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The School as a Mission Field: But who is discipling WHOM?

The School as a Mission Field

But WHO is discipling WHOM?

Under the Hatch Amendment, parents have the right to be assured their children's beliefs and moral values are not undermined by what they are taught in school. For a number of years, in a big metropolitan city as well as a small town, I made sure my children went to school with an envelope containing the Hatch Amendment, instructing the teacher to give the letter to the Administrative Office to go in my children's files. A copy of this letter can be found at http://www.christianpatriot.com/hatch.htm

Turmoil in the ToyBox?

When my kids were growing up, there was no Internet. My only source for alternative news from achristian perspective was KVTT radio in Dallas, particularly a program called “Point of View with Marlin Maddoux.” I found the program rivoting. Spell-binding. I would repeat the things I'd heard with family and friends, only to have them look at me strangely. When Mel Gibon's “Conspiracy Theory” was released at the theaters, I could relate to the frustration his character was going through.

One day, Marlin had as his guest the author of a book called “Turmoil in the Toy Box.” The book described all the occultic and New Age mumbo-jumbo being presented to our kids though cartoons and toys, packaged with bright colors, funny voices, Smurfs, Li'l Ponies, Care Bears, Masters of the Universe, etc.

As one who has always been quite vocal about things I believed others should know, I had been sounding the alarm among all the parents in my realm of influence, loaning my copy of that dog-eared book to others. As I was leaving Sunday School Class one morning, our church Counselor - a young man named Frank – stopped me in the hall and pulled out a copy of that book. He had been asked to do a presentation to some group on the topic of New Age influences on our youth and wanted my opinion of the book! I've always seen that as my very first 1-man seminar.

Girls just wanna have fun

My daughter was about 7 at the time. We were coloring together at the kitchen table when she said, still coloring, “I wish they'd let me go back to recess with the other kids.”

OK, she had my attention. Still coloring, trying not to look alarmed, I inquired, “How come you aren't going to recess, honey?” She went on to explain how, while all the kids went outside to play, she and a small group of kids were ushered off the the school Counselor's office where they played games and took tests. Because I had become an informed parent, I asked if they ever made her close their eyes or listen to tapes. She said they had but I had taught them to pray to Jesus if anyone at school ever told them to close their eyes in class, even if only for a nap. So, that's what she did.

The next day, I contacted the school Principal and expressed my concerns. The school was to teach my children Reading, Riting and 'rithmatic in accordance with the Hatch Amendent, a copy of which should be on file in the Administration Office. 

Period. 

Paragraph. 

To his credit, the Principal was cordial and agreeable. The conversation lasted less than 2 minutes.

The next morning, before I even got out of bed, the phone rang. It was the school Counselor. She seemed purturbed, annoyed that I wanted my child pulled from the course. She said things such as, “But all the other parents...” and “But it's such an honor...” She attempted to convince me the classes were "just fine" and, as a Christian herself, and as a professional, she could vouch for their validity. Well, you can imagine how well that commentary was received. Needless to say, my daughter was pulled from the program.

Finally, she said, “Well, I'm a Christian, too...” That's when I interrupted, sternly, “Well, you should know better!”

My daughter returned to recess immediately.

When my youngest son came home with a letter from school, “congratulating” him on being recommended for the new Gifted and Talented program, I tossed the letter. When his teacher phoned the next evening, after I informed her he would not be attending, her first words were, “But all the OTHER parents are letting THEIR children attend...”

Sometimes people just say the wrong thing to the wrong person.

Needless to say, he never attended the class.

The Lotus position vs OUR position

On another occasion, my step-daughter was sitting in the lotus position in front of the TV. She called me over and said, excitedly, “This is what we learned in class.”

I maintained control and asked to see her book. History? Sure enough, the chapter on the lotus position began talking about Japan. “Japan is an island nation of 120 million people... blah, blah blah.” In no time, the subject deviated: "About 90 million people in Japan claim to be Buddhist practitioners or believers, etc.” The chapter went on to say, “Buddha was a holy man...”

I'd read enough. Whatever you think about Buddhism, it's NOT the religion I've chosen to raise my kids under. Again, the public school has my kids for the 3R's. That's all. 

One of those R's is NOT RELIGION! 

It wasn't long before the Rutherford Institute was asking us if we wanted to sue the school district. No, we just wanted that book removed. Soon, the Superintendent sent a FAX to all teachers instructing them to remove this book from their classrooms.

Problem solved? Not quite.

When Parent Night came around, in my step-daughter's classroom, there we saw that same book! Apparently, her teacher hadn't gotten the proverbial memo. A quick call to the Superintendent's office the next day resulted in another FAX broadcasted to all teachers stating, in no uncertain terms, “Any teacher with a copy of this book in their classroom will be terminated immediately.”

