In 1999, Gladys Staines lost her missionary husband and two young sons in a horrific attack by Hindu extremists. Today she continues her family’s ministry to India’s forgotten lepers.

The café is filled with chatter, but in a corner chair Gladys Staines sits sipping her coffee, offering cryptic replies to questions. She doesn’t believe in talking much.

She would rather work every day in the tropical heat and dust of India to pass on the message of God’s love. Like the late Mahatma Gandhi, India’s most beloved social reformer, Gladys prefers to live her message than to talk about it.

Moreover, journalists never fascinate her.

“There’s no point in sitting and talking here. Let’s go to the village and see what the poor need,” she says, setting down her cup and sitting back with a stoic smile.

Leaving the busy café at Hebron School in Ooty–where her daughter, Esther, studies–we journey to the leafy village of Baripada in the northern Indian district of Orissa. In the middle of the quaint town, a grassy space opens up with a lime-washed Baptist church to the left side.

Gladys lives in an old bungalow behind the church. A reverential silence fills the small rooms adorned by wall photos, books and pamphlets. On a corner table rests her guest book, filled with words of solidarity offered by visitors.

Gladys Staines, 50, is a wonder to many, a mystery to some. To most, she is a living symbol of Christian mercy. Her dedication to the poor and the lepers of this region and her integrity in her mission have not been uprooted since a murderous crowd burned alive her missionary husband and their two sons 4-1/2 years ago.

But her scars remain. They show up in her silence. Often the quiet surrounding her is so heavy that you feel she must be continuously pondering, whetting the meaning of each moment.

Her husband, Graham Staines–an Australian Baptist missionary–had worked with lepers in Orissa for 30 years. All that changed on the cold night of January 22, 1999.

After camping out one night, Graham and his sons, Timothy, 8, and Philip, 10, were sleeping in the family’s station wagon outside a hospital in the village of Manoharpur. Around midnight, a mob of about 50 Hindu militants came running and screaming. Witnesses said they rushed upon the car armed with spears, swords and iron clubs.

They thrust Graham and his sons through with spears, then shut them in the car. They stuffed straw under the vehicle and set fire to it, and then stood watching the three burn away.

Protests flooded India. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said, “My head hangs in shame.” The murder was described as “a burning shame” by Indian and international media alike.

Last year a special court in India sentenced Dara Sigh, a Hindu extremist leader, to death for the murder of Staines and his sons. Twelve co-defendants were sentenced to life imprisonment.

Healing the Sting of Death

For Gladys, coming through the horror was never easy. It tested her beliefs. It put her through nights and days of agony–of loneliness, acrid moments, chill and despair.

In court, while Gladys was being questioned as a prosecution witness during the trial of her husband’s killers, only a few of her husband’s personal items were produced for her to identify. A burned timepiece, a camera, a watch–scant remains of the day he died.

Calmly she acknowledged they were his. This calm had come from her faith in Providence.

“In fact, since then I have passed through many shades of feelings. Feelings that vary from day to day. It must have been God’s wish. He gave me the strength to face it,” Gladys says while we walk away from the cemetery in Baripada where her husband and sons are buried.

“But sometimes I feel very sad about my children. I still can’t forget their childish pranks,” she adds.

Yet, in other ways, life glimmered warmly during those heartbreaking days. Kindness shown by thousands of people–total strangers–was heartwarming and inspiring. Through tears she recalls the hundreds of Hindu lepers who took part in the funeral procession. Pacifying letters flowed in from all across the country and abroad.

Delegations of local residents came to her and said the villagers wanted her to stay. They expressed sorrow and support. They stood by her.

“That was a great encouragement,” she notes.

Family members in Australia urged Gladys to leave India, but she vowed to stay. “I want to carry on what Graham was doing,” she told them.

Recently, however, she decided to take a furlough in Australia so she could enroll Esther in a school there. She plans to manage the leprosy mission by making periodic trips to Orissa.

People ask her, “If punishment is part of God’s providence, then why is there a need for you to forgive?” She gladly answers them with God’s own words from the Scripture: “‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay'” (see Heb. 10:30, NIV). Since the tragedy she has discovered that her own act of forgiving has reverberated throughout India and its people.

“Wherever I go people recognize me and ask me why I [forgave],” she says. “Yet I feel they are inspired by the idea of forgiveness.”

When one woman remarked that she could not understand why Gladys had forgiven the killers, Esther later quipped: “Mummy, I can’t understand how they can’t understand why we have forgiven.”

It was then Gladys understood how deeply the teachings of Christ had penetrated her immediate family.

“Forgiveness brings healing,” she says. “If I have something against you and I forgive you, the bitterness leaves me. Forgiveness liberates both the forgiver and the forgiven. The Bible teaches you to forgive. Has not Jesus set the example?”

Touching the Untouchables

Putting her personal agonies behind, Gladys has walked ahead to carry on with her mission–to take her place of responsibility among the poor leper patients of Orissa.

She walks through the Mayurbhanj Leper Colony, which she looks after, cheering up the residents, sharing jokes. Here she cares for about 60 leprosy patients. She bandages their wounds and teaches them skills such as basket weaving to help them stay productive. She is also secretary of the 105-year-old Mayurbhanj Leprosy Home.

