Back in the saddle and hard at work!
After ten glorious days of vacation, I’m back in the saddle at our ministry center here on Capitol Hill. I’ll admit, I’m a certified workaholic, so it’s always difficult to tear myself away—and it’s always great to come back. I love the work God has given our ministry team to do!
Now that I'm back, everything goes into full swing for the fall season. We have our special Labor Day planning conference coming up this weekend. I’ll first be out in Columbus, Ohio, once again enjoying preaching for the inimitable Pastor Sam Farina of the dynamic Christian Assembly on Karl Road. I’ve known Sam for almost 20 years and his church has supported our work all that time. Sam and his lovely (and gifted wife), Paulette, celebrate 40 years of pastoral service to the folks at Christian Assembly on Saturday. Not only so, but the Farinas are respected throughout the Ohio capital.
On Monday, while most will be holding wiener roasts in their backyards, a small group of us will meet behind closed doors here in Washington to prayerfully execute what I call a “tower plan” involving all 50 state capitals. You will recall Jesus’ teaching on those who set out to build a tower must first assess what they will need to complete it. That’s what we’ll be doing Monday. As most culture watchers will observe, the three big core issues—the Sanctity of Life, the Sanctity of Marriage and the Public Acknowledgment of God—are all headed back to the states. We know we must bring our mission focus now to each of those state capitals in the same way we do here in the nation’s capital. I’ll keep you posted.
Some have written to ask what our Jerusalem emphasis has to do with our official Faith and Action mission statement. Let me answer that quickly: Everything! The Bible makes it quite clear that America’s destiny is bound up with Israel’s. As goes the Holy Land, so goes EVERY other nation. God promises to bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse her. That’s reason enough to urge God’s people here in the U.S. to be obedient in aiding Israel in her time of distress. But it calls for more. We are equally obligated to prophetically warn Israel of missteps that can ultimately destroy her. That’s why we’ve launched the Jerusalem Initiative. This effort seeks to gently and lovingly confront secular Israeli leaders who, like so many in this country, have bought into the so-called “gay rights” agenda.
Part of being a missionary on Capitol Hill is wearing many hats. One of those hats allows me to get to know the ambassadors representing foreign countries here. One such ambassador is David Ayalon of Israel. Ambassador Ayalon was guarded at first about engaging American Christians, but soon learned that we are among Israel’s best friends. That has allowed us unusual access. So, I’ve been quietly communicating with the Ambassador, conveying both our devotion to Israel as God’s land and to Jews as God’s people. Still, it is incumbent upon us to be forthright, honest and strong when it comes to Israel’s transgressions—just as we should with our own country and leaders.
I have warned the Ambassador that “homosexualizing” the Holy Land is most seriously an affront to the Holy God. But it is also a terrible affront to those who worship the One True God! The highest echelons of Israeli society and government are not only advocating for same-sex marriage, but using Israel's tax and international aid money to promote “gay” tourism in the Holy Land!
This is why we’ve joined our ally and friend, Rabbi Yehuda Levin of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Rabbis, in calling Israel’s leaders to account. This join project is called the “Keep the Holy Land Holy” campaign.
Ironically, this comes at the same time our outreach to the opposite part of the world is escalating. The Christian Friendship Mission to the Kingdom of Morocco has enjoyed enormous success during the two years it’s been underway. As in the Israeli effort, being here in Washington allowed me to get to know the very warm, affable and remarkably open-minded ambassador of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, His Excellency Aziz Mekouar. The result has been the first-ever top-level exchange between American leaders and Moroccan Muslim leaders. For now, it centers mainly on a little-known human tragedy being played out in this North African nation’s “southern provinces,” previously called “Western Sahara,” or, before that, “Spanish Sahara.” You can read more about this at http://www.nationalclergycouncil.org/ or http://www.speakforsahrawis.org/. While the human suffering in this mostly ignored region is enough to justify Christian involvement, there is more. Fidel Castro’s long tentacles reached into this area 30 years ago and he persists in fomenting atheist, socialist revolution in this part of the world. The result has been tens of thousands of child abductions and what amount to communist concentration camps in nearby Algeria, an ally of the former Soviet Union that, since the collapse of the latter, has yet to reform itself. I will keep you regularly informed on the progress of this unique outreach in the Arab Muslim world.
For now, back to home base: You know we had a string of victories and partial victories over the last few weeks. Beginning with our own Ten Commandments display, when the Government of the District of Columbia rescinded its order to remove it, to the more recent Idaho state supreme court ruling allowing the public (not the courts or politicians) to decide if they want the Commandments in the public square, to Congressional action protecting the San Diego Cross, to President’s Bush’s signing of congressional legislation prohibiting tax-subsidized human embryo farms, the tide seems to be turning. (See more on this at my other blog: www.tencommandmentsoncapitolhill.blogspot.com) Still, we have a very, very, very long way to go and many, many, many battles lie ahead. So, there’s no time to grow complacency! Onward ho!
