Abortion: Is The Hard Work Paying Off?

This week, the Supreme Court decided to take a case about Partial-Birth Abortion. This case goes back 4 years. When President Bush took office, one of the first items he pushed for was a ban on partial-birth abortions. He received his bill and signed it into law. Immediately, the pro-abortion groups took it into court. The Supreme Court has finally decided to hear the case. In a few months, we will know if the Supreme Court believes that the federal government has the constitutional right to end partial-birth abortions.

Evangelical Christians have waited for this day for a long time. They will finally know if all their hard work has paid off. President Bush can owe his presidency to a large evangelical Christian turnout. The reason for the high evangelical Christian turnout was this one issue. President Bush has appointed two Supreme Court justices. Judge Roberts replaced a pro-life judge. Judge Alito replace a pro-choice judge. Over the last few years, the pro-life side needed one additional vote. If both of these judges do what is expected; Evangelicals will be very happy with their President.

This leads us to an even more interesting case. The state of South Dakota is trying to pass a law that will outlaw all most every abortion in that state. The Governor of South Dakota, Michael Rounds, has refused to say if he will sign the bill into law. He is a pro-life Republican, but he is unwilling to say what he is going to do with this bill.

If Governor Rounds signs the bill into law, the law will immediately be contested in court. If this case goes to the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court will decide whether or not individual states have the right to restrict abortions. If the Supreme Court gives the authority back to the states (Where It Belongs), within 5 years we could see the end of abortion as we know it in our country. Abortion will still be legal in states that allow it. However, this will make abortion a regional affair. The northeast and the West coast will have abortions. The heartland will more than likely not.

Evangelcial Christians have worked hard to convince GOP Presidents to name pro-life judges. Reagan failed to do this, and Bush Sr. Failed as well. It sounds as if George W. got the message. It seems as if all the hard work is finally paying off.

Can You Be A Southern Baptist And Speak In Tongues?

Over the last three months, I have seen three stories regarding Southern Baptists and tongue speaking. This should tell us that a battle may be on the verge. It would not surprise me to see a resolution given at the SBC annual meeting against tongue speaking. It will be interesting to watch if Southern Baptist leaders are willing to alienate a strong evangelical group of charismatics. I know I am.

I personally believe that tongue speaking was a first century gift. I believe that it was a gift of given to the Apostles to spread the Gospel. I do not want to write a huge post on my personal views on this issue. If you would like a good book on the subject, let me encourage to read Charismatic Chaos" by John McArthur. Another good book on the issue is "Counterfeit Revival" by Hank Handegraff.

Recently the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention decided to not commission any missionaries that speak a private prayer tongue. The IMB has had a long standing policy against public tongue speaking. This move was done to remove any charismatic tendency within the mission body. An interesting side item to all of this is that the current President of the IMB, Jerry Rankin, has admitted to a private prayer tongue in his past. I always question motives of unnecessary moves. I wonder if this was a shot at Jerry Ranking.

The Associated Baptist Press, which is a liberal Baptist news service, released an article last week about the SBC and tongue speakers. The article was about a Pastor named Ron Phillips. Pastor Phillips pastors a large SBC church in Tennessee. He speaks in tongues. He feels the leadership of the convention has shunned him because of his theological convictions. I do not know if Pastor Phillips has been shunned. I do know he isn't welcomed in my pulpit.

Today, In the Dallas Morning News, I read that the Dean of Students at Criswell College resigned over his support of tongue speaking. I am absolutely certain he did the right thing. W. A. Criswell created a school with a certain type of teaching in mind. The Dean should have resigned. If he agreed with tongue speaking prior to his hiring, I think he made a mistake for taking a position at Criswell knowing he didn't agree with their theological perspective.

Southern Baptists need to decide soon if they are going to be just like all the other evangelical groups, or are we going to have some theological convictions. I know that the SBC is basically a missionary based convention. The SBC has absolutely no authority over the local church. However, that doesn't mean that the SBC has to take money and support churches that teach in contrary to the Scripture.

I believe that the Charismatic movement is a dangerous movement. I think the SBC should take a stand on this issue. I look forward to watching the events unfold on this topic. It should be an interesting debate for years to come.

86 Evangelicals Declare War On Global Warming

Today, 86 Evangelical leaders released a letter that recommended congress to write new legislation to fight Global Warming. The most well known name in the group of 86 is Rick Warren. My guess is that Rick Warren has lived in California too long. He has been persuaded to buy into the left coast cultural issues. Most Christians would not recognize the other names on the list, but for the most part, they are leaders of evangelical colleges and high profile ministries around the country.

