For Latino Protestants in the United States, the Pew Research Center has found that Pentecostalism is preferred. A recent Pew Research survey revealed Pentecostalism as the single largest denominational family among Hispanic Protestants.

According to the report, “When Latino Protestants are asked which denomination or church they identify with most closely, about three in 10 (29 percent) say they are affiliated with a Pentecostal church, such as the Assemblies of God.”

Efraim Espinoza, director of U.S. AG Office of Hispanic Relations, says the findings come as no surprise.

“Just over one-third (110) of the 324 new AG churches planted in the United States last year were Hispanic church plants,” Espinoza states. “And the largest church in the U.S. Assemblies of God is a Hispanic church in Chicago—New Life Covenant Ministries, pastored by Wilfredo (Choco) De Jesús, with more than 17,000 people attending each week.”

Espinoza says that the U.S. Assemblies of God has 14 Hispanic districts with more than 3,300 ministers and 2,051 churches.

“Currently about 20 percent of all AG U.S. churches are Hispanic churches, and the percentage is growing,” he explains.

“We’re living in exciting times,” says AG General Superintendent George O. Wood. “To see such incredible growth in Hispanic AG churches in the United States is such a joy to witness—and to know that such a strong percentage of Hispanic Protestants are Pentecostal is also deeply encouraging. I pray that in the coming years, the Holy Spirit draws an even greater percentage of Hispanic men and women to the Lord’s service.”

Researches found that among Hispanic Protestants, 19 percent identified themselves as Baptist and 11 percent were nondenominational/independent. No other group reached double figures, with the majority of groups (12) having less than 5 percent.  

The report also notes that among younger Hispanics (18-29) there is a much larger percentage of adults who are “unaffiliated” (31 percent) as compared to ages 30-49 (15 percent) and 50 and older (11 percent).

“These findings are significant,” Espinoza says. “It means younger Hispanics are not ‘dutifully’ following in the footsteps of their parents—in fact, they may be disillusioned by religion. I believe that’s why so many Hispanics are looking to the Assemblies of God, where religion is replaced by relationship and repetition is replaced by the infilling and power of the Holy Spirit.”

For more information on the Assemblies of God and the Office of Hispanic Relations (English or in Spanish), click here.

Some people may not believe in modern-day prophets, but Duck Dynasty’s outspoken patriarch has a beard that may rival Moses—and a voice that’s stirring the opponents of biblical morality.

So is Robertson a modern-day prophet? His son, Alan, is calling him that and more. At the Family Research Council’s recent Watchmen on the Wall conference, Alan talked about the GQ magazine ruckus that roused the gay agenda in December—and led to A&E putting the show on hold until Christians rallied against the dismissal.

“My dad has the heart and mindset of a prophet and is most compared to John the Baptist … for speaking the truth in a culture that isn’t prepared to hear truth,” Alan said. “That doesn’t change my dad’s view at all. Prophets tend not to care about their public image. They tend to talk about their judgment as if it’s real and they speak what God gives them to speak … so he is, in that sense, a 21st century prophet.”

For his part, Alan is not backing down or shying away from his father’s bold stance. In fact, he publicly agreed, telling conference attendees: “This message is for us to learn from these prophets. I want to encourage you guys to tell the truth. As a family, we’re going to do that.”

Is Phil Robertson a modern-day prophet? Sound off.

This past week I had a private dinner with a prominent African bishop who was involved in a mighty national awakening in Uganda. This dinner, and the fact that last week was the National Day of Prayer in the United States, made me think of the subject of revival, awakening and how it could happen again in my nation.

Along these lines I have spoken to many who believe that global economic and political conditions will continue to deteriorate; because of this, many are receiving a great burden to pray for a global awakening.

As I have spent much time reading the accounts of the First, Second and Third Great Awakenings in the United States, the 20th-century Azusa Street Revival, and renewal outbreaks such as the Latter-Rain Movement of the late 1940s, charismatic movement of the 1960s and ’70s, and some smaller renewal movements emanating out of local congregations (Toronto Airport; Pensacola, Florida; etc.), I have come to conclusions regarding some of the greatest cultural, societal hindrances to seeing a major outbreak of awakening (as opposed to a localized congregational awakening) akin to what the United States experienced through Whitefield, Wesley, Edwards, Finney and the like.

Furthermore, there have been mighty revivals and awakenings in various parts of the Global South (Africa, China, Indonesia and Latin America) that have trumped any of the aforementioned movements. Because of this, I have asked myself many times: Why hasn’t anything like this happened recently in North America or Western Europe?

Truly, culture trumps the anointing and can even nullify the Word of God (read Mark 7:13). That is to say, there are presently major cultural hindrances and challenges to seeing the same kind of awakening the United States experienced in the 18th and 19th centuries. We either have to find solutions to overcome these cultural challenges or we have to ask God for another way to penetrate the culture in a more subtle fashion. Either way, we cannot just continue on the same path, expecting a national awakening without addressing some of these pressing issues.

