C3 Report: Volume 4 Issue X (October 2011)
Contents:
- October C3 Lunch Meeting!
- Activities Worth Pursuing
- Minute Ministry Tip #17: Petition Drives
- Books Recently Read: Serfdom; Outliers
- Commentary: The Battle of Presidential Worldviews
- Free Meal Offer
There seems to be a lot going on for this time of the year. I suggest you scan the activities listed below and pick one or more you’re interested in to become better informed and equipped to engage in cultural and political kingdom work. Many are very faithfully laboring to make a change, but the bottom line is to become involved in a Christ-honoring manner, with a proper Biblical worldview as a foundation.
If I can be of help to you or your church in wrestling through how to establish a Christian citizenship (or Salt and Light) ministry in a balanced, legal, properly shepherded manner, just let me know.
Yours in Christ,
Frank Kacer
Christian Citizenship Council (Since ‘02)
Proverbs 14:34
Welcome:
A warm welcome to: Carl, Sue, Becky, and Daniel as new subscribers to the monthly C3 Report. If you know of anyone else that could benefit from these monthlies, ask if they would like to receive them, and then let me know.
October C3 Lunch Meetings
The meetings in September were very encouraging, challenging, and highly energetic. I think you’ll gain a lot by participating, particularly since they’re always non-threatening and have a different set of folks showing up each time. Come by, and bring a friend!
- 25th of October (Tuesday) - Escondido: Marie Callenders; 615 West 13th Avenue - Lunch from 11:30 to 1:00 (Library Room)
- 27th of October (Thursday) – San Diego: Marie Callenders; 6950 Alvarado Road - Lunch from 11:30 to 1:00 (Library Room)
Activities Worth Pursuing to Become Better Equipped and Engaged:
Final Days!: Time for the Referendum effort to repeal SB 48 is running out. Return your petitions now so the organizers can submit pre-validated ones to the State by 12 October to qualify for next year’s ballot. For instructions, go to: www.stopsb48.com
15 September – 17 October: Hillsdale College Webcast Course “Introduction to the Constitution”. This series of six Webcasts addresses fundamental principles behind the US Constitution. To sign up for this free course go to: http://www.hillsdale.edu. Archives of past sessions are available.28 September – 6 November: “40 Days for Life”. This year’s campaign has the largest number of prayer and fasting events, vigils, and outreach’s (301 cities) ever. To participate, go to www.40daysforlife.com.
7 October: Hillsdale College Webcast – “The Global Threat of the Muslim Brotherhood”. Andrew McCarthy will lecture from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. PDT. Go to http://www.hillsdalefirstfridays.com/Hillsdale/Microsite/may6_microsite.aspx to register for this free webcast.
7 October: Election Integrity Project - Speaker Sharron Angle. Escondido Masonic Center; 1331 South Escondido Blvd, Escondido from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. RSVP at www.electionintegrityproject.com.
7-9 October: Values Voter Summit 2011 (Washington D.C.). Sponsored by: Family Research Council Action; American Family Association Action; The Heritage Foundation; American Values; Liberty University/Liberty Counsel; and FRC; with many high profile, conservative speakers. For information call 877.372.2808 or register at www.valuesvotersummit.org. You can also watch live on this site.
8 October: Condoleezza Rice. The former Secretary of State will speak at the Vista nonprofit Solutions for Change fundraiser (combats homelessness). Event begins at 5:45 at the Rancho Bernardo Inn, 17550 Bernardo Oaks Drive, SD. Visit www.solutionsforchange.org/events or call 760-941-6545 (tickets $250).
Pro-Life Pregnancy Care Clinics/Centers. Please consider supporting as an individual or as a church any of the following Pro-Life organizations during these fundraisers and on an on-going basis.
27 October: Turning Point Pregnancy Resource Center’s Banquet. Guest speaker will be Dr. Marc Newman. To RSVP call Turning Point at 858.457.7800. (7-9 pm)
13 October: East County Pregnancy Care Clinic’s Fall Fundraising Banquet. 6:30 p.m.; With Mark Larson and Jennifer O’Neill, banquet begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Mission Valley Marriott Hotel. For details go to www.ecpcc.org or call 619.442.4357.
21 October: Ramona Pregnancy Care Clinic’s Annual Banquet. Featured speaker will be Pastor Ron Hubbard (Mountain View Community Church). For information call 760.789.7059
3 November: Alternatives Women’s Center Fundraising Banquet. From 7:00 – 9:00 pm in the Escondido Center for the Arts. Shawn Carney will be speaking. Call 760.741.9796 or RSVP to awcjudy@yahoo.com.
