Are you ready for the “greatest cultural revolution in history?”

IFI’s Laurie Higgins was recently interviewed by both John Mauck of Mauck & Baker, LLC, and by Mark Elfstand on his “Let’s Talk” show.  Both programs are on WYLL radio (1160 AM), and can be heard throughout most of the state.

Lawyers for Jesus

In the first interview for a recording of “Lawyers for Jesus Radio,” attorney John Mauck discussed governmental policies regarding LGBTQIA ideology. The conversation began with a discussion of Higgins’ article The “Trans” Ideology Damages Children. In it, Higgins writes:

Social conventions reflect and reinforce the good architecture of sexually differentiated human life. Social conventions for men and women were not created out of whole cloth or manufactured from the fertile imaginations of patriarchal oppressors. They emerged from human nature.

The conversation covers topics such as the mental and physical health risks of hormone therapy or surgery to help a person pretend he’s a she, or she’s a he.

Also discussed is HB 1785, that will make it legal to falsify a birth certificate. That bill is currently on Governor Bruce Rauner’s desk. The interview gave time to the topic of the absurdity of “gender fluidity,” the end game of those pushing for gender ideology, and a call to action.  Listen to it here:

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Let’s Talk!

In the most recent interview by Mark Elfstand, he deftly covered a variety of issues in about ten minutes.

He began by asking about the article Higgins penned Christians Must Exit Government Schools where she writes:

Christian parents charged by God to train up their children in the way they should go have no biblical warrant for placing their children all day, all year in schools that refuse to recognize the immutability and profound meaning of sexual differentiation, particularly as it relates to modesty and privacy.

Since few Christian parents or teachers are doing anything to counter the advance of Leftist gender ideology, Higgins said, parents have to get their kids out of schools that “teach them that to be loving, compassionate, and inclusive, they must lie by calling gender-pretending peers by opposite-sex pronouns, and they must be willing to relinquish their privacy.”

Other topics and articles discussed include the reaction to the above article, including an exchange Laurie Higgins had with people at the Chicago Tribune. Also touched on was the morally bankrupt Southern Poverty Law Center including IFI among its list of “hate groups.”

Check it out:

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Written by John W. Mauck

Our nation is experiencing such political turmoil. Where can we find peace? In Messiah alone.

Fake news, alternative facts, secret investigations, “covfefes”—there is nothing new about the constant bombardment of news we receive all day, whether willingly or not.

When we hear about religious liberty laws, our ears should perk up. Right now our freedoms of expression, conscience, speech on the basis of religion are facing serious threats in Illinois and the across country. Though there have been victories, like this t-shirt printing shop in Kentucky and pastors in Illinois being able to counsel those with unwanted same-sex attraction, there is much that lies ahead for those of us bound to follow Jesus’ teaching.

In John 16, Jesus is telling His disciples of His going away, but that the Holy Spirit will join them and that He will come back. The disciples are confused as Jesus tells them about the grief they will feel. Finally Jesus tells them in verse 33:

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Grandiose? Not for the Son of God. He has already overcome the world! So even though things seem chaotic, we rest in His promise that the Holy Spirit is with us and that Christ will return. If HB 1785 is signed into law, He has already conquered the sin that would take place after the gender-preferred birth certificates become permissible. Though hard to imagine, He has already overcome whatever grief and anguish would take place should HB 40 be signed into law and taxpayers are forced to pay for abortions.

This doesn’t mean we do not need to lobby, vote, preach, and call our government representatives and pray, but it does mean that there’s peace available to us. As we consider the future of our freedom to live based on our God-given convictions, we may take comfort in that He is in control and has already taken care of us.

Specific Prayer Items:

• Pray that there would be boldness for our pastors to preach the truth in love in sensitive cultural and legal areas.

• Pray for the compete healing of U.S. Representative Steve Scalise (R-LA).

• Pray that Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner will veto HB 40, the bill which will require taxpayers to pay for abortions, as it will soon arrive on his desk.

• Pray for Illinois Bible College Association—a lawsuit waiting decision from the 7^th Circuit Court of Appeals that will determine whether Bible colleges can award degrees to recognize its students’ achievement in the area of religious study without government approval.

• Pray that Governer Rauner will veto HB 1785, which allows an individual to change gender on their birth certificates. This would open doors to such chaos as male convicts legally claiming to be female and obtaining transfers to women’s prisons.

• Pray for the fiscal state of Illinois—nearly entering its third year without a budget.

