August 2004 Archives

Dear Mr. Phillips: Upon reading your answer to the ladies question about piercing a woman’s ears, I feel led to say that our body is the temple of the living God. Every part of it has a ‘natural function’ whether we understand it or not. Drs may never know why God made the appendix, and people may live seemingly fine without theirs, but it most definitely does have a purpose. God does everything He does on purpose. God made us “very good”. Every single part of us. I beg to differ with you when you said “an ear piercing does not involve damage to and/or impede the natural function of the body, but, arguably, a typical tongue piercing does just this.” Perhaps not immediate, but the information I’ve gathered, being a natural health professional, shows clearly the intricate, minute, and ‘wonderfully made’ earlobe and how it relates to every other organ in the body. People put staples/metal in their ears to lose weight/quit smoking...because the energy from those points on the ear are perfectly connected to the corresponding point in another part of the body and can alter ‘natural function’ of the way our body reacts or responds to stimuli. Drs know there’s more to the ear than hearing with. Piercing the tops of the ears directly interferes with the body’s natural electrical function to major organs such as stomach, liver, spleen, etc. With metal posts piercing through the midst of hundreds of electrical currents (that God placed in the ear for a purpose)that are intended to carry messages the brain signals will damage the body, including the ear itself, in varying amounts sooner or later. We might heed the Bible’s example Gen 35:4 Jacob demanded they put away their strange gods, so they gave him “all their earrings which were in their ears. And Jacob buried them. The pagan Egyptians were the ones they were copying the earring idea from in the first place. There’s more physical evidence and facts I can provide of the ear and various body parts being damaged by peircing the ear, if you’re interested.

Hello Doug,
I just glanced over your article about body piercings. I disagreed on one point. Ear piercings are bad and do affect the health of the whole body. I had my ears pierced when I was 18. Although a doctor did it, I developed a terrible infection. It permanently changed my body chemistry so that I could never wear jewelry except if it was at least 18 c. gold. Kind of defeats the reason I had the piercing....I loved to wear jewelry! Even now, at 55 years young, if I wear clip on earrings of any materiel, my earlobes swell and yucky puss oozes out of the decades old hole.

From Doug:
Thank you for your comments. I am grateful to learn of these helpful observations and personal experiences. Here is my perspective: Based on the doctrine of sola scriptura, any theory of modesty, ornamentation, diet, etc. needs to have as its predicate the Word of God. Our study of the Word must bring us to the precepts and normative patterns to help us discern the broad principles and make wisdom applications.

As noted in my article: I have trouble with the “ear piercings are inherently unbiblical” position, or even the “ear piercings are inherently harmful” position. In my view, such a view is biblically indefensible. I simply do not know how to get around the fact that God specifically requires ear piercings as a sign of submission in servants, or that He clearly blessed the delivery by Abraham of ornamental piercings as a gift to his daughter-in-law Rebekah. I appreciate the fact that there may be reasons not to wear any such things (practical and preferential reasons), but there is no way of which I know to get around the fact that some ear piercings were actually commanded of God.

This brings me to a concluding thought about my first point mentioned above: Any theory of science, health or diet must emanate from the Scripture, not the other way around. For example, if your theory of diet says that eating meat is inherently unhealthy, but God commands the eating of flesh and models it through the law and the life of his son Jesus Christ (as He does), then your theory is wrong because it contradicts the all sufficient text of Scripture. One can not claim that wine is inherently wrong, when God says so much to the contrary in Scripture. There may be very good wisdom reasons to abstain from flesh or from wine, but this can not be claimed as a universal for all men at all times given the fact that the plain text of Scripture is contrary to such conclusions. The same goes for theories of the origin of the universe, of health (allopathic, homeopathic or naturopathic), of childbirth, of modesty — everything. A proper exegesis of the Biblical text must drive our worldview and applications, not the other way around.

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 31, 2004 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 30, 2004 | Permalink

“I am so proud of the Article that was done about the 11 year old film producer Caleb McLoud Young. I am adviser for the Tar Heel Junior Historians chapter that he is a member of in North Carolina. My husband and I are on vacation in Montana staying on the YWAM base in Lakeside Montana, visiting with family. Just as a side note the “Christ in the Camp” film that Caleb produced was actually his second film. He produced his first film in 2003 when he was 10. The Young family is an amazing family with six sons. Oldest brother John Young also produced a film “Independence Bound” which is entered in the Film Festival. This is John’s third film and the third film of his to win First Plac e at the state competion of Tar Heel Junior Historians. There are many homeschool families who make the films possible by being actors and actresses and helping with props and costumes and I am equally proud of those families too. God bless and keep you and make you to prosper. Love and prayers, Elaine Forman Adviser for Homeschoolers Unfolding History: A chapter of Tar Heel Junior Historians sponsored by the North Carolina Museum of History.”

Click here for more information on the Film Festival.

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 27, 2004 | Permalink

Yesterday, my son Howard Honor Phillips completed his third revolution around the sun. I pray that God will bless him and raise him up to be a mighty warrior for Jesus Christ.

We spent the afternoon at the San Antonio Zoo where Howard Honor decided to become a butterfly.

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 27, 2004 | Permalink

In a world of no-fault divorce, and a shameful fifty percent divorce rate within the professing Evangelical Church itself, it is crucial that we remember the success stories. This week Ed and Nancy Hill will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary. For seventy years, this bright and chipper couple have walked together, held hands, and loved one another. Seventy years!

Ed and Nancy Hill met at Brackenridge High School (not too far from Vision Forum headquarters) in San Antonio in 1929. She was a sixteen year old sophomore and he was a 17 year old junior. They were in the same home room class. Upon graduation, he was offered a college basketball scholarship but turned it down because it was the Great Depression. He started selling Hoover Sweepers door-to-door. They got married on August 29, 1934 at the age of 20 & 21, respectively. Ed started working at Kelly Air Force Base on May 10, 1938. He was the highest ranking civilian worker upon his retirement on May 10, 1968.

Together, Ed and Nancy have lived through 14 presidents (Franklin D. Roosevelt was president at that time of their marriage.), the Great Depression, the Second World War, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and much more. When they were married a loaf of bread cost 11 cents, the two of them have each been eligible to vote a total of 19 times. They got married when George Bush, Sr. was only 10 years old. Together they lived through the invention of television, man walking on the moon, and the computer revolution.

Oh what stories they could tell us, if only we would ask.

God bless you, Ed and Nancy. Thanks for being an example.

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 26, 2004 | Permalink

My views of what is missionary duty are not so contracted as those whose ideal is a dumpy sort of man with a Bible under his arm. I have labored in bricks and mortar, at the forge and carpenters bench, as well as in preaching and medical practice. I feel that I am not my own. I am serving Christ when shooting a buffalo for my men or taking an astronomical observation. —David Livingstone

“Dad, today Justice and I are going to capture a vulture.”

