--------------—Spirit One in the News—-------------
--------------IRS SEEKS TO SILENCE GOSPEL AT SPIRIT ONE-------------
 

Pastor Mark answers IRS's questions continued

2. Please state whether the church placed the following statements on its sign:

·        “Morrison accepts blood money from Abortionist Tiller – how many babies!”

·        “Abortionist Tiller has given $300,000 to SEBELIOUS.  Price of 1000 BABIES!”

·        “Paul Morrison's early release of felons (sic) – Reginald Carr – MLTPL murders.”

·        Canfield supports life and the traditional family.  Barnett does not.

If so, as to any of the above, please answer questions 3 through 6. 

Answer – Spirit One changes the marquee signs on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, and no records are kept as to what messages are placed on the signs.  All messages that are placed on the signs are spiritual messages that communicate God's truth, or are directly related to messages in the Bible. 

 

3. Please provide us with the name(s) and title(s) of the church official(s) or member(s) who authorized and approved the placement of each of the statements, above.

 

Answer - Mark Holick

 

4. Please state how long each of the statements referenced in #2 above was left on the sign, including the specific dates each were posted and were removed.

 

Answer –Signs are normally changed on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, and the same would probably be true for these signs. 

 

5. Please state the total cost incurred in placing each of the statements on the church sign (i.e., time, labor, and other costs).

 

Answer – There were no costs for putting up these signs.  It normally takes 15-30         minutes to put up a sign.

 

6. Please explain in detail the purpose of placing each statement on the church's sign.

 

Answer - The purpose is to obey the Lord, proclaim His Word (the Gospel), and establish His kingdom.  The following are just a few of the many scripture references related to the purpose of the signs:

 -to lift up Jesus (Ps. 24:7-9)

-to rebuke sin (Lk. 3:8)

-to destroy the works of the devil (1 Jn. 3:8)

-to save babies (Lv.  20:1-5)

-to be honest (Is. 59:14)

-to take a righteous stand (Ps. 9:8)

-to rescue the weak and needy (Ps. 12:5)

-to demonstrate true religion by loving preborn neighbors (Jm. 1:27)

-to call a wicked city to repent (Ex. 23:7)

-to educate and inform about Jesus who IS truth (Jn. 14:6)

-to obey the call to preach, including rebuking (Acts 16:10)

-to stand in the gap against evil (Ez. 22:30)

-to confront hypocrites (1 Ki. 18:17-18)

-to confront immoral politicians (1 Ki. 18)

-to declare the whole counsel of God (Jn. 14:26)

-to disciple children (Pr. 22:6)

-to save America (Dt. 28)

-to stop the shedding of innocent blood (Jr. 22:17)

- to not allow the city to be comfortable while babies are murdered (Pr. 1:32)

-to glorify God (Ps. 86:12)

-to destroy the works of the devil (1 Jn. 3:8)

-to make the Pastor's calling and election sure (2 Pe. 1:3)

-to work out the Pastor's salvation with fear and trembling (Ph. 2:12)

-to take dominion for King Jesus over this wicked city (Dn. 7:14)

-to promote the fear of God, for it is the beginning of wisdom (Pr. 9:10)

-to spark a Revival (Jl. 2:12-13)

-to separate the wheat from the chaff in this church and other churches (Is. 40:24)

-to obey Ephesians 5:11 and reprove the fruitless deeds of darkness (Ep. 5:11)

- to act like a Christian (Jm. 1:27 – what the bible calls true religion)

-to train others how to act and speak (Jm. 2:22)

-to expose and confront evildoers (Ez. 20:4)

-to prophesy against wickedness (Is. 58:1)

-as an act of worship (Jn. 14:15)

           

7. Please state whether the planned activity to hand out partisan, pro-family voter guides on Sunday 5, November 2006, actually took place.  Please state whether, in fact, an invitation to join in the activity was issued.  If so, please answer questions 8 through 15.

 

Answer – There were no voter guides distributed in the church, nor was the voter guide distribution a project of the church.  Rather, the activity in question was done by Kansans for Life.  The voter guides were distributed on the public sidewalks in front of various churches throughout Wichita, and there was no announcement or invitation given by Spirit One to join in the voter guide distribution.  Neither Holick nor Spirit One participated in preparing the voter guides or printing them.  Holick, in his personal capacity and as a volunteer for Kansans for Life, did send an email inviting people to participate in the project.  He put his contact information so people could get a hold of him.  However, it was not a Spirit One activity.  Mark Holick (as is all it's staff) are permitted to use church email address for both business and personal emails, and he takes personal calls at church. 

 

8. Please describe the specific content of the voter guides in detail.

 

Answer – Spirit One did not produce nor does it have a copy of the voter guides, nor did it participate in handing it out. 

