The upcoming release of C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters is just one sign of the growing influence Christians are having on Hollywood.
During his six-year journey to make the movie Amazing Grace, producer Ken Wales visited St. Mary Woolnoth, the London church where the pastor and former slave trader John Newton wrote the beloved song for which the film was named.

Standing in the pulpit, Wales closed his eyes, imagining Newton reading the words of the poignant hymn that told about his life, how ashamed he was of it and how God had worked through him to help end slavery. He had been lost, but was found; was blind, but now could see.

“[‘Amazing Grace’ is] a retelling in a very poetic way of Newton’s life as a slave trader and how he was blind to what he was doing,” Wales says. “But the point of it is, no matter how far we pull away from God, He’s still able to reach out and offer us salvation and is able to save a wretch like us.”

Wales, a veteran filmmaker whose production credits include 1978’s Revenge of the Pink Panther and the television program Christy, sees that grace at work in Hollywood, where he says Christians are working to reform the world’s most influential art form. Thanks in part to the success of The Passion of the Christ, their efforts are gaining new momentum as studios show an unprecedented openness to faith-based films.

In recent years, seven major studios have opened divisions that target faith-based audiences. Through its FoxFaith subsidiary, Twentieth Century Fox is expected to release 12 faith-based films annually. Last fall, the Walt Disney Company announced plans to refocus on family-oriented content.

Bristol Bay Productions, the company that produced Amazing Grace, Ray and Sahara, is developing a film adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters. Wales is working on With Wings as Eagles, a sequel to Chariots of Fire. And John Milton’s Paradise Lost is in production.

“I think The Passion of the Christ really awakened a lot of people that there is a mass audience across middle America who is longing for movies that instead of trampling their faith, instead of trampling their values, that will honor those things,” says Stephen Kendrick, executive producer of Facing the Giants and an associate pastor at Sherwood Baptist Church, an Albany, Georgia, congregation that financed the $100,000 film.

Since its September 2006 release, Facing the Giants has grossed more than $10 million, surprising most industry insiders. Similarly, filmmaker Tyler Perry’s faith-based movies exceeded expectations. Diary of a Mad Black Woman grossed more than $50 million after its 2005 release, and Perry’s follow-up Madea’s Family Reunion opened at No. 1 in February 2006, eventually grossing $65 million.

The success of Perry’s films has led to more offerings targeting African-American churchgoers. In addition to Perry’s Why Did I Get Married, which hits theaters in November, films such as A Good Man Is Hard to Find, whose cast includes Golden Brooks (Girlfriends) and Bishop Noel Jones of City of Refuge Church in Los Angeles, and Mama I Want to Sing, starring singers Ciara and Patti LaBelle, are being marketed to faith-based audiences.

Movies with redemptive themes have consistently earned more revenue than any other type of film, averaging $39 million in 2006, up from $5 million in 1993, according to Movieguide’s recent annual report to the entertainment industry. The report found nearly 50 films were released in 2006 with positive Judeo-Christian content. That’s up from only one movie in 1985 when Movieguide first began reviewing films.

“I’m always hesitant to be a prognosticator of the future, but Hollywood looks like it’s much more in the midst of a revival than the rest of the country,” says Ted Baehr, publisher of Movieguide and chairman of the Christian Film and Television Commission.

And although greed may be motivating studios to scramble for a share of the faith-based market—(The Passion of the Christ grossed more than $1 billion worldwide)—the interest has brought Christians genuine influence in Hollywood, observers say.

“More and more Christians are entering very influential places in the media industry,” says Phil Cooke, president and creative director of Cooke Pictures. “In the last several years, we’ve seen a real growth in the momentum of Christians in Hollywood—people making a difference. We are starting to see a real impact.”

Inside Hollywood

Not long ago, those in the industry who revealed their faith risked losing their careers. “Many of them still live like Superman with secret identities,” Baehr says.
But today, more Hollywood insiders are open about their faith, including X-Men and Fantastic Four producer Ralph Winter and actor Stephen Baldwin, who accepted Christ after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Famous for his roles in The Usual Suspects and 8 Seconds, Baldwin stars in the Christian drama Midnight Clear, which releases in theaters in December, and the end-times thriller Six: The Mark Unleashed.

He believes the entertainment industry is in need of a revolution. “If you look at most of the films that come out of Hollywood, some awful, horrible, sad and depressive thing needs to transpire,” he says. “It’s unfortunate that an industry that has so much influence can’t really create more content with more positivism.”

George Barna, chairman of The Barna Group and Good News Holdings, a film production company co-founded by Paramount Pictures veteran David Kirkpatrick, said five of the top seven influences on the public include media: movies, television, music, the Internet and books.

“When we look at people with automatic entry into people’s hearts and minds, it’s the people who have effectively used the media to tell stories or to communicate a particular message,” Barna says.

The California-based researcher says his firm has found that Hollywood is changing society’s understanding of right and wrong. “That is the heart of the culture war taking place in America now—who determines what is right or wrong. Is it the individual, or is it God?” Barna says.

But even as Christians are making inroads into the global seat of influence, Hollywood insiders worry that too many movies with low budgets, poor quality and amateurish-acting could burn out the studios and the audience.

“There are people who have released films with Christian content who felt the market was soft and won’t do it again,” Baehr says. “Hollywood is a little fickle. When you throw out cheesy Christian movies that bomb at the box office, Hollywood blames the genre, instead of blaming the quality of the movie.”

One film that didn’t do as well as expected at the box office was The Nativity Story. Observers say a variety of factors could be at play, including a script that sanded down a lot of the rough edges. “A lot of Christian films are famous for that,” Cooke says. “For instance, the scene where Herod killed all the baby boys under 2 years old was pretty much glossed over, and that was a pretty horrific event. The film overall is a terrific story, but they tried to make the story too nice.”

Also, New Line Cinema marketed The Nativity Story with what is known as event marketing, which hypes a film just before its release as a “big event that breaks like a tidal wave on the beaches of Malibu,” Baehr says. “But church marketing is 180 degrees opposed to event marketing. The church didn’t know about this movie.”

Although The Nativity Story wasn’t as profitable as The Passion of the Christ, Cooke says he doubts New Line Cinema will abandon the genre. “I think ultimately New Line Cinema probably got burned a little bit, but they probably realize that’s because of their project and not the market,” he says. “There is a lot of buzz going on in town about the faith-based market.”

On the other hand, the film Amazing Grace—about British politician William Wilberforce’s 20-year fight to abolish the slave trade—received standing ovations. Producer Wales believes the reaction is due to the fact that audiences are inspired by both the famous hymn and the story of a historically overlooked hero who—because of his faith in God—sought to enter politics and help correct an injustice.

“I think part of the difficulty with much of the Christian productions is trying to overload it with such strong Christian content that viewers who may not be Christians are either disappointed, put off or don’t feel a part of the story,” Wales says. “Most people said Amazing Grace was right on target, and it’s Christianity in action.”

The Rev. Edward McNulty, a retired Presbyterian minister who is now editor of the film review Web site VisualParables .net, says filmmakers should take their cues from Jesus, who often spoke in parables to convey important truths.

“Jesus challenges us with His stories, challenges some of our prejudices, and I think good films can do that as well,” McNulty says. “They can enlarge our understanding, deepen it and make us feel sympathy toward people. Most of Jesus’ stories are everyday stories, but He used them to point to a religious concern, mainly trying to get people to understand what the kingdom of God is like.”

Supernatural Thrills

Offerings for faith-based audiences are growing more diverse and sophisticated. A script is being written for The Screwtape Letters, the famous 1942 C.S. Lewis book that tells the story in the form of a series of letters from a senior devil, Screwtape, to his nephew, a junior tempter, Wormwood, on ways to secure the damnation of an earthly man. Filming is expected to begin next year.

