City Council Orders Removal of Cross

The San Diego City Council ordered the removal of a 50-year-old cross that has stood on government land since 1954, the San Diego Union Tribune reported. After a 16-year battle, the council voted 5-3 on March 8 to remove the Mount Soledad cross, arguing that its display was a violation of the separation of church and state. The fight over the cross began in 1989 when two atheists filed suit against the city. The case led to a 2002 appeal before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled that it would be unconstitutional both to display the cross or sell the land on which it sits to a private buyer. City officials have yet to determine where or when the cross will be moved.

Senator Vows to Protect Boy Scouts’ Support

Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., promised to pass legislation that would shield the Boy Scouts of America from lawsuits challenging its federal support because the organization issues a religious oath to members, the Washington Times reported. FristÕs bill, which has bipartisan support, says “no federal law, directive, rule, instruction or order should limit any federal agency from providing support to the Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts,” the Times reported. The legislation is in response to an ongoing lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, which argues that federal support for the Scouts violates the separation of church and state.

Tennessee Passes Marriage Amendment

On March 17, Tennessee’s legislature passed a constitutional amendment that would prohibit same-sex marriage, Baptist Press (BP).reported. The decision means the issue will be put before voters in November 2006. Tennessee is the fourth state legislature this year to send a marriage amendment to voters, following Alabama, Kansas and South Dakota. Currently, 16 states have constitutional amendments banning gay marriage; Hawaii has an amendment allowing the state legislature to prohibit the practice. Fifteen other states are considering marriage amendments. Though constitutional amendments are often said to be the only way to protect traditional marriage, state amendments can be challenged in federal court, BP said.

The New York Bible study offers practical tools for Christian living in a fast-paced environment
A charismatic minister has put his own spin on the rules for successful relationships and is creating a buzz among New York City singles.

Christopher L. Burge, 38, a former Wall Street whiz kid, has turned a Manhattan Bible study into a reality check for Christian singles facing sexual temptation, loneliness, unemployment, difficulty in finding a godly mate, and a competitive marketplace that could sap anyone’s strength.

“There are people in the city starving for the things of God,” said Burge, co-author of His Rules: God’s Practical Road Map for Becoming and Attracting Mr. or Mrs. Right (WaterBrook Press). “They just donÕt know where they can go and fellowship with their peers.”

Through the Bible study and book, which he co-wrote with Pamela Toussaint, Burge offers a practical, biblical take on the bestselling 1996 relationship guidebook The Rules. And the message is striking a chord.

I’ve grown so much spiritually since I’ve been attending this ministry,” said DuJuan Newsome, a 26-year-old accountant. “As a young Christian single, especially in a high-pace work environment, there are a lot of temptations out there. As it relates to relationships, women and lust, the Lord has really washed me over the last couple of years.”

Vivienne LaBorde, an attorney, toils 60, 80 or even 100 hours a week in her mergers and acquisitions legal practice. In such a high-stress job she needs Jesus to overcome fear, worry and anxiety. “When I come here I get practical tools in order to defeat strongholds,” she said. “It really challenges you, showing you how to be a warrior for Christ.”

About 100 men and women mostly in their 20s and 30s, gather for two weekly Bible workshops conducted by Burge. They represent a spectrum of ethnic backgrounds, occupations and evangelical denominations from Pentecostal to Baptist to Presbyterian to Episcopal.

The workshops take place in a midtown Manhattan apartment and at St. George’s Episcopal Church on East 16th Street. In addition Burge recently launched a 12-week course based on His Rules. Burge teaches for 50 minutes and then leads a frank Q&A session. No subject is off limits.

Dressed casually or in business attire directly from work, participants juggle open Bibles while taking serious notes, sipping water or coffee, or wolfing a sandwich. Burge’s delivery is informal but precise and sprinkled with computer-speak. “All of us are a work in progress,” he said.

The teaching covers practical subjects such as relating to non-Christians at work, communication between the sexes, relationships, fighting materialism and finding God’s purpose.

“Church is cool, but sometimes you need something intimate broken down into a smaller group that talks about issues I’m going through,” said Corey Darnell, a marketing executive. “This ministry helped me realize that I’m human. I will make mistakes. I will fall on my butt. That’s all in the journey God is taking me through.”

Darnell, like other members of the group, said he feels more comfortable sharing with peers in an informal setting rather than a structured church environment.

Seeds of the ministry were planted 13 years ago when Burge led a Bible study with four men in his one-room apartment. It eventually grew to 20 people.

