Your missionary to Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, Rob Schenck, reporting:
If New Hampshire does anything for campaign enthusiasts, it ought to sober us up. I’m embarrassed to be among those who got caught up in the political inebriation. Until New Hampshire, I had calmly assured everyone who asked me my opinion on what would happen that it would be Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney. Then I got swept up in the noxious fumes emitted by hysterical pollsters and pundits. For shame, for shame! I actually said aloud, it looks like Barak Obama will swamp Hillary! To add insult to self-injury, I said McCain will bury his competitors.
None of this proved true. Hillary squeaked ahead of Obama by a nose, giving each an equal number of delegates, but giving her the comeback aura exploited so well by her husband in his bid for the White House. And McCain, while scoring a comeback of his own, only bested Romney by three delegates to the convention. (Romney is currently leading in the overall delegate count.) So, the contest continues apace. In other words, it’s far from over; it’s just started. So I’m back to where I started: Hillary is her party’s likely nominee. Whoever the Republicans pick better be ready for the battle royal. If there’s anything the Clintons are not, they most definitely are not quitters.
This should be enough to give my fellow Evangelicals pause. We were threatened with our own mania, acting as if God had delivered a new Moses in Mike Huckabee, but as one seasoned Christian leader recently wrote me, “Huckabee needs to get away from homilies and add a little substance.” This contest will be fierce—fiercely fierce, whether Hillary or Barack is the Democratic nominee. The pro-life, pro-family, pro-acknowledgement of God candidate will need to be formidable, substantial, articulate, tested and presidential. And, hold your breath and don’t hate me, he will need to appeal to women! Yes, women! Women voters will be a force in this election as never before. So, he better be attractive, nice and sensitive—and have a very good track record as a husband and father.
My point is we need a principled, experienced and appealing winner for the pro-life, pro-family and pro-acknowledgment of God platform. More importantly, he will need to be a highly capable and proven executive. It’s still way too early to pick a favorite. Evangelicals need to soberly, prayerfully and diligently examine each candidate. It’s not enough that he can “preach.” We’re not hiring an evangelist to conduct a week-long revival; we’re hiring the chief executive officer for the largest, most complex and consequential enterprise in the entire world. Just in terms of numbers, the next president will manage scores of agencies with millions of employees and contractors. He (or she) will control $3 trillion in spending—that’s $3,000,000,000,000! And, need we say any more about the awesomely demanding responsibility of guarding the safety of over 300 million citizens from countless unnamed and unknown threats?
OK, we got our cup of coffee and we’re seeing clearly again. Now it’s time to settle down, get ourselves together and fully appreciate what this is about. It’s about the most serious business in the temporal world. If it takes more than a good preacher to run a church, imagine what it takes to run the United States of America. We’re not done vetting our candidate, not by a long shot. Keep watching, keep praying, keep asking and keep probing. The slate is still wide open. If ever we Evangelicals needed to pick the right one, it’s this time. We did it with Ronald Reagan and we can do it again. But remember, we need a Ronald Reagan for this assignment, not a Billy Graham.
Your grateful missionary to elected and appointed officials,
Rev. Rob Schenck
Faith and Action
109 2nd St., NE
Washington, DC 20002
http://www.faithandaction.org/
202-546-8329
Showing posts with label Rob and Paul Schenck. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rob and Paul Schenck. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
NEW TWISTS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE
Your missionary to Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, Rob Schenck, reporting:
Once again, I’m writing to you from above the clouds at 34,000 feet. My brother, Paul and I are on our way back from Manchester, New Hampshire, where you know what is going on. As you’ll see in my audio and video postings, we’ve spent the last 30 hours in the Granite State watching . . praying . . . and reminding everyone we came in contact with just how consequential this primary vote will be.
The big surprise, of course, was the plummeting of Hillary Clinton from the presumptive Democratic nominee to a presumptive second-place loser. One poll (if you can believe polls) had her down by 13 points. In a minute I’ll give you my take on this from a spiritual perspective, but let me report just a little more:
From what we all saw on the ground, Barack Obama’s people were super-charged. They were bright-eyed, visibly excited, jumping up and down and very, very optimistic about their candidate. On the other hand, Hillary’s people were subdued, at times grim and resigned to her loss. At one dinner sitting, several of her top advisers inexplicably gravitated to our table. These were former top officials in her husband Bill’s administration. They wondered aloud by just how many points she would lose to Obama. (That’s not something any supporter wants to think about.) It took my brother’s gentle but prophetic confrontation of the Clintons’ track record on the paramount moral issues to convince them we were not prospects for their much needed 11th hour support!
(Oddly, I discovered I had more than a couple of mutual acquaintances with these folks. We didn’t get into it because of other things, but two of them told me they are involved in Bible studies in Washington that I have visited. Some day I’ll ask them how they square that with Hillary’s platform.)
I’ll admit now I never saw Hillary’s tumble coming. I had previously evaluated Obama as a shooting star who would go off with a bang but quickly flame out. After talking last year with top-ranking Democratic Party leaders, I was convinced there were so many Hillary IOU’s the Party would never turn on her. I’m beginning to think I was wrong.
There are two ways to view this from my perspective: 1) Hillary is getting her comeuppance (and God is a part of that), and / or 2) Obama, whose policies I believe would be in greater conflict with biblical principles than Hillary’s would be, is a judgment from heaven. Immoral leadership is an instrument God uses to chasten a people.
On the Republican side, the big surprise remains Mike Huckabee, but he’s expected to place only third in New Hampshire. The same network of fundamentalist leaning Evangelicals is not available to him in New Hampshire. Home-schoolers are divided, unlike the situation in Iowa. A lot of New Hampshire home school families are Roman Catholic and have different tastes, including for Ron Paul. That leaves a toss-up between John McCain, who doesn’t appear to me to have any vital faith, and Mitt Romney, who, while LDS, most certainly does.
All this is to say why we gathered with our good friend and frequent ministry partner, Rev. Pat Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition, for a beautiful prayer service Sunday night. Our host was Pastor Gary Hamilton of the First Assembly of God in nearby Aurora, New Hampshire. His worship team led in a beautiful time of praise and many visiting and local Christian leaders exhorted the crowd and led in prayers. My brother Paul led the prayer for the all the candidates. It was not recorded, so I thought you’d like to read it:
“Lord God, men and women strive for high public office for many reasons: only you know their true motives and intentions. In each one is a mixture of willingness to serve others and ambition for power. We bring before you each candidate - Republican, Democrat, conservative, liberal, progressive. We pray that he, or she, will turn to you for guidance and wisdom. We pray that he or she will acknowledge you as the source of knowledge and goodness. We pray that he or she will defend the sanctity of human life and the dignity of each person - from conception to natural death. We pray that he or she will uphold the sacredness of the marriage of man and women as you ordained it. You have said that blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. In this primary election - help the citizens of New Hampshire to rely on their knowledge and consciences well formed by your word, in casting their ballots for the leader who will rely on you and not his or her personal ambition. Let us too heed your admonition not to rely on our own strength or prowess, but to say 'The Lord has given us this victory.'” In Jesus' name. Amen.
Before I took to the pulpit to close the gathering, I surveyed the room and was struck by the breadth of diversity among those that ministered that night. There was Starr Parker, the African-American woman who has lead in so much social development. Joining her was Norma McCorvey, the former Jane Roe of Roe v. Wade and now tireless pro-life evangelist. And young people—lots of young people—from all over the country who have taken up the cause of calling America back to God and ending the horror of abortion. A troop of them presented a deeply moving “human video” (a drama in mime set to music) that left everyone speechless.
I reserved my time to commend Pastor Hamilton for his courage in hosting such a meeting. A lot of pastors—and maybe most—would have been afraid to do so. I led in a prayer that God would multiply Pastor Hamilton’s number. With 30 million Evangelicals and millions more Roman Catholics and other Christians of conservative moral conviction in this country, the Lord has his forces in place. The challenge is in their doing the right thing. Pastors have a lot to do with whether people feel comfortable—or even responsible—to engage the political process. A lot of pastors stay away from the topic afraid of either alienating prospective church members or being bullied by the ACLU. May God give us pastors bold as lions who will challenge and equip their people to be salt and light!
I will not be endorsing a candidate for many reasons, but I did urge the people gathered in Manchester to take their responsibility seriously. They thanked me for it.
Today the people of New Hampshire will vote for who they want to represent their party in the presidential race. The net result will likely be fewer candidates next week. This is the process that’s winnowing out the field. As we narrow our focus we can say more about those who remain. Please pray God’s will be done in today’s important phase of picking our next president.
We will keep watching—and, more importantly—praying!
