A New Book on Religion and Politics

Today Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz was the first of a likely crowed field of Presidential Contenders to formally announce his candidacy for the White House.  As the Presidential Primary Season officially kicking off, it is only fitting that I announce the upcoming completion and release of my second book, "Who Would Jesus Vote For?".

As we can see from the setting in which Senator Cruz announced his candidacy, in front of a jam packed audience at Liberty University, an Evangelical Christian University, faith and especially the Christian faith will play a huge part of this election cycle.  No doubt Senator Cruz craftily orchestrated this move in order to appeal to Social Conservatives and the Christian right early on in this race.  Religion and Christianity has always played a major role in our Political System, in fact many argue that it is indeed the basis of American democracy and ideals.  However this raises a lot of serious questions.

• Is America a Christian Nation?  
• Are we to vote Democrat or Republican?  
• How do we choose a candidate?  
• Is it biblical to vote in a Democracy? 
• And most importantly, Who Would Jesus Vote For?

In the new book, "Who Would Jesus Vote For?" we challenge the status quo and conventional thinking of Christians, Democrats and Republicans alike.  The book examines these and many more questions from a Biblical perspective and points to God's Kingdom as the key to this World's broken and divided Political System.

Often time we ask ourselves "What Would Jesus Do?" or WWJD, but today and through this Political Election cycle I want all Bible believing Christians to begin to ask themselves instead "Who Would Jesus Vote For?" or WWJVF.  My prayer is that this would not be just another book but rather that it would be a movement of God's people in this broken World.

You can look forward to the release of this book in the Summer of 2015.  In order to release this book we will need your support and prayers. In the coming months we will need to raise the appropriate funds in order to get this book to the masses.  Stay tuned for more information on "Who Would Jesus Vote For?" in the coming weeks and months.

#WWJVF

Climate Change is Real – Why Christians ought to care.

Climate Change is Real – Why Christians ought to care.

A 2013 Poll conducted by Stanford University indicated that 81% of Americans believe that climate change presented a serious problem. For decades though, extreme right-wingers and “Christian Fundamentalist” have denied that the World is getting warmer and that our Ice caps in the Northern and Southern Poles are melting.  Others grant the fact that the Earth is getting warmer yet deny that humans have any part in it.

Now I am a conservative Bible believing and preaching Christian; I believe that Climate Change is real and that Christians have a divine command to do something about it. 

For some reason many in the Evangelical circle have shrugged off climate change because of their bedfellow alliance with the Republican Party who are bought and paid for by the energy industries which pay for their elections.  They have bought into the lie that nothing is wrong with polluting our air and destroying our forests.  Now believe me, I am no tree hugger, but for a long time I was one of those deniers.  I bought into the conspiracy theory that “global warming” was the imaginary invention of the evil Liberal Al Gore who simply wanted to destroy energy and coal jobs that are the prevalent industries in the Southern States.  I thought it was a Liberal agenda to kill jobs and tax corporations.  I, like many, believed that science on the matter was inconclusive and that we could not afford to sacrifice our gas and oil based economy on the premise of a tree hugging agenda.

But then I grew up and did the research.   

The Science

First of all the science is not inconclusive, 97% of Scientist agrees that Climate change is real and that mankind has a role in it.  What about the 3% who don’t?  Many of them work for major corporations like BP and Shell who have an invested interest in maintaining the status quo for their industry and regulations.  In 2010, the National Research Council concluded that "Climate change is occurring, is very likely caused by human activities, and poses significant risks for a broad range of human and natural systems".  Conservative politicians keep shrugging off the reality of climate change and when asked about it the usual response is “Well Scientist are not too sure yet” or “the Science is just too inconclusive”.  They are lying or they have been misled.  Like I have mentioned many politicians from both sides of the aisle are bought and paid for by energy companies who spend millions of dollars in lobbying at the local, State and Federal level.  Championing for the pillaging and the rap of Earth’s natural resources and spewing them into the atmosphere is neither right nor conservative.  So why then do so many who identify as “conservative” and even Christian advocate for such things?  Have Christians aligned themselves with billion dollar corporations who could care less about people or the environment as long as there stock is record high?  Christians should be better.

Now I am not a Scientist, but I do listen to them when they present facts.  Christians in America in recent decades have come off as anti-science and the credibility and respectability of the Church has fallen because of the ignorant positions many Evangelicals take on science.  The Biblical worldview doesn’t have to be Science vs. Faith, but rather as History has shown, faith can be the very instrument that drives science to discover God’s created order and majesty.  Climate Change is scientific fact and the more we deny it the more we risk coming off as ignorant and deceitful.  Many climate change deniers will point to record cold temperatures in historically warmer climates like in the Southern States (just so happens to be the place with the highest concentration of climate change deniers) and say “So much for global warming”.  With smug ignorance many wrongfully interpret the times and seasons to fit their narrow and small worldview.  While pointing at a snow flake they ignore the avalanche of evidence for climate change.  The World as a whole is warmer than it has been in thousands of years.  The fact that some parts of the World that have had historically mild or warmer climates are now getting colder while places that are normally milder are seeing huge increases of heat waves and violent storms vindicate the reality of climate change. 

But if you believe in the Bible, I’ll give you an even better reason to care about Earth and climate change then the science.

