The Press-Dispatch
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SOMETHING NEWSWORTHY? LET US KNOW AT 812-354-8500! The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, October 6, 2021 A-7 aspire to a deeper relationship with God." "Her reply was shocking but reflected the root of the problems pastors face to- day. The woman stood, pounded on the table and vehemently exclaimed, "I don't want to be challenged! I want to come to church, be made to feel better about my- self and then go home, all in less than an hour! " How many of my seven board members spoke up in defense of the Word of God and in defense of my efforts to con- tinue spiritual growth in all members of my congregation? ZERO! " Open hostility toward a minister try- ing to lead their flock is rampant. A year ago, I was forced out of a church. I had been pastoring there for two years. In that time, I never heard the first peep of discontent or dissatisfaction with my leading the church. A few church lead- ers approached me and said they want- ed a new pastor, giving no reason other than they wanted a new pastor. I warned the mutineers this action was ill-advised, ill-timed, and unwarranted, which, if suc- cessful, would hurt the church dearly. My words fell on deaf ears. At the end of my last service, the board chair slipped in at the last moment and announced I was leaving and passed off this sudden change as a regular change of pastors. The person who made the announce- ment knew she was being dishonest. A f- ter her announcement, she bolted the building, not staying around to hear any of the fallout. I stepped up and told the stunned congregants I did not request a new church and neither had I asked for a change. There are a lot of wolves in sheep's clothing, sitting on church boards and making evil decisions to the detriment of the unsuspecting flock. Judas comes to mind. Woe be to the wolves that scat- ter the flock. God will not bless a church that mistreats their pastor in this man- ner. Churches that run their pastor out are dead or dying. In Revelation chapter 3, Jesus tells the church at Sardis they had a name but were dead. Nobody in Sardis knew the church was dead except Jesus. My former church is dying. Since the coup, people have abandoned the church in hordes, including the coup ringleaders. Many people have gone down the street to one of the "theater churches" in town. Before the coup, Sunday worship atten- dance was several hundred. Now it hov- ers in the 50s most weeks. What happens in a church has eter- nal consequences for everyone who at- tends. Hebrews 13:17 "Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you." Instead of criticizing your minister, pray for and encourage them. If you are a minister under fire, re- member Jesus said, "if they hate you, they hated me first." If you dislike your pastor, you need to read Matthew 5:3-5 and then have a long talk with God. Min- isters need your prayers more than your criticism because they watch for the en- emy of your soul. Think about it. Effect," which was the violence that fol- lowed the fatal police shooting of a black man in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014. The effect of this phenomenon was de- scribed by Paul Cassell, a law professor at the University of Utah, on a Heritage Foundation panel in March. Here I think we have anti-police pro- tests surrounding George Floyd's killing. As a result, police had to be redeployed away from their normal beats and high- crime areas to police the protests. And even extending beyond that, I think what we see has happened is a reduction in po- licing, particularly the kinds of policing that might be expected to have the most effect on homicides and shooting crimes. Cassell's research shows a strong con- nection between de-policing and anti-po- lice rhetoric driving surges in shootings. The 2020 numbers strongly back that up. Departments moved away from proac- tive policing, and now struggle to clamp down on violent crime as police officers leave the force and are not replaced. Many of the cities that defunded their police departments in 2020 —like Port- land—have been among the hardest hit by shootings. Some of these same cities later tacitly conceded that the idea was a failure by re-funding their police depart- ments and re-creating proactive policing programs under new names. Unfortunately, the issue is not just with the police. How much does policing mat- ter when the justice system intentionally fails to prosecute people for crimes com- mitted? A huge number of cities elected George Soros-backed, far-left district at- torneys and have employed rogue prose- cutors who've refused to prosecute crim- inals in the name of social justice. It's hard not to see this toxic stew of at- titudes and policies as a massive contrib- uting factor toward why we have such a violent mess on our hands now. "No one factor explains this criminal surge," the Wall Street Journal editorial board concluded. "But it's no coincidence that the bloodshed increased as cities slashed police budgets, progressive pros- ecutors demanded leniency and eliminat- ed bail for criminals, and jails and prisons released thousands of lawbreakers amid the COVID-19 outbreak." It's ironic that many of the de- fund-the-police policies were putatively adopted to stop "systemic racism." But as the murder numbers