INVITING VOTER FRAUD

“Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers...” (from Romans 13:1)

When I went to vote on “Super Tuesday” I was surprised to notice that my daughter Amy’s name was still listed on the Framingham voter rolls.  Amy graduated from college and nursing school last May and became an official full-time resident of Springfield, Missouri at that time.   She registered her car in Missouri, and got a Missouri driver’s license.  At the time, I notified the Framingham Town Clerk’s office as well as the Treasurer/Tax Collector office of Amy’s change of address- providing them with all of the necessary information. 

Amy still had an auto excise tax issue to settle, and she did that at the Framingham Memorial Building live and in person when she visited us in October.  Neither Amy nor I had any idea she had to write to the Town of Framingham and have her name taken off the voting list.  I moved out of Canton, Mass. in 1982 and out of Walpole, Mass. in 1986.  To the best of my knowledge I never notified them to take my name off the voting rolls of Canton or Walpole.  Do you suppose my name IS still on the voting rolls of those Towns?   “Methinks” it MAY BE!

I sent an e-mail to the office of Framingham Town Clerk Valerie Mulvey last week asking her to take Amy’s name off the voting list.  I always thought that Town Clerk Valerie Mulvey was the person in charge of voting in Framingham.  (Well, they sure imply that in the MetroWest Daily News!) Would you believe the person in charge of voting in Framingham is actually the FRAMINGHAM ELECTION COORDINATOR?  How many people out there knew Framingham had an Election Coordinator?  Raise those hands nice and high!

Well, the Election Coordinator is a woman named Michelle A. Jenkins.  Here is the exact text of an e-mail that Michell A. Jenkins sent to me:

Rev. Baril,

Your daughter’s name is still on the voting rolls, because by MGL I am unable to remove her name without her actual signature.  By notifying the tax collectors office that does not remove her from the voting rolls.  She is not listed on your census form because you must have notified me last year that she moved, so I had to put her in a different family code.  If your daughter could send me a quick letter stating that she no longer lives in Framingham, I would be happy to remove her.



Michelle A. Jenkins

Election Coordinator

150 Concord Street

Framingham, MA 01702

Phone: (508)532-5520

Fax: (508)628-1358

This is Bob Baril writing again:  I do appreciate the fact that Michelle A. Jenkins contacted me.  But otherwise, how were Amy or I supposed to know this?  Is this (stupid) Massachusetts General Law the reason why the Town of Brookline had THOUSANDS of names on their voting rolls of people who no longer lived there?  Probably.  There is NO I.D. reqired at the polls.  Any female could have gone in there claiming to be Amy Baril and could have voted.  In my opinion, this whole system is archaic, messed up, and needs to be changed.

I’m going to contact State Rep. Pam Richardson about this.

AFTERWARDS

"For neither did his brethren believe in him."  (John 7:5)

It may be that some of you would like to hear how the healing service went.

While I'm certainly a very ordinary and very fallible person (who gets sick!) and I have never claimed to have "the Gift of Healing", I have seen God do mighty things in my life regarding healing.  In 2001, my sister Dianne and I laid hands on our accountant who was very ill with cancer. We were meeting with him regarding the settlement of my parents' Estate at the time.  Jim, the accountant, told us he was not doing well and in fact, that as soon as our appointment was done, he was checking himself into the Norwood Hospital. Dianne and I laid hands on him right in his office and prayed for a miraculous healing. A few months later I called his office to set up my regular tax appointment.  I guess my faith had been weak, because I was amazed that he was perfectly well and had been MIRACULOUSLY HEALED OF CANCER!  My wife and I just had our tax appointment with him this past Saturday, and he brought up the subject of having been miraculously healed of cancer.  He is still fine.

A few weeks ago, as I was driving along the MassPike in western Massachusetts, God spoke to me and called me to have a healing service in which I would pray for the sick.  It was not an audible voice, but it might as well have been.  It was SO clear.

