Count The Cost Of Speaking Out

When you think the farm stand on top of all that God told Joshua loomed over again that Jan is family policy matters. Focus on faith tradition, Thomas Graham, outreach Dir. for NC family join us once a month is pastor Graham shine some light on the intersection between our Christian faith and engaging our culture. Thank you for joining us for this week's special focus on faith a bit from a friend of Paul's letters today.

I'm excited to have a smart desk with your friend of one of our nation's leading them at the intersection of faith in public life.

Dr. Keegan, Puritan. He served as the vice president of church ministries for the family research Council in Washington DC and his work at FRC. Dr. Cureton has helped grow the watchmen on the wall nationwide pastors network from 1800 to nearly 41,000 pastors and church leaders across the land is also been instrumental in the Ivo values initiative and several toolkits for engaged pastors and community leaders. Dr. King interpreted welcome to family policy matters. It's great to have you on the show.

My friend we truly appreciate our partnership with the North Carolina altar Council were so grateful for invaluable work that you genre team does make sure that people always at present there. I have some history of working together here in North Carolina and I know some of your story because everyone loves a story everyone has a story to tell. I'm sure our listeners today would really enjoy knowing about your personal story tenet would you take a few moments and share your story with our listeners. Sure glad Andre, Morristown, Tennessee Tennessee. My mom met my dad was a call or an alcoholic. He was not a believer, you know what you're going to date me you're coming to church with me and she wanted to church and gloriously say and then course.

I came along and I was going to church nine months before church that came came to the place where I realize that center, the Savior is and that my hand in the pastor's heart, Jesus hands and have been a follower is in a liquid Baptist college Carson Newman College.

That university was negative in one way or another way, it prepared me Thomas for some of the hostility of the opposition that I face the ministry today and it really helped me become rude and grounded in my faith, and so that was part of the journey. Of course with these little professors infected when I was at Southwestern seminarians about half the faculty applicable and I actually have a ethics professor debated whether we all be completely pro-choice, but thankfully we got some great leaders in the seven Baptist convention came to power and a score fought back some of that nonsense and conviction back on on conservative foundations again and I'm and I was a part of that movement. It's been quite a journey in God is with me every step we both know and many of our listeners.

Also that life isn't an audience for that is still something to be observed from a distance it must be engaged as followers of Christ.

We understand that the Christian should faith is a shaping force in the world. How did you actually become involved in the realm of public policy. Well you know is I was in centenary and got confirmed with some of those issues.

I realize that that is something that needed to be at rest and that's rotten shy way about preaching on those issues and will have a lot of opposition working on those issues among first three pastors. When I came to Lebanon suburb east of Nashville that all dramatically changed in that notice.

August 1, 2000 and that was an election-year presidential election year.

Do remember that the running against Al Cornell's favorite son from Tennessee that Sen. we get people in my church who knew that family name related remotely to the poor family and so when I came to that church in August August 1 of that year.

I just know I really was feeling compelled needed to preach a series in advance of the election and it was it was part of the nation, and I thought you know I don't know, maybe not the wisest way to begin my ministry of 90. No more could you let me have a break here lately about porn on the ground foundation was almost as if the Lord came back to me Thomas but it was almost as if he said the I brought you to this church for such a time as this.

Preach what I put on your heart so first semester is on the stewardship versus there were people beginning to look at the side was going with this second message was on abortion, the American Holocaust and Thomas. I literally have people walked out on during that message and so we lost probably 20% of the attendees immature parts we lost on television and those messages went out all across the East Nashville Metro area and people actually watching the messages and began to come to my church.

