GAYS INVOLVED IN TARGET REJECTION OF SALVATION ARMY

Today a friend sent me this email about Target:

"I sent out to all of you the alert that Target (as well as Home Depot, Barnes and Noble, Best Buy, Circuit City, at least) have denied Salvation Army the right to put their bucket for donations in front of the stores this Christmas. This has always been allowed before, and, as you probably know, Salvation Army has been under attack by the Gay Coalition for not hiring them (the Salvation Army's a Christian organization which doesn't believe homosexuality is pleasing to God.)

"So now we have that special interest plus the ACLU trying to root out all Christian symbols at Christmas and other times, plus Mervyn, who owns Target, I believe.....all showing their disdain for Christian values and ultimately Christianity.

"I went to K Mart and asked if this was their position, now, and they said NO. If S.A. comes to them with a request they would grant it. The Salvation Army keeps less for their administrative costs than any other charity BY FAR! And they feed and clothe thousands...."

A CALL TO PRAYER; SALVATION ARMY AND YUSHCHENKO

Please pray for the Salvation Army. This fixture of the American scene has been badly injured by the actions of Target. Pray for God to prosper and protect it.

Please also pray for Yushchenko, the Ukranian opposition leader who probably won the disputed election. It appears that he may have been poisoned. See here for the news story. Pray that he will be healed, and quickly.

THIS IS MY REPLY TO TARGET'S RESPONSE

"Dear Ms. Hansen;

"Your form-letter reply did not address the issues I raised in my letter.
Your response to me, and to the Salvation Army, is simply public relations.

"As a former head of charities similar to the Salvation Army, I understand very well that your giving the Salvation Army a year to replace the $6 million in funds they will lose by being banned from Target, gave them an impossible task. It cannot be done.

"My own long experience in the difficulties of fundraising also leads me to expect that their going through the application process you recommended to them instead would result, at best, in gaining back only a small fraction of what they will lose.

"If Target were truly concerned about the poor they serve, Target would have at least presented them with a check for the $6 million they will lose, for starters, when Target gave them the bad news.

"Unless Target changes its policy in the next few days, welcoming them back, and in plenty of time for them to recoup their losses, I will permanently cease shopping with you. And I will also do my best to persuade others to do the same.

"Sincerely,
(Rev.) Gerry Phelps"

Dear readers - time is short. If you want to help, it should be done quickly! You can write Target here.

THIS IS THE RESPONSE TARGET SENT ME

Subject: The Salvation Army

Dear Gerry,

Like many nationwide retailers, Target Corporation has a long-standing "no solicitation" policy that it consistently applies to all organizations across all of its stores.

We receive an increasing numberof solicitation inquiries from non-profit organizations and other groups each year and determined that if we continue to allow the Salvation Army to solicit then it opens the door to any other groups that wish to solicit our guests. While some of our guests may welcome the opportunity to support their favorite charity or cause, allowing these organizations to solicit means that Target would also have to permit solicitation by organizations whose cause or behavior may be unacceptable to our guests.

We notified the Salvation Army of our decision in January 2004, well in advance of the holiday season, so the organization would have time to find alternative fundraising sources. Target also asked the Salvation Army to look at other ways that we could support their organization under our corporate giving guidelines. To this date they have not provided a proposal that fits those guidelines.

Local Salvation Army chapters can apply for grants through their local Target stores. For decades, many non-profit organizations across the country have successfully worked with Target in this manner. We are asking the Salvation Army to work with us in the same exact manner as the other groups and organizations who ask to solicit our guests.

This decision in no way diminishes Target Corporation's commitment to its communities. Target has one of the largest corporate philanthropy programs in America, donating more than $2 million per week and hundreds of thousands of volunteer hours each year to the communities in which it does business.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Hanson
Target Executive Offices

WHY SHOULD CHRISTIANS HELP THE POOR?

(First posted on 10-21-03)

Why Should Christians Help the Poor?

