Might Men Conference and change

I think that most people like a good conference every now and again. And, in the world of conferences there are conferences that suit almost everyone. Well, perhaps not in South Africa, but when I look at the North American conference scene, there really are conferences to suit almost anyone!

When it comes to Christian conferences, each conference has its own aim.

Looking at the Mighty Men Conference (MMC), run by Angus Buchan of Shalom Ministries, I couldn't find a clear statement of purpose for these conferences. It seems to be that the aim is to get men to take up their leadership and "priestly" roles in their families, and to be the spiritual leaders that God requires of them.

There is a real excitement about these conferences among Christians in South Africa. Last year, the first MMC attracted about 60,000 men to Angus Buchan's farm. This year, there were in excess of 170,000 men that attended this weekend conference.

Somehow this conference with so many men should result in a change in communities all across the country where all these men come from. Just as a comparison, there were more men at this conference than the amount of people that voted for the ACDP in the national elections of 22 April 2009.

Now, here is the challenge! The Biblical Christian Network, which was only recently formed, organizes anti-abortion demonstrations called LIFECHAINS. It further will be organizing anti-pornography demonstrations at strategic locations such as at the headquarters of e.TV. We will organize such Christian action events at various times.

So, what is the challenge? Those Mighty Men that attended the MMC, should show their willingness to change their communities and this country. Be involved in preaching the gospel, and attend demonstrations as mentioned above. Watch the BCN website or join the BCN group on Facebook to be notified of such events.

If the MMC conference does not result in changed families, communities and country, the question must be asked whether the MMC is worth it.

So, MMC conferees, show that you have been sufficiently challenged, not just to have attended the MMC, but to want to make a difference in this nation.

Don't remain undercover agents for Christ, but stand up in the face of adversity for the gospel of Jesus Christ and in the fight for justice for widows, orphans and the weak.

The URGENT NEED for REFORMATION & REVIVAL in SOUTH AFRICA

The following newsletter was sent by Dr. Peter Hammond of Africa Christian Action.

Please think of ways in which you can be involved in reformation in South Africa.

