Volume 19 Issue 9 - September 2004 HOME SWEET HOME As of this writing, we are approximately 60 miles from our final destination, Washington DC. The Walk Across America is drawing to a close. Though it is our sincere prayer that we end well this God-ordained journey, one can’t help but to turn the heart towards home. For six months, we have placed upon God’s altar our marriages, family, children, church, and all we hold near and dear to our hearts to fulfill this heaven-sent task. The only example of comparison I can draw upon to relate the physical, mental, and spiritual ordeal of this odyssey is my time in military service. I was glad to serve in the army, but would prefer never to experience the military life again. The same could be said of this trip. I rejoice to be a part of this living parable carrying a prophetic message to America, but please Lord can we fly across America next time? To my darling wife and my seven lovely children who kept the home fires burning in our absence, we can’t wait to be reunited with you. It was your sacrificial love that helped to encourage us along the straight and narrow way. It is my prayer that our collective obedience as a family will serve to increase our Christian heritage and legacy. May all of my children rise to possess the gates of their enemies and may you, my dear wife, receive a manifold blessing from God. PROCESSION ATTEMPTS TO ROUSE CHRISTIANITY The following is a newspaper article that covered our Walk Across America in Altoona, PA. This city was one of the most receptive and favorable to the living parable that carries the Lord’s warning to America. This is one of two articles the paper covered. They advertised above this article "Coming Friday In Religion: A closer look at the ‘Walk Across America’ movement." Flip and I talked at length with the religious reporter from the paper. Her husband is a local pastor. They both were genuine Christians who love the Lord. Prayerfully, God will use these articles to do as the title states, "Procession Attempts To Rouse Christianity."
Jonathan was the first in a seven member procession that included two men leading horses and one a donkey—each animal bearing a banner with an apocalyptic term from Revelations—"Judgment," "Justice," "Mercy." It was a procession as firm as Jonathan’s stride. "Abortion is murder! Homosexuality is sin! Islam is a lie!" proclaims a pamphlet handed out during a roadside break a little later by the Rev. Flip Benham, Jonathan’s father and director of "Operation Save America" in Dallas and procession co-leader. Flip Benham’s "Walk Across America" is ‘prophetic" in the Old Testament sense and decisively Christian: "Jesus is the Standard," the pamphlet states. Like Sodom and Gomorrah, the nation has incurred God’s wrath for depravity and risks destruction unless it collectively repents, the Benhams said. The procession represents Flip Benham’s and co-leader Rusty Thomas’ of Elijah Ministries in Waco attempt to rouse a muscular Christianity to action. Flip Benham, who said he’s a former alcoholic said his group doesn’t seek to force conversion from behavior and beliefs it regards as sinful, in contrast to Islam. The group encourages repentance out of love for the sinners, Flip Benham said. Generally, the expressions of people encountered along the way have seemed favorable, Flip Benham said. During the rest break, one woman stopped her car and tried to hand money to Flip Benham. A couple of employees from K&C Dentures chatted briefly to other procession members, and afterward, employee Holly Link said she thought the procession was "fantastic." Link shares the group’s beliefs, she said. But the group has had confrontations with police, who have arrested members five times for disturbing the peace in Mesquite, Nev.; Rifle, Colo,; St. Louis; Hayes, Kan,; and Columbus, Ohio, Benham said. They have told him the group has no right to speak if another group doesn’t want to hear what it has to say, he said. Clashes have tended to occur when the group has encountered advocates of gay or abortion rights, it seems. The group totals 11, including supporters, one of whom arranges for overnight stays on the grounds of churches, where the group creates temporary pens for the livestock. One drives a small truck with speakers mounted on the roof broadcasting music on the roads. Another drives a recreational vehicle. The group walks up to seven hours a day, covering 15 miles a day. THE BATTLE CONTINUES IN WACO In an attempt to silence Christians' outcry against Planned Parenthood and effective ministry to high school students before and after school, the City of Waco signed into law a City ordinance that forbids any street activity or demonstration in a school zone in the mornings and afternoons.Planned Parenthood of Central Texas is situated across the street from a Montessori School. Thus in the name of "safety," they decided to restrict and censor our message so that students and their parents can continue to go about business as usual without being bothered by this "distraction" that could possibly (but has never happened once) cause a traffic accident. In response to this ridiculous assertion, Pastor John Collier of Parkview Baptist Church stated in front of the Waco City Council, "The only unsafe place for children on Columbus Ave. is inside the Planned Parenthood itself, where little boys and girls are being murdered at the hand of the abortionist." Once again, our government who has legalized child-killing and is chipping away at the resistance by the Church of Jesus Christ through any means possible, says to us, "Yes, Christian, you have freedom of speech and freedom of religion, but not here, and not now!" Well, we're sorry, but Jesus said, "Go into all the world," and that includes the sidewalks in front of Planned Parenthood, Waco's high schools, the homosexual churches, and all the other places that have declared the Law of God null and void. Three pastors and fifteen individuals were cited for continuing to stand and pray after being told it was against the law to do so. Our trial is coming upon us now. Please pray that we will be faithful representatives of the Gospel of the Kingdom as we stand for righteousness. The following is a flyer that my husband, Rusty Thomas, has written to pass out during our trial date, Aug. 25th at 1:30 p.m. at the County Courthouse . We will also be holding banners that state, "WHAT KIND OF CITY" "WOULD ALLOW THIS?" and a picture of Malachi. If you are close enough to us, come and join us! What Kind of City Would Allow This?
