James Robison A Weekly Commentary
Two weeks ago I experienced a great moment in my Christian journey. Seventy-two leaders joined together in supernatural spiritual unity. Many who attended had Ph.D.’s and Th.D.’s and were serious students of church, world and American history. Several commented that even considering great moments in history, they had never been aware of such strength of character, leadership and diversity coming together with obvious humility and honor for God and one another. They came to pray for the church, the nation and for the will of God to be accomplished in all of our lives and through the family of faith. We know there are many single-issue groups that focus on a particular area of concern. The single-issue focus of Christians must be to personally do God’s will and inspire the wise approach to every challenge we face as believers and citizens of this free country. Church leaders must know true disciples are not just “born again” – they are taught and trained.
There was a consensus made clear by the attendees that people of faith and certainly all who profess to know Christ must be inspired, informed and involved. We should be inspired because of our heritage and the blessings of freedom we’ve enjoyed, understanding the great price paid by our founders and the sacrifices made by our armed service members to preserve and protect this freedom. People who understand the importance of faith, family and freedom must seek to be well-informed concerning the national issues and hold fast the principles that have enabled us to be the most blessed, prosperous and benevolent nation in history. Believers must understand the issues we face and the leadership necessary to deal with them. It is imperative that those chosen to lead have enough wisdom to understand the importance of sitting in the counsel of the godly, not the ungodly.
There is an insidious attack on God, faith, family and freedom. It is absolutely essential for believers to be involved in making wise decisions concerning our leadership and those we send to Washington to represent “we the people.” It is necessary for us to be prayerfully concerned about prevailing influences in our day which encourage anger, division, and hostility, especially toward those who have contributed to opportunity and success. Personal rights are being presented as coming from government, when the Bible is clear and our nation’s founders understood that our rights come from nature’s God and nature’s law. Tragically the major media, much of the academic community and other areas of influence are encouraging the people to trust “gov”, not “God.” I am convinced God is going to use these national leaders to help inspire a spiritual awakening, a return to sanity and a restoration of freedom’s foundation even as referenced in Isaiah 58 and Joel 2.
I have been so blessed to host two national Leadership Summits in September 2010 and June 2011 attended by leaders who understand the importance of faith, family and freedom. They recognize that God and truth are under assault and that we must boldly proclaim liberty throughout the land. In these two leadership gatherings, I witnessed the spiritual unity that Jesus prayed for in John 17. It was as though the entire group was overwhelmed by waves of liquid love. Participants discussed how to discover and share the most effective ways to assist the poor and those who suffer. No party, no particular politician or leader is to be blamed, but rather a worldview that is diametrically opposed to biblical truth and founding principles. I am confident each leader who attended will allow God to use their spiritual ability and leadership to help point the church and nation toward the will of God. Believers must become visible demonstrations of the faith and actively help determine national direction. Those in attendance expressed deep concern about the present direction of our country. Our trust must be in God and we need guidance from Divine Providence.
Please pray for these leaders. I am confident when they know God’s will they will diligently seek to do it and inspire others to fulfill their own role to accomplish God’s purpose in our day. We are committed to one another and to you seeking God’s will. We are diligently pursuing common ground to address common concerns without compromising our deep, theological convictions. We believe this is not only possible, but it is imperative. Please pray for us as we seek to understand and implement a strategy that helps correct our course as God uses truly transformed individuals. You may want to consider encouraging your friends to read my commentary, “What, Not Who,” which was used during our June discussion as talking points and prayer emphases.