indicate, most of the victims of the violent crime surge have been black and Latino. According to the FBI's data, more than half of the murder victims in 2020 were black. What's being done in the name of Black Lives Matter is destroying count- less black lives and making American cit- ies a dangerous place to be. Jarrett Stepman is a columnist for The Daily Signal. Court Report FELONY Pike County Circuit Court Jami E. Stout charged with count I pos- session of methamphetamine, a level 6 felony, and count II possession of para- phernalia. Luke Joseph Parker charged with count I operating a vehicle with an ACE of at least .08 but less than .15 and count II operating a vehicle while intoxicated, prior, a level 6 felony. TRAFFIC AND MISDEMEANORS Pike County Circuit Court Ashley D. Atkins charged with contrib- uting to the delinquency of a minor. Jacob Austin Leighty charged with count I disorderly conduct and count II minor consuming alcohol. James David Clark charged with pos- session of marijuana. Christopher Jackson charged with car- rying a handgun without a license. Armon White charged with carrying a handgun without a license. CIVIL Pike County Circuit Court Cavalry SPV I, LLC as assignee of Citi- bank, N.A. sues Tiffani Wiscaver on com- plaint. Capital One Bank (USA), N.A. sues Charles Deweese on complaint. INFRACTIONS Pike County Circuit Court Gabriel A. Porter charged with count I driving while suspended, count II operat- ing a motor vehicle with a fictitious plate and count III disregarding stop sign. Irisdiana Lopez charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Andrea M. Bauer charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Michelle A. Peters charged with count I driving while suspended and count II speeding, exceeding 55 mph. Chandler M. Shelton charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Cody L. Compton charged with oper- ating with expired plates. Tyler R. Melchior charged with oper- ating with expired plates. Chaz D. Norton charged with speed- ing. Benjamin H. Parish charged with count I speeding, exceeding 30 mph and count II no valid driver's license. Fabian Pjaka charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Stephanie A. Marzano charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Blake E. Diedrich charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Jheryl L. Wheeler charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Brittany M. Pease charged with driv- ing while suspended. Samuel S. Southerland charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Lisa J. Stevens charged with speeding, exceeding 55 mph. Michaela J. Fowler charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Jennifer L. Bell charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Barbara A. Hill charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Amber L. Crew charged with speed- ing, exceeding 30 mph. Tanner E. Blevins charged with count I speeding, exceeding 70 mph, and count II learner's permit violation. Jayce S. Jackson charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Lia X. Lin charged with speeding, ex- ceeding 70 mph. Davon P. Brown charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Ethyn A. Munselle charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. James Ramos charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Eden C. Fisher charged with count I driving while suspended and count II speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Kayla A. Cartwright charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Ravyn Randall Scott Needhamer charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. MINISTER Continued from page 6 group, Science Feedback, use Facebook to censor lots of responsible people, such as science writers John Tier- ney, Michael Shellenberger and Bjorn Lomborg. Facebook has every right to choose who can use its platform. But Facebook does not have a legal right to know- ingly and recklessly lie about what I say. That's def- amation. I hope my lawsuit will make them think twice about doing it again — to me or to anyone else. John Stossel is author of "Give Me a Break: How I Ex- posed Hucksters, Cheats, and Scam Artists and Became the Scourge of the Liberal Media." SMEARED Continued from page 6 ples and truths. The Census Bureau's "In- come and Poverty in the United States: 2020" report shows that America is still working. It can work even better if we strengthen, not weaken, as the left wants, the great principles of a free nation under God that defined our founding. Star Parker is president of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education and host of the weekly television show "Cure America with Star Parker." WORKING Continued from page 6 So what we have here is a legal form of Democrats re- warding their donors with federal favors. That's called "pay to play." Or graft. I should make it clear that I am not against work- ers' rights to form and join a union for collective bargain- ing. The right to associate is a basic First Amendment right in America. What I am against is the government forcing people to join unions. There are good reasons why Americans may not want to join a union. They may not agree with union policies or positions. The highest per- formers may want to negoti- ate their own wages and ben- efits and be paid by their per- formance. Or they