Participants: Lincoln Steed (Host), Melissa Reid
Series Code: LI
Program Code: LI000146
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00:22 Welcome to the Liberty Insider.
00:25 Those regular viewers of this program 00:27 will know that we bring you up to date news, views, 00:30 discussion, and information on religious liberty issues 00:34 in the United States and around the world. 00:36 My name is Lincoln Steed, Editor of Liberty Magazine, 00:39 and my guest on the program is the Associate Editor 00:42 of Liberty Magazine, Melissa Reid. 00:45 Thanks for being on the program. 00:46 Yeah, it's my pleasure. I hope it's a pleasure. 00:48 It is. And this is going to be 00:50 a particular pleasure for any of us, 00:52 both of us who are involved with Liberty Magazine 00:54 because I want to talk about how we are particularly 00:58 putting our program out in front of those viewers 01:01 and supporters who make liberty happen. 01:03 Yes, absolutely. So for those who are watching 01:07 that aren't aware, liberty exists because really, 01:11 because of the, of the generous support 01:14 of lay persons and Seventh-day Adventist Church members 01:19 across North America. 01:20 And we actually have, as part of the North American Division 01:25 offering calendar, a religious, 01:26 a designated offering, 01:28 a Religious Liberty Sabbath Emphasis. 01:30 Now this is just not little bit of extra money 01:32 that we get, this is it. 01:34 This is how we exist. 01:35 It determines our total existence 01:37 and the size of our distribution. 01:39 Exactly, it determines the footprint 01:43 for religious freedom that we can make 01:44 for the coming year. 01:45 Now I'd be bad if I didn't take the opportunity 01:49 to remind our viewers that Liberty Magazine 01:52 is presently an about 185,000 each issue, 01:57 that's a major distribution. 01:59 Praise God. So we're not retreating, 02:02 but to maintain that that level of commitment, 02:04 it takes the best part of a million dollars. 02:06 Yes, yes. And so as I mentioned 02:09 we're on this offering calendar 02:11 for the North American Division 02:12 which is the United States and Canada, and Bermuda. 02:15 And the fourth Sabbath in January 02:18 is always determined as religious liberty Sabbath. 02:20 Now we do allow, you know, some churches 02:24 have other events going on during that time period. 02:26 They may have an evangelistic series 02:28 or the pastor has a particular event or they've, 02:30 for, maybe for some reason 02:31 they've invited a guest speaker or something. 02:33 So the date is flexible as far as, you know, 02:36 if a church cannot promote with religious liberty 02:38 on that Sabbath, they are allowed to-- 02:40 please don't mean, you know, please don't-- 02:42 In fact, in reality we'll never stop them. 02:44 Exactly. Any time, but as far as gathering 02:46 the money to budget for the next year. 02:48 Yes. Is it around the end of April or early May. 02:51 It's the end of March actually 02:54 is when we sort of have our religious liberty campaign 02:58 from January to March. 02:59 So that that first quarter of the year. 03:01 And so we put together a promotional packet 03:05 for each local congregation to promote 03:08 religious freedom therein the, you know, at that time. 03:12 And we're on the process right now putting 03:15 that together of these materials together. 03:17 This year we had a, we have the theme, 03:21 world of opportunity, 2011 has been an interesting year. 03:25 It's a world, it's a year of opportunity. It is. 03:27 It's been just fascinating to be a part of and also just, 03:32 you know, as an observer to see all of these events 03:35 that are going around the world. 03:36 Really, you know, significant changes 03:38 in societies around the world. 03:40 And so we feel, we felt like, 03:43 this is really our opportunity as Christians to, 03:47 you know, it's our moment to take advantage of the freedoms 03:50 that we have and to share, 03:52 share the Gospel and God's love. 03:54 And to share the principles of religious freedom. 03:56 Yes. Because the entire Middle East is in turmoil. 04:02 And I've written editorials giving a little dim vision 04:05 for some of those areas, you know, 04:07 it may not always turn out well, 04:08 but, however, it turns out, 04:10 it's undeniable that this is a moment of flex 04:13 and at that moment people are open to ideas 04:15 and we need to present to them. 04:17 Yes. The principle of religious freedom 04:19 and a protective principle that goes with it, 04:22 a separation of church and state. 04:24 Right, right, you know, absolutely. 