Our Plan For Reclaiming America For Christ

The strategy is a simple 5 step plan.

Step One: Pray.
We are engaged in a spiritual battle in which we see the effects visibly in the culture around us. God’s formula for the revival of a backslidden nation will still work today.

2 Chronicles 7:14 says: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

Do not underestimate the power of repentance and prayer. As Christians, we have the privilege to boldly enter into God’s throne of mercy and grace in time of need through our Savior and Mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are encouraged to worry about nothing, but PRAY about everything (Phil. 4:6) and we are guaranteed that the prayers of the righteous avail much (James 5:16). The very clear solution is to repent of our sins and bathe our Nation in prayer. But along with our prayer we must be ready to work.

Step Two: Evangelism
The 20th Century theologian, Francis Schaeffer, stated that the best way to contend for the culture is to win people to Christ.  To that we say AMEN!!  We are to be reaching the unsaved with the blessed Gospel and then discipling them to Christian maturity.

But we have abandoned evangelism.  We no longer go out to reach the lost world. Instead we have gone into the entertainment business and tried to attract them to church.  Quite frankly, a church that preaches the whole counsel of God without compromise will never be attractive to the lost world.  Rather than reaching the masses, today’s churches in America are successfully taking members away from each other.

The Bible’s methods always work.  Consider the exploits of the Apostle Paul as recorded in the Book of Acts.  He preached publicly and from house to house.  We must preach the truth in love and equip our congregations to be evangelists who are comfortable and capable with sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others.

There are many great programs including Evangelism Explosion, Sharing Jesus without
Fear, and Way of the Master that are effective tools to be used by churches.
www.eeinternational.org
www.sharejesuswithoutfear.com
www.wayofthemaster.com

Step Three: Education
To paraphrase Proverbs 23:7, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” That is why totalitarian governments have always and MUST take control of education and the media if they are going to maintain control of the people. At one time, the media and schools were largely influenced by Christianity and promoted a Biblical World View.

The first public education act in the American Colonies was called the “Old Deluder Act” of 1647. The purpose was to make sure that every child could read the Bible for themselves and thus not be “deluded” by Satan as had occurred during the Dark Ages.

America is a unique experiment in government. Rather than a democracy or some form of tyranny, we are a government guaranteeing personal liberty through our Constitutional Republic. However, our founding fathers knew that along with personal liberty came personal responsibility. A person must be control his behavior by some means. If a person was not controlled by the strong hand of government, he must then exercise self control through the internal conviction of the Holy Spirit.

Consequently, our Founders advocated the Bible as a key to making good citizens. According to Article 3, of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, our Congress declared that: “…religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.”

To the Colonial American, the term “religion” was synonymous with “Christianity” as studies show that 99.8% of the Colonists were identified as members of some Christian denomination.

President George Washington, in his farewell address to the nation, issued this warning: “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness…And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion.”

Our political future was dependent upon the influence of religion (Christianity) and the resultant morality which Christianity would produce. President Washington boldly claimed that a man would not be a true patriot if he tried to attack these pillars. Washington also warned that it is impossible to be moral without first having the strong influence of Christianity.

Dr. Benjamin Rush and Noah Webster are considered the fathers of education in America. Dr. Rush wrote in his work, A Plan for Free Schools, 1787: "Let the children...be carefully instructed in the principles and obligations of the Christian religion. This is the most essential part of education."
And Noah Webster, who compiled the Webster’s Dictionary and wrote the first public school history book in 1835, entitled “Republican Government” said this: “It is the sincere desire of the writer that our citizens should early understand that the genuine source of correct republican principles is the Bible, particularly the New Testament or the Christian Religion.”

Unfortunately, our schools have been hijacked by secular humanism. We have revised our history books removing the deep roots of Christian heritage in America. We have thrown out Biblical morality and replaced it with teaching the failed theory of evolution as “fact” and convincing our kids that God doesn’t exist.

