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A Christian prison worker felt compelled to resign after Bible verses he quoted during a chapel service provoked an aggressive response from prison authorities. (File)
Christian Prison Worker Forced to Quit After Quoting What Bible Says About Homosexuality
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A Christian prison worker felt compelled to resign after Bible verses he quoted during a chapel service provoked an aggressive response from prison authorities. An employment tribunal will hear this week.
Rev. Barry Trayhorn, an ordained Pentecostal minister, started work as a gardener at HMP Littlehey in May 2011. He also helped on a voluntary basis with chapel services at the sex offenders' prison, at the invitation of the chaplain.
Whilst leading worship at a chapel service in May 2014, Trayhorn spoke about the wonder of God's forgiveness for those who repent, quoting 1 Cor. 6:9-11 from memory. The verses mention a number of sins, including adultery, homosexual practice, greed and drunkenness.
Four days after the service, a complaint was made. Trayhorn was immediately barred from helping with chapel services. He was later told that his comments during the service were "homophobic" and breached national prison policy. He was notified that there would be a disciplinary hearing.
In August, Trayhorn was signed off work with stress-related illness.
Then, on Nov. 4, 2014, Trayhorn resigned from his job as a gardener, saying that he had been harassed because of his Christian faith and that it was impossible for him to return to work, given the way he had been treated.
Two days later, a disciplinary hearing was held in his absence. Trayhorn was given a final written warning.
Trayhorn is convinced that his involvement in chapel services provoked a hostile response from prison officials, leading to a series of issues being raised with him.
A hearing in Trayhorn's case begins today at Bedford Employment Tribunal and is expected to last until November 10.
Trayhorn is being supported by the Christian Legal Centre and will be represented by Standing Counsel Paul Diamond.
'Daring to say what the Bible says'
Trayhorn explains: "I simply said what the Bible says. Prisoners need to hear God's word just as much as anyone else. If people come to a Christian chapel service, we cannot hold back the gospel truth that God forgives those who repent.
"As I led the worship, I spoke about the wonder of God's love and the forgiveness that comes through Jesus Christ to those who recognize their sin and repent. I said that I am the worst sinner I know.
"But that wasn't politically correct. The mere mention of homosexual behavior in the Bible verses that I quoted provoked complaint. I was barred from taking part in chapel services and trouble came my way. I was put under enormous pressure for daring to say what the Bible says."
'Gospel witness in prisons'
Commenting on Trayhorn's case, Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said, "It is astonishing that Barry was forced out of a sex offenders' prison for repeating what the Bible says about sexual behavior—during a chapel service—as he spoke about repentance and forgiveness. This is an important case. Freedom to maintain a clear gospel witness in prisons needs to be protected.
"No one should be denied an opportunity to hear what God has to say about the way to restoration, least of all those in prison for sexual offenses. We're delighted that Barry came to us and grateful to all those who enable us to support him and other Christians like him."
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Daniel Murphy has been lambasted for his stance on gays. (AP/Icon Sportswire/Robin Alam)
Christian Baseball Hero Daniel Murphy Lambasted for Stance on Gays
Daniel Murphy has accomplished something no one else in baseball history has done. Not Babe Ruth, or Hank Aaron, or Mickey Mantle. He has hit home runs in six consecutive postseason games. His latest helped the Mets defeat the Cubs and earn their first trip to the World Series in fifteen years.
But Murphy is making headlines beyond his baseball heroics. Reporters are replaying an incident that occurred last spring, when he made this statement regarding homosexuality: "I do disagree with the lifestyle, 100 percent." Critics are deriding him today for such "intolerance."
But here's how Murphy explained his statement: "Maybe, as a Christian, we haven't been as articulate enough in describing what our actual stance is on homosexuality. We love the people. We disagree with the lifestyle. That's the way I would describe it for me. It's the same way that there are aspects of my life that I'm trying to surrender to Christ."
Humble courage is essential to Christian witness today. In our culture, believers face criticism and slander for their biblical convictions. In other cultures, they face far worse. A Catholic charity has released a report on the "deepening plight of Christians" around the world. It states that "Christians are fast disappearing from entire regions" and warns of "the very real possibility that Christianity could soon all but disappear from much of its ancient homeland."
