STILL ALL WRIGHT ALL THE TIME!

Rev. Rob Schenck, your missionary to Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, reporting:

Until Rev. Jeremiah Wright came to Washington, I was busy doing the following:

- Working the National Bible Reading Marathon on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol

- Developing legal strategies for the two big cases surrounding the public display of the Ten Commandments and the impending ruling against “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance.

- Continuing our efforts at ministering to the Supreme Court justices

- Prayerfully framing my talk for next month’s huge Creation Music Festival in Mt. Union Pennsylvania where I’ll speak on the Sanctity of Marriage

But now, in the Post Wright world everything is overshadowed by his much too memorable theological and polemical thunder. (Though all the above projects continue apace.) Jeremiah Wright has indeed taken the country by storm. He was the leading news story for more than a week, an absolute eternity by journalistic measure.

I have received hundreds of E-mails on Wright and his liberation theology. Dozens of reporters, editors and producers have called me. I’ve done several interviews about both for television, radio and print media.

Of course, if this were simply about theology the story would have quickly been relegated to the dusty, musty halls of academia. What’s really keeping this story alive is the question surrounding Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s relationship to Wright. This is a legitimate question, but for me it takes a little bit of a different turn.

I do think this is all about theology, the church and specifically, the black church. From my vantage point, these are the things that really matter. Partisan politics is predictably tempestuous, rancorous and filled with combat. Any weapon is fair to use, including one’s church affiliation, but for me, the critical questions are what Wright actually preaches and teaches and how that affects those formed under his religious tutelage.

I explore a lot of this in a series of recorded phone conversations with experts on the subjects of theology and the black church. They are posted at http://www.faithandaction.org/ and http://www.nationalclergycouncil.org/. (More installments will go up soon.) Please listen to these brief exchanges; I think you’ll find them enlightening.

As far as what we will do going forward on this: 1) We will continue to track and expose Reverend Wright and liberation theology, 2) We will continue to counter this “poison” (as one African-American scholar called it) and 3) We will continue to put forward the positive message of Christian faith.

My essay, “Why We’re Concerned About Wright and His Theology” (again, at http://www.faithandaction.org/ explains the reasons behind giving so much attention to this subject. Please read it and pass it along to concerned family, friends and fellow church members.

While I’m on this, let me set one thing straight: I do not disrespect Jeremiah Wright. He is an obviously intelligent, accomplished individual who is extraordinarily savvy about dealing with the media. He is also a man my senior in years and in ministry experience, so I will continue to be be deferential and civil in my challenges to him. I will also pray for him, his family and all those affected by him.

I do believe Wright is wrong. (I love that play on his name!) He is wrong on his understanding of God, the Christian faith and biblical religion. He is also supremely wrong on the paramount moral issues: The Sanctity of Life (he is for wholly unrestricted abortion and passionately defends Roe v. Wade) and the Sanctity of Marriage (he performs so-called “same-sex” weddings).

Barack Obama’s inexplicable long and continued close association with Wright will keep interest in liberation theology alive for a long time to come. Should Obama win the presidency, it will light Wright’s afterburners. The result will be an ever-greater interest in his peculiar brand of theology and ultimately a wider embrace of it—including here on Capitol Hill. This takes Wright, his black liberation theology and his ultra-liberal church from a religious sideshow to the religious main stage.

The concerns of others about Wright and the danger of his theology have led to some unlikely back-room conversations among Christian leaders concluding it would be better for Democrat-leaning Evangelicals, Catholics and other religious conservatives to vote for Hillary Clinton in the upcoming primaries. The reasons they give me for saying so: She doesn’t help propel Wright to national religious stardom and his heresy with him.

I never thought I’d hear pro-Hillary talk in religiously conservative circles, but I am now. I think I’m having a Roger Poger upside down day!

Be back . . .

Rev. Rob Schenck

www.faithandaction.org

109 2nd St, NE

Washington, DC 20002

202-546-8329

WAITING FOR NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER

Your missionary to Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, Rob Schenck, reporting:

I'm thumb-typing on my Blackberry hand-held as I sit in the stately Caucus Room of the US Cannon office building adjacent to the Capitol here in Washington.

In just a few moments Shirley Dobson will open the gathering and we will do what we we're here to do: Pray!

I've participated in these gatherings for several years now in addition to my usual pilrimage to the US Supreme Court where I lead the only National Day of Prayer observance at the seat of the Judicial Branch.

This is a wonderful exercise and I have no doubt God is pleased with it. As I sit here I think what this country would be like if it were to ban such prayer gatherings. We've teetered on the edge of that abyss more than once. God help us in His mercy to remain faithful to Him!

They're calling us to order so I better go. I'll be back to you later in the day. I go immediately from here to close the Bible Reading Marathon at the Capitol and then immediately to the Court to pray there.

Stand by for a full report at end-of-day!

Blessings,

Rev. Rob Schenck
www.faithandaction.org
Faith and Action
109 2nd St, NE
Washington, DC 20002
202-546-8329

FACE-TO-FACE WITH OBAMA'S PASTOR!

Your missionary to Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, Rob Schenck, reporting:

I just got back to our ministry center after spending the morning as a guest at the National Press Club for an address by the highly controversial long-time pastor to Barack Obama, Dr. Jeremiah Wright. His purpose was ostensibly to explain and defend the Black church to a hostile audience, but I thought he went on to do more alienating than bridge-building.

In any case, I wanted to talk with him personally, and miracle of miracles, that happened! In an overflow room with very tight control and security, it seemed impossible to access America's newest religious celebrity. Never one to shrink back, I boldly introduced myself to one of his handlers and explained who I was. She was very warm and accommodating and immediately escorted me past the impenetrable rope line directly to Dr. Wright.

As always I tried to be as warm, congenial and deferential as I could. I introduced myself and extended a warm welcome on behalf of the National Clergy Council (my other hat in Washington), but quickly went to the matter at hand. With all due respect, I admonished Dr. Wright, warning him about the error of his Marxist informed "liberation" theology. I told him it was incompatible with the Gospel and was the source of his trouble.

That's when I realized Dr. Wright isn't all that interested in a "dialogue." A dialogue is exactly that, a two-way form of communication. It involves both parties listening as well as talking. Dr. Wright wasn't interested in talking to me, but quickly dismissed me and dropped his head into his notes. He then mounted the podium and went on what began as a thoughtful, carefully crafted defense of the Black Church and its history. It stayed that way as long as he stuck to his printed notes and teleprompter. As soon as he strayed, though, it quickly degraded into a sometimes diatribe against all those who don't understand his church or him in particular.

Instead of a noble and transcendent message--and a formal, humble defense--this became a "working out" of Jeremiah Wright's personal issues with a lot of people. I found particularly disturbing his intimidating behavior toward the young woman chairing the proceedings. It fell to her to simply read the questions posed by members of the audience by way of submitted index cards. (One of mine was selected: "Does God love the white racist in the same way he loves the oppressed black American?" Good answer--John 3:16!) Notwithstanding the reasonableness of the questions, Dr. Wright often leaned into the young lady, clearly violating her personal space, and acted as though she had authored the questions. At one point he seemed to almost physically bully her.

