Presenting the Gospel while "Under Oath"

Dear friend, More and more, we are experiencing governmental lawyers who seem to have no religious affiliation, no exposure to Christianity, and no knowledge of some of the most basic Christian principles like the “Great Commission.”  To many governmental lawyers, the concept of a Christian spreading the Gospel is almost putrid to their senses.

I am writing my thoughts as I ponder upon a deposition currently ongoing in one of our cases. Our client was questioned by an attorney from the California Attorney General’s Office and I anticipate, based on her questions, that she will eventually argue that our client’s attempts to share the Gospel is not protected religious speech because it is offensive to some members of the public.

Here’s the “silver lining” that is apparent in the deposition transcript: The deputy attorney general has been questioning our client about hell, sin, salvation, good works, and sexuality. She has also questioned whether our client’s group believed that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven and salvation. How do think our client responded? He shared the Gospel message in love and compassion to the governmental lawyer!

“When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.” Luke 12:11-12

Far too often, we are experiencing governmental officials who seem to think it is their job to sanitize the public from exposure to a Christian perspective. As our American culture becomes more and more secularized, it is going to be more and more important for us to educate public officials and to defend the First Amendment in courts so that Christianity is not censored in all public arenas.

This is why it is our stated mission to “defend the First Amendment right to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

The good news is that we have had significant success in this arena! From the acquittal of Christians sharing their faith on public property who were criminally charged to students sharing their faith in public schools.

Let us give you some more good news from California! We were recently contacted by Texas-based Liberty Legal Institute and Pastor Rick Moore of Calvary Chapel Laguna Niguel. Pastor Rick was attempting to rent city facilities from the City of Laguna Niguel in order to launch his new church. However, when Pastor Rick contacted the City, he learned that although the City rented their facilities to nonprofit organizations, the City could not rent to religiously based organizations because of a discriminatory provision embodied in the City’s ordinances.

With help from Advocates for Faith & Freedom and Liberty Legal Institute, we were able to properly advise Pastor Rick and warn the City Council about the unconstitutionality of the policy prohibiting the temporary rental of property to religious organizations. After a public hearing last month, the City Council voted unanimously to eliminate the discriminatory policy so that churches could rent City facilities just like other nonprofit organizations.

Thank God for this Victory!

Although we recognize that our culture is embracing a radicalized and secular culture, we are excited that God has placed each of us on this earth “for such a time as this.” (Esther 4:14)

Please remember to pray for us as we continue to work in this ministry of protecting our First Amendment right to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If you have the ability, we would greatly appreciate your financial support for the ongoing costs we incur to protect religious liberty. In His Service,

Robert Tyler General Counsel

  

Another Victory! Bible Accepted into Public School's Library

Dear Friend, Recently, Advocates for Faith & Freedom was contacted by Gary Nelson regarding his third grader, Victoria, who attends an elementary school in the Temecula Valley Unified School District. The family was disheartened a couple of years ago—when Victoria was in first grade—and was not allowed to donate a Bible to the school-sponsored book donation program. 

Because of the media attention received on the Brynn Williams case, in which Brynn was not allowed to finish her Christmas presentation because she tried to quote a Scripture, Mr. Nelson was moved to contact Advocates after realizing Victoria’s rights had been violated.

The elementary school offers a “Birthday Book Program” in which students may elect to celebrate their birthday by donating a book to the school library on their birthday. The donated book has the student’s name inserted on the front inside cover.  The school then formally recognizes the student at the Friday Flag Salute Assembly.  The student is called up in front of the entire school so that he or she can hold their book up and get a picture taken with their donated book.

On Victoria’s birthday, she brought her favorite book to school to donate…the Bible.  She handed the Bible over to her teacher and said, “John is my favorite book!”  The teacher smiled and accepted the book with a thank you.  A few days later, the teacher handed the book back to the student’s father, Gary Nelson, explaining, “The principal said students cannot donate the Bible. It cannot be in the library,” reported Mr. Nelson.  That Friday Mr. Nelson had to explain to his daughter that her book had been rejected by the school and that she could not be recognized at the assembly.  The family was upset because they felt that not only had the Bible been rejected, but so was the student.

