Wcl july 2014

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C HRISTIAN

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EADER

Volume 1 • Issue 1

July 2014

Welcome to the Western Christian Leader By Nicholas DeLaat

Trial by Fire Submitted by Dottie Rankin They have been taught by the Holy Spirit, trained by experience, tried by adversity and tested by fire, and they want to plant a biker church. Hope for the Heart Biker Church was born of visions and words from God to three different bikers from two different motorcycle clubs. Jeff Bennett, Hoby Bruhn, and Troy Koffler followed that prompting from God, went out on a limb and a new church was born. When you first see this group of guys, men of God is not what you are thinking. Leather, jeans and tattoos are the dress code, ruff and tumble is the impression, but hearts for God is the reality. The church will cater to the rough and ragged biker crowd, perhaps because the founders are all too familiar with the longing in the heart that comes along with belonging to that crowd. But in the biker world, looks can be deceiving and stereotypes don’t fly. The newly planted church rests foundationally on Mark 2:17 17 And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” Hope for the Heart Church will cater to the rough and tumble biker world and will take up residence at Calvary Community Church at 631 Commercial Drive in Gillette WY. There will be Friday night services once a month to start with, beginning on June 13th. The interesting thing about this church plant is three Christian Motorcycle groups came together with a common calling, they didn’t have a budget, they didn’t have a building, and thus far their personal ministries had taken place on their motorcycles.

However the men are quick to point out that it is not about them, it is not about the motorcycle clubs they belong too, and it is about God. Motorcycle clubs don’t offer salvation, God does. Period. The church will welcome people who feel like they have been judged and looked down upon. The Hope for the Heart Biker Church will strive to reach people that traditional churches are not reaching with their relaxed, no-frills atmosphere. You don’t have to be afraid or self-conscience here, the setting is inclusive and non-threatening. The motto is, 2 Wheels, 4 Wheels, No Wheels, Come as you are, All are welcome. And they mean it. They chose Friday nights to meet because by their very nature, bikers will be out riding come Sunday morning. This is a good way to start that weekend ride. To begin it will be once a month with the first service being June 13th but if the need is there they are open to bi-weekly or even weekly services. Sometimes bikers fail to connect with a local, traditional church and find it hard to overcome the “expectations” of appearance and they don’t feel they ever fit in. There will be no such expectation at Hope for the Heart Biker Church. There is no preconceived notion of what a “proper church” should consist of, only a feeling on compassion for where bikers are and the willingness to meet them right there. The first service for Hope for the Heart Biker Church is June 13, at 631 Commercial Drive in Gillette WY. The service will start at 6 pm and there will be refreshments available. Don’t be surprised to see jeans, leather, tattoos and maybe even a motorcycle podium. Come expecting to find acceptance, to find peace and to find God.

Welcome, and thank you for reading the Western Christian Leader, a new newspaper in the Powder River Basin that is freely distributed to every church in the Basin. We are taking a unique approach. This is a non-denominational newspaper that will be expanding throughout the good ole’ west over the next few years. This first edition, as you may notice, may not have as much local content as you desire, but that will change soon. We need your help. This new monthly paper is an open submission newspaper, allowing you to provide content for free. Did your church have a fundraiser? Submit your article and photos to us and we will print it for free. How about a good thing someone did in our great western community? That should be submitted so they can be recognized. Letters to the Editor for your opinion on the issues, absolutely we will print them. Priests and Pastors can write in, content from every Christian church is accepted. We only have three rules. This is not a religious partisan newspaper, and therefore cannot be bias toward any part of Christianity over another. Also, submitted articles (not letters) should be positive. Finally, the truth must always be printed; not libel, rhetoric, or slander toward any church, belief, or person. We at Patriot Publishing LLC are very excited to bring the west its own Christian newspaper. It will need to be embraced by the Church community in the Powder River Basin and the content will need to be filled by you! So please feel free to get involved, get out those pens and pencils, dust off your camera, and let’s make the Western Christian Leader the newspaper that everyone in our great area deserves. That all being said, let’s get down to this piece. When should you turn to God? Most people who have been long imbedded in their church have come to realize that there are three (generally) kinds of

church go-ers. There are the holiday attendees, whom are Christian but not necessarily dedicated to their church. Some of these go to one church every Easter and Christmas, while others may jump churches every holiday. These are people of faith but have very little time and weekly service is not high on their priority list. Then there are the faithful who make church every Saturday or Sunday they can. Finally, there is the desperate. Turning to God does not always require a church as the acceptance of God has to be in your heart. Most people however, start at a church to start their path to God. Unfortunately, most people who have lost Christ in their hearts or never accepted God in the first place wait for the bad times to do so. They turn to God in desperation, whether it be punishment, economic poverty, job loss, family loss, or a string of live events that has rendered the new Christian participant broken. The reason I use the word ‘unfortunately’ is because most statistics show that after the desperate prayers and promises are over and life is back to normal, so is their practice of Christianity. Very few, who pray during their hour of need follow through with all the common promises to God and Jesus. If you haven’t already, when is the best time to give your heart to God, to join in Jesus Christ’s teachings, and to start walking the righteous path? It is not in your hour of desperation but in your hour of happiness. It should not be when you need God, but when you accept God. Granted, many who’s soul has started climbing the stairs to learn how to be a better person, to learn the teachings of Jesus, and to walk the footsteps of good as a result of desperation have stuck with it and are proud Christians to this day! That is a wonderful blessing, and if they accepted God permanently during that hour of tear based prayer they should be proud. But you don’t have to wait for the low times in your life, you can also accept God in the good times as well.