04:25 So this is an opportunity. 04:26 It is, it certainly is, you know, 04:28 new governments are being formed, you know, 04:30 there's been several situations where dictators 04:32 have been toppled, you know, decades long dictators. 04:35 And so they are at this process of putting together, 04:38 you know, a new governments for entire nations 04:40 and we really want to make sure that religious liberty 04:44 and the freedom of conscience is at the forefront of those, 04:47 of the rights that are protected in those nations. 04:49 I'll put it in a logic context. 04:53 I love history and I would put it to anyone 04:56 that, that's followed history that we're right now 05:00 living in a revolutionary moment. 05:02 It's not just the Middle East. 05:03 The Middle East is what's catching the attention. 05:06 Think about Europe and all of the tensions that are there 05:09 with people movements and, of course, 05:12 the financial collapse and in that context, 05:15 I think England and the writing 05:17 there is most significant. 05:21 The United States hasn't seen much civil on Russia, 05:23 but like Europe we're drifting into an economic malice. 05:28 And usually that means social unrest, 05:31 so I think we're on the brink of a broad scale 05:34 revolutionary thought and while I don't much, 05:37 you know, I'm not-- It's not for us 05:39 on this program to come out directly 05:41 for or against a political party. 05:44 And I'm not overly keen say on the Tea Party Movement, 05:50 but I do recognize that even that Tea Party Movement 05:53 is really in some ways a revolutionary shift, 05:56 it's more of a revolutionary party than just, 05:59 you know, politics is normal. 06:00 Yes. So we're at a time of-- 06:03 For and that's why they've got-- 06:04 The social cataclysm, if you look. 06:05 And that's what they chose, I mean, that's their desire, 06:06 that's why they chose the name that they did, 06:08 you know, based on the, on the Boston Tea Party. 06:10 And I feel like-- 06:12 By the way, I need to throw, I'm sorry to interrupt, 06:15 but I need to throw in the Boston Tea Party 06:17 was really the establishment bouncing back at England. 06:21 It's a little historical irony that it's not quite 06:24 the revolution that they're linking to. 06:26 Okay, but I just feel like, you know, as an American 06:30 and just even the economic situation 06:33 that we've now been experiencing 06:35 for the last couple of years, you know, 06:36 we talk about it as this is our new normal. 06:38 And it certainly maybe we're not experiencing, 06:43 you know, you know, the toppling of a government 06:45 like we, you know, like we're seeing 06:46 some of the other countries, 06:47 but we're certainly as citizens are really 06:50 re-examining the way that we live our life, 06:52 the priorities that we have, you know, 06:55 and so I feel like again it's the right time 06:58 to emphasize religious freedom. 06:59 Absolutely. This is-- 07:00 In fact, a line comes to my mind from Tennyson, 07:02 he says "The old order changeth." 07:04 And we're at one order is giving way to a new. 07:08 And we want that new order 07:10 to be well informed on religious freedom. 07:12 Oh, yeah. And so this is not, 07:14 you know, we got to be realistic. 07:16 Our readers at the present, and our present circulation 07:19 is not gonna change the whole order or stop it, 07:21 but still we've got an opportunity as never before 07:24 and we need to maximize that moment 07:26 to proclaim again as the Bible says, 07:28 "Proclaim Liberty throughout the Land." 07:30 Right, right, and so we really try to provide local churches 07:33 and local members with the tools to, you know, 07:36 to make that emphasis there on their local community. 07:39 And so as I said, you know, here's our theme for this, 07:42 for 2012 is the world of opportunities. 07:44 We send a kit, we call it our promotional campaign kit 07:48 to the local church and ask them to, 07:51 to make use of these resources. 07:53 We provide them with brochures 07:56 that talk about Liberty Magazine 07:57 and the religious liberty offering. 07:59 Just a quick aside, Liberty Magazine is the major 08:03 benefactor of the religious liberty offering 08:05 'cause as we mentioned, it's the, 08:06 it's our sole source of funding, 08:08 it's how we, you know, how we exist. 08:09 But there are also a couple of other areas 08:12 where the religious liberty offering is helpful. 08:16 Well, it helps with organize the structure with, 08:21 mostly within our church of those who defending 08:24 religious freedom and then working with legal cases. 