“We’re going to try to be faithful to the book,” producer Winter says. “It’s a piece of literature that is well-written, interesting, and it looks at the spiritual realm in an odd way. … It looks at it from the perspective of a senior demon teaching a junior demon how to keep humans away from God.

“We’re also making some movies based off of books by Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker—House, Thr3e, Skin and The Visitation. Those are all supernatural thrillers. There is an audience that is interested in that genre. We’re exploring it. But The Screwtape Letters is at another level. It’s much bigger.”

Director Scott Derrickson, co-writer of the The Exorcism of Emily Rose, is currently developing John Milton’s Paradise Lost, the biblical story of Lucifer’s leading a rebellion against God and being cast down from heaven to Earth, where he tempts humanity.

The Legendary Pictures film, which has a $100 million budget, is expected to use recent advances in computer animation to depict Milton’s imagery of spiritual warfare, including scenes in heaven of angels in battle. “What used to be limited to our imagination … can now be realized in this computer-savvy digital era,” says Craig Detweiler, co-director of Reel Spirituality and head of the Fuller Theological Seminary Film Studies Department.

“So I think you are going to start seeing more fantastic stories, more mythical stories and more magical stories like The Screwtape Letters and Paradise Lost in the days and months to come. In the past, your imagination was limited by your budget. But now with new technology, it’s so affordable and so available that you can let the technology catch up with the creativity of God.”

But Cooke is concerned that Christians, having finally broken through the gates of
Hollywood, could once again retreat into their own subculture of producing entertainment for themselves. “The big thing I’m worried about in the Christian media world is that we’ve created our own ghetto, our own bubble of Christian publishing, Christian radio, Christian TV, Christian movies and Christian music,” he says. “As a result, we’re producing media projects for each other, but not impacting the larger culture.”

The solution is better storytelling, better acting and higher quality productions, Cooke says. “Just like Michelangelo [believed], God doesn’t settle for second-rate,” says John Ware, founder and executive director of the 168-Hour Film Project, a speed filmmaking competition where producers have a week to make a short movie based on a Bible verse.

Numerous efforts are under way to improve the quality of Christian films. Cooke and Winter are co-chairs of the Biola University Studio Task Force, an organization of about 100 Christians in highly placed industry positions who support the university’s strong programs to train up a generation to work in Hollywood.

Behind the scenes, television producer Karen Covell, challenging people to view Hollywood as the world’s most influential “mission field,” formed the Hollywood Prayer Network, which involves thousands of people around the globe praying for celebrities and industry executives.

“Hollywood will not change until the hearts of the people who are making the projects change,” Covell says. “Christians outside of Hollywood are angry at Hollywood. They think it’s Satan’s pit here. If Christians could take that energy and pray for people here, instead of boycotting films, it will send a message of love and help Christians understand that God is the only one who can change Hollywood.”

Another organization, Act One, has trained more than 300 Christian scriptwriters in the art of storytelling. Its faculty includes more than 50 Christian writers working in Hollywood. “This movement is much larger than people would expect,” says Chris Riley, director of Act One’s writing program.

Dean Batali, former executive producer of That ’70s Show who is trying to get Hollywood to produce television scripts with Christian characters, says the possibilities for these types of shows are endless, but Hollywood has been reluctant to produce them.

Batali has encouraged television networks to produce a show called Youth Group, noting that half of American teenagers attend church youth groups. Batali has written a pilot television show called Seven Hills, which is similar to the Buffy the Vampire Slayer scripts Batali wrote, but features Christian teenagers.

“I’m not just talking about safe, pretty shows that are boring,” Batali says. “I’m talking about teen shows with maybe some supernatural elements and quirky shows. This is a big and interesting debate. Most Christians I know love the X-Files because it has to do with bigger themes about life, truth and faith.”

In an unexpected move, TBS ordered 100 episodes of Tyler Perry’s House of Payne, a comedy about a multigenerational, working-class African-American family that debuted in June amid a church-based marketing campaign. The premiere episodes set a cable record for sitcom airings, with each drawing more than 5 million viewers.

As a new generation picks up the mantle to help redeem Hollywood, Wales says filmmakers should focus first on telling compelling, first-rate stories. “I’m a real big fan of telling the great story,” says Wales, also a University of Southern California film professor. “The three most important parts of filmmaking are story, story and story, no matter how much technology improves.”

And like the ones told by the greatest storyteller in history, Wales recommends filmmakers look for the metaphoric thread, or parable, that expresses the universal predicament of the human spirit—a predilection to stray off the right path, but a way to find the road back to redemption through God’s incredible grace.

That’s what most impressed Wales about Wilberforce and made him passionate about telling the reformer’s tale. “For me, it was very much admiring what he did—his tenacity,” Wales says. “I certainly know about that perseverance. It took me 19 years to do Christy. When you have a dream and an obsession to do something worthwhile, you are tenacious and don’t let go.

“Wilberforce was derided by his colleagues … but he persevered until the abolishment of the slave trade became the law. He very much wanted to right a wrong. And I very much believe in that.”

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Troy Anderson is a journalist based in Southern California. To view trailers from some upcoming Christian films, log on at charismamag .com/christianmovies.

Brian Welch, one of America’s most popular hard-rock artists, traded in his wild ways when he discovered real faith.
For 10 years the phrase “sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll” was more than just a tired cliché for musician Brian Welch. It was his life. As the lead guitarist for multiplatinum-selling hard-rock band Korn, Welch consumed everything the realm of fame and fortune served up. And at times, it tasted pretty good.

But that was before Welch met Jesus and had his world turned upside down. Since his miraculous salvation experience two and a half years ago, the once insatiable rocker has developed an appetite for a much different menu.

“To be quite honest, you could put me in a room full of drugs, booze and hookers for a year, and I wouldn’t touch any of them,” Welch says. “I’m just so in tune and so close with God.”

That might be a hard pill to swallow for the millions of Korn fans across the globe who remember Welch’s past existence as one of the hardest partying rock stars on the touring circuit. Though some have shown a certain level of respect for his decision to leave the band to pursue a relationship with God, others have made fun of Welch via Internet message boards and even obscene T-shirts that mock his faith.

With the publication in July of his autobiography Save Me From Myself, which
debuted at No. 20 on the New York Times best-sellers list, and a solo CD in the works, Welch says he’s prepared for the worst—but he’s still hoping and praying for the best.

“I’m kind of used to [being ridiculed],” he says. “So I’m ready for it. The good thing is, I just want to get my story out there. These people can take it for what it is.

“I just want them to know what I went through in my life that got me to the point where I could give up everything to follow Christ and how He took my shattered life and changed it so quickly. Whether they accept it or not, who knows?”

To Hell and Back

Even though Welch’s autobiography discloses personal information about his childhood and teenage years, the bulk of his story starts in 1994 when the music world met Korn, a new kind of rock band that combined elements of rap, metal, hardcore and electronica. The band’s self-titled debut sold more than 2 million copies in the U.S.

Korn found themselves on the road with the likes of Marilyn Manson, Ozzy Osbourne and Megadeth. They were more than just rising stars. They had risen straight to the top.

It didn’t take long before fame quit filling the void Welch felt in his soul. Even though he had accepted Christ at the age of 13, he never took the relationship further. So instead of relying on faith he developed a strong dependency on alcohol, drugs, sex and pornography.

After the birth of his daughter, Jennea, in 1998 Welch tried to clean up his act, realizing his actions someday might have severe consequences for both of them. He now believes the Holy Spirit was using that circumstance to encourage him to be a good father—but to no avail.

