After the Daily Beast and several other news outlets claimed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump “blew off” a planned meeting with Priests for Life and the 115 Forum on Wednesday, several evangelicals who were in attendance came to the embattled GOP front-runner’s defense.

Among those coming to Trump’s defense was the head of Priests for Life, Fr. Frank Pavone. He said his organization “reaches out to candidates regularly,” and many of those conversations are off the record, but he felt the characterization of Trump’s not taking part in the meeting was false.

“Let me make clear that Mr. Trump did not break any commitments to speak to me or any gathering I organize,” he said. “On the contrary, I have had very friendly and fruitful interactions with him and members of his team and look forward to continuing that dynamic.”

Dr. Day Gardner, who just endorsed Trump this week, was also at the meeting. She added her own thoughts on the media reports, which characterized as “scandalous lies”:

“Donald Trump was not on the agenda and had no commitment to participate in any way in that meeting. This is an inside hatchet job of epic proportions from person(s) who will go to any lengths to blackball Donald Trump.”

But perhaps the most outspoken defender of Trump is evangelist and pro-life activist Dr. Alveda King, who also attended the meeting. She issued the following statement regarding the news reports:

“This is not true. I was at the meeting, and Mr. Trump did not reject any invitation. There was no meeting with Mr. Trump scheduled in the first place.

“I personally have met Mr. Trump and have spoken with his staff and supporters on a regular basis, and find them very open to pro-life discussions. I remain saddened by the ‘winner take all by any means necessary’ affront that is being promulgated in this election season.

“As a Christian evangelist, I no longer endorse political candidates. I am called to pray for everyone, including all leaders.

“‘The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation. This is the way our Savior God wants us to live.’—1 Timothy 2:1-3 MSG

“While I sometimes privately offer support and advice to various candidates, in this election I urge Americans to pray and repent; and vote responsibly; and to not indulge in emotional mudslinging and lies.”

ISIS has burned 15 civilians to death after they tried to flee Fallujah. Fallujah is ISIS’ second-largest stronghold in Iraq after Mosul, according to the Daily Mail.

These acts of violence are unfortunately common in Fallujah. Last month, six men were reportedly executed after they were suspected of being Iraqi spies.

The extremist group also arrested a woman who went on television and begged Western powers to “save us or bomb us.” In the woman’s speech on TV, she said that people in the city were dying from hunger and lack of medicine.

Azal Obaid, a local governor in the region, told ARA News that ISIS is using Fallujah’s citizens as human shields to protect their militant forces. However, he did add that “there is a military plan prepared by the leadership of the Iraqi army and local tribes to liberate the city of Fallujah. The plan cannot be disclosed to the press at the moment for security reasons.”

Pray that the innocent civilians would be saved from ISIS’ brutal reign.

Justin Bieber’s faith has been a major topic for the pop star. And this week, Bieber made one of his strongest declarations of faith yet.

This week, Bieber filled his followers’ social media feeds with exhortations and encouragement from Scripture. On Instagram, he posted an image of Psalm 46:10: “Be still and know that I am God.” He captioned the image, “Remember there’s a God that loves you and is for you. Be still in his presence he will give you true rest.”

In January, Bieber promoted the best-selling devotional Jesus Calling to his followers on Instagram. And in March, Bieber was seen praying with Kanye West.

Will Bieber’s newfound faith change his followers’ lives? Let us know what you think.

The Public Religion Research Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to help the general public better understand debates on public policy issues and the role of religion and values in American public life, released a new poll Thursday.

The survey offered some startling statistics. Among the most shocking was that nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of Republican front-runner Donald Trump’s supporters believe that the U.S. has gotten so far off track that it needs a leader willing to break some rules. That compared to just 40 percent of Ted Cruz supporters and 43 percent of John Kasich backers.

“As the odds of a brokered Republican convention continue to increase, the Republican establishment is reportedly planning on falling back on convention rules to block Donald Trump’s nomination, PRRI CEO Dr. Robert P. Jones said. “However, Donald Trump has mobilized the support of Americans who are not institutional players, and who are specifically looking to back a leader who is willing to break the rules—if that’s what it takes to achieve what they take to be good end goals.”

