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The Main Events
January 10—Ministry Triple-Header
The day began with Christians gathering in Brodhead for
a 1-1/2 hour pro-life picket just inside the town limits on Highway 11.
Next we traveled to Juda to literature drop salvation tracts on the doors
of homes in that town. Then it was on to Monroe for several hours of
salvation tract distribution and street preaching with gospel banners. We
ended the day with refreshments, worship, and prayer at Pilgrims Covenant
Church. Back to top.
WCU's Mike Foht Escapes
Mental Hospital
While the title of this brief article may be humorous
to those of us who know and love Mike, the subject is not. On January 20,
as Mike was handing out WCU literature to high school students in Lena,
Illinois, he was accosted by a Stephenson County sheriff's captain and a
Lena High School administration official. Although Mike was on the public
sidewalk, he was ordered to leave. When he protested that unjust order, he
was threatened by the police officer with incarceration in a mental
hospital! After a considerable amount of mocking and bullying, Mike's
taxpayer-funded tormentors finally backed down.
The fact that government officials would seriously
threaten to institutionalize a Christian as a mental case based on the
fact that he was taking a biblical stand against sodomy should be cause
for concern and sober reflection. Those Christians who still believe that
sodomy enthusiasts will be happy to peacefully coexist with the true
followers of Christ need to be disabused of that fantasy as soon as
possible. Please pray for Mike Foht and his family as he perseveres in
service to our Lord. Mike is becoming ever more efficient and effective in
ministry work. If you are looking for a man to uphold in prayer and with
financial support, I heartily endorse Mike Foht. Back
to top.
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Pastor v. Pastor: A compromised
American defends China's state church.
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Confronting Red Wolves
in Sheep's Clothing
Over the past several years, WCU has taken pains to
expose the Symposium on Church Ministry in China, which is sponsored by
Danny Yu and the Christian Leadership Exchange. We have done this through
press releases, interviews, and my "Heart
of the Matter" program. Mr. Yu and his organization subtly work
with Red Chinese state church officials to convince Westerners that
religious freedom is blossoming in China. Their goal is to bring disrepute
upon the persecuted, unregistered house church Christians while
strengthening the hand of the government's puppet church. In past years,
WCU has succeeded in causing some high-profile American ministries which
had been openly supporting Yu and the CLE to distance themselves from
both, although men such as Pastor Rick Warren have not yet done so. The
Symposium on Church Ministry in China brings in Christians from across
America to listen to speakers from China's state church apparatus,
including the Three Self Patriotic Church and the China Church Council.
The message transmitted is that true religious freedom can be found in the
state church and that the house churches are renegades which are a
hindrance to the progress of Christian liberty in China.
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Fortunately for us, we were not in China!
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This year, WCU sent out an exposé
on Yu and the symposium to forty Chinese churches in Houston, where
the event was being held February 10-13. We then traveled to Houston to
picket in front of the symposium and hand out literature exposing it as
nothing less than a propaganda event for the Red Chinese government. The
two days which we spent being a voice for our persecuted Chinese brethren
were cold and, at times, rain-soaked. Their persecutors treated us with
contempt in many ways. After our first day of witness, symposium security
personnel followed us back to our hotel. Early the next morning, we
spotted them on the hotel parking lot again. When we arrived back at the
grassy strip where we picketed the day before in front of the symposium,
we found that a layer of animal manure had been spread over the area! We
took that as a sign of what Danny Yu and Co. thought of us and the
brethren for whom we were speaking.
During the two-day ministry, nine of us gave out a
great deal of information to undiscerning Americans attending the
symposium and had considerable opportunity to share truth with them. Some
of our exchanges were on the intense side, including my interaction with
several of Danny Yu's personal friends, who were infuriated with both me
and WCU. I also had a very fruitful conversation with a Bulgarian pastor
who had endured several decades of persecution, including prison, under
communist rule. That man said that he had come to see what the symposium
was all about. He was very grateful for the documentation which we
supplied and made the insightful remark, "This is what I needed to
know. This is what they did in Bulgaria as well!" All in all, our
efforts seemed to be very effective. Next year, Lord willing, we will
again confront the red wolves in sheep's clothing if they insist on having
the symposium. Back to top.
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Preaching in the capitol surrounded
by
sodomites.
This AP picture
appeared on the front page of a
number of midwestern
newspapers.
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Minuteman Ministry at
the Capitol
During the recent legislative debate on "same-sex
marriage," WCU sent our brochure A
Little Discrimination Can Be a Good Thing to a number of state
representatives and senators.
On Thursday morning, March 4, I heard that a
pro-sodomite rally was about to take place in the capitol in Madison. The
actual location of the rally was on the second floor of the rotunda in
front of the assembly chambers where a constitutional ban on
"same-sex marriages" and civil unions was being debated. With no
time to spare, Mike Foht, Michael Bergum, and Dale Stanford joined me in
racing for the capitol.
