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

Planned Parenthood Wants to Perform...Webcam Abortions?

Recently, Planned Parenthood has refiled a lawsuit in Wisconsin to reinstate its legal right to practice webcam abortions. What IS a webcam abortion?

Well, the abortion industry wants to make getting an abortion as easy as a push of a button. 

In what Planned Parenthood calls “telemedicine” or “telehealth”, a woman would be able to chat with a medical doctor through a webcam – meaning over the Internet – and if the doctor is satisfied with the conversation, he would press a button, at which time a drawer opens for the woman and a pill is made available.  This pill is an abortion-inducing drug, one of which is RU-486.

So, without a physical examination of this woman, a doctor can remotely approve and deliver an abortion through drugs.

Please take a moment to watch the video below.  Though we don’t necessarily endorse all the views of the organization that prepared the video, we do think it is informative, heart wrenching, and a further motivation for us to continue to advocate for the unborn, who cannot speak for themselves.

(Click on the image above to view the video on YouTube)

Why Are "Adult Businesses" Protected More Than Churches?

Local zoning laws are required by law to permit “adult businesses” without the same burdens hurled upon churches. The U.S. Supreme Court has determined that “adult businesses” are entitled to protection from discriminatory zoning laws because the businesses’ “speech” and “expression” are protected by the First Amendment. And why aren't churches and Christian schools entitled to the same protection as “adult businesses”? It's because of the fact no legal precedent has yet been established on behalf of the churches.

We have a plan to correct this injustice in the courts, but we need your help!

Please be on the lookout for churches that are going through the permitting process to occupy a building, expand their facilities or build a new building. Refer them to Advocates for Faith and Freedom because we can probably help.

We have also found that many zoning regulations applied to churches are unconstitutionally applied or violate the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. Regulations are often unlawful because they impose substantial burdens on churches that are not justified or they impose burdens on churches that are not equally imposed upon other similar uses like movie theaters and assembly halls. Sometimes, churches are unlawfully excluded from zoning districts while other similar uses are permitted.

Please let your church leaders know that we are here to help them. We are searching for the right cases with the right set of facts in order to establish the legal precedent that is long overdue.

Victory in San Diego!

Last week, we received an urgent call from one of our ministry friends, Ron Harper. He asked for our immediate help to prevent the County of San Diego from placing a huge burden on churches. Ron is a contractor who specializes in building churches. Ron informed us that the County of San Diego was planning to adopt a new law that would require all churches to drastically increase the amount of parking they provide before they expand any facilities or build a new building.

Ron said that the new law would require churches to purchase twice the amount of land currently required. Further, a church would be required to buy almost twice the amount of land that a similarly sized movie theater, convention center or other assembly-type use would be required to buy even though the parking needs are the same.

In most cases, the cost of having church in the County of San Diego would be so great that churches would be priced out of existence.

We intervened and wrote an extensive legal opinion to the County of San Diego on behalf of numerous churches, including Maranatha Christian Fellowship and Horizon Christian Fellowship, explaining why the new law violated federal law. Along with Ron, we were able to build a grassroots effort in about 12 hours that included an e-mail blast from a San Diego state assemblyman and support from San Diego churches representing tens of thousands of residents.

The Board of Supervisors unanimously voted down the new law and in favor of churches. The Supervisors mentioned that this had become “a huge controversy, suddenly-out of the blue.” Ron Harper commented, “It was great to watch a victory come together ‘out of the blue’ in such a short time!”

Thank you for supporting our ministry so that we can quickly come to the aid of worthy causes like this one!  Although this case will never hit national news, the victory will help save millions upon millions of dollars for San Diego churches.

Why Do We Celebrate Presidents' Day?

This week, we commemorated the amazing leaders of our nation on Presidents' Day. But, do you know why we celebrate this holiday?

Originally, the holiday fell directly on the birthday of George Washington, our first president.  Thus, the day was meant to celebrate not only this Founding Father, but all presidents that came after him.  In 1971, the date was changed to the third Monday in February, leading many to believe that the day specifically commemorated Abraham Lincoln, as well, since he was also born in February.

Thus, we often think of these incredible men when we celebrate this day each year. It is an appropriate time to remember just what our Founding Fathers stood for and wanted for the fledgling nation of America. We’ll leave you with a couple of quotes from two of the greatest presidents our nation has known:not only this Founding Father, but all presidents that came after him. In 1971, the date was changed to the third Monday in February, leading many to believe that the day specifically commemorated Abraham Lincoln, as well, since he was also born in February.