My sons are always plotting to dig up lost treasure, build plywood rafts (they assure me they are capable of navigating the Atlantic), or scheming to outwit and capture the local raccoon banditos who daily pillage our garage. Consequently, I made a mistake common for fathers who are rushing to meetings. I turned to Joshua and I said:

“Okay son, whatever you say.”

When I came home later that evening, there was a gigantic vulture with a six-foot wingspan screaming bloody murder in my backyard. Next to the bird were two very dirty, very proud little boys.

“Well Dad, we got the bird we promised you,” Joshua said matter-of-factly.

My jaw hit the floor.

“How did you do this?” I asked incredulously.

My son then explained something to the effect that he was just following the directions for making leg traps found in the books I had given to him. I remained incredulous.

For the next two weeks, the Phillips family lived with a gigantic vulture. We fed it. We listened to it screech. We listened to it more. We even performed surgery on its claw. Then we listened to it more. Finally, we discovered that vultures don’t make good pets.

Now here’s the point: For several years, I have been giving my sons literature about history, discovery, and dominion. And all along, they have been drinking it in and taking it seriously. Somewhere along the line, they taught themselves to do the very things about which they were reading. Their dog-eared copy of the

Little Bear’s Outdoor Adventure Guide for Boys, for example, now practically committed to memory, has helped them to take a vision and make it a reality.

I am thrilled that my sons love adventure. They love finding dinosaur fossils, climbing mountains, trapping, skinning, and eating the game they capture. I believe that this love for adventure and discovery is a God-given passion which, if wisely directed by a parent, can focus the child on what it means to take dominion over the earth, to dream great dreams for Jesus Christ, and to be a man of action and principle.

Here is what we have discovered: The way a boy plays is the way he will live. We can fill his mind with the perverse and dark images which society foists upon our sons, or we can remind him of the nobility of Christian chivalry and the virtues of manhood, like protection of women, provision for the family, and character-rich leadership. This theme is the subject of a message which I have produced entitled

Rebuilding a Culture of Virtuous Boyhood. In it, I share some thoughts on a number of subjects including how to use play to cultivate manhood, the proper use of toy weapons for play, and the difference between ungodly fantasy and godly imagination.

Recently, we have found two incredible books that add a whole new and exciting dimension to their playtime. In the first book, children read about the history of catapults and learn how to build a real, small-scale version. The second reveals blueprints for building incredible new hideouts in the form of treehouses, look-out towers, and junk huts. These books, The Art of the Catapult and How to Build Treehouses, Huts, and Forts, along with a family favorite and Vision Forum best-seller, Backyard Ballistics, are essential parts of the All-American Boy’s library collection.

Now, with fall creeping around the corner, the young adventurers of our family and yours can turn their dreams into reality. Fathers and sons can work together using How to Build Treehouses to construct a fort the whole family can enjoy and the little girls can use to hide in while their brothers play at defending them from the approaching enemy.

For the creative children with imagination and a desire for some real, hands-on, historical fun, they can read all about the history of the catapult, how different inventions brought success to the Greeks, English, or Scots in their historic battles in The Art of the Catapult, and then build a working replica for hours of outdoor fun, learning about the principles of propulsion, traction, levers, and tension in the process. And for a perfect hands-on physics lesson, children can explore Backyard Ballistics. With a strong emphasis on safety, the book explains the principles of physics behind the projects, profiles famous scientists, and is guaranteed to put a sparkle of excitement in your boys’ eyes or bring a scream of delight from his sister when the potato cannon roars to life!

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 25, 2004 | Permalink

One of the greatest trips I ever took with my father was a multi-week trek across the state of Alaska. We traveled by car, train, plane, and even tried out dog sledding. Our journey took us from Ketchikan, to Skagway, to Sitka. We ate sourdough pancakes, panned for gold, delighted to the “Mighty Moose Melodrama,” were eaten alive by untold thousands of bloodsucking mosquitoes, and had the time of our lives.

Along the way we regaled ourselves with the Yukon poetry of Robert Service (Ronald Reagan’s favorite poet). We memorized “Dangerous Dan McGrew” (I still know it), recited the chilly, but humorous “Cremation of Sam McGee,” and referenced the “Spell of the Yukon,” as we journeyed through Mt. Mckinley Park, and read the tales of Alaska’s most famous desperado, “Soapy” Smith, while in Skagway.

Last month my brother Samuel presented me with the following Robert Service treasure which he had committed to memory.

I thought it particularly fitting that he would memorize this poem. Just a few months beforehand, Samuel had been rejected for the Honors Program at the Virginia Military Institute (a program which had previously been extended to him as part of an invitation to attend the ancient Southern academy). Samuel’s rejection came after an oral examination before a scholarship review panel in which the panel inquired of him his views on women in the military academies, and whether or not he would support the decision of Chief Justice Roy Moore in disobeying a federal court order.

Samuel responded by quoting two sources he highly reveres: The Bible and VMI’s most illustrious professor, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson (the former infallible, the later merely wonderful). The panel was not impressed. Samuel lost his scholarship opportunity (and any desire in attending the feminized institution, now a mere shadow of its former greatness), but he won the appreciation of all of us who believe that there are still differences between boys and girls.

Enjoy the poem. The theology isn’t perfect, but the point is powerful:

The Soldier Of Fortune

“Deny your God!” they ringed me with their spears;
Blood-crazed were they, and reeking from the strife;
Hell-hot their hate, and venom-fanged their sneers,
And one man spat on me and nursed a knife.
And there was I, sore wounded and alone,
I, the last living of my slaughtered band.
Oh sinister the sky, and cold as stone!
In one red laugh of horror reeled the land.
And dazed and desperate I faced their spears,
And like a flame out-leaped that naked knife,
And like a serpent stung their bitter jeers:
“Deny your God, and we will give you life.”

Deny my God! Oh life was very sweet!
And it is hard in youth and hope to die;
And there my comrades dear lay at my feet,
And in that blear of blood soon must I lie.
And yet . . . I almost laughed — it seemed so odd,
For long and long had I not vainly tried
To reason out and body forth my God,
And prayed for light, and doubted — and denied:
Denied the Being I could not conceive,
Denied a life-to-be beyond the grave. . . .
And now they ask me, who do not believe,
Just to deny, to voice my doubt, to save
This life of mine that sings so in the sun,
The bloom of youth yet red upon my cheek,
My only life! — O fools! ‘tis easy done,
I will deny . . . and yet I do not speak.

