Numbers were down but hopes were up Memorial Day weekend when intercessors, worshipers united in Washington
A recent worship memorial that honored the faith and heroism of 9/11 while praying for America’s future failed to meet attendance expectations but managed to deliver the hoped-for spiritual punch.

Christians who converged on Washington, D.C., Memorial Day weekend to participate in the American Worship Gathering celebrated their faith, honored America’s heroes and prayed for the nation’s leaders. The National Park Service estimated attendance between 5,000 and 10,000. While those numbers were much lower than host Worship Alliance expected, the group believed the event still made a significant spiritual impact on the nation’s capital.

The six-hour worship extravaganza featured many well-known Christian artists including Tom Brooks, Don Moen, Rick Muchow, Jeff Deyo, Lenny LeBlanc, Tommy Walker, Bob Fitts and John Tesh, as well as several distinguished guest speakers including J.C. Watts, R-Okla.; Julie Laipply, Miss Virginia USA 2002; Pentagon survivors; and NFL players.

Organizer Tom Brooks, senior producer, arranger and keyboardist with Hosanna!Integrity Music, said the idea for the event was birthed shortly after the attacks of 9/11. “Our team of musicians were standing in an airport security line waiting to fly to Korea when we heard the news of allied bombing raids taking place in Afghanistan,” Brooks said. “It was then that we realized how much our own nation needed prayer.”

The Worship Alliance team had only five months to plan the Washington event, but Brooks said he believed the timing was right because people’s hearts were still open after the tragedy of 9/11.

“Calling Christians together to worship and pray for our nation in an organized way is very significant at this time,” Brooks told Charisma. “And we liked the idea of holding the event in a place where the entire nation could see it–not inside a church building, but right out on the Mall in D.C.”

Christians came from as far away as California to participate. Reagan Bennett, 15, of Raleigh, N.C., said she came with 30 members of her church youth group “to praise, worship and redeem our nation for Christ again.”

Dennis Pisani, a local pastor, said he saw the event as foundational in building an altar [of praise] in the capital. “God inhabits the praises of His people, and we are enthroning Him right now in the middle of our city, in front of the White House, in front of the Capitol,” he said.

Between songs, speakers honored the country’s recent heroes. Watts told the crowd that since 9/11, America has discovered who her real heroes are. “A crisis does not make heroes. A crisis reveals heroes,” he stated.

Laipply, who works at the Pentagon, shared how she overslept the morning of 9/11, missing a meeting in the Pentagon near the crash site. “I feel so fortunate,” she said. “That event has made me focus so much more on my faith.”

Washington Redskins Chaplain Brett Fuller told the audience: “What I see out here today is what heaven looks like. It’s white, it’s black, it’s cross-denominational, it’s Korean, it’s Hispanic–it’s people dwelling together.”

The Worship Alliance team plans to hold a similar gathering in New York City on Sept. 7 and possibly one in Los Angeles in November. Next year they expect to return to South Korea where they hosted the first Worship Explosion Festival last year at the Demilitarized Zone.

“When God gives you a vision, you don’t see the whole picture at once,”

Brooks explained. “But I believe our job is to bring people into God’s presence through praise and worship, and when we do that, God can do exactly what He wants to do.”

A live benefit album, CD and video were recorded with the proceeds to go to the Todd M. Beamer Foundation. More information about the project is available at .
Sandra K. Chambers
in Washington, D.C.

Dominique DiPiazza, renowned former guitarist with the John McLaughlin Trio, is making new sounds
When renowned French musician Dominique DiPiazza recently re-entered the music scene after several years of seclusion from his professional career, connoisseurs avidly embraced his unswerving talent. No one understood why this famous virtuoso wallowing in wealth and celebrity had cast aside undaunted prestige for some “higher cause” at the very peak of his career.

“I’d reached a point where I seemingly had so much–family, fame, world tours, but I was empty. Something was missing,” DiPiazza explained.

The former bass guitarist with the famous John McLaughlin Trio had actually laid down his vocation to follow Christ after he and his wife responded to the gospel as shared by a musician friend. He had faced a personal conflict in which he believed God was calling for a change in his professional life.

“I had no peace. I realized music was my whole identity, and it actually dominated me, like a drug. I felt a struggle within and sensed God was asking me to put my instrument aside completely.”

