The Monthly Update

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

This edition of the "Monthly Update" is a continuation of coverage from around the country focusing on issues critical to us as Christians as our country goes into the November elections. I do not think that it is extreme to say that what happens in the next month will probably be one of the most important elections for the future of our great nation.

One of the changes in the last Update was that it was shorter. We had received several comments as to length and amount of data that it was too long and provided too much information. We are grateful for the many replies we received, with there being one letter agreeing that our past Updates were a bit lengthy. However, the overwhelming consensus was that people liked the longer Updates since it provided more information with the thinking that they liked being more fully informed. I can only say that, for those who prefer the shorter reports, we shall provide the longer, more comprehensive Updates and we would ask you to just "digest it in bites" by reading those areas that interest you and skipping over the others, or perhaps do as the lady in Florida said, read parts of it "and lay it down until later." As you know, it is our desire to communicate as much information to as many people as possible – and the longer Update is one way in which we can do this.

We ask that you would continue to pray for our troops who are in harm’s way overseas in Afghanistan and Iraq. The battle in which they are engaged is, I believe, one of the most important for our future. I sincerely believe that we are in World War III – and we should face up to the daunting task before us of achieving victory. This is not only a military conflict but a religious and spiritual one as well.

Concerned Methodists is a ministry supported by your continuing generosity. We thank you for your kindness in helping with this work for the Lord. We would also ask for your continuing prayers, and again, we ask that you pray that a godly man will be elected president in November.

In His service,

Allen O. Morris,
Executive Director

Of Interest. Regarding Item #2: I have personally experienced anti-American media bias during the Vietnam War. The anti-Iraqi War bias parallels the anti- Vietnam War bias. This is a long-standing problem and of serious importance.

+ Many on Capitol Hill are displeased with CBS News regarding its reporting based on faked memos that criticize President George W. Bush's National Guard service. Oklahoma Republican Senator Jim Inhofe is among those angered by the actions of CBS anchor Dan Rather, who went on the air and attacked the president with allegations based on the false documents, reporting that Bush disobeyed orders while he was in the Texas Air National Guard. After the memos were discredited, Rather apologized to the public for having been duped but added that he still believed the story. The whole incident has Inhofe beside himself and suspicious that Democratic propagandists or spin doctors, such as political consultant James Carville, may have had a hand in the matter. The senator is livid over what he calls the "outrageous lies that we're getting from people like Dan Rather," he says, and people "such as [former Lt. Governor] Ben Barnes down in Texas, saying things about the president and then, proven that they're wrong, still refusing to back it up. It just shows me that James Carville is busy at work." Inhofe notes that CBS's own experts warned Rather the source documents were suspect, but the veteran newsman ignored the warnings and aired the story anyway. - AgapePress, September 24, 2004.

+ Team helps church transition to new Connectional Table. In the first major reorganization in the denomination's 36-year history, delegates to the General Conference in May approved creating the Connectional Table to enlarge the circle of United Methodists responsible for visioning and executing mission and ministry for the whole church. The Connectional Table will include 47 members elected from U.S. jurisdictional and overseas conferences in Africa, Asia and Europe; clergy and lay representatives; a bishop [Sharon Brown Christopher] selected by the Council of Bishops; general agency top executives and most presidents; one youth and one young adult from the Board of Discipleship's Division on Ministries with Young People; and members from the denomination's racial and ethnic caucuses. Christopher's team must develop and implement a plan to crank up the Connectional Table, provide training and orientation for members, and reassign functions and responsibilities from the General Council on Ministries, the denomination's planning agency that will dissolve Dec. 31. The Connectional Table will convene Jan. 13-16 or Jan. 20-23.

In August, the transition team assigned to the United Methodist Board of Discipleship the responsibility for leading a training session for jurisdictional conference leaders Jan. 27-30 at Houston's Hilton of the Americas. The team also assigned to the Council of Bishops - with staffing responsibilities to the discipleship board and the Board of Higher Education and Ministry - the job of providing training next summer for new district superintendents and directors of connectional ministries, Howard said. Also in August, the transition team approved a six-month severance plan for the GCOM's 13 employees, supplemental severance for years of service and fixed termination dates for employees based on pending assignments. By Oct. 31, eight of the 13 employees are expected to leave GCOM under the plan. Dan Church, the agency's top staff executive, and four employees will remain until Dec. 31. In addition, the team renewed short-term leases for 10 non-profit tenants leasing space in GCOM's building at 601 W. Riverview Ave. in Dayton, Ohio. Ultimately, the team will recommend to the denomination's trustees what to do with the building.

In addition to Christopher, the transition team includes Bishop John L. Hopkins of Ohio; LeVeeda Morgan Battle, North Alabama Annual (regional) Conference; Mary Hayenga, Dakotas Conference; the Rev. Marilynn M. Huntington, California-Pacific Conference; the Rev. Patrick Streiff, Switzerland-France Conference; Gerald "Jay" Williams, Western New York Conference; and the Rev. J. Philip Wogaman, a retired pastor in the Baltimore-Washington Conference and now interim president of United Methodist-related Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Rev. W. Timothy McClendon of South Carolina and Ann A. Saunkeah of Oklahoma. McClendon and Saunkeah have Native American ancestry.

