Neighbors block pro-life Truth Truck
On March 25 pro-life activist Todd Bullis launched the Church Project, an effort to educate congregants of Ventura, CA, churches of the reality of abortion through signs of graphic abortion images. Todd and his crew intended to prayerfully protest at 1 Ventura church a week, beginning with mega-church Reality Ventura….
At Todd’s 2nd stop, however, Ventura First Assembly of God, church member and off-duty policeman John Hixson assaulted Todd first by spraying vinegar water in his eyes and then soaking him with a water hose. The Ventura Police Department is still investigating the incident, while hoser Hixson remains on desk duty.
Todd decided to park at the unrepentant First Assembly church – which never apologized to Todd for Hixson’s actions, and which, more importantly, supports no pro-life ministries such as pregnancy care centers and whose leadership refuses to preach on the abortion issue – for the foreseeable future.
So Gregg Cunningham of the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform lent Todd one of his Truth Trucks to up the ante. These are large panel trucks with huge photos of aborted babies plastered all over them.
Todd debuted the Truth Truck at First Assembly this past Sunday – Mother’s Day…. and things again got a little crazy. Someone from the church called police, falsely accusing the Truth Truck driver of incessantly honking the horn. Then neighbors at one point blocked the Truth Truck until police arrived.
One of the neighbors twice slapped a video camera Todd’s son was holding, complaining that children would see the abortion photos, arguing, “They don’t need to see it. We know what abortion’s about, are you kidding me? What do you think, we’re all in a cloud? You know how we stop it? We stop you. Stop drawing attention to it.”
What? In all, police were called 3x.
On the other hand, Todd received $250 in donations from 2 people sensitive to his cause and reported that more church members than ever came out to express support.
Here’s great video capturing everything…
In other news, one of the church members told Todd the head pastor of the church, Tony Cervero, submitted his 6 weeks notice, stating he took a job as the assistant superintendent of the Southern CA Assemblies of God churches. And this is true…
Promotion? Escape? Or Todd’s first scalp? You decide.
Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both preborn and postborn innocent human life.
I know it goes against Christian/Buddhist/Jedi teaching to feed off the anger, but whenever I have people use that “I don’t want to see this” line, it fuels me to stay longer :P
“They don’t need to see it. We know what abortion’s about, are you kidding me? What do you think, we’re all in a cloud? You know how we stop it? We stop you. Stop drawing attention to it.”
wow. what an interesting statement.
So people DO know what abortion is. They just don’t want to be REMINDED of what it is. Which is all the more reason to remind people of what we as a society are doing to our most innocent helpless citizens.
I think the above statements have a nugget of truth to them. :(
Thank God. I believe people need to see these pictures. Talk to your kids and tell them the truth. Thank you God for Todd and his son. I will be praying for the family.
When Christians (or ANYONE who has morals) turn a blind eye to the truth, they need to realize they are the ones that need to help. They need to stop abortion by getting to the root before it gets out of control…..like spraying a weed in a garden before it kills the roses and other flowers.
It was a really good day. I really need more people. Donations are great but I need 4 or 5 more people. We have a lot of people who love what we are doing here in ventura but they don’t want to come out. I am going to get a couple big help wanted signs. I understand that for most Christians who have never done anything in the pro live movement to start by exhorting a church is a big big step.
It always astounds me when people get so upset over abortion photos. They are more upset by the evidence, than by the act itself!?! And the excuse that children might see them? Any four year old can tell that is a baby and that something very bad happened to it!
Keep exposing the Truth!
Is it Todd or Tony? which name is correct. must ber Tony
Hey Susie, sorry, I fixed that once. Fixed again. You’re right. Tony.
Go, Todd!
So brave – so stalwart! God be with you Todd as you are for the unborn!!
This is great! God bless you richly, Todd! What these “Christians” don’t understand is by sticking their head in the sand, they are almost guaranteeing that their kids will end up pregnant and in abortion clinics in a few years. It happens all the time. Clinic workers love to talk about it, how there are many patients who profess to be born-again Christians yet there they are lying on the table, legs spread, allowing a doctor to scrape their own son or daughter out.