Your grateful missionary to elected and appointed officials,
Rev. Rob Schenck
Once again, I’m writing to you from above the clouds at 34,000 feet. My brother, Paul and I are on our way back from Manchester, New Hampshire, where you know what is going on. As you’ll see in my audio and video postings, we’ve spent the last 30 hours in the Granite State watching . . praying . . . and reminding everyone we came in contact with just how consequential this primary vote will be.
The big surprise, of course, was the plummeting of Hillary Clinton from the presumptive Democratic nominee to a presumptive second-place loser. One poll (if you can believe polls) had her down by 13 points. In a minute I’ll give you my take on this from a spiritual perspective, but let me report just a little more:
From what we all saw on the ground, Barack Obama’s people were super-charged. They were bright-eyed, visibly excited, jumping up and down and very, very optimistic about their candidate. On the other hand, Hillary’s people were subdued, at times grim and resigned to her loss. At one dinner sitting, several of her top advisers inexplicably gravitated to our table. These were former top officials in her husband Bill’s administration. They wondered aloud by just how many points she would lose to Obama. (That’s not something any supporter wants to think about.) It took my brother’s gentle but prophetic confrontation of the Clintons’ track record on the paramount moral issues to convince them we were not prospects for their much needed 11th hour support!
(Oddly, I discovered I had more than a couple of mutual acquaintances with these folks. We didn’t get into it because of other things, but two of them told me they are involved in Bible studies in Washington that I have visited. Some day I’ll ask them how they square that with Hillary’s platform.)
I’ll admit now I never saw Hillary’s tumble coming. I had previously evaluated Obama as a shooting star who would go off with a bang but quickly flame out. After talking last year with top-ranking Democratic Party leaders, I was convinced there were so many Hillary IOU’s the Party would never turn on her. I’m beginning to think I was wrong.
There are two ways to view this from my perspective: 1) Hillary is getting her comeuppance (and God is a part of that), and / or 2) Obama, whose policies I believe would be in greater conflict with biblical principles than Hillary’s would be, is a judgment from heaven. Immoral leadership is an instrument God uses to chasten a people.
On the Republican side, the big surprise remains Mike Huckabee, but he’s expected to place only third in New Hampshire. The same network of fundamentalist leaning Evangelicals is not available to him in New Hampshire. Home-schoolers are divided, unlike the situation in Iowa. A lot of New Hampshire home school families are Roman Catholic and have different tastes, including for Ron Paul. That leaves a toss-up between John McCain, who doesn’t appear to me to have any vital faith, and Mitt Romney, who, while LDS, most certainly does.
All this is to say why we gathered with our good friend and frequent ministry partner, Rev. Pat Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition, for a beautiful prayer service Sunday night. Our host was Pastor Gary Hamilton of the First Assembly of God in nearby Aurora, New Hampshire. His worship team led in a beautiful time of praise and many visiting and local Christian leaders exhorted the crowd and led in prayers. My brother Paul led the prayer for the all the candidates. It was not recorded, so I thought you’d like to read it:
“Lord God, men and women strive for high public office for many reasons: only you know their true motives and intentions. In each one is a mixture of willingness to serve others and ambition for power. We bring before you each candidate - Republican, Democrat, conservative, liberal, progressive. We pray that he, or she, will turn to you for guidance and wisdom. We pray that he or she will acknowledge you as the source of knowledge and goodness. We pray that he or she will defend the sanctity of human life and the dignity of each person - from conception to natural death. We pray that he or she will uphold the sacredness of the marriage of man and women as you ordained it. You have said that blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. In this primary election - help the citizens of New Hampshire to rely on their knowledge and consciences well formed by your word, in casting their ballots for the leader who will rely on you and not his or her personal ambition. Let us too heed your admonition not to rely on our own strength or prowess, but to say 'The Lord has given us this victory.'” In Jesus' name. Amen.
Before I took to the pulpit to close the gathering, I surveyed the room and was struck by the breadth of diversity among those that ministered that night. There was Starr Parker, the African-American woman who has lead in so much social development. Joining her was Norma McCorvey, the former Jane Roe of Roe v. Wade and now tireless pro-life evangelist. And young people—lots of young people—from all over the country who have taken up the cause of calling America back to God and ending the horror of abortion. A troop of them presented a deeply moving “human video” (a drama in mime set to music) that left everyone speechless.
I reserved my time to commend Pastor Hamilton for his courage in hosting such a meeting. A lot of pastors—and maybe most—would have been afraid to do so. I led in a prayer that God would multiply Pastor Hamilton’s number. With 30 million Evangelicals and millions more Roman Catholics and other Christians of conservative moral conviction in this country, the Lord has his forces in place. The challenge is in their doing the right thing. Pastors have a lot to do with whether people feel comfortable—or even responsible—to engage the political process. A lot of pastors stay away from the topic afraid of either alienating prospective church members or being bullied by the ACLU. May God give us pastors bold as lions who will challenge and equip their people to be salt and light!
I will not be endorsing a candidate for many reasons, but I did urge the people gathered in Manchester to take their responsibility seriously. They thanked me for it.
Today the people of New Hampshire will vote for who they want to represent their party in the presidential race. The net result will likely be fewer candidates next week. This is the process that’s winnowing out the field. As we narrow our focus we can say more about those who remain. Please pray God’s will be done in today’s important phase of picking our next president.
We will keep watching—and, more importantly—praying!
Your grateful missionary to elected and appointed officials,
Rev. Rob Schenck
Monday, December 10, 2007
SO WHAT YA' THINK OF HUCKABEE?
Your missionary to Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, Rob Schenck, reporting:
Read on to get the answer to the banner question on this post!
I’m a little late because last week was a whirlwind. It was delivery week for our annual Congressional Christmas Outreach: 535 hand-delivered Christmas packages. Every single member of the United States Congress (435 representatives and 100 senators) received a special Christmas card (to get their attention), a personalized letter from me (to warm their hearts and open their minds) and a colorful, well-written, crystal clear Gospel tract explaining the true meaning of Christmas using the appropriate scripture texts. In-other-words, everything a member of congress needs to know in order to find the Savior! Thank you to each who helped fund and pray for this all-important Christmas season ministry to our nation’s top elected officials!
That wasn’t all for last week. There were several planning meetings, including with our number one ally on Capitol Hill—the friend without which we could not do the most important aspects of our ministry work. (He remains nameless to protect his delicate position.) While this may sound oh-so-mundane, strategic planning is more and more a vital part of our work. Navigating the difficult waters of Capitol Hill has never been easy, but since the changes in leadership here—and the resulting escalation in hostility towards things Christian—it’s gotten that much more challenging. It reminds me very much of the frosty reception I got when I first arrived here back in those anti-Christian Clinton days in late 1994, just before the “Republican Revolution” brought so many Christians to Washington. The Bush presidency brought even more Bible believers and the spiritual winter here turned to summer. But alas, as the seasons change, so does the climate on the Hill and the cold winds blow again! All this is to say the current and more difficult environment demands more than ever we be as “wise as serpents.” It’s not as easy, so it takes better strategies, and we are busy prayerfully putting those strategic plans together for 2008.
Speaking about 2008, that was another part of last weeks’ frenetic activity. Just after recording my Faith and Action Live! weekly audio and video pod cast (get it at our website: www.faithandaction.org), I was invited to join Jay Sekulow and other Christian leaders at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas, for a speech by presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Romney, as you well know, is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS), otherwise known as “Mormons.” Mormonism, as you also know, differs significantly from “orthodox” Christianity on a number of points, not the least of which include the nature of God and Christ Himself, the reliability of the Bible and the way of salvation. Yet, Mormons are deeply religious and morally conservative people. There have been several recent instances of vitally important alliances between Evangelicals, traditional Catholics and Mormons on paramount moral issues, like the sanctity of traditional marriage. I believe this new alliance is so important I’ve begun a formal dialogue with LDS church leadership.
In any case, Mitt Romney’s religion has become such a big distraction in campaign media coverage, he felt it necessary to address the subject straight on. I’m glad he did. In fact, I had advised the Governor to do so more than a year ago, before he was a declared candidate. Whether I had anything to do with his final decision on going with this speech, I don’t know. In any case, it was a good speech; perhaps one of the greatest in campaign history. “Faith in America,” as Governor Romney titled it, was modeled somewhat after John F. Kennedy’s famous 1960 speech to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association defending himself against suspicions about his Roman Catholic faith.
I say Romney’s speech was great because it was extremely well-crafted, delivered sincerely and exquisitely, and touched on all the right dimensions of this difficult issue. (Not to mention the prestigious venue complete with an introduction by a former president!) The speech is also virtually unique because Governor Romney is the first Mormon to give such an address. (He’s not the first Mormon to run for president—that was LDS founder Joseph Smith in 1844! Other LDS candidates include Morris Udall in ’76, Mitt’s own father, George Romney, in ’68 and my friend, Orrin Hatch in 2000.)
