Whether you recognize Sam Hinn’s name or know nothing about the ministry of Benny Hinn’s younger brother, there’s an important issue in the body of Christ that needs to be addressed in light of Sam’s “re-ordination” on Sunday night in Orlando, Fla., only eight months after he stepped down from the pulpit due to a serious moral indiscretion.

This and other recent instances—both in Orlando and around the nation—prove that we, as the church, still struggle with how to restore fallen leaders.

When Sam’s four-year affair came to light, the board of his church, the Gathering Place (TGP), reached out to me because TGP wasn’t part of a ministerial association and because they knew I’d dealt with this numerous times in my 35 years of ministry. They also recognized that I’d known Sam for more than 30 years, having been pastor of a church nearby, and that I’d do anything I could to help them and him.

During that very difficult time, Sam submitted to my leadership. I outlined a two-year plan of restoration and walked through the initial stages with him. But after three months, Sam wanted to renegotiate the terms. When I wouldn’t agree to that, he withdrew from my covering and has since found a group of men willing to endorse his leadership in a more expeditious manner.

On Sunday, Bishop Mark Chironna, Archbishop Lonnie Langston and a handful of other leaders laid hands on Sam in a ceremony at Church on the Living Edge, also near where I pastor in Longwood, Fla. During the service, attended by fewer than 100 people, Chironna mentioned that Joseph Garlington, bishop of Covenant Church in Pittsburgh, was en route to the service and also among those fully backing Sam’s re-ordination.

I have to confess that when I heard about the plans to re-ordain Sam, I was upset. I told one of my ministry colleagues, “This is a joke and makes a mockery out of everything I hold dear and have spent my life proclaiming and upholding.”

I feel now that I must speak up after personally reaching out to several of the leaders involved in this re-ordination—including Sam—but getting no real response from my voicemails and text messages.

Obviously, these men believe Sam is ready for ministry. Though I love Sam dearly and want him to be restored, I strongly disagree with this. In fact, it’s because I love him that I cry out now.

I sat with Sam for hours immediately after the four-year affair was disclosed and counseled him. He was indeed a broken man. I also sat with his precious wife, Erika, and their children in perhaps the darkest hours of their life. I sought to do all I could to bring them through this tragic ordeal. So I believe in restoration.

But this is not what it looks like!

I have dealt multiple times in myriad places with leaders who have fallen. I have seen the pain and devastation their sinful actions cause. On the flip side, I have also seen fallen leaders find healing and be fully restored to not only productive lives but, yes, fruitful ministry.

Because of this, I feel I must speak out on what is happening. The truth is, this is not as much about Sam Hinn as it is a bigger issue in the church.

Restoration is a not a quick fix but a systematic process of transformation that deals with a person’s deep-seated sinful and narcissistic tendencies. These are the issues at the core of these problems and the cause of these failures in the first place. 

The restoration process begins with deep sorrow and brokenness over failure and sin. (And I must add here that I sincerely believe Sam is sorry for his sinful failure.) However, a person must then move past that remorse to concrete action. The Bible teaches that we must bring forth the fruit of repentance (Matt. 3:8; Luke 3:8). The only way I know if a person has truly repented is not by what he says but by what he does. It is through demonstrating a tested, proven lifestyle of change that I can know. Then and only then can I know it’s real. That is fruit!

This does not happen in seven to eight months when there have been four years of constant sinful behavior.

I know many who will say, “Aren’t we supposed to forgive and move on? Isn’t what you are suggesting ignoring God’s grace?” Absolutely not! Restoration is not only about forgiveness, but also about trust. We are all called to forgive just as Christ has forgiven us. Sam asked for and received my total forgiveness—as he’s done with numerous people in his life.

However, trust must be earned. Only when a person is serious enough to take the time to fix what he has broken and systematically walk out a process of transformation should we trust again.

