Larry Jacobs

Ask the Vice President of the World Congress of Families a question

Lawrence D. Jacobs is the Vice President of the World Congress of Families and the Howard Center for Family, Religion and Society.

The Howard Center for Family, Religion and Society located in Rockford, Illinois is an independent, non-profit research and education center that strives to be the leading source of fresh ideas and new strategies for affirmation and defense of the natural family, both nationally and globally. The Howard Center is also the organizer of the World Congress of Families project which unites people of goodwill who recognize that the family is the fundamental unit of society and coordinates the efforts of pro-family groups from more than 60 countries worldwide.

The World Congress of Families (WCF) is an international network of pro-family organizations, scholars, and leaders that seeks to restore the natural family as the fundamental social unit and the �?seedbed’ of civil society. The WCF was founded in 1997 by Allan Carlson, president of The Howard Center. Previous Congress meetings:

- The First World Congress of Families convened in Prague, The Czech Republic, in March, 1997. Over 700 delegates from 200 organizations in 43 nations took part.

- The World Congress of Families II (WCF II) convened in Geneva, Switzerland, in November, 1999. Over 1,600 delegates from 270 organizations in 65 nations attended WCF II, with strengthened numbers from South America, Africa, the Middle East, and Africa.

- The Third Congress (WCF III) occurred in Mexico City, March 29-31, 2004, with over 3,300 registered participants (well above our goal of 2,500) from 75 countries.

- World Congress of Families IV (WCF IV) convened May 11-13, 2007 in Warsaw, Poland, with 3,900 delegates, speakers, and journalists present.

Hello, Mr. Jacobs! How was the Howard Center created? Thank you! (Julie, Great Britain)

Thanks for your question Julie! The Howard Center For Family, Religion & Society was founded in 1997 by Dr. John Howard and Dr. Allan Carlson. They both were writing, conducting research and publishing a journal called “Family In America” (which we still publish) at another non-profit center (also founded by Dr. Howard) called the Rockford Institute (formerly the Rockford College Institute) in Rockford, Illinois. The Howard Center convened the first World Congress of Families in Prague in 1997.

Does the World Congress of Families really help? It seems nothing can be done to stop destruction of traditional values... (Daniel, UK)

Hello Daniel. Great questions! To the first, I think we do help encourage and defend families, what we call the “natural family” (created by God, click here for a full definition of the natural family: www.profam.org/THC/xthc_tnf.htm). I can share stories of families that have been helped by us, governments that have changed course and leaders and businesses who have operated from a different worldview after attending a World Congress of Families event or reading our materials and recognizing that the natural family is the “fundamental unit of society.” Of course, God can also intervene and change the circumstances or the heart of anyone, so we are never without hope. Our faith becomes even more important when we see the destruction of traditional values and the effect it has real people: our children, our friends, our co-workers and even our enemies.

Was it difficult to organize the World Congress of Families? What was the most difficult part of the process? Thank you, Mr. Jacobs! (Kristen D., USA)

Thanks Kristen for your question. One word, “yes.” :) I’ll elaborate a bit more…referring to the last World Congress of Families IV in Warsaw. On one hand it is the most thrilling event in the world to see famous leaders and local citizens come together from 65 countries to celebrate the family; on the other hand, the logistics, travel and language barriers make communication and execution difficult. We had over 100 speakers in Warsaw and this made for a challenging schedule to make sure that we could start and end on time. The most difficult part for me personally was the sleepless nights, the all-nighters and the time that I spent away from my family.

Mr. Jacobs, how did you become familiar with The Howard Center for Family, Religion and Society? How did you start working there? (Aya, Germany)

Hi Aya! A current board member of The Howard Center and wonderful pro-life doctor, Dr. Byron Calhoun (www.nifla.org/bio5.asp ) told me about the Howard Center. He was a friend and colleague of mine while I was President of a pro-life medical clinic for pregnant women in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 2003, I started working at the Howard Center because I wanted to prevent the breakdown of families and the abandonment of women that I was seeing at the pregnancy centers and medical clinics and throughout society. We treat so many of the symptoms of family and values breakdowns (poverty, abuse, divorce, violence, drugs, pornography, AIDS, etc.) that we often forget to focus on prevention. Healthy marriages; having a Mom and Dad at home, dramatically improves a child’s chances of avoiding these societal problems and succeeding in life; and it improves our communities and our nations.