08:28 If it's not a -- Most things are resolved by communication 08:31 with the employer and arbitration and so on. 08:34 But on a few occasions 08:36 it needs to go to a legal challenge. 08:38 And we have people in place who receive 08:41 some of their funding from this offering, right. 08:43 And then when it goes to a court case, 08:46 some of these moneys go and, of course, legal cases 08:49 can chew up millions and millions, 08:51 but we have people that give their, 08:53 lawyers that give their time and other church 08:56 subsidy moneys, but some of this goes toward that. 08:58 Right, right, so it's really not just a magazine, 09:00 it's for people and programs that support 09:04 our whole religious liberty world. 09:05 Absolutely, absolutely. So we send this kit and so, 09:09 We've mentioned that we have the brochures in there 09:10 to give out to the church members. 09:12 We also have a promotional poster that, 09:14 you know, that can be placed on the church bulletin board. 09:17 We each year have a new religious 09:19 liberty theme sermon written and for 2012, 09:24 the Sabbath School quarterly editor 09:26 and former editor of Liberty Magazine, 09:28 Cliff Goldstein has written the sermon for us, 09:30 just a fantastic sermon. 09:32 You know, many of you obviously 09:35 you all are familiar with the Sabbath School quarterly, 09:37 he also has a column in the Adventist Review 09:39 and he is a frequent contributor 09:41 to Liberty Magazine. 09:42 So I'm sure you all appreciate his style and his knowledge, 09:46 intelligence that he brings to the issue 09:48 and I felt like he did a really good job 09:50 with the sermon this year. Yes, right. 09:52 He always helps us in a popular way-- Yes. 09:55 And this is gonna be a plus to the campaign. 09:57 And then we also include a DVD that just has a brief 10:01 five minute segment and actually it-- 10:04 Well, it's a spin-off of this program. 10:06 Exactly, for those of you that are familiar 10:07 with the program, you'll feel right at home 10:09 watching the segment and-- 10:10 Well, I'll tell the viewers what it was 10:12 and when we thought to be a good device to send out, 10:15 you know, some of you may see it a second time 10:17 in a church that you attend, but I start this program, 10:21 it's actually footage from this program 10:23 and I give the welcome and then I turn to an empty seat, 10:25 now Melissa Reid on the video. Oh, no. 10:28 I'm sorry, but I turn to the empty seat and I say, 10:30 "There is no guest." You'll be the guest. 10:32 We want you to be along with us 10:35 in what we're doing for religious liberty. 10:37 And that's the dynamic we want to encourage. 10:41 You know, it's fine if someone gave us the money 10:43 and we go do something with it, that's not bad, 10:44 but better that they really a co-partner. 10:47 Exactly, In what we're trying to accomplish. 10:48 Yeah, and we emphasize-- We've been emphasizing that, 10:51 you know, I think really in all aspects of our ministry, 10:55 ministry which I spoke on 10:56 North American Religious Liberty Association 10:58 on our previous program. 10:59 And again, we're really emphasizing that partnership 11:03 that we want you all involved in this ministry as well. 11:06 It's not just, I mean, this is this is protecting the freedom 11:10 of all of us and we certainly know strength 11:12 and numbers as well. 11:14 So that's, I encourage you all. 11:17 I haven't actually seen the finished product 11:18 of that video yet, I'm excited to see it. 11:20 Neither have I. Yeah. 11:22 But I filmed it and I actually know what it's like, 11:24 but we haven't seen it in its final edited form, 11:27 it'll be polished and-- Right. 11:29 And some credits and so on added, 11:30 but we know basically what it is and we're very confident 11:34 that this, you know, just those few minutes 11:35 can communicate the dynamic 11:37 of what's necessary to carry this forward. 11:39 Right, so another thing that's, 11:41 that's a part of this religious liberty campaign kit 11:43 is the subscription sponsorship list. 11:47 The liberty subscription sponsorship list, 11:49 that's, that would be names of individuals 11:53 that your church, your local congregation 11:55 has sent, gave subscriptions to in the past. 11:58 And it gives you an opportunity to update that 12:01 maybe there's been an election year, you know, 12:04 that just happened or someone has moved or transposition 12:07 that gives you opportunity. 12:08 we also include a new subscription 12:11 order form into it. 12:12 We always want to encourage you to add individuals. 