A recent study of 1000 children from conservative “churched” homes found that of these children that attended public schools, roughly 40% no longer believed the Bible was true by the time they graduated 8th grade and almost 90% no longer believed the Bible by the time they graduated high school. Again, let me emphasize that these were kids that grew up in conservative Christian homes, but you can’t counter the effect of 40 hours per week of government schools with 1-3 hours a week of Bible teaching. The children are led to believe that they learn history and science at school, but they go to church to hear Bible stories.

Abraham Lincoln once said that "the philosophy of the classroom in one generation becomes the philosophy of government in the next."

Investigate local private Christian schools as an alternative to government education. Many of these schools have tuition assistance for lower income families. Lobby your state legislators to pass legislation providing vouchers or tax credits for those of us forced to pay twice. If you cannot find or afford private Christian education then consider home schooling. There are great home school networks to assist you so that you won’t be going it alone.
Pastors, perhaps your church could facilitate a home school cooperative program.  We have so many beautiful church buildings with great classroom space that are used one to three hours every week, and sit empty the rest of the time.  What a wonderful option to consider.  I believe that God will call us to account for our stewardship of His church buildings.

If you cannot home school or afford private Christian education, then take an active role in your local school board meetings.  Be involved in the selection process of your school’s curriculum.  Check out the textbooks your child brings home and be aware of what is being taught.  Meet with your child’s teacher and learn about his/her goals for education and subjects to be discussed.  Investigate the type of books in the school library.  If you aren’t satisfied, run for a seat on the School Board yourself or help recruit someone from your church that could help in maintaining or improving the quality of education being provided at the local level.

It is our responsibility to teach the next generation of the blessings and faithfulness of God.
www.edwatch.org
www.ochec.com
www.abeka.com
www.cha.org

Another area of education comes from our churches. Let me again paraphrase Proverbs 23:7, as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.
 
A true Born Again Christian can have a secular humanistic world view if his entire education comes from government schooling and secular media. Where can our adults and children be taught the truth about our Christian Heritage in America, the great faith or our Founding Fathers, the roles that Pastor’s have played in the founding and independence of our nation and their role in fighting social ills throughout history? How about the church.

Pastors, I encourage you to read one book: “One Nations Under God: Ten Things Every Christian Needs to Know about America.” After that, if you are interested in learning more, read, Backfired by Bill Federer, then Original Intent by David Barton and Light and the Glory by Peter Marshall.  You will find the incredible forgotten truth about why America has Christian Liberty and you can use these recourses to add flavor to your messages around Thanksgiving, Fourth of July, Memorial Day and other special patriotic Sundays.

I would also encourage you to explore a great DVD series for developing a Biblical World View produced by Focus on the Family. It is called “The Truth Project” (www.thetruthproject.org).

This thirteen week series is one that you can use in your own services on Wednesday nights, Sunday nights or in a small group setting.

Step Four: Activism
Activism simply means to “get active.” Pastors, ask for volunteers within your church to start a Patrick Henry Club within your church. This is not an exhaustive list that your Patrick Henry Club can do, but these are some ideas to get started:

Monitor web sites like the American Family Association, Liberty Counsel, Family Research Council, Faith 2 Action, Vision America, World Net Daily, One News Now and other sources for REAL news that impacts the culture in America and keep members informed about attacks on Christianity and Liberty.  The secular media tries to keep us occupied with a placebo instead of real news that affects our lives and freedom. America is too busy talking about the latest reality TV show, to recognize the attacks being levied on our culture. The Patrick Henry Club can help keep the pastor informed about news and issues that threaten the Christian morality and liberty of America.
Provide Patrick Henry Alerts to be approved by your pastor and inserted in the bulletin.  Also, compile a church e-mail list for the dispersion of information quickly and connect with other likeminded groups within other churches. We need to be aware of certain legislation that impacts Christian Liberty both at the local and national levels and let our representatives hear from us.

Prepare petitions on issues of importance to the Christian community, with the approval of your pastor, and set up a table in the foyer for those that wish to sign.  Many Christians want to make their voices heard, but don’t know how.  This will help to simplify the process of the Christian voice being heard.