“Our leprosy work is continuing,” she says while handing out the monthly dole to each resident who helps around the facility. “This is where people with leprosy come for treatment, but they also are involved in the running of the home.”

The colony has its own dairy, which produces about 70 liters of milk a day.

“In the beginning, nobody touched cow milk from the leper colony,” Gladys says. “Dr. Das, who was respected in the town, helped us. He and Graham went to each house and taught them that leprosy cannot spread through milk. They convinced one shop to sell ghee [a clarified butter]. Then we sold pure milk.

“Slowly the stigma melted away because the milk products were of finest quality,” she says. “It made people sympathetic to the lepers.”

Women here make lunch boxes, flower baskets, doormats and shopping bags with leaves of a grass called Sobai, which grows lushly around the area. They sell all these in the local market and earn a nice income.

Residents are cheerful, contented with their newfound dignity. In a garden they grow pumpkins, cucumbers and a local fruit called au. Rice fields, a vegetable plantation and fruit trees fill some 36 acres of land–all products of hard but happy labor.

“We don’t just heal [the lepers], we also give them hope,” Gladys explains. “In these parts, leprosy sufferers are rejected by society. They are thrown out of their homes. It makes a huge difference in their healing that we love them, accept them and touch them.

“We are building a 40-bed hospital as an extension of the leprosy home,” she adds. A trained nurse, Gladys is glad she has this chance to help those tossed aside by society. “The home will take care of patients who have nowhere to go.”

A Work Continued

India today has a reputation as a nation of religious persecution. Conversion is a topic of national debate. Some Christians in the country are discussing whether or not proselytizing is correct to do at this time.

Gladys has her own answers to such dilemmas.

“Nobody can change anybody,” she says. “To me, Christianity is not religion. It’s a personal faith. Religion is the result of man aspiring to reach God. But Christianity is God reaching down to man. So you have two opposites.”

She denies that her mission has anything to do with conversion.

“If we were converting, wouldn’t there be only Christians in the tribal hostel we run?” she asks. “No matter how many prayers you say, only God can change you. Faith is not simply a matter of following a tradition. It is about your relationship with Jesus. So then, where’s the question of me converting anyone?”

Australian like her late husband, Gladys grew up on a farm in Ipswich, Queensland, and was raised in the Brethren Christian Assemblies, where she read the Bible and heard missionaries’ stories. That childhood gave her “a vision to serve the Lord,” she says. She studied nursing and came to believe that God wanted her to work among leprosy sufferers.

During one visit to India, she met Graham, who was working there as a missionary. The two had lived just 20 miles apart in Australia but had never met. They married in 1983. During their 15 years of marriage daughter Esther and sons Philip and Timothy were born.

“He was a great husband, a great father,” she says of Graham.

Those who knew her husband remember him as a kind and gentle man who always dressed casually, sported a trademark hat and wheeled around Baripada on his rickety bicycle.

Graham did a lot for the villagers. He encouraged them to become educated. He taught them the Bible. Upon seeing that the tribals could not read other languages, he learned their native Ho and then translated the New Testament for them. His efforts restored dignity and a sense of purpose to the leprosy patients.

Gladys now treads the same path.

“Sometimes I wonder where she gets such willpower,” says Shirley Wheatherhead, Gladys’ younger sister. “If I had been in her place, I’d have been snuggled up with my pain in some corner. She really amazes me.”

Swami Agnivesh, one of India’s renowned social leaders, adds: “We shall continue to be challenged by the spiritual stature of Gladys Staines as revealed through her act of forgiveness. A killer is one who does not care for the life of others. The saint, in contrast, values the life of others, even of his own would-be assassins, more than his own.”

For this tall, blonde, blue-eyed “saint,” life during the last few years has been a trek through a long, dark tunnel marked by both pain and commitment. Nevertheless, she continues her work, hardly ignorant of its dangers yet dedicated to the people who need her.

To help explain why she remains unshaken in her mission, she relates a story told to her about one man’s reaction to her experience.

“I’ve heard many stories of people who have come to Christ after seeing the way that I have accepted it all,” Gladys says. “I heard this one from someone in a neighboring state who was distributing tracts: One man who received a tract asked, ‘Is this the same Jesus that Gladys Staines believes in?’ ‘Yes,’ the pastor said. ‘Then I want to know that Jesus,’ the man stated.”

If her experience has drawn even one person toward Jesus, Gladys counts all her agonies worth suffering. One glimmer of hope passed on, a single instance of becoming the reason for another person’s change–they are enough to make her smile and consider her life fruitful.

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Joshua Newton is a writer and photojournalist who lives in India. His work has appeared in 50 publications. If you would like to support Gladys Staines’ work in India, send your tax-deductible gifts to Christian Life Missions, Attn: India’s Lepers, P.O. Box 952248, Lake Mary, FL 32746.

Lack of character has given today’s Christians a bad rap–for good reason. It’s time for us to take on the true image of Christ.

Ever wonder why some people don’t want to do business with Christians? It’s because they have become gun-shy: Either they themselves have been victimized by a deal gone sour or they have heard about shaky deals that have affected others. Christians have earned a reputation in the world for being undependable and lacking in character.