“Deny your God!” their spears are all agleam,
And I can see their eyes with blood-lust shine;
Their snarling voices shrill into a scream,
And, mad to slay, they quiver for the sign.
Deny my God! yes, I could do it well;
Yet if I did, what of my race, my name?
How they would spit on me, these dogs of hell!
Spurn me, and put on me the brand of shame.
A white man’s honour! what of that, I say?
Shall these black curs cry “Coward” in my face?
They who would perish for their gods of clay —
Shall I defile my country and my race?
My country! what’s my country to me now?
Soldier of Fortune, free and far I roam;
All men are brothers in my heart, I vow;
The wide and wondrous world is all my home.
My country! reverent of her splendid Dead,
Her heroes proud, her martyrs pierced with pain:
For me her puissant blood was vainly shed;
For me her drums of battle beat in vain,
And free I fare, half-heedless of her fate:
No faith, no flag I owe — then why not seek
This last loop-hole of life? Why hesitate?
I will deny . . . and yet I do not speak.

“Deny your God!” their spears are poised on high,
And tense and terrible they wait the word;
And dark and darker glooms the dreary sky,
And in that hush of horror no thing stirred.
Then, through the ringing terror and sheer hate
Leaped there a vision to me — Oh, how far!
A face, Her face . . . through all my stormy fate
A joy, a strength, a glory and a star.
Beneath the pines, where lonely camp-fires gleam,
In seas forlorn, amid the deserts drear,
How I had gladdened to that face of dream!
And never, never had it seemed so dear.
O silken hair that veils the sunny brow!
O eyes of grey, so tender and so true!
O lips of smiling sweetness! must I now
For ever and for ever go from you?
Ah, yes, I must . . . for if I do this thing,
How can I look into your face again?
Knowing you think me more than half a king,
I with my craven heart, my honour slain.

No! no! my mind’s made up. I gaze above,
Into that sky insensate as a stone;
Not for my creed, my country, but my Love
Will I stand up and meet my death alone.
Then though it be to utter dark I sink,
The God that dwells in me is not denied;
“Best” triumphs over “Beast”, — and so I think
Humanity itself is glorified. . . .

“And now, my butchers, I embrace my fate.
Come! let my heart’s blood slake the thirsty sod.
Curst be the life you offer! Glut your hate!
Strike! Strike, you dogs! I’ll not deny my God.”

I saw the spears that seemed a-leap to slay,
All quiver earthward at the headman’s nod;
And in a daze of dream I heard him say:
“Go, set him free who serves so well his God!”

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 25, 2004 | Permalink

Jeff Donn of the Associated Press reports today that Madeline Mann, who once weighed less than a can of soda, and is the tiniest surviving newborn known to medicine, enters high school next week as an honor student who plays violin and likes to Rollerblade.

Donn reports: “At birth, she wasn’t even pint-sized. Born 27 weeks into her mother’s pregnancy, she weighed just 9.9 ounces, less than any surviving baby in medical history. She was just 10 inches long, smaller than a football and resting easily in a nurse’s hand”

God granted two miracles. First He allowed her to survive. Next, He allowed her to prosper. What a blessing the doctors and parents did not give up on this precious life. It is a lesson for parents in similar challenging situations.

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 24, 2004 | Permalink

Vision Forum gives thanks to our precious Father in Heaven for sending new life to three families on our staff. To God be the Glory. Great things he hath done. May each of these children rise to profess faith in Christ, to keep covenant with God and their parents, and to be victorious warriors for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Introducing Michaella Charis Gobart. Born on August 12 to Michael and Grace Gobart. Michaella is their first child.

Welcome James Moore Wean. Born on July 8, the first child of Joshua and Sarah Wean.

Congratulations to the Perry Coghlan family for the birth of Rachel Charlotte, the most recent of the seven daughters they are raising in the fear and admonition of the Lord.

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 24, 2004 | Permalink

Two interesting articles that crossed my desk today. First, Paul Craig Roberts makes the case for why Americans should vote Republican in 2004. Check out his article: How Do They Get Away With It. Second, Michael Peroutka takes on Marvin Olasky’s Boogie Man Politics.

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 24, 2004 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 23, 2004 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 23, 2004 | Permalink

Some of the issues addressed at this years’ 2nd National Conference for Uniting Church and Family were the myth of adolescence, means whereby the local church can encourage boys to be men, the influence of grandfathers on young men, and the fact that modern Christians have allowed the world to establish goals for young men, rather than allowing our expectations for what our young man can truly accomplish (by God’s grace!) to be established by the Word. For an interesting take on the subject, consider listening to Dr. Davis’ tape What to Expect from A Twelve year Old.

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 22, 2004 | Permalink

What a wonderful time! This being my 1st NCFIC conference, I was blessed beyond my wildest expectations. My wife and 2 of our 4 children learned a lot...and were encouraged to think. Really, we were exhorted and encouraged to consider Christ and His Bride!! Thank you!!! S.M.

They came representing thirty-four states and dozens of congregations. For three special days in August, more than six hundred men women and children, families and church leadership gathered in St. Louis to discuss both the theory and the practicals of biblical, Christ-centered, family-friendly local churches. Two years after church leaders gathered for the first national conference, and with hundreds of both new and established local churches since the time of the first conference embracing a Christ-centered, family-integrated approach to church life (see our Confession for Uniting Church and Family), we gathered to grow, to learn and to fellowship.

For more than a decade there has been a growing movement that spans denominational (and even many doctrinal distinctives) to correct the anti-family excesses and humanistic infiltration of the modern church. The cry of the hour is sola scriptura as many within the ranks of local church leadership and the home school movement have woken up to the devastating impact of building church culture and liturgy around methodologies foreign to Scripture.

Historically, crisis has always forced Christians to go back to the Bible and re-examine their prejudices and practices in light of the only objective, unchanging standard given by God to His Church. The defining crisis of this generation is the systematic annihilation of the Christian family. Leading the way in inadvertently facilitating this crisis is mainstream Christianity with its toleration for divorce, its advocacy of feminism, its acceptance of the banned parenthood philosophy of child prevention, its promotion of the idolatry of youth culture, its acceptance of Madison avenue corporate management to support ecclesiocentric visions of church life, its individualistic and anti-patriarchal philosophy of life which leads to an obfuscation of legitimate jurisdictions between the church and family, and its rejection of biblical holiness for cultural syncretism.

The result is that far too many churches are persecuting families (especially home educators), discouraging men from taking responsibility for their families and in the meeting of the church, encouraging children to look to youth pastors and peers even before parents, creating pressure for women to forsake their roles as wives, mothers and keepers at home, and building corporate empires which extend the jurisdiction of the local church well beyond the parameters given in Scripture.

The stories of abuse are simply epidemic. I have heard hundreds, if not thousands over the last ten years.

Themes of the 2004 National Conference
Two years ago, the emphasis of the First National Conference for Uniting Church and Home was on evaluating the problem and laying foundations for the future. This year the conference emphasized the need to humbly seek the Lord Jesus Christ and to make Him our focus and objective, even as we seek to honor Him by embracing His God-ordained means to the goal of seeing the local church and family work together with finely tuned unity and precision.

