The gift of a father
By Michael Reagan

I was so proud to have the Reagan name and to be Ronald Reagan's son. What a great honor. He gave me a lot of gifts as a child. Gave me a horse. Gave me a car. Gave me a lot of things. But there's a gift he gave me that I think is wonderful for every father to give every son.

Last Saturday, when my father opened his eyes for the last time, and visualized Nancy and gave her such a wonderful, wonderful gift.

When he closed his eyes, that's when I realized the gift that he gave to me, the gift that he was going to be with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He had, back in 1988 on a flight from Washington, D.C., to Point Mugu, told me about his love of God, his love of Christ as his Savior. I didn't know then what it all meant. But I certainly, certainly know now.

I can't think of a better gift for a father to give a son. And I hope to honor my father by giving my son Cameron and my daughter Ashley that very same gift he gave to me.

Knowing where he is this very moment, this very day, that he is in Heaven, and I can only promise my father this. Dad, when I go, I will go to Heaven, too. And you and I and my sister, Maureen, that went before us, we will dance with the heavenly host of angels before the presence of God. We will do it melanoma and Alzheimer's free. Thank you for letting me share my father, Ronald Wilson Reagan.

Mike Reagan, the eldest son of President Ronald Reagan, is heard on more than 200 talk radio stations nationally as part of the Premiere Radio Network. These remarks are excerpted from the eulogy that he gave to his father.

The spiritual life of a politician

Following the death of President Reagan, we found ourselves curiously thumbing through Professor Paul Kegnor's new tome, God and Ronald Reagan: A Spiritual Life (ReganBooks). We were drawn to a section where Reagan wrote a personal response in 1978 to a United Methodist minister who expressed doubts about Christ's divinity-and accused Reagan of a "limited Sunday school level theology."

"Perhaps it is true that Jesus never used the word 'Messiah' with regard to himself (although I'm not sure that he didn't) but in John 1, 10, and 14 he identifies himself pretty definitely and more than once," Reagan responded.

"Is there really any ambiguity in his words: 'I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me?'. In John 10 he says, 'I am in the Father and the Father in me.' And he makes reference to being with God, 'before the world was,' and sitting on the 'right hand of God.'.

"These and other statements he made about himself, foreclose in my opinion, any question as to his divinity. It doesn't seem to me that he gave us any choice; either he was what he said he was or he was the world's greatest liar. It is impossible for me to believe a liar or charlatan could have had the effect on mankind that he has had for 2000 years. We could ask, would even the greatest of liars carry his lie through the crucifixion, when a simple confession would have saved him?.Did he allow us the choice you say that you and others have made, to believe in his teachings but reject his statements about his own identity?"       -The Editors

UMW Membership declines

When the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church merged in 1968 to form the United Methodist Church, the combined church membership was 11 million, with more than 42,000 churches. According to the May 1968 issue of Together magazine, there were more than 38,000 United Methodist Women's (UMW) groups, with a total membership of 1.7 million.

Since 1968, there has been a steady UMW decline. The most current statistics are from 2002. According to those numbers, there are now  775,939 members of UMW. Comparing the 2002 UMW membership with the original combined Methodist and Evangelical United Brethren membership in 1968 shows a membership drop of 56.8 percent. (Total church membership loss in the same period is more than 25 percent.)

It is noteworthy that the number of churches with UMW groups has declined along with individual UMW membership. In 1968, more than 38,000 churches are identified as having UMW groups; the 2001 statistics show them in only 22,321 churches. This is a loss of 42.8 percent of UMW groups, while the denomination-wide number of churches lost was 16.3 percent.

The decline does not seem to have plateaued in recent years. Within the last five years, UMW has lost more than 129,000 individual members (14 percent loss) and more than 1,600 churches no longer have UMW units (7 percent loss).

-The Good News/Renew Editorial Team

TIME TO PRAY

Christian ministry leaders are calling upon 20 million Christians in the U.S. and 200 million world-wide to participate in 40 days of prayer and fasting prior to the Presidential elections (Sept. 24-Nov. 2) for nationwide and global repentance (2 Chronicles 7:14).

This call will include a wide spectrum of believers from varying denominations and ethnic backgrounds and will include those in government, education, media, business, etc. in order to expand our understanding of the gravity of the state of the nation so that we may be able to pray more effectively in repentance as a corporate body, as well as, signifying solidarity of faith and vision for the nation.

Let us join together to intercede as both citizens of an earthly and heavenly kingdom. This is a very important time for our nation.

If you wish to particpate in this prayer experience, contact Ray Bringham of Prayer Summit at (760) 738-4825 or Tatsuo Akamine, National Coordinator, at (310) 738-5970 for further information on how to get involved.



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