Friday, September 28, 2018

Warning to Those Who Pretend to be Godly


There is in each of us a dangerous temptation toward hypocrisy – to be one thing but to pretend to be another.  And Lord knows, there are many within the church – people who claim to be Christians but who are, in fact, unbelievers attempting to convince others (and perhaps themselves) that they are followers of Jesus Christ.  They are people who do not practice true virtue but who instead offer counterfeit versions of it.  Jude (verse 12) compares them to clouds without rain and trees without fruit … devoid of true goodness.

Here are five solemn warnings put forth by Tim Challies, to those who only pretend to be godly:
1. Hypocrisy Angers God.  God hates hypocrisy and hypocrites because hypocrisy misuses religion … taking advantage of its laws and decrees for self-advancement.  The hypocrite wants religion — even the Christian faith — only for the advantages he gains from it.  He fails to truly turn his heart to God and do good to God’s people; he carries Christ in his Bible, but not in his heart; he serves the devil while wearing the uniform of Christ; he will be condemned by God.

2. Hypocrisy is Self-Delusion.  Many hypocrites deceive themselves, thinking that their hypocritical deeds are evidence of true godliness or, even worse, that they have the ability to merit God’s favor.  The person who collects counterfeit money harms no one more than himself.  The person who piles up counterfeit godliness does the greatest damage to his own soul.  “If anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” (Galatians 6:3)

3. Hypocrisy is Offensive to God and Man.  Unbelievers hate the hypocrite because he makes himself appear godly; God hates him because he merely looks godly.  Unbelievers are deceived by his veneer of godliness and hate him for it; God sees through that veneer and hates him for having no more than that.  The hypocrite loses on all accounts because he becomes the enemy of unbelievers and of God.  

4. Hypocrisy is Pointless.  The hypocrite may labor hard in this life, but as soon as he dies he will lose absolutely everything.  The only reward he will be able to enjoy will be in this life since he will certainly be condemned in death.  He may earn praise today, but he will receive only retribution at the judgment.

5. Hypocrisy Brings No Comfort in Death.  People who have only painted over their depravity with a thin veneer of counterfeit holiness will find themselves without hope and without comfort upon their deathbed.  Little holiness leads to little happiness.

Listen: Hypocrisy is an ugly sin and one that God despises.  Yet, I hasten to add, there is hope for the hypocrite and the words of Paul should ring in the ears of the hypocrite: “Do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4).  Those who turn to Christ in repentance and faith will be cleansed of every sin, including this one – hypocrisy.  And the Holy Spirit will indwell them so they can clean off that thin veneer of holiness and, instead, become truly holy.

As for those who truly believe, but still grapple with the temptation toward hypocrisy, let’s pray with Thomas Watson: “Lord, let me be anything rather than a hypocrite,” for two hearts will exclude one from heaven.  

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

Recite Islamic Statement of Faith or Be Executed


Al-Shabaab militants executed two Christians in Kenya after they attacked a bus and forced the passengers to recite the Islamic statement of faith.

International Christian Concern (ICC) said that the attack happened when seven Islamic militants from the terror group stopped a bus that was heading to Garissa.  As they have done in numerous previous attacks, the al-Shabaab radicals forced the passengers to present their identification cards, and separated them by Muslim and Christian names.  They forced the non-Muslims to recite the Shahada – the Islamic statement of faith.  The two people, apparently Christians, who failed to recite it were executed on the spot.

“ICC is following up with the families of these two martyrs.  This group’s intense hatred and violence has caused massive pain for many families and friends of Christians like these two,” the watchdog group said.  “The Kenyan and Somali governments must continue to work to end the horrible atrocities that this evil organization commits and protect the lives of Christians in Kenya,” it added.

Kenya’s The Star also reported on the attack, and noted that, according to a witness, three people were initially tested by reciting the Shahada.  The one who was able to recite the verses was spared and set free.  One of the murdered men was identified by the name Joshua … believed to be a casual laborer based in Masalani.

Northeastern regional coordinator Mohamed Birik said that Kenyan forces are searching for the militants in a nearby forest.  “It is unfortunate that we have lost two innocent lives of Kenyans.  I want to assure that going forward, such an incident will not happen again,” Birik said.

Al-Shabaab – which is based in Somalia but continues to carry out attacks in neighboring Kenya – remains one of Africa’s deadliest terror groups.

