When an opportunity presents itself, leaders take action.

Last Friday, I was privileged to join Pastor Shaddy Solomon and about 100 members of Lake Mary Church to see the movie, War Room.

The movie shocked Hollywood with opening weekend sales of $11 million and it only played on about one-third of the screens as other weekend favorites. This Kendrick brothers’ hit had a budget of $3 million and is on pace to surpass sales of two of their other movies, Courageous and Fireproof, both of which had sales of over $33 million.

Secular reviews of the film are predictably negative but the impact on the kingdom of God will be highly positive. The movie tells a common story of a marriage on the rocks. The couple is caught in the trap of chasing careers and money, and finds a very uncommonly applied solution to their troubles.

Prayer changes lives.

But today’s leadership thought comes from what I was thrilled to witness at the end of the movie. First, the crowd cheered and clapped. It was the ending prayer of Miss Clara (Karen Abercrombie) that brought a powerful response from the crowd as she cries out “Raise ’em up Lord.”

Then, as the movie credits began to roll, Pastor Shaddy jumped from his seat, kicked over my popcorn bag (I had thoughts of a midnight snack) and rushed, arms flailing …

“Wait, Wait everyone, let’s take a moment now and pray for America!”

I didn’t see anyone move. People began to pray with lifted arms for our country. I’ve never seen such a benediction to a movie. Yet, it was powerful, meaningful and instructive. Pastor Shaddy yelled over the closing music for healing to come to America and people yelled back, “Yes! Heal our country!”

The leadership of Pastor Shaddy was further exemplified by his actions outside of the theater. I watched as he bought tickets for people to see War Room. Many of the people he bought tickets for had intended to see one of those escape movies from Hollywood.

War Room is not an escape movie. It is an entrance movie to a new way of living. Pastor Shaddy and I spoke in the car about how many people would go home and begin to build their own war room. He thought Home Depot would be packed!

Of course, it’s not the room, it’s the prayers.

Leaders see opportunity and take action.

“Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thess. 5:16-18).

The National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC/CONEL), the nation’s leading organization for 16 million Hispanic American Evangelicals, celebrates its annual Education Sunday on September 6, 2015.

The NHCLC invites churches across the nation to pray for and support the students in their congregations and communities, including those in home, private and public schools. Education Sunday equips parents to take an active role in their children’s education and empowers congregations to actively support high academic achievement for all children in their community.

Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, founder and president of NHCLC/CONEL and a former public school educator, views education equity as a matter of biblical justice.

“It’s time to remind Americans that we are not only one nation under God, but we are also a nation of liberty and justice for all. We will bring biblical justice to our nation’s public classrooms when academic achievement is no longer dependent upon a student’s zip code, ethnicity or income. And we will truly love our neighbors as ourselves when we love their students as our own.”

Education Sunday is a dedicated time for congregations to pray for their students and teachers, affirm the value of education, and invite the congregation to support local schools and students.

Dr. Andrea Ramirez, Executive Director of the Faith & Education Coalition-NHCLC, describes the heart behind Education Sunday 2015: “This year we are focusing on Jesus’ command to ‘love the Lord with all our minds and to love our neighbors as ourselves’ from Luke 10:27. Education Sunday focuses our hearts on equipping students—the children in our homes as well as the children in our communities. By taking steps to support local schools, our hope is to honor the ‘Imago Dei’ in every child. Because every child is created in God’s image, each one has the potential for loving God with all of his or her mind.”

The NHCLC hosts a resource website for parents and pastors. Tools for churches are provided at the site, including Education Sunday bilingual resources, as well as a variety of tools and information for parents. Resources include:

• Parent Toolkit: parents can plan for a successful school year with tips for student success, parent-teacher conference guides, suggestions for homework help, help discovering local after-school care, and links to academic standards by grade level
• Education Sunday support: information and ideas for this year’s event include a sample sermon, original song, Bible studies and more
• Scholarship Information: students can enter a scholarship contest by submitting a 60-second video of what Education Sunday looked like at their church. By participating in Education Sunday, churches and their students become eligible for other scholarship opportunities through the year.

“Hispanic parents care deeply about education,” comments Dr. Carlos Campo, President of Ashland University and founder of the Faith & Education Coalition. “They are eager to see their children graduate high school and attend college, even if no one else in their family has accomplished that goal. But far too many graduates require remedial classes at college, because they weren’t held to rigorous high school standards. Our students deserve better, and Christians can lead the way.”

