Pastor’s Conference Draws Men of God Ready to Fight

Around 400 pastors and ministry leaders met in Charlotte, NC for a two day conference Thursday and Friday this week at the Marriott Renaissance Hotel on how to get those involved in ministry to be active in politics. The event, sponsored by the NC American Renewal, gathered churchmen from across the Southeast and ministry leaders from as far away as California, Maine, and Florida for a spiritual rejuvenation on why pastors should be involved in civic affairs.

The event had a variety of speakers with ministry and political experience who spoke to the how and why of political involvement and why it is necessary at this time for pastors to be involved. American Renewal was founded by David and Cindy Lane of California. Lane is a behind the scenes man and rarely gets in front of a crowd. But, that is fine by most supporters who appreciate his work.

Attendee Lt. Col. E. Ray Moore, Chaplain USAR Ret., said of Lane that “he is a fine man doing a wonderful job.”

Lane has been quoted by The Washington Times as saying “Government is not going to save America. Wall Street is not going to save America. The Republican party is not going to save America. If America is going to be saved it will be done by Christian men and women restoring a Judeo-Christian culture to the country.”

The event had many “superstars” from the conservative pastoral and political world. Among those in attendance as speakers and ministry leaders were Pastor Ken Graves of Calvary Chapel in Bangor, Maine, Rev. Bishop E. W. Jackson from Virginia, N.C. Lt. Governor Dan Forest, former Virginia Congressman and Liberty University professor Dave Brat, many may remember Brat’s primary victory over Republican Majority Leader Eric Cantor in 2014. The Mayor of Thousand Oaks, California, Pastor Rob McCoy, historian Bill Federer, David Brody, Wayne Hamilton, Ryan Helfenbein and many others.

The event was positive and uplifting for the attendees which was obvious by their reaction and reception of the speakers through applause and ovations throughout the event. But, not everyone was enamored by the speakers, it did have detractors.

Among the disgruntled observers were the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the NC Policy Watch. Both leftist groups were opposed to American Renewal being in Charlotte due to the views of the speakers concerning Islam, Sharia law, and the LGBTQ movement. The NC Policy group also expressed dissatisfaction at the Marriott Renaissance Hotel chain where the event was held, for apparently not sharing their concerns or ideals.

On September 25th, CAIR called on NC Lt. Governor Dan Forest to withdraw from the event stating that there were “anti-Islamic speakers” there. CAIR spokesman Robert McCaw accused event speakers William Federer of spreading “Islamophobic conspiracy theories” and Rev. Bishop E.W. Williams of being “anti-Islamic.” McCaw said “the Lieutenant Governor would legitimize” the speakers. Interestingly, this writer never heard mention of Islam or Muslims during the entire two day event.

In 2018, the incident mentioned occurred following the election of two radical Islamic women to congress. Rev. E.W. Jackson made the supposed “anti Islamic” remark on his radio program, where he said, “We are a nation rooted and grounded in Christianity and that’s that. And anybody that doesn’t like that, can go live somewhere else. It’s very simple. Just go live somewhere else. Don’t try to change our country into some sort of Islamic republic or try to base our country on Sharia law.”

Throughout the Christian Pastoral and Ministry conference attendees were heard expressing appreciation of the event and those who were in attendance. Many said that the event was “wonderful” or it was their “first time to ever attend a conference of this kind,” and that they were “very pleased.” Pastor Jackson said, “the onus of correcting the problems of society is up to us.”

 

 

Michael Reed is Editor of The Standard, a pastor, businessman and conference speaker.