Faith and Action president Rev. Rob Schenck traveled this week to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to launch the second phase of “Kids for Christ-mas at the Capitol.” Long-time friend and Nevada businessman David Hensey, a member of the Faith and Action board of trustees, accompanied him.

“Kids for Christ-mas at the Capitol” is Faith and Action’s effort to recruit Wyoming school-age children through Sunday schools, youth groups and other ministries to participate in this year’s state-wide “Wyoming: Forever West” U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree.

Each year a Christmas tree is displayed on the famous West Lawn of the US Capitol. A different state is chosen each year to contribute the tree from one of its national forests. This year’s honor was awarded to Wyoming and the tree will come from the Bridger-Teton National Forest near Jackson Hole, where Faith and Action has many supporters.

The Forest Service recommends six to eight trees for selection. However, the Architect of the Capitol makes the final selection and determines which tree will be the official U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree. It is estimated the tree selected will be approximately 60 feet tall, about equal to a six-story building.

An additional 75 companion trees will be delivered to the Capitol and placed in federal offices, congressional and senate offices, as well as the United State Supreme Court.

A second part of the official U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree program is an invitation to school age children to contribute thousands of hand-made ornaments to adorn it and the companion trees. While all decorations must respect the particular state’s overall theme, until recently religious or biblical content was disallowed. After Faith and Action and other groups expressed concern over the policy, Architect of the Capitol Stephen Ayers lifted the restriction.

As a result of the new policy, Faith and Action is encouraging kids in Jackson Hole and surrounding areas to make ornaments reflecting the true meaning of the Christmas season. All the leaders and members of Congress, together with hundreds of thousands of tourists, will view the ornaments on the trees. Ornaments not selected for the main tree on the West Lawn will be placed on trees inside the congressional office buildings.

“Churches and civic leaders in Jackson Hole responded enthusiastically to this challenge,” said Rev. Schenck. “They really got the importance of this unique opportunity. It could be half a century before Wyoming is picked again. This is a rare window in time when children can help restore a Christian witness in the nation’s capital city.”

General information on the criteria for making and submitting ornaments can be found at www.CapitolChristmasTree2010.org.

Elena Kagan is sworn-in at Supreme Court by Chief Justice John Roberts (r).

Just as Cheryl and I were packing up to leave our apartment in Washington, DC, to head for the airport to fly to our other apartment in Seattle, Washington, there was commotion across the street. I glanced at my watch and figured out what it was–guests were arriving at the Supreme Court for the private swearing-in of Elena Kagan as the 112th justice. As you know by now, Justice Kagan was confirmed by the US Senate last Thursday by a vote of 63-37.

I get a lot of questions these days about what this means for us–that is, for Faith & Action. What it means is that there is a new person we are now called to minister to. Think of it like a pastor who is asked, “Now that so-and-so has visited your church, what will you do?” The answer should be simple: “Everything we do for everyone else.” In other words, Justice Kagan becomes one of our “spiritual charges.” We will pray for her, seek to reach out to her to build an affable and respectful relationship with her, and stand by to meet whatever other needs we can. That’s our call from God.

Because of the paramount role of the High Court in federal government (as a co-equal branch with the Legislative–Congress–and the Executive–the President), it’s hard to see the actual members of the Court for what they are–fellow human beings. We tend to think of people in high government office as either caricatures portrayed by the media, or as supra-human–or even sub-human automatons that either rescue us or wreak havoc on our lives. In the ten years that I’ve been visiting the Supreme Court, I’ve gotten another perspective on its nine members. They are each surprisingly “normal.” They are real people–with real lives. Now, don’t get me wrong, they are–well–let’s say–unusual people of an unusual accomplishment, but they are none-the-less human. Just about everything you have experienced in your life, they have each experienced in theirs. They’ve known joy and sorrow, achievement and disappointment, love and hatred, pride and embarrassment, gain and loss. In my personal conversations with the justices, I find them in every way like anyone else I’ve dealt with in any other place.

That’s why when people ask what the change in the Court means for me, I often light-heartedly say, “Nothing.” Now, I know people are worried about the direction the Court may take on critically important issues, particularly those having to do with the dignity and value of human life, the sacredness of marriage as between a man and woman, and our paramount First Amendment constitutional rights. These are legitimate and understandable concerns–and ones that I share–but I let our legal scholars comment  on all that. My first responsibility is as “a minister to elected and appointed officials in Washington, DC” and that means if God requires me to speak His Word and communicate His Gospel to the Anti-Christ, I’ll do it with His love as I would for anyone else.