may be turned off by the rampant corruption in union labor halls, as in em- bezzlement, racketeering, in- flated salaries and theft. The indispensable website Union- Facts.com has counted 2,100 criminal cases and $156 mil- lion in penalties from 2000 to 2019. These bosses aren't saints. The combination of big government and big labor is a witch's brew of misbehav- ior and corruption. Who ul- timately pays the tab? The 93 percent of American pri- vate workers who aren't part of the club. Stephen Moore is a senior fellow at FreedomWorks. He is also a co-founder of the Com- mittee to Unleash Prosperity and a Washington Examiner columnist. UNIONS Continued from page 6 DEFUNDING Continued from page 6 Will my Social Security be reduced? Social Security Matters By Rusty Gloor Dear Rusty: I started So- cial Security about two years ago and I thought that the monthly bene- fit amount stat- ed to me by So- cial Security in their letter was guaranteed. That written amount was what I based my decision on to retire. Now I hear on the news that we may have to take a 24 percent reduction in the future. That will make me and millions of other seniors homeless. Was the original amount a guar- antee of monthly income, and can the government re- duce it whenever they want to? Signed: Anxious Senior. Dear Anxious: The rea- son you're now hearing about the possibility of a future re- duction in Social Security benefits is because the SS Trustees 2021 Report to Con- gress was just released. This report, usually published in April, recaps the program's financial status at the end of the preceding year and pro- vides Congress with a very detailed analysis of Social Security's (and Medicare's) financial picture. The Trust- ees report that, beginning in 2021, Social Security income will be less than needed to pay benefits, with the gap to be made up from Trust Fund reserves. Unless Congress makes some changes to the SS program, that trend will eventually result in the Trust Fund running dry, requiring an across-the-board cut in benefits. This latest report predicts that the combined Trust Funds, which now hold near- ly $ 3 trillion in reserves, may be fully depleted by the year 2034—one year earlier than last year's 2035 prediction. Although the 2034 date is new news this year, the mid- 2030s potential depletion date has been reported for years, and it is not a new issue. In- deed, the 2019 report predict- ed 2034 as the possible deple- tion date and last year's report predicted an improvement to 2035. One obvious reason for the one-year acceleration in the new report is the econom- ic effect of the COVID-19 pan- demic. While it certainly isn't good news, the fact is that the bad news isn't as bad as many pundits predicted. Some were suggesting that the depletion date may be as early as 2029, but the economy rebound- ed faster than expected. De- pending on how you look at things, the depletion date on- ly changing by one year could be viewed as pos- itive consider- ing the econom- ic impact of the pandemic. Rest assured that the matter will re- ceive continued analysis in the months ahead. But here's the bottom line: It is extreme- ly doubtful that Congress will ever let the Social Secu- rity Trust Funds be fully de- pleted, necessitating a bene- fit cut to all recipients. To al- low that to happen would be political suicide because over 64 million people rely on So- cial Security. Is your bene- fit guaranteed? Yes, but only within the boundaries of cur- rent law, which says that So- cial Security is allowed to on- ly pay benefits using its own money (from payroll tax in- come, interest income, in- come tax revenues and Trust Fund reserves). No benefits will be cut for as long as the Trust Fund can make up the difference between income received and benefits paid. But if there are no reserves to make up the difference, then (by law) Social Securi- ty can only pay out as much as it brings in. Congress already knows how to fix this issue and avoid a cut in Social Security ben- efits. What is missing is the bipartisanship and the polit- ical will to accomplish it, be- cause neither side current- ly appears receptive to solu- tions offered by the other side. Congress may contin- ue to drag its feet on this is- sue, as has historically been done, until urgency demands action. But I believe you can rest assured that Congress will eventually find the for- titude to restore Social Se- curity to long-term solvency before any benefit cuts are made. You can help by call- ing your Congressional rep- resentative and demanding that they adopt a bipartisan attitude toward Social Secu- rity reform. A good place for Congress to start would be by adopting the reform proposed by the Association of Mature American Citizens, which can be found at www.amac.us/so- cial-security. To submit a question, vis- it website (amacfoundation. org/programs/social-secu- rity-advisory) or email ssad- visor@amacfoundation.org. 4897 W. 150 N. • Jasper, IN 47546 812-482-3946 • www.brescher.com Come check out our shop and greenhouses for ALL your landscaping needs! PLANTS - TREES - EVERGREENS • TOPSOIL - FILL DIRT - MULCH PROFESSIONAL GRADE GRASS SEED AND STRAW • FERTILIZERS - INSECTICIDES FLAGSTONE - BOULDERS - DECORATIVE ROCK Call to inquire about our professional services: LANDSCAPE & IRRIGATION INSTALLATION ROUTINE LANDSCAPE MOWING MAINTENANCE