{"id":1792,"date":"2017-01-10T21:08:00","date_gmt":"2017-01-11T03:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/?p=1792"},"modified":"2017-01-10T21:08:00","modified_gmt":"2017-01-11T03:08:00","slug":"michael-farris-leaving-convention-states-head-alliance-defending-freedom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/2017\/01\/michael-farris-leaving-convention-states-head-alliance-defending-freedom\/","title":{"rendered":"Michael Farris is leaving the Convention of States to head up the Alliance Defending Freedom"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"Michael-Farris-PCH.edu_-800x430\"<\/p>\n

It is with both sadness and great excitement that I announce that Mike Farris, my co-founder of the Convention of States Project, and one of my closest friends is moving on to a new endeavor as the President, CEO and General Counsel of Alliance Defending Freedom, the world\u2019s premiere defender of religious freedom.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mike Farris is a visionary patriot, and without him, the Convention of States Project would never have been launched.\u00a0 Much like the homeschool movement in America, which he championed through Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), and Patrick Henry College, which he founded, COS was an idea hatched from the visionary mind of Michael Farris.\u00a0 And much like those important projects which have continued to grow and thrive as Michael has moved onto other things, the Convention of States Project will continue to do the same.<\/span><\/p>\n

As the co-founder of this movement, and a dear friend, Mike remains available to provide guidance and advice as needed.\u00a0 He and I communicate regularly, and I will continue to call on his experience and wisdom as the Convention of States Project moves forward.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, over 2.1 million Convention of States activists are in the field representing every state legislative district in the nation.\u00a0 So far, 8 states have passed the COS resolution, and this year it will be pending in 37 state legislatures.\u00a0 While Mike moves on to focus on the fight for religious liberty all over the world, the Convention of States Project will continue to fight for all of our liberties right here at home, in all fifty states.<\/span><\/p>\n

The nation is forever indebted to Mike Farris for his vision and commitment to liberty, in all its forms.\u00a0 When the history of this time period is written, no doubt, he will have his own chapter.\u00a0 For Mike\u2019s full statement on his new position, see his Facebook post.<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

This is the biggest announcement that I have ever made on Facebook\u2014or really anywhere.<\/p>\n

As of this morning, I have become the President, CEO, and General Counsel of Alliance Defending freedom\u2014the largest and most highly respected advocacy organization in the nation\u2014indeed in the world\u2014dedicated to the preservation of religious freedom, human life, and a godly definition of marriage.<\/p>\n

The core reason that I accepted this position\u2014after being sought out by ADF\u2014was my assessment of the state of religious freedom in our nation and around the globe.<\/p>\n

The cultural, media, legal, and political elites are seeking to silence a true and robust protection for the fundamental right of religious freedom. The elites want to selectively silence those voices of faith with whom they disagree.<\/p>\n

While today\u2019s battleground has many manifestations, the real battle is the right to preach the Gospel and live the Gospel. This is the true motivation of the attacks being leveled against religious freedom by those who have cast aside any pretense of embracing the original meaning of the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States.<\/p>\n

Becoming the CEO of an organization as large as Alliance Defending Freedom necessarily requires me to set aside my current portfolio of activity.<\/p>\n

I am retiring from the staff of Home School Legal Defense Association but I will remain with HSLDA as a member of its board of directors. So to, I will remain on the board of trustees of Patrick Henry College. And in the fall of 2018, it is my plan to return in a limited role as a professor to teach one section of constitutional law and help coach the moot court team.<\/p>\n

For the Convention of States, an innovative effort to rein in the abuse of power by the federal government, I am retiring from my role as a Senior Advisor.<\/p>\n

I have not had a change of heart concerning any of these organizations or causes. On the contrary. I believe in each of them as fervently as the day I helped launch these endeavors. Actually, it is my total faith in the current leadership of each of these groups that gives me the liberty of spirit to pursue this clear calling of God.<\/p>\n

Mike Smith is and has been a superb leader of HSLDA for decades. Jack Haye, is fairly new as President of Patrick Henry College, but for 15 years before assuming that role, he was our Chairman of the Board of Trustees. I have full confidence that Jack will continue to grow and lead PHC in absolute faithfulness to the original vision. And my new, but dear friend, Mark Meckler, is one of the most talented visionaries I have ever met. He will lead the Convention of States to success in the very near future.<\/p>\n

But God has clearly called me back to my first love\u2014the defense of religious freedom and the protection of human life and the family. He has also allowed me the privilege of working on behalf of freedom around the world\u2014a cause that has captured my attention and efforts\u2014in various ways for many years.<\/p>\n

Alliance Defending Freedom has a tremendous program of training young people headed to positions of leadership in the law. Many of my students from Patrick Henry College have benefitted from the Blackstone Fellowship for law students and the Arete Academy for undergraduates.<\/p>\n

I have been privileged and blessed to have experience in every single aspect of the ministry of ADF.<\/p>\n

My wife, who is fully in support of this move, believes that I have been in training for this job for decades. She says it is the perfect fit.<\/p>\n

This new position will require us to divide our time between Scottsdale, Arizona and our current home in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC. It is the right stage of life for us to do this\u2014although with my wife\u2019s health struggles, it is not without sacrifice despite the delightful allure of Arizona in the wintertime.<\/p>\n

