The Monthly Update

May 2003 Update

As in the previous three months' editions of the Monthly Update, a disproportionate amount of space is devoted to the Iraqi situation with increasing coverage of issues that will be going to the General Conference which will be held in Pittsburgh in 2004. Future editions will focus more on petitions and issues leading up to that very important event.

Regarding the Iraqi situation, we thank God for His mercy in the relatively few casualties that were suffered by Coalition forces during the fighting. We know that one prime cause for this is the prayers that went up on behalf of our troops.

One of the previous editions of the Monthly Update had included the website for the Presidential Prayer team which a person could access and request the name of a serviceman to be prayed for - by name. The person I had gotten was Russ Bona. In addition to praying for all of the troops I prayed for him specifically. As it happens there were so many people wanting to pray for our troops individually that, by my estimation, three people were praying for each service member, whether it was a soldier, marine, navy person, or airman. I know that this could not but have had an effect on the low number of our casualties.

Be sure to read the incidence of answered prayer in the "Good Stuff" section of the Update. This does not surprise me because, as I had mentioned in a previous letter, during Operation Desert Storm I was almost killed twice during the fighting. When I returned to the States I found out that many people were praying for me - to include the kids in a Roman Catholic parochial school in the Chicago area.

At the same time that we celebrate God's faithfulness in preserving the lives of our people, let us ask for His favor in consoling, not only those Iraqis who were killed in the fighting, but also those who were killed and tortured under the brutal dictatorship of Saddam Hussein.

Finally, let us pray that God will use what has happened in the Middle East to be for His kingdom - that we will be able to reach the Iraqi people with the news of Jesus Christ.

I thank you so much for your faithfulness in standing with us in support and prayers. It means more to us than you know.

When in England recently, at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example of empire building by George Bush. He answered by saying that, "Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return."
It became very quiet in the room. - Received by e-mail.
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Several weeks ago, through the website of The Presidential Prayer Team, I "adopted" a member of the Armed Forces to pray for daily during this time of war. I have prayed daily (early and often!) for "my" adopted Marine.

Last night I returned home from work and turned on my television set for war updates. In progress was a battlefield interview from Iraq conducted by embedded correspondent Kerry Sanders. Kerry was speaking with a wounded young Marine who, surrounded by medics, lay on a stretcher on the ground "somewhere in the Iraqi desert." ...Incredibly, the young Marine IS "my Marine!" [For whom] I pledged to pray for daily (and did, particularly at about the time he was under fire). I am overjoyed that "my Marine" has come through a fierce encounter near Nasiriyah alive, and though wounded, will recover. I'd like to think that my prayers may have helped Josh as he fought in the desert of Iraq a day or so ago.

+ I want you to close your eyes and picture in your mind the soldier at Valley Forge, as he holds his musket in his bloody hands. He stands barefoot in the snow, starved from lack of food, wounded from months of battle and emotionally scarred from the eternity away from his family, surrounded by nothing but death and carnage of war. He stands though, with fire in his eyes and victory on his breath. He looks at us now in anger and disgust and tells us this...

I gave you a birthright of freedom born in the Constitution and now your children graduate too illiterate to read it.

I fought in the snow barefoot to give you the freedom to vote and you stay at home because it rains.

I left my family destitute to give you the freedom of speech and you remain silent on critical issues, because it might be bad for business.

I orphaned my children to give you a government to serve you and it has stolen democracy from the people.

It's the soldier who salutes the flag, serves the flag, whose coffin is draped with the flag that allows the protester to

"Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. I ask this in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Amen."

Who's Smarter? The Hollywood group is at it again. Holding anti-war rallies, screaming about the Bush Administration, running ads in major newspapers, defaming the President and his Cabinet every chance they get with names like "stupid", "morons", and "idiots". Jessica Lange went so far as to tell a crowd in Spain that she hates President Bush and is embarrassed to be an American.

So, just how ignorant are these people who are running the country? Let's look at the biographies of these "stupid", "ignorant", "moronic" leaders, and then at the celebrities who are castigating them:

President George W. Bush: Received a Bachelors Degree from Yale University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He served as an F-102 pilot for the Texas Air National Guard.

Vice President Dick Cheney: Earned a B. A. in 1965 and a M. A. in 1966, both in political science.

