Report from the Front Lines…

Pastor Stephen Boissoin, from Alberta, Canada, wrote a letter to the editor denouncing homosexuality as immoral and dangerous and calling into question gay-rights curricula permeating the province’s educational system. A complaint was filed by an assistant professor from the University of Alberta. On June 9, 2008, Pastor Boissoin was ordered by the Alberta Human Rights Commission to “desist from his views on homosexuality”, ordered to pay $7000 in fines and commanded to personally apologize by public statement in the local newspaper. Sounds like thought police?

On October 10, 2004, a group of eleven Christians in Philadelphia were arrested for passing out gospel tracts and telling people about Jesus during a taxpayer funded event celebrating homosexuality called “Outfest”. Each of the eleven, including two grandmothers, was charged with five misdemeanors and three felonies including the Pennsylvania Hate Crimes law and faced a maximum of 47 years in a Federal penitentiary and up to $90,000 in fines.

This past month, Peter Vadala, an employee of the Brookstone store in the Boston Logan Airport was fired from his job because of his Christianity. Knowing he was a Christian, Peter’s lesbian boss approached him four times in the same day boasting of her upcoming lesbian wedding. When he expressed his Biblical belief that homosexuality was wrong, he was terminated.

Add to all these actual events the statements made last month by Attorney General Eric Holder in a speech given to the Anti Defamation League. Holder claimed that Muslims and homosexuals were the two most discriminated against groups in America and also stated, “…the new hate crimes legislation will arrive not a moment too soon. And on the day that it becomes law, we will hasten to begin using it."

Because of the overwhelming evidence that this Hate Crimes Law will eventually be used to suppress Christian speech, seventeen different pastors or representatives of various Christian organizations gathered on November 16, at the Department of Justice to present a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder outlining the unconstitutional elements of the new Hate Crimes law, address the media in a press conference and then preach short Bible based sermons on the subject of homosexuality.

"If this law is used to silence me or any of these preachers for speaking the truth, then we will be forced to conscientiously defy it," Rick Scarborough, from Vision America, declared at the rally. "That is my calling as a Christian and my right as an American citizen."

Bishop E.W. Jackson Sr., voiced strong objections to associating the "Gay Rights" cause with racial discrimination. "The conflation of the struggle for civil rights by black people with the demands of homosexuals," says Jackson, "is one of the most preposterous frauds ever perpetrated on the American people."

Barrister Paul Diamond, from Cambridge, flew to America to participate in this press conference. Diamond praised the Christian group for immediately addressing this threat to free speech and sees America following the same destructive path as Great Britain. Diamond said, “Christians (in Britain) can be arrested for challenging Mohammed’s status as the final prophet.” He further added, “Recently, a high court judge ruled that Christianity is discriminatory and employers do not have to employ Christians.”

The fourth annual Reclaiming Oklahoma for Christ conference, July 24-25, was another smashing success.  Another near capacity crowd on Friday night enjoyed educational and inspirational messages from Janet Folger Porter, Lt. General Jerry Boykin, Peter LaBarbera, and Dr. John Morris.  The conference is intended to bring believers together from all over the state to encourage them to take a strong stand for truth in our decaying society.  In addition, it is hoped that the conference will help to awaken and activate pastors who, in turn, will lead their congregations to join the struggle for the soul of America.  Pastors from across the state of Oklahoma attended and this year’s conference was visited by pastors from Iowa as they are beginning work to Reclaim Iowa for Christ.
 

The conference kicked off with a stirring video detailing the Christian founding of America and ended with a salute to our military as active duty servicemen joined each other on stage in a salute to our flag and nation.  The salute ended with a rousing standing ovation.
 

Janet Folger Porter, founder of Faith2Action, spoke first and reminded those in attendance that God is bigger than anyone or anything else and sits above the earth to insure that His people ultimately win the victory.  She said that, although we may often feel like “grasshoppers in the fight,” we are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus.  On Saturday afternoon, she challenged believers to attempt great things for God and reminded us that He often uses the most unlikely of candidates to do big things for Him.  She ended by challenging believers to attempt “bigger things for God than we can do on our own.”