The following are some of my thoughts regarding challenges to national awakening:

1. The fragmentation of face-to-face contact due to social media.

People are simply not engaging in much face-to-face contact anymore. They are connecting via text, Facebook, Twitter and other forms of online social networking. This is hindering the ability of the gospel to effectively gain the attention and focus of young people (and older people as well) because our thought processes are inundated with trivial and often destructive social interaction, as well as internet pornography, video gaming and other things that sap spiritual life and energy from a generation of people!

Consequently, kids are not as socially skilled as previous generations and are not as inclined to spend time studying, reading books, hearing sermons and thinking of things deep and enduring. (Of course, there are many exceptions to this among our young people.)

2. The independent rather than communal mindset of American culture.

As I hear stories about the revivals in South Korea, China, Africa, Columbia and the like, I can’t help but think these nations have less cultural challenges than we do here in the USA. These cultures have a more communal mindset, in which they would tend to conform to the norms placed before them by a strong leader and/or a group of people, as opposed to the mindset of rugged individualism in America, which has been accentuated and made worse by the advance of technology.

Thus, it is harder to get the typical American to hold to the structure of attending a small group, getting up to pray at 5 a.m. every day, attending church services five nights a week, following a set of goals for evangelism, etc. This is why church growth and evangelism strategies, like G12, have not worked in America. (Not even the founder of G12 has experienced massive church growth and success launching a local church in Miami as he did in Bogotá, Columbia!)

We in America have to find strategies that work in the context of our own culture, not just imitate strategies that are effective in communal cultures and contexts.

3. The lack of geographic cohesion in modern cities.

The days of Finney, Wesley, Edwards, and Whitefield preceded the Industrial Revolution, when men and women left their rural farm communities to secure jobs in cities. Thus, in those days, the average person never traveled far from home, had the same 15 friends from the cradle to the grave, lived with or in proximity to their family, and had nothing to do at night but get together with the rest of their community for socials like dancing, card playing, etc.

Thus, when an evangelist like Finney held a revival meeting the whole community came out every night for weeks. Both the Holy Spirit and the evangelist had the undivided attention of a whole community, resulting in mass revival which eventually spread to the whole region.

Nowadays people do not associate their lives with their communities or even their block. Thus we are not connected to the lives of our neighbors but have divergent interests. This means that we could live on the same block as another person for decades in a city like New York yet never know their name!

In this kind of social disconnect a church could have a meeting across the street from their neighbors yet have a very difficult time getting everyone on their block to attend the meeting. The effect of the gospel is diluted.

Also, churches are not often community-centric but often have attendees who travel from different communities in their region. This fragmentation results in a lack of cohesion and is a huge challenge to community-wide revivals and awakenings.

For several years during the beginning of my evangelistic ministry in 1980 we were able to break down these barriers in my community because we would close off whole blocks and show gospel movies like The Cross and the Switchblade. The result was a Finney-like revival; we would see many people living on the same city block come to Christ! It was like something out of a history book: We would show the movie, I would preach an evangelistic message for 15 minutes, have an altar call for salvation, and 50-70 people who lived on the same block would make a decision for Christ.

We saw great revival and recommended people to many different churches because our mother church was far away. Of course, this was before the advent of home videos, computers, the Internet, etc. Thus, it would be much more difficult in today’s world to get everyone on a city block to be interested in seeing a movie—especially low-budget Christian films with B actors.

4. The amount of distractions and numerous options.

During the revivals of the 18th and 19th centuries people had few options in regards to transportation, technology, education and financially. Thus, when a church opened in a community it became not only the spiritual center but also the social and cultural center of all the people, even the unbelievers. (For example, Charles Finney was a member of the church choir in his community even while he was a staunch unbeliever.) Thus, when God moved upon a church it automatically affected the atmosphere of its community and region!

Nowadays, people have televisions, radios, computers, bowling, movies, sports, the gym, martial arts, etc. Too many options results in less social and community cohesion and less attention to give God and church.

 5. The affluence of American/Western churches and believers.

In my studies of revival and national revivals, it seems they were always preceded by social and cultural disorientation. Very rarely, if ever, was a people group open to the gospel when they were financially affluent with a stable government.

The present economic, cultural and political warfare and disorientation we are experiencing in the USA may be the greatest gift to those who are looking for a way for God to break through and awaken this nation! It may not only be a sign of God’s judgment but of God’s love that things seem to be getting worse for the average American and global citizen. God is longing for people to call upon His name for deliverance, but many won’t if they remain comfortable with their lives.

6. The lack of expectant faith for miracles and the reduction of Christianity to pragmatism.

Many—if not most—evangelical and Pentecostal churches have only a lukewarm commitment to seeing the power of God operate in their midst. Even in Pentecostal churches rare is the evidence of the gifts of the Spirit and healing power of God in both the church services and in people’s lives.

