Canada Gags the Gospel with MacGregor Ministries

Update: Interview: LORRI MacGREGOR: "CANADA GAGS THE GOSPEL"  (2/28/08)

LORRI MacGREGOR, co-founder along with her husband Keith of MacGregor Ministries a Christian counter-cult apologetics organization in British Columbia, Canada, will address the theme: "CANADA GAGS THE GOSPEL." The Canadian Government will not allow any critiques of other religions. You can be any religion you want as long as you do nothing but promote your own religion. In Lorri & Keith's case, in addition to presenting the Christian religion, they were responding to attacks on Christianity.

MacGregor Ministries carefully documented these attacks and responded to them from a biblical perspective, in a respectful and even kind manner. To their knowledge, none of the groups attacking Christianity through their websites or magazines got taken to task, only MacGregor Ministries! At the same time, they present sound, biblical, Christian doctrine, which promotes the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is, of course, their purpose. They were told they had to present all religions as equal, could not be "persuasive" regarding Christianity over others, and had to get rid of their website and magazine. Their presentation of the Christian gospel through their DVD's and printed matter was ruled "uncharitable" and their careful critique of others in defense of Christian doctrine was called "hate". Since they could not compromise their faith, they had to ask that they Charity status be voluntarily revoked.

MacGregor Ministries was in operation as a registered charity run by full-time volunteers since 1980, using no funds for fundraising or salaries, and donating their creative efforts to the Charity at no cost to the Charity. The valuable work of MacGregor Ministries will continue as a corporation, MM Outreach, Box 454, Metaline Falls, WA 99153. They are but one of 2,500 charities that ceased to exist in Canada this year, due to government efforts to shut down registered charities.Lorri MacGregor grew up in a good home, but not a Christian home. When she was 18 years of age two life-changing events occurred. Her beloved grandmother died, and she was present in a high school shooting, with her friend dying as she knelt beside him. Lorri was traumatized, but there was no recognition of that problem in the late 1960's so she was sent home. She began seeking God in earnest, even contacting two pastors who more or less dismissed her. The Mormons came to their door first, but as Lorri questioned them she just knew God was not an exalted man from a star-base who had many wives and children in heaven.

Enter the Jehovah's Witnesses. By scripture hopscotching and what seemed to be a lot of knowledge they did away with the Christian doctrines Lorri had found in the encyclopedia during her search, the Trinity, the Deity of Jesus Christ, the bodily resurrection. With no Christian background she was easy prey for the JW's. Also she had always been works-oriented so their religion was a fit. Grace was never mentioned, and salvation was by works.Most of the teenagers in the JW congregation were married as early marriages were encouraged. Lorri was already enrolled in University but was pressured by the elders to do two things due to Armageddon coming so quickly. She was urged to drop out of University and to get quickly married to a JW, as she was already the advanced age of 18! Lorri wanted so much to please God that she obeyed the elders, his alleged representatives on earth. She believe her thinking would have been clearer had she not been traumatized, but vulnerable people trust too much. The marriage was a difficult one, lasted 13 years, and produced two wonderful sons. Lorri nearly died at the birth of her first son, refusing a blood transfusion, so she became a "hero" in the congregation. After a mental cruelty divorce, She was a single Mom with two boys, still a JW in good standing.As time went by Lorri met a Christian man at my workplace who was determined, in his quiet way, to spend time with her. She told him she did not date but if he wanted to study the bible to become a JW, she would agree to that. To make a long story short, he began to educate himself on her beliefs and raised many questions. Over time, he got Lorri with this one: "Prove to me from the Bible that Jesus Christ is the Archangel Michael--give me at least one scripture that says that". As she looked this up in the Watchtower literature and went through the "rat trail" of fragments of scriptures to arrive at their doctrine, it sounded weak to her. She took herself off to the elders believing they were "spiritual" and would help her. Instead she was told off for questioning "Jehovah's Organization" and was ordered to immediately stop seeing this Christian man.