At the risk of being called a legalist, I am standing up and letting my voice be heard. I, for one, am tired of picking up the pieces from this kind moral collapse. During my involvement with Sam’s restoration, I drove a stake in the ground, and I wasn’t going to move it. It was my opinion that in many places, what he had done would permanently disqualify him, so he should be thankful for a two-year time out. Furthermore, I think two years is a minimum to deal with the issues resulting from a four-year affair. But evidently you can shop bishops until you get the answer you like.

I also believe that professional clinical counseling is a necessary part of any restoration. If I stand on a public platform and influence the lives of others, there needs to be public disclosure in some form regarding my psychological fitness to serve in that capacity before I return. If I am teaching God’s Word and caring for the eternal souls of men and women, I must be a well-balanced person myself. In Sam’s case, I question the wisdom of installing him as a teacher at a Bible school guiding young students—which is what he and the leaders announced on Sunday that he’ll be doing as a part of an Orlando extension of Langston’s Tabernacle Bible College and Seminary.

It takes time to test and prove a healthy, sound mind and heart. I realize this may seem costly and exact a lot, but another failure is even more costly and exacts an even higher price.

For the sake of the name of Jesus and His church as well as the people affected by this kind of behavior, let’s demand a higher standard and not bless quick fixes to long-term problems!

Ron Johnson is the pastor of One Church in Longwood, Fla.

Frank Turek is equipping Christians to look at moral issues confronting America and how to respond successfully from a Christian worldview at the 2013 20th Annual National Conference on Christian Apologetics, “Reasons for the Hope,” presented by Southern Evangelical Seminary and Ravi Zacharias International Ministries. The conference is set for Oct. 11-12 at First Baptist Church Indian Trail near Charlotte, N.C.

In light of all that has taken place on the marriage front this summer, Turek’s story is of interest to many. How he handled himself in this setting, as you will see, is a perfect example of Christian apologetics in action.

Turek went about his job as a leadership consultant at Cisco Systems with commitment and passion. In fact, he got such high marks for a yearlong program he conducted in 2008 that he was asked back in 2010.

Another 10 sessions of leadership and team-building programming were scheduled, and Turek and his students were through the seventh session when a manager for Cisco who was enrolled in the class issued a complaint against Turek. And because of that complaint, the relationship between Cisco and Turek was terminated.

His teaching style was fine; that wasn’t it. The students rated the class content high and called the class “excellent,” so there was no problem there. Did budget constraints force the cancellation of the class? No. So why was Turek fired?

Turek, a noted Christian apologist, speaker and best-selling author, had written a book—Correct, Not Politically Correct: How Same-Sex Marriage Hurts Everyone—on why the current marriage laws in the U.S. are best for the country. The student phoning in the complaint had never read the book but Googled Turek after class. In his complaint, the manager said that although Turek never discussed his views in class, his beliefs were inconsistent with Cisco’s tolerance policies and couldn’t be … tolerated.

The manager then contacted an experienced human resources professional at Cisco who had Turek fired that day without ever speaking to him. The HR professional also commended the manager for “outing” Turek.

Unfortunately, Turek is not alone. Christians themselves are being “outed” for their faith beliefs, and there is a high price to pay. Inclusion and antidiscrimination policies apparently do not apply to all who walk through corporate America’s doors.

It is this type of situation that lends itself to demonstrate exactly why Christian apologetics is so important in today’s culture. Turek has since moved on—writing more books, speaking at more conferences, hosting his nationwide radio program—all the while becoming an even stronger Christian apologist than he already was.

“No one can deny that the issues making headlines in our country every day certainly have a faith aspect built into them—from marriage to abortion to finances,” says Richard Land, newly appointed president of Southern Evangelical Seminary, a leader in apologetics education. “As Christians, we must come together—united as one—to defend our faith regarding these important issues that are shaping our country. America’s future and millions of peoples’ eternal destinations are hanging in the balance.”

If you read the new issue of Charisma, you know that some good things are happening in the Assemblies of God under the leadership of George O. Wood. If you didn’t read the article, click here.

