Is your church killing America?
'Holiness preachers help support devil and his diabolical plan to destroy souls'
Posted: August 07, 2011
5:11 pm Eastern
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=330389
'Holiness preachers help support devil and his diabolical plan to destroy souls'
Posted: August 07, 2011
5:11 pm Eastern
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=330389
By Michael Carl
Apple Computer is known for its open support of homosexual activism; Johnson & Johnson is a leading provider of abortifacients; and Google's support of probably the most abortion-loving White House administration ever is well-known.
So why is a Christian church denomination using its pension fund to invest in those companies?
That's the question raised by a Wesleyan pastor who says his church is sponsoring immorality by its choice of stocks that comprise the church's pension fund.
Rev. Dale Walker pastors a Wesleyan church congregation in Tennessee and also operates a financial management firm.
What are Christians told to do? Get the "1599 Geneva Bible"
He said he became concerned in June 2008 when he discovered that companies that promote pornography and operate casinos were among those in which the church denomination's pension fund had investments.
He first went to his district superintendent and then he took the issue to a pastor's forum.
"I went to that pastor's forum to share our concerns from the church and I sincerely thought in my heart they did not know about this. As I shared my concerns, I was interrupted by some of the speakers that day as I spoke," Walker explained.
"It became very apparent that he was not pleased with the way the conversation was going. There is really no easy way to say that we as Wesleyan holiness preachers ... help support the devil and his diabolical plan ... to destroy souls," Walker said.
Walker said he believed the pastor's forum was the appropriate place to bring up the issue of his displeasure with the pension fund investment portfolio. He says that he thinks his comments at the forum were omitted from the report that was to be submitted to the denomination's general board.
"So apparently the ability of pastors to be able to profit from abortion, pornography, tobacco, alcohol, gambling, and related issues wasn't something they wanted to deal with at that time," Walker said.
"We're to preach against it in our pulpits but I don't guess we have the ability to talk to our leaders about it," Walker added.
Walker said that he was told that since he didn't participate in the pension plan that he had no right to make comments about the fund.
Walker's district superintendent, Marlon Hotle, said he supports Walker's concerns.
"I understand his concerns and know that he's sincere in his desire to get the denomination to clean up its investments," Hotle said.
Hotle also says the resolution his district is submitting to the general conference is designed so that even if it's ignored on the program, it can still be heard.
"If it's not recommended, then a delegate can stand on the floor and move its adoption. I don't know what the general board will do with it, but we have started the process, submitted that resolution and will call for it to be read if they did not recommend it," Hotle said.
"So one way or the other it will be in the conference," Hotle added.
Walker also said he believes other pastors are in denominations whose retirement funds are also in companies he believes are questionable. He adds that he's sure they don't know it.
"There are thousands of pastors across America working to help the wonderful people in their community and the families that have been affected by abortion, the families that have been affected by alcohol, gambling, all of these things," Walker stated.
"They don't even realize that it's a possibility that their own denomination may be helping to participate in the moral decline and funding the moral decline of America," Walker said.
Walker says Christian financial adviser's Ron Blue's investment firm, Ronald Blue and Company, manages the Wesleyan Church's pension funds. The Wesleyan Pension Fund website also says that Ronald Blue and Associates manages the funds.
Ronald Blue and Company has not responded to WND's request for an interview.
But the the Wesleyan Pension Fund website provides a list of mutual funds that include stock offerings from both domestic and foreign companies.
An example is the American Funds Growth Fund of America R3 Fund, which includes stock from Apple Computer, Amazon, DirecTV, and Google.
Apple Computer is known for its open support of the radical homosexual movement, giving in to activists and removing pro-family "apps" for its iPhone.
The Large Cap S&P 500 Index Fund includes established health care, beauty aid and pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson. The Christian investment firm The Timothy Fund reports on its "Hall of Shame" web page that the company is a leading provider of abortifacents.
Human Life International confirms that New Jersey-based Johnson & Johnson's partner, Ortho, is the maker of what is technically called a "Low Dose" abortion pill.
A survey of other church-related investment portfolios shows that other religious organizations' mutual funds also have holdings in companies that are controversial.
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' Aggressive Allocation Fund owns stock in Amazon.com, Philip Morris International, Google, DVD rental company Netflix, Johnson & Johnson, and Time Warner Cable, which also appears in The Timothy Fund's "Hall of Shame".
Thrivent Financial has not responded to WND's requests for an interview.
However, some churches have gotten on the bandwagon of what is called socially conscious investing.
Through a company called Guidestone Financial Resources, the Southern Baptist Convention offers investments that their website claims are in line with Christian values.
Guidestone explains the portfolios are "socially screened."
"Since 1918, Guidestone has been meeting the needs of ministers, church workers, and employees of hospitals, universities, colleges, seminaries, retirement and children's homes, and other institutions. Guidestone is a diversified Christian financial services provider, offering retirement, insurance, investment management, property and casualty coverage," the site said.
Guidestone's prospectus goes into detail on whether the mutual funds consist mostly of government securities, stocks from financial institutions and whether the fund invests the participant's money in assets that have Moody's Triple-A rating.
The prospectus also lists other fund companies that participate in the fund.
The same prospectus however, provides little detail on the actual companies in which the fund's assets are invested.
It isn't until the prospective investor clicks on The Portfolio Holdings button on the Prospectus and Reports page that any details of the actual composition of the funds are revealed.
The Holdings document finally tells the clergyman investor that companies like Costco, Hyundai, General Electric, pipeline company Kinder, Morgan Partners and supermarket giant Safeway are among the companies in the fund portfolios.
However, among those companies are cable television and broadcast giant Time-Warner and Amazon.com.
