It didn’t take me long to come to a conclusion that the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Task Force is a cleverly laid trap to get what the Mayor wants.  Furthermore, what’s more ingenious is that they may get the luxury of saying that the Churches of Springfield participated in the process and supported the recommendations, whether they actually do is not important.

The first problem is that the Mayor guaranteed the desired outcome by stacking the deck with favorable appointments to the Task Force.  The second problem is that we are talking compromise as if there is something to compromise. The catch is if we don’t go along with the recommendations, the LGBT group can say they turned down every offer that was on the table.  The only offer that seemed to have some potential was to table the ordinance-pending further development at the state and federal level.   However, the problem with that is, it doesn’t matter what they do at the state or federal level if it’s immoral.

The most hideous scheme of all is that the city government has successfully put the Church in a defensive posture.  We have bought into the phony notion that we are at war with the gay community, when we are in fact at war with a political regime who has figured out a way to manipulate both the LGBT and Church communities.  THAT’S THE TRAP!   We have been stigmatized as hating gays and have responded with fear of the perception.  What does that say about us?  Guess what Church; you will be stigmatized no matter what approach you take.  I say hold the righteous ground and pray that God would give us love and wisdom on how to evangelize the gay community.

There is nothing to compromise and there is nothing to apologize for.  If any part of this ordinance passes we give the unelected Mayoral Commission on Human Rights police powers.  Through their ability to collect data and anonymous complaints, they could and will make recommendations to revoke the license of those they deem unfit to do business in Springfield.  We can’t hire them and we can’t fire them.  I promise you the data will support the agenda.

Pastors if you compromise for the Church to be exempt from this ordinance, the business owners and landlords in your congregation will be thrown under the bus.  They need your protection.  No righteous man will be safe.  The unintended consequence is suppression; the very thing we are trying to avoid.

If we buy into this, it is checkmate.  Let it not be said that the gates of hell have prevailed against the Church in Springfield, MO.

If I was a platoon leader on patrol and I walked into the meeting that was held last night, I would have yelled, “TAKE COVER”.

Before the Church sit down with the opposition, we should sit down with each other, and every voice big and small should be heard.

This ordinance must be defeated!

On November 1, 2012, while you were taking your kids to after school activities and enjoying friends, a seminar was being held at Drury University called, “Straight for Equality.”  The keynote speaker was Dr. Teresa J. Hornsby, a professor of Religion at Drury University.  She also acknowledges that she is a lesbian.  The title of her message was, “Who Locked the Door?  Paul and the Keys to the Kingdom.”  Dr. Hornsby is the author of Sex Texts from the Bible and co-author of Bible Trouble.

Prior to the meeting, I couldn’t help but notice that Mayor Stevens and Councilwoman Jan Fisk were in attendance.  The thing that really caught my attention was that Mayor Stevens appeared to know most of the organizers and seemed to be on friendly terms with them.

By the end of the meeting it was clear that they were planning their preemptive attack on the churches of Springfield.  Their next strike would be in the “Name of Jesus.”  Their strategy is to take the spiritual high ground in the view of the public.  So far everything is working according to plan.

This should explain the ambush on Pastor John Lindell of James River Assembly.   After being asked to address the “Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Task Force” he was promptly chastised in the Springfield News Leader by twenty three so called pastors and spiritual leaders for being hateful.  This was intended to intimidate and silence the Christian voice.  Please excuse my lack of decorum, but these were twenty three false witnesses.  There was not a trace of hate in pastor Lindell’s speech.  Jesus and His true followers would never take their position.

This meeting had three breakout sessions.  Panel 1- Faith Issues moderated by Brock Warren, who holds a Master of Divinity in Ministerial Studies at Vanderbilt University.  The panel consisted of Peter Browning, Becca Doss and Kathy Munzinger, a member of Brentwood Christian Church and president of the Springfield chapter of PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays).

Panel 2 – Healthcare issues, moderated by Dr. Jaimee Givens.  The panel consisted of Dr. Stephen Adams and Joshua Castillo.  Mr. or Miss Castillo is a transgender as of 2007.

Panel 3 – Workplace issues, moderated by Springfield Councilwoman Jan Fisk.  The panel consisted of A.J. Brockelman, Executive Director of PROMO (Missouri’s statewide LBGT advocacy organization); Cheymeika Ashmore; Audra Franklin and Felecia Morgan.

