I wanted to make you aware of an exciting, new ministry we had the pleasure of launching last week in Indianapolis at a special briefing for pastors sponsored by my friends at the Family Research Council and the Alliance Defense Fund called: iMPACT 2010 – Unleashing the Voice of the Church. It’s called the Indiana Pastors Alliance. 

The IPA is a network of clergy, churches and Christian organizations who have come together to advance and defend the cause of faith, family and freedom throughout our great State. Our alliance exists to further the following objectives:

• Affirm the authority of Scripture as objective Truth (2 Timothy 3:16)
• Acknowledge God as the Creator and Governor over His creation (Genesis 1:1)
• Proclaim Jesus Christ as the “Ruler over the kings of the earth” (Revelation 1:5)
• Obediently pursue Jesus’ command to be “salt and light” to the culture
• Bring Biblical solutions to contemporary social problems
• Encourage informed Christian thinking about contemporary social issues
• Preach boldly about moral issues from the pulpit
• Enlist our congregations to get involved in our political process on a non-partisan basis
• Envision, equip and encourage competent Christian men and women to run for office and to lead in our local communities
• Support our elected officials through prayer and practical acts of kindness and service

I’ll have the privilege of joining with the Family Research Council, the Alliance Defense Fund and the Indiana Family Institute in an effort to encourage pastors to take a more proactive role in public policy issues. I want to encourage you to check out the website: www.indianapastorsalliance.org when you have a moment. And please pray that the Lord would gather pastors who want to see revival in the Church and cultural transformation in our Nation.

I just returned from a great two weeks in India! We had a tremendous time encouraging pastors with some of the DNA of our Living Stones Tribe…The Kingdom of God, Cultural Transformation, a Culture of Honor, and Building with Spiritual Sons and Daughters. It was awesome.

I am continually stunned by the sheer amount of idol worship still occurring in this Hindu nation. One of the religious festivals I read about in the daily newspaper explained how a baby cobra came out of the wall of the temple while the people were worshipping one of the 30 million gods in India. People began tossing flowers and spraying perfume on the cobra as an act of worship. I drove past numerous statues of the monkey god and thought to myself, “These people cannot be serious! This is your god?” In the West, we look upon this behavior as sheer nonsense, wondering how educated and enlightened people could believe in such foolishness.

Yet in the West, we are equally guilty of our own culturally bound forms of idolatry. In his book, Earth Restored, author John Barber writes, “We forget that idolatry can be practiced in two ways: by worshipping too many gods [like Hindus], or by making the one, true God too small.” I think Americans have sinned by the latter form of idolatry. 

Jesus Christ is Lord of All. When we compartmentalize our faith, making false distinctions between the sacred and the secular, or the separation of church and state, we shrink God. We suggest that He is not really in charge of the universe and everything and everyone in it. So whether we put perfume on serpents or we compartmentalize Christ, we are both equally guilty of idolatry.

There is One, True God….and He’s really BIG! Got it?

As if my pomegranate episode was not traumatic enough (see previous blog if you are completely confused), I found myself having an emotional meltdown as I pressed through my biography on the amazing ministry of William and Catherine Booth. For those of you who know me well, I have a lot of trouble showing emotion of any kind.

Okay, I lied. I’m a total softy, a romantic cream puff. Just ask my wife. Anyway, I’m reading about the death of Catherine, William’s life and ministry partner of over forty years, and tears are streaming down my cheeks. They shared a relationship marked by a passion for Jesus, a passion for souls, and a passion for each other. As I read through their life’s journey, I came to love and admire this great woman of God. Here are some of the touching scenes from her passing.

“Seeing her life ebb slowly away, they each kissed her and said their goodbyes. With her hand in his, William waited for the final moment, praying for the grace to endure. Sensing somehow that the time had come, he bent to kiss his beloved wife and took her in his arms. She breathed his name one last time as her life slipped away.”

Her legacy was profound. Fifty thousand people filed by her casket to pay their last respects to the woman who had been a spiritual mother to thousands.

At her funeral, William spoke tenderly of his beloved bride: “She loved the fight! Her great sorrow to the last moment was, “I cannot be with you when the clouds lower, when friends turn and leave you, and sorrows come sweeping over you; I shall no longer be there to put my arms around you and cheer you on!”

As my thoughts travel to my own beloved wife, Marion, half way around the globe on this Valentine’s Day, I thank the Lord for a wife who shares a passion for Jesus, for people, and for me. You are a priceless treasure from the Lord. May I forever savor each day we are able to share together. (Hey! Will somebody make sure Marion reads this blog!)

Happy Valentines Day!