Elena Kagan is a complex person with an interesting history, but what’s most important to me is that she is, indeed, a person. My two favorite verses in the Bible are also two of the most simple: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life,” (John 3:16) and “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” (1 John 4:8) My first challenge will be to relate to Elena Kagan through the medium of God’s Love that will become, prayerfully, my own for her as a fellow human being. As an expression of that love, I hope to share with her the Truth that can set her free–along with all those whose lives she will affect in her new role.

If you’re interested in the human side of the justices, I highly recommend the recent autobiography by Justice Clarence Thomas, My Grandfather’s Son: A Memoir. I don’t often cry when I read, but I did reading Justice’s Thomas’s terribly frank, very human story. I also laughed out loud, and even said, “Amen” a few times. It is a deeply moving gut-level-honest story you will want to pass along to others. Of all the experiences I’ve had in Washington–meeting two presidents–praying with leaders of Congress–doing the Larry King show–the most memorable and meaningful was an arm-in-arm walk around the Capitol with Justice Thomas. I saw his truly human side.

Please pray for our fellow human beings on the High Court: Chief Justice John Roberts, newly seated Associate Justice Elena Kagan and her colleagues, Associate Justices Samuel Alito, Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia, Sonia Sotomayor and Clarence Thomas. Your prayers, expressed in love, is the most effective thing you can do.

This morning I was in the prayer garden behind our ministry center praying about yesterday’s ruling by a federal judge redefining marriage in California. I was also interceding for our US senators as they prepare to vote this afternoon on President Obama’s nominee to the US Supreme Court, Elena Kagan. (I’ll be in the Senate chamber this afternoon when they cast their final votes whether to confirm her appointment or not.) I hope you view my video update below.

For now, though, I’d like to share with you what came to me as I read Psalm 75 during my prayer time: Even in what is surely a frustrating and discouraging time for many (maybe even a maddening time), there is still reason to be thankful. Take a minute and read this Psalm with me:

Psalm 75

¹ We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks!
For Your wondrous works declare that Your name is near.

² “When I choose the proper time,
I will judge uprightly.

³ The earth and all its inhabitants are dissolved;
I set up its pillars firmly.  Selah

⁴ “I said to the boastful, ‘Do not deal boastfully,’
And to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up the horn.

⁵ Do not lift up your horn on high;
Do not speak with a stiff neck.’”

⁶ For exaltation comes neither from the east
Nor from the west nor from the south.

⁷ But God is the Judge:
He puts down one,
And exalts another.

⁸ For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup,
And the wine is red;
It is fully mixed, and He pours it out;
Surely its dregs shall all the wicked of the earth
Drain and drink down.

⁹ But I will declare forever,
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.

¹⁰ “All the horns of the wicked I will also cut off,
But the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.”

God’s Word here makes it clear: No matter what happens, it doesn’t escape God’s knowledge or superintendency. God is sovereign over the world He created–and nothing can frustrate Him. The Psalmist can give thanks and praise even when things aren’t going right because He knows God’s will always prevails. “But God is the Judge. He puts down one, And exalts another.” (Verse 7) We get what we deserve; He gets what He wants. No one should be proud or boastful about the ways things turn out, because He’ll change them in a heartbeat! (See verse 10.)

Discouragement, frustration, fear and even anger are natural human responses to things when we don’t understand everything that’s going on, but we can take heart in that God knows everything. As our own American Founders called Him in the Declaration of Independence, He is “the Supreme Judge of the World.” God knows what is happening and why He has allowed it. That should leave us declaring with the Psalmist, “I will declare forever, I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.”

More commentary to follow . . .

Watch my video on this:

Encouragement from God\’s Word on developments in federal courts

Rob +

“Jesus wept.” – John 11:35

Last night I watched an Air Force major general with a rack of ribbons on his chest that could be seen from space openly weep in front of a room full of military personnel and church leaders. It was unusual to say the least. I know, military men and women experience the same emotions as any of us–it’s just I’m not used to seeing them exhibit those emotions in public.

What was the occasion? That made it even more unusual . . .

The emoter was Chaplain (Maj.Gen.) Cecil Richardson, and he’s an American hero. Now the Air Force Chief of Chaplains, Chaplain Richardson addressed conferees of our Evangelical Church Alliance meeting in Ft. Mitchell, KY. He spoke about his 33-year career. He told us how he had ministered to the fallen, his own uniform soaked in blood. He described carrying human remains over his shoulder. He recounted the death notice visits to wives, husbands, parents, whole families, but he was rather matter-of-fact about those things. It was when he talked about his own love for God and for the the men and women under his charge that he broke. Several times the otherwise well-presented and extraordinarily articulate, dynamic communicator had to pause to collect himself.

