If we are going to have a message that is relevant to our times, we must understand the times. For this reason we need to evaluate the significant events of our times, such as the recent elections from a spiritual perspective. They were, in many ways, a barometer of the spiritual condition of the nation at this time, as well as a precursor of the direction in which we are headed.
It was said by many that these elections were the most important in their lifetime, which was not an exaggeration. However, we can expect every election from this time on to be the most important in our lifetime. This is because the times are going to become increasingly challenging and dangerous. Therefore, our decision on such crucial issues and who will lead us through them will become increasingly critical.
Even so, this evaluation is not about politics, it is about how the world is in the midst of a great turning that is presenting some of the greatest opportunities for the gospel in history. We will examine the politics because as we are told in I Corinthians 15:46: “However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual.” We need to understand the lessons from the recent elections and the world political situation as a basis for understanding the developing spiritual trends.
The Condition of the Church in America
Over the last few weeks before the election, I was continually asked what the Lord had shown me about the election. My answer was that He was telling me to vote! Obviously this is what many of His people heard, and did, as the significant increase in Christians voting this time made the difference in this election. One thing that the now much maligned exit polls did show very clearly was that morality and values were the most important issues in this election, even trumping the economy and the war in Iraq. Christians mobilizing to vote also revealed that the church is in fact mobilizing in America.
There is a moral and spiritual awakening now taking place in America. Christians are starting to flex their political muscles again to the degree that the White House will probably not be won again by a candidate that does not appeal to Christians. This is the greatest fear to much of the old news media, the old movie industry, the old music industry, and the old Democratic Party. However, it has been anticipated by the new media, the new movie industry, a new generation of musicians and artists, and a new Democratic Party.
This is not to say that the old media, the old entertainment industries, or the old Democratic Party are totally dead yet, but they have been severely wounded and may very well die. There is a very definite and growing trend toward conservative morality and integrity. The old cannot see this or understand it because those who live in darkness cannot see.
If you listened to the evaluations of the old order Democrats as to why they lost this past election (which they lost from the Presidency on down), few if any even came close to understanding what was happening. This is why they lost and will continue to lose. If it had not been for the Iraq War and the continual stream of bad news from Iraq that the news media kept parading in front of the public, Bush would have probably won this election by the greatest landslide in history. But what does this mean?
The Foundation of Justice
Psalm 89:14 states that righteousness and justice are the foundation of the Lord’s throne. That means His authority will be both right and just. What this election means is that the Lord is establishing His authority in America, which has been the prayer of many for decades. There is not just a turning to the right, but a turning to righteousness. With this, we can also expect a turning to righteous judges.
By these righteous judges, I am not just speaking of judges sitting on benches in courtrooms, though that is important too. However, possibly the most powerful judges in our nation now, and in much of the world, are journalists. Though the old school journalists have lost their grip on America’s thinking and have fallen even lower than televangelists and lawyers on the trust scale in America, those who really are “fair and balanced” are ascending and reclaiming integrity in journalism.
Journalists claim to not judge or interpret the news, but just report it. No longer do they deceive anyone by their real intent anymore. They judge by what they cover, how they cover it, and the timing in which they cover it. The “unrighteous judges” in the media, or those who were wrong in their judgment and deceptive in their coverage, probably lost more in this election than anyone else. An estimated 80 percent of the media coverage was pro-Kerry or anti-Bush, and the people obviously did not listen to the coverage because they no longer believe them. The American people are now very aware of the manipulative schemes of the media. It did not work in this election, and it will not work again with the present generation.
However, the news media is a very important element in any free society. Even though the news media’s reputation is now severely damaged, a new news media is arising that will be truly fair and balanced, both right and just, and they will win the day. Just as the more fair and balanced Fox News won viewers over the old-line liberal CBS News by an estimated seven to one, this trend will continue throughout the news media. Expect a very healthy competition to emerge in the news media between the old-line liberals and the new emerging conservatives, which will continue down to small-town newspapers.
What’s Next?
Because every election from this time on will be increasingly important, it is even more important that those who care about righteousness and justice mobilize and do their duty as citizens and vote in every place and at every time that they have this privilege. Voting is a right and it is also a responsibility. As exhausted as many were after this election, it is not the time to rest. It is time to start looking ahead and planning, not only for the coming elections, but for any way we can have a positive influence on the important issues of our time.
