May 20, 2008

Minnesota Church Files Restraining Order Against Autistic Boy

Have you seen this news story? The Church of St. Joseph, a Catholic church in Bertha, Minn., has filed a restraining order against 13-year-old Adam Race, a severely autistic boy, in an attempt to keep Race from disrupting services and endangering parishioners. The mother was threatened with arrest if she went to church and the whole story has prompted a debate about how to accommodate people with autism.

The story has made the national news circuit and has quickly turned into a 'he said/she said' battle, with the church giving its story of the 6-foot-tall, 225-pound Race being disruptive, sexually aggressive, nearly knocking over parishioners and needing to be restrained--tied down and sat on by his parents. The parents, meanwhile, give a different view of things, explaining soothing techniques they use and pointing out that the church hasn't responded to requests to help the situation.

However you see this story, whether the parents need to be more respectful of others in church and find a way to keep Adam from being a danger to others or the church needs to be more understanding of autism and come up with a solution that isn't court ordered, I think the whole thing is kind of silly.

Continue reading "Minnesota Church Files Restraining Order Against Autistic Boy"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 12:02 PM
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March 26, 2008

Responding to Attacks

You've probably seen a raving, ranting black preacher talking about racism and "God damn America" with a fiery anger on just about every TV channel. The news media found some video clips of sermons given by Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright, the pastor of potential presidential candidate Barack Obama. The news media found the most incendiary examples and played them ad nauseam with no context. People began accusing Wright of all kinds of things, including being anti-American, anti-gay and an anti-Semite (based on the context I've seen, I concluded he's none of those things).

But Barack Obama and Jeremiah Wright aren't my focus today. My focus is what Trinity United Church of Christ, Wright's church, has done in response.

Continue reading "Responding to Attacks"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 11:42 AM
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April 2, 2007

Understanding Attack Blogs

by Bill Seaver, Guest Blogger

There's a new and unfortunate trend in church disputes that you've likely heard of by now: the attack blog. Attack blogs are most commonly established by members within the church who take issue with some aspect of the church leadership or direction. In some cases, the attacks come from outside the church, like in Mark Driscoll's case last fall, but the majority of cases seem to be from within.

I personally know of four churches that are dealing with this to some degree right now. Here are two examples from Bellevue Baptist in Memphis, Tenn. (these are not blogs in the purest sense of the word but are text-only web sites that serve the same purpose).

The issues that prompt the attacks vary, but in each case the church is under fire from a small group of individuals who disagree with the leadership (either the pastor himself or the leadership as a whole). Also, in every case the churches had no idea what hit them.

Continue reading "Understanding Attack Blogs"

Posted by Guest Blogger at 7:53 AM
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February 9, 2007

Don't Cause Unnecessary Offense

Yesterday I tried to talk about some ways to avoid and address criticism and in the end I was debating with myself about whether or not we should care about image. My answer didn't fully satisfy even myself, but then I came across this article from Books and Culture, On Slippery Slopes, the Blogosphere, and (oh, yes) Women.

The article is basically author Susan Wise Bauer's defense for her support of John Stackhouse's Finally Feminist: A Pragmatic Christian Understanding of Gender. That support caused her quite a bit of grief from folks who consider things like the ordination of women starting a direct slide to homosexual marriage which we all know is what triggers the apocalypse. But we're not here to argue about gender roles or homosexuality, so let's not.

What I am here to do is talk about how her exploration of Stackhouse's arguments seem to apply to things like marketing and image and give me a slightly more satisfactory answer to my question.

Continue reading "Don't Cause Unnecessary Offense"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 5:26 AM
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February 8, 2007

Avoiding & Addressing Criticism

Poor Phil. I can't help but feel for his predicament (an anti-semitic church ad), and it made me wonder what can be learned from it (i.e., I feel somewhat guilty for giving his ad 'worst blunder of the year' status and want to offer something a little more positive).

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One reason bad marketing happens is the ol' "it seemed like a good idea at the time" excuse. In the heat of the moment it seemed smart and you run with it, only to see that it wasn't the best plan.

One way to overcome that problem is with the wisdom of others. When it comes to marketing one free and easy way to tap into the wisdom of others is the Church Marketing Lab. Post your marketing efforts and get feedback.

Something tells me the fine folks in the Lab would have caught this one.