American and Western Christianity is acquiescing more and more to the naturalistic/pragmatic mindset of its culture, devolving into churches that offer nice programs and therapeutic messages run by corporate style church governments and systems. In most cases the simplicity and power of the gospel has been replaced by this pragmatism and naturalism.

Thus, the average pastor and church attendee is expected to stay home when they are sick instead of going to church to get healed (read James 5:13-15), and is just as likely to depend on natural remedies to cure their physiological, emotional and physical maladies as their unbelieving neighbors. The expectation for God to break forth and heal, deliver and perform miracles is largely absent from Western churches. We need to recapture the awe, majesty and mystery of God again in our churches!

7. The lack of preaching on the law of God and the Ten Commandments.

Many pastors and churches have neglected the Old Testament, the Ten Commandments and the moral law of God in their preaching and teaching. The result is little if any conviction of sin, resulting in many emotional decisions for Christ but few real conversions.

Pastors need to preach the moral law of God again because through the law is the knowledge of sin (Rom. 7:7) as it serves as a schoolmaster that leads us to Christ (Gal. 3:24). When both society and the church have abandoned the Ten Commandments less people will be convicted of sin or even know they need a savior, resulting in a huge hindrance for biblical awakening and revival.

8. The lack of preaching on heaven, hell and eternity.

When was the last time your pastor preached a message on hell? Enough said. (Read Matt. 3:7; Luke 16:19-31.)

9. The lack of the fear of the Lord in our churches.

Nowadays it is very common for evangelical church attendees to live together in sin, engage in pre-marital sex, engage in drunkenness, dance at night clubs, post lewd pictures on Facebook, use foul language, and listen to ungodly music—all in the name of grace and as a response against excessive legalism.

Even worse, there is no accountability in the church. Those who live like this are allowed to serve as ministers and leaders! The Bible teaches us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov. 9:10). Proverbs describes the fear of the Lord as the hatred of sin (Prov. 8:13). With so many Christians and leaders living continually on the edge or diving into a life of sin in the name of exploring their grace in humanity, it is a huge hindrance for a real move of God because such behavior grieves rather than attracts the Holy Spirit (read Eph. 4:29-5:10).

10. The lack of personal, family and congregational prayer and seeking of Gode

While most Christians are decrying atheist Madalyn Murray O’Hair for successfully taking prayer out of public schools in the early 1960s, we must admit that prayer was taken out of Christian homes way before that happened. Few are the believers I know, even conservative activist believers, who have erected a family altar in their homes and are seeking God regularly with their spouses and their children.

Furthermore, I have heard for the past 20 years that surveys have shown the average pastor only prays about 22 minutes per day! How can we expect an earth-shattering revival if the leaders of our congregations are not even seeking God! (For more on this read Why Revival Tarries by Leonard Ravenhill.)

11. The lack of concerted, continual, united prayer among pastors and churches.

One of the things I remember reading regarding the revivals of the First and Second Great Awakenings in America was the importance of united prayer amongst the churches in each community. Jonathan Edwards started the Concert in Prayer movement that spread to America and greatly impacted England. Finney would get pastors and congregations in each community to pray before and while he commenced with revival services in their areas.

Sustained, continual united prayer in one congregation can result in a great revival in that church, impacting their immediate parish. But for a city or region to be affected there needs to be a commitment by pastors to engage in united prayer with their pastoral colleagues serving as co-laborers.

12. The fragmentation of knowledge that subverts the biblical worldview.

With all the information available today on the Internet—from alternate religions, philosophy, atheism, postmodernism, modernism, New Age movement, etc.—it is harder and harder to have an awakening among a people in a community or city because, in the days of the First and Second Great Awakenings, even unbelievers had a biblical worldview! For example, read the writings of Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, both deists in their faith, and you will see men with a strong Judeo/Christian mindset even though they were unbelievers!

Up until the time of the so-called Enlightenment, Christian theologians like Aquinas thought it very possible to unite all knowledge in the world under one unified biblical worldview. But the more they studied philosophy and the different world religions the more they realized what a hard task that was going to be! How much harder (but not impossible) is it today to see whole communities (especially in educated, urban regions) experience an awakening because the average person with an internet connection has access to millions of books, articles and information on any subject. Thus, everyone thinks they are experts; the days when the clergy were not only the most spiritual, but the most educated and knowledgeable people in a community are long gone!

I still believe the biblical worldview is the most cohesive view, and the only view that makes rational sense of the world. But to get that across even in my own neighborhood amongst all the residents is a huge challenge today because of this fragmentation of knowledge!

13. The gospel is not permeating the elite systems and people of culture.

Present-day global revivals are primarily (but not exclusively) taking place amongst the poorest and uneducated nations of the world. For example, the greatest awakenings during the past 50 years have taken place in developing areas like Africa, China and Latin America in the midst of great economic and political turmoil which made the average person very open to God’s saving power! (Although during the past 10 years many young college intellectuals in China are getting saved!)

