WallBuilders

WallBuilders'

goal is to exert a direct and positive influence in government, education, and the family by (1) educating the nation concerning the Godly foundation of our country and (2) working with elected and appointed federal, state, and local officials to develop public policies which reflect Biblical values.

The book of Nehemiah is special to WallBuilders. Not only is our name is taken from that book but we also believe that it provides excellent guidance on how citizens may work together to rebuild a country's infrastructure and thus restore it to a place of public honor. In America, our infrastructure had long been built on our adherence to God's principles, and the rapid public retreat from His standards over recent decades causes the challenge issued by Nehemiah centuries ago to be relevant today: "Look at the distress we are in. Come, let us rebuild . . . so that we may no longer be a reproach" (Nehemiah 2:17)

In seeking to restore our constitutional, religious, and moral foundations, WallBuilders tries to apply principles from the book of Nehemiah, including that of the cooperative efforts of Nehemiah and Ezra. Nehemiah was an activist in the civil arena (as governor, he focused on enacting good policy, strengthening marriage, reforming lending laws, etc.) while Ezra was an activist in the spiritual arena (as a priest and teacher, he led the people in prayer, worship, the study of God's word, etc.).

Too often in the Christian community today, political activists and spiritual activists seem to oppose each other. The political activists want to see the spiritual activists (the intercessors, evangelists, pastors, etc.) become more directly involved in the civil arena while the spiritual activists often wish that their counterparts would become more "spiritual-minded." However, the book of Nehemiah teaches that it takes both cooperating with each other to restore a nation, for we find Nehemiah and Ezra working side by side to rebuild their city and rededicate it to God.

Because we believe that activists in the policy arena should work with activists in the spiritual arena, WallBuilders has individuals from both spheres working together on our staff. While we have activists who labor to see education, law, the courts, etc., return to our foundational principles, we also have prayer leaders who know how to take the battle to the heavenlies (Eph. 6:12).

One of our prayer coordinators is Sandy Grady; and just as I often lead Congressmen, Capitol Hill staff, and elected officials on spiritual heritage tours of the U. S. Capitol building, Sandy Grady often leads teams of intercessors and pastors from across the nation on prayer tours of the city, including the U. S. Capitol building.

When one group arrived in Washington seeking a prayer tour of the Capitol, Sandy was unavailable to lead that group and therefore asked a pastor friend, Pierre Bynum, to take her place. At one location in the Capitol, the group stopped, and individuals bowed their heads, folded their hands, and offered a prayer for our leaders and the nation. Amazingly, police officers approached the group and told them that they could not pray in the Capitol building and that if they continued to do so, they would be arrested. Pastor Bynum took the issue to court.

On March 31, 2000, federal judge Paul L. Friedman issued his ruling prohibiting the Capitol Hill Police from restricting the "act of bowing one's head, closing one's eyes, and clasping one's hands," declaring that the police were "enjoined and restrained from enforcing, threatening to enforce, or attempting to enforce the ban on prayer."

The controversy--and especially its outcome--demonstrates why God-fearing people need to be involved in the policy arena as well as in the prayer arena. Recall that in the book of Ezra, the priests Ezra and Zerubbabel sought nothing more than to have the people worship God in the manner God had prescribed, including public prayer. However, their opponents successfully used legal challenges to halt their activities (Ezra 4:5). That legal ban continued until a new administration took over, with Nehemiah named as their new governor. With a new king, and especially a new God-fearing governor, the former legal restrictions against public prayer and worship were lifted. Very simply, good political leadership provides a political protection which permits the church to do more easily what God has called it to do, at least without government interference or persecution.

Would you like to receive The WallBuilder Report? We are pleased to send you the David Barton's publication for six months. However, beyond that period, we need to hear from you in some manner. Write us a letter. . . give us a call. . . make a purchase. . . or even send us a contribution! Whatever, or however, simply show us you're with us in rebuilding America and we'll keep The WallBuilder Report coming your way. Click here to sign up, or call us at (817) 441-6044, or write us at: WallBuilders, P.O. Box 397, Aledo, TX 76008-0397.

Thank you!

Let not your children have reason to curse you for giving up those rights and prostrating those institutions which your fathers delivered to you.

David Barton,

Founder and President

(David's Resume)

SoundLife