Continue reading "Avoiding & Addressing Criticism"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 5:53 AM
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December 4, 2006

Church Protest Called Off: Lessons in Public Relations

So Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, narrowly avoided a protest yesterday from the People Against Fundamentalism. I won't get into all the gory details (sorry, poor Monday morning journalism at work), but they basically considered Driscoll's comments in reaction to the Ted Haggard scandal to be misogynistic and planned to protest Mars Hill Church yesterday. Driscoll tried to clarify what he said the first time around, but his critics considered it a non-apology.

After some soul searching and looking to others for wisdom, Driscoll met face to face with some of the organizers of the protest and hashed out some of their issues. Some changes were made and the protest was called off. The organizers even showed up at Mars Hill on Sunday anyway, just to make sure everyone heard that the protest had been called off (20-25 people did show up to protest, so it's a good thing they came to turn people away).

Continue reading "Church Protest Called Off: Lessons in Public Relations"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:46 AM
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October 31, 2006

Tips for Writing an Effective Press Release

by Kevin Peterson, Guest Blogger

1. Just the Facts, Ma'am Don't rack your brain trying to craft some clever lead. Just get to the facts. That's all the reporter wants anyway. If you've gotten all your facts down and the information lends itself to a catchy lead then write one.

2. Put the Most Important Information First
   Editors are busy. If your press release doesn't grab their attention in the first paragraph it will never see the light of day. So don't bog down the first paragraph with event details like registration deadlines or contact information. Save that for the last paragraph. Give your news angle in the first paragraph.

3. Use Short Sentences and Paragraphs
   Why use a comma, when a period will do the same thing? You are not trying to emulate a Pauline Epistle here. Keep your sentences short and to the point.

4. Always Use Active Voice
   A press release is a call to action. Use strong, vigorous language. Don't say, "Won't you consider joining us for revival next week?" say "Come to First Church next week for an inspiring revival."

5. Avoid Jargon and Cliches
   Don't use "Christian-ese" in your releases. Don't use "VBS", say "Vacation Bible School." Don't say "he was saved in 1985," instead try "he became a Christian in 1985."

6. Proofread, Proofreed, Proufread
   Obviously anything you submit for publication should be proofread. Find someone to proofread your release. Then find someone else. You aren't going to catch your own mistakes, but someone else will.

Posted by Guest Blogger at 6:37 AM
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August 31, 2006

Hiring a Sex Offender

Here's a public relations nightmare in the works: A church hires a registered sex offender to do janitorial work. The local paper covers the story with some bias. A quote from a church staff member that says the hire is a "non-event" is followed up by the observation, "The church is in close proximity to the town's new swimming pool which will soon be filled with youngsters. And the church has many young parishioners of its own." Then comes the news that this is the second sex offender working at the church.

Ouch.

You can debate the merits of those staffing decisions all you want. Extend grace to the marginalized or protect the children? It's a debate we've had before.

But here's the twist: How should the church respond when it feels it's been misrepresented in the local news? The Monday Morning Insight is collecting advice on the best way to respond.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 5:48 AM
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August 16, 2006

My Church is in the Newspaper

You know what's weird? Seeing your own church mentioned in the newspaper. My church landed in the St. Paul Pioneer Press on Monday, and I stumbled across it today thanks to Christianity Today's Weblog.

Our church has been in the midst of the turmoil created by the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in 2003. This year our congregation has finally come to terms with it and started to take some action. The article basically covers the fact that our church has joined the Anglican Communion Network and has no plans to leave the Episcopal Church.

For those of you not familiar with all the goings on in the Episcopal Church (and I count myself in that group), it comes down to the messy politics that you can't avoid when you try to unite a group of believers. It's very emotional and divisive, and has the potential to be ugly.

But what I love is that the article quotes our rector, senior warden, a member who disagreed with the outcome, and the rector from another church--and it doesn't read like a soap opera. It's not full of hate and anger. It's not full of finger pointing. You can tell there is some tension (fears of becoming an "uptight church"?), but I think you can tell that this messy ordeal has been handled with grace and love, which is exactly the perspective I have from the pew. And for that to come across in a newspaper article is rather commendable.

This should also be a warning to any church that your internal politics could end up in the newspaper.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 12:16 PM
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July 17, 2006

How Not to do Public Relations

Public relations can be quite the minefield. It's easy to say something that when quoted on the front page of the newspaper doesn't look so good.

Like when the chief operating officer of Airbus, John Leahy, was quoted in the Wall Street Journal as saying, "The wheels are not coming off," in respond to another delay in building more planes. The poor choice of words earned Leahy the Bimbo Award.