This involved a LOT of perparation work because when you are planning a special healing service and opening things up to family, friends, and the community at large,  there's a lot to do.  As many of you know, I put out several e-mails about it.  We also put out (for us) a pretty high quality "hard copy" mailing to our mailing list.  There was fasting and prayer that went into preparing for the service.  No kidding.

I will say that several leaders of our church (including me) experienced TREMENDOUS spiritual oppression and opposition over the past couple of weeks.  It would take much too much space to describe all of the problems, difficulties, and just plain spiritual oppression that took place-  I believe this opposition and oppression was from the spiritual powers of darkness.

Over the past few years, our church has endeavored to "put on" several special services and events with mostly very poor results.  I began to struggle with fear that this would be just one more of those events.   I suspected there would be a "challenging" weather forecast for Sunday, and there was.

Even so, I KNEW (and I still know) that God absolutely called for this service.

Sunday morning, I was experiencing a myriad of emotions...joy, fear, anticipation, excitement, worry, plus bursts of energy and fatigue at the same time.  The attendance for Sunday morning was considerably DOWN.  I could easily have become discouraged about that.  I had to really FIGHT it.  I taught a very good adult Sunday School class.  We had several good sessions of prayer...first with the Board early in the day, and then with some of the men just  before the service.  Yes, the attendance for the service WAS way down, but the musicians sang and played their hearts out and I preached my heart out.  The offering was low and really put us in a "financial situation".  I was kind of nervous about that, but I figured we'd make things up on Sunday night.

Sunday afternoon's weather was "wild".  Sun, drizzle, and intense snow squalls INTERMITTENTLY!  Like Sunday morning, I was experiencing a myriad of emotions: joy, fear, anticipation, excitement, worry, plus bursts of energy and fatigue at the same time...sounds familiar, doesn't it...although the intensity was triple what it was in the morning.  I spent a good deal of time in prayer on Sunday afternoon.

In the past, our very small group of church people has often worked their hearts out to put on special events, and then been emotionally crushed when they did not go well. With all of my heart I did not want to see that happen!  I was determined that no matter how many or how few people showed up on Sunday night, I was going to give the service my all.  Fifteen minutes before the service, I don't think 10 people had even showed up.  Five minutes before the service there might have been 14 present.  In a private room before the service I was trying to muster up all the courage and strength I could, but I was battling disappointment in people and anger.  I had to remind myself that God called me to have the service, and that I needed to give it my very best. 

We had a total of 17 people show up.  Honestly, in one way or another, at least 110 people had been invited.  When I prayed for the service, I had pictured 50 or 60 people being present.  There was only one visitor.  The visior was a female friend of mine and Mary Ann's from Norwood.  I was SO grateful that she came!  The music was good.  I think I preached an outstanding sermon.  I anointed with oil and prayed over and prophesied over around 8 people.  Not everyone who reads this may understand it but I was under an mighty anointing when I prayed over at least 2 of the people.  There was a powerful sense of God's presence over at least those 2.  I have no doubt that God touched several people in special ways, and I'm looking forward to hearing special testimonies about what was done!

What was difficult is that one of our leaders looked cold, distant, and angry throughout the entire service.  I wondered if I was misreading that person, but that's how the person looked, and that's what I was feeling.  After the service, someone tried to greet that person and did not get a very friendly response. 

I don't want to reveal a lot of information about who the angry person was, but again, it was a LEADER in our church.  Later on, someone told me the person had angrily, cynically, and disgustedly said, "I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT I'M DOING HERE!!  THERE'S NO SENSE IN ME EVEN BEING HERE!"

After the service, a few of us compared notes.  (NOT that angry person...others.)  Several said they felt that God DID move in a powerful way in the service, BUT that there was TREMENDOUS spiritual opposition and it was like we were up against a wall.

We were.

I will say, ministry in this church in Framingham has always been difficult.  In the 21 years of pastoring this church, nothing has been easy.  Spiritual oppression and opposition have been the norm.  There have been little victories here and there, after enormous labor.  One of the reasons I admire John McCain so much (and YES for my political friends, I know he is on the "wrong" side of many issues) is that I feel in a SPIRITUAL sense I have experienced in Framingham the kind of torture he experienced in Hanoi.  McCain was a guy who just never gave up, and I don't give up, either.