In the USA, the greatest revivals resulting in societal change and reformation took place when folks like Oxford educated Wesley and Whitefield, Yale graduate Jonathan Edwards, and Finney, a trained lawyer, preached and reached not only masses of uneducated poor people but also the elite in their cities. In the Rochester revival of the 1830’s (which was the closest thing to America ever having a whole major city come to God) Finney started revival meetings by first reaching lawyers, doctors, judges and those with the most cultural esteem and influence. This made it easier to reach masses of people!

For us to experience a national revival we either need to have mass disorientation or we need to reach the cultural elites in the arts, music, science, education, law, and politics—not only masses of poor people who have no influence to bring systemic change to culture. Usually only a Marxist-type movement (for example, Occupy Wall Street) with a groundswell of masses of people who use violence to bring chaos and overthrow governments are successful in bringing real change, even though their change is demonic! Thus, if we want to see not only awakening and revival but a lasting reformation that will change our ungodly laws and culture then we also need to reach the elites, not only masses of people through typical evangelistic campaigns. (For more on this read my article “Why the Church Needs Cultural and Political Access to Bring Transformation.”)

In closing, I did not write this article to discourage anyone from praying for revival but to get all of us to seriously think through the issues and not just simplify everything by using the same methods employed in other nations and/or in other eras of this nation’s history and expect the same results. I still pray much for revival and reformation, but I also know that culture, societal structures and norms have to be understood before we can have the strategies necessary to bring long-term systemic change and experience earth-shattering revivals and awakenings in our nations.

Of course, God was able to use a foreigner like Philip to shake up a whole city (read Acts 8). In the 1950s God used American evangelist Tommy Hicks to shake up the nation of Argentina by moving in extraordinary signs and wonders, which is still having an impact today. (Read Cry for Me Argentina by R. Edward Miller for an astonishing account of this awakening.) But this Argentinean revival was preceded by at least 3-5 years of intense, focused, deep, united intercessory prayer led by Dr. Miller and others in his circle. (See point 11 above.)

Even so, let’s be humble before God and understand the times in which we live (1 Chr. 12:32) so that when we seek Him, He will give us the wisdom to know how we can have the greatest impact upon our communities, cities, nation and the nations of the world!

As I end this article I think perhaps we should ask ourselves the following questions regarding awakening for the sake of clarity and practicality:

• Do I strongly desire revival, awakening and reformation, or am I content with things in this world as they are?
• Am I personally hindering revival in my church and city?
• Am I seeking the Lord or merely praying perfunctory prayers for awakening?
• Am I open to God for His divine strategies when I pray for revival or do I have preconceived ideas regarding how I think God should bring it about?
• Am I trying to copy old methods for awakening that are no longer relevant?
• Are there new strategies that have never been used before that the church should employ for revival?
• Does our nation have to experience a societal breakdown before people will be open to God?
• Instead of a massive, spontaneous revival like in the past, is it rather God’s will in developed countries for churches to employ strategies of gradual, multi-generational, societal penetration in every level of society for reformation and transformation?
• Am I preaching the whole counsel of God that can awaken sinners and convict compromised saints?

Joseph Mattera is overseeing bishop of Resurrection Church, Christ Covenant Coalition, in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Let’s face it—it’s easy to love your wife when she’s standing right next to you.  I don’t know too many guys who have trouble with that. There are some, but that’s an entirely different topic.

Most men have no problem paying attention to their wives, being respectful to them and expressing thanks for them when they are in the same room.  But for some, things change when she’s not around. It becomes easier to joke with your buddies about her, or to sneak that peek at another woman when she’s not looking. But men, it’s just as important, or perhaps even more important, to love her when she’s not looking.

Philippians 4:8 does not come with a disclaimer: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Think about them all the time, not just when someone is watching.

We all know the feelings that come with being in love, but what a lot of men fail to recognize is that love is an action. Love is something we do. And we should love our wives all the time. So here are five ways to love your wife when she’s not looking:

1. Don’t “check out” other women. I’m sure every one of us has heard some variation of the “It’s OK to look, but not touch” excuse offered up by men. I’ve even heard an extremely disrespectful version about milk and cows. But let’s look for a second at what Matthew says about this. “But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (5:28). Let’s be real.  Every time a man says something like “I’m just appreciating her like I would a work of art,” he’s lying.

2. Stay away from pornography. 1 Corinthians 6:18 says, “Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.” Looking at pornography is destructive. It destroys relationships. It destroys perceptions. It destroys the ability for men to love their wives. The damage a husband looking at pornography does to his wife is easy to see.  She feels like she cannot compete, and either resorts to doing things that make her feel cheap and used, or she just stops caring.  But it doesn’t just hurt her.  The stimulating effects of looking at pornography affect the male brain just like any other addiction, causing the need for more and more just to be satisfied.  Do whatever it takes to flee.