- Steve Smith; The United Methodist Reporter (UMNS); Nashville {04419}; Sep. 16, 2004.

+ ...Retired Marine Lieutenant General Mike DeLong, a former military man turned author, says he wanted to get his new book about the U.S. actions in Afghanistan and Iraq released before the 2004 presidential election in November. He feels it is important for the American people to know the facts about these military campaigns. DeLong was General Tommy Franks' deputy commander at U.S. Central Command. His book is called Inside Centcom: The Unvarnished Truth about the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq (Regnery, 2004). DeLong says he had to work fast to get it done before the elections – "not that it would sway the elections. It's a short primer that will allow people to look at what happened in Iraq, how we got into Iraq, sort of where we are today." The former Marine says unless they plan to vote a straight party ticket, U.S. voters need to "get all the information you can possibly get, and that's what we hope to do with this book." Since retiring and going to work for a private company, DeLong has been back to Iraq six times in the past four months, and he says for the most part, the Iraqis appreciate the American presence there. The veteran says this war is one America cannot afford to lose, so the nation needs an administration that is tough on terrorism. - AgapePress, September 24, 2004.

+ Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has hired a leader among scholars who say scientific evidence shows the universe was caused by intelligent design. William Dembski is currently a professor at Baptist-related Baylor University, where his advocacy of design is opposed by faculty advocates of Darwinian evolution. At Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, Dembski will direct a new Center for Science and Theology. Seminary President R. Albert Mohler, Jr. says that while design theory is not "the doctrine of creation as revealed in the Bible," it is still "a useful and important intellectual tool" that "undermines the materialistic and naturalistic world view central to the theory of evolution." Dembski holds doctorates in mathematics from the University of Chicago and philosophy from the University of Illinois and a divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary. - AgapePress, September 24, 2004.

+ Utah's attorney general wielded a golden sword, castigated the U.S. Supreme Court for overturning an anti-pornography law, and warned e-mailers of unsolicited smut that he was on their case. And former presidential candidate Alan Keyes said denying God is a fundamental assault on the moral foundation of the nation. They were among speakers Monday at an Independence Day Extravaganza at Utah Valley State College, which included the Family Freedom Fair, a special tribute to the late Ronald Reagan, and the launch of an anti-pornography effort. Keyes, an assistant secretary of state under Reagan and an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican presidential nomination four years ago, said the last several decades have seen assault on every public moral and religious value. He added: "People now pretend this nation was founded on war; I say it was founded on prayer." – AgapePress,July 7, 2004.

+ The new president of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is encouraging Christians to vote in a manner that will help reflect godly values and principles. Dr. Bobby Welch, who believes strongly that every American citizen ought to vote, says the upcoming November 2004 election is vital to the moral direction of the nation. "I think you've got to leave it to their personal commitment between them and the Lord, how God leads them to vote," he says. "But they certainly ought to vote in a way that's going to make this nation more of what it ought to be for the Lord." And while Welch acknowledges there are many issues on the political landscape, the SBC's prominent focus must be on soul-winning. He says without a focus on evangelism, the denomination will cease to be effective. "The line that is critical is that we give our best to do what Christ gave His life for -- and that's to share the good news of Jesus Christ," Welch says. "I intend to do that with all the energy and effort I know how, and I intend to do my best to call ... this Convention toward that goal." Welch is founder of the FAITH Sunday School Evangelism Strategy, which is used in more than 16,000 churches.

+ Imagine writing a book which would sell a million copies a year for over one hundred years! Well, one man did. His name was William Holmes McGuffey, born this day, September 23, 1800. Considered the "Schoolmaster of the Nation," McGuffey's Readers were the mainstay of America's public school system from 1836 till the 1920's. McGuffey was the president of Ohio University and formed the first teachers' association in that part of the nation. In his Fifth Eclectic Reader, William McGuffey wrote: "Erase all thought and fear of God from a community, and selfishness and sensuality would absorb the whole man." - American Minute with Bill Federer, September 23rd; www.AmericanMinute.com.

The Methodist Church of New Zealand has clarified that gay and lesbian people can be ordained in the church but gay ministers may still be kept out of parishes where they are not welcome. While gay people can continue to be ordained, the church will decide if it is appropriate to send them to certain parishes, said Methodist Church president Lynne Frith. "If a parish vociferously did not want a gay or lesbian minister, they would simply consider there was no matching and therefore the parish would not be forced to have that person and the person would not be forced to go there," she said.

The Methodist Church yesterday released a memorandum of understanding saying it was a way to "move forward" on the issue of gay ministers.