Lorri left that meeting feeling that she had been kicked in the stomach by a mule. She now knew they were not God's organization. She resigned with a phone call to the presiding elder, repented of her JW years and false doctrine, searched the scriptures, and finally prayed to Jesus to forgive her and receive her as His own. It was a very powerful moment of rebirth.God proved Himself to Lorri many times over the next years, through many trials. The date for Armageddon came and went, Oct. 4, 1975 but Lorri and Keith marked it in a special way by getting married on that date! God kept sending people to them who needed help coming free from cult involvement to the extent that they wound up their business affairs and went full time in the ministry in 1979. They have been serving the Lord full time since that date, teaching in churches, colleges, and lots of media venues, in Canada, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Now their DVD's travel worldwide instead of them!In June of 2007, a Canadian government auditor visited Lorri and Keith MacGregor and told them they had to comply with their requirements or be shut down. They did their best to comply, but finally realized that they would have to compromise their Christian Faith to continue as a registered Charity. They could not turn their backs on their calling from God, so they requested revocation of their Charity status. However, they will not quit the ministry, even though they are seniors. Their ministry partners, Richard and Cheryl Schatz are on site to help them, and they will continue on as a corporation MM Outreach. They can be reached at MM Outreach, Box 454, Metaline Falls, WA 99153.

2/25/08:  This in reference to the ongoing story concerning MM Outreach (formerly Macgregor Ministries; Lorri & Keith Macgregor, who have retired, handing over Macgregor Ministries to MM Outreach as a merger) and their problems with the Canadian version of the IRS.  The Canadian IRS has revoked their tax exempt status as a bona fide ministry/ charity that does outreach to Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons as well as other cults, providing them with information and materials.  I emailed the Frank Pastore Show, a Christian talk show in Los Angeles  outlining the problems that both Richard and Cheryl Schatz are having regarding the Canadian Government.

 
Frank Pastore will be interviewing Richard and Cheryl today on Frank Pastore's call in Radio Show at 4:25 p.m. Pacific Standard Time; (which is 5:25 Mountain, 6:25 Central, 7:25 Eastern) regarding what has recently happened to them.
 
If you are in the Los Angeles area, please tune into KKLA at 99.5 FM at 4:25 today.  The Frank Pastore Show begins at 4:00 Pacific Time.  If you are out of the Los Angeles Metro area, you can still listen to KKLA online at http://kkla.com/  and click on the "Listen Live" button at the top (remembering your respective time zone).

INTERVIEW in Real Media format (9 min. 20 sec.)

INTERVIEW in mp3 format (9 min. 20 sec.) (right click to download to target on your hard drive)

Letter received from Dr. James Penton 2/24/08 regarding the above:

Dear Randy,

 

I am growing greatly concerned with attacks on freedom of speech, publications, etc. in Canada. This whole business started with what is called the Hate Bill, passed in the 1960s as I recall. It was done at the behest of the Jewish lobby that has become a real enemy of freedom of speech. Eventually, a man in Alberta called Keegstra was charged with promoting Nazi ideas to school students. He was fired--something that should have happened. But that was not enough to satisfy the Jewish Defense League. He was charged under the Hate Bill and convicted. His case finally ended up in the Supreme Court. In a four to three decision the court upheld his conviction. Since then things have gone down hill. Both the federal government and the provinces set up so-called Human Rights Commissions which are terrible instruments of oppression. Anyone can drag anyone before these bodies for saying something that they consider hateful to their particular group. Recently the Hate Bill was amended to include homosexuals, and people in Saskatchewan have been fined for quoting the Scriptures against homosexuality. What is particularly terrible is that the person complaining about someone doesn't have to pay a cent. But the accused has to foot the entire bill for his defense. And when one is dragged before one of these Human Rights Commissions, there are none of the usual protections that exist in courts of law. Sadly, not one person taken before a Human Rights Commission has ever been acquitted. Interestingly, now Jews are being taken before the commissions for insulting Muslims and even McLean's Magazine, the country's national magazine, has been charged.

 

Now Revenue Canada is getting into the act as you are aware. What is quite serious here is that the right wing in politics has little if any respect for civil rights. It is much like the Bush administration. But curiously, the left is no better. It is overrun with politically correct feminist and gay types who are often quite anti-religious. So there is little sympathy for anything religious but the super liberalism of the main line churches. Nonetheless, a backlash is growing, especially in the press and in some courts. So I hope that the Supreme Court will reverse itself.

 

Jim Penton

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