A graduate of Brown University, Burge was a rising star at Solomon Brothers, a prestigious Wall Street investment firm. He made vice president of fixed income and institutional sales at the age of 25, but in 1999 he quit to study at Rhema Bible Training Center in Tulsa, Okla.

“The Holy Spirit was tugging on me strongly,” he said. “I loved my job to death and then in a very short window my enthusiasm started to wane. I just recognized that I could not turn my back on this calling. Money didn’t matter because I always wanted to be in God’s perfect will.”

While at Rhema he caught the vision to establish a teaching center where people from different denominations would receive practical Bible teaching. After graduating in 2002 he returned to New York to apply what he had learned. Attendance at the Bible study blossomed and requires two locations now.

The ministry’s next step is a permanent location in Manhattan. Burge said he wants to keep helping people live out biblical Christianity in the 21st century. “We want to keep teaching lay people how to apply biblical principles in their respective spheres of influence,” he said.
Peter K. Johnson in Manhattan

HOSTAGE SAYS “GOD BROUGHT” ATLANTA FUGITIVE TO HER
In the days after an Atlanta fugitive’s capture March 12, few could stop talking about Ashley Smith, the 26-year-old widow whose 9-1-1 call effectively ended the two-day manhunt. Authorities say Smith’s gentleness contributed to Brian Nichols’ peaceful surrender after he held her for more than seven hours in her suburban Atlanta apartment, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. On March 11, Nichols, 33, a jailed defendant in a rape trial in Atlanta, overpowered a deputy and fatally shot a superior court judge, court reporter, sheriff’s deputy and off-duty customs agent before taking Smith hostage. Smith reportedly talked to Nichols about faith, read from The Purpose-Driven Life and told him that he must be held accountable for what he did, but his life still has a purpose. By ministering to other inmates, “you can go to jail and save many more people than you killed,” Smith told him. When Nichols let her go so she could visit her 5-year-old daughter, Smith called the police. While some observers say Smith was too kind to Nichols, others say she exemplified Christian principles, showing him that though he was wounded and messed up, he was not beyond redemption, the New York Times reported.

CALIFORNIA JUDGE RULES IN FAVOR OF SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Richard Kramer ruled March 14 that withholding marriage licenses from homosexuals would constitute discrimination, the Associated Press reported. “Simply put, same-sex marriage cannot be prohibited solely because California has always done so before,” Kramer wrote in his decision in a pair of lawsuits seeking to overturn the state’s ban on gay marriage. The decision was automatically stayed for 60 days, allowing time for both sides to appeal. Both opponents and supporters are expecting a long fight. “The decision will be gasoline on the fire of the pro-marriage movement in California as well as the rest of the country,” said Mathew Staver, president of Liberty Counsel, which is representing the Campaign for California Families, one of two groups defending the ban.

CARDINAL TELLS CATHOLICS TO SHUN DAVINCI CODE
One of the Roman Catholic Church’s top theologians condemned Dan Brown’s best-selling novel March 16, telling the faithful to avoid The DaVinci Code “because this is rotten food,” Reuters reported. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone said Brown’s book, which asserts that Christ married Mary Magdalene and fathered children, is “a sack full of lies” that insults the Christian faith. The highest-ranking Catholic leader to oppose the book, Bertone urged Catholic booksellers to remove it from their shelves because the novel sows doubt and confusion. “I am happy that a lot of people have been put on the alert and that I have sounded the alarm of vigilance against the spread of this book,” he told Reuters. “I have arrived too late. Millions of copies have been sold. I can’t hope to slow down sales, but at least to prompt a critical response.” Brown declined to comment, but his publisher, Doubleday, issued a statement saying the book merely examined centuries-old ideas “in an accessible work of fiction,” Reuters reported.

United Pentecostal Leader Nathaniel Urshan Dies

The Rev. Nathaniel Urshan, former leader of United Pentecostal Church International (UPCI), died March 11 at the age of 84. A former minor league baseball player, Urshan went into the ministry after surviving a near-fatal bout with tuberculosis. In 1949 the Pentecostal preacher’s kid became pastor of Calvary Tabernacle in Indianapolis and served the ministry for 30 years. He went on to become general superintendent of the UPCI, a Oneness Pentecostal denomination that grew from 400,000 members to more than 4 million during his tenure from 1978 to 2002. Funeral services were held March 17 at Calvary Tabernacle. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Jean; a daughter; two sons; 13 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren.

