MN Watchmen on the Wall - May 2012

Welcome Minnesota Family Institute

Randy Wilson National Field Director

Watchmen on the Wall Initiative

Welcome FRC

Minnesota Family Institute

Alliance Defense Fund

“War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things; the decayed and degraded state of moral and

patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. A man who has nothing for which

he is willing to fight; nothing he cares about more than his own personal safety; is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and

kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.” The US Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Museum

- John Stewart Mills, British Philosopher

Who were the three men in history who walked on water?

How’d we get here?

“I have put Watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; and you shall never hold you

peace day or night. You who make mention of the LORD, do not keep silent.”

Isaiah 62:6

“All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good

conscience to remain silent.” -Thomas Jefferson

How have we remained silent?

Ø  1962, prayer was tossed out of our schools Ø  1954, the Johnson Amendment

Ø  1963, the Bible was thrown out as a text

Ø  1971, No-Fault Divorce

Ø  1973, Roe v Wade

Ø  1980, 10 Commandments came down from School halls

Ø  Fallacy…“we’ll just stay home and not vote”…Silent Majority

Consider what has happened over the past generation, on our watch:

Ø  Human life has become disposable. Ø  Marriage is being radically redefined and devalued. Ø  Human origins are taught in public schools with no allowance for a Creator. Ø  Sexual promiscuity and perversion is encouraged by the entertainment media. Ø  Public expression of Christianity is under assault.

The results of being silent

“...my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge .” --Hosea 4:6

What keeps us silent?

“Knowledge is, in every country, the surest

basis of public happiness." --George Washington

"Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people,…”

- John Adams (Dissertation on Canon and Feudal Law, 1765)

Our Vision: Spiritually revived churches full of

informed and impassioned Christian citizens actively promoting biblical

values in American life.

Understanding the Truth of “We the People…”

: redefine the terms The people are the leaders

President James A. Garfield

“The people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body (Congress) be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness, and corruption...”

…If the next centennial does not find us a great nation…it will be because those who represent the enterprise, the culture, and the morality of the nation do not aid in controlling the political forces.”

"If the people fail to vote, a government will be developed which is not their government... The whole system of American Government rests on the ballot box. Unless citizens perform their duties there, such a system of government is doomed to failure."

- Calvin Coolidge, Thirtieth President of the United States

Politics: to engage in political intrigue, take advantage of a political situation; to deal with people in an opportunistic, manipulative or devious way

Policy: a defined course of action

Politician: A seeker or holder of public office, who is more concerned about winning favor or retaining power than about maintaining principles

Democracy (man is king): no fixed moral code, mob rule: French Revolution, The majority decides to legalize or criminalize whatever they wish. All responsibility is shared by the group, which means no one is responsible.

Republic (law is king): bases its primary laws on a fixed moral code. In a Republic, secondary or day to day lesser laws are determined by a group of responsible representatives who legislate according to conscience. These new laws and the conscience of the representatives are expected to be in submission to the fixed primary moral code. The representatives are personally responsible for their decisions.

“Our destruction if it come at all, will be from...the inattention of the people to the concerns of their government, from their carelessness and negligence.”

– Noah Webster

“The punishment which the wise suffer who refuse to take part in the government, is to live under the government of worse men.”

- Plato

" So often, the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an un- certain sound. So often it is an arch- defender of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church's silent -- and often even vocal -- sanction of things as they are. But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If today's church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century."

– Martin Luther King, Jr

Wave of anti-abortion bills advance in the states Mar 24, 3:01 AM EDT By DAVID CRARY AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) -- Dozens of bills are advancing through statehouses nationwide that would put an array of new obstacles - legal, financial and psychological - in the paths of women seeking abortions…

…What's different this year is not the raw number of anti-abortion bills, but the fact that many of the toughest, most substantive measures have a good chance of passage due to gains by conservative Republicans in last year's legislative and gubernatorial elections. Ø  NC put a marriage amendment on the ballot after an eight year fight

Ø Pastor Bob Emrich, Plymouth, ME

Our Mission:

“Championing Pastors to Transform America”

The Call to Commitment for Pastors:

Church Ministries encourages and equips Pastors to commit to three simple, but

powerful action steps

Action Step 1: Pray and lead the church to become

a house of prayer, pleading for: Ø  Revival in the Church Ø  Spiritual Awakening in our Nation Ø  Moral Renewal in the Culture Ø  Righteousness and Justice in our

Government Leaders and Laws

Action Step 2:

A. Preach on moral issues from a biblical

perspective…

Action Step 3: Partner with 3 other pastors to join in

prayer for our nation and preaching on moral issues, meeting regularly for encouragement and equipping, and then replicating after one year.

Prov. 27:17, “Iron sharpen iron, so one man sharpens another.”

– Malachi 2:7

“For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, and from his mouth men should seek instruction-because he is the messenger of the LORD Almighty.”

Our heritage, our opportunity…

– 2 Corinthians 9:8

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all you need, you will abound to every good work.”

–Samuel Adams "It does not take a majority to prevail ... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men."

Randy Wilson National Field Director – Church Ministries Family Research Council [email protected] 202-340-8140

www.frc.org www.watchmenpastors.org www.cultureImpact.org