We have all heard horror stories of people who hired a Christian contractor to do repairs or remodeling in their homes and who were left in the lurch when the contractor disappeared, down payment in hand, without completing the work. And what about the tales of Christians who break their promises, don’t pay their bills and cheat on their taxes? Some believers have become so disillusioned while doing business with Christians that they left their churches or worse still, their faith.

Thankfully, I’ve never reached that point. But I have been tempted to become embittered when other Christians I was in relationship with failed to “walk their talk.” One situation I remember concerned a pastor who approached me to build a church in an African nation. His congregation desired to sow into a foreign mission field, and he asked me to help facilitate their vision.

The pastor agreed to supply funding for the materials, the labor costs and the land if I would use my extensive experience in the nation to make sure his church’s donation was used appropriately. He instructed me to go ahead with the project, assuring me that he would be able to raise the funds for the written budget I had sent him.

I was excited because I had worked closely with the African congregation they chose to support and was aware that they had outgrown the wood and iron shanty in which they were meeting. This rapidly growing congregation had already gone from just 25 to more than 250 members, and I knew it wouldn’t be long before the almost 1,000 seats in the new building would be filled.

The first agreed-upon payment from the pastor arrived, and he and I were in regular contact about the progress. My calls were returned promptly, and all was going well.

Then I discovered that the second payment he claimed had been transferred into my account was never deposited. Suddenly, all communication ceased. Through a friend I was told that the pastor was too busy to take my calls, though he oversees a church of only 60 people. The real problem was that he was struggling to raise the money, but rather than being honest and dealing with the issue, he simply avoided it.

Under other circumstances, I would have done what I could to bail him out of trouble, but at that point I had taken financial responsibility for numerous other programs that were already under way. This project was his vision, his idea, and he had initiated it. He had approached me to assist him, but instead of accepting full responsibility he tried to put it all on me.

When I finally reached him by phone, he simply abandoned the project and chose to ignore the outstanding balance owed in Africa. He just walked away, knowing that as a Christian I would continue what he had started and that I could do nothing to hold him accountable. There was no apology, no remorse and no attempt to work through the issue; he just moved on.

This man’s lack of character cost me about $20,000. But worse than the financial loss was the struggle not to become bitter. I eventually came away from the experience better, not bitter–but also much more cautious about engaging in business transactions with Christians!

This is a sad commentary on the condition of our souls. As Christ’s representatives on Earth, we must begin to live what we learn in His Word. All the gifts and anointing in the world won’t make up for a lack of character.

What is character? It is perhaps best described as the sum of moral qualities associated with a person, and suggests ethical strength and excellence. Character is about doing what is right, regardless of what is convenient or popular. It comprises the core principles and values of who you really are, both inwardly and outwardly, in your behavior and relationships.

Qualities such as faithfulness, honesty, integrity, trustworthiness, loyalty, honor, dependability and even good old-fashioned manners are basic to good character. But because so few Christians exhibit these traits, there is a huge credibility gap between society and the church today. Many unbelievers consider us a bunch of hypocrites, and the sad truth is that in many instances, they are right!

We want to win the lost for the Lord, but they won’t listen to us because they see the glaring inconsistency between our message and our lifestyle. Some Christians don’t get along even with other believers.

The time for change has come. Our walk must begin to match our talk.

Character vs. Anointing

A dear friend once asked me, “Leon, if you could choose just one, which would you take: character or anointing?” I asked him what he was getting at. He went on to share some examples of anointed people who lacked credibility because of their lack of character.

I told my friend that as believers we should not desire one over the other; anointing and character must exist together as two equal forces in our lives.

To be a Christian means to be like the Anointed One, and that means to be truly Spirit-filled. Ephesians 5:18 instructs us to be filled with the Spirit, for this is the way of true Christian living.

But being filled with the Spirit does not excuse us from the necessity of developing character traits that confirm the reality of Christ in us. To be filled with the Spirit requires us to be Christlike, meaning that our attitudes, motives, words and deeds must be pure.

If we do not conduct our lives in a way that corresponds to the description of the Spirit-filled life in the Bible, we are a contradiction. If we have character but no spiritual passion, we are merely good, moral citizens. And though a good, moral life is commendable, it is not enough.

A person of character, virtue and dignity must also be a God-possessed person overflowing with spiritual zeal; these two aspects go hand-in-hand and are absolutely inseparable. Barnabas exemplified this balanced kind of life: He was a man of character who was also zealous for God.

As a result, he won many people to Christ. The Bible tells us: “For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord” (Acts 11:24, NKJV).

True spirituality is not evidenced by our ability to quote from the Bible, pray eloquently, lay hands on the sick or cast out demons. Rather, it is evidenced by the way we treat one another.

As I left the sanctuary one night after a powerful revival meeting, I noticed a small group standing around one of the ushers. From their scowls and animated gestures, I gathered they were not engaged in passionate prayer.

When I began walking toward them to find out what was going on, I was told that a disgruntled couple was reprimanding the usher because he had asked their teenage daughters to stop talking while I had been preaching. In fact, I had seen him go over to the girls to quietly ask them to stop disrupting the meeting.

Just a short while earlier, these parents had been lost in worship, standing with uplifted hands and tightly shut, tear-filled eyes. The anointing and presence of God had filled the house, yet not five minutes later we had a boxing match in the making.