 

9. Please describe the specific purpose of the voter guides in detail.

 

Answer – Spirit One did not participate, so there was no purpose.  We assume Kansans for Life had the purpose of educating potential voters about issues in an upcoming election.   

 

10. Please provide the name(s) and title(s) of the individual(s) who participated in preparation of the voter guides.

 

Answer – The church has no names as it did not participate in the preparation. 

 

11. Please provide the name(s) and title(s) of the individual(s) who authorized the issuance of the voter guides.

 

Answer – No one from Spirit One participated in authorizing the voter guides. 

 

12. Please state approximately how many churches and congregants were provided with the voter guides, and by what means (i.e. pamphlets, brochures, flyers, mailings, e-mail, etc).

 

Answer – Again, Spirit One does not know as it did not participate in the voter guide distribution.  Pastor Holick does not have independent knowledge of how many churches were provided voter guides.  The voter guides were in flyer form.

 

13. Please state the costs incurred by the Church in preparing, issuing and disseminating the voter guides.

 

Answer – The church did not prepare, issue, nor disseminate voter guides.  Thus,   none.

 

14. Please state what costs, if any, were incurred by the Church in responding to any inquiries that my have resulted from the voter guides.

 

Answer - None

 

15. Please state whether any other information, flyer, etc. was disseminated, either orally or in writing, with or closely in proximity to, this communication.  If so, please describe specifically that other information and the manner of its dissemination, and the total cost incurred by the Church in its preparation and dissemination.

 

Answer – None, thus, none, and none

 

16. Please state whether any of the candidates listed on the voter guides visited or spoke at Spirit One Christian Center at any time during 2005 and 2006.  If so, please provide the names of the individuals, the reason for the visit or speaking engagement, the content of the speeches and state whether the individual(s) were paid and whether funds were collected and gifted to them.  State the amount paid or gifted.

 

Answer – No candidate for office spoke at Spirit One Christian Center in 2005 or 2006.

 

17. Please state whether, in fact, it was the objective of Spirit One Christian Center and Pastor Mark Holick to help the Kline campaign as described in the e-mail message referenced in paragraph C, above.

 

Answer – Neither Spirit One nor its Pastor, in his official capacity as a pastor, were involved in the e-mail referenced in paragraph C.  The e-mail contained an article written and published in a local newspaper by a non-church member/person, and pertained to abortion.  Pastor Holick regularly uses his email for personal uses.  In his personal capacity, he simply forwarded this article to others to communicate the sins of abortion. 

 

18. To how many individuals or entities was this e-mail message sent?  Were donations raised for Phillip Kline as a result of this e-mail?  If donations were raised, how much was raised?

 

Answer – It is unknown how many people it was sent to.  No donations were asked for or raised.

 

 

19. Please provide the name(s) and title(s) of the individual(s) who authorized this e-mail message?

 

Answer – All personal emails are authorized by the person sending it – in this case, Mark Holick.

 

20. Please state whether Phillip Kline ever spoke before the members of Spirit One Christian Center.  If so, please specify the date(s) of attendance and answer questions 21 through 24, below for each date of attendance.  If not, continue on to question 25.

 

      Answer - Yes, on two occasions, in 2002 and 2003.

 

21. Please provide the name(s) and title(s) of the Church officials who authorized Mr. Kline's visit to speak before your membership.

 

Answer – Mark Holick

 

22. Please provide a detailed explanation of Mr. Kline's speech.  Include details such as the topic of the speech, whether he solicited votes during this speech to the congregation, whether he discussed the election during the speech, and whether he discussed other candidates in the election during the speech.

 

Answer – He ministered from the bible, mostly the book of Genesis, and on truth.  He did not speak about elections or political candidates.  But because it was so long ago, the church does not remember any more specific details.

 

23. Describe in detail what preparations were made for Mr. Kline's visit such as announcements (i.e., news releases, flyers, announcements, mailings, advertisements, e-mail, etc).  Please describe the content of any announcements.  Please list all expenses or costs incurred for the preparation for the visit and their amount, if any, including labor.

 

Answer - An oral announcement was made during the announcement time along with a multiple of other announcements as we always announce when guest speakers are scheduled.   No costs were incurred.

 

24. At any point in Mr. Kline's visit, were contributions solicited or made on behalf of his campaign?  If so, please provide detailed information regarding the contributions and solicitations made on Mr. Kline's behalf.

 

Answer – No.

 

25. Please provide the name(s) and title(s) of the Church officials who authorized the posting of the article concerning Hillary Clinton on the Spirit One Christian Center website on February 20, 2007.  Please state any costs incurred by the Church with respect to that posting.  Please state whether the article was also distributed by other means.  If so, please state any costs incurred by the Church in any other distributions of the article.