Provide weekly “Moments of Truth” - There will be a different “Moment of Truth” provided weekly on our website or you can sign up to receive it automatically by e-mail.  These Moments of Truth recount forgotten truths about America’s Rich Christian Heritage.  These can be placed in church bulletins or ran in local newspapers and school papers to provoke some thought among readers on these conveniently forgotten truths.

Monitor the Reclaim America for Christ website - The website is continually growing and our goal is to make this a convenient spot for information and education about our Christian heritage, updates on bills and issues  critical to Christians, links to helpful resources, and reliable news sources.

Monitor Patrick Henry Action Alerts sent out periodically through Reclaiming America for Christ. Action alerts will be sent to you periodically as issues come up on the local or national level that needs our prayers or immediate attention. Consider this staggering statistic that I learned firsthand while visiting a sitting United States Senator. In general, their office received fewer than five phone calls from constituents expressing opinions on legislation. Even so called “hot topic” bills would only generate 50 to 60 calls. Imagine the impact if thousands of Christians were informed and made phone calls regarding important legislation that effected moral issues and Christian liberty in America. Even liberal politicians are hoping to get re-elected and can be swayed by an overwhelming volume of calls, faxes and e-mails.

Provide materials and lesson plans to reestablish the truth of our Christian Heritage and the Role of Bible Believing Christians and Churches in America’s History.  Browse our recommended reading page and be educated on this subject so that you can teach classes in your church, Christian school, or home school and/or be available for public speaking in other churches, prayer breakfasts, or civic meetings.

Promote and participate in major events. As an example, in Oklahoma we have an annual “Rose Day” at the State Capitol in Oklahoma. Rose Day is set aside annually to deliver roses to our state Legislators in support of the unborn.  With a population of 3.5 million people in the State of Oklahoma, is it really unreasonable to think we could have 1% show up to lobby for the unborn?

Organize voter registration drives in your church.  As citizens of the United States, Christians have the right to vote and must be registered.  This is a legitimate function that can be performed within the local church.
Make voter guides available to your congregation.  Groups in every state, like the Oklahoma Family Policy Council print non-partisan voter guides that report the facts of where each candidate stands on certain issues.  This also is a legitimate non-biased, public service that can be performed within the church.  We must be informed, as the scripture says in Proverbs 29:2, “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.”

Adopt your local police and fire departments.  Those that are assigned to protect us certainly need to know the Lord and develop a Biblical World View. Organize special services to honor these heroes or provide them with gifts at Christmas time. Providing these men and women with Bibles, books on America’s Christian Heritage, and other DVD’s and materials will certainly serve to minister and encourage these often overlooked heroes.

Send care packages to our soldiers.  While we sleep in air-conditioned comfort and eat hot meals, many of our young men and women are living in harsh conditions in harm’s way.  Let us not forget them.  Pray for them daily and send care packages and letters of encouragement and appreciation.  Contact a local recruitment station and tell them what you would like to do.  Last Christmas, we sent 100 packages containing snacks, toiletries and a Bible personally signed by one of our church members, along with notes written in crayon from our children’s department.  Those packages were welcome gifts received by 100 tired Marines.

These are just a few suggestions to start with, but there is no limit to the ways you may serve your community.

Step Five: Partnership
There is strength in numbers. To make a difference within a state, you need one pastor who really sees the “big picture” to take a leadership role in reaching out to other pastors with a pit-bull tenacity. It will not be easy at first and you may grow tired and get discouraged, but you cannot quit. Christian Liberty in America depends on you.

Reach out to other pastors that you are friends with share with them your vision for your state. Get together on a monthly basis over lunch for prayer, discussion and fellowship. Coordinating your efforts with a local Christian Radio Station and your state’s Family Policy Counsel may be of some assistance. With their assistance, you can plan a “Pastor’s Appreciation Luncheon” and reach a broader spectrum of pastors. By bringing in a guest speaker, you can honor the calling of pastor and teach the modern generation about the great pastors of yesteryear who were heroes of Colonial America. Being reminded of the forgotten truth of America’s Christian Heritage may wet their appetites to join together with you and Reclaim your state for Jesus Christ.