“I still tried to make it work,” Welch says. “I brought her out on the road, and she was watching her dad pound beer every night, and she saw all the craziness on stage. And every time, that was convicting me. Every time I was like, ‘How can I let this little girl watch me on stage?'”

Welch started making his daughter leave the stage for certain songs but discovered that it didn’t help him clean up his act. “I sunk lower and lower. I got more addicted. I got crazier. I got so obsessed with pornography. I was just a mess.”

By the end of 2004 he was divorced and raising then 6-year-old Jennea alone. His ex-wife, also a drug addict, had bailed out of the marriage five years before. In desperation, he reached out to a Christian friend in the real estate business. Before Welch knew it he was making his first visit to church in nearly 20 years.

He admits being high on speed when he walked into Valley Bible Fellowship (VBF) in Bakersfield, California, but says the supernatural working of the Holy Spirit penetrated his hallucinated state and nudged him down to the altar where pastor Ron Vietti led him in a prayer of repentance.

“The pain in my life and the trials and the storms just got worse and worse and worse as the years went by, until I couldn’t take it no more,” Welch says. “I’m thankful for everything that I went through. I’m not proud of all the drugs that I did and the abuse of other people and myself, but I’m glad that I went through it.”

Welch quit Korn and went public with his faith during the first weeks of 2005. His aggressive, in-your-face approach to his newfound freedom in Christ was uncomfortable for Korn enthusiasts who didn’t know what to make of the radical, 180-degree change.

But it was at times just as difficult for the observant Christian community that was also watching his zealous faith unfold. Some Christians thought, after all, of the many times before when other radical celebrity conversions had ended badly.

In Welch’s case, it all had become very public after news hit the Internet that he was quitting Korn and would be giving his Christian testimony at VBF. Some 13,000 people as well as media outlets CNN and MTV showed up to hear him.

The day after he gave his testimony Welch left for a trip through Israel with a group from the church. He had agreed to a request by MTV to send a camera crew along to film him touring the country.

While there, he battled some personal issues, primarily depression. His ensuing moments of frustration and anger were captured on MTV’s cameras.

Welch now sees how he might have made the church a little nervous at the time with so much publicity. But he by no means regrets his decision to throw caution to the wind and allow his new relationship with Jesus to be an open book for anyone to see.

“I was so on fire for the Lord,” Welch says. “I was so touched by God—and the supernatural was opened up to me—that nothing else mattered.

“I didn’t care if I was saying wrong things. All I knew was that God loved me and He saved me and I walked away from everything and I wanted to shout it to the world. I probably said a couple of things that were kind of wacky and stuff, but it was all out of zeal and love for the Lord.”

Welch had no intention of slowing down his quest to share the gospel. He propelled himself into the Christian media circuit at warp speed. He also did what he could to reach back into the mainstream world with his story.

But eventually things started to slow down and open doors began to close—leaving a confused Welch asking God some serious questions.

“[God] started telling me, ‘Look, you’ve got to relax,'” he recalls. “‘You’ve got to go into seclusion and get away from all of that stuff, and I’m going to start training you. I’ll build you up. I’ll build your ministry up.'”

The Raw Truth

Welch and his daughter moved from California to Arizona, where Welch says God slowed him down long enough to allow the Holy Spirit to do some serious work. He dealt with some deep issues that had plagued him since his teenage years and had followed him through his commercial success in the recording business.

It was a process that put Welch on his knees and eventually left him emotionally and spiritually spent.

“Since I became a Christian, I just started praying and I haven’t even stopped,” Welch says. “Like all day throughout the day I just pray. That’s what I did.

“I went into seclusion, and I just pressed in. I hungered for the Lord and I said: ‘Change me. Do Your will for my life. Just take the junk out of me.’

“And then I went through tons of pain for two years—just brokenness. I didn’t cry for 15 years so I’ve just been crying for the past two years.”

As Welch went through the painful process, he started to understand more about the Holy Spirit. Not only did he enjoy a newfound comfort and peace, but he says he also learned that God wanted to be with him through His Spirit—a revelation that “floored” him. All these changes took place amid times of doubt, severe anger and a recurring bout with depression.

“I’ve been going through so much healing and deliverance and all that stuff for these two years,” Welch says. “And no matter how I acted or no matter what I threw back at God, the Spirit was just doing its work.

“I had some hard times. I had so much pain with the deliverance and the changing and the process that was going on. I would find myself cussing out God and then I’d feel guilty afterwards. I had zero control. I don’t know what went on, but now I just love the Holy Spirit.”

Welch wrote his autobiography while he was going through the painful process, which helped him to endure it and resulted in a more deeply authentic account, he says.

“That book is real. I poured my heart out,” he says. “I was going through the tears and the pain and the anger and the happiness—all of it at one time. I was crying when I was typing these chapters.”

Nearing completion of his book, Welch faced a peculiar dilemma. Parts of the story included profanity-laden conversations. As a young Christian, he wanted to reflect his desire for holiness, but he felt led by God to leave some of the coarse language and brutally honest depictions in the text.

“The religious part of me was like: ‘How can God be telling me to do that? How can the Lord be telling me to say that stuff?'” Welch says. “I could’ve reworded it, and it would’ve been close, but I really felt led to be real and raw. I wanted the darkness to be real and accurate and I wanted the light to come shining through bright.

“There might be some people that might say I went a little too far with the realness and rawness, but all I can say is that it’s a real and accurate book and I can’t apologize for that.”

On the opposite extreme, Welch also wrestled with whether or not to include a chapter titled “Tongues,” which explains what he says is the “huge part” speaking in tongues has played in his spiritual growth.

“I pray in the Spirit a lot at home, and it really has helped me be delivered, and it’s opened my spiritual eyes to understanding,” Welch says. “But I didn’t want to freak people out. I knew it was going to be weird to some people that don’t know the Lord, and even some Christians think it’s weird.

“Then I felt the Lord ask me, ‘Are you ashamed of the Holy Spirit?’ And there’s no way I’m ashamed of the Holy Spirit. I had to be real.”

The First of Millions

Now that Welch’s sabbatical has ended, he finds that he is no less gung-ho than when he first experienced the miraculous power of God’s grace. In fact, he has since wholeheartedly embraced the work that prophecy plays in his life—a spiritual gift that Welch says not only guided the words of his book but also provided him with the songs for his solo project.

One thing Welch doesn’t want the book to do is simply come off as a feel-good story about how religion helped a rock star overcome his addictions. Instead, he desperately hopes that his testimony will challenge people to draw closer to the Creator of the universe and experience the fullness of His love.

“I want people to see how God revealed Himself to me and that God is so real and that He wants to come as close to every human as they want Him to,” Welch says. “I just want a burning desire to be placed into the hearts of every reader, whether that’s a Christian or a non-Christian, because we should always be growing and getting hungrier for the Lord because there’s always more. There’s always more that He wants to reveal to us.”

That type of spiritual wisdom is a far cry from the state of hopelessness that Welch himself knew less than three years ago. It’s the kind of thinking that reminds him daily of the fact that he has many friends still trapped by the deceptive glamor of the “sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll” life.

Now that he has been delivered from those addictions, Welch is driven by a sense of urgency that is fueled by his compassion for the lost.

“I feel like I need to do everything and anything that the Bible says that I can do to get these people saved like me,” Welch says. “I just pray constantly that He will open the hearts of those people and open the minds and the spiritual eyes so they can see Him. All they need is a glimpse of His love, like I had. I was forever changed.

“I’ve just pleaded with Him that He would do that for this generation. I pray that I’ll be a prophetic example of what He’s going to do for all of those people that are living the way I did. I pray that I’m the first of millions that are going to be coming.”