At no point would he concede that he had perhaps chosen the wrong words, allowed his temper to get out of control, or was the least bit wrong in anything he has said or done. He wouldn't answer the most controversial questions put to him. As time went on, he came off more and more dismissive and cocky.

Though I have been a critic of Dr. Wright, I went into this meeting with an open mind. I have spent a lot of time fostering relationships between white and black Christians. I have served in extended times of ministry in a large and all-black congregation. Our ministry has partnered with black organizations, often funding their efforts with no assertion of control or even visibility. We are right now co-hosting the annual National Bible Reading Marathon at the US Capitol, run principally by a black congregation pastored by a white minister. Sadly, Dr. Wright did little to strengthen such relationships and partnerships. I suspect he did more damage than good.

Please pray for Dr. Wright and his lovely wife and children. God help him to see the error of his ways and the power of Matthew 23:12, "And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted."

My assessment: I have a lot to learn, a lot to listen to and a lot to work hard to overcome, but so does Dr. Wright. May he have ears to listen and a heart to change!

More later . . .

Rev. Rob Schenck
Faith and Action
www.faithandaction.org
109 2nd St, NE
Washington, DC 20002
202-546-8329

PRAYING FOR UNITY: HERE'S A GOOD START!

Your Missionary to Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, Rob Schenck, reporting:

Yesterday I spent most of my time at a board meeting of the National Pro-Life Religious Council (NPRC). I’ve been a member of this group for a number of years. It’s a serious collection of pro-life leaders from every Christian tradition and denomination. For all the times I’ve heard people say, “We all need to work together,” NPRC is the answer to their prayers!

At this most recent meeting we had representatives from the following churches:

-          United Methodist

-          Charismatic Episcopal

-          Lutheran

-          Orthodox

-          Anglican

-          Congregational

-          United Church of Christ

-          Presbyterian

-          Roman Catholic

-          Evangelical

That’s a lot of Christendom in the room!

Beside our regular joint programs—like the National Memorial for the Pre-born (held in the US Capitol complex each year) and our publications (a pro-life devotional, compilation of pro-life sermons, various theological treatises on life issues, newsletter, etc.) each representative reports on their respective group’s endeavors. It’s exhilarating to hear about the enormously creative, effective and determined efforts to preserve, protect and promote the sanctity of life. (The Sanctity of Life is the first of our “Three Core Convictions” at Faith and Action: The Sanctity of Life, the Sanctity of Marriage and the Family and the Public Acknowledgment of God.)

Fr. Terry Gensemer of Birmingham, Alabama, is active with building a national pro-life youth culture. He reported on his denomination’s annual contest that rewards young people for their creative expression of a pro-life message with a trip to Ireland to work with pro-life youth organizations there.

Georgette Forney of the Anglican pro-life group asked for prayers as she and a host of others prod the worldwide Anglican bishops to declare the Anglican Communion to be a pro-life church during their decadal Lambeth Conference coming up. Such a declaration would imply a continuing rebuke to the apostate, liberal and pro-death American Episcopal Church—as much as lend strength to the witness of the biblically faithful African, Asian and South American Anglican witness!

Rev. Paul Stallsworth who heads the pro-life movement within the United Methodist Church announced they may see a decided turn toward greater biblical faithfulness and pro-life positioning at the U.M. General Conference that begins this week in Dallas.

And on and on it goes. Thank the Lord for talented, dedicated and highly capable servants of God who work tirelessly for the Sanctity of Life. It’s a huge undertaking and a constant battle for hearts, souls and, yes, lives. We’re in better shape because of these good people and I’m blessed to identify with them and keep their company!

Please check out the good work of NPRC on the web at www.nprcouncil.org.

Be back later . . .

Rev. Rob Schenck

www.faithandaction.org

Faith and Action

109 2^nd St, NE

Washington, DC 20002

202-546-8329

GREAT CHURCHES, GREAT PEOPLE AND HOW TO VOTE! (?)

Your Missionary to Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, Rob Schenck, reporting:

Sorry for the haphazard posting, but I’m still working toward carving out writing time every day. Let’s see if I get there by end-of-year!

Spent this past weekend with the 2200 great people of the Worship Center in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I preached a message there entitled “How to Vote.” (Don’t worry—we looked at what the Bible says on “how to” not “for whom!”)  

Worship Center pastor Sam Smucker and his wife, Sherlyn, have built a beautiful body of believers over the last 31 years. Like pastor--like people, the folks at Worship Center are exceedingly warm, gracious and generous in every way. This is a dynamic church with quality ministries for the whole family. They reach deep into their community, across the country and around the world. The congregation also maintains one of the largest Christian schools in the area. We’re grateful to the Lord and to the leadership and members of the Worship Center for their support of Faith and Action!

Incidentally, getting out into churches is one of the things I really enjoy about the “other part” of my ministry. I accept about 25 preaching engagements a year. I call this my “Pulpit Ministry.” Just as much as our team is called to serve our “target population” group (that is, elected and appointed officials serving in federal and state government), we’re also called to serve God’s people wherever they are assembled. We do the former by privately and publicly proclaiming God’s Truth here in Washington and in state capitals throughout the country; we do the latter by bringing instruction from God’s Word on exactly how we are to pray for our country and its civil leaders, as well as conduct ourselves as Christian citizens.

Speaking of conducting ourselves as Christian citizens, my visit to the Worship Center officially launched our “How To Vote Initiative.” This new emphasis will carry us from now until Election Day in November. This will be a very important focus for us. You’ll see a lot about it in the days ahead. We want to help you, your family, friends and fellow church members to prayerfully and carefully carry out your important civic responsibility and bring your Christian principles to bear on the voting process. Watch for “How To Vote” notices coming your way soon!

Finally, I had the rare privilege of giving a talk in the prestigious Mansfield Room of the United States Capitol yesterday. It was on the related topic of  “Evangelicals and the Upcoming Election.” (My host’s choice of topic—not mine!)

The group I spoke to has in recent days hosted the likes of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England. They mostly wanted to know if I could predict whom Evangelicals will get behind for president. I couldn’t. I explained there is a clear and pronounced shift in Evangelical attitudes this time around. Upwards of 76% voted for George Bush the first time and for Republicans in general. That will not repeat. For a variety of reasons there is something of a disillusionment with the Republicans among Christian conservatives. John McCain hasn’t connected well with Evangelicals either. I recently talked with one of his top-level advisors about this, noting Evangelicals are relationally driven people and the McCain campaign has done nothing to build that relationship.

On the other hand, a growing number of “emergent church” leaders are looking at Barack Obama and even Hillary Clinton. This is especially true of younger Evangelicals. While I don’t think this yet represents a critical number—not even a significant minority—it does indicate a big change in the future. For now, it will likely mean a smaller majority will vote Republican--and perhaps in far fewer numbers. We could see a significant percentage of Evangelicals sit out this election because they either don’t know what to do or they just don’t like their choices—or choice, however you see it.