Conference themes included: (1) Jurisdictional Thinking vs. Authoritarianism or Individualism; (2) Biblical Holiness vs. Syncretism; (3) The Sufficiency of Scripture vs. False Notions of Neutrality; (4)A Vision of Victory vs. Acceptance of Status Quo; and (5) Biblical Patriarchy vs. The Church Effeminate; (6)Christ-Centeredness vs. Anything-Else-Centeredness; and (7) Preparations and Perseverance (in the wake of present and future persecutions both internal and external to the Church) vs. Indifference, Fatalism or Shortsightedness.

There was a special emphasis on encouraging church shepherds to love the flock, by discipling men and encouraging families. One young pastor wrote to us:

[This was a]fantastic, encouraging experience that was tailored to the needs we are facing as we seek to live out a family-integrated vision. As a 30 year old pastor with 5 children and a heart for family I was amazed to find many other young men just like me...How exciting to see God doing a work across the country in the hearts of young men like myself. I thought I was much more alone. I see God pouring out vision everywhere as a result of this time.

Another conference theme, beautifully emphasized by pastor Jeff Pollard, was humility. Carmon Freidrich of buriedtreasurebooks.com wrote this touching account:

Great emphasis was placed on the need to be tough on ourselves and forbearing with others. This was repeated over and over, reminding us that our convictions do not make us better than our brothers and sisters in Christ who do not agree with us. We had many encouraging conversations with folks who described their journey to their convictions about age-integrated church, homeschooling, modest apparel and eschewing planned barrenhood. To a person, they were very aware that their beliefs about these things had come because as they sought to obey God in everything, He had put them on a journey to reach their present beliefs, and they understood that others may still be on that journey. Though we strongly hold our beliefs and even need to propound them to others in the proper venue (as our jurisdiction merits), we are to be humble before God and men at all times.

This spirit and emphasis of the participants in the conference appeared to reflect a blessed maturity (often encouraged through God’s school of hard knocks)as many have been about the business, not only of building strong families, but making real strides towards building Christ-centered local churches with a passion for promoting multi-generational thinking, biblical fatherhood, personal holiness, and parent-to-child discipleship.

Since the first national conference, hundreds of church leaders have turned their hearts. Numerous congregations have switched directions for the better. The numerous testimonies of pastors were especially encouraging. Many new congregations with have been planted, or are in the process of being planted. The hundreds of individuals and local churches on the NCFIC directory is evidence of the hunger and enthusiasm for seeing the heart of families turn to the local church, and the heart of local church leaders turn to the men of their congregations and the families they lead.

That the fundamental principles of Christ-honoring, family-integrated worship need to continually be articulated was also evident. For many in attendance, the messages were a blessed, but very real splash of cold “wake-up” water. One particapant wrote:

I was invited to this conference by some brothers who came two years ago. Honestly, I did not want to come, my life is too busy. I pondered that thought as I looked at my 4 children. I am too, too busy, again as I looked into the eyes of my children, thinking these children need me here I can’t go away. The LORD ministered to me that night, you work 14-16 hrs a day, you’re gone for work. Go, go for 3 day’s and be fed, be encouraged, grow. You will hear things and learn the things you need for the proper teaching and training of these children that you love so. This is what the Lord spoke to me that night. I have been blessed abundantly, stretched and challenged...Thank you for fighting the good fight. God bless you and your families from the bottom of my heart. J.R.

But thanks be to God, most of us in attendance left with a deep sense of hope and a direction for the future. Now we must put our hand to the plow and press on.

(P.S. The smiling, bearded gentleman above is Dr.Dave Black. He lectured at this year’s conference on “The Myth of Adolescence,” which is also the title of his new book. Dave is a remarkable fellow of many accomplishments: A professor of New Testament Greek at a major seminary, a devoted husband and father, a defender of biblical voting ethics, an equestrian and farmer, the man behind the innovative and humorous website daveblackonline.com, and an expert “goofyfoot” who can masterfully take a 40 foot wave at Pipeline or Sunset, on Oahu, where Dave grew up. Don’t believe me, check out his website.)

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 21, 2004 | Permalink

A personal highlight of the 2nd National Conference for Uniting Church and Family was the opportunity to introduce Scott Brown as the new director of the National Center for Family Integrated Churches. Scott is one of the happiest and most grateful men I have ever met. Scott is optimism on steroids. A visionary pastor of a North Carolina church whose well-managed home is a safe haven of hospitality and discipleship for the students at the nearby seminary. Scott has a God-given knack for inspiring men to reach their full potential in Christ. Scott married his childhood sweetheart and one-true-love Deborah (who he met when she was twelve), and together they have built a household which is brimming with life, love, and enthusiasm. (Picture this: They live in a gigantic barn which has been converted into a lovely country home, and comes complete with a swing in the living room that actually reaches over the massive dining room table. I call it the “presuppositional barn” because the entire design has been calculated to promote family-centeredness — smaller bedrooms — larger living area.

In the picture above, Scott leads the Vision Forum team and NCFIC conference speakers in early morning prayer. The entire conference was bathed in prayer, but these early morning prayer sessions were especially dear.

Bill Einwechter is not only a pastor and father of ten, but the leader of the National Reform Association. His messages (accompanied by a detailed outline and exegetical defense of his position) “A Covenantal Perspective on the Jurisdiction of the Family and the Local Church), and “A Biblical Vision for Multi-Generational Faithfulness” were careful examples of much needed biblical scholarship on the issue of church and family. He addressed issues as diverse as whether women should speak in church, to the question of household voting. In the picture above, Bill (seated in middle) discusses issues with Scott and (Attorney/Pastor)Don Hart.

Jeff Pollard (middle above) has been a friend for more than a decade. Jeff loves Jesus Christ, and preaches with an uncommon and utterly sincere humility. A former well-known top-forty Rock musician, Jeff gave up the paganism of one world, for a new life of holiness in Jesus Christ. (Jeff even contributed to the break-up of the 70’s Rock phenomenon Kansas, a group for which he once opened in concert, by bringing the Gospel to members of the group). Today he is a pastor, a careful student of the Scriptures, and the man behind what is probably the most faithful reformation tract ministry in the world, Mt. Zion Chapel Library. His messages on holiness and the biblical meaning of legalism profoundly impacted many in attendance at the conference. Jeff is also the author of Christian Immodesty and the Public Undressing of America.

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 19, 2004 | Permalink

Something is terribly wrong within the Church right now. In the midst of the biggest cultural attack on the family — perhaps in world history — Christians are either silent, or they are aiming their arrows in all the wrong places. Incredibly, while there is virtual silence in the Church about the epidemic of warrior women, those who boldly extol the virtues of motherhood, exhort fathers to turn their hearts towards home, and view children as a blessing, are primary targets of censure.

