Saturday, September 22, 2007

Prayer In Arizona

History was made on Tuesday, August 28, 11:00am - 1:00pm, as 95 pastors, ministry leaders, and high-ranked legislators from all over Arizona met for worship and prayer at the historic "Old Senate" chamber and "Constitution Hall" of the original Arizona Capitol.

Hosted by Arizona Call to Prayer and the legislative chaplains, and with worship led by Daniel Brymer and team, we gathered first and foremost to honor God at the historic heart of our state government. Many prayers were given for our government officials and for our state, including for our top government officials in the Arizona House of Representatives, Speaker James Weiers, and in the Arizona Senate, President Tim Bee, who were both present. Pastors and ministry leaders came from as far as Flagstaff, Kingman, Safford, Sierra Vista, and Tucson. We know of no other time that such a large and representative gathering of the Arizona Christian leadership community has assembled for the purpose of worshiping God and interceding for our state at the original Capitol.

Another key component of the event was the connection with the prayers of the first chaplain recorded at the Constitutional Convention for Arizona Statehood in 1910. The Chaplain Seaborn Crutchfield was known for his powerful prayers for Arizona, and many of these were highlighted by various pastors in the very chamber they were originally voiced 97 years ago. All 50 of Chaplain Crutchfield's original prayers of the Constitutional Convention of 1910 have been compiled in one section of the new book by Guy Chadwick, God in the Foundations of Arizona Government.

God is clearly leading us to connect with the foundations He has laid for our state. An important part of our call is to assemble together in simple godly unity to worship and pray for things bigger than ourselves-- for all of Arizona, our land, and our nation. It is very significant, and a great joy, to see so many pastors and leaders respond to the "inconvenient" call to convene at our original Arizona Capitol. Perhaps this is another way in which Arizona is "taking the point" for our nation.

Saturday, September 01, 2007

A Response

Several have asked if I plan to respond to the comments written on Mother's Day regarding my "A Dark Cloud" posting that I wrote on April 22. At the time, I decided not to respond because I didn't want to seem like I was stooping to their level of antics, however, now that time has passed, I will give brief responses to both comments made.

First, let me say that what was said leads me to believe that both of these were written by people in leadership roles at the church my posting was referring to. Unfortunately, I can't use names because both writers were too cowardly to reveal who they truly are.

COMMENT 1

Maybe instead of dwelling on people imperfections you should analyze your bitterness. I do not think it is right to talk about anyone but do not forget the fact that we are all sinners in need of salvation. I think instead of the focus being on peoples sins that we already know we all have you should in turn look at praying to surrender your bitterness that you are carrying. By your notes it is obvious that it has become your whole life.


I'm not sure what bitterness he's referring to. If he actually took the time to read my posting, he would see that I gave a factual account of the event that took place in the waiting room at the church as well as other times he had publicly lied and bad-mouthed certain members of the congregation. This story led into what I see as an epidemic in this nation of sins that are occurring even at the top levels of the church. I understand that everyone is a sinner (Romans 3:23) but the problem comes when that person doesn't believe he is sinning and shows no sign of repentance. The Bible says to bring it out into the open in Matthew 18:17 after dealing with in private (which I tried on several occasions to do while attending that church). As for this becoming my whole life, he obviously doesn't understand this blog nor does he care to. It is very little of my life and when I write about this past, I grieve for those still in denial and pray that they would repent of their sins and that great things could come from them. I write from past and present experiences. I want Christians to learn how to live out God's Word and just as the entire Bible is written from experiences (God-anointed), I do the same to help give examples of what to look for, things to avoid, and how to live life for the fullest glory of God Almighty.

COMMENT 2

Hey $#%#, quit talking $#%# about my pastor and using your "Living Life" column to bash the people of God and His Bride the church.

Q. What church do you attend?
A. NONE, your not an active member anywhere.

Q. How many times have you sang at a church in the last year?
A.NONE.

Dude.....quit talking trash or im gonna throw you in a pool of water.


I had to edit out the bad language this person used in his comment just to use it in my post! He asks two questions and then proceeds to answer them. I doubt he has ever met me and he wouldn’t know anything about what I’m doing in regards to these questions unless he’s stalking me which is a crime. Both answers are lies that he chose to write. This is called libel. I do attend church regularly. I choose not to disclose which church on this blog because of people like this writer. I don’t know the exact number of times I’ve sung at a church. I’ve been blessed to do concerts and events and in turn have been told what a blessing I have been to them. He could not find where I’ve ministered in concert on my web site because once again, I chose not to post the places for fear that a person like this would come and disturb or harm the people who have come to enjoy a time of music. I have not done concerts in the past few months because I’m working on two new CD projects, a new web site, and gearing up for the 2008 tour as well as several other behind-the-scenes projects. Finally, I don’t really like having my life border-line threatened. However, after thinking about it, it is hot outside so maybe a splash in a pool would be cool and refreshing.

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As you can see, these two have no grounds for the comments they posted. Unfortunately, when you let the truth be known that others want hidden, you end up with some haters and hateful comments. The person who wrote Comment 2 shows the type of person coming out of this church and how they treat others, speak using profane language, and use threats. I’ve also seen from this person's bio that it appears he puts his pastor on a higher level than even God. That is truly scary. Please pray for these two that they would truly come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior and their lives would be changed and used to bring others to Christ. I love to see lives changed and people draw closer to Jesus!

In His Grip!