The URGENT NEED for REFORMATION & REVIVAL in SOUTH AFRICA We in South Africa are at a critical point. Both church and society are facing a multitude of serious crises that threaten not only our freedoms, but our very lives. An ominous arsenal of potentially anti-Christian legislation, affecting almost every area of life, have either been railroaded through parliament, slipped through by stealth legislation, or are in the process of being approved by the legislature. The implications of these laws and acts are ominous and far-reaching. Over 2,000 white farmers have been murdered in the last 15 years, yet the Commandos have been dismantled. For over two and a half centuries the Commandos have provided security for remote farmsteads. Now this protection has been removed. At the same time, the new Firearms Control Act, which is seen in many circles as a prelude to the disarmament of many civilians, is making it increasingly difficult for any civilian to obtain a firearm for self-defense. Eight community and Christian radio stations have been closed down by ICASA (The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa). Other radio stations are reporting increasing harassment and pressure to tone down, or remove, programmes that deal with homosexuality, Islam, municipal and national elections or other “contentious issues”. Radio Pulpit, long the only national Christian radio station, has now been informed that they are to be limited to only 2 hours a week, and that between 4 and 6 am. Good News Community Radio, which won a national award for its outstanding education programme, had to battle for years in the courts ICASA’s attempts to close them down. They were taken off the air for a year before international pressure resulted in them being allowed to continue broadcasting. In the public schools, social engineering through Outcome Based Education and Sex Education is the order of the day. “Love Life,” with a colossal budget of taxpayer money, is blatantly corrupting the youth of South Africa, seeking to turn our young people into fornicators and whoremongers. For 13 years now, the pornography plague has devastated South Africa morally, with an explosion of sexual crimes, child abuse and rape. Along with the crime wave, with an average of 20,000 murders a year, has come an explosion of the drug epidemic. More and more ministries are having to expend considerable time and resources on dealing with more and more drug addicts. For 12 years, the Abortion Holocaust has ravaged South Africa, yet, despite over 800,000 babies having been legally killed, with taxpayer’s money, all too many Christians remain apathetic and inactive. Many Christians actually continue to vote for political parties that support abortion - with their taxpayer’s money. With the Constitutional Court opening the way for the legalisation of homosexual 'marriages', and with some denominations openly endorsing homosexual unions and ordaining homosexual “ministers”, we are facing one of the most serious assaults on the family, ever. As families are the basic building blocks of society, the destruction of these foundations can only have the most devastating effect on our future. Along with abortion, pornography, homosexuality, gambling, drugs, crime, violence and disarmament, we are seeing an increase in irrational hatred and fear of Christianity – Christophobia. When I visited Crysallis Academy in Tokai, I was informed that while they had previously had voluntary chapel services, prayer meetings and Bible studies, these had been abolished and the previous principal removed. “Now we have a hard-core Communist, a real comrade, straight from Cuba as principal. There are no more Bible studies, prayer meetings or chapel services allowed here.” While there are still many dedicated Christians in South Africa, and pockets of great spiritual life, the general picture is getting darker. There are still school principals and governing bodies with backbone and conviction who maintain Christian distinctives in their schools. Unfortunately, most schools have bowed to pressure and removed Bible reading, hymn singing and prayer in the Name of Christ from their school assemblies, and Bible education from the syllabus. And as the Bible and prayer have gone out, sex education, values clarification, alternative lifestyles, situation ethics and all the other tenants of Humanism have flooded in. The results are all too evident in the shopping malls of our country. Once, South Africans were renound as some of the most conservative and morally upright. Now, all too many are wearing tattoos, multiple body piercings, angry, sullen looks, and ridiculous fashions that so many aimless youth seem drawn to. Ugliness in art and music has come to predominate, with rap, hip-hop, rave, and other noise masquerading as music has continued to pound away its message of rebellion and immorality. The systematic worldwide campaign to vilify, sanction and crush the Calvinism of the Afrikaners has, in many cases, succeeded. The Dutch Reformed Church, once considered the moral backbone of the country, guarding Sabbath observance, laws against pornography, abortion, homosexuality, gambling and other vices, has seemingly lost its moral compass. After decades of relentless attack, much of the Dutch Reformed Church seems to be disintegrating. It has lost vast numbers of members, many of their congregations have amalgamated, buildings sold, churches closed down, and now even attempts to recognise homosexual “marriages” and ordain homosexual “ministers” are being promoted. At one time the Dutch Reformed Church sent out more missionaries than all the other denominations in South Africa combined. At one time the DRC funded more Bible translations and Bible printing than all the other denominations in SA combined. Now the DRC is in such a serious crises that even the definition of marriage itself, and the existence of Hell, is being debated. Not so long ago in South Africa Sundays were protected as a day of worship and a day of rest, babies were protected from the violence of abortion, pornography was illegal, drugs were almost unknown, crime was low, security gates, alarms and burglar bars were unknown and unnecessary, homosexuality was a crime, schools began each day with hymn singing, Bible readings and prayer, Bible education was part of the school syllabus, and women could walk the streets, safely, without fear of being raped. South Africa has not only gone through a political revolution, but a moral revolution. And Marxist revisionists are busy with the re-writing of history. Most ominously, the ANC government has been openly supportive of Robert Mugabe’s campaign of terror in Zimbabwe. Apparently they are supportive of the Marxist ZANU’s crushing of political opponents, violating the courts, tramping on property rights, rigging elections, suppressing the independent press, precipitating economic collapse, state sponsored terrorism, and the invasion and looting of 5,000 white commercial farms. Not even the destruction of the homes of 1,5 million black people seems to have shaken the ANC’s enthusiastic support for Mugabe’s tyranny. President Mbeki was quoted as saying, at a South African Communist Party meeting in Johannesburg, that the ANC had to support Mugabe because he postponed his “land reform” policy until after the handover of power in South Africa to the ANC had been completed. Otherwise the whites would never