September 2005 Archives

Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses. (Nehemiah 4:14)

• How will Christians address the medical needs of twenty-first century America?
• God raises up a cost-effective alternative to health insurance

The defining cultural issue of this generation is the battle for the Christian family. At stake is the definition of marriage, the meaning of masculinity, the preservation of a godly seed, and the future of a multi-generational vision of victory in which our posterity will continue to enjoy the blessings of liberty.

This battle must take many forms. We must proclaim truth from the pulpit, disciple our children around the table, model Christ in our households, and even “stand with the enemies” in the very gates of the land without fear (Psalm 127). But there is another oft-overlooked, but crucial component in a wise strategy of defense for the Christian family — we must reject the welfare junkie mentality, stop looking to the state as our provider, and start looking to God to work through His people with private-sector solutions to real problems.

Two Theories of Salvation

The Bible indicates that it is the duty of the people of God who make up the Church, not the state, to meet the needs of the Church. Though we have a duty of love and charity toward all men, our first obligation is to the household of faith (Galatians 6:10), and those directly within our jurisdiction of responsibility (1 Timothy 5:8). Those who fail to provide for their own are deemed “worse than infidels.”

A key difference between Christianity and humanism is our soteriology (our view of salvation). Christians believe that man’s basic problem is sin. Humanists believe man’s basic problem is his environment. Consequently, humanists advocate salvation through legislation. The idea is that the State can save man through education, wealth redistribution, or other environmental changes.

The Christian Duty of Self Government

Christians, not the federal or state government, are to care for their own, including widows and the fatherless. One reason for this is that such care is given in the name of Jesus Christ and for His sake. A second reason is that long-term giving must come with accountability. A third reason is that God has ordained the state to wield the sword as a minister of justice (Romans 13), not to become a welfare agency.

The contrast between the Christian vision of care and the statist vision was manifest during the recent devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina. On the one hand, the potential of communities marked by (1) fatherlessness; (2) welfare statism; and (3) immorality to produce large numbers of individuals given over to pillaging and mayhem when disaster strikes was highlighted in bold on the streets of New Orleans. On the other hand, the most effective disaster relief efforts were accomplished not by the government, but by local Christian churches and organizations like the Southern Baptists who demonstrated resourcefulness, organization, love, and a desire to minister in the name of Christ.

New Options in Health Care for Christians

Few problems are as potentially devastating to the family as the rising cost of healthcare coupled with the burdensome expense of most medical insurance programs. In fact, the number one reason stated for bankruptcy in America is not credit card debt, but unpaid medical bills. The simple truth is that wise parents need to do what is in their power to safeguard themselves and their children against a potential crisis due to a medical emergency. On a more fundamental level, the Christian community needs to take a good hard look at their biblical duties — one toward another — in meeting the needs, especially the needs of the sick and infirm.

It is for this reason that I am so personally grateful for Samaritan Ministries — America’s premier private-sector solution to the rising cost of medicine. Today, I want to go out on a limb and do what we have never done before at Vision Forum — offer a special endorsement of a medical program.

The Big Picture

In making this endorsement, my mission is to (a) further Christ-centered private sector solutions to real problems; and (b) to answer the question: “How can I afford healthcare for my family?” In my view, wise twenty-first century Christian fathers will not only embrace their own duties to anticipate the need for providing care for their families, but will seek creative means for encouraging the Church to step up to the plate of its responsibilities through diverse means designed to show the love of Christ in the way we care for one another.

As one of the administrators of the Vision Forum Life and Liberty Medical Program, I have personally observed the devastation that can come to families who lack medical coverage, either because they do not prepare for health crises, or because they can not afford coverage. On the other hand, I deeply sympathize and personally relate with the tremendous expenses associated with healthcare.

What is Samaritan Ministries?

The highly professional executive team at Samaritan Ministries is made up of deeply committed Christian professionals (some are personal friends of mine) who understand that it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness. And the candle they have lit is burning bright.

Samaritan Ministries is not an insurance company. Samaritan seeks to meet the needs of the saints through Christians helping Christians. For more than a decade, Samaritan Ministries has been the “shared medical assistance program” of choice for thousands of families. Their track record of support and satisfied members is simply superior. This is a medical assistance provider that is run on Christian principles, by Christians, for Christians. More than just an outstanding alternative to the overwhelming costs of insurance programs, Samaritan Ministries is a means of strengthening individual families and the Body of Christ through a program of personal responsibility, prayer support, and shared financial needs. The benefits of being a member of Samaritan are strong, and the cost is extremely reasonable. In fact, Samaritan families pay a fraction of the typical costs to insure a family through an insurance provider.