Can you see why we’ve launched “How To Vote?” Please help us to help other Christians—of every tradition—see the importance of bringing their voice and influence into the critically consequential process of selecting our next president and other elected leaders.

Before I close: Hope to see you at this year’s U.S. Capitol Bible Reading Marathon, April 27 – May 1, here in Washington. Check our website for more information: www.faithandaction.org

And pray for me as I go off today to an all-day board meeting of the National Pro-Life Religious Council, punctuated by a lunch with Jay Sekulow and his legal team working on the big upcoming Supreme Court case out of Utah.

That’s all for now . . . (as if it’s not enough!) . . .

 

Rev. Rob Schenck

Faith and Action

www.faithandaction.org

109 2nd Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002

202-546-8329

I LOVE BREAKING STEREOTYPES!

Your Missionary to Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, Rob Schenck, reporting:

During my April 9 appearance on a “Faith and Politics” panel at George Washington University here in the capital, I pointed out that ideological opponents often stereotype people like me. I made the point that I’m identified as an operative of the “Religious Right” even though I’ve never really known what that is. Of course, all of us do it, including me! To prove the point, I assumed all along that three of the panel members were Republican (including me) and three were Democrats (and I knew who they were). My assumption proved wrong when my ally on the panel, Christian “conservative” preacher Harry Jackson, revealed he is a Democrat! This is the Bishop Harry Jackson that just wrote a book with conservative icon Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council! Bishop Jackson is also black and a Harvard graduate. So, this “progressive” event got a religiously conservative, born again Christian, pro-life, pro-traditional marriage activist (who, by the way, is also on the board of the most powerful conservative policy organization in the country) and is NOT a white Republican. But there’s more . . .

When I challenged the stereotype of me, I noted that I am Jewish by birth. At that, David Brody, the senior Washington correspondent for CBN (Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network)—the “other conservative” on the panel—announced he, too, is Jewish by birth and upbringing! So, now they have two Jews and a black—and we’re all born again religious and social conservatives! Wow! I loved it!

To further prove my point, I uncharacteristically cited my life’s work. (I’m always a little embarrassed and hesitant to do that, not the least because the Bible warns against a man’s own mouth praising him.) Anyway, I had to mention that a very large part of my life and ministry was founding Operation Serve International, a Christian humanitarian organization that today dispatches hundreds of volunteers every year to provide medical and health care related services to some of the poorest children in the world. I also co-founded with my brother, Paul, Hearts for the Homeless, a mobile advocacy program for indigent children, women and men in my native Western New York State. I’ve also participated in numerous diplomatic religious delegations to Muslim countries like Morocco, Egypt and Sudan (including Darfur)--and I've raised a lot of money over the years for young unmarried moms and their babies.

The point is those who oppose our efforts to promote America as “one nation under God,” and to preserve the sanctity of life, marriage and the family, often revert to fictitious characterizations of religious conservatives as callous, avaricious prigs. Here are the facts: 1) Religious conservatives give more time and money to charity than any other subgroup, 2) Religious conservatives make 6% less than their liberal counterparts, 3) Religious conservatives are of every political persuasion, and 4) Most ethnic minorities are overwhelmingly conservative in both theology and morality!

What’s the anti-dote to this ignorant and sometimes malicious slander and libel against good people? Simply living out our principles. Don’t ever expect accolades. This is where I think some of my fellow Evangelicals make a big mistake. In their desire to gain acceptance and approval from the wider world, they compromise themselves and “downplay” the non-negotiable core convictions on life, marriage and public expressions of belief in God. In the end, what they’re doing actually works against the goal. It weakens the message and the messenger and leads to less respect.

Well, enough carping. Let’s concentrate on how we’re going to win this generation and reclaim our nation: By living out Matthew 5 – 8. I just read those chapters again and they’re so brilliant in their simplicity. We take those words seriously and we may still have enemies that malign us—but we’ll make a lot more friends for God, too.

Back later . . .

Your grateful missionary to elected and appointed officials,

Rev. Rob Schenck

Faith and Action

www.faithandaction.org

109 2nd Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002

202-546-8329

 

PASTORS APLENTY!

Your Missionary to Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, Rob Schenck, reporting:

I’m writing to you on Thursday instead of Friday because tomorrow will be too intense of a day to be posting. We will host our first “Preachers’ Circle” at the    "O. House." It is designed as an intimate, but exhaustive experience for the pastors of our supporting churches, so they can gain exposure to all the elements of our work on Capitol Hill. This time some 16 ministers and their spouses will spend an entire day with us, doing what we do , seeing what we see and experiencing what we experience day in and day out! At the same time, they’ll have unique access to unique people and places. Here’s an overview:

We’ll begin our day with a discussion in the Wright Parlor of the O.House featuring Dr. Jim Hutson, the premiere American historian on the so-called “separation of church and state.” Here’s Jim’s bio from the Library of Congress website:

 

“James H. Hutson received his Ph.D. in History from Yale University in 1964. He has been a member of the History Departments at Yale and William and Mary and, since 1982, has been Chief of the Library's Manuscript Division. Dr Hutson is the author of several books among them: John Adams and the Diplomacy of the American Revolution (1980); winner of the Gilbert Chinard Prize, 1981; To Make All Laws: The Congress of the United States, 1789-1989 (Washington and Boston, 1989-90; 4th edition, Washington, 1990); The Sister Republics: Switzerland and the United States from 1776 to the Present ( Washington, 1991; 4th edition, Washington, 1998); Religion and the Founding of the American Republic (5th printing, Washington, 2000).”

 

It doesn’t mention Jim’s latest book, Church and State: The First 200 Years (Cambridge University Press). It’s the best treatment of this subject on the market. I highly recommend it to you. Don’t be afraid of it; Jim writes comfortably for the layman. “Church and State” is one of the most contentious fault lines in our American civilization, so we’ve got to get it right. That’s what this session for preachers will be all about.

After the discussion, we’ll go over to the Library of Congress itself and get a special VIP tour of areas not generally accessible to the public. (I can say no more!)

From the Library of Congress, we’ll go to the historic New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, near the White House, where each guest minister will be invited to mount the famous pulpit where Peter Marshall once preached—and where Dr. George Docherty delivered his famous “Under God” sermon while Dwight Eisenhower was in attendance. It was that sermon, atop a years long petition drive by the Knights of Columbus, that gave us the phrase “under God” in our Pledge of Allegiance.

After New York Ave Pres, we’ll make a brief stop at the White House for a group photo, then, go on to the U.S. Capitol for lunch and a prayer meeting led by U.S. Senate Chaplain Barry Black. You read it right: There is a prayer meeting held under the dome of U.S. Capitol! Senate Chaplain Black is a good friend and precious Man of God. (I had the pleasure of conferring the honorary doctor of divinity degree on Chaplain Black during a joint convocation of the National Clergy Council and the Methodist Episcopal Church USA.)He loves the Lord and has faithfully served Him since a teenager. Chaplain Black is the first military man to occupy this post (he's a retired Navy admiral and former Navy Chief of Chaplains) and the first African American congressional chaplain.