Hello, dear Lawrence. Please, tell us how to fight against the decision of Ukrainian parliament to let homosexuals to be teachers at schools? Thank you! (Ludmila, Kiev, Ukraine)

Ludmila, good question. I am not familiar with the particular Ukranian Parliament decision to which your refer but this is an issue in the US and throughout the world. I think you have three main options (not exclusive): 1. Leave the public school system (this is why private schools, Christian schools and home schooling is so popular in the United States (7 million children), 2. Become an involved parent/adult at the school and don’t let homosexuality be taught in the classroom. If a teacher is teaching math, science, spelling, grammar, etc., the topic of homosexuality should not even be discussed in the classroom. Even heterosexual teachers should be prevented from discussing their sexual orientation or dating life with young students. This is a topic that parents can discuss at home but should not be part of a social studies course. If your school forces it to be discussed make sure all viewpoints receive equal time even the religious and conservative viewpoints. All perspectives have to receive equal time under the law or it becomes discrimination against Christians. 3. Focus on helping homosexuals change their behavior and leave their lifestyle. It is possible and does happen frequently. Ex-gay organizations and counselors are very common in the US. You may have lost the discrimination legislation battle but focus on the battle over whether homosexuality is a choice. Otherwise, they’ll soon be celebrating homosexual awareness month in the schools and highlighting contributions of famous homosexuals (this is very common in the US).

Mr. Lawrence, thank you for your speech on the Watchmen on the Walls conference in Riga, Latvia. Please, tell us, how you became familiar with the New Generation and pastor Alexey Ledyaev? What do you know about the work of this church in Latvia and in the post-Soviet countries? What would you say about NG ministry and pastor Ledyaev himself? What was your impression of the conference in Riga in which you took part? Thank you in advance for your answers! (Ivan Boriagin, Riga, Latvia)

Ivan, thanks so much for you questions. I have to say that one of my favorite places that I went last year was my trip to Riga. I very much enjoyed the spirit of the people, the City and the Watchmen on the Walls Conference. I became familiar with Pastor Alexey Ladyaev and the New Generation Church at the World Congress of Families IV event in Warsaw, Poland where Pastor Alexey spoke. I was very impressed by Pastor Alexey, his heart for people and the work of New Generation Church. I met Christians helping and ministering to others from throughout the post-Soviet world. The conference in Riga was incredible. One of the testimonies I think to Alexey’s ministry is his ability to work with other Christian denominations (Lutheran, Orthodox, Catholic, etc.). One of the speakers was even a conservative Jewish man. By far, the highlight of my trip was sitting right next to Alexey and the Janis Vanags, Lutheran Archbishop of Latvia, during a special joint choir service in the Dome Cathedral to celebrate National Day and to raise money for the historic organ (in need of repair) of the Dome Cathedral. I felt a special spirit that day as New Generation Church and the Lutheran Church came together to celebrate and raise money for the Cathedral. Actions speak louder than words. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the place…

Hello, Mr. Lawrence. Thank you very much for the work Congress of Families does! As it is known, the next Congress will take place in Amsterdam. Why is it this city? How do you choose cities for the Congress? Thank you! (Svetlana, Kiev, Ukraine)

Svetlana, great question. This year, for the first time, we opened up the World Congress of Families selection process to bids from countries all over the world. The process was modeled after the International Olympic process (the good parts anyway) but of course our criteria were much different. You can see the specific criteria here: www.worldcongress.org/WCF5/wcf5.rfp.htm. The finalists who submitted bids included Amsterdam, Riga, Santa Cruz (Bolivia), Moscow and Abuja (Nigeria). Each city had its pro-family strengths and we wish we could go to all of them for WCF V in 2009. In the end, we felt that Amsterdam was the a great launching pad for Europe and the world where we felt we could celebrate the goodness of families, best influence leaders and policy-makers and counteract the negative forces that are opposing the family. Join us. I hope to see you in Amsterdam, August 10-12, 2009.

Hello, dear Lawrence! Does The Howard Center for Family, Religion and Society has other projects (other then the World Congress of Families)? Thank you and God bless you! (Nikita, Lvov, Ukraine)

Hi Nikita! Thanks for your question. Yes we do have many other projects. You can read about some of them here: www.profam.org. We publish two (now) quarterly journals: Family In America (www.profam.org/pub/archive_fia.htm) and New Research. Also, we write many books and articles on the family and family-related topics (www.profam.org/pub/archive_nr.htm). Our special “Swan Search” database will find articles and facts on any family topic: www.profam.org/search/swan_all.asp?x=10

Mr. Lawrence, I’m so glad to see an English-speaking minister in the web-conference on Invictory. Why do you think Christians are so passive? Why don’t they do so little work to stop depravity that is coming from USA and Europe to Slavic countries? (Maxim, Moscow, Russia)

Maxim. Blessings to you in Russia. Thanks for your question. First, thanks for the ministry compliment. Just to clarify, I am not an ordained pastor (yet) and the Howard Center is not a faith-based organization (in the religious sense) but I do think that all Christians (including me) are called to do their own personal ministry of some type. Mine happens to be on a global stage, defending and encouraging the natural family worldview (which is consistent with a Christian worldview in the family context). Why are others so passive? I think they lack purpose, passion and conviction.