have trusted the assurances of the ANC! With farm seizures now beginning in South Africa, and land claims even being laid against prominent mission stations, the writing is on the wall. Unless Christians in South Africa wake up, and unless Christians worldwide rally to mobilize the prayer and pressure needed to stop the tyranny and lawlessness in Zimbabwe, we could see the same happen here in South Africa. The Holocaust in Rwanda began with the state media vilifying the Tutsi, while they were being disarmed. We should make no mistake, there are those who would like to unleash genocide against Christians in South Africa, just as was done in Rwanda. There are many, highly placed leaders in the ANC government who have publicly stated that they would like to see the same kind of farm invasions in South Africa as have been conducted in Marxist Zimbabwe. Much of Africa has plunged into a new dark age. A report prepared for the African Union estimated that corruption costs Africa $148 billion each year. That’s more than a quarter of the continents’ entire Gross Domestic Product! Since independence, life expectancy in many African nations has plunged a third to a half. For example, in Zimbabwe, in 1980, life expectancy was 59 years. Today, life expectancy in Zimbabwe is 30 years! As parts of Africa are being looted by corrupt leaders and devastated by AIDS, a new scramble for Africa is taking place. The new colonists are the Arabs and the Chinese. Africa may well become colonised by the Arabs in the North and by the Chinese in the South. We are facing a crisis and civilisation itself is at stake here. Yet most of our churches are fast asleep and very few pulpits are sounding the alarm. We desperately need Reformation. We urgently need Revival. All too many in our churches are distracted by worldly entertainment, and materialism, self-absorbed with the endless stream of satellite TV, video games, Internet, Facebook, My Space and cellphones. The shopping malls are full and prayer meetings are mostly empty. Many Christians spend more time reading the newspaper than reading the Bible. They spend more time watching TV than witnessing to their neighbours. Many of our people are so busy acquiring all the comforts, material acquisitions and latest technologies that they just have no time for Bible study, discipling their children, praying, witnessing to their neighbours or even noticing what is going on around us. Hidden behind their high walls, venturing out only in comfortable air-conditioned cars, to travel to air conditioned shopping malls and entertainment complexes, or to safe, comfortable, suburban congregations, to hear comfortable messages, it is little wonder that the average churchgoer in South Africa today is unaware of the gathering storm and the crisis of a collapsing civilisation all around us. I do believe that there is hope. I do not believe that it is inevitable that South Africa will go the way of Zimbabwe or have a Rwandan style genocide against whites. We still have many dedicated Christians in South Africa, and significant pockets of vibrant spiritual life. However, we have to be honest and admit that most of our churchgoers are only playing church. Worldliness, prayerlessness, compromise and cowardice are pervasive. Unless we wake up, humble ourselves and pray and seek God’s face and turn from our wicked ways, we cannot expect God to forgive our sins, hear our prayers or heal our land (2 Chronicles 7:14). WHAT CAN WE DO? We need to be informed. We need to be interceding. And we need to be involved. Be informed: “My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.” Hosea 4:6 Subscribe to Christian Action magazine, with cutting edge reports and updates on the battle for Reformation and Revival. Get on the E-mailing lists of info@christianaction.org.za and info@frontline.org.za. Visit the www.christianaction.org.za website. And pass on the articles and updates from Christian Action to your church, family and friends. Be interceding: “Remember the prisoners as if chained with them…” Hebrews 13:3. Earnestly pray for God’s merciful intervention to frustrate the plans of the wicked, to protect God’s people, to raise up Christian leaders to stand in the gap. Be involved: “Who will rise up for Me against the wicked? Who will take a stand for Me against the evildoers?” Psalm 94:16. There is so much that needs to be done. There is so much that we can and must do. Since 1982, Frontline Fellowship has been delivering Bibles, food, medical and other supplies to Christians in Zimbabwe. We need to help some of the poorest of the poor, who are suffering some of the worst injustices in the world today. Frontline Fellowship is evangelising in the townships using film evangelism, literature distribution, personal evangelism, church services and leadership training seminars. Transforming the nation by changing lives. Discipleship Training Courses, Biblical Worldview Seminars, God and Government Seminars, Reformation Conferences, Great Commission Courses are discipling leaders to make a difference. There is the power of the printed page, the power of the Word of God, the power of prayer. We can see history changed as people are changed - with the life transforming Gospel of Jesus Christ. · We need to do everything we can to support our local Christian community radio stations and to keep them faithful to God’s Word - and on the air. · We need to support strong Christian principals and school teachers who are seeking to maintain a Christian witness in government schools. · We need to support Christian schools and to support home schooling. Education is a battle for our future. · The philosophy of the classroom in this generation will be the philosophy of government in the next generation. That is why we have to invest in good Christian school textbooks. And in audio tapes, CDs, DVDs, magazines and newsletters. · In the upcoming elections, you must organise all the support you can for Christian parties that uphold Biblical principles. Distribute the Biblical Issues Voters' Guide to your congregation, community and colleagues. We have an opportunity to help establish a strong Christian representation in our local municipalities. We need to work to place strong Christian candidates on the governing bodies of our local schools. · And we need to do all that we can to support our local police in restoring law and order in our communities. Facing, as we are, such an avalanche of evil and attacks from so many quarters - nothing less than a comprehensive Christian response will be sufficient. We need to restore our own devotional lives, disciple and strengthen our families, work for the Reformation of our congregations, help restore Christian principles and justice in our communities, and earnestly pray for Biblical Reformation in our churches and spiritual Revival throughout our country. If you share our concerns, about the importance of Reformation and the urgency of Revival, please do contact us. We need more volunteers, we need more resources and contacts and we need more prayer. Together we can make a vital difference and, by God’s grace, may we work and pray to see the tide turned. May God be your strength and shield in these difficult days ahead. Yours for Reformation and Revival Dr. Peter Hammond Africa Christian Action PO Box 23632 Claremont 7735 Cape Town Tel: 021-689 4481 E-mail: info@christianaction.org.za Web: www.christianaction.org.za

