Bringing Millennial Pastors Back to Core Biblical Christianity: A VCY Crosstalk interview with Sam Rohrer

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Program Notes taken from: www.vcyamerica.org

Date:        May 17, 2017
Host:        Jim Schneider
Guest:      Sam Rohrer

​Sam Rohrer is the president of the American Pastors Network and the Pennsylvania Pastors Network. This network has been identifying, equipping, educating and networking pastors and church members to stand in the gap for truth.

Sam began by describing the state of the church today as weak with silent pulpits. It’s marked far more by apostasy and a leaving of the truth as opposed to a return to it. In other words, we are living in perilous days.

It’s his sense that from a trajectory perspective, we are not peaking. There are remnant pastors and churches but the remnant is a minority. The great percentage of those in the pews and the pulpits today are not primarily concerned about obedience to the Word of God, preaching the truth and living it. It’s more like ‘going along to get along’ and ‘tickling ears’.

When Sam talks about a biblical worldview he uses 4 terms. First of all it’s the understanding and belief that (1) there is God (not a god). (2) There was a creation. (3) There was a fall, precipitated by the devil where sin entered the world. (4) There is redemption secured by Jesus Christ. Sam believes these are the four basic tenets of a biblical worldview.

The shocking news from George Barna looks like this: Only 4% of Millennials hold to the worldview that Sam described above. Sam believes God would describe our nation as having departed from the truth. When God looks down at that nation, like he did at Israel; when he’d given them everything and they walked away from God saying they didn’t need God anymore, that’s a nation in crisis. That’s where we are.

We’re also reminded of this in the history of our own nation. The founders said that our nation, based upon self-government, would not survive if people did not submit themselves to the 10 Commandments of God. So when we throw out God’s law, prayer and our dependence upon God, our founders knew we could not continue. They knew that no one circumvents God’s judgment and standard.

The proof comes by noticing how God dealt with Israel. When God blesses us and we live in security and we start to think we’ve done that by ourselves, at that point God will reject us like he rejected the inhabitants of the land he drove out before the Israelites.

Sam noted that when God turns a nation over, there’s a steady decline into the depths of depravity and sin. This is often lead and marked by sexual immorality. This is where we are in America. We had knowledge of God, we’ve rejected it and God is saying that if we think we have a better way, we have to figure out how to make a go of it.

So why aren’t shepherds speaking out and saying, ‘Thus saith the Lord!’? Sam believes it’s because of controversy and the concern that if they speak the truth, some will be offended. In that case they withhold the truth, the only thing that has the ability to change and heal lives.

In the midst of all this, Sam described how God still preserves his remnant. He sees God quickening that remnant. It’s in the form of a common attitude between the older faithful and the younger faithful. They have a commitment to honoring God first, a great seriousness about fulfilling their duty as an ordained authority and they are wanting to assist each other. The older pastors aren’t physically connecting with younger pastors because they don’t operate in those circles but in their heads they have a concern. In their heart they see the need in that younger generation.

On the other side of the ledger are the younger pastors that Sam feels don’t see themselves as needing the advice of older pastors. Yet a number of millennial pastors long and hunger for mentoring involvement by an older pastor who they can call to determine what to do in certain circumstances. This is biblical and God’s model.

To solve this issue, the American Pastors Network has begun an initiative called, ‘Bridging the Gap’. It’s covers two primary areas: Generational and Racial. Get the details when you review this Crosstalk broadcast.

Survey of 1,000+ PA Radio Listeners Ranks ‘Stand in the Gap Today’ No. 1 Favorite Program

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The results are in, and radio listeners are reporting that “Stand in the Gap Today” from the American Pastors Network (APN) is one of their favorites.

“Stand in the Gap Today” airs on nearly 425 radio stations nationwide, and recently, several stations in Pennsylvania, where APN is headquartered, asked listeners several questions during annual share-a-thons.

The PA stations perhaps serve as a nationwide sample, and the findings were extremely positive for the “Stand in the Gap” lineup of radio programming.

First, WJSM 1110 AM in Martinsburg and WJSM 92.7 FM in Altoona, which have carried “Stand in the Gap Today” across southwest Pennsylvania for two years, asked respondents about their favorite programs during a three-day share-a-thon. Of more than 600 respondents, 87 percent stated that “Stand in the Gap Today” is their No. 1 favorite program on the station. This station airs the show Monday through Friday in the evening. The program is recorded live at noon each day.

