Ask not what your country can do for you…

If you were alive in the 20th Century, chances are you can complete that sentence.

Indeed, key themes from President John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address still ring in the ears—and hearts and minds—of many Americans 50 years after he said them.

So says a new Knights of Columbus-Marist poll. The survey reveals that Americans overwhelmingly believe that key themes from Kennedy’s inaugural speech are still important in America today.

The survey focused on several memorable passages dealing with the importance of freedom, of service to the country, and of the role of God in our national life.

Ninety five percent believe “We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty” is still an important theme. That same percentage also cites “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country” as an important theme.

Meanwhile, 86 percent point to “Here on earth God’s work must truly be our own” as important for American today and 85 percent note “The rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God” as important. What’s more, about three-quarters of Americans see the first two quotes as “very important,” while about six in 10 say the same for the latter two quotes.

“Fifty years after President John F. Kennedy stirred a nation with these important words, Americans continue to recognize the importance of what he said, of his definition of what it means to be an American,” says Carl Anderson, Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus. “President Kennedy reminded us then that we must be at the service of God and country and that message—as Americans clearly understand—is still very important to our nation today.”

During early evening on Dec. 30, an elderly Christian couple—Fawzi Rahim, 76, and his wife Janet Mekha, 78—answered their doorbell at their Baghdad, Iraq, home. When they opened the door, a bomb placed on their steps exploded. Both were instantly killed.

Rahim’s brother, Falah al-Tabbakh, told the Associated Press: “When I went there, I found both of them cut to pieces near the gate of their house.”

During that night at least seven other Christian homes in Baghdad were targeted, resulting in at least 13 people being wounded. The carnage came a week after al-Qaeda-linked militants renewed their threats to attack Iraq’s Christians.

The violence against Christians in Iraq has rapidly escalated in the past year, including a bomb attack on three buses carrying Christian students in May and the Oct. 31 siege at Our Lady of Salvation Cathedral in Baghdad in which 58 were killed. Then, a Christian doctor was shot and seriously wounded at a medical clinic in Mosul last Saturday.

As a result of the increase in violence against Christians, Iraq moved from No. 17 to No. 8 on this year’s Open Doors World Watch List of the worst persecutors of Christians.

The number of Christians in Iraq has decreased from an estimated 850,000 in 1991 to 330,000 today. Thousands have fled Iraq and now reside as impoverished refugees in Syria and Jordan. Of the Christians that remain in Iraq, more than half are internally displaced due to violence and constant threats against them by Islamic extremists.

As Open Doors sees it, the Iraqi government has not made protection of Christians a priority.

“The U.S. government needs to strongly encourage and work with the Iraqi government to protect Christians and other religious minorities before they are all driven out of Iraq,” says Open Doors USA President and CEO Dr. Carl Moeller. “History continues to demonstrate that where religious freedom flourishes, stable democracies, strong economies and healthy societies develop. Considering the immense financial commitment the United States has made in Iraq and the tragic loss of American and Iraqi lives, it is imperative that we hold both the United States and Iraqi governments accountable to ensure religious freedom for all people in Iraq.”

Open Doors USA is not only urging your prayers for embattled believers in Iraq, but it is also asking people to sign a petition to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The petition is asking her to work with the Iraqi government to immediately form and implement a comprehensive plan of action to protect the vulnerable community of Christians in Iraq.

To sign the petition, go to

Although traditional marriage is under attack in California, there is still plenty of room for the faith community to offer a helping hand to engaged and married couples looking for answers. So says a report from the California Healthy Marriages Coalition (CHMC).

The report reveals that a majority of church-goers—whether frequently, regular, occasional or rare—believe that religious organizations should offer pre-marital counseling, marriage enrichment programs, and help to couples with marriage problems.

But the good news was followed by bad news.

The report also discovered that 32 percent of “regular” church-goers agree that “marriage is too risky” due to the high chances of divorce, and 20 percent of married “frequent” church-goes have “discussed the idea of divorce” with their spouse.

“This report makes it real clear. People need help in their marriages and families, want help with their relationships, and they are looking to churches and houses of worship to provide that help,” says K. Jason Krafsky, CHMC Director of Communications and Marketing.

The Pews and Public Squares report provides findings on topics such as “Faith Habits of Couples,” “Does Attending Religious Services Affect How People Rate Their Own Marriage?” and “Do the Church and Unchurched Find Common Ground on Marriage?” The study provides information that CHMC believes will help faith leaders speak more accurately to the topic of marriage and divorce, develop strategic plans for relationship related programming, and expand their expertise in serving their community’s families.

Do you seek help from your pastor for marital trouble? Or do you turn to friends? Or go it alone?

