Dear KKIM Family,
First of all please pray for Charlie Hickman in Laporte, Indiana. Charlie has a tumor on one of his lungs and it is growing and he is losing weight. Charlie is a dear friend of KKIM. Charlie and his wife Lavella are wonderful people of God. They have been a mentor of mine for years! They have given much to God’s people over their lives. They are one of the main reasons I am here at KKIM today.
Please continue to pray for Corbin Hayes, he is the 13 year old we have been praying for that fell into the Rio Grande river on Thursday. Officials are still searching and praying that they will find him walking on shore disoriented. State Police Lt. Eric Garcia says, “God willing, he got out and is walking the shore disoriented.”
Please pray for our new friend Chris. Please pray that he turns his life over the Lord and rid’s himself of anger. Chris wants to live a better life.
No Bible Study and Don’t fly the American Flag…………
The Two most important things in America………The Bible and the Flag…….for what they stand for………
Please be in prayer about the following situations. I have to ask myself these days if I still live in the United States, and I am not over reacting. Many of my Pastor friends are right there with me. I had a friend come into my office this past week and ask me if we should just give up! No, my friends, we are to be the salt and light of the world and to occupy until the Lord comes and bring the lost to the Lord. That is our mission.
But get a load of this……….I wish this was fiction…….but it is True………This is why we need to stay strong in the Lord and stay together as the Family of God.
Here is the Story from World Net Daily……We have been covering this on New Mexico News and Views……..Then we have a response from Pastor Mark Scales of Heights Christian Church in Albuquerque.
By Drew Zahn
© 2009 WorldNetDaily
A San Diego pastor and his wife claim they were interrogated by a county official and warned they will face escalating fines if they continue to hold Bible studies in their home.
The couple, whose names are being withheld until a demand letter can be filed on their behalf, told their attorney a county government employee knocked on their door on Good Friday, asking a litany of questions about their Tuesday night Bible studies, which are attended by approximately 15 people.
“Do you have a regular weekly meeting in your home? Do you sing? Do you say ‘amen’?” the official reportedly asked. “Do you say, ‘Praise the Lord’?”
The pastor’s wife answered yes.
She says she was then told, however, that she must stop holding “religious assemblies” until she and her husband obtain a Major Use Permit from the county, a permit that often involves traffic and environmental studies, compliance with parking and sidewalk regulations and costs that top tens of thousands of dollars.
And if they fail to pay for the MUP, the county official reportedly warned, the couple will be charged escalating fines beginning at $100, then $200, $500, $1000, “and then it will get ugly.”
Remind the world who’s really in charge with the “Worship GOD, not GOV” magnetic bumper sticker from WND.
Dean Broyles of the Western Center for Law & Policy, which has been retained to represent the couple, told WND the county’s action not only violates religious land-use laws but also assaults both the First Amendment’s freedom of assembly and freedom of religion.
“The First Amendment, in part, reads, ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,'” Broyles said. “And that’s the key part: ‘prohibiting the free exercise.’ We believe this is a substantial government burden on the free exercise of religion.”
He continued, “If one’s home is one’s castle, certainly you would the think the free exercise of religion, of all places, could occur in the home.”
(Story continues below)
Broyles confirmed the county official followed through on his threat. The pastor and his wife received a written warning ordering the couple to “cease/stop religious assembly on parcel or obtain a major use permit.”
“The Western Center for Law and Policy is troubled by this draconian move to suppress home Bible studies,” said the law center in a statement. “If the current trends in our nation continue, churches may be forced underground. If that happens, believers will once again be forced to meet in homes. If homes are already closed by the government to assembly and worship, where then will Christians meet?”
On a personal note, Broyles added, “I’ve been leading Bible studies in my home for 13 years in San Diego County, and I personally believe that home fellowship Bible studies are the past and future of the church. … If you look at China, the church grew from home Bible studies. I’m deeply concerned that if in the U.S. we are not able to meet in our homes and freely practice our religion, then we may be worse off than China.”
