FBC Jacksonville always has been pro-Israel Mac. We didn't need you to come in here and show us how to be pro-Israel by hosting this event that does not further our mission of winning Jacksonville for Christ. Although being a conservative, SBC church, and very pro-Israel, being pro-Israel is not our main focus, and it does not come before being Pro-Jesus and Anti-Abortion. Its sad that you don't have the wisdom to see this. Perhaps you are too beholden to the "prominent deacons" in our congregation that have a "financial interest" in Israel to do the right thing by your congregation (the words in quotes are yours you used to explain this event). By the way, what are "prominent" deacons, anyways? And what in the world could their financial interests have anything to do with the decision to host this event?
Mac I know you think you really answered your critics today by finally, FINALLY, announcing and explaining the Time to Stand to With Israel to your congregation this morning. You waited until 10 days before the event, hardly enough time to find a change of venue. Was this part of your strategy; or were you going to be totally silent about it except for these recalcitrant bloggers forcing your hand?
Only problem is you think we're a bunch of biblical idiots to give such a lame explanation for hosting this event. Sir, you forget sometimes that we've sat under the godliest of preachers for the past, oh 4 or 5 decades, and we see how dangerous this event is to the ministry of our church. We know that our faith, our Savior, comes from the Jewish faith, you didn't have to explain that today. And we know our Bible hasn't changed either - so you could have saved your breath there. The issue isn't our spiritual relationship to the Jews, the issue is the confusion this event will create in the minds of our community regarding the exclusivity of Jesus Christ to save the sinner, and the monies raised going to a Jewish hospital at which state-funded abortions are performed which is a slap in the face to those of us who are anti-abortion. These two facts make this the unwisest of your decisions since showing up in Jacksonville. This event is in no way the only means, and far from the best means to express our support for Israel - why can't you see that? If this is such a great idea, why are no other Southern Baptist Convention churches giving up their sanctuaries to hold these type of events? Somehow I just don't see you being the trend-setter in this area - I don't think Johnny Hunt or Ed Young (Sr. or Jr!) will be hosting such events anytime soon. These men have the wisdom to know what the mission of their church is and don't want to confuse their mission or their message in the minds of the people they are trying to reach. And they probably don't have "prominent" deacons that they consult when coming up with events to host. And they probably understand that there is little difference in the minds of people between "hosting" and "sponsoring"...they know that if its in our church sanctuary, and its on our website...its OUR event plain and simple.
This morning you failed to explain some very important things to your church. For instance, you said "we're hosting it not sponsoring it." OK, great. Why not sponsor it, and what would be wrong with sponsoring it? Do you think our community sees any difference between "hosting" and "sponsoring"? Its at our church, so its our event sir. Who is "sponsoring" it? Maybe the more relevant question is: WHO IS GOING TO BE TAKING THE OFFERING THAT IS GIVEN AND WHAT ASSURANCE DO WE HAVE THAT 100% OF THE FUNDS ARE GOING TO THE SAID CHARITY? The CEO and President of M-EDG has already himself said that he and no one associated with his company is sponsoring the event. What 501(c)3 charity will be claiming the monies raised as income, and where will these monies be disbursed? Would we not care where money raised in our sanctuary is going? Will 100% of the proceeds go to this hospital? You don't know do you, because some other 501(c)3 non-profit organization is going to take the funds, right?
Your arrogance in holding this event is breath taking. Your explanation this morning is so incredibly weak, as though you are COMPELLED to host this to show your support of Israel. Wow, we weren't born yesterday Mac! There are so many ways we can as a church lovingly support our Jewish friends - this event is not necessary to accomplish that task.
Perhaps just as breath-taking as your arrogance is the failure of the leadership in this church to stop an event that has absolutely no business being held in our church facilities. Not because we don't love the Jewish people, but because we know what our mission is, we love the people of Jacksonville and want a clear, consistent message to be sent regarding who Jesus Christ is, and we love unborn babies and don't want one single penny or one single hour of our staff's time to be spent on an event tied to abortion.
We're not going to let this one go...please people of FBC Jacksonville spread the word to those in our church who don't know what is happening. As Sheri said, knowledge is power.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Saturday, October 27, 2007
"A Time to Skip the 2008 FBC Jax Pastor's Conference"
Are you a pastor, staff member, or member of a Southern Baptist Convention church that looks up to First Baptist Jacksonville as a beacon of taking a strong stand on the exclusivity of Jesus Christ and on moral issues? Do you or your pastor come to the Pastor's Conference held February each year? If so, you might be interested in knowing what is about to take place at our church. Please read this and share it with others if this causes sorrow in your heart that one of our great SBC churches is being led astray. I hope that if you are offended by one of the flagship churches in the SBC convention hosting this event given the facts I lay out below, then send Mac Brunson a message and let him know you can't support him and his conference this year. Mac obviously doesn't listen to his sheep; maybe he'll listen to other pastors.
