23. January 2010 by Democratic Party News - The News of the Democratic Party.

Murfreesboro’s George Erdel (pronounced er-dell) is the first candidate in Tennessee to qualify for a federal race this year. He is running for Tennessee’s Sixth District U.S. House of Representatives position that’s being vacated with Congressman Bart Gordon’s retirement. The local Democrat filed his petition and application with the Rutherford County Election Commission on Thursday (1/7/10). He told WGNS News that within an hour and half, the Election Commission’s Anita White notified him that all 39 names on the petition were validated. Erdel then presented a confirmation letter from the county to the State Election Commission in Nashville. “That’s when I learned about being the first candidate in the state to qualify.”

Erdel supports the right to bear arms, in fact he was armed and wearing a shoulder holster during the interview at WGNS. He noted his strong opposition to abortions and feels that global warming is a farce. He said, “It’s just another way for liberals to tax us for the energy we use.”

He said, “If elected, I’m there for the people of the sixth district, not for Pelosi or her cronies.” There is more information about George Erdell at http://www.georgefortennessee.com

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23. January 2010 by Democratic Party News - The News of the Democratic Party.

GUEST COLUMN: State needs conservative Democrat in House.

I want to thank Mr. Sam Stockard for his opinion column Jan. 12, 2010. I also wish to thank him for the opportunity to set the record straight about my candidacy and campaign for the United States House of Representatives, Tennessee 6th District.

Mr. Stockard emphasized my passive use of the term “Dixiecrat” which I merely used as a reference to values I consider to be, at their core, traditional Democratic Party ideals. I used it because of the historically conservative nature of the Democrats and Dixiecrats when it came to respecting the Constitution, as well as social and economic justice. Traditional Democrats, like JFK and others believed these were not only realistic, but were only guaranteed by their strict adherence to the United Sates Constitution. I believe this also.

Contrary to the title of Mr. Stockard’s column, I am not seeking office under the mantle of “Dixiecrat.” I am a Democrat, and I am running as such. To date, I am the only candidate having qualified to run from any political party. I will be on the August primary ballot as a Democrat.

When one looks at the wording of the very first Democratic Party platform, penned in 1840 it becomes evident that those Democrats were very conservative, and stood for the working people.

It was those conservative values which the National Democratic Party abandoned years ago. What happened to our party? It was infiltrated and overrun by liberals. These liberals began to cater to every disenfranchised group of malcontents that came knocking on the door with promises of block voting in return for tax dollars from the working class.

As the Democratic Party became more ardently liberal during the 1950s and 1960s, many lifelong Democrats began to look for representation by other parties that more closely shared their values. My parents left the Democratic Party when Ronald Reagan joined the Republican Party in 1962. Now, nearly 50 years later, liberal ideology is also so deeply entrenched within the Republican Party that most Americans see little difference in either party.

As a result of the policies put in place by the liberals of both parties, America today is traveling on a highway toward a bridge that is out. If we do not alter course immediately following the next election, the America we knew growing up will only be chronicled in history books.

Fellow Democrats with more name recognition than me have commented that the 6th District can remain in the Democrat column if the party chooses a conservative, pro-gun, pro-life candidate. Prior to my entry into the 6th District race, such a candidate did not exist. I am that candidate. What the liberal faction of our party does not like is the fact that I am conservative on all issues, not just on issues of the Second Amendment and abortion. Tennessee voters have watched the past year as Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid repeatedly capitulated to the beck and call of the president, against the overwhelming will of the people, in order to blaze his socialist trail across America on issues such as cap-and-trade, and socialized medicine.

Tennesseans of the 6th District are ready to take their Tennessee fighting spirit to Washington and reclaim our Congress from the liberals of both parties. Neither I, nor any other single representative, will be able to fix the problem in one term or several terms for that matter. Remember it took 50 years to get here. What will I do? If you send me to represent you in the 6th District, I will work closely with conservative representatives of both parties to turn our nation onto the solid, fiscally sound road that takes us away from the irreparably broken “bail-out” bridge that threatens our prosperity for future generations.

I invite you to join me in taking the Tennessee fight to Washington to begin the tasks ahead. Together we can do it, but we must start with this year’s elections. I will accept all invitations to visit any group to discuss the vital issues that threaten us. Contact information can be found in my Web site at http://www.georgefortennessee.com

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13. November 2009 by Democratic Party News - The News of the Democratic Party.

Written by Steve Hickey, Pastor of Church at the Gate in Sioux Falls, South Dakota:

At lunch today I dove into my latest issue of Mission Frontiers – Mission Frontiers comes every other month from the US Center for World Mission.  I’ve read it cover to cover since the 80’s.  Today my attention was drawn to an article called “His Kingdom Come: An Integrated Approach to Discipling the Nations and Fulfilling the Great Commission.”

The article reviews a book by the same title - the book is a collection of 30 articles written by YWAM’s senior leadership team.  I LOVE reading how the 30 senior leaders of YWAM are saying the great commission is bigger than individual conversions.  After all, Jesus said “GO and make disciples of nations…” Sadly we have conveniently read that to only mean we are to disciple individuals in all the nations.  The late Dr. Ralph Winter was “ecstatic” about this current thinking at YWAM and he commented:

I am very excited about this book. It is important evidence of a major organization turning very gradually and definitely into a nation-building kingdom type of mission, in addition, of course to the ongoing stress on personal conversion.

No one is advocating downplaying personal conversion, only that we return to the mandate to disciple nations. Discipling nations is the mission of the church. It’s what the Founders of our nation did – 27 of the 56 signers of the Declaration had seminary degrees, many were ordained ministers.  These men laid a righteous foundation under our nation that we have since shifted away from. Today the nation is being discipled  by (called to follow) those who don’t know God and in fact, are hostile to him.

How do you disciple a nation with a nation of churches convinced they should stay separate from state? The leaders of YWAM are spot on – being salt isn’t about just about getting someone to say a sinner’s prayer, it’s about influencing culture and coming alongside those who shape society, including those who make laws.

I contend it’s impossible to disciple a nation and not be political. The leaven of the Kingdom must permeate every sphere of society (the loaf); media and entertainment, education, medicine, law, government, family, charity, agriculture, environment, and business.

On Sunday I shared out loud some of my latest thoughts on this… Would I rather have 700 people sitting there staring at me each weekend taking in my latest inspirational idea that will help their private faith in Christ? Or, would I rather have seven people from our church occupying seats at our state legislature or school board or city council? I know it doesn’t have to be either/or, but right now it is one and not the other - the church is disengaged.  So, how about you— in terms of discipling nations– those seven seats in the state legislature just may bring more kingdom transformation in a region than all the seats in our largest church auditoriums.

2010 will be a good year for the righteous to win elections – pastors should encourage key people in their congregations to run for office. “When the righteous rule, the people rejoice.” (Prov. 29:2) I’m sharing this not out of anger or frustration but rather out of vision. My sense is what lies ahead will require Kingdom-minded people at the table where decisions are made.  We can continue to curse the darkness or we can embody the light in our nation.

The Muslims have the momentum on the dominion of the earth right now and we don’t want that for our kids future. Some say its too late because Christianity for most amounts to not much more than sitting in church each weekend looking at the back of the head of the guy in front of you. The salt has lost it’s saltiness and we wonder why we are getting trampled.

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