Latter-Day Saints Back "gay rights" Ordinance

The Salt Lake City Council has passed a non-discrimination ordinance making it illegal to fire or evict somebody because of their sexual orientation. The measure was approved unanimously, and even had the support of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS).

The LDS issued a statement backing the ordinance, saying they were against discrimination against anyone, but that they supported traditional marriage. Church spokesman Michael Otterson said, "The church supports these ordinances because they are fair and reasonable and do not do violence to the institution of marriage."

Reaction to the decree was swift from conservative groups such as the Sutherland Institute, an independent, conservative public policy organization based in Salt Lake City. Stan Rasmussen, public affairs manager with the Institute, says the Mormon Church's support of the ordinance is problematic. "We do not support, abide, encourage or tolerate discrimination that is inappropriate. We think there are ways, [in fact] we know there are ways to address those concerns [which] do not include the incorporating of these phrases into city ordinances," Rasmussen argues. "An example would be a hate crimes bill several years ago which conservatives and liberals collaborated to craft. [It] addressed all concerns without including that vague language of 'sexual orientation' or 'gender identity.'" The Sutherland Institute will encourage state lawmakers to pass laws which seek to reverse Salt Lake City's new ordinances.

Tuesday's passage made Salt Lake City the first Utah community to prohibit bias based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Exceptions in the legislation allow churches to maintain, without penalty, religious principles and religion-based codes of conduct or rules. Homosexuals are welcome in the Mormon Church, but must remain celibate to retain church callings and full membership.

[by Allie Martin - OneNewsNow]

Today's Quote

“No two plants grow in the same way, at the same rate, or to the same size. Each plant’s growth pattern is unique. The same is true of churches. No two churches will ever grow in identical ways. God intends for your church to be unique.” – Pastor Rick Warren

Pastor Heroes

Pastors are in the trenches everyday building and communicating vision, leading change, studying, resolving conflict, leading staff, planning the weekend, caring for family, and working through growth issues. They are often misunderstood, judged, criticized and mistreated. They are the unsung heroes of our day.

There would be no denominations without local churches. There would be no district, area, state, or national offices without local churches. There would be no funds used by denominations, missions, or leaders without local churches. The local church is the engine that runs all faith-based efforts around the world.

It is more challenging to be a pastor today that ever before. Many people think they could do it easily, and many former pastors talk about how easy it should be. But neither have any idea what it is really like in today's world.

Did you or your church honor your pastor in October? If not, it is never too late. If you did, continue an effort every month to create better understanding between your congregation and your pastor.

Thank you Pastor for all that you do. Just keep in mind that you may not be fully appreciated here and now, but our real reward is on the other side. You are laying up treasurers in Heaven. Keep on keeping on.

Today's Quote

"America's veterans have served their country with the belief that democracy and freedom are ideals to be upheld around the world." - John Doolittle

Veterans Day

Take a moment today to fly your flag and shake a veteran's hand.

Today is Veterans Day. It is the anniversary of the Armistice that was signed in Compiegne Forest by the Allies and the Germans in 1918, ending World War I after four years of battles. On Monday, Nov. 11, 1918, the day began with the laying down of arms, blowing of whistles, impromptu parades and the closing of places of business. A year later, President Woodrow Wilson issued his Armistice Day proclamation -- the last paragraph setting the tone for all future occasions: "To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country's service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of nations."

For decades Armistice Day was commemorated until it was changed to Veterans Day by an act of Congress in 1954. President Dwight D. Eisenhower called on citizens of the country to observe the day by remembering the sacrifices of all who fought gallantly preserving the liberty of our country. President Eisenhower referred to the name change to Veterans Day in honor of the servicemen of all America's wars.

Veterans Day takes on special meaning once again today as thousands upon thousands of American servicemen and women are fighting wars in the Middle East. Take a moment today to fly your flag, shake a veteran's hand and tell him or her "thank you." And say a prayer for all the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines on the battlefield on this Veterans Day.

