National Leadership of My Church Using Christianity and Scripture to Promote Secularist Anti-Christian Agenda

 The Leftist/Statist anti-Christian national leadership of my church, First Christian Church, are again (if not continually) taking a political position denying the truth and siding with Leftist racists while hiding behind their alleged Christian values.

They have continually been repeating the lie out of Ferguson that a cop shot down an unarmed black man, and that is only symbolic of cops just going around shooting unarmed black men. Truth is, black men are going around shooting down black men. Now our political leaders in church leadership positions, are using church money and Leftist support from within the church, are supporting the “Black Lives Matter” movement that grew out of the Ferguson lie.  

These “Christian” leaders, putting politics above faith, by supporting ‘black lives matter’ are supporting calling police “pigs” (vid), supporting the “New Black Panthers” and racist Louis Farrakhan, advocating for the assassination of police officers, and calling for all Blacks to rise up and kill whitey. Really First Christian Church members? I know there are a lot of Statists/Leftists/Stalinist in the church, I’ve met them, but siding with advocates of murder and genocide?

Today I skipped church for personal reasons, but next week I’m skipping for political reasons. The Leftists running our church have announced it’ll be called “End Racism Sunday”. Seriously. It’s allegedly in response to the SC shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church by a nut job. They even have “worship materials” prepared. There’s a “Ministry of Reconciliation” that runs year round and every year have donation envelopes sent to churches. There isn’t institutional racism unless it coming from Leftists like the Democrat Party and their supporters in the national leadership of our church.

The victims and families of the AME have moved on, voiced that others do the same. Leftists want to keep it going to perpetuate the lie. Gotta keep whitey guilty I guess.

I have written about the leftist political support of this leadership of this church here and here.

Sharon Watkins is our General Minister and President. She’s an excellent politician, speaking out of both sides of her mouth. Saying on the one hand our ministers will have the choice of performing same sex marriages or not, we should be aware of the Bible saying love everyone, and homosexual marriages are monogamous, and have loving families, and are stable. Sounds obliquely supportive and PC. Scripture is quite clear. Homosexuality is not a good thing, and one should not indulge in it. Stats show too that guys that are hooked up are still usually promiscuous.

She had a prayer July 27^th, “Rejoicing in Christian love with Disciples couples and families whose lives are more secure today after the Supreme Court decision on marriage equality under the law - And praying over the deep distress of Disciples who disagree." She’s rejoicing for homosexual marriages because of the ruling of five unelected lawyers redefining marriage. She’s not rejoicing, but praying, that those with a traditional and scriptural view of marriage can deal with it. Seriously? This is a Christian leader?

She completely in her blog, took the Leftist, and lying view, of what happened in Baltimore, with Freddie Gray. Lies and nonsense.

A later blog, “In the six months following the killing of Michael Brown, an unarmed African American teenager, by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri"…no he wasn’t. He was a robber, thug and bully that attacked a police officer, tried to get his gun and was shot for his efforts. Not even the racist justice department under racist Eric Holder could spin or cover that up.

Beyond the over amped race issue, (it seems only Leftists are obsessed, it doesn’t even generate a thought in most of our daily lives) the leadership sides with atheists and secularists (represented well by the Democrat Party that denounced God in their last national meeting) that it’s justified to run people out of their jobs and destroy their lives if they don’t want to participate in homosexual marriage events because they believe scripture means what it says. I’m referring of course to the Indiana mess, when the leadership went against that state’s legislation to protect Christians, lied about what was in the legislation, and attacked it and Christians.

It’s obvious too these guys support the illegal invasion of people through our southern border. Part of this invasion is the exploitation of children to gain access. It looks like child exploitation of children is okay, along with the crime of invading another country.

Last thing is Sharon Watkins support the radical Leftist/Environmental movement, and so we have the “Green Chalice”. Our symbol of the chalice is red and “The chalice symbolizes the central place of communion in worship for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The X-shaped cross of the disciple Andrew is a reminder of the ministry of each person and the importance of evangelism” –from the DOC website.