What happened? Where was the anointing?

The anointing does not remove personality, emotions or free will, nor does it guarantee that we will do or say the right thing in the right way. Remember Peter, who, moments after being commended for recognizing Jesus as the Christ, was rebuked for not being mindful of the things of God.

Jesus said to him: “‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men'” (Matt. 16:23, NKJV). As powerful as it is, the anointing will not inexorably lead us to always do or say the right thing; neither will it replace the need for character.

D.L. Moody used to say that “character is what you are in the dark” when there is no one looking, no one listening. It is the thought, the desire, the intention that counts in the sight of God. We should not present a different personality in public than we do in private; there should be consistency between who we are and who we appear to be.

Character is the measure of our Christ-likeness.

There is no denying that we need more of the anointing in our lives, but we also need character. Some who desire a deep walk with God in the realms of the anointing will invest much time and effort in reading books. I believe they would do well to invest equal time in the development of their character.

As the many examples of gifted Christians around us make clear, being anointed does not guarantee maturity or character. We can have power without the traits listed above–but in the end this one-sidedness will lead to our demise.

On the other hand, it’s important to remember that we all have growing up to do; none of us has arrived or is fully developed and conformed to the image of Jesus. We are Christians under construction–and making a mistake or acting immaturely in a particular instance does not mean we lack character.

We also have to keep in mind that character does not develop overnight but is a lifelong process of becoming more and more like Jesus. It is developed in the crucible of life, formed through trial and conflict and through Spirit-led introspection. As we honestly evaluate ourselves, recognizing our flaws and taking the necessary steps to overcome them, we are certain to more closely walk the talk.

Leon van Rooyen is a South African evangelist based in the United States. He is the founder of Global Ministries and Relief in Tampa, Fla,. He and his wife, Bridgette, have three grown sons. For more information log on to .

BOOKS

Fatal Attractions
By Jack Hayford, Regal Books,

softcover, 152 pages, $.

No-nonsense straight talk is what pastor and author Jack Hayford delivers in his newest book, Fatal Attractions: Why Sex Sins Are Worse Than Others. A great communicator, Hayford reiterates that God forgives and cleanses individuals from sex sins as easily as other sins. But he warns readers that the consequences of these sins may remain for a lifetime. Sex sins do more damage to individuals, marriages, families and even societies as a whole than other sins. They affect people in body, soul and spirit.

Hayford delicately balances proclaiming hope of recovery for those who have already messed up and yet holding out the promise and possibility of living pure for those who have not. He also makes it clear that he is speaking to Christians who want to live under the lordship of Jesus Christ; he doesn’t expect the unconverted to understand these principles or have the power to live them.

And for the non-Christians who open this book, Hayford doesn’t leave them without hope. An appendix includes prayers for salvation, being filled with the Holy Spirit and deliverance. The prevalence of deception surrounding promiscuous sex makes this book a valuable tool for today’s church.
Deborah L. Delk

From Zero to Eternity in 60 Seconds Flat
By Wendell Smith, Charisma
House, softcover, 180 pages, $.

Wendell Smith, senior pastor of the City Church in Seattle, provides believers with a quick and simple guide on how to evangelize in a matter of minutes in From Zero to Eternity in 60 Seconds Flat. Smith, who takes an assertive approach to being a witness, exhorts readers to open their eyes to see the many opportunities Christians are given each day to evangelize.

Getting to the point quickly, Smith offers multiple lists, ranging from Scripture verses on evangelism to places Christians normally would not think of to evangelize. He also provides “door openers” such as, “Are you ready for heaven?” and “God knows where you are, God knows where you need to be and only God knows how to get you there.”

With wisdom and sensitivity, Smith addresses being led by the Spirit, the gifts of the Spirit and prayer–all essential for effective evangelism–making this book suitable for readers who appreciate the value of making the most of every encounter with the lost.
Tara Ringham

FICTION

The Priest
By Francine Rivers, Tyndale House
Publishers, hardcover, 232 pages, $.

Award-winning author Francine Rivers’ newest series, Sons of Encouragement, begins with its first novella, The Priest, a story about Moses’ brother and encourager, Aaron. Similar in style to her Lineage of Grace series, which highlighted the lives of women in the Bible whom God included in the lineage of Christ, this series highlights men in the Bible who played a key role in bringing the story of redemption.

Rivers stays true to the biblical narrative’s outline, adding insightful details that give a richer understanding of what may have been happening between the lines in the lives of these characters. Readers will see their own human nature in the life of Aaron as he battles fear, envy and doubt in order to overcome failure and to fulfill his calling from God.

Scriptural portions and questions are included in the book for personal devotion or group study. The Priest will certainly prove to be an encouragement to those who read it.
Deborah L. Delk

A Delirious Summer
By Ray Blackston, Revell,
softcover, 336 pages, $.

A Delirious Summer, literary sequel to Ray Blackston’s Flabbergasted, takes you into the psyche of a single man, Neil, a language teacher and missionary living in Ecuador. Based on a whimsical suggestion from one of his students, Jay–who found love in the first novel–Neil searches for Miss Right in South Carolina, during his summer furlough.