By all appearances, Mac Brunson is still going to host A Time To Stand With Israel in the First Baptist Church Jacksonville sanctuary on November 8. This event will be featuring Jewish speakers that have no interest whatsoever in furthering the gospel, and at which a "love offering" from Christians and others present will be sent to the Assaf Harofeh Medical Center in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Firstly, let me say as I've said numerous times already, I am not opposed to this event. I am very pro-Israel, and I understand the scriptural truth that those who bless the Jewish nation will be blessed. I have no problem with a community holding an event to honor Jews or raise funds for Israel. I would very much support this event at a neutral site in Jacksonville. But I am very much against this event being hosted at our church for four basic reasons:
1. Holding this event in our church facility which will likely gain local media coverage, creating confusion in the minds of those we are trying to reach with the gospel about Jesus being their only hope for salvation. To host an event featuring, glorifying those who are expressly of a non-Christian religion, who expressly do NOT believe Jesus Christ is the only hope for mankind, WITHIN THE WALLS OF OUR CHURCH sends the wrong message to the very people we are trying to reach with the gospel through the ministries of our church. This is worse even than hosting a purely secular meeting of some kind; it is a meeting glorifying an expressly non-Christian religion. There is no doubt that praise will be heaped on our church and on our pastor by the local media on how loving and open and brave we are to host this event...but are we worried about gaining favor from the community or maintaining a clear, consistent testimony and message that says to Jacksonville: "Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and he is man's only hope of salvation and heaven."? Will not some in our city reason "gee, I thought that big church downtown has said for years that their Jesus is the only way to heaven, but they are having a service honoring the Jews who are definitely NOT Christian, so I guess things really HAVE changed at that "Jesus" church downtown.!" How sad to use our church facilities for an event that will dilute and confuse our message about Jesus that has been rock-solid for decades and decades.
2. The funds raised at this event taken as a "love offering", will be sent to the Assaf Harofeh Medical Center (AHMC). Most people who are ardent supports of Israel don't know that the state of Israel pays for abortions for women that are under 18 or over 40, provided they meet some financial or medical hardship. Approximately 20,000 of these abortions are performed at the Israeli hospitals each year, including the AHMC. I'm not saying the AHMC is evil, or should be shut down; it is a legitimate hospital that does much good in research and providing medical services. I'll even say that it is deserving of Jews and supporters of Jews raising funds to support it. But the fact remains: on-demand abortions are performed at this institution and pro-life churches have no business using their name or their facilities to raise money for it. All abortions are wrong, and abortion is a blight in any country. But it is a particular social concern in Israel because of the disturbing imbalance between Jewish and Arab fertility rates within the nation of Israel, which abortion only serves to make worse. Already half a million Jewish babies in Israel have been aborted because of their state abortion policy. But regardless...a church, any church...any church opposed to the evil of abortion...certainly one of the flagship churches of the Southern Baptist Convention...should avoid even the appearance of evil and not host a fund raiser which will send money to a hospital at which abortions are performed! I have recently corresponded with a Jewish-Christian couple in Israel who have a ministry of saving unborn Jewish babies by meeting the needs of women in financial distress; they confirmed first hand the problem of abortion in Israel. When I explained that a fund raiser was being held at our church to give money to AHMC, they kindly expressed a hope that believers outside of Israel would be more discerning as to where they send their financial help to Israel. There are so many worthwhile ministries within Israel that are inline with our church's mission and values that its disturbing to see the monies go to the AHMC.