When asked why the show was a favorite, one listener answered, “Because I can trust what they say. It is where we get our highlight news of the day. It is where I go to help me know how to think biblically about the issues of the day.”

 Additional programs on WJSM include “Focus on the Family” with Jim Daly, Juli Slattery and John Fuller; “Turning Point” with Dr. David Jeremiah; “Discover The Word;” “Back to the Bible Radio” with Warren Wiersbe; “Prophecy For Today” and “Thru The Bible Radio.” WJSM also carries APN’s other two programs: “Stand in the Gap Minute” and “Stand in the Gap Weekend.”

Then, a network of three stations in central Pennsylvania—WFBA 90.5 FM in Kulpmont, WFBM 90.5 FM in Beaver Springs and WFBV 90.1 FM in Selinsgrove—also asked listeners the same question during a recent three-day share-a-thon. Between 85 and 90 percent of approximately 500 respondents stated that “Stand in the Gap Today” was their No. 1 favorite program.

On these stations, “Stand in the Gap Today” airs live Monday through Friday at noon, and these stations have also carried the show for two years and offer listeners APN’s other two programs as well.

Arbitron ratings from a few years ago indicated that these stations rated No. 1 in the market for the longest listening segments. The program lineups on this network include mostly Christian music with some Christian programming, such as “Unshackled,” “Bible Pathway,” “Creation Moments” and “Eagle Forum Radio.”

“This is remarkable news for the American Pastors Network and our ‘Stand in the Gap’ radio ministry,” said APN President and “Stand in the Gap Today” host Sam Rohrer. “We hear from station managers that listeners love our programs and glean biblical and constitutional knowledge from them. But to have actual survey findings reinforce those opinions through research is immensely uplifting. We praise God for the opportunity to reach thousands of His people through ‘Stand in the Gap’ radio.”

 

 

American Pastors Network Bridges the (Age) Gap

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Paul and Timothy were perhaps the ultimate example of a biblical mentor partnership. In 2 Timothy 1:6-7, Paul tells the next generation of pastors through Timothy: “Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind (KJV).”

To model Paul and Timothy’s relationship, the American Pastors Network is embarking on a new initiative to connect older biblically faithful pastors with millennial-aged biblically faithful pastors.

“A partnership and mentoring relationship like this is in every way scriptural,” said APN President Sam Rohrer. “Paul and Timothy were the biblical model and carried out the biblical command to pass along the wisdom of the fathers to the sons and grandsons. And there is a cultural urgency. The great majority of millennials (ages 18 to 35) and Generation X(approximate ages 40 to 50) do not hold a biblical worldview, even less than the older generation. They are not contending for the faith, but rather, walking into and embracing apostasy.

“We have felt called that our charge is to connect past and future generations of pastors,” Rohrer continued. “God cannot bless a church that is divided. The cause of Christ cannot advance with a church that is divided; the gospel of Jesus Christ cannot go forth and power if the church is not walking in obedience and being led in obedience by the shepherds in the pulpit—shepherds of all ages.”

To that end, Rohrer added, APN, consistent with its mission and purpose, will seek to serve as the umbrella and vehicle to unite the biblically faithful and to establish the framework for the communication of biblical truth, while demonstrating the model of how this generational divide can and should be biblically bridged.

Within the initiative to connect pastors from different generations through mentoring, events, conference, seminars and resources, APN will also seek to magnify the voice of millennial biblically faithful pastors, not only for their own benefit but to counter the voices of their unfaithful millennial counterparts.

“We pray that through the mission that God has laid upon our hearts APN would be the vehicle to model biblical succession planning and the biblical ‘passing of the baton,’” Rohrer said.

Lifting Johnson Amendment Challenges Pastors to Preach All of God’s Word

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Christian evangelical voters were key in the election of President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. The faithful made their choice at the ballot box based largely on the promises Trump and Pence made on the campaign trail and the support they showed to pastors and churches.

On Thursday, one of those promises came to fruition, as Trump signed an executive order that ensured the protection of religious liberties in America and relaxed the rules of the Johnson Amendment, which has for six decades restricted the free speech of pastors and churches.

The American Pastors Network  praised the order and celebrated the freedoms it will return to the pulpit and the pews.

“Pastors’ voices have been silent on the most important cultural, societal and political issues of our time,” said APN President Sam Rohrer, “because of a fear of repercussions stemming from the Johnson Amendment. President Trump’s action on Thursday returns decades of freedom to churches and enables pastors to freely speak truth about social issues from the pulpit.

