Lou Engle's TheCall Detroit Enjoys Antigay Allies in High Places
Bruce Wilson printable version print page     Bookmark and Share
Thu Nov 10, 2011 at 01:17:31 PM EST
During a May 17, 2010 appearance on a rolling series of conference calls in preparation of TheCall Detroit, Michigan State Senator Mark Jansen emphasized the need to fight domestic partnership benefits at all levels, telling call listeners (see here for audio and transcript from 5/17/2010 call),

"There's always this tension of, you know, one man-one woman and, you know, the biblical belief of marriage and there's always pressure to say it's OK to have gay marriage or it's OK to have a partnership or whatever it happens to be.

...You know, things that happen among even state employees or public employees. They'll want their insurance to cover their partner... that's an issue that we all, we really all need to be fighting really in our own back yards and at the state level and at the federal level. `Cause they are aggressive yet quietly aggressive when it comes to things like that."

On Friday November 11, 2011, TheCall cofounder Lou Engle will hold one of his music driven stadium rallies at Detroit's enormous Ford Field, a venue capable of seating 70,000 people. The moderate media attention the controversial upcoming event has so far attracted seems mainly due to a planned counter rally led by local pastors including Rev. Charles Williams Senior, pastor of the historic King Solomon Baptist Church.

One of the flash points of controversy is the event's stated objectives, which include combating Islam. As Right Wing Watch, a project of People For The American Way suggests, Lou Engle may be misrepresenting his views on Muslims to local pastors participating in the event. Right Wing Watch's Brian Tashman notes,

Engle and other leaders of The Call, such as Rick Joyner and Jerry Boykin, have repeatedly discussed their plans to use the rally to convert Muslims. In the past, Engle has claimed that Muslims have been "fueling the demonic realm" and are beholden to "spiritual dark powers," and has pledged "to expose the dark under-belly of Islam."

Another flashpoint is a perceived pattern of anti-LGBT agitation on the part of TheCall and its cofounder Lou Engle. But TheCall Detroit is more than a stand-alone stadium event; it fits into a wider political organizing campaign spearheaded by a initiative called Transformation Michigan, which has been holding a rolling series of organizing conference calls through 2010 and into 2011.

Transformation Michigan is a state-level political organizing effort of the New Apostolic Reformation, whose apostles and prophets have been frequent guests on the Transformation Michigan conference call series. One of the guests in the series has also been Michigan Republican State Senator Mark Jansen, who has been near the forefront of legislative efforts against gay rights in the Michigan Senate.

Senator Jansen not only just voted in favor of the now-notorious pro-"religious bullying" amendment to Michigan's anti-bullying bill but earlier in the year also sponsored a senate resolution (SCR 9) to block extending state health care benefits to domestic partners of state employees. SCR 9 passed in the Senate but failed in the Michigan House.

Outside of the United States and European nations, especially in Africa, far more dramatic assaults on LGBT rights are possible. As the Rev. Charles Williams Senior told a local Fox News affiliate, "Any man who stands in Uganda and promotes a policy that would kill thousands of homosexuals [there] I think, obviously, is on the outside of what the real call for our Christian mission should actually be,"

Rev. Williams was referring to a notorious May 2010 event held by TheCall cofounder Lou Engle, in which Engle, amidst international condemnation, staged one of his TheCall rallies in Kampala, Uganda--where a notorious pending Anti Homosexuality Bill, still pending before Uganda's parliament, would impose the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality" and create an antigay police state in which citizens would be legally required report to government authorities suspected homosexual activity, or else face substantial prison sentences.  

Engle has denied supporting the legislation, dubbed the "kill the gays" bill. But during the Kampala rally, Engle's fellow apostle, Ugandan Julius Oyet--who helped co-author that so-called "kill the gays" bill and even says he helped to pick Ugandan politician David Bahati to introduce it in parliament--told a journalist working for the BBC, "Lou Engle is a strong ally... we invited him [to Uganda]. That's why we call it 'The Call'.

For more information on TheCall Detroit and surrounding issues, see:

"Audio and Video Documenting the Demonization of Others in TheCall Detroit Preparations" - http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/11/8/131338/002

"Preparatory Conference Calls for TheCall Detroit Confirm Emphasis on Islam, Freemasonry" - http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/11/5/215236/631/

"TheCall Detroit Participants Deny That Event is About Demonization of Muslims and Others" - http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/11/4/16854/7487/



Following are links to some of the media covering TheCall Detroit.

Detroit News

"Outside Prayer Event to Counter Inside Prayer Event at Ford Field"

http://detnews.com/article/20111109/LIFESTYLE04/111090451/Outside -prayer-event-to-counter-inside-prayer-event-at-Ford-Field#ixzz1d G3Krkwp

WJBK Fox 2 Detroit

"Concern Over Lou Engle's Views as Prayer Summit Come to Detroit"

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news/local/concern-over-lou-engle -views-as-prayer-summit-comes-to-detroit-20111108-ms

Deseret News (AP article also in other papers)

"Prayer Rally Planned to Oppose Michigan TheCall Event"

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700196294/Prayer-rally-planned -to-oppose-Mich-TheCall-event.html

WXYZ (ABC)

"Detroit Interfaith Group Says They Will Be Praying For Instead of Protesting TheCall"

http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/region/detroit/inter-faith-group-say s-they-will-be-praying-for-instead-of-protesting-thecall

Michigan Radio

"Detroit Clergy Concerned Over Prayer Rally Message"

http://www.michiganradio.org/post/detroit-clergy-concerned-over-p rayer-rally-message

Michigan Messenger

"Detroit Prayer Rally Aims to Convert Muslims"

http://michiganmessenger.com/53481/detroit-prayer-rally-aims-to-c onvert-muslims

"Prayer Rally Organizers Target Muslims, Freemasons"

http://michiganmessenger.com/53826/prayer-rally-organizers-target -muslims-freemasons

Metro Times Blogs

"'Demonic Islam,' Dominionism and Fridays Rally in Detroit"

http://blogs.metrotimes.com/index.php/2011/11/demonic-islam-domin ionism-and-fridays-rally-in-detroit/

Mlive.com

"Local Ministers Condemn Lou Engle's `The Call' but not Engle's Local Partners"

http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2011/11/local_ministe rs_condemn_lou_en.html




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