Evangelicals like me have enormous differences with the LDS on matters of doctrine, but that wasn’t really the point of this speech. Whether you feel you could vote for a Mormon is a matter between you and your conscience as it is best informed through prayer and the Word of God. (But do keep in mind our American Founders wisely ensured there would never be a religious test for office when they passed the Sixth Amendment.) As far as making a case for those things we hold in common with many Mormons, especially the paramount importance of religious freedom and its place in public life, “Faith in America” was a bell-ringer. I encourage you to review the speech for yourself and make your own judgment. (http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/12/faith_in_america.html) I’m glad I was there, if for no other reason than to watch history being made! Do check out our soon-to-be posted religious profile of Romney as candidate, again at our website under “Presidential Candidates” along the left-hand menu.
Mentioning any of the candidates—and especially Mitt Romney—begs the above question, So what do you think of Huckabee? As I’ve said and will say over and over, I do not endorse candidates. That being said, I don’t know much about Mike Huckabee. I won’t make the mistake many did with Jimmy Carter in 1976 and assume that because he testifies to being “born again,” all is well. The big question with a presidential candidate is not simply are his principles right, but can he win an election and, once elected, can he (or she) govern effectively? Personally, as I examine each candidate I ask what does he believes and based on what? How do those beliefs express themselves publicly and privately? Is this person equipped to conduct a successful campaign? Once elected, is he able to translate those beliefs into action in office? There is no monster larger, more complex, more potentially dangerous or more stressful than the executive branch of the United States government. A candidate may be well-intentioned, properly oriented spiritually, possess a pleasing personality, good looks and all that, but in the end be an ineffective leader on such a grand scale. We saw that in Bill Clinton. He carried a big Bible; told of walking the aisle of a Billy Graham Crusade; golfed with a Pentecostal pastor buddy; could preach with the best of them, even in a black church pulpit; was the darling of so many—yet, Bill Clinton was a disaster in office.
All I can tell you on this one so far is pray, do your research. (You can’t make the call on this one based on 20-second sound bites and sensational headlines!) Ask the hard questions, know who and what your voting for, and find out what a president does and must do. What I will say is you must be fully engaged in the process. If we do nothing, we deserve anything. If we don’t do our part, we have no right to complain afterwards: Pray, research and act!
Last word: Yesterday I had a rare Sunday home with my wife at my own church. (I'm out preaching somewhere in the country the rest of the weekends.) Our pastor brought a powerful message on repentance. This is the theme I've been praying on, preaching on and acting on for the last several months. "Repent!" is the cry of the hour. If we're counting on the Lord giving this nation the righteous leadership it needs, it must begin with the people humbling themselves before Him--and that begins with God's people! Judgment begins in the house of the Lord: "If MY PEOPLE will humble themselves . . . turn from their wicked ways . . ." I'll have more to say about this in future posts. Pray with me!
Happy 7th night of Hanukkah! (View my Faith and Action Live Hanukkah special report at http://www.faithandaction.org/video/Faa_Live_Season_2_Broadcast_10.wmv)
Back with more . . .
Rev. Rob Schenck
Faith and Action in the Nation’s Capital
109 2nd St, NE
Washington, DC 20002
www.faithandaction.org
202-546-8329
Read on to get the answer to the banner question on this post!
I’m a little late because last week was a whirlwind. It was delivery week for our annual Congressional Christmas Outreach: 535 hand-delivered Christmas packages. Every single member of the United States Congress (435 representatives and 100 senators) received a special Christmas card (to get their attention), a personalized letter from me (to warm their hearts and open their minds) and a colorful, well-written, crystal clear Gospel tract explaining the true meaning of Christmas using the appropriate scripture texts. In-other-words, everything a member of congress needs to know in order to find the Savior! Thank you to each who helped fund and pray for this all-important Christmas season ministry to our nation’s top elected officials!
That wasn’t all for last week. There were several planning meetings, including with our number one ally on Capitol Hill—the friend without which we could not do the most important aspects of our ministry work. (He remains nameless to protect his delicate position.) While this may sound oh-so-mundane, strategic planning is more and more a vital part of our work. Navigating the difficult waters of Capitol Hill has never been easy, but since the changes in leadership here—and the resulting escalation in hostility towards things Christian—it’s gotten that much more challenging. It reminds me very much of the frosty reception I got when I first arrived here back in those anti-Christian Clinton days in late 1994, just before the “Republican Revolution” brought so many Christians to Washington. The Bush presidency brought even more Bible believers and the spiritual winter here turned to summer. But alas, as the seasons change, so does the climate on the Hill and the cold winds blow again! All this is to say the current and more difficult environment demands more than ever we be as “wise as serpents.” It’s not as easy, so it takes better strategies, and we are busy prayerfully putting those strategic plans together for 2008.
Speaking about 2008, that was another part of last weeks’ frenetic activity. Just after recording my Faith and Action Live! weekly audio and video pod cast (get it at our website: www.faithandaction.org), I was invited to join Jay Sekulow and other Christian leaders at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas, for a speech by presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Romney, as you well know, is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS), otherwise known as “Mormons.” Mormonism, as you also know, differs significantly from “orthodox” Christianity on a number of points, not the least of which include the nature of God and Christ Himself, the reliability of the Bible and the way of salvation. Yet, Mormons are deeply religious and morally conservative people. There have been several recent instances of vitally important alliances between Evangelicals, traditional Catholics and Mormons on paramount moral issues, like the sanctity of traditional marriage. I believe this new alliance is so important I’ve begun a formal dialogue with LDS church leadership.
In any case, Mitt Romney’s religion has become such a big distraction in campaign media coverage, he felt it necessary to address the subject straight on. I’m glad he did. In fact, I had advised the Governor to do so more than a year ago, before he was a declared candidate. Whether I had anything to do with his final decision on going with this speech, I don’t know. In any case, it was a good speech; perhaps one of the greatest in campaign history. “Faith in America,” as Governor Romney titled it, was modeled somewhat after John F. Kennedy’s famous 1960 speech to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association defending himself against suspicions about his Roman Catholic faith.
I say Romney’s speech was great because it was extremely well-crafted, delivered sincerely and exquisitely, and touched on all the right dimensions of this difficult issue. (Not to mention the prestigious venue complete with an introduction by a former president!) The speech is also virtually unique because Governor Romney is the first Mormon to give such an address. (He’s not the first Mormon to run for president—that was LDS founder Joseph Smith in 1844! Other LDS candidates include Morris Udall in ’76, Mitt’s own father, George Romney, in ’68 and my friend, Orrin Hatch in 2000.)
Evangelicals like me have enormous differences with the LDS on matters of doctrine, but that wasn’t really the point of this speech. Whether you feel you could vote for a Mormon is a matter between you and your conscience as it is best informed through prayer and the Word of God. (But do keep in mind our American Founders wisely ensured there would never be a religious test for office when they passed the Sixth Amendment.) As far as making a case for those things we hold in common with many Mormons, especially the paramount importance of religious freedom and its place in public life, “Faith in America” was a bell-ringer. I encourage you to review the speech for yourself and make your own judgment. (http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/12/faith_in_america.html) I’m glad I was there, if for no other reason than to watch history being made! Do check out our soon-to-be posted religious profile of Romney as candidate, again at our website under “Presidential Candidates” along the left-hand menu.
Mentioning any of the candidates—and especially Mitt Romney—begs the above question, So what do you think of Huckabee? As I’ve said and will say over and over, I do not endorse candidates. That being said, I don’t know much about Mike Huckabee. I won’t make the mistake many did with Jimmy Carter in 1976 and assume that because he testifies to being “born again,” all is well. The big question with a presidential candidate is not simply are his principles right, but can he win an election and, once elected, can he (or she) govern effectively? Personally, as I examine each candidate I ask what does he believes and based on what? How do those beliefs express themselves publicly and privately? Is this person equipped to conduct a successful campaign? Once elected, is he able to translate those beliefs into action in office? There is no monster larger, more complex, more potentially dangerous or more stressful than the executive branch of the United States government. A candidate may be well-intentioned, properly oriented spiritually, possess a pleasing personality, good looks and all that, but in the end be an ineffective leader on such a grand scale. We saw that in Bill Clinton. He carried a big Bible; told of walking the aisle of a Billy Graham Crusade; golfed with a Pentecostal pastor buddy; could preach with the best of them, even in a black church pulpit; was the darling of so many—yet, Bill Clinton was a disaster in office.