I am grateful for the presence of God on Sunday night.  I am grateful for the anointing.   I am devastated by the negative comments and attitude of the person I mentioned because I genuinely care about that person.

Initially, I was angry immediately after the service.  I felt like the church needed lots of prayer support and moral support tonight from friends of the church and friends of mine from OUTSIDE of our congregation that we (mostly) didn't get.  I believe there were supposed to be at LEAST another 15 people present. 

On a mercenary note, because of the financial situation I did not get paid on Sunday.

I kind of vented and got depressed for a half hour after the service, but then I pulled myself together and calmed down.  As my wife pointed out, "WHO called you to have this service?" And, it's true, God did.  I will be interested to see and hear testimonies of healing and other things God did as a result of the service.   At times I've been told I'm crazy to stay at this church...that I'm an outstanding and dymanic speaker and teacher and that at 53-years-old I deserve better.  Well, I do deserve better, but I'm not going anyplace. 

In my depressed half hour I said, "Well, I'm not having any more healing services because after tonight  nobody will come!".  NO, I take that back.  I'm having more.  LOTS more.   There is NO way I am ceding this church or my ministry or even this community to the powers of darkness.  NO WAY!

I'd love to hear from you!

WHAT I'M DOING FOR LENT

“And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered.” (Matthew 4:2)

LENT is earlier this year than it almost ever is. The first day of Lent was Ash Wednesday, February 6, and the final day of Lent will be the day before Easter.

As a kid raised in Roman Catholicism, I grew up with the concept of Lent...the forty days before Easter.  Usually Roman Catholics “gave up” something for Lent such as smoking or chewing gum or swearing.  Then they promptly resumed the cigarettes, Bazooka Joe gum, and @#&@*$& language on Easter Sunday.

After I “got saved” at age 15, I learned that Lent wasn’t too important to most born-again Christians.  But a couple of years ago, I began thinking about Lent, and I decided to drastically cut down on caffeine for Lent. In the manner of the people from liturgical churches, I promptly on Easter Sunday resumed the over use of caffeinated beverages.  In 2007, I also drastically cut down on caffeine for Lent, but I did NOT resume heavy caffeine use afterwards.  I still drink caffeinated coffee and colas BUT in great moderation.  I’m no longer ADDICTED to them and it feels great!

THIS YEAR, I decided that instead of “giving something up for Lent” I would do something positive for Lent.  I decided to salute and affirm 40 people whom I particularly appreciated- who have touched my life in some special way.  I decided that each day during Lent, I would choose a person for that day and write that person an affirming e-mail; 40 people in all.

This task WILL be challenging for mid-March as I’ll be out-of-state for at least 8 days due to my daughter Amy’s wedding, but SOMEHOW I will get these forty e-mails out during Lent.  Each e-mail will contain “affirming information”, telling that person why they were chosen and will also contain a “prophetic word”....something encouraging I believe God would have me tell them.

I hope each of the 40 will then turn around and bless and affirm someone else. 

Incidentally, if I do not choose YOU as one of my “TOP 40” please don’t be offended...there’s always next year!

JAY SEVERIN - AN UNSUPER TUESDAY

"Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you!  for so did their
fathers to the false prophets." (Luke 6:26)

I tuned it to the Jay Severin Show (or is it "Extreme Games"?) on Super
Tuesday afternoon.  Most of you know I'm a radio talk show "junkie" and a political
"junkie" so I was happier than a crack user at a police department drug
warehouse.  Jay's juvenile behavior yesterday was so disappointing that as
competitor Howie Carr used to say, "He should be caned".

