Franklin Graham 'Sickened' by Military Base's Decision - BOB ESCHLIMAN CHARISMA NEWS

U.S. Army Lt. Gen. William "Jerry" Boykin (ret.) was removed as a guest speaker and the prayer breakfast at which he was to speak was rescheduled at Fort Riley, Kansas, after a "religious freedom" advocacy group complained. (Video Screenshot Image)

Franklin Graham 'Sickened' by Military Base's Decision

 6/6/2016 BOB ESCHLIMAN  charisma news

U.S. Army Lt. Gen. William "Jerry" Boykin (ret.) was removed as a guest speaker and the prayer breakfast at which he was to speak was rescheduled at Fort Riley, Kansas, after a "religious freedom" advocacy group complained. (Video Screenshot Image)

A prayer breakfast to be held Monday at Fort Riley, Kansas, to help kick off the U.S. Army's 1st Infantry Division's "Victory Week" celebration was rescheduled over the weekend due to "a number of scheduling conflicts."

The "scheduling conflicts" arose after Military Religious Freedom Foundation founder Mikey Weinstein complained that Family Research Council vice president Lt. Gen. William "Jerry" Boykin (ret.)—an original Delta Force member—was scheduled to speak at the event. According to the Army Times, Weinstein sent multiple emails to 1st ID commander Maj. Gen. Wayne Grigsby on behalf of his advocacy group demanding the leader "immediately withdraw" Boykin's invitation.

Although 1st Infantry Division spokesman Master Sgt. Mike Lavigne told the newspaper the event would take place "at a later date," Boykin will not be taking part in the event. That news did not sit well with the Rev. Franklin Graham.

"Wow—they just won't leave [Boykin] alone! Now he's been abruptly 'disinvited' from speaking at a June 6th prayer breakfast for the Victory Week celebration at Fort Riley, Kansas," he wrote on Facebook. "Anti-Christian bully [Weinstein] got word about it and, once again, put up a stink.

"He called Boykin, who is one of the original members of our country's famed Delta Force and a national hero, all kinds of names—'homophobic, Islamophobic, fundamentalist Christian extremist.' As a result, the military base canceled the prayer breakfast and said they would pursue a different speaker and reschedule 'in an effort to ensure everyone in our broad and very diverse community feels welcome at any event on Fort Riley.'

"That's just sickening. It is unbelievable that our country has fallen to this point and that Christianity is the only thing it's okay to be intolerant of and discriminate against. Excuse me, General Boykin's first amendment rights still exist, and so do those of everyone who wants to hear him speak."

Graham urged his audience to call the Fort Riley Public Affairs Office at (785) 239-8851, or to lodge a complaint electronically at the base's website.

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President Obama Admits Flaws, Shares Heart at Prayer Breakfast

4/7/2015 ADELLE M. BANKS  cbn news

President Barack Obama (Reuters)

President Obama turned both personal and preachy Tuesday (April 7) during his annual Easter Prayer Breakfast, which he has hosted at the White House six times since he was elected.

The long list of Christian leaders attending included Sojourners' Jim Wallis, National Association of Evangelicals President Leith Anderson, Roman Catholic Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the Rev. Al Sharpton, retired Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson, civil rights veteran the Rev. C.T. Vivian and African Methodist Episcopal Bishop Vashti McKenzie. The Rev. Amy Butler of New York's Riverside Church gave the opening prayer.

Here are four memorable statements from the event:

1. Though he said, "I am no preacher," he almost preached:

"Even as we grapple with the sheer enormity of Jesus' sacrifice, on Easter we can't lose sight of the fact that the story didn't end on Friday," he said. "The story keeps on going. On Sunday comes the glorious resurrection of our savior."

"Easter is our affirmation that there are better days ahead — and also a reminder that it is on us, the living, to make them so," he added.

2. He acknowledged he falls short of the mark:

"Today we celebrate the magnificent glory of our risen savior. I pray that we will live up to his example. I pray that I will live up to his example. I fall short so often. Every day I try to do better."

3. He praised several preachers, including the late Rev. Gardner C. Taylor:

He quoted the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and acknowledged Pope Francis, whom he will welcome to the White House later this year and "who encourages us to seek peace, to serve the marginalized and be good stewards of God's creation."

And he remembered the Rev. Gardner C. Taylor, the "dean of American preaching," who died on Easter Sunday at age 96.

"Anybody who had the privilege of hearing him speak knows what power he had," the president said. "He was a friend of Dr. King who used his spellbinding sermons to spread the gospel and open people's hearts and minds."

4. He tears up when he thinks of his daughters:

"I want to thank everybody here for their prayers, which mean so much to me and Michelle, particularly at a time when my daughters are starting to grow up and starting to go on college visits. I need prayer. I start tearing up in the middle of the day and I can't explain it. Why am I so sad? They're leaving me."

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