These churches are full of Pharisees…having a form of godliness…but where is the fruit????
One more thing…these parents have it all wrong. If your kids see the photos of aborted babies they will most definitely be upset. But our goal as Christian parents isn’t to keep our kids from ever getting upset. If that were the case we would not discipline our kids, EVER! I don’t care if my son gets upset. My goal is to teach him God’s law and to trust and love God. My goal isn’t to make sure he is always happy.
I was 8 when I first saw the photos of an aborted baby. It did me good. It made me pro-life. It kept me pure as a teen. It fueled my work in crisis pregnancy centers. It was the reason I read everything I could on abortion and was thus prepared when my employee got pregnant and scheduled an abortion That little girl is alive today because I was PREPARED and did not have my head in the sand, praise the Lord!
These parents have their missions as moms and dads all messed up in their heads.
Praying for more help for you Todd! Be strong in this fight!!
Sydney, thank you for that testimony! The part where you helped a girl in a crisis pregnancy gave me chills!
Until the killing stops, keep showing the truth!
Babies are saved because of these photos of the murdered children.
God calls it murder.
Fear the Lord, judgment starts with the house of the Lord.
Awake sisters and brothers and join the fight to save the next generation. Be a true life saver..
Just a few thoughts that come to my little mind.
John
To parents who have a very sensitive child and don’t want them exposed to the large pictures of aborted babies- Distract your children, be creative, say “LOOK!” (and point in the opposite direction of the signs). Turn around and go another way. Talk about it at home. It’s not an impossible situation to deal with.
Todd, I’m praying you find the pro-life helpers you need. It will take time, but you will!
Hi, Janet. I agree that it’s not an “impossible situation,” although I can’t help but think of a comment someone (Dr Nadal, maybe?) made on another thread. In a situation like this, where you can be fairly certain there’ll be little ones around, I think I would prefer blown up images of fetal development, not photos of dismemberment.
A couple of weeks ago, I assisted at my little nephew’s first communion. I’m trying to imagine how I would have felt if the truth truck had shown up. Even though they have an active prolife ministry there, and kids hear about abortion from the pulpit, I still think I would have preferred that they be exposed to pics of living, not mutilated, fetuses. Maybe that makes me namby pamby.
“In other news, one of the church members told Todd the head pastor of the church, Tony Cervero, submitted his 6 weeks notice, stating he took a job as the assistant superintendent of the Southern CA Assemblies of God churches.”
As a current A/G member (though not in CA), I’m really disgusted by this.
I emailed Tony asking again for a meeting and no word as of yet. No surprise really he has never called or emailed me back. I am thinking about a phone and letter campaign, just a thought, i figured i would give him a day to respond to the email.
I really don’t think a guy who will not even meet or deal with a problem should help lead other churches. Ignoring me fuels my persistence.
Who knows I might get a call from Tony today or tomorrow and we can save all that ink.
Hi Marissa,
You were deleted. You know why. You can talk like a big girl and come here to discuss.
If you are a pro abort then the pictures only depict what you support. The dismembering of tiny human babies. Own it.
Marissa,
Animals are not bothered when they come across a dead body. They do not cringe in reaction when they see another mutilated animal. They have no compassion for the pain and suffering another creature like themselves may have gone through.
We are not animals and can choose not to act like one. We have reason, logic, and an ability to sympathize with the feelings and circumstances of another person.
Animals are not judged for acting on base instinct. As humans, we typically expect better of each other.
Why do you post articles about the abortion truck but I can’t ask questions about the abortion truck? If a truck wasn’t available, would you consider an abortion minivan or hybrid instead?
You were asking questions abut something else. Think hard, Marissa.
Beth/Sydney –
I have two young daughters, and like many in the church, I wouldn’t want them to see those images. I don’t let them watch porn, view PETA ads, or view R rated movies either. It doesn’t matter if it happened or not, if it is life or not – it’s simply not appropriate development wise for some kids. When they are old enough, sure. If I saw a truth truck driving down the road, I’d go a different route to protect my kids.
