Perspective
On the Texas Marriage Amendment Election
Thanks be to God for the
victory He gave us for the marriage amendment
election on November 8, 2006 in Texas. In
2005 many, many Texas pastors rejected the
passivity and fear of the past and stepped into
the mantle of our founding fathers whose faith
moved them to action in the civic arena.
Pastors, pro-family organizations and
individuals all over the state led in
registering and encouraging voters to vote for
marriage between one man and one woman on
November 8, 2006. From a District Judge in
Tyler to a County Clerk in a small West Texas
county, pastors, leaders and individuals took
responsibility for the part of the wall near
their home -- just like in the days of
Nehemiah.
After their successful pastor
events with Gov. Rick Perry, David Barton and
others, the Texas Restoration Project asked me
to organize the grassroots campaign for the
state. For the first time in the history of our
state, every one of the 254 counties had someone
working to get the word out and to distribute
Free Market Foundation Voter Guides. Regional
Coordinators were:
-
East Texas - Pastor
Charles and Beverly Burchett, First Baptist
Church, Kirbyville.
-
Greater Houston -
Pastor Hank and Marilyn Marion,
Celebration Christian Center, The
Woodlands
-
North Texas - Hollis and
Carol Jean Kirkpatrick, Servants to the
City, Fort Worth
-
South Texas - David
Contreas, CONFIA, Council On Faith In
Action, Austin
- West and Central
Texas - Pastor Richard Watson, Hope Baptist
Church, Gorman
I'm sure everyone heard the
final results of 76.2% in favor of marriage
between one man and one woman with a 17.84%
turnout up from a record 12% turnout for tort
reform in the past. Here are some things you
may NOT know.
-
Of the 254 counties in Texas,
104 supported Proposition 2 by over 90%.
-
Another 122 favored Prop 2 by
over 80%!
-
Small town Texas continues to
be the moral bedrock of our state with almost
all of the Panhandle, Deep East Texas, and the
small counties in North East Texas voting over
90%.
-
The Black and Hispanic
neighborhoods in the inner cities voted stronger
in favor of Prop 2 than higher income white
areas.
-
This election cut across
political lines with 16 of the 17 counties that
had never voted Republican in local, state or
national elections supporting marriage between
one man and one woman. That negates the
argument that opposing same-sex marriage is a
"Republican issue." That was the mindset some
had because the Republican Party Platform
opposes same-sex marriage and the Democrat
Platform special rights for people on the basis
of sexual orientation, but this issue activated
values voters from both political parties.
-
Many people distributed voter
guides, put out yard signs and shared
information with colleagues and congregations.
-
More pastors engaged in the
process than I had ever seen before.
Thank you for all you
did to educate and mobilize values voters. The
Lord gave us an amazing victory. No one person
or organization can take credit for what so many
did. TO GOD BE ALL THE GLORY.
It was an election of
contrasts:
From Harris County
(Houston) with an estimated population of
3,644,285 to Loving County with a population of
52, each of the 254 counties had someone working
to get the word out about the marriage amendment
election and to distribute Free Market voter
guides. That had never happened before.
The results of the
election were a huge contrast with 253 counties
voting overwhelmingly in favor of the marriage
amendment and lone Travis County (Austin)
opposing it. But even in AUSTIN, pastors
organized and mobilized in an historic way.
The election contrasted
the media and many local government officials
opposing marriage between one man and one woman
and grassroots Texans supporting it.
From Baptists to
Catholics, from conservatives to Charismatics,
from mainline churches to small independent
churches, the body of Christ worked to stand
firm on God's definition of marriage and the
results sent a message to the rest of the
nation. Many denominations such as Church of
God in Christ, Lutheran, Catholic, Assemblies of
God and several different Baptists denominations
sent out special letters to pastors and
congregations taking an official stand on God's
definition of marriage.
The body of Christ moved
together like never before in recent history.
It was a tremendous
blessing to connect with so many of you across
the state for such an important election. I've
seen commitment and enthusiasm before but never
to this degree. Thank God for what He's doing
to inspire and equip pastors, leaders and
individuals to use their gifts, talents, skills
and influence to motivate and prepare their
individuals and congregations to make a
difference in the civic arena. One pastor in
East Texas volunteered, "I'll contact pastors in
our county and surrounding counties, and a young
man in my church wants to cover our entire
Senatorial District. We're not just organizing
for this election, we're preparing for the long
haul."
Although I didn't
hear it just that way from another pastor, I saw
paradigms shift as more pastors realized what
they could legally and easily do to educate and
equip their people to engage in changing our
culture by becoming a registered and informed
voter. If that attitude continues, we'll
see institutions change. I've never been more
encouraged by what is happening in the pulpits
of our land. I pray that God continues to give
wisdom, strength, protection and courage to all
of us in the days ahead.