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Chad Bonham is a journalist based in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. To learn more about Brian Welch’s music and ministry, visit . To read an excerpt from Brian Welch’s book, log on at

Youth today are not interested in anything fake or pretentious.
One of my weaknesses is a stubborn refusal to grow up. The years keep ticking by and my metabolism keeps slowing down, but I still feel 21 inside. I’ve talked with a lot of guys my age who feel the same way: It’s almost as if we froze emotionally during our junior year in college. Perhaps it had something to do with the food in the dorm cafeteria.

I loved college. Maybe that is one reason I joined Facebook, the social networking Web site that is so popular among college students today. A few months ago I created my own page on Facebook mainly to interact with my four daughters. But since then I’ve been linking up with lots of students who have heard me speak at their churches.

Older and less tech-savvy people probably think Facebook is a waste of time. But the typical student spends hours filling his page with all kinds of personal information, including favorite movies and music, inspirational quotes, hobbies and goofy photos.

All this data is shared with friends who connect online and write short messages on one another’s “walls”—the Facebook term for a message board. People can’t see your Facebook page unless you grant them access­—unlike the MySpace site.
Besides connecting me with some college-age friends and introducing me to a new vocabulary, Facebook has helped me understand how the digital generation ticks.
I’ve come to appreciate their authenticity and their craving for relationships. And I have come to realize that I must make adjustments in my life if I expect to relate to the emerging Christian generation.

Here are some things I’ve learned about the Facebook nation:

want fathers and mothers. I was surprised when a group of guys from a charismatic church in Gainesville, Florida, “tagged” me on Facebook and asked me to be in their network of online friends. I am old enough to be their dad.
This showed me that today’s generation gap is really not as wide as I imagined. Many young people, including those who grew up in fatherless or dysfunctional homes, crave meaningful relationships with older people who can offer mentoring, encouragement and affirmation.

2. They despise phony spirituality. We are way past the time when preachers can afford to be cocky and unapproachable. Those who arrive at church in limousines might as well forget about attracting the younger crowd. Youth today are not interested in anything fake or pretentious. Today’s audience wants the real deal, not the swagger of the slick televangelist.

If you show genuine love and share the gospel with humility, today’s young people will go to the ends of the earth with you. They want to heal the sick, stop child slavery and end the crisis in Darfur. On the other hand, if you spend all of your time talking about your latest “prosperity breakthrough” or taking offerings for your private jet, they will yawn, roll their eyes and find a better cause to support. (And they can spot a religious con artist quicker than many adults who have been in church for years!)

3. They speak the language of culture. Young people today integrate music, movies and TV shows into their daily lives—whether it’s a quote from Spider-Man, a line from a 50 Cent song or a scene from Grey’s Anatomy. If we expect to relate to the emerging generation we must learn their language and be willing to talk with them on their level—rather than lecturing them about their entertainment choices.

For example, instead of blasting Harry Potter for being demonic, how about using J.K. Rowling’s books to start a conversation about how her last novel offers obvious literary allusions to Jesus’ death and resurrection? I guarantee students will line up to talk about that.

4. They are radical for Jesus. Many of the young Christians I meet today are more passionate about their faith than their parents. They spend their summers on the mission field, get involved in 24/7 prayer efforts and forfeit cars and careers to serve the Lord. If they are willing to give 100 percent, we should be willing to tear down the walls that divide us.

It is time for the hearts of the fathers to be turned toward the children. Today’s younger generation is worth the investment.

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J. Lee Grady is the editor of Charisma. Check out his weekly online column at .

Our discouragement can open the way for the adversary to kill, steal from and destroy us.

It is unusual for a thief to send a postcard to make an appointment with the owner of a house. Part of the evil genius of his craft is to come when he is least expected. As Christians we often live our lives unaware of the enemy and his efforts to destroy us.

In the New Testament, the thief is a figure of the unexpected. “If the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched” (Matt. 24:43, NKJV). We are living in a world in which evil takes no respite and where life demands vigilance that affords no vacation.

Are there times when we are more susceptible to temptation? Absolutely. Are there any circumstances or moods that catch us off guard and make us easy prey for Satan? Certainly but we don’t have to be ignorant of his tactics. Here are a few strategies the enemy uses to make us fall.

Tiredness. Esau is a striking example of a man who was taken unaware because he was tired. After he had been hunting in the wild, he returned home foot-weary and hungry to find Jacob preparing a meal. The sweet odor of the stew stimulated his palate, and he was willing to do just about anything to eat.

Then he discovered his brother would feed him if he would give him his birthright. In a moment of physical weakness, Esau sold his inheritance for a meal (see Gen. 25:29-34).

It’s easy for us to feel sorry for ourselves after working hard all day. The pressures of work can lead us to seek immediate gratification in things, people and even food. Esau wanted to recall the bargain, but it was too late. The act of an unguarded moment could not be reversed.

We are no different from Esau. We sometimes give in to tiredness for a moment of unusual indulgence and forfeit God’s blessings.

Happiness. Temptation can come in the middle of our most pleasant moments. King Herod is a perfect illustration of someone caught in this snare. During the night of his birthday party in the palace, Herod became susceptible to the allurement of the dancing girl. He was enjoying the intoxicating pleasure of the moment, but in that hour of dangerous happiness he made her an extravagant offer: “‘Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom'” (Mark 6:23).

His defenses were down, and his excitement confused his judgment. When the girl asked for the head of John the Baptist, the king was sorry he had made such an impetuous offer. His delirium was changed to remorse and self-reproach. John the Baptist died on the altar of unguarded happiness.

Discouragement. When Peter was discouraged, the tempter approached. As people gathered around a lighted fire after Jesus’ arrest, Peter lurked in the shadows. But when he was confronted about knowing Jesus, he denied Christ three times (see Mark 14:69-72).

It is important to recognize how often we act out of character, or say or do something utterly different from our regular conduct. We succumb to the pressures of the moment and give more away than we can ever recapture.

It is dangerous for us to nurse moments of sadness because it throws us off guard. Our discouragement can open the way for the adversary to kill, steal from and destroy us.

Esau’s tiredness, Herod’s happiness and Peter’s gloom are good examples of pathetic preludes to temptation that would not have led to sin had the three men been alert to the enemy’s plan.

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Derrick W. Hutchins is pastor of New Life Church of Orlando (Florida) Church of God in Christ (COGIC).

 

We can dance and lift our hands, but our actions are a reflection of what is in our hearts.
“The worship of God is nowhere defined in Scripture,” according to Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. I believe the reason for this is because worship cannot be defined.

Worship comes from such a deep place within us. It is such a powerful outpouring of our hearts toward the Lord, and it represents such love, gratitude and devotion that we cannot put it into words.

In fact, worship is so personal and intimate that maybe we should not even attempt to define it.

Vine’s does say that worship “is not confined to praise; broadly, it may be regarded as the direct acknowledgement to God, of His nature, attributes, ways and claims” and that it can mean “to serve,” or to “do service to.” Some sources also say that to worship means “to kiss,” which connotes great affection and intimacy.

Although we cannot find a definition of worship in the Word of God, the Scriptures are clear in their instructions and observations about it. For example:

“Give to the Lord the glory due His name. … Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!” (1 , NKJV).

“O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker [in reverent praise and supplication]” (Ps. 95:6, The Amplified Bible).

“Extol the Lord our God and worship at His holy hill, for the Lord our God is holy!” (Ps. 99:9).

“I will worship toward Your holy temple and praise Your name for Your loving-kindness and for Your truth and faithfulness; for You have exalted above all else Your name and Your word and You have magnified Your word above all Your name!” ().

Worship is so much more than just singing songs. It is a condition of the heart and a state of mind. We can be worshiping passionately without singing a single note. It is born in our hearts, it fills our thoughts, and it is expressed through our mouths and through our bodies.

