Monthly Archives: March 2009

An Open Letter from John Oxendine

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An Open Letter to The Georgia Republican Party from John Oxendine:

The grassroots work each of you do for the Georgia Republican Party establishes the foundation which allows Georgia families to enjoy the traditional, conservative values we all share and support. 

I will be your Grassroots Governor. 

If you honor me with our nomination, I will work with the grassroots leaders in our party on a regular basis. It will be my posture to seek the consul of our grassroots activists, listen to our local party leaders, and include grassroots Republicans in the decision making process. 

There is a battle for the soul of our Party. I am proud to come from, and will stake my claim with, the true leaders of the Georgia Republican Party – the grassroots. 

I know who built our Party, I know who the heart and soul of our Party is, and I know who I intend to empower in our Party. It is the grassroots – it is you. 

We must do all we can to support our outstanding State Chair Sue Everhart. Sue is leading by example. From Valdosta to Tallulah Falls, West Point to Sandersville, if the GOP is doing an event, you will see Sue leading the way. Sue has done an outstanding job as state chair and we owe her our deepest appreciation and our united and unanimous support for another term as our State Chairman. 

Sue has worked to establish a strong grassroots network across Georgia to bring our conservative values to the people of Georgia. I am very proud to be associated with the Georgia Republican Party and look forward to being of service to contribute to our mission of strengthening Georgia families, protecting free enterprise, and preserving freedom. 

As Governor, I will support a large dollar fundraising event for our Party and proudly so. But, I will also offer a motion, and more importantly provide support and resources, to re-establish a President’s Day dinner, among other events, for our grassroots activists and leaders – at a price that is affordable to an activist not a lobbyist. 

If you honor me with the privilege to serve you as Governor, I will have one morning a month, every month, where I meet with grassroots Georgia Republican party leaders and activists. It will be exclusive to you – the Georgia GOP. I will not give a speech – I will do the listening and I will learn from you. That is my solemn pledge – to respect and listen to the leadership of my Party – YOU! 

The Members of the General Assembly and the taxpayers of Georgia deserve a Governor who will work with both the House and Senate, treat them with respect, and get to work on the hard issues for the taxpayers of Georgia. I will do this. 

Here is my personal e-mail address and cell number which will go to me and not staff. I am accessible. I want to listen to you. 

My direct e-mail: johnox@earthlink.net My direct cell: (404) 734-5738. 

I look forward to earning your trust, confidence, respect and support as I campaign across Georgia. My pledge to each of you is to be a Governor who respects, works with, and unites the General Assembly and honors the grassroots leadership of the Georgia Republican Party. 

We can bring this country back to its Judeo-Christian roots and to the traditional values which make America great. 

Georgians still have no meaningful tax reform, are still stuck in traffic, still have no new major economic development projects, and still trail other states on school test scores. 

My message to Georgia taxpayers: Let’s join together and transform Georgia.

I hope that you will take a minute to pass this message on via Facebook, e-mail, or Twitter to other Republicans.

We are also just above 2,000 members in our Facebook group. The contest is still on for the VIP Hannity ticket. I hope each of you will invite at least five Facebook friends to join this page and boost this number up.

I am honored to have your support, friendship, and prayers.
John Oxendine
Governor 2010

Are You a ‘Good Christ’? by Francis Chan (i.e., do I look/live anything like Jesus?)

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http://www.catalystspace.com/content/read/francis_chan/

ARE YOU A GOOD CHRIST?

By Francis Chan

I think it’s time we stop asking ourselves the question: “Am I a good Christian?” We live in a time when the term “Christian” has been so diluted that millions of immoral but nice people genuinely consider themselves “good Christians.” We have reduced the idea of a good Christian to someone who believes in Jesus, loves his or her family, and attends church regularly. Others will label you a good Christian even though your life has no semblance to the way Christ spent His days on earth. Perhaps we should start asking the question: “Am I a good Christ?” In other words, do I look anything like Jesus? This question never even entered my mind until a friend of mine made a passing comment to me one day.