Here is a list of those who attended one or both Leadership Summits along with those who encouraged and assisted in bringing about the gatherings:
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Jacob Aranza, Our Savior’s Church, Broussard, LA Rick Atchley,The Hills Church of Christ, North Richland Hills, TX Matthew Barnett, The Dream Center, Los Angeles, CA David Barton*, Founder & President of Wallbuilders, Aledo, TX Pastor Duane Bland, Thibodaux Family Church, LA Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin, former U.S. Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence, Farmville, VA Vonette Bright, Campus Crusade for Christ, Orlando, FL Stephen Broden, Fair Park Bible Fellowship, Dallas, TX Keith Butler, Word of Faith International Christian Center, Southfield, MI Joe Champion, Celebration Church, Georgetown, TX J.C. Church, Victory in Truth Ministries, Bucyrus, OH Kenneth Copeland, Kenneth Copeland Ministries, Ft. Worth, TX Matt Croak, Personal Assistant to Rod Parsley, Columbus, OH Creflo Dollar, World Changers Church International, College Park, GA Steve Dulin, Elder, Gateway Church, Southlake, TX Greg Dumas, The Crossing Church, Tampa, FL Maurizio Elizondo, TX Chapter Director, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference Jimmy Evans, MarriageToday, Dallas, TX Dr. Tony Evans, Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, Dallas, TX Melody Farahani (Asst. to Vonette Bright), Campus Crusade, Orlando, FL Tony Ferraro, Transparent Church Ministries Father Joseph Fessio, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA Maggie Gallagher, National Organization for Marriage, Princeton, NJ Dr. Jim Garlow, Skyline Wesleyan Church / Renewing American Leadership, San Diego, CA Jack Graham*, Prestonwood Baptist Church, Plano, TX Ruth Graham, Transparent Ministries, Waynesboro, VA Craig Groeschel, LifeChurch.TV, Tulsa, OK Wayne Grudem, author and professor, Phoenix Seminary, Phoenix, AZ Dudley Hall, Successful Christian Living Ministries, Euless, TX O.S. Hawkins*, Guidestone Financial Resources, Dallas, TX Mike Hayes, Covenant Church, Carrollton, TX Dr. Jack Hayford*, The King’s University, Los Angeles, CA Chris Hodges, Church of the Highlands, Birmingham, AL Jim Hylton, Jim Hylton Ministries, Fort Worth, TX Jane Hylton, Fort Worth, TX Bishop Harry Jackson, Hope Christian Church, Beltsville, MD Dr. Robert Jeffress, First Baptist Church, Dallas, TX Dr. Richard Land, SBC’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, Nashville, TN David Lane, Restoration & Renewal Projects, Westlake Village, CA Rabbi Daniel Lapin, American Alliance of Jews and Christians, Mercer Island, WA Dr. Richard Lee, First Redeemer Church, Cummings, GA Jeff Little, Milestone Church, Keller, TX Ron Luce, Teen Mania, Garden Valley, TX Gabe Lyons, Q, New York, NY Steve Mays, Calvary Chapel South Bay, Gardena, CA |
Bob McEwen, Member of Congress (RET, Ohio), Fairfax Station, VA Liz McEwen, Fairfax Station, VA Miles McPherson, The Rock Church, San Diego, CA Dr. Andy McQuitty,Irving Bible Church, Irving, TX John Meador, First Baptist Church, Euless,TX Eric Metaxas, author (Bonhoeffer andAmazing Grace, among others), New York, NY Gene Mills, Louisiana Family Forum, Baton Rouge, LA Johnnie Moore, Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA Robert Morris, Gateway Church, Southlake, TX Dr. Tom Mullins, Christ Fellowship, Palm Beach Gardens, FL Dr. Jeff Myers, Summit Ministries, Manitou Springs, CO Doug Napier, Alliance Defense Fund, Scottsdale, AZ Christi Napier,Scottsdale, AZ Rod Parsley, World Harvest Church/Breakthrough Ministries, Columbus, OH Paige Patterson, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, TX Tony Perkins, Family Research Council, Washington, DC Gary Phillips, Executive Pastor, First Baptist Church, Euless, TX Buddy Pilgrim, Integrity Leadership, DeSoto, TX Bob Reccord, Council for National Policy, Washington, DC Terry Redmon,Inprov, Southlake, TX Jay Richards, Discovery Institute, Seattle, WA Dino Rizzo, Healing Place Church, Baton Rouge, LA Bob Roberts, Northwood Church, Keller, TX Steve Robinson, Church of the King, Mandeville, LA Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, National Hispanic Christian Leaders Conf., Sacramento, CA Dave Roever, Wounded Warriors Alliance, Fort Worth, TX Mark Rutland, Oral Roberts University, Tulsa, OK Scott Sheppard, Executive Director, 6Stones Mission Network, Euless, TX Gary Simons, High Point Church, Arlington, TX Toby Slough, Cross Timbers Community Church, Argyle, TX Debbie Stacy, Exec. Director/ World Harvest & Breakthrough Ministries, Columbus, OH Larry Stockstill, Bethany World Prayer Center, Baton Rouge, LA Dave Stone, Southeast Christian Church, Louisville, KY Greg Surratt, Seacoast Church, Mt. Pleasant, SC Sara Swenson (Asst. to Vonette Bright), Campus Crusade, Orlando, FL Dr. Frank Turek, CrossExamined.org, Charlotte, NC Stu Weber, Good Shepherd Community Church, Boring, OR Don Wildmon, American Family Association, Tupelo, MS Lynda Wildmon, Tupelo, MS Dallas Willard,University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA Jane Willard, Los Angeles, CA Billy Wilson, Exec. Dir. International Center for Spiritual Renewal, Cleveland, TN Randy Wilson, National Director for Church Ministries, Family Research Council, Washington, DC Ravi Zacharias*, Ravi Zacharias International Ministry, Atlanta, GA |
*Their schedules did not permit their attendance, but they helped initiate and emphasize the importance of these gatherings.