As he encounters many of the same quirky characters from the first novel, Neil experiences life-altering events and exhilarating adventures. A thrill-seeking blonde, a zany Italian and a rule-abiding redhead lead Ladies of the Quest, girls ever ready to church-hop in search of Mr. Right. Neil quickly discovers that the jungles of Ecuador are no match for what he encounters in the jungles of dating, and even there, he finds there are people in need everywhere and that a missionary is never truly on furlough.

A humorous yet thought-provoking novel about dating, church-hopping, friendship and missions, A Delirious Summer is an enjoyable romantic escape that single as well as married individuals won’t want to put down.
Debra L. Edgar

Silenced
By Jerry B. Jenkins, Tyndale House
Publishers, hardcover, 348 pages, $.

As the dramatic saga of special agent Paul Stepola continues in the second book of the unnamed trilogy that began with Soon, the born-again agent is hot on the heels of the bomber who took down the Eiffel Tower and Big Ben with simultaneous explosions.

Keeping secret his newfound faith while on assignment for the government to root out believers in Christ, Stepola is on the verge of being discovered because his father-in-law, a former war hero, thinks Stepola has become sympathetic to Christians. If discovered, he could lose his wife and kids and, possibly, his life.

The bomber, meanwhile, takes credit for an ultimatum to the new world government when it is announced all believers must register or be executed. But when the bomber is killed in an attempt to capture him, many scoff at the ultimatum, and any doubts that Stepola had crossed over to the other side are erased.

However, the ultimatum is fulfilled by God with a plague on unbelieving families that surely will heighten Stepola’s anxiety about being discovered in the final book.
Larry J. Leech II

MUSIC

A Call to Worship: Live in D.C.
By Stephen Hurd, Integrity Music.

Stephen Hurd, a new Integrity Gospel artist, just released his debut project titled A Call to Worship. Hurd, a native of Washington, D.C., has been a worship leader at some of the largest and most influential churches.

He gained fans with two independent projects but now introduces himself to the world on the first cut, “Let It Rise,” remade with a smooth, sweet orchestral arrangement. He also includes “Cry Out O Zion,” a Caribbean-flavored tune, and the jazzy “Rejoice.”

Flowing into worship, Hurd leads listeners into God’s presence on “Lead Me to the Rock.” He also wrote “Philippians 4:13,” which is inspiring and moving with the beautiful background vocals of Hurd’s group, Corporate Worship.

“Undignified Praise (I Will Dance, I Will Sing),” written by worship artist Matt Redman, is a hand-clapping, foot-stomping tune beckoning listeners to take an active part in the praise experience. The Spirit keeps flowing with “The Oil of Your Anointing,” featuring melodious saxophone solos from James Cheeks.

This is a wonderful project from one of praise and worship’s most noted leaders.
René Williams

Today
By Brian Doerkson, Integrity Music.

For Brian Doerkson, his newest worship project must have felt like coming home. Recorded live in his hometown of Abbotsford, British Columbia, it’s quite the hometown effort, with a 75-voice chorus, children’s choir and the Mennonite Jazz Committee all pitching in to help.

Doerkson, who is known as the writer of “Come, Now Is the Time to Worship,” leads the experience with capable yet low-key vocals. Several songs deserve extra attention, including the opening celebration of the title song, which also benefits from vocals by Doerkson’s father and daughter in the closing reprise.

A men’s chorus heartily sings “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” setting the stage for the guitar pop of “Fortress 144.” The Jazz Committee blends perfectly on the reworking of the classic “Great Is Thy Faithfulness,” a duet with Brenda Janz.

By alternating tempos and moods, Doerkson has created a fine release with songs that could be easily incorporated into church worship.
DeWayne Hamby

VIDEOS

Sumo of the Opera
By VeggieTales, Big Idea Inc.

VeggieTales friends are back with a lesson from Hebrews 10:36. Sumo of the Opera teaches the importance of perseverance.

This Rocky-style flick features Larry the Italian Scallion as a wrestler who does not follow through. But when Larry has his eye on a prize, he is willing to enter the ring to face Apollo Gourd. But will the Italian Scallion persevere even though he’s outweighed?

VeggieTales movies wouldn’t be complete without silly songs. This time it’s “Schoolhouse Polka.” A clever, silent vignette featuring Three Veggie Stooges, of course based on the classic trio, reiterates the lesson. It’s available on VHS as well as DVD–which includes extra features such as a maze game, Veggie karaoke, coloring pages and more.

Classic VeggieTales. Classic fun!
Leigh DeVore

We don’t play black artists,” Christian radio stations told Integrity Music when it was promoting Live From Another Level, the new CD by Israel Houghton and New Breed.

Houghton, a worship leader at Lakewood Church in Houston, is not deterred. “It creates a vacuum of challenge for me to be an advocate. I’m half-black, half-white, raised in a Hispanic church. I love the meshing of these cultures.”

Houghton’s songwriting for the last 14 years reflects that blend, and at Lakewood Church he is at home among the culturally diverse congregation of 30,000. In most churches, though, Houghton finds that Sunday morning worship services are segregated.

Houghton says: “It’s sad there’s still a skin-tone issue. … In heaven are there sections? A black section? A white section?”