The PRRI survey included a national presidential preference poll. Among Republican and Republican-leaning voters, Trump led Cruz, 37-31, with Kasich trailing at 23 percent. The top two candidates are tied, however, among Republican and Republican-leaning white evangelical Protestants at 37 percent apiece.

Another stunning stat from the survey: Americans who are disengaged from their communities are more likely to support Trump. Republican and Republican-leaning voters who report that they seldom or never participate in community activities—such as a sports team, book club, PTA or neighborhood association—were twice as likely to support Trump (50 percent) than Cruz (24 percent).

Disengagement from church seems to be a significant factor on the Democrat side of the race. Sanders voters are more likely than Clinton voters—by a 49-28 margin—to say they seldom or never attend religious services.

“The religiously unaffiliated are emerging as a potent political force in 2016,” PRRI Research Director Dr. Dan Cox said. “Bernie Sanders leads Hillary Clinton among religiously unaffiliated Democratic voters by a substantial margin. This dynamic has shaped the nominating process, and the political potential of the unaffiliated will be an important story in the general election, as well.”

Other key findings of the survey include:

• More than two-thirds (68 percent) of Trump supporters, compared to 57 percent of Cruz supporters, say society as a whole has become too soft and effeminate. By contrast, more than 6 in 10 Clinton supporters (64 percent) and Sanders supporters (69 percent) reject this notion.
• Nearly half (45 percent) of Americans report being worried that they or someone in their family will be a victim of terrorism. These Americans report much stronger support for a leader who is willing to break the rules. About 6 in 10 (61 percent) Americans who say they are very worried about being a victim of terrorism agree that the country needs a leader who is willing to break rules to put things right.
• A majority of Americans report a dim view of their current economic health, with 37 percent saying that their financial situation is fair and 17 percent saying it is poor. However, Trump supporters do not report being in worse financial shape than Americans overall—which seems to contradict many expert analysis of the GOP front-runner’s political rise—with about half saying they are in excellent (12 percent) or good (34 percent) financial shape.

The nationwide survey of 2,033 adults was conducted in partnership with The Atlantic between March 30 and April 3. The margin of error for the survey is 2.5 percentage points.

I had no idea who the man was, but he ended his note to me on Facebook with these words: “You’re a monster, and you do not exhibit anything near ‘Christ’ like. You are a demon. You are a plague on this earth. And that is all I have to say.”

What had I done to provoke him to such anger?

His name was John, and he made things clear in his opening paragraph: “Oh Dr. Brown. Where should I start? You sir are a quivering fool. You express hate, and vitriol towards human beings. You protect individual rights to cause harm to members of a community within the United States. Your hatred has been seen, that you can’t stand the LGBT community, and that for some reason you feel that it is up to you to judge us, and save the world. Sadly sir, I have bad news for you. ITS NOT UP TO FILTH LIKE YOU. Your hate, and your ignorance, is what keeps fueling the fires, which keep this fight going.”

Writing as an openly gay man, he said, “I hope that one day you realize the world is actually a good place with the LGBT community in it. We thrive as individuals, and we are successful as a community. We strive for equal rights just as women did during the suffrage movement. We fight for equal rights just like African Americans did during the Civil Rights Movement in the 60’s.”

John stated that some of the greatest artists and leaders have been LGBT, along with “some of the greatest, kindest people on the earth.” In contrast, he claimed, when it comes to Christians, “None of you exhibit peace, and love.”

Of course, if John actually knew what I believed, he would know that I’ve said many times that, in the eyes of gay activists, this is a struggle for freedom and equality and respect and that, while differing deeply with LGBT goals, I understand their perspective.

He would also know that I’ve said countless times that some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet or work with identify as LGBT.

And he would know that I tell parents whose kids come out as gay to show those kids unconditional love, even while making clear that they will not compromise biblical standards and truths.

Somehow, however, this gentleman had a very different impression of me, and this is what fueled his fire.

John wrote, “In fact you exhibit violence. You make claims that the entire LGBT community is not only infected with diseases, but that the LGBT community is a disease itself. And that we’re wildly promiscuous.”

Again, wild exaggerations (although, on average, gays and bisexuals, especially males are more promiscuous than heterosexuals, but this certainly does not describe every gay man or woman).