The group of 86 call their organization the "Evangelical Climate Initiative". They believe that Christianity is staying silent on important issues that face our world today. They believe that Global Warming is a very important issue, and Evangelicals should be leading the cause to fix the problem. They are passionate about their cause. However, it is important to note that you can be passionately wrong.

If you would like to know my overall opinion of Global Warming, I would encourage you to read a blog that I wrote in the month of November. I believe the blog was titled "It Sure Is Cold Outside". It is an enjoyable little read. I highly recommend it.

Every year it seems to me that I see more and more evangelicals making statements that our either unnecessary or all together misguided. The ECI is a misguided group in my opinion; which also makes them unnecessary. I am thankful that men like Richard Land, Chuck Colson, and James Dobson have come out against the ECI. I personally believe ECI members could find better things to do with their time.

In criticizing groups that make useless statements, I do not want to leave out groups that I happen to agree with. Every year I go to the State Convention and almost every year I go to the Southern Baptist Convention. Every year, both conventions write resolutions that are to be approved by the group. I am not saying that resolutions are bad. Resolutions have allowed the Southern Baptists to take stands on issues that we need to take a stand on. That being said, why do we have to resolve to be against abortion every year. If we do not resolve against it one year at the state convention, we resolve to be against it at the national convention. If we do not resolve at the national convention, we resolve to be against it at the state convention.

I do not believe it is a mystery to anyone that Southern Baptists are against abortion. This type of continual resolving is a waist of time and paper.

Today I am calling for a new group to be formed. The "Lying Is Wrong Initiative" needs your help. I think it is time that we resolve that Lying is a problem in America. We need to stop lying, and we need to stop it now. I need Baptist in every state convention to write a resolution against lying. If we could all resolve not to lie, I am certain we could fix this problem immediately. Lying is a problem that Evangelicals have not addressed, and I believe we need to take the lead on it right now. Are you with me?

Am I Allowed To Agree With Rod Parsley?

Over the last couple of weeks, the media has jumped all over a church story. A group of pastors in central Ohio has contacted the IRS asking them to examine the tax-exempt status of two mega-churches in Central Ohio. The two churches in question are Fairfield Christian Church and World Harvest Church. Russell Johnson is the pastor of Fairfield Christian, and Rod Parsely is the Pastor of World Harvest.

The thirty or so pastors that issued the complaint are from small churches in the area. All of these churches are associated with liberal denominations. These pastors are upset with an organization founded by pastors Johnson and Parsley. The organization is call the "Ohio Restoration Project". The goal of ORP is to get evangelical Christians to register to vote. Both Parsley and Johnson have close ties with Kenneth Blackwell who is running for Governor. Secretary of State Blackwell is a conservative Christian. He has been featured in ORP adds and at ORP events. Ken Blackwell has not been endorsed by ORP or by either of the churches in question. Nevertheless, Ken Blackwell's appearance at ORP events is what bothers the liberal pastors.

It is my opinion that politics and church do not mix. I never mention political candidates in my sermon. I have yet to find the word republican or democrat in my Bible. However, I am a very politically minded person. If you ask me my opinion, I will give you an answer. It is my opinion that if you preach the complete surrender to Jesus as Lord, the church for the most part will vote for the candidates that support Christian principles. This being said, the ORP is of no interest to me. However, what these liberal pastors are doing is of interest to me.

There are two problems I have with their actions. First, it is hypocritical. Liberal churches have democratic candidates speak from their pulpits all the time. The Bible tells us to get the log out of our own eye before we go looking for specks in others. The 30 or so pastors that filed this complaint need to be consistent. They need to file complaints with the IRS every time a democrat steps into a liberal church pulpit. They will not do this, because this complaint is not about right or wrong. It is about whose side you are on politically.

Second, The Bible tells us that if you have a complaint with a brother you go to him first. These pastors did no such thing. They did not even try to contact pastors Parsley and Johnson. They went straight to the IRS. This is wrong, and they should be ashamed of being so unBiblical. However, we should never expect liberal pastors to be Biblical. They are called liberal for a reason.

When I first became a Christian I went to a concert at World Harvest Church. I saw Carmen in concert. Today, I find the thought of me going to see Carmen at World Harvest absolutely hilarious. Oh, how we change over time.

I seldom agree theologically with Rod Parsley. I believe the Word Faith movement is a destructive movement. However, I am siding with Parsely and Johnson in this dispute. I do not like the way they have brought political activity in their church. However, I cannot say that what they are doing is wrong or illegal. As of the time of this post, the IRS has declined to investigate the two churches in question. My hope is that the 30 or so pastors that brought about these charges would be questioned by their own congregations. I am certain this is way to much to ask.