Here is what happened:

A guy from Weston called; I think the guy was "Jim From Weston".   What Jay
DIDN'T GET...what Jay DIDN'T PERCEIVE...is that Jim From Weston was actually an
ADMIRER of Jay's.  I knew right away exactly where Jim From Weston was coming
from.  Jim was thrilled to be on the air, and he HAD to be very nervous. 
(I've actually done a little bit of radio on the now defunct WJLT radio including
hosting talk shows and taking calls, and believe me, calling in to a show is
a thousand times more scary than is hosting a show.)  Jim obviously liked Jay
and enjoyed his show, but was disappointed at times that Jay can be
unnecessarily abrupt, rude, arrogant, and juvenile in how he treats callers.  The
mistake Jim made (and on this I agree with Jay) is that Jim "LED" with that thought.
That thought was maybe 10% of Jim really wanted to say on the call, but it
was all he got to say. 

Jay grilled Jim savagely.  If it was a boxing match, Jim was on the group,
spurting blood, on the verge of death, and almost unrecognizable, and Jay was
shoving the referee aside and kneeling down to CONTINUE the beating.  Did
anybody watch "Lost" last week when Jack beat up Ben?  Well, Jack was KIND to Ben in
comparison to how Jay treated Jim from Weston.

I wanted to hear Jim's point.  We never got to hear it.  Instead we got to
hear Jay with a display of insecurity and whining like I haven't heard since my
youngest was a preschooler (Sorry, Rachel, but it's a great illustration)!  If
that wasn't bad enough, for at least five minutes after Jim's call was over,
Jay was making fun of him and taking pot shots at him.

I wonder what Jim from Weston's opinion of Jay is now.  If Jim has friends or
family who were listening, I wonder what they think of Jay Severin.  If I was
talked to like that by Jay Severin, I'd be embarrassed, but I'd just try to
put the experience behind me.  If Jay Severin ever treated a close friend of
mine that way, well, I'd have to take the next day off and spend it praying
because I'd frankly be so angry.

I've heard Michael Graham, Howie Carr, Rush Limbaugh, Tom Finneran, and Moe
Lauzier all take calls from people who "LED" with criticism the way Jim did. 
Frankly, the only other host who reacts like Jay is Moe Lauzier, but even Moe
would not keep making fun of the guy after the call was over.

Michael Graham, Howie Carr, Rush Limbaugh, and Tom Finneran are no "push
overs".  They're all smart guys and they're all very capable of handling
themselves in a debate or argument, and USUALLY they come out of the argument
victorious.  They've also got enormous amounts of grace, class, and wisdom.

In my opinion, Jay Severin has a higher I.Q. than Michael, Howie, Rush, or
Tom.  He certainly has a higher I.Q. than me.  And, YES, Jim from Weston was
wrong to LEAD with that critique. He should have saved it for late in the call or
e-mailed it to Jay.  But there's a classy way to treat a person.

One of the highlights of my life was being a two-hour in-studio guest of
David Brudnoy's on WBZ in early 1989.  The topic was the Assemblies of God.  I was
scheduled to do one hour with David, and we were getting so many calls from
all over the country and David enjoyed it so much that he asked me to stay for
a second hour.  David Brudnoy was gay.  David Brudnoy thought the New
Testament was bunk.   David Brudnoy was also a perfect gentleman, asking me off-air
about my wife and kids and the church I pastor, and even buying me a  coke
during the news!  When David was on his death bed at M.G.H. I tried to get in to
see him and was disappointed that I was not allowed in.  I think the family
thought I'd come in there acting like a wild and crazy southern preacher. I would
have spent no more than 5 minutes in the room and thanked David for that night
on WBZ and just prayed a loving prayer for him.

If by some miracle Jay Severin ever reads this, I hope it will cause him to
do some soul-searching this Lent.  I'll still listen tohis show, but it was so
disappointing yesterday that I ended up listening to Larry Poitras on
Woonsocket, Rhode Island's WNRI AM radio!

WORTH READING

The Rev. Mindi Welton-Mitchell of First Baptist Church of Framingham has posted a thoughtful and well written piece entitled "Misunderstandings" at

http://rev-o-lution.blogspot.com/

I encourage you to check it out!

THE DAY AFTER

"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen"  (Revelation 22:21)

Dave Milley was Senior Pastor of Christian Life Center in Walpole when I was an Assistant Pastor there back in the early 1980s.  Milley was always a charismatic, captivating speaker.  One thing I remember him saying during services was, "Friend, I read the back of the book and WE WIN!".  That's true. The above verse is the very last verse of Revelation and of the New Testament.  Almighty God and His children DO win and live in peace, happiness, and fulfillment for all eternity.

