Monday, January 4, 2010

President Appoints Transgendered Woman/Man to Federal Post

Amanda Simpson, a former test pilot for Raytheon, has been named to the Bureau of Industry and Security as Senior Technical Advisor by President Barack Obama. Simpson, who now identifies as a female, was nominated by the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE).

In a news release from NCTE, Simpson expressed hope to "soon be one of hundreds (of transgender presidential appointees)."

"Is there going to be a transgender quota now in the Obama administration?" asked Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans for Truth. "How far does this politics of gay and transgender activism go? Clearly this is an administration that is pandering to the gay lobby."

According to most estimates, "transgender" individuals account for less than a fraction of 1 percent of the population. Yet, LaBarbera said, they have convinced the Obama administration to affirm their position that gender is fluid and changeable.

"We should consider what transgender activism is about," he said," which is essentially recognizing civil rights based on gender confusion."

Matt Barber, associate dean at Liberty University, said the appointment "boggles the mind."

"This isn't like appointing an African-American in order to try to provide diversity and right some kind of discriminatory wrong," he said. "This is about political correctness.

"President Obama, before he was inaugurated, told the world that he had signed off on every single demand of the homosexual-activist lobby."

LaBarbera said it's just another way to normalize homosexuality and transgenderism.

"It's always the incremental change that keeps moving forward and keeps getting more radical," he said. "It's hard for the American people to keep up."

[Based on an article by Kim Trobee]

Changing Themes

J. David Schmidt is a church consultant and President of J. David Schmidt and Associates. From his vantage point of working with many hundreds of churches all across the United States and the world he notes some emerging and waning themes in organizational life. We are living in a time of transition.

Change and transition is not limited to the coasts. Television, movies, music, the Internet and cell phones are shrinking our world. What once started on the coasts took 5-7 years to spread to the mid-section of our country. Today it takes 5-7 months if not 5-7 weeks!

Organizations and institutions, including churches, are immersed in a rapidly changing culture that will either reshape them or render them obsolete. While holding to the Truth of the Word of God we must adjust how we relate, communicate, work together, and organize ourselves.

What follows is one listing of changing themes for organizations in the new millennium. Much of this material is applicable to our churches as we seek to be relevant for a new day and a new century. This list could generate a healthy and helpful discussion with your Board, Leadership Team or Staff.

WANING THEMES ----------- EMERGING THEMES

Top-Down Decision Making -- Shared Decision Making

Traditional Approaches -- Entrepreneurial Approaches

Empire Builders -- Kingdom Builders

"Come Join Us" -- "How Can We Serve You"

"Trust Us" -- Prove Your Integrity

"We Have Our Way of Doing Things" -- Multiple Options To Expand The Kingdom

Male-Only Leadership -- Male/Female Leadership

"We Have a Process to Follow" -- Flexibility, Speed And Agility In Making Decisions

"We Know How to Do This" -- On-Going Learning

"We Have a Heritage to Honor" -- Stable At The Core, Fluid Around The Edges

"We Can’t Do That" -- Shockingly High Level of Customer Service

"Let’s Build Consensus" -- Value-Driven, Visionary Leadership

Sharon Daugherty to Lead Victory Christian Center

The widow of the Rev. Billy Joe Daugherty has been elected president of the Victory Christian Center Corporation in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The Rev. Sharon Daugherty had worked as co-pastor with her late husband to build one of Tulsa's largest churches. Billy Joe Daugherty died of cancer in November.

In addition to pastoring the 17,000-member church, Sharon Daugherty will oversee Victory Christian School and International Victory Bible Institute, with 911 campuses in 93 countries.

She also will oversee Victory World Missions Training Center and the Tulsa Dream Center, which provides food and clothing and medical, educational and recreational services to north Tulsans.

One Nation Under God