Monday’s edition of The Washington Post includes an article which sums up the story of one dad, (the reason why Vision Forum will not remain silent on the redefinition and disintegration of the Christian family.) In the entitled “Protecting the Home Front: Mom Is Serving Her Country, and Dad Is Serving Dinner,” Peter R. Madsen writes:

”...I am a father of three, a former army aviator, a sometimes retail and distribution manager, and a husband. We live in North Carolina. My wife, an army medic, lives in Iraq...But this story isn’t about her, either. I know her suffering. I hear it on the phone and see it in her letters, but this isn’t her time.

This is just the first part of a long separation. I am not sure I am up to the task, but I will find a way because I have our three beautiful children to keep and care for until their mommy comes home. I am now meeting my children, whom I never really knew, and we are having some good laughs and sharing a lot of love along the way...”

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 18, 2004 | Permalink

This year’s 2nd National Uniting Church and Family conference was a time of great refreshment and hope for the many precious families in attendance. A family that has been a great source of encouragement to the Phillips’ is the Morton family, pictured above with their twelve children. The Morton boys are a team of strapping colossi. Mr. and Mrs. Morton have encouraged a spirit of humility, gratitude, and hunger for truth with their children. During breaks in the conference when the families would gather to have meals, these boys would come and ask if they could just sit in and listen to the men discuss the Scriptures. Similarly, their eldest daughter went out of her way to share heartfelt gratitude to the speakers for their ministry. What a difference it makes when our sons and daughters have genuinely grateful hearts.

Another blessings of this conference was the opportunity for families, friends, and young men to gather to discuss matters of substance and importance to the Church. Of course, it’s just great to be with like-minded families. These boys enjoyed a sweet time of fellowship.

Peter and Rebecca, two of the ten Serven children, accompanied their father (and OPC pastor) Marcus Serven to this year’s conference. Marcus is a deliberate and careful student of Scripture who pastors a church that emphasizes sound doctrine and sound orthopraxy, and, consequently, honors the biblical model of family and church jurisdictions.

Kelly and David Brown pose with their grandfather Bill Brown, who is one of the featured Iwo Jima veterans in Vision Forum’s up-and-coming film Faith of our Fathers.

This Missouri State Senator and his wife were among the home schooling families in attendance. Their very precocious (and literate) eldest daughter brought her liberty doll and engaged me in a delightful conversation.

The Stinett family is very dear to Vision Forum. You may remember that some of them were featured in our catalog dressed as Pilgrims.

The Hart daughters enjoyed listening to their daddy, Texas attorney and Vision Forum board member Don Hart. Don provided a vigorous defense and explanation of the necessity that local churches not apply for 501(c)3 incorporation status with the federal government.

Honor Phillips smiles for the camera during a dinner break on the streets of good ‘ole St. Louis.

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 17, 2004 | Permalink

During my dialogue with R.C. on baptism during the Uniting Church and Family Conference, I asked him (tongue and cheek) if he held to the “original” or “more liberalized” version of the Westminster Confession of Faith. His answer did not disappoint me. (I am heartily with R.C. on this one!)

Also interesting was R.C.’s comment to me that Evangelical churches who accept Roman Catholic baptism should logically also accept Roman Catholic excommunications. The issue poses a special problem for our Lutheran friends, who, (if this logic holds up) have an entire denomination named after an “heretic” whose excommunication needs to be honored in the spirit of catholicity.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Speaking of confused logic, have you noticed that the Christians who squawk and protest most loudly that they have discovered an “enlightened spirit of catholicity” that corrects the “excesses” of that great cloud of Reformation witnesses (including the hard talking, sound thinking Separatists, Puritans, Pilgrims, etc., who helped to found America) have anything but a spirit of catholicity when it comes to talking about their Reformed and credo-Baptist brethren. For many of these dear confused brothers “Baptist” and “Anabaptist” are synonymns, and both terms are the equivilent of a Christian swear word.

For an interesting perspective on this issue please take careful time to read the excellent blogs and articles available at Semper Reformanda, as well as the article entitled: On Presbyterians and Baptists ‘Getting Along’.

Also, for an enormously helpful overview of the debate over baptism and the covenant, check out these outstanding conference CDs with Bill Einwechter, pastor of Immanuel Free Church of Pennsylvania and a featured speaker at this year’s National Conference for Uniting Church and Family.

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 16, 2004 | Permalink

The Church of Jesus Christ is the center piece of history. How do you know the health of the Church? Look to the Families in the church! How do you know the health of the families? Look to the vision of the fathers. Look to relationships between husbands and wives. Look to the spirit of the children within the homes that make up the Church.

Yes, the centerpiece of history is the Church. And the most encouraging work within the American Church at this moment in history is the great revival of biblical fatherhood, virtuous womanhood, blessed family life, and patriarchal multi-generational vision, most beautifully found within the home school movement of America.

Across the nation today are thousands of precious families who are part of this great revival. From among their ranks have sprung remarkable Gospel ministries. Each family with its own vision for outreach and encouragement. Sometimes these ministries are aimed at the body of Christ itself. Other times they seek to reach a lost world with Gospel hope.

Often these are quiet works.

Some families have ministries dedicated to encouraging women to be virtuous. Others seek to build up men in patriarchal vision, to speak to the issues of the day, or to train the next generation to reach the lost with an uncompromising message. Many of these works are in the direct line of fire from “Christian” critics who have not turned their heart to holiness and home, and thus do not understand.

Nonetheless, these families have turned their hearts to Christ, to their children, and to a very unpopular message which declares that Christians must set their priorities in order no matter how difficult and unpopular it may be to do so.

Some of these families attended the 2004 Uniting Church and Family Conference, sponsored by Vision Forum Ministries and the National Center for Family Integrated Churches. One of the great unsung heroes of the home school movement in attendance with us last week was Steve and Carmon Freidrich. Mr. and Mrs. Freidrich (pictured above) are delightful writers whose musings have been a source of encouragement to home school families seeking to lead simple and separate lives of maximum impact on the world. Mrs. Freidrich has a tremendous website where home schooling ladies (affectionately termed “prairie muffins”) can turn for daily encouragement. Click here to read her latest blog.

Another family of “unsung heroes” in attendance was the Michael Thomas family. Mr. Thomas is a shepherd in a Christ-centered, family integrated assembly in New England. The Thomas sons and daughters seek to honor the mission given to them by their mother and father, by serving the Lord in ministry with their parents, including working together to hold conferences for Christian couples. Vision Forum is currently considering doing one with them on Cape Cod in the Fall of 2005.