Do Yourself a Favor — Investigate This God-Blessed Option

The mission of Vision Forum is to encourage the rebuilding of the Christian family. Samaritan Ministries makes my life, and the life of the families at Vision Forum, easier by standing beside us (and we beside them) in the advancement of this mission for the glory of God. They bless us by helping families with healthcare needs, by modeling a godly vision of Christians helping Christians, and by providing cost-effective, excellent alternatives to the exorbitant expense of modern healthcare.

With gratitude to the Lord for the executive team and the faithful families who have wisely and successfully managed Samaritan Ministries for more than a decade, I want to invite you to learn more about them at SamaritanMinistries.org. Moreover, as a satisfied member of Samaritan Ministries and a Christian brother who is deeply grateful to them for their principled efforts to work within the Body of Christ to provide crucial financial medical assistance, I am pleased to wholeheartedly recommend this Christ-proclaiming, family-defending ministry to my brothers and sisters in Christ. There is no doubt in my mind that God has raised Samaritan Ministries up for such a time as this.

Posted by Doug Phillips on September 29, 2005 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on September 24, 2005 | Permalink

This year at the Vision Forum, we received about 130 film submissions for the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival. One of these will walk home with the $10,000 Jubilee Award. Others will receive awards for best of category. Included in the submissions this year were some trailers submitted for the purpose of promoting the festival. Click through to the link below to see a very creative short trailer submitted by one of our applicants.

Large Version: View the high resolution version (13.2MB).

(To view the trailer, you must have QuickTime 7 installed — available as a free download.)

Posted by Doug Phillips on September 23, 2005 | Permalink

To promote a woman to bear rule, superiority, dominion or empire above any realm, nation, or city is repugnant to nature, contumely to God, and the subversion of good order, of all equity and justice. —John Knox (The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women, 1558)

(Requires free QuickTime player.)

Large Version: View the high resolution version (20MB — QuickTime 7 required).

Last year, the Gunn brothers — two intrepid filmmakers from Scotland — captured the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival’s Jubilee Award for “Best Political Film” with their innovative documentary on the physical and political assault on Christian churches in San Francisco by militant sodomite activists. The team is currently working on a new project. To see the trailer for Monstrous Regiment of Women, click to the link above.

Posted by Doug Phillips on September 23, 2005 | Permalink

Thanks for your time on the phone today. It couldn’t have come at a better time, as I said in the call, on the same day we got rejected from Focus on the Family and the WYSIWYG film festival! American Film Renaissance was pretty unreceptive too — when I called to tell them about Shaky Town they said it was unlikely that they would show that sort of subject matter as it might offend the theater owners who are hosting the festival! Thank God for Vision Forum! —Colin Gunn

The SAICFF is not a “conservative” film festival. It is not even a “family” film festival. The SAICFF is a Christian film festival committed to encouraging the development of an independent film market that produces epistemologically self-conscious Christian films that will advance the kingdom of God and bless the Christian family.

Consequently, when the judges for the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival received the edgy and innovative film Shaky Town from the Gunn brothers, we knew that we had something special on our hands — a fearless film on an issue of direct concern to the Church and nation. Produced by two Scots, Shaky Town takes the viewers to the very streets of San Francisco, interviewing Christian pastors and their militant homosexual persecutors.

In light of the moral failure of the New Orleans police department, made infamous in light of the recent post-Katrina activity, I am reminded of those sequences in Shaky Town in which the Gunn brothers interviewed San Francisco police officers observing public, criminal acts of indecency and perversion, yet admitting on camera their unwillingness to enforce the law. (NOTE: Though Shaky Town contains mature subject matter, it is very deliberately filmed and carefully presented so as not to in any way defile the viewer.)

The homosexual movement is militant, wicked, and committed to the annihilation of the Christian family. Its presence as an accepted part of our political and social landscape is an invitation for divine judgment on our nation. Our position must be one of genuine love for those individuals lost in this sin of moral perversion. This love manifests through (a) a charitable Gospel witness which seeks the souls of the lost; (b) utter intolerance for the abomination of the acts of homosexuality and the sin of effeminacy in men; (c) a rejection of all Hollywood and entertainment media presentations of homosexuality as anything other than reprehensible; and (d) a resolute and aggressive public witness against the advancement of the homosexual political movement. We are not to “own the curse” of homosexuality; to lay over and play dead to the rise of homosexuality; or to simply vent and lament over the problem.

I am so grateful for the makers of Shaky Town for building the independent film movement through their own winsome, charitable, but fearless exposure of the militant homosexual movement. (To learn about Shaky Town, go to www.shakytownthemovie.com.)