The Bible and Climate Change

When God made man and women he gave them the charge and responsibility to care and subdue the Earth. (Genesis 2:15)  Yahweh God gave man the privilege to be stewards of the Earth and to watch over it.  When God put us in the Garden he did so with the intention for us to care for it and expand that paradise to the ends of the Earth, but then sin happened.  Man is inherently sinful and because of our nature we have exploited the created order and paradise has been lost. (Genesis 2:17-19)  Despite of our fallen nature our responsibility to be caretakers of the Earth has not been dissolved. 

Christians ought to ask themselves, “Is promoting and partaking in the destruction of our natural resources something God would approve of?”  Also, “Is allowing a corporation unlimited power to dump waste and pollutants into our waters and oceans moral?”  How about the destruction of animal populations and forests?  Did you know that because of mans disregard for the Earth around half of the Earths original forests are gone?  We have done a horrible job at being caretakers of God’s creation.  That alone ought to incite social conservatives to start caring about our Earth and its precious resources. 

The Lord Jesus Christ himself pointed toward global climate change in the end times when he said “Then there will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars; and there will be anguish on the earth among nations bewildered by the roaring sea and waves.  People will faint from fear and expectation of the things that are coming on the world”. (Luke 21:25-26)  The Bible also warns us of a coming time when God will declare “the time has come to destroy those who destroy the earth”. (Revelation 11:18)  God cares deeply about the Earth and its environment.  Christians ought to be on the forefront of standing up for true conservative values which include conserving our dear Planet.  We will all stand before the throne of Jehovah Almighty and will have to give an account for how we steward the things given to us. 

Please do not take this issue lightly, do not be deceived by politicians and corporations that profit on the back on this lie and the future of our Planet.  Stand up for life not just inside the womb but outside the womb, because after our birth, Earth becomes our home.  Let us be good stewards of God’s creation and forsake the ignorance and evil that is polluting and destroying our World.  

Brian

Apocity- The Sin of not evangelizing

"Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you". (Matthew 28:19,20)

With those words the Lord Jesus Christ gave his people the Great Commission to preach and make disciples in the name of the Triune God.  How are we doing with the Masters commission nearly 2000 years later?  Unfortunately, it feels like the North American Church has forgotten the greatest command given to men, to teach and preach the Saviors gospel.  The Church in America has deviated from the call, today we hire men (and sometimes women) to preach God's Word to the layman.  We have prestigious Universities where we send our Pastors and clergy to be "qualified" to teach the Bible and understand its message.  We have assigned the duty of "preaching" and evangelism to hired-men instead of obeying the Masters commission. 

Brethen, we have a sacred honor and duty.  Many Christians today feel that it is not their "calling" or "gifting" to evangelize to people and non-believers, many have deluded themselves to believe they are not called or qualified to preach.  This is error, the error and sin of omission.  A dear brother in the Lord, George Alvarado, has written a book where he has coined a word to describe the sin of not sharing your faith, "Apocity".  In his book, "Apocity the Greatest Omission", George makes a biblical case for evangelism in the Christian Church by the actual members of the Church.  In this book we are confronted with the Masters call, and one of my favorite themes in this book is that we are a commissioned people.  We as a people have orders; Jesus gave us the commission to “go”, so why aren’t we going?

Maybe one of the things that are holding you back is that you may not know how to effectively share your faith.  Maybe you are too shy or nervous.  Maybe you may not know where to even begin!  Many of these questions are answered and addressed in this book.  I fully endorse and support George and his book “Apocity”, it is a message that the Church is in dire need of hearing.  It is a call to resurgence and awakening for the body of Christ.  We have a duty brothers and sisters; let us take seriously our Lord’s commission.  We have all been called to this work, let us equip one another to do the work we have been called to do.

To read and support our brother in this endeavor to equip fellow believers, follow the link below.

http://www.tractplanet.com/Book--Apocity-The-Greatest-Omission_p_274.html

The Saddest Sight: My Memorial 2014 Experience

On a Sunday afternoon I received a few knocks on my door. Since my family and I are new in Edmonton, the last thing we expect is a knock on the door. As I opened, there were two older Jehovah's Witness men. I invited them in, had a wonderful conversation on the Bible, Jesus, and how to attain eternal life. They then proceeded to hand me an invitation to the Memorial of Christ death. This year the date landed on April 14th, 2014.

It has been 5 years since I have attended the yearly Memorial celebration of Jehovah's Witnesses. For those who do not know, the Memorial or "Lord's evening meal" is the only sanctioned celebration JW's across the World observe, it is the one part of the year where they remember the death of Jesus and pass around the emblems of the bread and wine. It is essentially their yearly sacrament meeting, and it is very important to the Witnesses. An estimated 17 million people Worldwide attend this meeting.

I decided that I would go. My wife never grew up as a Witness and has never been to any of their meetings. The only experience she has is through me and interactions shes had with my JW family members. I thought it would be good for her to see and get a feel for the religion I grew up in. So we went. As I walked into the rented Hall they had for the occasion, I could not help my mind from going to an earlier time in my life, going to the Memorial felt familiar and almost routine. I was told that the event had 3 congregations in one, yet there couldn't have been more than 200 people in attendance. As I looked around my family and I looked like we we're the only ones "out of place", we had our own Bibles, no song books. Not to mention I wore no tie and walked in with a full set of hair on my face. We sat in the last row and observed everyone coming in. Out of everyone there I am convinced we were the only ones who were not either studying with JW's or were JW's. The reason this is interesting to me is that I am sure that the Witnesses in my area have spent thousands of hours inviting people to this event for the past month and it seems like we were the only ones who responded to the invite. How ironic. 