As a result, and we actually gained as many a little more than the ones that we lost during that time that the that Dr. Brown was a vice president or rich land commission seven Baptist public policy are to carry strongly on TV and that's how I got the RLC and they asked me help us help pastors get their people engage just like you did during that election cycle, you help us develop the idle values campaign toolkit and all that and that then got me thecarpetbecamespoketomychurchrightbeforeasimulcastandwegotconnected.HerecruitedmeandI'vebeentherealmost11yearswithfamilyresearchCouncilnowhelpingpastorsdoexactlywhatIdid.You'relisteningtopolicymattersaresourcetolistentoourradioshowonlineresourceshaveaplaceofpersuasioninyourcommunitywebsiteNCfamily.orgwhatcounseloradvisingtoyouandwouldyoucaretoofferbothpastorsandalsomembersoftheircongregationaboutthecostthatcancomewithourchoosingtoengagetheculture)aboutcountingthecostandcertainlychoicesthatcan'tpastorachurchdecidetheychoosetheirnamesspeakbiblicallyaboutabortionandsexualanarchyinthelossofreligiouslibertyandalltheseotherissuesthere'sgoingtobepushedback.Sometimesfromthecommunitybutalsofromwithinthechurch.SoThecostknowthatisgoingtohappenno,youcan'tpossiblyloosenchurchitwillhappen,butalsoknowthatwhenyoutakethefarmstandonbiblicaltruthonyourMustangcostmesomemembersalsogaveusthemembers.GodtoldJoshuaoveragainfirstchapterofthatwouldbeboldandcourageousandIbelievehehonorshiswheelbasework.AllIdo2Kthemandthat'sbeenmyobservationinmypersonalexperienceovertheyearsofpastoralministrymyselfthatwhenwehonorablymakethatdecisiontohonortheLord.Hehonorsinsomeformoranother.HebestowshishonoruponusandI'msurethatthesehavegivenyoupersonallymotivationandstrength.Asyou'vechosentoengageintheculture,particularlyintherealmofpublicpolicy,youhaveanotherverseortwothatyouwouldcaretoofferourlistenerstodaytraditionalpersonsthatwewenttotheroomlikeJeremiah29sevenseekthewelfareofthecitywhereIsentyouintoexileandprintablehaveyouappliedyourwelfareseealotofpeoplethinkthattheycanjustinsulatethemselvesfromtheculture.12.GodhadwiredthisChristianlifelikethatallthesefoldersfromtheverybeginningofGenesisthatweretofailure�ThatwouldleaveourfootprintseverywherewouldtakechargeofitinastewardshipsenseandandhereJeremiahthatfirstseekthewelfareofthegovernment,theculture,becauseinitswelfarewelfare.Ifwereallytrulyloveandloveourselvesamendmentwastrulynotleatherneckworktobeconcernedabouttoppolicyandgovernmentthatourneighborhastoendurealongsideusjoy.WeneedtobeverymuchinvolvedinthattopworklogoppositionhostilitysoacoupleversusitwillencouragemefilingwouldbeColossians32324andwhateveryoudo,doitheartily,asCivilWarnotbeendoingthisfromtheLord,youwillreceivetherewardoftheusurper.WhenChrist,that'swonderful,that'ssomotivatingforme.Soreassuringaswell.I'mtrustingthatrightnowourlistenersareagreeingwiththefamilyresearchCouncil'svicepresidentforchurchministries.IknowthatyouareenormouslyinvolvedinbuildingrelationshipswithpastorsallacrossAmericabegintowrapthisbroadcastupandbringittoaclose.Tellusalittlemore.PleaseaboutthefamilyresearchCouncil'swatchmenonthewallministrytopastorswhoreallywanttotakeastandforfaithfamilyandfreedom.WouldyoudothatsureabsolutelygottoworkasourpresidentreallyawfulforthisgreatnationthatI'mapartof.NowimplementingministryreallybackwithstatelegislaturebackinLouisianahewasamemberofthehousewasthealteredmarriagelawinAmerica.It'sbeenemulatedseveraltimesnoticethatifhewasdoinghisjobasalegislatorisrepresentativeBettyandIhavepeoplecomeinimperativefolksuptherewasanallandyoulobbyingfromhumanrightscampaign,yetpeopleclimbedtheACLUandothercivilenoughreligiouslibertyissuesatallbewalkingtherewhere'sthechurchandsowedecidedtohaveagatheringofpastorsatthecapitalannuallytoshowthemwhattheotherpeoplethinklikemyselfandothersappearinthisforeignterritory.Thisisthisisaplacewhereyouneedtobeandyouneedtohaveyourvoiceheard.AsapartofyourcorearebroughtresponsibilitytofunctionsaltandlightinourcommunitiesandculturessogettogetherpeopleatOnewithDr.DobsonimpactintheSenatewhichleadFRCpeoplethatthefamilyresearchCouncil."13versedividedintosixwatchmenonthewallswantedpastorsaregoingwatchwhat'shappeningintheculture.Prayforthewisdomtoengageitbiblicallycourageouslywentsoundthealarmfromthepulpitatthethreattothecommongoodandthelockarmswithotherpastorstostayfamilyandprudentmenandthatpassesimmunitiesinall50statesandparticularlyNorthCarolinaweredoingthatandmakingatremendousdifferenceincommunitiesaroundthecountry.Alsopleasedtohearthat.IknowthatI'vebeenamemberofthewatchmenonthewallministrytopastorsandhaveenjoyedsomuchtheinformationthatyouwillmakeavailabletomeontootherpastorswhobecomememberstoworkinourlistenersgotolearnmoreaboutwatchmenonthevaultinordertosupportpastorsandtheirministrieswereworking.Theyturnedtosure,gotowatchmenpastors.orgwatchmenpastors.orgfrompastor,butitiftheyliketochurchleaderstherelisteningrightnowIwanttovisitcultureimpact.orgstartedculturingthatministryinthechurchandwegotallministriesinthechurchandworshipteamfinancing.ThinkDr.King,oneofacultureimpactteam.Yourchurchhelpingthechurch.WhatwillItellyouhowgratefulIamforbeingwithusonfamilypolicymatterstodayandalsohowgratefulIamforourfriendshipandforyourgreatworkatthisintersectionoffaithinpubliclife.WhatawonderfulexampleyouhavesetbeforeothersandIappreciatethissomuchandIknowthatthosethatarelisteningtomyvoicerightnowprobablysharethesamesentimentinknowingyouandknowinghowhardyouworktobringallofthistolightbrothermayGodblessyouandthosewhoworkwithyouasyoucontinuethisimportantministrythatGodhascalledyoutohaveasolidpleasure.Godblessyouaswellbeenlisteningtofamilypolicymatters.Focusonfaithadditionproductionfamilytolistentoaradioshowonline,andformoreresourcesandinformationaboutissuesandtofamiliesinNorthCarolinagotoourwebsiteandseefamily.organdfollowusonTwitterandFacebook