Dr Frith said the response to the memorandum within the church had been positive. "But that doesn't mean everybody's happy about it. It won't satisfy everybody. It won't satisfy some gay and lesbian people and it won't satisfy some evangelical people."

Sexual orientation was not one of the criteria and was "irrelevant" to whether people could be ordained. Criteria included being adequately trained and being willing to work within the rules of the Methodist Church. [Note: What about the "rules" of the Bible?] In a statement, the church said the memorandum acknowledged the diversity within the church. Dr Frith said the issue had been under debate for more than 10 years and there were church members both for and against the ordination of gay people. The church statement said the memorandum enabled people with "markedly different beliefs to remain in relationship with each other within the church".

+ A Michigan pro-family activist says the single best way of preventing the spread of the virus that causes AIDS is to help get men to leave the lifestyle that accounts for most new cases of the disease. Thousands of AIDS activists recently held a "walk-a-thon" in Detroit, aimed at raising money supposedly to find a cure for the disease. Gary Glenn, president of the American Family of Michigan, sponsored the flying of a banner over the event promoting an "ex-gay" ministry website. The banner read: "Jesus Christ ... HopeForHomosexuals.com." According to Glenn, the statistics do not lie -- sex between men is still the leading cause of HIV infections. He says, "Given that homosexual activity among men remains the single biggest cause of AIDS infection in the Detroit metro area and throughout the state of Michigan, the single most effective step we can take to stop the transmission of AIDS is to help men involved in that lifestyle escape it -- get free of it." It is not hateful, the pro-family activist adds, to offer someone a way out of a lifestyle that accounts for 61 percent of the new AIDS cases in the Detroit area. - AgapePress, September 22, 2004.

+ A Louisiana pro-family activist says a recent referendum demonstrated a strong connection between church attendance and the passage of an amendment banning same-sex "marriage." By a 78-to-22 percent margin, Louisiana voters said yes to an amendment to the state constitution to ban homosexual marriage and civil unions. Kathleen Benefield, president of the American Family Association of New Orleans, says churches made the difference. For example, she says in LaSalle

Parish, 93 percent of voters approved the measure. "It just so happens that that ... according to a study done in 2000 ... LaSalle Parish has the highest number of religious adherents and also the highest number of churches per 10,000 people," she says. "So this vote is tied very closely to a strong attachment to religious faith." Benefield says the Lord equipped His Church to do great things for His glory -- and all that was required in this case was for people to show up and vote.

(UM) Men. Devotional booklet sales pass 120,000. Efforts by United Methodist Men to provide all service men and women with the devotional book, Strength for Service to God and Country, continue to gain momentum and support. More than 120,000 copies have been sold, and contributions are continuing from a wide variety of organizations and groups, according to L.W. Smith, a layman from Columbia, S.C. Smith gave the report at the Sept. 20-22 organizational meeting of the Commission on United Methodist Men in Nashville. The book is not designed exclusively for military personnel but is also being distributed to professionals such as police, firefighters and emergency medical technicians. Strength for Service is a revision of a book carried 60 years ago by Eugene Hunsberger during World War II. Hunsberger was given the book while serving in the Navy, and he continued to read from it for the rest of his life.

Haiti. The following is a letter sent to Chaplain Ed Drew from missionary Pritchard Adams:

Iraq.

+ A statue is currently on display outside the Iraqi palace that is now home to the 4th Infantry division. It will eventually be shipped and shown at the memorial museum in Fort Hood, Texas. This statue was made by an Iraqi artist named Kalat, who for years was forced by Saddam Hussein to make the many hundreds of bronze busts of Saddam that dotted Baghdad. This artist was so grateful that the Americans liberated his country; he melted 3 of the fallen Saddam heads and made a memorial statue dedicated to the American soldiers and their fallen comrades. Kalat has been working on this night and day for several months. To the left of the kneeling soldier is a small Iraqi girl giving the soldier comfort as he mourns the loss of his comrade in arms.

  Want to know why we don't hear this in the news? Because it does not have the controversy of a political race.

+ A best selling author and national defense correspondent has released a new book that reveals how the double-dealing of some of America's so-called allies has helped Islamic terrorists murder more American soldiers. The book is called Treachery: How America's Friends and Foes Are Secretly Arming Our Enemies (Crown Forum, 2004). Author Bill Gertz says Iraqi terrorists are killing U.S. soldiers with weapons supplied by Russia, Germany, and France. "In the book, I show that the French were among the most egregious in supplying weapons to Saddam that are now being used by the insurgents in that country against Americans," he says. However, the defense expert says top U.S. officials want to keep these facts from coming out. "A number of senior U.S. officials have been asked about this issue," he says, "and they all duck the question. It seems as though the administration wants to sweep this under the rug so we don't end up offending these European nations who were guilty of treacherous behavior in their arms transfers." But America's 'friends' have put greed over principle, Gertz says; and, in so doing, they have made America's enemies far more deadly and the world far more dangerous. - AgapePress, September 24, 2004.