The meeting started with a usual "Kingdom song", but as soon as the recorded tune started I noticed maybe half of those in attendance were actually singing along. This depressed me, I mean this is the most important night of the year for these Witnesses, you would imagine that they would be eager and excited to praise Jehovah for the sacrifice of his Son. Yet the music reflected the dead spiritual state of their worship. It's no wonder why they call it the "Memorial", it feels more like a funeral then a celebration of life and triumph. The talk given was no different from years before, they talked about the provision of the ransom, the significance of the occasion, who could and could not partake and then the future blessings on Paradise. Looking from the outside in, its incredibly alarming how the speaker brings together isolated Scriptures and quotes one end of the Bible to the other to prove his doctrine without any context of the surrounding verses. I use to do the same thing as a JW but I was never conscious that I myself was doing it. Then came the moment to pass the emblems of the bread and wine. I had contemplated partaking of the Memorial to make a statement, but I decided against because I did not want to bring unwanted attention to myself or offend anyone. So when the emblems started coming our way my wife and I got up and walked away to the back of the meeting. 

Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe that they can partake of the emblems of the Sacraments unless they are part of the 144,000. They believe that the Great Crowd members are not born again, that they are not apart of the New Covenant, and that they are not sons and daughter of God. It was as they were passing the emblems that we saw the saddest sight- Every Jehovah's Witness in the room passing and rejecting the body and blood of Jesus. This was the first time that my wife had been to the Memorial and as she saw what was happening a tear came down her eyes as she saw an entire room of people reject the sacrifice of Jesus. As we were standing in the back another gentlemen was back there attending his child and was trying to explain to us what was happening and why no one was partaking, I turned to him and asked, "Doesn't it seem like they are rejecting and passing away the ransom sacrifice of Christ?". He stood stunned by the question, he had never seen it that way and he was taken back by the question. After the meeting I stood in the back for a while as a few JW's approached us and greeted us. As we were getting ready to leave three JW men approached us and I took the opportunity to ask them a few questions regarding some of the stuff that was mentioned during the Memorial. The conversation lasted about 10 minutes and at the end of the conversation all three Witnesses were stunned by some of the verses I had shared with them. They all promised to look into it and research it. 

Going to this years Memorial was a reminder of what I once was, a person outside of the Kingdom and Covenant of God. It was sad to see people who genuinely want to serve God reject the very sacrifice that can set them free. I'll end this post with a quick overview of what the Bible really says regarding the Memorial of Jesus.

How often are we to observe the Memorial? The Bible makes clear that every time believers in the 1st Century came together, they observed the sacraments or "Memorial" of Jesus. It was NOT a once a year occasion. READ 1 Corinthians 11:20-34 & Acts 2:46

Who can partake of the emblems? According to the New Testament, every believer has the privilege of taking communion, it is one of the two commands instituted for believers in the Church alongside baptism. Jesus said regarding the cup, "Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." What are we to do to remember Him? Is it to pass the cup and bread? No, to remember is to partake according to Jesus. There are no verses in all of Scripture that says that a certain class of Christians CANNOT partake of the emblems. The belief that only a 144,000 can partake is an unscriptural assumption.

Are only the 144,000 Born again members of the New Covenant? This is a concept that is totally foreign to Scripture. Jesus said,"Most truly I say to you, unless anyone is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God." (John 3:3, NWT) He did not say only 144,000 would be born again, instead he said "What has been born from the flesh is flesh, and what has been born from the spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed because I told you: You people must be born again." (John 3:6-7, NWT) If you are not born again, which is a spiritual rebirth, according to Jesus you are still in the flesh. It is written regarding the New Covenant, "That is why he(Jesus) is a mediator of a new covenant, in order that because a death has occurred for their release by ransom from the transgressions under the former covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the everlasting inheritance." (Hebrews 9:15, NWT) If you are outside of the New Covenant arrangement you are outside of life and salvation. If you are not in the New Covenant relationship with Jehovah than you have no guarantee of the promises of everlasting life. The 144,000 are very likely Jews who are the promised remnant of the nation of Israel who will believe in the Messiah during the end times. READ Romans 11:1-2, 25-26 & Revelation 7:4-8

Are there "two hopes" for Christians, a Heavenly and Earthly one? Ephesians 4:4-5 in the NWT confirms that "One body there is, and one spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism". There is only one hope for Christians, that is to be with Christ. READ 2 Corinthians 5:1-10 & Philippians 3:20-21

So everyone will go to Heaven? What about Paradise Earth? The Bible teaches that when a believer dies, he will go straight into the presence of the Lord. (Philippians 1:20-21) But that is not the final reward of the believer, for the Bible teaches that there will be a new heaven and a new earth, we believe that in the new creation Heaven in the form of New Jerusalem will come down to the Earth and God will dwell and reign with man for all eternity. It will be a true Paradise, literally a Heaven on Earth! READ Revelation 21:1-27

Place your faith and trust in the Savior, Jesus said "Most truly I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in yourselves. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has everlasting life, and I will resurrect him on the last day." (John 6:53-54, NWT) Will you obey Jesus who leads to life, or will you place your eternal salvation in the hands of an organization of men? Choose this day whom you shall serve!