One of my favorite unsung heroes of the home school movement in attendance this last week is Kevin Swanson, pictured above with his wife Brenda. Kevin is a man of many talents. He serves as a pastor in a family-integrated assembly which is part of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC), the host of a radio show called “Generations,” and the leader of one of the most influential home school organizations in America, the Christian Home Educators of Colorado. Kevin is simply off-the-charts fantastic. A man of tremendous creative energy, indefatigable optimism and passion for biblical patriarchy, he and the outstanding men and women of CHEC are helping to craft one of the most influential and Christ-honoring state home school movements in America.

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 16, 2004 | Permalink

No, he is not running for political office, but Dr. R.C. Sproul, Jr. is doing something so important, that if he is successful, the entire nation will change for the better — he’s “running” to be a faithful daddy and husband. And he is exhorting and training others to do the same. When he is not busy being a father, R.C. is about the business of writing, teaching, shepherding a congregation, and leading the Highlands Study Center, a ministry founded to help families lead “simple, seperate, and deliberate” lives for Jesus Christ.

What makes the mission and message of R.C. Sproul, Jr. so remarkable, is that he perceives everything he is doing as an extension and amplification of the priorities and teachings bequeathed to him by his accomplished father. My heart beats to the same drum. This is why I found the opportunity to co-labor with this dear brother at the 2004 National Conference for Uniting Church and Family to be refreshing and delightful.

R.C. understands honor. He understands priorities. Throughout his messages, R.C. emphasized respect for jurisdictions. It is no wonder, therefore, that the more than six hundred in attendance for the 2004 Uniting Church and Family Conference this last week were treated to many blessed strings of Christ-honoring, uplifting, and polished pearls from the lips of one of America’s great defenders of Christ-centered family life.

After his evening keynote, R.C. visits with conference participants. Here he shakes hands with long-time Phillips family friend Mark Weaver, who delivered to R.C. gifts of a honeycomb and honey from his family’s apiary.

R.C. addresses the general session and warns against the dangers of syncretism (mixing truth and untruth, holiness with worldlines, etc.).

Throughout the conference, there were many delightfully humorous moments. The consensus from those who spoke to me after the conference was that the fifteen-minute general session dialogue between R.C. and myself on the issue of paedo vs. credo baptism was the biggest belly-slapping hoot of the conference. Wow! What can I tell you?! If you were not there, you missed a little history in the making! You need to hear this one! (Tapes available later this month.)

Ten-year-old Darby Sproul gets an A+. When I turned to her during dinner and asked: “Well Darby, what have you been reading lately?” she replied: “I read Elsie Dinsmore, Mr. Phillips. Elsie is one of my favorites.” To which her daddy quietly said: “Good answer, Honey.”

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 16, 2004 | Permalink

Homeschoolers are among the most creative people on earth. For their hospitality, spirit of innovation and good old fashioned fun, few families surpass the Jim Zes household of St. Louis. For this Independence Day the three Zes girls (Hannah, Rebekah and Sarah)built life size wooden “Redcoat” soldiers, masterfully painted them, and next created an artillery capable of wiping out the army of British invaders they had just built. (The artillery was made of three-man sling shots and cannon balls filled with old Y2K beans.)

We gathered at the Zes home before the 2004 Uniting Church and Family conference for an evening of feasting and fellowship, but found ourselves spending several hours engaged in military combat.

A special dispensation was given to our dear girls to participate in the target practice. (Hey, they need to learn how to aim, pull and shoot for when Dad is away defending the frontier.)

Whatever you do, do it with all your might!

Recoil!

Look carefully and you can see the ball sailing through the air after being launched by Jubilee.

In come the militia.

After the battle, the Zes girls (Sarah and father Jim pictured above)prepare a gourmet meal for the many friends and family gathering at their home for a pre-Uniting Church and Family Conference dinner.

Hannah lets Jubilee help out in the kitchen.

Faith enjoys being with the big girls.(Here she is pictured with Rebekah Zes and Kelly Brown.)

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 12, 2004 | Permalink

God bless the more than 600 participants in this year’s 2nd National Conference for Uniting Church and Family. Here, Honor and Faith Phillips welcome you on the steps of the St. Louis Radisson.

Justice and Jubilee wait in the foyer of the hotel.

Checking in.

With friends from Zimbabwe, who are now serving the Lord through ministry in the United States.

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 12, 2004 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 12, 2004 | Permalink

This Saturday morning I took my family to the International House of Carbohydrates for a special feast. By tradition, Saturday is “feast day” at the Phillips home.

Sometimes we will kill the fatted pizza but usually I just make breakfast for the family. And not just any breakfast, but fried matzoh with sides of maple sausage and sometimes grits. I learned how to make fried matzoh from my father, who made it for me on Saturday mornings, even as his father did the same for him.

Happy Saturday mornings! —- Long, slow, glorious hours spent with the children helping Dad in the kitchen, Beall and I leisurely reading newspapers (instead of the frantic “skim and destroy” method I normally employ due to time constraints), wrestling with the two-year-old Sumo toddler, and having little girls in flower dresses dance around with their daddy.

The other week we instituted a new family tradition: Each child age four to eleven is required to take ten minutes sometime out of the day to sit with my two year old (Honor) and talk to him about the Gospel. They can share a pre-approved Bible story or Scripture lesson, but they must encourage him in the Lord. We have a special designated spot where they are to do this, and we require that they stay focused for the whole ten minutes.

This new tradition was born out of my daily admonitions to the children to model Christianity for the littlest members of our household. In my view, parents either involve their children with in-home Gospel evangelism and discipleship, or parents will end up with double duty, including spending far too much time addressing unnecessary sibling rivalry. Children that are witnessing one to another are less inclined to compete against one another, or to act in dereliction of their Christian duties. Most importantly, however, I want my boys and girls to know that the way they talk and interact with their little brother will either point him to Heaven or to Hell.

By the way, I was really impressed with the book Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends, which explains (with great humor) the practical ways to build commitment and unity between siblings. You can check out this book by clicking here.

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 10, 2004 | Permalink

We give thanks to God for a wonderful group of dynamic and motivated young Christian men who are joining us for the 2004 Vision Forum Internship. Pictured above are Joel Merritt (with our IT Tract) and Hosea Horneman, Nathan Servan, and Nathan Barnes (General Tract). It is a joy to have the privilege of walking beside and serving together for six months with these great home school graduates, future patriarchs, and family-honoring leaders.

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 10, 2004 | Permalink

Nearly one hundred students, speakers and Vision Forum staff gathered in the beautiful Lurray Mountains of Virginia this last week for the 6th annual Witherspoon School of Law and Public Policy. Students from more than a dozen states came to learn a distinctively biblical perspective on law, public policy, ethics, and to study the biblical foundations of American Constitutional government, to evaluate approaches to legal education, and to interact and fehllowship with a distinguished faculty. Though not limited to home educators, the Witherspoon School drew largely from America’s home school movement, and included a large number of fathers and sons. Also present as students were a number of pastors and attorneys who came to “get what they were not told in law school or seminary.”