Advocates’ attorneys wrote a detailed 9-page letter to the school district explaining that the Establishment Clause “mandates governmental neutrality” not only among different religions, but also “between religion and non-religion.” Here, the principal’s rejection of the Bible as a viable donation towards the school library was a message of disapproval towards religion. After our attorney met with Mr. Nelson and the school principal, the principal apologized and Victoria was finally recognized at the next assembly and was allowed to donate her favorite book, the Bible, to her school library.  

This case is yet another example of District employees lacking knowledge of First Amendment rights, as well as lack of proper policies and employee training.  Victoria had the right to give the school the Bible under the book donation program, the school had the right to receive it, and students now have a right to go to the library and read it.  We Praise the Lord for this victory!

We are grateful for the Williams family and their courage to stand up for Brynn’s rights!  Mr. Nelson commented that had it not been for the Williams’ coming forward, the Bible would not be in Victoria’s school today.   “I teach my children that Jesus does not hit singles and get on first base…He only hits home runs!” He went on to say, “Because TVUSD “pushed back” on the Williams case, it caught my attention in the media and this issue got resolved too!  All for His glory!”

Update on First Graders Brynn Williams and Isaiah Martinez

Brynn Williams tried to read John 3:16 during a Christmas presentation in her class but was stopped by her teacher before she could read the Scripture. Isaiah Martinez was told that “Jesus is not allowed in school” by his teacher and watched as his teacher tore off his Christmas message attached to the candy canes he  intended  to give to his classmates.   In both of  these  cases, we  filed  complaints with each of their school districts hoping to persuade the school boards to adopt policies that will educate and train school officials about the First  Amendment  liberties afforded  to students and to implement a policy that prohibits school officials from expressing religious hostility and intolerance toward religion. We are in the process of negotiating with each of the school districts. If the districts refuse to respect our demands, we will likely file federal lawsuits to compel each district’s compliance.

Will you stand with Advocates? Here’s how you can help:

• Pray with us, for our students, teachers, and administrators.
• Give a financial gift so that we can continue in this work.
• Let us know if you experience or hear about any hostility towards religion in the public schools.

We thank you for your faithfulness and your prayers as we press on in this mission!

In His Service, Robert Tyler General Counsel

On a Personal Note...

Maybe you noticed that our February newsletter didn’t come at the end of the month as usual.  Well, both Jen and I were very busy during the month of February.  Jen and Jordan Bursch were blessed with the birth of their first child, Harper Grace Bursch.  She was a real miracle in the making after beating the odds of some medical complications. Please  pray for God’s continued blessings on this beautiful and healthy gift of life.

Meanwhile, I spent time on my sixth mission trip to Hinche, Haiti, with my wife and three of our four children. We had another wonderful 

opportunity to support the local work of the Haiti Endowment Fund and its numerous churches and Christian schools in the outlying areas of Haiti’s Central Plateau. Religious liberty and Christian values appear to be well respected in Haiti. Though Haiti has a long history in Voodoo, Christianity  is now  welcomed throughout this poverty stricken  nation.

"We atheists laugh at you Christians..."

Dear Partner, We have experienced a tremendous number of inquiries of Christians seeking pro-bono legal help in the last 60 to 90 days for many legal assaults on the Christian faith. Our legal team has sprung into action and successfully protected a number of those Christians with our rapid response, as you will see when you read further in the newsletter.

It seems that the root cause behind this assault is the evil unleashed in the spiritual realm. We know that God has called us to stand in defense of the many Christians doing great work in the spread of the Gospel and also, for those Christians who are mere victims of arbitrary anti-Christian bigotry by persons in power.

            Has our legal ministry become more visible in the last 90 days, or is it a sign of the times?