The best reason is because God is concerned for the poor, and wants us to be too. The Bible speaks hundreds of times about helping the poor. Several passages even command it. We are promised wonderful blessings when we do. Clearly, Christians are supposed to help the poor. (Although it is important to help them in ways that are truly loving and compassionate, giving them “a hand up, not a hand-out,” which I will address in future articles.)

Another little noticed reason is because when we help the poor, we diminish what scripture calls the “offense of the gospel.” That offense causes people to shut their ears to the gospel and keeps them from coming to faith in Christ. What are some of these offenses?

One especially offends people who consider themselves strong and independent. That is that the gospel says that no one can save themselves by their own efforts, no matter how hard they try. People who want to stand alone and not depend on someone else do not like that.

Another is that Christians are supposed to live by a list of rules. Few are willing to yield that much control over their lives to anyone. Most do not like many of the rules. (In fact, honest Christians will admit that they do not like some of them either.)

Another is that religion is thought to be no more than superstition by a probably-growing number of people. They think science has disproved it.

When people contemplate how they would probably get laughed at and how much respect they might lose by becoming a Christian, they can get downright hostile. Talk about getting offended!

So what does helping the poor have to do with the offense of the gospel? Jesus said it best, in the “Sermon on the Mount,” when he said, “Let your light so shine among men that they may see your GOOD WORKS, and glorify your father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

So it is not our resume, or achievements, or personality, or wonderful way of talking about the gospel that causes our light to shine so that men will glorify God. It is our good works! In the Bible, good works are helping the poor, the afflicted, the oppressed and the brokenhearted. When we are seen doing these things, we are respected and admired. If people also see that we are Christians, that gives them a better attitude toward Christianity. It may even help them give glory to God. And all that helps lessen the offense of the gospel.

Then people are more likely to be open to hearing about the gospel, and to accepting Christ when they do. Good works alone can never substitute for hearing the gospel. But they may get a hearing for it.

KEEP SALVATION ARMY KETTLES AT TARGET THIS CHRISTMAS!

Hugh Hewitt is leading a drive to get Target Stores not to kick the traditional Salvation Army Christmas kettles and bell-ringers out this year. Below is the email I sent to Target. Please read it to see why I did. Then, I urge you to send your own email to Target. (And please, do it now - politely, of course. The Christmas season is already upon us!)

Dear Sir/Madam;

Up front, my knowledge about those charities that serve the poor is unusually long-term and broad. Over 17 years, I started and ran three such charities, including two homeless shelters totaling 300 beds. As usual, we worked closely with other charities and so came to know them well. My acquaintance with the Salvation Army is both close and professional. They won my highest admiration, even given the fact that the charities I ran were “competing” with them for funding.

The Salvation Army is unique in this country and in the world. It is by far the largest and most effective provider of services to the destitute in this country. The fact that it is still, I believe, the recipient of the largest amount of federal funding of any charity testifies to its role as the primary and foundational server of the poor in the nation. (Catholic Charities is, I believe, the second largest recipient. However, the Salvation Army provides more homeless beds and direct services than any other group.)

Few people are aware that the Salvation Army is also the primary, and best, provider of immediate help in foreign disaster situations as well. They are so well equipped, so experienced in this, that they are usually called on to be the first on the scene. Foreign countries know this, and welcome them. There is almost no publicity involved, so the Salvation Army gets little credit for it. It is an amazing organization!

I am simply astonished that any other charities might object to the Salvation Army kettles in front of your stores, or object that they were not allowed to do the same! Of all the charities I knew, including some large ones such as Rescue Missions and Catholic Charities, none would have dreamed of taking such an action. Such was the value we placed on the Salvation Army’s bedrock work, and the way the whole charity scene needed that foundational work to be there. Most of us tried to work together. We were happy for the Salvation Army to have the store-front scene to themselves.

The Salvation Army does have a religious component. But no one is required to believe what they believe in order to receive assistance. And the concrete assistance they provide simply cannot be matched by any other group. If there were ever a group deserving of your approval and support – even if it is greater support than you give others – it is the Salvation Army. They simply do more.