Houghton is motivated even more because he was born of a white teenager shunned for getting pregnant by her black boyfriend. Pressured to abort, Houghton’s mother ran away, was led to the Lord and named him after reading about Israel in the Bible.

He now feels like the captain of an all-star team. All 14 members of New Breed also lead music in their own churches. The group spreads a message that crosses cultural, generational and denominational boundaries. Houghton says New Breed creates interactive worship for “an audience of one; everything is lyrically geared toward ministering to God.”
Marsha Gallardo

CHARISMATIC TOP SELLERS

1. Pigs in the Parlor
Frank and Ida Mae Hammond

(Impact Christian Books)

2. Total Forgiveness
R.T. Kendall (Charisma House)

3. A Divine Revelation of Hell
Mary K. Baxter (Whitaker House)

4. The Three Battlegrounds
Francis Frangipane
(Arrow Publications)

5. Matters of the Heart

Juanita Bynum (Charisma House)

6. Prison to Praise
Merlin R. Carothers (Merlin R. Carothers)

7. Heaven Is So Real
Choo Thomas (Creation House Press)

8. A Divine Revelation of Heaven
Mary K. Baxter (Whitaker House)

9. The Tongue
Charles Capps (Harrison House)

10. Blessing or Curse: You Can Choose
Derek Prince (Chosen)

Christian businesspeople are winning their co-workers to the Lord at a record rate. God wants to work in your workplace!
At Riverview Community Bank in Elk River, Minnesota, employees pray regularly for customers. Since the bank opened its doors 18 months ago, 54 miracles have occurred and 60 people have received the Lord during business hours. A hotel chain in the Philippines offers intercession to customers as part of its regular services, reaping thousands of salvations. A European corporation has designated a chair in the boardroom as “Jesus’ chair.” When faced with perplexing corporate matters, the leaders go to the Lord for guidance. One such inquiry resulted in a $1 billion contract!

These examples illustrate a growing phenomenon: ministry in the marketplace, where the power and presence of God are employed to change not only lives but also the marketplace itself. It’s church in the marketplace!

The marketplace is made up of the three arteries through which the life of society flows–business, education and government. It constitutes the heart of a city. To transform the city, its heart–the marketplace–must experience transformation.

To some this may seem like an extra-biblical concept. Does God expect the church to bring transformation to cities and nations?

The answer is a resounding yes. But for us to fulfill this mandate, we must first experience a major paradigm shift.

Many Christians have no trouble believing that the devil–a created being with limited power–contaminated all of creation with just one sin. But they find it difficult to accept that Jesus Christ–who is God–through a perfect sacrifice has made provision to recover all of “that which was lost.”

Jesus testified of Himself, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and save that which was lost”(Luke 19:10, NKJV). By this He meant that He came to save not just the lost but also that which was lost.

So what was lost when sin entered the Garden of Eden? At least three things: our relationship with God, our relationship with one another and something else that often goes unmentioned–the marketplace.

The curse on the ground (see Gen. 3:17) affected its business dimension. The resulting rebellion had an impact on its government aspect. And because God was no longer enjoying unhindered fellowship with His creatures, the educational dimension was lost. Therefore, when Jesus stated that He had come to save that which was lost, He meant the marketplace as well as individuals.

This truth becomes more apparent when we consider that the words of Jesus recorded in Luke 19:10 were meant to explain why Zacchaeus–a marketplace leader–was crucial to the establishment of God’s kingdom on earth. A few hours earlier when a blind beggar had been blessed, everyone praised God, but when the “Donald Trump of Jericho” had a similar experience, everyone got upset.

Yet Zacchaeus’ salvation clearly illustrates that Jesus came to recover everything that was lost.

The tax collector’s link to God was established when God’s kingdom came to his house. His relationship with his neighbors was restored when he gave half his wealth to the needy and used the other half to make restitution to those he had cheated. And through the parable Jesus told after Zacchaeus’ conversion, He showed how He would use people such as Zacchaeus to recover the marketplace.

The parable of the minas is the story of a nobleman who gave investment capital to his servants to do business, obviously in the marketplace. While he was away, his enemies took over the kingdom, but his servants continued to do business as instructed. When he returned, the nobleman granted them authority over cities in direct proportion to their success in the marketplace.

Jesus told this story to show that Christians must gain authority over cities by applying kingdom principles the way Zacchaeus did in Jericho. It also teaches that the scope of His redemption goes beyond the salvation of souls. In fact, it is tridimensional: It applies to the individual, to interpersonal relationships and to the marketplace.

When Christians understand that Jesus came to save everything that was lost, they are able to see the marketplace as an opportunity instead of a threat. Rather than viewing it as an unconquerable evil, they tackle its challenges with the same spiritual arsenal with which pastors come to the pulpit on Sunday mornings.

In the hotel chain mentioned previously, each one of the 1,600 rooms was used an average of five times a day by prostitutes working in cahoots with the hotel’s 2,000 employees. Humanly speaking, this was an irreversible situation. However, when the owner (a new Christian) realized that he had spiritual jurisdiction over the hotel, he hired 40 ministers to do prayer evangelism on site, and after two years most of his employees had become Christians and joined the spiritual turnaround that transformed the hotel chain into a spiritual powerhouse.