Every month Spaeth Communications offers a new list of bimbos. But more than a good laugh, it's an opportunity to learn a few PR lessons:

• Choose your words wisely.
• Don't bring up the worst possible fears (like bringing up Chernobyl when talking about a new nuclear plant)
• Don't be callous about death.
• Don't state the truth in a way that can be misleading.
• Don't spin bad news. Bad news is bad news.
• Don't insult people (they could be your customers, or in the case of churches, potential visitors)
• Make a positive statement when you have the opportunity.

From the few interviews I've given I will say it's pretty easy to slip up. The best defense is practice, practice, practice. (link via bloggedy blog)

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 9:07 AM
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April 20, 2006

Larry Ross: Billy Graham's PR Man

We've talked about Billy Graham's publicity man before, but the New York Times spend seven pages on Larry Ross, so maybe he's worth another look.

"Moses stood there on top of a cliff, and as long as he held up his arms, the children of Israel won. Well, after a while he got tired, so there were two men that came and held up Moses' arms so they could win the battle. That's my job--to hold up the arms of the man of God, like Billy Graham or Rick Warren, in the media." -Larry Ross

The article covers the ins and outs of Christian public relations, but it's another good reminder about the importance of managing p.r. for churches.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 11:12 AM
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March 29, 2006

Church Publicity that Doesn't Work

This week's poll is asking about press releases, and while we've recently covered how to do press releases, we haven't talked about how not to do press releases. Jamey Tucker blogs about his experience with ministers and press releases, and it's not good.

He had to call a church that had sent out a press release four times to get more information, and when he finally got somebody they told him they didn't want coverage of the Bible study. So you send out press releases to get media coverage, and then turn down that free publicity? He tells of another instance where ministers wanted him to stay away from a symposium for pastors to address the HIV/AIDS crisis.

My question is this: how can ministers stand in a pulpit and preach a sermon that is open to anyone who walks through the doors, but yet be so hyper-sensitive about what they are preaching? Do they distrust the news media so much that they immediately figure we're up to no good? And if churches want to spread the good news, should they balk at an opportunity to use the news media to share it with people who would otherwise not hear their message?

I've said it before and I'll say it again, most churches and most ministers need a good lesson in public relations.

Maybe some people should go over how to do press releases again.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 9:24 AM
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February 21, 2006

Church Press Release Basics

The basic rule in getting media attention is to do something newsworthy. Those crazy MyLameSexLife.com guys at Granger Community Church know a thing or two about that. And I promise to stop talking about that.

But doing something that deserves attention doesn't always mean you're going to get it. And that's when press releases can be very helpful. Dan Benson has a helpful rundown of how to do church press releases. It's pretty basic stuff, but it can help raise the profile of your church and bring more people in.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:39 AM
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October 21, 2005

A Story of Two Churches

Let's take a look at two churches that landed in newspaper stories recently. The first is the 6,000-member CedarCreek Church in Perrysburg, Ohio. The second is the 75-member Bethanie French Seventh-day Adventist Church in Port Charlotte, Fla.

CedarCreek was featured in a Toledo Blade story about blue lights. At a recent 10th anniversary celebration Pastor Lee Powell asked anyone who had come to Christ as a result of CedarCreek to raise one of the blue penlights that had been provided. Hundreds of lights dotted the crowd of 1,500.

Bethanie French Seventh-day Adventist was featured in several stories, including the Sun Herald and the Herald Tribune after 16 choir members staged a protest by singing during the pastor's sermon. The police were called and the choir members removed from the building. The protest was based on complaints that damage sustained from Hurricane Charley had yet to be repaired. It gets worse from there, including denouncing newly elected church officials and hauling someone off stage by the ear.

Continue reading "A Story of Two Churches"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:28 AM
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October 5, 2005

Free Gas Church in New York Times

Earlier this month we talked about a church giving away free gas to visitors, and last week that church, Clearview Community Church in Sioux City, Iowa, was mentioned in The New York Times.

The mention comes in the last paragraph of an article talking about businesses offering free gas promotions, so it's nothing to get too excited about.

But imagine if your church were mentioned in The New York Times. Not too shabby. It may not immediately lead to more people checking out your church, but it will encourage other journalists to pay attention to your church and it does raise the profile of your church. All of which could eventually (and hopefully) lead to more visitors coming to your church and finding God. And in the words of the "Hokey Pokey," that's what it's all about. (let's not let anyone get the idea that being in The New York Times is some kind of status symbol that churches should be aiming for.)