Serving Hope in Canada

Back in January of this year, my family and I prayerfully decided to pursue a new job opportunity and adventure in ministry in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada as a part of Hope Mission.  In February we headed out from our home in Connecticut, leaving behind precious friends and family in order to pursue a calling we felt God had clearly opened up. I have been in Canada and in my new position for about a month now and my goodness has it been a ride! At first when we heard of this opportunity to move to Edmonton we hesitated. We were firmly convinced that CT was our home, and that despite our difficult circumstances we would stay the course in Hartford. But as we took this matter to the Lord, it began to be very apparent that God did indeed have different plans for us. 

We knew that if we were going to take this plunge to leave behind our loved ones and our way of life, God would have to make it possible for us to get over there. My car at the time had broken down beyond repair, my job in CT was quickly coming to a close and our apartment had gotten broken into. We were in need of transportation to get there and enough money to start over; both of which we were lacking. But trusting in the Lord we moved forward and accepted the job offer to work as an Intake ministry worker for Hope Mission. God blessed obedience and he provided us a vehicle by the graciousness of our incredible Christian family back home. God also blessed us with more than enough money to be able to travel and get started in Canada. The Lord also granted us our passports and visas without any hindrance! But leaving behind all that we had come to know and love was anything but easy. We also had to leave behind most of our possessions, we packed what we could in our Station Wagon and away we went. We made a stop in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where we said more goodbyes to family and friends. The car ride from Hartford to Milwaukee, and Milwaukee to Edmonton was not something I'd enjoy doing again. The traveling combined with the goodbyes and the anxiety of a new life away from home took an unexpected toil on us all, not to mention we have been traveling with our 1 year old son. 

When God calls you to relocate to a completely foreign place where you know essentially no one and have nothing, faith in God's leading is chief. When we arrived in Edmonton, a wonderful Christian couple housed us and took us in until we could get on our feet. I immediately started working and learning the ropes at Hope Mission. Let me explain my new job to you guys. Hope Mission is a Christian non-profit that serves the underprivileged people of Edmonton by serving over 1000 hot meals a day(Breakfast, Lunch, & Supper) and offers a warm place to sleep to over 500 people a night. Hope Mission has specific ministries that reach out to teens, women, men and people who are struggling with addictions. I have the responsibility to work as an intake worker at one of the men shelters and also lead our Turning Point Program which serves men who recognize their addiction problems and are looking to something bigger than themselves to help heal them. During our sessions I teach Bible principles that will lead them to recognize their need for recovery and a Savior, with the hope that they join our 1 year Breakout program which is an enhanced Bible recovery program. It's been a real joy to teach men the Bible and helping them on their road to recovery, and even more, their road to Jesus and eternal life. I have already begun to see the fruit of God's faithfulness and calling to serve Hope to the people of Edmonton. 

This has been a time of testing, trials and transition. We miss our friends, family and dear House Church and spiritual family back home. We look forward to meeting and making new friends, and serving people in spiritual need. I also rejoice in the trials that we have endured and the ones we will encounter, for as the Scripture says, "Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. But endurance must do its complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing." (James 1:2-4, HCSB)

Pray for us during this exciting time of transition. May the Lord bless you all.

Celebrating the Holidays- The reflections of an ex-Jehovah's Witness.

Celebrating the Holidays is usually a joyous occasion when families come together and celebrate the birth of Christ and usher in together a new year. When I was growing up as a Jehovah's Witness I dreaded the holidays. I could always hear the children bragging about the expectation and anticipation of Christmas and spending family time and just hearing about their family tradition. I was always excluded from such conversations since the majority of my peers already knew- I was one of Jehovah's Witnesses and I did not celebrate Christmas. 

Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years were just regular days for me, nothing special at all. In fact since I was likely off of school on those days we usually used the opportunity to go out to field service and condemn the people at the door who were spending time with their family and telling them how pagan their celebrations were. I hated the Holidays, not because I saw them as pagan or worldly, but because I envied the family centered nature of it. In my household we didn't have a Holiday replacement, there weren't specific times of the year where we would just have a big family centered celebration or gift exchanging. I've heard of some JW families who had such events throughout the year so that the kids did not feel left out, but it was never something I experienced or even saw in Witness families that I knew. 

I can remember the first time I actually celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas as a new creation in Christ Jesus. It was 2008, I had given my life to Christ September of that Year and was pretty much keeping it a secret from my family and congregation. By the end of October I began fellow-shipping with believers at a Church a town over and told them about my journey. They were overwhelmed and took me in as their own. Not even a few weeks later my family had discovered that I was attending a Christian Church and that I had begun to "apostatize". The pressure was on, I had stopped attending the Kingdom Hall meetings and my elders were trying to contact me to question me. In the midst of all the chaos I was invited by my then Youth Pastor to celebrate Thanksgiving with his family at his house. My first Thanksgiving, an event I would never forget! Years before I mocked the notion that you take one day out of the year and reflect on the many blessings of life, but here I was, counting each of my amazing blessings and reflecting on the goodness of God despite my personal trials. I discovered the meaning of Thanksgiving. 

