Category: Resource Notes

One of the most troublesome modern problems is the prevalence of high crime in America’s minority communities.

A black person is eight times more likely to be murdered than a white person. Blacks commit 53% of the murders and 60% of the robberies. Almost all of the victims are other black people. The Washington Post reported that 2019 police shootings included 9 unarmed black persons and 235 armed black criminals, while over 7000 blacks were murdered that year. Police “Brutality” is not the problem.
Christians have long recognized the issues in minority neighborhoods. The biggest problem is fatherlessness, which leaves single mothers in poverty and embitters their children. The young are failed by an education system which teaches no values and locks them into poverty. Gangs, drugs, and violence devastate the communities, and the imprisonment of the offenders starts the cycle all over again. Only Jesus can redeem these people and transform their communities.
Competing against the Christian worldview of individual responsibility and repentance from sin is the Progressive worldview which does not believe in God or individual responsibility for social ills. Instead of God, the Progressives look to government to solve the problem of criminality in the poor minority communities. However, despite over 50 years of government programs, to quote a recent Wall Street Journal editorial by Daniel Henninger, Progressives have been “Embarrassed and perplexed by the decades long persistence of crime and incarceration in inner city neighborhoods.”
Finally, the frustrated Progressives settled on a new plan to lower crime by simply redefining crime to exclude many criminal behaviors, and then electing district attorneys who would not prosecute many crimes. Citizens in Progressive run cities began to notice an influx of homeless people, followed by public urination, defecation, and drug use. Petty theft and shoplifting became rampant. Police programs like “Stop and Frisk” were discontinued and police were targeted as brutal racists by politicians pushing the Progressive Policing agenda.
Then came the George Floyd killing and a golden opportunity for Progressives to demonize the police to advance their cause. Despite the many scientific studies to the contrary, police were branded as racists who regularly hunted down black men. Radical groups like Black Lives Matter and Antifa spread violence, looting, and arson in many cities while demanding that police be “defunded.” Progressive mayors and governors, already sympathetic to the Progressive Policing agenda, caved in to demands and began reducing police protection in their cities and especially in the minority neighborhoods. Progressive Policing had arrived.
Now that Progressive Policing has been put in place in many cities, the only good thing that can be said about it is the rapidity with which it has failed. The mayor of Seattle, who thought that a “Summer of Love” would follow from abandoning parts of downtown to anarchists, had to eat her words and send in police because of murder and violence. Progressive Portland has experienced months of mob violence. And, in a comic irony, the Minneapolis city council recently asked the defunded police chief way crime had gone up.
There is, however, nothing comical about the “Minneapolis Effect” on innocent citizens. Researcher Paul Cassell from the University of Utah measured the spike in shootings after the Floyd death. In just two months, June and July, killings in America increased by 700, with 2800 more shootings, most of whom are minorities. Progressive Policing is producing the deadliest year in a generation.
As Christians we understand that spiritual problems like crime cannot be solved by human effort. We struggle against spiritual evil, not people. Prophet Chuck Peirce warned the Church of the coming Spirit of Lawlessness in 1998 (for more take a free download of our book Teshuvah Eclipse at: http://bit.ly/TeshuvahEclipses). Since that time we have watched lawlessness rise in this country, and Progressive Policing is just one manifestation. We must continue to pray for repentance, return to God, healing of our land, and revival as many of us have done through the Jewish 40 day repentance season of Teshuvah which ends with Yom Kipper, the Day of Atonement, on September 27.
We must also not forget over brothers in the inner city who are bearing the brunt of the failure of Progressive Policing. Let us put our prayer to action by helping meet the needs of the poor and demonstrating the love of God to bring people to salvation.
“Now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of Salvation” 2 Corinthians 6:2

On September 5 Ed Silvoso, joined by Bill Johnson, Mike Bickle, Matteo Calisi, and a host of other Christian leaders, launched the Ekklesia Everywhere Movement on a Youtube video “God’s Ekklesia” (https://youtu.be/hODefMQrU_M).