Whatever possible problems Target might fear, the country's support for the Salvation Army is so large that your net gain from staying with them should far exceed any possible loss.

I urge you to continue to allow Americans to give to the Salvation Army kettles in front of Target stores in the traditional way. Rather than provoking resentment from your customers by sending them away, you will earn their appreciation and support for keeping them there.

In addition, it is absolutely the right thing to do.

Sincerely,

(Rev.) Gerry Phelps, minister and economist

Founder:
The Good Shepherd Shelter, Bakersfield, CA (156 beds)
The San Jose Family Shelter, San Jose, CA (143 beds)
The LIFT Project, Austin, TX

VERY BELATEDLY - HERE IS 10-31-04 SERMON

SCRIPTURES:

Sermon Scriptures: O.T. Reading - Proverbs 3:1-12
N.T. Reading - Romans 8: 28, 31-39
Mentioned in Sermon: On trusting God - Proverbs 3:5-6
On Israel, Jews - Genesis 12:3
On Committing to God - Psalms 37:5

Sermon (Synopsis)

Title: Can We Trust God?

Do you just have to understand why? I do too. When I was in bed after knee surgery and couldn't supervise the construction job for our homeless shelter, this verse "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your understanding" helped. I still could not understand why, but the verse helped. God wants us to try to understand things. But to trust him when we can't. And to obey Him, even when we don't understand why.

Can God be trusted? What a question, come to think of it! If not God, then who? And if we can trust him with the most important thing of all - our eternal souls - then what is there that we can't trust him with? Trusting God is better for us than any other option.

There are three areas where we really need to trust God.

One is in the most private areas of our lives. The first of those is money. We imagine that we are smarter than God about our finances, and that if we handle our money the way he wants, we will go broke. Specifically, that if we tithe (give 10% of our income to God) there won't be enough for our other needs. Yet God promises us that if we tithe, he will "open the windows of heaven and pour out such a blessing that there will be no room to receive it." Yet how many of us trust him enough to tithe? If not, do we really trust him?

The second private area is the general one of love, sex and marriage. Here again, we think we know better than God what we need for the best possible life. In fact, this area is where many people part company with a God who seems determined that no one will ever have any fun. Yet it is God who created sex - and love - and marriage. Who knows better how to guide us so that they work out best for us? Trusting God is hard here too. But do we think we know better than he does?

The second area we need to trust God is in our public and ideological lives. In two days, we have a national election. I am not going to talk about any particular candidates or parties. But I am going to talk about some of the issues involved, from God's point of view. These issues are taken from a letter from Pastor Rick Warren to members of Saddleback Church (reproduction posted below.)

These issues are important now because whoever is elected president is likely to nominate up to 4 justices to the Supreme Court. A president serves for 4 years. But these justices serve for life. This president will shape the Supreme Court for the next 40 years. And the issues they decide are very important to God. They concern abortion, stem cell research based on killing living human embryos, homosexual marriage, human cloning and euthanasia ("mercy" killing.) God's law is clear on all these matters. We should decide about them according to God's law. Or don't we trust God to be right about them?

The final issue we should trust God with is the future. We are in a war that is expected to last for decades, defending ourselves against those who want to conquer the world by force for the Muslim faith, and establish the harsh and primitive Shari'a law over us all, instead of democracy.

Europe is in so much trouble (see articles posted below) that it could not help us much if it wanted. Europe may be dying. Because of even more abortions than in the U.S., its population growth is so small that it will not be able to support its pension systems. The economy is in long-term trouble. It is mostly atheist, with less than 5% attending church. The muslim population has grown so much that there are more mosques than churches. Many books speculate whether it will take 50 years for europe to become muslim, or only 20. Except for the UK and "new" europe, there is almost no military. It cannot defend itself, much less our interests.