3. The circumstances and motives of this event and the selection of the AHMC as the sole recipient of the funds raised is very suspect. As I've written previously, the impetus behind this event appears to be a Dr. Michael Cohen, who is the head of the Galilean Institute, and the recently appointed head of the new company called Florida-Israel Biomedical Initiative (FIBI), owned by the Jacksonville-based M-EDG, LLC. The FIBI company was formed in June 2007 with a mission of "...[providing] a very well-suited marketing and distribution vehicle for the U.S. commercialization of Israel’s biomedical devices and products." Nothing at all wrong with that. But when the pastor makes the following statement in an email reply to a member questioning the reasons of this event: "A number of our most prominent deacons are a part of this group and support financially some interest in Israel...." What does that mean? Part of the rationale in hosting this is because some of our most "prominent" (read: "wealthy"?) have a financial interest in Israel? Does he mean they donate money to Israel? Does he mean that they have a financial interest in M-EDG or the FIBI? I'm no conspiracy theorist, but this just has the appearance that the decision to host this, the decision that the money is going to the AHMC and not some other equally worthy charity consistent with our church's mission, is done for reasons other than what is the best for the cause of Christ and for our church. I find no fault with Dr. Cohen or M-EDG; Dr. Cohen's list of credentials in business and philanthropy is impressive. But if this is common practice at our mega churches in the SBC, hosting fund raisers for non-Christian charities that our "prominent deacons" have an interest in, then please forgive me for being so alarmed. By the way, this is precisely the reason why it is unwise for a wealthy member of the church to give a $300,000 land gift to the new pastor upon his arrival, and doubly unwise for the pastor to accept it. The circumstances here, and his email statements to a member make it look as though the pastor is looking out for the interests of the wealthy deacons and not the best interest of the church at large. I thought that a pastor of a mega church carefully guarded his flock and the church to make sure all efforts, all resources, all activities of the church are laser-focused on furthering the gospel. I know that was the focus of Homer Lindsay, Jr. and Jerry Vines.
4. The lack of communication by our pastor to the congregation about this event makes it look as though he has something to hide about the event. A member has posted email responses from the pastor to his questions on why the event is being hosted, and the responses contradict information given on the website, and I suspect that one of the responses may be outright fallacious. In response to a question about his silence on this to his congregation he replied "I have mentioned it from the pulpit on several occasions. The deacons know about and support (sic). I am sorry you did not hear the several times I have talked about it." Still haven't talked to anyone at church who recalls when he explained it to us. The church at large first learned about this event was the week of October 12th while Mac Brunson was on a 2-week vacation, when it appeared on the church website scrolling announcement. He also made this statement in an email: "We are not supporting abortions at this hospital, it is a wing for orthopedics and the offering that is taken that night is going to come from the Jews and the medical community. I told them not to count on FBC taking an offering for them." This seemingly contradicts the church's own website that says the love offering will be taken from Christians out of obedience to Romans 15:27 to share our material blessings with the Jews (which is a misuse of scripture - this scripture refers to Paul giving to believing Jews). So which is it? Only the medical community and the Jews? Or are Christians going to be urged to give?
Well, that is what I have. Take your shots. Call me nosey. Call me a biblical slanderer. But deal with the information. I look at these facts and I see a pastor negligent in his duties to guard the church and keeping us on track to spread the gospel. I see this and I see factors other than "how can we get the gospel out to the world" influencing how decisions are made to hold events. This makes me further wonder - was this very lack of wise leadership displayed by our pastor the reasons many of our staff has fled in the past year? Questions, only more questions.
If you are a pastor who comes to FBC Jacksonville for the pastor's conference and are concerned about this information, I hope you will call or email Mac Brunson to express your disappointment and let him know you'll pass on the pastor's conference this year. You can still watch many of the services via the church live feed over the Internet and be blessed by the excellent line up of speakers, but keep your church's monies from going to a careless pastor.
All this said: Mac its still not too late to do the right thing. You still have time to tell the event organizers that the event will have to go to a neutral site and set things right with your congregation.
By all appearances, Mac Brunson is still going to host A Time To Stand With Israel in the First Baptist Church Jacksonville sanctuary on November 8. This event will be featuring Jewish speakers that have no interest whatsoever in furthering the gospel, and at which a "love offering" from Christians and others present will be sent to the Assaf Harofeh Medical Center in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Firstly, let me say as I've said numerous times already, I am not opposed to this event. I am very pro-Israel, and I understand the scriptural truth that those who bless the Jewish nation will be blessed. I have no problem with a community holding an event to honor Jews or raise funds for Israel. I would very much support this event at a neutral site in Jacksonville. But I am very much against this event being hosted at our church for four basic reasons:
1. Holding this event in our church facility which will likely gain local media coverage, creating confusion in the minds of those we are trying to reach with the gospel about Jesus being their only hope for salvation. To host an event featuring, glorifying those who are expressly of a non-Christian religion, who expressly do NOT believe Jesus Christ is the only hope for mankind, WITHIN THE WALLS OF OUR CHURCH sends the wrong message to the very people we are trying to reach with the gospel through the ministries of our church. This is worse even than hosting a purely secular meeting of some kind; it is a meeting glorifying an expressly non-Christian religion. There is no doubt that praise will be heaped on our church and on our pastor by the local media on how loving and open and brave we are to host this event...but are we worried about gaining favor from the community or maintaining a clear, consistent testimony and message that says to Jacksonville: "Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and he is man's only hope of salvation and heaven."? Will not some in our city reason "gee, I thought that big church downtown has said for years that their Jesus is the only way to heaven, but they are having a service honoring the Jews who are definitely NOT Christian, so I guess things really HAVE changed at that "Jesus" church downtown.!" How sad to use our church facilities for an event that will dilute and confuse our message about Jesus that has been rock-solid for decades and decades.