     Secretary of State Colin Powell: Educated in the New York City public schools, graduating from the City College of New York (CCNY), where he earned a Bachelor's Degree in geology. His further academic achievements include a Master of Business Administration Degree from George Washington University. Secretary Powell is the recipient of
numerous U. S. and foreign military awards and decorations. [Note: Unknown to the author of this information, Powell was also an honor graduate from the Command and General Staff College at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas.)
     Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld: Attended Princeton University on Scholarship (AB, 1954) and served in the U. S. Navy (1954-57) as a Naval aviator.
     Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge: Raised in a working class family in veterans' public housing in Erie, he earned a scholarship to Harvard, graduating with honors in 1967. After his first year at The Dickinson School of Law, he was drafted into the U. S. Army, where he served as an infantry staff sergeant in Vietnam, earning the Bronze Star for Valor.
     National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice: Earned her Bachelor's Degree in Political Science, Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Denver in 1974; her Master's from the University of Notre Dame in 1975; and her Ph. D. from the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver in 1981. (Note: Rice enrolled at the
University of Denver at the age of 15, graduating at 19 with a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science (Cum Laude).

So who are these celebrities? What is their education? What is their experience?
     Barbra Streisand : Completed high school. Career: Singing and acting
     Cher: Dropped out of school in 9th grade. Career: Singing and acting
     Martin Sheen: Flunked exam to enter University of Dayton. Career: Acting
     Jessica Lange: Dropped out of college mid-freshman year. Career: Acting
     Alec Baldwin: Dropped out of George Washington. Career: Acting
     Julia Roberts: Completed high school. Career: Acting
     Sean Penn: Completed High school. Career: Acting
     Susan Sarandon: Degree in Drama from Catholic University of America in Washington, D. C. Career: Acting
     Ed Asner: Completed High school. Career: Acting
     George Clooney: Dropped out of University of Kentucky. Career: Acting
     Michael Moore: Dropped out first year University of Michigan. Career: Movie Director
     Sarah Jessica Parker: Completed High School. Career: Acting
     Jennifer Anniston: Completed High School. Career: Acting
     Mike Farrell: Completed High school. Career: Acting
     Janeane Garofalo: Dropped out of College. Career: Stand up comedienne
     Larry Hagman: Attended Bard College for one year. Career: Acting

     While comparing the education and experience of these two groups, we should also remember that President Bush and his cabinet are briefed daily, even hourly, on the War on Terror and threats to our security. They are privy to information gathered around the world concerning the Middle East, the threats to America, the intentions of terrorists and
terrorist-supporting governments. They are in constant communication with the CIA, the FBI, Interpol, NATO, The United Nations, our own military, and that of our allies around the world. We cannot simply believe that we have full knowledge of the threats because we watch CNN. We cannot believe that we are in any way as informed as our leaders.
     These celebrities have no intelligence-gathering agents, no fact-finding groups, no insight into the minds of those who would destroy our country. The silence was deafening from the Left when Bill Clinton bombed a pharmaceutical factory outside of Khartoum, or when he attacked the Bosnian Serbs in 1995 and 1999. He bombed Serbia itself to get Slobodan Milosevic out of Kosovo, and not a single peace rally was held. When our Rangers were ambushed in Somalia and 18 young American lives were lost, not a peep was heard from Hollywood. Yet now, after our nation has been attacked on its own soil, after 3,000 Americans were killed [while going about their routine lives] by freedom-hating terrorists, they hold rallies against the war.
     It is time for us, as citizens of the United States, to educate ourselves about the world around us. If future generations are going to enjoy the freedoms that our forefathers bequeathed us, if they are ever to know peace in their own country and their world, to live without fear of terrorism striking in their own cities, we must assure that this nation remains strong. We must make certain that those who would destroy us are made aware of the severe consequences that will befall them.

Yes, it's a wonderful dream to sit down with dictators and terrorists and join hands, talking of world peace. But it is not real. We did not stop Adolf Hitler from taking over the entire continent of Europe by simply talking to him. We sent our best and brightest, and with strength and determination defeated the Nazi regime. President John F. Kennedy did not stop the Soviet ships from unloading their nuclear missiles in Cuba in 1962 with mere words. He stopped them with action and threat of immediate war. We did not end the Cold War with conferences. It ended because of the strong belief of President Ronald Reagan...PEACE through STRENGTH.
- Pat Bell, Portland, Texas

- Src: E-mail received from Concerned Methodists members Art and Ruth Wetzstein

(AgapePress) - Several officials of the United Methodist Church (UMC) are calling one of their fellow Methodists to repentance. While that, in and of itself, may not be unusual, it is noteworthy that the call appeared in a full-page Magazine ad -- and the person called to repentance is President George W. Bush.