Dan is a long time friend of mine. In fact, he’s the pastor who performed my wedding. He was talking to me about a pastor named Von. Von has been working with youth in the San Diego area for decades. Many of his students have gone on to become amazing missionaries and powerful servants of God. Dan described a trip to Tijuana, Mexico with Pastor Von. (Von has been ministering to the poor in the dumps of Tijuana for years). Dan didn’t speak of the awful living conditions of those who made their homes amidst the rubbish. What impacted Dan the most was the relationship he saw between Von and the people of this community. He spoke of the compassion, sacrifice, and love that he witnessed in Von’s words and actions as he held these malnourished and un-bathed children. Then he made the statement that sent me reeling:

“The day I spent with Von was the closest thing I’ve ever experienced to walking with Jesus.”

Dan explained that the whole experience was so eerie because he kept thinking to himself: “If Jesus were still walking on earth in the flesh, this is what it would feel like to walk alongside of Him!” After that discussion, I kept wondering if anyone had ever said that about me-”The day I spent with Francis was the closest thing I’ve ever experienced to walking with Jesus.” The answer was an obvious “no.” Would any honest person say that about you?

What bothered me was not that I hadn’t “arrived,” but that I wasn’t even heading in the right direction. I hadn’t made it my goal to resemble Christ. I wasn’t striving to become the kind of person who could be mistaken for Jesus Christ. Isn’t it ironic that a man can be known as a successful pastor, speaker, and CHRISTian even if his life doesn’t resemble Christ’s?

1 John 2:6 “Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.”

When John made that statement, he wasn’t speaking about how to be a church leader or even how to be a “good” Christian. He merely stated that anyone who calls himself Christian must live like Jesus did. So how did Jesus live? You could make a list of character traits to compare yourself to, but it would be far more beneficial to simply read through one of the Gospels. After you get a bird’s-eye view of the life of Christ, do the same with your own. Are you comfortable with the similarities and differences?

It’s easy to get caught up in the pursuit of “success” as American church-goers define it. The thought of being well-known and respected is alluring. There have been times when I’ve been caught up in the fun of popularity. I’ve even mistaken it for success. Biblically, however, success is when our lives parallel Christ’s. Truth is, there are many good Christs that you’ll never read about in a magazine. They are walking as Jesus walked, but they are too focused and humble to pursue their own recognition.

May we make it our goal to someday have someone say of us: “The day/hour/15 minutes I spent with ______ was the closest thing I’ve ever experienced to walking with Jesus.”

As Christians in America, we often complain about how antagonistic people are toward Christ. Personally, I’m not sure that Americans are really rejecting Christ. Maybe they just haven’t seen Him.

Try to be COMPLETELY honest with yourself right now. Is the following true of you?

You passionately love Jesus, but you don’t really want to be like Him. You admire His humility, but you don’t want to be THAT humble. You think it’s beautiful that He washed the feet of the disciples, but that’s not exactly the direction your life is headed. You’re thankful He was spit upon and abused, but you would never let that happen to you. You praise Him for loving you enough to suffer during His whole time on earth, but you’re going to do everything within your power to make sure you enjoy your time down here.

In short: You think He’s a great Savior, but not a great role model.

The American church has abandoned the most simple and obvious truth of what it means to follow Jesus: You actually follow His pattern of life. I pray for those who read this article- that we don’t become cynical or negative toward the church. Instead, let’s make a personal decision to stop talking so much and begin living like Jesus. Then we can say as the apostle Paul, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). My guess is that you’ve never had someone say that to you, and you’ve never said it to anyone else. Why Not?

 

Francis Chan is the pastor of Cornerstone Church and the president of Eternity Bible College in Simi Valley. In addition to being a pastor, Francis speaks to thousands of youth throughout the U.S., challenging them to deeper commitment. He can be heard on his radio program “Truth Be Known.” Francis has a great sense of humor, a genuine love for Christ, and a commitment to teach straight from the Word of God. Francis and his wife Lisa have been married for twelve years and have three daughters and one son: Rachel, mercy, Eliana, and Ezekiel. He is a graduate of the Master’s College and Seminary.