TheCall (organization)

TheCall is an organization which sponsors prayer meetings led by Lou Engle along with other Christian leaders pastors in the United States. The meetings request prayer and fasting by Christians in protest against issues such as same-sex marriage and legal access to elective abortion. TheCall has drawn support from American Evangelical leaders, but has also been criticized for intolerance.

TheCall D.C. August, 2008

As of October 2018, Lou Engle has announced the ending of TheCall organization and will be focusing on his newest endeavor, Lou Engle Ministries. This was announced on TheCall's website, where all other pages have been deleted other than Engle's press release. TheBriefing, which is an email newsletter rallying followers around political issues pertaining to TheCall's goals and giving prophetic assignments for intercession will be continued by Engle's dear friends, Paul and Cheryl Amabile. A new movement, Contend, will have what Engle believes to have the same DNA as TheCall and will be led by David and Audry Kim who are his spiritual son and daughter.[1]

Events

Originally planned as a co-ed youth version of Promise Keepers,[2] TheCall hosts 12-hour or 24-hour events which combine prayer, sermons, and Christian rock worship and gospel music. The events are also known for their cultural and ethnic diversity, described in National Review as "the Breakfast Club of religious gatherings."[2] Speakers at TheCall events frequently draw parallels between the pro-life movement and the Civil Rights Movement. TheCall is meant to be a gathering of fasting and prayer to confess personal and national sins, to pray for God's blessing on the nation, and for spiritual awakening among youth.[3] Personal and national repentance among Christians and prayer for spiritual awakening has been the core focus of TheCall since its inception. Much of the events are devoted to prayer and sermons against abortion and homosexuality.[2] TheCall events has been attended by prominent evangelical leaders such as Mike Huckabee, James Dobson, and Tony Perkins. Engle believes that gatherings such as TheCall are necessary to prevent Divine judgment from taking place in the United States due to legalized abortion and the acceptance of homosexuality in American culture.[4]

Uganda controversy

On May 2, 2010, Engle traveled to Uganda and organized a TheCall Rally at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. Before the trip he condemned the harsh penalties proposed in a bill that called for life imprisonment or the death penalty for Ugandan homosexuals with AIDS who engage in sexual relations, saying his ministry could not support it.[5] Engle later said the church should examine its own sins and oppose violence against homosexuals, but he did not reject the criminalization of homosexuality.[6]

TheCall and American politics

TheCall has multiple supplementary movements and alternative names for their events that are focused on different areas of interest to the group. This includes TheResponse,[7] which was a chain of stadium revivals focused on rallying audiences towards different topics or political candidates.[8] Another event sponsored by TheCall and Lou Engle was RiseUp. This event was held in Washington D.C on October 9, 2017[9] and was created for Christian women to become advocates within the political sphere.[10] Speakers at this event lead prayers for political figures such as Donald Trump and Barack Obama.[11] Attendees were asked to pray for millions of children to be adopted, for the overturning of Roe v. Wade and for “the reform or the resigning of judges” within the Supreme Court. TheCall again has recently focused on rally Christian women with the Esther Fast. This three day fast held from March 8–11, 2017 [12] called for women to pray for the support of the President of the United States, the ending of witchcraft, removing Anti-Semitic beliefs America, and for the reversal of Roe v. Wade.

Rick Perry

On August 6, 2011 Rick Perry and Lou Engle held The Response.[13] This event was an all-day prayer rally held in Houston at the Reliant Stadium in which Engle called for prayer and fasting in support of Perry's presidential campaign.[14] Prior to this, two Texan pastors, Tom Schlueter of Arlington and Bob Long of San Marcos contacted Perry in hopes to share a new revelation that God had ordained Texas to be "The Prophet State" and that he was anointed by God to lead the state and nation into revival.[15] Perry engages in this rhetoric and further promotes the belief that The Response was prophesied and anointed through the Book of Joel. At this event, Engle tells the audience that the day Perry announced his presidential campaign, it rained heavily for five hours. He then goes on to say that some see this as a sign of God's blessing on Perry's presidency.[16]

Other politicians associated with TheCall

Gatherings

References
  1. "The Call".
  2. Mark Hemmingway (August 18, 2008) Hearing TheCall National Review
  3. Ed Hornick, (August 13, 2008) McCain, Obama to address 'values voters' CNN
  4. Julia Duin, (July 27, 2008) More fast times at Call on Mall Washington Times
  5. Kron, Josh (May 2, 2010). "In Uganda, Push to Curb Gays Draws U.S. Guest". The New York Times.
  6. Throckmorton, Warren. "Lou Engle issues statement regarding The Call Uganda and Anti-Homosexuality Bill".
  7. "Here's What You Need To Know About Rick Perry's Prayer Rally". Business Insider. Retrieved 2018-11-02.
  8. Merlan, Anna (2011-07-12). "IHOP To It: A Little More About the Prayer Warriors Behind Rick Perry's "The Response"". Dallas Observer. Retrieved 2018-11-02.
  9. "Urging Women to Answer a New Call". CBN.com - The Christian Broadcasting Network. Retrieved 2018-11-02.
  10. "Millions of Americans Believe God Made Trump President". POLITICO Magazine. Retrieved 2018-11-02.
  11. "Christian women gather on National Mall, pray for Trump, Obama and Supreme Court". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2018-11-02.
  12. "Thousands of Women to Repent for Racial Sins of America in Worship Rally on National Mall". Retrieved 2018-11-02.
  13. "Rick Perry's positive 'Response'". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-11-02.
  14. "Meet The Radical Evangelical Army Behind Rick Perry". Business Insider. Retrieved 2018-10-23.
  15. "Rick Perry's Army of God - The Texas Observer". The Texas Observer. 2011-08-03. Retrieved 2018-10-23.
  16. "Engle: Perry's Presidential Announcement May Have Alleviated Texas' Drought | Right Wing Watch". Right Wing Watch. Retrieved 2018-10-23.
  17. Hudson, Waymon (2010-05-18). "Sam Brownback's Pastor Problem: Evangelical Extremist Lou Engle". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
  18. Gross, Michael Joseph (2010-09-17). "Is Palin's Rise Part of God's Plan?". The Hive. Retrieved 2018-11-14.
  19. "Lou Engle of TheCall Teams up with Huckabee and Gingrich". GLAAD. 2011-09-14. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
  20. "Prayercast: Bachmann and Engle | Right Wing Watch". Right Wing Watch. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
  21. Wilson, Bruce (2016-04-19). "Ted Cruz' Religion Adviser Talks to God, Can Add Scripture to Bible". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-10-23.
  22. "더콜 기도성회, 성황리에 막내려". 5 October 2002.
  23. "Evangelicals Praying for a Revolution - Los Angeles Times". webcache.googleusercontent.com. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
  24. "newsnjoy.co.kr - This website is for sale! - newsnjoy Resources and Information". www.newsnjoy.co.kr. Cite uses generic title (help)
  25. "Thousands Attend The Call in Montgomery".
  26. Montopoli, Brian (August 15, 2008). "Obama, McCain And The Evangelical Divide". CBS News. Retrieved 2008-11-04.
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