Dear Pastor Greg,

I know you strongly advocate that Christians need to stand in leadership positions and reflect Jesus toward others.  I am writing this to tell you how that is being done in my life.  I am in law school right now at the University of Arizona. Last week I was awarded the Blackstone Fellowship for this summer.  I will be working for Alliance Defense Fund a Christian organization that defends pro-life causes, religious freedoms, and the sanctity of marriage. The Fellowship begins with two weeks of training in ADF’s headquarters (in Phoenix actually) learning conservative jurisprudence and the Christian’s role in the legal community.  The following six weeks, I will be placed in another location within the United States to work alongside other lawyers, agencies and organizations which advocating Christian rights.  It cumulates with a one week debriefing afterward.  I’d like to think of it as a nine week legal mission trip.

This work which I will be involved with may include working on legislation to further limit abortion, or on amendments preserving marriage between a man and a women, or on litigation allowing Christians the right to use public facilities that are open to other groups.  In all honesty, I do not know what area I will be dealing with, but there are a myriad of options available.

It is an honor to receive this Fellowship, and I am privileged to be selected.  I wanted to encourage you that there are Christians taking a stand.  I know I am called to law school and work with this organization.  You’re right Christians do need to be involved on all levels of society, especially in leadership.  Personally, I believe there should be special emphasis in politics and in the legal profession: the law makers, the law enforcers and the arbiters.  This is where I am called.  And I want to thank for emphasizing that message.  I remember that the New Years’ service that you called up groups to be prayed for leaders and businessmen.  God has called us not only to survive, but to overcome.  That prayer further encouraged me to step up, and out, and make a difference.  One of the topics I talk about with other Christians in law school is the importance of using our degree to build the kingdom.  There are not nearly enough Christian lawyers, and not everyone will be able to become them.  The ones who are remind me of Esther - being placed in a time such as this. The tricky part with law though is that it can be very tempting to pursue it with the wrong motivations (I needn’t mention the myriad of divorce, criminal, and DUI lawyers in the phonebook).  Still, in pursuing the will of God for my life, and making Him the cornerstone, everything else will be built around that.  Having the opportunity to work with Alliance Defense Fund further solidifies (and clarifies) my mission.

And I also am blessed to have a refuge in Skyway.  Granted, I am generally only back around Christmas time, and maybe occasionally during the year (because I am down in
Tucson).  But there are many people there that I know (and love hanging out with when I return periodically), and that I count on to continue being there and building the church you among them. So thank you for your teaching, leading and building.

I am including the website about the organization in case you are interested. It’s www.alliancedefensefund.org.  Also, here is some more information about the Fellowship and what it entails: www.godtube.com (search: “Blackstone”) 

In Christ,

-Ben