Broyles also explained to WND that oppressive governments, such as communist China or Nazi Germany, worked to repress home fellowships, labeling them the “underground church” or “subversive groups,” legally compelling Christians to meet only in sanctioned, government-controlled “official” churches.
“Therein lies my concern,” Broyles said. “If people can’t practice their religious beliefs in the privacy of their own homes with a few of their friends, that’s an egregious First Amendment violation.”
WND contacted a spokeswoman for San Diego County, who acknowledged the description of the incident seemed “bizarre,” but who was unable to locate the details of the account. She simply could not provide comment yet, she said, until she could become familiar with the case.
Broyles said the WCLP is nearly ready to file a demand letter with the county to release the pastor and his wife from the requirement to obtain the expensive permit. If the county refuses, Broyles said, the WCLP will consider a lawsuit in federal court.
Broyles also told WND the pastor and his wife are continuing to hold the Bible study in their home.
Here is Pastor Mark Scales Response…………
I found this news article on line this week after a friend e-mailed me.
SAN DIEGO — A local pastor and his wife claim they were interrogated by a San Diego County official, who then threatened them with escalating fines if they continued to hold Bible studies in their home, 10News reported.
Attorney Dean Broyles of The Western Center For Law & Policy was shocked with what happened to the pastor and his wife.
Broyles said, “The county asked, ‘Do you have a regular meeting in your home?’ She said, ‘Yes.’ ‘Do you say amen?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Do you pray?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Do you say praise the Lord?’ ‘Yes.'”
The county employee notified the couple that the small Bible study, with an average of 15 people attending, was in violation of County regulations, according to Broyles.
Broyles said a few days later the couple received a written warning that listed “unlawful use of land” and told them to “stop religious assembly or apply for a major use permit” — a process that could cost tens of thousands of dollars. “For churches and religious assemblies there’s big parking concerns, there’s environmental impact concerns when you have hundreds or thousands of people gathering. But this is a different situation, and we believe that the application of the religious assembly principles to this Bible study is certainly misplaced,” said Broyles.
News of the case has rapidly spread across Internet blogs and has spurred various reactions.
Did you get the part that it is unlawful to have a religious assembly at your house (currently in CA)? This is happening in America. Can you believe it? Actually, I can. I’ve talked about persecution coming on the American church many times at the pulpit. It seems to be coming quick. The question doesn’t seem to be if persecution will occur on Christians in the U.S., but when. For the couple in San Diego County the answer is now.
I know what many of you are thinking, “Pastor Mark, you are over-reacting!! Its probably just a parking issue in the neighborhood.” But, my brothers and sisters, that is where it begins. Let me ask you a question. What would you do in this situation? Would you give up meeting together to study the Bible? I think for many of you the answer would be “no.” Nothing would stop you from meeting to study the Bible together with your church family.
However, how many of you use the excuse that Summer is a time to stop with your Life Groups because it’s a vacation time or transition time? In my book it’s the same thing. You may not be forced to stop meeting but you are stopping because it’s a little inconvenient. I say don’t let it be so. Hebrews 10:23-25 says,
“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
As we see the Day approaching, the return of Christ and the approaching of persecution, let us not forsake meeting together.
Here is an update from World Net Daily……….
By Bob Unruh
© 2009 WorldNetDaily
Code enforcement officials in San Diego who banned a pastor and his wife from holding Bible studies in their home or face fines have taken less than 24 hours to respond to a demand letter from a legal team representing the couple in what could be a major First Amendment dispute.
And now they have a deadline to withdraw statements that lawyers believe already have created an irreparable violation of the First Amendment.
Dean Broyles, the chief of the Western Center for Law & Policy, told WND today the letter was dispatched to Pam Elias, chief of the land use division for the county of San Diego, on Tuesday, and a meeting was held among the parties yesterday.