Fast forward to December of that year, I had sent in my letter of disassociation to my congregation elders. I was officially no longer associated with the false organization of Jehovah's Witnesses. The very next day I was kicked out of my relatives home who I had been living with, I was homeless and in desperate need. This all occurred 10 days before Christmas. When my new spiritual family found out about what had happened they quickly came to meet my need and took me in. It was one of the most trialing experiences of my life, my whole world had been turned upside down! In one brief announcement everyone who I had ever known and loved in the Witness religion cut me off and the mere mention of my name was anathema. When I was broken, God used another Holiday; this time Christmas, to demonstrate his love for me. My Church Youth group had a Christmas party at our Church just days before Christmas, and at the very end we all exchanged gifts. I was poor, homeless and abandoned- I had no gifts to give and I felt once again embarrassed. Everyone had a gift in their hand and I had nothing to give or to receive. Little did I know, the gifts in everyone's hand was for me. My Church and youth group that I had only known for barely even two months came together to bless me in my greatest hour of need. I then understood what Christmas was all about, it wasn't about worshiping a false pagan deity or about Santa Claus or even about getting gifts! It was about the compassion and self-less love of Jesus Christ. Jesus gave up Heaven to humble himself by becoming a helpless baby born in a manger to poor and lowly parents, all so that he can grow up and save a fallen race. Although I was poor and broken, Jesus took on my brokenness and poorness and exchanged it for his richness. As it is written in Scripture, "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ: Though He was rich, for your sake He became poor, so that by His poverty you might become rich." (2 Corinthians 8:9, HCSB)

This was the first year that my wife and I celebrated the Holidays since the birth of our beautiful son. As I reflect on my past and my journey to Jesus and my discovery of the true meaning of the season, I rejoice that my son will grow up with the joy of celebrating the goodness of God and the birth of Christ Jesus. It is exciting to see our own family traditions form and using the Holidays as an opportunity to bless others. I will teach my son the lessons I have learned and remind him of the reason we celebrate and come together as a family- Jesus. Celebrating during this time of the year always reminds me of my past and current struggles with my JW family, but it also gives me strength and remembrance of the cost of following Jesus. 

My Family- Christmas 2013

Can I Get a Witness? Documentary

On October 4-6, 2013 we attended the annual "Witnesses Now for Jesus Convention" in New Ringgold, Pennsylvania and we revealed the documentary, "Can I Get a Witness?". "Can I Get a Witness?" is a short-film documentary based on the need for meaningful dialogue between Christians and Jehovah's Witnesses. The documentary is based on the newly released book, "Can I Get a Witness? How to understand and set free Jehovah's Witnesses" which I wrote. The book and documentary focus on the need for more witnesses of Jesus to give JW's everywhere a witness of the real Jesus. It is my hope that this short film will explain and help Christians see the need to learn and engage Jehovah's Witness, the ministry that comes to our doorstep.

I am proud to reveal that exciting new documentary for everyone to share and enjoy. We bless God for his faithfulness is allowing us to film and produce this project. God has been faithful and provided mightly in creating and bringing together this short film and we are excited to share it with the world. You can view this documentary in the following link on Youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXff2qF7u1Q&feature=c4-overview&list=UUPwFxQx09kcz0mP1zWLgP9Q

It is vital that you help us reach as many people as possible and share this with your Christian friends, ministers, and Pastors. 

The book is now available as an e-Book and will soon be available as paperback. The link for the book is  http://www.amazon.com/Witness-Understand-Jehovahs-Witnesses-ebook/dp/B00FGUOGSG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1380321910&sr=8-1&keywords=Can+I+get+a+Witness+how+to+understand

"Can I Get A Witness?" Now Available on Amazon!

"Can I Get a Witness? How to understand and set free Jehovah's Witnesses" is now available for purchase on Amazon.com as a downloadable e-Book. I praise God for his faithfulness and providence in allowing me to write and finish this book. I thank everyone who supported me and financially contributed to our project on KickStarter. Now its time to let this book fly and see where God takes it.  We still need your help and support! We need to spread the word about this ministry and our "Can I Get a Witness?" project. My goal is to reach as many Christians, Churches, ministries and ultimately Jehovah's Witnesses with "Can I Get a Witness?" to help educate and inform believers on how to reach out and effectively minister to JW's and the lost. Purchase the book, watch our new documentary and share it with others. 

I've already gone to a few events and Churches talking to people about our book and ministry and the feedback has been incredible. But I need your prayers and support. My entire family are still JW's and they are aware of my ministry and projects. They view my ministry as an attack on the religion that they love, and they believe that my book as smear-apostate literature. But the opposite is true! For those who have already begun to read the book, you see that I have had a great deal of respect for JW's and only offer a bridge of understanding and love for those who wish to reach out to them. I love Jehovah's Witnesses, and my book is a labor of love toward them as my prayer is that they come to know Jesus Christ. To my family and former associates, I am the enemy and many in my family have already let me know this loud and clear. Launching this book and ministry is bittersweet, on the one hand I know this is God's calling and will for me, and yet it is still difficult to be viewed as an enemy by the people I love. 

