Veritas Rex

Huge Pastors Event in Indy Feb. 23rd!

If you are a pastor or are a member of a church, please view this video invitation to the Watchmen on the Wall event coming to downtown Indianapolis on Feb. 23rd.  Indiana Family Institute, Family Research Council and the Alliance Defense Fund are cohosting this event as a service to Hoosier pastors and churches. 

At this special briefing exclusively for pastors, pastors will:

• Learn about the Indiana Pastor's Alliance, a ministry of the Indiana Family Institute, headed by Dr. Ron Johnson Jr., aimed at unifying pastors to speak the truth of Christ in love to our culture here in Indiana.
• Learn from experts on the current legal and spiritual challenges facing the church
• Connect with other pastors and ministers in Indiana
• Receive a free Voter Impact Toolkit
• Enjoy a complimentary lunch

Pastors will leave encouraged, refreshed, and empowered to address the critical issues you and your church face in the important days ahead.

Date: Tuesday, February 23

Time: 9:00 AM - 2:30 PM

Location: Hyatt Regency Indianapolis*, 1 South Capitol Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46204

Featured Speakers:

• Tony Perkins - President, Family Research Council
• Dr. Laurence White - Our Savior Lutheran Church, Houston, TX
• Dr. Kenyn Cureton - Vice President for Church Ministries, FRC
• Kevin Theriot - Senior Counsel, ADF
• Joel Oster - Senior Legal Counsel, ADF
• Curt Smith - President, Indiana Family Institute
• Dr. Ron Johnson Jr. - Indiana Pastor's Alliance

This event is free of charge.

Please Register now...space is limited!

YouTube - Indiana Regional Pastors Briefing
 

Rep. Vanessa Summers sees the light?

Today’s Fort Wayne Journal Gazette reports that Advance America’s Eric Miller opposition to a bill that would license church child-care ministries has hit a nerve with the author, Democratic Rep. Vanessa Summers of Indianapolis. According to the JG article, “the bill would limit the number of children watched by a caregiver.” Advance America’s opposition was so appealing that it persuaded Rep. Summer’s own church pastors to oppose the measure.

Church license bill pulled over dispute

http://tiny.cc/B8mas

An Indiana House committee chairwoman has set aside a bill that would license church child-care ministries because she says she wants to give the two sides battling over it time to cool off.

Democratic Rep. Vanessa Summers of Indianapolis unexpectedly postponed a hearing on the bill Wednesday. She says she has become the target of a smear campaign by opponents who rallied even her own pastors against her.

Summers rescheduled the hearing for Jan. 27 but later said she wasn’t sure the bill would go forward this year.

The bill endorsed by a bipartisan summer study committee would limit the number of children watched by a caregiver.

Eric Miller, of the conservative lobbying group Advance America, said government has no business regulating churches and denied any smear campaign against Summers.

Christopher Mann is a public relations consultant in Fort Wayne. Email Chris at chris@christophermann.com or Tweet him at @MannCub.

God's Choice Servants Work in Government - Day Six

  From On Christian Citizenship, by Curt Smith

Tax collectors were among the most loathed New Testament public officials.  They not only cooperated with the occupying armies to collect onerous taxes for Rome, but their job essentially gave them a license to collect far more tax than Rome demanded.  The short story about the chief tax collector named Zacchaeus fits quite nicely the stereotypes many have of government officials. But we see his true heart after he meets Jesus, as detailed in Luke 19.

Christ’s love knows no bounds.  But we have to admit Jesus makes an especially active effort to reach Zacchaeus, even inviting Himself to dinner in his home.  The usual politically-correct crowd grumbled when they heard Christ was going to have dinner with Zacchaeus, a known sinner (see Luke 19:7).  But hear the convert’s words after encountering Christ: 

Zaccaeus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.”

And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham.

“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” 

Christ made no exception for government officials.  Indeed, He went out of His way to engage and evangelize this chief tax collector.  We, too, would do well to consider government officials—especially those with a tender and open heart for the things of God like  Zacchaeus—as an evangelism field.  What if we went out of our way to encourage and evangelize civil servants, public safety officers, class room teachers and others involved in public life as an intentional ministry?  Christ certainly did.

God's Choice Servants Work in Government - Day Five

  From On Christian Citizenship, by Curt Smith

In addition to men, God used many women in public roles in Scripture.  Perhaps the best example is Queen Esther, who saved the Jewish people from genocide threatened by royal court intrigue during the reign of King Xerxes I of Persia (modern-day Iran).