Last week, the General Council of the Assemblies of God, held every two years, took place in my hometown. I’ve attended sporadically over the years because I grew up in the Assemblies of God. (I was born in its headquarters city of Springfield, Mo.). Both my father and my wife’s father were ordained Assemblies of God ministers. My maternal grandmother and grandfather were ordained in the Assemblies of God in 1914 and 1919, respectively.

Wood gave an especially stirring speech during the General Council, which you can watch here.

A Jewish writer representing the Religion News Service called me last week to ask why the Assemblies is growing even (if only by a few percentage points) when most of the other denominations are declining. There are many reasons, and while I have my opinions, I’m sure that I don’t fully grasp why that is. This year, I saw a vibrancy that indicates an excitement that translates into growth. There were many young people in attendance and more ethnic minorities than I can ever remember seeing before. In fact, most of growth in the Assemblies of God is actually coming in the ethnic community or in older churches that appeal to them.

I told the reporter that there is entrepreneurial spirit in the Assemblies that goes back to its early days. Pioneer leaders had vision. They planted churches and established Bible institutes—many of which have evolved into respected universities. They sent missionaries all over the world.

Today, the Assemblies has one of the largest missions organizations in the world, and it has grown worldwide to be the largest Protestant denomination, with 65 million members. This is an increase of about a million over the previous year. Consider these statistics:

• There is one new believer every 25 seconds in an Assemblies of God congregation.
• One new AG church is planted every 39 minutes.
• By 2012, the Assemblies of God had planted 362,791 churches throughout the world.
• There are currently Assemblies of God churches in 252 countries and territories.
• Worldwide, there are total of 377,000 Assemblies of God ministers.
• There are 2,708 world missionaries and associates.  
• Over $200 million was given to Assemblies of God World Missions in 2012.  

Here are some statistics in the United States:

• There were 23 years of consecutive adherent growth in the denomination from 1989 to 2012.
• There are now more than 3 million adherents in the United States, including 56,000 new adherents—an increase of 1.8 percent from 2011.
• Forty percent of the adherents in the Assemblies of God are under 25 years old.
• Forty-one percent of adherents in the Assemblies of God are non-white.
• There are a total of 7,815 women who hold ministerial credentials or ordination with the Assemblies of God.
• There are 21 ethnic language fellowships in the denomination.  
• There are 2,463 United States missionaries and associates (including interns in the United States) in the denomination.

But while all these statistics are important, the real statistics are the ones that show the number of lives that are changed:

• In the last five years, there have been 1, 597 new AG churches established in the United States.
• There were 453,500 conversions in the AG in the last 12 months.  
• There were 131,713 people baptized in water in the denomination.
• There were 81,345 who reported receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

The baptism of the Holy Spirit and the belief that the power of the Spirit is for today caused the Assemblies of God to start in 1914—only eight years after the Pentecostal revival broke out at Azusa Street in Los Angeles. From talking to leaders, experiencing the services and my firsthand knowledge, I believe this Pentecostal fire is still important and fueling the growth.

Sure, there are many problems with the Assemblies, including how to cope with worldliness that inevitably creeps into the church as well as a drift toward liberalism, modernism, complacency and denominational bureaucratic lethargy. But there is still a desire and a fervor for that Pentecostal power and a desire to reach the world that seems to embody what is happening in the Assemblies of God in 2013.

For the last 38 years, Charisma and its many offshoots have been serving the wider body of Christ. But my family is AG. And most readers know that Charisma started at Calvary Assembly in Orlando.

After attending General Council, I praise God for the progress cited here. I was encouraged by what I saw and experienced at General Council, and I thank God for leaders such as George O. Wood and many others who are moving boldly ahead during uncertain times.

Steve Strang is the founder and publisher of Charisma. Follow him on Twitter @sstrang or Facebook (stephenestrang).

Innovative Israeli agriculture scientists, high tech experts and “startup nation” entrepreneurs have fused their knowledge and experience to develop new cutting-edge agricultural technologies. These innovations are poised to transform the global agricultural landscape and address urgent needs, and they represent a breakout investment opportunity.