Although we’ve had some recent media attention, I really believe the phone calls and emails are a sign of the times—that our services are needed now more than ever. Here are just a few of the cases we are working on that have come into our office in the last 90 days:

            “We atheists laugh at you Christians. And in 100 years, no one is going to believe in God because the science will prove he doesn’t exist.” This is the statement from one 7^th grade teacher in Massachusetts who felt she had the unfettered right to show such visceral hostility toward her students in a social studies class. Similar comments were made on other days but we don’t have time to go into them here. Imagine the effect this hostile communication will have on future generations. One mom complained to the school principal, but the anti-Christian comments didn’t stop. That same mom called on us for help, and we have agreed to file a lawsuit against the school district and the teacher, if the family is willing. While bullying is a hot topic within today’s schools, the bullying most often overlooked is the bullying that some school administrators and teachers unleash on their own students just because the students have or express a Christian worldview. We need to find more cases like these so we can set legal precedent against religious hostility expressed in the classroom by public school teachers. These children are the future and we can’t allow generations to be lost due to the atheistic influences of a hostile public school environment.

            Do Christians still have a right to share the Gospel out loud in public?

We were recently contacted by Michael Marcavage, a minister on the East Coast and publisher of Christian News Network. He regularly engages in street evangelism and has had significant difficulties sharing the Gospel in public—and in this case, along the Atlantic City Boardwalk. This minister was told he needed to apply for a permit as a “street performer” and pay a fee for street evangelism. First, he is not a “street performer” as defined by the city ordinance. Second, the Constitution gives him the right to free speech, and the fee for our right to speak freely in open public forums like a boardwalk  has  already  been  paid by the sacrifice of our brave men and women in the armed forces  who have lost their lives fighting for our liberty. While not  all of us are “cut-out” for street evangelism, we need to protect our right to free speech in public or else our public square may begin to look more like China’s Tiananmen Square.

            We will be filing a lawsuit in New Jersey to secure these rights. From the beginning, our mission has been to defend the First Amendment right to free speech, which includes spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. More recently, we’ve experienced the need to defend not only the right to express our faith, but to defend the right to practice our faith in our daily lives.

We’ve received calls about everything from children chided for reading the Bible as part of a homework assignment to ministers threatened by county officials for refusing to marry same-sex couples.  A reoccurring theme we’re noticing with all this activity: hostility towards a Christian worldview. 

The good news is we’ve had much success. Many of these recent issues have been resolved without even having to file a lawsuit. The important thing is that we are here to take their phone calls and take legal action, which many times simply requires us to send a letter explaining the constitutional protection afforded to our clients.

            While we are trying to help as many people as we can, we simply do not have enough financial resources to help all of these clients defend their religious liberties and fight anti-Christian hostility.

Many of you have asked us about our Justice Gala this year. As you may remember, we normally hold an annual fundraising event known as “Justice” in the fall. This year, we made a strategic decision to skip this event for a few reasons: putting on a Justice Gala each year is a large financial commitment, and it often impacts the resources we have to commit to our primary mission to defend the First Amendment right to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to our new clients.

            Right now we have more inquiries than we can commit to financially, and in order for us to be able to fully handle all the cases coming in WE NEED YOUR HELP!

Typically, about 400 people attend our Gala, and while it’s an educational and often inspiring event, we realized that we could make a greater impact toward our core mission if we could apply the full amount of your donations to the new cases we’ve taken on recently.

Our strategy and hope is that everyone who would normally purchase a ticket or contribute by buying an auction item will make a gift to this campaign. In doing so, 100% of your donation will go directly towards our ministry and new cases—defending religious liberty. If 400 of you could make a donation of $150 (the price of a Justice ticket), we could raise the funds necessary to more aggressively pursue these opportunities and ensure that Christians retain the right to live out their faith in their daily lives!

If you can’t commit to a $150 donation right now but would like to contribute to our mission, we gratefully welcome any and all gifts! We’ve set a goal of $60,000 in order to pursue the astounding amount of cases God has supplied us with, and we would be grateful if you would join us in reaching that goal!

For those of you who regularly attend and enjoy our galas, don’t fret! We’ve already started planning for our regular Justice Gala in 2014!

We’re humbled by your tremendous support over the years, and now—as we see the culture war raging more than ever—we thank you in advance for your help in reaching our fundraising goal to support the many new cases coming into our ministry.  On behalf of the entire Advocates team and our Board, have a Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving!

In His Service,

  

Robert Tyler

General Counsel

Christianity Under Fire

Dear Partner, Over the past couple of decades, Americans have watched as their individual and religious freedoms have slowly been eroded, taken away, or replaced by governmental mandates and legislation.