12:14 And especially, if you have contacts 12:17 in your local communities, you know, 12:18 speak with your local pastor, 12:20 is he involved in a civics organizations, 12:21 he involved in Kiwanis or rotary or something. 12:24 He can make recommendations of individuals that, 12:26 you know, really would benefit 12:28 from the Liberty Magazine subscription. 12:30 So those two items, the current subscription form 12:33 and the new subscription order form, 12:35 I really encourage people to-- 12:37 So it's a very important package 12:38 that we're sending out. 12:39 And maybe after the break, we can specify exactly, 12:43 what's in it, I mean, go through a checklist. 12:46 Thanks for being with us on this program. 12:48 We're not done yet, we'll take a little break 12:50 and we'll be right back after discussing 12:53 how you can be part of making Liberty Magazine 12:55 and this program more affective. 13:06 One-hundred years, a long time to do anything, 13:10 much less publish a magazine, but this year Liberty, 13:14 the Seventh-day Adventist voice of religious freedom, 13:16 celebrates one-hundred years of doing what it does best, 13:20 collecting, analyzing, and reporting the ebb and flow 13:24 of religious expression around the world. 13:26 Issue after issue, 13:28 Liberty has taken on the tough assignments, 13:30 tracking down threats to religious freedom 13:32 and exposing the work of the devil 13:34 in every corner of the globe. 13:36 Governmental interference, personal attacks, 13:39 corporate assaults, even religious freedom issues 13:42 sequestered within the Church community itself 13:44 have been clearly and honestly exposed. 13:47 Liberty exists for one purpose to help God's people 13:51 maintain that all important separation of Church and State 13:54 while recognizing the dangers inherent in such a struggle. 13:58 During the past century, 14:00 Liberty has experienced challenges of its own, 14:02 but it remains on the job. 14:04 Thanks to the inspired leadership 14:06 of a long line of dedicated Adventist Editors, 14:09 three of whom represent almost half 14:10 of the publications existence 14:12 and the foresight of a little woman from New England. 14:16 One-hundred years of struggle, 14:18 one-hundred years of victories, 14:20 religious freedom isn't just about political machines 14:23 and cultural prejudices. 14:25 It's about people fighting for the right 14:28 to serve the God they love as their hearts 14:31 and the Holy Spirit dictate. 14:33 Thanks to the prayers and generous support 14:35 of Seventh-day Adventists everywhere. 14:37 Liberty will continue to accomplish its work 14:40 of providing timely information, 14:41 spirit filled inspiration, 14:43 and heaven sent encouragement to all who long to live 14:47 and work in a world bound together by the God 14:50 ordained bonds of religious freedom. 15:04 Welcome back to the Liberty Insider. 15:05 Before the break, I was talking with Associate Editor, 15:08 Melissa Reid about our annual campaign 15:12 for Liberty Magazine which I was gonna say 15:15 might seem like promotion, but it is promotion. 15:18 But it's for a purpose, this is not commercial. Right. 15:20 This is the life blood of getting 15:22 a Religious Liberty emphasis out, right. 15:25 And we depend, we're not in this-- 15:28 Well, we're almost in the south area. 15:31 We depend on the kindness of strangers. 15:35 But they're not strangers because anybody 15:37 that believes in what we're doing 15:38 for Religious Liberty is one of us. Absolutely. 15:41 Whether they're Seventh-day Adventists, 15:42 whether they're Catholic, they're Muslim, 15:44 or whatever because, yes, religious liberty as I've said 15:47 elsewhere Liberty Magazine rather is calculatedly 15:52 projecting an Adventists viewpoint behind the scene, 15:55 if you like, but the principle of religious liberty 15:59 that we're sharing is non-sectarian, 16:02 it's universal, and it's religious freedom for all. 16:06 And the dynamic in the United States particularly, 16:09 is that it's best protected on the separation 16:11 of church and state which the laws very happily recommend. 16:15 You know, and putting together some of the materials, 16:16 promotional materials for this coming year, 16:19 I grabbed some letters that we, 16:22 that we have received there 16:23 in our editorial offices from individuals. 16:25 Because I wanted just saying, thank you for subscription. 