ago Fred Barnes (above) did get it right about the controversy surrounding the daughter of Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin, who is 17 and pregnant. Barnes was responding to a question of whether or not this revelation would hurt Palin with religious conservatives. Barnes said this:

I mean these are the people who realize that we're sinful, we're imperfect, and that's why we're Christians, because we need Jesus Christ in our lives.

I don't want the reader to get hung up in the politics of this issue. What I want you to see is one of those rare moments when someone in the secular world, in a secular line of work actually "gets it". Mr. Barnes nailed the essense of the Gospel message in a nutshell. It's rare when these pundits who generate more heat than light say something worth paying attention to, but Mr. Barnes did and he is to be congratulated for it.

Note: the writer's views contained in this post are his and do not necessarily reflect the views of Reconciliation Church.

Sunday AM Series: Romans

Pastor Joel Santti: Romans 10:1-21

Israel's Misplaced Zeal

Paul's burden restated (Rom. 10:1-4)
-the Jewish people were ignorant of God's righteousness.
-they sought justification by the law, not by faith (see Luke 18:9-14).
-justification through faith in Christ (Rom. 10:4)

The perils of seeking justification by the law (Rom. 10:5-7)

The remedy for misplaced zeal (Rom. 10:8-13)

The method for overcoming misplaced zeal (Rom. 10:14-17)
-go and tell.