2. The funds raised at this event taken as a "love offering", will be sent to the Assaf Harofeh Medical Center (AHMC). Most people who are ardent supports of Israel don't know that the state of Israel pays for abortions for women that are under 18 or over 40, provided they meet some financial or medical hardship. Approximately 20,000 of these abortions are performed at the Israeli hospitals each year, including the AHMC. I'm not saying the AHMC is evil, or should be shut down; it is a legitimate hospital that does much good in research and providing medical services. I'll even say that it is deserving of Jews and supporters of Jews raising funds to support it. But the fact remains: on-demand abortions are performed at this institution and pro-life churches have no business using their name or their facilities to raise money for it. All abortions are wrong, and abortion is a blight in any country. But it is a particular social concern in Israel because of the disturbing imbalance between Jewish and Arab fertility rates within the nation of Israel, which abortion only serves to make worse. Already half a million Jewish babies in Israel have been aborted because of their state abortion policy. But regardless...a church, any church...any church opposed to the evil of abortion...certainly one of the flagship churches of the Southern Baptist Convention...should avoid even the appearance of evil and not host a fund raiser which will send money to a hospital at which abortions are performed! I have recently corresponded with a Jewish-Christian couple in Israel who have a ministry of saving unborn Jewish babies by meeting the needs of women in financial distress; they confirmed first hand the problem of abortion in Israel. When I explained that a fund raiser was being held at our church to give money to AHMC, they kindly expressed a hope that believers outside of Israel would be more discerning as to where they send their financial help to Israel. There are so many worthwhile ministries within Israel that are inline with our church's mission and values that its disturbing to see the monies go to the AHMC.
3. The circumstances and motives of this event and the selection of the AHMC as the sole recipient of the funds raised is very suspect. As I've written previously, the impetus behind this event appears to be a Dr. Michael Cohen, who is the head of the Galilean Institute, and the recently appointed head of the new company called Florida-Israel Biomedical Initiative (FIBI), owned by the Jacksonville-based M-EDG, LLC. The FIBI company was formed in June 2007 with a mission of "...[providing] a very well-suited marketing and distribution vehicle for the U.S. commercialization of Israel’s biomedical devices and products." Nothing at all wrong with that. But when the pastor makes the following statement in an email reply to a member questioning the reasons of this event: "A number of our most prominent deacons are a part of this group and support financially some interest in Israel...." What does that mean? Part of the rationale in hosting this is because some of our most "prominent" (read: "wealthy"?) have a financial interest in Israel? Does he mean they donate money to Israel? Does he mean that they have a financial interest in M-EDG or the FIBI? I'm no conspiracy theorist, but this just has the appearance that the decision to host this, the decision that the money is going to the AHMC and not some other equally worthy charity consistent with our church's mission, is done for reasons other than what is the best for the cause of Christ and for our church. I find no fault with Dr. Cohen or M-EDG; Dr. Cohen's list of credentials in business and philanthropy is impressive. But if this is common practice at our mega churches in the SBC, hosting fund raisers for non-Christian charities that our "prominent deacons" have an interest in, then please forgive me for being so alarmed. By the way, this is precisely the reason why it is unwise for a wealthy member of the church to give a $300,000 land gift to the new pastor upon his arrival, and doubly unwise for the pastor to accept it. The circumstances here, and his email statements to a member make it look as though the pastor is looking out for the interests of the wealthy deacons and not the best interest of the church at large. I thought that a pastor of a mega church carefully guarded his flock and the church to make sure all efforts, all resources, all activities of the church are laser-focused on furthering the gospel. I know that was the focus of Homer Lindsay, Jr. and Jerry Vines.
4. The lack of communication by our pastor to the congregation about this event makes it look as though he has something to hide about the event. A member has posted email responses from the pastor to his questions on why the event is being hosted, and the responses contradict information given on the website, and I suspect that one of the responses may be outright fallacious. In response to a question about his silence on this to his congregation he replied "I have mentioned it from the pulpit on several occasions. The deacons know about and support (sic). I am sorry you did not hear the several times I have talked about it." Still haven't talked to anyone at church who recalls when he explained it to us. The church at large first learned about this event was the week of October 12th while Mac Brunson was on a 2-week vacation, when it appeared on the church website scrolling announcement. He also made this statement in an email: "We are not supporting abortions at this hospital, it is a wing for orthopedics and the offering that is taken that night is going to come from the Jews and the medical community. I told them not to count on FBC taking an offering for them." This seemingly contradicts the church's own website that says the love offering will be taken from Christians out of obedience to Romans 15:27 to share our material blessings with the Jews (which is a misuse of scripture - this scripture refers to Paul giving to believing Jews). So which is it? Only the medical community and the Jews? Or are Christians going to be urged to give?
