by David Sliker
It’s the midpoint of 2010. Normally, a typical year surprises you by its unexpected speed - you look up, and suddenly it’s June. You think, “where did the time go?” The surprise is normally knit to how the mundane realities of living life “pulling weeds in the heat of the day” - meaning the simplicity of the rigors of chores, bills, and other life details - make life feel like it’s creeping by sometimes. It’s easy to forget that life is a “vapor” that rapidly diminishes and passes swiftly by.
This year, however, I haven’t felt that way. The days are rocketing by with a speed that is, at times, overwhelming. It’s not what I expected from this season of my life - I entered 2010 with great joy, having shed every title and position I’ve held over the years at IHOP-KC. I had no “official” responsibilities, no official title, and as the year went on, no office space. The year was one that was supposed to be an unofficial “sabbatical” year of me, Jesus, and the prayer room - much like it was in the early days of 2002, when I first arrived at the prayer room.
I remember those days so vividly - for the first time in my life in full-time ministry, I had no title, no responsibilities, and lots of time to enjoy God and be enjoyed by Him. It was the most gloriously exhilarating season of my life: brand new on staff at IHOP, no one knew me, no one expected anything from me, and I could enjoy long hours in the prayer room, at teaching services on weekends, and in the word. Of course, the “crown jewel” of that season for me was that my wife was pregnant, the IHOP staff went on a 50-day fast together, and the last 12 nights of that fast were dedicated to gathering to hear IHOP’s prophetic history - which for years we called the “Encountering Jesus” series. I never thought I’d have a season like that again.
Of course, when I resigned from my roles at IHOP in September of last year, I was sure that I was headed for another glorious season of me n’ God. My wife is even pregnant again! Due in September, it was almost poetic to me as I looked back to those months with fondness. What I learned is that you can never go back - that yesterday’s season and yesterday’s encounter is what it is, what it was, and what it had to be. It was unique and can never be recaptured or relived. It’s not supposed to be - for in the infinite creativity and beauty of God lies a wonderful propensity to show you how different two similar seasons can be in His plan for your life. Thus we forget what lies behind and press on towards the goal of knowing Christ Jesus - and all of the wonderful surprises He has in store for us today.
The greatest surprise of this season came on two separate dates: November 11, 2009 and January 29, 2010. In November the Lord apprehended my with His Spirit in the most unexpected and glorious way - my testimony is below. In January, He commissioned me in the most unexpected and glorious way. The IHOPU Student Awakening changed my life in many ways, accelerated my life in others, and was the final means of transitioning me to the next season of my life. I’ll always look back on these days with awestruck wonder and tender gratitude. The Lord saved me. He delivered me. He filled me with joy and reset me into His purposes. Then, in January, He began the next phase: weekends in Atlanta. Three times a month I travel to the house of prayer in Atlanta to be with my friend, Billy Humphrey, as we lead Awakening (renewal) meetings together. A binder thick with testimonies declares the reality of the power of God to heal and set captives free there. It’s been glorious.
As that phase of my new season in God began I found myself teaching Romans, Kingdom of God, and the Excellencies of Christ at the Forerunner School of Ministry. Thus my heart, wide open and tender, was being filled with the truth of His righteousness and mercy set upon me, His plans and purposes for me, and His beauty and glory apart from me. The Holy Spirit would regularly break into our classes - once it spilled over into the class next door, and then over again into the class at the end of the hall until three-quarters of the student body was encountering the Lord in power and deliverance related to His love for us. To be able to so fully give myself to teaching, preaching, and the ministry of the Holy Spirit is one of the most unique gifts the Lord has ever given my weak little heart, growing in His love.
Once we transitioned to summer, the first wave of over 1000 teenagers began to descend on us at our Awakening Teen Camp. 1000 more came this past weekend for our Fascinate High School Conference. The Lord spoke clearly to me, “watch as I show you My zeal for the next generation.” I went into the conference with great expectations, which the Lord promptly exceeded. I cannot wait for the second conference (which will fill up fast) at the end of July. Also waiting for me at the end of July are three other youth conferences, one here in Kansas City and two in California (southern and northern!). It’s like, in this season, the Lord is reminding me over and over again what He has for me in the days ahead: preaching, teaching, writing, power encounters, teens, and Asians - particularly the Koreans and the Chinese.