The NHCLC, which values Education as one of its core directives, advocates for Hispanic student success including education equity and high academic standards for all students as a part of its mission as a Christian organization.

Bishop Joel Peebles, Pastor Ylawnda Peebles and The City of Praise Family Ministries returned to their home church last weekend in Landover, Maryland.

This was the first service at the Landover Campus since April 2012, when a handful of employees declared themselves the legitimate board and unlawfully took control of the church displacing the Peebles and thousands of longtime parishioners. 

“On this day we’re celebrating God’s redemptive power. If you’ve ever lost a home, a job or even your peace, this event is proof that by God’s grace, you can recover,” said Joel Peebles. “After years of being displaced, the City of Praise congregation of more than 12,000 members is returning home to our Landover campus.”

Pastors and congregants from across the globe made their way to Landover for the landmark celebration. Community members and others were invited to attend this milestone worship experience.

“This is truly a season of restoration and reconciliation. On this special day, the body of Christ is coming together as one—in unity to worship our loving God,” said Ylawnda Peebles.

The abortion industry in this country could not thrive as it does without the cover of secrecy provided by both the media and, in many cases, government officials more interested in protecting a powerful political ally than the lives of those upon whom that ally preys.

The recent and ongoing undercover videos of Planned Parenthood employees bargaining for human body parts over wine and chicken salad sickeningly illustrate what has been going on for years beneath a well maintained veil of secrecy. It’s no wonder that those who engage in these ghoulish practices howl with outrage whenever anybody even tries to expose their deeds. It’s bad enough that powerful elites in the media connive at this secrecy; but it’s scandalous when government itself lends its offices to the conspiracy.

For several years now, we at the ACLJ have been representing one person who has sought to lift the veil on the abortion industry in the State of Maryland. As we reported previously, here, and here, Andrew Glenn was spurred to action in 2012 after reading horror stories about minimally qualified – in some cases actually unlicensed in other states – abortion practitioners who were allowed to fly under the radar in his state, wreaking havoc on unsuspecting women, causing them serious injury and even death (a disturbing a deadly trend being documented nationwide).

Following the state’s enactment of new regulations designed to tighten up oversight of these places by the state’s Health Department, Glenn filed a simple, routine Public Information Request. His Request asked for the names of the owners, administrators, and medical directors of each of Maryland’s licensed abortion facilities. (At least three of the facilities are owned by Planned Parenthood).  Given the Department’s history of turning a blind eye to the abortion industry, Glenn wanted do his own research and cross-check the information contained in publicly filed licensure applications against regulatory records in other states.

But instead of welcoming Glenn’s efforts to assist them in their oversight, the Department denied him access to the information he sought.

They then went to court in Baltimore seeking judicial approval of their stonewalling. The Baltimore Circuit Court sided with the Department and we appealed to the Maryland Court of Special Appeals. After that court too ruled in the Department’s favor, we filed a petition for certiorari with the state’s highest court, the Maryland Court of Appeals. The vast majority of such petitions are routinely denied without comment. But we’re pleased to report that this past Friday the Court of Appeals granted our petition. This means we will now make our arguments to Maryland’s highest Court.

We will ask the Court to recognize once and for all that the state’s Public Information Act – indeed, the public’s right to know – does not contain an exception for the abortion industry.

We anticipate that the case will be argued later this year or early in 2016, with a decision some time next spring.

Reprinted with permission from .

Shortly before Independence Day, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ordered that the Ten Commandments be removed from its Capitol grounds. The Court based its decision on the state constitution, not the U.S. Constitution.

This monument to the Ten Commandments was a gift from an Oklahoma resident, and no public monies were ever spent to acquire it. The monument had been installed on Capitol grounds in compliance with a law enacted by the legislature.

But in a terse opinion, the Oklahoma Supreme Court overruled the trial court, which had allowed the monument to remain. The Oklahoma Supreme Court held that the Ten Commandments must be removed due to article 2 section 5 of the Oklahoma State Constitution, which merely prevents the use of public money or property for the benefit of any church or system of religion.

A decade ago, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a similar challenge to the Ten Commandments that stands on the statehouse grounds in Austin, Texas. But that ruling did not prevent more liberal state supreme courts from censoring religion based on their own state constitution.

