Here are other ways to help Faith and Action achieve its critical end-of-year financial challenge:

**Make your completely secure online credit or debit card donation at our website by midnight tonight, December 31, according to your time zone

**Send a check made out to Faith and Action postmarked by December 31, 2009 to Faith & Action, 109 2nd St, NE, Washington, DC 20002

**Call in your credit card donation to 1-202-546-8329, extension 104. (If we’re out for the holidays, call the mobile number on the announcement) or leave a fully secure message with day, date & time, along with your credit or debit card number, amount you want to give, expiration date on card, billing address and a telephone number. Your gift will be processed then the information immediately destroyed. Be sure to leave your message before 12:00 midnight tonight, December 31 (Eastern Time).

**If you are 70.5 years or older, you can make a tax-free, charitable distribution of up to $100,000 from your IRA. Check with your IRA manager, broker or other financial advisor

**Make a gift of stock or other appreciable asset, including real estate, and deduct the fair market value. Call 1-202-546-8329, extension 104 and leave an urgent message. We will call you back and advise you how to accomplish this.

Thanks for being part of this 11th Hour Miracle!

Blessed New Year to you and all yours,

Rob +

There are 72 hours left in 2009 and I critically need your help.

My brother, Paul, and I spent Christmas on Capitol Hill, praying for our nation as the Senate voted on health care. And, as I approach the last hours of this year, I am again in fervent prayer.

This time my focus is on the mission and ministry of Faith and Action. So much of the success of our outreach is based on keeping confidences, on building trust with powerful people who are extremely guarded about their personal lives, what they say and what they do. If somebody spills the beans, leaks the story, exploits their vulnerability, it’s all over for them. And, it’s all over for us.

What we do here on the Hill is serious, life-saving, soul-saving, family-preserving work–it’s the work of ministry. And I am happy to report that God is still in the life-changing business. Even in a place so pompous, so arrogant, so haughty and seemingly cynical as Capitol Hill, I assure you good things are happening here–in answer to your prayers!

Occasionally I think how wonderful it would be to go on television or radio and tell of the miracles that occur here on the Hill through our ministry team.

I SIMPLY CANNOT!

If I told you some of the things that happen behind closed doors here on Capitol Hill–whether they are terrible or wonderful–it would close more doors than it would open. I can tell you that I’ve heard members of Congress and federal judges pour out their hearts to me, releasing deep pain, shame and agony about their secret sins. And I’ve seen the transforming power of the Gospel touch their lives.

Sometimes, this required confidentiality of our mission to our nation’s leaders leaves me feeling terribly alone–and often without resources to keep this place going.

Right now, in the waning hours of 2009, because of an extreme shortfall in donations to Faith and Action in 2009–no doubt due to the economy–we will likely end our year $36,000 behind. To carry that debt into 2010 will have devastating consequences on our ministry to our nation’s leaders.

THAT MUST NOT HAPPEN!

I know you’ve stood with us before, and I’m distressed to have to ask again, but given our circumstances, I need you to help us in a big way over the next 72 hours.

Will you help us to continue this vital ministry in this critical place by making an immediate, online, tax-deductible gift of $100, $200, $500 or even $1000? This is what it will take to eliminate our end-of-year debt–and, most importantly–keep up this life-saving, soul-saving Christian outreach at a time when our nation so desperately needs it.

To make your much needed contribution please click here.

Thank you for praying and for helping.

I am deeply grateful to the Lord and to you for your immediate help.

Your missionary to our nation’s leaders,

Rob Schenck

If it’s ever been there before, I don’t know how I missed it, but it sure shocked–and delighted–me when I saw it late Christmas Eve. There it was, at the apex of a promenade dotted with Christmas displays, including 52 trees from all the states and two US territories. I had seen the 52 trees on my last visit to the National Christmas Tree earlier this month. I had also seen the cute model train dioramas, but I had not seen this:

Nativity Scene at National Christmas Tree on Ellipse, Washington Mall

No kidding! It is a nearly life-sized manger scene, right there on public land. Yes, a public park, no less–the Ellipse on the Washington Mall, only  a stone’s throw from the South Grounds of the White House, near where the President’s helicopter, Marine One, lands. And it’s one of the most beautiful creches I’ve ever seen, complete with the Holy Family, the Wise Men and even an angel–and quite a majestic one at that.

Call it a Christmas miracle, but I am truly AMAZED the ACLU, or People United for the Separation of Church and State, or surely the Freedom from Religion Foundation, hasn’t challenged this clear portrayal of the true reason for the season. But, shh . . . don’t say much or say it too loud, or somebody will go after it!

For now, it seems perfectly secure, and it was plenty photographed tonight, especially by foreign tourists. If you see Nativity Scenes as I do, as one-time conveyors of the Gospel story to a mostly illiterate world, then this Nativity is certainly where it belongs for a biblically illiterate culture.

Thank God for little miracles–or big ones, as I would classify it, anyway. It sure made for my more merry CHRISTmas! Thought you’d enjoy it, too. Pray for its preservation.