Following his dramatic conversion, DiPiazza was moved by the condition of unsaved French people. “I shared my faith, but my knowledge was limited. So I began studying at the Theological Institute in Nîmes. After my graduation, I went on to get my master’s of arts in missions.”

While soaking up solid biblical teaching, he sensed a new call emerge, as an evangelist. He involved himself in various missions and outreaches ranging from sidewalk sketch-board witnessing to street preaching.

During one mission trip working with poor street children, he risked his life while sharing Christ in a Hindu temple in India. He laughs at this now, not just because he sees an absurd irony in a Frenchman preaching to Hindus, but because some were so intrigued that they “listened and received,” he said.

Believing his weaning period to be finally over, DiPiazza began playing his instrument again, first in church and then out on the streets, exploiting his talent to draw crowds and share his testimony. Yet God required more.

“He wanted me to reach a greater audience for Him. But I wasn’t sure if this involved secular or Christian music, so I asked my pastor to pray for me,” DiPiazza said.

This led to the creation of a mainstream CD called Front Page, featuring DiPiazza with renowned drummer Dennis Chambers and guitarist Bireli Lagrene.

“The pieces I composed reflect my new birth. One title–‘The Eyes of Jesus Christ’–posed a major problem for the producer, Universal Studios. They asked me to change it, but I wouldn’t bend. I just prayed.”

The title remained, and the album won the French equivalent of the Grammy.

But DiPiazza claims his greatest reward is to see souls come to Christ. In the midst of a promotional concert in Grasse, France, he led an admirer to Christ backstage, then during a solo performance played the hymn “How Great Thou Art.”

“No one but a few friends even knew this Christian tune. But God knew, and it strengthened me to remain focused on Christ,” he said.

More recently, DiPiazza produced a new CD of hymns dedicated to the world’s suffering children, with a financial participation for orphans. “I grew up in state orphanages and suffered. My deep compassion compels me to help the children.”

His next aspiration is to make an impact on Christian music.

“Presently, I teach worship in various churches, including a local charismatic church. I lead worship in my church and the [United States] upon request. I want my life to serve the one whose Spirit fills me with joy.”
Janey L. DeMeo in France

The evangelist claims he is a son of the late satanist
In his harrowing testimony, Jess LaVey tells how he was groomed by his infamous father–the late Anton LaVey, founder of the Church of Satan–to become the next top leader of the international satanists’ group. He recounts physical beatings and sexual abuse that occurred before he broke from his occult background and found Christ.

But critics say that Jess LaVey is not the son of Anton LaVey as he claims–and that the only connection he has with him is the same ability to gain attention through false stories.

Telling his story in churches, radio interviews and postings on the Internet, Jess LaVey said that he was born at the satanists’ mother church in East Berlin in 1968. In April, Charisma News Service, Charisma’s e-mail news service, reported how LaVey said his father was “a bizarre, sick man” who had raped him and forced him to attend rituals.

A pop icon of the 1960s and 1970s, Anton LaVey boasted membership of 50,000 for the Church of Satan. But many of his claims of his movement’s supposed activities and influence have been widely discredited and dismissed.

Jess LaVey claims that he rebelled at the age of 10, sending away for a Bible correspondence course and later made contact with a church where at 14 he received deliverance from demons. He later graduated from Bible college and founded Sword of the Spirit Ministries. Based in Yucaipa, Calif., the 33-year-old speaks about the dangers of the occult.

But John W. Morehead, a researcher with Watchman Fellowship, a cult-watching group, said that he has been unable to corroborate LaVey’s claims. Records show that Anton LaVey had only three children, he said, and while several other people have claimed to be related to Anton LaVey, none of their claims have been substantiated.

“Sadly, many have claimed to be LaVey’s child in order to gain financial support from churches and to give credibility to their ministries allegedly addressing satanism and the occult,” Morehead said. In addition, Jess LaVey’s descriptions of LaVeyian satanism “have no basis in fact and do not represent [it] as expressed in satanist literature.”

LaVey supplied Charisma with several documents he said confirmed his identity. But these turned out to include a Social Security number issued to someone of another name and were said by an identities investigator to have been “clearly altered” in places.

When then asked to provide Charisma with an original copy of his birth certificate, potentially available upon request from the U.S. State Department, which records foreign births of American citizens, Jess LaVey declined. He also admitted that he knew the Social Security number on the document he submitted to Charisma as proof of his identity was not the correct number. He then refused to supply his true number because he said he did not want to entertain a fight in the media over his identity.