Posted by Doug Phillips on September 23, 2005 | Permalink

The price of gold hit a seventeen-year high today at $475.45 an ounce, the highest intraday price since January 25, 1988. Soaring oil prices and news of the deficit spending associated with the massive new $200 billion federal price tag on Katrina relief, have much to do with the dramatic increase in gold prices. Investors tend to buy gold in response to uncertainty in the economy, instability of the dollar, and inflation. Where were you, for example, in 1980 when, under the Carter Administration, consumer prices rose more than 12 percent and gold futures soared to $873 an ounce — an all-time high? Industry specialists are now concluding that gold may average $470 an ounce next year and perhaps $520 in 2007.

In related news, a spokesman for the Heritage Foundation yesterday told National Public Radio that the abusive “New Deal” deficit spending of the Bush Administration, especially in context of Katrina Relief, means that our children will not only pick up the price tag, but inherit an economy in shambles.

What does all this mean? “A wise man sees the danger and hides himself.” In times of economic crisis, unified families, local church, and debt freedom are important concepts.

Now is a great time to get out of debt and to go back to the biblical model of family life which is not only spiritually sound, but economically stronger than the pagan “turn my wife into a careerist and have the government raise my children and care for my own parents in their old age” philosophy of feminism and welfare statism. The biblical alternative includes as one approach: flexible patterns of families working together to make the home a place of production (instead of merely consumption); advocacy for families seeking the Lord for large numbers of godly children who will be trained through home education to be contributors to the economy of the household; encouragement of entrepreneurship; the ability to live with less; and the importance of joining informed, covenant-keeping, godly local churches that encourage debt-free, family-integrated home life for the glory of God.

Posted by Doug Phillips on September 22, 2005 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on September 20, 2005 | Permalink

Join us at the 2000+ seating Lila Cockrell theater in the Henry B. Gonzalez Covention Center for the San Antonio Independent Film Festival and the 2005 Jubilee Awards this October 27-29, 2005.

Posted by Doug Phillips on September 20, 2005 | Permalink

It was my distinct pleasure to spend an hour in the pastor’s study of Dr. Joe Morecraft, host of the 40th Anniversary Chalcedon Conference, who handed me a copy of the death mask of hero Oliver Cromwell.

The death mask was taken at the moment of death and has been preserved over the years. Upon the return of Charles II to England and his assumption of the throne, Cromwell and his daughter were disinterred, their corpses decapitated, and their heads placed on the gates of London where they remained for some time. Notwithstanding their posthumous desecration by King and Anglican elite, Cromwell remains one of the great figures in the history of Christendom.

Posted by Doug Phillips on September 20, 2005 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on September 19, 2005 | Permalink

One of the most encouraging things that the Vision Forum Mission Katrina Team saw was the outpouring of support, enthusiasm and manpower from churches all across the country coming to help their brothers in need. Time and time again they saw churches devastated by the hurricane, rising from their wind tattered, flood destroyed ruins to serve their communities. Even most of the relief workers had lost their homes to the hurricane. It was common to hear “yes, I lost everything to Katrina, but I can’t think about that right now, I’m too busy serving people here”.

It was the churches not FEMA or Red Cross that were spear heading the relief work. It was even the churches in many cases that were feeding FEMA and Red Cross. Some churches had simple systems of distribution with stacks of supplies in parking lots and people filing through to take what they needed. Other churches had highly sophisticated distribution centers with runners, drive through lines, and check box shopping lists. However it was executed, (our team observed) in town after town, the church of Jesus Christ was rising to the call and meeting the needs of a region in chaos.

This church in Slidell was left standing by the wind, but completely ruined inside from the water.

Slidell stunk from dead animals. Tens of thousands of fish from miles away were deposited across the town as in this parking lot and lawn.

When the water receded it also left behind inches and inches of foul smelling, sticky mud that covered everything that the water had touched.

After scraping the mud and dead fish away relief distribution centers were set up.

This church outside of Biloxi, Mississippi has tables overflowing with clothes shoes and other necessities donated from all over the country for the Katrina victims.

In many areas all buildings have been instructed to destroy everything that the flood waters touched in order to be able to legally re-open their doors. Here flood soaked chairs are being disposed of in the parking lot this church.

Posted by Doug Phillips on September 16, 2005 | Permalink

Working through addresses, local contacts and reconnaisance reports, the Vision Forum Mission Katrina team sought out (1) families on the Vision Forum mailing list in the affected region; (2) local congregations associated with the National Center for Family Integrated Churches; and (3) local church leaders of other Bible believing churches who were in need of immediate assistance. The greatest need we found was for hands on help. God graciously granted numerous opportunities to bring practical encouragement, physical supplies and opportunities to roll up our sleeves and help with immediate crises.

Team member Ken Kennedy (of Only A Servant Ministries) sprayed off the putrid slimy black mud that had covered virtually everything at one church in Slidell, Louisianna. The local pastor was missing nearly his entire congregation of 900 because they had left town in the wake of catastrophic damage.