As a New England Patriots fan, I need to remind myself of that verse today!
It was an exciting game last night, but the loss was very disappointing.  Many of you know, that I'm a "perfectionist".  The thought of "a perfect season" was absolutely intoxicating to me.  I've gone to several of the Super Bowl victory parades in past years, and I was SO looking forward to that for tomorrow.  I really wanted to see the Patriots win number 19 for a perfect season.  It didn't happen.
Well, that's life.  I'm still very proud of the Patriots.  They gave us an OUTSTANDING season and a lot of excitement.  It was wonderful to have them in the Super Bowl again.  The Giants are a great team, but the Patriots are the better team. HOWEVER, the Giants DID give it 200% on Sunday night, and, yes, managed to beat the stronger and better team.  That's kind of hard to take, but we do have to give Eli Manning, and Tom Coughlin and all of 'em credit.  Now, I might point out what happened in the regular season when the Pats beat them in the final regular season game, but, would that be kind of unsportsmanlike...?  Maybe.  So, it's hard for me to get the words out but, "cccooonnngggrrraaattt...uuu...lll...aaa...ttt...iii...ooo...nnn...sss, Giants."

The Giants are having their day in the sun.

I hope the Patriots will be back and win the Super Bowl next year.

And, my consolation is that as a born-again Christian, like Dave Milley, I read the back of the book and we win!

"...BUT PLEASE VOTE."

“Render therefore to all their dues:  tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour” ((Romans 13:7)

The above verse is taken from Romans chapter 13, the theme of which is “responsibility to civil authority”.  A careful reading and study of Romans 13 almost makes it seem like it was written by someone like Pat Buchanan.  It’s VERY  “law and order” and very pro government.  I will say, there’s another side to the whole “law and order” thing.  When the Nazi government demanded that “All Jews must now be rounded up,” for instance, does that mean Christians should have cooperated.  Of course not.  The balance to a chapter such as Romans 13 are statements like those in the book of Acts (cf. Acts 4:19 and Acts 5:29) which state that when the authorities contradict the Word of God, then God must be obeyed first and foremost.

Anyway, that above paragraph was just for clarification and to explain the theme of Romans 13.  Romans 13 is a chapter I reference to encourage people to do their civic duty.  Some Christians say, “I don’t pay ANY attention to politics.  I NEVER watch the news.  They’re all phonies and crooks anyway.  I just love Jesus.”  WHAT A COP OUT!   I believe chapters like Romans 13 tell us we ought to “watch the news”, follow politics, and get involved in our society.

If you’re not registered to vote, then it’s too late for this coming Tuesday, but if you ARE registered, the Massachusetts Presidential Primary is this Tuesday.  If you don’t know where you’re supposed to go to vote, call your City Clerk or Town Clerk’s office.  They can tell you.  I’m a registered Republican so I have to take a Republican ballot for a primary such as Tuesday.  (In general elections, I mostly vote for Republicans but I have been known to vote for both Democrats and Libertarians, and even the Reform Party on occasion.)  If you’re a registered Democrat or Republican, then you’ll have to take the Democrat or Republican ballot they hand you and vote accordingly.  In Massachusetts, independent or “unenrolled” people CAN vote in the primary.  In that case, you choose either a Democrat or Republican ballot,  and there’s usually a procedure right there at the polls where you can “switch right back to be unenrolled”.

If the Patriots win (well, WHEN they win) there will be a big Patriots parade in downtown Boston on Tuesday.  I plan to go in to the parade.  Tuesday is my day off!  BUT, I plan first and foremost to vote on Tuesday.

I grew up in Canton, Massachusetts.  Canton had a longtime Town Clerk and State Representative named Maurice J. Ronayne.  He was one of the nicest people you’d ever want to meet.  He used to say, “Vote as you please, but please vote”.  Thus, that’s my inspiration for the title and the posting.