And then this: “I live my life day to day dealing with people like you. Who would like to see my community exterminated. And removed from the earth. I have gone through beatings. Rapes. I have been drug behind vehicles. I have everything done to me that you can imagine.

“And all of those things you condone, and accept.”

This is why he called me a monster and a demon and a plague.

John actually thought that I condoned violence against gays (nothing could be further from the truth), and that I would commend those who beat up a gay man or dragged him from a vehicle.

Ultimately, we had to block him from our Facebook page because he violated our guidelines (using profanity and wishing for violence against others), with posts to others like these: “A man who supports the Kill the Gays movement however, like Dr. Brown, has no morals.”

And, “I can’t wait for you to feel the physical hate that the gay community has felt. I think it’s high time Christians started getting beat for who they are. Drug behind trucks. Tied to fences and left for dead. They deserve it. Filthy bigots.”

And, “You are just the same as Hitler. He said the same thing about Jews as you say about the lgbt community.”

And, “I can’t wait for the Christian persecution to start. They deserve it.”

When someone asked, “John, why are you so hate filled. Can you name something that a true Christian has done to you?”, he replied, “My father, a Christian pastor beat me almost to death and dumped me in the middle of the desert. Claiming god told him to do it. He spent the rest of his life in prison.

“He was a Christian. So now it’s the Christians turn. I hope they all feel as much pain as they dish out.

“His church even tried to get him out of it. Claiming ‘religious freedom.’ (expletive) that. (expletive) him. (expletive) Christianity. And (expletive) your God.”

Tragically, that says it all: Behind the seething hatred and anger, behind the false accusations and lies, is a massive open wound. The pain is raging through his words.

Of course, I have no way to verify his story, but even if it is embellished, it is representative: Many who identify as LGBT and spew venom against Christians, against God, and against the Bible have been wounded by professing Christians – by their words, their attitudes, and their actions.

And while people like John are responsible for their ultimate decisions, we do well to remember that behind the anger there is often pain, and if we respond to the anger and ignore the pain, we will not be able to help them find wholeness in the Lord.

Since early 2005, I have sought to live by the dictum of “Reach out and resist,” meaning, reach out to LGBT’s with compassion; resist the LGBT agenda with courage.

And as much as I am hated and vilified by many LGBT leaders, branded one of the nation’s most vicious homophobes (among a multitude of other epithets, many too rancid to repeat), my heart continues to go out to them, longing for their repentance, longing for them to encounter the Father’s love, and longing to see them come into the fullness of God’s plan for their lives.

May the love of God touch John, and may he come to know the Father he now reviles.

Why not offer up a prayer on his behalf?

Presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) spoke with reporters from TIME magazine just before his victory Tuesday in the Wisconsin Primary.

The topic of the interview was his ability to unite the various factions of the Republican Party. In it, he shared what he believes is the way his campaign can win both the GOP nomination and the general election in November.

“This race is very simple,” he said. “If we unite, we win. If we do not, we lose.

“I believe the path to winning the Republican nomination and winning the general election is standing up for hardworking men and women of America who have been left behind by Washington.”

In an excerpt from that article, the Cruz campaign’s effort to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat is explained:

His aides are confident that around 200 Trump delegates will swing to Cruz after the first ballot.

In Virginia, where Cruz finished a distant third, the campaign is hustling to install supporters in the state’s 13 at-large delegate slots. In Louisiana, Cruz is set to pick up as many as 10 more delegates than Trump, despite losing the Bayou State primary by four points.

In a show of organizational muscle, 18 of 25 delegates elected at the North Dakota state convention backed Cruz. In Georgia, where Cruz finished a distant third, his allies have dominated preference polls of the party activists showing up at precinct and county meetings.

“We’re going to make sure we get dealt four aces,” says a member of Cruz’ delegate operation. “You don’t just want Cruz supporters. You want fighters. At the national convention, there will be more browbeating and arm twisting than you can imagine.”

One of the reporters who interviewed Cruz, Michael Scherer, has in turn been interviewed by MSNBC’s Morning Joe program about the strength of the Texas senator’s national organization.

“There is little mystery about who has the best operation for wrangling, recruiting and securing delegates From Tennessee to Colorado, Cruz’s delegate-hunting operation has dominated,” he said. “When he says, ‘I am the principled conservative,’ that is true, he is the principled conservative. There’s no wavering there.”