James Barkley, a pastor who helped minister to LaVey when he attended a Vineyard church in California in the 1980s, said that LaVey had spoken at that time of his connection to Anton LaVey, but had never shown any documents confirming it. Barkley said LaVey seemed to have come from a background of occult involvement.

Of CNS’ original report of Jess LaVey’s testimony that now is in question, CNS editor Andy Butcher said: “Our initial inquiries were not as thorough as they needed to be. In the light of the unanswered questions, we regret having given the story further exposure.”

Its three-year program, which begins next month, offers college-style major in worship and musicianship
A new school designed to train and graduate worship leaders and Christian musicians is scheduled to begin classes next month in Austin, Texas, the “live music capital of the world.”

Institute for the Arts (IFTA), with the motto “Coupling Excellence and the Anointing,” is being launched by husband-wife team Joe and Becky Cruse, worship leaders for evangelist Rodney Howard-Browne’s ministry from 1995- 1999 and full-time music ministers for more than 30 years.

“There is a need for excellence in the local church, and there is also a need to be in the flow,” said Becky, a classically trained pianist. “We want a good mix of the two: excellence and anointing, Spirit and truth, Word and Spirit–a blending of those two components to make a well-grounded worship leader or musician.”

While serving as music pastor at Church on the Rock in Rockwall, Texas, from 1990-1995, Joe said God began to speak to him about training young people in specific areas of the arts. “There are some great people who are probably more qualified to do this than we are, but I really believe the Lord has put a call on our lives and an anointing to do this,” he said.

Nearly every week, the Cruses receive calls from churches looking for worship leaders. According to Joe, pastors feel that there’s a tremendous need for IFTA. “Every pastor I’ve talked to has said: ‘Hurry. Yesterday was too late.'”

IFTA offers a three-year program. Each year is divided into four, eight-week sessions. The last half of the third year, students will intern at a local church or in an industry setting. “If everything meshes, that will be their home,” Joe noted.

Classes will convene four nights a week, enabling students to hold daytime jobs. There will be private instruction for piano and instruments. Joe and Becky will serve as the primary worship, vocal and keyboard instructors.

Throughout the year, guest musicians, worship leaders and evangelists will be invited to teach. IFTA students will have the opportunity to practice their skills at City Worship Centre, the Austin church the Cruses established last September. In addition to their music education, students will graduate with two years of Bible as a minor.

IFTA is accredited through Life Christian University and Accrediting Commission International. To keep down costs, the school has not sought regional accreditation that leads to qualification for government-guaranteed student loans. Annual tuition is $2,250, and a monthly payment plan is available.

To date, the school has received nearly 70 applications, the majority of which are from 18- to 22-year-olds from charismatic, full-gospel backgrounds. The school is open to people of all ages and denominations.

The Cruses said they are looking, in particular, for those who have a gift and a call and need to learn the essentials, such as how to write a chart, how to run a band rehearsal, how to put together a CD project. “They just need someone with them on a daily basis for about three years to show them how to do it,” Becky explained, adding that “the truth is taught; the Spirit or anointing is caught.”

The Cruses hope the school will have an impact on smaller churches. “It’s a shame that you have to have a church of 10,000 before you can have excellence,” Joe said. “Somehow, we have to establish and equip the next generation and be a resource for the smaller churches.”

In their new hometown of Austin, Becky said she sometimes hears a musician and thinks: There is a potential music leader that the church lost.

“I believe the world has a lot of our great worship leaders, and it’s time to get them back and let them know there is a place for them,” she said.

Eventually, the Cruses hope to add a theater, soundstage, studios and dorms.

“We’re faith people, and we’re taking a step of faith,” Joe said. “I know the Lord does not give you visions and dreams for them not to be fulfilled. We pray like it all depends on God, and then we work like it all depends on us.”
Carol Chapman Stertzer

For more information about IFTA, call (866) 347-0576; or visit
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The risks are extreme for Linda Miller, who says as many as 1,000 people embraced faith in Christ during a May visit
When Linda Miller preached to Christian churches in Egypt in May, a long curtain separated some congregations. Men sat on one side; women on the other.

In one church, in order to maintain eye contact with both groups, she had to preach back and forth between the men’s and women’s sides. The gender separation was based on the country’s Muslim influence, and when Miller had finally had enough of it, she said she challenged the congregation: “Are you walking under the cover of Islam or the cover of the holy Bible? Choose you this day.”