Just today my friend Julie Meyer told me about a dream she had about me recently: that after a long season of driving in circles (with a big smile on my face), I finally had parked the car, got out, and put the keys in my pocket. I had found a place of rest, she said, doing exactly in this season what I was supposed to be doing. She’s exactly right - while this season is similar yet altogether unlike those months I enjoyed in 2002 with Jesus, I have never felt so content and settled into the call of God on my life. For the Lord has brought me full circle - my place of greatest satisfaction hasn’t come from the labors of my hands, my fulfillment does not come from ministry and my impact on others; it comes from being loved and enjoyed by Jesus. The labors that have flowed from that place of enjoyment are, in so many ways, incidental. Important, but beside the point. He loves me. He enjoys me. I am victorious and successful, right here, right now, today - and forever, because of that simple truth.
June 30th, 2010
by Billy Humphrey
Something unusual has happened here at IHOP-Atlanta the last few weekends. It’s difficult to explain any encounter with the Lord. You never want to hype or overstate anything. But simultaneously you want to credibly do justice to what has happened. As I considered how I might faithfully relate what the Lord has been doing in our midst, I was reminded of Jesus’ words to John the Baptist’s disciples, “Go and tell … the things you have seen and heard…” (Luke 7:22). So here it goes…
Last weekend we called special renewal services because we felt impressed that the Lord was moving in an unusual way. On Tuesday the same presence of God we felt the previous weekend was released in our all-staff prayer meeting. Many were encountered by the Holy Spirit, most notably the children. The next day in our school, the classes were interrupted by the power of God. Many of the children experienced the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit in profound ways. As I went to the school building to see what was happening, I was greeted with the tangible presence of the Lord and my legs began to physically tremble. I entered a classroom that had been overtaken by the Holy Spirit to find 20 or so 4th & 5th graders in travail with tears streaming down their faces, crying out for God to come in power and revival. It was fearsome. You can’t teach a thing like that. It was a sovereign in-breaking of the Holy Spirit.
On Friday David Sliker and Brent Steeno from IHOP-KC flew in to help lead the weekend’s meetings. That evening as we gathered there was a real sense of expectation. The room was full and you could sense the spiritual hunger. In moments the presence of God filled the place and the power of the Holy Spirit was in manifestation. Jesus was doing it again. Friday through Sunday night we experienced the same outpouring of the Holy Spirit we had experienced the previous weekend. Many were touched with the power of the Holy Spirit. Many were weeping, laughing, falling, trembling and shaking under the Spirit’s power. Many testified of physical and emotional healings.
The physical healing included healing from Mononucleosis and Hypothyroidism. A fractured ankle was instantly healed as was a broken toe and hemorrhoids.
My favorite physical healing was a lady whose eyesight was healed. I got to witness her eyesight being restored firsthand. She had received prayer on Saturday at which time her eyes began to burn but she did not have an immediate change in her vision. Our staff member encouraged her to continue to believe that she received her healing. She came back to the meeting on Sunday night with her eyes still burning. She told me she purposely left her “coke-bottle” glasses at home, believing her healing would manifest. Toward the end of the meeting she realized that she could read the video screens. She came over to tell her testimony with her husband standing by her side. I asked her to read a paper with 12pt font at arms length. She began slowly and then read several sentences breaking down in tears as she read. She was completely healed! Her name is FAITH! Her husband and I high-fived and hugged as he confirmed that she could’ve never read that page without her glasses.
We also received multiple testimonies of emotional healing and deliverance, including deliverance from depression, self-hatred and the emotional scars from sexual abuse. Many, many experienced a dramatic refreshing and renewing in the love of God.
Another sweet testimony came from a young girl named Angel. She told us that she had not been to church very much. In fact the only church she had ever been to was one where, “You weren’t allowed to talk.” On Sunday night she walked into the house of prayer and almost immediately began to weep. She said the people were so joyful and she wanted to know what she needed to do to experience this same joy. The friend who brought her, shared the gospel with her and Angel immediately gave her life to Jesus! As I prayed for her she began to shake and weep as the presence of the Holy Spirit flowed over her. It was absolutely beautiful.