Church, is this check or checkmate?  Your move?

The next Task Force meeting is Monday, July 15^th at 4:30.  330 W. Scott St.  Be there!

 Dear Ambassadors of the Kingdom,

This week my heart is burdened down with the onslaught of evil that has come down through legislation and court rulings.  What’s equally burdensome is to watch this onslaught happen in Springfield, MO.  The Mayor and his council are ready to legislatively strike a deathblow to the Church of Springfield and I haven’t heard a peep from the Church.  Once this “Sexual orientation and gender identity” ordinance passes, we can say with certainty that the Church in Springfield is effectively dead.  If the Church doesn’t stand up then who will?  As I watch this great nation disintegrate, I can’t escape the fact that it’s because the Church has busied herself with programs, projects and things that don’t matter one bit as it relates to the battles that God and Satan are currently locked in.  Alex de Tocqueville concluded that America was great because of her Churches.  There is no question that it was the influence of the Church that’s at the source of the greatness of Western Civilization and America.  Therefore, make no mistake that if America becomes rotten, it will be due to the fact that her Churches have lost their way.  There is a saying that says, “As the Church goes, so goes the culture.”  If we can tolerate institutional sin through legislation, we will eventually have to tolerate it in our Churches.

For over seven years the Mayor and his ilk have been planning to imprison the Church within its four walls.  Therefore, make no mistake about it; this will happen if the pastors of Springfield refuse to lead their congregations in regards to the issues of the day; as if God doesn’t have an opinion.

In the Community Free Press in the August 7-21 publication, “A. J. Brockelman, executive director of PROMO, said he sees a strong fight within the Republican Party in Jefferson City on many moderate issues, including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LBGT) issues. “ This is a battleground” (speaking of Springfield, MO),” he said, “Many Continue reading →

Consider This:

The most crucial election in my lifetime and perhaps in the history of our nation is on Tuesday, November 6, just 9 days away. It is very necessary for every Christian to vote in this election, and to vote for Biblical values.  Progressive liberalism has ruled in this nation almost without challenge or opposition for the past four years. Progressive liberalism claims to promote a utopian society, heaven on earth. Their utopia has a large, powerful central government that takes from the rich and gives to the poor. The liberal government trains citizens to look to it for every need. With government asking care of everyone, there is no need for God. Government takes the place of God. In fact, progressives hold that belief in one God is foolish and unfair. They believe there are many gods and many ways to worship these gods. It is often difficult for Christians to recognize the apostasy of liberalism, socialism, communism and the other such ideologies. But, with God’s help, I and other Christian conservatives are trying to lead our people to seek the truth and support political candidates who stand for truth, righteousness and morality. Democrats and the liberal media say that Todd Akin (candidate for U.S. Senator from Missouri) and Richard Mourdock (candidate for U.S. Senator from Indiana) are out of touch and too conservative because they hold the Biblical pro-life and pro-family standards and constitutional principles. I pray that Christians respond to those ads by voting for the most conservative candidates on the ballot. Too many people who claim to be conservative Christians fail to vote that way. That failure, election after election, has brought us to where we are today with pathological liars and narcissists in the highest offices of government. We elected a president who told us he would fundamentally change this nation, and he has come very close

to doing just that. So, please take a stand for God and take time to get to the polls to vote on Tuesday, November 6. We have provided sample ballots and voter guides to help you vote responsibly and with good information. Please check out the material on the table at the back of the sanctuary and on the counter in the basement fellowship room. We have a clear choice in this election. Let’s choose right.

Pastor, Paul Coltharp

Broadway Bible Church, Springfield, MO

A good friend of mind said that,” If we can get past the brethren we can engage the enemy”.  If Todd Akin shot himself in the foot with his recent comments on the abortion issue, then it’s fair to say that the GOP, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Sara Palin, John Ashcroft, Mr. Blunt and a host of others shot him in the head.  None of the people represented the voters of Missouri; they represented liberal media and the GOP establishment.  What Todd said, in reality didn’t amount to a hill of beans, but the media made it a mountain, and the leaders on our side joined them. Continue reading →

On September 15 CUPA (Christians Uniting for Political Action) will be hosting our 3rd annual Pastors and Politics conference. Our theme will center on the “Prayer of Repentance”. We believe that the first step on the road to recovery is for the Church to repent for withdrwing from the political arena, which we have termed  political apostasy. If you are convicted as I am, be prepared to sign this document and attend the conference for a public and formal signing.  Email us at info@cupasalt.org (Read below)