They took down the curtain after her public rebuke, and Miller finished her message to men and women who had moved across the aisle and formed a mixed group. At more than one church during her three-month stay in the ancient land of pharaohs and pyramids the curtain came down, Miller said. The Messianic Jew with a heart for Egypt said she has seen the beginnings of revival in this country she calls the “gateway to Africa.”

“I’ve seen a move of God among the Muslims that I’ve never seen in my life,” Miller told Charisma. She would know, as she’s made numerous trips to Egypt during the last few years.

She estimated about 1,000 salvations occurred during her May trip. She held meetings primarily in Protestant churches, but God moved outside the churches as well. While talking with a woman in a public park about Jesus, a group of about 150 Muslims gathered. One of her Egyptian team members picked up a guitar, and soon the entire group was singing Christian praise songs in Arabic.

At church services, testimonies of healings and deliverance drew people off the streets into services where they heard the gospel. “The Holy Spirit moved in and did a deep, deep work because it’s the hour for revival in Egypt,” she said.

Although Miller spoke at many meetings and moved freely throughout Cairo and into the south of Egypt, only a few trusted pastors knew she was a Jew. When asked about her religious background, Miller would sidestep the question. Her British citizenship enabled her to avoid the scorn Americans often receive. She now lives in Atlanta with her husband, who was born in Egypt.

Hatred for Jews runs so deep in Egypt, Miller said, she would not be safe if people there knew her background. As it was, two armed guards dispatched by the government were with her day and night to observe the meetings and protect her from trouble.

While she is encouraged after seeing Muslims and Egyptian Christians stirred by the Holy Spirit, Miller admits two key factors still are needed for revival to occur in Egypt: a true understanding of repentance and a love for Israel.

Egyptian Christians must accept and understand God’s view of Israel, she said. While there, she saw a “day of solidarity” at which Egyptian believers supported the Palestinians. She said Egyptians are constantly bombarded through the media by a message of hatred for Israel.

“They’ve been taught from birth to hate Israel,” she said. She shared the biblical view of Israel only with church leaders because congregations may not have been ready to receive such a belief. “This is brand-new work,” she said. “No message like this has come forth in Egypt.”

Miller said the persecution of Christians in Egypt has increased since 9/11. One Christian man who was drafted into the Egyptian army was beaten severely, she said. Another man was imprisoned for a month after he signed a Bible and gave it to a “friend” who turned out to be a government spy. It is routine for Christians to be falsely accused of crimes and overlooked for job promotions.

After moving from her native England to Cairo in 1992, Miller became severely sick and almost died. In early 1993, God miraculously healed her. When her husband subsequently talked with a colleague in the workplace about Jesus, he was fired by his company. In 1995, the couple moved to the United States.

Now Miller travels regularly to minister in Egypt supported by her businessman husband and speaks to U.S. congregations about the need to pray for Egypt. After Muslims come to the Lord, God will bring in the Jews, she believes. Says Miller: “There must be a body of believers to cry out for Egypt.”
Richard Daigle

Washington state holds three outstanding warrants for the evangelist, who led revivals this year in North Carolina
Charismatic pastors in the Southeast are being more careful after booking a revival speaker earlier this year who turned out to be a fugitive from justice. Four in the region (and one in Idaho) contacted by Charisma have disassociated themselves from evangelist Chad Taylor, a former Washington state resident who developed a following in the Northwest before moving to North Carolina. As of June, he had relocated his ministry to Nashville, Tenn.

Pastor Danny Steyne of Church at the Crossroads in Ahoskie, for two months Taylor preached a few times a week while also visiting other churches–discovered there were three outstanding criminal warrants for the evangelist. Authorities in Yakima County, Wash., issued two of them after Taylor failed to appear for a court hearing last August about child support he owed for two children.

Neighboring Kittitas County issued the other for failure to pay full restitution for a 1994 residential burglary. Taylor pleaded guilty to that crime and served about half of a 15-month sentence.

By April, when Steyne decided Taylor would no longer preach at Crossroads, the evangelist already had become controversial in Boise, Idaho, after being absent from a conference he helped organize and advertised on his Web site.

The no-show came a month after Yakima County’s Crimestoppers program posted Taylor’s photo on its Web site. He was the first person listed on the site for failing to pay child support, the sum of which totaled more than $47,000 in late May.