It is effective though – PETA does the exact same thing.
“It is effective though – PETA does the exact same thing.”
This is somehow even more tasteless than PETA’s, though. Not easy to do.
Marissa – I don’t know about that, but I do think the logical answer is the same. Build a better way to kill. I can agree with PETA that a meat factory might be inhumane, and the answer is to put in place standards to make sure the animal feels no pain. In the same way, the logical response here is early alert to pregnancies, or wide-spread use of the morning after pill. Now, those with the trucks would be against those as well – but the issue being taken isn’t a moral one against abortion – it’s that abortion is messy.
Oh Ex, you cant even get PETA’s message right.
I like the way Marissa thinks better than how you think. Don’t think you hinder me with your numbness. Its people like you that fuels my persistence. If your an example of the kind of religion your church puts out may God help us. I am just glad its the holly spirits job to soften your heart I just have to be obedient.
So Ex-GOP what do you think
of http://www.Pro-lifeTube.com
Do you that also?
Oh Todd – I’m not attacking you in any way. I’m simply saying I think the argument being used by the pictures is sloppy and generally illogical.
Now I do ask though, if you are going to make fun of my intellect, you should shoot to use proper English. I don’t want to be a spelling flame, but it would be “you’re” (you are) and “it’s” (it is). I also believe you mean the Holy Spirit – unless there’s some odd Christmas spirit you worship.
Again – not focused on you – you do what you want with your life. Was just responding to the argument posted by others here.
Keep up the great work and refuse to be intimidated. The police officer’s comment is typical. He knows you have a perfect right to be there. He even informs the neighbors of that fact. Then, he tries to persuade you, as a favor to him, to go somewhere else because it is a hassle to him that they will keep complaining. It’s suppression of the First Amendment by peer pressure, aided and abetted by officials, complete with a guilt trip that you’re not being “reasonable.” Remember that Patriot Gold is tested and purified by fire.
From the article above, “Todd decided to park at the unrepentant First Assembly church – which never apologized to Todd for Hixson’s actions, and which, more importantly, supports no pro-life ministries such as pregnancy care centers and whose leadership refuses to preach on the abortion issue – for the foreseeable future.”
You might want to do some fact checking – This church does in fact support the ‘Crisis Pregnancy Center,’ as well as several missionaries who are trying to save the born (young women in human traffic situations)as well as the unborn around the globe. We have had ministries in the past to help women who have had abortions to learn to heal – because we believe that abortion “kills one and wounds one.” http://www.healinghearts.org/index.php
Yes, I know Todd Bullis is convinced that we are some how not a pro-life church, but my friends, he simply has it wrong. How many of you are happy to simply take his word for this because you like the fact that he is standing up for the unborn? Why not check to see if it is even true? We most certainly do stand up for the unborn, and in our opinion this is most effectively done in the realm of relationship. If you want to help a woman decide to give birth instead of killing her unwanted baby, you had better have a hand out and your arms ready to hug. She’s going to want to know how much you care about her before she will listen. And we have been there, doing that for a long time.
It makes no sense at all for Todd to target this church, other than the fact that the ‘hosing’ he got (at the hand of one single individual) has made him angry. Personally. He wants the church to apologize for what one man did. Well, I want to save lives. I want to welcome people into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, save their souls, help them to be new people. This is eternity we are talking about, and you are standing in the way of that. Is that really what you want? Who do I go to see about getting a personal apology?
As to the church preaching on life – it is a constant. Does that mean “the pro-life agenda as printed on the sides of your truck?” perhaps not, but I have heard more clear, simple statements about abortion being murder and God being the source of life, the preserver of life and so on – from the pulpit of this church than any other I have been involved with.
So – if you fine folks can’t even get THAT right, and you are willing to yell about your own free-speech rights while you try to stifle those of the neighbors who have just as much right to ‘protest your protest,’ then I guess I can see why the Pastor will not waste his time trying to have a conversation with you.