Something to that effect.

That was easy, folks. A school district of 63,000, the eighth largest in the Great State of Texas vs one Christian family.

And we won.

As Edmund Burke said, “All it takes for evil to prosper is for good people to do nothing.”

My personal guarantee: If we do nothing, nothing is guaranteed to change. So, DO SOMETHING!

Christian Kids: Armed & Dangerousm, Spiritually

We must arm our kids, teaching them that resisting an evil presence in their room is as foremost as avoiding strangers on the street. If not us, their parents, who?

Guided imagery, which introduces the concept of the  "spirit guide," is taking place within America's school systems. Why would we need that when we have the Holy Spirit – the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead (Romans 8:11) living within us?

By the way, there's a reason He is referred to as the HOLY Spirit, distinguishing Him from those spirits that are UN-holy.

In this man's opinion, in general, public schools are New Age indoctrination centers. Once the "elite" students are pegged, these little leaders of tomorrow are fed a steady diet of well-disguised, one-world, anti-Christian, anti-nationalistic, self-loving, liberal, tree-hugging, mamby-pamby rubbish. Frankly, most who are reading this were part of this program in one way or another. 

Just like me.

Have you heard of Napolean Hill?

The legendary Napoleon Hill, author of "Think and Grow Rich," which sold millions nad millions of copies, was a counselor to two presidents and a friend of the richest men of the 20th century. He spent 20 years compiling the case histories and money-making methods contained in this book and approximately every motivational speaker out there will tell you what a great book it is.

In one section of the book, Hill describes the conversations he held with his "Master Mind" group which included many deceased leaders from the pages of history, which he commonly called upon. At first, these counselors were invited. In time, they came when they were unexpected and uninvited. Ultimately, the man who said, "Whatever the human mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve," was tormented by the very spirit guides over which he concept he had control. According to his own children, Hill was hearing from his unwelcome Spirit Guides till he died. Millions have read this book and applied his "success" techniques. Before my encounter with Jesus Christ, I was among these readers. But that master Mind stuff is where it got too strange for me, even though a very prosperous friend of mine gave me the book telling me, "If you're ready for success, the retort will pop out at you from every page."

Sure, buddy. I've since enlightened quite a few people in the workplace whose employers insisted upon the reading of this "classic."

Napoleon Hill said he followed the habit of reshaping his own character, by trying to imitate the nine men (Emerson, Paine, Edison, Darwin, Lincoln, Burbank, Napoleon, Ford, and Carnegie) whose lives and life-works had been most impressive to him. And every night, over a long period of years, held an imaginary Council meeting with this group whom he called his "Invisible Counselors." He claimed that knowledge came from them that he was not able to get from just thinking and said "In these imaginary council meeting I call on my cabinet members for the knowledge I wished to contribute, addressing myself to each member in audible words....". After some months of this nightly procedure, Hill says he "was astounded by the discovery that these imaginary figures became, apparently real". Each of these nine men developed individual characteristics, which surprised me. For example, Lincoln developed the habit of always being late, then walking around in solemn parade. When he came, he walked very slowly, with his hands clasped behind him, and once in a while, he would stop as he passed, and rest his hand, momentarily, upon my shoulder...Burbank and Paine often indulged in witty repartee which seemed, at times, to shock the other members of the cabinet. One night Paine suggested that I prepare a lecture on "The Age of Reason," and deliver it from the pulpit of a church which I formerly attended. Many around the table laughed heartily at the suggestion. Not Napoleon! He drew his mouth down at the corners and groaned so loudly that all turned and looked at him with amazement. [Napoleon Hill. Think and Grow Rich. Chapter 14. The Sixth Sense. Pages 314-316. ] Now either Hill was a lunatic, or these were not "imaginary" figures at all as Hill tried to convince himself and others that they were. As Christian author Dave Hunt said in The Classic Case of Napoleon Hill, “By 1967, when Hill published Grow Rich With Peace of Mind he had stopped talking to an "imaginary cabinet" and was talking with actual unseen beings. So Hill's journey into communication with the spirit realm (i.e. demons)  apparently began at least as early as 1937 and continued for at least 30 years. “Hill claimed he was suddenly confronted in his study by an unexpected visitor from another dimension who, in a voice that “sounded like chimes of great music,” informed Hill he had been “under the guidance of the Great School” for years and had been chosen by them to give the formula of success, the “Supreme Secret,” to the world: that “anything the human mind can believe, the human mind can achieve.” [Napoleon Hill and W. Clement Stone, Grow Rich With Peace of Mind. Ballantine Books. (1996). Page 201] It gets weirder, but I won't bore ypu with the details. Suffice it to say, even in the classrooms, kids are being introduced to Spirit Guides whom they can call upon when the going gets tough.  A Care Bear?  A Li'l Pony?  A White Rabbit?  DUSO the Dolphin?  Frank Peretti's best-seller “Piercing the Darkness” makes reference to a child whose cartoon unicorn becomes a bit too real and actually possesses the child, thoroughly disrupting her school and the community.