For example, we can worship God by dancing, clapping, lifting our hands, playing an instrument, giving tithes and offerings, marching around, or sitting perfectly still, but our actions or our positions are simply reflections of what is in our hearts.

One posture often used in worship and prayer is kneeling. Kneeling is a posture of humility, but it is also a position of incredible power. As an act of humility, kneeling affects us in a positive way because it allows us physically to express our total dependence upon the Lord.

To kneel is to say to Him: “I need You, God. I want to follow You and obey You. I am desperate for You!”

The world often thinks of worship as “religion,” which could not be further from the biblical concept of worship. It’s about a personal relationship, spiritual intimacy and passionate expressions of devotion from people who love God with all their hearts. This is true worship.

John 4:23 says God is looking for this kind of worshiper and this type of worship: “A time will come, however, indeed it is already here, when the true (genuine) worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth (reality); for the Father is seeking just such people as these as His worshipers.”

I have always been a bit saddened by the fact that God has to seek true worshipers. There should be an abundance of them who are dedicated to Him.

I find it interesting that He does not want just anybody to worship Him. He wants true and genuine people. He does not want to be worshiped out of fear, obligation or religion.

True worship is a result of intimacy with God. That is why worship is so important to our prayer lives.

Our hearts have to be connected, and we have to be focused on Him. We cannot give God lip service. We must express the worship that abides in us.

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Joyce Meyer is a New York Times best-selling author and one of the world’s leading practical Bible teachers. She has written more than 70 books, including the popular Beauty for Ashes and Battlefield of the Mind, and her most recent, I Dare You (all FaithWords). She is also the founder of Joyce Meyer Ministries Inc. and the host of Enjoying Everyday Life radio and TV programs, which air on hundreds of stations worldwide. To read past columns in Charisma by Joyce Meyer, log on at

Before I visited AUSTRALIA recently, my stereotypes of that nation were typically American—kangaroos, Crocodile Dundee and Outback Steakhouse. Of course I also knew of Darlene Zschech’s “Shout to the Lord,” which has made Hillsong a household word in Christian circles worldwide.

What I discovered after meeting with key Christian leaders is a vibrant church, strong relationships among leaders, a focus on reaching youth, the ability to reach out to a very secular culture and a willingness by the church to embrace change. I came away feeling that the rest of us have something to learn from the church Down Under.

As recently as the 1960s, Pentecostals were a beleaguered minority in Australia—so much so that my late father-in-law, Harvey Ferrell, who had pioneered several large churches in the U.S., answered a “missionary call” to pastor in Sydney. Then in the late 1970s Andrew Evans, a pastor in Adelaide, became general superintendent of the AOG, as the Aussies call the Assemblies of God. He invited Korean pastor David Yonggi Cho to speak to pastors. Cho chided them for their lack of vision and lack of leadership.

Pastors changed, and their churches began to grow. By the time Evans turned the AOG over to Brian Houston of Hillsong Church in 1997, the AOG, with 830 churches, was second in size only to the Roman Catholic Church in Australia.
“The Assemblies in Australia is vastly different,” said Evans’ son Ashley, who now pastors the church in Adelaide. “Part of our secret is it allows for complete functional autonomy, and at the end of the day is a fellowship of churches rather than a denomination.”

Houston, who continues to pastor Hillsong in Sydney as he leads the AOG, said the movement has grown due to “a commitment to authenticity; cultural relevance; spiritual passion; the courage to be innovative and to try new things; and the release of young people, as keys.” Today the AOG has 1,115 churches.

A man who has seen this change is my friend Vince Esterman, an Aussie evangelist who recently moved back to Australia after pastoring in France for the last 21 years. ” ‘Change’ is the operative word, and no one seems to be afraid of it,” he said. “What a contrast to how church is traditionally seen. And there is an increasing emphasis on the social responsibility of Pentecostal churches.”

That social responsibility has moved to politics.

Today Andrew Evans has been elected to a seat in his state parliament under the Family First party, founded by him and his son Ashley, which we’ve reported on in Charisma. Now the party holds three seats, including one in the national parliament.

Phil Pringle of Christian City Church International (with 200 congregations) points out that in Australia Pentecostal Christianity is mostly local-church oriented rather than “ministry” oriented. “We have empowered the next generation to take hold of the ministry of the churches and let their influence be felt throughout the whole church,” he said.

What I saw seemed healthy and outwardly focused. The Aussies are very relational. And I’m not the only American to notice. Matt Dawson—son of author John Dawson, international president of Youth With a Mission—fell in love with Australia when he trained there.

“These guys really know how to work together. Loyalty, friendship, laughter, brutal honesty and togetherness are words that come to mind when I think about the church here in Oz,” he said.

Australian churches must reach a secular audience—only 5 percent attend a Protestant church on Sunday.

Ben Woods, a bright young pastor whose AOG church is one of Newcastle’s fastest-growing, explained: “We must reach out—presenting Jesus like He has never been presented because, in reality, to most of our nation He hasn’t been.”

This also means Aussie Christians must “represent the kingdom in the 21st century [rather] than a church with a traditional mind-set,” said Andrew Evans’ son Russell of Planetshakers in Melbourne. “Hence the church is contemporary with a first-class attitude to how church can be done.”

One of the most encouraging predictions came from Matt Danswan, whose two magazines cover the Christian scene: “All of the publicity surrounding Hillsong has really put Christianity on the map here and people are really opening up to it. So I think our country is on the verge of a revival.”

Let’s pray that happens in the rest of the world, too.

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Stephen Strang is founder and publisher of Charisma. To view an uncut version of this column, more quotes and links to Australian ministries mentioned here, log on at

You must press through difficult places to reach your destiny.

During this season, many of God’s people are standing in a place of great adversity. But the Lord says that you should not fear or run from it. Rather, you should run into the adversity. If you run into it, you will see a greater power of God released through you­—for this is a day of testing that will open the door to your destiny.

That destiny awaits. However, you must press through difficult places to get to it. Fear attempts to block your passageway. A desire to return to an old place tempts you to retreat. You must keep your focus on the promise of the Lord that can be found only on the other side of the door.

God is looking for covenant partners who are faithful to Him in the midst of difficulty. He wants us to be like the three Hebrew children who were not consumed in the fire and who came through it without the smell of smoke upon them (see Dan. 3:13-30). These are the ones the Lord is empowering in a new way for the next season. To reach the destiny God has for you, you must take several steps. First, war against wrong thoughts. Guard your mind from thoughts of doubt, unbelief, defeat, failure, guilt and condemnation. Let your mind be like a walled city that refuses to allow negative thoughts to penetrate.

Second, resist any temptation toward introspection. Only the Holy Spirit has the right to search the hearts and minds of men. When the Lord is ready to reveal an area of life that needs correction, He will. Do not play the part of the Holy Spirit and search for hidden things in the heart.

Third, war with the Word of the Lord. Let the rhema word, the God-breathed word, found in Scripture be your strength in times of weariness. Remind yourself of the prophetic words that have been spoken to carry you through this tight place.

Fourth, listen for the still, small voice of the Lord on the inside. God gives divine revelation of His will. He is not silent but is ever speaking to encourage His people on toward the victory that He promises.

Fifth, shift to a higher level of faith. Young David fought and defeated both the lion and the bear. When he stood against Goliath, faith to defeat lions and bears was not sufficient. He had to shift to a greater level of faith.

God’s people today are not contending with lions and bears. Goliath is standing in front of us and challenging us. We must receive a new level of faith if we want to see the Goliath blocking our destiny defeated.

Sixth, get in proper alignment. God is aligning His people—putting those together who will stand as one on the day of battle. He is giving discernment about who can go to war together. Not every person will stand faithful to God and faithful to others in battle.