3. Don’t disrespect her or put her down. “But I was just joking.” Sound familiar?  Jokes are funny. I love to hear and tell jokes. Ask me anytime about the duck that walked into the drugstore. Just don’t use your wife as the subject matter for your jokes. I hear too many men around the water cooler putting their wives down for the enjoyment of their friends. The fact that she can’t hear you, doesn’t make it OK. But it gets even worse. There are some men who will disrespect and put down their wives in front of their very own children! We need to honor our wives with our words all the time.

4. Provide for her/your family’s needs. We are designed to be providers. It’s how God made us. But it’s not about dollar amounts. It’s not about vacations and cars. It’s about stability. When we provide stability, we take away worry from our wives. They feel loved and cared for when they know that we are providing. Pastor Tony Evans tells about a signal he uses with his wife and his family. He holds up three fingers. The unspoken message is “I’ve got this.” Most importantly, he’s given them reason to believe him when he uses it. That’s what providing is about. When we make wise decisions that provide stability, we are loving our wives. Even if they don’t see the decisions we are making.

5. Be willing to put her needs before yours (without a parade). “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Eph. 5:25). We all know this one, and we accept this command. But we need to do this without a parade. We all like to get the credit for what we do right, even though we may be reluctant to get the credit for what we do wrong.  But we need to love our wives by putting her needs before ours even when we don’t get the credit for it.

Loving our wives with words and with actions shouldn’t depend on who’s listening or watching. It should be the pleasure of our lives to make decisions, and speak words that honor our wives. They are gifts from God, designed just for us. It’s time we see them as that, and cherish them. Love your wife today while you’re at work, while you’re at the gym and also when you get home. Trust me, you’ll enjoy the results!

What can you do this week to show love to your wife when she’s not around?

Kevin Schouten is the co-founder of small2TALL, a ministry designed to encourage and equip men to become God-fearing gentlemen. He resides in Kankakee, Illinois with his wife, Elizabeth and his two children, Hannah and Elliot, and his five stepchildren, Joe, Ali, Christina, Chad and Caleb. For more information or to connect with Kevin, visit . And connect on Facebook.

For the original article, visit .

What’s behind the recent success of faith-based movies and television programs in Hollywood? The question isn’t what, but who?

For 22 years, Ted Baehr and the family-friendly faith-based awards show he and his magazine Movieguide founded have been handing out awards and cash prizes to the best, most inspiring and most faith-friendly movies and television programs released by Hollywood.

Within five years of the first awards show in 1993, Hollywood produced a major movie, Amistad, containing an overt presentation of the gospel of Jesus Christ, a major animated movie about Moses and the Exodus called The Prince of Egypt, and The Apostle, a film about a wayward preacher who finds redemption preaching the gospel.

In 2004, the entertainment world was shocked by the $611 million blockbuster success of an R-rated movie about Jesus, Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ.

Following soon thereafter were such successes as The Blind Side, several popular movies based on the Christian fantasy novels of C.S. Lewis and . Tolkien, and smaller independent successes like Amazing Grace, Facing the Giants, Fireproof, Soul Surfer and Courageous.

Even Superman went to church for answers while Spider-Man went to the foot of the cross in Spider-Man 3, Iron Man exorcised his personal demons and Captain America declared (in Marvel’s The Avengers) “There’s only one God.”

Then, in 2013, the dam burst when The Bible and Duck Dynasty, two faith-based programs, set the TV world on fire, and a little movie called 42 showed the world that the man who truly broke the color barrier in baseball and paved the way for the 1960s civil rights movement led by Martin Luther King and his friend Ralph Abernathy was Jesus Christ.

Suddenly, as the old year gave way to new hope, several faith-based movies captured the box office in the spring of 2014, led by the No. 1 movies Son of God and Noah, followed by the surprising success of God’s Not Dead and Heaven Is for Real, two small movies that stunned the naysayers with box office receipts of $59 million and $82 million, respectively.

“This success should come as no surprise,” Baehr says.

“As Superman tells Lois Lane in Superman Returns, people want and need a savior. They want to see inspiring movies that celebrate the true, the good and the beautiful. They want to see justice prevail over injustice and compassion overcome cruelty. They love heroes who are willing to sacrifice themselves for their fellow human beings, as Jesus did.”

Baehr noted that, when you adjust for inflation, two of the top movies are The Sound of Music, about a former nun who transforms a family, and The Ten Commandments, with Ben-Hur not far behind.

“Even movies like Star Wars and E.T. are redemptive allegories that reflect the story of Jesus,” he opines.

Besides holding Movieguide’s Annual Faith & Values Awards and Report to the Entertainment Industry every year at Oscar time, Baehr and his staff consult with screenwriters, filmmakers, producers, studio executives, production heads and other industry leaders about their ideas, screenplays and upcoming projects. That includes telling them what people of faith and values, including parents with children, want to see in movies and on television.

