Free Republic

“Pastors cannot be expected to have the same level of skill, training and experience as professional therapists,” said Walter Kim, president of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE). “Pastors have a shepherding and counseling role to play, but should refer when people need the next layer of care. Pastors should also play a role in minimizing stigma around seeing therapists.” Several evangelical leaders noted that a key challenge for pastors is discerning when they have both the skill and the necessary time to help, and when they should refer. Most leaders indicated that pastors deal well with mental health issues...

Obama blamed for failure of international arms treatyBy Julian Pecquet - 07/27/12 08:26 PM ET The United Nations indefinitely suspended action on an international arms trade treaty Friday after the United States and several other countries asked for more time. The decision sparked angry reactions from human rights groups often allied with the Obama administration, who believed a treaty to regulate the export of deadly weapons to rogue regimes was within reach. The UN had spent the entire month of July hammering out a deal, and Friday was the deadline for an agreement on a treaty that has met with...

A National Association of Evangelicals board member is calling on African-Americans to vote for their conservative convictions in the 2012 election, describing President Barack Obama as a theologically liberal candidate. Bishop Harry R. Jackson. Jr., senior pastor of Hope Christian Church outside of Washington, D.C., asked blacks to re-evaluate their tendency to “flock the polls” in support of Democratic leaders in an opinion piece published Friday in The Wall Street Journal. Blacks, he noted, espouse traditional, conservative beliefs on social issues rooted in their faith. Yet, they often vote for Democratic leaders with liberal leanings. “Most blacks have looked the...

A majority of evangelical leaders believe that Jesus Christ will return to earth and then reign with his followers for 1,000 years, a new survey shows. This end times theology is called premillennialism and 65 percent of surveyed evangelical leaders identify with it. As part of its monthly poll, the National Association of Evangelicals surveyed its board of directors, which include the CEOs of denominations and representatives of a broad array of evangelical organizations, on their eschatological beliefs. "It’s in our human nature to want to prepare ourselves – physically, emotionally, spiritually – for what might be ahead," said NAE...

They argue that it would be hateful act and against GodChristianity and Islam are diametrically opposed on many issues. However -- the National Association of Evangelicals has strongly condemned plans by a Florida church to burn copies of the Quran on the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - "The proposed burning of Qurans would be profoundly offensive to Muslims worldwide, just as Christians would be insulted by the burning of Bibles," the NAE said in a statement. "Such an act would escalate tensions between members of the two faiths in the United States and...

The White House invited four of the country’s top evangelical pastors to attend President Obama’s speech this morning calling for immigration reform. ... The Rev. Leith Anderson, President, National Association of Evangelicals. NAE is the nation’s largest evangelical group and has long sought to be a moderate evangelical alternative to the Christian Right. Dr. Richard Land, President, Southern Baptist Convention Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. ... worries that conservatives will burn bridges with the country’s fast-growing Hispanic bloc if they take a hard anti-immigrant line. Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, President, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Council. Bill Hybels, Senior Pastor of the...

Welcome news arrived recently on the family planning front. The National Association of Evangelicals has announced a willingness to work with groups that offer contraceptive services and other programs aimed at reducing the number of abortions. That marks progress in the polarized issue of abortion, which nine of 10 evangelicals oppose. But no one likes abortion. The difference between abortion rights supporters — many of whom provide contraception — and abortion opponents has been that many abortion opponents have also opposed contraception and even sex education, which can help reduce unplanned pregnancy. Now the NAE is officially adopting the position...

Overshadowed by the Obamacare vote, tens of thousands marched on the National Mall on Sunday March 21 for "Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR)," including numerous religious groups. Called the "March for America," sponsors included immigrants groups and labor unions, as well as ACORN, CodePink, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the National Council of Churches, and the National Association of Evangelicals.

One year into the Obama administration, it seems too early to weigh the influence - or potential influence - of the "progressive evangelical movement."These are the people who often advise Democratic candidates on faith issues and try to get evangelical Christians to prioritize issues like global warming and torture over fighting Roe v. Wade or gays marrying. -SNIP-And now a couple familiar faces from the progressive evangelical world are forming a lobbying/advocacy group,............................ Richard Cizik (longtime lobbyist for the National Association of Evangelicals who was pushed out in 2008 after saying he supports civil unions) and David Gushee (president...

Why We Are Going to Hell – Part 3,995 Conservative Protestants Condone Law-Breaking Has the Christian Church Gone Crazy??? byPaul L. Williams, Ph.D. thelastcrusade.org Evangelical Christians this week offered the Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) and members of the U.S. Senate Immigration Reform Committee their ringing endorsement of full amnesty for the 20 to 30 million illegal aliens within the country. Open borders and high immigration, the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) proclaimed, increases membership in evangelical churches and is good for the economy. Rev. Leith Anderson, president of the NAE, said there was no dissent among the members of...

