tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-197292632009-03-01T07:08:50.209-08:00Love God!.... Love People! The FGBC wants to obey these simple commands of Jesus. This blog is a collection of thoughts and challenges by Pastor Don Shoemaker, Chairman of the FGBC Social Concerns committee. Read on!Don Shoemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08827616227740588884noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729263.post-85287198515769454052007-10-30T12:10:00.000-07:002007-10-30T12:11:39.938-07:00

Sunday, November 11 is the 10th annual "Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church." Grace Brethren churches can join many other Christians in beseeching God in behalf of those who suffer for their faith. Visit the Web site www.breakpoint.org for materials on how your church can observe this special day of prayer.

Don Shoemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08827616227740588884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729263.post-91567452504968643242007-10-30T12:05:00.000-07:002007-10-30T12:10:18.512-07:00

Let’s help make January 16 “Religious Freedom Day” in America! Get your local government to support principles vital to our nation’s heritage of religious freedom by having it declare January 16, 2008 “Religious Freedom Day.” Use the Proclamation prepared by Don Shoemaker, Chairman of the FGBC Social Concerns Committee, and follow the simple process set forth. [Click for more information]

Don Shoemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08827616227740588884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729263.post-77503948906585072682007-10-04T12:06:00.000-07:002007-10-04T12:07:07.016-07:00

Pastors and church-goers will certainly hear complaints from time to time about churches getting a "free ride" on taxation. Is this an unfair benefit? Or is this a reasonable application of the principle of separation of church and state? Below is my answer to a question recently posed in my local newspaper (Long Beach CA "Press-Telegram," September 29, 2007).Q - "Should churches be exempt

Don Shoemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08827616227740588884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729263.post-34516140861810771812007-09-18T15:00:00.000-07:002007-09-18T15:01:32.242-07:00

Every September our church sets aside time during Sunday services to recognize and pray for the many in our church family who serve in the field of education one way or another. We honor educators of quality, character and skill—people to whom we entrust the precious lives of our children for wisdom and instruction.This year, as we pray for them I will be reading the “Beatitudes” of Jesus (

Don Shoemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08827616227740588884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729263.post-81230447105627602762007-06-24T05:23:00.000-07:002007-06-24T05:25:31.771-07:00

(This essay originally appeared on Sunday, July 2, 2000, in the Op/Ed section of the Long Beach, California Press-Telegram.) The Declaration of Independence can just as appropriately be titled the “Declaration of Dependence.” This majestic document, arguably the most masterful state paper of Western civilization, displays a dependence on God foundational to its claim for independence from

Don Shoemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08827616227740588884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729263.post-27037557285015856952007-05-14T07:32:00.000-07:002007-05-14T07:33:09.298-07:00

God, please guide these men and women who serve as your ministers in the community. Uphold.... Their fortitude in the face of pressure. Their integrity in the face of temptations. Their safety in the face of dangers. Their focus and responses in the face of challenges. Their honor in the face of people who are not honorable. Their mission in the face of discouragements,

Don Shoemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08827616227740588884noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729263.post-89985665729904586652007-04-02T09:38:00.000-07:002007-04-02T09:39:41.631-07:00

- Some examples from Donald Shoemaker, Chairman of the Social Concerns Committee, FGBC"Hate Speech" - Our Morally Topsy-Turvy World, Part IAccording to newspaper reports, Rebekah Rice's Mormon faith was ridiculed by other students at Maria Carillo High School in Santa Rosa when they would ask her questions like, "Do you have ten moms?"She said back, "That's so gay." I'll let people younger than

Don Shoemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08827616227740588884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729263.post-11723818639572218402007-02-07T12:41:00.000-08:002007-02-07T12:42:20.525-08:00

Churches, federal law and the NFL came to a crossroads last week. Many churches planning to project the Super Bowl onto giant screens for outreach and/or men's fellowship blinked. In this commentary, John W. Whitehead gives lessons churches can learn from the episode. (Used by Permission of the Rutherford Institute. Constitutional attorney and author John W.Whitehead is founder and president

Don Shoemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08827616227740588884noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729263.post-14751132396555304652007-01-16T18:19:00.000-08:002007-01-16T18:20:36.177-08:00

The comments that follow were given to the Long Beach City Council on Religious Freedom Day, January 16, 2007.Donald ShoemakerChairman, Social Concerns CommitteeFellowship of Grace Brethren ChurchesMayor Foster, council members, city officials and fellow citizens, good afternoon.My name is Donald Shoemaker. I am a 36-year resident of Long Beach and I live in the 5th District. I have been a