Real faith isn’t blind—that’s both the mission statement of the God’s Not Dead movement and Rice Broocks’  testimony. Broocks became a Christian in his third year of college.

But Broocks’ brother, Ben, an atheist and a third-year law student at the time, was not thrilled to hear about the conversion. Ben started studying the Bible, looking for contradictions and holes he could point out to Rice. But the weekend Ben went home to talk his younger brother out of his faith became the same weekend Ben accepted Christ and was baptized.

Ever since that time, Broocks has been an ardent supporter of apologetics training. He describes getting the evidence for God into the hands of everyday believers as his “heartbeat.” And he’s especially disturbed by the notion among some Christians that faith should be blind.

Broocks’ newest book, Man, Myth, Messiah, grapples with common arguments that get raised about the existence, death and resurrection of Christ. Here are a few common myths the book debunks:

Jesus never really existed. Almost every serious historian agrees that Jesus was a real person who lived 2,000 years ago.  Those who assert Jesus was not a real man are flaunting an ignorance of history.

The Gospels aren’t reliable. Shortly after Jesus’ death, early church fathers were already accepting the Gospel accounts as, well, gospel. The nuances or “inconsistencies” mirror actual inconsistencies seen in many court cases, furthering the conclusion that the four Gospels are four honest eyewitness testimonies of Jesus.

Jesus’ story is just stolen from other, older myths.  Scholars point out that just because two accounts have parallels does not mean that one account writer copied the other. Correlation does not equal causation.

Jesus never claimed He was God. Jesus’ behavior and sayings certainly suggested He was God in a way that would have been explicit to His Jewish audience. He offered forgiveness rather than saying God would forgive someone (Mark 2:1-12). He called himself “I Am” (John 8:56-59), the title God gave Himself in talking to Moses. And the introduction to the Gospel of John says that Jesus was God (John 1:1-3, 14-18). {eoa}

There’s much talk for the need of revival throughout the world, in our nation and in the body of Christ. And this is certainly true, but I’m not sure if God’s people understand how to make this happen.

We can fill large auditoriums with God’s people, have the most popular preachers and Christian singers, get people to sing and dance throughout the night and still not have revival. We can travel the world and revisit where amazing moves of the Holy Spirit took place and still not enter into true revival.

Why? Because revival is a matter of the individual’s spiritual heart. It involves self-judgment and repentance. Spiritual revival resurrects the dead and gives oxygen so that the spirit can breathe again.

True revival is not staged, and it doesn’t come cheap. It doesn’t transfer from one person to another, you have to go after it for yourself.

You must look at yourself with your spiritual eyes wide open, and recognize your utter desperation for the Spirit of the Living God. Become the deer that David describes in Psalm 42 that is so thirsty it pants in desperation for the water. This is how we are to desire our Lord, Jesus Christ.

“As the deer pants after the water brooks, so my soul pants after You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When will I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, while they always say to me, ‘Where is your God?'” (Ps. 42: 1-3).

If you are thirsty for God, I encourage you to fast 40 days, Daniel style. Not only will you cleanse your body by eating fruits and vegetables, but spiritually you will cleanse your spirit by the washing of His Word, and learn to enter into fellowship with Him, pray daily for the healing of our nation and break through to the realm of the miraculous for yourself and your loved ones.

Make sure to have on hand a supply of fruits and vegetables you enjoy. You can juice these, make them into smoothies, or eat them whole, cooked or raw, organic or non-organic, however you prefer. Drink lots of water, caffeine-free tea and natural fruit juices. Make sure to eliminate added sugars, and do not use salt.

Have your Bible on hand, and a journal. A notebook is just fine for journaling.

What should you read? Let me recommend a chapter from Proverbs a day. If the date is the 6th of the month, then you read Proverbs 6. If it is the 18th of the month then you read Proverbs 18. And so on and so forth. I would also recommend you read through the book of Acts, one chapter a day, and when you finish with that, go to the book of Revelation. Make this time personal and examine your heart according to the Word of God that you read that day.

Journal what the Lord shows you during this time. And go back over your notes often.

Pray in the Spirit morning, noon and night. And write down your prayer requests in your journal. Make sure to include answered prayers in your journal as well.

If you will put your all into this time of prayer and fasting, you will enter into the place of true revival.