In April 2015 the terrorists killed close to 150 students during an ambush attack at Garissa University College, where the militants separated Muslims from Christians before executing the latter.

In August 2017, the terrorists killed another four Christian men in Kenya’s Lamu County, beheading three and burning alive another.

The Ethiopian Air Force announced last week that it has carried out an airstrike against al-Shabaab in Somalia.  It reported that close to 70 al-Shabaab militants were killed, while two vehicles packed with weapons were destroyed.  Brigadier General Yilma Merdassa, Chief of Ethiopian Air Force, said that with the strike, “we achieved 100 percent of our plans” and prevented a possible militant attack on the Ethiopian contingent of the African Union Mission in Somalia.

Radio Shabelle noted that other counties that have sent troops as part of the African Union Mission include Burundi, Djibouti, Kenya and Uganda.  The U.S. has also been carrying out airstrikes to weaken and defeat the terror group at its Somali bases.

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Monday, September 24, 2018

Christian Volunteers Are Walking the Talk in NC


Chaplains with the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team (RRT) are ministering to people in North Carolina (NC) who have been impacted by Hurricane Florence – and more Christian volunteers are on the way.

Speaking last week on American Family Radio, Al New with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association’s (BGEA) RRT of chaplains said it doesn’t matter where one looks, there’s destruction.  “Homes are flooded and homes are off their foundation,” he added.  “Presently, the number of homes that have been destroyed in New Bern alone is over 4,300 homes and over 300 businesses.  It’s widespread here and everybody in the area of New Bern is affected by this event – whether they received damage to their physical properties or not.”

New said many people are still emotionally upset and looking for answers as to why things like this happen.  “A lot of them are saying: This has never happened before [or] I’ve never seen it like this before – and our chaplains come alongside them, love on them, and give them hope that things are going to get better through Jesus Christ our Lord,” he shared.  When asked how the chaplains are holding up?, New says, “At the end of the day, we make sure we are there for each other and that’s how we refresh and recharge for the next day.”  “We debrief each other at the end of every day and share experiences.  My role is to watch and observe our chaplains during that time to make sure everybody is doing well, physically and spiritually – but if not, I’ll intervene and we’ll go another direction.”

The BGEA’s RRT is also working alongside volunteers from Samaritan’s Purse who are helping with home repairs.  “The chaplains are there to stand alongside the home owner and just administer emotional and spiritual care,” New added.

If you wish to give tax-deductible donations to either or both of these Christian organizations, here are the links on which you can make donations:
Billy Graham Evangelistic Association https://billygraham.org/
Samaritan’s Purse - https://www.samaritanspurse.org/

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Friday, September 21, 2018

Chinese Crackdown on Christianity


The Chinese government is cracking down on Christianity, destroying crosses, closing down churches, burning Bibles, and forcing believers to sign a paper renouncing their faith, the Associated Press (AP) reports based on accounts from pastors and a religious freedom monitoring group.

The move comes as the Chinese government attempts to demand loyalty to the state’s atheist Community Party.  “The international community should be alarmed and outraged for this blatant violation of freedom of religion and belief,” Bob Fu of the U.S.-based group China Aid told the AP.

Under President Xi Jinping, China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong, religious believers are seeing their freedoms shrink dramatically even as the country undergoes a religious revival.  Experts and activists say that as he consolidates his power, Xi is waging the most severe systematic suppression of Christianity in the country since religious freedom was written into the Chinese constitution in 1982.

Fu also provided video footage of what appeared to be piles of burning Bibles and forms stating that the signatories had renounced their Christian faith.  He said that marked the first time since Mao’s radical 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution that Christians had been compelled to make such declarations, under pain of expulsion from school and the loss of welfare benefits.

A Christian pastor in the Henan city of Nanyang said crosses, Bibles and furniture were burned during a raid on his church on September 5th.  One pastor, Ezra Jin Mingri, of the Zion church in Beijing said even his personal assets had been frozen by the government as a means of forcing him to comply before officials shut the church down.  Still, Jin said that will not deter followers.  “Churches will continue to develop.  Blocking the sites will only intensify conflicts,” he told the AP.

Jay Sekulow, President Trump’s attorney and Chief Counsel at the American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ), said the ACLJ is addressing the persecution.  “The situation for Chinese #Christians becomes more dire by the day.  We are working tirelessly to put maximum pressure on China stop the persecution,” he tweeted.