Oklahoma state legislators immediately criticized the decision and vowed to seek a repeal of the provision of the state constitution on which it was based. That will require a statewide referendum in order to amend the state constitution.

Oklahoma is located in the heart of the Bible Belt and has one of the most conservative populations in our nation. So, why have they allowed their own state supreme court to be so liberal?

Tennessee used to have a state Supreme Court more liberal than the U.S. Supreme Court, but the people of Tennessee responded by passing a referendum to overturn one of its bad rulings. The people of Oklahoma can do that again. They should not allow the Ten Commandments to be censored by some supremacist judges.

Reprinted with permission from Eagle Forum.

Governor Bush is committed to the security and prosperity of the Jewish State of Israel, and to America’s alliance with Israel.  He believes this strategic relationship is founded not merely on shared interests, but on shared values and emotional bonds between the American and Israeli people.

He has visited Israel five times, and as Governor of Florida he signed a trade agreement with then – Trade Minister Ariel Sharon – an agreement that now is worth several hundred million dollars in annual trade between Florida and Israel.

Throughout his life, he has been an outspoken critic of anti-Semitism and bigotry, and he has been a champion of Jewish American institutions. In 2003, as Governor of Florida, he signed a bill dedicating January as Jewish History month. Florida was the first state in the country to dedicate a month to the celebration of Jewish American history.

When his father was Vice President, Governor Bush played a role in drawing attention at the highest levels of government to the plight of Ethiopia’s Jewish community. Thousands of members of this ancient community had fled their homeland due to famine for a refugee camp in Sudan. Jeb, hearing of the conditions in the camp and the persecution these Jews were suffering, suggested to Reagan-Bush officials that the United States had a duty to support a massive airlift. The resulting effort, Operation Moses, made history when Israeli planes, with American support, brought these Jews to the homeland of the Jewish people, the State of Israel.

Now, as a candidate for the presidency, he is a forceful and principled critic of the Obama Administration’s nuclear deal with Iran.  Rather than continue with a failed strategy of appeasement, he has argued for a comprehensive strategy to confront the threat posed by Iran’s pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability, support for terrorism, ballistic missile proliferation, threats to destroy Israel, and human rights abuses. He has called out the growing threat of radical Islamist terrorism and was the first candidate to present a detailed plan to address it. And one of his chief foreign policy priorities is to rebuild America’s relationship with its longtime strategic ally and friend, the State of Israel.

Reprinted from .

Whether Donald Trump refuses to reveal his favorite Bible verse or if he compares himself to famed evangelist Billy Graham, the politician’s faith is continually topping headlines. 

Trump’s beliefs even became a trending topic on Twitter, with the Internet re-imagining the Bible as told by the Republican with the hashtag TrumpBible.

But former politician and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has had enough of the Trump bashing. 

In an interview with Trump, she dives into why the politician has been so closed-lipped on his Bible beliefs.

Watch the video to see what he says. 

In 2004, Jon Stewart, host of The Daily Show, famously appeared on CNN’s Crossfire and accused the hosts of “hurting America.” He excoriated the show’s hosts for being “partisan hacks” who suck up to politicians and spin the news for partisan ends. Stewart then spent the next ten years hurting America by being a partisan hack that sucked up to politicians and spun the news for partisan ends.

That so many Americans get their news from opinion shows on cable news like Crossfire has always been depressing. But even more disturbing is the fact that for years a relatively small number (about 12 percent) cited Stewart’s The Daily Show as a place they learned about what was going on in the world.

When Stewart and his show retired earlier this month, many of us sighed with relief. Finally, we thought, thirtysomething, college-educated liberals will be forced to turn somewhere else besides a third-rate comedy show to get their information about current events. Alas, that was not to be. Stewart passed the baton to his former correspondent John Oliver who has his own current events show on HBO called Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.

If you’ve been on social media in the past year you’ve likely seen one of your liberal friends post a clip from Oliver’s show. There’s nothing particularly insightful about Oliver, but he has a British accent which leads Americans to assume he’s intelligent and profound.

Earlier this month, Oliver did a segment on televangelists. He can be forgiven for being late to the topic since he was still a teenager in England when America got bored of talking about predatory preachers on television. The “prosperity gospel” frauds are still a problem, of course, and should be called out for it. But Oliver (or whoever writes for his teleprompter) isn’t really concerned about televangelists. The real goal of the segment is to promote the idea that the IRS should determine what is and is not a legitimate church.