“We like to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative,” Baehr explains, “so that Hollywood learns that people crave family-friendly and faith-friendly material that inspires them and uplifts them and amazes them, in a good way.

“People’s lives are already hard enough,” he adds. “So why bring them more misery, more ugliness, more despair? And, if they learn a positive lesson along the way, so much the better!”

He notes there are more than billion Christians in the world and that 50 percent or more of them regularly go to church.

Baehr says he and his group are a Christian ministry. They define the gospel of Jesus Christ, he says, by pointing to biblical passages such as John 1:9, John 3:16-21, 1 Corinthians 15, and Philippians 4:8:

“Jesus died for the sins of every person and was buried, but rose from the dead. He brings true enlightenment to all people and promises eternal life, abundant happiness, and infinite love to all those who believe in Him. Finally, He wants us to focus on whatever is true, noble, good, lovely, admirable, pure and excellent.”

Author of many books, including The Culture-Wise Family and How To Succeed in Hollywood (Without Losing Your Soul), Baehr is chairman of the Christian Film & Television Commission (CFTVC) and its family guide to movies and entertainment, Movieguide.

CFTVC and Movieguide are an international, nonprofit ministry dedicated to “redeeming the values of the entertainment industry by influencing industry executives and by informing and equipping the public about the influence of the entertainment media.”

Each year at the Faith & Values Awards, Baehr presents highlights from Movieguide’s Annual Report to the Entertainment Industry, a comprehensive financial analysis of the movie business showing that moviegoers prefer family-friendly movies with Christian, biblical, traditional, patriotic, freedom-loving, capitalist and constitutional content and values. Every quarter, he teaches a four-day filmmaking workshop teaching students the tools of the trade.

Once again, sadly, America is transfixed by the story of another murder spree by a lone male killer—this time on California’s Gold Coast near Santa Barbara, one of the most beautiful and tranquil places in the state.

This time, the murderer didn’t just use guns. Elliot Rodger also reportedly used knives and his fancy car to commit his murder spree. So, you can’t just blame guns and the National Rifle Association, although some people are still trying to make that mistaken connection.

As with other recent notorious murder sprees, however, the killer was obsessed with violent video games, including World of Warcraft, an addictive, occult role-playing game. Other mass murderers who became obsessed with this particular game—and other violent games—at one point or another in their lives include the theater shooter in Colorado, who murdered 12 people; a Norwegian killer who murdered 77 people; and, the school killer in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, who murdered 26 innocent people, including 20 young children.

In a 137-page “manifesto,” the 22-year-old Santa Barbara killer admits he became obsessed with violent video games as a pre-teen and as a teenager. His obsession led him to withdraw from other people, Rodger adds.

In addition to this, some of the killer’s wording in his manifesto seems to mimic an evil elf character from the occult World of Warfcraft. Both the character and the killer, for example, talk about “mountains of skulls” and “rivers of blood.”

More and more studies have shown that violent video games create aggressive behavior.

In fact, a 2012 study by researchers at Ohio State University “provides the first experimental evidence that the negative effects of playing violent video games can accumulate over time.”

A researcher in 2008 was even more adamant about the problem of violent video games.

“We now have conclusive evidence that playing violent video games has harmful effects on children and adolescents,” said Craig A. Anderson, a psychology professor at Iowa State University and director of its Center for the Study of Violence.

Media pundits may pooh-pooh this research all they want, but these studies aren’t the only ones showing a link between depictions of violence in the mass media and real-life aggression and violence.

The evidence for this has been so overwhelming, in fact, that as long ago as 2000, the Surgeon General and four medical and psychiatric explicitly warned about the problem.

A unique aspect about the Santa Barbara murderer is his reason for his terrible crimes.

In his manifesto, he expresses rage against “beautiful” men and women who get all the sex partners they want, while he, at 22, still remains a virgin. He says his upcoming murder spree is a “day of retribution” against these people and against society.

Where did this young murderer get his narcissistic views about sex?

Well, for decades, the mass media—not only through thousands of books and movies, but also through the national “news” media and popular music—has been promoting the so-called “Sexual Revolution,” an anti-Christian, unbiblical view of sexual morality.

This pagan ideology has undermined the institutions of marriage and the family, along with the moral fabric of the United States and many other countries.

In that light, it’s important to note also that the mass media too often not only has been apathetic but also overtly antagonistic toward religion, especially Christianity and those of us who believe in the Bible.

This anti-Christian bigotry in the mass media has created a culture of anti-Christian bigotry and atheist advocacy.

Thus, one thing that stands out like a sore thumb in the life of all of the murderers mentioned above is the lack of religious training and spiritual expression in their lives. Instead of nurturing a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ, all of these murderers seem obsessed by their own hedonistic pursuits.

Without God, and the salvation that comes through Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, people become narcissistic monsters looking for the next victim they can devour.

The solution to this is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Spreading that gospel is the best way to stop further media terrorism like what happened Friday night.

