"Christianizing Christians" into their Dominion Responsibilities

Does it feel like 2018 has been a tumultuous and difficult year for America? That’s an understatement. The political and social divides have widened significantly, and just like in the 60s, the rhetoric of revolution is being heard once again on the streets and on campuses.

And where does the church stand in all this? If anything, we’ve seen Christian leaders and churches cave to the pressure of social justice warriors, and instead of holding up God’s only standard of justice—His law—churches are bending to the winds of cultural change.

One thing is for sure. God’s victorious people should not be moved by what they see and hear but rather remain focused on the work of the Kingdom. We have responsibilities and our calling is to be faithful in them!

In volume 5 of A Word in Season, my father wrote, “In the world of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, it is opportunities, duties, service, faith, and obedience which concern Christ’s people above all else, not death and troubles.”

We live in challenging times—there’s no doubt about that—but as people of the resurrection we must continually look for opportunities to serve, to be faithful, and to press the crown rights of Jesus Christ in every area of life.

We are contending with a humanistic revolutionary spirit—a demonic dominionism calling for a socialistic upheaval of the U.S. system. Their goal is an eradication of the liberty, history, and traditions of America in order to establish—by force—their socialist utopia.

In his powerful book Tithing & Dominion, my father wrote, “Socialism has filled the void vacated by Christians.” That’s because, as he said, “Socialism grows as Christian independence declines.” When you reverse this, you will better understand what he meant by Christian Reconstruction.

There must be a restoration of Christian government which means dominion over education, welfare, health, and other spheres. Not a “taking over” of the Federal system but rather a “taking back” of government through Christian agencies fully financed by the tithe. We simply cannot wait for tax reform or some other conservative victory. We must act now by supporting Christian Reconstruction.

Until we do this, humanistic socialism will seek to fill the void. But we cannot change the status quo without one thing: Christian education, which means dedicating our resources to “Christianizing Christians” for their Kingdom responsibilities. My father said it this way in his book Christianity and the State:

“The intellectual foundations for the return of Christianity to government are being laid down. In this area, the Chalcedon Foundation has pioneered, rebuilding on ancient foundations.”

In other words, we are still early in the process, and there is so much more work to do if we’re going to educate a generation in the intellectual foundations of Christian government. This is why the Chalcedon Foundation may be one of the most important ministries today, and why your support is so crucial right now.

The work of Chalcedon has grown in its diversity, and this year has brought a significant change for us. As you probably know, we discontinued our bimonthly Faith for All of Life magazine and replaced it with a bimonthly newsletter, Arise & Build.

I feel this was a necessary decision for both budgetary and practical reasons. We wanted a more concise, cost effective way to communicate with you while transferring our scholarly work to a new academic print publication The Journal of Christian Liberty (set to arrive in 2019) headed up by Chalcedon vice-president, Martin Selbrede. I feel this is a more frugal approach that will yield better results.

We are continuing the publication of our bimonthly Chalcedon Report which is delivered to you on the alternate months that we’ll send you Arise & Build. This means you’ll receive something from us each month. If you’re not subscribed to these publications, you can do so today at https://chalcedon.edu/subscrib....

The internet and social media have changed the way information is distributed, and with this has come the end of many longstanding newspapers and magazines. For Chalcedon, this has been an opportunity to maximize the online space in order to get our message to more people, and we’ve done that this year.

By the end of 2018, we will have published 23 episodes of our online Book of the Month Club where we delve into my father’s books and answer questions by participants joining via computer. It’s truly amazing!

In addition, our own Andrea Schwartz—joined by co-host Dr. Charles Roberts—recently completed 36 episodes of the Out of the Question Podcast where participants get to “the question behind the question” in discussing real life worldview issues.

What’s made a great impact are Chalcedon’s three weekly live broadcasts hosted on our ministry Facebook page. Each Sunday, my sermons at Chalcedon Chapel are streamed live to anyone anywhere in the world. Right after the Chalcedon Chapel service, followers can participate in an hour long question and answer session with Martin Selbrede.