According to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, food production worldwide must increase 70 percent by 2050. Israeli agricultural know-how, developed to cope with local arid agricultural challenges and a fast-growing population, has become globally relevant at a time of increasing food shortages, climate change, declining agricultural yields, global population growth and changing dietary habits.

Increasing demand for high-quality, nutritious food and diminishing productivity growth, especially in high- and middle-income countries such as the United States and China, have created compelling business opportunities in agritech. Israel has new solutions to manage these issues that are ready for commercialization and adoption.

“Israeli agritechnology can dramatically increase food yields in a sustainable, cost-effective way at a time when needs are currently unmet and growing,” says Nitza Kardish, Ph.D., CEO of the Israel-based Mofet Venture Accelerator. “More than 200 R&D centers in Israel with a focus on agriculture and a government commitment to supporting innovation have fueled a growth in cutting-edge agritech startups.” 

Steve Rhodes, chairman of the Mofet Venture Accelerator, owned by Trendlines, says Israel has been compelled to develop a high-tech culture in recent decades due to its limited natural resources.

“The country is a popular target for global venture capital funds seeking to capitalize on Israel’s entrepreneurial spirit as well as expertise honed in universities, research centers and on-the-ground initiatives,” he says.

Examples of innovative Israeli agritech includes advanced precision farming techniques, water optimization, robotics and sensor-driven technology, environmentally friendly agrochemicals for crop protection and agribiotechnology.

In early December, investors and agritech professionals from across the globe will take part in a unique Agritech Tour in Israel, during which participants will experience firsthand how Israel has become a world-class agriculture technology leader and learn what the future of agritech holds. 

The tour coincides with the second annual Agrivest conference. The conference will bring together local and international agritech investors, multinational corporate executives, Israeli government officials, scientists, business leaders and young startups to explore the opportunities, challenges and solutions facing the agritech/agriculture investment community at this critical time.

For more information, visit mofet-venture.com.

Jerry Brown, the governor of California, needs to be sued for child abuse, along with the state legislators who have voted for an iniquitous law.

Let me explain.

Fox News has reported that Gov. Brown is about to sign a bill that permits schoolchildren as young as kindergarten age to choose whether to use a boys’ or girls’ restroom based on their gender preference.

But the law doesn’t stop with bathrooms. It also extends to athletic locker rooms, where children could choose to shower with either boys or girls. What a travesty to confuse kids about their own sexuality more than they already are!

This is an important issue that belongs in the home. And taking it away from the parents and placing it into the hands of government is a giant leap into the abyss of child abuse.

Child abuse doesn’t only occur when adults physically harm children. It also occurs when children are egged on to harm their psyches by experimenting with things that are way beyond their years. That is a brainwashing operation worthy of the former Soviet Union. In the long run, that type of brainwashing can be far more harmful than political indoctrination.

All men and women of goodwill should not only feel deep pain about this law; they should also rise up against it. Those of goodwill in California should rise up and demand the recall of the governor and those who voted for such an abhorrent law—a law that could mean the annihilation of childhood.

The homosexual lobby knows it represents less than 4 percent of the American population. So they have resorted to a new, despicable low of attempting to recruit 5-year-olds. For children who often don’t know who they are until their late teens, to give them a choice of whom to shower with is beyond the pale of human decency.

If the good people of California do not demand the retraction of this abusive, immoral law, they will regret it for eternity.

I, for one, commit to do all I can to stir up the conscience of honorable people as well as religious leaders in California to lead this charge.

Michael Youssef, Ph.D., is the founder and president of Leading the Way With Dr. Michael Youssef, a worldwide ministry that leads the way for people living in spiritual darkness to discover the light of Christ through the creative use of media and on-the-ground ministry teams. Youssef was born in Egypt.

Statistic-wise, Tim Tebow’s debut as a New England Patriots’ quarterback left a lot to be desired. In an exhibition victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, he completed only four of 12 passes for 55 yards, and some of the passes could be described as “very erratic” at best.

But it was what he said after the game in the locker room that garnered a lot more attention, especially on social media. When a cameraman yelled “Jesus Christ” following a mishap, Tebow, who overheard the comment, looked at the cameraman and said, “He loves you.”