So Good Things Can Run Wild By Jon Bloom But we must take this in large measure on faith because under the curse of the Fall, our fallen perceptions often don’t see it and our fallen natures often don’t believe it. We are disordered and pathologically self-centered. We are out of sync. The only things fallen humans tend to believe are those that sate our appetites, increase our personal prestige, align with our preferences, pleasantly interest us, operate within our desired timetable, and are convenient and comfortable. In the scope of the created universe, these add up to only a very few things. From infancy through our elder years we so often feel frustrated. We don’t like to be told what to do, what to eat, what to wear, when to go to bed, when to get up, what to

study, when to study, where to study, what to clean, when to clean, and on and on. We don’t like limits imposed on us by parents, teachers, bosses, spouses, children, neighborhood associations, government, or God. We buck against the constraints of morality, ethics, law, and even biology. My point here is not that we shouldn’t challenge the evil that infects any authority or structure. We should. My point is that we have an indwelling evil propensity to challenge what is good. We have a bent to not believe God, that his design for us — which implies limits for us — is best for us (Genesis 3:4–6). We have a fallen desire to be autonomous, self-determining, sovereign gods.

Supreme Court Hobby Lobby Decision a Win for Religious Freedom, Not About Contraception, Christian Leaders Say The U.S. Supreme Court’s Monday decision allowing owners of closely held for-profit corporations with certain religious convictions to opt-out of parts of the “Obamacare” birth-control mandate was a win for religious freedom, some Christian leaders have said. Jim Daly, president of Focus on the Family, said in a statement that the decision “shows that religious freedom continues to be the lifeblood of a country founded on the inalienable rights afforded to us by our Creator.” “Religious groups and business owners should not have to violate their faith in order to follow the law. It’s not the role of government to define what we believe or what our faith includes,” said Daly. “Fundamentally these cases were not about abortion or contraception: they were about whether government can require faith-based groups to violate deeply held beliefs.” Russell Moore, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, wrote in a statement Monday that the Hobby Lobby decision was “a win for everyone.” “Here’s why. A government that can pave over the consciences of the Greens can

steamroll over any dissent anywhere,” wrote Moore. “Whether you agree or disagree with us about abortion, every American should want to see a government that is not powerful enough to set itself up as a god over the conscience.” Moore added that he hoped “this decision is a warning to the White House to stop such a cavalier disregard of religious liberty.” “More than that, though, I pray for churches that can raise up a new generation to prize freedom of conscience and religious liberty for all,” continued Moore. “We won this case, and now is the time to thank God. But who could have imagined just a few years ago that we would even have to take such a thing to the United States Supreme Court?” On Monday, the United States Supreme Court ruled in a 5 to 4 decision that Hobby Lobby and two other for-profit businesses were not obligated to provide certain forms of birth control as mandated by the Department of Health and Human Services. In the majority opinion, authored by Justice Samuel Alito, the highest court in the land concluded that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act applied to closely

held businesses whose owners held a religious objection to the HHS mandate. “The Government has failed to satisfy RFRA’s least-restrictive means standard. HHS has not shown that it lacks other means of achieving its desired goal without imposing a substantial burden on the exercise of religion,” wrote Alito. The decision also stressed that it only concerned the HHS mandate and not other possible insurance coverage issues, like vaccinations or blood transfusions. Alito was joined by Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, and Chief Justice John Roberts. Dissents came from Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer, and Elena Kagan. Other conservative leaders also hailed the Supreme Court decision. Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, stated that the decision was “one of the most significant victories for religious freedom in our generation.” “All Americans can be thankful that the Court reaffirmed that freedom of conscience is a long-held American tradition and that the government cannot impose a law on American men and women that forces them to violate their beliefs in order

to hold a job, own a business, or purchase health insurance,” stated Perkins. Numerous pro-choice and leftwing organizations denounced the Supreme Court decision, claiming it to be an attack on health care for women. Ilyse Hogue, President of NARAL ProChoice America, stated that the decision was “an attack on women and our fundamental rights.” “This ruling goes out of its way to declare that discrimination against women isn’t discrimination,” said Hogue. “Allowing bosses this much control over the health-care decisions of their employees is a slippery slope with no end.” Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association, said in a statement that religious liberty did not benefit from the Hobby Lobby decision. “The Supreme Court has placed the religious views of corporate shareholders over the legitimate health care concerns of employees,” said Speckhardt. “This isn’t religious liberty — it’s religious intrusion that will negatively affect many hard-working Americans.”


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