OK, we all know that men have a tougher time emoting than their female counterparts, but a guy an immaculate haircut, in a crisp uniform, patten leather shoes, and that chest-full of extra weight could be given even more space to be stoic.

Not this one. Like the Lord Jesus the Major General serves, he wept.

Thank you Chaplain Major General Cecil Richardson for what you do in service to our God and to our men and women in uniform. And thank you even more for your tears–and for your courage in displaying them to a room full of strangers last night.

Rob +

A general weeps as he talks about the God he loves and the men and women he serves.

There’s a lot of talk about the upcoming wedding of Chelsea Clinton. On July 31, the former First Daughter will marry Marc Mezvinsky, who was raised in Conservative Judaism, the sort of middle branch between the very liberal Reformed and very strict Orthodox. Still, Conservative Jews are serious about their faith and most keep kosher homes. Conservative rabbis are officially forbidden from officiating at mixed-religion marriages, though plenty break the rule without penalty. So, the big questions are: Is Mezvinsky observant? Will a rabbi officiate? Will it be a “Jewish Wedding?” (Though that last question may be self-cancelling, since the conventional definition of a “Jewish Wedding” is that two Jewish people are being married.) And, the big one, of course: Will Chelsea Clinton convert to Judaism to make a Jewish Clinton-Mezvinsky house and home? (Not to mention progeny?)

This is very interesting to me for two reasons: One, what a possible Chelsea Clinton conversion to observant Judaism could portend–and–because this drama factors into my own life story.

First on the portent of a young Clinton conversion: Conservative Judaism, for all its often self-proclaimed and oxymoronic (but always ostensible) “progressivism,” remains at its core a Torah observant (strict Books of Moses-based) brand of the Old Religion. In all but a few Conservative synagogues, a minyan–or group of ten men–must be achieved as a quorum for prayer to take place. Again, in virtually all communities, tallis (prayer shawls) and kippot (skull caps) are still reserved for men. (Although there is a slow change taking place toward full gender integration, even in regalia.) Inter-religious marriages are also (technically) forbidden, although that’s changing, too. In any case, Conservative Judaism is, indeed, at least at its core, conservative. That makes a prospective Conservative Jewish Chelsea–scion of liberal icons Bill and Hillary–a very interesting subject. Would such a conversion indicate a repudiation of her parents’ social, moral and religious “progressivism?”  Hmm . . .

On the personal side, I know what all these questions mean for a couple. It’s part of my family story. My father, who came from all three streams of Judaism–an Orthodox wing, Conservative wing and a Reformed wing–married my mother who was born gentile, baptized Catholic and raised nominal Episcopalian. My father’s family threatened to boycott the wedding unless Mom converted to Judaism–which she did. By the time my brother and I came along, Mom was “kosher” and we were raised with full Jewish identities, including Hebrew names. Then, after my brother and I made public professions of Christian faith in our late teens–and my mother did  the same a short time later–we were tossed back into the maelstrom. Dad was furious and crushed–the first time I saw him cry. Mom was sort of on the outs again–at least temporarily. When I announced my engagement to a gentile (my very non-Jewish, Scandinavian, Protestant-born and baptized Cheryl), questions were raised on whether or not extended family members would attend our wedding. (They did.) Of course, Cheryl and I did what we could to acknowledge the full spectrum of religious sensibilities among our guests: We were married under a chuppa (traditional Jewish canopy) by a Messianic Rabbi and a minister (who was African-American), received Holy Communion–but also shattered the glass with my foot at the pronouncement of the blessing, “L’shana ha-ba-ah b’yerushalayim.” (Next year in Jerusalem!) In the end, everyone seemed happy.

What I like about the buzz surrounding the Clinton-Mezvinsky marriage is the fact that questions of religion are right in the middle of it. In my estimation, that’s a good thing–even if all the wrong answers are eventually given. Bring religion into the conversation and someone’s mind–someone’s conscience–maybe even someone’s soul–will inevitably be awakened.

For the first time, I’d like to be a gawker at this celebrity nuptial day!

Mazel tov Marc and Chelsea!

Rob +

Sorry to see the “Y” change it’s name to, well . . . “The Y.” Sounds insignificant, but it’s not. According to Neil Nicoll, president and CEO of YMCA of the USA, the new single letter brand reflects, among other things, that the Y is “inclusive.” That could be a good thing, but then again . . . could it be a hint the YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association) is distancing itself from its rich religious history?