There you have it, friends. Another school year is just beginning. 

Are the kids ready (I'm NOT talking about school clothes)? 

Are YOU? 

Have you spoken with the teachers in your realm of influence? 

Within your church? 

Your family? 

How about that Hatch letter?

If you need encouragement, maybe some advice other than what I've shared here, just ask.

Every blessing,

Mnichael Tummillo

Founder, The Church @ Work

I'm talking about YOUR job!

I'm talking about YOUR job!
If your job is all about trading time for money, or maybe it's about prestige, social status, a title, or climbing the company ladder, as a Christian, you're missing the proverbial boat.

Jesus said He came as an example. Scripture reveals He and His disciples rubbed shoulders with others in the marketplace, just as you do. What an opportunity to be an encourager, to lend a hand, to introduce your fellow man to the One who dwells within you! Yet, day in and day out, the clock ticks by until another week is over. 

Another month. 

Another year. 

When retirement comes, will you say you used your workplace ministry opportunity wisely (you call it your 'job')? Why else do you believe God opened the door there in the first place? 

So you could buy more stuff? 

So you could become salesman of the year?

Buy a bigger house?

There are two issues that ALL Christians must address:
1)Most of us do not feel adequately trained for workplace ministry by our spiritual leaders. In fact, we've resigned ourselves to allowing the “professionals” to do the ministry while we support them by dropping money in the plate. 
2)Most ministers feel there's a sacred/secular divide; if it's spiritual, it should take place in THEIR sanctuary.

God has given me a ministry called “The Church @ Work” through which I serve secular businesses as a Workplace Chaplain. I'm offering churches of ALL denominations an enlightening, interactive presentation called “The Faith @ Work Movement in Light of the Kingdom of God.” Here are a few comments regarding this ministry...

“Pastors, you need men who will LEAD the charge...I needed at MASTER SERGEANT to rally the troops to action. Michael powerfully supported my message...with an emphasis on the workplace.  As a "Workplace Chaplain" he lives this message! I could not have found a better man for the moment...under the guidance of the Holy Spirit Michael Tummillo delivers!  The passion, the revelation, the inspiration and the impartation are all there.  If you need a man to cut through the religiosity and drive home the essential truth that we should ALL be about the Father's business, Michael Tummillo is second to none.”
- Pastor Gil Delaney
Equippers Outreach Fellowship, Weimar Texas
Author: “Stop the Church, I Want to get Off”

“I really enjoy the way you empower the body of Christ to be ‘Jesus with skin on’ to the people around them. You are just so natural and comfortable with the fact that God will work through...those you are encouraging to minister to the folks in their everyday lives. You definitely know how to take the pressure off. “
- Dean Krosecz
Worship Leader

“The Workplace! It is ‘THE Place’ for so much of what God is currently doing through His people…Michael is helping to spearhead this through his ministry. Get involved and make your place of work an outpost of the Kingdom of God.”
-Tony Dale, 
House2House Ministries

“I am excited with you when I read of the progress of The Church @ Work! Wow! The time is coming when you will have helped hundreds of Workplace Chaplains into this exciting ministry! 
God bless you and I bless you!!!!” 
-Robert Fitts, Speaker/Author of 
“The Church in the House: A Return to Simplicity” 

“You have a noble and great work my brother!”
-Lance Wallnau, 
Prophetic Bible Teacher

PLEASE FORWARD this message you YOUR Spiritual Leaders. 
We need to talk!

Every blessing,
Michael Tummillo
Founder of The Church @ Work

URGENT MESSAGE!

Our Church group watched half this documentary last night and just finished watching the other half tonight (only 90 minutes).

POWERFUL!

It's CRITICAL that you gather with you friends, family, church, and watch and discuss this video, too.

If you live anywhere near Stephenville, Texas, PLEASE pick a date, invite as many people as you can, 

and I will be glad to share our DVD with you. If you're anything like us, you may decide to order copies so 

that each attendee can share a copy.

Listen, if we want something we don't have, we MUST do something different than we're doing. 

If you're wondering what ever happened to make this nation SO different than the one you once knew, 

this will answer all your questions.