Mr Bullis does have other reasons to go after that church though – didn’t he get kicked out of that church, or was it another one?
Thanks for clarifying things GIRTodd – very eye-opening post.
TB has never been a member of First Assembly and he has not been “kicked out” of this church. I have no first-hand knowledge of his relationships with other church(s).
EGV,
Why not wait and see what Todd says in response to Get it right Todd?
Credible sources are not usually anonymous.
Get it right,
In fact, we have checked to see if the church supports missions like pregnancy care centers, and it apparently does not:
https://www.jillstanek.com/the-voluntary-abortion-of-amer.html
If you can name a specific pregnancy care center your church supports, when it started supporting it, and how much it gives, that would help.
Naming other specific pro-life ministries your church supports, when it started supporting them, and how much it gives to each would also help make your case.
Thanks.
Maybe
‘GetItRightTodd’ is Tony Cervero?
“In a situation like this, where you can be fairly certain there’ll be little ones around, I think I would prefer blown up images of fetal development, not photos of dismemberment.”
Hi Fed Up,
I wouldn’t want to see those signs at a First Communion either; I would think that Todd would have the foresight to make sure the events would not coincide. Maybe he could respond to that. Personally, I wouldn’t want to hold one of the most graphic protest signs, but I kind of admire the conviction of those who do. Oh, and IMHO, your opinions don’t make you “namby pamby”.
That’s nice if the church gives money to the local CPC, but do they come out to rescue in front of the local abortion mills? Until they show up where the killing takes place, they need to be exhorted to do so.
Proverbs 24:11-12
11 Deliver those who are drawn toward death,
And hold back those stumbling to the slaughter.
12 If you say, “Surely we did not know this,”
Does not He who weighs the hearts consider it?
He who keeps your soul, does He not know it?
And will He not render to each man according to his deeds?
Proverbs 31:8
8 Open your mouth for the speechless,
In the cause of all who are appointed to die.
And, keep showing those graphics signs!!!
Ephesians 5:11
11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.
I would think that Todd would have the foresight to make sure the events would not coincide. Posted by: Janet at May 12, 2010 1:42 PM
Hi, Janet. Thanks for your comment. Here’s the thing. What if Todd picketed my nephew’s parish the week after first communion? The little ones would have still seen the signs. They’d have just seen them at different times when they came throughout the morning with their families. The only difference would be they wouldn’t all be gathering at the same time for the same Mass.
If there’s a morning Sunday School and families coming for worship service with little kids, it’s hard to see how it’d be much different for the church Todd is picketing.
I’m coming to the conclusion that pics of living fetuses are more family-sensitive and more respectful in general for picketing a setting such as a church. Nothing would prevent Todd from taking the graphic pics and offering to let adults or supervised kids view them by approaching a display not immediately visible to families driving in with small children.
Just my two cents worth. And I respect that I am not the Holy Spirit who is moving in Todd. I’m just an outside observer whose opinion probably doesn’t matter much in the overall scope of the universe :)
“Donations are great but I need 4 or 5 more people. ”
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Todd, have you ever thought of holding a meeting somewhere to “recruit” people? It can even be a pro-life event where prominent pro-lifers can talk about the current issues…and maybe add a “baby shower” donations campaign to help raise awareness and help women who keep their babies?
It seems that a lot of parishioners appreciate what you’re doing…maybe they just need a little nudge?
Stay strong and keep the faith bro. You are in my prayers.
Jill – with all due respect, you seem to be lying in your response unless I had missed a follow-up post. The previous post you linked to stated the somebody tried to find out, and the church didn’t provide the info – which is and should be standard practice with non-members. When I mentioned this to a pastor, he laughed at the thought of providing that info to somebody outside of the church.
I agree with the logic of the poster – there’s no need for the church to give in to the demands or even say that Todd’s way is the best way to confront abortion. Working with individuals as they are, and preaching the word of God (as the Bible commands) might be all the church is called to do – and what a great calling that is!