The Ekklesia Everywhere Movement believes that God wants to turn the Coronavirus lockdown around by expanding the Church out of its four walls and into the homes and or workplaces of believers. All you need are two or three, according to Mathew 18:20, and Jesus will be there with them. Just as the persecution of the Church in Jerusalem spread the Church all over the world (Acts 8:1-4), so the lockdown of the Churches has sent believers back into their neighborhoods to spread the gospel.

As we have been praying through the 40 day Jewish repentance season of Teshuvah this year we have been keying off of Joshua 8:19, which admonishes us to take our cities and light the fire of revival. The Ekklesia Everywhere Movement provides a way to take our cities one neighborhood at a time. So invite your neighbors over and watch the Kingdom of God advance. You can sign up at Ekklesiaeverywhere.com or on Facebook at Ekklesia Everywhere.

For some, Church (or a prayer meeting or a bible study) at home is an uncomfortable idea. No preacher. No Priest. No Eucharist. No Choir. No Sunday School. Just you and your family alone with God. Sure, your church may be live streaming, or you could watch a TV Preacher. But could you be missing something?

Like us locked out of our churches today, most ancient Jews could not worship at the Temple every week. So on every Sabbath the family celebrated at home, staying connected to God and each other. They also celebrated the Passover meal, the Seder, at home, passing their faith from generation to generation. Then, at the end of the sacred cycle of feasts, the family lived in booths together to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. At the Temple the Priests stood between God and Man, picturing the saving work of our High Priest Jesus, but God wanted to meet with His people face to face in their homes.

All the more so after Jesus came. The Temple veil was torn and God poured out His Spirit. Now we are temples of the Holy Spirit, called to live in God’s presence. The early Church met in homes (Acts 2:46), and God wants to be invited into our homes as He was in ancient Israel and in the early Church.

So this Sunday invite God to your house. Gather the family and open with prayer. Then sing praise and worship songs, with or without instruments or praise tracks, because God inhabits the praises of His people. Let your last song be very soft and loving, and then let a holy hush come in so you can hear from God. Someone should be prepared with a scripture and a short word of edification. Join hands in a circle and have everyone pray to the Lord, from youngest to oldest, and close with a song of thanksgiving.

By all means feel free to participate in a live streamed service or TV Church. And when Churches reopen after the Coronavirus plague passes remember the admonition not to forsake gathering together.

But maybe, just maybe, you will miss God’s presence and invite Him back to your home every week.

“For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them” Mathew 18:20

This week we are in the midst of praying through the 40 day Jewish season of repentance, Teshuvah.

The word Teshuvah literally means to return to the presence of God. It is a season of introspection and repentance for Christians to come into unity with God, as Jesus prayed in John 17:21. However, as Jesus prayed, unity with God also requires unity with each other in Christ. (John 17:20-23).

Yet, almost since the beginning of Christianity, believers have quarreled about Christian doctrine and church government. The first Jerusalem Council served as an example of a favorably resolved dispute (Acts 15). However, other disputes resulted in division and treatment of opponents as non-Christians. As Ralph Martin famously said, “The Body of Christ is broken.”

Today there are many denominations and doctrines which create a great diversity within the body of Christ. Yet, we can still be United in Christ. Lutheran theologian Oscar Cullmann said, “Unity in the church . . . is unity in diversity . . . recognizing others in all their variety as true Christians.” Pope Francis has said, “Unity brought by the Spirit can harmonize every diversity.” Unity in diversity recognizes the contributions of other streams of Christianity and blends them together in a symphony of harmony. It is a unity of the Spirit, not in doctrine or church government.

The Unity Revival has already begun. In 2014 the Pope sent a historic video to Kenneth Copeland which you can view on the UnitedinChristInternational.com website. The Pope’s outreach to Kenneth Copeland produced a flood of Christian leaders who traveled to Rome for international reconciliation meetings. There has also been a strong movement for unity among American church leaders. However, the unity movement has not yet reached many of our cities and local churches.