All I can tell you on this one so far is pray, do your research. (You can’t make the call on this one based on 20-second sound bites and sensational headlines!) Ask the hard questions, know who and what your voting for, and find out what a president does and must do. What I will say is you must be fully engaged in the process. If we do nothing, we deserve anything. If we don’t do our part, we have no right to complain afterwards: Pray, research and act!
Last word: Yesterday I had a rare Sunday home with my wife at my own church. (I'm out preaching somewhere in the country the rest of the weekends.) Our pastor brought a powerful message on repentance. This is the theme I've been praying on, preaching on and acting on for the last several months. "Repent!" is the cry of the hour. If we're counting on the Lord giving this nation the righteous leadership it needs, it must begin with the people humbling themselves before Him--and that begins with God's people! Judgment begins in the house of the Lord: "If MY PEOPLE will humble themselves . . . turn from their wicked ways . . ." I'll have more to say about this in future posts. Pray with me!
Happy 7th night of Hanukkah! (View my Faith and Action Live Hanukkah special report at http://www.faithandaction.org/video/Faa_Live_Season_2_Broadcast_10.wmv)
Back with more . . .
Rev. Rob Schenck
Faith and Action in the Nation’s Capital
109 2nd St, NE
Washington, DC 20002
www.faithandaction.org
202-546-8329
Monday, November 26, 2007
JOINING YOU IN THANKS AND PRAISE
We’re back in the saddle after a much needed Thanksgiving break. Our ministry center closed down last Tuesday as a bonus to our tired team. They had worked overtime and over the weekend on two big events: The 25th Anniversary Silver Celebration gala and the dedication ceremony for our front garden—where the Ten Commandments are displayed. It’s now the newly christened Cora Bieber Memorial Garden on Capitol Hill.
I didn’t get out of town until late Wednesday night. Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons I remotely guest hosted my friend Adam McManus’s daily talk radio show, Adam McManus Live! broadcasted out of San Antonio, Texas on KSLR. Over the years I’ve been a frequent guest of Adam’s. His is one of the most professionally produced shows of its kind in the country. While it’s getting tougher to take on extracurricular assignments like this one, I do enjoy Adam and his audience. Until I did these “gigs,” I could not appreciate the considerable mental and physical energy required to keep a three-hour talk show format going. Hats off to all the many hosts I’ve taken for granted all these years. You people really do work very, very hard!
On Tuesday’s program I was alone in the borrowed studio just a couple of blocks from our ministry center. (In case you’re wondering, it’s in the nearby Heritage Foundation building.) Sitting here in Washington in front of a microphone, I may as well be in San Antonio. The listeners there hear no difference. I am always deeply appreciative to Adam’s production staff in Texas and the local studio personnel. They keep me on track by barking directions to me through my headphones and on the computer screen!
Wednesday I had with me my old friend, Charles Nestor, whom I mentioned in last week’s post. Charles and his wife, Belinda, were here for our 25th Anniversary Gala. We got talking afterwards about his Operation Nativity, an effort to remind Americans of the true reason for the Christmas season. Charles retired from being a very successful pastor after he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, but that’s hardly put him out of business. He remains one of America’s great preachers and Bible teachers. He’s also senior fellow for public policy at the National Clergy Council and, of course, is spearheading this new initiative in promoting Christmas nativity scenes on private property. We talked about Operation Nativity for two hours on Wednesday’s broadcast, fielding lots of interesting phone calls. I think you can listen to the archived broadcasts as www.kslr.com.
As a result of our Thanksgiving Day appeal, my brother, Paul, and I received hundreds of praise reports from all over the country. With them came an equal number of prayer requests. We now have over 32,000 supporters from all 50 states and several foreign countries. This year we will have mailed almost 3 million letters and 1.5 million E-mails to our growing ministry family. As we continue to increase in size, we don’t want to decrease in our depth of friendship with you. I promise you—you will never become simply a database record number here! You are a friend, a brother or sister in Christ and literally God’s lifeline to us! That’s why we invited you to send in your praise and thanksgiving reports over the holiday, so we can join in thanking God with you and for you.
Please keep in touch. We’re certainly grateful for your generous financial support and prayers for this ministry. One way to express our gratitude to the Lord and to you is to join you in prayer—in the good times and the bad. Please always feel free to send us your prayer requests and praise reports. We’re your extended family in Washington, DC!
Thank you—and thank God for you!
More later . . .
I didn’t get out of town until late Wednesday night. Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons I remotely guest hosted my friend Adam McManus’s daily talk radio show, Adam McManus Live! broadcasted out of San Antonio, Texas on KSLR. Over the years I’ve been a frequent guest of Adam’s. His is one of the most professionally produced shows of its kind in the country. While it’s getting tougher to take on extracurricular assignments like this one, I do enjoy Adam and his audience. Until I did these “gigs,” I could not appreciate the considerable mental and physical energy required to keep a three-hour talk show format going. Hats off to all the many hosts I’ve taken for granted all these years. You people really do work very, very hard!
On Tuesday’s program I was alone in the borrowed studio just a couple of blocks from our ministry center. (In case you’re wondering, it’s in the nearby Heritage Foundation building.) Sitting here in Washington in front of a microphone, I may as well be in San Antonio. The listeners there hear no difference. I am always deeply appreciative to Adam’s production staff in Texas and the local studio personnel. They keep me on track by barking directions to me through my headphones and on the computer screen!
Wednesday I had with me my old friend, Charles Nestor, whom I mentioned in last week’s post. Charles and his wife, Belinda, were here for our 25th Anniversary Gala. We got talking afterwards about his Operation Nativity, an effort to remind Americans of the true reason for the Christmas season. Charles retired from being a very successful pastor after he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, but that’s hardly put him out of business. He remains one of America’s great preachers and Bible teachers. He’s also senior fellow for public policy at the National Clergy Council and, of course, is spearheading this new initiative in promoting Christmas nativity scenes on private property. We talked about Operation Nativity for two hours on Wednesday’s broadcast, fielding lots of interesting phone calls. I think you can listen to the archived broadcasts as www.kslr.com.
As a result of our Thanksgiving Day appeal, my brother, Paul, and I received hundreds of praise reports from all over the country. With them came an equal number of prayer requests. We now have over 32,000 supporters from all 50 states and several foreign countries. This year we will have mailed almost 3 million letters and 1.5 million E-mails to our growing ministry family. As we continue to increase in size, we don’t want to decrease in our depth of friendship with you. I promise you—you will never become simply a database record number here! You are a friend, a brother or sister in Christ and literally God’s lifeline to us! That’s why we invited you to send in your praise and thanksgiving reports over the holiday, so we can join in thanking God with you and for you.
Please keep in touch. We’re certainly grateful for your generous financial support and prayers for this ministry. One way to express our gratitude to the Lord and to you is to join you in prayer—in the good times and the bad. Please always feel free to send us your prayer requests and praise reports. We’re your extended family in Washington, DC!
Thank you—and thank God for you!
More later . . .
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
YOU HAVE NO IDEA!
Your missionary to Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, Rob Schenck, reporting:
It sounds obnoxious to many non-New Yorkers, but the phrase, “You have no idea!” fills my childhood memories. Mom said it a lot—still uses it, though she doesn’t talk much these days. I still find it useful, but after 13 years as a resident of Northern Virginia (we live 35 miles east of Washington, DC), it’s beginning to wear off.
I used it here to get your attention. I want you to know that “you have no idea” how important you are to my brother, Paul, and me and our ministry team! Because you do what God has called you to do, we’re able to do what God has called us to do. It’s that simple. It takes a team to do ministry; not one or two, or even three or four, but a whole team, to get it done.
In just 10 days, Paul and I will host our ministry’s 25th anniversary Silver Celebration here in Washington. (I hope you’ll be with us! You can still get tickets—and very cheap rooms. Visit www.faithandaction.org for details!) When I think of the people who will be in that banquet hall on November 17, I am speechless. I wonder sometimes why they’ve been so generous with their time, talent and treasure. Then I realize it has nothing whatsoever to do with us or our ministry. All these friends are the provision of God to get HIS WORK done on this earth. God is the great chess master—developing His strategy and lining up His moves long before any of this enters our minds.
As we approach the Silver Celebration gala, my mind goes to a car ride with Ed Schoonmaker in 1977. I was in Bible college. Ed was probably in his fifties; I was still a kid. We talked theology, ministry and life. He handed me a check for $1000 towards the work I was doing then. It laid the groundwork for what would eventually lead to the ministry we have today. These 31 years later, Ed and his precious wife, Marian, still send us financial support, including a recent check for $1000. It’s more precious to me now than it was then—and that’s saying a lot!