To show how easy it is to form a “false” church, Oliver created his own church, Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption, and asked for donations. As a comedy bit it’s pretty lame; as a critique of government oversight of religion it’s downright idiotic.

Again, Oliver is from England, so his ignorance about things like the First Amendment and freedom of religious can be excused. But many Americans who should know better agree that the IRS should have the power to determine what beliefs constitute a legitimate religion.

A few folks have attempted to provide the education Oliver and his acolytes are lacking. Rabbi Jack Moline of the Interfaith Alliance has even invited Oliver’s church to join his group. In his letter, Moline writes:

Interfaith Alliance is a national organization that draws support from individuals who identify with more than 75 faith traditions and philosophies. We hope that with the establishment of your church we can now say “more than 76 faith traditions.” I would welcome you and any other members of the Church of Our Lady of the Perpetual Exemption (COOLPERX?) to join us.

You seemed surprised at how easy it was for you to open your church, register it, and ensure its legal protection. We understand what made you shake your head at what the IRS allows as a house of worship. The only way we can be absolutely sure that mosques, synagogues, churches and temples are able to serve communities across the country is to protect the rights of new and unique churches like Our Lady of the Perpetual Exemption.

If the IRS were truly empowered to regulate religion in this country, every sermon would be written in red-ink, our prophets would all be living in the Caymans and we’d have to file our prayers at a processing center in Peoria. Religious life thrives in America precisely because the government plays no role in deciding what is or is not a legitimate faith.

Call us crazy, but we believe that the common sense of most people will alert them to the absurdities of religious practitioners who take advantage of these freedoms. And when that fails, we count on you to point out those who are misusing the trappings of faith for personal or political gain.

I hope that Interfaith Alliance can count on your wit, intellect and support as we continue the hard work of balancing religious freedom and the government’s interest in preventing abuse and protecting the rights of all Americans. And I give you my personal promise that no donation you might send us will go toward mansions or private jets. (That’s what government contracts are for, and that’s where the real money is anyway).

While I appreciate Moline’s response, I think he misses the point of Oliver’s critique, and why it’s been embraced by so many on the American left. Unlike Moline, they aren’t all that interested in seeing religion in America “thrive.” And they certainly aren’t all that concerned about the preachers on TV channels they don’t watch. What they are really worried about are the preachers in their communities, especially the conservative ministers and priests who challenge a libertine, secular worldview. And what they really want is for the IRS to use the government’s power to take away the tax exemption of any church that dares disagree with their ideology.

As Naomi Schaeffer Riley recently wrote:

We’ve seen in the past two years how ideological the IRS can be, how prone its bureaucracy has been to political influence. Just imagine if Lois Lerner had been sent out to determine which churches were legitimate and which ones weren’t.

Church doesn’t perform gay marriages? It can pay taxes. Your church doesn’t allow women to be pastors? We’ll send you a bill tomorrow. What, you don’t give sermons about the dangers of income inequality? We’ll be in touch mid-April.

In fact, the idea of taxing non-gay-marriage-performing churches is floating in a few circles right now.

Oliver and his acolytes claim all they want is for the IRS to act against “ridiculous” churches. No doubt that’s true. But it won’t be long before their definition of what constitutes a “ridiculous” church includes every conservative Catholic and evangelical congregation in America.

This article was originally published by the Acton Institute.

Angel Stadium of Anaheim lived up to its name this past weekend, August 28 – 30, as participants at the 26^th annual Southern California Harvest Crusades with Greg Laurie experienced some holy moments of their own. Some 105,000 people gathered at the stadium for the 2015 SoCal Harvest, coming to hear music from top Christian artists like Phil Wickham, THIRD DAY, Citizens & Saints, Lacey Sturm and Jeremy Camp, as well as a message of hope from local pastor and evangelist Greg Laurie.

Laurie gave his nightly talk from a stage adorned with a verse from the Bible that could be seen from the stands faraway: “Jesus said, ‘I am the way, the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father except by me.’—John 14:6.” This message was repeated throughout the weekend as Laurie spoke to the crowds gathered about eternity in messages entitled, “Happiness: What it is and How to Experience It,” “The Point of No Return,” and “Hope for the Afterlife.”