Well, that is what I have. Take your shots. Call me nosey. Call me a biblical slanderer. But deal with the information. I look at these facts and I see a pastor negligent in his duties to guard the church and keeping us on track to spread the gospel. I see this and I see factors other than "how can we get the gospel out to the world" influencing how decisions are made to hold events. This makes me further wonder - was this very lack of wise leadership displayed by our pastor the reasons many of our staff has fled in the past year? Questions, only more questions.
If you are a pastor who comes to FBC Jacksonville for the pastor's conference and are concerned about this information, I hope you will call or email Mac Brunson to express your disappointment and let him know you'll pass on the pastor's conference this year. You can still watch many of the services via the church live feed over the Internet and be blessed by the excellent line up of speakers, but keep your church's monies from going to a careless pastor.
All this said: Mac its still not too late to do the right thing. You still have time to tell the event organizers that the event will have to go to a neutral site and set things right with your congregation.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Good or Best?
Sometimes the most difficult decisions in life are not between "good" and "bad", but between "good" and "best". The issue debated here in the last few days regarding Pastor Mac Brunson's decision to use the facilities and name of First Baptist Jacksonville in sponsoring a fund raiser for the Assaf Harofeh Medical Center in Tel Aviv, Israel on November 8th, is a prime example.
Let me say first how disappointed we are that Mac Brunson has not publicly addressed this fund raiser with his congregation, yet the church has this event prominently displayed on their scrolling announcement banner on the FBC Jax website. At best this is negligence on his part to pastor his sheep, and at worst its outright arrogance and disrespect for those he leads. He had ample opportunity to at least briefly explain the event, its purpose, how it fits with our church mission, and what the funds will be used for - he could have done it during either of the Sunday services, but did not. He could have done it through his "weekly" publication "Life Lines", but sadly his office staff hasn't had time to publish the weekly newsletter in over two months (but here's the version from August 17th). Those of you who say that we should call the pastor if we have questions about this event: hogwash. Any leader worth his salt knows that quality leadership includes keeping members of the organization abreast of important events, and "selling" new and innovative ideas. A leader must be the one to use all the power at his disposal to reach out to his followers with information. So we have no information from the pastor or staff on the rationale for this event and the date of this event is fast approaching.
Let's just suppose that our church believes holding fund raisers for Israel is an activity that fits within our church's mission, or spending our church resources for raising funds for the nation of Israel is part of our "core values", or that it fits within Jim Smyrl's "theology driven ministry" model. I have already stated that this activity clearly does NOT fit into any of these, and that in fact hosting such an event is counter-productive to our church accomplishing its mission, in that this event prominently features and even glorifies non-believers (non-believers specifically aligned with a non-Christian religion) and will likely cause confusion in the minds of those in Jacksonville that we are trying to reach with the biblical message that "Jesus is the only way to heaven". On these grounds alone our pastor needs to pull his offer of hosting this event at our church. It would best be held at a neutral, secular site.
But let's assume for the sake of argument that fund raisers for Israel fits with our mission of reaching the world for Jesus Christ. If so, then the next question to be pondered by serious pastors and lay leaders is: "What is the best way for a conservative, evangelical, Christian church to demonstrate its love for the Jewish people? In what way can we partner with our Jewish friends on an issue that is both pro-Christian and pro-Jew?"
One option might be to raise funds to give to a non-religious, secular, or government-funded organization that is doing good things on behalf of the Jews. One option here might be donating money to a hospital. Some others might be to giving money to some worthwhile military support organization that assists families of Israeli soldiers. Or perhaps to some Jewish children's home, or orphanage. Unfortunately, when you get down to it, probably the LEAST best of these secular options for a conservative, pro-life, evangelical Christian church to be involved in would be raising funds for a hospital. Why you ask? Because Israeli hospitals perform government-funded abortions at the rate of about 20,000 per year. Government funded. At the hospitals. The proposed fund raiser is for a trauma center at the hospital, but still - sending money raised at a Christian church to go a hospital at which abortions are performed- any mature, clear-thinking Christian of FBC Jax would have to agree that this is not the best fit.
