Vision America Teams with Pastors and Conservative Political Leaders to Reach Out to Voters in New Mexico
- May 22, 2008
On May 1, the day set aside to observe the National Day of Prayer, a group of more than 40 key leaders from across the state of New Mexico met with staff members of Vision America, including founder and president, Pastor Rick Scarborough.
Scarborough--a local pastor in Nacogdoches, Texas, in addition to his duties with Vision America--came to national prominence in 1992 when he recorded an assembly program at the Southeast Houston, Texas, high school where two of his three children attended. Under the guise of AIDS awareness and sex education, the content of the assembly was “beyond the bounds of decency,” according to Scarborough. He made a transcript of the assembly public, including its advocacy of “deviant sexual behaviors,” by reading it from the pulpit of his 2500 plus member church the following Sunday. Unbeknown to Scarborough, a Houston Chronicle reporter was present that Sunday and his remarks were widely reported the next day.
A week later, amidst much local and national publicity, Scarborough addressed the local school board before a packed audience of more than 600 local residents and members of the press. This led to dramatic changes in school policies regarding such assemblies and sex education. Over the next two years, several members of the First Baptist Church of Pearland--where Scarborough was pastor from 1990-2002--were elected to the school board and the city council, with one eventually being elected as a district judge in Brazoria County, where he continues to serve.
This foray into local politics gave birth to a national effort to mobilize pastors of all faiths to be proactive in leading their congregations into the arena of public policy. The late Dr. Jerry Falwell called Scarborough a “21st Century prophet to be heard,” and National Public Radio dubbed him a “rising star of the religious right.” The late D. James Kennedy referred to Scarborough as a modern day William Carey during one of his nationally televised programs. Scarborough has been featured on CNN, in their award winning documentary “God’s Warriors,” and in HBO’s documentary “Friends of God.”
Since 2002, Pastor Scarborough has been traveling across America calling pastors to stand up and be counted in the war for the soul of the nation, urging them to register voters and encourage their people to vote their values on Election Day. He has worked extensively in Texas, Louisiana, South Carolina, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Missouri in past election cycles.
He and his knowledgeable staff will be working in New Mexico and New Hampshire during 2008. Rallies and Citizen Pastor Briefings are being planned around the state to educate pastors on what they can and cannot do as Citizen Pastors. Attorneys who specialize in church/state law will be available to address the pastors’ concerns at every briefing and rally, and Pastor Scarborough and other gifted leaders will educate the pastors from the perspective of America’s history and Scripture--with the goal of mobilizing hundreds of Patriot Pastors across the state.
You can learn more about this important and potentially historic effort by selecting www.visionnewmexico.org or by visiting www.visionamerica.org. As events are scheduled around the state, the calendar of upcoming events at both sites will be updated and we suggest you add the site to you favorites list.
Needless to say, a project like this is costly as everything we offer to pastors is free. Many wonderful friends have sacrificially given to enable Vision America to make an impact for the cause of Christ in the political arena, for which we are grateful. But we need you! Please select here to make a tax deductible gift to Vision America. We also have Vision America Action, which is a non-profit organization. Gifts to Vision America Action are not tax deductible, but they are ‘God Blessable,” and allow us to weigh in on political issues without the threat of IRS investigations. Gifts to Vision America Action are much appreciated. To make a gift to VAA, please select here.