Regrettably, the city of Waco, TX. For years now, there has been an unholy alliance between Planned Parenthood and our city government. Under the color of law, our city government has become a willing dupe of the abortion industry to destroy the substance of our liberty. Time and again, our Constitutional rights and our Christian duty to rescue those unjustly sentenced to death have been infringed by this deceitful duo. Case in point is our being here at the court today. Three local pastors and fifteen pro-life Christians are on trial for violating a newly concocted tyrannical city ordinance. With a stroke of our city council’s pen what was legal yesterday is now made illegal today. Peaceful, law abiding Christians who hold church services on the public sidewalk in front of Planned Parenthood are now made criminals. They are accused of being defiant against the rule of law. Though there is defiance against the rule of law in Waco, the real question is who are the ones defying it? As Christians and free men, we declare that one needs to look no further than the city government of Waco and Planned Parenthood to discover the guilty parties. It is they that stand in defiance of the law. In the name of protecting children at school zones, they allow Planned Parenthood to murder children within a school zone.Martin Luther King Jr. gave this apologetic on law by stating, "...There are two types of law, just and unjust. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One not only has a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that, ‘an unjust law is no law at all.’ Now, what is the difference between the two? How does one determine whether a law is just or unjust? A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas, ‘An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law.’" It is our city government that stands in violation of the Constitution of the United States, the supreme law of the land. They seek to deny our Freedom of Speech, Freedom to Peaceably Assemble, and the Redress of Grievance that concerns the murder of the innocent at Planned Parenthood. They refuse to uphold the right to life that is promised to every American according to our Declaration of Independence. Their betrayal of this sacred trust allows Planned Parenthood's reign of terror against the little ones in the womb of their mothers to flourish in the city of Waco. Thus instead of protecting our first and most fundamental right as Americans, they have decided to further their violations by crushing underfoot our other rights already stated. This is the sad state of affairs when our city government decides to defend the indefensible, Planned Parenthood and their atrocities. Planned Parenthood, on the other hand, violates the supreme law of the universe, "Thou Shalt Not Murder." So, who really is in defiance against the law? For every freedom loving American, the evidence points in one direction and indicts two parties, our city government who passed this tyrannical ordinance and Planned Parenthood this ordinance seeks to protect. They are the law breakers. We, on the other hand, are the law keepers. God and history will bear this truth out in Jesus' Holy Name! IN KING JESUS’ SERVICE, Rev. Rusty Lee Thomas
Anti-abortion protest shifts to city court By TERRI JO RYAN Goble of Woodway upheld the constitutionality of a Waco ordinance prohibiting "street activity and parades" — including demonstrations — during posted school zone hours. City officials say the ordinance seeks to reduce traffic hazards near the Planned Parenthood clinic, especially considering its proximity to children attending Waco Montessori School. Anti-abortion activists see it as an effort to muzzle free speech, religious liberty and the right to peaceably assemble. The Rev. Ronnie Holmes, pastor of Church of the Open Door in Bellmead, stood outside the municipal court building Friday afternoon, distributing anti-abortion literature, including a flier by Thomas decrying the city's actions. "It's becoming more and more clear that the city is not willing to do anything except through court proceedings," Holmes said. He accused the city of "bending over backwards" to accommodate Planned Parenthood of Central Texas. He expressed concern other cities with Planned Parenthood operations will take heart and adopt Waco 's ordinance to curb anti-abortion demonstrators. The pastor said this week's court battle is part of God's plan to "ratchet up the pressure on the city and expose its unholy alliance with Planned Parenthood in the curtailment of liberty in our city." Police maintain their actions — ticketing protesters, though not arresting them — are merely dictated by city leaders. "As far as we are concerned, we enforce the law — in this particular case, us under the guidance of the city's legal department," Waco Police Chief Alberto Melis said. "Any changes in enforcement would