16:28 Basically, the jest of the letters was, 16:32 you know, thank you for Liberty Magazine, 16:34 we don't have any idea why we're receiving it, 16:36 but please don't stop sending it. 16:38 And I think that-- 16:39 Yeah, we get beautiful letters periodically 16:41 and I don't keep them as often as I should, but-- 16:43 I think it's important for people to realize that, 16:45 yes, you know, those subscriptions 16:48 that you're sponsoring aren't going, 16:49 you know, often to the Netherlands or-- 16:52 they are being read, they are being appreciated, 16:54 and I know that that's in a large part 16:58 because individuals are sending prayers 16:59 along with those funds. Absolutely. 17:01 That, you know, that these magazines are read 17:04 and appreciated and used as a tool. 17:07 Can you allow me to characterize them 17:08 because I've got a lot over the years 17:10 and they were a few that that take 17:13 violent exception with what we're presenting. 17:16 But, you know, I don't like the negative, 17:18 but they've usually taken violent exception 17:20 for something that we do have a real difference on. 17:23 I mean, they've recognized our standards 17:26 so they don't like it. Yes. 17:27 But those are rare, you know-- Yes. 17:28 In fact, unusually read because sometimes 17:31 we've called the bluff, for want of a better term on, 17:35 say something the religious writers doing 17:36 or the Roman Catholic Church is doing, 17:38 you know, there's wonderful people in the Catholic Church 17:42 but the structure I think is problematic. 17:44 Because it's a depending on the moment 17:48 and so church masquerading is the state 17:50 or the state masquerading is the church. 17:52 And so it, that is the worse thing 17:54 when you're dealing with the separation 17:55 of church and state. 17:56 So we sometimes put out some 17:59 fairly heart hitting articles and yet I've been surprised, 18:03 I've had easily as many positive comments 18:06 in those cases from Roman Catholics as negative. 18:08 So they don't just reflexly come bouncing back. 18:11 They see that we've got a logical argument 18:13 rather than that we gratuitously attacking them. 18:16 And so I just putting those few negatives aside, 18:19 they basically characterize as regular readers who, 18:22 you know, would be evaluations 18:25 that I could blush on sometimes, you know, 18:27 the first thing they read, say is the editorial, 18:29 we love Liberty, we've read it for 23-30 years 18:31 because beyond my 10 years. Yes, yes. 18:33 So this regular people that, you know, 18:35 keep up more of the same as others 18:36 who have discovered it by chance, yes. 18:39 It was the one recently, a probation officers 18:43 saw it on the judges desk. Yes. 18:44 He thought it was one of his own church papers, 18:46 picked it up and, wow, wonderful. Yes. 18:48 My church puts this out, he realized that. 18:50 Yes, yes, I remember that letter. 18:51 There are other people that say, 18:53 they've discovered it now, you know, 18:55 want to get it for themselves, how can I get it and so on. 18:57 Yes. So the whole gamut is generally very positive 19:01 and even a few negatives and the positives 19:04 taken together tell me, we're doing the right thing 19:06 that we're on target. Right. 19:08 And we ask, we ask individuals to sponsor 19:11 subscriptions to who we refer to a lot of times 19:13 mostly as thought leaders. 19:14 Sort of the decision makers in the society, 19:17 and those are the individuals we're hearing from as far as, 19:19 you know, you know, it's judges that, 19:21 you know, as you mentioned that are-- 19:24 And law professors. Law professors. 19:26 I've had it, I'd say, at least four law professors write 19:28 and say that they use it in their classes. Right. 19:30 Not as primary text book, I'm sure, 19:32 but as an example regulate. Right. 19:34 we had a Secretary of State, 19:36 I think it was from Minnesota that was writing to us. 19:38 And so anyway-- 19:39 That just an interesting letter. 19:41 Yeah, I just wanted to, I just wanted to, 19:43 you know, really affirm those who are, 19:45 who are supporting Liberty Magazine 19:47 and the subscription drive 19:48 because those magazines are being read and-- 19:50 You know, that Secretary of State made a comment 19:52 that maybe this is the time 19:53 to bring it forward because he said, 19:56 he reads it all the time, and recommends it. 19:57 And he says, "Don't ever stop publishing this magazine." 20:00 He says, "You need a paper version of it, 20:02 don't have an electronic." 20:04 Now I didn't, I don't feel threatened by that 20:06 even though the whole world is shifting to, 20:08 to Facebook and all the other social networking way 20:14 that people are reading letters, 20:15 given that we have a target audience 20:18 that are busy public officials. 