It is imperative to know who you can go to war with. You will discover who your real friends are in the day of difficulty. God not only is calling a people to walk in covenant with Him but also is aligning those who will walk in covenant with one another.

Seventh, during this time of testing, ask the Lord to bring understanding about the place you are in. Ask Him to cause you to be aware that you are in preparation for your destiny.

Finally, refrain from shrinking back in fear. Do not flee from the Lord or from your covenant connections. The promise of the Lord is on the other side of the door. Let God’s strength cause you to press through and arrive at your God-given destiny.

Barbara Wentroble is the founder of International Breakthrough Ministries (international ) and the author of several books, including Prophetic Intercession. 

My Turn

Thank you for such an encouraging article about women in ministry (“Make Way for the Women” by Maureen D. Eha, June). Many times I felt called to ministry and ran into so many obstacles that I pretty much gave up.

When I was in my early 20s, I was asked to share my testimony at a church. When I showed up, the pastor said God told him to give me the service. Well, I had already written a Bible study on the fear of God and I started preaching on that.

The response was overwhelming, with people running up to the front of the church for prayer. It freaked me out. God moved powerfully, but the next day when I shared this with my pastor, he said I shouldn’t have preached! He made me feel as if I had done something dreadfully wrong.

Thankfully today I’m attending a church where the senior pastor, Steve Gray, believes in empowering women. His wife, Kathy, is a dynamic example of a female minister. They mentored me for several years when I was on staff and totally turned my view of ministry around. Now I serve in several volunteer positions and I’m empowered to be all God wants me to be.

My heart goes out to the millions of women who have a passionate desire to minister but have no support. Your article shows it can be done and leaves us without any excuses.
Leilani Haywood
Kansas City, Missouri

Defining True Worship

In your recent article about the David Crowder Band (“It’s a Worship Revolution” by Chad Bonham, July), the writer made an important point that needs to be emphasized. Please don’t call all church music “worship”—it is “worship music.”
Music certainly is one element of worship. But just because there is music does not mean there is true worship. I recall my surprise some time ago when I went to a worship conference and found that it actually was a conference for musicians.
Dick Parvin
Clearwater, Florida

The Gender Factor

I was saddened that those who do not hold to the egalitarian view of women’s roles in the church were slandered as chauvinistic in your recent cover story (“Make Way for the Women” by Maureen D. Eha, June). This is loaded language that does not help the debate. It dismisses those with a different view as having a wrong motivation.

Some Christians believe men and women have role distinctions. I know the women portrayed in the article. They are great women of God. However, to portray one’s opponents as chauvinistic is a bold power assertion that has no place in the argument.
Daniel Juster, director
Tikkun International
Gaithersburg, Maryland

Take a look at the seven women on the cover of Charisma in June. You are praising them as teachers and preachers. Do you really believe the Bible is true? If you do, you do not follow its teaching. The Bible says women should remain in silence and be keepers of the home.
Herman C. Quillin
Fort Blackmore, Virginia

As women who study the Bible and attend weekly Sabbath services, we question the validity of the ministries these women say God called them to. This is diametrically opposed to the scriptural directives Paul wrote to Timothy.

We would like to encourage women everywhere who seek the truth of God’s Word to accept what it says to them. For then and only then can they truly belong to Him.
Annette Scott and Rosa Lathon
Flint, Michigan

There is a subject I want to get on my soapbox about. Too many Christian women are wearing low-cut necklines. Even those in ministry are modeling them.

I love style and well-dressed women, but a plunging neckline is not what I believe Paul had in mind when he said women should dress modestly.

It makes me sick how these women are just copying the world. It grieves me to see Christian women who are leaders yet are poor examples in this area.
Tilly Walz
Huron, South Dakota

Ten and even 20 years ago there were not a lot of men coming to church. Mostly women with small children would come and go to the altar for prayer. Therefore, God raised up women in the church. Then the Promise Keepers movement came along encouraging men to get into the Word and become godly men.

Today, we are struggling in churches with controlling male chauvinists who want more control instead of asking what God wants. The Father does not look at gender. He is releasing more women to rise up and pray and prophesy in church.
Bonnie Olson
via e-mail

Randy and Paula White

It’s interesting that people seem to be overlooking the fact that Paula and Randy White are “media moguls” (“Trouble in Tampa Bay,” Charisma Online, June). They have television shows, tapes and books. Their wealth does not come only from inside the church.

If they didn’t have a church, they would still be extraordinarily wealthy! There are simply some people in this world who will be wealthy.
name withheld

Regarding wealthy church leaders, doesn’t the Bible say we are to live modestly? This is very confusing. God does bless, but it seems a lot of emphasis is placed these days only on financial blessings. I don’t know what to think because there is conflicting teaching using the Scriptures for each viewpoint.
Robyn Mulkins
Duluth, Georgia

Down on Israel

I was disappointed with the June issue of Charisma, which contained a section about travel to Israel. I thought your focus was the Great Commission. Are Christians supposed to supply the tourists that Israel needs to bolster its economy?

Jews, Muslims and all people need the gospel, and it is our responsibility to see that they receive it. You seem concerned that Christ will reject unbelieving Israel, yet you forget the Palestinian believers who are brethren in Christ.

It is time to get off this prophetic kick. Our first responsibility is to fellow believers (both Jewish and gentile) and not to unbelieving Israel.
W. Herbert Woolley
Cantonment, Florida

Is Israel the “Holy Land,” or is it just plain dirt that Jesus told His disciples to shake off their sandals? If Jesus were ministering on the earth today, He would turn over the tables of Christian leaders who are making so much money hawking the very thing He said to leave behind. So much is spent for the welfare of the Jews, but almost nothing is spent to spread the gospel of salvation.

Many people are led to believe that they can be blessed only if they make a trip to the Holy Land. The poor and the rest of us who are left behind have only Jesus.
Curt Vieselmeyer
Boise, Idaho

There is no way that I as a Christian could support President Bush’s Roadmap to Peace. He was lying when he said giving Gaza to the Palestinians would make them more peaceful. It has only placed more Israelis in danger.

Bush is dangerously naive, and Condoleezza Rice should refuse to be his secretary of state. I applaud Colin Powell for refusing to be part of his war or diplomacy.
Evelyn Harrington
Kokomo, Indiana

Condoleezza’s Problem

How does one explain the “quiet faith” of Condoleezza Rice and her longtime membership in the Council on Foreign Relations (“The Faith of Condoleezza Rice” by Leslie Montgomery, June). The goal of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an atheistic, one-world government.

You cannot serve two masters. Either Rice is a deceived Christian or she knows exactly what her membership in the CFR requires of her.
Bob Nesbit
Owatonna, Minnesota

Where Does Obama Stand?

In response to Final Word by Stephen Strang, April, I agree we can’t say Barack Obama is Muslim just because his father was. But we do need to be careful not to assume someone is a Christian just because they say they are. We can’t judge their souls, but we can check their fruit. Where do our prospective leaders stand on abortion, gay marriage and other issues? Being a Christian isn’t just a title; it’s a lifestyle choice.
Becky King
Ashland, Illinois

Hurricane Warning

Fire in My Bones (J. Lee Grady, July) was very timely. He mentioned that he loves the new worship bands on the scene but that he had been having some unusual times of intimacy with God while singing from an old Baptist hymnal he has owned since childhood. I can relate because of the lyrics in my memory bank from years of singing from the hymnal.
Myra Buffkin
Merritt Island, Florida

Jesus has been betrayed again—this time by wayward denominations that question the truth of the Bible and reject Christian morality.

I believe we are living in the days of the Great Apostasy. Whether we are in the early stages or nearing the end will be known only in hindsight. But that we are in the throes of the greatest “falling away” the church has ever experienced is clear.