Although Taylor didn’t respond to Charisma’s request for an interview, in messages sent to the magazine earlier he admitted to a criminal and immoral past and said he was divorced last year. He blamed his lack of payments for child support on his four-year incarceration in the early 1990s. He said he sent $1,000 in May to begin paying the debt.

At press time, according to the prosecutor’s office in Yakima, Taylor had paid $1,300 since his arrest warrant was issued. The evangelist also owes current support of $514 a month. His children, ages 8 and 13, are of separate mothers.

Taylor never married the first woman but did marry the second after the child’s birth, according to Kevin Callaghan, chief deputy in the prosecutor’s child-support division. Callaghan said the marriage ended in divorce in 1996.

Neighboring Kittitas County also wants Taylor to settle criminal restitution he owes. Margaret Sowards of the county’s prosecutor’s office said Taylor owed about $1,000 of almost $1,700 he agreed to pay as part of his plea.

The evangelist said his legal problems weren’t the reason he didn’t appear at the Passion for Harvest conference in Boise. He said it was because the Lord directed him to remain in North Carolina.

“In war, if the entire to just one battlefield, who would protect the rest of the territory?” he asked. “We are holding the East Coast; Passion for Harvest was holding the West. We are succeeding in both.

“I was taken aback by some of the reactions when I could not attend,” he added. “I made it very clear to leadership there that I was not coming to Boise in March.”

Taylor insists he has not rejected counsel about the need to clean up his act. At least two pastors say otherwise.

Steyne’s decision to curtail Taylor’s appearances followed several counseling sessions in which he encouraged the evangelist to resolve the warrants against him. Steyne said he even offered to accompany Taylor to court in Washington but Taylor refused.

Despite Taylor’s problems, Steyne calls the speaker a “fire-starter.” Because Taylor led members to evangelize in the streets, the Crossroads praise band has played in a local bar, and the owner has attended services.

“What my heart desires for Chad is full restoration,” Steyne said. “I believe God’s hand is on him. I don’t want to destroy him.”

Phil Dowdy, pastor of New Life Center in Elizabeth City, N.C., hosted Taylor in April.

“He does have a call and a gifting,” Dowdy said. There just needs to be some help with accountability. I think God is doing that work even as we speak.”

A pastor in Mountain Home, Idaho, has a less sanguine view. After learning of the child-support obligations, Larry Seymour said he tried discussing the problem several times with Taylor, but the evangelist rebuffed the offers. Seymour pastors River of Life (Church of God, Cleveland, Tenn.).

“I’m as compassionate as anybody,” Seymour said. “I told him I would be interested in being part of his restoration process. But the subject as quickly as possible.”

Michael Fletcher, leader of a network of 30 charismatic churches based in Fayetteville, N.C., said pastors must get to know speakers before inviting them to their churches.

“We should receive ministry after a relationship is built, not build a relationship after inviting some famous guy to speak,” Fletcher said. “If you do that, you’ll never get burned.”
Ken Walker

The Friday night outreach held in a church sanctuary draws some 400 youth from a high-crime community
Haughville, Ind., has been called one of the most run-down, crime-infested neighborhoods of Indianapolis. In 1997, the Indianapolis Police Department’s (IPD)West District reported 2,589 violent crimes in the area, including homicides, robberies, rapes, aggravated assaults and burglaries.

Late at night gunshots can be heard in the distance. According to one resident, Haughville is “where all the crack houses are.”

Amid this seemingly hopeless neighborhood, Roger Holloway–pastor of Haughville’s Cityhill Church–felt in August 1998 what he called “birthing pains.” With a group of pastors from Westside Ministries, he started walking the streets surrounding his church every Friday night at 10 o’clock.

After a nine-month vigil, during which Holloway admits he had a few “scary” experiences, he had learned some “street etiquette.” He also had learned that kids had nothing to do and no place to go on Friday nights.

In May 1999, Holloway’s “birthing pains” resulted in the Hip-Hop Haven, a Friday-night youth outreach held in his church sanctuary. Holloway’s program provides a safe environment for nearly 400 kids, ages 8-15. He gives away food and drink and offers kids the use of 10 televisions equipped with a variety of nonviolent video games.

Holloway is a former radio disc jockey and has equipped his church with a $50,000 sound system. From 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the church strobe lights and a fog machine are turned on and Christian hip-hop music is played. Adamant that no “dirty dancing” is allowed, Holloway brings in a guest speaker each week–a celebrity, an inspirational speaker or a Bible preacher. He has devoted one entire room of the church to the younger kids and outfitted it with coloring books and crayons.

