Please Pray for the Crane Family

Katie Crane (to the right of David in red shirt) is one of my full-time staff members with Bound4LIFE and lives with Kim and I. We received the call last night that her younger sister Amy (19-second from left) had taken her life yesterday evening. Not many details are known yet. Please pray for the Crane family. David and Pam Crane are good friends of ours and have nine children–Amy was their fourth. This is a devastating time for everyone.

Katie, her twin sister Melody, Amy and their younger brother Jeremiah had all participated in The Call internship here in early 2007. Katie then stayed on full-time with Bound4LIFE and has lived with Kim and I since then. The oldest sister, Heather, also lives in our neighborhood with her husband Levi who works for Morningstar Ministries.

The Cranes live in Virginia near Richmond. Katie, Heather and Levi left this morning to go home to be with the family. We’ll be traveling there in a few days.

Now who's the master?

Thank You Larry Norman For Visiting This Planet

I was just taking a stroll down 80’s music memory lane. No, I don’t do that very often. Yes, Kim was a DJ at a roller skating rink in high school. Anyway...

I just found out that Larry Norman passed away on February 24. He was only 60. I had heard that his health was failing in recent years. I think that he had trouble getting the necessary medication needed and suffered from financial hardship.

When I became a Christian in 1986, Larry quickly became a staple in my walkman. By that time he was already a folk rocker throwback from the 60’s. But this guy loved Jesus, and it came through loud and clear. He epitomized the power of the Jesus Movement–Jesus was coming back at any moment, so let’s hurry up and get as many people saved as possible.

It was kind of odd to be a teenager that liked Larry Norman when everyone else was listening to Iron Maiden and Van Halen. If you had strict Christian parents maybe you could sneek in a little Stryper (who oddly enough covered one of Norman’s songs). I don’t know; I was just really gripped by his lyrics and soulful melodies. I loved the way he communicated the love of God at a street level. Who else could sing about getting gonorrhea on Valentine’s Day?

Farewell Larry. Thank you for helping me love God and man. Can’t wait to meet you in person.

Personal favorites:

Why Don’t You Look Into Jesus

Down To The Water

I Wish We’d All Been Ready

Righteous Rocker

The Rock That Doesn’t Roll

These are some of Larry’s final words before he left this world.

“I feel like a prize in a box of Cracker Jacks with God's hand reaching down to pick me up. I have been under medical care for months. My wounds are getting bigger. I have trouble breathing. I am ready to fly home . . . I’d like to push back the darkness with my bravest effort. There will be a funeral posted here on the Web site, in case some of you want to attend. We are not sure of the date when I will die. Goodbye, farewell, we will meet again.”

Expelled- Spring 08

This is worth seven and half minutes to rattle your noggin.

The Middle of Nowhere

Murdo, SD

At the last minute (Thursday of last week) my friend Steve Hickey in Sioux Falls, SD called with an off-the-wall offer. Pastor Steve is the leading voice to the Church of South Dakota concerning the issue of abortion. He and his entire church have devoted themselves to seeing the decree of death overturned in their state and the nation.

A little history. In 2006, South Dakota legislature passed an all-out ban on abortion. Now don't jump to conclusions. Reject any impulse to dismiss what I just said as the actions of poorly-informed, deeply religious, simple folk. The South Dakota elected officials created a task force that studied the issue of abortion for two years evaluating evidence from every conceivable angle. An impactful piece of information that emerged and found profound relevance in the debate is the fact that Abortion Hurts Women. What was that? Yes, contrary to what you've been told, abortion hurts women. I will try to expound on that statement at a later date.

The ultimate result was the the state legislature found conclusive evidence that was contrary to the six presuppositions on which Roe v. Wade was established. Governor Mike Rounds signed the abortion ban legislation into law which directly challenged the federal guarantee of abortion access. This created a fire storm. Pro-Abortion advocates quickly mobilized to gather signatures to force the law to popular vote, which was then struck down in November of 2006. However, 44% of the state of South Dakota was willing to cast their vote to ban abortion in every instance. The message is clear here in the heartland–Life is Sacred.

Fast forward to today. Once again the courageous people of SD are mobilizing in defense of the defenseless. Right now a signature campaign is well under way to bring a new ballot initiative to voter in November of this year. What's different? This new initiative "listens" to what the voters of 2006 said. Built into this measure are exceptions for rape, incest and the health of the mother. It's not a perfect piece of legislation, but it will effectively abolish abortion as a means of birth control. This is exactly what the people of South Dakota asked for. It is exactly what the voters want.

So here I am in Murdo, SD. Not much here. It's a overnight stop on a whirlwind 12-city tour across the state to mobilize pro-life pastors to collect signatures. Time is short for this leg of the campaign, but we're excited and filled with hope. There has been an overwhelming positive response. We're speaking directly with the men and women that have access to entire buildings full of people that know right from wrong. Steve fights my battles; I fight his.

Please pray for the Church of South Dakota. There's a manipulative effort that's being waged to lull the people to sleep on this issue. Steve calls it "Planned Parenthood's Propaganda Ploy" (nice alliteration). I think its nothing less than spiritual propaganda. They're telling everyone, "The people of South Dakota are tired." It's not true. That's not what we're seeing out here on the wind-swept plains. People are pretty fired up contrary to popular belief. But you know how it goes. If someone comes up to you and says, "Hey, you look tired." Suddenly you start thinking, "Yeah, I am kinda tired." Next thing you know a tiny yawn slips out. It's propaganda! And the salt-of-the-earth people we're meeting are buying it.