Peter LaBarbera, founder of Americans for Truth, a group dedicated to exposing the homosexual activist agenda, reminded the crowd Friday night that Americans are in a battle to preserve the biblical model for sex and marriage.  He shared how the homosexual activists often gain the upper hand by redefining the terms, misrepresenting the facts.  No one “labels” Christians as having a phobia for opposing pornography or infidelity, yet when we stand against the sin of homosexuality the left attempts to guilt believers into silence by labeling them as homophobes.  He urged believers to unapologetically stand for Biblical morality no matter how loudly the homosexuals protest.  On Saturday morning, Peter discussed the medical risks of the homosexual lifestyle.  He emphasized the irony of our government’s attack on tobacco use while it essentially ignores the proliferation of STD’s and AIDS by homosexuals.  LaBarbera closed by emphasizing that Christians do not hate homosexuals but rather, desire that they experience the forgiveness and transformation that comes from knowing Jesus.

 
Retired Lt. General Jerry Boykin challenged believers to be “warriors for Christ.”  Friday night he warned of the huge threat Islam poses to America.  Boykin insisted that, contrary to what the popular media says, Islam is not “a religion of peace” and that if America does not take Muslim plans and threats seriously, we could face dire consequences.  On Saturday morning, Boykin shared his experiences from a lifetime of military service and how God saw him through numerous near death experiences.  He reminded us that we serve a “big God” and no matter what happens, God can bring good things out of what seems to be utter failure.  In the end, he challenged us to “fight the good fight as soldiers of Jesus Christ.”

 Dr. John Morris, president of the Institute for Creation Research, shared on Friday night that a “big God” made a “big universe” because He has “big plans” intended for us.  By showing pictures of galaxies and star nebulae in far away heavenly places, Dr. Morris “wowed” the crowd by giving suggestions to what Paul may have meant when he wrote in Ephesians that believers will someday live in heavenly places.  On Saturday morning, Dr. Morris led a power point slide tour through the actual fossil record which proves a “sudden” creation and not gradual changes over millions of years. The fossils show animals that were instantaneously buried in sediment; Dr. Morris explained how they were actually victims of the flood of Noah’s day. Morris stressed that the evidence found in the fossil record actually supports the Genesis account and should be a great encouragement to believers. He ended by challenging Christians to unashamedly share the biblical account of creation and use the Genesis record to illustrate man’s fall into sin and his need for a savior.

The conference ended with a reminder that America was founded on fundamental Biblical principals by predominantly Christian forefathers who unashamedly confessed that “our Constitution is made only for a moral and religious people…it is wholly inadequate for the government of any other (Pres. John Adams).”    

Believers were encouraged to become informed and to boldly call America back to God.  The finale included an “old fashioned prayer meeting” led by local pastors and a video/drama celebrating God’s blessings on America and calling upon Him to revive and bless America once again.       

A highlight of this year’s event was the announcement that Coral Ridge Ministry is allowing Reclaiming Oklahoma for Christ to carry on the legacy and work of Dr. D. James Kennedy. 
Reclaim Oklahoma will be more actively working with other states in awakening pastors from across the nation to take back their own communities and states in an effort to Reclaim America for Christ. 








Please check back periodically as we are developing the www.reclaimamericaforchrist.org web site.

If you would like a copy of this year’s Reclaiming Oklahoma for Christ Conference, please e-mail info@reclaimoklahoma.org or call 348-1745.

But rather than let the devil win, the pastors broke out in hymns beginning with God Bless America, the Battle Hymn of the Republic, the National Anthem and others, successfully drowning out the would be rabble rousers.

One pastor stated, “We have never gone to any of their scheduled events and press conferences. We’ve always left them completely alone. I would have thought they would show us the same respect.” Another added, “They accuse US of being intolerant. What a joke! I hope the media will report this blatant hypocrisy.”

Rep. Kern apologized to the members of the media for not being able to take questions because of the tumult, but made arrangements to meet with the media and answer every question in an upstairs private location.

After hearing one of the ACLU ringleaders loudly attempting to interrupt the program, one pastor quipped, “Well, I’d always wondered what it must have sounded like when Balaam’s donkey talked. Now I think I’ve got a pretty good idea.”

Remember to add your name to the online petition and one day we’ll send it to the White House and Capitol Hill.