When "black" carries more weight than morality

It is a sad day, no, a calamitous day, for the church when it deems the colour of a person's skin more important, and of higher value than the morality, or in this case, immorality of a person!

Where is the church doing this? you may ask. Well, a large portion of the black church in America is doing just that!

On Sunday, 18 January 2009, some of the black church held the African American Church Inaugural Ball in celebration of Barack Hussein Obama's inauguration as U.S. president that will happen today.

I can understand that there is jubilation in the hearts of many blacks that there will now be a president that has at least half "black" blood in him. I am glad for them! But why the jubilation when the person they are so mesmerized by is a baby-killer, legalizer of sodomy and according to most accounts a communist?

Obama promised Planned Parenthood, that baby killing organisation, that he will sign FOCA (Freedom of Choice Act), in which the ban on partial-birth abortion will be overturned. That means, that human beings will again be further butchered simply because they are on the wrong side of the womb!

The apostle Paul wrote that as Christians we are "neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Gal 3:28) How is it that those involved in this celebration of the "pope of abortion" cannot see past their own skin colour? Why is it that they demand equal treatment by whites, but when something like this happens, they prove once again that their skin colour is more important than their professed belief in Christ, if any at all? Why is it that their skin colour is more important than the wholsesale slaughter of millions of babies? Is there no morality in the church? Where is true and pure religion, when those in the church celebrate a man that should be soundly condemned for his immoral and evil policies?

Oh, Lord, may your kindness lead these people to repentance! (Rom 2:4)

Further, Obama is also very pro-homosexuality. Does this not bother these people? I have already written on homosexuality, so I am not going to repeat myself.

Where is the church leading itself? When the church go off track like this, they are clearly forsaking the gospel of Christ and have forgotten the God of the gospel.

Perhaps, these are the days of the remnant. Many claim to be Christian, but there is only a remnant of real Christians.

Actions speak louder than words, don't they?

John Piper on abortion

John Piper has spoken on the issue of abortion many times. The fact is that too few pastors even dare to tackle the subject. Apparently, it is too political. Since when is the violent dismemberment of a human being too political?

You can find John's sermons on abortion here. Many of the sermons are available in sermon notes, audio and video.

LIFECHAIN tomorrow!

This is a cross-post from my blog BiblioPolit.

Back in March, 2008, we were part of a LIFECHAIN, to protest peaceably against abortion in South Africa.

Tomorrow we will be doing it again!

It will be on the corner of Hendrik Verwoerd and the Old Johannesburg Rd in Centurion (Pretoria, South Africa).

We will start at 09:00 until 12:00. See this map for directions. Everybody is welcome to join us and to hand out leaflets and protest peaceably with posters.

See some of the photographs below from our March 2008 LIFECHAIN.

You will notice that there were all kinds of people present!

Come What May - Movie

The Advent Film Group, a fully Christian based film group is releasing a new movie, "Come What May," in Spring 2008. That will be Spring in the Northern Hemisphere. This movie handles the issue of abortion.

Watch the trailer below to see what it is all about!

Churches may as well close their doors

Phil Magnan, President of Biblical Family Advocates, has written an open letter to churches and their pastors called, "If Churches Cannot Preach Against Abortion, They Should Just Close Their Doors." It is on the front page of their website and can also be read at ChristianNewsWire.

It is a stinging rebuke aimed at churches who do not speak out against abortion openly.

I am inclined to agree with Magnan. When I look at the churches in South Africa, I see a group that is so disinclined to speak out on the issues of the day, that they will harbour murderers or those who agree with murder in their churches!