The strongest winds during the hurricane were high and targeted large trees, buildings, and signs. Some of the worst damage was caused not by flooding, but rather by falling trees. Here Kenny Kennedy saws a fallen tree into pieces so that it can be yarded out onto a pile by the road.

Mision Katrina Team members roll a log into place to be drug out by the road with one of our trucks.

Dropping food supplies off at the home of church leader Mike Ecuyer, a long time friend of Vision Forum, who is making and delivering lunches with his family for over 100 Katrina victims every day.

Vision Forum repairs a roof damaged by falling trees druing the hurricane.

Posted by Doug Phillips on September 15, 2005 | Permalink

Dear Friends and Family of Vision Forum,

Through your tremendous generosity, we have been blessed with ample financial resources to accomplish our immediate objectives for Mission Katrina disaster relief which include distributing immediate resources and setting up networks for short-term assistance for Christians and churches in the affected regions. Also, it appears as if God has also opened the door for some strategic long-term help as well. However, we are not at this time requesting more donations earmarked for Mission Katrina precisely because we think we are in good shape for the present. We will inform you should that situation change.

With the exception of on-the-ground, travel-related expenses for our field teams, 100% of donated funds go for distribution purposes for the needy through our Life and Liberty Medical Fund. This means that the burden of administrating Mission Katrina and the rest of the ministry work must come through our general fund. If you desire to donate to help with these expenses, or to earmark other programs like our Faith of Our Father’s Project, please do so through this link. This month, there is a special offer for donations to that fund which you can read about here.

Persevero,
Doug

Posted by Doug Phillips on September 15, 2005 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on September 14, 2005 | Permalink

The Vision Forum Mission Katrina relief team have successfully sought out families on the Vision Forum mailing list, churches on the NCFIC list, and local pastors in the disaster region of Louisiana and Mississippi to offer personal assistance. The following is an encouraging report broadcast live from Mandeville, Louisiana, from Mission Katrina team leader Peter Bradrick.

Click here to listen to the report.

Posted by Doug Phillips on September 13, 2005 | Permalink

This amazing report just in from Vision Forum Mission Katrina team. Take the time to listen to the entire report. Phenomenal.

Click here to listen to the report.

Posted by Doug Phillips on September 13, 2005 | Permalink

This last weekend, NPR radio was gloating over the fact the President Bush’s nominee for Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is more left-leaning than conservatives realize. Specifically, they noted his lack of rigorous adherence to a philosophy of original intent constitutional interpretation. Joe Farah weighs in with his perspective today on WorldNetDaily.com.

For some clear thinking analysis from the only man to sniff out, expose, and formally testify before the Senate against Republican nominee Justice Souter on the basis of his liberal and pro-abortion track record, take a good look at my father’s cogent “Constitutional Questions for Judge Roberts.” See also Don Feder’s commentary on why Roberts may be “W’s Souter.”

Posted by Doug Phillips on September 13, 2005 | Permalink

You got it from your father
It was all he had to give
So it’s yours to use and cherish
For so long as you may live.
If you lose the watch he gave you
It can always be replaced
But a black mark on your name, son
Can never be erased
It was clean the day you took it
And a worthy name to bear.
When he got it from his father
There was no dishonour there.
So make sure you guard it wisely,
After all is said and done
You’ll be glad the name is spotless
When you give it to your son.

~Author Unknown

Posted by Doug Phillips on September 13, 2005 | Permalink

The Vision Forum Mission Katrina team finished its reconnaissance work in Slidell, Louisiana today. After meeting for worship with local NCFIC families, they traveled to Mississippi to gather information and set up additional networks with local churches. The fascinating report of their trip to Slidell will be posted in a subsequent blog. Teammates Justin Turley and Peter Bradrick shot and forwarded the following images from where they had been working in Slidell.

Our team observed a good two mile stretch of land that looked like this...

...and like this, every inch of the way.

This car was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

One of thousands of cars apparently totaled by the wreckage of Katrina.

Some boats were picked up and carried hundreds of yards from their docks.

Even where houses were distanced from the 25 foot tidal wave that went through Slidell, falling trees took their toll.

The flag still waves, but little else.

The inside of the churches we visited were filled with a foul smelling sludge at least a foot deep.

This house is totaled, but it still stands. The houses around it were either smashed to nothingness, or picked up and carried hundreds of yards away.

Posted by Doug Phillips on September 11, 2005 | Permalink

From the families of the Vision Forum for all of you who are praying and supporting the Faith of Our Fathers Film Project. Thank you for standing with us in our mission to proclaim the providences of God to a new generation and teach our children to honor their fathers and mothers that we all may live long in the land which God has given to us.