I expressed months ago that I thought Bush would be re-elected, mostly because he had not yet done many of the things that he was called to do. Since I expected Bush’s re-election, my primary concern was that he have a congress with whom he could work to accomplish these things. We also need officials at every level of government who are fundamentally devoted to morality, integrity, and justice for all. Christians need to get even more involved in the governing of their nations right on down to the local level.
From the County Court to the Supreme Court
One of the most important domestic issues for America has to do with the justices appointed, not only to the Supreme Court, but throughout the land. There is an opportunity now to establish righteous judgment on a level greater than we have ever known before. This includes everything from protecting the rights of the innocent, the helpless, and the minorities, to reining in frivolous lawsuits that threaten not only our healthcare system, but the foundational strength of the nation. It is also time to rein in activist judges who determine to make the law instead of interpret it. If this can be done, it will pave the way for many more years of American advancement and prosperity, as well as for the rest of the world. This time is needed to prepare for the coming millennial reign of Christ, and this turning to righteousness is indeed a preparation for this.
In His parable of the Sheep and Goats, the Lord said that when He returned He would divide the nations into those that were “sheep” and those that were “goats” (see Matthew 25:32). We are right now in the time when it is being determined which nations are “sheep” and which are “goats.” Therefore, it behooves every Christian to care about the direction that their communities and their nations are going. We must become the light and salt that we are called to be.
Leadership vs. Politics
There can be a big difference between a great politician and a great leader. Our President is not a great politician, but he is a leader and may prove to be one of our greatest. It was good politically for the President to be generous in his victory to his opponents, commending the strong campaign that was waged by Kerry and Edwards. It was good politically to use the mandate that he had with this election to reach across party lines to bring unity. However, it can be a tragic mistake to let the euphoria of victory cause one to be too generous in victory. Many generals have won great battles only to ultimately lose the war because they failed to follow-up their victories and press their advantages when they had them.
Even Joshua, who led Israel into the Promised Land, made this mistake and formed an unrighteous alliance with the Gibeonites that would cost Israel for generations to come. Because the Gibeonites came with stale bread and old wineskins, Joshua assumed that they were from far away, so that it would not really make any difference if he made an alliance with them (see Joshua 9). The moral of that story is that all alliances are important, and we should be very careful in making them, especially those who come with “stale bread and old wineskins.” It would be a tragic mistake for the new order to make an alliance with the old order.
The President and the new leadership may need to reach across party lines, but to the new Democrats, not the old. The old order in this case will not die gracefully, but will continue to foment division. The new order and the new Democrats will see that it is a new day with new challenges and new possibilities. There is an excellent opportunity right now for great accomplishments, but it will not last long.
Again, the great danger of victory is euphoria. It can make one too generous to the vanquished, which was the mistake that cost King Saul his kingdom, passing it on to a leader who would fight until the enemies of righteousness were completely vanquished. Victory must be followed up decisively. I do not think there is much doubt that this is the President’s plan because he is a leader more than a politician and he is a part of the new breed of leadership that we can expect to soon emerge in every major realm of influence.
The Old World vs. the New World
It was interesting to watch the international evaluation of our elections. As I travel quite extensively, I try to learn all that I can about the people I am visiting. One way I have learned to do this is by listening to what they think about America and Americans. It seems that every publication has articles or editorials about us. They often contain brilliant deductions and are full of glib insights, but in general, could not be more wrong about us. They are consistently based on using the most extreme elements by which to judge the whole. That is one of the most deceptive tactics which the father of lies has used from the beginning to keep people in conflict with each other.
In my opinion, having read what they say about others and even themselves, they tend to be wrong there as well, though certainly more generous. I have concluded that the media in general has lost the ability to make honest and truthful evaluations, even when they are trying to be positive. However, in most countries there is a similar and growing skepticism about the media such as we have here. This is definitely a good thing in the present circumstances.
It does seem that most nations were seriously disappointed with our election results because they do not like Bush. We should realize the reason that they do not like Bush is because Bush will not cow-tow to their own interests at the expense of American interests. The United States is the leading nation in the world right now, and few nations will like us at all unless they can dictate our policy, which will be at our expense and their gain. If America was to do what pleases the Old World, it would be doing the things that would not only lead to our own demise, but theirs as well.