“It’s a place to be fed and to be loved. It’s a place to meet the kids at their level with hip-hop culture. It’s a place to hang out, to get them off the inner-city streets during that window of time,” Holloway said. “It’s a place of recreation yet still a place to have boundaries. It’s a safe haven.”

Holloway’s efforts were recognized by more than one organization offering grass-roots money. He received $3,425 in federal money through the Community Centers of Indianapolis, which contracted with him to provide a one-time Saturday night program “to get youths off the street.”

Former Indianapolis Mayor Steven Goldsmith donated $4,975 from The Community Enhancement Fund to help fund the Hip-Hop Haven. Goldsmith, now in Washington, D.C., caught President Bush’s attention by fostering an atmosphere of encouragement for community grassroots organizations by providing small grants and technical assistance.

IPD statistics show that Holloway’s efforts possibly have had a direct bearing on relieving the local crime. In 2000, violent crimes in Haughville had dropped to 2,262 from 2,589 in 1997. IPD Deputy Chief Timothy Horty insists that Holloway’s ministry has helped reduce crime in Haughville.

“The Hip-Hop Haven is a police and church partnership that works,” Horty said. “When a police officer walks in, the kids clap and give them a standing ovation. He teaches the kids how to respect a church worship space and to respect the police at the same time. And I think my officers have learned a lot about giving these kids respect.”

Olgen Williams, president of the Haughville Neighborhood Association and executive director of the Christamore House, a community center established in Indianapolis in 1905, says Holloway’s greatest ministry is “just staying in the neighborhood.”

“Roger is a committed person. He’s a go-getter. He’s taken the church God’s blessed him with and he’s servicing the community. The kids get attached to the program. I know my kids love to jump in the car and go there,” Williams said.

“Roger’s good at it, partly because he was a former DJ at WTLC, a black radio station, for years,” Williams added. “He was one of the best–for a white boy. He has no fear in working with a diverse group of people. You’ve got 600 kids a month who are doing something positive. That’s great.”

Holloway said a Hip-Hop Haven can be started with an initial investment of $500 to $50,000 and operated on a shoestring budget. The key, he insists, is the 50 to 60 volunteers he relies on each week.

“This is very labor-intensive,” Holloway said. “These kids test you. This is the hardest thing I do all week.”

James Ward, 15, says the Hip-Hop Haven has changed his life.

“They teach us not to have sex before we’re married–give us good information about all the transmitted diseases going around–to stay in school, do the right thing and don’t do drugs,” Ward said.
Carol Shepard in Indianapolis

Set in the foothills of the Smokies, the facility has a history of restoring the lives of troubled outh
Conceived outside of marriage, “Tricia” had run away from home four times by the age of 16. She had been with several men, stolen her father’s car, and abused drugs and alcohol. Her father had all but given up on her future, but his hope was renewed when Tricia entered the Smoky Mountain Children’s Home, a facility operated by the Church of God (Cleveland, Tenn.) since 1920.

At 13, “Clayton” was failing school, getting involved with a gang, drinking, smoking and experimenting with drugs. His dad was in prison, and his mom was unable to handle him. As an act of desperation, Clayton’s mother placed him in the children’s home.

Tricia and Clayton are not unlike the hundreds of children who have lived at the home. Today on the 64-acre campus there are few traditional “orphans”–those whose parents are dead. Most of the children have at least one parent who has a genuine interest in their welfare. They realize this place nestled in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains National Park can offer a ray of light for their children’s well-being.

“We call many of our kids ‘orphans of the living,'” stated Assistant Director Mike Walker. “Children are a product of their environment and the turmoil of the last generation. Many kids come from the grandparents, who see the home as a rescue for the children of their children that are unable to offer proper parental care. The home is for abused, neglected and homeless children, and we offer quality care, which translates into hope and healing for at-risk children and youth.”

Since 1949, the home has been located in Sevierville, Tenn., hometown of country singer Dolly Parton. The facility sits at the gateway into one of the most popular tourist destinations in the South, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.

For its first 29 years, the Church of God Orphanage, as it was called, hop-scotched between properties in the denomination’s hometown of Cleveland, Tenn., until in 1949 it inherited the former location of what is now Lee University.