(Story continues below)
The letter demanded the county “agree in writing to rescind Administrative Citation #DPLU-40576 and the accompanying Cease and Desist Order” that told Pastor David and Mary Jones they would be fined and penalized “if they continue to hold their weekly Bible study in their home.”
The letter from Broyles said the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the loss of First Amendment freedoms, “even for minimal periods of time, unquestionably constitutes irreparable harm.”
And it provided a deadline for the county to respond.
“As a result, time is of the essence, and both the Joneses and the WCLP respectfully demand that written confirmation of the county’s agreement to permit the Joneses to continue holding their regularly scheduled Bible study in their home without further threat of sanction be provided within five business days of the date of this letter. Should the county fail or refuse to comply, the Joneses are prepared to pursue all available legal remedies, including litigation.”
Last week, WND broke the story about the case that apparently was sparked by a complaint from a visitor to a residence of one of the Joneses’ neighbors.
The sequence of events developed this way.
“On April 10, 2009, Good Friday, a female county employee came to the Joneses’ residence. The county employee appeared in the front yard and proceeded to take pictures of our clients’ home,” the letter said. “She noticed the Joneses’ daughters in the front yard and asked to speak with their mother. Although she did not provide any paper work or identification, subsequent information obtained by the WCLP leads us to believe that the county employee who went to the Joneses’ residence was Code Enforcement Officer Cherie Cham.”
“Do you have a regular weekly meeting in your home? Do you sing? Do you say ‘amen’?” the official reportedly asked. “Do you say, ‘Praise the Lord’?”
The pastor’s wife answered yes.
She says she was then told, however, that she must stop holding “religious assemblies” until she and her husband obtain a Major Use Permit from the county, a permit that often involves traffic and environmental studies, compliance with parking and sidewalk regulations and costs that top tens of thousands of dollars.
If they fail to pay for the MUP, the county official reportedly warned, the couple would be charged escalating fines beginning at $100, then $200, $500, $1000, “and then it will get ugly.”
Remind the world who’s really in charge with the “Worship GOD, not GOV” magnetic bumper sticker from WND.
“Four things become clear when this case is legally analyzed,” said the letter. “First, the Joneses’ weekly Bible study is not a ‘religious assembly’ as defined by the county’s ordinances rendering the requirement of an MUP inapplicable. Second, the county’s order to stop hosting the weekly Bible study is a blatant violation of the Joneses’ First Amendment right to freely exercise their religion.
“Third, the order also violates their First Amendment right to peaceably assemble. Fourth, the county’s action is a substantial burden on the Joneses’ ability to practice their religion in violation of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000,” the letter said.
Elias did not return a telephone message from WND asking for comment.
But Broyles said the result of yesterday’s meeting was an agreement that the status quo would be preserved while the dispute is resolved – meaning there will be no fines or other citations for the family from the county.
“They acknowledged all the publicity the case was getting. That’s part of the reason they met with us so quickly,” he said.
He also said the county appeared to be “backing off” the religious assembly angle in favor of considering “other issues,” such as parking, to apply in the case.
“Our concern with that is that they’re trying to change the aspects of the case,” he said. “They want to back out gracefully.”
Instead, Broyles said, the citations should be withdrawn and the county should apologize.
“They were targeting our clients’ religious exercise,” he said.
A forum page for the local Channel 10 television station featured a number of comments in support of the couple after it reported on the initial controversy.
“This is absolutely disturbing – and if true (I have no reason to doubt that it is), then the line of questioning reported in the victim’s testimony as conducted by this official was completely wrong, unconstitutional, and a clear violation of the public’s trust,” said one contributor. “Our government is not the thought police – that official had no business whatsoever asking those questions, and it deeply concerns me to see such a line of questioning be even tolerated to exist as a matter of public perception without the leadership of SD County issuing a public apology and making their role in this matter very clear: this regulation does not apply to this home bible study – nor any other private home gathering for that matter.”
The letter said a group that averages about 15 in attendance clearly does not involve a “religious assembly.”