A quick check will show the organization was clearly founded to strengthen the Christian convictions of young men. At the first international convention of independent YMCA’s, held in Paris in 1855, the call for an international association was based on John 17:21, the prayer of Jesus for unity among His people. Years ago when I was in London on a speaking engagement, I ducked into a dusty old bookshop. Sandwiched between two ancient volumes was a slim booklet that caught my eye. It was a very old program for one of the world conventions of the YMCA. I can’t remember what year it took place, but it featured D.L. Moody, the renowned American evangelist of the late 19th century.

The YMCA is known for a lot of good work, but that good work has an origin. Like so many important social institutions–hospitals, orphanages, alcohol rehabilitation programs–the Y’s effectiveness grew out of its Christian mission. It would be a shame if the new “Y” forgets what made the old “Y” so special.

BTW: The first YMCA for back men was established in Washington, DC in 1853. I’m going to look for that original location when I get back home. (The venerable Samuel Cornelius, a mentor of mine who has served in three presidential administrations, led the way in integrating YMCAs in the 1950’s. )

There’s more to the YMCA than a novelty song performed at weddings.

Rob +

For all of us at Faith & Action, it’s literally Christmas in July—or, as we pronounce it, “CHRIST-mas” in July.

This month we began planning “Kids for Christ-mas at the Capitol,” our fall effort to recruit school-aged children in the state of Wyoming to hand-make ornaments for the US Capitol Christmas Tree. Each year a different state is selected to contribute the tree. This year it’s Wyoming. Once the tree has been chosen, a volunteer organization from that state selects a theme. Wyoming’s group settled on “Wyoming: Forever West.”

The next stage of the official program is to invite students in the donor state to make their own ornaments to decorate the tree. A contest ensues and the winners have their ornaments displayed on the giant tree that will stand on the West Lawn of the US Capitol. Runners up will have their ornaments on other smaller size trees in congressional offices and in other locations inside the US Capitol complex.

We thought this was a great opportunity to remind all of our top-level government officials of the true story and meaning of the sacred holiday. Thus, “Kids for Christ-mas at the Capitol!”

At the end of August, I’ll travel to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, the sometimes home to two of our stalwart ministry supporters, Don and Gayle Wright. They’ll sponsor an information meeting for church leaders and prominent residents of this exclusive community to help us get our program off the ground.

If you live in Wyoming and have kids or school-aged kids or grandkids there—or you know families in Wyoming who do—please spread the word! We’ll soon have a kid-friendly page at our website dedicated to this exciting outreach. Stand-by for more information on how the young people in your life can make a real difference by using their creativity to present a strong Christian witness in the heart of our nation’s capital!

Merry Christ-mas five months early!

Rob +

This two-word verse from John 11:35 is for me one of the most profound in the Bible. It says our Lord felt emotion as much as any of us. That’s why when news reached me that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had lost her beloved husband of 56 years, I knew our Lord wept for her, too. I know some people will struggle with that, because they mix up their feelings about her judicial philosophy with the person behind it.

Somehow we get the impression that these powerful people in government are not humans like the rest of us. I would argue that reducing public figures we don’t care for to something other than just people is to deny them their humanity. That’s the same sin that abortion commits against the unborn child. I can tell you from my muerous encounters with Justice Ginsburg that she is every bit as human as you and me, and she feels the same pain anyone of us would experience losing a loved one.

Frankly, I don’t care whether we agree with Justice Ginsburg or not, we’re equally obligated to pray for her and demonstrate to her God’s love. I hope you’ll do that by first praying for her and her family in their grief. You can also send her a personal message through our office at info@faithandaction.org. We’ll make sure it’s hand-delivered to her.

In His great Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” If you were in Justice Ginsburg’s place, you would want and need the love of God’s people. Let’s give it to her lavishly during her time of grief.

More later on the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee and prospective colleague to Justice Ginsburg, Elena Kagan.

Rob +

” . . . men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do . . .” (I Chronicles 12:32)

What do current Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal and recent Republican South Carolina gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley  have in common? More than their family roots in India. Mr. Jindal and Mrs. Haley are converts from the religions of their birth. In the Governor’s case, Hinduism, and with Candidate-for-Governor Haley, Sikhism, a religion related to Hinduism and Islam. Actually, in Mrs. Haley’s case, “convert” doesn’t strictly apply because Sikhism easily accommodates changes in a person’s religion, but her change still supports the point I’m about to make.