"The Overseer" Mothers Hundreds

Lucia Rosetta Howe will never know what it is like to give birth to a child, but she has, over the past 50 years, single-handedly raised more than 200 children from her May Pen, Clarendon, Jamaica home.

The 82-year-old pastor has also seen to the establishment of 19 churches, both locally and abroad - some of which her foster children are now pastoring.

"The overseer." as Howe is affectionately called, shared her passion for children with the Sunday Observer during a recent visit to her home. And while her body has now been rendered incapable of much work due to arthritis, she related her years of working in service to the Lord.

"I just had a love for children - to care for them to see that they come out to be something good," she said. "In fact, somebody wanted me to be married, but I wasn't interested in marriage. I was interested in preaching, and I felt that I would have children for the Lord rather than anybody else," she said.

She was at the time a member of the Church of God of Prophecy in Rosewell, Clarendon, Jamaica, where she and her seven siblings were raised by parents who were lay preachers. She remained in that church until 1957 when she was asked by "the overseer" to take charge of the May Pen branch.

This was a huge undertaking for the then 30-year-old, but she took up the responsibility and remained there until 1961, when she resigned.

"The young people used to come to the church to hear me preach. I was very slim then," she boasted, holding on to the handles of the motorised stroller she now uses to get around.

Despite her success there, Howe decided to build her own church - The Good News Release Centre of the Prophetic Church of God - in May Pen in 1962. She went on to build others in Manchester, Westmoreland, New York, Connecticut, Canada and India.

As her ministry grew, so did the number of children she took in. Most of them were given to her by their parents who were unable to take care of them.

"She took five children from one husband and wife because they didn't have it. They got sickly and had problems, so she fostered those five children and sent them to school [high school] until they graduated," said Pastor Beverley Brown, who was among the first group of children that Howe took in.

She added that Howe fed them, clothed them and saw to it that they received an education.
"Some of them [those children] are abroad, some of them are in different parts of Jamaica. We have university graduates; we have one teacher at one of those prominent high schools in Kingston; we have one who has her master's and is a chartered accountant; and others who are doing just as well," said Brown.

"I am proud of where they are at now in terms of their profession," added Howe, who was a primary school teacher for eight years prior to becoming a full-time pastor.

As a pastor, "the overseer" introduced a number of ministries in her church that would allow her to impart her knowledge of sewing, crocheting, embroidery, cooking, making jams and baking cakes.

Some of her children are now using these skills to make a living for themselves. One of them is 68-year-old Mazi Thomas, who was taken in by Howe, at the age of 14 years.

"She taught me how to crochet and so I now crochet for everybody in the community," she told the Sunday Observer.

Howe also gave her a chicken coop and a refrigerator, a few years ago, and Thomas has since been supplying restaurants and households in the area with chicken.

Pastor Brown said she and her foster sisters and brothers are very grateful for the sacrifice "the overseer" made in raising them.

"It was a faith venture. It's not that she had it in lump sum, but there were days that the Lord provided. There were difficult days, of course, but we went through," she said.

[BY NADINE WILSON, Sunday Observer staff reporter, wilsonn@jamaicaobserver.com]

Today's Quote

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity... It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow." – Melody Beattie

15 Signs That A Church Is In Trouble

1. When excuses are made about the way things are instead of embracing a willingness to roll up the sleeves and fix the problem.
2. When the church becomes content with merely receiving people that come rather than actually going out and finding them … in other words, they lose their passion for evangelism!
3. The focus of the church is to build a great church (complete with the pastors picture … and his wife’s … on everything) and not the Kingdom of God.
4. The leadership begins to settle for the natural rather than rely on the supernatural.
5. The church begins to view success/failure in regards to how they are viewed in the church world rather than whether or not they are actually fulfilling the Great Commission!
6. The leaders within the church cease to be coachable.
7. There is a loss of a sense of urgency! (Hell is no longer hot, sin is no longer wrong and the cross is no longer important!)
8. Scripture isn’t central in every decision that is made!
9. The church is reactive rather than proactive.
10. The people in the church lose sight of the next generation and refuse to fund ministry simply because they don’t understand “those young people.”
11. The goal of the church is to simply maintain the way things are … to NOT rock the boat and/or upset anyone … especially the big givers!
12. The church is no longer willing to take steps of faith because “there is just too much to lose.”
13. The church simply does not care about the obvious and immediate needs that exist in the community.
14. The people learn how to depend on one man to minister to everyone rather than everyone embracing their role in the body, thus allowing the body to care for itself.
15. When the leaders/staff refuse to go the extra mile in leading and serving because of how “inconvenient” doing so would be.