I'm looking forward to your response!

Every blessing,

Michael Tummillo

http://agendadocumentary.com/trailer/

Waiting upon the Lord

Waiting upon the Lord

"Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." Psalm 27:14

Hearing and doing God's will are two distinct steps in the process of obedience. Unfortunately, they often get confused as being just one step. Truth is, the directive from God to do anything by His power is ACTUALLY  a call to PREPARE yourself. For example, when an individual feels the "call" to , let's say, go to an African nation as a missionary, it might do that individual well to take care of a few preliminaries. For example, he might study that nation's culture, learn a few phrases, talk to others who have lived there, raise funds and get a passport. 

So, when we hear God's call to do anything - whether it's a strong unction, repeated signs, or a literal still small voice - this is only 50 percent of the process. The next important step is to know when to make your move. Timing is everything, after all.

There was a time when the Spirit led me to be a scribe for the Lord. Frankly, I didn't know where to begin. I'd been a Copy Writer for Dallas ad agencies, won some awards, but at that point, I was the Assistant Pastor of a 300-member congregation who didn't even own a type writer. As one who lived in a strongly Middle Eastern neighborhood, their men were always asking if I was Muslim. I guess I had "the look." 

Whatever the reason, I felt compelled to design a one-page tract intended to explain the love of God to people of the Islamic faith. As finances permitted, I would buy stamps and hand-address the tracts and send them to people from the phone book who had Arabic-looking names. 

In time, a friend of mine, a Vice President of the company I was working for, crippled from rheumatoid arthritis he contracted as a child, learned about what I was doing and started paying my postage costs. Here I was, a divorced, single man, suffering from a progressively-worstening spinal disease, in tandem with my 89-pound, twisted and gnarled friend, doing what we could to share Christ with the Muslims of our community.

Before I started down this path, another friend had given me a computer which sat in the corner collecting dust for at least 6 months. One day, he asked if I'd ever connected it. Frankly, I was clueless as to how to get that done and, afterward, what I was expected to do with this machine. It's when he told me I could send message out all over the planet I decided I'd better get educated. 

Thus, my online ministry began.

This was a major change for me. Though I began by reaching out to kids in my Youth Group with eMail messages of encouragement, very few of them had eMail addresses in those days (imagine that!). It was when one of their parents forwarded a message to a missionary friend of hers in Sicily, prompting a response from that individual, that I realized the possibilities of ministry by computer. Sicily? The world suddenly became a much smaller place.

Today, 13 years later, God has allowed me the privilege of reaching MILLIONS across the globe via the Internet. 

From this experience, I learned, firsthand, where God guides, He provides. I'd done all the training in my secular life; He provided the tools. Like David, tangling with the lion and the bear prepared him to take on Goliath. 

I'll never forget the New Year's Eve I heard the Father say, "Everything you do, matters." How could  it NOT? The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead lives in me! Besides, Jesus promised greater things than He did we would do because He went to the Father.

Corrie ten Boom was a prisoner in the Holocaust who lost her sister in Hitler's death camps during WWII. She told the story of her father traveling with her on trains and how she always wanted to hold her ticket from ahead of time. Wisely, her father never gave her the ticket until she was about to get onto the train, afraid she might lose it along the way.

God always does what He does at the perfect time. He is never late, and rarely is He early. Have you noticed? Ask God for the wisdom and patience required in order for you to operate within His will and timing for the events in your life - events that most assuredly always have a Kingdom connection. 

Every blessing,

Michael Tummillo

Founder, The Church @ Work

The Silence of the Pulpits

I have a long-time friend who has been a missionary in an Islamic country for decades. She is the most missionaries missionary I know. She lives in this nation every day, doesn't merely pop in and out to return to the comforts of home; this IS her home. Last week, I received another eMail from her. At one point in her message, she wrote: "

"Two months ago, there was a bomb right next door, woke me up in the morning… from the loud explosion the whole house was shaking as well. Several people were injured and one lady died the next day… All houses in our streets had broken windows. But we all fixed them and then life went back to "normal". It's part of living here. Each day here is a gift, we never know if we can still be here tomorrow. Emergency bags are always packed and plans are in place what to do in 5 minutes…"

I have other friends living in persecuted nations and, frankly, I always sigh with relief when I hear from them. Today, I received the following message written by Bill Warner. What a thought-provoking piece! Read it. Pray about it. Share it with people you know, especially those in ministry. Each of us - from the top down - needs to make a true assessment of our faith in this hour.