The April 5 edition of Christian Century magazine contains a full-page ad titled "A Prophetic Epistle from United Methodists Calling Our Brother George W. Bush to Repent." The ad, signed by several United Methodist bishops and the head of the denomination's lobby office in Washington, D.C., denounces the president for contributing to "spiritual forces of wickedness" and calls for him to "repent from domestic and foreign policies that are incompatible with the teaching and example of Christ."

Among those signing the ad are UM Bishops Joseph Sprague and Melvin Talbert, and Board of Church and Society general secretary Jim Winkler. The officials accuse President Bush of "threaten[ing] the very earth and all its inhabitants with open discussion of the use of nuclear weapons," and promoting "redemptive violence" in his policy towards the "sovereign nation of Iraq." In addition, it claims that the president's domestic policy is "incongruent with Jesus' teaching" and falls short of the compassion of which Jesus spoke, despite Bush's claim to be a "compassionate conservative."

The ad concludes with the statement: "May our call to repentance speak to your conscience."

Mark Tooley heads the United Methodist committee of the Institute on Religion and Democracy. He says that first of all, the signers of the ad "are hardly symbols of strong, mainstream" United Methodist beliefs. He points out that Bishop Sprague denies that Jesus Christ is eternally divine, Bishop Talbert has endorsed same-sex "marriage," and Winkler is a pacifist. According to Tooley, the UMC affirms Christ's full deity, opposes same-sex unions, and is not pacifist. "Yet these church officials claim it is President Bush who is violating his own church's teachings," he says. "These [church] officials are effectively telling the president he is not a good Christian because his policies do not match their own left-wing beliefs," Tooley continues in a printed release. "Bush is supposedly a bad Christian and a bad Methodist because, like most Methodists, he does not agree with these church officials in their equation of compassion with a large federal welfare state and in their opposition to a strong military defense for America." Tooley says it is "nonsense" for the UMC officials to "equate their brand of politics with Christianity, and assume that political disagreement is a sign of spiritual apostasy."

[Note: We agree with Mr. Tooley. The UM bishops who have spoken out against the war in the face of all the evidence of that dictator's connection to the September 11th attack against our country and the brutality of his dictatorship do not have a great deal of credibility. In truth when UM bishop Joe Sprague is confused on just who Jesus Christ is, an area in which as our denominational leader he should be certain, how can one have confidence in his pronouncements about an area in which he is inexperienced and has an inadequate base of understanding? It would seem that our bishops would get their own house in order before presuming to advise the President on his spiritual walk. These UM officials need to heed Jesus' advice in Matthew 7:1-5.] - Source: Received by e-mail

+ Arrest of Anti-War Methodist Leaders Called 'Embarrassing' for Denomination
Bishop, Others from 'Radical Fringe' Protest Near White House

(AgapePress) - The anti-war movement in the U.S., which includes various religious figures, has continued its campaign in the midst of the Iraqi battle. Two bishops and one church official were among about 65 people arrested in an anti-war protest near the White House earlier this week. Among them was United Methodist Bishop Joseph Sprague, a controversial figure in that denomination because of his questioning of basic biblical teachings on the deity of Jesus Christ. He and others were taken into custody after they decided to break through police barricades to carry out their demonstration. Also arrested along with Sprague was Jim Winkler, general secretary of the United Methodist Board of

Church and Society. United Methodist News Service <http://umns.umc.org/03/mar/178.htm> quotes Winkler as stating, at

a pre-demonstration press conference, that he feels it is "time to get out there on the front lines." In the same report, Sprague is quoted as saying "the White House is not hearing from the Council of Bishops [of the United Methodist Church]. Given that reality, it demands strategies that are out of the ordinary -- atypical rather than typical."

Mark Tooley calls the arrest of Sprague and Winkler "really embarrassing" for the denomination. "The incoherence of these church officials reflects poorly on our denomination and even on the anti-war cause they seek to promote," Tooley says in a statement. "Bishop Sprague and Jim Winkler represent the radical fringe of America's religious community. Unfortunately, they also occupy senior and very visible positions of influence that will distort how the United Methodist Church is portrayed to the nation."