Posted by Doug Phillips on September 10, 2005 | Permalink

Vision Forum Mission Katrina team leader Peter Bradrick reports live from the epicenter of destruction in Slidell, Louisiana. He discusses an eye witness account of inland churches filled with shrimp and crab from hurricane water spouts, of miles of land without a single house standing, and of contact with local pastors and NCFIC church leaders.

Click here to listen to the report.

Posted by Doug Phillips on September 9, 2005 | Permalink

Thanks to all of you who have been remembering the work of Vision Forum through your prayers and support. We are so grateful for both. Thanks especially to those who have been supporting our work through donations to our general fund and our Faith of Our Fathers Project which is where we are asking the Lord for his merciful provision.

As a special “thank you,” Vision Forum is pleased to offer our new From Jamestown to Jubilee eight CD album of the 2004 Faith and Freedom Tour to anyone who donates $100 or more to the general fund this month.

The CD album allows you to experience the 2004 Faith and Freedom Tour, from the Jamestown Settlement, to Williamsburg, to Monticello, and beyond. In this album, you will learn about the true story of the Jamestown colony and Captain John Smith, hear Patrick Henry’s famous cry of “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!”, visit Mt. Vernon, tour the Virginia Military Institute, hear a tribute around Stonewall Jackson’s grave, and much more. Listen to stories of the Great Awakening, the early charters, and anecdotes about our godly ancestors and Patriots of colonial Virginia. The CDs can be used for family devotions, home schooling, private studies, or family car trips because they are chock full of stories and information, all pointing to the providence of Jesus Christ in our nation. To donate and receive this album, visit our Web site.

Posted by Doug Phillips on September 9, 2005 | Permalink

The Vision Forum 2005 Faith and Freedom Tour is just a few weeks away. This year, we travel to the middle states of America from Philadelphia to Princeton on a journey that will take us from the parishes of patriot pastors to the battlefields of Brandywine and beyond. We will come to better understand the sociology of family life in America, study warfare, painting, and architecture, and meet the patriots and preachers through whom God blessed a nation.

From my perspective, this is one of the most joyous, family-building, providence-proclaiming activities sponsored by Vision Forum Ministries. It is a time for like-minded families to spend a week together in sweet fellowship as we travel back through America’s providential past.

Regretfully, we can only take 150 people on each tour. This means that that every year, we are faced with a pretty large waiting list and many disappointed families.

For the first time in the history of our ministry, we will be expanding the trip to allow more families to come. In 2006, we will conduct two tours. The first tour, around the fourth of July, will be our Jamestown to Jubilee tour. The second tour will occur during Thanksgiving week in and around Plymouth, Massachusetts. Although we have not yet officially announced the tours, you may sign up for them online. Space is available on a first-come, first-serve basis. I expect these tours to fill within days of formally announcing them, so act now if you want to come. (Click here for more details.)

Posted by Doug Phillips on September 9, 2005 | Permalink

Dear Vision Forum: We are from the New Orleans area. After Katrina plowed through we heard from a friend that “Slidell is basically destroyed and now there is no Chalmette.” This was so heartbreaking for us. Thank you for the work you are doing in the Slidell area. We have very small children and are thankful for those who can actually go there and reach out to those who need it. God Bless, Jenna B. formerly of Metarie, NOLA

Posted by Doug Phillips on September 8, 2005 | Permalink

The Mission Katrina team left this morning for Slidell, Waveland, and other Louisiana areas hard-hit by Katrina. Since the return of the first Vision Forum relief, reconnaissance, and extraction team, Vision Forum men have literally been working around the clock to network with local pastors and state and local home school leaders to identify Christians and home school families in need of immediate assistance or relocation. More than fifty homes from strong Christian families have been identified for the purpose of temporary housing in the San Antonio and Alabama region.

The objective of today’s mission is to enter the areas most afflicted, like Slidell, and establish networks of communication with local leaders for relief and distribution purposes. In addition, the Vision Forum team is actually seeking to make face-to-face contact with specific families on our mailing list in the regions we are visiting for the purpose of offering them assistance. With more than five hundred families (identified by area code and address) in the affected region, we cannot hope to visit more than a fraction of our list, but will make efforts to show our solidarity with as many families and friends of Vision Forum as possible.

If a solid network is established through solid local Christian contacts, identified teams from different parts of the country will be scheduled to make successive drops of supplies and even offer human labor for clean-up purposes.

Posted by Doug Phillips on September 8, 2005 | Permalink

The Phillips family has been enjoying sweet Christian fellowship at our home since Sunday with an evacuated family from the Mandeville region of Louisiana. Their neighborhood was hit by Katrina, forcing more than eighty percent of their neighbors to leave town. Our own experience hosting this family (an experience we have shared with others on the Vision Forum staff who have offered housing and hospitality) has proven to be a great blessing for our household, with the added benefit that we have been able to enjoy (care of the kindness of our guests) home-cooked Louisiana food each night, including fresh beignets, jambalaya, etc.