Laurie said to the audience on Sunday night, “Life’s going to come to an end, but the good news is that the soul lives on. You need to think very seriously about that, because once you die and enter the afterlife, you can’t change your destination. You want to think now about where to spend eternity, and you have two choices: heaven or hell.”

Laurie continued, “Heaven is not for good people, heaven is for forgiven people, and you can be forgiven tonight. I believe many of you have an appointment with God tonight; now it’s up to you to believe in Him and put your faith in Him, and leave this place a brand new person on the inside.” 

At the end of his message each night, Laurie gave an invitation to those in attendance to make their way to the outfield of Angel Stadium to put their faith in Christ, and 10,451 people did just that over the course of the weekend. Another 308 people made professions of faith via the live Internet broadcast of the Harvest Crusade.

“This really is Angel Stadium tonight because the angels are watching and rejoicing over every person who comes to repentance!” said Laurie as crowds streamed down from the stands.

Taking the Message to the World

While tens of thousands gathered at Angel Stadium over the weekend, many more listened to the 2015 SoCal Harvest through a variety of media options. A large audience across the U.S. and around the world were able to participate in the 2015 SoCal Harvest via live and archived Internet broadcasts, as well through radio broadcasts (450 stations carried the Harvest Crusade live), live and pre-recorded television programs, digital media like Roku, podcasts and live blog updates, and various forms of social media including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

All nights of the 2015 SoCal Harvest were broadcast on the Internet, and there were 122,922 webcast views from people in all 50 states and 142 countries around the world. In addition, 308 Internet viewers made professions of faith in Christ after watching the Harvest Crusade online. The 2015 SoCal Harvest is archived and available for viewing at . 

With a trademark ability to present a clear gospel message in a culturally relevant format, drawing on the latest in current events, contemporary Christian music, and technology, Greg Laurie’s Harvest events have been attended by more than 7 million people worldwide since 1990, both in-person at stadium and arena events and via live Internet broadcasts. Laurie serves as senior pastor of one of the largest churches in America, Harvest Christian Fellowship, which has campuses in Riverside and Irvine, Calif. He serves on the board of directors for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. 

Next year, Harvest with Greg Laurie will simulcast a coast-to-coast evangelistic outreach called Harvest America from AT&T Stadium in Dallas (March 6, 2016). 

As we reflect on the fundamental, significant, and disturbing shift in the cultural landscape of this country, the need for a Christ awakening seems more urgent than ever before. While the majority of the people do not agree with recent Supreme Court rulings, essentially redefining the definition of marriage in all 50 states, others are being drawn into deception and compromise. The fight for religious freedom that our Founding Fathers sacrificed their livelihoods to establish involves more than political agendas and governmental regulations. It impacts spiritual liberty and freedom from the strongholds of darkness that can destroy lives.

The good news is that God is still the sovereign LORD of the universe, and He is not regulated by the judicial system of any nation! Jesus Christ remains the Way, Truth, Life, and Light of the world that cannot be diminished and will not be hidden under the “bushel” of man’s ideology or philosophy. Our firm conviction is that as the darkness of sin encroaches more and more upon our nation and the world, the light that is within Christ’s body—His church—will become a stark contrast, a beacon, beckoning those lost and despairing to a place of hope and help.

As the Holy Spirit draws and God’s people share His truth in caring, compassionate ways, we will see innumerable, lifeless souls come to life. The church must be prepared to provide the support structures that are needed to help those lives be fully restored to abundant life and engaged as part of His mighty army of believers in this last days’ move of the Spirit throughout the world.

Your prayer for a Christ awakening in America is vital as we Cry Out for God to not only preserve our Judeo-Christian heritage, but to bring a sweeping revival that will impact every state, every county, every church and every heart in America.

Join us on 9/11 at county courthouses, churches, and other public venues throughout all 50 states as we “Consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly, assemble the elders and all the inhabitants of the land … and cry out to the Lord” (Joel 1:14). The Awakening America Alliance believes that “united prevailing prayer” is foundational if we are going to witness the “Twenty Indicators of Awakening” become reality in our generation. Cry Out America is a vital part of that foundation.

Your organization can be involved in this historic prayer movement and mobilize entire congregations to participate in a 9/11 prayer gathering in their area by logging on to  or calling  (.AWAKEUS).

Kay Horner is the Executive Director of Awakening America and coordinator of Cry Out America.