Operation Christmas Child

Published On: November 10, 2011|Categories: MRFF's Inbox|0 Comments|

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Dear Military Religious Freedom Foundation:

Hello, my name is (name withheld), an senior undergrad at Liberty University. How dare you poison and corrupt the Air Force with your FILTH, forcing the General’s hand to remove emails promoting a GREAT, Christmas organization that has done FAR MORE for poor children on Christmas than your Grinch front will ever do. I know you Religious Atheists can’t stand to say Christ-Mas…but it gives you no right to invade the Air Force with clearly an egregious and false Constitutional authority! you have already committed the highest form of hypocrisy by demanding the Air Force promote the religion of secular humanism, which according to YOUR consitutional intrepretation is in violation of!! Stop twisting so deviously the American Constiution, founded in Judeo-Christian heritage, to fit your imaginary secularist neutrality. On behalf of your 132 Muslims you were so deeply offended, they can shove it.

(name withheld)


Hi (name withheld),

Thank you for contacting the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) with your concerns about Operation Christmas Child. When you email info@ it goes to Mikey, the Board and the Advisory Board.

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. As you can imagine, we have been swamped with emails.

You have presumed too much when you accused MRFF of being religious atheists. Many people involved with MRFF on the Advisory Board and volunteers are Christians. I am one of them and an ordained minister in the Assemblies of God. The California Council of Churches/IMPACT with over 5,500 churches support us. We also have many active and retired soldiers from all branches of the military. Other military include –

A Lt Col (Ret) 25 year veteran of the Air Force who served as an ICBM crewmember
A former Navy Seal
A Retired brigadier general
A Naval Academy graduate with a 36 year career in the United States Air Force, he also served a three-year assignment as Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the first to hold that position.
A former Chaplain in the United States Air Force
A retired U.S. Air Force Major General, recently Deputy Director, Center for Special Operations, U.S. Special Operations Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida
A retired Air Force Brigadier General – a Master Navigator
A military aviator who possesses both Senior Command Air Force wings and aircraft carrier qualified Naval Aviator wings, in addition to having been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism in combat during Operation Desert Storm.

If anyone knows the proper place of the Constitution in the military it is the above mentioned individuals –not you and not me.

The Constitution is not based on Judeo-Christian principles if you did a serious research. Liberty University is the one that is picking things out of the bible to make it fit YOUR interpretation of it. Moral values are also found outside of Christianity.

If you read any of the articles on this perceived attack on Christianity you would have seen that it was 120 Cadets and 12 Chaplains that complained – not 132 Muslims. I don’t know where you get your facts from but a simple Google search would have given you other articles with the true facts.

Our military is SECULAR – not exclusively Christian. Anyone – regardless of their religious affiliation or non-belief in a higher deity – is able to join and fight for our freedoms under the Constitution – not the bible.

The Gazette –

“The academy, which initially stood by its promotion of the charity, changed its tune Thursday evening, with an email to cadets that retracted an earlier missive asking for help with the program. The academy’s commandant of cadets Brig. Gen. Richard Clark called Weinstein Thursday with an apology.
“We agree that it was inappropriate,” said Lt. Col John Bryan, an academy spokesman.
The project has been handed over to the academy’s chaplains, who can legally take part and recruit support for religious endeavors.”
Brig. Gen. Richard Clark even admitted that it was inappropriate (illegal) and the academy’s Chaplains are now in charge, as they should be.

“Commanders have put “religious respect” training in place. In September, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz issued a memo to commanders that told them to avoid mixing religion with their military roles.
They must refrain from appearing to officially endorse religion generally or any particular religion,” Schwartz wrote.”
We are doing nothing more than supporting Chief of Staff Gen. Schwartz’s position. If you have a problem with this I suggest you contact him
We are not trying to take Christianity out of our military. If MRFF was attempting to do that I wouldn’t be volunteering for them. We are just trying to put religion back where it belongs – in the hands of the Chaplains.

Because of the distorted outcry over this false accusation of taking presents away from children and the media attention it has received, more children than ever will be getting shoeboxes this year.
I hope this clarifies what seems to be perceived as an attack on Christianity. We are more than grateful that those in charge at the USAFA have seen the illegality of their original position.
My God bless your socks off!
Pastor Joan


Madam Joan, when your “Christian” orgnaization can provide a financial receipt of personally donating $3,000 to Operation Christmas Child I will reconsider your benevolent intentions. And I am sorry to hear the Assemblies of God is lacking in proper theological standing these days.

(name withheld)


Dear (name withheld),

Let me get this straight. If MRFF gives $3,000 to Operation Christmas Child you will reconsider whether to accept me asking God to bless you? Are you serious?

I have no idea where you got the idea that MRFF is a Christian organization. I said that many on the Advisory Board and volunteers are Christians.

We currently have 26,000 soldiers from all branches of the military as clients – 96% of them are mainline Christians. They have contacted us to stop the unwanted, in-your-face proselytizing they have to endure on a daily basis. Our military bases are not to be seminaries as attested to by our distinguished military personnel on our Advisory Board.

You wrote –

“And I am sorry to hear the Assemblies of God is lacking in proper theological standing these days.”

What do you mean by “lacking in proper theological standing?” What do you consider “proper?” Is it your way of viewing the bible and only your way? Do you have the only true way of salvation? Am I not the “right kind” of Christian? If you think this way then you are treading in dangerous territory. When one form of Christianity believes they have the ONLY way to salvation they are a cult. Salvation is through Jesus Christ and at His Judgment Seat He has the final say as to who gets in to heaven. Not you and not me. But you have taken it upon yourself to sit in judgment because you would not or could not accept that we were only enforcing what the Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz told the USAFA to do.

The kids are still going to get their Christmas shoeboxes and more due to the distorted media attention. The only thing that changed is that the Chaplains are now in charge as it should be.

Too much emphasis is put on the Great Commission and not enough on the Great Commandment – Love. There needs to be a balance. When Christianity realizes that it can win more people through living a loving life towards everyone they can win more hearts.

I do have to apologize for a typo I made. In my blessing to you I typed “my” instead of “may” and after doing a spell check I missed my mistake.

Pastor Joan

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