The Mymslin Inn makes a beautiful setting for the week of training. This 1930’s plantation-style inn, with its historic decor, rests high on the hills overlooking the Shenandoah.

In between sessions, students and faculty can visit in the comfortable lounges, or go for a stroll in the back terrace. It makes for a very comfortable and nostalgic setting to discuss American history and the law of God.

Texas attorney and Vision Forum Ministries board member Don Hart, Jr. attended with his father — Don Hart, Senior. Don, Jr., who serves as a church shepherd in his local church, is one of the featured speakers at this years’ 2nd Annual National Conference for Uniting Church and Family. These men are real Texans. (The week before I was driving with Don, Jr. in his truck and inquired about a pair of spurs on the floor. He explained that he had spent the entire previous day with his father herding and roping cattle — Cowhand and Constitutional freedom fighters — This is what makes Texas great!

It is always a pleasure to work with my father and hero, Howard Phillips. My father took me with him around the country when I was a boy. He gave me numerous opportunities to meet and dialogue with great leaders. He also spent much of our driving and travel time training me in principles of biblical law and the Constitution. We listened to thousands of tapes and had many glorious conversations. The Witherspoon School of Law and Public Policy is in existence because Dad inspired me to pursue this path.

Witherspoon was honored to have as visiting lecturer, Constitutional attorney, and Alabama Supreme Court candidate Tom Parker, who was joined by his gracious wife Dottie. Tom served in several capacities with the Alabama Supreme Court during the tenure of Chief Justice Roy Moore. He was fired by acting Chief Justice Gorman Houston for his association with Chief Justice Moore. Tom then went on to defeat sitting Supreme Court Justice Jean Brown for the Republican nomination. Brown had conspired with Houston to oppose Chief Justice Moore and remove the Ten Commandments. Tom has worked on a number of key cases including Wallace v. Jaffrey, and has a distinguished career defending constitutional liberties.

This year I lectured on a broad range of subjects including the real meaning of theonomy, the importance of presuppositional thinking and apologetics as applied to public policy, the history of Christianity and the common law, the influence of evolution on the modern legal system, a primer on biblical ethics for lawyers and public policy leaders, and how to choose a legal education.

I also took this year’s Witherspoon as an opportunity to spend an hour formally responding to and rebutting the thesis of Political Pluralism, a book by the brilliant and accomplished Dr. Gary North, that the American Constitution was a renegade, masonic-conspiracy-driven, illegitimate document that fundamentally broke with the Christian origins of this nation. One student of Dr. North’s writings who was present told me afterwards: “This was the first time I have heard a solid and plausible response to North’s thesis.”(I view this issue as crucial, and hope to address this issue in more detail in a future blog or article.)

Witherspoon students were treated to a wonderful lecture on biblical principles of civil procedure from Professor Jeff Tuomala, the Associate Dean for Liberty University School of Law. Professor Tuomala’s outstanding article in defense of Chief Justice Roy Moore on the meaning of the rule of law was quoted during the Chief Justice’s trial before the Alabama Court of the Judiciary.

Joshua and Justice Phillips join Kevin and Justin Turley for a photo by the Vision Forum table. Kevin is Director of Operations for Vision Forum.

Past Witherspoon students have gone on to be elected to public office, to serve the Lord as attorneys and judges. Especially exciting are the number of families that continue to send the next generation to attend.

One student wrote:

Thank-you so much for the opportunity to learn and grow under the faculty of the Witherspoon School. I firmly believe that the principles and world view that were taught and discussed are crucial to the life of every Christian. I come from a family of twelve children and all I can say is that I hope that you will see the rest of my (7) seven brothers attend this event. Thank you so much for your work and desire to see our nation revived.

Police Detective Robert Surgenor brought a humorous and inciteful look into the anti-spanking movement. He detailed the widespread ignorance in police departments about the limits of Child Protective Services, as well as the assault by the social worker industry on the Constitution and the Christian family.

During my introduction of Detective Surgenor, I offered my own perspective as an attorney who formerly defended parents experiencing social worker abuse. In my view, the very existence of Child Protective Services is improper because neither the Bible nor the common law give us a basis for maintining a quasi-criminal law agency. Either the behavior of a parent in question is is criminal (in which case they should be prosecuted), or it is not(in which case no agent of the state has jurisidiction to evaluate the parenting decisions of the family), but to give unelected officials the perceived force of law and the right to harass parents even as they impose their own evolutionary-driven humanistic vision for child training on those children and parents, is pure tyranny.

The 2004 Witherspoon provided students with the opportunity to debate and discuss a wide range of crucial ethical issues from bio-genetic technologies to biblical principles of voting. The maturity and level of discourse among the students was particularly notable this year.

One participant wrote:

“First I just wanted to say thank you for the experience of Witherspoon, it was incredible! If ever there was hope to be found for our nation it was sitting in class with so many intelligent young men. I watched with great joy as they were being fed nation changing truths and I look forward to the day when I will be sitting next to my boys in the same class!”

Witherspoon student (and former Vision Forum intern) Nathaniel Darnell stops to discuss public policy with guest speaker, Michael Peroutka, the Constitution Party candidate for President of the United States. (Michael was the only candidate for President who accepted our invitation to speak.) The Maryland attorney and founder of The Institute on the Constitution, offered a riveting message on biblical principles of public policy and constitutional government.

Three generations of the Phillips family men gather for an photo in front of the beautiful Mimslyn Inn (built in the 1930’s).

It is always our pleasure to provide for our students some of the most interesting and helpful books relating to Christianity, law, and public policy.

The Witherspoon School is a special time for fathers and sons who are seeking to better discern the Lord’s calling.

One student wrote:

I am elated to see families functioning together and committing to protect God’s precious gift to us all leaving a godly heritage in accord with our founding fathers. What a joy to be a father.

Another father wrote:

This conference has been a pinnacle experience for myself and my son. I have seen more clearly the historical context of my country, its origins, God’s blessings on the new nation, and my own life, and the loss of freedoms we have seen in my generation. I am greatly humbled by the which God has shown to me and my dear wife, in blessing us so greatly, even in the midst of the judgments of our good God on our nation which has been richly blessed and then forgotten, tragically, those same rich blessings! The historical background, especially the Common Law (Biblical Law) heritage has challenged me greatly. I am passionate about God’s Law, applying it in my own life, and teaching it to my family, friends, and church. I want to learn how to use it to reclaim my country (if the Lord wills it); or help build a new country that will do the will of the creator.

The image above is of two great Americans and Christian heroes: Bill and Chad Roach. This father and son team from Colorado are really stupendous. Bill and Chad help to lead one of our nations’ healthiest, most biblically solid and influential home school organizations, The Christian Home Educators of Colorado. Thanks for all you do Bill. And thanks for being an honoring son Chad!