The country has roughly 38-million Protestants – a number experts believe will grow in the coming decades, making it home to the world’s largest Christian population.

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Wednesday, September 19, 2018

University Changes Discriminatory Policy


Ball State University (BSU) has changed a policy that led to discrimination against “religious, political, or ideological” expression and resulted in a pro-life student group being denied funding awarded to left-leaning political groups on campus.

The Indiana public school has agreed as part of a legal settlement to pay the university’s chapter of Students for Life the $300 that it was initially denied from the Student Activity Fee Committee (SAFC) earlier this year and has also changed its previous policy on student activity funding allocation.  While the SAFC grants funding to other political student groups – Feminists for Action, Secular Student Alliance and the LGBT group Spectrum – BSU Students for Life was denied funding in February that would have been used to share educational resources with pregnant and parenting students.  The funding was denied on the basis of the organization’s pro-life viewpoints.

A lawsuit filed in June points out that BSU previously gave the SAFC authority to decide which groups may receive the funding from the mandatory student activity fees.  Students affiliated with Students for Life had paid a total of more than $1,000 per year in student activity fees at BSU but were still denied access.  Students for Life accused the BSU student government of “playing favorites” and “stifling free speech.”

But now, BSU has altered its student fund allocation policy so that student activity funds will be made available on a “viewpoint-neutral manner.”  The new policy has now gone into effect.  “Viewpoint-neutral funding means that funding decisions are not based on a group’s point of view or message and funding will not be denied because the recipient of the funds advocates a particular opinion,” the new policy states.  “Viewpoint-neutral criteria for evaluating funding proposals may consider only factors that are not tied to viewpoints.”

Additionally, BSU has agreed to pay $12,000 in legal fees to the group’s lawyers at Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).  “Public universities are supposed to provide a marketplace of ideas, but that market can’t function properly if university officials promote some views over others,” ADF Legal Counsel Caleb Dalton said in a statement.  “Ball State has taken some important first steps in eliminating the most blatantly unconstitutional aspects of their policies and honoring its intent to ‘respect and learn from differences in people, ideas, and opinions.’  We sincerely hope this serves as a catalyst to review all policies to maximize the free exchange of ideas at BSU.”

Students for Life of America President Kristan Hawkins praised the settlement.  “We’re encouraged that Ball State is reversing its discrimination against pro-life students,” Hawkins stated.  “Tolerance is a two-way street, and BSU Students for Life deserves equal access to funding and the continued opportunity to share their message of hope with pregnant and parenting students.”

Students for Life of America is the nation’s largest pro-life youth organization with more than 1,200 groups nationwide.  The BSU case is not the first time that the organization has had to press legal action against university and college administrations.  Last August, Colorado State University settled a lawsuit brought on by Students for Life after the school refused to give the campus chapter $600 to fund a pro-life speaker.  Students for Life was also represented by ADF in that case.  ADF has also come to the aid for Students for Life at California State University - San Marcos after the group’s funding request for $500 to host a pro-life speaker was denied.  ADF pointed out that the California State University - San Marcos provided nearly $300,000 to its Gender Equity Center and the LGBQTA Pride Center for expressive activities in the 2016-2017 academic year.  The Students for Life group was looking to provide some balance to the pro-abortion speakers the school had hosted in the past.  Last January, Students for Life at Queens College in New York City sued the school because a student panel refused to grant the group registered status. After filing a lawsuit, the school approved the pro-life group’s registered status.

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Monday, September 17, 2018

Four Conservative Christians React to Kavanaugh Hearings


The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing for United States Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh has garnered national attention.  President Donald Trump’s pick to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy experienced a good deal of vocal opposition since the hearing began last week, including yelling protesters and Senate Democrats claiming he would turn back women’s rights. 

Here are how four conservative Christian leaders view the proceedings, especially regarding the protests and the line of questioning from Senators:

Tony Perkins
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins viewed the hearing as a vindication of President Trump’s remarks before evangelical leaders.  In a statement, Perkins called the hearing “a snapshot of where America is and where we will head if the Left has the reins of government.”  “The Left will stop at nothing as evidenced by the violence of Antifa,” stated Perkins.  “The unhinged conduct of the Left should make it crystal clear what is not only at stake in the balance of the Court, but the future of our country.”