Posted by Doug Phillips on September 8, 2005 | Permalink

The Vision Forum reconnaissance and support team returned from its first 72-hour mission last night at 2:00 a.m. having extracted one family from the disaster region, delivered thousands of dollars worth of supplies to local churches housing the indigents, and met with home school leaders serving as contacts for help regarding future support missions. The mission was made possible by the use of a convoy of large diesel trucks carrying spare tanks of gas.

We have three licensed airplane pilots on staff, and may have the ability to work with helicopter pilots to quickly get in and out of key regions, but are hoping for the provision of available aircraft for easy maneuverability.

As of 3:00 p.m. today, we just concluded a series of meetings concerning mission objectives for the next series of operations into the disaster zone. Meanwhile, we have accomplished our goal of establishing a network of houses in Alabama for housing indigent Christian families, and are on our way to finalizing a support structure capable of placing about fifty families in housing in the San Antonio vicinity.

Thank you in advance for your prayers for these efforts. We have the team and the infrastructure and the financial support is coming in. We are working with local pastors and home school leaders to assist in identifying needs, but with gas unavailable and communication down, our greatest prayer request is for reliable communication networks in the disaster zone itself.

Posted by Doug Phillips on September 3, 2005 | Permalink

Our Mission Katrina advance team shot a picture of this tiny church which was spared damage from the wrath of Katrina. Other buildings in the area were hard hit and a majority of the residents evacuated.

Posted by Doug Phillips on September 3, 2005 | Permalink

The following images were shot by the Vision Forum Mission Katrina team.

An example of damage in suburban Louisiana.

Neighborhoods band together against roving looters.

Residents announce their intention to defend their homes with force if necessary.

Near Baton Rouge gas lines were up to two miles long.

Posted by Doug Phillips on September 3, 2005 | Permalink

DVD cover to Vision Forum Ministry’s new film to be released late October.

Sixty years ago today the most horrible, tragic, beautiful and inspiring epoch war saga of the modern world came to an end.

It was the last officially declared war in which the American people were united in the proposition that fighting is the job of men on behalf of women and children. It was the last officially declared war in which our national leaders boldly declared that the cause of American freedom and Christianity were inextricably linked. It was the last officially declared war in which our military leaders explicitly called for missionaries to come and transform a nation in bondage to false religion by spreading the glorious Gospel of Christ to those we conquered. It was the last officially declared war in which moral perversion was kept in the closet, deemed anathema in the military, and punishable at law.

In fact, the Second World War was the last war in which the boys who defended our nation were born to a generation of parents who themselves were part of the pre-modern world. With Modernity came a rejection of the biblical family, fathers as providers, and men as protectors. But those parents from the pre-modern world who raised the boys of World War II still embraced the historic principles of Christendom regarding fathers as leaders in the home, men as defenders of women and children, and honor between the generations as essential to the well-being of a people.

Thus, despite the many inconsistencies and sins of our World War II fathers, the above facts not only prove the World War II generation to be our moral, spiritual and cultural superiors, but they explain why America had greater reason for confidence in the providential protection of the Lord God of Battles than does our present creature-worshipping, Christ-denying, perversion-legitimizing, pluralistic generation.

Nations that fear God, need fear no man; no earthly catastrophe.

America has just been hit with the most devastating “act of God” in our nation’s history. But hurricane Katrina has done more that wipe out cities and lives—-she has exposed the underlying depravity of unrestrained sin in a nation of absentee fathers and broken families. At the time of this article, the looting, shootings and general lawlessness has already reached unprecedented levels for our nation. Decades of fatherless families and frenetic feminism have taken its toll. Whether it is the streets of New Orleans or the prisons of Abu Griab, when push came to shove, a fatherless America is a savage America.

The truth is this: Boys who have fathers to love, spank and pray over them do not as a general proposition become thieves, rapists, torturers and murderers when crisis hits. There simply is no substitute for biblical fatherhood. There will be patriarchy or there will absolute chaos.

(Not too long ago I entertained at my home a former Nazi tank commander turned evangelical Christian, and now in his eighties. He explained that when the time came for Berlin to surrender there were three check points around the city: The Russian; the British and the American. My friend, along with his family, did everything they could to get to the American checkpoint. The reason?—They knew that the Americans would behave like Christian men and treat their prisoners with dignity and respect. That was the reputation of our men and our nation.)

On this day of honor and rememberance for the American people, let us give thanks to God for the fathers and mothers who prepared the boys of the Second World War. Let us thank God that they spanked their children, that mothers kept home, and that fathers still “wore the pants in the family.”