Guidestone responded to WND's request for an interview saying, "We cannot comment further than what is provided in the prospectus."
Read more: Is your church killing America? http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=330389#ixzz1UNgIlxjw
Apple Computer is known for its open support of homosexual activism; Johnson & Johnson is a leading provider of abortifacients; and Google's support of probably the most abortion-loving White House administration ever is well-known.
So why is a Christian church denomination using its pension fund to invest in those companies?
That's the question raised by a Wesleyan pastor who says his church is sponsoring immorality by its choice of stocks that comprise the church's pension fund.
Rev. Dale Walker pastors a Wesleyan church congregation in Tennessee and also operates a financial management firm.
What are Christians told to do? Get the "1599 Geneva Bible"
He said he became concerned in June 2008 when he discovered that companies that promote pornography and operate casinos were among those in which the church denomination's pension fund had investments.
He first went to his district superintendent and then he took the issue to a pastor's forum.
"I went to that pastor's forum to share our concerns from the church and I sincerely thought in my heart they did not know about this. As I shared my concerns, I was interrupted by some of the speakers that day as I spoke," Walker explained.
"It became very apparent that he was not pleased with the way the conversation was going. There is really no easy way to say that we as Wesleyan holiness preachers ... help support the devil and his diabolical plan ... to destroy souls," Walker said.
Walker said he believed the pastor's forum was the appropriate place to bring up the issue of his displeasure with the pension fund investment portfolio. He says that he thinks his comments at the forum were omitted from the report that was to be submitted to the denomination's general board.
"So apparently the ability of pastors to be able to profit from abortion, pornography, tobacco, alcohol, gambling, and related issues wasn't something they wanted to deal with at that time," Walker said.
"We're to preach against it in our pulpits but I don't guess we have the ability to talk to our leaders about it," Walker added.
Walker said that he was told that since he didn't participate in the pension plan that he had no right to make comments about the fund.
Walker's district superintendent, Marlon Hotle, said he supports Walker's concerns.
"I understand his concerns and know that he's sincere in his desire to get the denomination to clean up its investments," Hotle said.
Hotle also says the resolution his district is submitting to the general conference is designed so that even if it's ignored on the program, it can still be heard.
"If it's not recommended, then a delegate can stand on the floor and move its adoption. I don't know what the general board will do with it, but we have started the process, submitted that resolution and will call for it to be read if they did not recommend it," Hotle said.
"So one way or the other it will be in the conference," Hotle added.
Walker also said he believes other pastors are in denominations whose retirement funds are also in companies he believes are questionable. He adds that he's sure they don't know it.
"There are thousands of pastors across America working to help the wonderful people in their community and the families that have been affected by abortion, the families that have been affected by alcohol, gambling, all of these things," Walker stated.
"They don't even realize that it's a possibility that their own denomination may be helping to participate in the moral decline and funding the moral decline of America," Walker said.
Walker says Christian financial adviser's Ron Blue's investment firm, Ronald Blue and Company, manages the Wesleyan Church's pension funds. The Wesleyan Pension Fund website also says that Ronald Blue and Associates manages the funds.
Ronald Blue and Company has not responded to WND's request for an interview.
But the the Wesleyan Pension Fund website provides a list of mutual funds that include stock offerings from both domestic and foreign companies.
An example is the American Funds Growth Fund of America R3 Fund, which includes stock from Apple Computer, Amazon, DirecTV, and Google.
Apple Computer is known for its open support of the radical homosexual movement, giving in to activists and removing pro-family "apps" for its iPhone.
The Large Cap S&P 500 Index Fund includes established health care, beauty aid and pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson. The Christian investment firm The Timothy Fund reports on its "Hall of Shame" web page that the company is a leading provider of abortifacents.
Human Life International confirms that New Jersey-based Johnson & Johnson's partner, Ortho, is the maker of what is technically called a "Low Dose" abortion pill.
A survey of other church-related investment portfolios shows that other religious organizations' mutual funds also have holdings in companies that are controversial.
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' Aggressive Allocation Fund owns stock in Amazon.com, Philip Morris International, Google, DVD rental company Netflix, Johnson & Johnson, and Time Warner Cable, which also appears in The Timothy Fund's "Hall of Shame".
Thrivent Financial has not responded to WND's requests for an interview.
However, some churches have gotten on the bandwagon of what is called socially conscious investing.
Through a company called Guidestone Financial Resources, the Southern Baptist Convention offers investments that their website claims are in line with Christian values.
Guidestone explains the portfolios are "socially screened."
"Since 1918, Guidestone has been meeting the needs of ministers, church workers, and employees of hospitals, universities, colleges, seminaries, retirement and children's homes, and other institutions. Guidestone is a diversified Christian financial services provider, offering retirement, insurance, investment management, property and casualty coverage," the site said.
Guidestone's prospectus goes into detail on whether the mutual funds consist mostly of government securities, stocks from financial institutions and whether the fund invests the participant's money in assets that have Moody's Triple-A rating.
The prospectus also lists other fund companies that participate in the fund.
The same prospectus however, provides little detail on the actual companies in which the fund's assets are invested.
It isn't until the prospective investor clicks on The Portfolio Holdings button on the Prospectus and Reports page that any details of the actual composition of the funds are revealed.
The Holdings document finally tells the clergyman investor that companies like Costco, Hyundai, General Electric, pipeline company Kinder, Morgan Partners and supermarket giant Safeway are among the companies in the fund portfolios.
However, among those companies are cable television and broadcast giant Time-Warner and Amazon.com.
Guidestone responded to WND's request for an interview saying, "We cannot comment further than what is provided in the prospectus."
Read more: Is your church killing America? http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=330389#ixzz1UNgIlxjw
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