Month: May 2017

The Voice of the Martyrs Controversy

VOM website, fair use
VOM website, fair use

In April, a source sent a link to a website which is dedicated to concerns about Christian charity Voice of the Martyrs. Unfortunately, it went on the back burner until today. Although there are aspects of the story I won’t be able to assess, I do think it will be of interest to donors and some of my readers. First, I want to link to a website which raises concerns about a VOM affiliate in Nigeria. Then, I want to present VOM’s response and the counter response from VOM’s critics.
VOM’s primary critics attend Reformation Baptist Church in Youngsville, NC. Critics allege that VOM in the United States ignored a serious situation of abuse and corruption in the Nigeria VOM operation. Watch:
[vimeo]https://vimeo.com/212739199[/vimeo]
The church has launched a petition at Change.org to call attention to their concerns.
When I raised the issue with VOM in the U.S., I received a rapid response from Todd Nettleton, Chief of Media Relations and Message Integration with VOM. I received the response in mid-April, and don’t know of any more recent comments.

The Voice of the Martyrs Statement on Nigeria Abuse Accusations 
April 13, 2017 
It is heartbreaking for us to consider that someone may have used VOM-USA funds or projects as a means to victimize anyone—especially a child. However, the release of this video is not helpful in supporting our persecuted Christian brothers and sisters, bringing the alleged perpetrators of abuse to justice, or providing aid to potential victims of abuse. VOM has taken wise and appropriate action to see that any victims are helped and justice is served, and is committed to continue to do so as we become aware through the investigation process of further actions that will assist the authorities and the alleged victims.
While The Voice of the Christian Martyrs-Nigeria (VOCM) shares historical roots with The Voice of the Martyrs-USA (VOM), both tracing their lineage to Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, it is important to understand that VOM-USA and VOCM-Nigeria are separate and completely autonomous organizations. Each organization has its own leaders and separate boards of directors. VOM-USA has never controlled VOCM-Nigeria’s operations nor its hiring and management of staff.
After repeatedly raising a variety of concerns with VOCM-Nigeria and seeing an unsatisfactory response, VOM-USA ended all funding of VOCM-Nigeria projects in June 2016. Then, in October 2016, VOM-USA informed VOCM-Nigeria in a face-to-face meeting that all relationship between the organizations had been severed.
VOM-USA first learned of allegations of abuse against Isaac Newton-Wusu (the President/CEO of VOCM-Nigeria) in 2011. The allegations were made by a former VOCM-Nigeria staff member who had been fired by Isaac and VOCM-Nigeria’s board of directors for theft. Despite the questionable source of the allegations against Isaac, VOM-USA undertook a thorough investigation and found no evidence of their truth.
In the years following those initial allegations, VOM-USA staff who oversee ministry work to persecuted Christians in Nigeria grew increasingly concerned about overcrowding and quality of care at The Stephen Centre children’s home (operated by VOCM-Nigeria). In addition, VOM-USA had serious questions about the accountability and financial management of VOM-USA funds by VOCM-Nigeria staff members. These multiple concerns were expressed clearly and in writing to Isaac and the VOCM-Nigeria board of directors.
When VOM-USA received a video on Sept. 1, 2016, including interviews with former VOCM-Nigeria staff members claiming to have witnessed abuse by Isaac, VOM-USA had already cut all financial support to VOCM-Nigeria.
VOM-USA staff were surprised to see former VOCM-Nigeria staff members making allegations of abuse in the video when they had not raised those allegations with VOM-USA staff members who visited Nigeria or had involvement with The Stephen Centre or other VOCM projects.
VOM-USA submitted the video and all related information to the FBI for further investigation. VOM-USA will continue to cooperate fully with U.S. and Nigerian authorities in every way possible. It is our sincere hope that if criminal activities have occurred, the criminals will be brought to justice. The only way alleged perpetrators can be charged with a crime is for victims to file complaints with the Nigerian authorities, and VOM-USA has made a standing offer to pay all legal fees for any potential victim in Nigeria.
VOM-USA is contracting with an outside child safety ministry to evaluate the methodology of VOM’s work in Nigeria and advise our staff in best-practices to ensure that we are providing the best possible care to those we serve in Nigeria and the other 67 countries where VOM is currently serving persecuted Christians.
Since severing our relationship with VOCM-Nigeria, VOM-USA has continued to assist and support the families of martyrs and other persecuted Christians in northern Nigeria through staff and partners who meet our high standards of accountability, transparency and quality of care. We are providing more than $2 million in care this year to widows, orphans and other Christians in northern Nigeria who have suffered at the hands of Boko Haram and other Muslim extremists.

Nettleton’s response was rapid and to the point of my questions, but after it was released publicly on May 3, critics at Reformation Baptist released their response on the church Facebook page and reproduced here:
Continue reading “The Voice of the Martyrs Controversy”

Trump Contradicts Himself and VP Pence on FBI Director Comey Firing

Yesterday, VP Pence said Trump acted on the recommendation of Deputy Attorney General to fire FBI Director James Comey. Watch:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbyRCf6cJFk[/youtube]
First, Deputy AG Rosenstein didn’t directly recommend Comey’s firing and today, Trump says he had already planned to fire Comey without the recommendation, contradicting the White House statement and Pence.


