This Sunday, December 6 is "Stand for Righteousness Sunday" as the final Sunday before early voting ends on the 8th and before Joint Runoff Election Day on Saturday, December 12. It has never been more important for pastors in Houston to raise the bar on how we assure maximum voter turnout in our churches. Turnout would normally be projected at less than 10 percent – 1 out of 10 registered voters! – and there is simply NO excuse for anywhere near that level coming from our churches. With early voting convenience it should communicated from our pulpits that EVERY Christian should cast a prayerful, informed vote. If you will take the following steps – your turnout WILL increase substantially and we urge you to execute each one of these steps on Sunday and throughout next week. The question before us is very simple – do we care enough about our God, our families, our city and our future to take responsibility for who governs us? If we do, we will take every necessary step as outlined below.

Back in November, Pastor Dave Welch rallied the troops of the Houston Area Pastor Council with his battle cry that a lesbian mayor of Houston would be the end of society. A real Christian message right? Also explain to me, because I’m too stupid to understand, how a mayor can promote a gay agenda and pass civil rights laws. Did I miss that part of the lesson in government class?

Here’s an excerpt

Also fact is that the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender lobby fielded candidates in multiple races for Houston City Council to increase their numbers on that governing body. Are we supposed to be lemmings and assume there is no agenda at play here? Please.

The "elephant in the room" of this mayoral campaign is Parker's long and very public track record of advocating same-sex marriage, taxpayer-funded benefits for same-sex partners of city employees, elevating even "gender identity" to a protected class as well as every agenda item of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. Houston is not yet San Francisco, Chicago, Detroit or New York, and the voters here have repeatedly stated through city referendums that such policies are not welcome – and a supermajority voted to keep the traditional definition of marriage as only between one man and one woman.

Hundreds of pastors and thousands of citizens refuse to be silenced and keep the debate at the level of road repair, transportation infrastructure, city spending and other such fiscal issues, important as they are. Nothing, I repeat, nothing is as important to the future of this city, state and nation as the protection and restoration of the nuclear family grounded in marriage, having both a mother and a father raising their children and committed to a healthy, nurturing home.

Myriad studies done regarding the physical, emotional, economic, educational and spiritual well-being of children confirm that the highest levels of each of these critical areas of protection occur within the confines of a strong marriage. The radical agenda to "undefine" marriage directly through courts and legislatures has failed, but the "death by a thousand cuts" through elevating nonmarital same-sex or opposite-sex relationships to equal status in every other area of public policy as per California and Washington state is just as threatening.

Those of the clergy who believe in family and marriage as defined by God, recognized by centuries of our ancestors and affirmed as a vital institution of compelling state interest to promote for our own posterity, must exercise our right and duty to make sure the voters are well-informed and do their duty by voting those values.

Once again we are reminded that ballot measures are only a temporary solution to the true and foundational duty to elect leaders of strong faith, conviction and character to policymaking offices at all levels. We cannot have it both ways – and whether we like it or not, we are charged with being politically active as a ministry to our God, our fellow man and our country.

This is an act of love, not of bigotry.

An act of love not bigotry. That’s so Christian of you. Because you don’t want Houston to be like Detroit, San Francisco, Chicago or any of those other heathen cities. Kind of reminds me of Alabama Senator "Hurricane" Hank Erwin who said Katrina happened because New Orleans was a city of sin.

I know very little of Annise Parker and her platform to improve Houston, but I trust the judgment of those that I have talked to that she has the experience and is a good progressive. I also wouldn’t mind this Pastor’s Council having to eat some crow. Oh and maybe some of them could lose their tax exempt status. Just a thought.

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