29 October: “Celebrate Freedom Gourmet American Barbecue” for National Center for Law & Policy (NCLP). Wes Bentley, President of Far Reaching Ministries is the keynote speaker for this benefit event. Please consider attending and supporting NCLP’s legal battles fighting for family, faith and freedom. Location: 38615 Calistoga Drive, Suite 100, Murrieta, CA 92563. RSVP at 760.747.4529 or e-mail dcarter@wclplaw.org.
29 October: Creation Apologetics Conference “Rebuilding the Foundation”. Presented by Institute for Creation Research from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at The Rock Church (2277 Rosecrans Street San Diego). Free event, but registration is required. For info: apologetics@therocksandiego.org or call 619.501.1800
30 October – 6 November: White Ribbon Against Pornography (WRAP) Week. Become informed, and find resources at www.moralityinmedia.org.
4 November: “Christian Environmentalism 101: Toward a Sustainable World(view)”. Public lecture by Dr. Susan Power Bratton at Bethel Seminary San Diego; 6116 Arosa Street, SD. Q&A will follow. To register, call 619.325.5227.
12 November: “One Nation Under God”. This 3 hour event lead by Jim Garlow and ReAL will take place in houses and churches across the country. Our nation’s Biblical foundation will be explored by spiritual, political, and educational leaders such as Dr. James Dobson, Bob McEwen, and David Barton. Register at: http://onenationundergodevent.com/real. A nominal fee is required
27-30 Dec: San Diego Christian Film festival. This year’s local Christian film festival will be hosted at the La Jolla Marriott. Begin planning to participate by going to: www.sdcff2011.com for more information, or contacting Richard Bagdazian, executive director of SDFF at richard@glassseaproductions.com
Minute Ministry Tip #17 (October 2011)
Note: If you would like the entire set of Minute Ministry Tips to date, just let me know and I’d be happy to send you a copy by e-mail.
Petition Drives. One of the threshold steps for a church to take in the spiritual battlefield of public policy are petition drives. Contrary to what the mainstream media and the ACLU say, every church has a legal right to weigh in on public policy, legislation, and government decisions (ones pending or already taken). To prevent unnecessary confusion or divisiveness concerning petitions, a few practical things should be kept in mind. First, make sure you‘ve thoroughly researched the purpose for the petition and understand the issue well. Next, discuss with your pastor the possibility of gathering signatures at church, and how it can be advertised and accomplished without being disruptive of worship services or other ministry efforts going on at the same time. If not approved, don’t try and do it surreptitiously at the church (Hebrews 13:17); instead, personally contact in a different venue those you know would be sympathetic to signing and have them sign. Third, if approved by church leadership, make sure you’re not pushy in gaining signatures. Have your talking points ready, but try and not argue if someone has a different opinion or is not receptive. Being gentle and patient will go a long ways to preventing any undue contention or problems for pastors to have to address later. Remember, the earlier you can gain pastor support (and equip them with information), the easier it’ll be to avoid problems later, and the higher the probability of your being successful.
Books Recently Read:
“The Road to Serfdom”: by Friedrich A. Hayek (1944, 1994 Heritage abridged edition; 48 pages). The more things change, the more they stay the same. This abridged version of the classic work by Hayek in 1944 shows very clearly how government planning slowly at first, and then with greater speed, destroys individual liberties and freedoms and turns a western nation into a democratic-socialist country. With the backdrop of the Nazi (Germany), Fascist (Italy) and Communist (USSR) experience fresh in the world’s mind, Hayek warns about the direction the United States is headed. His warnings are clear, his reasoning is sound, and he correctly predicted where we were headed as a nation. Very sobering, short pamphlet to read.
“Outliers – The Story of Success”: by Malcolm Gladwell (2008; 285 pages).
I have to admit, I’ve wanted to read this book for awhile. I found Gladwell’s writing style very clear and seductive. He makes some very profound observations about the interplay of talent, circumstances, family environment, culture and timing that are necessary for the phenomenally successful to reach the places they’ve arrived at. His main contention is that the belief that raw talent, hard work and ambition alone have created super success stories is wrong. His discussion of the 10,000 hours of effort, the birth month of hockey players, the effect of ethnic culture on plane crashes, and the like is very convincing because of the many personal life stories he uses to illustrate his contentions. The two big weaknesses from my perspective are: a lack of hardly any counter examples; and the total lack of God’s mighty hand at work in circumstances and lives. But, given that, it is a very interesting and thought provoking read.
Coming Review: “Politics – According to the Bible” by Wayne A. Gruden (2010; 601 pages). I’m still reviewing this recent addition to the dialogue on the Christians role in political realm in the October C3 Report.