Now that I'm back, everything goes into full swing for the fall season. We have our special Labor Day planning conference coming up this weekend. I’ll first be out in Columbus, Ohio, once again enjoying preaching for the inimitable Pastor Sam Farina of the dynamic Christian Assembly on Karl Road. I’ve known Sam for almost 20 years and his church has supported our work all that time. Sam and his lovely (and gifted wife), Paulette, celebrate 40 years of pastoral service to the folks at Christian Assembly on Saturday. Not only so, but the Farinas are respected throughout the Ohio capital.
On Monday, while most will be holding wiener roasts in their backyards, a small group of us will meet behind closed doors here in Washington to prayerfully execute what I call a “tower plan” involving all 50 state capitals. You will recall Jesus’ teaching on those who set out to build a tower must first assess what they will need to complete it. That’s what we’ll be doing Monday. As most culture watchers will observe, the three big core issues—the Sanctity of Life, the Sanctity of Marriage and the Public Acknowledgment of God—are all headed back to the states. We know we must bring our mission focus now to each of those state capitals in the same way we do here in the nation’s capital. I’ll keep you posted.
Some have written to ask what our Jerusalem emphasis has to do with our official Faith and Action mission statement. Let me answer that quickly: Everything! The Bible makes it quite clear that America’s destiny is bound up with Israel’s. As goes the Holy Land, so goes EVERY other nation. God promises to bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse her. That’s reason enough to urge God’s people here in the U.S. to be obedient in aiding Israel in her time of distress. But it calls for more. We are equally obligated to prophetically warn Israel of missteps that can ultimately destroy her. That’s why we’ve launched the Jerusalem Initiative. This effort seeks to gently and lovingly confront secular Israeli leaders who, like so many in this country, have bought into the so-called “gay rights” agenda.
Part of being a missionary on Capitol Hill is wearing many hats. One of those hats allows me to get to know the ambassadors representing foreign countries here. One such ambassador is David Ayalon of Israel. Ambassador Ayalon was guarded at first about engaging American Christians, but soon learned that we are among Israel’s best friends. That has allowed us unusual access. So, I’ve been quietly communicating with the Ambassador, conveying both our devotion to Israel as God’s land and to Jews as God’s people. Still, it is incumbent upon us to be forthright, honest and strong when it comes to Israel’s transgressions—just as we should with our own country and leaders.
I have warned the Ambassador that “homosexualizing” the Holy Land is most seriously an affront to the Holy God. But it is also a terrible affront to those who worship the One True God! The highest echelons of Israeli society and government are not only advocating for same-sex marriage, but using Israel's tax and international aid money to promote “gay” tourism in the Holy Land!
This is why we’ve joined our ally and friend, Rabbi Yehuda Levin of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Rabbis, in calling Israel’s leaders to account. This join project is called the “Keep the Holy Land Holy” campaign.
Ironically, this comes at the same time our outreach to the opposite part of the world is escalating. The Christian Friendship Mission to the Kingdom of Morocco has enjoyed enormous success during the two years it’s been underway. As in the Israeli effort, being here in Washington allowed me to get to know the very warm, affable and remarkably open-minded ambassador of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, His Excellency Aziz Mekouar. The result has been the first-ever top-level exchange between American leaders and Moroccan Muslim leaders. For now, it centers mainly on a little-known human tragedy being played out in this North African nation’s “southern provinces,” previously called “Western Sahara,” or, before that, “Spanish Sahara.” You can read more about this at http://www.nationalclergycouncil.org/ or http://www.speakforsahrawis.org/. While the human suffering in this mostly ignored region is enough to justify Christian involvement, there is more. Fidel Castro’s long tentacles reached into this area 30 years ago and he persists in fomenting atheist, socialist revolution in this part of the world. The result has been tens of thousands of child abductions and what amount to communist concentration camps in nearby Algeria, an ally of the former Soviet Union that, since the collapse of the latter, has yet to reform itself. I will keep you regularly informed on the progress of this unique outreach in the Arab Muslim world.
For now, back to home base: You know we had a string of victories and partial victories over the last few weeks. Beginning with our own Ten Commandments display, when the Government of the District of Columbia rescinded its order to remove it, to the more recent Idaho state supreme court ruling allowing the public (not the courts or politicians) to decide if they want the Commandments in the public square, to Congressional action protecting the San Diego Cross, to President’s Bush’s signing of congressional legislation prohibiting tax-subsidized human embryo farms, the tide seems to be turning. (See more on this at my other blog: www.tencommandmentsoncapitolhill.blogspot.com) Still, we have a very, very, very long way to go and many, many, many battles lie ahead. So, there’s no time to grow complacency! Onward ho!
posted by Rev. Rob Schenck | 6:22 AM
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