The county definition for that is “public assembly such as customarily occurs in synagogues, temples, and churches.”
“These facts along are sufficient to render (the citation) invalid,” the letter said.
But it said the issue also involves the First Amendment.
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” the letter quoted from the First Amendment.
The citation and cease and desist order “were directed solely towards the Joneses’ religious activity,” the letter said. “Specifically, the Joneses were not asked to stop hosting any kind of assembly generally, they were ordered to stop ‘religious assembly.’ Indeed, if the county was not targeting religious activity per se, it would presumably have to forbid any and all secular events where friends and neighbors are invited to a resident’s home on a regular basis, including, but not limited to in-home poker games, book club meetings, Monday night football parties, girl and boy scout meetings, Tupperware parties, Bunco nights, bridge clubs, etc.”
Broyles earlier told WND that oppressive governments, such as communist China or Nazi Germany, worked to repress home fellowships, labeling them the “underground church” or “subversive groups,” legally compelling Christians to meet only in sanctioned, government-controlled “official” churches.
“Therein lies my concern,” Broyles said. “If people can’t practice their religious beliefs in the privacy of their own homes with a few of their friends, that’s an egregious First Amendment violation.”
Okay now this one really made me feel like I do not live in the United States of America…………TAKE DOWN THAT FLAG!!!!! WHAT???? IT’S OFFENSIVE!!!!!! WOW!!!
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Debbie McLucas, seen here at home in Arlington, Texas, has been invited by her supervisor to display the flag in her office.
Debbie McLucas comes from a patriotic family – her husband and both of her sons served in the U.S. military, and her daughter is currently deployed to Iraq on her second tour of duty as a combat medic.
So when McLucas arrived at work at a Texas hospital last Friday, she was stunned to be told that the Stars and Stripes she had hung in her office in advance of Memorial Day were offensive, and that the flag had been removed.
“I got into work, I was met by my supervisor and told that there had been multiple complaints, that people found the flag very offensive and it had been taken down,” McLucas told FOXNews.com.
“I went to the office to retrieve it and found the flag wrapped around the pole, sitting in the corner on the ground. I was speechless.”
McLucas, a supervisor at Kindred Hospital in Mansfield, Texas, had displayed the 3-by-5-foot flag in the office she shares with the hospital’s three other supervisors. McLucas said one of her colleagues, a woman who immigrated to the United States from Africa 14 years ago, complained about the flag to upper management, and the hospital decided to take down the flag.
“I was told that as long as my flag offended one person, it would be taken down,” McLucas said.
She said the hospital told her that the American flag flying outside the building would have to suffice. “I was told, ‘There is a flag hanging out front, everyone can see that one. Is that not enough?’”
No, she said, that wasn’t enough.
“It is more than I can even fathom, that you would find the American flag offensive, in America,” McLucas said.
A Kindred Healthcare spokeswoman did not return calls for comment. Kindred issued a press release stating, “Kindred Hospital Mansfield has a great deal of appreciation for the service that many of our employees and their families have given to their country. We honor our veterans and active military through a variety of benefits and service programs. This was an isolated incident between two employees that we are working to resolve amicably.”
The statement went on to explain: “The disagreement was over the size of the flag and not what it symbolized. We have invited the employee to put the flag back up.”
And it will go back up and stay up, McLucas said.
“I do think they’re trying to do the right thing. I have no reason to believe the flag won’t remain there as long as I’m employed.”
That’s the United States will live in……….Watch your Bible Study groups and watch how you fly the flag! WOW! Be strong in the Lord!
Let us Pray…………….
Lord, let us remain strong in You………Let us be bold in our faith………let us continue to have the faith to preach the good news. Let us not be afraid…….Let us see the World for what it is……..Let us keep our eyes on You and not give up…….In the name of Jesus, AMEN!
In the Love of Christ, Dewey Sharon and family
PS These are the issues we cover weekdays on New Mexico News and Views at 4:30 for YOU!
