The true saints, the true heirs of the kingdom, shall witness mightily during the period of the false heirs, when salvation by politics is prevalent. Against the humanism of the City of Man, the City of God proclaims the lordship and kingship of Christ. ~ R. J. Rushdoony (Thy Kingdom Come, p. 163)
Your Year-End tax-deductible gift to Chalcedon is what keeps this ministry reaching the world.
Click here to make an online donation before Dec. 31, 2010.
Dear Friend of Chalcedon
It's my hope that this letter finds you and your loved ones well. I can't help but wonder how this year has developed for you and your family as I sit down to share with you Chalcedon's progress in 2010. We live in challenging times, no doubt, but for those of us oriented around Kingdom work, these are marvelous times!
As my father wrote above, the true heirs of the Kingdom "shall witness mightily during the period of the false heirs, when salvation by politics is prevalent." In other words, it's during the time of mass unbelief, humanism, and statism that the sons of the Kingdom shall have their voices heard. At Chalcedon, we intend to have our voice heard, and I'm writing to make you aware of how you can help.
Only the First-ness of the Kingdom Can Bring Security
However, we have a problem: the idea of "salvation by politics" is prevalent among humanist as well as Christians. Even among reconstructionist-type of ministries, the endless discussion about "Liberals," "Democrats," and "Socialism" is blurring the only purpose we should be focused upon: the Kingdom of God.
There will be no restoration through politics, because switching to "Conservative" leadership does not change the fact that the Establishment remains the "City of Man." That's why, as my father stated, we must proclaim "the lordship and kingship of Christ." Added to this must be a comprehensive development of its implications.
Only the City of God can be a true city of refuge, and until that's realized within history (Rev. 21), the source of our personal security will only come by living in terms of the Kingdom now. And that means sacrificing-or leaving-all things for the sake of the Kingdom:
Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life. Luke 18:29-30 (NKJV)
Our Lord said this in response to His disciples after His discussion with the rich young ruler (Lk. 18:18-30) where the wealthy man "still lacked one thing" (v. 22), which was a total sacrifice for the "sake of the kingdom." To reassure His disciples, our Lord promised them security "in this present time"-as well as the age to come-because they made the work of the Kingdom first!
When it comes to our personal sacrifice(s), we must make the advancement of the Kingdom of God our priority. This alone was my father's vision and why I want to encourage you to consider Chalcedon in your year-end, tax-deductible giving.
Your Year-End tax-deductible gift to Chalcedon is what keeps this ministry reaching the world.
Click here to make an online donation before Dec. 31, 2010.
We Must Sponsor a Counter-Measure to the Prevailing Trend
My father never wavered from the established direction of his work. For him, everything centered on advancing the Kingdom. I have no intention of moving away from that mission myself. In fact, all that we do-and all that we've done this year-has centered upon the very same vision he laid out 45 years ago:
"What you are doing, in your support of me, is to sponsor a counter-measure to the prevailing trend, to promote by your support, interest, and study, a Christian Renaissance, to declare by these measures your belief that the answer to humanism and its statism is Christian faith and liberty." (First letter to his subscribers, Oct. 1, 1965)
What else is there? Shall we wait only for revival? Or, shall we rather seek to educate the untold millions of Christians around the world in the true responsibilities of their faith and teach them to rethink, and therefore reconstruct, every area of life and thought? Again, it is during a time when the prevalent idea of "salvation by politics" that a Kingdom message is most effective. That time is now and nothing should break our focus. Will you help support us?
How Would You Like to Help Chalcedon Reach Millions of People?
This is not to say that voting and political service are not important. They most certainly are. But, unless they stem from a clearly understood mission of advancing the Kingdom of God, they are simply a Conservative version of "salvation by politics."
This is why Chalcedon must stay on message, and I've done everything within my power to keep us on the mission of Christian education. All of our publishing efforts, and all our means of outreach, focus on promoting what my father referred to as a "counter-measure to the prevailing trend."
This is the primary reason why we spent so much time, energy, and money on revamping our website-which launched this past summer.
The web experience of the average person changes yearly, and the past two years have brought the most significant changes of all with the rise of social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
For example, there are more than 500 million active users on Facebook with 50% of those using it daily (that is a total of over 700 billion minutes being spent). There are 900 million groups that users interact with and more than 150 million active users accessing Facebook via a mobile device (e.g., cell phone, smart phone, etc).
What does this mean? It means that NEVER in the history of Chalcedon has it been easier to spread the message of Christian Reconstruction than now! And, if these 500 million users want their content delivered to them digitally, then Chalcedon MUST have an online "center" where the content can reside. This is what the new website must accomplish. This is also why I must have your continued financial support.
Already, our videos, articles, publications, and lectures are spreading virally all over the world as passionate "friends of Chalcedon" easily share our resources with a few simple keystrokes and mouse clicks. The more content we make available, the more it will be shared in cyberspace. Very soon, my father's books will be featured in multiple digital formats to be read on portable reading devices such as Kindle, iPhones, and the iPad.
Yet, the reaction has not been exclusively positive. Our web development firm, for example, found out firsthand just how relentless our enemies are at trying to shut our website down. In one month, there were literally hundreds of attempts to attack our website. Because of the fine work of security provided by our vendors, we were able to stay online, but this was a great indicator to us that we're doing the right thing!
Our enemies understand the implications of Chalcedon having so many resources that are freely accessible to the world. I'm hoping you'll understand far better than they. If so, then please make financially supporting Chalcedon a priority in your year-end tax-deductible giving.