Radical Islamists are behind much of this rise in persecution. And their ideology is spreading far beyond the Middle East. For instance, eight men in Cologne, Germany, were charged with looting churches and schools to give money to ISIS. The former commander of Britain's chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons regiment is warning that ISIS will "inevitably" gain and use weapons of mass destruction.
Jesus warned us: "If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you" (John 15:20). Those who hate God hate the people of God. Satan knows that he cannot attack our Father, so he attacks God's children. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote and proved, discipleship comes at a cost—always.
The next time you face opposition for your faith, remember these biblical statements:
"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:9).
When facing enemies, "fear not, nor be afraid of them, for the Lord your God, it is He who goes with you. He will not fail you, nor forsake you" (Deuteronomy 31:6).
In an immoral culture, "Watch, stand fast in the faith, be bold like men, and be strong" (1 Corinthians 16:13).
Courage is a strong witness when we are "not frightened by your adversaries. This is a sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and this from God" (Philippians 1:28).
When you are called to defend your faith, "the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say" (Luke 12:12).
Martin Luther King, Jr. was right: "We must constantly build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear." Theologian A. A. Hodge observed, "It is easier to find a score of men wise enough to discover the truth than to find one intrepid enough, in the face of opposition, to stand up for it."
Jim Denison, Ph.D.,is founder of the Denison Forum on Truth and Culture, a non-sectarian "think tank" designed to engage contemporary issues with biblical truth. Join over 100,000 who read Dr. Denison's daily Cultural Commentary:denisonforum.org/subscribe. For more information on the Denison Forum, visitdenisonforum.org. To connect with Dr. Denison in social media, visittwitter.com/jimdenison or facebook.com/denisonforum.
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Perry Stone issued a prophetic warning to the church over the gay lifestyle. (File)
Perry Stone Issues Urgent Prophetic Warning to the Church
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Perry Stone is sounding the alarm of government persecution against churches, particularly about homosexuality.
"MAJOR ALERT: I have just been informed of a major plan by the extreme left, that has the support over 100 House members and numerous Senators, that if passed would make it a crime for churches and ministers to publically (sic) say the gay lifestyle is a sin, or not allow them to use your church for their own meetings," Perry Stone Ministries posted on Facebook.
Indeed, a handful of states do have such laws on the books.
Police arrested Kentucky Chaplain David Wells for telling inmates homosexuality was a sin, according to Fox News.
A city ordinance in Idaho demanded pastors perform same-sex ceremonies or go to jail.
Former Atlanta fire chief Kelvin Cochran lost his job for calling homosexuality an "impure" lifestyle.
While a spokesperson for Perry Stone Ministries could not be reached regarding the specific bill to which the post referred, it is well-documented many consider the battle for gay rights to be the new civil rights frontier.
According to the Washington Post, the proposal would grant gay people the same protections African-Americans and other minorities have from discrimination in employment, credit, the housing market, jury selection and other public accommodations.
Perry Stone Ministries' post faults the spirit of Jezebel for the onslaught of sexual perversion.
"There is serious government persecution coming to all who stand for truth, and when the 'left' becomes violent, as did the men of Sodom against Lot, threatening to rape him for his rebuke of their iniquity, God will change the game and the United States hedge will be removed and catastrophic natural disasters will be unleased (sic)," the post reads.
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WASHINGTON -- Navy Chaplain Lt. Cmdr. Wes Modder never expected counseling service members on what the Bible says would put him in the fight of his life.
But that's what happened after a group of those he counseled complained a few months ago about what he had to say on subjects like homosexuality and other sexual matters.
Worsening matters, Modder's direct commander sided with his accusers and decided to take legal action against the chaplain.
"It was shocking. You feel a lot of emotion," Modder told CBN News in a recent interview. "You feel natural feelings like betrayal."
His opponents at Joint Base Charleston in South Carolina didn't just want the Assemblies of God pastor corrected. They were after his job, which would have meant the loss of his military pension as well.
"They wanted to kick me out, remove me from a promotion list," Modder recalled. "Having a family with four children, not knowing what I'm going into, sacrificing 19 years of honorable military service -- all of it was on the line, everything."