That is the bottom line! Why can churches so easily speak against fornication, adultery and other gross sins (if they do at all), yet when it comes to abortion, they are silent.

It is this very silence that condemns them!

Mat 25:34-46 (34) Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. (35) For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, (36) I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' (37) Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? (38) And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? (39) And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' (40) And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' (41) "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. (42) For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, (43) I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' (44) Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' (45) Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' (46) And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

The interesting thing about this discourse is that Jesus made it clear, that when we do justice unto others, we do it unto Him. When did we welcome, clothe or visit Jesus? Jesus' answer is, "as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."

On the other hand, when we neglect to do justice unto others, the question can be stated, "Lord, when did we not do justice unto you?" Then Jesus answers, " as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me."

It is NOT good enough for churches to say that they are doing something in the background. The time for Secret Service operations is over. The time for a full frontal attack is here.

The enemy is destroying millions of the unborn every year (more than 50,000/year in South Africa), yet the church is satisfied with its silence.

"IF YOU DID NOT SPEAK OUT FOR ONE OF THE LEAST OF THESE, YOU DID NOT SPEAK OUT FOR ME!"

Churches are happy to have their little prayer huddles, their exciting relevant services, their three-points-to-a-successful-life or how-to-hear-from-God sermons, but in the meantime babies are being slaughtered daily; yet, for these churches, God has not spoken on the issue to them in their prayer huddles at all! I guess, if God does not speak to them personally from the blue yonder, then they do not move.

However, it seems that when the Bible speaks, their spiritual ears are shut!

From those who have more, more will be expected!

Acceptance of sin in the church

This is probably going to cause some controversy, but I guess not that much, since I do not have thousands of readers here.

At a local church nearby, there was a member who was known to the leadership as a serial murderer. What was amazing about this church was that there was an organization that was passively condoned by this church, that promoted serial murder as a way of life. One would have to stretch the imagination to its limits to imagine something like this happening, yet here it was. What was even worse than this, is the fact that this church knew about this organization, and that several of its members were part of it, and that there was an actual serial murderer in their midst. Yet, the church passively condoned it all. I say passively, because the church did or said nothing against this organization or those that supported it.

On a smaller scale, churches are forever condoning sin by not doing or saying anything against it. We all know of the adulterers and fornicators in our churches, but the leadership in our churches are usually without any backbone and choose not to "offend" these offending church members.

The Bible is very clear about situations like these. Unrepentant people in the church should be treated as unbelievers. However, in the church today, these people are welcomed with open arms, and as such are encouraged (albeit passively) to continue in their sinful ways.

Now, coming back to the story about the church that condoned serial killers and their supporters, I hope you realize that it was completely fictional as the facts stand. However, it is not that far from the truth!

We have people in our churches that do commit murder everyday. We also have people in our churches that even encourage those that commit these murders.

What am I talking about? I am taking about abortion of course! It is nothing short of murder! And, it should be classified as such!

It is time that we confront these people, abortionists and their supporters in our churches. And, if they refuse to repent, we need to treat them as unbelievers.

That means, that when a person actively supports abortion, homosexuality, same-sex marriage, pornography, or those that continue to legalize these abominations, then they should no longer be treated as believers and should effectively be excommunicated from the church.

Here in South Africa, where political parties can literally stand on absolute opposing sides of the coin, it should be much clearer for Christians to know who to vote for, but I guess that Christians here still vote very strongly according to the colour line and do not even think about moral issues.

Here, many who claim to be Christians actively vote for the ANC, who have been the greatest purveyors of immorality and injustice. They are the ones who have forced through liberal laws such as free abortion, pornography, same-sex marriage, etc.

While a Christian party exists, the ACDP, many of these Christians still vote for and assist the ANC with all its immorality. In fact, I know a person who used to be a member of the ACDP, but walked over to the ANC and is expending all his energies in working for the ANC. Yet, while he is actively supporting the ANC (with all its injustices and immoral legislation) during the week, he comes to church on Sundays to raise his hands in worship unto the Lord.

I personally think that the church should start setting the boundaries of its membership and not just see membership as a notch on its belt and tithes in the church coffers.

There are real moral issues at stake here, and many who claim to be Christians in our churches are simply turning a blind eye at the terrible atrocities committed in the name of ANC forced law!

Church, stand up against immorality in the church! Do something about it!

Dare have a backbone!