Your Year-End tax-deductible gift to Chalcedon is what keeps this ministry reaching the world.
Click here to make an online donation before Dec. 31, 2010.
The Work of Chalcedon is More Than a Web Site
Because of the uniqueness of our message, the best way to make our case is one person at a time. Since 2008, Chalcedon vice-president, Martin Selbrede, and his wife Kathy, have done this by continually representing Chalcedon at numerous events all over America. In addition, Martin has launched ETR-Extending the Reach-where he's training a small army of dedicated representatives who can host a Chalcedon booth at simultaneous events. ETR is reaching targeted audiences of those most receptive to the type of message we proclaim.
Achieving this requires manpower and financial support, and were it not for the tremendous, and ongoing, financial support of Rev. Ellsworth McIntyre and Nicene Covenant Church, ETR would not have been possible. It's my prayer that you'll be equally inspired to help financially support the mission of Chalcedon by sending the most generous tax-deductible gift you can before December 31, 2010.
Back in 2008, Rev. McIntyre encouraged us to publish a Spanish translation of The Institutes of Biblical Law Volume 1. As I write, we are days away from sending that book to the printer and soon it will be making its way into Latin America and the Spanish-speaking community. Just think of the implications. Thanks, Mac and Nicene Covenant Church! You're changing lives.
The Publishing of Books Continues!
Publishing remains central to the work of Chalcedon, and this year we completed the long-awaited first volume of the series A Word in Season: Daily Messages on the Faith for All of Life. These daily messages by my father, R. J. Rushdoony, are a compilation of over 450 articles written over the span of a quarter century for the California Farmer that will change the concept of what a "daily devotional" should be!
Under our new publishing label, Storehouse Press, we published the science fiction novel Hidden in Plain Sight by Martin Selbrede, and we are now at the press with The Cellar Beneath the Cellar, the second volume of Lee Duigon's Bell Mountain Series. These are turning out to be effective tools at communicating the Christian worldview through storytelling.
Our resident homeschooling expert, Andrea Schwartz, has also continued her publishing with two new releases this year: The Biblical Trustee Family: Understanding God's Purpose for Your Household and Teach Me While My Heart is Tender: Read Aloud Stories of Repentance and Forgiveness. She also continues to do a remarkable job of networking and edifying Christian parents through her podcasts, blogs, group studies, and talks.
You've probably seen that we've been promoting Sam Blumenfeld's Alpha-Phonics: A Primer for Beginning Readers. Sam has agreed to our reformatting and republishing that book along with his How to Tutor. These books remain some of the most outstanding in Christian education and your year-end support can help me create the kind of aggressive budget that will keep Christian education as our focus.
More of my father's unpublished works are on the way, and space doesn't allow me to provide you all the details about what's coming for Chalcedon. The purpose of this letter is to help you better understand that our budget is determined by generous giving of our supporters at the end of the year. That's why I need you to send the best tax-deductible financial gift you can to Chalcedon before December 31, 2010.
In our Lord's parable of the sower, it was the third soil (Mark 4:18-19) that experienced the challenge of faithfulness. Although that type of ground can endure persecution, what it struggled with most was the choking out of the word of the Kingdom as the thorns accumulated around it. This is the dilemma of patient endurance, and this is what Christian Reconstruction faces more than any.
Diligence and faithfulness to a long-term vision is the great lesson from my father's life. The consistent and faithful support of men like Rev. McIntyre and Nicene Covenant Church also serves as an example of what it takes to truly build the Kingdom of God. Now, I ask you to join us in this great calling by financially supporting the Chalcedon Foundation before December 31, 2010. I know that we can continue to reach and equip Christians worldwide with the message of the Kingdom of God so long as there is a "dedicated minority" standing with us. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Your Year-End tax-deductible gift to Chalcedon is what keeps this ministry reaching the world.
Click here to make an online donation before Dec. 31, 2010.
In His Service,
Mark R. Rushdoony
P.S. My father, R. J. Rushdoony, wrote that the true heirs of the Kingdom shall witness mightily during a time when salvation by politics is prevalent. That time is now, and that's why those with a Kingdom message must act! Stand with Chalcedon during these times by sending the most generous tax-deductible gift you can before December 31, 2010.
- Mark R. Rushdoony
Mark R. Rushdoony graduated from Los Angeles Baptist College (now The Master’s College) with a B.A. in history in 1975 and was ordained to the ministry in 1995.
He taught junior and senior high classes in history, Bible, civics and economics at a Christian school in Virginia for three years before joining the staff of Chalcedon in 1978. He was the Director of Chalcedon Christian School for 14 years while teaching full time. He also helped tutor all of his children through high school.
In 1998, he became the President of Chalcedon and Ross House Books, and, more recently another publishing arm, Storehouse Press. Chalcedon and its subsidiaries publish many titles plus CDs, mp3s, and an extensive online archive at www.chalcedon.edu. His biography of his father will be published later this year (2024).
He has written scores of articles for Chalcedon’s publications, both the Chalcedon Report and Faith for all of Life. He was a contributing author to The Great Christian Revolution (1991). He has spoken at numerous conferences and churches in the U.S. and abroad.
Mark Rushdoony has lived in Vallecito, California, since 1978. His wife, Darlene, and he have been married since 1976. His youngest son still resides with him. He has three married children and nine grandchildren.