Ralph Reed
Ralph Reed of the Faith & Freedom Coalition has stated that he considers the actions of Democrat Senators and protesters alike to be “political theater.”  In an email sent to supporters, Reed denounced the critical statements and protests as an “outrageous example of political theater” meant to “rile up the progressive base ahead of the Midterm Elections.”  “Despite 12 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals and 25 years of stellar public service, Democrats are opposing Judge Kavanaugh simply because he is the nominee of President Trump,” Reed stated.  “Members of the Senate have 307 legal opinions and 480,000 documents produced by or related to Judge Kavanaugh – more than TWICE the number of documents ever received by the Committee for any previous Supreme Court nominee … yet Democrats are opposing Kavanaugh again, simply because he was nominated by Donald Trump.”

Al Mohler
Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, weighed in on the hearing in an episode of his podcast “The Briefing.”  Mohler believed that the incidents and rhetoric at the hearing showed that “the politicization of this entire process has reached points that not only the framers of the Constitution could not have imagined but even members ... of the Supreme Court or of the United States Senate could not have considered just a matter of perhaps a decade or so ago.”  “Because the way that game is played is that those on the Republican side are going to try to offer opportunities for Judge Kavanaugh to speak to his most basic and fundamental judicial philosophy.  Whereas, on the Democratic side, you’re likely to have almost exactly the opposite,” added Mohler.  “Very little attention to the underlying judicial philosophy and a great deal more attention to the likely outcomes of that way of interpreting the Constitution on the hot button issues of greatest interest to voters who back the Democratic Party in elections, and most especially are likely to be motivated for the 2018 midterms and the 2020 presidential cycle.”

David French
Notable conservative National Review columnist David French penned an opinion column that argued that the various protests and attacks against Kavanaugh proved that “too much of the talk about norms and civility and decency is just another weapon of convenience, to be dropped the moment it is perceived to pave the path of defeat.”  “Yet yesterday, from the top down, from senators to protesters to online trolls, the Democrats offered a preview of how they’d react to any Republican nominee, and it was a shining example of how and why conservatives don’t believe for one moment that Donald Trump is the sole source of American dysfunction,” wrote French.  “When the chips are down, will you practice what you preach?  Yesterday’s performance provides a clear answer, and it should worry all of us who genuinely care about health of American political discourse.”

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Friday, September 14, 2018

90% Sexual Attacks @ UK Public Swimming Pools Are in Unisex Changing Rooms


Statistics reveal that 9-of-10 sexual attacks at British public swimming pools take place in unisex changing rooms, which have now become tagged as “magnets for sexual offenders.”

According to figures obtained by London, England’s Sunday Times, an overwhelming 120 of the 134 complaints of sexual attacks at facilities of the United Kingdom (UK) between 2017 and 2018 related to incidents taking place in unisex changing rooms.  “Ninety (90) percent of assault, voyeurism and harassment cases relate to the gender-neutral zones, and have been branded a ‘magnet’ for sexual predators,” says the United Kingdom’s Daily Mail.  “The stats compound fears that unisex changing rooms – which are becoming increasingly popular to accommodate transgender people – pose a danger to women.”  It was found that the sexual assaults at these recreational areas are predominantly ushered in by the LGBT “rights” movement – or the new so-called “civil rights” movement – spreading throughout the U.K., which has resulted in numerous unisex facilities popping up throughout the U.K.  This is primarily seen as the government granting special privileges to transgenders masquerading as the opposite sex – particularly men posing as women.

But transgender activists, such as Paris Lee, insist that the problem – despite the statistics to prove it – does not exist.  “Making bathrooms more trans-friendly hasn’t led to any problems,” Lee claimed, according to the Daily Mail.

Yet a British Parliament member from Monmouth, David Davies, contends that – in light of the recent data – the exact opposite is true.  “These figures show that women and girls are more vulnerable in mixed changing rooms, and there is a danger these places are becoming a magnet for sexual offenders,” Davies asserted, as reported by the Daily Mail. “It simply doesn’t make sense to enable men to have greater access to women’s spaces – the reforms to gender recognition will grant that access.”

This point was echoed by Fair Play for Women spokeswoman Nicola Williams.  “Spaces where women are undressed should be single-sex – as a matter of course,” Williams argued.  “This is obvious, elementary safeguarding.”