Following the prayer service, we’ll go across the street for an officially escorted VIP tour of the US Supreme Court. As you know, this is our primary mission field, and I want these ministers to get a good look at it—up close and personal!

Finally, we’ll gather for debriefing at the ministry center and enjoy a leisurely dinner at one of the nearby Capitol Hill haunts. It’ll be a full day!

If you think your pastor would enjoy one of these “Preachers’ Circle” events, please put us in touch. Have your pastor write to us at info@faithandaction.org and request information.

Watch for my End-of-Week Round-Up tomorrow. It’s been a very full five days—wait till you hear what’s happened. We are anything but bored!

Thanks for all you are to us--and all you do for us. You are God’s lifeline from heaven to this ministry!

Your grateful missionary to elected and appointed officials,

Rev. Rob Schenck

www.faithandaction.org

109 2^nd St, NE

Washington, DC 20002

202-546-8329

 

 

LIVE FROM CAPITOL ROTUNDA

Your missionary to Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, Rob Schenck, reporting:

I'm thumb-typing on my Blackberry so please forgive any errors. I'm sitting in the presitigious Statuary Hall of the United States Capitol awaiting the start of "Renewing the Dream: A Celebration of the Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr." Suprisingly--shockingly---I'm a guest of Speaker Nancy Pelosi! How I got on her VIP list, I just don't know. In any case, I'm representing our National Clergy Council at this observance.

While today I am much more critical of Dr. King's theology and politics, as a child I grew up admiring him greatly. He and those who worked with him were heroes in my home because they challenged injustice by putting their lives on the line.

Notwithstanding the spiritual and moral corruption in King's personal life, he continued to use scripture and Christian moral instruction as the foundational message of his struggle for civil rights. I'm astounded that most social historians consciously dismiss the fact that King was first a preacher and minister of the Gospel before he was anything else.

I'm hoping for some face time with congressional leaders--especially Speaker Pelosi--to ask when they will extend King's legacy on civil rights to all Americans--especially the most vulnerable, the pre-born.Perhaps I'll have opportunity to renew my challenge to Jesse Jackson offred ten years ago in this very same room. I asked him then why he once championed the right to life, but then abandoned it. He told me then, "We'll get together and talk about that." I called him but he never called back. Maybe we'll have that get-together today!

Please pray.

Your grateful missionary to elected and appointed officials,

Rev.Rob Schenck
www.faithandaction.org
Faith and Action
109 2nd St, NE
Washington, DC 20002
202-546-8329

READY TO DEFEND PLEDGE AS SOON AS IT'S ATTACKED

Your missionary to Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, Rob Schenck, reporting:

For almost six years, Faith and Action has been busy defending the two most cherished words in our Pledge of Allegiance, "Under God." You may remember way-back-then, I personally (and gently) confronted notorious atheist activist Michael Newdow at a meeting we both attended in the National Press Club building here in Washington. 

Newdow had just won his case at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. The judges ruled the Pledge's two-word phrase violated the so-called "separation of church and state." During that encounter,  Newdow asked me why I thought we needed to confess that our nation is accountable to God. "Because I don't trust you, Michael, and you don't trust me. We must appeal to a moral authority greater than ourselves." He offered no rejoinder.

I'd say the same thing to Newdow now. As an atheist, Michael puts his ultimate trust in humans and human agencies. I don't. Sinful people will fail and so will the governments they establish and operate. The only safety from our our own proclivities toward evil is our confession that we need God. That's what "Under God" in the Pledge is all about. This rationale is woven into the history behind the insertion of these great words. That happened in 1954 when the God-fearing United States stood in stark contrast to the God-denying Soviet Union. Our country wanted to make abundantly clear that our world view was distinctly and diametrically opposite to a Communist-Humanistic worldview. I have a paper copy of the February 8-12, 1954 Congressional Record reflecting the fascinating debate behind this move, but I can't find it online. (If you know of a link, please send it to me at info@faithandaction.org--thanks!) It's really worth examining the original reasoning offered by congressional sponsors.

As you know, we've already been out front on this, making a case for why the people of the United States must continue to acknowledge God in the Pledge. The Ninth Circuit could come down with its decision on Newdow's second case any day. To protect the Pledge as it is now, a new law has been drafted and will be proposed the instant that the Pledge is threatened. We're part of the working group that drafted the legislation.

I expect the Ninth Circuit to indeed strike down the Pledge again as unconstitutional. At the moment it does, we will ask you to contact your members of Congress to urge them to pass this new law protecting the phrase "Under God. " Please stand by for details! I'm also asking you to ask your pastor to have a sermon ready. Pastors should be poised and informed to preach on this at the very next opportunity and to make statements from the pulpit and to the media in support of keeping the Pledge as it is. You should also call into your local radio talk shows and offer your opinions as well as write a letter to the editor of your local paper If we're going to save this vital part of our national life, there must be a hue and cry in the land!

I will discuss all of this with a special group of church leaders who will gather at our ministry center next week. Our guest will be America's foremost authority on the so-called "separation of church and state," Dr. James Hutson of the Library of Congress. Dr. Hutson has done unique, original scholarship on the subject and has a new book out, Church and State: The First Two Centuries, published by the prestigious Cambridge University Press. (We'll have the book available at our website shortly.) This is not a stuffy, scholars-only tome. It's a short paperback and a very readable, easy-to-understand examination of this very important subject. If you're looking for a truly authoritative resource on "Church and State," one that cannot be dismissed as "religious right" propaganda, get Dr. Hutson's book! (Pastors who attend our "Preachers' Circle," April 10-12, will get a complimentary autographed copy. For details contact Elizabeth Sowers at my office, 202-546-8329, extension 107.) We'll post an edited video of Dr. Hutson's talk to the "Preachers' Circle" after the event.

FYI: I'm posting this blog on Sunday, March 30. My friend, Jay Sekulow, the top lawyer and director at the American Center for Law and Justice,  E-mailed me a few minutes ago announcing he expects some big news at the Supreme Court tomorrow morning, March 31. The Court met Friday in conference to discuss two Ten Commandments appeals Jay is handling. (Friday Conferences are the highly secretive sessions when the Justices talk about possible cases without anyone else present in the room.) Both cases basically amount to lower court orders requiring government approval of opposing displays. While the direct affect would be to allow atheistic and other counterpoints to Ten Commandments displays, Jay and his legal team argue this would ultimately lead to the absurd conclusion that government would have to allow the Statue of Liberty to be "balanced" with a "Statue of Tyranny." 

I'll have breakfast with Jay in the morning at the Supreme Court, then we'll wait for "orders" to be handed down. If the Court does agree to hear one or both of these cases, I'll be back to this blog to explore them more fully and suggest more ways for you to get directly involved. For now, please watch and pray!