How did Clearview Community Church land such a mention? Who knows how it all went down, but the primary elements were an idea worth talking about and a press release to let the media know. (and there's probably a fine line between an idea worth talking about and a gimmick, but that's another entry.)

Continue reading "Free Gas Church in New York Times"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:52 AM
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August 30, 2005

Can You Hear the Voice of the Church?

If you thought Pat Robertson brought the church to a new public relations low, you haven't heard of Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kans. Let's just say if you haven't been picketed by Fred Phelps and company yet, maybe you're doing something wrong. The church is infamous for fighting the homosexual agenda (among other things) with supercharged hate speech ("God hates fags" is their typical rallying cry—and web site, though we won't give them the link).

Now they've turned their sights to the funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq, picketing the funerals—see if you can follow this logic—because American supports homosexuality therefore God is rightfully killing our soldiers.

Though obviously off the deep end, this "church" is still giving Christians a bad name—and at this point it goes way beyond public relations. This is where churches need to step in and respond, and thankfully they have. One woman started calling churches in the area to organize a counter-protest, more like a wall of people, to block the Westboro group from the grieving family of the slain soldier.

Unless the church is visible and vocal, we'll allow groups like the one from Westboro to speak for us. And that's beyond sad.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 10:36 AM
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August 23, 2005

Pat Robertson Assassinates Jesus

As you can expect, the news channels are swarmed with chatter over the latest stupid thing Pat Robertson has said: The U.S. should assassinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez (watch the 700 Club video). Stupid comments like this and thousands of others do real damage to the cause of Christianity.

Why does anybody even listen to this guy?

The headlines today are amazing—it's actually hard to tell the satire stories from the real ones:

Real or Fake?

• Pat Robertson: "Kill 'Em All, Let God Sort 'Em Out"
  
• Evangelist Pat Robertson calls for assassination of Venezuelan president
  
• Roberston: "Thou shall not kill, except this time."
  
• US evangelist calls for assassination of Chavez
  
• TV host urges US to kill Chavez

Continue reading "Pat Robertson Assassinates Jesus"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 12:40 PM
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June 24, 2005

Billy Graham's Publicity Man

We've talked before about Billy Graham's marketing man, but how about his publicity man? Larry Ross has covered Billy Graham's public relations efforts since 1981, and he'll be especially busy this week as Billy Graham's New York Crusade begins tonight, which could possibly be his last.

"Jesus always asked, 'How can I help you?'" Ross says. "Dealing with the mainstream media is all about knowing what they want and figuring out how you can help them get it, which works to your advantage."

He also advises pastors to, as Newsweek puts it, "seize opportunities such as civic disasters to make themselves available to newspapers and TV stations hungry for commentary," which sounds like the equivalent of ambulance chasing—but they are Newsweek's words, not his. He did say, "There's a spiritual component to every story," which is a lesson worth remembering.

Public relations isn't just for the Billy Grahams of the world. Every church should be trying to get free promotion in the local press, whether it's the local neighborhood paper or the local TV news. (link via Wes Halula)

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:03 AM
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April 15, 2005

'Hell-Bound Pope' Sign Not a Good Idea

Hilltop Baptist Church in Newport, Tenn. has been getting lots of attention for a statement on their church sign that appeared a few days after the funeral of Pope John Paul II: "No truth, No hope Following a hell-bound pope!" On the other side it reads: "False hope in a fake pope."

Pastor Clive Franklin said people are misunderstanding the sign and that it was not meant to be offensive to Catholics. "Hell-bound pope" is supposed to be a cheery phrase for Catholics? Um, try again.

An assistant pastor at the church said that the sign's point is that people shouldn't put their hope in a pope. He reiterated that people are misunderstanding the sign and said the church isn't trying to say the pope is in hell. So what does "Hell-bound pope" mean? He was going to hell, but got distracted and ended up in heaven instead? Um, try again.

Just about everyone interviewed has blasted the church sign, and under increased pressure, especially from WATE 6 News, Hilltop Baptist changed the statement on their sign. Now it says "Censured, Thanks TV6." Ooh, the bitterness comes out.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say this isn't the best way to represent your church to the community.

Continue reading "'Hell-Bound Pope' Sign Not a Good Idea"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:51 AM
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January 31, 2005

Time's 25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America

This week's issue (February 7) of Time magazine featured the cover story "The 25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America". Considering the Time team were measuring influence politically, I think they did a pretty good job with their list. It's nice to see the usual suspects (Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Benny Hinn, etc.) absent from this list because quite frankly the influence of those "kinds" are tainted by the tawdriness of television. (Enough said).