Case and point … One case of such flagrant abuse against female minors as a result of unisex facilities was shared by the U.K. daily.  “Darren Johnson was caught covertly filming girls getting chang[ed] at a swimming pool,” the Daily Mail’s Charlie Moore reported.  “It comes after the married founder of a children’s soft play area firm was caught covertly filming girls … changing at a swimming pool and jailed for 16-months.”

Unsuspecting young teens and women have been the victims of perverted men such as Johnson taking advantage of problematic unisex facilities.  “CCTV captured Eddie Catz Founder Darren Johnson, 51, ‘stalking’ two 14-year-old girls from a swimming pool before entering the cubicle next to theirs and filming them changing by poking his mobile phone underneath the partition,” Moore added.

Numerous others were also violated as a result of the U.K.’s pro-LGBT unisex changing rooms that are being established at an ever-increasing rate.  “He also filmed mothers, their children and staff using public toilets at an Eddie Catz Center and of his female employees at his firm’s private changing rooms,” Moore noted.  “The father-of-two looked to the floor in the dock as he was sentenced at Kingston Crown Court after pleading guilty to five counts of voyeurism in July.”

The judge deliberating Johnson’s case was especially appalled that minors were subjected to such abuse in unisex facilities.  “These were dreadful offences because – first of all – some of them involved children … at the Putney Leisure Centre and almost inevitably at the premises of Eddie Catz,” the U.K.’s Judge Andrew Campbell proclaimed in the courtroom, according to the Daily Mail.

As a result of the government wanting to make the nation become more LGBT-friendly, unisex facilities have unleashed a Pandora’s Box of problems on women and children throughout the U.K.  “Gender-neutral changing facilities are on the rise as councils seek to cater for transgender people,” the Christian Institute reported.  Despite the numerous problems that catering to transgenderism has created in the U.K., officials have been busy at work making even more accommodations for the LGBT community.  “The government is proposing to change the Gender Recognition Act to make it easier for a man to legally become a woman and vice versa,” the Christian Institute’s Thierry Caro informed.  “This could include allowing people to ‘change sex’ simply by declaring it.”  Some politicians and activists, however, are standing up for the safety of the most vulnerable members of society in the U.K.  “But campaigners say ‘self-declaration’ would endanger women and girls – with some feminists warning it would turn every female facility into a unisex space,”  Caro continued.  “They say any man would be able to gain access to all-female spaces by simply ‘self-identifying’ as a woman.”

Reacting to this report out of the UK, spokesmen with the American Family Association (AFA)suggest there’s no reason to believe things are different in the U.S.  “Because we are now letting them all do that together – boys and girls, men and women – sexual assaults and voyeurism complaints have gone up,” says AFA executive vice president Ed Vitagliano.  His pro-family organization has pointed out that LGBT activists and their business allies – like Target – continue to push for doing away with common-sense protections in the name of “transgender rights.”  But facts, he notes, are stubborn things. “Eventually facts are going to be an abrupt rebuke to some of these polices on the secular left,” says Vitagliano.

AFA president Tim Wildmon says this is where liberal logic eventually brings a culture. “You have to deny reality and suspend common sense if you’re going to subscribe to the logical place that these kinds of ideas lead you to,” says Wildmon.

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Lessons Learned: Nike vs In-n-Out


Not all ventures into politics are equal.  Take the story of In-n-Out versus Nike.

Let’s start with In-n-Out Burgers.  Liberals decided to call for a national boycott because California-based In-n-Out committed the “sin” of donating to the GOP.  How stupid is the idea of boycotting a company for making a political donation?  [BTW – In-n-Out gave equally to the Republicans and Democrats.]  Almost every company, even the small businesses you buy from, is run by someone who has a political opinion.  Having that opinion is protected by free speech clause of the U.S. Constitution.  It’s fundamental to America; it’s what so many millions of fellow Americans have died for on bloody battlefields all over the world.

Most businesses or their CEOs give political donations.  Most of us never know who the businesses we buy from donate to … or much care.  If we like a product, we buy it.  But boycotting businesses who give to the GOP is idiotic.