Every blessing,

Michael Tummillo

Founder, The Church @ Work (TCAW)

The Silence of the Pulpits

If you are even slightly awake about the world news today, it is no surprise that Christians are being killed, raped and brutalized throughout the Islamic world. However, there is a place where you can go and escape the dreadful and relentless details of Christian annihilation by Islam. You can just go to church. For example, this week in Nigeria Christians were killed. Nothing out of the ordinary, indeed in the world of Christian persecution, this is routine.

And so the response to the murder of Christians is found in nearly every church is …wait for it…, complete silence—not a mention or reference to it or the brutality against Christians that happens almost every day in the Islamic world. This is not a passive silence, because if you try to change it, you will fail. The silence is an active, working conspiracy that goes throughout nearly all of Christendom.

Take a simple example: prayer for the persecuted. From a Christian perspective, this falls under the heading of obvious. Try taking the idea of prayer for the routinely murdered Christians in Nigeria or Egypt to ministers, boards and any part of the structure of the church and see how far you will get. You will get rejection with a myriad of lame and evasive excuses, since they fear to recognize the suffering of Christians around the world. If you acknowledge the suffering, you might ask the question: why are these Christians suffering? Ah, there is the rub. The suffering is caused by Muslim jihadists who are following the Islamic doctrine of jihad against the Christian as found in Koran, Sira and Hadith. Islam is the cause of suffering of Christians, as well as Jews, Hindus, Buddhists and atheists.

STOP!!! We cannot say those things! Facts are the new hate speech, so we cannot speak about the jihad against Christians. Therefore, we get no prayers for the persecuted, because it would lead to talk about why the murder of Christians keeps happening. And that truth would lead to being called an Islamophobe, so we are not going there. Result: silence.

It is ironic that the Wall Street Journal, a FINANCIAL newspaper, has run an article about the silence in the pulpit concerning the suffering of Christians. We live in a time of moral inversion when Christian leaders are chastised for their moral bankruptcy by money men. It is supposed to be the other way around.

Actually, there are few religious leaders left in America. Instead we have chief-executive-officers who manage a 501 c 3 institution that has meetings on Sunday. In too many cases, Christianity has devolved into an hour’s meeting that is supposed to make you feel good for a week.

This 501 c 3 corporate mentality is another one of the roots of the denial of the Christian suffering. If you are willing to see the doctrinal roots of the ongoing murder of Christians by Muslims, then you might have to speak about it from the pulpit and that could be seen as political speech. In spite of the fact that there has never been a 501 c 3 revoked because of political speech by a minister, the imagined loss silences ministers. Hmmm, if a minister is worried about the IRS revoking his 501 c 3 then who is the minster serving? Caesar or Christ?

Now you may not be a Christian, and so it might seem that there is nothing here for you. But in reality we all have pulpits. Are we using the suffering of Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, women, gays, and intellectuals caused by Islam as a topic of conversation with those around us? Who is comfortable with bringing up anything negative about Islam? To tell those facts about Islam is a social crime and you will be accused of being a hater/Islamophobe. So most of us remain silent about the evils of political Islam, and we are just like the ministers—silent in our own pulpits. Christians and non-Christians share the fear of being insulted as bigots and Islamophobes.

It turns out that all of those who oppose any social evil will be hated. Think about it. It takes a massive amount of power to put into place any societal doctrine, such as multi-culturalism and political correctness. The government, universities, many churches, synagogues and the media have become enforcers of multi-culturalism and political correctness. They are very powerful and believe that their dogma rules all peoples.

They are also full throated apologists for Islam. Now it turns out that their actual knowledge about the doctrine and history of political Islam is close to zero and Muslim-brotherhood-approved, but that is no problem. The Establishment just says that those who find fault with Islam are bigots and they hate us.

The silence of the pulpits is the greatest aider and abettor of Islam in the US. No one serves and advances Islam better than the silent ministers. They have abandoned their duty of courage in the face of persecution, but the rest of the flock still looks for moral leadership from them. Islam triumphs when Christian leaders do not condemn the murderous evil of political Islam.

Even worse than the silent ministers are those who go to “interfaith dialogs” and smile while the Muslims assert religious and political dominance over them. The nice, oh so nice, Christians and Jews show up to tie, while the Muslims are there to win, and they do.

Christians need to follow the example of Jesus and willingly suffer the condemnation by the Establishment and fight against the political Islam that murders Christians. Said another way, Christians should demonstrate courage and sacrifice to support their cruelly murdered brothers and sisters.

We cannot defeat political Islam until we get Christian boots on the ground. Do the math. The pulpits must become a source of courage and knowledge and stand up for Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists and all others who suffer under Islam’s persecution today and for the last 1400 years.

It isn’t just about religion; it is about the survival of our civilization.