Don Shoemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08827616227740588884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729263.post-11374788695764674632007-01-10T07:09:00.001-08:002007-01-10T07:09:43.609-08:00

January 16 is "Religious Freedom Day" in the U.S., by proclamation of the President. I, for one, will make reference to it before our congregation sings the verse from "And Can It Be," - "My chains fell off, my heart was free."Ultimate religious freedom comes from Jesus, for if the Son shall make us free, then we are free indeed. Religious freedom also extends to Christian liberty in matters

Don Shoemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08827616227740588884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729263.post-3767869203898669342006-12-14T08:54:00.000-08:002006-12-14T08:56:31.568-08:00

The Christmas story doesn’t begin in Bethlehem with a manger, the Holy Family, docile animals and adoring shepherds. It begins in Jerusalem’s temple, with an elderly priest named Zechariah.Zechariah was visited by the angel Gabriel, who told him that he would have a son named John (the Baptist). This would be John’s mission:“He will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to

Don Shoemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08827616227740588884noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729263.post-1164642580315231382006-11-27T07:48:00.000-08:002006-11-30T11:14:23.476-08:00

Many Americans who hold secular opinions of what our country ought to be would like to pretend that our history is not what it was. It would good us good to recall one aspect of that history—how our first president proclaimed a special day of Thanksgiving. Clearly, many who were present at the inception of our nation—who believed that the government should never “establish religion”—did not see

Don Shoemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08827616227740588884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729263.post-1163788234928445082006-11-17T10:29:00.000-08:002006-11-17T10:30:34.943-08:00

Fox TV plans to broadcast an interview with O. J. Simpson, "If I Did It, Here's How It Happened"? on November 27 and 29. If you wish to express your objection to this broadcast, please access one or more of the following:For promo information of the interview:http://www.fox.com/oj/For registering a comment with the network:askfox@foxinc.comTo locate your Fox Network Affiliate:http://www.fox.com/

Don Shoemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08827616227740588884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729263.post-1163605638295966292006-11-15T07:46:00.000-08:002006-11-15T07:47:18.310-08:00

The Amish are a beautiful people. I have seen them many times and occasionally interacted with them in Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania. While they may be admired for their many good ways, this does not mean giving a blanket endorsement to all their traditions.For one thing, the Amish (like other Anabaptist traditions, of which our denomination's history represents one) are pacifist. Christians

Don Shoemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08827616227740588884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729263.post-1142103160747094092006-03-11T10:50:00.000-08:002006-03-11T10:52:40.770-08:00

"The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." (Romans 14:17 NIV)The Apostle Paul’s words on the nature of God’s Kingdom are very instructive in our time of “Church and State” controversy. What the Apostle Paul is teaching us here is, God’s kingdom rises above temporal issues like what we eat and what we drink. Our choices on

Don Shoemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08827616227740588884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729263.post-1141270301527145152006-03-01T19:28:00.000-08:002006-03-02T04:23:35.876-08:00

"Keep Your Laws Off My Body"This bumper sticker, seen in Seal Beach, California by "The Watchful Eye," is altogether, completely, thoroughly, from beginning to end, about abortion and nothing else. You know that and I know that.But that’s not what it literally says. It calls for removing all laws that might affect or inhibit our total freedom in the use of our bodies. Now, if that happened, what

Don Shoemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08827616227740588884noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729263.post-1137468270102645972006-01-16T19:09:00.000-08:002006-01-16T19:27:57.306-08:00

Jesus said, "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." (Luke 4:18-19 NIV)Though Jesus was not a political or economic crusader, any reading of the Gospel of Luke will see there are

Don Shoemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08827616227740588884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729263.post-1134242338913239162005-12-10T11:18:00.000-08:002005-12-14T05:24:55.733-08:00

A Christmas Hope for Hurting Youth“See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.” (Malachi 4:5-6 NIV ©)This prophecy was fulfilled in the ministry of John the Baptist (Luke 1:17), who

Don Shoemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08827616227740588884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729263.post-1134159520374714402005-12-09T12:16:00.000-08:002005-12-09T12:18:40.376-08:00

A family in Nova, Michigan was threatened with fines when they placed a nativity scene in their front yard. A letter from the Thomas More Law Center led the property management firm to back down.The Jackson County (Georgia) School District forbade a wide variety of religious expressions--teachers wearing pins, angels or clothing with religious connotations or some songs with religious content in

Don Shoemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08827616227740588884noreply@blogger.com1