The situation we are currently facing reminds me of the frog that is placed in a cold pot of water.  When the water slowly heats up, the frog has become so comfortable there that he doesn’t even realize that he is being boiled alive! 

As Christians in America, we have a lot of freedoms for which we should be continually grateful.  Our Constitution promises us that, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

However, it is our responsibility to stand up for these liberties that we enjoy and make sure that they do not slowly disappear!  Our present actions will directly affect the future reality for generations to come – this fact alone should prod us forward in defense of what we believe and what makes this Nation so great.

Here at Advocates, I regularly see examples of how our fundamental constitutional liberties are being challenged:

Hostile Attacks on Christianity in the Courtroom – Such as the case of Chad Farnan, a high school student who endured almost daily anti-Christian and anti-religion rants from his Advanced Placement (AP) European History teacher.  We took this case to court, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals eventually ruled that the teacher could not be held responsible, simply because there was no law or clear precedent that a teacher is liable for his or her statements in the classroom.

Even though the final decision in this case is not what we had hoped for, I am extremely proud of Chad and honored to have fought with him.  We believe that this case was vitally important because, for years, we had heard from teachers who were being admonished or even disciplined for having Bibles on their desk, wearing a Christian-themed t-shirt, or praying with a student.  We felt that it was imperative to stand up for students on the other side of the coin – those whose religious ideologies were being attacked consistently in the captive arena of the classroom.

Silencing Christians – Three men, including a pastor, went  to their local DMV to read the Bible aloud to passers-by, something that they had done previously as a ministry.  On this day, however, the men were arrested by an officer who, after ripping the Bible from the pastor’s hands, said that the men could not “preach to a captive audience” and eventually charged them with “trespassing.” We are defending these men because we believe that, as Americans, we possess freedom of speech.  Even if we would choose a different method for sharing the Gospel, we believe that Christians must defend their right to spread the Good News.  If we don’t protect this right now, we very well might find our options for sharing the Gospel greatly restricted in the near future.

Why We Christians Must Take a Stand – You may have heard of the recent incident at Florida Atlantic University, where a professor  instructed his students to write the name of Jesus on a piece of paper, put it on the ground, and stomp on it. This instruction was given as a classroom “exercise.”

After the media storm that ensued, the university put the professor on academic leave and banned the “stomp Jesus” exercise from all future classes.

This is a great victory, and it happened because Christians were outraged by the incident and spoke up.  What would have happened had local pastors, reverends, and Christians stayed silent?

Sometimes, it can be difficult to take a stand for what we believe to be truth, based on God’s Truth.  It can feel like we are in the minority or that we are alone in the fight.  But, that is not a reason to stay silent.

If we don’t stand up for our God-given liberties and constitutional freedoms – right now – who will?  And, what will the future hold for the generations of Christians to come?

  National Day of Prayer is May 2nd!

On Thursday, May 2, Americans will join together in a collective National Day of Prayer.  This year’s theme is “Pray for America,” based on the following Bible verse:

“In His name the nations will put their hope."   Matthew 12:21

We encourage you to take a moment with your family on this day and pray for America, our president, our legislators, and the hardships that we are facing in today’s economic environment.  Also, let’s remember to bring thanks to God for all of the freedoms that we enjoy in our Nation. God Bless America!

God bless you,

Jennifer Bursch

Associate General Counsel

7 Year Marker: Advocates Gives Us a Reason to Celebrate!

Dear Partner, Looking back over 2012, we have been blessed to play a significant role in protecting our First Amendment right to share the Gospel, in combating hostility toward Christianity, and defending the will of voters. For example:

• We have continued the fight to protect the right of churches to build and expand their ministry in the Temecula Valley Wine Country against politically powerful vintners.

• We worked aggressively to defend students’ rights to express their religion in school and developed a booklet to educate parents, teachers, and students of their rights and warn them of the perils in California public schools (available on our website).

• We continued to fight for the protection of traditional marriage through the defense of voter-backed Proposition 8 in California. Now, this case is at the Supreme Court, where the justices will decide whether to respect the will of voters.