So, money sent by a church to a trauma center in Israel - it might not be "bad" or "evil" (I think it is for reasons already stated, but I'm assuming it is not for discussion purposes). It might be classified as "good" - hospitals save lives, right?. BUT IS IT THE BEST? Are there other ways we can demonstrate our love for the Jewish people that is consistent with our church's mission?
The second option, and much better option, is so obvious that I'm embarrassed for our church leaders to even have to explain it. Abortion is a major social problem in Israel as statistics show a disturbing imbalance between Jewish and Arab fertility rates (average number of children born per woman) creating obvious concerns for this Jewish nation. The nation of Israel has already lost over half a million of its Jewish citizens to abortion. But there is a non-profit, non-government funded group in Israel that actively works to reduce the number of abortions in that country by meeting the physical and economic needs of women contemplating abortion. Over 90% of abortions in Israel are because of economic hardship, and by meeting the needs of these women during their time of "crisis" babies are saved. The name of this group is "Efrat". Their motto is "Saving the Lives of Jewish Children in Israel." Last year they saved 1806 babies from abortion.
Efrat receives no government funding, and they have extremely low overhead. Their annual budget is about 2 million dollars, and this allows them to save about 2000 babies per year. Take a moment and visit their U.S.A Website: http://www.friendsofefrat.org/ to learn about the work they are doing. View the video on this website. Listen to the testimonies of Jewish women who's babies were saved through this ministry. Listen to the words of the rabbis explaining the evil of abortion in their country and the good work done by Efrat.
Then ask the question: what should a fund raiser at FBC Jacksonville for the Jewish nation (if we must have one) go towards: a hospital where Jewish babies are aborted, or a non-profit organization that works to save babies. Note that I'm not asking this question of the advisory board for this event...sure, it might be in THEIR best interest to raise money for the hospital. But I'm asking the Christians at FBC Jacksonville...which is BEST?
When you answer that question, call or email the pastor to tell him "no", we don't want our church to have a fund raiser for the AHMC Medical Center. If our pastor believes an Israeli fund raiser is a worthwhile activity for our church, then let the money go to something that is directly consistent with our core values....or let the advisory committee take their fund raiser for the AHMC elsewhere.
Let me say first how disappointed we are that Mac Brunson has not publicly addressed this fund raiser with his congregation, yet the church has this event prominently displayed on their scrolling announcement banner on the FBC Jax website. At best this is negligence on his part to pastor his sheep, and at worst its outright arrogance and disrespect for those he leads. He had ample opportunity to at least briefly explain the event, its purpose, how it fits with our church mission, and what the funds will be used for - he could have done it during either of the Sunday services, but did not. He could have done it through his "weekly" publication "Life Lines", but sadly his office staff hasn't had time to publish the weekly newsletter in over two months (but here's the version from August 17th). Those of you who say that we should call the pastor if we have questions about this event: hogwash. Any leader worth his salt knows that quality leadership includes keeping members of the organization abreast of important events, and "selling" new and innovative ideas. A leader must be the one to use all the power at his disposal to reach out to his followers with information. So we have no information from the pastor or staff on the rationale for this event and the date of this event is fast approaching.
Let's just suppose that our church believes holding fund raisers for Israel is an activity that fits within our church's mission, or spending our church resources for raising funds for the nation of Israel is part of our "core values", or that it fits within Jim Smyrl's "theology driven ministry" model. I have already stated that this activity clearly does NOT fit into any of these, and that in fact hosting such an event is counter-productive to our church accomplishing its mission, in that this event prominently features and even glorifies non-believers (non-believers specifically aligned with a non-Christian religion) and will likely cause confusion in the minds of those in Jacksonville that we are trying to reach with the biblical message that "Jesus is the only way to heaven". On these grounds alone our pastor needs to pull his offer of hosting this event at our church. It would best be held at a neutral, secular site.
But let's assume for the sake of argument that fund raisers for Israel fits with our mission of reaching the world for Jesus Christ. If so, then the next question to be pondered by serious pastors and lay leaders is: "What is the best way for a conservative, evangelical, Christian church to demonstrate its love for the Jewish people? In what way can we partner with our Jewish friends on an issue that is both pro-Christian and pro-Jew?"