come from there." The chief acknowledged the legal complications arising from the city's policy. "If the law was easy to interpret, we wouldn't have any need for attorneys," Melis said. "But the law is not easy to interpret, so it's going to have to go through attorneys." City Attorney Art Pertile did not return a call from the Tribune-Herald about the protesters' latest gathering. The anti-abortion demonstrators make it a practice to offer "sidewalk counseling" as area women head into the clinic early Wednesday mornings, the only day the Planned Parenthood facility on Columbus Avenue offers abortions. Activists sing hymns, pray, preach the Gospel and often hand out written materials to dissuade women from going through with the procedure. Holmes predicted crowds will be much larger at the Planned Parenthood clinic next Wednesday, their numbers swollen by those eager to contest the ordinance and bolster a federal case filed in June by the American Family Association's senior litigation counsel, Michael Deprimo, and his colleague, Stephen Crampton. The two men, who represented the demonstrators in municipal court this week, said late Friday they will also file an appeal for a new trial by the end of next week to McLennan County Court. Wednesday's judgment, though disappointing to their clients, actually reinforces the federal case filed simultaneously with the local city ordinance challenge, Deprimo said. Police officers' testimony shows both unconstitutional vagueness and inconsistent enforcement of the law, Deprimo said. P.S. More and more pastors and Christians in the Waco area are taking the Gospel of the Kingdom right to the "gates of hell" located at the Planned Parenthood death camp on 1927 Columbus Ave. every Wednesday morning from 7-11am. Your prayers, praise, and participation is much needed to rid Waco of this bloody scourge. Please muster the courage and conviction necessary to join with other brothers and sisters to see the powers of darkness pushed backed, the captives set free, and the idolatry of child sacrifice once and for all vanquished from our beloved city. For more information contact Rusty Thomas at (254) 836-1037-home or (254) 715-3134-cell. The Lord richly bless you! COLUMBUS COURT TRIAL "But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you." (Matthew 10:17-20). The Walk Across America team was threatened with arrest a number of times as we cried out against America’s sins along the way. Though we were actually arrested five times and subsequently released, there is still one case pending that we have to go back and face. On October 20th, there will be a pre-trial hearing for my arrest that took place in Columbus, Ohio during our national event. At this point, I’m not sure if I’ll have to appear to answer the charges on this particular date. There is a possibility a lawyer could appear before the court in my stead. The problem is, we have yet to find an attorney willing to fight this case pro-bono. The city charged me with two different charges. One was violating their open burn ordinance and the other was operating a criminal tool. The criminal tool was the lighter. Both are class 1 misdemeanors. Each carries the maximum penalty of a thousand dollar fine and 180 days in jail. We covet your prayers concerning this case. We need the Lord to raise up a godly attorney in Ohio to provide a defense. Regardless of the outcome of this case, the sacrifice will be well worth it. Recently, I received a phone call from Pastor Bill Dunfee of New Beginnings Church in Warsaw, Ohio. Pastor Bill is also one of the spiritual leaders of Minutemen United headed up by Coach David Daubenmire who hosted our national event in Columbus. He called to encourage us and to give us an update on what has transpired since we departed. The news was good. Pastors, men and women of God, and their precious children responded to the challenge heralded by Operation Save America. They are rising up to contend with the four abortion mills in Columbus. Even Pastors and other Christians who were not initially involved are responding to the call and sending forth the saints to do battle against the forces of darkness to set the captive free. In this, we rejoice that our Lord saw fit to bless our efforts. We have always believed that OSA’s success was never determined by what happpened during our events, but what happens after we leave. To those who came and stood for righteousness, the children, and our Lord, your work was not in vain. In closing, I’ll leave you with this admonishement from 1 Corinthians 15:58, "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." Keep storming the gates in Jesus’ name! IN KING JESUS' SERVICE, Rusty, Liz, and the Thomas Nation P.O. Box 3126, Waco, TX 76707 Voice: (254) 836-1037 Fax: (254) 836-4092 Cell: (254) 715-3134 E-mail: elijahmin@ifriendly.com
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