But, this year is our 7 YEAR MARKER – we have been pursuing our goals for seven years! Now, because of the critical times in our culture, we must refine our goals and litigate with greater precision in order to preserve our liberty to share the Gospel. Here’s our strategy:

1. Plan: We will aggressively increase our caseload with more tactical cases that are directly related and central to our purpose: Defending the first amendment right to spread the Christian Gospel.
2. Pursue: (a) We will pursue opportunities to challenge governmental hostility toward Christianity like the efforts to remove Christian symbols from public display; and (b) We will strategically continue to pursue cases that will challenge unlawful land use and building restrictions that are burdening and censoring churches.

You can help us right now to continue defending religious liberty and to pursue our strategy for 2013.  In order to litigate additional cases, we need to bring in $2,500 in new monthly donations by the New Year.  Please help us reach this goal by December 31st.  Whatever amount you can contribute on a monthly basis will greatly help us to take on new cases to preserve our liberty to share the Gospel.  Simply use the enclosed envelope and indicate your monthly gift pledge, or go online at www.faith-freedom.com/7-year-marker-press-on.

Thank you for supporting our mission! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Case Update:  Religious Land Use WIN for Washington, D.C. Church

Our client, the Fishermen of Man Church located in Washington, D.C., was recently faced with the potential of being designated a historic landmark by a local government agency, the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB). Though this may sound like a benefit to the church, this landmark designation would have placed burdensome restrictions on the church and its activities.

For example, the church had planned to make some much-needed improvements, including placing an attractive sign on the building to better indicate that it is, in fact, a church. Since it is located in the midst of a commercial district, this signage is a necessity to grow church membership. If it were called a landmark, the church would experience crippling delays and costs while the HPRB and local government carried out the landmark designation, and they would be highly restricted from carrying out their planned improvements.

In addition to these burdens, there is also a moral question surrounding the landmark designation.  In the past, the church location was used as a community movie theater, and – in a divisive time in our nation’s history – it was designated as a “whites only” movie theater.  For the congregation of the Fishermen of Man church, which is predominately African-American, this landmark designation was extremely offensive.

We represented the church at no cost and worked with the church’s local attorney in preparation for the hearing. We also sent a demand letter to the HPRB, explaining that the landmark designation they planned for the Fishermen of Man building would violate RLUIPA, the Religious Land Use and Institution

alized Persons Act, which prevents government bodies from applying regulations to religious institutions that would place a substantial burden on religious land use or regulations that are inequitably applied against religious institutions.  The HPRB then realized the church’s rights under RLUIPA and decided against the landmark designation.  Victory for the church!

 This case represents the strategic opportunities we plan to pursue in the future used to ensure the spread of the Gospel.  There are several more churches in the D.C. area alone that are facing the threat of burdensome landmark designations that threaten their very existence.  In many cases, these regulations censor churches and unreasonably control a church’s daily operations causing many churches to flee to the suburbs. We want to defend these churches’ right to not just exist, but to continue to spread the Gospel of Christ in our Nation’s capital!

We ask that you consider pledging a monthly gift so that we can pursue more cases and victories like this one!

God bless you,

Jennifer Bursch Associate General Counsel

Are Our Children Being Hijacked?

For the past few years, Advocates has taken a very special interest in the rights and liberties afforded to our children as students in the public school system. We have done this not only to ensure their rights in the school setting, but also to take a stand for families who want to bring up their children in the moral structure that they choose. Parents and families, we want you to realize that when your children go to school, they will be encouraged, if not compelled, to adopt ideals and morals that do not support what you are teaching them at home. And, to educate you on what is happening in the schools and what your children are or will be facing everyday, we have put together a booklet called “Hijacked K-12”. These are just a few of the alarming situations we came across in our research and experiences:

• Students may leave school grounds to receive psychological counseling, vaccinations for STDs, abortions or other pregnancy-related treatments during school hours…and the school does not have to provide notice to the parents.