This short book bearing the queen’s name comes right after the Book of Nehemiah. It presents a story as gripping and compelling as has ever been presented on Broadway or movie screens.  It is also the only book in the Bible not to directly mention any of the many Biblical names for God.  But from the outset it is clear that Queen Esther, a Jewish woman, serves her God first.  This faithfulness saves God’s chosen people from certain slaughter.

The best known verse of this short writing, Esther 4:14, captures the sense with which we all should live and review our responsibilities—whether to self, God, family, employer or nation.  They come from her trusted relative, Mordecai, who raised her after she was orphaned and counseled her after she became Queen of Persia:

“For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?”

This insight from her trusted father-figure emboldens her to approach the king with her concerns about the decree he had been deceived into issuing allowing the wholesale slaughter of her people, the Jews. The king had every right to put her to death for approaching him. Instead, her boldness is rewarded with royal favor (or should we say Divine favor) and the king is convinced to issue a second, separate decree and assists in its rapid dissemination so that the Jewish people are spared.

For the purposes of this study, the significance is that God again works through the agency of government.  He calls a beautiful young women to be queen to a pagan ruler, whose office is used to imperil but then save the Jewish remnant.  Queen Esther, by faithfully serving her God, saved her people and gave significant service to the Kingdom.  Her presence prevented a miscarriage of justice through governing authorities, God’s creation.

God's Choice Servants Work in Government - Day Four

From On Christian Citizenship, by Curt Smith

A little known Old Testament prophet, Nehemiah, is rightly considered the first Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.  His public works project to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem during the reign of King Artaxerxes (circa 450 B.C.) shows again that God’s choicest servants often served in government posts. It also teaches us a magnificent leadership lesson. 

Nehemiah was a cupbearer or wine taster for the king, again the sole sovereign of the superpower of that day.  It sounds like a kitchen job but, to be allowed so close and entrusted with preventing poisoning, he was a trusted servant. Some have likened the position to an officeholder’s chief of staff.  Perhaps that’s a bit of a stretch, but chief of security he certainly was!

In fact, King Artaxerxes knew and liked Nehemiah so much that when he noticed his trusted servant was downcast one day, he asked him what was wrong.  Nehemiah responded that he wanted to help rebuild the walls around Jerusalem and restore order to his ancestral capital.  The king offered to not only let him do so, but to pay the bill for the large public works project and to provide security and political capital to make sure the project was accomplished (Nehemiah 2:7-8).

What follows is literally a miraculous rebuilding of the walls in an amazing 52 days. Nehemiah accomplishes this feat by appealing to people’s self-interest, getting them to rebuild a portion of the wall in front of their home or adjacent to their business or entrance to the ancient city.  Political leaders today often follow this pattern as well; they call citizens of a community or a country to collective action to benefit the common good by explaining how they will benefit personally.  Human nature has changed little since Nehemiah’s day.

Along with the spiritual revival sparked by Ezra as detailed in the book bearing his name (the two books were once combined into one), this work marks the restoration of the Jewish remnant from exile in Babylon to Jerusalem. It is achieved by Nehemiah, the man named governor of Judah by King Artaxerxes.  Nehemiah’s exemplary service to God through government was also used for spiritual revival in the land as well.

Let us challenge our public officials today to discharge their duties in such a way that they call the people to repentance and holiness.

God's Choice Servants Work in Government - Day Three

From On Christian Citizenship, by Curt Smith

There is another exemplary Old Testament figure who excels in government service. His name is Joseph. If there is a criticism of Joseph in the text, it is his pride in his favored place in his father’s heart.  But as we will see, Joseph had much to be proud about.

Joseph’s father is Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, whom the Bible calls the father of our faith.  Jacob’s twelve sons form the twelve tribes of Israel. The family’s obvious dysfunction gives heart to all of us who recognize the effects of the Fall in our own families and flawed parenting.  The fighting and squabbling leads to the brothers selling Joseph into slavery while compounding that crime by reporting back to their father that Joseph had been killed by a wild animal. The false story comes complete with a bloody coat, faked evidence to seemingly confirm his death.