Jesus informed His disciples that the kingdom of heaven (His presence on earth through the church) would be infiltrated by the enemies of God (see Matt. 13:24-30,36-43). He prophesied that while everyone was sleeping, an enemy (the devil) would come and sow weeds among the wheat.

The wheat (that is, believers) and weeds (sons of the evil one) would grow together in the world. At the end of the age, Jesus will send angels to collect the weeds for burning and to harvest the wheat. He puts it this way: “The Son of Man will send out His angels and they will weed out of His kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil” (Matt. 13:41, NIV).

Jesus warned of a time when “many will turn away from the faith” and “many false prophets will appear and deceive many people” (Matt. 24:10-11). We have seen this prophecy repeatedly fulfilled throughout history, and yet what we see happening today in the church has not been seen since the days of the Borgia and Medici popes.

Aspects of the final “Great Apostasy” are spoken of in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21. And as with many prophecies, there is most likely an initial fulfillment within a generation of the prophecy; perhaps multiple, partial fulfillments as history progresses; and one final and complete fulfillment awaiting mankind on the last day.

In Acts 20:29-31, after admonishing the presbyters in the Ephesian church to carefully watch over the flock put under their care by God, the apostle Paul warns: “I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.”

The Bible warns of a day like ours, when the world will become so corrupt that even so-called “believers” will fall away. Their separating themselves from true Christians will show that they are not of them (see 1 John 2:19).

We are seeing these Scriptures fulfilled today, as denominations, leaders and other believers turn from the Lord to serve themselves and the kingdom of darkness.

Apostasy Then and Now

It was not odd in the early church for there to be weeds among the wheat. In 1 Timothy 1:19-20, we see the case of Hymenaeus and Alexander, who Paul says had “shipwrecked their faith” by rejecting both faith and good conscience. Paul hands them over to Satan “to be taught not to blaspheme” and later warns: “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons” (1 Tim. 4:1).

Then he says: “The time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths” (2 Tim. 4:3-4).

In the early centuries of the church, we can see Paul’s prediction played out in the Judaizers, Arians and Gnostics who continually bled the church of those who professed to be “believers.” In a way, they were pruning tools in the devil’s hand, serving the purposes of God. In more recent centuries, we’ve seen ongoing apostasy through the rise of various cults such as the Mormons and the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Today, however, we see the falling away taking place primarily from within the structures of the church itself—Protestant, Orthodox and Roman Catholic. It’s akin to the decomposition that happens when a long-buried artifact is exposed to the light. As God begins to subject the visible church to a more intense and holy gaze, parts of it are disintegrating into dust. Satan’s weeds are being exposed and have only power, money and the pretense of lies to perpetuate their charade.

We see leaders inside Christian seminaries, denominations and churches who pretend to be servants of God yet who deliberately deny the clear word of truth found in Scripture. Yet millions of people remain in those churches, send their children to those seminaries and do nothing to correct the situation. What is worse, they continue to fund the ongoing apostasy with their tithes and offerings and become deceived as a penalty for their collusion.

In 2 Thessalonians 2, we read Paul’s comments about a coming “rebellion” and about how those who “[refuse] to love the truth” and who “[delight] in wickedness” are given over by God Himself to “a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie” (vv. 10-12).

Paul sees them as collaborators or agents of the kingdom of darkness. In 2 Corinthians 11 he speaks of them as teaching “another Jesus” and imparting a different spirit and gospel (v. 4, NKJV). In verses 13-15, he writes: “Such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve” (NIV).

In 2 Timothy 3:1-7, Paul speaks of the “last days” once again and says they will be characterized by the existence of those who are “lovers of themselves” and “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” (vv. 2,4). He says they will “[have] a form of godliness but [deny] its power” (v. 5).

As Satan, through this appearance of light, spreads his darkness more intensely across the land, God is simultaneously ratcheting up the intensity of His light. The hypocrisy, the compromise, the immorality that He once waited patiently to see forsaken by His people is no longer able to stand that refining light, and its devotees are shifting even more blatantly into the kingdom that will sustain it—the kingdom of darkness—the synagogue of Satan (see Rev. 2:9; 3:9).

The Judas Church

What we are seeing in our day is the rise of the “Judas Church.”

Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Christ, was more than an individual. He was a type. His life and actions represent a pattern that has been repeated throughout church history and that has finally culminated in our day as the Great Apostasy.

Judas was someone who pretended to be a faithful follower of Christ, yet stole from the one he called Lord, eventually becoming a traitor (see John 12:4-6; Luke 6:16). Many speculate that he was somehow saved in the end, but the Scripture is clear that he was not (see Matt. 26:24; John 17:12; Acts 1:25).

In a similar way, the Judas Church robs God and His people in ways both material and spiritual and in the end turns traitor to the Lord and leads everyone in it into perdition (see Matt. 23:15).

Just try remaining faithful to God’s Word today in the Episcopal Church USA (ECUSA), for example. If you dare try standing with our Lord against the enthronement of unrepentant, practicing homosexuals to the episcopate, you will likely be sued for your church properties, stripped of your salary and pension, and perhaps even defrocked from the priesthood altogether. Such draconian sanctions have already been imposed on faithful priests in that denomination by the very people who cry, “Peace and unity!” and who “celebrate diversity and tolerance.” And the purging has only just begun.

It is all right if you deny the deity of Christ or His bodily resurrection or atoning sacrifice for sin. No one will bother you there. Being a Christian hasn’t been a requirement for the priesthood or leadership in ECUSA or many other denominations for decades. But dare oppose the enshrining of the immorality that nailed Christ to the cross and there will be hell to pay. Yet people are still debating about whether to stay or not.

What is happening is not the sharing of differences among brothers that it is being presented as by those who have taken over the denomination. What is happening is the stupefaction of both clergy and laity by those who put allegiance to organizational unity above allegiance to Christ.

It is the same parlor trick that has been played by the World Council of Churches and the National Council of Churches for decades. In truth, through compromise, unbelief and misplaced loyalty, they have collectively become a synagogue of Satan—a Judas Church.

The previous presiding bishop of ECUSA, Frank Griswold, liked to issue public relations statements waxing eloquent about the facts that the denomination has always embraced diversity of opinion and that “unity amidst diversity” is its highest value. Griswold’s replacement, Katharine Jefferts Schori, parrots the same doctrine of demons in flowery language to deceive the elect.

Like Hophni and Phinehas, who despised the offering of the Lord (see 1 Sam. 2:17) and who committed sexual immorality (see v. 22), or like their father, Eli, who knew of his sons’ immorality but failed to restrain them (see 1 Sam. 3:13), some modern-day ecclesiastical leaders pretend to serve God while heaping burning coals on their own heads. However, if you defy their flowery sentiments and out of faithfulness to Christ deny the legitimacy of, or obedience to, their new homosexual bishop, then one way or the other, these paragons of inclusiveness will crush you. We have only just begun to see what they will do with dissenters.

Like Judas Iscariot, the leaders of this apostasy pretend to break bread with our Lord. As if donning costumes to disguise their union with Baal, they wear the white robes instituted by God at Sinai to reflect the holy calling of the priest (see Ex. 28:39-43; Lev. 16:4). With professions of love for Christ they betray Him, as it were, with a kiss, selling their souls for power, prestige and pieces of silver.

The Future of the Church

Because of his ongoing duplicity, there came a time when Satan entered Judas and he went out to betray the Lord (see Luke 22:1-6). This is why I do not expect to see any turnaround in those denominations that have been living in compromise—supporting the murder of children in their mothers’ wombs, knowingly ordaining practicing homosexuals and adulterers, forsaking the Word of God as their infallible guide for faith and doctrine, and teaching others to do the same.