Commentary (In case you missed it in the Christian Examiner)
The Battle of Presidential Worldviews
A classic battle of worldviews is shaping up for 2012. We know every election is important, but Presidential elections provide a unique opportunity to decide which of two competing worldviews will drive the major moral decisions we’ll face as a nation. One worldview sees mankind as basically good, with government an obvious tool that extends and applies that nature with unlimited potential and incredible power for benefit to all. The second worldview, based upon God’s revealed truth, sees mankind’s intrinsic nature as fundamentally evil (Jeremiah 17:9), with unbridled government an abusive and powerful reflection and expansion of that nature.
The concept of limited government implemented by our founders clearly assumed the Biblical view was the correct one. Over time, and in particular during the last generation, the worldview driving politics at the national level believes in mankind’s “goodness” and places hope in the benevolence of a government assuming control of virtually every aspect of life. However, the Congressional House of Representatives 2010 election showed the public finally willing to push back against an obvious out of control government - at least one that can’t be trusted with the economy and our health care system. This sets up the next Presidential election as nothing less than a massive showdown to determine which competing understanding of reality, and the role of government, should predominate in the years ahead.
What’s at stake, is no less than deciding whether our government will: feed more government takeover of the economy - or incentivize free market expansion; increase individual and family dependence on governmental - or encourage personal responsibility; punish wealth creation - or incentivize its creation; ignore the national debt - or show fiscal responsibility; increase - or decrease tax burdens; abolish - or strengthen traditional marriage; ration health care for the weak - or competitively improve the world’s finest health care system; continue irrational dependence on foreign energy - or responsibly use our own resources; unilaterally disarm - or counter all threats domestic and foreign; protect abortion at all costs - or defend the sanctity of life; grant citizenship to lawbreakers - or incentivize their departure; crush state’s rights - or restore and respect them; continue normalizing of repugnant sexual lifestyles - or encouraging sexual morality. The worldview that wins the next election, will determine these as well as many other moral decisions for a long time.
Clearly, the current administration embraces an ideology that believes government is benevolent and knows what’s best for the entire nation, independent of facts, reasoning, or historical evidence to the contrary. In fact, history shows that power, unrestrained by any Biblical values and morals, rapidly becomes corrupt and the enemy of all that we as Christians hold dear. It’s not surprising, therefore, that any administration criticism is seen as not just misguided but dangerous to its goals and must be stopped at all costs, by any means. But when government is restrained to its proper role of punishing evil and commending what’s good (Rom 13:1-5; 1 Peter 2:14), it can result in blessings to the exercise of our individual freedoms, an encouragement to pursue our salt and light mandate, and an openness to proclaiming the gospel and Biblical truths to all of society. Realistically, if massive governmental control begins to be dismantled next year, then moral values can once more be openly debated in the public realm, unbridled by government imposed hostility toward our values.
This is a battle worth fighting for. In this struggle we shouldn’t evaluate potential candidates on just their policy positions, or a simple claim to be a Christian, but on the worldview that they believe is true.
Most people I’ve met, and unfortunately many Christians, believe man is fundamentally good. This not only trivializes Biblical truth, but it accepts a relativistic post-modernism that denies the very need for the gospel. Is it any wonder many Christians are befuddled how our government has become so anti-Christian? When so many Christians misunderstand this battle, they become unwitting accomplices in growing the very government that reflects man’s sinful nature and wants to be man’s “savior”. No, the political battle around us is a shadow of the spiritual warfare struggling for the soul of our nation (Ephesians 6:12). We need to recognize this battle for what it is, and fight to restore to the public debate the need for understanding both the nature of unregenerate man, and the dangers of a government unbridled by Biblical truth. If we don’t engage now, the window on our ability to influence this nation’s health will rapidly close, as will our freedoms to openly proclaim God’s truths.
Free Offer:
As always, if you have a pastor or ministry leader that’s willing to discuss the why’s and how-to’s in establishing a Christian Citizenship (or Salt & Light) Ministry in a legal, Christ-honoring, Biblically balanced way, let me know and I’ll take them to lunch to discuss it. Obviously, there’s no obligation on the pastor’s part.
Contact Information:
Frank Kacer
Executive Director of the Christian Citizenship Council (C3) of San Diego, serving the Christian community as a 501(c)3 organization since 2002.
C3 Vision Statement
“The Christian Citizenship Council of San Diego exists to encourage and equip Churches and believers to apply biblical principles to all spheres of the culture around us, and to all of life”
(Matt 5:13-16; 16:18; 22:39; Jer 29:7)
“When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice;
when the wicked rule, the people groan”
when the wicked rule, the people groan”
(Prov 29:2)
posted by Frank @ October 09, 2011
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