Let us remember that Jesus Christ himself reminded us that honoring our mothers and fathers is the first command given by God with a generational promise: When we honor our parents and their legacy, it will be well with us and we will live long in the land which the Lord our God has given to us.

Posted by Doug Phillips on September 2, 2005 | Permalink

For thirty years, I have been staring at a picture on my wall.

I was just a little boy when Mrs. Douglas McArthur handed me an 8"x10" manila envelope with an image of her husband signing the treaty ending WWII aboard the U.S.S. Missouri. (It is the this exact picture which my staff just scanned and placed above on this blog.)

Today, September 2, 2005, the picture (at least the original) is sixty years old.

Even then, I knew that this photograph, personally signed by the general himself and key members of his staff, would become one of my most precious possessions.

My father had been so impressed by the manly leadership of both McArthur and Churchill that he named me after both men (i.e., “Douglas Winston Phillips”). He also made it a point to create an opportunity for me to spend an afternoon with the great general’s widow at her home in Norfolk, Virginia.

I will never forget how Mrs. McArthur — a woman who was born in the nineteenth century, lived in the twentieth, and would die in the twenty-first — took such an interest in a little boy who was named after her beloved husband.

Posted by Doug Phillips on September 2, 2005 | Permalink

We just received this from our friend, Franklin Sanders. Please know Vision Forum will be making a donation to help this family in their time of need.

Dear Ones:

Last night Michael Osborne was murdered in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Michael was formerly my business partner, a co-defendant in our federal trial, one of my closest friends in the world, and a dear Christian brother. Michael’s wife, Nancy, drove to Memphis with their two daughters yesterday because Hurricane Katrina had blown two trees on their house. About 7:00 p.m. Michael went to Lowe’s to get a part for his malfunctioning generator, which they didn’t have. They directed him to another store in a bad section of town. Somebody shot him in his car, which then ran off the road into a telephone pole. It’s not known whether the shots or the impact killed him.

Michael and Nancy have six children, two grown daughters, and at home two teenage sons, and two young daughters. Would you please pray for them? The funeral will be next week, after the coroner’s inquest.

I am sure that the storm has devasted the Osbornes financially, and the whole support of four children at home now falls on Nancy. If you would like to send her a donation, send it to:

Nancy Osborne
c/o John Spearman
9045 Spring Grove Cove
Cordova, TN 38018

Lord, have mercy on us! Christ, have mercy on us! Lord, have mercy on us!

Yours in the bonds of Christ, Franklin Sanders

Posted by Doug Phillips on September 2, 2005 | Permalink

This just in from Houston:

One evacuee said the victims have been left “like pure animals” with no care. The New Orleans police chief said 15,000 people are trapped in the city’s convention center. And he said some are being raped and beaten.

Alan Gould, a man who is an evacuee inside the convention center, told CNN that women and small children are being raped and killed. He called it genocide.

He said officials keep giving them the runaround, saying “Help is coming. Help is coming. Help is coming.” But he said people just keep dying.

A 68-year-old minister who’s stranded with thousands of other evacuees at the New Orleans Convention Center said, “We are out here living like pure animals.”

The Rev. Isaac Clark said, “We don’t have water. We don’t have food. We don’t have help.”

A 23-year-old woman tending to her 4-year-old daughter said, “God is punishing New Orleans” for its corruption and crime.

At least seven bodies were scattered outside the convention center. People desperately called for help, chasing after reporters, sometimes pleading and sometimes threatening.

Louisiana’s governor is declaring war on looters and others who’ve turned the streets of New Orleans into scenes of chaos and fear.

Gov. Kathleen Blanco said 300 National Guard troops have arrived in the city fresh from duty in Iraq. She said they “know how to shoot and kill, and they are more than willing to do so, and I expect they will.”

The Guard troops are carrying M-16s, which Blanco describes as “locked and loaded.”

Within the angry crowds of people trying to flee the city, shooters have targeted police officers, a security person at the Superdome and possibly a military helicopter evacuating hospital patients.

A Louisiana state police commander said many New Orleans officers have quit, saying they weren’t going to risk their lives to fight looters.

Posted by Doug Phillips on September 2, 2005 | Permalink

Our team has made it into the disaster zone and is currently extracting one family and searching for another. Another part of the team has been sent to Baton Rouge where the situation is deteriorating hour by hour, to deliver two trucks of food to home school leaders who themselves are helping families in need.

The reports of eye witness accounts of chaos, murder, and vandalism are stunning. One of our team members spoke to a man whose pastor was shot in cold blood last night by a gang who wanted the supplies he was carrying. Reports of gang rapes are on the rise. Also, groups of hoodlums and vandals are moving from the cities to the suburbs and higher-class neighborhoods.