Then recently his attorney, Michael Berry with the Liberty Institute, got surprising news from the Navy: Modder was cleared of all the charges.
"When we found out that the Navy, that this two-star admiral had completely exonerated Chaplain Modder, I was blown away," Berry told CBN News. "It was not what I was expecting. I was preparing myself for a dogfight."
Berry said he was elated and could hardly wait to tell Modder the good news. The chaplain and his family were overjoyed. But he admits he's still hurting.
"There's a huge sense of victory and relief, but the emotional capital is overwhelming," Modder said.
Still, he suggested as more and more Christians face similar battles over their beliefs, they have to fight because the cause is crucial.
"I think it's paramount," he said. "I think the best thing for the Church is persecution. And I know that sounds counterintuitive, but we need to stand for religious liberty."
"It's not really about bakers. It's not really about florists. It's about validating something that is national," he explained.
Berry said he's distressed by the un-American nature of this Christian persecution.
"It could be people of any other faiths, too, but unfortunately right now the majority of attacks are coming against Christians in this country," Berry said. "That's not what our country is about."
As a combat veteran, Berry's particularly frustrated military commanders are thrust into the middle of these battles.
"When a commanding officer has to worry about whether or not somebody in his unit is going to be offended because a chaplain is praying or because a chaplain dares to speak from their religious worldview to another service member, that commanding officer now, his attention and his focus is taken away from the external threat and he has to worry about things he should never have to worry about," he said.
Modder and his family will soon be out of the uncomfortable environment he found himself in at Joint Base Charleston. They're transferring to one of their favorite duty stations, San Diego.
A new #realreallife commercial from Campbell's soup features two gay fathers. (YouTube)
Campbell Soup Leaves Bad Taste in Believers' Mouths
A homosexual "married" couple is featured prominently with a young boy (their son) in the new Campbell Soup advertisement.
Campbell's #RealRealLife campaign aims to change the face of the American family. It starts off with the first man feeding soup to the little boy and in a Star Wars Darth Vader voice says, "Luke, I am your father."
Then the other man enters the scene and says, "No, Luke, I am your father." How confusing for this little boy and for all children viewing this commercial. Obviously, Campbell's is sending the message that homosexual men are raising children, whom they wouldn't have if a woman wasn't involved, and they are OK with it.
Campbell Soup is glorifying this unnatural marriage. One Million Moms believes family is based on love, but this does not justify normalizing sin. One Million Moms does not agree with the need for Campbell's to support same-sex marriages or couples.
Companies should advertise the quality of their products. It is no longer about the product but about their cause. They should not be highlighting who is attracted to whom or who sleeps with whom. This is a marketing decision Campbell's will regret.
This gay-inclusive commercial is attempting to desensitize viewers. There is concern about the way this ad is pushing the LGBT agenda, but an even greater concern is the way that they are attempting to redefine "family" and "real marriage."
Please contact Campbell Soup through our website urging them to pull this inappropriate commercial immediately and remain neutral in the culture war.
Also, let Campbell Soup know that continuing to air this ad and other offensive advertisements in the future will force your family to make the decision to no longer purchase any of Campbell's Soup Company brands such as Pepperidge Farm, Pace, Spaghetti O's, V8, Swanson and Prego.
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Should Christians ever disobey their government? Some say no. But Kim Davis sides with Martin Luther King Jr. and thinks civil disobedience is justified. Mrs. Davis is the Rowan County Kentucky clerk who spent four days in jail for refusing to put her name on same-sex marriage licenses. Claiming to be a new Christian, Ms. Davis is also a longtime Democrat.
"The court cannot condone the willful disobedience of its lawfully issued order," Judge David Bunning told Davis last week in court. "If you give people the opportunity to choose which orders they follow, that's what potentially causes problems."
Judge Bunning is absolutely right. This is the kind of chaos that results when people do not respect the law. But I'm not referring to Kim Davis—I'm referring to the United States Supreme Court. As I've written before, and the multiple dissents state more eloquently, there is no justification in the Constitution for judicially imposing genderless marriage on every state in the union. Five unelected justices simply imposed their own law on 330 million people.
But does that justify civil disobedience? Where do you draw the line?
