"Alveda King: 'Happy Holidays' - How Do We Get There?" - The Elijah List

"Happy Holidays' - How Do We Get There?"

Dr. Alveda King, Atlanta, GA

November 22, 2018

"Alveda King: 'Happy Holidays' - How Do We Get There?"
Dr. Alveda King, Atlanta, GA

From the Desk of Steve Shultz:

I feel so honored to call Dr. Alveda King a friend of mine and Derene's and a friend to the Elijah List. Her voice is a true gift to the Body of Christ and to the other mountains of influence. I hope you take a moment and read her short but powerful word on this Thanksgiving Day.

Let's give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!

Blessings to you and your family this day! (To Subscribe to the Elijah List subscribe here.)

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Enjoy!

Steve Shultz, Founder and Publisher
The Elijah List & Breaking Christian News
http://www.elijahlist.com

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"Alveda King: 'Happy Holidays' - How Do We Get There?"
Dr. Alveda King, Atlanta, GA

As the holidays are upon us, let us be mindful that these next few weeks are beautiful opportunities to express love, grace, encouragement and peace towards others.

There are some people, and in some cases someone we know, or even we ourselves, who are in dire need of a prayer or two this holiday season. Some have lost loved ones and some have lost much to tragedies. Yet there are reasons and opportunities to spread love to others right now. A notion such as this may seem difficult, especially with the brutal midterms behind us, and some political runoff elections ahead of us; but let's just try to be civil to one another.

The concept of civility springs from the word civilis, which in Latin means "citizen." Civility is impacted by a person's emotions or lack thereof. If a person is emotionally affected by the negative feedback that they get from other people and react in a psychologically normal manner, then they are defined as civil.

In my everyday circles at home with family, at church, at work and in the communities at large, I work hard to keep the commandment to "love one another." Another helpful process, which I learned from the "King Family Legacy Code of Nonviolence," is to communicate differences in a civil manner with the expectation of a "win-win" outcome.

Around Thanksgiving Season, I begin to half-jokingly say: "Don't be guilty of ripping the leg off the turkey" and "beating up others with it." I only say half-jokingly because so many families are divided these days. I know the Bible teaches that relatives will rise up to disagree with others, but does this have to happen in our families?

During the holiday season, there will be plenty of good food to go around. In addition to spending time with family and friends, ministry always joins in efforts to feed the hungry. Then, for the rest of the day, our family makes the rounds from house to house, delivering delicious dishes and good cheer. 

All of this is good; but without Agape Love at the tables, something is missing. Along with genuine Agape Love, another addition to the meals and festivities should be a "spiritual fruit bowl."

Galatians 5:22-23 New International Version (NIV), "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."

Holidays should not be the only time we practice this behavior. We should always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks us to give the reason for the hope that we have. But we must do so with gentleness and respect.

Example: Rather than just using our lovely "Jesus is the Reason for The Season," theme, let's be ready with some genuine and transparent sayings that explain why we are thankful and why we are looking forward to Christmas. (Photo via Alveda King)

We need to interact with both Christians and non-Christians in a respectful way. Jesus did. In John 4, as Jesus talked to the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus associated with someone who was far from acceptable in Jewish society, and while He fully told her the truth, He did so in a kind, compassionate, and redemptive manner. As apologists we too need to speak truth boldly in the public square, but we need to do so as Christ's representatives, bearing the fruit of His Spirit (Gal. 5:22–26). This means refraining from insults, name-calling, and excoriation, not only in theological discourse but also in political diatribes.

Actually, as Christians, we should not even be involved in political debates and any mean spirited activities; not at Thanksgiving, not at Christmas; not ever. We would be better served to be praying for all of our leaders, and also voting for government God's way. So, while we are baking the turkeys and wrapping the gifts and all of the beautiful activities ahead of us, let us pray.

(Please click HERE and HERE for 2 Alveda King Holiday videos.)

God bless you.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Dr. Alveda C. King, Evangelist and Author
Alveda King Ministries and Priests For Life 

Email: ak@alvedaking.com
Website: |www.alvedaking.com | www.priestsforlife.org | www.civilrightsfortheunborn.com

Dr. Alveda King is an evangelist and civil rights activist; niece of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.; daughter of Rev. AD King; and guardian of the "King Family Legacy." Alveda King Ministries aims to advance the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the catalyst for salvation and being born again; promoting traditional family morals and values, from a Biblical worldview. 

Building strong, healthy families is a cornerstone – where individuals and families are given the necessary tools and resources to live prosperously to their full potential. An aim is to educate through community events, mentoring programs, media campaigns scholarship awards, coalition-building Christian advocacy groups and other means of positive reinforcement in order to lead people to Christ in expectancy of life, family, hope and "agape love" in the global community. You can purchase her latest book "America Return to God" from Elijah List Publications here.
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Military Chaplains the New 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell?'

Military Chaplains the New 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell?' - CBN News

By Chuck Holton

CBN News Reporter

Monday, February 09, 2015

FORT BENNING, Ga. -- "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was once a term used to refer to homosexuals in the military. Now, however, the term is more often being applied to Christians in uniform.