The urgent need to heal the Body of Christ must be communicated from the national leadership of movements and denominations to the local churches. The city fathers must become champions of unity, bringing the Body of Christ together to impact their communities. The prayer of Jesus in John 17 is not only about unity. It is for unity with a purpose, “so that the world may believe” (John 17:21). Unity is the key to transformation.

The Body of Christ must be healed to do its work for Christ.

During the second ten days of Teshuvah, from August 29 to September 7, we will be praying for God’s people and the healing of the broken Body of Christ as God’s people come together, united in Christ.

• August 29: The blessings of unity (Ps. 133)
• August 30: Unity in Christ (John 17:20–22)
• August 31: Accepting our brothers (Rom. 15:5–7)
• September 1: Do not judge (Rom. 14:13; Luke 6:37–38)
• September 2: Divisions (1 Cor. 3:1–9)
• September 3: Evangelism through unity (John 17:23)
• September 4: Watchmen warnings (Ezek. 33)
• September 5: Appealing to all (1 Cor. 9:27)
• September 6: Salvation for Israel (Rom. 11:11–32)
• September 7: Messianic Jews and the Toward Jerusalem Council II movement (Acts 15)

“May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me”
John 17:23

The Mayor of Dallas has just proclaimed a Day of Prayer and Fasting on August 19, 2020 for the eradication of the Coronavirus Plague from Dallas.
It began with a dream and vision given to home improvement contractor Tom Altemus. He saw the scripture of Joshua 8:19 applied to modern day Dallas, where those awaiting the signal from God would take the city and light revival fires. The signal was the Day of Payer and Fasting to eradicate Coronavirus on the date corresponding to the scripture, 8/19. Let us pray that our Churches seize the opportunity to unite to bring healing and transformation to our city.

August 19 is also an important day on the Sacred Jewish Calendar. With the new moon of August 19 begins the 40 day Jewish season of humble repentance known as Teshuvah. The name Teshuvah literally means the return to the presence of God. It is a time to remember God’s promise to heal the land: “If my people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).
The Proclamation follows:

“Whereas, the coronavirus pandemic had brought illness and death to many residents of Dallas; and

Whereas, the coronavirus pandemic has caused great economic harm, putting people out of work, closing businesses, and bringing hunger and hardship to many residents of Dallas; and

Whereas, the coronavirus pandemic interrupted the education of the children in our city and put our educators at risk; and

Whereas, the coronavirus continues to spread throughout our city; and

Whereas, the best human efforts have not yet found a cure; and

Whereas, throughout the history of Dallas, the State of Texas, and our nation people have turned to Almighty God in prayer to bring healing and deliverance where human efforts have failed; and

Whereas, August 19, 2020 shall be designated as, “Pray Dallas” day, a day of prayer and fasting for the eradication of the coronavirus from the City of Dallas; and

Whereas, residents of Dallas are encouraged to pray in place, whether at home, at work, or at school, at the noon hour on August 19,2020, and, if so led, to fast and pray during all or part of that day; and

Whereas, Houses of Faith are encouraged to ask their people to pray wherever they are at noon on August 19, 2020; and

Whereas, all are encouraged to unite in prayer, humbly asking God to eradicate the coronavirus and heal our City; and

Whereas, let us also rededicate ourselves to bringing healing to the sick, comfort to the broken hearted, help to the needy, wisdom to our children, hope to the hopeless, and unity to the city of Dallas.”

Now, therefore, I, Eric Johnson, Mayor of the City of Dallas, do hereby proclaim that August 19, 2020 be recognized as Pray Dallas Day.”

We invite you to join with Christians of all traditions in prayer for the eradication of the Coronavirus plague on August 19, 2020.
We believe that this Joshua 8:19 word is not just for Dallas, but is available to other cities, states, and countries willing to humble themselves, repent, and ask God to heal their land.
We ask that you spread the word about the Day of Prayer and Fasting to civic leaders, church leaders, and business leaders.
For more information visit over website, PrayDallas.com
Together we can see the healing of our land.