Nationally syndicated conservative TV and radio host, Wayne Allyn Root, makes these three points:

First, the GOP controls both the Executive and Legislative branches of the federal government, a large majority of Governors, Lt. Governors and state legislatures.  In short, the GOP dominates America.  As a matter of fact, polling proves “conservatives” outnumber “liberals” in 47 out of 50 states.  Yet liberals and their media suggest us as either “extreme” “racist” “Nazis” or criminals.  Liberals are delusional and out of touch. Conservative views are common sense and mainstream.

Secondly, the GOP is pro-business, pro-Capitalism, and as President Trump has proven (just like Reagan before him) great for the economy, jobs, small business and the average middle class American worker.  So, how can it be a “sin” for a business to donate to the GOP?  We are benefiting from GOP policies.  So are the majority of our customers. That’s precisely why consumer confidence is the highest in 18-years.

Thirdly, polls prove small business owners are the 2nd most optimistic in modern history. Only Reagan made them happier and that was almost four decades ago.  Like it or not, the owner of almost every small business you buy from is a Republican and fan of Trump.

So, the liberals think we’re going to boycott all 28-million small businesses in America for donating to the party that’s great for the economy, helps our businesses succeed?  That could be why the In-n-Out boycott failed so disastrously.  No one cares about a political donation.

But now we come to corporation number two – Nike.  They just made a disastrous decision … and they will pay for it with a massive sales decline and billions in lost stock value.  Nike may have fatally damaged itself last week.  Nike didn’t make a political donation, but just made former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick the face of their company.  That is a combination of stupid, ignorant, offensive and tragic.  Nike just sided with what half of America (and all 63-million Trump voters) thinks is a vile, ungrateful, America-hater.  Now that’s bad business.  Here’s a guy who had a $150-million contract, but thinks America is “unfair” to minorities.  Here’s a guy who spits in the face of vets, cops and our flag.  Here’s a guy who gives the black power salute at the US Open from a luxury box.  You’d think Nike would have learned from the NFL’s terrible decision to allow players to kneel for our national anthem.  The NFL lost hundreds of millions with massive ratings declines, empty seats and lost merchandise sales.  Kaepernick was the face of that disaster.

As I write this blog, In-n-Out is in great shape and Nike just destroyed a billion-dollar brand. The ‘Silent Majority’ is speaking … and liberals and corporations had better listen.

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Monday, September 10, 2018

CA ‘Must Stay Gay’ Bill is Shelved for Now


A homosexual legislator in California is being applauded for pulling his controversial bill that would have made it illegal to offer resources or engage in efforts aimed at changing an individual’s unwanted same-sex attractions.

Labeled by critics as the “Must Stay Gay” bill, AB 2943 declares that “advertising, offering to engage in, or engaging in sexual orientation change efforts with an individual” is illegal under the state’s consumer fraud law.  It had been passed by both the California Assembly and Senate and was being prepared to send to Democratic Governor Jerry Brown – until last week.

Democratic Assemblymember Evan Low, sponsor of the bill, has now shelved the bill for this legislative session, citing opposition from religious leaders and groups in the Golden State.  “The best policy is not made in a vacuum – and in order to advance the strongest piece of legislation, the bill requires additional time to allow for an inclusive process not hampered by legislative deadlines,” the legislator said.  “... Despite the support the bill received in the Assembly and Senate, I will not be sending AB 2943 to the governor this year.”

The California Family Council (CFC) calls the turnaround “an incredible answer to the prayers” of thousands of people across the U.S.  “People of faith across California and around the nation care deeply about our family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers who identify as LGBTQ,” says CFC president Jonathan Keller.  “AB 2943 would have tragically limited our ability to offer compassionate support related to sexual orientation and gender identity, and even to preach Jesus’ message of unconditional love and life transformation.”

Keller also credits Low’s “unprecedented outreach” to the faith community and personal meetings with faith leaders in response to the 1st Amendment threat posed by the bill.  He adds: “[This] is also a testament to the courageous counselors, ministry leaders, pastors, and once gay individuals who bravely shared their personal stories, ensuring that these vital perspectives were not overlooked in the legislative process.”

The bill, however, isn’t dead.  Low says he’s committed to continuing to work towards creating a policy that “protects and celebrates the identities of LGBT Californians” and becomes “a model for the nation to look towards.”

CFC led a coalition of organizations and mobilized tens of thousands of Californians in expressing their concerns about AB 2943.