Over the last 50 years, the home has physically changed, most visibly from the demolition of dormitories. Since the mid-1960s, nearly a dozen family cottages have been built on the campus, situated on roads named for notable personalities throughout the home’s history.

The cottages house up to eight children and are under the supervision of house parents. Several of the residences have been built through fund-raising drives conducted by Church of God congregations in several states and carry such names as Rocky Top, Old Dominion and Home Sweet Home Alabama.

In an effort to more accurately reflect the facility’s ministry, the name was changed last year from the Church of God Home for Children to Smoky Mountain Children’s Home. Although still supported by the Church of God, the home now seeks and receives grants and funds from dozens of agencies, trusts, foundations and individual benefactors.

Additionally, the home reflects the denomination’s commitment to minister not just to children. Currently under construction on campus is a $2.5 million residential facility for widows of ministers.

Since Clayton came to the Home three years ago, he has been selected “Best Christian Character” by his peers, has been on two missions trips, leads worship in an RV camp and teaches Tae Kwon Do. He will soon graduate from high school and, if he chooses, will have his college tuition paid through the Home.

After one year at the home, Tricia has not run away and believes she has been given the chance she needed to prove she can straighten out her life. She too is expecting to graduate soon.

“I always thought I had to have a boyfriend to be accepted,” Tricia said. “But I recently broke up with a nice guy because I needed to prove to myself that I could be independent. The home accepts people from so many different backgrounds, and it doesn’t matter what you have done in the past. You get a new start here. There are people that love you, care about you and want you to succeed.”
Cameron Fisher

For more information, call (865) 453-4644; or visit

The American missionary died, but his wife survived after being held in the Philippine jungle for a year
An American missionary couple’s yearlong kidnapping ordeal ended in tragedy June 7 with one of them killed and the other wounded in a failed rescue attempt.

Martin Burnham, 42, was fatally shot in circumstances that remain unclear when Filipino troops moved in to try to free him and his wife, Gracia, from a Muslim extremist group. She was shot in the leg, while a third hostage also died in the clash near Siraway in the Philippines’ southern Zamboango province.

The Burnhams and Ediborah Yap, a Filipino nurse, were the last of a string of hostages taken by the Abu Sayyaf, an Islamic group with links to Osama bin Laden, in raids that began on May 27 last year.

New Tribes Mission (NTM), with whom the Burnhams had served in the Philippines for 16 years, said their “hearts are heavy” over the deaths and that they “ache” for the Burnhams’ three children who were reunited with their mother when she returned to her Kansas home June 10.

Martin Burnham was “executed by the Abu Sayyaf rebels” when they realized that a rescue effort was under way, Philippine Army Scout Ranger Col. Renato Padua said, reported The Philippine Star. Gracia Burnham, 43, was shot in the right thigh but taken to a military hospital where she underwent surgery before returning to the United States. She is now recovering at her home in Rose Hill, Kan.

President Bush phoned Burnham June 11 to express his condolences. The president said afterward that she was “a pillar of strength.”

Doug Burnham, Martin’s brother, said that “it hasn’t turned out the way we hoped,” CNN reported. “But we are grateful Gracia is alive. Our faith in the Lord is still the same.”

Upon her return, Gracia Burnham praised her husband as a “source of strength for all the hostages. He was a good man and he died well,” she said.

The Burnhams were pitched into the hostage crisis when the Abu Sayyaf raided a beach resort where the couple were spending a night to celebrate their anniversary. Thousands of Christians around the world prayed for the Burnhams’ safe release, with NTM issuing regular updates on efforts to win the pair’s freedom.

Although NTM has a policy of not paying ransoms, Martin Burnham’s parents arranged a payment in March, and later accused the rebels of reneging on the deal. In late May the U.S. government offered a $5 million reward for information leading to the capture of the Abu Sayyaf leaders.

It is not the first time Sanford, NTM has been in the media spotlight over the death of its workers. The mission spent eight years trying to find out what happened to three staff kidnapped by armed guerrillas in Panama in 1993. Leaders eventually learned last year that the trio had been killed in 1996, ending years of painful uncertainty for the men’s wives and children.

At its Web site, NTM said that it “constantly evaluates the safety of our missionaries in each country where we serve.” Trained contingency coordinators monitor the placement and relocation of personnel.

“However, the Great Commission is not voided by risk. Rather, we are called to accept risk for the sake of the gospel.”

