Dear Friend,
I was asked this question during a recent interview:
Why bother reaching out to our elected officials when they constantly dismiss the large number of citizens showing up to public hearings, ignore scores of emails and phone calls, and disregard sound legal analysis?
This is a very fair question to which I would first respond by pointing out, that we don’t really have a choice–not if we are obedient to our call to advocate for God in every nook and cranny of creation. The mantle of telling the truth is not taken off our shoulders because someone might ignore us or disagree with us.
I am also sympathetic with the question, “What difference does it make?” As far as favorable votes, our advocacy made a little difference–very little persuasion can be claimed. That’s why we must continue to occupy the space of advocacy but at the same time invest in campaigns with the potential for change.
I would especially provoke pastors to consider this challenge: if it was a noble and scriptural enterprise to instruct / encourage your flock to show up to Augusta to advocate for God‘s truth regarding life, the Biblical sexual ethic, and parental rights, then why not encourage your flock to invest in candidates (even imperfect ones) who will be allies and not opponents of these truths?
Here is my takeaway from this session: we need to get good candidates elected. I am more convinced than ever that the investment in our Community Impact Team [CIT] program is the best opportunity we have to engage the Church in Biblical citizenship. If you haven’t seen our video explaining CIT, click here.
Not all the news was bad coming out of our capital. I want to thank Pastor Jim Pryztulski for his regular presence in the halls of the capital representing our Church Ambassador Network. Jim and several pastors (especially Kennebec County) had some very meaningful visits with our leaders. Pray for us as we consider organizing forums with government officials (i.e., Dept. of Corrections and HHS) along with potential home district visits with pastors and legislators.
I’m very thankful we saw several attempts to massively expand gambling in our state thwarted. It is no mean task to stand up against well-funded, influential gaming interest, but that’s exactly what we did. I want to express my gratitude to those who allied with us in these victories.
There are two events I hope you mark on your calendar:
***May 26–Sean Feucht’s Kingdom to the Capital prayer and worship event will take place at 4 PM at Capital Park. Go to seanfeucht.com/events
***July 29,30 Why Now the Church? pastors conference featuring Dr. Erwin Lutzer, Dr. Frank Turek, Abdul Murray, and myself. These events will be held in Bangor and Portland. Go to whynowthechurch.me
I’m excited to announce we have a $20,000 matching grant to help us reach our goal of $40,000 for the Beacon Campaign. We need just $4,000 more to get this generous grant. Please include a donation to the Beacon Campaign and help us cover our lobby expenses for this legislative session.
;