Now we have a green one, all of which enforces extremist environmentalism. There are some good things in this list for certain, but is speaks to something not spiritually healthy. Here’s some of the things the green chalice people should do: Get an Energy Audit, Start or Enhance a Recycling Program, Use Real Dishware, Stop using Styrofoam and disposable dishes, Changing to efficient light bulbs, Install programmable thermostats, Start a community garden, Serving local foods, Plant Native Species plants, Plant Trees in the community, Participate in the Disciples Coffee Program, Purchase Eco-Palms for Palm Sunday, Weave Creation into worship in prayers, hymns, liturgy and sermons, Use Eco-Friendly cleaning products, Provide Eco-Tips in Newsletters, Install Rain Barrels for watering, Host a Farmer’s Market, Have a Green VBS theme, Partner with Local Organizations for Advocacy, Do a creation care study series, Observe the Sabbath.

This is the environmental extremist wish list, and I even agree, at least in part with some of them. What’s really disturbing is to “weave Creation into worship”. All hail the Goddess Gaia. Nothing like a little paganism to throw in with Christian worship. Remember the race thing that's supposed to be thrown in with worship too. Politics, Leftist racism, and paganism in Worship. Just want I want to see.

I've gone on much too long, blog postings need to be a quick read, but there’s so much wrong with the anti-scriptural, anti-Christian pro secularist support of those dedicated the destruction of Christianity, it all came bubbling up.

Some ask why I don’t just leave. Though there are a few that agree with the base political power moves and support of the Democrat Party and other Leftist agenda in our local church, they are few enough I can look past them. I have been shown too much love and respect, so much support on so many levels that I don’t feel it necessary to. I can only in my small way, pray the national leadership turn back to God, put Christ before Obama and his destructive anti-Christian agenda, and focus on what Christian churches should be focused on. Another blog on that I suppose. I, briefly, only suggest Aquinas as the guide.

The Enemy is alive and well at DOC headquarters.

Leftist Political Leadership in the First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Not Christ Lead. I Don't Like It.

More thoughts on the Leftist Materialist direction and world view of my church, First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) at the national level, led by Sharon Watkins. There are, no doubt, Leftist local DOC churches that put government and politics above God, but I’m sure there a several that would rather have scripturally run churches. I’m one. I know too there are many in my church have the same mindset. I know, and know of, people that have left the DOC because the "leadership" is more interested in the political and cultural zeitgeist than following Christ.

That oligarchy at the top supported the secularist, atheist, homosexualist movements (anti traditional family) and leftist political beliefs in its recent attack on Christians in Indiana. They followed that with supporting the lie that white racist cops are gunning down unarmed Black men.

There is a corruption of our logo, the Chalice /St Andrew’s Cross which is red and white, turning it into a green chalice. This is a political alignment with the Leftist Environmentalists. Blocking oil production to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (Emergency Resolution) [really this years long argument is still an emergency?], Climate Change, strip mining, seal hunting; the whole Leftist list here. We are, as Christians, to be sure, called upon to be stewards of God’s creation, but all the things on the Green Chalice list are political action, having nothing to do with our Church or Christianity, but everything having to do with submitting to government power. All these issues side with the Democrat Party and the Leftist/totalitarian movements of this nation and world.

The DOC “leadership” advocates welcoming the mass migration of people from south of the border, which is more that can be processed, then make US citizens and church members that are opposed out to be intolerant cold hearted racists. The DOC supports the illegal unconstitutional Dream Act, and all the other illegal immigration executive orders; these things are legislative items, not executive orders; that is illegal. The DOC has the gall to use “the least of these’ scripture to support breaking the law. They are advocates for the president and his political party, Leftist travelers, for breaking the law.

Open borders, millions of illegals (regardless of the reason; violence in their own country for example, then they must deal with it there), the Leftist Environmental movement, siding with atheists, bigots, anti-Semites, and all the rest of it, has nothing to do with, as Aquinas succinctly put it:

To feed the hungry;

    To give drink to the thirsty;

    To clothe the naked;

    To harbour the harbourless;

    To visit the sick;

    To ransom the captive;

    To bury the dead.