When we got to the second floor, we took up our
positions directly across the rotunda from the sodomites and their
friends. We held signs reading, "Remember Sodom,"
"Homosexuality is sin," and "Christ can set you free."
As TV cameras swung around toward us and reporters began snapping
pictures, I raised my Bible and lifted up my voice to preach. Amazingly,
considering this was inside the capitol building, no police officer told
me to cease. At one point, a group of sodomites tried to drown me out by
standing around me and chanting; but they soon gave up. I preached for
quite some time and included in my message a strong rebuke to sodomite
state representative Mark Pocan when he walked out of the assembly
chambers.
We and our signs appeared on several television
channels as well as in a number of newspapers, both in and out of state.
We also were able to witness and debate one-on-one with some of the
sodomites and their supporters. God truly blessed our minuteman ministry
in the halls of state government.
Back
to top.
This is getting to be a
habit.
On March 9, I once again spoke to a government high
school civics class in a town near Madison. The topic was homosexuality
and related issues. I was given the entire hour to speak, and no
restrictions were placed upon me. This is the third time I have spoken in
that school, which I hesitate to name, even though the sodomites must know
its name, considering one of their representatives was also given an hour
to present the "other side" of the issue. During my time, I
spoke on God's law, its application to civil law, and the practical
implications of ignoring it. I spoke of the danger of homosexual acts and
also shared what God's Word says about them. I talked about objective law
versus subjective opinion. I gave some warnings from history. I talked
about the founding documents of our nation and their application to civil
polity. I talked about all of that and more. I also shared the gospel.
Although several of the young people were clearly upset by me, a number
seemed very touched by my message. I praise the Lord that He gave me such
an opportunity to contend for the hearts, minds, and souls of those
vulnerable young people! Back to top.
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One corner of our picket in Portage.
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Christians Join to
Minister in Three Towns
Through the course of the day of March 13, about fifty
Christians joined WCU as we did ministry in three different towns. Our
first stop was Portage where we did an "anti-homosexuality"
picket with signs and banners at a busy intersection. As always, our signs
and banners included gospel messages along with biblical warnings against
homosexual acts. Several of us also took turns preaching over a
"truth horn" to the occupants of cars lined up at the
stoplights. Others of our number gave out WCU literature. While we
received a certain amount of animosity for our efforts, many people also
made it clear that we had greatly encouraged them. We trust and pray that
such individuals will grow bolder in their own resistance to New Sodom's
agenda.
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Basketball fans received the
gospel by preaching, banners,
tracts, and one-on-one witness.
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After our Portage event, we moved on to set up a
pro-life picket in West Baraboo along the very busy Highway 12. Then it
was on to Reedsburg where we literature dropped the town with the brochure
What
the Bible Really Says about Homosexuality. After Reedsburg had been
saturated with truth, we were blessed to then be fed a meal prepared by
members of First Baptist Church. We closed out the day with a time of
worship and prayer. Back to top.
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Mike Foht preaching at the Kohl Center.
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Preaching the
Gospel during March Madness
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A pause for breath at one of
our preaching
locations in
front of the Kohl Center.
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WCU spent Friday, March 19, preaching, holding gospel
banners, and handing out gospel
tracts to fans attending the 2004 WIAA boys basketball state
championships at the Kohl Center in Madison. Between 9:30 AM and 2:00
PM, we handed out 4,000 tracts to fans coming to and going from three
different games!
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Michael Bergum hands out one of the
4,000 gospel tracts WCU gave to fans.
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The Kohl Center is set back almost 100 yards from the
street; but since it is a public facility, we were able to stand in front
of it and preach to the teeming hordes as they trudged up the sidewalk
from the street. During the course of the day, there was also a period of
time when fans were stacked up by the hundreds around the front of the
center, waiting to get in. At one point, the crowd was large enough that
we had three different preachers going at once while a number of other
Christians with us were busily handing out tracts. As usual, we met with a
good amount of scorn and verbal abuse; but at the same time, we saw deep
conviction written on the faces of more than one of our listeners,
especially among the young. We went home rejoicing in the realization that
thousands of lost sinners had heard the same gospel which saved us! What a
shame it is that more Christians will not spread the gospel to those who
so desperately need to hear it! Back
to top.
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A portion of the stuff-a-thon crew
at Pilgrims
Covenant Church.
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Operation Saturation
Soaks Wisconsin
By the time this newsletter reaches you, Operation
Saturation will have soaked 63,000 rural households in Wisconsin with the
gospel and critically needed truth about homosexuality. Each household
will have received an action alert pertaining to domestic partnership
legislation which may be pending. We are quite concerned that in the midst
of the "same-sex marriage" melee, sodomite strategists will
attempt to sneak through other "pro-gay" legislation. The
mailing also contains the WCU brochures What the Bible Really Says about
Homosexuality and Homosexuality: The Truth. Our goal for Operation
Saturation is 80,000 rural homes. As soon as we are able, we will send out
to 17,000 more homes. Between the International Conference on Homo-Fascism
which we sponsored last fall; our ongoing lit drops and outreaches; our
ministry in Houston, Texas; the literature we mail out to persons for
distribution; and our printing bills for Operation Saturation, we are in a
bit of a financial strait right now. But we are confident that storm will
soon pass, and Operation Saturation will reach its successful conclusion.
