Open Letter to New York Pastors (and beyond).

Dear Pastor,

We pray this finds you in the best of our Lord’s care, grace and anointing.

You know, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai to restore order to a people that have gone crazy with idol worship, because of his absence, it was a matter of restoring God’s order and reformation to the nation of Israel.
“These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come.”—1 Cor. 10:11

In the same way, it is time for us—the men and women of God who have been entrusted with the Gospel—to come down, and engage a culture on its way to a Sodomite ending. In November, we will choose which God we will serve as a nation. If the people of God do not exercise faithful stewardship of our liberty, our posterity will pay the price for our “complacency in Zion.” We dare not surrender the mission field of government and politics to the enemy.

For most of my years in ministry, I have been encouraging pastors to take leadership in the affairs of government and politics. I’ve come to accept the fact that most clergy will not dare to delve into this area of Christian stewardship, so I rejoice in the few that do. It is as Sam Adams taught us,

”it does not take a majority to prevail… but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men.”

He was familiar with the history of Israel and the Joshua and Caleb minority. Their story has always encouraged me when I’ve felt very much in the minority. Yet, as we look toward November I believe it’s time to enlarge our minority. Will you join this God-ordained minority to preach the Word as it impacts the stewardship of our liberty?

If Jesus truly is Lord of all, as we profess, then He must also be Lord of our government and politics, and it is the Christian clergy who have been entrusted with the Word of God which alone can bring righteousness to this government “upon His shoulders.” We will have to give account to God for the stewardship of the liberty He has given us. Yes, above all, is liberty from sin, hell death and the grave through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, but also, is the liberty from tyrannical government common to this world. We have the freedom to preach the Gospel, and we must steward that freedom to preserve it. We must be the salt and light He commissioned us to be. To this end I would ask you to prayerfully consider a few action items:

1. Designate a Faith & Freedom Sunday and Invite me to come and preach an evangelistic message concerning God’s mandate upon the Church to be actively engaged in the stewardship of our liberties and government, particularly as we look forward to November elections, or preach that message yourself. I’m willing to help with resources, etc.

2. Designate a Church Liaison to attend our monthly meetings in Newburgh to be informed about the issues impact the Church here in New York State. He/She can then take the information back to the local church for prayer and/or action as the Spirit leads.

3. Help support the mission of the New York Faith & Freedom Coalition from your local missions budget. Our mission field is “the gates of the enemy,” that is wherever leaders gather to make decisions for our families.

4. Schedule a meeting with myself and your board of elders or deacons to help you fulfill the vision God has for your particular congregation to impact your sphere of influence for the Kingdom of God.

The Body is held together by each one doing its part. We’re all in this together. We must occupy until He comes. What we cannot do is “nothing.” If you have any other questions or concerns, I invite you to call or email me. Even if you don’t agree with me, let’s talk about it. None of us have it all together. In fact, Paul reminds us that now “we only see in part.”

The one thing that I am convinced of is the fact that that we are responsible for the stewardship of our civic liberties, and this government and political system entrusted to us by our forebears and by the grace of God. God will hold us to account as those who have been given the Word of Truth, and the commission to spread it throughout the earth. We dare not say, “I don’t get involved in politics.” It is part of the Gospel mandate. It is part of the kingdoms of this world that are to become the kingdoms of our Lord and Christ as the Church moves forward in the power of the Holy Spirit. We must pray for revival and work till He comes!

For King and Country,

Rev. Bill Banuchi
Executive Director

P.S. I just heard a sermon from a pastor of a large church where he preached from Jeremiah, and of national sins. In the same sermon where he claimed to preach nothing but the word he then tells the hearer to stay out of politics. Where is that in the Word? Pastor, your words have impact. We will all be held accountable. The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it; we dare not encourage our people to withdraw from any of it, but we are to “possess the gates.” We are responsible for the stewardship of this nation and this government “of the people.” God will bless or curse our posterity according to the faithful stewardship we exercise or fail to exercise. The future of this nation is in the hands of the Bible-believing clergy. The Church is responsible for the character of our government. Let’s be found faithful