 

Answer – Mark Holick.  There were no costs involved.  The article was not distributed by any other means, and thus
there were no costs involved.

 

26. If you do not agree that the activities referenced in paragraphs A, B, C, and D above, were political activities, please provide factual or legal arguments which support that view.  If you intend to continue to engage in these types of activities in the future, please explain your rationale/reasoning in detail.

 

Answer – The signs were not political activities, but rather, were examples of how Spirit One communicates its Christian/religious message.  The signs all pertained to respect for life and family, a key and fundamental teaching of the scriptures (see Ps. 139:13-15, Jer. 1:4-5, Lk. 1:41-44, Lk. 1:15, Ge. 25:23, Gal. 1:15, Ge. 1:27, Job 10:12, Pr. 24:11-12, Jr. 7:2, Jr. 22:3, 17, Ex. 23:7,  Ex. 20:13, Rv. 21:8, Ge. 9:6, 2Ki. 17:16-20, Jr. 32:35, Jr. 7:31, Mt. 19:5.)

 

The voter guides were distributed by Christians from many different denominations and churches and passed out all across town on the public sidewalks in front of many churches.  Mark Holick is a member of Kansans for Life and did participate in his personal capacity, but Spirit One had no participation in the event.  While Holick did invite others to participate, it was done in his personal capacity, and not as a pastor.

 

The email was a personal email sent by Mark Holick.  Even though the email was a personal email, the purpose of it was to communicate the evils of sin in the world.  Holick will continue to send out personal emails as most Americans do. 

 

Finally, the article on the church's website was not political.  It was written long before Hillary Clinton ever announced she was a candidate for the presidency.  But most importantly, the article spoke about the sin of abortion and sanctity of the family. 

 

All of the issues raised in your letter dealt with Spirit One's Christian beliefs in the sanctity of life and the sanctity of marriage.  Life and family are the foundations of any society.  These are not political issues they are Christian and Biblical issues.  Spirit One exists only to be a church, of a church, and related to biblical church teachings.  The church is not carrying on any unrelated trade or business.  Nor is the church involved in any taxable activities. 

 

27. If you agree that these activities were political, please tell us, in detail, what actions you have taken, or will take, to assure us that you will not engage in this type of activity in the future.

 

Answer – These activities were not political, but rather, Christian, biblical, and scriptural.

 

28. Does the organization currently have or has it ever had, any written guidelines governing officers and board members engaging in political intervention activities while acting in their official capacity?  If yes, please describe the general content of the guidelines and the method or procedure for informing officials of those guidelines.  Please advise when the guidelines were enacted and specifically who approved them, including their title and position in the church.

 

Answer – No.

 

29. Does the organization have any other policy to ensure it does not engage in political intervention activities?  If so, please provide a detailed explanation of the policy, including when enacted and specifically by who approved, including their title and position in the organization.

 

Answer – No.

 

30. If the organization does not have a policy prohibiting political intervention, will you consider adopting such a policy?

 

The Service generally suggests that an appropriate policy should ensure that the organization will not engage in any future political that may jeopardize its tax exempt status.  The policy should be signed and dated by all officers and board members.  The policy should contain provisions expressly prohibiting the following direct or indirect actions by the organization, on its property, or during organization functions:

 

·        Endorsing of any candidate

·        Donating or contributing to a candidate's campaign

·        Participating or engaging in political fundraising events

·        Distributing statements for or against a particular candidate

·        Engaging in any other activity that may favor or oppose a candidate

 

In addition, the policy should be communicated to all members and placed in a conspicuous location for all to observe.

 

Answer – The church does not intend to engage in political intervention activity as prohibited in federal law and the United States Constitution.  But, the church will not stop communicating its Biblical message, even if it relates to contemporary issues in the world.  Thus, the church cannot agree to not engage in any activity that may favor or oppose a candidate.  Simply preaching the word of God on a moral issue which a candidate is opposed, may be deemed to oppose a candidate.  In fact, anything preached or said that a political candidate disagrees with could be seen as opposing them.  While it is the church's policy not to oppose or endorse a candidate for office, it will not stop preaching God's word.

 

31.   If you have any additional information or explanation that you would like to provide to us relating to the subject matter of the above questions, please do so.

Answer – The United States Constitution guarantees that Spirit One will be able to freely exercise its religion, and that Congress will not pass any law restricting that right.  This is all Spirit One wants to do – communicate God's word and truth.    

In Christ Jesus,

 

Pastor Mark E. Holick

Spirit One Christian Center, Wichita, Kansas