God has given us a prophetic word that He has opened a fountain of refreshing over IHOP-Atlanta and that He is changing the International House of Prayer to the International House of Presence. I believethis is what we are experiencing right now. A fountain has been opened and living water is pouring forth. This morning as I walked into the building I immediately felt the weighty presence of the Holy Spirit upon me. Even now as I write this blog, I sense His presence, draping me like a heavy cloak.
I don’t know how long this season of visitation will last. But I do know that we want to give the Holy Spirit as much room as possible so He can move as He pleases. Therefore, we are extending the renewal services for at least the next two weekends, the 12th – 14th and 19th – 21st. David Sliker from IHOP-KC has agreed to make trips to Atlanta to serve the Lord’s purpose in this outpouring for as long as the Lord is moving by His Spirit. All I can say is “More LORD!”
Service times are:
- Friday @ 7pm
- Saturday & Sunday @ 6pm
Please forward this blog to whomever you think is interested to know about this outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Go to www.ihop-atlanta for information and directions.
February 9th, 2010
This is a blog post from billyhumphrey.com written by my friend Billy, who is the director of the International House of Prayer - Atlanta. In it, he describes what happened to us last weekend as we were ministering together for a House of Prayer Leadership Summit. I have such faith and excitement in my heart as I eagerly wait to see what the Lord is going to do next in America. These are some of the most exciting days of my life and the thrill of watching Jesus minister with power and tenderness is worth the wait.
by Billy Humphrey
How do I explain what happened this weekend? It’s nearly impossible to communicate in a blog, but I will do my best.
Let me start by saying that I have a great distaste for hype or self-promotion. I have a great value for reality and truth, especially when it comes to testifying of the works of the Lord. I dont’ think exaggeration helps anyone. With that said, I hope what I share next stirs your hunger and faith.
This past weekend at IHOP-Atlanta we had a leadership summit with about 70 leaders from around the nation. We were gathering to receive strategy and impartation to build the houses of prayer. My good friend David Sliker, from IHOP-KC, has ministered with me and others in this event for the past five years. This year was different because He and I were the only speakers.
When I picked up Dave from airport Friday afternoon, he was deeply experiencing the Holy Spirit’s presence. He told me that when he woke up Friday morning he felt the Lord resting on him powerfully. That night at the summit it was evident to me that Dave was carrying a deposit from the IHOPU Student Awakening services in KC. The presence of the Lord was rich.
The next day the Lord began to deeply minister by His Spirit to the people. Dave said to me, “I think it’s going to blow up tonight.” I also felt like the Lord was building towards a climax on Saturday night. I felt led to speak on hunger for revival. Just before the service Dave had a vision of angels holding buckets of coals of fire and wine over the building, ready to pour out the power of God on the gathering.
When I gave the altar call the leaders responded with great hunger to see a breakthrough of the power of God in their regions. When I asked the Lord to release His fire, the fire of God fell on the gathering. Many were groaning and shaking under the power of God. Dave then came up and asked the Lord to release the refreshing wine of His Spirit. Within a few moments the room was engulfed in the sweet presence of the Holy Spirit. God coursed through the place for the next several hours. Many were weeping, laughing, falling shaking and experiencing the refreshing touch of God’s love upon their soul. We didn’t get out of there until 12:30 AM. God’s love was so real and His presence so tangible. I didn’t get to sleep that night until after 2:30.
The scenes and experiences were so familiar. I have been in many revival & renewal services in my life. I am so thankful how God moved. I couldn’t help but wonder if He was doing something that might be lasting. I figured we would know if something was really happening after Sundays services.
The next morning our normal Sunday AM crowd was joined by the leadership summit crowd. The room was full and the worship was really sweet. During worship Dave had a profound encounter with the Lord. The Lord told him that He had opened a fountain over IHOP-Atlanta and the the Lord was going to transform the International House of Prayer into the International House of Presence. Once we prayed for the Holy Spirit to come, the same power that we experienced Saturday night manifested again all across the room. The service went from 10:00am til about 1:30pm. God was moving. I was filled with expectancy as to what the evening service might hold. I could feel myself beginning to believe that maybe God was up to something more than just a good weekend of services. The risk of faith can seem so feeble. But the Lord loves it when we dare to believe in His greatness.