“However, the signing of this executive order does not remedy all the issues in today’s church,” Rohrer continued. “This brought back into line what the government’s role should be in the church, but it does not completely solve why pastors have not been preaching the whole counsel of God. The path to freedom may have been paved, but it’s now up to pastors and churches to begin preaching boldly. For some, the Johnson Amendment has been a convenient excuse to shy away from the tough issues. The challenge before the pulpit has always been fear, and that’s the challenge of any leader. The Johnson Amendment has been the fear factor. Pastors now must understand that this fear factor has been temporarily removed.”

Trump said on Thursday during a National Day of Prayer ceremony at the White House just before he signed the order that sermons should no longer be censored and pastors should no longer be targeted.

“In America, we do not fear people speaking freely from the pulpit,” Trump said. “We embrace it. America has a rich tradition of social change beginning in our pews and our pulpits. Perhaps there is no greater example than the historic role of the African-American church as the agent for social progress, spurring our nation to greater justice and equality. We must never infringe on the noble tradition of change from the church and progress from the pew. Under my administration, free speech does not end at the steps of a cathedral or a synagogue or any other house of worship. We are giving our churches their voices back; we are giving them back in the highest form. With this executive order, we also make clear that the federal government will never, ever penalize any person for their protected religious beliefs.”

For more than 60 years, the Johnson Amendment, proposed by then-Senator Lyndon B. Johnson and passed by Congress in 1954, had prohibited tax-exempt organizations—including churches and other nonprofits—from lobbying elected officials, campaigning on behalf of a political party and supporting or opposing candidates for office. The Johnson Amendment had instilled fear in pastors, wary of losing their church’s tax-exempt status if they speak truth into cultural, societal or political issues.

“On the campaign trail,” Rohrer added, “Donald Trump and Mike Pence vowed to work on behalf of pastors to restore their pulpit freedoms, especially at a time when Christians need biblical truth and God-centered guidance spoken into their lives regarding the pressing issues of the day.”

APN also noted that research by George Barna of the American Culture & Faith Institute found that three out of four SAGE Cons (Spiritually Active, Governance Engaged Conservatives) turned to resources such as voter guides, websites and other resources to gain information about their choices for the 2016 election. Overall, 61 percent specifically identified voter guides as a resource they used to help them decide how to vote. Under the current Johnson Amendment, churches may distribute voter guides as long as they are neutral in nature.

This research, Rohrer says, is a telling indicator that Christians are looking for guidance on important issues, and will likely look to the church.

“Pastors are charged by God to always speak biblical truth from the pulpit,” Rohrer said. “From abortion and marriage to tyranny in office, the Bible is very clear on social, cultural and political issues. Efforts by government to intimidate pastors on preaching biblical truth not only violate God’s direct command but are also unconstitutional. Churches, by their very nature, operate under God’s jurisdiction and, as such, have historically been tax-exempt. They predated the IRS and any other man-made provision. When it comes to preaching the truth of God’s Word, the pastor’s obligation is to God, not government. Thursday’s executive order is a step in the right direction to end these violations and restore pastors’ rights and duties.”

To listen to a Stand in the Gap Today radio program on this topic, please click HERE.

Johnson Amendment Inclusion in Executive Order Will Open Door for Pastors to Address Most Urgent Cultural Issues

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Today’s inclusion of the Johnson Amendment in the executive order signed by President Donald Trump to protect religious freedom will greatly impact pastors, says the American Pastors Network.

“For years, pastors have been forced into thinking they must remain silent on the most important issues of our time,” said APN President Sam Rohrer. “Today’s action by President Donald Trump returns decades of freedom to churches. Pastors are charged by God to always speak biblical truth from the pulpit. From abortion and marriage to tyranny in office, the Bible is very clear on social, cultural and political issues. Efforts by government to intimidate pastors on preaching biblical truth not only violate God’s direct command but are also unconstitutional. Today, the process has begun to end those violations.”

For more than 60 years, the Johnson Amendment, proposed by then-Senator Lyndon B. Johnson and passed by Congress in 1954, has prohibited tax-exempt organizations—including churches and other nonprofits—from lobbying elected officials, campaigning on behalf of a political party and supporting or opposing candidates for office. The Johnson Amendment has instilled fear in pastors, wary of losing their church’s tax-exempt status if they speak truth into cultural, societal or political issues.