[from Perry Noble dot com by perry]

10 Signs of a Secure Leader

1. Realizes he has nothing to prove!
2. Works for the applause of heaven and not for the applause of men.
3. Seeks God for direction instead of merely asking Him for permission.
4. Doesn’t pretend that he has all the answers.
5. Seeks to submit to the Spirit instead of constantly grieving Him.
6. Understands that he will go insane if his goal is for everyone to understand him.
7. Is willing to repent when he is wrong … and do whatever it takes to make things right.
8. Puts personal preferences aside when making decisions that will impact the church.
9. Has a sense of desperation for God … fully understanding the reality of John 15:5.
10. Refuses to compromise the vision … even when it may be convenient to do so!

[from Perry Noble dot com by perry]

Authentic Leadership

Authenticity is an important value when speaking of church leaders. Today's church desires leaders to be real, open, honest and genuine. Today' church demands leaders to share their questions, their struggles and their stories.

We can relate to a leader who has been where we've been. Authenticity fuels connection and relevance.

Are there churches and parishioners who do not want authenticity? Are all pastors allowed to be authentic? What happens when pastors are not allowed to be authentic?

[from Agile Ministry by James Higginbotham, and Rindy Walton]

Anybody Can Start An Argument

Many times, the Pharisees and the Sadducees tried to engage Jesus in debate. Instead of taking the bait, Jesus would say something succinct and truthful to bring the dispute to a quick end.

As Heaven's ambassadors, how should we act when others try to engage us in an argument?

"It is honorable for a man to stop striving, since any fool can start a quarrel." — Proverbs 20:3

The Game Just Changed for Mobile Bible Study

The new Logos Bible Software iPhone app has totally revolutionized "Bible study on the go." There have already been more than 10,000 downloads within the first few days of release — all from a simple Twitter announcement that it was available. Seconds later, a flood of "re-tweets" and social networking word-of-mouth lit up the Internet, and that's just the beginning. So what is this incredible app that has taken off like a rocket? A whole new way to access Bible study on the go.

At its most basic level, this free download from the App Store will give you immediate access to more than 30 Bibles* from http://bible.logos.com/.

Also, when you sign up for a free account with Logos you will gain access to about another 30 free books!

And, when you register your account with www.Logos.com you will be able to access any free books from publishers that want to showcase new titles, or random books that we offer from time to time on free preview. You never know what might show up in your Logos Bible Software iPhone library some day. Imagine picking up your iPhone and seeing the hottest new title available in your library for free preview! One book per month, week, day? Who knows!

And, add any Logos 4 base package and watch your resources grow as much of your library is synced with your iPhone or iPod Touch; the resources are available and your favorites, bookmarks and settings are transferred from one platform to another. Walk away from your desktop or laptop and your location is saved in the books you are using so that you can pick up where you left off on your iPhone.

The Logos iPhone app is so much more than a simple Bible reader. Mobile Bible study is transformed with multiple versions of the Bible that can be read, searched, cross referenced and compared. You can set-up reading plans that are synced from your desktop or laptop so your Bible reading is always on schedule. In addition, finding a passage is as easy as typing in the reference, using the book navigator, or dragging the scrollbar to the right location.

