March 2006

March 2006

All Eyes Turn to Jackson, Mississippi
National Event July 15-22, 2006

The Gentle Revolution is making its way toward Jackson, Mississippi, this year, July 15-22, 2006. Pro-life leaders from across our nation will be joining us at the “ last abortion mill ” in the state of Mississippi. We will be storming the gates of hell in the strong Name of Jesus Christ. Little did any of us know, as we ran to the roar to help those devastated by Hurricane Katrina in Mississippi and Louisiana, that God was preparing us to return to Mississippi to deal with an even more deadly foe – Abortion!

For more than two months, teams of OSA gentle warriors were on the ground, bringing bread in one hand and the Bread of Life in the other, ministering to precious folks ravaged by Katrina and Rita. Hundreds of thousands of dollars of food and other essential items were brought with the Gospel of Christ. Our final delivery was a joint effort with Bethpage United Methodist Church of North Carolina to deliver 55 brand new bicycles and Christmas gifts to Pastor Tony Duckworth in Mount Olive, Mississippi. Christmas came to the kids in Mount Olive in spite of Katrina. Mount Olive is about 40 miles south of Jackson.

God has given us many friends in Jackson and the surrounding area, and we are praying that God Himself will raise up His church to bring an end to abortion in this state. It can be done! It must be done! We have stated, and believe with our whole heart that, “Abortion will come to an end in America when the Church of Jesus Christ makes up her mind it will come to an end, and not one second sooner.”

If the saints can bring down the gates of hell in the state of Mississippi, could it not be possible in every other state? If Goliath were felled by a power mightier than the sword, could it not be that abortion (the Goliath of our day) might be brought down in the same way? Could it be that we, who claim the Name of Jesus, are the only impediment holding God back from bringing an end to abortion right now?

We place our faith on this promise: “… if My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14. Our hope lies in the truth expressed in this verse, and repeated hundreds of times throughout the pages of the Bible. The gates of hell cannot prevail against God's prevailing Church. If God be for us, Brothers and Sisters, who can be against us?

If we rise up, turning the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to their

fathers, and allow the theology of the church house to become biography in the streets of Jackson, it could mark the beginning of the end of abortion in Jackson, in the state of Mississippi, and in America. What more noble cause could there be in which to enlist our children? We are not inviting you to a seminar; we are exhorting you to join us in the battle for the lives of little baby boys and girls waiting to be born by pleading their case to win it.

Your children will learn more about spiritual warfare and of their strategic value in God's Kingdom in one week than they will learn in a month of seminars anywhere else. It is on the battlefield that the heart of a young man is knit to the heart of his father.

Roe v. Wade 33rd Memorial

In cities across our nation, gentle Christians gathered in very public places this January 22 to remember and repent over 33 years of unabated child killing. This lie that is destroying our children, our souls, and our nation has so woven its surreptitious way into the fabric of our culture that it is almost impossible to detect anymore. Good is called evil, and evil is called good. The world tells us not to judge, and we are commanded, “Do not judge ” by false interpretations of the Scripture, given to us by false prophets desiring to grow large churches.

What is a Christian to do in times like these? Unsheathe the Sword of the Spirit and wield it in the mighty Name of Jesus, which is exactly what we did and will continue to do until abortion is brought down to the grave. But abortion is not the only physical manifestation of the devil and his lies. Here is another one:

Charlotte Pride 2006 Close to the Grave!

“Q-notes,” the leading gay and lesbian news source of the Carolinas, uncovers a startling secret – Charlotte Pride 2006 is in trouble. That's right! “ Charlotte Pride,” that horrific abomination where homosexual perversion is paraded in Marshall Park in downtown Charlotte every spring, is in deep trouble. Thank God!

We pray that this year God will push the radical homosexual agenda in Charlotte all the way into the grave and leave no marker for it! We pray that this will provide a bright ray of hope for all who are dealing with “Gay Pride Parades” in their own cities. We pray that every city will be set free from this sin parading itself in our public squares. We pray that the Gospel of Jesus Christ will crush the lie of the radical homosexual agenda!

How did all of this come about in the city of Charlotte? Simply by gentle Christians living out their faith in the streets of Charlotte for the past four years, and bringing King Jesus to the very gates of hell – Charlotte Pride.

Christians are saying no to godlessness and standing for righteousness in this city. We have petitioned and met with Peter Gilchrist, the District Attorney for the City of Charlotte. We have met with the Charlotte Police Department on numerous occasions, and addressed the Charlotte City Council four times. While these meetings have been fruitful in certain respects, our government officials are caught in the quagmire of tolerance and helplessness over the definition and application of laws currently on the books. They have said, “Our hands are tied.” We have reminded them that the hands of the Church of Jesus Christ are not!

Below is an article from Q-notes written by David Moore: “Charlotte Gay Pride in Trouble ?”