I would ask all of my friends to visit the website of Alliance Defending Freedom and to sign up to receive regular information. You can click here.<\/p>\n

I want you to know the tremendously important battles that we are engaged in but even more I want to solicit your well-informed prayers.<\/p>\n

We must preserve the right to preach the Gospel and to live the Gospel\u2014every day of the week and in every walk of life.<\/p>\n

Thanks so much for your prayers and support.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is with both sadness and great excitement that I make this announcement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2673,"featured_media":1793,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nMichael Farris is leaving the Convention of States to head up the Alliance Defending Freedom<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It is with both sadness and great excitement that I make this announcement.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/2017\/01\/michael-farris-leaving-convention-states-head-alliance-defending-freedom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Michael Farris is leaving the Convention of States to head up the Alliance Defending Freedom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It is with both sadness and great excitement that I make this announcement.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/2017\/01\/michael-farris-leaving-convention-states-head-alliance-defending-freedom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mark Meckler\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-01-11T03:08:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/653\/2017\/01\/Michael-Farris-PCH.edu_-800x430-e1484063213346.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"323\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark Meckler\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mark Meckler\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/2017\/01\/michael-farris-leaving-convention-states-head-alliance-defending-freedom\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/2017\/01\/michael-farris-leaving-convention-states-head-alliance-defending-freedom\/\",\"name\":\"Michael Farris is leaving the Convention of States to head up the Alliance Defending Freedom\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-01-11T03:08:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-01-11T03:08:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/#\/schema\/person\/e95fc54d2a84068750f5d9a181cd2421\"},\"description\":\"It is with both sadness and great excitement that I make this announcement.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/2017\/01\/michael-farris-leaving-convention-states-head-alliance-defending-freedom\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/2017\/01\/michael-farris-leaving-convention-states-head-alliance-defending-freedom\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/2017\/01\/michael-farris-leaving-convention-states-head-alliance-defending-freedom\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Michael Farris is leaving the Convention of States to head up the Alliance Defending Freedom\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/\",\"name\":\"Mark Meckler\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/#\/schema\/person\/e95fc54d2a84068750f5d9a181cd2421\",\"name\":\"Mark Meckler\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cf71f8e44cbfd7951a4eb0173d2a8f27?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cf71f8e44cbfd7951a4eb0173d2a8f27?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mark Meckler\"},\"description\":\"Mark is one of the nation\u2019s most effective grassroots activists. After he co-founded and was the national coordinator of the Tea Party Patriots, he founded Citizens for Self-Governance to revolutionize American government. Founded in February 2012, this grassroots initiative expands and directs the ever-growing, bipartisan self-governance movement. Mark appears regularly on wide variety of television outlets, including MSNBC, ABC, NBC, Fox News, CNN, Bloomberg, Fox Business and the BBC.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/author\/mmeckler\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Michael Farris is leaving the Convention of States to head up the Alliance Defending Freedom","description":"It is with both sadness and great excitement that I make this announcement.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/2017\/01\/michael-farris-leaving-convention-states-head-alliance-defending-freedom\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Michael Farris is leaving the Convention of States to head up the Alliance Defending Freedom","og_description":"It is with both sadness and great excitement that I make this announcement.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/2017\/01\/michael-farris-leaving-convention-states-head-alliance-defending-freedom\/","og_site_name":"Mark Meckler","article_published_time":"2017-01-11T03:08:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":600,"height":323,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/653\/2017\/01\/Michael-Farris-PCH.edu_-800x430-e1484063213346.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Mark Meckler","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mark Meckler","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/2017\/01\/michael-farris-leaving-convention-states-head-alliance-defending-freedom\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/2017\/01\/michael-farris-leaving-convention-states-head-alliance-defending-freedom\/","name":"Michael Farris is leaving the Convention of States to head up the Alliance Defending Freedom","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-01-11T03:08:00+00:00","dateModified":"2017-01-11T03:08:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/#\/schema\/person\/e95fc54d2a84068750f5d9a181cd2421"},"description":"It is with both sadness and great excitement that I make this announcement.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/2017\/01\/michael-farris-leaving-convention-states-head-alliance-defending-freedom\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/2017\/01\/michael-farris-leaving-convention-states-head-alliance-defending-freedom\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/2017\/01\/michael-farris-leaving-convention-states-head-alliance-defending-freedom\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Michael Farris is leaving the Convention of States to head up the Alliance Defending Freedom"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/","name":"Mark Meckler","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/#\/schema\/person\/e95fc54d2a84068750f5d9a181cd2421","name":"Mark Meckler","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cf71f8e44cbfd7951a4eb0173d2a8f27?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cf71f8e44cbfd7951a4eb0173d2a8f27?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Mark Meckler"},"description":"Mark is one of the nation\u2019s most effective grassroots activists. After he co-founded and was the national coordinator of the Tea Party Patriots, he founded Citizens for Self-Governance to revolutionize American government. Founded in February 2012, this grassroots initiative expands and directs the ever-growing, bipartisan self-governance movement. Mark appears regularly on wide variety of television outlets, including MSNBC, ABC, NBC, Fox News, CNN, Bloomberg, Fox Business and the BBC.","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/author\/mmeckler\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2673"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1792"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1792\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}