Chalk one up for the Kingdom of Light. Former Porn Star Shelley Lubben is creating waves in the pornography industry with her new book “The Truth Behind the Fantasy of Porn.”

Now, Cambridge University has invited the born-again Lubben to debate pornography on its United Kingdom campus. Lubben starred in about 30 adult movies between 1993-94. During that time, she caught herpes and HPV before quietly leaving and entering recovery.

That’s where Lubben found Jesus Christ—and she’s not being quiet about harmful impacts of the porn industry anymore. Lubben now serves as executive director of the Pink Cross Foundation, working to save men and women that are trapped in porn.

“Porn is not glamorous,” Lubben argues. “It destroys lives and is an industry of human trafficking and rampant sexually transmitted diseases that is destroying our nations and families of the world.”

In an X-rated debate at Cambridge University’s historic Bridge Street debating hall, Lubben will face off against stripper and porn actor Johnny Anglais and Anna Arrowsmith, the UK’s first female adult movie actor who once ran as a Liberal Democrat MP candidate. The topic of the debate, which both Anglais and Arrowsmith support, is: “This house believes that pornography does a good public service.” Lubben will take the contrarian view in the name of Jesus.

Do you support Lubben for speaking out on the topic? Or should she avoid such public debates?

The sudden unannounced return of former Haitian President Jean-Claude Duvalier to Haiti puzzles everyone associated politically, socially and spiritually in that beleaguered nation. Haiti suffered a devastating earthquake one year ago, then a cholera epidemic, and then riots caused by election irregularities. This makes his return to Haiti suspect.

Duvalier who’s also known as “Baby Doc” was ousted from power in a popular uprising 25 years ago. He’s been living in exile in France since his ouster.

President of Christian World Outreach Dean Yoder says, “I just can’t imagine why he came back.”

Christian World Outreach has been working in Haiti for 30 years. Yoder was actually in Haiti during Duvalier’s ouster. He says Duvalier’s return has been met with mixed reaction. “There are two camps of people. One says ‘Oh great!’ and they’re in the streets saying, ‘Jean-Claud, Jean-Claud.’ There’s another camp that says, ‘He needs to be destroyed. They should arrest him and take him out.'”

According to Yoder, this makes the situation even more difficult. “This will only add to the stress and the uprising of the election. The total results are supposed to be released on January 20th.”

According to Human Rights Watch, Duvalier ruled Haiti from 1971 to 1986 after his father, Francois Duvalier known as “Papa Doc,” appointed him president for life. The Duvaliers are estimated to have ordered the deaths of 20,000 to 30,000 Haitian civilians.

Christian World Outreach works in Haiti with eight churches, feeding programs, leadership development, and feminine training sessions.
Reaching out to women in the tent cities is a desperate need, says Yoder. “In the tent cities there are young girls 13 to 19 years old. 50 percent of that age group are pregnant. We want to do something, so we took 25 ladies into our center.”

They taught them sewing, handicraft, and other vocational skills to help them make a living. Yoder says the program has worked incredibly well. “We had a graduation just last Friday of the first group of ladies. And they were so excited.”

Yoder adds, “11 of the 25 accepted Jesus already!”

Each girl in the program receives a godmother from various churches across Port-au-Prince. “She is to pray for this young lady, to meet with her, to encourage her and help her in any way she can.” That includes discipleship.

Pakistani police are threatening the father of an 18-year-old Christian man whom officers raped, killed and threw into a sewer last week, according to area Christians.

Christian residents of Akhter Colony, Karachi who pulled the body of Waqas Gill from the sewer on Jan. 11 protested an alleged police cover-up by placing the corpse in the middle of a street and chanting slogans against officers of Mehmoodabad police station. They said local officers kidnapped and sodomized Gill before shooting him dead on Jan. 9.

The victim’s father, Pervez Gill, told Compass that four policemen on Jan. 6 abducted his son without a warrant and without making any charges. He said higher level police officials took notice of their Jan. 11 protest and reluctantly filed charges against the four policemen, two of them identified as Muhammad Amir Butt and Muhammad Adeel Khatak of the Mehmoodabad police station in Jamshaid Town, Karachi. The First Information Report is No. 38/11 under the murder laws of Section 302 of Pakistan Penal Code.

“Police are now threatening us and other Christians of Akhter Colony that we have to retract the charges,” Gill said, nearly in tears. “Police registered a case against the culprits, but they have not filed it under the proper parts of the section, which weakens the case, and police have done everything possible to save their fellow policemen.”

Gill said this police bias was the reason the other two officers named were still at large, with no action taken against them.