The Old World and the New World really do have a very different worldview and a very different agenda. They are not “traditional allies” as many promote. With but a few exceptions, they have very different interests that are often exactly counter to ours. Many of our “traditional allies” will simply not be content until America is no longer a world power. These same ones do not seem to have a clue as to the disaster that is impending in their own future, as the dark clouds of a most terrible war and oppression are again gathering over Europe.
Old World politics have been a resounding disaster. It was by following the very same mentality that still dominates Old World thinking now that led to both World War I and II. It appears that many leading European nations have not learned one thing from these greatest of human tragedies, though some of the smaller European nations there are beginning to sound the alarm. One definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing but expect different results. That makes present European politics insane, and we are just as crazy if we cow-tow to them.
The Hardened Heart
However, we do not want to over-generalize either, or judge the whole by the extreme elements. There are many nations in Europe that are breaking away from the Old World mentality, and a new generation of leaders is starting to emerge in Europe that appears to be breaking away from this as well. Even so, we should be seriously alarmed if we are doing things that will please the Old World in general.
It is interesting that the way the Lord hardened the heart of the selfish and rebellious Israelites in the wilderness was to give them what they demanded in abundance. They demanded meat, so He gave it to them until it ran out of their ears. If you give a demanding, selfish child what he or she is demanding you are not helping them, you are hardening their heart in their selfishness.
As an employer, I learned long ago that no amount of generosity on my part would appease selfishly demanding employees. The more I gave to them, the more they demanded. When this mentality takes over a company, it becomes the cancer that will eventually kill the company. Cancer is basically self-centered cells that consume for themselves without regard to the rest of the body. When this mentality takes over a nation, the nation is doomed. Socialism feeds this mentality in a nation.
France has some of the most generous, self-sacrificing, noble souls on earth. However, in general, this demanding and ultimately selfish mentality has been taking over that great nation. It is now an extreme version of the Old World politics that sees itself as the center of the world, and the master who should dictate policy in the rest of the world. We should not judge all of Europe on the behavior of France. We also need to learn from this because we, America, can fall to the same traps very easily.
Thousands of Americans have died in the last two world wars to come to the aid of France. Then America, under the Marshall plan, for a period of time gave more of its gross national product to help rebuild the nations devastated by the war than we were using at home for ourselves. Yet Americans are consistently treated more rudely in France than any other people. At the same time, France gave Yasser Arafat, the father of modern terrorism and probably the one who is responsible the most for countless women and children having been killed, their highest military and state honors when he died. This does say volumes about the present leadership of France.
When our politicians talk about “traditional allies,” they are usually referring to France in particular. France was a traditional ally of the United States to some degree when it served France’s interests. However, France has become an enemy in recent years. France no longer tries to just undercut American interests— they try to sabotage them. Americans should never be alarmed when France disagrees with us—we should be alarmed when they agree.
We can also expect France to be as quickly and easily subdued by Islam as they were by the Nazis in World War II. The ones who should have learned the most about how counter-productive the policy of appeasement is when dealing with the kind of mentality that both the Nazis and the radical Islamic extremists have, obviously did not learn a thing and are falling into the same trap again.
Politicians cow-tow to public opinion. Leaders lead, doing what they think is the right thing, regard-less of which way the fickle winds of public opinion may be blowing that day. We should be thankful to have a leader who is leading at this critical time.
Having traveled the world to the degree that I have, I would not trust any candidate very much that most of the nations of the world are pulling for. This should be a red flag to Americans, not a positive indication.
I am not saying this from an isolationist point of view. The great battle for dominance of the world is between the selfish and the self-sacrificing. Presently, the fastest way for any nation to become prosperous is to start a war with the United States and to lose. No nation in history has treated its vanquished foes with the kind of generosity that the United States has. No nation has treated its wounded allies with the kind of sacrifice that America has, even when they not only failed to acknowledge the generosity, but became even more demanding.
When America subdued Iraq, it not only resisted seizing its oil and oil revenues, but continued to pay full retail for its oil, gave billions in aid, and forgave more than a hundred billion in debt. America continues to make sacrifices of its own soldiers, some of its finest young men and women, to help establish the authority of a stable government that will not likely even show us much gratitude when we leave. This may be revolting to some, but any nation that remains this noble in character when being so poorly treated by the ones that it helps will remain a great and strong nation. True, lasting power is founded on sacrifice, not selfishness.