On Tuesdays, Andrea Schwartz and Nancy Wilk host a live video discussion called Homeschooling Help designed to inspire, inform, and equip Christian homeschooling parents.

These three broadcasts are then archived for future viewing on our YouTube channel and ministry website.

Andrea recently completed a three-and-a-half year online study of The Institutes of Biblical Law with Christian women which began in 2014, and two other groups are also now in progress. She also worked online with the Pierre Viret Academy in Puebla, Mexico taking them through my father’s Good Morning, Friends, Volume 1.

And for men, Chalcedon board member, Ford Schwartz—along with Chris Zimmerman—continued with the weekly Men’s Roundtable Study discussing my father’s lectures on eschatology.

Being able to reach people online in these focused study sessions is radically increasing our ability to influence Christians around the world. These online efforts are made possible only by your generous support, and we desperately need your financial gifts to continue providing free access to these important online resources.

Although we are a small ministry, we still strive to host or attend live events. Our online efforts are important, but so much can be still be accomplished by teaching and sharing in person.

In June of this year, I was a featured speaker at the Pacific Northwest Reconstruction Meeting in Washington state. The conference theme was “A Christian Reconstruction of Family Business Symposium.” It’s such a joy to see young Christian families excited about Christian education and Christian business!

In August, Chalcedon hosted the Northern California Christian Reconstructionist Meet Up at St. Paul’s Church in Los Altos, California, and the featured speakers were myself, Martin Selbrede, host pastor, Steve Macias, Jeremy Walker, and Andrea Schwartz. We had a meet and greet, teaching time, and shared lunch together. It was both intimate and edifying.

In October, Chalcedon vice-president, Martin Selbrede, traveled to Pennsylvania to speak at the Mid-Atlantic Reformation Society’s annual conference, “The Future of Christendom,” where he spoke on the present need and future vision for Christian education. It delights me to see Martin’s influence growing throughout the world. He does so much for Chalcedon and the Kingdom, and he does it without pay, which makes Martin our most generous supporter!

If there’s any part of the work of Chalcedon that is most dear to my heart, it would be caring for the published works of my father, which still continues 17 years after his passing!

We have a few major print projects that are still in process including the three volume set, Faith & Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony from the Chalcedon Report (1965-2001), Sermons in First & Second Corinthians, Sermons in Zephaniah, Haggai & Zechariah, and a newly typeset version of The Institutes of Biblical Law.

These projects require significant time, energy, and financing, but I’m looking forward to seeing them published in 2019. Your financial support can help make this happen.

We did manage to complete the three-volume series Good Morning, Friends: A Collection of Weekly Radio Messages by R. J. Rushdoony as well as publish volume 10 of Lee Duigon’s Bell Mountain Series, The Silver Trumpet. As I write to you, volume 11, The Temptation, is soon to go to press.

I could go into great detail about all the events, projects, and people involved, but space permits me to share only a cursory overview of the work of Chalcedon. What’s vital to note is that what’s needed most in our times is the work of Christian Reconstruction, and that always begins with Christian education, which is the work and mission of the Chalcedon Foundation.

To do this, I need your financial support right away. To be honest, the need is greater than I can describe here. Our budget is extremely tight, and it can be a struggle to meet it. I know our supporters believe in us, but I feel it’s important to communicate the urgency of our ministry needs.

The religion of humanistic revolution has one solution—destruction—whereas the Kingdom of God is advanced by regeneration and reconstruction. Christians understand the need for regeneration, but they do not understand the work of reconstruction. By your generous support of the Chalcedon Foundation, you can help us “Christianize Christians” into their dominion responsibilities.

Please send your best tax-deductible gift to Chalcedon before January 31, 2019, and help me to set an aggressive budget for 2019. Please use the enclosed postage-paid envelope, or you can contribute online today at chalcedon.edu/give. Our need is great, so please act soon!

In His Service,

Mark R. Rushdoony

P.S. As Christ’s people, we should be occupied with the opportunities of our times—not the troubles of our times—and act with obedience and faithfulness. Please help Chalcedon before January 31, 2019 by sending your most generous tax-deductible gift. Thank you!