Certainly, there is a line somewhere. After all, we laud those behind the Underground Railroad who freed slaves and those who protected Jews in Nazi Germany. While bad marriage laws are obviously not as serious, consider a more equivalent scenario: Suppose the Supreme Court decided to drop the age of consent in every state to 12 years old (a position Ruth Bader Ginsberg supported before she became a Supreme Court Justice). Would you think that Kim Davis should be forced to endorse the marriage of a 75-year-old man who brought a 12-year-old girl into her office? I hope you can see that there is a line and it's not far from Kim Davis.
Liberals believe in civil disobedience—when it suits their causes. Despite chanting, "Do your job!" outside Kim Davis's office, liberals were rejoicing when San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom ordered clerks to violate California law and issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in 2004. They certainly were not chanting "Do your job" outside of Attorney General Eric Holder's office when he told the states last year to ignore their own laws that defined marriage as the union of a man and a woman. And liberals were not asking a federal judge to throw President Obama in jail when he refused to do his job by defending the Defense of Marriage Act in Court.
But on what authority does one defy the government? One man who wanted a same-sex marriage license asked Kim Davis on "what authority" was she not issuing licenses. She cited God.
Yet the question needs to be asked of both sides. By what authority did Newsom, Holder, Obama and other liberal politicians defy the law? They certainly weren't citing God or the Creator cited in our Declaration of Independence who gives us unalienable rights. But without an authority beyond man's law, there is no authority for their actions nor is there any objective standard to ground unalienable rights. Without God, every right claim is merely a human opinion. At least Kim Davis, agree with her or not, is citing an authority beyond herself.
Civil disobedience has rich precedent in the United States. In fact, our country was founded on it largely to secure religious freedom. Civil disobedience also has precedent in the Bible. When Pharaoh ordered Hebrew midwives to murder all Hebrew boys, they disobeyed and even lied to the authorities (Ex. 1). And Daniel and his friends peacefully defied laws that contracted God's commands. Likewise, when the Jewish authorities told John and Peter to stop telling people the good news that Jesus paid for your sins and rose from the dead, they disobeyed, saying that they would obey God rather than men (Acts 4).
Therefore, the principle for Christians is this: Civil disobedience is necessary when a government compels you to sin or prevents you from doing something God commands you to do. You don't disobey the government merely because it permits others to sin—only when it compels you to do so. Kim Davis thinks that line has been crossed.
It's actually not hard to avoid crossing the line. Both parties can be accommodated as Judge Bunning finally figured out when he released Davis yesterday. In North Carolina, we passed a law to allow people like Kim Davis to opt out of endorsing relationships that violated their religious or moral beliefs. Since other government employees are more than happy to issue licenses, no one is inconvenienced or forced to violate conscience. We do this for far more serious issues than weddings. For example, even during a time of war when we draft people to defend the country, we allow for conscientious objectors to opt out. If we can allow exemptions for government employees involved in protecting the very existence of our nation, we can certainly allow exemptions for government employees involved in weddings!
Will the Kentucky legislature act when it returns in January to pass such a law? Unfortunately, I doubt the activists who are always demanding tolerance will tolerate such reasonableness. It seems that some people just can't live and let live. They will not rest until all opposition is crushed and everyone is forced to celebrate what they are doing.
If that's your position, I have a question for you: Why would you want anyone who disagrees with your wedding to have anything to do with it? Go to another clerk, another florist, another photographer. Why force people to violate their conscience when there are so many other people willing to help you and celebrate with you? After all, isn't this supposed to be a time when "love wins?"
Apparently not. For some liberals, "love wins" as long as everyone agrees with them. Those that disagree will not like the kind of "love" some liberals dish out. Are the same people who are chanting, "Love wins," some of the same people who issued death threats to Kim Davis? It certainly wasn't the Christians.
The truth is Kim Davis and other victims of "tolerance" don't want a holy war. Davis just doesn't want her signature on the license. She suggested other government officials sign, and Judge Bunning finally agreed. But a law needs to be passed to prevent future problems.
North Carolina has led the way. It remains to be seen if liberals in Kentucky will accept that way. If their recent history is a guide, I'm afraid they will demand that every knee bow and every tongue confess the dogma of their secular religion.