A New Alliance
One thing the media has been right about is that the nation seems to be more divided than ever politically and ideologically. This does not mean they are equally divided in numbers—those devoted to traditional morality and values outnumber those who oppose and seek to undermine these by a large and increasing margin.
It is also likely that this margin grew even more after this past election by the calloused way that the old order Democrats offended the majority of Americans by calling everyone who voted for Bush either stupid or ignorant. Many commentators also especially targeted Christians as being stupid and ignorant. This may have finally been enough to offend and wake up their base of African-American voters to the way that they are being used and taken for granted by the old order Democratic Party. Most of the African-American voters are Christians.
I know that most white Christians have a hard time understanding how any Christian could vote for a pro-abortion, pro-gay agenda platform. However, there are other factors that all Christians should understand. To begin to understand someone else we need to do what the word implies, which is to “stand under” their situation. Presidents Kennedy and Johnson did more to bring righteousness and justice for African-Americans than any President since Abraham Lincoln. There is an amazing devotion to loyalty in the African- American community. It took them a long time to switch from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party, and it will take them a long time to switch back, but they will. That is another trend which is inevitable. However, the Republican Party needs to earn their trust.
President Bush has done a great deal in this regard that will help future Republicans. No President has done more for minorities, especially African-Americans, since Kennedy and Johnson as Bush has. He did much more than give empty promises to them—he gave them real positions of power and influence. He did not seem to do this in a way of a token either, which minorities discern very quickly, but rather he chose the people who he thought were the best qualified for those positions. This is the mentality of the new Republican Party, which will aggressively seek minority allegiance and do it with real promotion of the interests of minorities.
Leadership in the Moral Civil War
The Republican Party that held the course and saved the nation during the Civil War will also be the party that holds the course and saves the nation during the present moral civil war. Even so, at home President Bush is despised by many in the same way that Abraham Lincoln, who was the last great reformer of the Republican Party. Few realize that Lincoln was probably the most hated and ridiculed American President ever. However, the moment he died he was quickly elevated to being one the most beloved and honored of any of our Presidents.
No one, even those in Lincoln’s own party, seemed able to realize how great he had been until they were challenged by his death to really look at his life. Then the whole nation was astonished at his incredible leadership and accomplishments in the most difficult and confusing of times. Likewise, President Bush will be one of our most highly regarded Presidents after he is no longer President. Even so, he is not likely to be well understood or appreciated while he is in power.
Lincoln was not a perfect leader and made many mistakes. Bush is not a perfect leader either; there is not one on the earth at this time. However, Bush has also led the nation through its most difficult trial, possibly better than anyone else could have done. Lincoln was a great leader because he had such a strong moral compass, and he refused to deviate from the course it directed him to take. In this way, President Bush is the same kind of leader that Abraham Lincoln was. We can also expect his strong moral compasses to make him the greatest threat, and therefore the most despised and feared by those who do not have their own moral compass. Even so, this will enable Bush to seize the day because America is returning to traditional values, and those who do not see this trend will be swept away by it. The extreme immoralists have gone too far and driven even those who were once neutral to reaction.
The Anti-war Movement
We can expect there to be a rising anti-war movement in America, but it will not gain the kind of influence that it did during the Vietnam War. We can expect the liberal media to fan the flames, but no one listens to them like they once did. However, Kerry and Edwards and the Democratic Party in general sowed many seeds of discontent in the recent campaigns that will have to be reaped. In this I am not talking about the moral civil war, but the War on Terror.
Even so, we should consider that the biggest anti-war movement in our history was during the Civil War. Lincoln had to fight even more deadly enemies to the cause in his rear than he did on the battlefront. Even those who wanted the North to fight until it achieved victory only wanted one great victory on the battlefield so the South could be given its independence from a position of strength and preserve the nation’s honor. Lincoln resolutely kept his focus on the goal of preserving the Union, not just winning a military victory, for which we should all be thankful.
Likewise, we must pray that President Bush resolutely keeps his focus on the defeat of America’s most deadly enemies, which are also the most deadly enemies of civilization as we know it. We need to consider that the North would have won the Civil War much faster and at a far smaller human and material cost if there had been unity behind Lincoln’s leadership. As one historian put it, the North fought the entire war with one hand tied behind its back. The fact that Lincoln was able to hold the course until the victory was complete against the opposition that he had at home, and even in his own party, was one of In many ways President Bush may be leading the nation in an even more difficult time than Lincoln was. the greatest accomplishments in United States Presidential leadership. Bush will need the same kind of resolve to keep the terrorists on their heels until they are defeated.