I think about Dr. Dave Martinke and his family. Dave was still in medical school when he first sent us support. He later volunteered for various ministry outreaches we did. Then, he virtually gave himself to leading and developing our international work through Operation Serve; not only funding much of it, but training short-term missionaries, supervising the work in the field and developing an overall strategic plan. Dave was the first to accompany me on my fact-finding visit to Washington, DC, in 1994. He and his wife, Daryl, remain among our most faithful prayer and financial supporters.
There’s Pastor Myke Crowder of Layton, Utah’s amazing Christian Life Center. Myke’s been flying back and forth from Utah to Washington ever since we got started here on Capitol Hill. He and his wife Marsha and their wonderful church have backed us financially since our very first endeavors here. I’m often in his pulpit to give a report from the field. What can you say about that kind of generosity and faithfulness? I can’t find the words.
The list goes on and on and on. The night of November 17 there will be people present who have gone to the gates of hell and back with us for the cause of Christ and His Gospel:
. . . Pastor Johnny Hunter, our dear, dear brother and friend—one of the first African-American church leaders to take on the cause of Life, and he has paid dearly for it.
. . . Rev. Pat Mahoney, who is always there for us—and with us, even in the really dangerous moments; when we feel like crying, Pat always makes us laugh! (And he’ll do plenty of it November 17!)
. . . Mike and Steven Peroutka, whose enormous selflessness and generosity pay completely for our National Pro-Life Action Center. What can we say?
. . . Don and Gayle Wright, whose giving of themselves and their resources knows no end.
. . . Wayne and Melissa Newsome, the most selfless, invisible and kind financiers of God’s work you will ever meet.
. . . Christ and Dolly Lapp (yes, that’s how he spells it!), quiet, unassuming, never letting their right hand know what their left hand is giving—and it’s doing a lot of giving!
. . . Bernie and Lee Reese: You name the Christian endeavor in this country, and it’s got their fingerprints all over it!
. . . Fr. Frank Pavone—with us since the very first National Memorial for the Pre-born in 1994 and still with us in every way; as if Fr. Frank doesn’t have too much to do running America’s largest pro-life organization!
. . . Dr. Charles Nestor, a genius and one of the greatest pulpiteers in American church history. Now bound to a wheelchair with MS, Charles remains our stalwart friend and companion in all we do. (What did he see in two baby-faced teenage preachers those 32 years ago?)
The list could go on and on and on, filling more space than I have here. You are on the list, and we are more grateful for you than words can ever tell.
Thank you for all you do for the Lord, for His work and for us. There will never be enough time this side of eternity to say adequate thanks.
It sounds obnoxious to many non-New Yorkers, but the phrase, “You have no idea!” fills my childhood memories. Mom said it a lot—still uses it, though she doesn’t talk much these days. I still find it useful, but after 13 years as a resident of Northern Virginia (we live 35 miles east of Washington, DC), it’s beginning to wear off.
I used it here to get your attention. I want you to know that “you have no idea” how important you are to my brother, Paul, and me and our ministry team! Because you do what God has called you to do, we’re able to do what God has called us to do. It’s that simple. It takes a team to do ministry; not one or two, or even three or four, but a whole team, to get it done.
In just 10 days, Paul and I will host our ministry’s 25th anniversary Silver Celebration here in Washington. (I hope you’ll be with us! You can still get tickets—and very cheap rooms. Visit www.faithandaction.org for details!) When I think of the people who will be in that banquet hall on November 17, I am speechless. I wonder sometimes why they’ve been so generous with their time, talent and treasure. Then I realize it has nothing whatsoever to do with us or our ministry. All these friends are the provision of God to get HIS WORK done on this earth. God is the great chess master—developing His strategy and lining up His moves long before any of this enters our minds.
As we approach the Silver Celebration gala, my mind goes to a car ride with Ed Schoonmaker in 1977. I was in Bible college. Ed was probably in his fifties; I was still a kid. We talked theology, ministry and life. He handed me a check for $1000 towards the work I was doing then. It laid the groundwork for what would eventually lead to the ministry we have today. These 31 years later, Ed and his precious wife, Marian, still send us financial support, including a recent check for $1000. It’s more precious to me now than it was then—and that’s saying a lot!
I think about Dr. Dave Martinke and his family. Dave was still in medical school when he first sent us support. He later volunteered for various ministry outreaches we did. Then, he virtually gave himself to leading and developing our international work through Operation Serve; not only funding much of it, but training short-term missionaries, supervising the work in the field and developing an overall strategic plan. Dave was the first to accompany me on my fact-finding visit to Washington, DC, in 1994. He and his wife, Daryl, remain among our most faithful prayer and financial supporters.
There’s Pastor Myke Crowder of Layton, Utah’s amazing Christian Life Center. Myke’s been flying back and forth from Utah to Washington ever since we got started here on Capitol Hill. He and his wife Marsha and their wonderful church have backed us financially since our very first endeavors here. I’m often in his pulpit to give a report from the field. What can you say about that kind of generosity and faithfulness? I can’t find the words.
The list goes on and on and on. The night of November 17 there will be people present who have gone to the gates of hell and back with us for the cause of Christ and His Gospel:
. . . Pastor Johnny Hunter, our dear, dear brother and friend—one of the first African-American church leaders to take on the cause of Life, and he has paid dearly for it.
. . . Rev. Pat Mahoney, who is always there for us—and with us, even in the really dangerous moments; when we feel like crying, Pat always makes us laugh! (And he’ll do plenty of it November 17!)
. . . Mike and Steven Peroutka, whose enormous selflessness and generosity pay completely for our National Pro-Life Action Center. What can we say?
. . . Don and Gayle Wright, whose giving of themselves and their resources knows no end.
. . . Wayne and Melissa Newsome, the most selfless, invisible and kind financiers of God’s work you will ever meet.
. . . Christ and Dolly Lapp (yes, that’s how he spells it!), quiet, unassuming, never letting their right hand know what their left hand is giving—and it’s doing a lot of giving!
. . . Bernie and Lee Reese: You name the Christian endeavor in this country, and it’s got their fingerprints all over it!
. . . Fr. Frank Pavone—with us since the very first National Memorial for the Pre-born in 1994 and still with us in every way; as if Fr. Frank doesn’t have too much to do running America’s largest pro-life organization!
. . . Dr. Charles Nestor, a genius and one of the greatest pulpiteers in American church history. Now bound to a wheelchair with MS, Charles remains our stalwart friend and companion in all we do. (What did he see in two baby-faced teenage preachers those 32 years ago?)
The list could go on and on and on, filling more space than I have here. You are on the list, and we are more grateful for you than words can ever tell.
Thank you for all you do for the Lord, for His work and for us. There will never be enough time this side of eternity to say adequate thanks.
Monday, October 22, 2007
FAMILY MATTERS
Your missionary to Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, Rob Schenck, reporting:
This past week was a whirlwind. In order of importance it involved clear direction from the Lord on a number of issues; big family matters and, finally, big presidential race issues!
I’ll start from the top: We’ve prayerfully settled on a five-year plan that includes some very big developments on the ministry front. You’ll hear all about them at our upcoming 25th Anniversary gala, Saturday, November 17. If you haven’t already secured your tickets, please do it now as seats are filling very fast!
On the family front, my Mom and Dad are in a wonderful Catholic nursing facility back home in Buffalo, New York. (Their preference!) Both need round-the-clock care and they feel much more secure in a medical environment. It’s excruciating to be more than 500 miles away, so my brother and I get up there as often as possible. (Our two older sisters live near to the home and look after my folks, which is a huge relief. That’s in addition to the Sister who runs the place who sees each resident as her ministry charges!) Never-the-less, this past week was a crisis.
It was one of the few Sundays in the past several months that I wasn’t out preaching somewhere in the country. I thank God I wasn’t out because when I got the call that Mom had plunged into a sudden and deep dementia, I immediately ran for the airport. Every affordable flight was sold out but my Dad’s tutelage in how to get things done paid off again. I offered a young college student a handsome sum of money to take a later plane, which opened one seat for me on the earliest possible flight!
I found Mom in a disturbing psychotic state when I arrived. She saw fires in her room, talked with imaginary people, uncharacteristically barked in anger at everyone, including my Dad, her husband of 52 years, whom she no longer knew. It was painful to watch, and even more painful to be unable to do anything about it. But it didn’t take long for my sisters and me to determine things just didn’t add up. For one, dementia doesn’t usually come on so suddenly. We looked elsewhere—to her many prescription medications. We narrowed it down to one new drug that had recently been introduced to help control her worsening Parkinson’s disease. I asked for a PDR (Physicians’ Desk Reference, a sort of pharmaceutical encyclopedia) and discovered the drug can have psychotic side effects. We demanded she be weaned off of it immediately. Within hours Mom blossomed back into the joyful, lovely, happy woman she has always been with full cognition and recall! Praise God!