Joseph’s life as a slave is well known to Sunday School students.  So is his fateful encounter with his master’s wife, who tries to entice him into a sexual liaison.  When Joseph flees, leaving behind his coat (there’s something about Joseph and coats), she levels a sexual harassment charge and Joseph is imprisoned.  There again, like Daniel, his management and leadership skills, along with his faith, impress all.

His gifts of discernment soon bring him face-to-face with Pharaoh, the total, unquestioned ruler of Egypt, the lone superpower of that day.  Joseph explains for Pharaoh what a dream means. In so doing, he is appointed prime minister, second only to Pharaoh in all matters of state.  He wisely leads the nation, helping it avoid mass death by famine, and is unexpectedly reunited with his family in one of the most remarkable stories of the Bible (read the narrative beginning at Genesis 41).

When he reveals his identity to his awe-struck brothers, he wisely explains the situation thusly:  “God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance” (Genesis 45:7).

Notice that God used government—a pagan empire no less, led by the young Jewish son of Jacob—to provide this deliverance.  He could have used a great man like Job to provide the same circumstances, or fashioned any scenario He might choose as the Sovereign of history.  But God worked through the Prime Minister of Egypt to save humankind, including the patriarchs of the twelve tribes of Israel, whose progeny would become an object of God’s special affection as His chosen people.  And a government official—some might say bureaucrat or politician—was the key to that miracle unfolding. 

God's Choice Servants Work in Government - Day One

  From On Christian Citizenship, by Curt Smith

The Bible confirms the truth of its teachings and the Divine authority of its words in many convincing ways.  Our faith in the Bible’s veracity is encouraged by its unflattering details about its main authors and the major players in God’s unfolding drama.  For example, two of the primary figures and main authors of the Bible, Moses and Paul, are murderers.  King David, too, kills a man to cover up his adultery with Bathsheba.  And Peter indeed thrice denies Christ in our Lord’s deepest time of need.  Given these obvious public imperfections, there’s hope for the rest of us.  But it also is convincing proof that the Bible is not a history book or political manifesto designed to make the people of God look good.  It is the pure, unvarnished truth.

That fact makes the often positive roles government officials play throughout the Scriptures all the more intriguing.  This third focus will examine the worthy work of, and the Bible’s praise for, leaders such as Nehemiah, Esther, Daniel, Joseph and the Roman centurion, all of whom have significant government roles. They are used by God to advance His purposes in remarkable ways.

Their character, commitment and callings will shed important light on the esteem in which God holds government—as well as give us important insights into the qualities we should look for when we vote for leaders for government today.  Deuteronomy 16:18-20 provides the best summary passage for those of us who have the right—nay, the responsibility to vote—and help set the priorities of a government that takes a significant portion of the income we earn:

“You shall appoint for yourself judges and officers in all your towns which the LORD your God is giving you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. 

You shall not distort justice; you shall not be partial; and you shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous.” 

As we look in greater depth at some of the most approved figures in the Bible, we will see that they embody the characteristics Israel is commanded to look for in its judges. (We note here they also served as magistrates, military generals, spiritual leaders and community organizers.)  We must look for these same qualities in those we would support for public office, whether with public praise or financial support, or in the privacy of the voting booth.

And if you don’t find these qualities in your choices, please consider running for public office yourself.

The Biblical Role of Government - Day Seven

  From On Christian Citizenship, by Curt Smith

If government is good, is God’s idea, and is essential to creating an environment for families to bring forth the next generation and for the church to proclaim the Gospel, how come government was used to kill Jesus?  How can we embrace government as good when it was the instrument of Christ’s death?

There are several answers to such a question, but we cannot lose sight of the concept that Christ needed to come, suffer and die for our sins so that we might be saved.  There is no other route to heaven revealed in the Scriptures.  Given the necessity of Christ’s death, and given the clear teaching that only the state can take life, we should not be surprised that the Roman Empire was employed to execute Christ.

And those of us who study the Bible and seek to follow its teachings should be mindful that the “religious conservatives” of Christ’s day enlisted government to carry out their dirty work.  This fact we learn from John 18:31: “So Pilate said to them, ‘Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law.’ The Jews said to him, ‘We are not permitted to put anyone to death.’” 

The use of the Roman occupiers to carry out the wishes of the religious rulers of the Sanhedrin not only fulfilled prophecy, but it affirms—in a perverse but yet telling way—that government, and government alone, is authorized by God to take life.  As we see throughout Scripture, God follows His own patterns and pronouncements as He unfolds His perfect will and human history.