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Friday, September 7, 2018

Catholic Adoption Service Ending After a Near Century


A nearly century-old adoption program is shutting down in New York after it received a same-sex couple’s application that would have required it to betray its beliefs about sexuality in order to maintain its contract with the government.

Last week, Catholic Charities of Buffalo said in a press release that it was phasing out its 95-year-old foster care and adoption services because it could not “simultaneously comply with state regulations and conform to the teaching of the Catholic Church on the nature of marriage.”  In a statement, Catholic Charities CEO, Dennis Walczyk, explained that the couple’s application put them in a difficult position given the Catholic Church’s teaching on marriage.  “That situation put us in a position where we were in conflict in doing so with the teachings of the Catholic Church as far as what the Church recognizes as a marriage,” he said.

The Catholic Catechism not only condemns homosexuality, it identifies marriage as the union between a man and a woman.  “Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that ‘homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered,’” the Catechism reads.  It adds that “under no circumstances” can those acts be “approved.”

Sister Mary McCarrick, the diocesan director for Catholic Charities, cited the Church’s teaching when she explained the organization’s preference for serving heterosexual couples.  “It is important and to the advantage of a child to be placed in a home with a husband and wife family, a man and a woman, so that the child can experience both a father and a mother, and their love,” McCarrick said, according to The Buffalo News.

McCarrick, the Christian Post reported, said that the recent application created an insurmountable obstacle which the organization apparently never faced in the years after New York passed its anti-discrimination law in 2003.  “We were in a[n] incontrovertible controversy between what the state is expecting — that we would be without prejudice — foster and adopt with couples that are same sex, and the Catholic Church teaching this is not a marital couple,” she said when asked why the organization was just now ending its foster program.

New York’s Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS), which licenses Catholic Charities, made clear that the organization’s actions constituted a form of illicit discrimination under state law.  “Discrimination of any kind is illegal and in this case OCFS will vigorously enforce the laws designed to protect the rights of children and same sex couples,” spokeswoman, Monica Mahaffey, said.

Walczyk indicated that his adoption service would coordinate with state and local officials to ensure a smooth transition for foster children and their foster parents.  “We are working with the state OCFS and Erie County DSS to support a smooth transition for children in foster care and foster parents, as well as those who have submitted applications to provide foster care or seek adoption," he said.

Mark Poloncarz, the county’s executive, warned the agency’s closure could put foster children at risk.  “Unfortunately, presently there are not enough individuals to foster and adopt children in Erie County, and this decision could further harm our efforts to place children in caring, loving families,” Poloncarz said.

Buffalo’s was just the latest of many Catholic adoption agencies to shut down or face that prospect in light of anti-discrimination laws.  Both Catholic Charities of Boston and the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., shuttered their adoption services while facing similar situations as Catholic Charities of Buffalo.

When several states considered laws that would protect religious organizations from facilitating same-sex adoption, advocates like the Human Rights Campaign fiercely condemned their efforts.  Same-sex adoption advocates have argued that religious restrictions unnecessarily block foster children from finding suitable homes.  Others, however, have argued that anti-discrimination policies allow the state to coerce religious individuals to compromise their conscience and force charitable organizations to shut down.

Earlier this year, the president of the nonpartisan National Council for Adoption warned that same-sex adoption requirements would ultimately leave foster children with fewer resources.  “To eliminate faith-based agencies from the field of service over ideology, to take away their licenses, which is happening in states, to prevent them from entering into contracts to provide these services for public entities ..., it is going to end up with seeing fewer resources for children in foster care and children will go un-adopted.”  While Chuck Johnson, the organization’s president, supported same-sex adoption, he wasn’t sure how pushing out faith-based agencies was “in anyone’s best interest.”

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Wednesday, September 5, 2018

Just How Old Are U.S. Pastors?


As the average pastor grows older in America, churches say they are struggling to find young Christians who want to become future pastors, according to a new study from Barna Research.

Today, half of American pastors are older than 55.  In 1992, less than a quarter of pastors in the U.S. (24%) were that old.

Pastors 65 and older have almost tripled in the last 25-years, from 6% to 17%.

Meanwhile, pastors 40 and younger have fallen from 33% in 1992 to 15%.

In 1992, the median age for a Protestant pastor in America was 44.  In 2017, it has climbed 10-years to 54.

The graying of the American pastorate did not start in the 1990s, however.  More than half of all Protestant clergy (55%) were younger than 45 in 1968.  In 2017, only 22% of pastors are under 45.