Kent Babb, a reporter for The Washington Post, witnessed the conversation and tweeted it. By the end of the weekend, Babb’s comment had been re-tweeted more than 3,000 times and it had been favorited more than 1,000 times.

Babb even followed up the tweet with this one: “I promise that Tebow tweet was 100 percent true.”

Tebow, whose quarterback skills—and his unashamed promotion of the gospel and Jesus—have been much maligned by the media, has had a rough go of it in the NFL for the past year and a half. A tough season as the New York Jets quarterback led to his release and his subsequent signing by the Patriots, an inter-division rival of the Jets.

Many critics have pondered whether the former Heisman Trophy winner from Florida will be able to make it as an NFL quarterback. A couple of other tweets by Babb Friday night during the game illustrates that point:

• “I’m not even kidding when I tell you that, every time Tim Tebow throws a pass, someone in this press box laughs. And sometimes it’s not me.”
•  “Inspirational drive there conducted by Tim Tebow. Two pretty terrible passes and a merciful sack. I’m inspired, anyway.”

Whether or not Tebow will make it in New England is anyone’s guess. But, hopefully, he has impacted at least one person—the cameraman—by his presence in Foxboro, Mass.

If you are struggling with anxiety right now, then I recommend praying the following Scripture:

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer” (Ps. 19:14).

Why is the meditation of your heart so important? Jesus taught in Matthew 15:19-20, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man.”

You can’t help fleeting thoughts, but you can choose whether to permit them to live with you. When thoughts contrary to God’s Word visit your mind like an unwanted houseguest, what do you do?

• Do you remind them of truth from God’s Word and evict them?
• Or do you permit them to move in, allowing them to influence your emotions, intellect and morals?

When the Bible refers to the heart of man, it means more than just your feelings. It means the center of your inner life—your emotions, intellect and morals together.

Think of it this way. A house has two main parts, the outside (which is what people see) and the inside. It is the inside that is most important. Why? Because it is where you spend most of your time. Proper management of it helps ensure that everything else operates efficiently. What good does it do to have a good-looking outside but an inside that is a hot mess? When the inside of a home is peaceful and well-ordered, it improves the quality of your whole life.

What is acceptable Christian meditation according to the Lord? Philippians 4:8 gives you guidance: “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”

Everything related to Jesus fits this description. These are eight simple meditations the Lord gave me that bring peace to my mind:

• True. Jesus is the living Word, and His Word is true.
• Noble. Jesus sacrificed Himself on the cross for my sins.
• Just. Jesus paid for my sin debt, so I am no longer condemned under the law.
• Pure. Jesus lived a sinless life, and He is my ultimate role model on how to live right.
• Lovely. I love Jesus because He first loved me.
• Good report. Hallelujah, I have overcome the world through Jesus!
• Virtue. I am being transformed into Jesus’ virtuous image, from glory to glory.
• Praiseworthy. I am seated in heavenly places in Christ, and He lives in me now and forever.

Meditating on Jesus is the surefire way to ensure your meditation is acceptable in God’s sight. When you do this, the peace of God will guard your heart and mind—through Christ Jesus!

Note: This content was excerpted from Kimberly Taylor’s new book, The Anxiety Relief Scriptures. Learn more at Amazon.com.

Kimberly Taylor is the author of The Anxiety Relief Scriptures, The Weight Loss Scriptures and many other books. Once 240 pounds and a size 22, she can testify to God’s goodness and healing power. Visit takebackyourtemple.com and receive more free health and weight-loss tips.

Whether you recognize Sam Hinn’s name or know nothing about the ministry of Benny Hinn’s younger brother, there’s an important issue in the body of Christ that needs to be addressed in light of Sam’s “re-ordination” on Sunday night in Orlando, Fla., only eight months after he stepped down from the pulpit due to a serious moral indiscretion.

This and other recent instances—both in Orlando and around the nation—prove that we, as the church, still struggle with how to restore fallen leaders.