• The California Teacher’s Association (CTA) now warns its teachers: “Please do not assume anyone’s gender, even people you may have met in the past. A person’s external appearance may not match their internal gender identity.” They have also suggested, “One way of acknowledging the needs of all people is to designate restrooms as gender neutral.” (emphasis added)

• Schools have not only taken religion out of the public school system, but they have also displayed outright hostility towards students and teachers who espouse Christian views, examples of which we detail in the booklet.

If you are a parent, a teacher, or a student – we encourage you to get a copy of this booklet to educate yourself and your family or colleagues. This information is eye opening and thought provoking, and we have provided tips for how you as a parent or teacher can take action to protect your or your children’s rights!

We want to get the word out about this information as much as possible, and you can help us by doing one or more of the following:

• Request a booklet. Please call us at (888) 588-6888 to order one or more copies. We are asking for a $5 donation for a hard copy of this booklet, or we can email you a PDF digital copy for no charge, or any donation you’d like to give. The booklet will eventually be available on our website as well.

• Forward this information on to your friends, family, and colleagues. Please help us spread the word, and let’s get as many people informed as possible!

• Tell your church, Bible study leader, parents group, private school, or other organizations to contact us to speak. We are willing and ready to get this information out any way that we can, and a great channel for this is speaking engagements. If you or someone you know may be interested in having us speak, please contact Lori Sanada at (888) 588-6888.

We believe that this message is urgent, and we want everyone to know what is happening in our schools, as well as what we as parents, teachers, and concerned citizens can do to protect our students and our families. Thank you so much for your help!

Dinesh D’Souza, Author and Director of the 2016 Movie, will be at Justice 2012!

Recently, the movie 2016: Obama’s America opened in movie theaters around the nation, and it was a surprising hit. The movie was written and directed by Dinesh D’Souza, and it explores the premise: Who is this man who is running our country, and what is his vision for the future of America? And what direction do we as Americans want for our country as we look toward our nation’s future?

Incredibly, this gripping documentary has earned upwards of $20 million so far – more than 5 times the amount the second highest-grossing documentary of the year earned…and this one had barely any promotional budget! Americans are clearly concerned about the upcoming election this year and what is going to become of our beloved nation. Dinesh D’Souza and this movie provide facts about what must be done to ensure that America and our liberties continue to grow, not diminish.

Our own Robert Tyler, Advocates General Counsel, saw the movie recently and stated, “I was astounded at how little we truly know about the man who holds the greatest power in not only our nation, but also the world. It proved to me even more how important the work we do here at Advocates - protecting our religious liberties and defending our individual rights - truly is!" Dinesh D’Souza is our keynote speaker at the Justice 2012 Gala this year, happening in Costa Mesa, CA on October 6. Dinesh will be sharing a message about “Liberating America,” including some of the facts he uncovered about our leader and the direction our nation is now heading, and why it is so imperative to continue fighting for our liberties!

In addition, we are proud to announce the return of Warren Duffy as the emcee for Justice 2012. From 1994 to 2004, afternoon drive-time radio listeners in Southern California tuned in daily from 4 to 7 p.m. on 99.5, KKLA, to hear the award winning talk program “Duffy and Company.” Since leaving the air in 2004, Duffy keeps busy serving as a speaker and leader of “Duffy Tours”worldwide.

Tickets are going fast, and seating is limited...So, if you are interested in hearing from Dinesh D’Souza and supporting our continued fight for religious liberty, please visit www.faith-freedom.com/justice-2012 or call (888) 588-6888 to purchase tickets now.

Sincerely,

Robert Tyler Advocates for Faith & Freedom

Purposes that Cultivate Our Hearts

Dear Partner, Over the last two years, my family has developed a particular passion for the people of Haiti due to three recent mission trips my children and I have taken with the Haiti Endowment Fund. Our first mission trip was scheduled just before the earthquake that devastated this small island nation. The earthquake delayed our first trip to Haiti for a short time, a time during which Christian ministries and American humanitarian aid poured into Haiti.

While bringing basic necessities to the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, I have reflected upon the intolerable circumstances of living in Haiti and the blessings we cherish in the United States. If you were born in Haiti, you would likely have suffered from the lack of clean water, lack of food, unending sickness, political corruption, and widespread Voodooworship. However, if you were born in the U.S., you would have likely benefited from the abundance of clean water, healthy foods, antibiotics, democratic values, and widespread Christianity.