Chuck Ripka, senior vice president at the Riverview Community Bank, also learned to take advantage of opportunities to see business as church. “The attitude of management is that if a customer is struggling with his payments, we will not send the collectors, but instead will inquire how we can pray for them,” he says. “This may sound like church, but keep in mind that this is a bank where God is at work!”

The notion that Jesus came to save more than just souls is not an extra-biblical concept. John 3:16 does not state that God loved only the people in the world, but the world itself, precisely what was lost in the Garden. To interpret it otherwise leaves us with faith for personal salvation but without hope for our cities and nations, even though the Great Commission is about effectively discipling all nations, and the book of Revelation provides evidence that nations–saved nations–will bring glory to God (Rev. 21:24-27).

The idea that nations themselves can be redeemed runs like a thread throughout the Bible. The revivals described always influenced the marketplace. Of 69 divine interventions in the book of Acts, 68 happened in the marketplace.

Furthermore, the centrality of the marketplace in the transformation of cities and nations is evident in Paul’s missionary endeavors.

For more than 10 years (see Acts 13-17), Paul ministered once a week to God-fearing people in religious settings. He was so effective at this that he became the model for church planters. However, according to Acts 19, it wasn’t until “all who lived in Asia” heard the gospel–which included those in the marketplace–that Paul saw the region transformed.

Before this, Paul was influencing individuals but not society. Asia, the first regional transformation Paul initiated, came about because he moved his base of operations to the marketplace.

The genesis for this breakthrough was Paul’s going into the marketplace as a tent maker after meeting Aquila and Priscilla (see Acts 18). They set up in a house next to the synagogue that wasn’t just a home but also part of the marketplace. It’s safe to assume that Paul and his associates ministered out of that house every day to ungodly people in a nonreligious setting, combining tent making with apostolic ministry.

So many Corinthians believed and were baptized in the marketplace that Paul, perplexed and overwhelmed, became frightened and was tempted to quit. God instructed him in a nightly vision to go on “‘because I have many people in the city,'” making clear that his focus should remain in the marketplace.

Paul spent the next 18 months teaching the Word of God in the marketplace and having an impact on Corinth (see Acts 18:8-11). Subsequently he and his associates moved to Ephesus, where they combined business and ministry so effectively that in two years everybody in Asia heard the Word of God (see Acts 18:18-19:10).

When Paul shifted his focus to the marketplace to minister to unreligious people in a business setting, multitudes were saved, and cities and regions experienced transformation. This shift toward the marketplace is what is needed today for the Great Commission to be fulfilled in our generation.

Having church 24/7 in the marketplace may be easier than we think. The early church met primarily around meals (see Acts 2-6). If we were to turn every lunch break into an occasion to establish God’s presence and power in the marketplace, we could easily (and inexpensively) emulate Paul. If we took it one step further and began to do kingdom business in the marketplace, we would gain authority over cities.

This is precisely what is happening in Argentina. After a canopy of prayer was lifted over the nation in 2002, the out-of-control social upheaval miraculously subsided and the economy rebounded. Since then a number of governors and mayors have dedicated entire cities and provinces to Jesus with verifiable blessings. Pastors are also equipping members to shepherd corporations, schools and government agencies.

In Mar del Plata pastors are shepherding the entire city instead of just their congregations. Prayer centers operate in neighborhoods, police stations, hospitals and City Hall, making it hard for sinners to go to hell because the kingdom of God is evident all over town.

It’s about time we begin to seek and find what was paid in full by Jesus’ blood. Why not take the first step and invite Jesus to come into your workplace, and then systematically pray for everyone you do business with? Intercede fervently for those people and situations that require a miracle.

Doing this will allow you to experience the marketplace as a location for ministry where the power and presence of God change not only human lives, but also the marketplace itself. It will be church in the marketplace!

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Ed Silvoso is founder of Harvest Evangelism Inc., in San Jose, California, and is author of Anointed for Business (Regal). He is convening a marketplace ministry conference in Mar del Plata, Argentina, . For information call 800-835-7979.

There is a greater need now for prayer in our nation than during World War II.

Let’s assume you wanted an appointment with the president of the United States. It might take up to a year to make such an appointment–if you could get one at all. And setting up a meeting with a senator or congressman might take weeks.

But coming into the presence of Amighty God takes only a split second. We get there through prayer. And connecting with Him can make a greater difference than meeting with the highest human authority in the land.

We have reached a time in our nation’s history in which there is a greater need for prayer than during World War II. But now, instead of fighting Hitler and his army, we are fighting a battle against those who want to tear down our values and limit our religious freedom.

This battle can’t be fought with planes and guns. It must be fought in the spiritual realm–through prayer.

For those of us who were not a part of World War II, it’s hard to appreciate the seriousness of the situation. But consider these facts:

Hitler controlled nearly all of Europe, and Britain was in danger of falling

Hitler murdered 6 million Jews

Japan’s military swept Southeast Asia and pummeled our Navy at Pearl Harbor, an act that drew America into a war we were not prepared to fight.

Thankfully, God raised up some intercessors to engage in spiritual warfare during this season. One of them, Glenn Clark, wrote in his book A Man’s Reach that he believed Hitler was able to outmaneuver the Allies because he was operating in the “‘no man’s land’ of the psychic.”