When Sam’s four-year affair came to light, the board of his church, the Gathering Place (TGP), reached out to me because TGP wasn’t part of a ministerial association and because they knew I’d dealt with this numerous times in my 35 years of ministry. They also recognized that I’d known Sam for more than 30 years, having been pastor of a church nearby, and that I’d do anything I could to help them and him.

During that very difficult time, Sam submitted to my leadership. I outlined a two-year plan of restoration and walked through the initial stages with him. But after three months, Sam wanted to renegotiate the terms. When I wouldn’t agree to that, he withdrew from my covering and has since found a group of men willing to endorse his leadership in a more expeditious manner.

On Sunday, Bishop Mark Chironna, Archbishop Lonnie Langston and a handful of other leaders laid hands on Sam in a ceremony at Church on the Living Edge, also near where I pastor in Longwood, Fla. During the service, attended by fewer than 100 people, Chironna mentioned that Joseph Garlington, bishop of Covenant Church in Pittsburgh, was en route to the service and also among those fully backing Sam’s re-ordination.

I have to confess that when I heard about the plans to re-ordain Sam, I was upset. I told one of my ministry colleagues, “This is a joke and makes a mockery out of everything I hold dear and have spent my life proclaiming and upholding.”

I feel now that I must speak up after personally reaching out to several of the leaders involved in this re-ordination—including Sam—but getting no real response from my voicemails and text messages.

Obviously, these men believe Sam is ready for ministry. Though I love Sam dearly and want him to be restored, I strongly disagree with this. In fact, it’s because I love him that I cry out now.

I sat with Sam for hours immediately after the four-year affair was disclosed and counseled him. He was indeed a broken man. I also sat with his precious wife, Erika, and their children in perhaps the darkest hours of their life. I sought to do all I could to bring them through this tragic ordeal. So I believe in restoration.

But this is not what it looks like!

I have dealt multiple times in myriad places with leaders who have fallen. I have seen the pain and devastation their sinful actions cause. On the flip side, I have also seen fallen leaders find healing and be fully restored to not only productive lives but, yes, fruitful ministry.

Because of this, I feel I must speak out on what is happening. The truth is, this is not as much about Sam Hinn as it is a bigger issue in the church.

Restoration is a not a quick fix but a systematic process of transformation that deals with a person’s deep-seated sinful and narcissistic tendencies. These are the issues at the core of these problems and the cause of these failures in the first place. 

The restoration process begins with deep sorrow and brokenness over failure and sin. (And I must add here that I sincerely believe Sam is sorry for his sinful failure.) However, a person must then move past that remorse to concrete action. The Bible teaches that we must bring forth the fruit of repentance (Matt. 3:8; Luke 3:8). The only way I know if a person has truly repented is not by what he says but by what he does. It is through demonstrating a tested, proven lifestyle of change that I can know. Then and only then can I know it’s real. That is fruit!

This does not happen in seven to eight months when there have been four years of constant sinful behavior.

I know many who will say, “Aren’t we supposed to forgive and move on? Isn’t what you are suggesting ignoring God’s grace?” Absolutely not! Restoration is not only about forgiveness, but also about trust. We are all called to forgive just as Christ has forgiven us. Sam asked for and received my total forgiveness—as he’s done with numerous people in his life.

However, trust must be earned. Only when a person is serious enough to take the time to fix what he has broken and systematically walk out a process of transformation should we trust again.

At the risk of being called a legalist, I am standing up and letting my voice be heard. I, for one, am tired of picking up the pieces from this kind moral collapse. During my involvement with Sam’s restoration, I drove a stake in the ground, and I wasn’t going to move it. It was my opinion that in many places, what he had done would permanently disqualify him, so he should be thankful for a two-year time out. Furthermore, I think two years is a minimum to deal with the issues resulting from a four-year affair. But evidently you can shop bishops until you get the answer you like.