Pat Robertson Turns 75

More than 1,000 people gathered in San Antonio March 11-13 to celebrate Christian Broadcasting Network founder Pat RobertsonÕs 75th birthday. Also a fund-raiser for the Robertson Endowed Honors Scholarship, the weekend included a Black-Tie-and-Boots gala, golf tournament and barbeque..Participants included Sen. Sam Brownback, Foursquare President Jack Hayford, former Rep. Dick Armey, author Max Lucado, Curves founder Gary Heavin and former Attorney General John Ashcroft, who is to serve as a distinguished professor of law and government at Regent University beginning July 1. The Oak Ridge Boys and Randy Travis provided special music.

200 Million to Convene For Global Prayer Day

As many as 200 million Christians are expected to unite in prayer May 15 for what is being considered the world’s largest prayer gathering ever. Spawned from continentwide prayer gatherings that began in South Africa in 2001, the Global Day of Prayer (www.glob aldayofprayer.com) is expected to be broadcast on television, radio and the Internet, Assist News Service reported. Stadium events are planned in Fiji, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, South Africa, Egypt, Switzerland, Northern Ireland, Argentina, Dallas, and Alberta, Canada.

Have you ever asked yourself if you made the right choice when you purchased your last Bible? Did you feel you were sacrificing accuracy for readability–or vice versa–when deciding on a translation?

It’s no wonder. A simple online search for comparisons of different Bible translations can uncover everything from controversy to claims of conspiracy. It can be a bit overwhelming to process all the points made in a comparison, much less come to a conclusion. However, the task becomes easier when you boil it down to a few key questions that can help you evaluate which translation best meets your needs.

1. What method of translation was used? There are three basic methods of Scripture translation. The first is word-for-word (sometimes called literal translation). Translations that fall into this category include the New American Standard Bible (NASB), the King James Version (KJV) and the New King James Version (NKJV).

The second method is thought-for-thought (sometimes referred to as dynamic translation). Translations that fall into this category include the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), the New International Version (NIV), the Contemporary English Version (CEV) and the New Living Translation (NLT).

Very loose translations called paraphrases make up the third category. These include The Living Bible and The Message.

2. Who did the translating? Some translations are done by individuals, some by nonprofit organizations and others by international teams. In general, the broader the group doing the translating, the better.

Another closely related aspect to consider is whether the translation has gained widespread acceptance in the Christian community. The person or group behind the translation may have a lot to do with its popularity–or lack thereof.

3. Which manuscripts did the translators use? Many of the handwritten original copies of the Bible were lost during the time of the early church, but quite a few have been discovered during the last three or four centuries. Translations can differ depending on which manuscripts and therefore which languages–Hebrew and Aramaic for the Old Testament and Greek for the New Testament–are being used as a primary source.

For example, the KJV was published in 1611 before many older manuscripts had been discovered. These older manuscripts are considered by some scholars as more reliable than the ones used for the translation authorized by England’s King James I in 1611. For this reason, groups such as the International Bible Society (IBS) point out that the KJV may not be as accurate as modern translations such as the NIV.

With all that in mind, let’s take a look at a few of today’s offerings.

MUSIC

Faithfully Yours (Psalms)
By Margaret Becker,
Cross-Driven Records.

A new release brings a new sound for a familiar name. Margaret Becker produced and co-wrote the 11 songs on her first studio work for Cross Driven Records, Faithfully Yours (Psalms). Titles such as “Create in Me” and “I Enter Your House” show that this collaboration between Becker and David M. Edwards celebrates the lyrical art of the psalms and a heart of worship.

It is easy to recognize that the style and spirit of more recent psalmists, the late contemporary Christian music pioneers Keith Green and Rich Mullins, permeates the mostly acoustical tracks. There is a force behind the music that says there is an all-powerful God and He cares about our troubles. Becker and Edwards know of which they sing and provide powerful material for worship leaders.
J. James Estrada

More
By Mary Alessi, Miami Life Sounds.

Mary Alessi, a praise and worship leader, songwriter and co-pastor of Metro Life Worship Center in Miami, just released her second project recorded live at Covenant Church in Dallas. With More, Alessi provides the praise and worship lover with not only a great new collection of songs but also a time of intimacy with God.

Starting with beat one Alessi (www.maryalessi.com) gets the listener involved in the worship experience on this 13-track recording. She showcases rousing renditions of well-known tunes from Israel Houghton (of Israel & New Breed), including “Again I Say Rejoice” and “Another Breakthrough.” On “You’ve Made Me Glad,” Houghton leads, giving us the energetic, Spirit-filled performance we’ve become accustomed to from him.

“Praise the Lord” is a riveting anthem. “With My Whole Heart” is another feel-good, hyperactive cut. Moving into the presence of the Lord with worship, Alessi gives us “So We Lift,” a song about lifting hearts and hands to the Lord. With twin sister, Martha Munizzi, Alessi wrote the magnificent title tune, “More,” offering memorable melody and lyrics.