Back later . . .

Your grateful missionary to elected and appointed officials,

Rob Schenck

www.faithandaction.org

Faith and Action

109 2nd St, NE

Washington, DC 20002

202-546-8329

 

PRAYING IN THE US CAPITOL

Your missionary to Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, Rob Schenck, reporting:

Today began for me the best way it could, offering a prayer in the United States Capitol. It was even nicer than that, though. I gave the prayer at the breakfast meeting that has met weekly in the Capitol for 35 years. You may recall it was this group of God-fearing Americans that was unceremoniously shown the door after the ascendance of the current congressional leadership. It took prayer and hard work to get us back in, but we are indeed baaaaaack!

What added insult to injury in the sudden eviction was the fact that many of these breakfast group members are true American heroes. They stormed the beaches of Normandy, landed at Inchon, flew missions over North Vietnam, tested our best weapons, fought in both Gulf Wars. To a one they are decent, caring, loving and enormously generous people. Yet, because they are perceived as benighted anachronisms they were dumped out on the street and told not to come back.

Well, it's a hopeful sign they couldn't be kept out. Yet not a one is a bit haughty about it. Instead, they are to a man and a woman grateful--deeply grateful to God and to this country that they can meet each week under the dome of US Capitol. Not a bitter word has been spoken in the group. They're just quietly going about their business. Each breakfast meeting begins with the Pledge of Allegiance "to the Flag . . .of the United States of America . . . and to the Republic for which it stands . . .one nation UNDER GOD . . ."

The Pledge is always followed by a prayer. Most often the prayer includes heartfelt thankfulness for everything good: family, friends, freedom and the men and women in uniform who for our benefit do what few of us would ever do.

Yeah, it was a great start to the day today. It wasn't hard for me to pray for this group; the words of gratitude always come naturally.

I'm off to Austin, Texas for tomorrow and Wednesday. Be back to tell you all about it.

Blessings,

Your grateful missionary to elected and appointed officials,

Rev. Rob Schenck

Faith and Action

www.faithandaction.org

109 2nd St, NE

Washington, DC 20002

202-546-8329

EVERY MEMBER OF CONGRESS EVANGELIZED!

Your missionary to Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, reporting:

That's right: Just before their Easter break, each and every member of the United States Congress--435 members of the house of Representatives and 100 members of the Senate--received a hand-delivered packet of materials from Faith and Action that included a full explanation of the Christian Gospel. You can see exactly what was in the packet at our website.

We hand-delivered these materials because it's really the only way to get them through to the actual recipients. Mail to congressional offices has always been fraught with problems, but since 9-11, it's almost assured that mail like ours will not reach its destination. First, it's routed off-site to a military base where it's tested for dangerous substances or enclosures. If it ever makes its way out of there, it's received by staff who use an essentially "cut and paste" process to respond. (Depending on the nature of the originating correspondence, young staffers generally pick from a menu of prepared sentences or paragraphs pertaining to the matter at hand.) Packages and printed materials are more often than not discarded.

Hand-delivery by-passes both of these steps. Generally, the package is received by the front-desk clerk and routed directly to the in-office sorter who in turn routes it directly to the member's desk. (In Capitol Hill lingo, a member of Congress--either a representative or senator--is generally referred to simply as "a member" or "the member.") Our congressional contacts confirm most of the packets do land where intended. The acknowledgment letters we eventually get from members every year indicate that, too. We'll soon post whatever notes we receive this year at our site. Some of them can be quite touching.

Over the years we've only had a few members of congress refuse the Easter / Resurrection packets--and the same goes for the similar deliveries we make just before Christmas. For the most part members are at least cordial if not enthusiastic. Our next delivery will be the Christmas package in early December. (It's not too early to pray for it's success!)

Not much more to tell you today because we were on the same Easter break as Congress last week. (Do check out the soon-to-be-posted article at our site on Rev. Pat Mahoney's success in defeating the rule banning Stations of the Cross at certain federal buildings. God bless Pat for taking on another limitation to our religious liberty!) The Easter break is one of the few luxuries our staff enjoys. Otherwise, during normal times, everyone works very hard for long days. Of course, we're back in full swing starting today. I leave tomorrow for meetings in Texas and return Thursday for the big planning session on this year's U.S. Capitol Bible Reading Marathon. More on that later this week . . .

Thanks for praying. Thanks for helping. Thanks for being a friend of this ministry!

Your grateful missionary to elected and appointed officials,

Rev. Rob Schenck

Faith and Action

www.faithandaction.org

109 2nd St, NE

Washington, DC 20002

202-546-8329

OH WHAT A TANGLED WEB HE WOVE!

Your missionary to Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, Rob Schenck, reporting:

What a tangled web indeed! Soon-to-be former governor of New York, Eliot Spitzer, looks like he wove what may be an inescapable web. The hitherto rising star in New York--a Democrat super delegate pledged to Hillary Clinton--may face a bevy of charges related to his use of a high-priced prostitution ring. 

The saddest part of this story is the Governor's family. He has three teenage girls and wife who is a high-achieving mom with a Harvard law degree. How is it that they weren't enough for him to stop his risky and even dangerous behavior? Before I explore that question, let me quickly say there is no excuse for Spitzer's egregious moral failure, the injury he has inflicted on family and friends and his alleged violation of law. He said so himself and I agree with him.

Still, it's worth exploring why people in such enormous positions of power do these things. Certainly pride plays a role. The Bible says, "Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall." (Proverbs 16:18.) Spitzer had a reputation for both. Pride makes us think we're above everybody else. They may get caught but I never will; even if I did get caught, law and punishment is made for the little people, not for me. It's hubris--arrogance--the Satanic sin: "I will rise above God!" (Isaiah 14: 12-15) Well, that's one possibility, but there could be another.

Whenever there is sin like this, you will find both victimizer and victim. The victimizer knowingly perpetrates a harmful act on others. He/she deliberately inflicts wounds and exploits and uses his / her victims. The victim allows himself / herself to be wounded, exploited and used. No doubt most people who are following the Spitzer drama would tag him solely as the victimizer, but it may not be so simple. 

Based on his prior behavior in office, especially toward the good pro-life people who were trying to help women in crisis pregnancies, there's a strong victimizer in Spitzer. Still, most victimizers are both. Violent criminals, for example, are often discovered to have been victims of violence first. What could be in Spitzer's background that made him vulnerable to the kind of mutual exploitation of prostitution? It's clear the young woman we now know was his liaison got a lot out of this, including a swank Manhattan apartment. The so-called "Escort Service" got a lot of money, too. If Spitzer suffers from a psychological disorder, say a sexual addiction, surely someone suspected it. If they knew who he was, they probably figured that knowing his identity was a possible shield against their own future prosecution.

Watching all this, I was reminded of a line from the hit song Sweet Dreams by Annie Lennox:

"Everybody's looking for something.