On a related note, Associated Press says Rev. Ken Joseph, Jr., went to Iraq this month as a "peace activist" -- but left convinced that Iraqis desperately wanted a war to free them from Saddam Hussein. The Assyrian Christian minister says some Iraqis even said that they would commit suicide unless the United States invaded. Joseph and two other anti-war activists were in Baghdad for two weeks -- escaping into Jordan the day before the U.S. bombing began. He plans to take relief supplies back into Iraq as soon as it is safe enough to return. Joseph says he has reluctantly come to believe that war is necessary to overthrow a dictator who is feared and loathed by his own people. [Note: We are providing this information because it illustrates the thinking of denominational leaders.] - Source: Received by e-mail

It is obvious to me and to other believers that Bishop Melvin Talbert does not believe the Holy Bible. Bishop Talbert disagrees with Jesus in John 14:6. "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." The Bishop seems to subscribe to the Universalist belief that all who are sincere will be saved, no matter which god they believe in. This is a disgrace and a disservice to all believing United Methodists. (The Catholic Priest got it wrong too). Why is there such confusion about the truth at such a high level and what can be done about it? I'm told that the General Conference is the only body that can officially speak for the United Methodist Church. Can we reign in this bishop before he leads others astray?

The United Methodist Church’s top lobby official sharply condemned the United States for considering military action to depose Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. And he chastised any Christian who would support war. “Nothing I understand about Jesus Christ leads me to believe that support for war and violence are tolerable actions for Christian people,” said Jim Winkler, general secretary of the United Methodist Board of Church and Society. “Some day Christians will have to face up to the choice between their God and the Prince of Peace and their willingness to participate in war.”

United Methodism is not historically a pacifist tradition. Most Methodists accept that military force may sometimes be necessary to stop aggressive and tyrannical regimes. But Winkler and his agency, invoking the authority of the United Methodist Church and spending the contributions of its members, speak and act as pacifists. They oppose war under virtually any conceivable circumstances, not just in the case of Iraq.

The denominational lobbyist was speaking at a February 26 Washington, D.C., press conference of anti-war church leaders organized by the National Council of Churches. Early this year, Winkler was part of an NCC delegation that went to Baghdad and met with Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz. The NCC has organized delegations of anti-war U.S. church officials to visit foreign leaders. Such groups have also had audiences with the British prime minister, the German chancellor, and the Pope. A visit with the Russian president is upcoming.

“The only leader who refuses to meet with [anti-war] church leaders is our own,” Winkler sardonically noted. President Bush has not responded to requests to meet with an NCC delegation. Winkler prominently mentioned that Bush and Vice President Cheney are United Methodists, implying that they had some duty to heed the political counsels of denominational agencies and officials such as himself.

It is difficult to conceive that much fruitful dialogue could take place between a man of Winkler’s views and temperament, on the one hand, and anyone who had taken a sober oath to defend the United States against all its enemies. In trying to make his case against war with Saddam, the Methodist agency chief drew an extended analogy between the

Iraqi dictatorship and the U.S. Government. His audience of liberal church activists was delighted by the comparison.

“Imagine if the most powerful countries of the world concluded that the U.S. government had to be overthrown by force and replaced by outside rule because we produced and possessed vast quantities of weapons of mass destruction,” Winkler asked. He then imagined a situation in which the United States was a “violent, racist society” with an “unelected leader,” guilty of polluting the world’s environment, exploiting more than its share of the world’s resources, engaging in covert action to destabilize foreign governments, using capital punishment against minors, and “aggressively redistributing our wealth to the rich at the expense of the poor.” Winkler concluded that “even if all of this was true”-here the audience laughed at his sly insinuation-any military intervention against the United States would “seriously distort our society” and would produce “despair and anger from our people.”

It is hard to see how the United Methodist official could have taken a more negative view of his own country. By contrast, he offered no equally specific criticisms of Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq. The worst that he could say about the terrorists of September 11 was that they were “seriously misguided.” Winkler charged that “fundamentalism” in all religions is a “dangerous force” around the world. (This charge suggested another strained comparison, lumping conservative U.S. Christians together with Islamist suicide bombers.) He insisted that terrorists could be brought to justice through intelligence and police work, without any need for military force.

Winkler said that it was “deeply rooted in my faith” to oppose war. “I cannot confess Christ as my Savior and support preemptive war,” he declared. “I can deny Jesus and support war, but I will not.”

The denominational lobbyist denounced the new national security strategy of the Bush administration as offering a “dark vision of eternal war.” Its doctrine of preemptive war is “immoral” and violates international law, he asserted. “We who support Jesus Christ simply cannot support this course of action.” According to Winkler, few Americans understand the Middle East. And the notion that the U.S. can remake Iraq and the region into a “democratic, pro-Western zone” through military action is a “fantasy,” he believes. He insisted the Iraqi people would never want a U.S. general as their “dictator.” And he faulted the U.S. government for failing to address the “root causes” of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“War is an immoral choice,” Winkler reiterated. “That does not mean I do not pray for those who have volunteered to serve in the armed services. I have worked for peace so they will not have to kill or be killed.”