I praise God however because I know that our labor in the Lord is never in vain, even if this book was meant to only reach a few people, at the end it will all be worth it. May God use this book and project to advance his Kingdom and bring Christians to the conviction that they need to be witnesses of Jesus, even to the Jehovah's Witnesses.

To purchase this book please visit and click on this link: http://www.amazon.com/Witness-Understand-Jehovahs-Witnesses-ebook/dp/B00FGUOGSG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1380321910&sr=8-1&keywords=Can+I+get+a+Witness+how+to+understand

Support, "Can I Get A Witness?"

The book, "Can I Get a Witness?" is just about ready for publishing! I am proud to announce that we are looking at a October, 3rd release of the eBook version of "Can I Get A Witness?", and a November release for the paperback version, but we need your help! Please pray and consider helping us raise the necessary funds to get this into the publishers hands. As you can imagine, producing a documentary and writing a book takes a lot of time, research, effort and resources. This is a project with the potential of reaching thousands with the life saving message of the Gospel. We've been blown away with the excitement and enthusiasm surrounding this groundbreaking project, but in order for us to get this project to as many people as possible we need your help. This project has been funded by myself with very little outside monetary help, and in order to get this book and documentary out for the World to enjoy, we need to raise $1,000 to pay for the printing and publishing fees and film related costs. By God's grace we have been able to raise a little over half of our goal! We pray that God would raise up people who believe in this project and the message behind it, and help us reach countless thousands with the Gospel of Jesus. "Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."(2 Cor 9:7) 

Please visit this link and learn how you can help us reach our goal!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1454950462/can-i-get-a-witness

How you can help: 1. Pray for us! We've had a lot of obstacles over the last few months, spiritually, financially and family wise. We know that Satan does not want this book and documentary out, and I need your prayers to be bold. 2. If you feel so led, consider helping us meet our goal of reaching $1,000, which is the bare minimum needed for Amazon to convert and format the book into eBook and paperback versions. 3. Spread the word! Spread the word on this important project that can reach thousands of Jehovah's Witnesses and help Christians better understand and minister to JW's. Spread the word on the need that we have, so that by God's grace we can meet it.

If we cannot raise the minimum amount of $1,000, Kickstarter.com will not charge any of the pledged amounts and we will walk away with no funds for this project, and consequently we will be forced to delay the project. Please send this to friends, family, ministries and churches.

Thank you very much for your prayers and continued support! Please do not take this message as me trying to pressure anyone into giving, I know the times are difficult. But any contribution will help. You can donate anywhere from $500 to $1, every gift counts! May God bless you and keep you all in Christ.

Brian Garcia, Real Truth Ministries

Can I Get a Witness? Explaining the upcoming Book and Documentary

Exactly one year ago I began to contemplate writing a book and making a documentary on a topic very dear to my heart, Jehovah's Witnesses.  I have been out of the Watchtower for nearly 5 years, and in my new walk as a Christian I have encountered hundreds of other Christians who know very little about Jehovah's Witnesses.  In fact for many of my new friends, all they knew about the Witnesses was that I used to be one.  

As I began thinking about what I could write about I knew that I wanted to produce something different, I did not want to put out another book or film about "how wrong" the Witnesses are in their teachings, or how they are a "cult" and "false prophets".  There are plenty of books from people of the outside looking into the Watchtower organization and trying to debunk their teachings, and there are plenty of films of ex-JW's being critical of the Watchtower Society.  I did not want to simply critique my former religion, I wanted to help people understand my former religion.  You see, in my 5 years as a Born again Christian most  believers were totally oblivious to the history and teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses, and even if they learned about their teachings how would they be able to minister effectively to them when they came knocking on the door?  Where do you begin?  I also wanted a book that if lets say a my JW brother or sister picked up and read it, they would understand why I left and understand that I am not simply some crazy "apostate", but a Christian who truly loves them enough to speak the truth to them.

This book and documentary project is a result of a dire need, we need more Christians in the Church to stand up and give a witness to Jehovah's Witnesses.  Thus was born, "Can I Get a Witness?".  This project is aimed at Christians to help educate them about Jehovah's Witnesses from the eyes of someone who was born and raised as one, from someone who loved it and defended it proudly.  In the book I help the reader understand the mindset I had as a Jehovah's Witness, what the Watchtower taught and why I believed it.  I then offer a Biblical defense of the real Christian teachings on topics such as the deity of Christ, the Trinity, life after death, Heaven, Hell, Paradise Earth and many more.  The book is not meant to be an exhaustive commentary on every aspect of Watchtower theology, and I will not cover every single controversy in the JW religion.  But I will offer key insight on the history, teachings and mindset of Jehovah's Witnesses, while also equipping the reader with a defense for the true gospel.

The documentary will be a lead in for the book.  My goal for the "Can I Get a Witness?" film is to highlight the fact that many Christians know very little about Jehovah's Witnesses, and offer reasons why it is important that true Christians be "ready to offer a defense for the hope within" (1 Peter 3:15), and be obedient to the call of our Master Christ, and be witnesses of Him to people of all faiths and backgrounds. (Acts 1:8) In the documentary I interview Christians, non-Christians, Pastors, and EX-JW's on various topics of JW's.  I also highlight a personal journey to the mecca of Jehovah's Witnesses, the Brooklyn Headquarters of the Watchtower Society. 

