BattleCry 50-state attack due on May 12, 2006

Battlecry 50-state attack due on Friday May 12, 2006

They're Back. They're Bad. They're looking for a photo-opportunity at your City Hall!
From the Battlecry website: "We are excited to announce that on Friday, May 12, BattleCry is looking to hold 50+ BattleCry rallies in cities across the nation! We want you to be a part of this nation-wide movement of teenagers taking a stand for God and peacefully protesting the flood of immoral influence that is overtaking young people in our culture."

DO:
Plan a response. The more these kinds of groups appear to be unopposed the more their sense of entitlement and confidence grows. Involve different groups, and celebrate your diversity as a Community. Battlecry is not about acceptance or tolerance of differences, no matter what their marketing materials may say.

Inform yourself about Battlecry and its backers. Share the info with the press. Did you know that Teen Mania Ministries Inc.
-owns over 23 million in real property (!), yet they claim to oppose big corporations?
-received 8 million in government funding as a religious non-profit?
-is backed by a major funder of the Bush administration?
see http://www.guidestar.org/ then search for "Teen Mania" to see tax return
More info on Ron Luce/Battlecry: http://www.acquiretheevidence.com/

DON'T:
Give them what they want. A one day splash of positive publicity in 50 states all at once.
What they want may make us angry, but what we should do is demonstrate that their "spin" on what is moral or immoral is not the view of the mainstream. These are Extremists. Extremists who know how to market themselves. Extremists who are trying to influence young people at an impressionable age to join a culture of "battle" and "warriors". These teens are at risk of indoctrination into a new kind of mega-cult where no questions are asked and you happily do as you're told.

Battlecry in San Francisco 3/06:
http://www.indybay.org/news/2006/03/1809715.php
-------------------
from the Battlecry Forum website:
http://forums.battlecry.com/viewtopic.php?t=2131
Posted: Thu Apr 13, 2006 3:30 pm
Post subject: Looking for Rally Captains in the following cities...

We are excited to announce that on Friday, May 12, BattleCry is looking to hold 50+ BattleCry rallies in cities across the nation! We want you to be a part of this nation-wide movement of teenagers taking a stand for God and peacefully protesting the flood of immoral influence that is overtaking young people in our culture.

In order to facilitate this movement, we are looking for official Rally Captains in the following Cities:
Albuquerque, New Mexico - Ames, Iowa - Amherst, Massachusetts - Atlanta, Georgia - Baltimore, Maryland - Baton Rouge, Louisiana - Birmingham, Alabama - Boise, Idaho - Boston, Massachusetts - Buffalo, New York - Chicago, Illinois - Cleveland, Ohio - Dallas, Texas - Denver, Colorado - Detroit, Michigan - Fresno, California - Fort Lauderdale, Florida - Grand Rapids, Michigan - Hamilton, Ontario, Canada - Houston, Texas - Indianapolis, Indiana - Jacksonville, Florida - Kansas City, Missouri - Lansing, Michigan - Las Vegas, Nevada - Los Angeles, California - Macon, Georgia - Minneapolis, Minnesota - Muncie, Indiana - Nashville, Tennessee - New York, New York - Omaha, Nebraska - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Phoenix, Arizona - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - Portland, Oregon - Rapid City, South Dakota - Richmond, Virginia - Sacramento, California - San Antonio, Texas - San Diego, California - San Francisco, California - Seattle, Washington - St. Charles, Missouri - Tacoma, Washington - Tampa Bay, Florida - Tulsa, Oklahoma - Tyler, Texas - Washington D.C.

A Rally Captain would be the point-person corresponding with Teen Mania and would be responsible for:
1. Securing a permit for the rally at City Hall
2. Running the minute-by-minute schedule of the rally
3. Choosing teens to speak at the rally
4. Having his/her own youth group attend the rally
5. Being available for other youth leaders to contact as a resource

Requirements for being a Rally Captain:
1. Must be the official youth leader or youth pastor of your church
2. Must have the support of your church to be a part of holding the rally

Rally Captains will receive 20 free tickets to the next Acquire the Fire or BattleCry event in your area.

To volunteer to be a Rally Captain, please email amanda.maclean [at] teenmania.org or call 1-888-628-3473 ext. 7483 ASAP. Be sure to include your contact information, such as your phone number, email address and church name and location, and the city you are wishing to coordinate the rally for.

Watch a video of the first BattleCry rally at City Hall in San Francisco by going to http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/ to download iTunes. The video can be found by searching the iTunes Music Store using "BattleCry" as the keyword.
Thanks, (BattleCry) Site Administrator