Some of them want to use you
Some of them want to get used by you
Some of them want to abuse you
Some of them want to be abused."

Remember when Jesus encountered the woman caught in adultery? He in no way excused or justified her sin. He called it for what it was, but he also reminded the crowd they too were guilty. He lifted the woman out of her shame but commanded her to "sin no more." (John 8:10-12)

I have to be very careful not to gloat in my enemy's downfall, not to beat my chest in prideful satisfaction that I'm better than Eliot Spitzer. It's not even good enough to think I'm not as bad as Eliot Spitzer. The truth is, I'm just as bad as Eliot Spitzer: "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)

The Spitzer spectacle is so much more than prurient entertainment. It has many lessons in it. It forces us to look at ourselves and others differently. My hope and prayer is that Eliot Spitzer will be changed by this experience. When he gave his resignation speech, I could hear echoes of spiritual--or at least moral--counselors. My guess is that when the speech was being discussed among his advisors, there must have been a venerable black preacher in the room. Spitzer's comments on "atonement" and "rising up" after a fall is not the common lingo of progressive Jews. (I know because all of my father's family are progressive Jews!) It is the language often used in black pulpits. (I know this because I spend a lot of time in black churches.)  There was probably a rabbi in the room, too. The outline of redemption put forth by Spitzer was too perfect to have been authored by such an imperfect soul.

If my speculations are right, then there's hope for Spitzer as there is hope for all of us. He should pay his debt to society, just as so many of his prosecutorial subjects had to pay their debts. He should also find redemption, though, just as all of us can through the merits of the one who suffered, yet Himself knew no sin.

We'll keep mining this for more in the days ahead.

Rev. Rob Schenck

www.faithandaction.org

Faith and Action

109 2nd St, NE

Washington, DC 20002

202-546-8329

SPITZER SAYS RIGHT THINGS AND RESIGNS

Your missionary to Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, Rob Schenck, reporting:

If you read my post of yesterday, you know I am no fan of soon-to-be former New York governor Eliot Spitzer. I must say, though, that his brief statement today announcing his Monday resignation was aptly put. He said the right things in the right order. I pray that indicates the Governor is getting good spiritual counsel.

Today Spitzer acknowledged his moral failure, its injury to his family, his need for atonement, and offered an apology to the people of New York. He spoke of remorse, gratitude for the love and compassion shown to him, and even alluded to the words of Jesus, "To whom much is given, much will be required." Then, he announced his resignation effective March 17, giving his replacement, Lt. Governor David Patterson, time for an orderly transition.

Rarely do we see a fallen politician articulate the proper path of redemption. Spitzer did so today. Our prayers are with him and his family. He has a long, rough road ahead.

More later. . . .

Rev. Rob Schenck
http://www.faithandaction.org/
Faith and Action
109 2nd St, NE
Washington, DC 20002
202-546-8329

NO SURPRISE FROM GOVERNOR SPITZER

Your missionary to Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, Rob Schenck, reporting:

When the news broke that New York governor Eliot Spitzer had been implicated in a federal investigation into money laundering by a prostitution ring, it was no surprise to my brother, Paul, and me. You probably know, we're both from New York--and we know the dark side of Eliot Spitzer.

Governor Spitzer was attorney general during the years just after Paul and I left New York, but were still engaged in pro-life activism there. Spitzer was brutal on pro-lifers. He had sold his soul in a Faustian pact with pro-abortion groups and he paid them back in pounds of pro-life flesh. He abused his office by using the crushing arm of the law to intimidate, unduly punish and drive from public space any soul that dared to dissent from the prevailing pro-abortion orthodoxy. But he didn't stop at pro-life "protesters." The young attorney general went after pregnancy care centers, accusing them of practicing medicine without a license. He unabashedly announced his intention to shut down anything that advocated for Life.

Governor Spitzer's immoral and unethical bent was apparent long before his voice appeared on a federal wire tap. Any man who so zealously champions abortion must have an ulterior reason for doing so. Whether Eliot Spitzer's reason was to pay-off a political debt, justify a guilty conscience or ensure a way of escape from the consequences of his adultery, only God will likely ever know. The rest of it will be learned as prosecutors take up the case of The People of the United States V. Eliot Spitzer, AKA Client #9 of the Emperor's Club VIP.

Rev. Rob Schenck
Faith and Action
http://www.faithandaction.org/
109 2nd St., NE
Washington, DC 20002
202-546-8329

MY TRUE CONFESSION

Your missionary to Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, Rob Schenck, reporting:

I'm making my confession. For years I've had a secret life. What I'm about to say may shock and even scandalize you.

Okay--I've got your attention. So, here goes:

I'm a closet listener to NPR--National Public Radio. In fact, I'm an addict. I know, NPR is generally no friend to Christians or to the issues that concern us, but I love the format, style, sound and depth of NPR reporting. I get really tired of sound-bite length stories that barely scratch the surface. NPR has always been great at depth--and that smooth, pleasant, calming pace with which they deliver the story. I always look forward to doing interviews with NPR journalists (and I've done many) because while they may not always be fair, they're always courteous and give me plenty of time to answer.

While I'm in this cathartic stream, I'll be even more transparent: I love the angle of Fox News and the national afternoon radio talk shows, but the older I get, the less I can stand their frenetic pace. 

Thus, I have searched and searched for a source of news and commentary that delivers a Christian (or at least morally conservative) perspective on the big issues of the day, but without the frantic, breathless, superficiality.

I think I've found it! It's called Mars Hill Audio. 

I'm sure you get the connection with the name, but just in case it slips your memory, Mars Hill is a location near the Acropolis in Athens. It's where the Apostle Paul engaged the Athenian philosophers on the identity of their "unknown God." (In that amazing sermon, St. Paul winsomely deals with his subject and his audience by connecting with their religious traditions and even their poetry. It wasn't only anointed, it was a stroke of absolute genius!)  

Well, I digress. Back to the point.

A guy named Ken Myers put Mars Hill together. He has background experience with NPR and reflects the same sort of "sound" NPR produces. I've never been one for criticizing mimicry--it is, after all, a form of flattery. Then there's the old adage, "You don't have to reinvent the wheel." I agree. If you can get plans for a wheel rather than have to sketch it out from scratch, you're ahead of the game. NPR fell on a very appealing format and texture; it's about time a Christian version appeared. "There's nothing new under the son," as Ecclesiastes declares, so you know NPR got it from somewhere. Anyway, I'm the odd Evangelical that actually believes it was a great strategy for the early church to have taken pagan festivals and "converted them" by giving them new names and Christian meaning. God bless Ken Myers for doing the same with the "NPR sound."

All this to say I'm going to give the Mars Hill Audio Journal a try. Maybe you'll do it with me and we'll compare notes. If enough get on board and we see this is a real help to what all of us are doing together through Faith and Action, I'll prayerfully think about a major effort to promote this apparently wonderful contribution to the evangelization of our American civilization. Maybe I'll even get Ken Myers to do a future Faith and Action Live! Missionary Field Report webcast with me.