You have to understand, I REALLY LOVE a move of the Spirit of God. But I am also exceedingly jealous for the real deal. I don’t want to call every spark a bonfire. I seriously petitioned the Lord as to what He had in store for us. Could it be that God was opening a fountain of refreshing here in Atlanta?
Suffice to say, last night’s service was amazing. The power of God broke upon us in waves. The Holy Spirit blew through the house of prayer as many were drunk in the Spirit and refreshed in the love of God. 15-20 people were instantly healed of various sicknesses and infirmities. When I left at 12:30AM, 25 – 30 people were still here. Most were on the floor, drunk in the spirit, overwhelmed with the Presence of God.
At some point during the meeting I felt the Lord invite me to call additional meetings to make room for the fountain of the Lord to continue to flow and refresh us. Dave and our senior leadership team were unanimous that we should continue the meetings. Therefore we are going to hold more renewal services this weekend at IHOP-Atlanta. Dave has agreed to fly back to Atlanta this weekend to help serve what the Lord is doing here.
Service Times are:
- Friday, Feb 5th @7pm
- Saturday, Feb 6th @ 6pm
- Sunday, Feb 7th @ 6pm.
As I am writing this the Lord’s presence is resting upon me. I am so hungry for an outbreak of the Holy Spirit in Atlanta. If you are hungry for a move of God in your life I want to invite you to join us this weekend. Who knows what God will do. I know this, my faith is stirred to see an outbreak of God’s power engulf and overwhelm our city and nation. I want to engage with whatever the Lord is doing unto this end.
We don’t know if we will continue past this weekend, we just want to show up with hunger and ask the Holy Spirit to come. Come join us.
Would you forward this blog to those you know that might be interested. I believe God wants to open up a fountain of refreshing and turn it into a river of fire that will birth revival and reformation.
February 3rd, 2010
It has been six weeks since the morning of November 11th and the beginning of a new season for the International House of Prayer in Kansas City. Six weeks ago, I walked into the auditorium of our bible school, IHOPU, and experienced the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in a way that was unique to my Christian experience. I spent my morning in our prayer room, hearing rumors and excited talk about something happening down the road. The first report came at 9 AM (as the move of the Spirit was beginning down the road) when I ran into Allen Hood - our bible school president - on the way in. As he described the days leading up to this point and what was happening down the road, I was wide-eyed externally and slightly skeptical internally. It wouldn’t be until later that I would think back to that moment as the premiere illustration of the unperceived gap in my heart between years of asking for a move of the Spirit in prayer and the reality of God’s unexpected answer.
In other words, it struck me later that I had spent much time and energy asking God for something I didn’t really believe would come.
Even when I first walked into the auditorium at 3 PM, I was unsure of what was happening - and whether or not it was for me. I felt a strange pang of loneliness - it was as if I had walked into someone else’s party, uninvited. It was as if everyone else was having fun, but I didn’t know how to join in, who to talk to, or where to stand. It was a critical moment for me - a sudden crucible that had caught me completely off-guard: a holy “pop-quiz” that I desperately wanted to pass. I could feel the temptation to sit in the back, spectate, and analyze; yet there was a competing twinge of desire to jump in and swim with the rest of the students. Pride, hunger, desire, and all of the other silly little emotions and thoughts that seem meaningful in the moment - and are ultimately exposed as petty in hindsight - struck my heart and mind as I calculated my next move.
Wes Hall, the provost of the bible school, was on the platform leading the meeting. Yet it was that exact moment that he walked off the stage for a quick break - and walked right past me. I stopped him. ”Wes!” I shouted above the noise of worship, prayer, and the various other cries and shouts of this particular kind of meeting, “Would you pray for me?” He laid his hand on my chest as a few others joined him. His prayer was prophetic - spot-on prophetic. I didn’t feel much in regards to an increase of the presence of God, just a sudden surge of permission to join in the festivities. Yet, it was significant: my heart was unlocking. I sat and agreed with every prayer and proclamation spoken from the platform: every call for repentance, every issue, every time someone said, “say this with me”, every time someone asked for a response. I said yes every time as I called my family and urged them to get to the auditorium, quickly. The room was filling up.