Kerry and Edwards ran a hard campaign. However, the nation needs to take a hard look at their message and methods, which were deeply disturbing. Their challenges to the way the war in Iraq was being conducted crossed the line that no candidate for any office or any American should ever cross in a time of war. Their message and their methods encouraged our enemies and offended our true friends in the world. That will cost American lives and make America less safe. It was understandable that the American military voted over 80 percent in favor of Bush’s re-election.
This is not to imply that there should not be a debate on a war’s merits, policies, or the implementation of strategy or tactics. However, there is a way in which this should be done that does not threaten the conduct of the war, threaten the lives of Americans, or be unnecessarily offensive to our allies. If anything should ever be considered “politically incorrect,” this should be when it is done simply for political gain. Anyone who does this should be utterly rejected as unfit for any office.
Calling Victories Defeats and Defeats Victories
In many ways President Bush may be leading the nation in an even more difficult time than Lincoln was. The enemy, a very real threat to our existence as a nation, is not as clearly defined and neither is the battlefield. The victories achieved are not as clearly defined, and therefore not perceived or understood by many. However, the Bush Administration’s victories in the War on Terror are possibly the greatest, most remarkable military victories in the history of warfare since biblical times. The media’s failure to talk about this is just one more sure sign of just how blind or biased it is.
The Soviets fought in Afghanistan with one of the most powerful and modern armies on earth and against one of the most primitive. After two decades and two hundred thousand Soviet casualties and as many as two million Afghan casualties, they finally gave up the fight, declaring that it was a war that could not be won. Some of the most powerful empires in world history came to a similar conclusion after trying to subdue that small, landlocked, and dirt poor nation. It was then that the U.S. led coalition went in and decisively won the war that even our own media and their army of military analysts claimed could not be won. If anything was more remarkable than this, they did it in just a couple of months!
This astonishing victory was accomplished at such a low cost in men and materials that it bordered on the miraculous. Yet the media, in what has to be one of the most ridiculous positions ever taken by them, actually chided Administration leadership because some American lives were lost! This came from those same ones who just weeks before were claiming thousands of Americans would die in a war that could not be won! This commentary was made while the ruins of the World Trade Center were still smoldering! One has to conclude by this that the liberal media was actually trying to commit suicide.
Then this amazing victory in Afghanistan was followed up by the war to overthrow Saddam Hussein, which was even more remarkable and was probably an even more brilliant military victory. The assault on Iraq was begun with just a fraction of the forces that the coalition had in the first Gulf War, and with the advance by troops on the ground actually preceding the air war to soften up the enemy. The many generals that had become the media’s military experts lamented that this would result in thousands of U.S. casualties, and some even believed that it would certainly result in our defeat in the war. The victory was not only faster than even the greatest optimists had presumed possible, but will most likely be considered the greatest military victory in U.S. history. This is not to in any way fail to acknowledge the contribution of our allies in this war, but the strategy and leadership was provided by the U.S.
The war in Iraq was also unprecedented in history as a strategy devised that would be decisive while at the same time the least costly to the enemy! In the first Gulf War, we bombed Iraq nearly back to the Middle Ages by attacking its infrastructure long and hard before sending the ground troops in. That may have been necessary at the time, and the war was also brilliantly led and executed. However, this last war in Iraq was designed to move swiftly and decisively in a way that would minimize the casualties and the destruction of the Iraqi infrastructure. Even the lights stayed on in Baghdad almost throughout the war. It is unlikely that a war plan has ever been devised with such motives of helping the country get back on its feet as fast as possible.
There have been mistakes made in Iraq, and there will be in every war. However, this war was unique in the history of warfare, and possibly the most brilliantly led and executed in history, both before, during, and after. General Tommy Franks was not portrayed by the media as nearly the charismatic leader that others have been, but he deserves to go down in history as possibly our greatest military leader for what he accomplished in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Likewise, the Bush Administration deserves credit as one of the most brilliant wartime administrations in our history.
