C-2 PEOPLE FILES
- Charles F Creech - Mark Creech - Franco Crosby - David Croteau - Ken Cuccinelli - Michael Curry - David Curtis -
charles F. creech
Charles F Creech
Peace comes from obeying God’s commandments. A lack of peace comes from being “wicked.” Peace does not come from money or fame or acquiring material possessions. This passage of scripture tells us the truth concerning peace. You obtain peace about yourself and about the world around you by doing the right thing keeping God’s commandments. Human beings are spiritual creatures with a conscience. We become troubled when we know that we have sinned. We become disturbed when we realize that we have failed orally or ethically. The wicked are those who refuse God’s Word and God’s commandments. The wicked become tormented by the knowledge that they are not right with Christ. In Luke 16 Jesus tells us about a rich man who was in hell, and who lifted up his voice and said in Luke 16:12, “And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.” Some people are tormented in their minds because of their sins. There are two solutions to this turmoil of mind. One solution is to avoid sin. The more that you avoid sin, the more turmoil and torment that you will avoid for yourself as a result of the sin. There are few things more unsettling than a troubled conscience. If you have sinned, then you can find peace by turning to Christ for forgiveness. The Bible says in First John 2:1-2, “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” --Charles F. (Rick) Creech
mark creech
Mark Creech
March 3, 2023: Blue Ridge Christian News: ‘In God We Trust’ Would be Placed in N.C. Legislative Chambers Under New Bill
“In Washington, our national motto, ‘In God We Trust,’ appears opposite the President of the United States Senate, who is also the Vice President of the United States. The same phrase in very large letters appears in the marble, and backdrops the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. I know that I speak for all of the churches who support the Christian Action League when I say we are thrilled Rep. (Ben) Moss has filed a bill to have ‘In God We Trust” placed before our state’s Senate and House...........Absolutely necessary to the survival of this nation is this forceful and explicit statement that the hope and strength of our great state and nation is not in our own intellect, ingenuities or even inclusiveness,” Creech said. “Our strength and our hope, as a people, is primarily determined by our trust in the God of the Bible.” --Christian Action League Executive Director Rev Mark Creech 3.3.23
“In Washington, our national motto, ‘In God We Trust,’ appears opposite the President of the United States Senate, who is also the Vice President of the United States. The same phrase in very large letters appears in the marble, and backdrops the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. I know that I speak for all of the churches who support the Christian Action League when I say we are thrilled Rep. (Ben) Moss has filed a bill to have ‘In God We Trust” placed before our state’s Senate and House...........Absolutely necessary to the survival of this nation is this forceful and explicit statement that the hope and strength of our great state and nation is not in our own intellect, ingenuities or even inclusiveness,” Creech said. “Our strength and our hope, as a people, is primarily determined by our trust in the God of the Bible.” --Christian Action League Executive Director Rev Mark Creech 3.3.23
franco crosby
Sept 26, 2020: Faith On View: A small southern town and her monument
Franco Crosby is the friend who we went out to support that first night of demonstrations. He is an alumnus of Lee University and is starting the Masters in Theology program at Vanderbilt University this fall. He has emerged as a leader in this demonstration and a voice for peace. Under his guidance, the demonstrators no longer yell in response to provocation. They have adopted a stance of non-engagement. They demonstrate peacefully and do not respond to provocations from the pro-monument protesters or motorists. A growing group of demonstrators, dedicated to change, gather virtually every evening to call attention to the issue.
Franco Crosby is the friend who we went out to support that first night of demonstrations. He is an alumnus of Lee University and is starting the Masters in Theology program at Vanderbilt University this fall. He has emerged as a leader in this demonstration and a voice for peace. Under his guidance, the demonstrators no longer yell in response to provocation. They have adopted a stance of non-engagement. They demonstrate peacefully and do not respond to provocations from the pro-monument protesters or motorists. A growing group of demonstrators, dedicated to change, gather virtually every evening to call attention to the issue.
david croteau
May 3, 2023: Roys Report: Study Reveals Which Denominations Hold Strongest Beliefs on Tithing
The study released last week by Lifeway Research, a firm affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, found that 77% of Protestant churchgoers in the U.S. affirm that “tithing is a biblical command that still applies today.” Only 10% rejected this belief and another 13% were unsure. Lutherans’ rejection of tithing “makes a lot of sense historically,” said David Croteau, dean of Columbia Biblical Seminary, commenting on the survey. “Martin Luther himself did not believe that Christians were required to tithe,” he told The Roys Report (TRR). In a time of churches’ tightening budgets, Croteau, author of Tithing After the Cross, said he often hears concerns that giving will decline if a church’s teaching shifts away from tithing. But he contends that’s the wrong mindset.