I also believe that professional clinical counseling is a necessary part of any restoration. If I stand on a public platform and influence the lives of others, there needs to be public disclosure in some form regarding my psychological fitness to serve in that capacity before I return. If I am teaching God’s Word and caring for the eternal souls of men and women, I must be a well-balanced person myself. In Sam’s case, I question the wisdom of installing him as a teacher at a Bible school guiding young students—which is what he and the leaders announced on Sunday that he’ll be doing as a part of an Orlando extension of Langston’s Tabernacle Bible College and Seminary.

It takes time to test and prove a healthy, sound mind and heart. I realize this may seem costly and exact a lot, but another failure is even more costly and exacts an even higher price.

For the sake of the name of Jesus and His church as well as the people affected by this kind of behavior, let’s demand a higher standard and not bless quick fixes to long-term problems!

Ron Johnson is the pastor of One Church in Longwood, Fla.

Sometimes progress comes with what the world would call small steps.

It’s easier, perhaps, when we’re writing to you about Supreme Court cases, to understand the enormity of what’s at stake for you and your family in our daily struggle to defend religious freedom in America. But most of the hundreds of cases that will decide your future come in smaller packages, with a lot less fanfare. They simply reflect the determination of people just like you to stand for Christ in their daily walk and personal circumstances—and our determination to defend their right to do that.

Consider, for instance, the young elementary school student in Temple Terrace, Fla., who wanted nothing more than to invite some of his fellow fourth-graders to an Easter egg hunt in his neighborhood. He and his mother had organized the event to include games, snacks, candy and a presentation of the Easter story. They prepared invitations, and the boy took great care to hand them out during noninstructional time at school.

“No good,” said the principal, explaining in a note sent home to the parents that students “are not allowed to pass out fliers related to religious events or activities.” Yet, oddly, other children were given permission all the time to pass out invitations to birthday parties, Halloween festivities, soccer games and more.

“Public schools should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas,” says legal counsel Matt Sharp, who joined other Alliance Defending Freedom staff and allied attorneys in filing a lawsuit against the Hillsborough County School District on behalf of the student.

“A ban on a simple invitation of this sort, offered from one student to another during noninstructional time, is disturbing and unconstitutionalm,” he says.

In the wake of our lawsuit, a federal court struck down the district’s policies last fall, and now the school has revised its code accordingly.

A change of policy was also in order for the East Baton Rouge Recreation and Park Commission in Louisiana, which had banned a Sidewalk Sunday School sponsored by a local ministry.

Voices of Mercy Outreach Ministries had obtained permission from the commission to use a local park for its activities with at-risk youth living in the low-income area way back in 2005. Five years into the program, though, the commission did an about-face, saying the outreach violated a policy that prohibits using the park for religious purposes. (Curiously, officials had allowed at least one other religious group to hold an event at the park.)

Our attorneys filed suit on behalf of the program, and the commission recently agreed, as part of a settlement of that lawsuit, to amend its policy and allow the Sunday school to continue.

“Faith-based groups have the same constitutionally protected freedom as any other community group to hold activities at a public park,” says senior legal counsel Joel Oster. “We commend the commission for recognizing that such groups shouldn’t be singled out for discrimination—especially a group like this that has provided such selfless service to at-risk youth and their parents for many years.”

Small steps, perhaps, in the great scheme of things—but crucial victories, as by God’s grace we regain, step by step, the legal ground lost to those who would close public doors to the gospel.

These are the victories that are subtly shaping what tomorrow will look like in the world where our children and grandchildren live out their lives and faith. Please join me in praying for our attorneys and for all those standing firm—in cases “big” and “small”—for the right to live openly, gracefully and thoughtfully for Christ in their community.

Alan Sears is president, CEO and general counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom.

Speaking to thousands of “emerging revivalists” at a recent Jesus Culture conference, international evangelist Reinhard Bonnke said the Holy Spirit told him in a dream, “America will be saved!”

Bonnke, whose ministry, Christ for all Nations, has recorded more than 75 million people responding to the call for salvation in Africa and elsewhere, says the dream is similar to the one he had in 1972, when the Holy Spirit told him, “All Africa shall be saved!”