A Victory in Character
All casualties are tragic. The cost to one family for one loss is heart-rending. I am thankful to live in a country where the cost of the human life is considered to the degree that it is; I am thankful for a media that does as well. However, it was one of the greatest revelations of just how out of step with reality that much of our media was when they chided the Bush Administration for the American casualties in the war in Afghanistan at a time when there were only a handful. Not once did they seem to even consider the tens of thousands that the Soviets had lost without even gaining a victory. For the most part, they remained just as out of touch in their perspective on the war in Iraq and the continued operations there.
I am very thankful to be a part of a nation that would go to work right after a war to help rebuild the nations of our enemies as we did after World War II. After the recent war in Iraq we not only immediately went to work rebuilding that nation, but funded it as well, forgiving their debt, and lobbying other nations to do the same until they could get their feet back on the ground. Why does the media never cover such truly noble, unselfish policies and acts? The world or our own liberal media may never acknowledge it, but there has never been a more generous, honorable nation in history than the United States.
Our Greatest Enemy?
More than 80 percent of the liberal media’s articles are negative on the war in Iraq, but one has to ask how they miss the fact that since the War on Terror began, there has not been another major terrorist attack on U.S. soil after 9/11? This is an absolutely incredible achievement considering the highest priority that the terrorists gave to attacking us at home. Why hasn’t the media said anything about this? Because of a profound bias that has led to blindness. The American media, in general, is trying to deceive the American people. This election makes it abundantly clear that the American people, in general, discern this and have much more understanding about world events than the liberal media.
The Biggest Loser
I was amused, but not surprised, by how the liberal media could not seem to analyze the message that this election sent. They could not comprehend that one of the most important messages of all was that the country did not listen to them! From newspapers, to television networks, to college professors, which were more than 80 percent pro-Kerry and anti-Bush, the nation refused to listen to them. The people did win this election and the liberal media lost, and lost big.
CBS News, possibly the most liberal news network and the most shamelessly biased, has been dying for years. It seems that in this election it finally committed suicide and a very sloppy one. First, they shot themselves by using blatantly spurious National Guard documents to bring serious charges against our Commander in Chief, which were supposedly the memos from a dead man no less. Even the rest of the liberal media, to their credit, jumped on this shameless violation of basic integrity in journalism. CBS promised to fully investigate it, and within weeks, heads would roll. That did not happen, indicating that they are not going to be honorable Samurai and fall on their own sword, but will force the country to execute them.
Then maybe even more shocking than the National Guard document debacle, it became known that CBS was waiting until the Sunday before the election to release the report about the explosives that were supposedly not secured by advancing U.S. troops in the Iraqi War. The timing of the release of this report in this way, (which it appears was in cahoots with the New York Times, with information supplied by the U.N. in a blatant attempt to effect the U.S. elections), would not give Bush the time to answer the charges, thereby causing the maximum damage to his campaign at the most critical time. This plot was foiled and released early because it was leaked, forcing them to come out with their stories, which again probably did more damage to the Kerry campaign and the liberal agenda as their devious methods and deceitful reporting were exposed.
No question that the liberal media lost big in this election, as did liberal politicians from the top down. They really do not understand that there is a great spiritual awakening now arising in the country, and the whole nation is becoming much more conservative politically. However, liberal politics are not dead and neither is the liberal media, nor should they be. Their present dishonesty has been clearly revealed, which calls for a profound repentance, change, and a new leadership. The result will be that a new liberal politician and media will emerge and will do so because it has integrity that will enable them to become trustworthy again.
It takes two wings for an eagle to fly, both a left and a right one. There are some issues championed by liberals that are more right or righteous than the positions generally taken by conservatives on those issues. Some of these issues, if not faced, can be more devastating to our future than the terrorists, but these are for a future bulletin.
Summary
There is a mandate for morality and values in America right now. There is a spiritual awakening going on. Christian books have become the fastest growing segment of publishing, nearly doubling in demand in just two years. The momentum is good for not only continued increase, but dramatic increase. This is one of the most telltale barometers of spiritual hunger.
Conversions to Christ are also on the rise in America. Youth movements especially have gone from gathering hundreds to gathering hundreds of thousands. The Passion of the Christ, to the absolute shock of almost everyone, broke records for distribution, even though it was only shown in a relatively small percentage of theaters. Studies on everything from business leadership to sports success have clearly established that a strong moral foundation is the only foundation for true, lasting success.
An unprecedented opportunity for the gospel is upon us that we must seize. How do we do this? That too will be for a future bulletin.