20:20 I don't myself see any substitute 20:22 to putting a physical magazine in front of them. 20:25 But for many of our other co-travelers 20:28 on the Religious Liberty voyage or journey, 20:33 they can benefit from going to our website. 20:35 Right, and I'm so glad-- 20:36 But they shouldn't think that just because 20:37 they're enjoying the website 20:38 that let's them off the hook. 20:40 They then can use their money 20:41 to facilitate it to these target. 20:43 Absolutely, absolutely. I'm glad that you mentioned 20:45 the website because, which, for those of you 20:48 that aren't familiar, it's www.libertymagazine.org. 20:51 We also make all of these campaign materials 20:53 that we're talking about available 20:55 for download on the website. 20:56 So if for some reason your packet of promotional 20:59 materials are not mailed to your church 21:01 or for some reason they're misplaced 21:02 or something like that, Libertymagazine.org, 21:05 there's just a campaign resources quick link button 21:08 and you can download all the materials there. 21:10 And another thing I know a lot of our 3ABN audiences are, 21:14 are in more rural parts of the country and maybe you are, 21:17 are a member of a congregation that has a rotating pastor. 21:21 And so a lot of times he's maybe at another district 21:23 and you rely on the local elder. 21:26 Or maybe you're not a Seventh-day Adventist 21:28 and you're just watching from your home, 21:29 you're just learning about the Sabbath things like that, 21:31 but would love to hear a religious liberty sermon. 21:34 We provide it. Absolutely. 21:36 For those, for those individuals 21:38 and for really for anyone, may be, 21:39 you want to use this at your prayer meeting one week 21:41 or for your-- for your small group study. 21:44 If you go to our website, we provide each year's 21:48 religious liberty sermon available, 21:50 you can watch it directly there on the website 21:52 or you can download it. You can-- it's a great. 21:55 I really would encourage the individuals to do that, 21:57 who are longing to hear more. 21:59 Good suggestion. Yeah, about religious freedom. 22:02 And they don't need any special code 22:04 or anything to download this material? 22:06 No, they create a login and a password 22:07 and that's it, that's all that they need. 22:10 You know, we're running a dual track 22:11 in some ways with our site, 22:13 because it's for these target audience for someone 22:15 who is nonsectarian not even, maybe involved in religion, 22:19 but interested in a civil freedom, 22:23 freedom of religion to believe or not believe. 22:25 And so, and we don't want them to believe that what is, 22:28 get the idea which really good be false, 22:30 so this is sort of just a church activity thing, 22:33 but at the same time there are people in our church 22:37 that are our bedrock of support 22:38 and we want to service their needs. 22:41 So, yes, they can have access 22:43 through this password that they setup. 22:44 Absolutely, yes, yes, and you know, 22:46 as I said the lot of times things are misplaced, 22:48 we certainly don't want the Religious Liberty 22:50 offering not to take place because, you know, 22:53 the campaign materials that we mailed to your church 22:55 didn't for some reason, you know, 22:57 are on your shelf sitting somewhere and not accessible. 22:59 So we try to provide everything online as well. 23:02 Good. What we would do this year of, 23:04 instead of, you know, the roughly million dollars 23:07 that we need to continue? 23:09 What if we got two million dollars? 23:10 Oh, my goodness. Praise the Lord. 23:12 What a problem to have. Umm! It was-- 23:15 So some problems we want, right? 23:16 Absolutely. Well, there certainly are many, many 23:20 other individuals that we would love 23:22 to put Liberty in front of. 23:23 We would have, I don't, I don't foresee 23:25 any sort of problem in being able to use that money 23:28 to facilitate, you know, additional subscriptions. 23:30 There's lot, so many people around the country 23:34 in the United States and Canada, 23:36 who just would really benefit from a subscription 23:39 to the magazine and we have at our office 23:42 and what we call a National Priority List. 23:45 So we can provide names pretty easily, right? 23:47 Oh, absolutely. There are so many more individuals 23:49 that we would love to receive Liberty Magazine 23:52 that we think it would be beneficial to their, 23:54 to their work, you know, to the jobs that they do 23:57 both in United States and Canada. 