Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Four Days to Double Your Investment

Last week we told you about an exciting matching opportunity that allows you to double your investment for the month of July. A generous ministry friend has offered to match every dollar, up to $20,000, that will be raised for the rest of July. Will you help us maximize this opportunity?

So far, many of you have. And we’re thankful. But we still have about halfway to go in order to make sure we take full advantage of this opportunity.

Whether its $5 or $500, your support makes our work to change the culture possible.

Summer can be a difficult season financially. But thanks to your support, we can continue focusing on the work that needs to be done. And as you know, there is a lot of work to be done.

The decision of the New York state legislature to pass same-sex “marriage” only weeks ago reminds us of the inevitability of that debate here in Washington. Since it is inevitable, we should prepare. If we do not prepare, we will lose.

Our desire to make sure we are prepared like never before is the motivation behind our extensive efforts to educate, motivate, and mobilize.

It is the reason we held our statewide pastor’s conference.

That is why we are putting Culture Impact Teams in churches throughout Washington. These citizen led organizations exist to remind the church that every Christian is a duel citizen-a citizen of heaven and a citizen of earth-and that we have obligations to both.

That is also why we are conducting Truth Project Trainings throughout Washington State. We have already done them in Spokane, Vancouver, and Renton, and are making plans for more this fall. As a result, nearly 100 individuals have been trained to lead small groups that will encourage their communities to think biblically about the culture, including: art, media, history, economics, philosophy, and more.

That is why we continue to build relationships with legislators. In August, we will be bringing legislators from Washington together with legislators from around the country for a Legislative Worldview Training in Louisiana. The title of the conference is "Consequences of Truth" where Chuck Colson, and other leading thinkers on issues related to worldview, will encourage legislators to think about how the reality of Truth impacts the ways they govern.

If you are excited about what is taking place on behalf of the culture and families here in Washington, we know you'll be excited to be part of it.

Thank you for your support. And please remember, your gift will be doubled for the remainder of July, up to $20,000.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Administration Threatens Conscience Rights

Here in Washington, the state has been working for years to force pharmacists who are pro-life must choose between being in business or violating their conscience.

It appears that same war on individual freedom is now being waged in Washington D.C. as well. We wanted to pass along the following letter that was published in the Washington Post from Jonathan Imbody, the President of the Christian Medical Association and director of Freedom2Care.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

President Supports Repeal of DOMA

Yesterday President Obama gave his public support to legislation sponsored by Sen. Diane Feinstein that would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) which defines marriage as a union between one-man and one-woman.

Currently federal law, and almost all state law, says a person cannot not marry someone who is a minor, already married, a close relative, or of the same gender. Feinstein's bill, being called the Respect for Marriage Act, would remove the gender limitation but allow the other restrictions on marriage recognition to remain in place.

This position further confuses the President's position on the issue of marriage. During his 2008 campaign, the President said he did not support same-sex "marriage". Since then he has called the federal DOMA unconstitutional and was also instrumental in the repeal of the militaries' "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.

The President also opposed Prop 8 in California while still maintaining his position that he opposed same-sex "marriage".

Regardless, during an election in which most of the attention will be given to a weak economy and high employment, these developments all but guarantees that cultural issues like marriage will be a critical voting issue in the 2012 Presidential election.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Preparing for Success

In sports there is a saying that, "When you are not practicing, remember, someone somewhere is practicing, and when you meet him he will win." So it is in every effort. We cannot expect to win if we are not prepared to win.

While the issues from the last session are over, we know there are more coming. Will you help us prepare?

Others hope you will. And in order to encourage you to do so, a $20,000 matching grant has been offered for the rest of the month of July. Ever gift will be doubled, up to $20,000 for the rest of the month. Will you help us maximize this opportunity?

It is crucial that we are able to prepare year round for the battles we know will come, so that when they do come, we are prepared to win.

We have already had some exciting success this year. We defeated legislation targeting pregnancy centers and stopped an effort to allow contract surrogacy, effectively allowing the sale of children in Washington.

But there were other efforts we did not win. Despite our best efforts, and despite record deficits, the legislature still increased funding for Planned Parenthood. Why did that happen? Planned Parenthood is politically influential because they work year round in order to advance its pro-abortion agenda.

We must make sure they are not the only ones preparing.

That is why we recently conducted a Pastors Seminar with Dr. Wayne Grudem, to equip pastors to lead courageously on issues related to government and public policy.

That is why we are putting Culture Impact Teams in churches throughout Washington. These citizen led organizations exist to remind the church that every Christian is a duel citizen-a citizen of heaven and a citizen of earth-and that we have obligations to both.

That is also why we are conducting Truth Project Trainings throughout Washington State. We have already done them in Spokane, Vancouver, and Renton, and are making plans for more this fall. As a result, nearly 100 individuals have been trained to lead small groups that will encourage their communities to think biblically about the culture, including: art, media, history, economics, philosophy, and more.

That is why we are building relationships with legislators. In August, we will be bringing legislators from Washington together with legislators from around the country for a Legislative Worldview Training in Louisiana. The title of the conference is "Consequences of Truth" where Chuck Colson, and other leading thinkers on issues related to worldview, will encourage legislators to think about how the reality of Truth impacts the ways they govern.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Is it Really Death With Dignity?

By Don Calbreath, PHD

On November 4, 2008, 58% of the voters in the state of Washington approved Initiative 1000 (1). This measure allows certain terminally ill patients to receive lethal medications in order to terminate their lives, thus making Washington the second U.S. state to approve a form of physician-assisted suicide. Thirty of the thirty-seven counties had a majority of votes in favor of the initiative, with a few mainly rural counties in the state not giving a "yes" majority vote (2). (. Although the state voters had rejected a similar measure in 1991 (54% voted "no"), the tide of public opinion has made a major shift in the intervening seventeen years.