The theme of worship is woven in the remainder of the project, especially on the impressive track “I Worship You With All of Me.” After hearing about a tragedy in her community, Alessi wrote “Pray,” reminding us that prayer is always the answer. Listening to the blending of “Another Breakthrough,” “New Day Dawning” and “Lord of the Breakthrough,” worshipers will find themselves entering the holy of holies. Rounding out the collection, Alessi closes this solid and impressive project with the up-tempo, Latin-tinged “In Him I Live.”
René Williams

Men and Angels Say
By Ashley Cleveland, Rambler Records.

Two-time Grammy Award-winner Ashley Cleveland releases her sixth solo disc titled Men and Angels Say, a collection of traditional hymns of the church that Cleveland has added her unique talents to. Because of Cleveland’s broad musical influences, including rock, blues and gospel, Men and Angels Say will appeal to a wide range of listeners.

For those who prefer a more traditional approach, such songs as the quiet “I Need Thee Every Hour” and “All Creatures of Our God and King” will please. And more contemporary arrangements of “Come Ye Sinners,” “It Is Well With My Soul” and the Easter classic “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today” give these hymns a new appeal. Cleveland’s bold vocals never overshadow the lyrical content of the songs; instead they enhance the already rich and relevant message of each piece.

This disc runs from reverent worship to uplifting praise, always bringing a freshness to timeless classics. Uniquely arranged and updated, the 12 tracks are sure to bring back a love of the old hymns and perhaps introduce these hymns to a younger audience who may not know them.

There is something for everyone on Men and Angels Say, and Ashley Cleveland fans will be especially pleased as these hymns showcase this accomplished artist’s vocal ability and deep love for these great songs of the church. Men and Angels Say is worth listening to over and over.
Debbie Gibboney

BOOKS

The Father’s Embrace
By Danilo Montero,
Charisma House, softcover,
224 pages, $13.99.

A uthor and recording artist Danilo Montero accepted Jesus into his life at age 9, but at 19, after a period of rebellion, he found himself returning to the Lord with his whole heart. Raised in a home where his alcoholic father abused and abandoned his mother, the native Costa Rican struggled to be accepted by God as well as his earthly father. His compulsion to perform spiritually led him to intercede five hours a day and fast three or more times a week until he learned that God’s love was in no way linked to his service.

Using his own testimony and accounts of biblical figures, Montero inspires and instructs, showing that human tendencies toward pride and perfectionism distract from fellowship with God, often leading to religiosity and away from true worship.

Just as he does with his popular music, worship leader Montero helps fellow believers see that worship is more than just singing praise songs on Sunday and guides them into a biblical understanding of God’s character to inspire their worship. Brief, heartfelt prayers close each chapter.
Christine D. Johnson

A Woman’s Forbidden Emotion
By Gary J. Oliver and H. Norman Wright,
Regal, softcover,
224 pages, $14.99.

It seems there is a double standard when it comes to the emotion of anger. In men, it is viewed as being assertive, in women, it is irrational and emotional. Many women live with shame and confusion when it comes to their anger. Not only do they believe they can’t be angry, they also wrestle with guilt when they feel the very way they “shouldn’t” feel.

Gary J. Oliver and H. Norman Wright offer the truth about anger in A Woman’s Forbidden Emotion. Women will feel a sense of relief but will also welcome the challenge of having the tools to know what anger is, how to understand it and what responses are appropriate.

The authors biblically prove that emotions, even anger, are God-given. Women will understand the different types and appropriate forms of anger used in the Bible. There is a difference between rage, seeking to do wrong; resentment, seeking to hide wrong; and indignation, seeking to correct wrongs–the right kind of anger.

Oliver and Wright show women that anger is “only a symptom. The real problem is our difficulty we have in identifying and understanding our anger and thereby choosing healthy ways to express it.” With the truths in this book, women can experience freedom to move into a new era as they assert themselves with the correct response and with the right attitude.
Leigh DeVore

FICTION

The Warrior
By Francine Rivers, Tyndale House

Publishers, hardcover, 232
pages, $14.99.

Second in Francine Rivers’ Sons of Encouragement series, The Warrior examines the life and faith of Caleb. Marvelously, Rivers weaves known and little known facts about the biblical hero’s background, producing valuable insights into his character formation and motivations.

Caleb certainly turns out to be the uncompromising warrior, but the reader sees that the journey taught him to fear the Lord above all else. It also demonstrates how he grieves over the unbelief of his people and how he tempered his zeal with patience and compassion in his dealing with his brethren.