America has been through a drastic religious and cultural shift in the last decade. The U.S. was once a “Protestant Nation.” Because of that foundation, Evangelicalism, a more modern permutation of Protestantism, grew over a period of 150 years and took hold, reaching it’s zenith at the end of the 20th century. The times, though (to quote a Jewish-born, but later Evangelical and now religiously ambiguous cultural poet and prophet, Bob Dylan), they are a changin’.

When Barack Obama was elected president, his name alone made people nervous. When I’m out preaching in churches, I’m often asked, “Is Barack Obama a secret Muslim?” They often add, “That really scares me.” It’s interesting to me that no one asks if Bobby Jindal is a secret Hindu or if Nikki Haley is a secret Sikh. Both did what Obama did–joined churches before they launched their political careers. So, here’s my point: American culture is shifting at warp-speed. In the short time since Barack Obama became president, we have grown comfortable with Bobby Jindal and haven’t thought much about the religious sensibilities of the first Sikh-born Indian-American woman. (It bears mention that Mrs. Haley is also considered the Tea Party candidate of South Carolina!)

What Jindal and Haley signal to me (and Obama in a similar way) is a new mission in America. Well, not really a new mission, but the re-tooling of the same mission we’ve always had. The re-tooling is simply shaping our Gospel message so it reaches a new generation of leaders in our country; leaders that don’t have the same religious and cultural heritage that most have had until now. These new leaders are no longer the “leaders of tomorrow” but the Leaders of Today. By birth and upbringing they are Muslim, Hindu and Sikh. Others are hardened secularists. Fewer and fewer were raised in church, trained in Sunday School, confirmed, catechized or saved at youth rallies.

The new America poses the same challenge Christians have faced since the Day of Pentecost: Looking to the Lord to enable us to communicate His message in new languages. Acts 2: 9-11,“‘Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.’”

For more than two millennia the Gospel has spread throughout every kind of culture. It cannot be restricted or frustrated by ethnic, racial, language or or geo-political limitations. The Good News transcends everything and permeates everywhere.

Whether it’s a Democratic president named Barack Hussein Obama, or a Republican governor who’s birth name was actually Piyush Jindal or an up-and-coming Tea Party conservative super-star whose actual full name is Nimrata Nikki Randhawa Haley, the point is the same: We are in a new place and time–and that means new challenges to meet in communicating the timeless Gospel. It’s nothing to be afraid of–Christians have been here before. In fact, we’ve never been anywhere else:

“Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.” 1 Peter 1: 16 – 20

Rob +

According to a recent news release, Americans For Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH) President Peter LaBarbera “condemned President Barack Obama for gaying down the noble institution of fatherhood.” Pretty strong language. It’s hard to say exactly what Mr. Obama meant when he said in his Fathers Day Proclamation, “children may be raised by a father and mother, a single father, two fathers (italics mine), a step father, a grandfather, or caring guardian.” Did he mean two men in a homosexual relationship parenting a child? Or, was he referring to children who have a biological father and a step father? The language seems purposefully vague. Of course, if you put it together with the President’s impending White House reception for GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender) activists, it does seem like political sop for a sometimes cranky constituency.

Regardless of what it is, we’ve chosen to applaud the President–not for his Fathers Day proclamation, but for his Responsible Fatherhood Initiative. (See our video conversation and upcoming article at www.faithandaction.org or visit www.responsiblefatherhood.gov ) It’s a good program with a proper emphasis on the important and incomparable role of fathers and their responsibilities to their children and to society.

I’ve been in Washington long enough–16 years–to know you must be selective in praising any politician. Just as you are commending someone, they’re doing something out the backdoor to undermine the very thing you’re commending! I don’t mean to sound cynical. I really guard my heart against becoming jaded and bitter. At the same time, the longer I’m here, the more convinced I am that politics and politicians will NEVER be the remedy our country or culture needs. At best, they will only be a partial remedy; make that a fractional remedy–and only a tiny fraction at that!

The ultimate remedy is not in government–and most certainly not in politicians–but in the One who rules over them. Many of the Jews of Roman-occupied Palestine wanted Jesus to be their earthly savior. They hoped He would overthrow the corrupt political establishment and triumph over their oppressors. Some even wanted guarantees of political power for themselves. Jesus would have none of it. When Pilot asked the Lord if He was indeed the political leader of the Jews, He declared, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” (John 18:36)

The human urge is to seek a human savior, but God graciously reminds us that’s not His will or His best. If there’s a silver lining in the otherwise ominous cloud of an ambiguous Fathers Day Proclamation, it’s that presidential proclamations don’t make or define fathers–God does.

Rob +