“In Africa in 1972, I heard the Holy Spirit shout in my dream, ‘Africa shall be saved,’” Bonnke, 73, told about 6,000 people, mostly youth, gathered for the three-day conference at the Gibson Amphitheater in University City, Calif.

“Everybody thought this was impossible,” he said. “But I heard it on four consecutive nights until I said to my wife, ‘I think the Holy Spirit is trying to tell me something.’ Then I heard Him last year, saying, ‘America will be saved!’

“Well, you know, after having seen what I have seen in Africa, I have become an incurable believer. I believe America will be saved, and we are to march toward it, and the Lord will do what only He can do. We will go from stadium to stadium, from city to city, from state to state and from coast to coast in the name of Jesus. Amen!”

Bonnke’s remarks come as a number of prominent evangelists and ministries—Billy Graham, Franklin Graham, Greg Laurie, Banning Liebscher, Jesus Culture, Harvest Crusades and others—are turning their attention toward America in the hope of helping to ignite what Billy Graham describes as a “great spiritual awakening.”

The famed evangelist, now 94, is holding the My Hope America With Billy Graham evangelistic outreach on Nov. 7, his 95th birthday. In what has become a massive nationwide event, more than 16,000 churches and hundreds of thousands of people are planning to gather with family, friends, neighbors and co-workers that week to watch programs featuring a new and powerful message from Graham, dynamic music and testimonies.

The event is one of many planned over the next couple years. Bonnke will speak Sept. 27-28 at the Good News Orlando crusade at Amway Center in Orlando, Fla. Laurie, the senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, Calif., will preach at the annual Harvest Crusade Aug. 23-25 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif., and again Sept. 28-29 at Harvest America at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

During the July 22-24 Jesus Culture conference, Bonnke told the audience that God often uses the “small people” for the big jobs of evangelism.

“I’m just a small little evangelist, but I tell you God takes the small people,” Bonnke told those at the event sponsored by Jesus Culture, an international Christian revivalist youth outreach ministry based out of Bethel Church in Redding, Calif. The ministry—which also operates a popular record label, Jesus Culture Music—is known for its lively, Spirit-filled conferences and by its moniker, “A New Breed of Emerging Revivalists.”

“He doesn’t take the big ones like Goliath or King Saul,” Bonnke said. “He takes the nobodies and turns them into somebodies. The world’s rejects are God’s elects. It’s all in the Bible.”

The conference comes as many pollsters have said the United States is becoming a “post-Christian” nation—noting one in three Millennials (those born between the early 1980s and early 2000s) have no religious affiliation. But a recent Barna Group survey of 18- to 29-year-old Americans with a Christian background found 30 percent say they are “more excited about church than at any time in my life.”

South Pasadena, Calif., resident Matagwos Gatbrekristos, 19, told Charisma he believes “100 percent with all [his] heart that America will be saved and we will be here to witness it.”

“It’s up to our generation to save our generation,” said Gatbrekristos, who plans to become an evangelist. “It’s not like another generation is going to come along and save our generation. It’s going to have to come from within us to save our generation.”

Palmdale, Calif., resident Jasmine Ealderas, 18, said she agrees with Bonnke’s enthusiastic vision of faith in America.

“The awakening is happening now,” she said. “It’s happening now, and in no time stadiums are going to be definitely filled.”

On the last day of the three-day conference, Liebscher, Jesus Culture director, opened the evening by praying that “from coast to coast and from Los Angeles all the way to New York City,” God would awaken the “hearts of a generation.”

“I believe that is what He wants to release,” Liebscher said. “I believe He wants to release faith in your heart for your city. I want you to lift up your voice believing God intends to pour out His Spirit from Los Angeles to New York City, from the West Coast to the East Coast, and He intends to awaken an entire generation.”

During his sermon, Liebscher said his goal for the conference was that people would leave the conference and “see revival in [their] city, revival on [their] campus and revival in [their] neighborhood.”

“You are called to change an entire generation,” Liebscher said. “You are called to shape the course of world history.”