In the end the focus comes back to the fact that the battle is within as well as without as our hero fights not only ungodly pagans, but also his own bent to sin as well. Hope for ultimate victory clearly rests in God’s unfailing love and redemption. As in the Lineage of Grace series, this series encourages readers to go to the Bible for further study and provides questions and points to ponder to encourage the reader to go deeper.
Deborah L. Delk

A Thousand Tomorrows
By Karen Kingsbury,
Center Street (Warner Faith),
hardcover, 256 pages, $18.95.

A ward-winning author Karen Kingsbury grabs readers’ attention with the very first scene in A Thousand Tomorrows. She ushers her audience into an emotional tale about a boy whose fury only intensifies as he becomes a man. Cody Gunner’s anger fuels him to become the best bull rider around. On the rodeo circuit, Cody meets Ali Daniels, an expert horse rider with a secret to protect. Both have to decide whether or not to allow each other into their lives. Only one thing can break through their hidden dreams and hurts–love.
Leigh DeVore

Billy Goat Hill
By Mark Stanleigh Morris,
Multnomah Publishers,
Hardcover, 450 pages, $17.99.

God uses even fiction to bring people into a relationship with Him. Mark Stanleigh Morris became a Christian after writing the original version of Billy Goat Hill. The book reveals Morris’ talent, as he seems to write in color. The vivid descriptions will capture readers from the get-go. Eight-year-old Wade Parker and 6-year-old brother Luke explore their town, often getting into dangerous situations. During one excursion Wade does the unimaginable, and Luke sees it happen. Then Wade sets off on a journey to find God. This novel focuses on forgiveness and salvation.
Leigh DeVore

Evangelist Patricia Bailey wants women to “reach higher, stand stronger, push harder” in her recent release, Women Risktakers (Harrison House). She examines the lives of Abigail, Hagar, Jochebed and others.

Bailey is a risktaker herself. She has ministered around the globe for more than 20 years, and for the last 10 of those her ministry focus has been on the 10/40 window–the most densely populated but least evangelized area of the world.

“I grew up seeing churches on every corner and it seemed like taking water to the ocean to just stay here. And I just wanted to go where He needed me the most. … I began to prepare to minister to Muslims.

“What kind of sense does that make–for an African-American, single woman to be called to teach Arab men and train Arab men? Only God could do it.”

Like the apostle Paul, Bailey identifies with the people. “My life is their life. I dress like them. I eat like them. … I live out in the camps. … You’ve got to get out there and get with the people and that’s why they embrace you.

“We experience God in His greatest manifestation as we serve each other. … That’s ministry. So I don’t look at it as some kind of mission impossible. I see it as a simple lady who fell in love with her Master, and she goes out to try to represent His love to those who don’t know Him. … I just believe He goes ahead of me, and if He will never leave me or forsake me, that’s what works for me.”
Valerie G. Lowe

We must refuse to relate to society with self-righteousness or spiritual condescension.
This month there are so many noteworthy issues to comment on that I decided to touch on several. My response to them is indicated by a “thumbs up” or a “thumbs down.” All are important for Christians to be aware of.

Thumbs up. To Jack Hayford and a group of 50 other charismatic leaders who issued a list of affirmations in
January that declared their renewed sensitivity to several key points, including “the potential of an aware and awakened church to influence a … renaissance of values in America.”

These men and women also acknowledged the need for church leaders to, among other things, influence others to commit to:

Through her Smile of a Child foundation, the TBN co-founder is helping the world’s children
Jan Crouch is no stranger to the limelight. But on a warm day in January, the co-founder of the world’s largest Christian TV network worried that media attention would spoil the work she says God has called her to do.

“I’ve been doing it for 20 years, and I would do it as long as I lived if nobody knew about it but the children,” said Crouch, who leads the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) with her husband, Paul. Keeping it out of public view “kind of kept it precious in my heart,” she said. “It’s a personal thing the Lord just keeps blessing me to do.”

That “personal thing” is the humanitarian work she funds through her nonprofit foundation, Smile of a Child (SOAC). She gives out toys and dolls stamped with the message “Jesus loves you and He has a place in heaven for you,” as well as supplies to needy children around the world. In Costa Rica she’s building a medical facility, and in Port au Prince, Haiti, where her private plane landed for a day in January, she’s funding a hospital.

Built in cooperation with Bishop Joel R. Jeune of Grace International Inc., the $2 million project will be the most sophisticated medical facility in the nation. And despite Crouch’s efforts to remain low-key during her Jan. 27 visit, her generosity, like her signature pink hair, hardly went unnoticed.

