Wednesday, December 24, 2008

A Christmas Prayer for America

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Merry Christmas!

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Thursday, December 18, 2008

What Would You Do If Obama Called?


This is too good for you to miss-- it's from my partner Dave Zanotti of The American Policy Roundtable and his blog found at aproundtable.org.

What would you do if Obama called?
By Mr. David Zanotti

Rick Warren is getting hammered -- again. This time the left is furious and the right is not far behind. Secular modernists are livid that President Obama has selected Pastor Warren to lead the invocation at the Inauguration. Google the news on this one. Read what Andrew Sullivan, PFAW, and the ACLU are saying. It won't be long, however before bloggers from the other side tee off on Rick Warren. They will hit the fan because someone claiming to be a Christian and a Pastor at that would stand side by side with the new President and, gasp... pray for him.

Can we all take a breath? This is actually funny because it is pretty much a surprise to everyone. But let's not get carried away here. The act of such a public prayer remains symbolic. It doesn't say much about the condition of anyone's heart or mind. Public prayers are not the ones Jesus rates as substantive. In fact, he warns against them. So lets try to get a little perspective here.

Even more interesting is this question: If the new President called you and asked you to come and pray at this very official event, what would you do? The inauguration is the actual moment of the transfer of Constitutional authority, when the oath of office is taken. Actually, it is the public act. On occassion the oath has been taken in private, with witnesses for security purposes. That might happen again this year. However, for the public view and the watching world, this is the moment when a part of the Constitution comes to life. So would you be willing to lead in prayer, to talk to God out loud, in front of the watching world? Would you go, or would you want your pastor to go if asked?

The question is this: Can pastors maintain their spiritual identity and true indepenedence and at the same time minister to those in elected office? Remember, Rick Warren did not endorse ANYONE for the Presidential election. He kept his focus on the issues he believed mattered most to God. So this invitation is no payback. It certainly is no payback for the Saddleback Forum where Obama and McCain squared off with Warren. Wayne Shepherd and I were at that event helping broadcast it to the nation. Obama got hammered by McCain that night. It was the only time in the campaign McCain performed well, so well, that if the election had been held a few days later, McCain might have actually gotten close. So Obama isn't exactly gaining much politically hanging around Warren. In fact, chances are good if McCain had won, he might have picked Warren as well. And that would have been billed as "payback" for the Saddleback Forum for sure.

So if the President called you to pray for him and the country in public -- would you?

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Pray for James MacDonald


My friend and partner at WALK IN THE WORD has recently been diagnosed with prostate cancer. You can read more about it on the STRAIGHT UP blog, but I wanted to also ask you to pray for James and Kathy as they endure this trial. Knowing James, we will all learn from his experience as he looks to the Lord and His Word for comfort and perspective. I can't wait to see how God will use this trial in his life-- and ours.

James and I still smile when we remember our first conversation. It was on a flight to California and we were both headed separately to the National Religious Broadcasters convention. At the time, I was the gatekeeper for new programs being added to Moody's satellite program schedule, so I was already bracing myself for an onslaught of requests from ministries that could only HOPE to be on Moody. I was already in a mode of non-commitment as a shield around me as I settled into my seat for the long flight. Up the aisle walks James headed straight for me. After some small talk, he kindly asked what the possibility of getting WALK IN THE WORD on Moody was. I laugh even now of how I TOTALLY brushed him off with some lame answer. Well, despite me, WALK IN THE WORD did make it on Moody and the ministry is thriving. Imagine my feelings when James later asked me to become the co-host. Thankfully, James doesn't hold grudges :) Working with him has become one of the key highlights of my radio ministry.

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Monday, December 15, 2008

Christmas in Russia


The last few weeks have been especially busy-- and rewarding. One thing that is going on right now is PROJECT HOPE through Russian Ministries. Russian churches have a vision to reach thousands of children this Christmas-- children who are victims of the recent war in Georgia, some who live in poverty in the Arctic Circle, and others who are orphans or street children. These Russian believers want to give up to 30,000 children a gift this Christmas-- warm socks, toys, candy, and a children's Bible-- but they don't have the money to buy the supplies. So, PROJECT HOPE gives us the chance to send $25 for each gift box. We give the money to the Russian churches and they spend it themselves on the gifts. With the restrictions on gifts coming from the West, this is the most practical way to get a gift into the hands of these needy children.

Many years ago, I had the opportunity to visit many orphanages and children's hospitals in the former Soviet Union-- and then more recently I was in Beslan in South Ossetia and saw firsthand how much the children respond when shown any kind of love and care.

The Russian Christmas will be observed on January 7, so there is still time to give to PROJECT HOPE. If you would rather call, the number is 888-462-7639. Also, I've placed some spots we produced and aired on WMBI for Russian Ministries on the front page of my website as featured audio.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!