• A couple of our clients at Mauck & Baker:
  • World Outreach— Still in court after 10 years of legal battle with the city. This Chicago homeless shelter suffered damages when the City refused to allow it to house displaced Hurricane Katrina victims.
  • Affordable Recovery Housing—The City of Blue Island tried to force this Christian recovery center to shut down, including vacating its now 100+ residents. Although Blue Island’s attempts were thwarted by court action, it is resisting paying for the legal fees of Affordable Recovery Housing. Unless ministries are allowed to recover legal fees they are often unable to obtain justice.

Thank you for being a prayer warrior alongside us!

John W. Mauck, an attorney for 40 years, is a founding partner at Mauck & Baker, LLC in Chicago. He is also an Allied Attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom. He received his BS from Yale and his Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago. He and his wife of forty years have four adult children. John is the author of the books Jesus in the Courtroom (Moody Publishers), and Paul on Trial (Thomas Nelson), which was a Christian Book Award Finalist.

Recently, IFI’s Laurie Higgins was a guest on the Lawyers for Jesus Radio show hosted by attorney John Mauck, of the law firm Mauck & Baker, LLC.

https://soundcloud.com/mauckbaker/cultural-affairs-writer-laurie-higgins-discusses-christianity-and-the-lgbt-agenda

In this program, Higgins discusses the Illinois Family Institute’s mission which is to promote human flourishing — even for those who suffer from unwanted same-sex attraction. Currently in Illinois, it is illegal for a minor to receive reparative therapy, yet legal for a minor to get a double mastectomy.

It is the duty of churches, Higgins explains, to equip Christians to understand and refute both poor theological arguments and specious secular arguments that seek to normalize and promote homosexual activity. Churches need to help believers learn how to respond and be prepared to speak truth in love despite possible persecution. It is not love to affirm behavior, Higgins explains, that is harmful physically, mentally, and spiritually

Click here to listen to the interview.

End-of-Year Challenge

As you may know, IFI has a year-end matching challenge to raise $110,000. That’s right, a small group of IFI supporters are providing a $55,000 matching challenge to help support IFI’s ongoing work to educate, motivate and activate Illinois’ Christian community.

Please consider helping us reach this goal!  Your donation will help us stand strong in 2017!  To make a credit card donation over the phone, please call the IFI office at (708) 781-9328.  You can also send a gift to:

Illinois Family Institute
P.O. Box 876
Tinley Park, Illinois 60477

Mauck & Baker is a well-respected Chicago law firm committed to protecting religious liberty through the application of biblical principles. In the service of this commitment, they have issued a statement regarding Republican Governor Bruce Rauner’s deeply troubling abandonment of conservative principles through his enactment of a controversial, anti-autonomy law that prohibits mental health professionals from helping minors who seek assistance in resisting unwanted, unchosen same-sex attraction, rejecting a “gay” identity, and/or accepting their physical embodiment:

Rauner Signs Bill Restricting Sexual Orientation Counseling for Minors

(Chicago, Illinois) Late last Friday, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner signed into law the deceptively titled “Youth Mental Health Protection Act,” becoming one of only three states to make it illegal to counsel minors on how to cope with or overcome unwanted same-sex attraction. The Act further provides that “no person or entity may, in the conduct of any trade or comer… represent homosexuality as a mental disease, disorder, or illness.”

The law is written broadly enough to put at risk not only licensed counselors but also pastors and others  who are in “commerce” (compensated for counseling) and refer to homosexuality as an illness or “disorder” (i.e. sin) to any counselee, minor or adult, with the purpose of helping the counselee be free from same-sex attractions. Those who continue to provide such counseling and care will face disciplinary actions by the state and are subject to suit under the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act.

Attorney John Mauck, partner at the law firm Mauck & Baker responded, “According to Scripture, it is possible for all of us who have sinful tendencies and compulsions to change and become holy in God’s sight. The Apostle Paul indicates this is also true for those involved in homosexual conduct. In 1 Corinthians 6:11, speaking of ‘homosexual offenders’ and others, Paul writes, ‘such were some of you.’”

Licensed counselors, minors who struggle with same-sex attraction, or pastors, are encouraged to contact Mauck & Baker to discuss their civil rights and join with others interested in challenging the law. Also, the full length documentary, “Such Were Some of You” from Pure Passion Media is a valuable resource for testimonies of ex-gays and how Jesus helped them leave the gay lifestyle. To purchase the DVD for $15, call (312) 726-1243 or email info@mauckbaker.com.