Local Christian protestors said Muslim policemen unduly delayed an autopsy to protect fellow officers, on the assumption that Christians were socially and financially weak in the predominantly Sunni Islamic country. After the Jan. 11 protest, however, an autopsy was undertaken and showed that Gill was subjected to sexual assault, tortured, shot dead with police revolver bullets and thrown into a waste drainage line, they said.

Sources said at least six other area Christian youths had been similarly killed.

“I don’t expect any justice from the investigating officers of the same police station whose police constables kidnapped, sodomized and snatched the life of my son,” Gill said.
 
He said that police have threatened to kill them or charge them with false crimes if they do not withdraw the charges against the officers. Under Pakistan’s “blasphemy” laws, insulting Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, is punishable by death.
 
Officers at the Mehmoodabad police station and other stations refused repeated requests for comment on the case.
 
Christians make up only percent of the Pakistani population of 184.8 million, which is nearly 96 percent Muslim, according to Operation World.

Christian Legislator Tahir Naveed Chaudhary condemned the killing, stating that Sindh Province police have started to imitate Punjab Province police’s discrimination and delays in autopsies and filing of charges against those who attack Christians.
 
“Day by day, crimes against Christians are increasing, and rape or abuse of Christian women and girls has become a commonplace thing,” Chaudhary said. “Life of any of the Christians at any place in Pakistan is not safe.”

News headlines speak of a leadership crisis of worldwide proportions—but true leadership begins with the Church.

That’s why Dr. Mark Rutland, president of ORU, is hosting the National Institute of Christian Leadership in 2011 in partnership with Ministry21Network, founded by Ministry Today magazine publisher Steve Strang.

“A year of study in transformational leadership.” That’s how Rutland describes the National Institute of Christian Leadership. Rutland understands that turnarounds are some of the most difficult challenges to overcome. That’s because he’s spearheaded several major organizational turnarounds in his career.

Now, Rutland wants to share his wisdom and experience with church and marketplace leaders who attend the four three-day quarterly sessions the National Institute of Christian Leadership is offering this year. Rutland was inspired to partner with Strang because he was dissatisfied with leadership theories and impractical teaching. With the Institute, Rutland has set out to provide manageable, pragmatic lessons that help attendees lead organizations through directional turns.

“This is about very real things: organizational definition, how to maintain and find balance, building and directing and leading for quality, excellence in expression,” Rutland says. “I’m also going to go into teaching on preaching at a level of depth that very few people consider, even at the graduate and postgraduate level.”

The first session begins February 7-9, 2011. The following sessions are scheduled for March 28-30, September 12-14 and November 7-9. Two of the four sessions will be held at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Okla. and two sessions will be held at Charisma Media headquarters in Lake Mary, Fla. Each of the sessions allow time for attendees to personally interact with Rutland and apply what they learn. Each session in Tulsa will end with an optional day of joining Rutland for teaching on worship and preaching, and the Lake Mary sessions will end with an optional day of joining Strang and some of his staff for a seminar on writing and book publishing.

Emphasizing that there will be no teaching that is “impractical and theoretical,” Rutland guarantees each session to be an “in-depth study on subjects that are where you live.” The sessions will be held in an intimate environment that allows for discussion of the unique issues that leaders face every day. The entire curriculum is $4,000.

“Maybe you’ve inherited a situation that isn’t going well and you don’t where to turn. Maybe you’ve had great success but things have plateaued. Maybe you have a vision, but you can’t get your staff or board to align with it and you need someone with Rutland’s experience and expertise to show you the way,” Strang says. “Maybe you need to make directional turns or need to figure out how to turn up the gas to get more to happen. Dr. Rutland will codify what he teaches and make it practical.”

Oral Roberts University, as well as Kings University in Los Angeles and Southeastern University in Lakeland, are offering six credit hours towards a Bachelors, Masters, or Doctorate degree for attending all four sessions. Spouses of each attendee are encouraged to attend and earn the credit hours for free. All materials will be included with the $4,000 registration package, plus each attendee will also receive a one-year membership to Strang’s relational network of leaders, the Ministry21 Network.

Contact Ashley Wright at (407) 333-7107 or @ to register.

Charisma News Online this morning reported on Rev. Patrick Mahoney’s plans to hold a peaceful demonstration in front of the White House today. Mahoney went through with his plans and, as expected, was arrested in front of the White House Tuesday morning.

Mahoney was calling upon President Obama to “publicly, passionately and boldly speak out against the human and religious rights abuses by the Chinese government against their own people” when President Hu Jintao visits the White House on Wednesday.

Before he was arrested, Mahoney brought to the sidewalk in front of the White House a single chair, a picture of Nobel Prize Laureate Liu Xiaobo, and a picture of a Christian woman who was brutally beaten by the Chinese government.

