WEST BEND church exercises political freedom on "Pulpit Freedom Sunday" THIS WEEK

Pastor Luke Emrich of New Life Church in West Bend will be participating in the Alliance Defense Fund's "PULPIT FREEDOM SUNDAY" this weekend at the 10 a.m. service.

The message that Pastor Emrich will be presenting will be an "ELECTION SERMON" and will align presidential candidates with Biblical Scripture.

New Life Church is located at 4125 Hwy D, West Bend. Seating is limited.
(262) 306-0986
www.newlifewisconsin.com

See article below:

Let churches exercise right to free speech
Erik Stanley
USA Today
September 18, 2008
Since news about the Alliance Defense Fund's Pulpit Initiative broke, many mischaracterizations have cropped up that need to be dispelled. The Pulpit Initiative is a legal effort to protect the First Amendment rights of pastors in the pulpit. The initiative is not a demand that pastors endorse candidates. It would allow churches to decide for themselves how to exercise their First Amendment rights on the subject without fearing the tax man.

Tax exemption of churches ">http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/userdocs/Pulpit_initiative_white_%20Paper.pdf> is not a benefit but a right under the Constitution. As the U.S. Supreme Court has noted, the power to tax involves the power to destroy, and churches are exempt from taxation under the principle that there is no surer way to destroy religion than to begin taxing it. Yet a rule in the tax code has been used to silence the church since 1954. That's when then-senator Lyndon Johnson introduced it to silence some non-profit groups http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/userdocs/Pulpit_initiative_white_%20Paper.pdf> who were opposing his re-election to the Senate. Scholars attest to the fact that the "Johnson Amendment" wasn't intended to restrict the speech of churches, but it has been used for that purpose. Those groups that howl the most about the so-called separation of church and state talk out of both sides of their mouths when they argue that the IRS has the right to monitor a pastor's sermon.

The Pulpit Initiative is not a demand that a church discuss candidate positions. The point is that it's up to the church to decide. Government violation of First Amendment rights is not the answer. http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2008/09/let-churches-ex.html?csp=34