Because of God’s blessings, we have been the most generous nation in the world with the provision of humanitarian aid. More importantly, however, Americans have exported Christianity worldwide through the passion of missionaries and humanitarian organizations. In the context of this experience, I have come to view the necessity of our work at Advocates through a clearer lens.It is apparent to me that our work in the U.S. defending liberties has more  importance than  merely  protecting our  individual  right to go to church  or to share our faith.  Rather, the importance of our work extends beyond these liberties to the ability of Christian organizations within the U.S. to initiate and expand their ministries such that their impact is felt worldwide.

For example, we often represent churches that are seeking to rent public facilities in order to hold services but are often denied on the misunderstood application of the so-called “separation of church and state.” Sometimes, churches are wrongfully prohibited

from occupying their own property and, in one specific case, a church-affiliated school was told that it could only expand if the Christian school provided a “secular education Mondays through Fridays.”

            When Advocates stepped-in to defend the Christian school, the City of Los Angeles backed down after we filed a federal lawsuit, and now the school is educating potential ministers and missionaries from a Christian worldview!  If we don’t defend our constitutional liberties, churches may not be able to assemble for services, their teaching may be censored and their ability to send out missionaries and humanitarian aid worldwide may be severely inhibited.Our purpose is greater than mere politics or patriotic principles. We defend the First Amendment right to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ and our impact will not only be felt here in the U.S., but internationally as well. Please stand with us so that Christian organizations will be able to flourish in the United States minister to the nations.

Robert Tyler General Counsel

Government Investigating the “Radicalization” of Christians?

           Recently, Rep. Peter King (R-NY) spearheaded an investigation into the radicalization of Muslims in America.  In response, Congressman Al Green (D-TX) argued that Congress cannot single out one religion; if the government is going to investigate the radicalization of Muslims, why not look into the radicalization of Christians in America?

Congressman Green said, "People who see the hearings and never hear about the hearing on the radicalization of Christianity have to ask themselves:  ‘Why is this missing?’  Why don’t we go to the next step and ask, how is it that a blue-eyed, blonde-haired, white female in the United States of America can become radicalized to the point of wanting to do harm to this country?”

It should be no surprise that some liberal politicians and media commentators are in support of labeling conservative Christians.

If you adhere to biblical principles, support traditional marriage and are pro-life, this might  mean  that  you  are  a “Radical Christian.”   In  fact,    many  of  us  would   proudly   carry    the label of “Radical Christian.”

However, just like we condemn the violence of radical Muslims, we would also condemn hateful acts of violence that are purportedly carried out in the name of Christianity.

Though some people want to spin this issue into one of discrimination – claiming we can’t just investigate one religious subset of the population – the radicalization of Muslims in America is a great concern for domestic safety due to the jihadist beliefs of many Muslims.

In fact, Dr. Jasser, founder and president of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (and a devout Muslim), stated, “When we look at the problem of radicalization, the excuses will never run out.  It seems to me that Americans are sitting around doing nothing to combat extremists.”

We will continue to bring any updates to you in the event Congressman Green’s proposal gets any traction in Congress.

       In the meantime, please pray for these ongoing investigations concerning the radicalization of Muslims and for the safety of all Americans from terrorist attacks.

"Something Special": A Strategy That Will Change Our Nation

We defend religious liberty in the courts so that God’s people can lawfully spread the Gospel, pray, and freely worship Him.  We are convinced that prayer is a critical act of worship that will cause the rebirth of our nation – spiritually, morally and even economically.  This divine strategy was implemented for tremendous impact during the Great Awakening of 1857 to 1858, but that time has long been forgotten by most. Following a period of moral decline during the 1850s and during a period of serious economic collapse known as the “Bank Panic of 1857,” one courageous businessman invited other anxious businessmen in New York City to join him for prayer during the noon hour every Wednesday.  In a few months’ time, the lunchtime prayer meeting became a daily meeting that grew to over 50,000 businessmen meeting across New York City.  It quickly spread from coast to coast and affected everyone from judges to janitors.  At times, schools—yes, public schools!—and businesses closed in order to pray and seek God.  People from all walks of life could be seen humbly kneeling together and imploring God for grace.