The White House statement from yesterday:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 9, 2017
Statement from the Press Secretary
Today, President Donald J. Trump informed FBI Director James Comey that he has been terminated and removed from office. President Trump acted on the clear recommendations of both Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
“The FBI is one of the Nation’s most cherished and respected institutions and today will mark a new beginning for our crown jewel of law enforcement,” said President Trump.
A search for a new permanent FBI Director will begin immediately.
# # #

On May 3, Sean Spicer said Comey had Trump’s confidence.
We can only hope that the firing of Comey does not create a barrier to the FBI’s investigation of the Trump campaign and associates.

Texas Governor Tries to Mobilize Churches in Favor of LGBT Discrimination (UPDATED with Video of John Hagee)

On Friday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott contacted ten megachurch pastors about Texas HB 2899. Abbott told the pastors the bill was being held up by the Speaker of the House and asked the pastors to persuade their congregations to oppose it. Robert Morris, pastor at Gateway Church in Southlake, called HB 2899 “the bathroom bill” and urged Christian church goers to voice their opposition to their representatives. Watch Morris urge his congregation to call their legislators.

Transcript:

Also I want to let you know something that um, I’m gonna ask you to do something. Governor Abbott called me yesterday, uh, he’s calling-he called ten churches, um, that are mega-churches here in the, in Texas, the state of Texas. Uh, and there’s a House Bill right now, that we need to let our representatives know about, and bring it to the floor for a vote. It’s being held up right now by the Speaker of the House, and I’m saying that, uh, the leader of the House, um, I’m saying that– that is, in the state of Texas, okay, this isn’t Washington, this is Austin. Uh, but, it is 2899, HB2899.
You can go to our website, and find out how to contact your representative. Uh, it is being referred to as the bathroom bill, but please understand, this is to protect our children. We need to stand up, and as adults, that’s why we say no, you don’t drive a car when you’re 11, you don’t get to drive a car until you’re 16. Adults need to make laws and rules for children who don’t know how to make those decisions at that time.
And we don’t want to be disrespectful to anyone, but this is so that boys do not go into girls’ locker rooms, and girls do not go into boys locker rooms. And the governor said, “Please, ask your people to call their state representative by Monday. And so you can go on our website, and it says, find your representative, or whatever it is, locate, somethin’ like that, somethin’ like that.
There it is, find your local state representative click here. You just find out who your representative is, and call and say, we support, uh, and you can read about the bill, too, you can read the bill, but we want you to at least bring it to a vote. At least get it out of the committee. And this one representative, um, y’know, is holding it up. And so we-we really do need to protect our children. And I want to ask you to, so I’m asking every member of Gateway church to do that, all right

John Hagee also made this appeal to his congregation, but according to a friend who watched 10 other Texas megachurch sermons (deserves a medal), Abbott’s appeal didn’t make it in those sermons. Hagee was very direct. Listen:

Transcript:

I have a very urgent announcement I want every person in this building to hear. And those of you who are watching on television, especially in the state of Texas. I received a personal call from the governor of Texas Friday night, asking for the help of the people of faith in protecting our children in the Texas public schools. The governor’s asking for people of faith to call the members of the House of Representatives to pass House Bill 2899. I want you to get a piece of paper, and write this down. Pass House Bill 2899. To insure the safety and security for our children in our public school bathrooms. I want you to call Joe Strauss, if you can’t write that, take a — take your cell phone out, I know you have it, take a photo of that [pointing to screen with contact information of House State Affairs Committee Chairs]
Call Joe Strauss, call Brian Cook, Helen Giddings, the co-chairs of the committee, that are not allowing this bill to be voted on. Many Texans assume that this is going to be accomplished, because we are a conservative state–but let me tell you very candidly, we are losing this effort right now, because your elected officials have not heard from people of faith.
They have certainly heard from the opponents, they need to hear from us. And if you really want to put feet to your faith, then I encourage you to start calling, and start calling today, uh, because it will go into a computer, call tomorrow, call every day until you feel like you’ve covered the waterfront, but I want you to call those three people, and then, uh, there, you can call your-your representative, if you know that person by name. It’s VERY VERY important. Uh, how many of you understand what I’m talking about here? Very good, thank you.

Even though Morris and Hagee framed the bill as an effort to protect children, the bill actually would prevent Texas counties and cities from enacting ordinances protecting LGBT people from discrimination in jobs, housing and other public services. Worse, the bill would render existing ordinances in place in cities like Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Austin “null and void.”
The bill is linked on the Gateway Church website and leads to this one page bill.
TX HB 2899 LGBT
As you can see, the word bathroom isn’t in this bill. This bill is far more encompassing than a bill about who can use what public bathroom. Currently, Texas has no statewide protections against discrimination due to sexual orientation or gender identity. According to this bill, if a class of people is not now protected by state law, then a city or county will not be able to enact protections for that class. Some cities do protect LGBT people, but these ordinances would be declared “null and void” by this bill.
While churches have always been able to opine on issues in the culture, I think this situation demonstrates one problem with churches becoming an arm of a political party. Morris and Hagee misled their congregations into thinking that a call to the legislature will keep boys out of girls’ showers. However, this bill has a much broader application. Some of the LGBT relatives of Gateway Church and Cornerstone members could lose their jobs or housing if this bill passes since the existing protections in large Texas cities will be invalidated.