The spiritual works of mercy are:

    To instruct the ignorant;

    To counsel the doubtful;

    To admonish sinners;

    To bear wrongs patiently;

    To forgive offences willingly;

    To comfort the afflicted;

    To pray for the living and the dead.

If the DOC is serious about feeding, clothing, the sick, and they are in other countries, then they should go there, increase missionary work, and send them food and clothes. Inviting them to the US, and stressing all taxpayers (not just members of First Christian Church), creating even more unemployment and poverty among our poor who are being dispossessed by even more uneducated/low or unskilled workers illegally coming across our border. They compete with those for government created limited resources and the problems related to high unemployment.

How does the DOC “leadership” think they are doing spiritual works of mercy by siding with totalitarian, anti-Christian, anti-Semitic governments and culture? Our government and anti-Christian cultural elites attack Christian businesses, forcing them do things against teaching and beliefs and the DOC leadership jumps right on.

I suppose I can go on for lots more pages, but I’m thinking I’ve at least started making my point. If DOC in Indiana is serious about putting government and the cultural zeitgeist before God, then they need to consider stepping down.

I’m both angered and saddened that out church “leadership” has put Christ second to the materialist idea that we humans can make life better without God (while using God to justify). They must stop using our Church and scripture to hide behind so they can have political power, or to support the anti-Christian politicians and cultural elites. They have turned their backs on Christ. Pray for them they turn back to Christ.

“The heads of the Church ought therefore to imitate Christ in being affable, adapting Himself to women, laying His hands on children, and washing His disciples’ feet, that they also should do the same to their brethren. But we are such that we seem to go beyond the pride even of the great ones of this world; as to the command of Christ, either not understanding it, or setting it at nought. Like princes we seek hosts to go before us, we make ourselves  awful and difficult of access, especially to the poor, neither approaching them, nor suffering them to approach us.”

― Thomas Aquinas

My Church First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Endorsing Idea of White Cops Gunning Down Unarmed Blacks. Don't Like It.

I had recently posted a blog here about how my church at the national level jumped on the Leftist/Democrat/Secularist bandwagon about Indiana and the hyped up and lied about the Indiana religious restoration act. It was all propaganda and media hype. Now the leadership has come out with a letter supporting the Leftist/Democrat/Media hype about white cops gunning down unarmed black men. I’ve understood from when I’ve joined First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) that the national leadership was Leftist. Churches are independent for the most part, and I can deal with it. With this letter, supporting the lie of structural police racism and the murder of Blacks, they’ve entered that world putting politics before God, and using Jesus Christ as the tool.

This is like so many essays, blogs, social media posts, and articles that invoke Christ’s name to support Welfare, “Social Justice”, extremist environmentalism,  and other Leftist causes. Leftist Christians call into question the Christianity of Conservatives or, to my mind, those that don’t apply the life and teachings of Christ to the sociopolitical narrative of the day.

The names of Blacks assaulted or murdered by police are in the letter to members of the church and are listed as examples. From the letter, “Most recently the struggle around racial reconciliation has been centered upon justice or the lack thereof mediated around police shootings and the deaths of unarmed African American young men. The aggregates of protesters—mostly young adults in Ferguson, MO, New York, NY and other urban cites across America—are waging a fight for justice regarding excessive force resulting in the deaths of…” and they list some names.There are no crime statics anywhere to show there is excessive force resulting in the deaths of unarmed Black men, young or old.

The first they list is Travon Martin. He wasn’t assaulted by, or shot by police. It was an incident between two private citizens.  Eric Garner is the man in NYC that resisted arrest. The anti-cop Left, including the media, keep reporting that the choke hold killed him. After the investigation, including the vid of the incident show no choke hold was used. Garner died because of his health related issues. Walter Scott was also brought up, and apparently he was shot by a white cop who is guilty of murderous police racism, even though the investigation is only a few days old. 