Efforts are full underway at Vision Forum to clothe, feed, and house families in San Antonio. Please pray for the peace of God on America and for deliverance and safety to the Saints throughout the disaster zone and for relief for all who are suffering.

Posted by Doug Phillips on September 2, 2005 | Permalink

That’s the big, bold headline on the front page of our local newspaper this morning. Inside the story is a quote from a woman who sought help from a police officer to get water for her dehydrated son. The officer replied, “I’m outta here. You ought to get out, too. It’s every man for himself now.” Far cry from the Birkenhead and the Titanic. Far cry from “women and children first.” Thank you, benevolent humanism, for 150 years of evolutionary teaching in our government schools. Thank you, feminism, for 150 years of training men to treat women like animals. Thank you, nanny state, for teaching all of us that no one need take responsibility as long as there is someone higher up the chain to blame. Thank you, Lord, for reminding us that we are fools to fear terrorist attacks when there is One far greater than any terrorist Who sits on the throne of Heaven and directs the affairs of men. May we fear Him more than we fear men. (Jennie Chancey, Ladies Against Feminism)

Posted by Doug Phillips on September 2, 2005 | Permalink

The Vision Forum supply, reconaissance, and extraction effort began today. At 11:00 p.m. we received word from our caravan that they are already witnessing the first signs of trouble. Vision Forum director of operations, Kevin Turley, reports that there are streams of buses of all shapes and sizes, escorted by police, driving toward Houston. One of our staff stopped at a gas station and was approached by five men offering him digital cameras still in the boxes. When asked where the cameras came from, the men took off. In addition, we are receiving eye-witness accounts of severe looting and shooting problems as far as Baton Rouge.

Posted by Doug Phillips on September 1, 2005 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on September 1, 2005 | Permalink

Today is the seven hundredth anniversary of the execution of the origional braveheart, William Wallace. Wallace was hung, drawn, and quartered outside the church of St. Bartholomew the Great in 1305 after being betrayed by a Scottish knight in service to King Edward I.

Posted by Doug Phillips on September 1, 2005 | Permalink

This is a follow-up blog entry on Mission Katrina primarily aimed at residents of San Antonio and its vicinity

Vision Forum is currently working with Christian leaders in Louisiana to identify families in special need of housing assistance and to provide them with shelter for one week to two months with Christian families (and in some cases, local hotels) in the San Antonio vicinity. Our goal is to be available to provide fifty families with food, water, clothing, supplies, and shelter. We are hoping to have these items available for the families when and if they arrive here. Those who want to contribute canned food (nothing perishable, please), clothing, and supplies for distribution to these families may bring them to our national headquarters on Blanco Road where the goods will be stockpiled for distribution purposes to these families. For more information about dropping off supplies, please contact pcoghlan@visionforum.com.

Posted by Doug Phillips on September 1, 2005 | Permalink

It is simply a microscopically small effort in the grand scheme of what is being done, and what must be done, but today Vision Forum begins our mission to offer some relief and assistance to those friends of our ministry who have been devastated by the fury of Katrina.

Gathering until well after midnight last night, the men of Vision Forum strategized about the most effective means for getting thousands of dollars in supplies to friends in the body of Christ desperately in need of help. Our task included numerous calls (for information gathering purposes) to friends and family of those in Louisiana without food, water, and supplies.

In the providence of God, Vision Forum has been blessed with a number of friends in the aviation business including military helicopter pilots and airline pilots. During the course of the evening, we talked with some of them inquiring for information on how we could get clearance to fly a helicopter into the disaster zone where our friends live. We discovered that, given the martial law status and national guard presence, we would have to wade through a great deal of red tape to get clearance for a flight, so we abandoned that plan in favor of a caravan of four-wheel-drive diesel trucks. After getting official reports and eye-witness testimonies about some of the major road routes, we determined that it will be possible to reach our destinations. Next it was determined that one of the diesel trucks would simply be a fuel car. (We need to carry at least 750 gallons between us to get down, help the people, and get back.)

The team leaves today. Please pray for them. Vision Forum’s Mission Katrina involves the following:

1. An initial search, reconnaissance, and supply delivery trip into parts of the disaster zone where there are identified Christian families in need of help. The information gathered on this trip will help us in preparing follow-up supply caravans to be sent into the zone in the days to come.
2. Support for sister ministries which are on location and ministering to those in need of help. Specifically, I want to encourage you to support, for example, the work of Operation Save America which is trucking in shipments to more than three hundred indigent families at a Christian conference retreat center.
3. Help place indigent families in need in temporary housing arrangements with other families in San Antonio.
4. Special resource allocation from Vision Forum Ministries’ Life and Liberty Relief Fund.

Posted by Doug Phillips on September 1, 2005 | Permalink