Rob +

Early this morning I went over to the US Capitol to pray and witness Truth to senators as they cast their Christmas Eve surprise on first-ever tax-payer funded abortion in so-called “health care.” I was as heartsick as you probably are, but leading pro-life senator and outstanding Christian brother, Sam Brownback of Kansas, had a hopeful message for you and me. I captured it on my cell phone and share it with you below as my CHRISTmas gift to you. Watch the Senator’s comments, then pray and work and work and pray! CHRISTmas is all about hope in the face of catastrophe. As children were slaughtered throughout the Holy Land by a blood-thirsty tyrant, God saved the world through an infant born in a manger.

“And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger . . .” (Luke 2:9 – 12)

The US Senate can no more take away this great sign of hope than Herod could so long ago. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will to men.”

Watch my conversation with Sen. Brownback here.

Merry CHRISTmas to you and all yours!

Rob +

What? you’re asking.

Yes, Sunday night, December 20, during the annual “Christmas in Washington” concert at the National Building Museum, President Obama and the First Lady took to the stage to join entertainers in singing “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.”

Before I go further, let’s recall the first verse of this powerful and all-time classic carol by the musical “prophet” Charles Wesley (1707 – 1788):

Hark! the herald angels sing, “Glory to the new-born king; Peace on Earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!”

Joyful all ye nations rise, Join the triumph of the skies; With th’ angelic hosts proclaim, “Christ is born in Bethlehem!”

Now, I ask you, how can someone sing these great words and not be affected in their soul? This is the plain Gospel, “the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth”. (Romans 1:16 b) I call these carols, “Musical Gospel Tracts.”

Of course, the key is that last part, “to every one that believeth.” That’s the difference between “affect” and “effect,” but whether one “believes” or not, you must feel the “affect” of such a magnificent message.

Time will tell whether the President bears the “effect,” but the optimist in me says he definitely felt the “affect.”

This is why I love the CHRISTmas season. No one—not even an isolated, insulated, hyper-protected, inordinately shielded President of the United States, can escape hearing and being touched by the echo of that glorious angelic pronouncement heralded from the Heavens 2000 years ago,

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”

It’s enough to make even a president cry.

Rob +

Washington as the new Narnia

“They called out in a loud voice, ‘How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?’ Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer . . . ” Revelation 6: 10 – 11a

“‘Aslan?’ said Mr. Beaver. ‘Why, don’t you know? He’s the King. He’s the Lord of the whole wood, but not often here, you understand. Never in my time or my father’s time. But the word has reached us that he has come back. He is in Narnia at this moment. He’ll settle the White Queen all right. It is he, not you, that will save Mr. Tumnus.’”

In his famous fantasy novel The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, author C.S. Lewis tells of the evil White Witch who has made a lifeless and loveless frozen tundra out of the once bucolic Land of Narnia. That’s how it felt here in Washington when on the same day that Nebraska senator Ben Nelson announced his vote for a health care bill publicly subsidizing abortion, the Nation’s Capital literally froze under a record snowstorm.

Senator Nelson’s capitulation to US Senate leadership signaled a tectonic shift in the ethical and moral foundation to our American civilization. The Senate was designed by the framers of the Constitution to be the more thoughtful and serious legislative body. In other words, it exists to take the high and more considered road of law and policy making. Sadly, what actual played out in the debate over health care reform was not high nor considered contemplation, but crass and dirty dealmaking. It appears to have amounted to this:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, in league with the White House, decided that in order to satiate the abortion lobby, especially its behemoth, Planned Parenthood, abortion coverage must be a part of any health care reform act. One-time pro-life Nebraska senator Ben Nelson was the single impediment to getting that done. No doubt a more-or-less ultimatum was given to the hitherto courageous senator: Either he caves and gets something or he holds out and gets nothing. Reliable inside information had the initial offer in the hundreds of millions of dollars. (That’s why I hand-delivered the “30 Pieces of Silver Disgrace” plaque to Harry Reid’s office last week; for the audacity of offering money to buy a colleague’s vote.)

If you go by the rule that the offer is always ten times what the real settlement will be, it works out perfectly. Nelson got $45 million to spend in his state. He also got permanent Medicare protections for Nebraska seniors. Now, here’s where my sometimes reckless generosity kicks in. I’ll give Senator Nelson a little bit of space because the man was given a miserable Sophie’s Choice. Senate Democrats said to him, either take nothing for your people back home–and we’ll find a way to pass this legislation anyhow, or take something for your people back home and we’ll pass this legislation anyhow. Well, at least that’s how my brain’s kindness lobe wants to imagine it.

In any case, whether it was out of desperation or out of Machiavellian cunning, Ben Nelson stepped out of the way and let the pro-abortion, child-killing, anti-family, only-wanted-children juggernaut out of the gate and into its blood-soaked rampage. How sad. In the process, Senator Reid and his gang not only signed death warrants for untold numbers of yet-to-be-born human beings, but provided a stimulus package for the least regarded, lowest form of the medical trade, abortion-for-hire. The effect will be to make America a colder and harsher place, instead of a kinder and gentler one.