Here’s my thanks and prayers for my fellow middle-aged “sandwich” generation members who, like Cheryl and me, are helping launch adult children while saying hello to elder parent care. It ain’t easy—and boy, don’t I know it! (What do I have to complain about? My brother, Paul, still has four under-age kids at home while sharing this responsibility for our parents!) May the Lord help us all to do right by those He gives us!
OK, now onto the presidential race: Last week I attended the Values Voter Forum here in Washington. All the candidates were invited, but only Republicans showed up. I won’t comment on all of them, but I will tell you the ones who really impressed me.
First, the winner of the Values Voter straw poll, Mitt Romney: You know I met with the former Massachusetts governor back in March. (I had actually talked with him one-on-one a year earlier, but only briefly.) He impressed me before and again this past week. Romney’s speech to the attendees focused on family, for which he is a shining example of convincing personal experience. (Married 37 years to the same woman; five outstanding sons and ten grandkids!) Gov. Romney rightly said the family is the building block of society. (See my book on the Ten Commandments, Ten Words That Will Change A Nation, chapter 5.) He stated unequivocally that he will be a pro-life president; he will re-instate President Reagan’s family impact statement for all government programs, policies and initiatives; he will use the presidential bully pulpit to promote chastity until marriage; and he will back a constitutional amendment defining marriage as limited to one man and one woman. It really rang true—and it rang the bell with attendees. (In the audience were many of the most significant pro-life, pro-family and pro-religious freedom advocates in the country.)
The other outstanding presentation was little known former Governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas. He’s an unquestioned Evangelical (a former Baptist pastor) with an illustrious record of leadership in his home state. He has an unbroken history of being absolutely right on all our critical social and moral concerns. If you saw his recent appearances on any of the talk shows, you know he’s also a fabulous communicator—a critical skill he shares with Mitt Romney. Still, with all those important elements, there was an air of doubt among the people I spoke to about whether or not Huckabee has the internal drive and organizational ability to pull off a victory in the most difficult, challenging and demanding contest on earth. It’s looking more and more inevitable that Hillary Clinton will be the Democrat nominee. Let’s be gut-level honest: The real question is, Does Mike Huckabee have the dynamism, charisma, star-power and good-looking contrast to go up against her celebrity stature? That remains to be seen.
As far as the other would-be nominees who appeared at the Values Voter Forum, I can’t identify another “player.” Rudy Giuliani’s recalcitrant pro-choice position presents a virtually insurmountable obstacle to winning any appreciable percentage of pro-life votes. Fred Thomas did not seem to excite the room and I wasn’t there for the others, but neither was there much post-event chatter about them.
This is a difficult and challenging political season for all of us. I haven’t endorsed anyone—and I probably won’t. For now I am following Jesus’ instructions to His disciples, “Watch and pray.”
More later . . .
Rev. Rob Schenck
Faith and Action
109 2nd St., NE, Washington, DC 20002
http://www.faithandaction.org/
202-546-8329
P.S. After I wrote the above post, I received this from Chaplain Gordon James Klingenschmitt (or "Chaps," as so many know him), famous for being thrown out of the Navy for praying publicly in Jesus' name. I didn't know anything about this incident regarding Ambassador Alan Keyes, but I include it here for your assessment: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=58265.
This past week was a whirlwind. In order of importance it involved clear direction from the Lord on a number of issues; big family matters and, finally, big presidential race issues!
I’ll start from the top: We’ve prayerfully settled on a five-year plan that includes some very big developments on the ministry front. You’ll hear all about them at our upcoming 25th Anniversary gala, Saturday, November 17. If you haven’t already secured your tickets, please do it now as seats are filling very fast!
On the family front, my Mom and Dad are in a wonderful Catholic nursing facility back home in Buffalo, New York. (Their preference!) Both need round-the-clock care and they feel much more secure in a medical environment. It’s excruciating to be more than 500 miles away, so my brother and I get up there as often as possible. (Our two older sisters live near to the home and look after my folks, which is a huge relief. That’s in addition to the Sister who runs the place who sees each resident as her ministry charges!) Never-the-less, this past week was a crisis.
It was one of the few Sundays in the past several months that I wasn’t out preaching somewhere in the country. I thank God I wasn’t out because when I got the call that Mom had plunged into a sudden and deep dementia, I immediately ran for the airport. Every affordable flight was sold out but my Dad’s tutelage in how to get things done paid off again. I offered a young college student a handsome sum of money to take a later plane, which opened one seat for me on the earliest possible flight!
I found Mom in a disturbing psychotic state when I arrived. She saw fires in her room, talked with imaginary people, uncharacteristically barked in anger at everyone, including my Dad, her husband of 52 years, whom she no longer knew. It was painful to watch, and even more painful to be unable to do anything about it. But it didn’t take long for my sisters and me to determine things just didn’t add up. For one, dementia doesn’t usually come on so suddenly. We looked elsewhere—to her many prescription medications. We narrowed it down to one new drug that had recently been introduced to help control her worsening Parkinson’s disease. I asked for a PDR (Physicians’ Desk Reference, a sort of pharmaceutical encyclopedia) and discovered the drug can have psychotic side effects. We demanded she be weaned off of it immediately. Within hours Mom blossomed back into the joyful, lovely, happy woman she has always been with full cognition and recall! Praise God!
Here’s my thanks and prayers for my fellow middle-aged “sandwich” generation members who, like Cheryl and me, are helping launch adult children while saying hello to elder parent care. It ain’t easy—and boy, don’t I know it! (What do I have to complain about? My brother, Paul, still has four under-age kids at home while sharing this responsibility for our parents!) May the Lord help us all to do right by those He gives us!
OK, now onto the presidential race: Last week I attended the Values Voter Forum here in Washington. All the candidates were invited, but only Republicans showed up. I won’t comment on all of them, but I will tell you the ones who really impressed me.
First, the winner of the Values Voter straw poll, Mitt Romney: You know I met with the former Massachusetts governor back in March. (I had actually talked with him one-on-one a year earlier, but only briefly.) He impressed me before and again this past week. Romney’s speech to the attendees focused on family, for which he is a shining example of convincing personal experience. (Married 37 years to the same woman; five outstanding sons and ten grandkids!) Gov. Romney rightly said the family is the building block of society. (See my book on the Ten Commandments, Ten Words That Will Change A Nation, chapter 5.) He stated unequivocally that he will be a pro-life president; he will re-instate President Reagan’s family impact statement for all government programs, policies and initiatives; he will use the presidential bully pulpit to promote chastity until marriage; and he will back a constitutional amendment defining marriage as limited to one man and one woman. It really rang true—and it rang the bell with attendees. (In the audience were many of the most significant pro-life, pro-family and pro-religious freedom advocates in the country.)
The other outstanding presentation was little known former Governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas. He’s an unquestioned Evangelical (a former Baptist pastor) with an illustrious record of leadership in his home state. He has an unbroken history of being absolutely right on all our critical social and moral concerns. If you saw his recent appearances on any of the talk shows, you know he’s also a fabulous communicator—a critical skill he shares with Mitt Romney. Still, with all those important elements, there was an air of doubt among the people I spoke to about whether or not Huckabee has the internal drive and organizational ability to pull off a victory in the most difficult, challenging and demanding contest on earth. It’s looking more and more inevitable that Hillary Clinton will be the Democrat nominee. Let’s be gut-level honest: The real question is, Does Mike Huckabee have the dynamism, charisma, star-power and good-looking contrast to go up against her celebrity stature? That remains to be seen.
As far as the other would-be nominees who appeared at the Values Voter Forum, I can’t identify another “player.” Rudy Giuliani’s recalcitrant pro-choice position presents a virtually insurmountable obstacle to winning any appreciable percentage of pro-life votes. Fred Thomas did not seem to excite the room and I wasn’t there for the others, but neither was there much post-event chatter about them.
This is a difficult and challenging political season for all of us. I haven’t endorsed anyone—and I probably won’t. For now I am following Jesus’ instructions to His disciples, “Watch and pray.”
More later . . .
Rev. Rob Schenck
Faith and Action
109 2nd St., NE, Washington, DC 20002
http://www.faithandaction.org/
202-546-8329
P.S. After I wrote the above post, I received this from Chaplain Gordon James Klingenschmitt (or "Chaps," as so many know him), famous for being thrown out of the Navy for praying publicly in Jesus' name. I didn't know anything about this incident regarding Ambassador Alan Keyes, but I include it here for your assessment: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=58265.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
DEEP IN “ENEMY” TERRITORY
The headline to this post is deliberately overstated, tongue-in-cheek and meant only to grab your attention. That said, I will now tell you what I’m talking about:
Believe it or not I recently spent nearly an hour at Democratic National Committee headquarters here in Washington in a private meeting with DNC chairman Howard Dean. You probably remember the former governor of Vermont and past presidential candidate because of the mocking notoriety he received after his 2004 “I Have a Scream” campaign speech.