Our thanks to all who have donated for mailing costs and also to all who
joined us at two different "stuff-a-thons" to prepare the
mailing. Back to top.
WCU Ministry Round-Up
Here we have provided you a summary of where WCU
literature has been distributed during the period reported on by this
newsletter. Unless noted otherwise, all literature used was WCU's
brochures on homosexuality.
Handed out literature at the following high schools:
Madison East, Wisconsin Dells, Lena (Illinois), Beloit, Elkhorn.
Lit dropped homes in the following towns:
Reedsburg, Beaver Dam, West Bend, Mauston, Lena (Illinois), Juda,
Wisconsin Dells, Juneau, Fox Lake, Loganville, Hillpoint, LaValle, and
Wonewoc.
Provided literature for others to distribute in:
Milwaukee, Bay View, Platteville, Sheboygan, Viroqua, Portage (No
Excuses pro-life tract), Palmyra, Waukesha, West Allis, and Racine,
Wisconsin; Miles City, Montana; Omaha, Nebraska; Lebanon and Phoenixville,
Pennsylvania; Columbia, South Carolina (An
Urgent Plea to Roman Catholics) and South Africa (An
Urgent Plea to Roman Catholics). Back
to top.
The Mailbag
Here are some excerpts from hundreds of messages which
we have received in the last several months. As usual, we have been
lectured by "Christians" about our hatred and received violent,
obscene messages from sodomites. We decided to leave the latter out and
only use the former here. We also threw in excerpts from some encouraging
messages.
+ "The truth will
set you free. Free of bondage to error and misinformation which has
plagued this world for thousands of years. Homophobia has it roots in the
mad dreams of Lucifer and the rest of the fallen . . ."
+ "Hate-filled
humans such as yourselves give true Christianity a very bad name. I pray
that the love of Jesus enters your hate-filled hearts."
+ "I just received
your mass mailing . . . Thank you for taking such a strong stand against
this attack on our culture and morality. . . .You gave me courage . .
."
+ "I received your
brochure in the mail yesterday. As a Christian pastor, I found your
material to be offensive and judgmental. I disagree with your
interpretation of scripture."
+ "Tomorrow morning
while I'm worshipping in my own congregation, I will pray that God
forgives you and those that took it upon themselves to be the judge of
others."
+ "As . . . a
teacher of tolerance, I object to finding your hateful pamphlets in my
mailbox. Please be assured that my students will not be subjected to this
hate mail. Your website is as hateful and intolerant as the White
Power/Pseudo Nazi websites that I have my students peruse to let them have
the opportunity to truly identify hate as it exists in our Democratic
country. I just may encourage them to peruse yours to let them know the
horrible truth that can come from those 'Wolves in Sheep's Clothing' that
also go by the name of 'Christian.'"
Note: This message was
sent by a Chippewa Falls government school teacher on the school e-mail
system. Do you still have your children in the government schools?
+ "Received your
flyer today. Thanks! We will do what we can to support your
recommendations."
+ "Pastor Ralph
Ovadal . . . You are an ignorant bigot who should be happy that stupidity
is not a crime in this country."
+ ". . . I am well
aware of you and your organization -- and your and its silly homophobic
rantings. . . . Shame on you. . . . I, like countless other thinking
Wisconsinites and others, will continue to consider you a sick joke, say
so publicly, and oppose you by any and all lawful means necessary."
+ "Jesus does not
discriminate. . . . you are an ignorant cold hearted human being. . . .
you are sick!"
+ "It's truly a sad
commentary on Christianity that organizations such as yours continue to
manipulate the words of the bible to fit your private agenda and continue
to preach hate. . . . I PITY ALL OF YOU AS YOU WILL ULTIMATELY FACE THE
WRATH OF A LOVING GOD!"
+ "My husband and I
were feeling alienated for our stand on homosexuality. We were very
encouraged to receive your brochures. My brother-in-law is a homosexual. .
. . We had run out of ideas for witnessing to him, but then your brochures
came!"
+ "Your
fundamentalism is truly frightening, your arguments bizarre. Thank
goodness your archaic way of thinking is in the minority, and on the way
out. . . . I truly hope that you, one day, discover how ridiculous and
stupid your way of thinking is. (I might add dangerous.)"
+ "The Jesus I know
is more loving than yours, and the Christians I know are loving, not
hateful."
+ "I pray you are
healed by Jesus from your misguided way."
+ "Thanks! Good
stuff! . . . I will use what you sent. . . . Keep up the fight and God
bless the ministry God has given you."
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