Clark declared: “As long as the world fights back at him on the dog-eat-dog, jungle level … Hitler will continue to keep the advantage. … But the moment we get enough people, an entire army … to mount to a higher level, the level of the spiritual … the power of Hitler will be short-circuited and every move that he makes will bring the war more rapidly to an end.”

In the fall of 1942, Clark persuaded his friends Glenn Harding and Starr Daily to quit their jobs and cancel all appointments for one year to join him in spreading the message across the nation that “love and prayer are more powerful than tanks and bombs.”

You won’t read about what they called “the Third Front” in secular history books. But Clark claims that both Churchill and Roosevelt reported that the Allies were losing all their battles before Nov. 1, 1942, and winning them after that date.

Visit our Web site at read more in a chapter we’ve reprinted from Clark’s book.

Lately it seems the forces of evil are winning battle after battle in our nation. Who would have thought a few years ago that gay marriage would be supported by so many influential voices in the media and government? And that is only one of the problems we face. We are in a war, and we need an army of intercessors who will pray.

Thankfully numerous prayer initiatives are springing up. We are grateful for them and pledge to cooperate with everyone who has a vision to pray for righteousness in our nation. But we also want to involve our more than half a million Charisma readers in the prayer effort.

So we have created a special Web site and an e-newsletter that contains information on items to be prayed for as well as prophetic insights. Please go to to sign up for the e-newsletter. Then encourage all your friends and leaders at church to do the same.

We plan to include teachings on prayer to help you become an effective intercessor. And we will provide information about other prayer initiatives. Through technology we can build a network far beyond what Clark and his friends could have envisioned 60 years ago.

Clark said his group never prayed for victory in the war. But he said the victories on the battlefield prove that “if enough people mount … to a place where they can look upon their foes with forgiveness and love and ask the Lord and His righteousness to prevail, then the Lord will turn the tide in favor of that side which deserves to win.”

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Stephen Strang is the founder and publisher of Charisma.

One in 10 people over the age of 65 currently have Alzheimer’s disease.

Question: I was so saddened when former President Ronald Reagan fell victim to Alzheimer’s disease. My uncle also suffered from this devastating disease. Can we do anything to prevent getting it later in life?
S.K., Kalamazoo, Michigan

Answer:Alzheimer’s disease is the leading cause of dementia among the elderly. About 4.5 million Americans–one in 10 people over the age of 65–currently have the disease. Like President Reagan, people with Alzheimer’s are eventually robbed of their memories and their ability to communicate with loved ones.

But God did not leave us to battle this devastating disease alone. Recent research shows promise in the area of prevention and in slowing the progress of Alzheimer’s after it is diagnosed.

In a study recently published in the Archives of Neurology, researchers found that high daily doses of vitamins E and C taken together reduced the risk of Alzheimer’s disease among the elderly. The study involved more than 4,700 adults age 65 or older.

In the first phase, 200 cases of Alzheimer’s were diagnosed, and participants taking vitamin E and vitamin C supplements had a 78 percent lower risk of developing the disease than those who weren’t taking supplements. At the end of the study, another 104 participants had developed Alzheimer’s and the risk factor was 64 percent lower among the vitamin supplement takers.

Prior research has supported these findings. In two studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers examined whether the intake of antioxidants is related to the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

In one study, conducted in the Netherlands, the dietary habits of 5,395 participants over the age of 55 and free of dementia when the study began were monitored over a six-year period. During this time, 197 patients developed dementia, of whom 146 had Alzheimer’s disease. Of those free of the disease, individuals who had a higher intake of vitamins C and E in their diets had a lower risk of developing the disease.

In the second study–the Chicago Health and Aging Project–815 adults age 65 and older and free of Alzheimer’s disease were studied for almost four years, during which each participant completed a food-frequency questionnaire. At the conclusion of the study, 131 people had developed Alzheimer’s disease, with those not developing the disease having the highest intake of vitamin E in their diets. In fact, they were 70 percent less likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s than those with the lowest vitamin E intake.

Several biological mechanisms could explain this relation. Antioxidants may decrease the level of oxidative stress, thereby reducing the amount of DNA damage and the death of neurological cells in the brain. Also, because Alzheimer’s disease is associated with both cardiovascular risk factors and atherosclerosis, a high intake of antioxidants could also decrease the risk of dementia by reducing the risk of atherosclerosis.

Specifically, to reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s, I recommend taking a high-potency multivitamin-mineral supplement that includes:

**B vitamins (B6, 75 mg; B12, 100 mcg; folic acid, 600 mcg) to lower homocysteine levels.

**Vitamin E (800 IUs in the d-alpha form). Be sure the label includes “mixed tocopherols” and also “tocotrienols.”

**Vitamin C (2,000 mg).

Finally, make sure to include essential fatty acids (evening primrose oil and marine lipids with DHA and EPA), which help prevent inflammatory changes that might occur in the brain. DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) is also one of the key building blocks of brain tissue.

In addition to fish-oil supplements, cold-water fish–such as salmon, halibut, striped bass, tuna and sardines–are also a good source of DHA, an omega-3 fatty acid.

Alzheimer’s is a dreadful disease but not an inevitable part of aging. It is essential that we do our part and take advantage of the natural pathway God’s provided for us to keep our minds clear and focused.