Dear Christian Leader,
The desire for the Body of Christ in the U.S. to unite may be unprecedented, and it seems to be growing. It is obviously fueled by the growing crises of the times, but there is also what appears to be a genuine and growing desire for Christians to know and relate to other members of the Body of Christ. I have never witnessed anything like this in my lifetime, and it is extremely encouraging. We also consider it a great responsibility and trust.
This is a general brief on the organization that was born at this summit. This is being circulated for informational purposes, as well as to receive input from others who feel called to be a part of this. If you do want additional information about this, updates on its formation, and/or want to be considered a delegate to this organization, please send your contact information including email address, address, and phone numbers, with a brief bio to: Asst2RJ@aol.comor you can mail them to:
375 Star Light Drive
Fort Mill, SC. 29715
Update on Leaders Summit and Organization from Rick Joyner
At the summit, I was given a mandate to work with Mat Staver to form an umbrella organization for the sake of addressing the major crises that we came together to address at Heritage. In discussing this with Mat, we both felt that unifying what he was doing and what we came together for at Heritage was a bit premature, but felt we should pursue a close association.
I did not know Mat before the summit, but was highly impressed with him and his vision. The more I have come to understand the purpose of his organization, the more I want to support it. However, it also became more clear to me that we could accomplish much more by remaining unique entities. That is what the Body of Christ was designed to be-different members, but one Body.
Even the most healthy body would die if the lungs started trying to be a heart. The lungs should support the heart in every way it can, but they should never try to be one. Likewise, the purposes of the Liberty Council and The Federation that Mat Staver is putting together deserves our support, but we can do this better by remaining distinct and unique.
For this reason, we began our own organizational meeting on June 4 that included Anna Jane Joyner, Mark Nuttle, Nicholas Papanicalau, Gordon Pennington, Samuel Rodriguez, Lou Sheldon and myself (Samuel and Nicholas participated by conference call). We met for nine hours and accomplished a great deal in laying the foundation for an organization that could truly have a historic impact in our times. The following is a briefing on what we covered and some of our basic conclusions for your information and your feedback.
First, with the sense of a sacred mandate and trust, we need to carefully pursue our objectives seeking the Lord and His will, which is established by a clear Biblical mandate. We also feel a sense of divine urgency if we are going to be able to effectively address the crises we gathered at Heritage to address. On the one hand, we are moving ahead boldly and decisively to lay a foundation for unified action, while at the same time not doing more than we should, considering that many who are joining together in this entity are called to give much of the definition of what we are to ultimately be and do.
In short, we are simply trying to lay a foundation that can be built upon by many of you. The following are some basic conclusions (the wording is mine):
- We are to be boldly Christian, without apology and without compromise.
- We will seek the Kingdom first. We want any worldly or political influence to be from a foundation of keeping the interests of the Kingdom as manifest in the Body of Christ, first.
- We concur that the growing crises of our times are beyond human remedy, and we are in need of Divine wisdom and help for resolving them.
- A primary goal is to awaken the Church and prepare her for the times, standing upon the solid foundation that can withstand the storms and help save others including our nation from catastrophe.
- To be prepared for the times, the Church must come into the unity that she is called to have, functioning as one unified Body with many different members, which have different mandates and visions that must not be sacrificed, but enhanced by the strength of unity. Facilitating this is basic to our mandate.
- Primary to this unity is establishing strong and effective communications between the different members of the Body of Christ for mobilization and unified action.
- The Church is called to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, therefore, it is the Church's mandate to illuminate and help preserve the godly foundations that society is built upon and have answers to the world's crises and problems. We believe that the Church must be vitally engaged in the public debate from a strong foundation of being "a city set on a hill," living in the light and displaying it.
- The "Gospel of the Kingdom" which must be preached throughout the world before the end of this age is "good news" and is a hope that will never disappoint. Our message must be one of hope based on the greatest hope of all-that God so loved the world that He would give His only Son for its salvation.
Again, this is my own articulation of general principles discussed from our organizational meeting, as well as the communication I have received from many of the delegates to the summit. These are general, and the Articles of Incorporation will be more specific, but this is just to give you an idea of what we feel called to organize. As one of the incorporators expressed, we are called to emphasize the vertical aspect of the Cross first-seeking God's will and favor; and emphasize the horizontal aspect of the Cross second-which is influence with men.
Even so, because the horizontal aspect is on the table as part of our mandate, we concluded that we need to incorporate both a 501(c)(3) organization and a 501(c)(4) (for mobilizing political action). With the onslaught against religion, especially against Christians in the U.S. at this time, there are many who feel that we need to de-emphasize our faith when operating in the public opinion arena. This may be smart politically, but we feel that for the sake of integrity, having the favor of God and being able to sound a clear trumpet call for the Church, we need to be clear about who we are, bold in our faith in the Lord and our stand for His truth. We will be open to unify with others around common goals, but never at the cost of compromising who we are and the One we serve above all else.
Proposed Articles of Incorporation
These are the proposed Articles of Incorporation, which are incomplete because we ran out of time. Because these will give definition and direction to this movement, we wanted to submit these to you for consideration and recommendations:
The organization will be established to:
- Promote and reaffirm Biblical Christian principles of righteousness, justice and truth.
- Promote Christian unity.
- Promote and defend the right to life.
- Defend Christianity against slander and/or misrepresentation.
- Mobilize and empower Christians, churches and Christian organizations to address the great crises of our times with a message of hope, vision and workable solutions based on sound Biblical principles and perspectives.
- Cooperate with those of other religious persuasions on issues of mutual interests.
- Advocate Christian principles by all available media as determined by the officers or directors of the organization.
- Provide educational and promotional materials in furtherance of the purposes of this organization.
- Raise money, invest and spend it in furtherance of the purposes of the organization.
- Promote good stewardship of the environment.
- Promote and defend the treatment of all people with dignity and respect regardless of race, creed, culture, political views or social agenda.
- Promote and defend the right to economic freedom with moral responsibility.
- Promote financial integrity which complies with Biblical principles of stewardship.
- Promote and defend the right of all to an education that is free from violations of their moral or religious beliefs.
- Address and promote the healing of historic wounds and offenses between Christians and other religions, races and cultures.
- Defend the right of parents to raise their children according to their religious beliefs, culture and moral values.
- Defend and protect the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights as the foundation of our civil government.
The Activities We Will Not Engage In:
- The use of or sharing of the contact information of all members, people and organizations will be kept in possession of the organization and may not be used by any other individual or organization.
- The corporation will not incur any debt without appropriate resolution by the Board of Directors.
The Board of Directors:
- The Board of Directors will be composed of an odd number of at least five with staggered terms.
- An Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of at least three members will be chosen for the resolutions needed for the day-to-day running of the organization.
- An Advisory Board will be formed of individuals whose counsel and advice to the organization is desired.
Officers will include a:
- President, at least one Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer.
This is an update to let you know what we are doing. I will send out a brief later on the proposed by-laws and so forth for comments from all delegates. Though we are seeking to move forward decisively, we also want to be as wise and systematic as we should be to ensure the effectiveness of the organization.
Thanks again for your continued interest and the encouragement and suggestions so many of you have sent in. They are all read and considered, even if I have not had time to answer each one personally.
Yours in Him,
Rick Joyner
MorningStar Ministries
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