When you see the abomination in the holy place, it is already too late. In other words, when you see the overt display of apostasy being sanctioned by the majority of the leaders within a denomination, Satan has already gained too much ground for that communion to be saved. Having forsaken God’s expressed will for so long, having denied themselves the grace of God that flows only to the repentant heart, having refused to demonstrate their professed love of Him through obedience, they have built their houses on sand and are going down.

God will not override the ongoing willful choices of human beings. He will give them into the hands of their lovers, and it will be those lovers who punish them. Satan has entered the ECUSA and other denominations already, and the final act of betrayal is at hand. The only choice faithful followers of Christ have left to them at this point is to flee from the wrath that is to come—to flee before they become so deceived through sloth and compromise that they stand staring into the coming destruction and are lost.

This warning applies to more than those in the ECUSA, however. That denomination is only the most glaring example at the moment. Satan has been at work in the leadership of other communions for so long that they are already set on autopilot for destruction. For example, we are probably not far away from the official sanctioning of homosexual behavior in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America.

Many actions and decisions in the United Methodist Church and the Presbyterian Church USA are also frighteningly representative of the final stages of apostasy, despite the many good and faithful people who remain in membership. The United Church of Christ has been terminal for decades, having formally endorsed gay marriage as well as welcoming into membership the largest homosexual church in the nation.

And as for the Metropolitan Community Church (the gay church), it has never been a Christian body. It was stillborn from the beginning by rebellion against the Lord it claims to love and serve.

Sadly, many independent, charismatic, fundamentalist and evangelical churches are also guilty of apostasy. Hardly a week goes by before another story of immorality, power grabs or blatant thievery is uncovered among the leadership of one church or another. The Judas Church can be found everywhere and under every guise.

How do we respond? We separate ourselves from it. We refrain from attending it and supporting it. We stop turning our heads the other way and pretending as if nothing is wrong. We speak up, expose the darkness and declare the truth of God’s Word.

In the book Bishops in the Church, Anglican clergyman and author John R.W. Stott showed us the way when he wrote: “Both our Lord and His apostles did not shrink when necessary from the task of exposing and overthrowing false teaching.

Distasteful and even dangerous as it is, we cannot conscientiously avoid the same task ourselves. Indeed, in today’s church, ravaged by many grievous wolves, there is a great need for good and faithful shepherds, who will not only feed the sheep but rout the wolves.”

Shepherd or sheep, clergy or laity, it’s our job to rout the wolves. How successful we are will determine the future of the church.

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David Kyle Foster is the director of Mastering Life Ministries in Nashville, Tennessee, () and the producer of Pure Passion TV (). A longer version of this article is available in booklet form from .

 

We bring you a sampling of institutions located across the country, each with quality programs.
For high school students planning to attend a Christian college, the task of researching potential schools can be daunting. That’s why Charisma compiled the following list. Though by no means comprehensive, the alphabetical listing includes useful descriptions of several popular schools.

Biola University is a nationally ranked private Christian university founded in 1908 and located in La Mirada, California. It offers 145 academic programs ranging from bachelor’s degrees to doctoral degrees in six schools that integrate the Bible in more than 30 majors. Biola is the only school among the more than 100 members of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities to be recognized as a “national university” by U.S. News & World Report. For more information, visit .

Bryan College, founded in 1930 in Dayton, Tennessee, was named after William Jennings Bryan, the renowned statesman and prosecuting attorney in the famous Scopes Evolution Trial. The nondenominational school has been listed among the top comprehensive colleges in the South by U.S. News & World Report for the 12th consecutive year. For more information, visit .

Central Bible College, established in 1922, is affiliated with the Assemblies of God and located near its headquarters in Springfield, Missouri. Courses are offered in the divisions of biblical education, church ministries, music, general education, and arts and sciences. The school’s stated mission is to train ministers and missionaries for tomorrow’s church. For more information, visit .

Colorado Christian University is an interdenominational school founded in 1914 and located near Denver. The school is the only member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities in an eight-state region and offers associate’s, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees as well as certificate and licensing programs. Visit .

Crown College, founded in 1916 and affiliated with the Christian and Missionary Alliance, is located on a 215-acre campus near Minneapolis. About 60 percent of the traditional daytime student body come from Minnesota, with the remaining 40 percent coming from 22 other states. For more information, visit .

Elim Bible Institute, founded in 1924, is a transdenominational, charismatic Bible college located in Lima, New York. Among Bible schools with a charismatic emphasis, Elim has an international reputation for excellence. To better fulfill its mission, Elim has chosen to be a nondegree-granting institution. However, its long tradition of high academic standards continues to make it possible for its students to transfer most of their course units to Christian colleges, selected public colleges and private universities. For more information, visit .

Emmanuel College is a private, four-year Christian college in Franklin Springs, Georgia, with an evangelical, Pentecostal foundation. The school was founded in 1919 by the International Pentecostal Holiness Church, but more than 25 denominations are represented by its current student body. It offers associate and baccalaureate degrees. For more information, visit .

Lee University is a private, comprehensive university founded in 1918. It is affiliated with the Church of God and is located near the denomination’s headquarters in Cleveland, Tennessee. Lee has the fifth largest undergraduate enrollment among the more than 100 Christian colleges that are member institutions of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. For more information, visit .

Liberty University, founded in 1971 and located in Lynchburg, Virginia, is the world’s largest evangelical university, with more than 20,000 students from at least 70 countries. The wide variety of residential, online and blended format programs are designed to serve students’ needs at the undergraduate and graduate levels regardless of location or schedule. For more information, visit .

Messiah College, situated on a 400-acre campus near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was established in 1909 as a school of the Brethren in Christ Church. However, only 4 percent of today’s student body come from the Brethren denomination. The school was named one of the top five best colleges for comprehensive undergraduate programs in the North by U.S. News & World Report. For more information, visit .

Mount Vernon Nazarene University, founded in 1968 and located in Mount Vernon, Ohio, is a private, four-year liberal arts university with a solid evangelical Christian foundation. Although the majority of the student body at the school is Nazarene, more than 40 other Christian denominations are represented on campus. For more information, visit .

North Central University, founded in 1930, is a private university affiliated with the Assemblies of God. The school, located in Minneapolis, offers more than 30 majors and awards bachelor’s of arts degrees, bachelor’s of science degrees, three-year diplomas, two-year associate of arts degrees and one-year certificates. For more information, visit .

Oral Roberts University, founded in 1965 by its namesake evangelist, is located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The university offers 61 undergraduate majors, 14 master’s programs and two doctoral degrees. The 263-acre campus serves more than 5,000 students from 64 countries. For more information, visit .

Simpson University is a private, evangelical liberal arts university founded in 1921 and located in Redding, California. The school is affiliated with the Christian and Missionary Alliance, but all evangelical Christian denominations are welcome, with students representing more than 25 denominations. For more information, visit .

Southeastern University, founded in 1935, is located in Lakeland, Florida, and offers 43 academic programs leading to bachelor’s and master’s degrees. The school is affiliated with the Assemblies of God, and more than 60 percent of students come from an AG background. For more, visit .

Vanguard University, founded in 1920, is a private university of liberal arts and professional studies that is distinctly Pentecostal and charismatic. Located in Costa Mesa, California, it is affiliated with the Assemblies of God. U.S. News & World Report named it the seventh best comprehensive college in the West. For more, visit .

Wheaton College, located in Wheaton, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, is a private, interdenominational, four-year Christian liberal arts college founded in 1860. Wheaton is ranked ninth in the nation among Christian liberal arts colleges for total number of graduates. For more information, visit .

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To find other Christian colleges and for resources to make your college search easier, go to