Please be in prayer for me as I finish up the remaining chapters of my book and the final editing stages of the documentary.  I have encountered a lot of opposition to this book within my JW family circle, but I know that it is God's perfect will that I continue forward with these projects.  I am excited to announce that the book and full 20 minute documentary will release early this fall, with the book being published on ebook and physical copy by Amazon, and the documentary will be released on Youtube.  Help spread the word to friends and family, your churches and pastors.  Together we can help fellow believers be equipped with the Good News, and with the ability to give a witness to Jehovah's Witnesses. Can I Get a Witness?

Check out the trailer for the upcoming book and documentary, "Can I Get a Witness?"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kh07lxqF1o

I am not an Apostate, I am a Christian- A response to Jehovah's Witnesses

I recently heard a discourse that was given at a district convention of Jehovah's Witnesses entitled "Truth brings, not Peace, but a Sword" which will be heard by millions of Jehovah's Witnesses at this years "God's Word is Truth!" district convention.  The talk I heard was given by a Bethelite(a person who has served in a Watchtower facility) and lasted about 20 minutes.  The talk was based upon Jesus' words in Matthew 10:34-36 which reads "Do not think I came to put peace upon the earth; I came to put, not peace, but a sword.  For I came to cause division, with a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a young wife against her mother‐in‐law.  Indeed, a man’s enemies will be persons of his own household." (NWT)

In this talk I heard the speaker talk about the importance of serving God and Christ and that we ought to be loyal to them, things that I totally affirm and believe. I then began to hear the speaker talk about how following Christ sometimes brings division in some families, something that I also believe in and have experienced.  However the speaker goes even further when he explains that it isn't "the truth"(aka the Watchtower religion) that causes division, rather "that division is because of that family member who refuses to have union with Jehovah God and Jesus Christ and he opposes us".  It's no secret that I was raised in a very devout Jehovah Witness family, I was baptized at 13 years of age and was very zealous in my religion.  At the age of 16 I came to a crossing point between what I read in the pages of the Watchtower and what I found in the Bible.  At 16 I disassociated myself for finding faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ, I was not disfellowshipped.  This statement from the convention talk troubles me; I have never refused to be in fellowship or union with Jehovah and Jesus, in fact it was for that very reason that I left.  You see Jehovah's Witnesses believe that only those who associate with their organization can have a relationship with God and Christ, and because I left the JW organization to follow Jesus Christ, in the eyes of the Watchtower and my JW relatives, I am an apostate.  JW's are known for shunning those who leave the faith, a practice they call "disfellowshipping".  They are taught that disfellowshipped or disassociated people are not be to spoken to, that they are unclean and unworthy to be apart of the life of active JW's.

The tone of the talk quickly starts to turn to a predictable us v.s them, we are right, anyone who leaves is wrong.  How reassuring.  The speaker goes onto recognize how important the family bond is, how the bond is even God ordained!  But, the speaker goes on to stress that if a member of that family leaves the organization, they automatically become "wrongdoers" who are the ones who "changed their relationship with Jehovah" and with JW family members.  They shift the blame on the person who left, because of course there is never a legitimate reason to leave that religious organization.  The speaker merely tells those who may have ex-JW family members to "respect Jehovah's arrangement for discipline."  He also warned that "disloyalty to that arrangement results in more distress".  In horrid fashion, the speaker likens disfellowshipped family members to "drug addicts or an alcoholic".  Really?  

This is what worries me, my family member who are still devout Jehovah's Witnesses who will be attending this years convention and who will hear this very 20 minute talk, will in effect view me as an enemy, an apostate.  It has been more than 5 years since I disassociated myself and was born again as a follower of Jesus(John 3:3-7), in those 5 years I have put a lot of effort to reconcile certain family relationships.  In 5 years I went from being an outcast in my own family being disowned, to being respected by at least some of my dear family.  I worry that in 20 minutes, 5 years of prayers, tearers, and patience, will be undone.  In 20 minutes I will likely become an enemy instead of a son, a brother, a cousin, and family.  In 20 minutes I become the kin to a drug addict or alcoholic, instead of being recognized as a faithful husband, father and Christian.  

In hypocritical fashion, the Watchtower Society published the article “Is it Wrong to Change Your Religion?” in the July 2009 Awake p29 states: “No one should be forced to worship in a way that he finds unacceptable or be made to choose between his beliefs and his family.”  This is a clear double standard, for they obviously make people choose between their religious conscious and their family.  Ever since I was a little boy all I ever desired was to worship and serve the One True God, and when I began to understand that "the truth" was not simply a religious organization that was started in the late 1800's, but that "the truth" was in fact a Person, I was convinced that I had found the way.  Why?  Because when Jesus said "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life", I believe he meant it.(John 14:6)  

Jesus said "Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.  And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."(Matthew 10:37-39)  I have indeed lost all things for the sake of Christ, like Paul "I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things."(Philippians 3:8)  I want my family and every other Jehovah's Witness to understand that leaving their religion for Jesus doesn't make me an apostate, it makes me a Christian.  I never left Jehovah, I found Jehovah; well actually Jehovah found me.  May Jehovah God open the eyes of those who are being misled by the Watchtower, and find those lost within the walls of the Watchtower so that they may see the light of the glory of the gospel of Christ.(2 Corinthians 4:4)  Amen.