As reported earlier, the empty chair represents all those who could never attend a State Dinner because they are being persecuted and in prison for their religious and political beliefs. The chair Mahoney brought also represents the empty chair from the Noble Peace prize ceremony in Oslo, Norway when Liu Xiaobo could not accept the award because the Chinese government had imprisoned him for speaking out for freedom and democratic reforms in China.

Charisma News Online will continue to report on this developing event as it unfolds.

As January 2011 winds down, the last of the 2010 reviews are rolling out. One area that has yet to be addressed is the family values front—until now.

The World Congress of Families News, an international family-values group, just published its list of “The 10 Best and Worst Developments for The Family in 2010.”

“Anyone can draw up a list of 10 best or worse trends. Ours is validated by the Congress’s experience and expertise,” says WCF Managing Director Larry Jacobs. “We’ve been dealing with family issues internationally for the past 14 years. Last year, World Congress of Families was directly involved in fighting same-sex marriage in Mexico City, legalization of marijuana in California and Kenya’s pro-abortion Constitution.”

Among the 10 best developments are the (1) U.S. electing a pro-family House of Representatives, (2) Russian President Dmitry Medvedev beginning discussion of his nation’s demographic crisis, (3) California voters rejecting marijuana legalization, (4) Canadians refusing to legalize euthanasia, and (5) Spain holding huge pro-life rallies challenging expansion of abortion.

Also on the top 10 list are (6) U.K. plans to block children’s access to Internet porn, (7) developing nations rejecting the European Union’s “sexual orientation” mandate, (8) Europe preserving the right of conscience for medical professionals with regards to abortion, (9) Hungary’s new government considering pro-life/pro-marriage constitution and (10) United Nations members rejecting special rapporteur’s recommendations on sexuality education.

But it wasn’t all good news on the family values front. The worst developments for the family included (1) an Ontario court trying to legalize prostitution in Canada, (2) Mexico City instituting same-sex marriage, (3) a new Kenyan Constitution that undermines right to life, (4) Ted Turner calling for worldwide one-child policy, and (5) Hollywood sexualizing teen girls.

Wrapping up the top 10 list of worst developments are (6) high levels of out-of-wedlock birth among less educated in the U.S., (7) the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, (8) Planned Parenthood saying abortion and contraception are economic stimulus, (9) growing anti-Christian bigotry in Europe, and (10) the EU trying for stealth recognition of same-sex marriage.

A single chair and pictures of Nobel Prize Laureate Liu Xiaboo with a Christian woman who was brutally beaten by the Chinese government.

Those are the elements of a peaceful protest that Rev. Patrick Mahoney, director of the Christian Defense Coalition, plans to launch this morning in front of the White House.

The demonstration, which Mahoney is planning in a “no demonstration” zone, comes a day before Chinese President Hu Jintao will visit the White House. Mahoney will kneel in prayer on the chair, knowing that his actions could land him in jail.

“We are calling upon President Obama to publicly, passionately and boldly speak out against the human and religious rights abuses by the Chinese government against their own people when President Hu Jintao visits the White House this week,” Mahoney says.

“Sadly, the Obama Administration has remained painfully silent when it comes to the China’s utter disregard for human rights and religious freedom. He has refused to speak out against their policy of forced abortion and gendercide against Chinese women.”

Mahoney says the empty chair represents all those who could never attend a State Dinner because they are being persecuted and in prison for their religious and political beliefs. The demonstration also represents the empty chair from the Noble Peace prize ceremony in Oslo, Norway when Xiaobo could not accept the award because the Chinese government had imprisoned him for speaking out for freedom and democratic reforms in China.

Brandi Swindell, founder of Stanton Healthcare and Generation Life and a participant in the demonstrations at the Beijing Olympics, says it is critical that Obama take this historic opportunity to speak out in support of human rights and justice in China during the visit of Hu.

“When I traveled to China, I determined to be a voice for those who had no voice for themselves and to be a public witness against the oppression and brutality of the Chinese government against their own people,” Swindell says.
 
“As a woman, I am especially concerned with China’s policy of forced abortion and gendercide. Sadly, the women of China are treated as second class citizens with no say in their personal and private family decisions. Sadly, this gender discrimination opens up young girls to human and sex trafficking. Also, young newborn girls are routinely thrown on the side of the road and left to die because rural Chinese families prefer males.”

Mahoney has a 25-year record of leading protests and speaking out against the human rights abuses of the Chinese government and was part of a delegation that led demonstrations in Tiananmen Square during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
Mahoney and the delegation were arrested, dragged out of Tiananmen Square twice and finally deported and thrown out of China.