We are grateful for the precious comments we have already received from many of our students, including:

Thank you for, and may God bless, his wonderful school. I have been blessed by the understanding of the importance and source of the national documents — the Declaration and the Constitution. But more so have been the blessings of the focus on our Lord Jesus Christ as the central player and purpose in our action and thinking. Specifically, the message of living on principle, applying scholarship to our reasoning, and patriarchal and multi-generational faithfulness were of particular value and, by God’s grace, will be values I retain and practice throughout my future. May God bless and continue to use you in this important work.

And...

Six years ago, God called me to a study of his law (during a speech by David Barton). During the same time, I was informed about the inaugural Witherspoon School. God put upon my hear then a calling to attend this school before beginning law school. Now here I sit at the conclusion of four days of a study of biblical law, three weeks before my entrance into Baylor Law. God is sovereign. Through this school and through prior contact with Vision Forum materials, and ultimately through God, I believe that I have been transformed by the renewing of my mind. I stand ready, by God’s grace, to enter into study of law. I realize that there are pitfalls in front of me, but I firmly believe that an adherence to God and His principles will bring me through to my ultimate goal: His glorification. Thank you for being an instrument of God in my life.

My father and Dr. John Eidsmoe discuss constitutional politics at the lunch table. Both men gave outstanding messages on constitutional history and politics. Dr. Eidsmoe’s talk on the history of interposition (the right of a lower magistrate to hold a higher magistrate accountable to the true rule of law) was simply outstanding.

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 4, 2004 | Permalink

This year our family finally graduated to the 15 passenger van. It’s less cozy than a suburban, but it means we can sing and read as a family (and keep the peace quite nicely). In the picture above, Jubilee reads to Faith Evangeline.

Each week after the meeting of the church, our families gather for a fellowship meal. After lunch, the families visit and talk, and sometimes the children catch grasshoppers as in the pictures above and below. The meeting house of our local church is way off the beaten path in the deep country (as deep as it gets in Texas), but the view sure is easy on the eyes. In fact, we are just a few hundred yards from the river where I sometimes have the privilege of performing baptisms, like the blessed baptism of Justin Turley which we had two Sunday’s ago.

This month is the fifth year anniversary since our fellowship began to meet. After more than three years of the local church meeting in a home (with often 200 people packed in on a Sunday), God was kind to give us a little ancient church building in the country. It’s mighty cozy but we love it. No speakers or microphones are needed, but my favorite part of the country church building is that there is a rope hanging from the bell tower which drapes down into the sanctuary. We usually let a different young person ring the bell at the beginning of the church meeting. From our initial fellowship, three other fellowships have blossomed ministering to about 750 people in all. How I thank God for the local church and for the blessing of being in covenant with God’s people.

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 3, 2004 | Permalink

Dear Vision Forum:

I thought I was awake. I thought I was paying attention to what was going on around me.
A few weeks ago, you spoke at the Illinois Home School Convention (ICHE) and my wife heard you speak. She purchased the audio cds of some of the conference presentations and brought them home as reference material and for me to listen to. As I began working through them and digging into my bible, it became very apparent that I have gravely fallen short of the kind of person God desires me to be. I have been asleep at the wheel of my own life, I have not been the kind of leader my wife and children deserve and only by God’s grace have I survived as long as I have.

I can honestly say that over the last few months, my knowledge, faith and spiritual fire has at last begun to blaze. I am consuming God’s word like never before and am holding to it with an ever increasing grip. Thankyou for speaking at ICHE and publishing your daily blog. I look forward to chewing on and digesting its content. Dan

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 3, 2004 | Permalink

Dear Vision Forum: I just can’t help but send you a note and thank you for your firm, and I mean FIRM, stance as Christians on a whole host of issues. I have become so tired of meek minded Christians, unwilling to stand up for what they believe in. In essence, I was tired of myself too. But through you, I have found the moral courage to start doing what I should have been doing for years. I am starting to stand up and stand firm. No more chameleon for me. Thank you Vision Forum, for allowing God to work through you to influence folks like me. — Russ, Huntsville, Alabama

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 3, 2004 | Permalink

San Antonio is a wonderful community. God has blessed us with some precious and dynamic church shepherds, each of whom serve the Lord through their local church, as well as through ministries dedicated to the proclamation of the Gospel and the restoration of God’s primary incubator for Church building and Gospel evangelism — the family (e.g. Norm Wakefield of Elijah Ministries, Dennis Wean of Sons of Encouragement, Bob Welch of Bible Teaching Ministries and Little Bear Wheeler of Mantle Ministries). In addition to these great men and ministries, we are blessed with a host of families who have benefited from the great outpouring of the Holy Spirit which has facilitated a revival of love for Jesus Christ and a reformation of family life stemming from the turning of the hearts of fathers to their children and children to their fathers. How grateful I am to God for His many blessings.

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 3, 2004 | Permalink

I am spoiled and I know it. God allows me to live in the same community as one the greatest, most rooten-tooten, cowboy/pilgrim preachers in the world — Richard “Little Bear” Wheeler. (If you are not familiar with Little Bear, click here to see more about his ministry.) Little Bear and I have been buddies for nearly a decade and he has been a great inspiration for Vision Forum. Recently, the Wheelers and the Phillips’ went out for a special outing. Below are two images from the event:

Little Bear prepares to sing with the Mariachis in old San Antonio.

We stop outside the Alamo-dome for a picture.

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 3, 2004 | Permalink

Former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy S. Moore and his legal team, including Herb Titus, Phillip Jauregui, Justice Terry Butts and attorneys from the Foundation for Moral Law, Inc., announce today they have filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court regarding Moore’s removal from office on ethics charges for acknowledging God and refusing to obey an unlawful order.

“The issue now before the United States Supreme Court,” said Moore, “is whether or not they will consider a case involving the removal of the highest judicial officer of a state because of his profession of a belief in God. Their decision will ultimately affect the rights of the people of Alabama who vote for candidates who uphold the moral foundation of our society. Should the U.S. Supreme Court fail to consider this case, public officials who profess a belief in a sovereign God shall be forever silenced.”

According to page 10 of the petition, “Thus, this case involves the unprecedented removal from office of a Chief Justice because of the profession of his religious beliefs without any consideration of the ethical defense for his actions. It presents, therefore, two important federal questions under the Constitution that warrant a hearing by this Court: (1) whether the Chief Justice was subjected to an unconstitutional religious test, and (2) whether he was unconstitutionally denied any meaningful defense.”

“This case is not about the removal of a monument,” said Jauregui, “but about the removal of a Chief Justice. He was removed on ethical grounds but the courts have refused to consider the fact that he acted ethically in declining to follow the unlawful order.”

The Petition for Writ of Certiorari was filed late Thursday afternoon. This high court will now determine whether or not they will accept the petition and hear the appeal, and this process could take several months.

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 1, 2004 | Permalink