Some details about NYC policing. The use of force in arrests means the officer touched the suspect, and the first half of 2014 had that reported in 0.6% of arrests. Reading the NY Times and others, one would think that loose cigarette sales arrests (what Garner was being arrested for) was a huge deal, and use of force was a regular thing. In that same time period, 2014, there were no, zero, use of force arrests for loose cigarette sales.

Threat assessment? Bad guys in NYC were involved in 1,103 shootings, with 1,299 victims in 2013. NYPD shot 17 people in 2013, dispatched 80,000 times to weapons involved incidents, and had 30,000 of those ending in arrests. So where’s the threat coming from? The racist part? Whites were 5% of suspects shot by police; they committed 2% of weapons crimes. Blacks were 75% of criminal shooters and 79% of police shootings. NYPD have brought down NYC homicide rate 80% in the last 15 to 20 years.

Have shootings and crime gone up or down under Mayor De Blasio? Measured against the previous year, NYC shootings were up 82% the week of Jan 5 through 11 of 2015 (over same week previous year). The month before shootings were up 12% over the previous year.

Who are the victims of shootings? Mostly minorities. De Blasio stopped all the policing programs that had driven down violent crime. He said those policing procedures were racist. So now violent crime has skyrocketed in NYC.

The city of Ferguson is the other lie of racist white cops gunning down unarmed innocent Blacks. The ‘hands up, don’t shoot’ narrative is a bald face lie. It never happened, and even the media had to report it didn’t happen after testimony, and vids, showed up of the event. In both the Garner case and the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson, both men were resisting arrest.

In both the Garner and Brown cases, no indictment of the officers was handed down. Does the DOC leadership think both grand juries were rigged by white racists?

That our church, First Christina Church (Disciples of Christ) runs with the idea that white police are inherently racist, that there is rampant gunning down of unarmed Blacks by them, is a lie and absurd.

Because of this, in the letter, the national leadership wants some programs initiated. A couple at the regional level: “…to form Anti-Racism teams to develop strategies and training for pro-reconciling action, consulting with the Disciples’ Reconciliation Ministry, and to review the goals of each ministry to confirm that pro-reconciling objectives are implemented and realized”. At the ministry level of individual churches one of the things is to “work in partnership with your regional church as pro-reconciling strategies are developed, and with your general church by interpreting and supporting our Reconciliation Ministry in the local church”. Which is to endorse this idea that white cops are gunning down unarmed Blacks. Underlying that is the idea that there is so much violence in Black communities because of White Racism.

These issues are getting worse because this nation has turned its back to God. This letter is part of that, and not based on God or the teachings of Jesus Christ, despite the DOC leadership saying it is.

Here’s some of what is being instructed that individuals need to do:

• to pray for the leading of the Holy Spirit in moving the Church beyond the normal comfort zones to build up all of God’s people;
• to advocate for public policies that respect and empower all people;
• to pray for and support Disciples Reconciliation Ministry financially and to participate in Anti-Racism/Pro-Reconciliation training when offered in your region; and
• to speak up when you see or hear something that demeans people through racist individual comments or institutional practice.

This letter has nothing to do with the Holy Spirit, but everything to do with racist/secular policies and politics. As to advocating for public policies, do that in the political arena. Don't use position as DOC leadership to advocate political causes. When conservative Christians advocate for something in the public sphere, we are told to shut up, religion has no place in politics or the public square. This member rejects the idea of financially supporting or praying for the Reconciliation Ministry, and certainly not volunteering my time to attend a reeducation camp for racism when I’m not a racist, nor do I think anyone in the church I attend is a racist. As to that last statement, I am speaking up because I’m seeing and hearing something that demeans people. It’s coming from the national DOC leadership advancing the lies of the secularist elite.   

“We, the College of Regional Minsters of the Christian Church (DOC), believe that ‘Black lives matter’. Regional ministers, cops lives matter. They are being assassinated. All lives matter. That these nasty race lies are support by the DOC leadership, as are the anti-Christian lies about Indiana’s Religious Freedom legislation, yet claiming these are done through the teaching of Jesus Christ is vile. This DOC leadership needs to enter back into prayer. This is pure politics and has nothing to do with our work as Disciples or Jesus Christ.