“It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible.” – George Washington

“Don't interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties.” – Abraham Lincoln

“The Constitution is the guide which I never will abandon.” – George Washington

“My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right.” – Abraham Lincoln

Preliminary Victory for Calvary Chapel Bible Fellowship

Shortly after Calvary Chapel Bible Fellowship (affectionately known as "The Barn”) was built in 1999, the County of Riverside, CA, covertly passed a ban on further expansion or establishment of churches in the Temecula Wine Country. After The Barn decided last year to expand its church facilities and build a small private country school for grades K-8, they learned of the County’s ban on churches. We have advised the County that the ban violates federal law and is unconstitutional.

Last week, we won a preliminary victory, as the Board of Supervisors in Riverside County, California, voted unanimously to begin considering an amendment to the existing zoning regulations that would allow churches and other religious organizations to move into the Temecula Wine Country! This does not assure churches the right to move into Wine Country just yet, but it does show a positive sign that the Board will begin working with us to correct the unlawful ordinances.

Roe v. Wade - 40 Years Later

This week marks the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, when the Supreme Court made the decision to legalize abortion in the United States.  Since that time,almost 55 million babies have died.  To some, the abortion issue is a controversial one that produces heated debates.  Others are apathetic on the issue and simply accept the status quo – that abortion will always be legal in the US.  In fact, in a recent Pew poll, 53% of respondents (in all age groups) think abortion “is not that important, compared to other issues.”

We choose to continue praying that the hearts and minds of our leaders will be changed, and that we will one day see the overturning of Roe v. Wade in the courts.  As Christians, we believe that life begins at conception and that God plans each life even before that time!  In Jeremiah 1:5, God says, “I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb.”

Our Constitution promises the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness – and yet our nation is systematically denying millions of unborn babies their right to life.  Please join us in continued prayer that abortion would be rejected by our President, Congress, judges, and women who are contemplating abortion.

A Positive Outlook on the Next 4 Years

So far, we at Advocates have not said much since the election last November.  But, now that we are in a New Year and looking forward, we want to share our positive outlook on our nation’s leadership, the liberties we possess, and the work that we continue to do! Daniel 2:21 says, “He [God] changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.”  In God’s perfect timing and plan, He set up President Obama to serve as America’s leader for four more years. 

We as a nation – and especially us Christians – should continue to pray for President Obama, for the direction our nation is heading, and for God’s intercession in the issues at hand.  Because, according to Proverbs 21:1, we know that God can direct the hearts of our leaders:

  “The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes.”

More personally to us here at Advocates, we continue to thank God that He blessed our nation with a Constitution that is worth protecting.  We are still free to spread the Gospel to others at home and abroad, and we celebrate that.

As long as the Lord allows, we will continue to protect the Constitution and our God-given liberty to spread His Good Word.  Thank you for your continuing support, and we are excited for what is to come this year and beyond!

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

7 Years and Counting: Will YOU Help Us Press On?

We are so blessed that, for the past 7 years, we have been able to pursue our mission of defending religious liberty in our nation. Now, at this pivotal time, we are looking to the future – pressing on and continuing our work! In order to do this and to grow our impact, we are hoping to raise $2,500 in new monthly donations by the start of the New Year. If you are able, please consider pledging any amount that you can to our organization on a monthly basis. We rely on these gifts to cover our ongoing expenses and to plan for growth.

We know that pledging a monthly gift is a big commitment. So, we asked one of our longtime monthly donors, Emily, to share her story and why she continues to support Advocates every month:

"I became a monthly sponsor while attending my first Advocates dinner event. I knew little of the organization and was financially strapped at the time. The truth is, as a single-mom with a mortgage, school loans, monthly bills, and no outside financial support I found it easy to rationalize why I could not and should not support Advocates. My decision to become a monthly supporter of Advocates was a step of (hesitant) faith. Through the dinner, I got a glimpse of the people and vision behind Advocates. It was clear that Jen and Bob were carrying out the Lord's work. They impressed me with their zeal to preserve our Christian heritage in America; to defend the ideals of religious liberty and freedom; and they came across as 100% committed to advocating and honoring Christianity's position in America's current-day culture. Seeing dedication like that, how could I not do the same?

Making a monthly gift is a highly personal decision. I encourage you to pray over the decision and to have faith when God directs you to give. I struggled over how much to give and whether or not I would actually be able to keep a monthly commitment to giving. But, since making my first gift, I've never looked back and I haven't gone broke over it! There is no gift too small

, and there is not one dollar that our God can't stretch to accomplish something for His kingdom. Any money donated to Advocates is directly invested into something with a much greater return."

"If not you, then who? If not now, then when?"

If you would like to contribute to the future and growth of Advocates, please pledge a monthly gift right now, and help us reach our goal! All gifts are tax-deductible, and your monthly donation will directly contribute to our mission of protecting the First Amendment right of Christians to spread the Gospel!