As the time went on, I felt my heart getting lighter and lighter. I felt surges of joy, playfulness, freedom, and exhilaration that I had not felt in quite some time. I realized in a moment how dry and barren I had been - and how willing I had been to make peace with my barrenness. My wife said it well: you a rarely aware of how dry you are until the Lord gives you a drink. I Also realized that I had been okay with living without the presence and the fullness of the Spirit of God in my life - every area of my life - and how awful that truth was. I had settled into a rut that was killing my heart and leading me into a broken-down place of burnout and depression, content to imagine that breakthrough was decades away and that I could grind my way to it. It was time to adopt a new mindset: in the days of an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, breakthroughs and victories (small and large) were now seconds away for me and anyone else hungry enough to stand, wait, and ask.
Where did I lose my playfulness? When did I lose the joy of my salvation? In my zeal to be a faithful servant and diligent shepherd, I had said “yes” to a path that was far below the dreams of God for my life. I had traded down to lay hold of attainable dreams within a limited context of what I could imagine, yet throughout that season my heart longed to be free of the cage I had placed around it. It was in January that the pain began to become unbearable. Still, I managed to find creative ways to cope as I strategized my way forward out of pain and into joy. It was in September that I realized that all of my plans involved some amazing solution falling into place…in the future. None of my plans involved laying hold of life, freedom, breakthrough, and joy…today. I needed to be re-introduced to the immediacy of God, or, as others call it, the “suddenly” of God.
The awestruck anticipation of the “suddenly” of God and the infinite possibilities of what He can do in the next few seconds of a believer’s life was something that had gripped my heart in the early days of my journey as an intercessor. Yet, over the past few years, I had spent so much time considering the future that I had lost a real and vibrant connection with the present. In fact, I had a conversation with my friend Stuart Greaves at 1 PM that day (two hours before I made my way over to the FSM Auditorium) in which I declared, “Breakthrough may come today - but my hopes are knit to the one that is coming just before the return of Christ.” With joy and much laughter, I repented for my self-deceptive statement at 9 PM that evening during the meeting.
The Lord, in His kindness, re-connected today and tomorrow for me in my mind and heart. Oh! The great distance between what I say and preach and what is actually true on an emotional level within my soul. Yet in the great kindness of God - and His kindness has never been more tangible and palpable than these last six weeks - He came when I least expected it and delivered me just in the nick of time.
Things really began to explode in me when I began to pray and minister to the students at the altar. For the first time in my life, I was overwhelmed by the thick, weighty presence of the Holy Spirit in a way that was wholly unique to anything I had ever experienced. I grabbed my friends, Brian Kim and Jesse Engle, and confessed to them that I was drunk in the Holy Spirit. I was filled with the Holy Spirit in a fresh way that caused everything within me to come alive. I had experienced different measures and variations of being filled with the Spirit (as a life-long charismatic believer) - but I had never been intoxicated with His presence like I was on that day.
Since then, that experience has multiplied and expanded. The Spirit of God and the beauty of Jesus are the first things on my mind when I wake up in the morning and the last things on my mind when I go to bed at night. I cannot imagine settling for less than what I am experiencing in God during these past few weeks; I feel as if my testimony changes and improves each day. As the days have gone on, I must report that I have only felt the presence of God increase and intensify - and the testimonies and activity of the Holy Spirit in our midst seems to confirm this. At random times during the day, I will suddenly be overwhelmed by the presence of God or surprised by His activity. I have become, at times, almost unrecognizable in joy and wild abandon by even my close friends. My marriage and family life is better than any time I can recall. My family joins me at the meetings every night from 5 PM to midnight - we have adjusted our entire lives to be in the midst of what God is doing.