23:59 So absolutely if we, if we have the blessing, 24:02 the outpouring of, you know, of a double offering 24:05 this coming year we would absolutely, we would, 24:07 it would just be a miracle and a blessing. 24:10 Now, now something that that troubles me, 24:13 you know, we do this regularly 24:15 and the support being fairly consistent, 24:17 they drop the bid a couple of years ago 24:20 and there was another promotion at the same time 24:22 as dropped to respond to a special event 24:25 and to let several million rise. 24:26 So I know that there's no cap on what, 24:29 what people can give. 24:30 But what troubles me is that religious liberty 24:33 very easily I think drops into sort of the mindset 24:37 of an insurance policy. Yes. 24:38 And when the disaster comes suddenly, 24:41 you know, throw some interest at it. Yes. 24:42 But people should see this as important before the problem. 24:47 Right. And to get with it now, not when suddenly 24:50 there's a law that might, 24:52 you know, let's talk to Canadian, 24:54 a law that even in the United States 24:56 might prohibit religious expression, right. 24:58 And it's sort of late to get with the program. 25:00 Absolutely, and I know honesty, 25:03 the funds may not actually be real effective at that time, 25:06 if we're not able to-- 25:07 I mean, the time is absolutely as we talked about 25:09 our campaign theme, and you know, 25:10 this is the world of opportunity, 25:11 this is the time now, you know, 25:14 to do our very best to promote this ministry. 25:16 And that's actually one reason why I love emphasizing 25:20 or mentioning the history of Religious Freedom 25:22 within the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 25:24 You know, this ministry, Liberty Magazine, 25:26 has been published since 1906. 25:28 On other shows we talked about the Liberty Sentinel. 25:30 Continuously, no interruptions. 25:31 Exactly, you know, there was a precursor, 25:33 the sentinel publication before that, 25:35 you know, there was in the 1890s. 25:37 And Liberty has been supported continuously, 25:40 you know, right up until, 25:42 until now by the faithful donations 25:45 and support of lay people who are committed 25:48 to the ministry of religious freedom. 25:50 And so, I really appreciate that, you know, 25:52 that there are individuals who recognize exactly 25:56 what you're saying that the, it's not, you know, 25:58 the reaction to the, to the flashy headlines 26:00 or something like that, 26:02 but it's a long term commitment to, you know, 26:05 holding, standing firm to our, you know, disbeliefs. 26:08 And that dollar or those $10 or the $1000 26:11 will never be more effective than now, right. 26:13 You know, the U.S lost its AAA rating a few weeks ago. 26:17 It might lose, it might be down to AA ratings shortly. 26:21 The inflation may kick in. 26:22 There were just so many imponderables 26:25 on the financial wealth. 26:26 In Europe, their economy is collapsing. 26:30 Australia was pretty good when we were there, 26:31 but who knows, it's a global village, 26:34 somebody famously said. 26:36 And the "Money can vanish in a moment." 26:38 Sure, I really do encourage those watching today, 26:42 to be supportive of the annual Religious Liberty Campaign. 26:45 Visit our website www.libertymagzine.org, 26:49 and keep this ministry active and alive. 26:54 Have you ever wondered 26:55 what it's like to be on my side of the camera? 26:59 There are some lights that admittedly on occasion 27:01 can become a little hot. 27:04 Other times when we think on the reality of thousands 27:08 and maybe millions of you out there watching, 27:11 it's possible to get a little nervous and self-conscious. 27:14 But I really would like to invite you onto this side. 27:18 When I did a promotional video for Liberty Magazine 27:22 for this coming year as I do every year, 27:24 but when I did this last one I, 27:27 I on this same set, 27:29 I sat there with an empty seat in the guest place 27:33 and I opened the program and I said, 27:34 no guests this time, I want you 27:37 to be sitting here with me 27:39 as we talk about Religious Liberty Concerns. 27:42 And what we're doing with Liberty Magazine, 27:45 of course, in conjunction with 3ABN, 27:47 but it's the magazine itself goes out. 27:49 We want you to be a partner in what we're doing. 27:53 It's important to see that this is a shared endeavor 27:57 that we're serving our Lord, 27:59 we're serving a spiritual reality 28:01 and protecting religious freedom. 28:05 For Liberty Insider, this is Lincoln Steed. |
Revised 2014-12-17