Winkler offered no alternative to war that might liberate the Iraqi people or eliminate Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction. He did not acknowledge the valid reasons why many faithful United Methodists believe that military force is the only way to disarm Iraq. The church official apparently saw the Iraq question as so easy to answer that little serious reasoning was required. Any faithful Christian would oppose President Bush, in Winkler’s view.

- Source: by Mark Tooley, The Institute on Religion and Democracy, 1110 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 1180,

HERNDON, Va. (UMNS) - Voting members of the Board of Church and Society, in a March 20-23 meeting, considered recommending a change in a statement about homosexuality [at the] General Conference, which meets April 27-May 7, 2004, in Pittsburgh. The proposed [revised statement in the Book of Discipline would] read, "Although faithful Christians disagree on the compatibility of homosexual practice with Christian teaching, we affirm that God's grace is available to all." [Note: This is the type of wording designed to eliminate the UM's stance against this practice. We view this to be the initial action in the battle to get our denomination to legitimize the practice of homosexuality. While this agency publicly advocates a far-left political position, it is undermining the traditional orthodox Christian stance of our denomination.]

- United Methodist News Service (UMNS); Washington; 10-28-71B{170}; March 25, 2003.

Homosexuality. Of interest in this area is the initiative by the General Board of Church and Society's petition that will go to the General Conference that seeks to overturn our denomination's position against the practice of homosexuality. This is the "opening salvo" being fired in the looming battle over this issue.

Every great person has first learned how, when, and whom to obey. - The Daily Walk, February 18, 1991

"Enemy occupied territory--that is what the world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us all to take part in a great campaign of sabotage....." --C.S. Lewis
* * * * *

France. A friend of mine is an officer in the Naval Reserve. A few weeks ago, he was attending a conference that included admirals in both the US and the French navies. At a cocktail reception, my friend found himself in a small group that included an admiral from each of the two navies. The French admiral started complaining that whereas Europeans learned many languages, Americans only learned English. He then asked, "Why is it that we have to speak English in these conferences rather than you have to speak French?"
Without even hesitating, the American admiral replied. "Maybe it is because we arranged it so that you did not have to learn to speak German."
The group became silent

Iraq. Potential Democratic Post-War Iraq -- An Example to Other Muslim Nations?

(AgapePress) - A Christian author and expert on the Middle East says if the U.S. establishes a democracy in Iraq, it could spark revolutions in other Muslim countries. The Berean Call <http://www.thebereancall.org/>'s Dave Hunt says other Muslim countries will be horrified if Iraq becomes a democratic state. But he says a democratic Iraq may embarrass countries like Saudi Arabia, where there is no freedom of conscience, freedom of press, or freedom of religion.

He also asks that if Islam is the "true" religion, as claimed by its adherents, why is it that the majority of citizens in Islamic nations are poor and downtrodden? Hunt says with the focus now turning upon Islam, he is hopeful more people will read and understand growing documentation being presented on the...nature of Islam -- and the media will be forced to acknowledge the truth. [Note: We welcome the establishment of a democratic government in Iraq.] - Source: E-mail.

From: Dianna Bartley. We received a letter from our son [Gordon M. Bartley] who...is in Iraq. He wrote a poem to these people: [Note: Poem is in the original language.]:

"Wish you were here for all the free people that still protest your welcome, we protect you, and your protected by the best. Your voice is strong and loud but who will fight for you no one standing in your crowd. We are fathers, brothers and sons, wearing the boots and carrying the guns. We are the ones that leave all we own, to make sure future is carved in stone. We are the ones who fight and die, we might not be able to save the world, well, at least we try. We walked the paths to where we are at, and we want no choice other than that. So when you rally your group to complain, take a good look in the back of you're brain. In order for that flag you love to fly, wars must be fought and young men must die. We came here to fight for the ones we hold dear, if that's not respected, we would rather stay here. So please stop yelling and put down your signs, and pray for those behind enemy lines. When the conflict is over and all is well, be thankful that we chose to go through hell."

- Src.: E-mail; Corporal Joshua Miles and all the boys from 3rd. Battalion, 2nd Marines, Kuwait.

(AgapePress) - The government of Sudan recently received a favorable report at the U. N. Human Rights Convention in Geneva. The favorable U.N. report will benefit Sudan by making the country eligible for more U.N. aid. They will also be able to do more business with firms eager to expand into the oil rich nation. [Note: The persecution of the Christian Nuba tribe renders this rating ludicrous and may point to the irrelevance of the U.N. as far as being a credible organization.]

"For a Christian, it is not a thing to be assumed, that he be allowed to live among fellow Christians.