Our Pastor recently sent out this article, and I find it very fitting for this post. This Pastor is not lacking in leadership.
Mark 6:17-20 (NIV)
For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married. For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him.
The applicability of this passage to us today jumped out at me as I started thinking about our national elections this coming fall. Like me, you’re probably disappointed with the way politics has been headed in our nation. It seems each election is more negative than the last…and I’m sure it won’t be any different this fall.
And, as always, you and I are called to take a stand on moral issues. John the Baptist took a stand on a moral issue that turned political. Here’s what this passage shows me about how to do it:
1) John took the biblical stance because it was the right one to take, not necessarily because it was the popular stance;
2) Some people (Herodias, for example) didn’t like the stance he took;
3) John’s own moral character was impeccable, which gave him the confidence to take a stand; and
4) Even though John opposed Herod’s position, apparently John wasn’t disagreeable or ugly about it.
John stood for righteousness and he did it the right way. You and I will need to do the same thing this fall. Here are the potential results:
1) You might lose your head, but
2) You’ll receive the Lord’s blessing.
John was, in fact, murdered for the stance he took. But note what Jesus said of him: Matthew 11:11-15 (NIV) “I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. He who has ears, let him hear.”
Don’t be afraid to take a stand. Do it in a way that honors the Lord. Be prepared for consequences and expect the Lord’s blessing.
After reading this I suggest you take what our Pastor has written into consideration as you read the statements concerning Bishop TD Jakes and ask yourself--Did he take a stand?
I wonder if TD Jakes has actually given any thought as to how his credibility has fallen as a spokesman for the solid religious evangelical right since his seeming endorsement of Obama for President.
While Jakes did not come out and directly endorse Obama, he certainly did not do as one would expect an Evangelical Pastor to do. Instead, He said, "Yes, we met, and I found his beliefs to be genuine." Thus, Jakes failed the test and rode the fence. TD Jakes could not come out and condemn Obama because so many of his predominately African-American congregation supports this empty suit based on only one facet--his race. Jakes condemnation would have cost him dearly in congregants, and that would certainly hit his pocketbook, which at this point appears to be more important to Jakes than standing up for what is right and what he supposedly believes and at one time preached. If TD Jakes fails to condemn Obama, then he is turning away from what he preaches.
If TD Jakes supports Obama, then he is supporting Ethnic Cleansing. How, you ask? Because Obama supports abortion at any term and has voted as such, going back even to his days in the Senate. African American women are almost four times as likely as white women to have an abortion. According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, more than 43 percent of African-American pregnancies end in abortion. Although African-Americans represent only 12 percent of the American population, they account for almost 35 percent of all abortions. In Mississippi, for example, while African-Americans represent only 37 percent of the population, they account for 73 percent of the state's abortions. More than 78 percent of Planned Parenthood's abortion centers are in or near minority communities. If this were occurring in a foreign country, the Black leadership would be screaming Ethnic Cleansing, and if they were honest and not politically biased, they would call it as it is in this country. The party of Obama claims to be the only party that reaches out and cares for Black people, yet they support the most damaging and most horrific form of genocide. Jakes' refusal to condemn Obama and the Democrat Party is an endorsement of this genocide.
TD Jakes seems to have adopted his Prosperity Gospel over the Gospel of the Good News of Jesus Christ. His followers flock to hear Prosperity preached but never hear that it is obedience to the Lord that will bring prosperity, not just sitting back and “wishin and a hopin” for such. Supporting genocide, ethnic cleansing, abortion, what ever one wishes to call it, is not being obedient to the Word of the God. Murder is condemned by God and the support of what Obama stands for and the Democrat Party stands for is in direct disobedience. Those who follow such will not prosper. TD Jakes will not prosper until he openly and unashamedly condemns Barack Hussein Obama.
If the evangelical community fails to call TD Jakes to task over this, then they, too, are party to such and will not survive. There are too many fence sitters in the evangelical community and too few who are willing to take a stand against the abomination that with Obama this country faces.
TD Jakes, either speak up or Shame on You!
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