A recent Pew Research poll has found a significant divide on the viewpoint of Republicans and Democrats toward the Coronavirus pandemic.

Perhaps this should not be surprising, but it does reveal the extent to which political posturing and messaging have interfered with our understanding and responses to the virus.

Perhaps the worst damage was done when President Trump discovered that foreign counties and many U.S. doctors had found a 60 year old Malaria drug, Hydroxichloraquin, to be effective against Covid 19. To oppose Trump, the media pounced on the drug, and suddenly a drug used safely by millions was reported to be not only ineffective, but deadly. Dueling studies appeared, pro and con, and the U.S. medical establishment panned the drug for lack of “Clinical Studies.” Meanwhile conservative news outlets like Fox News filled the air with doctors and patients who had been cured by the drug. A Democratic state representative who was cured of Covid 19 was expelled from the party for going public. Republicans and Democrats stand on opposite sides of the question, but it may very well turn out that thousands died because the drug was denied to them.

Then there are the lockdowns, first at the national level and then continued at the state and local level. So great was the suffering caused by the lockdown that Republicans and Democrats were able to come together to pass some relief measures. But the cooperation was short lived as the lockdowns dragged on and citizens began to demand that the economy be reopened. Their protests were supported by Republicans and condemned by Democrats as unsafe. Then positions reversed when the George Floyd protests and riots broke out on Memorial Day. Meanwhile millions lost their jobs for lockdowns that apparently no longer mattered.

Debates over when and how to open the economy after the lockdowns have raged over media and political outlets, blaming one party or the other for Covid-19 failures. Republicans, looking at good news from their politicians, generally favored restarting the economy while Democrats, hearing bad news from theirs, generally favored continued lockdowns. It is not surprising, then, that the Pew Research poll found that 61% of Republicans thought that the worst was behind us while 76% of Democrats thought the worst is yet to come. Only 45% of Republicans fear unknowingly spreading the virus versus 77% of Democrats. At a personal level 65% of Republicans are willing to dine in at restaurants while only 28% of Democrats are. Those attitudes may explain why Blue States have a slower recovery and higher unemployment than Red States.

More divisions are coming. The decisions about school reopening are devolving into a political confrontation between the Democratic teachers unions who fear the virus and Republicans responding to parents who are desperate to go back to work. Sports are entertainment reopenings are slowly happening, but the Pew Research results tell us that 40% of Republicans would attend but only 11% of Democrats would. And Church reopenings seem to be pushed back daily.

The worst thing about these divisions is that the Church is also split along political lines. Like Joshua when he met the Commander of the Army of the Lord, we want God to be on our side. (See Joshua 5:13-15) Instead, we should want to be on His side.

It is clearly the responsibility of the Church to bring healing to the land (2 Chronicles 7:14). The first step toward that healing is to disentangle ourselves from political infighting and unify to bring God’s power against this plague.

It is time to put God back in the fight.

Joshua went up to him and asked “Are you for us or for our enemies?” “Neither” he replied. “But as commander of the army of the Lord I have come” – Joshua 5:13-14

In 1939 a white racist approached public health officials in Southern states with an ambitious plan to control the black population.

Her proposal said that Blacks “breed carelessly and disastrously”, with the largest population increases coming from those “least intelligent and fit.” She proposed finding gullible black pastors to promote the program and conceal its true purpose: “We want to exterminate the Negro population.” Margaret Sanger sold her program of birth control to the segregated Southerners and a few black pastors, Planned Parenthood had its first major success.

With the Roe vs Wade abortion decision in 1973 Margaret Sanger’s dream of exterminating the Black Race took a major step forward. Planned Parenthood opened hundreds of abortion clinics and began its work of killing babies described by Sanger as “the defective and diseased elements of humanity.” In 2019 Planned Parenthood killed a total of 345,672 babies. The total number of abortions in 2019 was about 862,000 and the total since 1973 is over 62 million.