For most of the day she was escorted by Alix Baptiste, secretary of state of Haitians living abroad. Later she met with Interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue to present him with the keys to six fire trucks and three ambulances, more gifts to Haiti “from Jesus and the Christians of America,” she said.

“Let me officially thank you and the Christians of America,” Latortue said during a private meeting with Crouch and several other American Christians.

He told Crouch of his nation’s need for fire trucks last summer, and their conversation was broadcast on TBN’s Behind the Scenes in late August. “I realized I was dealing with pure Christians,” he said of the meeting. “I had no doubt one day you would be here to help the people of Haiti.”

Crouch’s work in Haiti began more than 20 years ago. When a local minister took her to a hospital for abandoned children, she saw children lying on cardboard beds, covered in newspaper, so thin “they looked like skin wrapped around a bone skeleton,” she said.

“I just kept saying: ‘Jesus, that could be me. That could be me.'”

The memory of one child still haunts her. “As I was holding him, all I could say was, ‘Jesus loves you.’ And as I was holding him, he just quit breathing and died in my arms. I said, ‘One day children won’t have to die on cement floors.'”

When the 60,000-square-foot hospital is completed this summer, it will house at least 85 beds and two operating rooms–unlike any other on the island. Crouch said the project has evolved organically, as a result of a handful of low-key requests.

Joseph Montopoli, assistant fire chief for the City of Pembroke Pines Fire Rescue in South Florida, was watching TBN one night when he saw Latortue telling Crouch that his nation needed ambulances and fire trucks.

Montopoli quickly went to work, getting his station to donate two vehicles. He then located a vendor who sold decommissioned trucks. SOAC purchased six fire trucks for roughly $35,000. One is valued at $24,000.

“As a Christian man, your heart definitely goes out to them,” said Montopoli, who will also help Haiti develop its fire department and teach rescue workers how to operate the vehicles. “Whatever I can do to help out.”

Ministers working in Haiti see the construction of the hospital and the donation of the trucks as one small sign that God is turning things around in a nation long plagued by violence, poverty and government corruption. Since the ouster of former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide in February 2004, local ministers say the nation has seen more calm and the beginnings of needed improvements, such as road construction and sanitation work.

“The church here in Haiti is very strong,” said Luke Weaver of Florida-based Gospel Crusade, which has partnered with Jeune to oversee 260 churches in Haiti.

Weaver, who has visited Jeune’s ministry annually for 30 years, said adherence to Voodoo has decreased since 1997. That year Jeune led a team of 150 pastors in confronting a demonic spirit they believed to be behind Haiti’s involvement with Voodoo, which under Aristide had been declared the national religion.

“Haiti is in the midst of a big blessing because so many Christians have been praying for Haiti,” Weaver said. “With a stable government, other nations will pour resources into Haiti. I believe God is going to cause Haiti to become the pearl of the Caribbean; I believe it will turn into a tourist attraction.”

Other observers agree that the elections in October and November will signal a turning point. “It’s time for this nation to have God at the center of this country,” said Dr. Luc Mesadieu, a dentist and pastor who is running for president. “Forty-six percent of the nation is Christian. We have the power to take this nation for the Lord. When the right people lead a country, we have blessing.”

Mesadieu said his house and car were burned during Aristide’s regime, and his bodyguard was burned alive because he opposed the former president’s policies. Though he says Haiti is safer now that Aristide is gone, he still faces threats. “We are ready with God’s help,” Mesadieu said. “We are for progress and development. We are for a Christian movement for a new Haiti.”

Changing a nation isn’t exactly what the “little girl with the pink hair,” as Crouch called herself, expected to do when she met Jeune 20 years ago. She simply wanted to help him feed hungry children, provide them with a school and later develop a clinic.

But she said surviving colon cancer last year convinced her that God had a big work for her to do. Founded just six years ago, Smile of a Child uses all the donations that come in to fund ministry work, Crouch said, adding that none of the money is spent on administrative costs.

Now she has her sights set on building a similar hospital in Kenya with help from her friend Makena Marangu, a Kenya-born plastic surgeon. Her experience in Haiti is challenging her to think big.

“I am just one of 2.5 billion Christians,” Crouch told Charisma. “If everyone would undertake something that only you and God could do … can you imagine what would happen?”
Adrienne S. Gaines in Port au Prince, Haiti

Observers say Christians in Iraq are hopeful but concerned in the wake of the nation’s first post-war election.

Though the Jan. 30 election largely was viewed as a success, the Assyrian International News Agency (AINA) reported that 300,000 Christians in Kurdish-controlled areas of northern Iraq were unable to vote because voting boxes were not distributed to them.