Alas, there’s still hope. In the novel, Aslan rises from the dead and destroys the Witch. Narnia would also get its sequels, Prince Caspian and the Final Battle. America will get its sequels. Good ultimately wins over evil, whether in the temporal or in the eternal. We don’t know how long it will be before the Publisher comes out with the next installment, but we have a lot of prayerful work to do in the mean time. The Bible is clearer: The Lord of Life will triumph over the Pale Horseman of Death–it’s just a matter of time. While we’re waiting, the same Lord told us we must “occupy,” or, to put in the vernacular, we must “get busy!”

Oh, speaking of time and getting busy, there’s still time to call your senators and your representative to tell them you want Narnia to return to summer!

Rob +

The Nation's new Capital

Today I stood alone outside the All Souls Unitarian Church in Northwest Washington, DC, as inside Mayor Adrian Fenty signed into law so-called “same-sex marriage” for the Nation’s Capital. It was bitter-sweet. I expected others to be there, but nary a soul showed up to witness to the Truth about God-ordained “Holy Matrimony.” Still, it was a rich time of ministry. I prayed, read aloud the Scriptures about marriage to those going into the ceremony and later ministered to many as they exited.

In the taxi heading over from our ministry center, I asked the Lord to fill me with His love so I was sure to communicate that rather than condemn those who are so often deeply wounded people. Because of short attention spans and the very cold weather, I spent the better part of the time simply announcing, “Love is a gift from God, but marriage is reserved for a man and a woman.” God’s answer to my prayer was evident in the unusual exchanges I had. Most people paused, thanked me and went on their way. This was far different from the punches, cigarette burns, spitting and even urinating on that I’ve gotten in other similar situations. (Perhaps it’s that the new “law” made them feel empowered, I don’t know. Whatever it was, it made the whole exercise not only spiritually uplifting, but actually enjoyable.)

I did gently and respectfully confront the mayor as he left the building. He “thanked” me for sharing my opinion with him. What really made the day though, was when a self-identified “lesbian activist” engaged me in conversation. We talked about God’s will for human sexuality, marriage, the complementarity between male and female, and her long history of personal hurts and disappointments. As we talked, she admitted her sin (as I did), prayed with me and asked God’s forgiveness. She cried her eyes out and we hugged, promising to stay in touch by E-mail. It was blessed and beautiful.

I should also mention the horse-mounted police officer assigned to “keep an eye on me” said about what was going on inside the church, “This isn’t right.” He then thanked me for being there and doing what I did. My spirit bore witness with his that he was a fellow Christian believer. Please pray for all these people.

You can watch some of this in the videos soon to be posted below.

For more on this read on at our Myspace and Facebook Pages!

We received no word from Senator Harry Reid on what he may or may not have offered to potentially bribe fellow Democrat senators who are holding out on voting for a pro-abortion health care reform bill, so we proceeded with delivering his “30 Pieces of Silver Disgrace” plaque. Watch video report here.

After 15 years on Capitol Hill, my greatest challenge is guarding my heart against cynicism. Political machinations wear on me like nothing else. During my years of front line ministry, I’ve been cursed at, spit on, punched, slapped, put in handcuffs, had my life threatened, been repeatedly insulted, even been urinated on, but by the grace of God, I’ve kept my joy and even–sometimes beyond my own belief–maintained a love and even compassion for my tormentors. However, when it comes to cynical, power-grubbing, vulgar, bald-faced, self-aggrandizing and self-serving politics, I start to lose my “fruits.” (That is, the Galatians 5:22-23 “Fruit of the Spirit” kind, i.e., “love, joy, peace,” etc.)

And so, yesterday, when I got an early morning report that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid may be offering hundreds of millions of your hard-earned tax dollars as bribes to his fellow Democrats that are holding off on voting for a tax-payer funded abortion health care reform bill, it put me over the edge. I hope you saw my video on this. If you didn’t, please take a moment and view it here, then pass it along to your family, friends and fellow church members.

Today I’m seeking clarification from Senator Reid on exactly what he has offered and to whom. I also want to know whether he will unequivocally repudiate the threat against pro-life Democrat senators to close Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, which would result in hundreds of job losses for hard-working families there. Apparently it was an idea hatched at the White House as a way to teach a lesson to Nebraska senator Ben Nelson, the leading pro-life Democrat.

This is all so ugly I hate even dealing with it, but it’s reality. A few people think my “30 Pieces of Silver Disgrace” presentation to Senator Reid is over-the-top, but most applauded it. What do you think? The Bible says there’s safety in the multitude of counselors. I haven’t succeeded in getting an appointment with the Senator to make the presentation yet, so there’s still time to withdraw it. What do you think I should do? Please let me know in your comments on this blog.

I’ll keep you informed.

Rob +

PS The Los Angeles Times has a nice summation of the stages left for ratification of the heath care bill: http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-health-box17-2009dec17,0,1786799.story