Burnham, who during his captivity had premonitions of his death, wrote a goodbye letter to his three children just days before his death. He gave the letter to his wife. It was lost in the firefight, but soldiers later found it.

The premonitions also inspired Burnham to ask his wife for a funeral sermon and a special song. Those requests were honored at a June 14 public memorial in Wichita.
Andy Butcher

The following reports were released during the last month by Charisma News Service. Go to our Web site at to subscribe to the free weekday service or to access full-length versions of each day’s stories. The site also includes a search engine so you can access archived news.

CHRISTIAN LEADERS URGE BOYCOTT OF TNIV
More than 100 pastors, theologians and ministry heads–including Christian Broadcasting Network founder Pat Robertson and senior Foursquare leader Jack Hayford–have united to sign a statement saying Today’s New International Version (TNIV) is not “sufficiently trustworthy to commend to the church.” They object to the TNIV’s replacing masculine references with gender-neutral expressions in places where they maintain that important meaning is lost. The International Bible Society dismissed the statement as an attack that “continues to misrepresent” the TNIV, and pointed to its own “continually growing” list of supporters, which includes pastors Jim Cymbala and Ted Haggard, and author Philip Yancey.

AMERICANS ATTEND CHURCH WEAKLY, NOT WEEKLY
Fewer than 1 in 3 adults attends worship weekly, according to the latest findings of the Barna Research Group (BRG). And despite much talk about spiritual awakening, BRG has found little overall change in the state of the church in the last decade. One significant area of growth is among the unchurched–identified as people who have not attended a service in the last six months other than for a special event. Their numbers have grown from 24 percent to 34 percent since 1991.

SECOND-GRADERS ‘ADOPT’ MICHAEL ENGLISH
Shunned by many after scandals that included an affair, a divorce and drug use, one-time Dove Award-winner Michael English says the second-graders at Immaculate Conception School in Dayton, Ohio, are “leading the way” in modeling Christian restoration. The youngsters in Connie Siders’ class “adopted” English after their teacher introduced them to his music. They pray for him each morning, play at least one English song in the classroom, and send him gifts and letters, The Dayton Daily News reported. “They are showing [Christians] how to react and behave,” English said. “God is working in my life right now through these youngsters.”

CALIFORNIA CHURCH BARS CONVICTED CHILD MOLESTER
Members of the Church of the Brethren in La Verne, Calif., have decided not to allow a convicted child molester to attend their worship services, citing concern for the safety of their children. Around 120 people attended a Brethren meeting May 19, rejecting the request by Kristian Rosvold for a welcome at Sunday services, The Los Angeles Times reported. Twice convicted of molesting children, Rosvold told the newspaper he wanted to attend a church as part of his recovery as an alcoholic and sex offender. He approached the Brethren congregation after being turned down by another church. Church leaders plan to discuss how Rosvold might be involved, perhaps in a men’s group, Brethren pastor Chuck Boyer said.

AFGHAN MISSIONARIES REGRET DISHONESTY
Heather Mercer and Dana Curry say they feel guilty for lying when interrogated by the Taliban during their three-month imprisonment. Arrested for telling an Afghan family about Jesus, the pair share their full story for the first time in Prisoners of Hope (WaterBrook/Doubleday), which recounts how their relief work in Kabul gave them opportunities to discreetly share their faith. Both women say they still struggle with their decision to protect the family to whom they showed part of the Jesus film and gave a copy of the New Testament. “I wish I had said, ‘Yes,’ and then just not said to whom,” Curry said.

ROBERTSON DECRIES MAGAZINE’S ‘BIGOTRY’
Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) founder Pat Robertson accused Fortune magazine of “factual inaccuracies and unalloyed bigotry” in its June 10 report that he lost $78 million investing in Liberian gold and California oil refinery projects as he looked for ways to offset dependency on donations. In his letter of protest, Robertson said the claim was “without documentation and is factually untrue” adding that it seemed deliberately intended to be “more incendiary and damaging than the facts warranted.”

WORLD’S LARGEST CHURCH PLANNED
A South Korean pastor plans to build the world’s largest church, which will accommodate 200,000 and feature TV monitors in the back of each seat, Assist News Service said. Once a heavy drinker, Jae-Rock Lee was dramatically healed when he visited a Christian meeting. He founded Manmim Joong-ang Church in Seoul with 13 members. Today it numbers 75,000 and has seven sanctuaries, with 177 branch churches in 18 countries.

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