In the United States, where Christians make up at least 80 percent of Iraqi expatriates, a limited number of polling places created travel challenges that may have deterred some from voting, said Nina Shea, director of Freedom House’s Center for Religious Freedom, an advocacy group for Iraqi Christians.

AINA founder Peter BetBasoo said because of their size, Iraqi Christians could have won as many as 10 seats had there been no voting irregularities. “Although Assyrians [who with the Catholic community of Chaldeans make up the Christian minority in Iraq] applaud the election, and have been staunch supporters of the U.S. policy in Iraq, they feel they have been deliberately locked out of the process,” AINA reported. “In their eyes this is not an auspicious beginning to Iraqi democracy but a continuation of 1,400 years of discrimination and marginalization of their community, not only in Iraq but now also in the West.”

Shiites won 140 of 275 seats in the Iraqi National Assembly, while the National Rafidain List, which represents the Christian minority, won one seat. Four Christians were elected on the Kurdish ticket, which won 75 seats.

Christians in Iraq, who make up roughly 3 percent of the population, were primarily concerned the new government would implement Shariah law, which would make them a permanent underclass. Because Kurds, also a minority, won enough seats to block the move, BetBasoo said it is unlikely the Muslim legal code will become law.

BetBasoo said Iraqi Christians believe their situation can only get better, adding that among Assyrians and Chaldeans, “there’s hope, but there’s also concern.”
Adrienne S. Gaines

Businessman-turned-preacher Bill Keller says mainstream television and the Internet are the best ways to reach the lost

Some 21st century evangelists are winning souls one click at a time.

They are the missionaries of the Internet, and they claim hundreds of thousands–even millions–of salvations, healings and answers to prayer from their online ministries.

LivePrayer.com is one of the most successful examples. It finished up its 64th month online at the end of 2004 with 100,000 reported decisions for Christ, a daily devotional subscriber list of roughly 2 million and more than 40,000 prayer requests sent in every day. A volunteer team of more than 700 retired pastors responds personally to each request.

“Three to four times a month I will share an invitation for salvation in my daily devotional, and we mail out a booklet to those who let us know they responded,” said Bill Keller, who runs LivePrayer.com. “As of the end of December, we sent out our 100,000th booklet.”

LivePrayer.com offers video clips of people praying for finances, health and relationships, plus a 24-hour live video feed that usually features someone sitting at a computer reading prayer requests and praying aloud over them. A former salesman who claims to have amassed and lost several fortunes before finding the Lord, Keller believes that mainstream television and the Internet are the ways to reach lost souls today.

The founder and president of Bill Keller Ministries based in St. Petersburg, Fla., gave his life to Christ at the age of 12 and said he always knew he would be a minister. But he began selling computers in the late 1970s and found that he had a knack for sales. By his own admission, greed took over, and by the late 1980s he was consumed in a fast lifestyle that included alcohol, drugs and lots of wheeling and dealing. By 1990, he was sitting in federal prison, convicted of insider trading.

There, he turned his life back over to Christ, received a bachelor’s degree in biblical studies from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., and became a traveling preacher upon his release in 1992. He then worked in Christian television but became frustrated when he began to feel he was merely “preaching to the choir.”

“The lost are not sitting in church on Sunday mornings or watching Christian television,” Keller said. “They are out there living their lives, so it was up to me to go outside of the Christian trough.”

Keller started LivePrayer.com and two years ago launched a live call-in TV show, Live Prayer With Bill Keller, which airs from 1 a.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Friday on the UPN station in the Tampa Bay area.

Keller is not the only one using new millennium media to reach the masses. Presbyterian minister Charles Henderson launched The First Church of Cyberspace in 1994. The site says the outreach is “an attempt to bring Christianity online with thoughtfulness, humor and a willingness to address the more controversial questions that tend to be avoided in the traditional church.”

The cyberspace church is just one of many that offer sermons, articles, devotionals, live forums and links to other resources. Few sites reach non-Christians the way LivePrayer.com does, but efforts are under way to change that.

The Internet Evangelism Coalition, a consortium of several outreach ministries, has designated April 24 as Internet Evangelism (IE) Day. An affiliated Web site, www.InternetEvangelismDay.com, will offer a five-minute video testimony from a student who found God online, short drama scripts, PowerPoint presentations, discussion questions and a variety of links.

The organizing team hopes IE Day will inspire churches to use their Web pages for more than just making announcements to their members. A 2001 study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project showed that roughly 25 percent of adult Internet users–around 28 million people–had gone online to get religious and spiritual material.