Reaction to Trump's Religious Liberty Executive Order

Earlier today Donald Trump signed an executive order with religious liberty as the subject matter. However, the order did next to nothing of substance. Everything Trump and his supporters want to change must be done legislatively or via rule making.
Reaction to the order has been much more interesting and in some cases substantial than the order itself. First, I start with comments from Rick Cohen, Director of Communications with the National Council of Nonprofits. After I saw a press release from the group earlier in the day, I asked Rick why the NCN was troubled by the order, which by itself, is of little consequence. In an email, he said:

The EO is only one part of the equation. It removes the bright line that all 501(c)(3) organizations have been able to rely on for sixty years: if you are tax-exempt, you can talk about the issues of the day, but you don’t get to endorse or oppose candidates. Now that bright line is fuzzy. Combine that with pending efforts in Congress to remove the Johnson Amendment altogether through pending standalone bills or incorporating repeal into a broader tax reform package and one of the hallmarks of the nonprofit, religious, and philanthropic sector is under grave threat.

The NCN has taken the position that nonprofits should not become partisan organizations. The position is stated on their website:

The National Council of Nonprofits has long held that the public’s overall trust in the sector would diminish and thus limit the effectiveness of the nonprofit community if individual 501(c)(3) organizations came to be regarded as Democratic charities or Republican charities instead of the nonpartisan problem solvers that they are.

Much reaction is inaccurate. For instance:


In fact, the anti-LGBT provisions were apparently removed.


Somebody needs a civics lesson.
David French has it about right.

Donald Trump Signs Executive Order on Religious Freedom (with Text)

Although it is much ado about nothing much, Donald Trump signed an executive order on religious freedom today. After reading through it, I am pretty sure Christian bakers, florists, and photographers are still going to have to serve gays. I don’t think this order changes anything. All of these directives specify that any actions be done within existing law. Any real changes must come via legislation.
You can read it here and below:
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 4, 2017
EXECUTIVE ORDER
– – – – – – –
PROMOTING FREE SPEECH AND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, in order to guide the executive branch in formulating and implementing policies with implications for the religious liberty of persons and organizations in America, and to further compliance with the Constitution and with applicable statutes and Presidential Directives, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Policy. It shall be the policy of the executive branch to vigorously enforce Federal law’s robust protections for religious freedom. The Founders envisioned a Nation in which religious voices and views were integral to a vibrant public square, and in which religious people and institutions were free to practice their faith without fear of discrimination or retaliation by the Federal Government. For that reason, the United States Constitution enshrines and protects the fundamental right to religious liberty as Americans’ first freedom. Federal law protects the freedom of Americans and their organizations to exercise religion and participate fully in civic life without undue interference by the Federal Government. The executive branch will honor and enforce those protections.
Sec. 2. Respecting Religious and Political Speech. All executive departments and agencies (agencies) shall, to the greatest extent practicable and to the extent permitted by law, respect and protect the freedom of persons and organizations to engage in religious and political speech. In particular, the Secretary of the Treasury shall ensure, to the extent permitted by law, that the Department of the Treasury does not take any adverse action against any individual, house of worship, or other religious organization on the basis that such individual or organization speaks or has spoken about moral or political issues from a religious perspective, where speech of similar character has, consistent with law, not ordinarily been treated as participation or intervention in a political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) a candidate for public office by the Department of the Treasury. As used in this section, the term “adverse action” means the imposition of any tax or tax penalty;
the delay or denial of tax-exempt status; the disallowance of tax deductions for contributions made to entities exempted from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of title 26, United States Code; or any other action that makes unavailable or denies any tax deduction, exemption, credit, or benefit.
Sec. 3. Conscience Protections with Respect to PreventiveCare Mandate. The Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall consider issuing amended regulations, consistent with applicable law, to address conscience-based objections to the preventive care mandate promulgated under section 300gg-13(a)(4) of title 42, United States Code.
Sec. 4. Religious Liberty Guidance. In order to guide all agencies in complying with relevant Federal law, the Attorney General shall, as appropriate, issue guidance interpreting religious liberty protections in Federal law.
Sec. 5. Severability. If any provision of this order, or the application of any provision to any individual or circumstance, is held to be invalid, the remainder of this order and the application of its other provisions to any other individuals or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.
Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
DONALD J. TRUMP
THE WHITE HOUSE,
May 4, 2017.
###
I can’t see that it changes anything since the Department of Treasury is required to act within existing law. Since the Johnson Amendment is law, Congress will need to change it. Trump just whipped up a bunch of excitement with little or nothing to show for it.