“Ever since the modern emphasis on tithing began—in the 1870s—it has not helped increase giving among evangelicals,” he said. “Giving now is similar to giving during the Great Depression.”
Croteau said he urges pastors and lay leaders to study New Testament principles of “grace giving,” which he defines as systematic, sacrificial, and generous.
“Law is not a good motivator,” he added. “Love is a much better motivator and will last much longer than law.”
The study released last week by Lifeway Research, a firm affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, found that 77% of Protestant churchgoers in the U.S. affirm that “tithing is a biblical command that still applies today.” Only 10% rejected this belief and another 13% were unsure. Lutherans’ rejection of tithing “makes a lot of sense historically,” said David Croteau, dean of Columbia Biblical Seminary, commenting on the survey. “Martin Luther himself did not believe that Christians were required to tithe,” he told The Roys Report (TRR). In a time of churches’ tightening budgets, Croteau, author of Tithing After the Cross, said he often hears concerns that giving will decline if a church’s teaching shifts away from tithing. But he contends that’s the wrong mindset.
“Ever since the modern emphasis on tithing began—in the 1870s—it has not helped increase giving among evangelicals,” he said. “Giving now is similar to giving during the Great Depression.”
Croteau said he urges pastors and lay leaders to study New Testament principles of “grace giving,” which he defines as systematic, sacrificial, and generous.
“Law is not a good motivator,” he added. “Love is a much better motivator and will last much longer than law.”
ken cuccinelli
Mar 30, 2023: Religious News Service: Can DeSantis break Trump’s hold on the religious right?
A super PAC backing DeSantis has already snagged several notable veterans of Ted Cruz’s 2016 run, as well as former Trump administration official Ken Cuccinelli, a conservative Christian who has visited four early primary states seeking support for DeSantis. The governor has also garnered Nate Hochman, a young writer nurtured in the MAGA-adjacent conservative movement who describes himself as “a culture warrior first and foremost.”
A super PAC backing DeSantis has already snagged several notable veterans of Ted Cruz’s 2016 run, as well as former Trump administration official Ken Cuccinelli, a conservative Christian who has visited four early primary states seeking support for DeSantis. The governor has also garnered Nate Hochman, a young writer nurtured in the MAGA-adjacent conservative movement who describes himself as “a culture warrior first and foremost.”
michael curry
The Most Rev. Michael Bruce Curry is Presiding Bishop and Primate of The Episcopal Church. He is the Chief Pastor and serves as President and Chief Executive Officer, and as Chair of the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church. Presiding Bishop Curry was installed as the 27th Presiding Bishop and Primate of The Episcopal Church on November 1, 2015. He was elected to a nine-year term and confirmed at the 78th General Convention of The Episcopal Church in Salt Lake City, UT, on June 27, 2015.
Michael Curry
I realize that some notable folk interpreted what Jesus was saying when he says, “A new commandment I give you that you love one another, for by this, everyone will know that you are my disciples.” It was this saying was attributed to Prime Minister Disraeli. It was also attributed to Mahatma Gandhi, but I never met either one of them. I heard it at a concert from Jimi Hendrix. And I don’t know if Jimi was actually consciously doing a riff off Jesus, but the Spirit was moving. And he may not have even known it.
Because when Jimi, I think, heard Jesus say, “A new commandment I give you that you love one another”—and then after he says all of that, toward the end of these sayings, he says, “In this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” And Jimi heard that saying about the power of love. And he said this—like I said, I didn’t hear Gandhi say it, and I didn’t hear the prime minister say it, but I heard Jimi say it. I was a teenager, and I heard Jimi say it. This was before the internet.
Jimi said it this way: “When the power of love overcomes the love of power”—y’all with me now? “When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will know peace.” Oh, oh, then the world, then the world, then the world will know peace. Then there will be justice. Then truth will be told in public squares. Then we will learn how to lay down our swords and shield down by the riverside and study war no more.
“When the power of love”—repeat after me—“When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will know peace.” It is all about love. Oh, turn and tell your neighbor, it’s all about love. Go on, tell them. It’s all about love. All about love. All about love. It’s all about love.
Something dawned on me when I was getting ready for this, and I don’t think it was the medicines that I’m taking, but I hadn’t thought about it before. But it dawned on me that in that last week of Jesus’ earthly life, before the crucifixion, it dawned on me that Jesus was entering Jerusalem, which was a center of the Roman empire occupying Palestine. He was going to the heart of the beast in the Middle East. Did you like that? And he went there, it dawned on me, to confront an empire in love with power, with the power of love.