Tom Snyder is Movieguide’s editor. Ted Baehr is founder and publisher of Movieguide, as well as chairman of the Christian Film & Television Commission.

This article originally appeared on . Want to know what God’s doing in Hollywood?

Just two minutes of intense, pulse-pounding exercise each week may be enough to prevent Type 2 diabetes, new research shows.

British researchers from Abertay University found that doing just two sessions of high-intensity training (HIT) weekly not only reduces the risk of developing diabetes, but is also as nearly as beneficial as engaging in the recommended 30 minutes of exercise most days of the week, Medical Xpress reports.

The findings, published in the journal Biology, are based on an analysis of overweight adults at high-risk of developing diabetes who took part in a HIT regime for a period of eight weeks. The workouts involved 10 sets of twice-weekly sprints on an exercise bike, with each sprint lasting just six seconds—for a total of  just two minutes of exercise per week

The short, but high-intensity workouts were enough to significantly improve cardiovascular health and insulin sensitivity — the body’s ability to clear blood sugar from the bloodstream — in the participants. The researchers said it is the first time that so little exercise has been shown to have such significant health benefits

“With this study, we investigated the benefits of high-intensity training (HIT) in a population group known to be at risk of developing diabetes: overweight, middle-aged adults,” said John Babraj, M.D., who heads up the high-intensity training research team at Abertay University.

“We found that not only does HIT reduce the risk of them developing the disease, but also that the regime needs to be performed only twice a week in order for them to reap the benefits. And you don’t have to be able to go at the speed of Usain Bolt when you’re sprinting. As long as you are putting your maximal effort into the sprints, it will improve your health.

He noted few people have the time or motivation to exercise at least 30 minutes every day.

“Lack of time to exercise, due to work or family commitments, is cited as the most common barrier to participation, so high-intensity training offers a really effective solution to this problem and has the added benefit of reducing disease risk which activities such as walking—even if done five days a week for 30 minutes—don’t offer,” he said.

“There is a clear relationship between the intensity of exercise and the magnitude of health improvement, so it is only through these short, high-intensity sprints that health improvements can be seen.”

For the original article, visit .

Two Republican gay rights groups said on Thursday they had been denied booths at the party’s upcoming Texas convention after being told their sexuality runs counter to the party’s views.

The Metroplex Republicans and the national Log Cabin Republicans said at a news conference in Fort Worth that state GOP leadership had denied them permission for the booths at the June 5-7 convention.

The party platform states: “The practice of homosexuality tears at the fabric of society and contributes to the breakdown of the family unit. Homosexual behavior is contrary to the fundamental, unchanging truths that have been ordained by God, recognized by our country’s founders, and shared by the majority of Texans.”

The political spectrum for gay rights in the United States has been rapidly shifting as courts across the country strike down state bans on same-sex marriage, with 19 states legalizing gay marriage.

Major urban areas in Texas have thriving homosexual gay and lesbian communities with voters in Houston electing as mayor an openly lesbian candidate and Dallas County voters electing a lesbian as sheriff.

Writing by Jon Herskovitz

© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.

Sen. Orrin Hatch says legal gay marriage is almost certain to become a reality throughout the United States.

“Let’s face it, anybody who does not believe that gay marriage is going to be the law of the land just hasn’t been observing what’s going on,” the Utah Republican said Wednesday on KSL Radio’s Doug Wright Show.

“There is a question whether (the courts) should be able to tell the states what they can or cannot do with something as important as marriage, but the trend right now in the courts is to permit gay marriage and anybody who doesn’t admit that just isn’t living in the real world.”

Hatch, whose Senate website shows him supporting a constitutional amendment to declare marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman, has in the past railed against “liberal judges” and practitioners of “judicial activism” for attempting to foist gay marriage on society.

“Ultimately,” he says on the website, “the American people, not unelected judges, should decide policy on critical social issues such as this one.”

The seven-term Republican’s tone was strikingly different during his interview with Wright.

He defended two U.S. district judges: Robert Shelby, whose Dec. 20 ruling overturned Utah’s ban on same-sex marriage, and Dale Kimball, who declared that Utah must recognize and uphold all legal rights of the 1,000-plus same-sex couples who wed in the state before a Jan. 6 stay.

While he said he disagreed with their decisions, Hatch described them as excellent judges who were attempting to follow the law.

“I think it’s a portent of the future that sooner or later gay marriage is probably going to be approved by the Supreme Court of the United States, certainly as the people in this country move towards it, especially young people. I don’t think that’s the right way to go; on the other hand, I do accept whatever the courts say.”

Hatch, a former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, played a key role in the nominations of both judges under Democratic presidents. He has not joined with some other Utah Republicans in sharply criticizing Shelby.

“How do you blame the judge for deciding a case in accordance with what the Supreme Court has already articulated and in accordance with what most judges in the land are articulating right now? Like I say, I didn’t agree with his decision.”

