It was a capacity crowd for our 14th Annual National Service for the Pre-born, held yesterday morning on the 36th anniversary of the infamous Roe v. Wade decision decriminalizing abortion in our country. This service (that my brother, Paul, and I and few others started in 1995) has become the premiere indoor pro-life event on Capitol Hill. In fact, it’s also the ONLY full-scale prayer and preaching service held INSIDE the US Capitol complex of buildings. Today the National Pro-Life Religious Council is the primary sponsor, though Paul and I and our staff remain heavily involved. It’s always one of the highlights of my year.

Yesterday’s service was particularly powerful. It’s a liturgically structured program, meaning every attendee participates. Excerpts from some of the preaching segments are viewable at the bottom of this article, or at our youtube channel, www.youtube.com/faithandaction.

Thanks for praying with us on this. The National Service for the Pre-born is always an incomparable witness to the sanctity of life, the reality of God and the message of Christ–and it’s delivered right into the heart of the US Congress!

If you’re a member of the clergy, you’re invited to join us next year. Please encourage your pastor or other Christian leader to be with us in 2010. We always post details out our website or at www.nprcouncil.org

Rob +

It’s night at the ministry center and I’m prayerfully looking over my materials for tomorrow’s 14th Annual National Pro-Life Service on Capitol Hill. Hard to believe we’ve had that many. I can remember with exact detail getting ready for our very first service. It was held in the Capitol Hill United Methodist Church. They later expelled us because the abortion neutral congregation thought we, as pro-life Christians, were intolerant. “We’re a tolerant congregation,” the chairman of the church’s board informed me. “And we find your position on this issue untenable.”

“Does that mean that as a tolerant church you find us intolerable,” I asked.

“Yes” he answered. And that was that.

Back at the beginning, I had hoped we wouldn’t have had to have this many services. I thought abortion, as a primitive practice, would have ended by now. That was admittedly naive.

I hope you’re able to attend tomorrow’s gathering. Though it’s always subject to last-minute change, at this moment we’re still scheduled to be in the brand new Congressional Auditorium in the equally new and bedazzling Capitol Visitor Center at the US Capitol. Clergy of all Christian traditions are invited to vest and to participate. It starts at 8:00, but clergy need to be there early. The start of the Obama Administration brings with it considerable challenges for pro-lifers. We must confront this administration’s apparent lack of respect for the Sanctity of Human Life, while celebrating the first African-American to occupy that office.

Helping us to achieve that balance tomorrow will be one of my best “pastor friends,”, the Reverend Dr. Kenneth Barney of the amazing New Antioch Baptist Church of Maryland. Pastor Barney will be one of the speakers. We’ll also hear from Georgia Congressman Paul Broun, a bold Christian and pro-life advocate in Washington. It was Congressman Broun (Yes, it IS the way you spell it.) who joined Pat Mahoney and me in an anointing prayer service at the doors now President Obama used from the inside of the US Capitol to the Inaugural platform outside.

Pray for us as we pray for an end to the abortion holocaust. Both form a pretty tall order, I know.

Just a quick aside: Being as close to the action as we are here on Capitol Hill, we do get to spy what’s about to happen. (Relax, I’m talking about clairvoyance or even predictive prophecy.) I’m saying I actually see things in motion BEFORE it gets around the country via the media. Tonight, I saw the Chief Justice of the United States, John Roberts, leave the High Court’s underground parking ramp in his chauffeur driven Cadillac. Because of the time, I guessed it right–twice. First, I guessed last night that the oath of office would be administered to him a second time, because of what CNN called “Chief Justice John Roberts’” flub of the constitutionally dictated words of the Oath.

All that to say I saw the Chief drive by our front door (the Court is just across the street) at just about the right time for him to get to the White House. His purpose? To stage the re-do! It was fascinating to watch. I did a video and published it at YouTube. Check it out!

Speaking of checking out–gotta’ go and get some good sleep. Tomorrow’s a huge day with the service in the morning, a luncheon for pro-lifers in the afternoon and a board meeting for our own organization after that. Still, God will make a way, as He always does!

be back later when my mind is clearer!

Rob

The view from my seat at the Inauguration of the red curtained archway that is the entry we prayed in and anointed just days before the event! May the Lord hear and answer our prayers as Barrack Obama makes his way through this arch to become the next president!

A fair number of people have criticized Rev. Pat Mahoney and me for our anointing and prayer service inside the Inauguration walkway at the US Capitol that President-Elect Obama will take just before he is sworn in as the 44th president. Interestingly, it’s come from both ends of the political and religious spectrums. Atheists and secularists are outraged we would bring “religion” so “grotesquely” into a such a grand civic exercise, while plenty of Christians think our prayers somehow suggest we approve of all of Mr. Obama’s policies and practices.

As for the anti-religionists, the only thing I can say is they’ll never be satisfied until all references to God and God-fearing people are utterly purged from the social and political landscape. (Think Cuba, China or the old Soviet Union!) Keep in mind, too, this wasn’t our doing. Mr. Obama featured religion prominently in his campaign and the then DNC Chair, Howard Dean, set out to capture the religious vote, even hiring a Pentecostal minister to direct the initiative. (Pentecostals, by the way, routinely practice anointing.)

And as for Christians and other God-fearing people, all I can say is God’s Word and long-time Christian practices mandate, “supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority . . .” (See I Timothy 1:1-2) Note St. Paul says, “kings,” not just, “some kings,” and, “ALL THAT ARE IN AUTHORITY,” not just “some in authority,” or “the authorities we like.” Christians discontent with our prayer service also need to pay special attention to EVERYTHING we said and read during that service. If you haven’t watched it yet, please view it now, giving special attention to the prayer Reverend Mahoney read.  Watch the piece here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SE73OoC-njM.  To read the prayer read by Rev. Mahoney during the anointing service, point your browser here: http://www.earnedmedia.org/graham_pray_1231.htm.

I will continue to pray assiduously for Mr. Obama and the members of his administration. Perhaps one of our critics out there think there is something MORE powerful we can do?

Oh, incidentally, the Bible also commands us to “love our enemies,” so I’ll be doing that, too.

Rob +

Oops! Our brains were stuck in 2008 when we edited this January 7, 2009 video of our prayer and anointing over President-Elect Barack Obama’s walkway to the Inaugural Platform. Click here to see the updated and corrected edition: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SE73OoC-njM