I'm Feeling Like an Umbrella Salesman in a Thunderstorm
I've been speaking so much about gay activism (as well as urging the church to pray for the LGBT community and to prepare for a massive harvest of souls). (Reuters)
About 20 years ago, I was spending time with David Wilkerson in New York City when a storm unexpectedly broke out as we were leaving a building. Sure enough, in true New York fashion, there was someone right outside the door selling umbrellas, and as expected, Pastor Dave bought one to keep us dry in the showers. In fact, just about everyone seemed to buy one as they walked outside into the sudden downpour.
I feel like that umbrella salesman today, except that for years now, I've been selling these umbrellas in the desert, knowing that a massive storm was coming and that soon enough, the umbrellas would become hot items.
What exactly do I mean?
After I spoke in Jerusalem earlier this week on our calling to take up the cross and serve the Lord by life or by death, an Israeli-born American missionary to the Muslims asked me why I did not appear more concerned about the Supreme Court's disastrous redefining of marriage.
He knew I was grieved over it.
He knew that I expected hard times for the Church of America.
But he knew that I was full of optimism and confidence in the midst of the storm.
Why?
It's because I have been expecting these things for years now, and, with all my heart, I believe that I have a promise from God that, as surely as there was a Civil Rights movement in America, there will be a gospel-based moral and cultural revolution in our land.
I have lived with that promise since the late 1990's, and that's why "revolution" has been a dominant theme in my teaching, preaching, and writing since then.
That's why, every day on the radio, I'm introduced as "your voice of moral, cultural, and spiritual revolution."
That's why I've written that there must be revolution in the church – meaning radical, dramatic, sweeping change in our midst based on the Word and empowered by the Spirit – before there can be revolution in society.
That's why I wrote in 2000, "Only the life-changing power of the gospel will ultimately change a society for good. Only new hearts will bring forth the new life that the oppressed so long for and desire. Only the Spirit of God will truly liberate captives! But if we do not rise up and act, Satan will. The dissatisfaction is rising. The discontent is growing thick. Revolution is near – either heaven-sent or hell-bent – and only we have the truth that will set slaves free."
Sadly, we are currently witnessing a hell-bent, anti-God, anti-Bible, anti-Christian revolution, and it is rapidly sweeping our land.
But all hope is not lost!
As surely as it gets dark at night, if we humble ourselves and repent of our sins, if we cast off the fear of man and dead religious traditions, if we seek God earnestly and don't let go, we will see a turning of the tide. We will see a gospel-based, Jesus-exalting, Spirit-empowered, moral and cultural revolution, overcoming hatred with love, overcoming evil with good, overcoming lies with truth.
That is what I live for and that is why I raise my voice in writing and on radio and in preaching and teaching, seeking to awaken those who are slumbering and to strengthen those who are discouraged and to equip those who want to make a positive difference with their lives.
This is the day we've been expecting, and this is the hour we've been made for. The storm is here, but we have the umbrellas – and more. In fact, we have a way to bring out the sunshine again.
Last year, I wrote an article titled "I Hate to Say I Told You So," in which I documented how detail after detail of what I (and others) had predicted regarding the gay activist agenda had come to pass in shocking, almost devastating fashion.
I ended the article asking, "Do you believe me now? And would you like to know what is coming next and what we can do about it? And would you like to know why I am convinced that, ultimately, the gay revolution will fail?
"Stay tuned for more. I'm glad I have your ear."
I trust that today, in the aftermath of the massive, breathtakingly fast negative revolution that has taken place before our eyes, from the Supreme Court's lawless decision on marriage to the celebration of "Caitlyn" Jenner and so much more, you understand why I've been talking about revolution (not rebellion) and why I've been speaking so much about gay activism (as well as urging the church to pray for the LGBT community and to prepare for a massive harvest of souls).
And I trust that you'll also understand why, as heavy as the storm might be and as intense as the conflict will surely be in the coming days – you will not be able to avoid it, from the pulpit to Facebook and from the schools to your job – I am overflowing with confidence in the Lord.
We knew the storm was coming, and we've got more than enough umbrellas.
Best of all they're free.
Everything we need is found in Jesus, and if we give ourselves to Him unconditionally, saying, "Here I am! Send me, use me!" He will place on the front lines of the greatest revolution this nation has ever seen.
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