As Margaret Sanger would have wished, the heaviest toll of the abortion holocaust has been borne by the Black community. The Center for Disease Control reports that 38% of all abortions are killing Black babies. Since the childbearing population of Black women is about 14% of the total, this means that Black women are 2.6 times more likely to have an abortion. About 1 in 3 Black babies are killed before they born.

The numbers are staggering. In 2019 about 320,000 Black babies were killed and only 547,000 born alive. Since 1973 it is estimated that over 23 million Black babies have been “exterminated”, as Sanger would say. This is about half of the current Black population of America. To top it off, the Black birth rate has declined to 1.79, well below the replacement rate. Margaret Sanger’s dream of exterminating the Black Race is coming true before our very eyes.

Yet many who claim to promote Black interests look away from the Black Holocaust, promoting instead the abortion industry’s murder of Black babies. They focus on police shootings of unarmed Blacks, which is about as risky to Blacks as being struck by lightning. Despite academic studies showing otherwise, they claim that the shooting of armed Black criminals, about 1 out of 100,000 Blacks per year, is racist. They ignore the over 7000 murders of Black people and the spike in Black murders which follows the removal of police presence. And there is no outage that 1 in 3 Black babies are killed every year.

Sadly, the modern disciples of Margaret Sanger have continued their efforts to dupe black leaders into supporting abortion so they can hide their true motivations. At their root these motivations are money and power, along with the belief that infant lives are not worth saving. Black lives do not matter to them.

Black lives do matter to God. The Church must take up the challenge of ending the Black Holocaust. It must begin in the Black community, by prayer and support of those pastors and leaders who want to save their people. We need to provide help and hope to Black mothers who see no way to support a child. And the white Church needs to quit supporting those whose agenda leads only to more abortions and death in the Black communities.

Revival often comes where the need is greatest, and we wonder if revival will come through the Black communities. Perhaps they can lead the way for the whole society to end the abortion holocaust and heal the nation.

Let us pray for our Black pastors to end the Black Holocaust and bring unity to the Church and healing to the nation.

“See that you do not look down on one of those little ones. For I tell you that their angles in Heaven always see the face of My Father in Heaven.” Mathew 18:10-11

Father’s Day is a good time to look back on the dedication of the Titanic Memorial in Washington D.C. on June 9, 1913.

In the aftermath of the tragic sinking of the Titanic in 1912, hearings were held in the U.S. Senate. During these hearings, the doctrine of “Women and Children First” was reviewed and it was found that 90% of those who died in the disaster were men. The First Lady, Nellie Taft, was so moved by the courage and sacrifice of those men that she raised funds to build a memorial to them. It was placed near the White House, bearing the inscription, “To the brave men who gave their lives that women and children might be saved.”

Not everyone was in favor of the Titanic Memorial. Feminists argued that “Women and Children First” was a disguised form of paternalistic oppression. They even criticized the women of the Titanic for accepting preferential treatment. The Memorial apparently remained offensive to Feminists, and in 1973 it was removed from its prominent place and put in storage. In 1979 it was moved to an obscure location overlooking the Potomac River.

Today the Feminist agenda is at its ascendency, and they are well on the way to eliminating special preferences for women and children. Institutions which are designed to protect children are being forced to put them at risk to sexual predators in the name of equality, and almost 60 million have been killed in furtherance of the Feminist abortion agenda. Women, especially single mothers, are increasingly left to fend for themselves and now, thanks to the Feminists, women can be sent into front lines of military conflicts. They are even thinking of subjecting women to the draft. The old beliefs of chivalry and sacrifice are ridiculed, and then the Feminists are surprised as young men thrown into close contact with young women in the military behave badly. And the abandonment and abuse of women and children by men encouraged to have no sense of honor is increasing every day, with tragic results.

We need to pray that there will be a revival of chivalry and sacrifice in our men. The Biblical role of men, to love their families even to the point of sacrificing themselves, like Christ (Eph. 5:25) and the men of the Titanic, must be restored.

Let us remember the Titanic Memorial and pray that its message is moved from the Potomac into the hearts of our men and women.

Next Sunday, Father’s Day, would be a good time to start.