4 — Good News, etc. — April 2010 nc/sd
opinion
“A wise man will hear and increase in learning. And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel.”
– Proverbs 1:5 (NAS)
Don Hamer: A man who impacted thousands
By RON PRENTICE
If you had the pleasure of meeting Don
Hamer, you were encouraged, uplifted, and challenged. Don Hamer was the co-pastor of Zion Christian Fellowship in San Diego. He was also president of a burgeoning private, classical school known as Kuyper Preparatory School. And although either of those duties would have filled the hours of the average person, Don was so much more.
GUEST COMMENTARY
Don Hamer was taken unexpectedly
Call it a big mess of pottage!
mess of pottage. Up until that fateful day, it wasn’t clear whether Rep. Bart Stupak and other pro- life Democrats would support the health care bill. Then, Stupak made a stunning announcement. In exchange for Stupak’s support, the President would sign an executive order prohibiting the spending of federal funds for abortions. I know Bart Stupak and have had great
O
respect for him. And I understand the enormous — even vicious — political pressure the administration and House leadership put on him and his colleagues. But in the end, he and other pro-life Democrats have sold out the pro-life cause, and with it, the lives of the unborn. Now, some abortion-rights advocates
excoriated the President. The National Organization of Women said that it was “incensed” by the executive order. But as Bill McGurn wrote in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, Planned Parenthood seems quite pleased. Why? Because as McGurn writes, “an Executive Order cannot change the law.” The Catholic Bishops know this. Which
is why even before the executive order was announced, they made it clear that it would “not begin to address the problem” of protecting human life. That’s because the courts have made it clear that an executive order will have no
n the evening of March 21, pro-life Democrats sold the birthright of millions of unborn children for a
BREAK POINT
CHARLES COLSON
effect. There are four “decades of federal appellate rulings that apply the principles of Roe v. Wade to federal health legislation.” As the Bishops and their lawyers read the case law, funding for abortions is required in federal health care programs unless “Congress clearly forbids such funding.” Absent a clear prohibition, executive orders and regulations can — and will be — overridden by the courts. The precedents are clear. And while Rep. Stupak lamely says that
the President “does not plan on rescinding” the order, other people don’t share his confidence. And as Rep. Paul Ryan said, the executive order “is not the rule of law...[but] the rule of man. One man can sign an executive order and one man can repeal that again.” Let me be plain. The executive order
does nothing to protect the unborn. Even if the President intends to stand by his agreement, this does not bind his successors, the courts, or, for that, matter, the pro-abortion activists in his party. We stand on the precipice. Will an
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on March 17 by cardiac arrest following his early-morning devotionals. Although he now rejoices face-to- face with his Savior Jesus Christ, thousands will mourn his absence. I was stunned by the news. Don was a passionate, intellectual, strategic and, most of all, godly man, who impacted my life and thousands of others. The following is the mission of
Kuyper Preparatory School: “Our
mission is to humbly provide an excellent classical education, challenging students to understand the responsibilities of personal freedom for the purpose of advancing the Kingdom of God.”
The school’s mission mirrors Don’s life
— humble, excellent, and provocative — with his eyes set on the Kingdom of God. As I reflect on his commitment to the cause of Christ, I can’t keep my tears away any longer, and I regret never having put him in a bear hug to tell him how amazing he was. I can tell you just how he would have responded; he would have laughed, said a quick “thank you,” and then engaged me in conversation about his vision for
impacting more lives for good. Most recently, Don unvei led a
plan to unseat superior court judges. BetterCourtsNow.com is a strategic model rolled out in San Diego County this year, but I hope it will be used across California in 2012. In recent years, many books have been written about the tyranny of the courts, describing judges’ misuse of their authority to interpret established law. While people complained, Don took action. Go to theBetterCourtsNow.com website to gain a better understanding of the plan, and if you’re a San Diego County resident, get involved. Some of us hope and pray that we will leave a legacy that is honoring to the Lord. The question on my mind is what work of Don’s life will leave the greatest legacy. Will it be his life as shepherd over a congregation of believers? Will it be the lives
transformed through their training at Kuyper Prep? Will it be the impact on our culture due to godly men and women serving from the bench?
I believe that Don’s greatest legacy will
be his family — his wife and five children. I had the pleasure of watching them interact, and Don could not have been more proud of them. May God bless them with time to mourn, finding peace, understanding, and hope. Thank you, Don Hamer, for throwing
off every hindrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and running with perseverance the race marked out for you.
Hebrew 12:1.
o
Ron Prentice is director of the California
Family Council. Services for Don Hamer were on March 22. Hamer was 56 years old.
Essentials for a life of ‘impact’
By GEORGE CLERIE
What does it mean to have a life of
IMPACT? Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always loved the story of David and Goliath. One of the truths in this story is that anyone who relies on God can have an impact. When David slung that stone and struck Goliath in the head and killed him, you could say that he made an IMPACT!
GUEST COMMENTARY
The first thing we see in this story
from 1 Samuel 17 that enabled David to have an impact was integrity. Integrity means “unbroken and uncompromised.” When you have integrity, you don’t break commi tments or compromi se on responsibilities. David had responsibilities and he didn’t neglect any of them. He made sure his father’s sheep were taken care of. He delivered the supplies to the right guy before he went to battle. Integrity is like an account — you deposit or withdraw every day. In my relationship with my wife Nannette, I try to deposit faithfulness, tenderness and affection daily, and it creates a sense of richness in our relationship. What are
you depositing into your integrity account? God wants your life to have impact, but it starts with integrity. The next thing we see in David’s life is
that he had a sense of mission. David knew that there was something worth fighting for! Let me ask you a question. Do you have a sense of your life’s mission? Do you have something worth fighting for in your life? My mission is to glorify God by training up and sending out world-changers into all 195 countries on the planet! What is your mission for life? God has created you to do something extraordinary! Ask God to give you a powerful sense of mission so that you will know what it is that you are living for.
The Rock Church will host the Rock University Benefit Concert on May 14 with Natalie Grant, Phil Stacey, Britt Nichole and guest host Trevor Davis.
In addition to his
integrity and sense of mission, David also had the right preparation to make an impact. He told King Saul that he was
prepared to fight Goliath because he had already defeated lions and bears when they tried to attack his sheep. Often we think of challenges as something to run from, when in reality they are God’s preparation for future victories. If you are faithful to face your challenges today, you
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