Thanks be to God! One of my favorite titles for Jesus has always been “The Living One” from Revelation chapter one. That title has never been more alive within my soul than these days. I am struck with new joy over the future as well - for the apple tree is sweet and His fruit is incomparable today; and my future involves a banqueting table of endless pleasure and delight at His right hand in which everything I am experiencing will be multiplied beyond my wildest imagination. His banner, or His leadership over my life, is truly about love and producing love in my heart beyond anything I could offer Him myself. My own works seem all the more futile, and His work and His leadership seems all the more glorious. Oh! that every believer could experience the fullness of the Living One! (Ephesians 3:16-19)
David Sliker, December 18th, 2009
December 18th, 2009
I received this little encouragement in my inbox this morning:
“You may not check this thing anymore, and I know you said not to “hold you to it” later, but I think it would be lovely if you kept up this site and your writing. Working on a computer all day in the marketplace, it’s helpful to read something of substance rather than another journal article which proves the impoverished state of our national health and then attempts to come up with a scheme of man to somehow make it better, when really all this country needs, Christian and non-believer alike, is the reality of the Savior.
So yeah, I like to come here to read a little bit of truth on my breaks, so if you feel so lead, keep up the writing.“
Well, every once in a while, I do check this thing. In fact, I think about it often - this little journal represents years of expressing my heart and reaching for God through writing in a way that is critically knit to how I am wired by my Creator. What I am never sure of is how to navigate that internal longing to write with the other areas and avenues that I’ve signed up for (some desired, some not). What touches my heart, however, is that many of you also “check this thing” and have encouraged me to write more. I so appreciate the kindness (and the hunger for God)! Honestly, I wasn’t sure anyone was poking there head in here because of my negligence.
Part of my challenge recently is how to navigate other writing that I need to be doing - and am struggling to stay on top of. I have overlooked and neglected other writing assignments that have real deadlines. I am sure that, however, part of my struggle with writing elsewhere is that I have simply gotten out of the habit of writing. That’s bad! Secondly, I have been working through other material in other contexts that don’t necessarily translate to what I have done in the past here. For example, this morning I am wrestling with how to teach and communicate the attributes of God to teenagers. How do I take the language of A.W. Tozer, Charnock, Pink, etc. accessible to a generation of young people that have largely disconnected from the importance of the infinitude of God?
A final aspect of writing I have had a difficult time with is the transition that our culture has made in communicating ideas. I am many things, but as of today I am not succinct. I was made for Tozer, not Twitter. Thus I found, for a while, that every time I wanted to venture into this place to write I found myself mostly thinking about writing about writing (as I am doing here, ironically). If the blog format was a challenge for me, how much more is the twitterfied world that has quickly outpaced the blog world a mystifying reality? There are two camps related to this kind of thing: the “pro-Twitter” world and the “anti-Twitter world”. I am on neither team. I appreciate the manner in which the twitter reality forces precision and presses writers to summarize and assimilate key ideas quickly. Twitter is a glorious place for preachers, and often writers are bugged by preachers in the same manner that they are bugged by Twitter.
The blog format was an early preview of what was to come in regards to internet communication. When I first started engaging in this format, in fact, the number one complaint I received was related to my writing style. I refused to post the short, quick, extemporaneous commentaries that populated the internet. I wasn’t writing to a format, I was simply expressing my heart while sharpening and pushing myself to write better. I’m still figuring it out. I know a few things: I’m not skilled enough to post the quick-hit articles and sentences that many can produce and I’m not interested in the personality driven asides that attract so many to blogs and creates so much twitter traffic. That so many of you have commented and wondered where my little musings have been encourages me to keep pressing for what I do, in the way that I do it.
So, as long as you don’t mind me writing when I can and as long as you don’t mind me practicing my craft on you, I’ll still pop in here every so often. Not to build a following - but to hone and sharpen a part of myself that needs the glorious repetition an ongoing journal provides. Thanks to Sarah for the sweet note. I checked.
David
October 13th, 2009
Check out this link to a podcast I did recently with Jesse Engle. Make sure to click the video under “Prepare for the Conference”.