Many will ask, what was I doing there with Dean? The short answer is: seizing and opportunity for Biblical Truth.
The Democrats—just like the Republicans—are courting as many religious leaders in this country as they can; particularly Evangelicals. I’m regularly targeted because of our high profile here at Faith and Action, as well as my position as chairman of the committee on church and society for the Evangelical Church Alliance.
Until now I’ve declined many invitations to meet with campaign and party operatives. In fact, I spend a good chunk of my days fending off approaches. But this meeting proposal was different. First, I was assured it would be a “no-holds-barred” conversation; nothing taboo; no limitations. And, it was arranged by a very good friend who’s been a huge help to our Morocco Christian Friendship mission. Just to be sure I wasn’t used though, I insisted on taking along my trusty friend, Rev. Pat Mahoney. Pat’s great. He’s from New Jersey. Nobody gets away with anything when Pat’s in the room!
The intermediary agreed and told me Pat and I would be in charge of the agenda. We were credibly assured there would be no holding us captive to a lecture on how the Democrats were the real party for religious Americans or anything like that. We wouldn’t be pitched to support a candidate, or even support a Democrat at all. And, we’d get to talk; to share our testimonies of faith in Christ; to put anything we wanted on the table.
So, after getting prayerful counsel, Pat and I went over to DNC Headquarters on South Capitol Street. I must admit to some trepidation. After all, to Christians activists like me, the DNC has stood like a Nebuchadnezzar’s image above a fiery furnace. It’s been a symbol of massive, organized and powerful hostility to the three things of paramount importance to us: The Sanctity of Life, the Sanctity of Marriage and the Public Acknowledgement of God. What’s more, the DNC’s been our tormentor: It was a Democratic president that used his first day in office to strike down even the most modest restrictions on abortion. It was a Democratic attorney general that dragged an endless number of completely innocent pastors, pro-life advocates and their financial supporters before a secret grand jury, accusing them of aiding and abetting violent extremists. It was a Democratic White House that opened an official office of gay and lesbian liaison, bolstering homosexual political groups in their quest to re-shape American sexual mores. And, it’s now a Democratic Congress that has all but completely excluded morally conservative groups from using US Capitol facilities.
Yet, like Daniel’s own experience, there comes a time when even the most hostile king will show a crack in his armor; a chink that starts as genuine curiosity, albeit mixed with self-serving motives. (That self-serving part is true of everyone here in Washington. It’s just reality. You learn to work with it, rather than against it. I call it the “Christian jujitsu” technique!)
When I was approached for the meeting with Dean, I sensed a “Daniel-and-Darius-Moment." (See Daniel, chapter 6) I’m not sure this one will end with a decree that all Democrats must “tremble and fear before the God of Daniel,” but stranger things have happened!
I told Governor Dean our main proposal was for a public “conversation” on the core principles that drive morally conservative Christians when it comes to public policy and elections. This would not be a shouting match, angry debate or mutual lecturing. It would be a civil discussion, held in a public venue, with ample time to give real answers to hard questions. (Think of Paul before Festus or with the pagan philosophers at the Areopagus.) Much to our surprise, he immediately accepted our idea and our terms!
If you’ve heard me preach, you know I often begin by saying, “I’m not here to say God is a Republican. But neither do I say He’s a Democrat. His ways are far above our ways, and His thoughts are far above our thoughts, including our vulgar politics.” (In Deuteronomy 17:20, God even instructs us not pick civil leaders who turn to the “right hand or to the left.” I don’t think this means God always likes an Independent, but one thing I do know, God’s Word has the answer for any Democrat or Republican who’s wondering which direction to go!)
If any candidate, any party leader or any public official wants to know why we believe what we do—and they’re prepared to let us give the answer from God’s Word—I’m ready to do it:
“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.” (1 Peter 3:15)
We’ll see what really gets accomplished in this never before face-to-face with Chairman Dean and His party, but I know what I’m praying for! (I’ll let you know how it goes, or if it goes at all.) For now, all this means is we have an agreement to meet again with Dean, in a very public way, and engage in a civil exchange on the really, really important questions of what and why Christians believe. And Pat and I have agreed to reciprocate with how and why we may or may not be able to work with Democrats in the future.
Most importantly, we will give an answer for the hope we have.
Back later . . .
Believe it or not I recently spent nearly an hour at Democratic National Committee headquarters here in Washington in a private meeting with DNC chairman Howard Dean. You probably remember the former governor of Vermont and past presidential candidate because of the mocking notoriety he received after his 2004 “I Have a Scream” campaign speech.
Many will ask, what was I doing there with Dean? The short answer is: seizing and opportunity for Biblical Truth.
The Democrats—just like the Republicans—are courting as many religious leaders in this country as they can; particularly Evangelicals. I’m regularly targeted because of our high profile here at Faith and Action, as well as my position as chairman of the committee on church and society for the Evangelical Church Alliance.
Until now I’ve declined many invitations to meet with campaign and party operatives. In fact, I spend a good chunk of my days fending off approaches. But this meeting proposal was different. First, I was assured it would be a “no-holds-barred” conversation; nothing taboo; no limitations. And, it was arranged by a very good friend who’s been a huge help to our Morocco Christian Friendship mission. Just to be sure I wasn’t used though, I insisted on taking along my trusty friend, Rev. Pat Mahoney. Pat’s great. He’s from New Jersey. Nobody gets away with anything when Pat’s in the room!
The intermediary agreed and told me Pat and I would be in charge of the agenda. We were credibly assured there would be no holding us captive to a lecture on how the Democrats were the real party for religious Americans or anything like that. We wouldn’t be pitched to support a candidate, or even support a Democrat at all. And, we’d get to talk; to share our testimonies of faith in Christ; to put anything we wanted on the table.
So, after getting prayerful counsel, Pat and I went over to DNC Headquarters on South Capitol Street. I must admit to some trepidation. After all, to Christians activists like me, the DNC has stood like a Nebuchadnezzar’s image above a fiery furnace. It’s been a symbol of massive, organized and powerful hostility to the three things of paramount importance to us: The Sanctity of Life, the Sanctity of Marriage and the Public Acknowledgement of God. What’s more, the DNC’s been our tormentor: It was a Democratic president that used his first day in office to strike down even the most modest restrictions on abortion. It was a Democratic attorney general that dragged an endless number of completely innocent pastors, pro-life advocates and their financial supporters before a secret grand jury, accusing them of aiding and abetting violent extremists. It was a Democratic White House that opened an official office of gay and lesbian liaison, bolstering homosexual political groups in their quest to re-shape American sexual mores. And, it’s now a Democratic Congress that has all but completely excluded morally conservative groups from using US Capitol facilities.
Yet, like Daniel’s own experience, there comes a time when even the most hostile king will show a crack in his armor; a chink that starts as genuine curiosity, albeit mixed with self-serving motives. (That self-serving part is true of everyone here in Washington. It’s just reality. You learn to work with it, rather than against it. I call it the “Christian jujitsu” technique!)
When I was approached for the meeting with Dean, I sensed a “Daniel-and-Darius-Moment." (See Daniel, chapter 6) I’m not sure this one will end with a decree that all Democrats must “tremble and fear before the God of Daniel,” but stranger things have happened!
I told Governor Dean our main proposal was for a public “conversation” on the core principles that drive morally conservative Christians when it comes to public policy and elections. This would not be a shouting match, angry debate or mutual lecturing. It would be a civil discussion, held in a public venue, with ample time to give real answers to hard questions. (Think of Paul before Festus or with the pagan philosophers at the Areopagus.) Much to our surprise, he immediately accepted our idea and our terms!
If you’ve heard me preach, you know I often begin by saying, “I’m not here to say God is a Republican. But neither do I say He’s a Democrat. His ways are far above our ways, and His thoughts are far above our thoughts, including our vulgar politics.” (In Deuteronomy 17:20, God even instructs us not pick civil leaders who turn to the “right hand or to the left.” I don’t think this means God always likes an Independent, but one thing I do know, God’s Word has the answer for any Democrat or Republican who’s wondering which direction to go!)
If any candidate, any party leader or any public official wants to know why we believe what we do—and they’re prepared to let us give the answer from God’s Word—I’m ready to do it:
“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.” (1 Peter 3:15)
We’ll see what really gets accomplished in this never before face-to-face with Chairman Dean and His party, but I know what I’m praying for! (I’ll let you know how it goes, or if it goes at all.) For now, all this means is we have an agreement to meet again with Dean, in a very public way, and engage in a civil exchange on the really, really important questions of what and why Christians believe. And Pat and I have agreed to reciprocate with how and why we may or may not be able to work with Democrats in the future.