This application was created with the desire to bring the functionality of Logos Bible Software 4 to your iPhone. In particular, the ability to dig deeper into Scripture with the Passage Guide. Enter a verse and click “Go” to receive a report linking directly to commentaries referencing your verse. The Passage Guide also provides cross references, media resources, topics, and interesting words — all linked to resources in your library.

Do an in-depth Bible Word Study from anywhere by a simple "tap and hold" on any word, in a Bible with a reverse interlinear, and a pop-up will display the English word along with all the original language information. From this pop-up, click Bible Word Study to see the definition, pronunciation, translations, and example uses of the various translations.

For more information check out some great screenshots and information, read FAQs, and check out some customer reviews at the app store!

Today's Quote

"The greatest churches in history are yet to be built. Are you prepared to be used by God? Willing to pay the price? To be hated?" - Pastor Rick Warren

Church Music Copyright

Think twice before singing that new worship song next Sunday or before using that movie clip as an illustration in your sermon. Believe it or not, even with the very best of intentions, courts have found churches financially liable for using the works of another person without permission.

Copyright is an important concept for all churches and ministries to understand in order to protect themselves, both against infringing on the rights of others and on having their own rights infringed upon. With the incredible creativity that has been flowing out of Christian ministry in the last decade, it is probable that many churches will create their own copyrightable works, and those works should be afforded every legal protection ...

read more

Church, school leaders join together to help all succeed

North Carolina Anson County's faith and education leaders are joining together with the goal of helping all students in the county achieve and succeed. At a breakfast Saturday morning at Kesler Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church in Wadesboro, about 25-30 local pastors and bishops gathered with Michael McLeod, executive director for individual and organizational accountability for the Anson County school system and also pastor of Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church, to discuss ways the local faith community can help students better succeed in school. McLeod is leading the effort, along with Pastor Iris Tillman of the Church of God of Prophecy in Morven and Pastor Dannie Williamson of New Zion Missionary Baptist Church.

"Our slogan is 'All Means All,'" McLeod explained. "That means all of our students will succeed, and all of our community will be involved." In a brainstorming session, McLeod said he, Tillman and Williamson decided what better place to start than with the local churches. "We've come together to find out how we can better serve the community," Tillman said. "We're spreading throughout the county. We hope to help bring changes to the environment in our schools."

Matt Walton, pastor at First Baptist Church of Wadesboro, stated that he'd been wanting to get more involved with the local school system, but this group beat him to it. "You've answered my prayers," he said. Tillman told the audience that she has been a volunteer in the schools for more than 30 years, and is often called to schools if a parent cannot make it to discipline a child who is a member of her church. "It's one thing to sit around and talk about what needs to be done and another to do what needs to be done," Tillman said. She related stories of helping her grandson to decide not to join a gang, and how she helped a fifth-grader who was about to be kicked out of school— by having him do manual labor at her home. That child is now a senior in high school.

She also pointed out that many believe that prayer is no longer in schools, but that is not true. "If children want to pray, nobody can stop them," she said. "The doors to our schools are being opened to us to allow us to talk to kids. We, as a faith-based community, need to be involved in the school system." Tillman said that many schools in the county need volunteers to help give teachers a break during the day, volunteers to read to students, cafeteria workers and so on.

Buz Parks of the Anson Baptist Association pointed out that he foresees a wall between people wanting to help and not knowing exactly what to do. He stressed the need for an orientation for church members to get involved in volunteering. "Many are intimidated," he said. "They're afraid they're going to say or do something to embarrass themselves." Tillman, McLeod and Williamson plan to organize training sessions for volunteers and hope to get church-based volunteers and pastors into the schools early next year.

George Senter of Faith Baptist Church was surprised to learn that it's OK for pastors to visit members of their congregation in school. Tillman responded that she'd gotten parents' permission to be able to visit the children in school.

The training for volunteers will be organized soon, McLeod said. "We will have detailed job descriptions," he explained. "This [breakfast meeting] was to let you know we're coming to you. It will be systemized; this is a strategic plan." By February, he added, the community as a whole will be aware of what the faith leaders are doing.

[by Abby Cavenaugh]