This is the first of five podcasts we’ve done to get ready for the upcoming Fascinate High School Conference. Each of the first four hits one of our four core messages to teenagers: identity, intimacy, intercession, and impact. Up first: Jesse Engle and a conversation about identity and it’s importance in establishing us to lay hold of the other three core messages.
Up next (coming soon), Mike and I talk about intimacy and why we love the Fascinate conference.David
June 18th, 2009
It made me giggle when I stumbled across this article in the Wall Street Journal, beating down the New York Times; mostly this phenomenon is related to my glee when anyone pokes fun at the New York Times and their editors:
“Science Trumps Ideology, Except When It Doesn’t
On Tuesday the Times surprised no one by editorializing in favor of President Obama’s order liberalizing the regulations for federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research:
Mr. Obama also pledged on Monday to base his administration’s policy decisions on sound science, undistorted by politics or ideology. He ordered his science office to develop a plan for all government agencies to achieve that goal. Such a pledge should be unnecessary. Unfortunately, for eight years, former President George W. Bush did just the opposite. He chose scientific advisory committees based on ideology rather than expertise. His political appointees aggressively ignored, distorted or suppressed scientific findings to promote a political agenda or curry favor with big business.
The characterization of the stem-cell restrictions as a bow to “ideology” over science is inaccurate. The objections to the use of embryonic stem cells - agree with them or not - are ethical, not ideological, in character.
In any case, today, in an editorial on Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, the Times shows just how seriously it takes the commitment to science over ideology. The Times urges Salazar “not to forget the wolf”:
The Interior Department’s scientists say that wolf populations are healthy enough, and state protections strong enough, to take the animal off the endangered species list in Montana and Idaho. We do not share their confidence in the states. De-listing allows for some hunting, and hunters in both places are itching to start firing away. Mr. Salazar should be ready to restore protections the instant the long-term survival of the species seems at risk.
The Times view, then, is that science should trump ideology when the Times disagrees with the ideology, but ideology should trump science when the Times agrees with the ideology.”
- Wall Street Journal Online, March 12th, 2009
March 15th, 2009
“The ironic part is when Chas Freeman chose to resign. [Tuesday], the day he withdrew was Purim, a Jewish Holiday where we celebrate a victory over a anti-Semite named Haman. Haman complained that the Jews had no respect, that they had dual loyalty and in the end he was defeated. Haman was defeated over 2,500 years ago, Haman was also defeated yesterday.”
- American Thinker, March 11th, 2009
March 15th, 2009
While poking around the internets, I found this description of the International House of Prayer:
This March, at a “Passion for Jesus” conference in Kansas City sponsored by the International House of Prayer, or IHOP, a ministry for teenagers from the heavy metal, punk and goth scenes, Engle called on his audience for vengeance.
The call for “vengeance” also made me giggle a bit. Lou as the leader of a goth movement calling for vengeance - makes sense to me.
David
December 23rd, 2008
Thanks to all who gave their two cents (plus some) in breaking down the early draft of theCall’s press release related to the fiasco Newsweek published last week. It was all seriously helpful feedback! One point of clarification that you probably didn’t know - Lou had already, earlier in the week, released a short statement calling on believers to cancel their Newsweek subscription. Thus, the call to do so had to be in the longer press release. I did appreciate some of the perspective on that point, however. So what happened?
Well, much to my surprise, our p.r. firm loved the press release as is. So, in an unexpected turn of events, the early draft became the final draft instantaneously. The p.r. firm didn’t change much - they shortened the opening paragraph and added a phrase (that I asked them to remove - because it was dorky, not because it was controversial) before punching up the end a little bit. Hopefully, if you see it somewhere printed over the next week, you’ll appreciate the minor addition they made. Or not.
As things currently stand, however, they have blasted the press release out to wherever public relatations firms blast out press releases. I don’t really know how any of that works, but I do know that, supposedly, the Wall Street Journal has shown interest thus far. We shall see. Either way, it was an interesting experiment in “social press releasing” with all of you - and the glory for me is that, for now, only Lou’s name is on the document. He’s already done one radio interview related to it (yesterday, can’t remember the show).
Meanwhile, I get to stay in my cave and fast and pray. So back to the cave I go.
David
December 16th, 2008
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