That’s why he went there. And when he went there, he deliberately provoked the empire that was in love with its power … Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, right? And he did it timing it with the entrance of Pontius Pilate, the governor of Rome. Pilate was coming in from the west side of the city, having been in his palace at Fortress Antonia. Jesus came in on the eastern side of the city, the Mount of Olives in that area.
--Michael Curry; Anglican Ink; Address to the “All about Love” festival delivered by Presiding Bishop Michael Curry 7.11.23
Because when Jimi, I think, heard Jesus say, “A new commandment I give you that you love one another”—and then after he says all of that, toward the end of these sayings, he says, “In this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” And Jimi heard that saying about the power of love. And he said this—like I said, I didn’t hear Gandhi say it, and I didn’t hear the prime minister say it, but I heard Jimi say it. I was a teenager, and I heard Jimi say it. This was before the internet.
Jimi said it this way: “When the power of love overcomes the love of power”—y’all with me now? “When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will know peace.” Oh, oh, then the world, then the world, then the world will know peace. Then there will be justice. Then truth will be told in public squares. Then we will learn how to lay down our swords and shield down by the riverside and study war no more.
“When the power of love”—repeat after me—“When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will know peace.” It is all about love. Oh, turn and tell your neighbor, it’s all about love. Go on, tell them. It’s all about love. All about love. All about love. It’s all about love.
Something dawned on me when I was getting ready for this, and I don’t think it was the medicines that I’m taking, but I hadn’t thought about it before. But it dawned on me that in that last week of Jesus’ earthly life, before the crucifixion, it dawned on me that Jesus was entering Jerusalem, which was a center of the Roman empire occupying Palestine. He was going to the heart of the beast in the Middle East. Did you like that? And he went there, it dawned on me, to confront an empire in love with power, with the power of love.
That’s why he went there. And when he went there, he deliberately provoked the empire that was in love with its power … Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, right? And he did it timing it with the entrance of Pontius Pilate, the governor of Rome. Pilate was coming in from the west side of the city, having been in his palace at Fortress Antonia. Jesus came in on the eastern side of the city, the Mount of Olives in that area.
--Michael Curry; Anglican Ink; Address to the “All about Love” festival delivered by Presiding Bishop Michael Curry 7.11.23
Mar 7, 2023: Christian Post: Frank Griswold, former head of Episcopal Church, dies at age 85
Current Presiding Bishop Michael Curry said Griswold was "a remarkable and faithful servant of God" and asked for prayers for "Bishop Griswold, and the souls of all the departed."
Current Presiding Bishop Michael Curry said Griswold was "a remarkable and faithful servant of God" and asked for prayers for "Bishop Griswold, and the souls of all the departed."
david curtis
David Curtis
The late author and astronomer, Carl Sagan, said, "The universe is all that ever was and ever will be." As an astronomer who studied the heavens, he didn't see the glory of God, he didn't see God at all. Julian Huxley, who was an English evolutionary biologist, said, "It is all accident, all a matter of chance. No reason, no end, no purpose at all." These men didn't just view, they studied God's creation, and they never saw Him or His glory. Natural man says that the matter of which the universe is made somehow over billions of years organized itself into all that we see without any outside assistance or intelligence.
What is called, "natural or general revelation" will not bring anybody to God; just like special revelation won't bring anybody to God. The only way man comes to God is if God draws him to Himself:
"No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. John 6:44 NASB
But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. 1 Corinthians 2:14. The man without the Spirit cannot appreciate God's glory through the heavens, or through special revelation. God must first effectually call a man, then man can see His glory in creation and in the Word. How much do dead men see of the glory of God?:
For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 1 Corinthians 1:21 NASBThis verse destroys every variety of "natural revelation" and natural theology: "The world through its wisdom did not come to know God." Knowledge of God comes only through His propositional revelation. --David B Curtis; Berean Bible Church; They Knew God? (Romans 1:19-23) 1.3.16
What is called, "natural or general revelation" will not bring anybody to God; just like special revelation won't bring anybody to God. The only way man comes to God is if God draws him to Himself:
"No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. John 6:44 NASB
But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. 1 Corinthians 2:14. The man without the Spirit cannot appreciate God's glory through the heavens, or through special revelation. God must first effectually call a man, then man can see His glory in creation and in the Word. How much do dead men see of the glory of God?:
For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 1 Corinthians 1:21 NASBThis verse destroys every variety of "natural revelation" and natural theology: "The world through its wisdom did not come to know God." Knowledge of God comes only through His propositional revelation. --David B Curtis; Berean Bible Church; They Knew God? (Romans 1:19-23) 1.3.16