“It’s an exciting challenge,” said IE Day coordinator Tony Whittaker. “The potential of the Web is enormous.”

In addition to the IE Day efforts, a conference dealing with Internet evangelism for the 21st century also is scheduled this month at Liberty University.

The race to save souls can mask a desire to bring in the cash. Some sites prey on seekers by renting out their subscriber lists, placing ad banners all over the place and soliciting heavily for donations.

Keller insists that his goal is to reach the unsaved, not make a buck. He said LivePrayer, which takes $70,000 a month to stay online and on the air, is supported by anonymous ministry partners who give large monetary gifts. Some visitors also send in donations.

Keller knows it will take money to reach the millions of people who don’t know Christ. “But I have to stand before God one day and give an accounting, so [exploiting subscribers] just isn’t worth it.”
Natalie Nichols Gillespie

Rioters burned images of Hinn and threw rocks at those attending his Festival of Blessings in the city of Bangalore

More than 7 million people attended evangelist Benny Hinn’s recent Festival of Blessings in Bangalore, India, despite unprecedented rioting that led to at least 30 injuries.

Angered by allegations that Hinn was coming to convert Hindus, members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) called for his visa to be revoked, and dissidents threw rocks at vehicles transporting nationals to the event. Others burned images of Hinn in effigy, demanding that the California-based minister “go back, go back, go back.”

Indian news media reported that 300 buses were damaged during the meeting Jan. 21-23, which was attended and supported by local officials, including Chief Minister N. Dharnam Singh. “The programme has neither any impact on Hindus nor [has] it led to conversion of people into Christianity,” Singh said, India’s Central Chronicle reported. “BJP is obsessed with making an issue out of every religious issue.”

Though no one on Hinn’s team was harmed, Jon Wilson, vice president of events for Benny Hinn Ministries, said roughly 25 attendees visited the ministry’s first aid center, with one little girl suffering a massive bump on her head after being hit by a rock.

“I never thought I would face such a thing,” Hinn told Charisma. “It was frightening. People started to throw rocks, slash tires, burn cars. I think the scariest part was seeing me burned in effigy. Beating a dummy with sticks. I thought, My God. I thought I would be killed.”

Indian media carried reports of the protests for days before the event, which was Hinn’s second crusade in the nation. The first, held last year in Mumbai, drew what was then his largest crowd–some 4.8 million attendees.

The Bangalore event is Hinn’s largest to date, and he said the news reports might have contributed to the record-setting crowd. Hinn said thousands of attendees reported miracles.

“I felt no struggle on the platform,” Hinn said. “A lot of deaf and mute were healed. A lot of cripples. One young man jumped over a rail and hadn’t walked in 20 years.”

However, one man in the crowd died, and Hinn was blamed for his death. Police later said the cause of the man’s death was unknown and that Hinn was not responsible, news reports said.

Anti-Christian forces in India have fiercely opposed evangelism efforts there for years, said Joseph D’Souza, president of the All India Christian Council. But he fears the crusade may have reawakened opposition that had begun to calm since the nation’s recent election and the passing of an anti-conversion law.

“For those of us who have been involved in fighting for religious freedom this was a very complicated situation,” D’Souza said.

Though he believes Hinn should have been given the freedom to hold the crusade, he attributes some of the violence to the publicity that preceded the event. He said the advertisements were perceived as targeting Hindus for conversion and drew attention to the vast scale of the event–a clear sign of foreign funding.

“We have just come out of a difficult seven years of head-on persecution by the BJP-led forces,” he said. “Due to the election results they are quiet now, but we must not give them ammunition to attack Christians. This crusade definitely gave them much ammunition. … We must not lose the credibility Christians gained through the times of persecution.

“The fact of the matter is that God is doing a wonderful work across the land through locals and nationals, and this wonderful work is not drawing attention of those who are the enemies of the gospel,” D’Souza added. “The crowds that attend these crusades are representative of what God is doing on the ground.”

Because of India’s anti-conversion law, Hinn was not permitted to give an altar call, but he led the crowd in the sinner’s prayer en masse. No one knows how many people made professions of faith, Hinn said, but he noted that after last year’s India crusade 300 churches were planted to disciple new converts.

“The Lord knows how to get those people to the church because we’re not allowed by law to do it,” Hinn said. “The great thing is, I’m allowed on television to say anything I want. So when I get back I encourage [those who attended the crusade] to find a church.”

This month, Hinn is scheduled to host a healing crusade in Nigeria, where his team is anticipating the ministry’s largest crowd ever, with 6 million to 8 million people expected each night.
Adrienne S. Gaines