Becky Dvorak is a prophetic healing evangelist and the Destiny Image author of DARE to Believe and Greater Than Magic. Visit her at authorbeckydvorak.com.

It’s one thing to light a fire. It’s quite another to keep the fire burning.

It seems to me, one of the key responsibilities of any leader is to light fires and keep them lit. While it seems better to hire people who are already on fire, the probability is that everyone on the team will need their fire stoked by a leader.

There are too many fire extinguishers in most workplaces. I saw a fire marshal last week as he was checking a fire extinguisher supply in a building. I thought he was checking in all the wrong places.

Every organization seems to have an ample supply of naysayers and fire quenchers. Negative people have powerful vision to see why anything and everything will not work. They walk in the flesh and see what vultures see while hovering overhead.

Paul told Timothy to “reject profane and old wives fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness” (1 Tim. 4:7, NKJV).

My interpretation of this powerful instruction is to reject fire stompers.

Leaders carry matches and sometimes torches. They light fires even where no embers are smoking. Fire starters speak just the right words and kindle even the coldest camp. We know that fire maintenance is a spiritual battle.

Our model leader demonstrated the importance of spiritual fire. “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Matt. 3:11).

Leaders are fire spreaders.

P.S. Do you subscribe to Ministry Today? Will you please consider doing it? 

With the link below you will receive my special publisher’s offer. Our baseline subscription is $24.97. My offer to you is a one-year subscription (6 issues) for $10.00.

I’d like to know what you think of Ministry Today and would love to hear from you.

Please click here today for the Dr. Greene special.

Today’s Scripture

“I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!” (Luke 12:49).

Platform Tip No. 93

Become your message before launching your platform.

Dave Ramsey developed his financial freedom systems long before he built a platform. John Maxwell was a well-established leader many years prior to using his big voice to spread his message of effective leadership.

What is your message? How are you developing depth within your message?

Message before platform.

Do you want to learn more about developing your personal platform?

Send for my free series of lessons titled, “The Fundamentals of Creating, Curating and Developing Content for Multiple Platforms.” Send your request to: [email protected].

This is an exclusive offer to Ministry Today and “Greenelines” readers. 

We will not share your email address with anyone. 

{eoa}

Executives of several major U.S. corporations urged Mississippi on Wednesday to repeal a new state law that allows businesses to deny wedding services to same-sex couples on religious grounds.

The measure, which also permits employers to cite principles of faith in setting workplace policies on dress code, grooming and bathroom access, was signed into law on Tuesday by Republican Governor Phil Bryant.

Bryant hailed the statute, the latest in a series of state laws opposed by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) activists, as designed to “protect sincerely held religious beliefs and moral convictions … from discriminatory action by state government.”

But top executives from General Electric Co, PepsiCo Inc, Dow Chemical Co and five other major U.S. corporations, in an open letter, condemned the law as discriminatory. The letter was addressed to Bryant and the speaker of the Republican-controlled Mississippi House of Representatives.

“The business community, by and large, has consistently communicated to lawmakers at every level that such laws are bad for our employees and bad for business,” the executives said.

Those measures, they said, make it more difficult to recruit and retain the best workers, and “diminish the state’s draw as a destination for tourism, new businesses and economic cavity.”

The call for repeal, circulated by gay rights advocacy group the Human Rights Campaign, was also backed by Levis Strauss & Co, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Whole Foods Market, Hyatt Hotels Corp and Choice Hotels International Inc.

A similar letter was sent on Wednesday to state leaders in Tennessee opposing legislation there to bar transgender people from choosing bathrooms and locker rooms consistent with their gender identity. North Carolina’s own recently imposed bathroom gender restrictions have also prompted corporate objections.

The governors of Georgia and Virginia also vetoed “religious liberty” bills last week.

Even before its enactment, the Mississippi measure drew fire from several large employers in the state, including Nissan North America and MGM Resorts International.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo responded to its enactment by banning all non-essential state travel to Mississippi, and civil liberties advocates said they were considering a court challenge.

Still, nearly two-thirds of Mississippi voters supported the law, according to a poll highlighted on Tuesday by the Christian-based Family Research Council.

The wave of such measures, pushed by social conservatives, came after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. {eoa}

© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.