The senator indicated a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court may be forthcoming next year, calling that “an appropriate time to decide this issue once and for all. It’s never going to be fully accepted by a lot of people and, frankly, it won’t be accepted by a lot of the churches.”

Dan Harrie and Lindsay Whitehurst write for The Salt Lake Tribune.

Copyright 2014 Religion News Service. All rights reserved. No part of this transmission may be distributed or reproduced without written permission.

Over the decades, Time magazine’s cover has featured great men and women such as Frank Lloyd Wright, Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan and even Jesus Christ. Now, transgender Laverne Cox—a star in the Netflix drama Orange is the New Black—is sharing in this honor as he marks what the magazine is calling “the transgender tipping point.”

Yes, Time has put a transgender male on its June 9 cover. Cox, then, becomes the first transgender to win Time cover honors, but you might be surprised, as I was, to learn that Time is not the first major publication to celebrate transgenders on its cover. New York Magazine beat Time to the punch by featuring androgynous model Andrej Pejic on the cover of its Fall Fashion issue in 2011. Elle‘s Brazil edition gave cover space to transgender model Lea T in December 2011. But, again, Time is boldly declaring that Cox marks the “transgender tipping point.”

Time‘s agenda to push transgenders into the mainstream crystal clear in the subtitle of its article: “Nearly a year after the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage, another social movement is poised to challenge deeply held cultural beliefs.” That movement, of course, is transgenderism. To emphasize the point, Time placed its feature story about Cox in its civil rights section.

“There’s not just one trans story,” Cox tells Time‘s Katy Steimetz. “We are in a place now where more and more trans people want to come forward and say ‘This is who I am.’ And more trans people are willing to tell their stories. More of us are living visibly and pursuing our dreams visibly, so people can say, ‘Oh yeah, I know someone who is trans.’ “

Now, remember, Time is calling Cox’s cover story the “tipping point.” In his transparent interview, Cox echoes that mantra on a global media platform. I’m sure many transgenders are celebrating the article as long-anticipated vindication. Cox is now a leader in this new “civil rights” movement.

“I realize this is way bigger than me and about a tipping point in our nation’s history,” Cox wrote on Facebook, “where it is no [longer] acceptable for trans lives to be stigmatized, ridiculed, criminalized and disregarded.”

Best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell made the term “tipping point” popular with a book carrying that title in 2000. Fourteen years later, the term has emerged as part of the transgender agenda to convince all those who may oppose this form of perversion that there’s nothing we can do about it. We should just accept it because nothing is going to stop the momentum now.

Gladwell defines the tipping point this way: “The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire. Just as a single sick person can start an epidemic of the flu, so too can a small but precisely targeted push cause a fashion trend, the popularity of a new product, or a drop in the crime rate.”

Or make transgenderism vogue. Doubtless, that’s what Time, Cox and the transgender community are hoping.

Some would vilify Cox, but he is not our enemy. This really isn’t about Cox, it’s about a demonic agenda to call evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20). It’s about seducing people into a lifestyle of perversion that ultimately separates them from God. It’s about mainstreaming a way of life that leaves people in bondage. And, ultimately, it’s about demonizing anyone who won’t tip toward the transgender point and embrace this new “civil rights” issue.

Church, we can’t put the Jesus stamp of approval on transgenderism. Deuteronomy 22:5 makes it clear that, “A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman’s garment, for all who do so are an abomination to the Lord your God.” Yes, that would apply to men dressing as women as well.

No, we can’t put a Jesus stamp of approval on this. Yet we should not rush toward Cox and those like him with stones, either. Up until third grade, Cox says, he thought he was a girl and didn’t know there was a difference between girls and boys. Rather than trying to help the young lad, a teacher shared condemning words with his mother, suggesting he would end up in New Orleans wearing a dress.

“Going to a therapist and the fear of God being placed in me about ending up in New Orleans wearing a dress, that was a profoundly shaming moment for me,” Cox told Time. “I associated it with being some sort of degenerate, with not being successful.”

Cox is just the opposite. He is not a degenerate and he is successful. But he seems to have lost the fear of the God who loves him somewhere along the way. These kinds of stories break my heart because if we embrace his lifestyle—if we put the Jesus stamp of approval on transgenderism—then we dilute the gospel that could ultimately set him free. Cox is officially the new poster child—the cover model—for the rising transgender movement.

You’ve heard me say this before and I’ll probably say it again, but can we sincerely pray for Cox and others like him who have fallen into the enemy’s snare to find deliverance? Cox wouldn’t be the first to emerge from this lifestyle. Can we walk in love without accepting the perversion? Can we show Christ to Cox without embracing what God calls an abomination? We can and we should because eternal lives depend on it.

Jennifer LeClaire is news editor at Charisma. She is also the author of several books, including The Making of a Prophet. You can email Jennifer at @ or visit her website here. You can also join Jennifer on Facebook or follow her on Twitter.