Then there is Israel. It is still "the hinge of history," and what especially unhinges muslims. Europe and the UN consistently side with the muslim countries, 1.3 billion strong, against Israel. Only the U.S. is a reliable friend to Israel. If we abandoned Israel, the Islamicists might leave us alone - for awhile.

But what does God say about Israel and the Jews? In Genesis 12:3, God tells Abraham, father of the Jews, "I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you." Look out! God is telling the rest of us. Treat my people well. The fact that the U.S. is the most protected, richest, most stable, free, democratic and powerful nation in all history may be God's blessing to us, in part because we are blessing Israel and the Jews. We dare not abandon them to their enemies.

So - can God be trusted? If not, we are in big trouble! It is not a case, as with the USSR, of "trust, but verify!" No, it is "trust, and obey." In our private lives. In our public and ideological lives. In our future, especially in relation to the Jews and to Israel. And when we trust and obey, then he blesses us. It is like the old song says,

"Trust and obey,
"for there's no other way
"to be happy in Jesus,
"but to trust and obey."

Amen.

ELECTION VICTORY BRINGS NEW BATTLE

God answers prayer! Before congratulating ourselves, conservatives should first thank and praise God. He is still bringer of all blessings, who fights our fights, our help and strength. This is his victory, his gift to us. The right response is to crowd the churches! Ring the bells! Sing songs of thanksgiving. Give gifts. Have parties. Celebrate. Rejoice.

How different it might have been! We could have awakened to face Kerry’s election. Even the loss of the Senate. Moral and national disaster staring us in the face.

We could be anticipating, right now, slipping out of Iraq without victory or a viable Iraqi democracy. The terrorists would have become bolder. Our incredible military would have been humiliated, broken in spirit, remembering comrades who died for nothing. Once again, our military would face being downgraded and regarded as mere killers, not our defenders, again despised more than honored.

Our schools would have sped toward worse and worse education, spreading toxic ideologies and lack of morals to each new generation.

Our economy would have been hit by huge increases in entitlements and even-greater government spending, growth-stifling tax increases, increased regulation of businesses and restraints on free trade.

The UN would have been brought back to life, and given a veto in the affairs of the West.

Old Europe, with its economic failure, moral bankruptcy, inability to defend itself militarily, loathing and disdain of Christians and Jews, and oil-for-food corruption, would become, not our partner, but a millstone around our necks.

The Supreme Court would have been packed with pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage, pro-stem cell research based on live embryos, pro-cloning, pro-euthanasia, and pro-everything-immoral judges. It would have twisted our country for the rest of the century.

But our prayers were heard. God had mercy, opening up new opportunity. Now we can try to reform America, undo past mistakes and build a future of decency for our children. We can keep defending ourselves against murdering Islamists, bring them democracy and eventually, more peace to a world which will have peace only when evil people are overthrown by courage and force.

How different today is! God’s mercy is new every morning, especially today. His is the praise. Ours is the obligation to use this victory fully.

So today the church bells will not be rung. God commands us not to rejoice when misfortune overtakes those who hate us. No gloating or flaunting our victory in their faces, then, but graciousness in victory. After all, we love them in Christ.

But we will also remember well the hard lessons they have taught us. We know now what we face whenever they succeed in any of their goals, when they control any sector of our country.

What is needed is constant vigilance, constant opposition to their aims and distorted values. Stopping their decades-long minority rule over us. Tearing down their strongholds where they shape American opinion, in the mainstream media and entertainment. Stopping their indoctrination of our children through their dominance of lower and higher education. Taking back our churches from liberals’ gate-keeper control of our seminaries, church hierarchies and doctrines. Taking back science, the arts and business by pursuing Christian excellence in them all. Recruiting more and more Americans, the easy ones first, to build majority, mass and momentum. Spending the treasure and effort it takes.

Today’s victory will be fleeting unless we engage these issues hard, right now, taking all the ground we can as soon as we can. What ingrates we are if we do any less with the reprieve God has just given us!