Two big headlines today: Tim Geoglein, President Bush's liaison to groups like ours, resigned Friday under a cloud after eight years with the White House. He admitted to extensive plagiarism in a regular column he wrote for an Indiana newspaper. Plagiarism is a violation of the Commandment against stealing (I treated it in my book, Ten Words That Will Change A Nation) and it can be a violation of law. Geoglein is likely not to face any legal or even civil penalties for his transgression, but sadly it has him leaving in ignominy. Please pray for Tim and his family. 

Barack Obama has officially introduced New Testament theology into his presidential race. During a recent town hall style meeting on a university campus he defended his support of same-sex unions by citing the Sermon on the Mount and diminishing the moral authority of the Book of Romans. The Illinois senator also said his support for unlimited abortion does not make him any less a Christian. ("Okay?"--to quote him.) On the subject of his Christian faith, he stated for the record, "I am a Christian. A devout Christian. I have been a member of the same church for 20 years, pray to Jesus every night . . ." Here's the whole story:

I'll write more on these . . .

Rev. Rob Schenck

www.faithandaction.org

Faith and Action

109 2nd St., NE

Washington, DC 20002

202-546-8329

 

MORE ON THE GREATEST OF ALL HUMAN RIGHTS

Your Missionary to Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, Rob Schenck, reporting:

There was the notorious TIME Magazine cover of the late 1960s that declared,  “God is dead.” No one ever produced proof of that assertion. In contrast, today I saw authoritative evidence the radical secularism that spawned such a ridiculous claim is absolutely dead-as-a-doornail.

This morning I participated in an informative meeting here in Washington dealing with the issue of international religious liberty. You may know I serve on the board of the Institute on Religion and Public Policy headed by my friend Joe Griebowski. It was in connection with that role that I attended today’s forum.

Several presenters shared insights, opinions and statistical analysis from a variety of viewpoints and data. We heard from experts who were religious and non-religious, political and non-political, government-based and non-government based, American and non-American, even communist—but they all came to the same conclusion: Religious liberty is a very important—if not the most important—of human rights and human concerns. Furthermore, the presence of religious liberty is inseparably linked to virtually every other positive societal factor.

Seems like a keen sense of the obvious right? Not to everyone. In fact, to very few in academia, law, government, international relations, politics and our U.S. State Department. (Note the State Department is the mechanism the U.S. uses to engage other countries.) I’ll concentrate here on what I found to be the most important aspects of what we discussed today:

1)      - Religious liberty factors insignificantly on most government agendas—including our own. Notwithstanding that fact, the right to freely practice ones religion factors very high in polls conducted around the world.

2)     -  Most government entities—again including our own State Department—have operated for decades on a false model—that the world is getting progressively more secular. The numbers demonstrate otherwise—all parts of the world (with the predictable exception of Western Europe) are either becoming more religious or are holding steady.

3)      - The consensus is that most governments and government officials, the media and the United Nations assiduously avoid engaging religious questions because they are the ones that are inordinately secularized!

4)     -  A clear 94% of the world’s population believe in God. An overall 87% consider religion to be an important part of their lives.

How is it that so little attention is given to things religious given these numbers? It’s not only scandalous and demonstratively incompetent to ignore such a vital factor—it’s an almost insane denial of reality.

The facts are clear and convincing: The world is a very religious place—sometimes a terribly religious place. In order to understand it, deal with it and resolve its most pressing conflicts, crises and needs, you must view it through a religious lens.

The Bible says, “The fool has said down in his heart there is no God.” Anyone running for office, running a government or trying to figure out what’s going on without taking religion, spirituality and all they entail into the most serious consideration is foolish indeed!

Your grateful missionary to elected and appointed officials,

Rev. Rob Schenck

ww.faithandaction.org

109 2^nd St., NE

Washington, DC 20002

202-546-8329

 

 

IN MEETING NOW ON RELIGIOUS LIBERTY

Your missionary to Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, Rob Schenck, reporting:

I'm thumb-typing on my Blackberry handheld during a critical meeting in Washington on religious liberty around the world.(So please forgive typos!)

This is a collection of the top scholars and authorities on this life and death matter both for individuals and whole societies and nations.

It's a real mind-blower. We just heard from the top sociologists in the world on the question of whether religious freedom is connected to overall wellbeing--social, economic, security, etc. The numbers can't be challenged: Religious freedom has everything to do with respect for all other rights. This goes along with the philosophy of another group I serve with, the Institute on Religion and Public Policy (that's why I'm here), which says religious liberty is the foundation for all other human rights.

Think about it: The deepest, most passionate, consequential, and surely most important decisions a human will ever make has to do with God, spirituality and all-things religious. Such decisions have enormous temporal and eternal consequences. That's definitely important!

There are representatives of Congress, the Bush Administration and the UN here. The big question of the day has been, Why doesn't the question of religious liberty factor larger in American foreign policy and UN policy? The consensus seems to be that all the agents involved in this question are still working on a false model: that the world is becoming less religious and more secular. That theory is 100 years old but has been proven absolutely false.

The numbers presented here have been impressive and convincing:
The world is just as religious-or even more religious than it's ever been. A full 94% of the world believes in God. The only decline in belief is Western Europe. (Any surprise?)

Lots going on in the meeting at the moment. I'll break off and be back later. Watch for my video report on this meeting and all its related issues posted at this week's Faith and Action Live missionary field report.

Rev. Rob Schenck
www.faithandaction.org
Faith and Action
109 2nd St., NE
Washington, DC 20002
202-546-8329

MY VISIT WITH A LIVING SAINT

Your missionary to Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, Rob Schenck, reporting:

Different religious traditions use the term “saint” differently. For some, “living saint” is an oxymoron.  By this definition, anyone deemed a saint has already passed to Heaven. For others, all faithful Christians are at all times “saints.” In common American parlance  a “living saint” is somebody who stands out from others because he/she has lived a God-honoring life that has benefited humanity. The top qualities of living saints reflect the two Great Commandments: They love God and they love their fellow human beings.

To my amazement, one such “living saint” is still, well, living—and I had the privilege of meeting him yesterday! He is George MacPherson Docherty, a retired Presbyterian minister. Now bedridden at 96, he carries the same dignity he did when he entertained presidents, lectured at universities and kept company with his golfing buddy Billy Graham.  It was one of Dr. Docherty’s sermons that helped turn our nation back to God. In fact, it was his preaching that would lead to hundreds of millions of American citizens pledging their allegiance to the flag of “one nation under God.” It’s an amazing story. 

For years I have known a little bit about how the Pledge of Allegiance was modified to include the phrase “under God.” It happened in 1954 at the height of the “Cold War” between the United States and the former Soviet Union. The conflict boiled down to one basic element: The acknowledgment of God as sovereign over humanity and nations. Americans have always been a God-fearing people, while the Soviet Union was an officially atheistic state. America’s founding document, the Declaration of Independence, states unequivocally that our most fundamental human rights come to us as irrevocable gifts from the Creator, not as privileges from the government. Soviet socialism sought to eradicate this notion of God-given rights and replace it with a purely secularist worldview and an all-powerful state.