One option might be to raise funds to give to a non-religious, secular, or government-funded organization that is doing good things on behalf of the Jews. One option here might be donating money to a hospital. Some others might be to giving money to some worthwhile military support organization that assists families of Israeli soldiers. Or perhaps to some Jewish children's home, or orphanage. Unfortunately, when you get down to it, probably the LEAST best of these secular options for a conservative, pro-life, evangelical Christian church to be involved in would be raising funds for a hospital. Why you ask? Because Israeli hospitals perform government-funded abortions at the rate of about 20,000 per year. Government funded. At the hospitals. The proposed fund raiser is for a trauma center at the hospital, but still - sending money raised at a Christian church to go a hospital at which abortions are performed- any mature, clear-thinking Christian of FBC Jax would have to agree that this is not the best fit.
So, money sent by a church to a trauma center in Israel - it might not be "bad" or "evil" (I think it is for reasons already stated, but I'm assuming it is not for discussion purposes). It might be classified as "good" - hospitals save lives, right?. BUT IS IT THE BEST? Are there other ways we can demonstrate our love for the Jewish people that is consistent with our church's mission?
The second option, and much better option, is so obvious that I'm embarrassed for our church leaders to even have to explain it. Abortion is a major social problem in Israel as statistics show a disturbing imbalance between Jewish and Arab fertility rates (average number of children born per woman) creating obvious concerns for this Jewish nation. The nation of Israel has already lost over half a million of its Jewish citizens to abortion. But there is a non-profit, non-government funded group in Israel that actively works to reduce the number of abortions in that country by meeting the physical and economic needs of women contemplating abortion. Over 90% of abortions in Israel are because of economic hardship, and by meeting the needs of these women during their time of "crisis" babies are saved. The name of this group is "Efrat". Their motto is "Saving the Lives of Jewish Children in Israel." Last year they saved 1806 babies from abortion.
Efrat receives no government funding, and they have extremely low overhead. Their annual budget is about 2 million dollars, and this allows them to save about 2000 babies per year. Take a moment and visit their U.S.A Website: http://www.friendsofefrat.org/ to learn about the work they are doing. View the video on this website. Listen to the testimonies of Jewish women who's babies were saved through this ministry. Listen to the words of the rabbis explaining the evil of abortion in their country and the good work done by Efrat.
Then ask the question: what should a fund raiser at FBC Jacksonville for the Jewish nation (if we must have one) go towards: a hospital where Jewish babies are aborted, or a non-profit organization that works to save babies. Note that I'm not asking this question of the advisory board for this event...sure, it might be in THEIR best interest to raise money for the hospital. But I'm asking the Christians at FBC Jacksonville...which is BEST?
When you answer that question, call or email the pastor to tell him "no", we don't want our church to have a fund raiser for the AHMC Medical Center. If our pastor believes an Israeli fund raiser is a worthwhile activity for our church, then let the money go to something that is directly consistent with our core values....or let the advisory committee take their fund raiser for the AHMC elsewhere.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Are We Sure No Abortions are Done at AHMC?
Before the leadership of First Baptist Church Jacksonville decides to sponsor a fund raiser for the Assaf Harofeh Medical Center in Tel Aviv, Israel on November 8th at our church sanctuary (click here for the announcement, click here to see the FBC Jax scroll), I hope they will assure their congregation that we are not giving any money to a hospital at which abortions are performed.
Why is abortion a question? Am I being an alarmist in asking such a provocative question?
Since 1977 abortion has been legal in Israel, and depending on the woman's circumstances it may be funded by the government. The goverment has established 41 "abortion committees" around the country in public and private hospitals within Israel, to whom women make application when in need of an abortion. These committees will consist of a physician whose in obstetrics and gynecology; a family doctor or psychiatrist or internist or gynecologist; and a social worker. Law requires at least one woman must be present on each committee. "In 1999, 19,674 applications out of 20,581 were approved (96%) and 18,785 pregnancies were terminated. In addition, 16,000 abortions were illegally performed in private doctors' clinics." (ref: http://www.silentvoices.org/abortion.html)
Is it not reasonable for a Christian to ask of their pastor that is using the church to hold an event to raise funds for a hospital located in a foreign country that allows state-funded abortions, whether the hospital is one of the places where state-funded abortions (or any abortions) are performed? Is not this question of extra importance when the sponsor of the event is NOT a Christian group, but is in fact a for-profit corporation? Can the pastor even know with any certainty the answer to such a question about abortion at the hosptial? If he cannot, would it not be the wise thing to avoid using our resources to raise money for a hospital in such a country? And if he STILL decides to host the event, should he not explain his motives to his congregation for holding such an event?
Why is abortion a question? Am I being an alarmist in asking such a provocative question?