Military chaplains are feeling the pressure to conform to the new reality, as some label biblical values "hate speech."

Chaplains have been an integral part of the military throughout our nation's history, bringing hope to the living and comfort to the dying.

Now some chaplains are coming under fire from official government policy and must choose between their consciences and their commander's orders.

A Faith at Odds

The repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" worried the chaplains who follow the biblical view of same-sex relationships. Congress then stepped in, passing a bill that guaranteed the rights of all military personnel to exercise their faith.

Ron Crews, head of the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty, said the result of that legislation is that "chaplains can be chaplains."

"They can, in fact, bring their faith to the table in their work," he said.

Crews served as an Army chaplain for 21 years.

"Chaplains, and not only chaplains but all service members, cannot receive recriminations for living out their faith in the military," he said. "We want not only chaplains but all those who serve to be able to exercise the religious liberties that they are putting their lives on the line for."

Despite the law, many Christians, and especially chaplains, often find themselves at odds with military leadership.

"I got an email from a chaplain in Afghanistan who preached a sermon for his unit out of 1 Peter, talking about the last days and the fact that there would be a rise in homosexuality during the last days," Crews said.

"He got called into his commander's office, he got told, 'You cannot preach out of that text,'" Crews said. "He wound up getting a bad OR from that commander in the war zone."

Exploding Controversy

Another example of this tension happened recently at Fort Benning, Georgia, home of the Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade. A chaplain was asked to give a suicide prevention class. But what happened next exploded in controversy.

Capt. Joe Lawhorn serves as chaplain for the 5th Ranger Training Battalion based at Fort Benning. He was asked to lead a class on suicide prevention at the Mountain Ranger Camp.

In addition to covering the Army-wide curriculum, he cited his own experience and shared his personal struggle with depression.

"And so he gave his rangers a handout," Crews said. "On one side was all of the resources available to military personnel. On the other side, though, he said, 'I want to tell you that this is what worked for me.'"

What was on the reverse side were referrals to Christian counseling services.

"During the presentation, according to those who were witnesses, at no time did Chaplain Lawhorn say 'mine is the only way,'" Crews said.

One ranger took a picture with his phone and sent it to the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers, and that group made a big issue of it.

Lawhorn's brigade commander later issued Lawhorn a "letter of concern," which the Pentagon insists is administrative in nature.

In our investigation the military has been unable to cite any written rule or regulation the chaplain actually violated. Meanwhile the Ranger who complained received no punishment at all, although he violated Army policy by going outside his chain of command.

A Force Multiplier

Those actions speak volumes about how toxic the climate has become for Christians in the military.

"You are in a very pluralistic environment," Jeff Strueker, a former Ranger chaplain, told CBN News. "You get all faiths and all walks of life."

Strueker became a chaplain half-way through his 24-year military career. He has been involved in every major American conflict since 1987.

"Why do we have chaplains to begin with? George Washington, when he formed the Continental Army, formed two branches--infantry and chaplains and basically said, 'I need war fighters, and then I need men who can minister to the souls of war fighters,'" Strueker explained.

"So a chaplain who is doing his job well is a force multiplier for a unit," he continued. "That force multiplier means that the unit is more effective in combat. (It) doesn't matter if it's a transportation unit or a hospital unit or if it's an infantry unit. They're more effective in combat with a chaplain."

Strueker believes the vital role of chaplains goes beyond leading church services for the troops.

"Today you need somebody in the unit who can deal with spiritual issues of a soldier. No one else in the unit can do what a chaplain can do," Strueker explained. "Ninety-nine percent of the counseling that I did was with people who weren't Christian. They came to me because I was there -- there while the bullets were flying and they needed somebody to talk to."

No Battlefield Complaints

And that's not all the chaplain does. Strueker said there are many cases in Iraq and Afghanistan where atrocities were avoided just because there was a chaplain there to be a moral linfluence on the men and women on those battlefields.

Strueker said on the front lines, complaints against chaplains are very rare.

"Sharing the Scriptures with somebody who's about take their last breath on a battlefield are the kind of complaints people that are way back in the rear make," Strueker added. "The guys that are on the battlefield don't ever make those kind of complaints to me as a chaplain."

Strueker said the current climate would make it more difficult to do his job.

"I'm commissioned by God to be a minister of the Gospel, and my denomination has endorsed me," he explained. "So I answer not just to the U.S. Army, but to God Himself and to my denomination for what I do."

"And if the point comes where my career is asking me to do something that my denomination or my relationship to God is asking me not to do, I have got to leave the military," he added.

"You serve everbody with grace and dignity," Crews said. "However, when someone comes to you for counsel you've got to be absolutely clear up front, that if you're coming to me, I counsel from a biblical perspective."

Strueker agrees.

"I don't want to see chaplains leave the military," he said. "I hope many more good men and women will become chaplains. But if you can't do it in good conscience, then you owe it to God to leave the military."