The effects were immeasurable. It is estimated that at least one million Americans committed their lives to Christ within 18 months.  Though the revival peaked in 1858, it did not stop there.  Throughout the Civil War (1860–1865), camps had great revival meetings and over 150,000 men became Christians in the Confederate army alone.Close to a million people joined churches due to the awakening that swept that land.  It added spiritual strength, gave new importance to the work of laymen in churches, and connected the Gospel with social action in a manner that had not been seen in the country before.  Businessmen were awakened to the assertion that true religion was not merely a spiritual experience, but an active faith that should be evident in their business practices.

Though the Revival of 1857-1858 is barely remembered by secular historians today, it was probably the greatest spiritual rejuvenation ever experienced by the United States of America.  It’s amazing to think that this great revival was started and fueled not by ministers, but by businessmen.  Think of how our nation could progress if we had a similar type of prayer revival.

On Thursday, May 5, 2012, people across America participated in the National Day of Prayer.  Although the tradition of prayer has been a part of our nation since our founding fathers formed our country almost two and a half centuries ago, something special occurred in 1857 that went far beyond an annual prayer meeting.

We need that “something special” to occur today!  And I think I saw “something special” just the other day, when I noticed four high school girls standing at the flag pole in front of their school—gathered in prayer on an ordinary weekday.  That same day, I had lunch with a group of business people planning to start new ministry called Tentmakers, a ministry to teach and encourage business people to use their businesses as a platform to share their faith.  Maybe that “Great Awakening”—like call to prayer is beginning today in smaller pockets, and you are the ordinary American needed to stoke the fire!

Some may ask, “Is that legal?”  The answer: Absolutely! Don’t be worried.  Call us for help or advice.  If you’re challenged, we will be there to defend your religious liberty.

Step out in faith, and start “something special.”  

Two Christians Prosecuted for Reading the Bible in Public

On March 28, a trial court in Riverside County, California, heard arguments why the prosecution's case should be dismissed in the case of People v. Brett Coronado.  Advocates for Faith & Freedom are defending Pastor Brett Coronado and Mark Mackey on misdemeanor charges after they were arrested in front of a California DMV while Mr. Mackey was reading the Bible out loud.  The incident took place on February 2, 2011, in front of a group waiting for the DMV to open for business.   This case has generated national news, such as the story that ran on Fox News Channel today.  View the Fox News video and article here.  Additionally, a YouTube video of the incident and arrest can be viewed here. Both men have been spit on and threatened at other locations in the past when engaging in similar activities.  As a result, it is their practice to video their evangelism to protect them from false accusations - just as appears to be occurring in this case.

Initially, when Mr. Mackey was arrested, the CHP officer stated that it was illegal to "preach to a captive audience." After the defendants were placed in jail and upon learning that no such penal code prohibits preaching to a "captive audience,"  the officer issued a citation for "impeding an open business" with threats or intimidation under Penal Code Section 602.1(b). However, the district attorney again changed the charges claiming trespass after the government realized the business was not actually open and, presumably, saw the video showing no threats or intimidation.

Unfortunately, the trial judge declined to dismiss the case.  Advocates vows to appeal the decision because the trespass law the CHP is currently relying on is  unconstitutional.  In fact, other federal courts that have reviewed the same statutory language used in the California Penal Code have been declared unconstitutional.  A copy of our brief can be found here.

“This is an abuse of power on the part of the CHP,” said Robert Tyler, Associate General Counsel for Advocates for Faith & Freedom.  “The arresting officer could find no appropriate penal/ code to use when arresting these men.  The purpose of the arrests appears to have been to censor them.”

Advocates for Faith & Freedom has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of these three men for violation of their right to free speech and for unlawful arrest, but that case has been stayed pending the resolution of the state court prosecution. A copy of our federal complaint can be found here.  Also, join us on Facebook and Twitter to stay up-to-date on our progress in this case and others.

This information is provided by Advocates for Faith & Freedom, a non-profit religious law firm dedicated to protecting religious liberty in the courts!  To help us in our ongoing battle for religious freedom, click here to donate to Advocates.