In response to the advance of such radical secularism, the Knights of Columbus and other groups had launched national petition drives in the early 1950’s to insert the phrase “under God” into the Pledge of Allegiance. But it would be a single sermon and a president’s response to it that proved the tipping point.

On Sunday morning February 7, 1954, Dr. Docherty, the Scottish born pastor of Washington’s famed New York Avenue Presbyterian Church and the successor to pulpit luminary Peter Marshall, preached a sermon entitled “A New Birth of Freedom.” It was the church’s annual “Lincoln Day,” an observance in honor of the 16^th president who regularly attended services there nearly a century before.

Knowing then President Dwight Eisenhower would be in attendance, Dr. Docherty revised an earlier sermon, this time weaving in his proposal that Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address reference to “one nation under God,” be added to the Pledge of Allegiance.

“We face, today, a theological war,” he thundered from the pulpit in his impressive brogue. “It is not basically a conflict between two political philosophies, Thomas Jefferson’s democracy over against Lenin’s communistic state. Nor is it a conflict fundamentally between two economic systems, between, shall we say Adam Smith’s ‘Wealth of Nations’ and Karl Marx’s ‘Das Capital.’”

Then the preacher launched his proposition, “To omit the words ‘Under God’ in the Pledge of Allegiance is to omit the definitive character of the ‘American Way of Life.’”

(Ironically, it wasn't until 1960 that Docherty himself became an American citizen.)

Eisenhower liked the sermon and bought Docherty’s argument, as did two members of Congress present that morning. (The above photo was taken immediately following the service.) The very next day the legislative initiative was underway and in record time the House and Senate passed the new language for the Pledge. In a floor speech just days after Docherty’s prophetic message, Michigan congressman Charles Oakman said, “The tough moral fiber which has characterized this Nation’s growth to a position of world preeminence must not deteriorate. It was fed on the belief that our destiny was bound to the will of God. It cannot survive unless this spiritual fuel is maintained.”

In answer to a rhetorical question about violating the so-called “separation principle,” or the separation of church and state, Oakman said, “A distinction exists between the church as an institution and a belief in the sovereignty of God.”

The modified Pledge was signed into law four months later on Flag Day, June 14, 1954.

Of course, as you probably know, the notorious atheist activist Michael Newdow has recently challenged these words in court. As a result, in 2002, the powerful Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco struck down the clause “Under God” as unconstitutional.  The US Supreme Court then extended a rare privilege to Newdow in 2004. Although the emergency room physician had only just completed a law degree and passed his bar exam, the justices lifted the normal three-year waiting period and permitted Newdow to argue his own case in front of them. It didn’t help; the case was dismissed and sent back to the lower courts to review again. Newdow just reargued it at the Ninth Circuit. No opinion has been rendered yet.

Regardless what the Ninth Circuit or any other court decides, the story of “Under God” in our Pledge reminds us all this struggle for the soul of our American civilization is not over. It will require constant vigilance. It also reminds us of the power of the pulpit. When God’s Word is faithfully proclaimed from the “sacred desk” it reshapes the moral landscape. “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord,” reads Proverbs 21:1. “Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever he wishes.”

In the days ahead you’ll hear a lot more from me about George Docherty, his sermon and the Pledge to the Flag of “one nation under God.” While Dr. Docherty is still with us, I am working feverishly with members of Congress to petition the President to confer the Medal of Freedom on him. Dr. Docherty deserves such a great honor for his incomparable contribution to our country, but his receiving it will give the nation another opportunity to consider the profound meaning and consequence of these words. I’ll soon ask you for your help in getting this accomplished in short order. Dr. Docherty is a gift from God to this country, and I’d like to see us say thanks before he departs for Heaven!

Stand by for more . . .

Your grateful missionary to elected and appointed officials,

Rev. Rob Schenck

www.faithandaction.org

Faith and Action

109 2^nd St., NE

Washington, DC 20002

202-546-8329

A CHAPTER FROM THE MODERN DAY BOOK OF ACTS!

Your Missionary to Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, Rob Schenck, reporting:

Once in a while there’s a nice break in the intensity of Washington. The other day I enjoyed such a break—it was the best kind. I was on my way to the airport, which I usually drive in my car from my home in Northern Virginia. This time, though, I had to leave directly from our ministry center, and, because I take the train into the city each day, I didn’t have my car. Peggy Birchfield, our chief-of-staff, arranged for what is called the Super Shuttle. It’s a blue van that picks up multiple passengers at different locations and transports you to the airport.

Generally, the Super Shuttle is full of people by the time it reaches me, but this time it was empty. In fact, it remained empty the whole trip, which is quite unusual. The driver, an obviously African man, was listening to our local Christian radio station, WAVA. That, too, was unusual. The show that was on at the time was Janet Parshall’s America. It’s a talk format on issues affecting morality and spirituality in our culture. I know Janet and have done interviews with her a number of times. When I climbed into the back seat I remarked about that, telling the driver, Mr. Ekwa, that he was listening to a friend of mine. He was pleasantly surprised, but instead of asking me a typical question like, oh, what is she like? He said, “I am listening because I feel I need to become a Christian.”

It was positively Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch!

After briefly introducing ourselves to one another (I learned he was from Gambia), I asked what led him this way. He told me he was raised in Africa, oddly, in a Buddhist home, but that he was not spiritually satisfied. One day he just thought he needed to become a Christian. Then he made an evangelist’s job very easy--he asked me, “Can you tell me how to become a Christian?”

Of course, I assured him I could. I laid out the Gospel from the scriptures, shared my own personal testimony of faith, and invited him to pray a prayer with me based on Romans 10: 9, “if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

I asked Mr. Ekwa if he wished to pray this prayer with me and commit his life to Jesus Christ. Surprisingly, he hesitated, explaining that he was worried his wife would not follow with him. He expressed great concern for her and for his two young daughters. I explained to him the promise of God is for him and for his family, pointing to Acts 2:39, “For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

With this assurance, he said he wished to continue and I led him in reciting a very simple, childlike prayer acknowledging his sin, asking God’s forgiveness in the sacrifice of Christ in the Cross, and pledging himself to Jesus as Lord, the boss of his life. He then asked the Holy Spirit to come into him and help him live in a way that is pleasing to the Lord.

After our prayer, Mr. Ekwa boldly asked me for a Bible. I promised to send him one and we exchanged addresses. (He’s already received it.) We then talked about how he might find a good church so he can get grounded in his faith and lead his family to Christ.

Please pray for our new brother in Christ. Of all the things I do here in Washington and around the world, nothing is more important than being used by God to help one person find the Savior!

More later . . . 

Rev. Rob Schenck

www.faithandaction.org

109 2nd St, NE

Washington, DC 20002

202-546-8329