Since 1977 abortion has been legal in Israel, and depending on the woman's circumstances it may be funded by the government. The goverment has established 41 "abortion committees" around the country in public and private hospitals within Israel, to whom women make application when in need of an abortion. These committees will consist of a physician whose in obstetrics and gynecology; a family doctor or psychiatrist or internist or gynecologist; and a social worker. Law requires at least one woman must be present on each committee. "In 1999, 19,674 applications out of 20,581 were approved (96%) and 18,785 pregnancies were terminated. In addition, 16,000 abortions were illegally performed in private doctors' clinics." (ref: http://www.silentvoices.org/abortion.html)
Is it not reasonable for a Christian to ask of their pastor that is using the church to hold an event to raise funds for a hospital located in a foreign country that allows state-funded abortions, whether the hospital is one of the places where state-funded abortions (or any abortions) are performed? Is not this question of extra importance when the sponsor of the event is NOT a Christian group, but is in fact a for-profit corporation? Can the pastor even know with any certainty the answer to such a question about abortion at the hosptial? If he cannot, would it not be the wise thing to avoid using our resources to raise money for a hospital in such a country? And if he STILL decides to host the event, should he not explain his motives to his congregation for holding such an event?
Is FBC Jax Having Fund Raiser for Jewish Hospital Where Abortions are Performed?
This morning, Mac Brunson didn't address the questions about the fund raiser for the Assaf Harofeh Medical Center (AHMC) in the previous article here at this blog. That's OK. He's the pastor and he can do as he chooses.
But here's a few more questions that perhaps Trey and Debbie Brunson and the crack pastor's office suite can help Mac find answers to. Or perhaps some of the lay leaders who are afraid to question Mac Brunson will take these questions to Mac:
1. Is it possible that we have invited a non-Christian, private corporation to raise funds for a secular hospital in Tel Aviv where abortions are performed? It is well known that abortion is state funded in Israel, and every year approximately 20,000 abortions are performed in and paid by the state of Israel. Maybe Trey or Debbie will read this absract of research done at the AHMC that explains research done on women who have had late term abortions. After you read this article Trey or Debbie, call Mike Cohen of M-EDG and explain to him that our church has always taken a stand against abortion and we don't think it a good idea to raise funds where abortions are performed.
2. Why would our pastor choose to speak at a fund raiser for a hospital where abortions are performed, let alone OFFER OUR CHURCH SANTUARY UP TO HOST SUCH AN EVENT? At this research abstract by doctors of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the AHMC:
"..None of the women in the study group, admitted after late abortion or Caesarean section, was found to have residual trophoblastic tissue as confirmed by histological examination. Even though our department is a referral centre for late abortions (13–24 weeks of gestation), performed by the method of dilatation and evacuation (500 per year), only two women in the study group were admitted after late abortion (2.9%), and actually none of them had retained trophoblastic tissue, as confirmed by histological examination. A reasonable explanation for such uneventful outcome might be due to the use of a large number of laminarias, causing the uterine cervix to become ripened and dilated satisfactorily and possibly because late abortions are performed only by expert clinicians whereas early abortions are done mainly by residents, and not always using laminaria..."
When will the people of FBC Jax begin to get concerned?
But here's a few more questions that perhaps Trey and Debbie Brunson and the crack pastor's office suite can help Mac find answers to. Or perhaps some of the lay leaders who are afraid to question Mac Brunson will take these questions to Mac:
1. Is it possible that we have invited a non-Christian, private corporation to raise funds for a secular hospital in Tel Aviv where abortions are performed? It is well known that abortion is state funded in Israel, and every year approximately 20,000 abortions are performed in and paid by the state of Israel. Maybe Trey or Debbie will read this absract of research done at the AHMC that explains research done on women who have had late term abortions. After you read this article Trey or Debbie, call Mike Cohen of M-EDG and explain to him that our church has always taken a stand against abortion and we don't think it a good idea to raise funds where abortions are performed.
2. Why would our pastor choose to speak at a fund raiser for a hospital where abortions are performed, let alone OFFER OUR CHURCH SANTUARY UP TO HOST SUCH AN EVENT? At this research abstract by doctors of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the AHMC:
"..None of the women in the study group, admitted after late abortion or Caesarean section, was found to have residual trophoblastic tissue as confirmed by histological examination. Even though our department is a referral centre for late abortions (13–24 weeks of gestation), performed by the method of dilatation and evacuation (500 per year), only two women in the study group were admitted after late abortion (2.9%), and actually none of them had retained trophoblastic tissue, as confirmed by histological examination. A reasonable explanation for such uneventful outcome might be due to the use of a large number of laminarias, causing the uterine cervix to become ripened and dilated satisfactorily and possibly because late abortions are performed only by expert clinicians whereas early abortions are done mainly by residents, and not always using laminaria..."
When will the people of FBC Jax begin to get concerned?
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