But what about that verse in Isaiah 9:6, where we are told the government will be upon Christ’s shoulders?  Isn’t that, too, a sweeping indictment of government, showing that it is at enmity with the church and the people of God across time—not just at the crucifixion of Christ at a particular moment in time?

No, we argue.  We see a distinction between Biblical government and unbiblical government.  But that brings us to our third focus, where we will see that many choice servants lauded and honored in both the Old and New Testaments are associated with government—frequently in pagan cultures that are hostile to God on the surface, but are used to achieve His mighty purposes.

Government is God's Idea - Day Seven

From On Christian Citizenship, by Curt Smith

Government is God's Idea

DAY SEVEN

In each case, the ideas or images inherent to each of the three created institutions of God’s Divine order (family, church and government) are used by God to describe Himself. For example, He uses family images and words, for example, to tell us He is our Father and that Christ is our brother. Moreover, our relationship as believers with one another is described in family words like sisters and brothers.  In describing salvation, Paul writes we have been adopted by God and as such are co-heirs with Christ of eternal life.

Similarly, we understand that Christ’s Body is the church and that, as the Body of Christ, we are made up of different parts that must all work together (hands, feet, mind, etc.). In what Peter Drucker called the greatest business management teaching in history, 1 Cor. 12:14 uses the analogy of the body to describe the church and thereby explain her mysterious but beautiful workings.

So, too, God’s descriptions of Himself and His reign—both today and in the future—are filled with notions and images of government.

Consider that God is described as “a King,” and that Christ came and will return to advance “His Kingdom.”  The Isiaiah 9:7 verse in the introduction comes to mind again as the prophet tells us, “There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace....”  Again, government is the image, and peace or order is the by product.

The Book of Revelation is especially focused on describing heaven and God’s eternal city-state as a perfect government.  Read Revelation 21 as it describes this eternal place that will be called the New Jerusalem.  How ironic that many devout, pious religious conservatives who eschew earthly government yearn for the heaven that God describes as a state or city.  Of course, it will have no sin or imperfections, and thus will be unlike any worldly realm.  In that sense we all eschew earthly government and yearn for the perfect government to come.

But God calls us to seek the welfare of the city in the here and now even as He leads us toward the eternal city where we will worship and praise Him forever.

Government is God's Idea - Day Six

From On Christian Citizenship, by Curt Smith

Government is God's Idea

DAY SIX

1 Timothy 2:2 calls us to pray for those in authority.  It amplifies or underscores that specific act from among several reverential activities specified in the Romans 13 passage, which we just focused upon.  The fact that prayer is underscored is worthy of reflection as we seek to understand our responsibilities as citizens of this realm and the heavenly realm.

In this passage Paul is sharing with his ministry student, Timothy.  Much of his advice is personal and practical.  But he also teaches him about being a pastor, a shepherd of the flock and a teacher of God’s word.  So, as pastors, this admonition is especially directed at us.

Again notice the passage details the benefit of praying for those in authority: “...so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.”  But the instruction occurs in the context of Paul helping his understudy lead worship and order life in the church. This is confirmed by closely following chapters with additional teaching on the role of women and the qualifications of elders.  While the benefit of prayer for those in authority is in a private life of faith made more tranquil and godly, the call is for prayer in the church by its leaders. 

One wonders how the life of the church—as well the attitude of the typical churchgoer toward government—might change if we regularly prayed for those in authority over us. And what if we lifted in prayer the issues before government (the mighty matters like abortion and capital punishment as well as the more mundane matters like traffic studies supporting zoning requests and the operation of the waste water treatment plant)?

But let’s move a step beyond that.  What if the church sent a card, note or an e-mail to a civil authority stating that it had prayed for a particular public servant before a visible vote or a difficult decision?  If there is a consensus, the views of the congregation would be appropriate to express.  But the purpose of the note is to indicate a fulfillment of this Biblical admonition, not to lobby on an issue (though we’ll see later why both are essential).   

As one who regularly interacts with elected officials and their staff, from the White House to the county courthouse, I can confidently report that few folks communicate they are praying for our leaders.  The President, especially in challenging times, will be a prayer focus of many congregations and pastors.

But day in and day out, we fail to lift up all our elected leaders and appointed officials, and so we realize less of the tranquility and godliness available to us through the power of prayer in the church.