Prayer of Repentance

Lord God, You commissioned the Church to represent Your kingdom on the earth, and we have abandoned our responsibility. We have failed to hold high the scepter of Your righteousness in the midst of a godless culture. We have remained silent while evil presided and prevailed over our institutions and permeated our laws. We confess that our silence in the past empowered the forces of evil, enabling them to grasp the reins of control over laws and institutions. Still today, we witness a gross darkness sweeping over the land. Yet, we remain silent. Our only weapon against this menace is the sword of Your Truth. But, because we have not proclaimed it, we have no defense against the evil.

FORGIVE US FOR FAILING OUR COMMUNITIES

We have forsaken our responsibility as gate keepers and watchmen on the wall. • We have not addressed our leaders, from our local governments to Washington D.C., with Your Laws and Precepts. • Our nation is being plundered from within and the hearts of our children are being turned against all that is good. • We have been silent regarding the exploitation of the poor through crippling welfare policies. • We have remained silent when our government has used unjust weights and measures resulting in the theft from all who labor and own property.

FORGIVE US FOR FAILING OUR CONGREGATIONS

We have allowed those whom You have placed in our care to go unchallenged when they support policies and people who oppose Your Laws and Precepts. • We have held our tongues in the pulpit in exchange for peace within our congregations. • We have censored Your people by submitting to our fear of man. • We have not encouraged the saints to engage in servant leadership within our communities.

FORGIVE US FOR FAILING OUR CHILDREN

We have sacrificed our children on the altar of secular humanism by allowing our educational institutions to be transformed into secular establishments. • We have cut off the next generation from our historical and spiritual roots. • We have permitted our children to sit under an onslaught of sexual immorality disguised as education. • We have excused our schools from teaching our children the U.S. Constitution, our nation’s history, and our Christian heritage. • We have allowed our children to be conditioned to accept multiculturalism, fraudulent environmentalism, secular humanism, situational ethics, and homosexuality in place of the absolute Truth of Your Word.

Therefore Lord God …

FORGIVE US FOR FAILING YOU!

AS A DECLARATION OF OUR REPENTANCE, WE PLEDGE TO:

• Fall on our knees before You, asking forgiveness and pleading for courage and strength to repent of our sins.
• Take responsibility to make clear and charge our congregations to uphold the Biblical position on public policy.
• Stand visibly in support of those who oppose evil and tyranny in our communities. • Protect our children from destruction of their souls through ungodly indoctrination of their minds.
• Engage in the battle to restore the name of Jesus Christ to its rightful place in our culture – as the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Lord God, with our signatures placed hereon below, we claim Your Power and Might and by the authority given to us by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we commit our minds, hearts and resources to the furtherance of Your Kingdom, in this and to future generations.

American Minute with Bill Federer

Feb. 4 –
Dietrich Bonhoeffer and His Challenge

British Journalist Malcolm Muggeridge explained how Hitler’s universal healthcare plan eventually led to the Holocaust:

“We have been accorded, for those that have eyes to see, an object lesson in what the quest for ‘quality of life’ without reference to ‘sanctity of life’ can involve…The origins of the Holocaust lay, not in Nazi terrorism…but in pre-Nazi Weimar Germany’s acceptance of euthanasia and mercy-killing as humane and estimable.” Continue reading →

“In Germany, the Nazis first came for the communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, but I didn’t speak up because I was a protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak for me.” This is the appeal given by Martin Niemoller, Pastor of a Confessing Church in Berlin Germany who was sentenced to the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp by Hitler himself. Continue reading →

Ann Coulter has written a book called Demonic in which I am taking some liberties to quote and comment on.

Have you noticed that there are a growing number of mobs showing up at banks, hospitals, homes of CEO’s, private parties, polling places, malls and public beaches for the sole purpose of wreaking havoc?

This is the same mob that brought down Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, the UAE and others. This is the same mob that several Democratic politicians, members of liberal news organizations who are championing the call to rise up here in America and riot like Egyptians. The communist and socialist such as Van Jones are joining the chorus basically saying the same thing. For those who don’t know who Van Jones is, he is a member of the Communist Party USA, who was appointed to a czar position in the White House, but stepped down when unmasked. Continue reading →