Hello, Mr. Lawrence! It seems to me that you dramatize the whole situation too much and there is no real danger for the family? Yes, families do fall apart – they have always been… So please, stop making a mountain out of a molehill. Thank you (Kirill, Moscow, Russia)

Hi Kirill! Thanks for your excellent question! You are correct with the statement that tragically, families have always fallen apart. But the low marriage rates and high divorce rates that we seen since about 1964, have never been encountered in western civilization. An excellent example of this trend is the global decline in children. Despite, an increase in global population (older populations living longer), the number of children under the age of five has decreased by six million since 1990. Depopulation and “the demographic winter” are new dangers that are brought on by this increase in family breakdown and decrease in family formation. Here is an excellent article on this subject www.profam.org/pub/fia/fia.2107.htm?search=longman&opt=EXACT and a video on the coming “Demographic Winter” – www.demographicwinter.com (click on watch trailer).

Mr. Lawrence, does the family really play such an important role in society? (Dan, Montreal, Canada)

Hi Dan! Great question. Family does play such an important part because it is the fundamental unit of society. All the nations of the world recognized this formally when they signed the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. Article 16 of this document states: “The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State. Even scientists and anthropologists agree that our society would not exist without families. Think about it practically speaking, the family is the first government, the first school, the first church, the first hospital, the first restaurant, the first business, the first community, etc. We all experience these things first within the family. No government or social institution can ever replace the family. Socialist governments, dictators and great social experimenters have tried with tragic results for children and adults.

Hello, dear Lawrence! Thank you for the work of your center! Please, tell us about your family, how do you spend your holidays and what do you do to strengthen your relationship? (Henry, Germany)

Mr. Lawrence, are you a Christian? If yes, what church are you a member of and how did you come to know God? Thank you, may God bless you! (Alina, Lvov, Ukraine)

Good day! Is it true that everything is so bad in the U.S. and Christians practically have no freedom of speech (to protect the rights of homosexuals)? (Alexey, Russia)

Mr. Lawrence, what do you think about adoption of kids by homosexuals? You probably have heard the news about British Catholic adoption agencies and their refusal to give kids away to homosexual couples. What do you think about it? (Eugene, Sacramento, USA)

Mr. Jacobs, praise God for your center! Is it possible to hold the World Congress of Families in Kiev, Ukraine? What are the criteria of your choices of cities? Thank you! (Yaroslava, Kiev, Ukraine)

Can the world community influence the situation in Pakistan and Iran, where Muslims kidnap girls from Christian families, convert them to Islam and turn them to prostitutes? (Vladimir, Kiev, Ukraine)

Do you partner with any Christian ministries? If you do, with which ones? (Joann, Los Angeles, USA)

Mr. Lawrence, what would you suggest to a couple, where husband is a Christian and his wife is against it and doesn’t want him going to church. The family is falling apart because of that… Thank you, may God bless you! (Alexandra, Moscow, Russia)

How did the idea to create the World Congress of Families come up? Has it justified you hopes already? (Katherine, Toronto, Canada)

Why have families become so weak and are losing their influence on kids and society on the whole? What is the reason for that? (Adeline, Paris, France)

Who are you personally going to vote for – Barack Obama or John McCain? (Petr, California, USA)

Mr. Lawrence, does homosexual movement put pressure on the Family Congress? (Sasha, Minsk, Belarus)

Why do homosexuals unite in order to promote their ideas and Christians cannot unite to protect their Christian values? (Alina, Tallin, Estonia)

Do you think Russia has a chance to become a center of spiritual revival of Christianity? (Vlad, Moscow, Russia)

Why is America giving its Christian grounds? (George, California, USA)

Are there influential Christian media in the U.S.? Media that influence politics and society? (Denis, Dallas, Texas)

Have you heard of the Lakeland outpouring? What is your attitude toward Todd Bentley? (Alexander, Seattle, USA)

Who among Christian ministers had the most influence on you? (Lena, Sacramento, USA)

I read that you held Family congress in Europe. Why do you think Europe is turning away from Christianity and is becoming more and more secular? (Denis, Riga, Latvia)

Why secular media in the U.S. were so critical of the Watchmen on the Walls movement and put so much pressure on it during the conference in Seattle last year? (Sasha, Sacramento, USA)

DISCUSS NOW: Is 2nd Coming of Jesus etched in night sky?

TAGS: Lawrence D. Jacobs Vice President World Congress of Families Howard Center for Family Religion and Society Allan Carlson Prague Geneva Mexico City Warsaw Poland

[09/07/2008]

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