You can hear the talk describe above in the following link: https://soundcloud.com/rick-fearon/truth-brings-a-sword

Brian G

Real Truth Ministries

Jesus - The Center of Christian Theology & Apologetics

Jesus Christ is not valued at all until He is valued above all. ~ ST. Augustine

Many of you know my story. A few years ago I began writing blogs and making videos defending the faith I was brought up in, the Jehovah Witnesses, agaisnt those who dared challenge my religion and the teachings of the Watchtower Society. I defended the Watchtower Organization agaisnt people who I thought misrepresented the religion, those who were labeled as "apostates", and many Christians who brought up inconsistencies in Watchtower theology. Long story made short, because of personal issues I began to encounter in my local Kingdom Hall, and by comparing the written teachings of the Watchtower agaisnt God's Word, I eventually encountered the Lord Jesus Christ, accepted his rightful divinity, and received him as Lord of my life. Ever since, I transitioned from defending the Jehovah Witness faith, to proclaiming and defending orthodox and Biblical Christianity. Many have seen my conversion and journey to Christ documented on my Youtube channel(http://www.youtube.com/user/Newagegamer3018). Like the Apostle Paul, it can now be said of me, "He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy".(Galatians 1:23)

The reason I have now dedicated my life and ministry to the proclamation and defense of the Gospel is, simply put, because of Jesus. In the Great Commission Christ commanded us to take the gospel to the furthest parts of the world, teaching, baptizing, and making disciples in the Name of the Triune God.(Matthew 28:19-20) God has pressed it on my heart to reach out in love to my former brethren in the Jehovah Witness faith. For two years now, my ministry has been mostly focused on reaching JW's. But in recent times, God has seen fit to expand my ministry. It is clear to me that Jehovah Witnesses are one of many false religious institutions used by Satan, the king of deception, to lead people away from the "sincere and pure devotion to Christ".(2 Corinthians 11:3) The threat of the cults modern attack on Historic and Biblical Christianity has only increased in these last days, as the whole world turns more hostile toward Christians around the world.

The Mormon Church for example, in its attempt to set itself up as a main-stream "Christian faith", with their misleading advertisements all over the internet, and their latest Television commericial campaign, they continually mislead many into thinking Latter Day Saints are Christians to. With an aggressive young Missionary base of over 51,000 young men and women taking the Mormon gospel all over the world, Christians need to rise up and defend the Truth of Jesus Christ.

And of course, we need to be firm in our defense of the Gospel, even in the face of the growing threat of Islam. As our society goes further into its secular liberalism, Islam is beginning to receive more prominence and domination. Islam denys the Sonship and deity of Christ, his crucifixtion, and resurrection, and the Trinity. Islam attacks the very core of Christianity, and does not take into account the Reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, both in the New Testament, and in History.

Another major threat to the Christian world-view in recent years has been the incredible rise of Atheism. With skepticism and unbelief at an all time high because of the failure of politics and Religious Christendom, people have been turning away from God altogether. What has resulted is the rise of the "New Atheism" with men like Oxford Professor Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Sam Harris leading a brutal attack on religion, and pushing for the indoctrination of Darwinian evolution over and above the belief in a Creator God.

The dangers of these systems of belief and unbelief, is their foundations. Jesus talked about building ourselves around the foundation of the rock. He said "the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”(Matthew 7:25-27)

Jesus is the Rock, or Center on which we are to build our lives and Theology upon. Jesus made specific and exclusive claims such as found in Johns Gospel, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes to the Father but by Me."(John 14:6) Jesus not only claimed to be the Way to God, but also claimed to be God. This is a principle denial of the Jehovah Witnesses and Muslims. But the Bible makes clear that Jesus Christ is God. "In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God, and the Word was God... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory... No one has ever seen God(the Father); the only God(the Son), who is at the Father's side, he has made Him known."-John 1:1,14,18

The followers of Jesus Christ worshiped Him as God,(Matthew 14:33, Luke 24:52, John 20:28) and Christ gave evidence of his divinity by his resurrection from the dead,(John 2:18-22) an event that is well documented in the ancient world. God the Father has given Jesus the name above all names, and has exalted Him to be Lord, so that at the name of Jesus every knee bend and worship Him to the glory of the Father.(Philippians 2:9-11) Christianity is a faith based on the Reality of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus, and the clear authority of the Scriptures as the Inspired, perfect revelation of God as expressed by the Holy Spirit.

It is my prayer that this ministry may be used for the Glory of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has brought so many into a living relationship with the Living Word, Jesus Christ. It is our aim here at Real Truth Ministries to faithfully "make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet to do it with gentleness and respect".(1 Peter 3:15) We respect the beliefs and opinions of all people, but we hold the Word of Christ above all the traditions and ideas of man. Jesus is, and will always be the Center of our theology and apologetics here on Real Truth, and thus bring Glory to God, and point all men to Christ for the salvation of their souls.


Yours truly in Christ,
Brian Garcia


~Soli Deo Gloria~