The future of Charlotte 's annual gay Pride celebration isn't looking too bright these days. Earlier this year the festival was held in the city's downtown Marshall Park, reportedly attracting a crowd of 3,000. Although figures for the previous year's event were reportedly higher, organizers were undaunted by the increased presence of the Concord-based anti-gay organization Operation Save America.

For many festival attendees, however, the presence of OSAers added yet another strike against Charlotte Pride. "The blaring music and the anti-gay rhetoric definitely made me feel very harassed," said Q-Notes Associate Editor David Stout. "I heard one speaker saying he opposed the event because he had a problem with child molesters." Monica Simpson, the operations manager of The Charlotte Gay & Lesbian Community Center, was clear about her feelings regarding OSA's efforts. “I definitely felt harassed," she said. "Their loudspeakers were set up right next to the tent I was in and there was no getting away from their anti-gay message."

Former Pride co-chair Nathan Smith, who has since resigned as one of the event's organizers, had this to say about OSA protestors following Pride earlier this year: "By saying you can't come in here, it's like saying you don't have the right to free speech," Smith said. "We want them to be here. Come in and walk and talk with us. To bring acceptance and tolerance you can't completely cut them off."

Flip Benham, the director of OSA, was clearly less tolerant of Charlotte 's gay and lesbian community. In an article penned by Benham on his website, he described Charlotte Pride as a homosexual lust fest. "The 'celebration' consisted of booths freely distributing condoms and lubricant, to transvestite dancers gyrating and grinding, looking for adults and kids to lap dance with, to apostate churches actually condoning this behavior." Benham wrote, "Sex, no matter how perverse - men with men, women with women, men with beasts, men with children, men with themselves - was all the rage in downtown Charlotte with the blessing of our city fathers."

Adding more flame to the fire was the response from Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, who indicated that he would like to remove the event from a public park permanently. "I do not want that festival in a park setting," McCrory told Charlotte Observer reporter Christina Breen. "If they need to do it, I think it belongs in a hotel or other private setting.”

His statement, combined with words from Benham on the OSA website, have had many in Charlotte's LGBT community speculating that police reaction to OSA protestors at this year's event may be the result of collusion between OSA and McCrory in a combined effort to squash Charlotte's Gay Pride. That remains unproven.

With all of that taken into consideration, it's no wonder Smith resigned in a virtual burnout and the organizers who remain in charge of the event - Chris Conyers, Dale Anderson, and Kevin Warren - are somewhat less than enthusiastic about Charlotte Gay Pride 2006. "We're getting tired of doing it ourselves," says Conyers. "It seems as though community support has gone down. The presence of Operation Save, America, I think, has made it unpleasant for many people. At this point I'm not sure what's going to happen - but we're working on what to do."

Conyers cites difficulty in raising funds and sponsors and finding volunteers for the event as the biggest challenges. Among Charlotte 's gay community, there's been talk for some time about the possibility of The Charlotte Lesbian & Gay Community Center taking over the handling of the event. Conyers has indicated the idea is a distinct possibility. "I would love to continue to be involved in it," says Conyers, "but right now at this point in time if they wanted to take it on, I'd probably agree to that.

"It's very important that we manage to keep Charlotte Pride going - it's one of the few places where everybody can come together and have a good time…"

Be encouraged all of you involved in the Gentle Revolution!

Free Speech Loses In Super Bowl

Our good friends Cal Zastrow, Denny Green, and Mark Gabriel ran into some heated battles as they allowed their theology to become biography at the gates of hell (the streets of Detroit during Super Bowl time).  They lifted up the Gospel of Christ and were knocked down by the heavy hand of the Detroit Police Department.  But, knocking them down didn't knock them out!  They continued their bold Christian witness. This is an incredible story of Christian persecution in America. 

On February 4, the day before our country's hallowed Super Bowl Sunday, Life and Liberty Ministry Director Dennis Green was arrested, jailed, and the LLM Truth Truck impounded. The Detroit Police Department (DPD) blatantly ignored the law, and censored the truth that children are being murdered in the womb in America .

The Christian witness began on Friday when Dennis Green and Jerry Penner drove around Detroit 's downtown area. The Truth Truck was stopped and Dennis was told that he could no longer drive the truck on the streets, though they were obeying all traffic laws. They were stopped several times by officers on Saturday as they continued their mission. The last time they were stopped, the officers discussed how they could cut the signs from the vehicle. The Truth Truck was towed and Mr. Green was arrested for "failure to obtain a permit."

Mark Gabriel was also driving a van with pro-life and Gospel messages on the sides. His vehicle was impounded by the DPD as well, and he was left standing on the street.

Undaunted, Dennis Green, Cal Zastrow, Chris Coatney, and Michael Marcavage continued the mission, and preached Jesus to the crowds who were entering Ford Field for the Super Bowl. God bless these men of God! To read “the rest of the story”, go to www.LifeAndLibertyMinistries.com.

Keep storming the gates,

Flip