Download Church Bulletin Insert on Fayetteville Ordinance

The group working to repeal Fayetteville’s contentious “nondiscrimination” ordinance has released a flyer designed to be included in church bulletins.

The insert identifies some of the problems of the ordinance and highlights the unintended consequences Americans have experienced elsewhere as a result of this type of legislation, writing,

“[In] Fayetteville Chapter 119 dictates the criteria by which churches hire their own staff for ‘secular’ roles. [In] San Antonio the original ordinance would have barred anyone speaking against homosexuality for appointed office. [In] Houston the [supporters of the ordinance] subpoenaed all sermons, emails & text messages of pastors who stood against them.”

This bulletin insert is a good resource for any church or minister wishing to inform people about the “nondiscrimination” ordinance in Fayetteville and the effort to repeal the ordinance on December 9.

Download the Church Bulletin Insert Here

Download Family Council’s Analysis of the Ordinance Here

God’s Providence in Plymouth

Thanksgiving is less than a week away. As the holiday approaches, the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview has re-released a classic commentary from the late Chuck Colson about the real hero of the first Thanksgiving: God.

Colson’s commentary is about Squanto, the Wampanoag Indian who helped the Pilgrims survive in the early days at Plymouth. Colson writes,

According to the diary of Pilgrim Governor William Bradford, Squanto ‘became a special instrument sent of God for [our] good . . . He showed [us] how to plant [our] corn, where to take fish and to procure other commodities . . . and was also [our] pilot to bring [us] to unknown places for [our] profit, and never left [us] till he died.'”

You can listen to Chuck Colson’s full commentary below.

[audio:http://bit.ly/1BMXRgz|titles=Tell Your Kids the Story of Squanto]

Unpacking Arkansas’ New Term Limits Law

Rep. Clemmer and Sen. RapertWhen Arkansans headed to the polls earlier this month, many of them probably did not realize one of the items on the ballot was an extension of term limits for lawmakers.

Up until 1992 there was no limit on the number of years a person could hold office in Arkansas. Then, 22 years ago, Arkansans chose to institute a limit. At most, a person could serve 6 years in the Arkansas House of Representatives (3 terms); 8 years in the Arkansas Senate (2 terms); and 8 years (2 terms) in any constitutional office, like Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, and so on. Once you max out the number of years you can serve in an office, you’re done; you can never run for that office again.

This has left many elected officials hopping from office to office. Where once upon a time a person might serve 30 years in the Arkansas House of Representatives, today a lawmaker typically starts in the House; runs for the Arkansas Senate after 4-6 years; serves 8 years in the Senate; and then makes a run at a constitutional office, like Secretary of State, or gets a job in a state department or agency. The result is many of the legislators in the House of Representatives are brand new lawmakers while some of the members of the executive branch have been coming out to the Capitol for 20 years or more.

There is little doubt term limits is popular in Arkansas. When it was proposed in 1992, it received nearly 60% of the vote. Every attempt to change term limits was rejected–until November 4 of this year.

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