After reading the lead-in article in which Time attempts to weaken the muscle of evangelicals in America by asking the question "What does Bush owe the religious right?", I am renewed in my sense of how much political influence local pastors/churches can have on their communities.

Who are the 25 Most Influential Evangelicals in your city? Are any of them in your church? Is there anybody in your church who you can sponsor to be on such a list?

Where is church marketing in all this? People love causes, especially causes that are tangible and somewhat tenacious. A better country starts with better communities. How is your church bettering your community?

Posted by Brad Abare at 6:35 PM
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The SpongeBob Aftermath

The continuing controversy of SpongeBob SquarePants versus Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family just keeps getting messier, proving the advice of our own Andy Havens to not pick a fight with a cartoon character.

Dobson and Focus on the Family responded to the coverage by accusing the media of distorting his words (which certainly happened, though a lack of a full explanation and a slow response didn’t help) and encouraging their supporters to e-mail specific members of the media who had made the most vicious comments.

Picking a fight with the mass media is no wiser than engaging a fictional character.

Continue reading "The SpongeBob Aftermath"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:03 AM
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January 27, 2005

Rolling Stone Accepts Bible Ad

After tons of media attention Rolling Stone has reversed their decision and agreed to run the Zondervan Bible ad they originally rejected. It doesn't always work out this nicely, but the media frenzy gave Zondervan much more publicity than they would have received with the ad alone.

It's also worth noting how Zondervan reacted from a public relations perspective. While they did express disapointment at the original decision from Rolling Stone and explained the facts of the story, the seem to have avoided making accusations or turning the issue into some sort of culture war. They let columnists pick at the absurdity of the Rolling Stone decision and stuck to the facts.

The PR lesson? Always take the high road. It's doubtful Rolling Stone would have agreed to run the ad in the end if Zondervan had responded with vehement accusations and finger pointing. Zondervan didn't lie down and take it either, but they managed to let the facts speak for themselves. In the end it's been a win-win situation for Zondervan, thanks to wise PR.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:10 AM
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January 20, 2005

Don't Spar with the Sponge

by Andy Havens, Guest Blogger

Earlier this week, Dr. James Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family, launched a diatribe at SpongeBob SquarePants. The lovable sponge, along with a cast of other children's characters, appeared in a video remake of the disco hit "We Are Family," which Dobson alleges is trying to insidiously promote gay tolerance. The video's creators say it's meant to carry a message of multi-culturalism and racial tolerance and does not have anything to do with sexual proclivity.

I'm not going to get into the political, social or moral debate at all, because that doesn't have anything to do with marketing. What I am going to tell you--and this isn't a suggestion, but a straight up marketing imperative--is don't ever, ever, ever get in a fight with a fictional characacter. I don't care if it's the protagonist in a classic novel, a lead figure in a play, a cartoon animal, a comedic role in a modern sitcom or the animated spokes-thing for a major brand of pet-food. It's a lose-lose-lose proposition for you from a PR standpoint. Why? Four main reasons.

Continue reading "Don't Spar with the Sponge"

Posted by Guest Blogger at 7:42 AM
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December 21, 2004

Moral Superiority on Beckham Nativity

You’ve probably heard the stories about a London wax museum with a nativity scene featuring soccer star David Beckham as Joseph and his wife “Posh Spice” Victoria as the Virgin Mary. Pop singer Kylie Minogue appears as an angel, Tony Blair, George W. Bush and the Duke of Edinburgh are the Three Wise Men, etc.

While the whole celebrity nativity is a bit goofy and questionable, what I found completely repelling was the response from the Vatican:

“You cannot use contemporary personalities as the central figures of the Nativity ... And it becomes worse, if that were possible, if the people may be of questionable moral standing.”

The implication here is that everyone at the original scene 2,000 years ago was of high moral standing. The Christ child certainly was (and I suppose if you’re Catholic you might think Mary was, but let’s not argue about that). But the rest of ‘em are all sinful humans, just like the rest of us.

Churches do a disservice when their public relations drip with moral superiority. That’s a good way to turn people away from your church when you’ve been presented with an opportunity to draw people in.

Sure the nativity is goofy, but rather than turn people off with your high and mighty attitude, why not say something that encourages people and draws them in? Why not at least encourage people to remember the real nativity and check the story out for themselves?

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 11:06 AM
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