NATIONAL EVANGELICALS PRESIDENT SAYS PRO-AMNESTY SUPPORT WAS UNANIMOUS Rev. Leith Anderson, president of the NAE, was invited by Sen. Shumer (D-N.Y.) to testify in favor of the Senate immigration chairman's push to create amnesty legislation this fall. Sen. Shumer asked Rev. Anderson if many of his colleagues agree with his support for legalizing 12-20 million illegal aliens and increasing the legal immigration far higher than the 1 million a year current level (the two key components of "comprehensive immigration reform"). Rev. Anderson answered that there was no dissent in adopting the pro-amnesty resolution on the 75-member NAE board of directors....

With only one major exception, virtually all Christian denominations now have national leadership calling for more foreign workers in the U.S. -- even though U.S. workers (including millions in church pews) are unemployed. In this blog, I will list the types of Americans who are suffering the most under the immigration advocacy of these denominational leaders. At the bottom, I will list the denominations whose leaders are favoring more foreign workers (and illegal aliens) over unemployed Americans and over the legal immigrants already here. I urge YOU to forward this blog to your own pastor and/or any other pastors you...

Former evangelical pastor Ted Haggard said his sexual identity is complex and can't be put into "stereotypical boxes." But he said his relationship with his wife is stronger than ever. A new HBO documentary follows Haggard after a gay sex scandal forced him to resign as president of the 30 million-member National Association of Evangelicals. He was also fired from the 14,000-member New Life Church. Haggard said he still believes it's "God's perfect plan" for marriage to be between a man and woman, but he said "sexuality is confusing and complex."

The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) does not speak for every evangelical or evangelical church (the Southern Baptist denomination, for example, is not a member of the NAE), but it certainly speaks for a great majority of them. It has been around for 66 years, and represents 50 denominations and more than 45,000 churches. Its national convention in 1983 provided the occasion for Ronald Reagan to denounce the Soviet Union as an "evil empire."

The controversial Washington lobbyist for the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) has resigned after he created a stir by expressing support for homosexual civil unions. Richard Cizik has resigned as vice president for governmental affairs for the NAE. In a statement to NAE board members, acting president Leith Anderson cited "a loss of trust in his [Cizik's] credibility as a spokesperson among leaders and constituencies." On December 2, Cizik acknowledged -- during an interview on National Public Radio's Fresh Air -- that he voted for Barack Obama in the Virginia primary, and suggested that Christians should not be afraid to...

Ex-evangelical leader Ted Haggard, who fell from grace after the exposure of his sex and drug scandal two years ago, recently opened up about the dark secret from his past that likely led to his downfall as an adult. He spoke at Open Bible Fellowship Church, a small congregation in Morrison, Ill., on Nov. 2 – the second anniversary of his resignation as president of the 30 million-member National Association of Evangelicals. The church’s pastor, Chris Byrd, is a long-time friend of Haggard of over 30 years. “The first thing I want you to know is I sinned,” Haggard told...

Orlando, Florida March 8, 1983 This is the "evil empire" speech that was so often quoted as defining my attitude toward the Soviets. At the time it was portrayed as some kind of know-nothing, archconservative statement that could only drive the Soviets to further heights of paranoia and insecurity. For too long our leaders were unable to describe the Soviet Union as it actually was. The keepers of our foreign-policy knowledge - in other words, most liberal foreign-affairs scholars, the State Department, and various columnists - found it illiberal and provocative to be so honest. I've always believed, however, that...

Some prominent evangelical leaders are criticizing the heads of the National Association of Evangelicals for signing a letter to Muslim leaders containing controversial language. The critical leaders include Dr. Albert Mohler, Gary Bauer, and Dr. Patrick Sookhdeo who voiced opposition to the apology in the letter for the sins of Christians during the Crusades and for “excesses” of the global war on terror, without mentioning Muslim acts of violence. Moreover, the leaders contend the letter compromises the importance of Jesus in Christianity in order to appease Muslims. Mohler noted that the letter “sends the wrong signal” and contains basic theological...

A Slice alert today as the Christian Post reports this morning that Rick Warren, Leith Anderson, the head of the National Association of Evangelicals, Bill Hybels and other evangelicals have signed a document urging Muslims to “love God” together with them and to find peace between the two religions. This is where it has all been heading, folks. You’ve been warned for a long time now that this new spirituality is coming. Here’s a quote from the article: Christian leaders urged for an interfaith dialogue that moves beyond “polite” ecumenical talks between selected leaders. Instead, leaders of both faiths should...

Evangelical Christians say the issue of illegal aliens in the United States often creates a conflict between their allegiance to the Gospels and their loyalty to the government. "On one hand, they really want to minister to people, but on the other hand, [illegal aliens] have broken the law -- and that's a problem for people," said John Clifford Green, a senior fellow at the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. Several conservative Christian groups sent a letter Monday to President Bush asking that his plan to resolve the immigration crisis include strong border security, amnesty for illegals who...