Most importantly, we will give an answer for the hope we have.
Back later . . .
Monday, September 03, 2007
SUMMER IS OVER- AND WE GO FULL THROTTLE!
Your missionary to Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, Rob Schenck, reporting:
The summer is a difficult time for your team at Faith and Action. We enjoy our vacations as much as anyone, but it gets a little frustrating when some of us are on, some are off and the people we engage in ministry are doing the same! You may know that the entire US Congress goes on break in August, the Supreme Court justices leave town (and often the country) and even the President leaves for Camp David or Crawford, Texas. (That is, if he isn’t flying to Iraq—as he did this past week.)
Everybody’s back starting Tuesday, though, and that means we go into full swing here on Capitol Hill. Most of the day hours will be filled with meetings—getting back on track and up to the minute on all major developments, tracking ongoing ministry efforts and launching new ones. Most importantly, we will kick off our fall season with two major prayer emphases: All day Monday, September 10, for national repentance beginning in the church—with the people of God. Then, the same night, I will join Rev. Pat Mahoney outside the White House to lead a vigil of prayer for the situation in Iraq, our troops and especially the small community of Christians in that land.
Speaking of prayer, please remember Senator Larry Craig and his family. He did the right thing Saturday when he announced his resignation effective the end of this month. I hope he did it for the right reasons. In my public statement on the matter last week, I advised the Senator to seek help. Anyone struggling with this besetting sin, and who doesn’t understand its nature, is sure to fall again and again.
Unlike other sexual transgressions, this one is particularly harmful to spouses and other family members. Above all else, the Senator needs to give careful, prayerful attention to his interior life and family. While he emphasized that the country needs the full attention of a senator, I say he and his family need his full attention to resolve this very damaging behavior. The Senator needs spiritual and psychological help, while his family needs restorative pastoral counseling. All this takes a lot of time; years, not weeks or months. So I hope and pray that’s just what Senator Craig will do after he leaves office.
On this same subject, there’s been quite a lot of commentary on whether the set-up of Senator Craig by police was legitimate. Some have asked whether it’s even proper for police to be skulking in bathrooms. I see it differently. I think the police acted appropriately. Men hitting on strangers in public restrooms is far more than a nuisance. I don’t know about you, but I would find such cavorting in the stall next to me deeply disconcerting. Worse, let's say I was a teen-aged boy and the foot of a much older man crept under the stall wall and bumped mine, followed by the flash of a hand, I might be terrified. Given the compromising circumstances, it wouldn’t be so easy to “tell the guy waving his hand under the stall to buzz off,” as Slate national correspondent William Saletan wrote.
None of this is to mention the other dangers involved in restroom cruising, from irate “wrong hits” to sexually transmitted diseases. And again, I emphasize, all this in a bathroom—a place where people need to feel relatively safe, private and clean. (On that last point—well, I won’t even go there!)
I publicly asked Senator Craig to do the right thing. Whether that contributed in any part to his ultimate decision to step down, I don’t know. But since I asked him, I will also thank him: Thank you, Senator, for doing the right thing in this instance. You have my prayers and the prayers of countless others. Our greatest hope is that you will find freedom from whatever has you in bondage, that you will no longer perpetrate harmful acts, and that any who have been hurt by you will find healing and wholeness.
‘Nuff said. Let’s move on.
Two exciting opportunities to bring to your attention:
1) It’s unusual, but on Wednesday evening, September 12, I will begin teaching a ten-part weekly series of classes on “Thinking Biblically: How to Conform Our Lives to God’s Word.” (I’ve done this once before, for our friends at the Come Alive New Testament Church in Medford, New Jersey.) This time the venue is the dynamic New Antioch Baptist Church in Randallstown, Maryland. Senior Pastor Kenneth Barney is a dear friend and ministry partner with Faith and Action. I’m delighted to take on this vital subject in the context of such a vital church. If you’re within driving distance, please join us—Wednesday evenings, September 12 – November 14, 2007, 7:30 – 9:00 PM, New Antioch Baptist Church, 5609 & 5616 Old Court Road, Randallstown, Maryland 21244.
2) I’ll say it over and over—You, your family and friends are invited—no, urged—to join my brother and me and our families as we celebrate 25 years of uninterrupted service to our Lord Jesus Christ, Saturday, November 17, 2007. Special guest will be Jay Sekulow. Location is the Renaissance Hotel, downtown Washington, DC. See our website for details: www.faithandaction.org. Be there or be square!
That’s all for now. Over and out!
The summer is a difficult time for your team at Faith and Action. We enjoy our vacations as much as anyone, but it gets a little frustrating when some of us are on, some are off and the people we engage in ministry are doing the same! You may know that the entire US Congress goes on break in August, the Supreme Court justices leave town (and often the country) and even the President leaves for Camp David or Crawford, Texas. (That is, if he isn’t flying to Iraq—as he did this past week.)
Everybody’s back starting Tuesday, though, and that means we go into full swing here on Capitol Hill. Most of the day hours will be filled with meetings—getting back on track and up to the minute on all major developments, tracking ongoing ministry efforts and launching new ones. Most importantly, we will kick off our fall season with two major prayer emphases: All day Monday, September 10, for national repentance beginning in the church—with the people of God. Then, the same night, I will join Rev. Pat Mahoney outside the White House to lead a vigil of prayer for the situation in Iraq, our troops and especially the small community of Christians in that land.
Speaking of prayer, please remember Senator Larry Craig and his family. He did the right thing Saturday when he announced his resignation effective the end of this month. I hope he did it for the right reasons. In my public statement on the matter last week, I advised the Senator to seek help. Anyone struggling with this besetting sin, and who doesn’t understand its nature, is sure to fall again and again.
Unlike other sexual transgressions, this one is particularly harmful to spouses and other family members. Above all else, the Senator needs to give careful, prayerful attention to his interior life and family. While he emphasized that the country needs the full attention of a senator, I say he and his family need his full attention to resolve this very damaging behavior. The Senator needs spiritual and psychological help, while his family needs restorative pastoral counseling. All this takes a lot of time; years, not weeks or months. So I hope and pray that’s just what Senator Craig will do after he leaves office.
On this same subject, there’s been quite a lot of commentary on whether the set-up of Senator Craig by police was legitimate. Some have asked whether it’s even proper for police to be skulking in bathrooms. I see it differently. I think the police acted appropriately. Men hitting on strangers in public restrooms is far more than a nuisance. I don’t know about you, but I would find such cavorting in the stall next to me deeply disconcerting. Worse, let's say I was a teen-aged boy and the foot of a much older man crept under the stall wall and bumped mine, followed by the flash of a hand, I might be terrified. Given the compromising circumstances, it wouldn’t be so easy to “tell the guy waving his hand under the stall to buzz off,” as Slate national correspondent William Saletan wrote.
None of this is to mention the other dangers involved in restroom cruising, from irate “wrong hits” to sexually transmitted diseases. And again, I emphasize, all this in a bathroom—a place where people need to feel relatively safe, private and clean. (On that last point—well, I won’t even go there!)
I publicly asked Senator Craig to do the right thing. Whether that contributed in any part to his ultimate decision to step down, I don’t know. But since I asked him, I will also thank him: Thank you, Senator, for doing the right thing in this instance. You have my prayers and the prayers of countless others. Our greatest hope is that you will find freedom from whatever has you in bondage, that you will no longer perpetrate harmful acts, and that any who have been hurt by you will find healing and wholeness.
‘Nuff said. Let’s move on.
Two exciting opportunities to bring to your attention:
1) It’s unusual, but on Wednesday evening, September 12, I will begin teaching a ten-part weekly series of classes on “Thinking Biblically: How to Conform Our Lives to God’s Word.” (I’ve done this once before, for our friends at the Come Alive New Testament Church in Medford, New Jersey.) This time the venue is the dynamic New Antioch Baptist Church in Randallstown, Maryland. Senior Pastor Kenneth Barney is a dear friend and ministry partner with Faith and Action. I’m delighted to take on this vital subject in the context of such a vital church. If you’re within driving distance, please join us—Wednesday evenings, September 12 – November 14, 2007, 7:30 – 9:00 PM, New Antioch Baptist Church, 5609 & 5616 Old Court Road, Randallstown, Maryland 21244.
2) I’ll say it over and over—You, your family and friends are invited—no, urged—to join my brother and me and our families as we celebrate 25 years of uninterrupted service to our Lord Jesus Christ, Saturday, November 17, 2007. Special guest will be Jay Sekulow. Location is the Renaissance Hotel, downtown Washington, DC. See our website for details: www.faithandaction.org. Be there or be square!
That’s all for now. Over and out!
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