The church has gone from a time when a majority of leaders were in their 20s, 30s, and early 40s to a time when most are in their late 50s and beyond.

“There are now more full-time senior pastors who are over the age of 65 than under the age of 40,” said David Kinnaman, president of Barna Group.  “It is urgent that denominations, networks, and independent churches determine how to best motivate, mobilize, resource, and deploy more younger pastors.”

Barna notes several factors leading to the exponential growth of older pastors.  

In general, people are living longer.  Since 1968, life expectancy for men has grown 10-years to 76.

Specifically related to the pastorate, more individuals are becoming ministers later in life. “Second-career clergy” have been increasing, particularly in non-mainline churches and historically black congregations.

Finances may also have played a role as the recession led many older pastors to postpone retirement.

Current pastors also say they are having a hard time finding young Christians who want to become pastors, but they aren’t blaming their own churches.

Seven in 10 Protestant pastors (70%) say young leaders seem to think other kinds of work are more important than vocational ministry.  And almost that many (69%) say it’s becoming harder to find mature young Christians who want to become pastors.  Yet 69% say their church puts a significant priority on training and developing the next generation of church leaders.

Kinnaman said it’s not necessarily a problem that older pastors are in leadership positions, as younger Christians need to learn wisdom and leadership from experienced pastors.  “The problem arises when today’s pastors do not represent a healthy mix of young, middle age, and older leaders,” he said.  “For the Christian community to be at its best, it needs intergenerational leaders to move it forward.”

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

P.S. – One month from now, I’ll be 66-years old … and serving a local church as the senior pastor.  My associate pastor is 47-years old.

Monday, September 3, 2018

Why a Hymnal vs Projecting Songs on Screens?


I’m of the opinion that we are formed by the hymns and songs we sing.  We are (perhaps more than we realize) formed, too, by the tangible objects of our faith.  We are people of the book — not just people of the Word of God, but also people who have been corporately, theologically, devotionally, and socially formed by hymnbooks.

In Christopher N. Phillips’s book, The Hymnal: A Reading History, he writes of the history and literary reading of hymnals – those “small companion[s]” that traveled with parishioners from church, home, and school.  Phillips leads the reader like an artful detective through the early reading practices and religious life of the 18th and 19th centuries in America and across the Atlantic.

Perhaps we might (today) see hymnals as outdated accessories of a worship service. But hymnbooks have served (and still may serve) a larger purpose.  These books were the way children learned to read, the way illiterate congregants were able to apply a sermon, the way families instructed their children (and paved the way for children’s literature), the way poetic careers began, and the way that dissimilar individuals became the worshiping people of God.

Hymnbooks helped to bind the people of God together.  Because “readers can be both individual and corporate,” writes Phillips, hymnbooks in worship nurtured the “achievement of corporate personhood.”  For new religious groups, hymnbooks were one of the first acts of creating a visible identity.  For denominations, hymnbooks were used to wage war or create peace by what was included, what was excluded, and how the books were published and circulated.

Phillips helps us see accomplished hymn writers like Isaac Watts, Charles Wesley, and William Cowper in the context of their times.  More broadly, he reimagines for his Christian reader how the methods and practices of our reading form our loves and attention.  It is not simply the content of hymns sung, read, gifted, or memorized that informs our thinking and spiritual appetites.  The books themselves — and how they’re read, circulated, used, and travel — shape us.  To put it quite simply, we are formed not only by what we read but by how (and with whom) we read.

Hymnbooks were so well-worn prior to 1820 that many haven’t survived — they were touched, held close, and their covers, spines, and bindings show what Phillips, quoting another scholar, calls “hand piety.”  The hand piety we exhibit most often (today) manifests in sore pinkies from holding our phones and hunched backs from staring at screens.  It might seem easy to harken back to a “golden age” of hymnals or pews, but for the time period Phillips chronicles, hymnbooks were innovative and divisive.  Instead, believers (today) should begin to consider, through Phillips’s history, larger questions about how our reading informs us.  After all, the form an object takes is never neutral: It always creates meaning.

For those who read hymn and song lyrics projected onto screens each Sunday morning, have you lost something?  If hymnbooks helped to form marginal groups into a people with a distinct identity, then what forms of corporate and private worship can bring us together as God’s people (today)?

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel