Released by China Aid Association, the document outlines a plan to promote ‘atheism research, propaganda, and education’
Despite China’s rhetoric concerning religious tolerance, recent arrests and raids reveal an ongoing nationwide crackdown on believers.

In October, Chinese government officials spoke of a willingness to loosen restrictions on religious worship and to reopen dialogue concerning religious freedom and other human rights. However, a secret directive recently released by China Aid Association President Bob Fu directly contradicts such statements and outlines a chilling plan to promote “atheism research, propaganda, and education” in order to combat Christianity.

Fu revealed the secret directive, dated May 27, 2004, during a press conference held in November on Capitol Hill. He was in Washington to testify before the Congressional-Executive Commission on China.

According to China Aid, the directive is responsible for a slew of recent extra-judicial killings and arrests. Along with the directive, the Midland, Texas-based ministry published a partial list of Christian prisoners that names 42 who have been arrested and five who have been martyred.

Among them is Jiang Zongxiu, who was arrested in June for distributing Bibles in a marketplace. Officially charged with “spreading a superstitious message,” she was beaten to death while being interrogated at the Public Security Office.

“The truth is, there is a systematic persecution of the house church and their leaders,” said Deborah Fikes, spokeswoman for the Ministerial Alliance of Midland, Texas, which co-sponsored the press conference. The alliance has made religious freedom in China a top priority.

News reports verify the overarching nature of the persecution. Compass Direct, a Christian news service, recently released details on three additional directives that were issued in August. These orders indicate the Communist Party’s intent to combat religious “infiltration” of the government and universities and the spread of religion and religious organizations.

China currently contains an estimated 100 million Christians, with more than 86 million belonging to illegal house churches, China Aid reported. For these Christians, religious persecution is not a recent phenomenon. In the last four years alone, more than 6,000 members of the South China Church have been arrested, harassed or imprisoned.

Observers are concerned that the recent crackdown represents a pre-emptive strike against religious dissidence in light of the upcoming 2008 Olympics. With the event being hosted in Beijing, religious-liberty advocates say Chinese officials may be concerned about a repeat of the South East Asian Games held in December 2003 in Hanoi, where protests by persecuted Vietnamese Christians generated international attention.

“The arrest and imprisonment of Christian leaders is one symptom of an overall aversion to religious belief that includes practitioners of Falun Gong, Tibetan Buddhists and the Muslim Uighur community in western China,” said Joseph K. Grieboski, president of the Institute on Religion and Public Policy, which also co-sponsored the press conference. “We are only asking that China respect religious freedom as stated in their own constitution and the various international agreements to which they are signatories.”

In the meantime, numerous Web sites have been shut down and certain publications banned in the last few months. In one case, pastor Cai Zhuohua was picked up by officers from the Department of National Security in Beijing, China Aid reported. Cai, a well-known house-church leader, was charged with publishing “illegal religious literature,” including Bibles and a Christian magazine. His wife was also arrested, effectively orphaning their 4-year-old son. Both Cai and his wife face possible life sentences.

Of primary concern to Chinese Christians such as Fu is the impact these directives have on potential reform in the communist country. “As a result of these secret policies, free belief means only in your heart or in the bedroom,” Fu said. “We want not only to talk about freedom of religious belief but to make it so that every person can implement their beliefs.”
David Mundy in Washington, D.C.

Opponents of pro-gay moves hope the church’s top leaders will take more decisive action against bishops promoting that agenda
The top leaders in the worldwide Anglican Communion are to meet this month in Ireland, where conservative leaders within the church hope strong disciplinary action will be taken against the Canadian and U.S. churches for their support of homosexuality.

Congregations in North America have been steadily leaving the 70 million-member communion since 2003, when the diocese of New Westminster in Vancouver, B.C., sanctioned the blessing of same-sex unions and the head of the Episcopal Church USA consecrated V. Gene Robinson, an openly gay man, as bishop of New Hampshire.

Observers say the trend toward a liberal theology has been ongoing for years. In October, the Episcopal Church’s Web site offered articles on paganism written by two priests who allegedly are also Druids, the Institute on Religion and Democracy reported. The group said one article called for Episcopal women to participate in a ritual for the “queen of heaven.”

In the churches in the West, there “has been over time a stepping back from the central tenets of faith that the church has held to for 2,000 years,” said Jay Greener, spokesman for the Anglican Mission in America, a network for churches that want to leave the Episcopal Church. “This is really not about homosexuality; this is really about the central doctrines of Christianity,” he added, noting that since 2000, the group has helped 72 churches align themselves with the diocese in Rwanda.

Canadian Bishop Donald Harvey said churches in his nation are not leaving at the same pace as U.S. parishes, but he acknowledged that many conservative ministers there are being treated harshly by their bishops. “They’re getting a terrible backlash by the diocese in New Westminster,” said Harvey, moderator of the newly formed Anglican Network in Canada, a fellowship for conservative churches in Canada. “There have been threats to remove licenses, threats to close churches, threats to sell their property, all of these things.”

Conservative ministers such as those in Harvey’s group, who chose to stay within the Anglican Communion, hoped the Windsor Report, released in October in response to the pro-gay moves by U.S. and Canadian dioceses, would offer them an alternative to submitting to leaders who they believe are deviating from Scripture. But most observers say the report fell flat, extending only an invitation for the offending churches to “express regret,” but not to repent and make changes.

Both the bishops of New Westminster and the Episcopal Church refused to stop blessing same-sex unions or ordaining gay clergy, as the report encouraged.

John Guernsey, dean of the mid-Atlantic conference of the Anglican Communion Network, a fellowship of conservative churches that have stayed in the Episcopal Church, said he hopes the primates, as the top leaders are known, will draw a clear line in the sand during their meeting Feb. 20-26.

“If strong and decisive action were to take place, it might open the door for biblically faithful Episcopalians to be acknowledged and given some structural way to remain,” Guernsey said. “While we earnestly hope and pray for that we also realize the actions of the primates may fall far short of that, even to the point of the communion coming apart.”

Last summer, three prominent Episcopal congregations in Los Angeles left the U.S. church to join the Anglican diocese in Uganda, and two in the Washington, D.C., area connected with the diocese in Recife, Brazil. Other congregations are gaining oversight from the bishop of Nigeria.

Observers say the trend is part of a global shift in leadership. They cite Penn State University religion professor Philip Jenkins’ 2002 book, The Next Christendom, which predicted that the center of gravity within the church would shift from the West to the “global south”: Africa, Latin America and Asia, where churches are growing at a much more rapid pace.

As they await the primates’ meeting this month, Anglicans in the United States and Canada are unsure whether church unity can be salvaged. “I don’t see the liberal revisionists backing off on their agenda of promoting the gay lifestyle,” said the Rev. Canon David C. Anderson, president of the American Anglican Council. “And hundreds of thousands of solid, orthodox Christians in the Episcopal Church cannot stomach that, so they’re going to be looking for places to go.”
Adrienne S. Gaines

Critics say Stan Telchin’s recent book is unbiblical and may cause unfounded distrust of Messianic congregations
An author’s claim that Messianic Judaism is unbiblical and causing division in the body of Christ has sparked controversy in the Messianic community and led some of its leaders to protest his book.

Stan Telchin, a Messianic Jew and author of Messianic Judaism Is Not Christianity (Chosen Books), says those within the movement think Messianic Judaism is superior to Christianity, which he says impedes the Bible’s call to unity.

The 80-year-old Jews for Jesus missionary adds that Messianic congregations appeal largely to Gentile Christians who enjoy traditional Jewish customs such as wearing yarmulkes and prayer shawls. Telchin says this offends and angers the Jewish community, which holds such practices in high regard and reserves them only for observant Jews. He says the Messianic movement may, in effect, alienate the very people it is trying to win to Christ.

“The Bible calls us to provoke Israel to jealousy,” Telchin told Charisma. “What Messianic Judaism is doing is provoking the Jewish community to outrage.” Telchin said this is because Messianic congregations make “a caricature, a charade” of what happens in synagogues.

Author of the best-selling book Betrayed, in which he shares his testimony, Telchin says his intent is to “reveal and to help heal the division that is occurring among brothers and sisters in the Messiah–a division being fostered by those who insist that Messianic Judaism is not Christianity.”

Barry Rubin, president of Messianic Jewish Publications and rabbi of a Messianic congregation in Columbia, Md., says the book, subtitled A Loving Call to Unity, does anything but promote unity. “In his interest toward unity, he has actually done the antithesis,” Rubin told Charisma. “He has not really come to Messianic Jews with his concerns. Instead he published a book that, for the most part, is going to Christians.”

The book has been surrounded by controversy since it released in August. The confusing title drew a negative reaction, prompting its publisher–Chosen Books, a division of Baker Book House–to issue a press release explaining that people needed to read the book’s lead-in line, title and subtitle: Some Messianic Jews Say, “Messianic Judaism Is Not Christianity”: A Loving Call to Unity.

Rubin says Telchin’s book focuses on minute issues that are in no way normative in Messianic Judaism. “Stan Telchin is not a theologian, he is not a leader of any Messianic congregation, and he is [in] no way a spokesman for Messianic Judaism, and yet he has chosen to act as if he were,” Rubin said.

Rubin joined Joel Chernoff, president of the Messianic Jewish Alliance of America; Jamie Cowen, president of the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations, and other leaders in writing an open “letter to the editor” to trade publications that advertised Telchin’s book, including Charisma’s sister publication Christian Retailing.

“Telchin presents a skewed picture of the Messianic Jewish movement,” the letter stated. “By not presenting a balanced picture of today’s Messianic congregations, in effect Telchin portrays exceptions as the rule, characterizing them as standard fare.”

The letter went on to say the book might cause Christians to “shy away from standing with Messianic Jews in Israel at a time of their greatest need, and avoid connecting with us here in the States.”

Telchin, who was pastor of a nondenominational charismatic church in the Washington, D.C., area for 14 years, says he knew the book would draw criticism. “I want Jewish people to get saved,” he said, “but you’re not going to reach the Jewish people through Messianic Judaism–it’s not working.”

Moishe Rosen, founder of Jews for Jesus, writes in the book’s foreword that through the years Telchin has grown uneasy and troubled “by such terms as ‘Gentile Church’ when he knew that the Messiah established only one Church.” Rosen added that “questions should arise [from the book] and much discussion should be the result.”

Rubin estimates there are about 300 Messianic congregations in the United States. Telchin said the claims in his book do not apply to all Messianic congregations. Originally intended to be a vehicle to attract Jewish people, Messianic congregations appeal mostly to Gentiles, Telchin said. “About 80 percent, of those who attend Messianic synagogues are not Jewish,” he said.

In his ministry’s November newsletter, Rubin admitted that most Messianic congregations “consist of at least 50 percent non-Jews,” but added that most of these ministries have an excellent relationship with local Christian churches. He said the problems Telchin refers to in his book “barely exist, if at all” and that “by being so visible to the Jewish community, Messianic congregations are a strong witness of the faith.”
Nancy Justice

Through his stage shows and book, Rob Lacey presents the Scriptures in the language of popular culture
Rob Lacey didn’t receive a sudden revelation to rewrite the Bible. But in his personal study of Scripture, the 42-year-old Welshman discovered that rephrasing passages to fit modern language connected with believers and nonbelievers alike.

So the 16-year theater veteran set out to take the Word to the street–literally–by paraphrasing the Bible in a way today’s postmodern culture would understand. The project started off as a book, releasing as The Street Bible in Britain in 2003 and capturing the 2004 Book of the Year award at the United Kingdom Christian Booksellers Convention. In September, it released as The Word on the Street in the United States.

“It’s an overview of the Bible that’s perfect for non-Christians, and Christians love it because it gives a fresh angle to something they know very well,” Lacey told Charisma. “But I’m very passionate that everyone realizes it’s not the Bible. It’s an intro and advertisement for the Bible.”

In sometimes gritty and oftentimes witty language, Lacey presents Old Testament law as an instructional manual, the wisdom books as rock opera, the Gospels as one story with four narrators, the epistles as e-mails, and Revelation as virtual images. With a vocabulary and structure designed primarily for 18- to 34-year-olds, the passages reflect God’s eternal truth and wisdom.

The book also is performed as one-hour and 20-minute stage shows.

Accompanied by Bill and Rachel Beales on guitar, keyboard and vocals, Lacey opens the show by reviewing the entire Bible in two minutes. “The show is the Bible as performance art,” Lacey said. “It’s comedy, it’s theater, it’s performance poetry.”

Lacey gave dozens of performances last summer alone, but the ministry concept almost never got off the ground. Two weeks after inking the book contract in March 2000, Lacey was diagnosed with cancer in his bladder.

He underwent painful chemical treatments, but the disease continued to spread, and eventually Lacey had to undergo surgery to remove his bladder.

“I was a hermit in my own house, and the only positive thing in my life at that stage was writing,” he said. “It was my lifeline creatively, emotionally and certainly spiritually to be soaked in the Bible. It was the only thing that kept me sane.”

During the operation, doctors discovered a tumor and found cancer cells in Lacey’s bones. Lacey said if his physicians had known how much the cancer had spread, they would not have performed the surgery. Afterward, Lacey’s medical team told him he had less than a year to live.

“I had just finished the first draft of The Word on the Street, but it was nowhere near ready,” he said. “If that had been the end, the book would not have been completed.”

Rather than accept the doctors’ report, Lacey underwent alternative treatment in Mexico. A member of Glenwood Church, a Free Evangelical congregation in Cardiff, Wales, he also visited Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship to receive prayer for healing. But his condition worsened, and in December 2001, friends and family began visiting Lacey to pay their last respects.

Still determined to finish the project, Lacey began editing his book. The work proved both therapeutic and fruitful. “Because I had seen a lot more, I had a lot more authority and courage and a right to talk about the big issues,” he said. “I had looked death in the face, but because of what Christ had done, death blinked first.

“I had two very good options. I could either die and go to heaven and be pain-free, or God would heal me, and I could see my little boy grow up. It was totally dark at times, and at other times, it was glimpses of real intimacy with God, a very beautiful time.”

During the summer of 2002, Lacey began to improve. In August, no cancer could be detected in his lymph nodes, and by October he not only could walk without assistance, he also began swimming to regain his strength.

Today he is in good health, and tours the country with his stage show. Lacey said he has revised the format some to allow the audience to draw their own biblical insights from the presentation.

“I was preaching through drama and wasn’t just telling the stories,” he told Charisma. “I realized that was rather arrogant to an unchurched person, especially in this postmodern society. I began using Jesus’ model of parables and leaving it to the Holy Spirit and the listener to work things out.”

Last fall, Lacey opened the Gates Arts and Training Center with his wife, Sandra, in Cardiff. The center holds acting and dancing classes and produces plays for the community.
John Hillman

Colombian Student Alleges False Arrest

First-year theology student Luis Alberto Vera, 24, was arrested Nov. 26 on charges of firearms trafficking and aggravated theft. Though he said the charge is bogus, he faces a lengthy and likely expensive legal battle to clear his name, Compass Direct reported. A student at the Biblical Seminary of Colombia in Medellín, Vera is not an isolated case, observers say. Special anti-terrorism laws and a growing network of anonymous informants have increased the risk of regular citizens being wrongly accused of terrorism, Compass said. Ricardo Esquivi of the Evangelical Council of Colombia said at least 30 pastors and church leaders across the nation are currently imprisoned because of anonymous tips from informants.

Pentecostal Churches Double in Egypt

The president of the Pentecostal Churches in Egypt reported in December that the number of Pentecostal churches in Egypt has doubled in the last three years, Assist News Service (ANS) said. “When God called me [to] the ministry of being responsible for the Pentecostals in Egypt February of 2001, the number of the churches was only 35,” Bishop Azez Morgan told ANS. “However, in this last three years, the Lord has blessed us with the strategy for church growth and it now has doubled to 75. There are churches all over the country, but there are still places we still do not have our churches, but we have plans for this.”

House Church Leader Arrested In China

One of China’s most prominent house-church leaders was recently arrested for his religious activities. Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) reported that pastor Zhang Rongliang, 53, was detained Dec. 1 in Xuzhai village in Zhengzhou, located in Henan Province. At press time, no one had heard from him. Zhang, whose wife and children are now in hiding, leads the Fangcheng Mother Church and the China for Christ Church, which is one of the largest house-church networks in the country, with more than 10 million members.

Some 1.3 million people are believed to be addicted to the drug, which causes brain damage similar to the effects of a stroke
As use of a man-made drug spreads nationwide at a pace the National Institute on Drug Abuse says is unrivaled by any other in recent history, ministries are reaching into the lives of addicts, families and entire communities with a message of hope and healing through Jesus Christ.

Dubbed the “devil’s drug,” methamphetamine is a powerfully addictive stimulant that affects the central nervous system, creating an intense high that can last as long as 24 hours. The drug causes brain damage similar to that caused by Alzheimer’s disease, stroke and epilepsy; use can also produce psychotic behavior, resulting in extreme violence.

Also known as “speed,” “meth” or “chalk,” methamphetamine is made in clandestine laboratories from everyday household products and is the most prevalent synthetic drug manufactured in the United States. According to a 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an estimated 1.3 million people used the drug during the previous year.

“It is the devil’s greatest tool in the world of drugs,” warns Paula Wood, reformed methamphetamine addict and founder of Break Free Ministry, an organization that reaches out to methamphetamine addicts and their families.

Founded in 2003, Break Free is run by Paula and husband Andy Wood from their home in Savanna, Okla.–an area that has been ravaged by the drug. The ministry consists of 10 team members, eight of whom are former meth addicts.

Wood says her team will go anywhere to spread the message that saved her life. “We tell them that there is hope,” she told Charisma. “The only hope is through Jesus Christ.”

The team travels to the streets equipped with a custom-built cooker that feeds hundreds. “We pray with them, we clothe them, we cook for them and we love them,” Wood added.

Since August 2003, Break Free has hosted four rallies. In just one weekend, approximately 90 people dedicated their lives to Christ, Wood reported. Now Break Free is working to establish a discipleship home for addicts because of the increasing need for in-house rehabilitation facilities specifically for meth addicts.

“It may take anywhere from three to four months to get into a facility,” Wood said. “By the time a bed is open, the person is back on the street. We get calls every day, asking if there’s a place to put them.”

One of those calls came from 26-year-old Cory Weidner, who was a drug addict by the age of 14. Weidner was facing a 20-year prison sentence when he met Wood in a county jail, where she works as a licensed practical nurse. “They loved me after everyone else gave up on me,” Weidner said. After his release, Break Free ministered to Weidner until his placement in Teen Challenge, a faith-based drug rehabilitation facility.

“It is an epidemic, a mushroom cloud that is exploding over this country,” said Dr. Mary Holley, founder of Mothers Against Methamphetamine, a ministry that distributes methamphetamine-related literature nationwide. “We haven’t seen the worst of it yet.”

An obstetrician in Alabama, Holley estimates that 10 percent of her pregnant patients are meth addicts. She says a faith-based approach is key to rehabilitation. “Faith-based programs tend to be far more successful because they go deeper into the heart of people,” she said.

John P. Walters, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and President Bush’s “drug czar,” warns that methamphetamine is a threat to entire communities. “With meth, you have all the harms of other drugs, but there is also a safety hazard” because meth labs exude potentially explosive toxic fumes.

In October, Walters released the nation’s first comprehensive strategy for reducing the production, trafficking and use of synthetic drugs. The Bush administration’s National Synthetic Drugs Action Plan provides an overview of recent trends in the consumption and trafficking of synthetic drugs and outlines a plan for addressing the problem based on four core areas: prevention, treatment, regulation of chemicals and drugs, and law enforcement.
Suzy Richardson

BOOKS

Frontline Christians in a Bottom-Line World
By Linda Rios Brook, Destiny Image,
208 pages, softcover, $13.99.

With insightful, engaging and often amusing observations, former TV executive Linda Rios Brook sounds a warning to the traditional church: learn to utilize the gifts of businesspersons or they will soon depart.

A member of Peter Wagner’s International Coalition of Apostles, Brook also devotes considerable space to Bible exposition, applying various passages to a business context. Although taking traditionalists to task for antiquated methods of “doing church” that ignore taking the gospel into the world, the author is an equal- opportunity critic. Chronicling the business world’s horribly flawed ethics, she calls on marketplace Christians to take some heat for making tough choices.

The bottom line of Frontline Christians: both camps need each other. As Brook puts it, the redemption of the business world calls for marketplace and traditional church apostles. If enough Christians heed Brook’s call, they will be able to cooperate instead of fighting with each other.
Ken Walker

Books of Destiny
By Paul Keith Davis, Streams Publishing House,
softcover, 193 pages, $13.

There was a time when ministers held “Come to Jesus” revivals. The “kingdom” was utmost and people literally “saw the light.” In Paul Keith Davis’ Books of Destiny: Secrets of God Revealed, we find that God’s plan in expanding His kingdom includes periodically releasing throne-room wisdom to those who are given glimpses of the next genuine movement and their roles in it.

Davis sparks a belief in the reader that “the greater than these” generation is still to be awakened. A reading of this volume will convince the faithful of all denominations that the fulfillment of the word of the Lord “to make them one” is on the horizon (He’s not returning to a disjointed bride). Indeed, every “Son-rise” in church history involves individuals who are called to break through the darkness of the existing generation, not with enticing words of man, but with the power of the Holy Spirit.
J. James Estrada

Riches Beyond Measure
By Michael Blackwell with Ken Walker,
Creation House Press, softcover,
86 pages, $9.99.

In Riches Beyond Measure: Creating a Life Worth Living Michael Blackwell outlines 12 keys to an abundant life.

President of the Baptist Children’s Home of North Carolina since 1983, Blackwell is committed to helping and healing others. His compassion translates well into this book as he offers simple yet rewarding truths.

The 12 steps include accept yourself, be a friend, love abundantly, do good deeds, receive life and embrace the future. Step 2: Seek Help is particularly interesting because in many circles getting professional counseling seems to be taboo. But Blackwell explains that sometimes the key to reaching the next level in any stage of life is seeking outside resources.

Though there is not a direct correlation made between these concepts and Jesus’ life, many readers will consider His life as the ultimate example. If younger readers
would implement the principles that many adults only wish they knew when they were younger, they would have a jumpstart on a great life.

For others, the writing is refreshing with numerous stories and examples, communicated without condemnation. The author is simply hoping to inspire people to change their outlook–and their lives.
Leigh DeVore

MUSIC

The J Moss Project
By J Moss, GospoCentric/Jive Records.

J Moss has been one of gospel and mainstream music’s most sought-after producers for years. He is a relative of the late gospel legend Mattie Moss Clark and the Clark Sisters, and one-third of the dynamic production team PAJAM–consisting of Paul D. “PDA” Allen, Walter Kearney and James Moss. The group is responsible for making hits for some of the top names in music, including Karen Clark-Sheard, Hezekiah Walker, ‘NSync, Kelly Price, Patti LaBelle and Jennifer Lopez, just to name a few.

Releasing his debut project, The J Moss Project, Moss stuns the gospel community with his tight tenor vocals on this perfectly produced collection of songs. Moss introduces himself with the danceable track “I Wanna Be.” “Don’t Pray & Worry” is a fast-moving, inspirational jam. The pretty ballad “We Must Praise” showcases Moss’ impressive chops. He ends the song a cappella, closing in a mode of worship.

“You Brought Me” is another body-moving track about God’s ability to deliver. Also included on this album is the reality-based track “Livin’ 4,” the infectious song “Don’t Let” and the bumpin’ groove-laden offering “Psalm 150,” reminiscent of Trin-i-tee 5:7’s “Holla.” “Me Again,” penned by Moss (the principal songwriter), is a plea to the Lord for forgiveness and a very poignant track. “Work Your Faith,” a bonus track, finds Moss encouraging people to hold on to their faith.

Moss brings a contemporary flair and a wonderful voice to gospel music.
René Williams

Made For Worship
By Joel Engle, Doxology Records (Word).

After 10 years as an independent artist, including touring stints with youth speaker Dawson McAllister and playing at various youth camps, Joel Engle releases his major-label debut on Doxology Records titled Made for Worship. The disc features 11 original tracks, all penned by Engle, centering on themes of worship and family.

Highlights include the pop-rock sounds of “Louder Than the Angels,” “I Bow Down” and “Wonder of Your Love.” “Living Sacrifice” is a rousing rock song of dedication, much like the anthem “We Need You.” There are also tender moments on “Shadow of Your Cross” and “I Will See You Again,” which offers an eternal promise for a departed loved one. On “Be a Father to Her,” Engle asks for divine intervention in the life of his daughter. Similarly, he shows his thankfulness for his own life in the autobiographical “The Father I Never Had”: “You’re the father I never had / Just hold me in Your arms and heal me of the past.”

Engle displays a talent for writing emotive tunes as well as a versatile vocal range. Made for Worship should be a welcome listen for those looking for memorable pop tunes.
DeWayne Hamby

I Speak Life
By Donald Lawrence, QuietWater
Entertainment/Verity Records.

Donald Lawrence has positioned himself as one of gospel music’s most versatile and gifted artists. A producer, songwriter and recording artist, he’s responsible for some of the best songs to hit radio including (with the Tri-City Singers) songs such as “Never Seen the Righteous,” “Seasons” (with Bishop Walter Hawkins), “The Best Is Yet to Come,” and “When Sunday Comes” (recorded by Daryl Coley). Now with his new label, Quiet- Water Entertainment, he introduces I Speak Life.

Divided into five sections, Contemporary Gospel, Inspirational, Praise & Worship, Prophetic and Final Thoughts, the release opens with the festive and exciting tune “Healed.” The title cut is a duet with famed gospel crooner Donnie McClurkin and includes exhortations to “speak life” over challenging situations. Hezekiah Walker joins Lawrence on the celebratory track “You Covered Me,” and Vanessa Bell Armstrong shares the mic on the smooth jazz cut “Miracles.”

Lawrence has us stepping (in Chi-town style) with R&B singer Carl Thomas on the groove-laden “Angels.” Lalah Hathaway, daughter of the late singer Donny Hathaway, and jazz great Ramsey Lewis join Lawrence on the easy listening, smoothly provocative “Don’t Forget to Remember.” “Say a Prayer,” with mainstream songstress Faith Evans, is a powerful track as is the breathtakingly beautiful “Lamb,” featuring piano work from Richard Smallwood. “Coming Strong,” a laid-back, rhythmic cut and a bold declaration of God’s deliverance, gives us a nice slice of funk. “Beautiful Feet,” taken from Romans 10:15, is a pretty, fully orchestrated song and a sweet closing to a strong project.
René Williams

VIDEO

A Fight for Faith
Pamplin Entertainment.

The Wacky Professor is up to his old fiendish tricks in the 16th episode of the Bibleman Adventure Series, but he finds himself matched against a new Bibleman.

The Fight for Faith is the first adventure since the departure of the original Bibleman, Willie Aames, who toured the country the last eight years putting biff, bam and pow into Bible-verse memorization. The episode introduces Josh Carpenter (Robert T Schlipp) as Bibleman.

The new Bibleman is faced with foiling Wacky Professor’s (Jef Scott) plot to create a dimension where there are no Christians, no churches and no God. Bibleman, with the help of his familiar sidekicks Cypher (Brady Williams) and Biblegirl (Heather McSmith), hurries to rescue two young vacation Bible school leaders from a colorful animated world absent of God.

For the first time in a Bibleman episode, Bibleman invites young viewers to accept Jesus and to pray the salvation prayer along with the Bibleman team at the end of the adventure. In addition, the Bibleman Adventure Series is launching a new “Daily Bibleman” program now available through daily e-mail video clips from Bibleman. More information is available at www.bibleman.com.
Gail Wood

In his book The New Slavemasters, Bishop George D. McKinney boldly speaks about the issues that plague the African American community–materialism, rage and instant gratification, among a well-known list of others.

The “new slavemasters” concept came to him two years ago during a sermon at his church, St. Stephen’s Cathedral Church of God in Christ in San Diego. “The term just rolled off my tongue–a [truly divine] inspiration,” he said.

Born in 1932, McKinney remembers going to segregated Arkansas schools with no libraries. “They were still lynching black people,” he said. His Pentecostal parents taught him to rise up from the racially unjust environment through a relationship with Jesus Christ and a good education.

Fueled by the desire to see a corporate deliverance for the African American community, McKinney founded St. Stephen’s Ministerial Alliance. This coalition of 20 churches opens their doors to 30,000 of San Diego’s inner-city youth every day after school. Volunteers teach math, reading, social skills, music and chess.

“Twenty-two schools are failing 85 percent of their students,” McKinney said. “It seemed that there was no solution. But we have joined together to derail the train that is driving these young people to jail, drug pushing and drug addiction.”

Early last year, McKinney’s wife of 47 years, Jean Brown, died of cancer. But this so-called modern-day abolitionist presses on to make a difference.
Jevon Oakman Bolden

Charismatic Top Sellers

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

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

3. The Three Battlegrounds
Francis Frangipane (Arrow Publications)

4. Pigs in the Parlor
Frank and Ida Mae Hammond
(Impact Christian Books)

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

6. My Spiritual Inheritance
Juanita Bynum (Charisma House)

7. The Tongue: A Creative Force
Charles Capps (Harrison House)

8. The Final Quest
Rick Joyner (Whitaker House)

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

10. The Torch and The Sword
Rick Joyner (Morningstar Publications)

Dr. Alton A. Williams says children with ADHD are being ‘healed’ through treatment known as vision therapy
Dr. Alton A. Williams made history in 1974 when he became the first African American optometrist in Delaware. Last year he was recognized as one of the state’s 100 most influential African Americans. But these days, Williams doesn’t boast about those things.

Instead, the 55-year-old talks about the 4,000 patients who he says have come to Christ in the 12 years since he prayed the sinner’s prayer himself, and about the children who he claims have been “healed” of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) after receiving vision therapy at his Newark clinic.

Vision therapy, an eye-focusing technique that Williams first learned about 30 years ago at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, is designed to improve the brain’s ability to control eye alignment, movement, teamwork and focusing ability. Williams said the therapy remained dormant in his practice until 2003, when he says the Holy Spirit impressed him to use it as a tool to reverse the effects of ADHD in youngsters.

“Many children who have the signs and symptoms of [attention deficit disorder] actually have undiagnosed vision problems,” said Dr. Stephen Miller, executive director of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development, which offers board certification in vision therapy. “If the vision problem is … treated, many of these symptoms [go away].”

Williams views the therapy as an alternative to drugs and their harmful side effects. He said he felt the Lord telling him, “Bring the children to Me, and I will use what is in your hand.”

Williams claims the therapy works on other conditions, from learning disabilities to bipolarity. “From my perspective, these conditions all have spiritual roots to them,” he said. Before he begins treatment he asks parents, “What traumatic event has this child experienced that has caused their life and eyes and every aspect of their being to go out of focus?” He said some children were born addicted to crack, others witnessed their parents’ divorce, others experienced abuse.

An ordained minister and pastor of All Nations Christian Center (ANCC) in Wilmington, Del., Williams said a traumatic experience in his own life brought him to Christ in 1992. After 20 years of marriage, his wife, Bonita, suddenly announced that she was leaving him and taking their two sons with her. Williams faced his cozy family, affluent lifestyle and social prestige being blown apart. “All I could see was me sliding into a deep, dark hole,” he said.

He said God intervened through his sister’s testimony and her badgering him to read Romans 10:9-10. Sitting at his desk, he prayed Romans 10:9. “In the twinkling of an eye I was saved,” he said. “I never had that level of peace.”

His wife, an attorney, still moved to Virginia and divorced him. But two years later she yielded her life to Jesus. They remarried in February 1995 and have been serving the Lord together ever since.

Williams said the vision-therapy program is based on test results following a rigorous eye examination and an assessment of the patient’s needs. He said most suffer from convergence insufficiency, which is the inability to focus on a target at close range.

A typical treatment regimen consists of visual exercises lasting from several weeks to several months. With parental permission, Bible verses are integrated into the exercises. Williams said this is where spiritual healing begins. Many patients receive scholarships to make the therapy affordable.

Mildred Muñoz has four children in the program. “It’s helping my boys tremendously,” she said, adding that it also helps her stay focused spiritually.

Julianne Lin, an ophthalmologist and associate of Williams’, was initially skeptical of the treatment. But she has witnessed the results firsthand and supports him. “The spiritual aspects incorporated into the treatment help the whole family,” she said.

Officials from the Christiana school district in New Castle, Del., have expressed interest in vision therapy for the special-education program. “The Lord is going to use this technique to bring His Word back into the schools,” Williams said.

Williams is working to increase awareness of the effectiveness of vision therapy in treating learning and reading disorders. He also is raising funds to establish five regional vision-therapy centers through the Vision Plus Foundation (www.vision plusofde.com), a subsidiary of ANCC.
Peter K. Johnson in Newark, Del.

Christian Leader Beheaded in Sulawesi

The head of a Christian chief of the Pinedapa village was found Nov. 5 near a gas station in Poso City, Jubilee Campaign reported. Bystanders saw someone throw the head of Sarminalis Ndele, 48, from a dark vehicle. His body was found later that day. The United Kingdom-based human-rights group said the murder is the latest violence against Christians in central Sulawesi. Two pastors were shot dead in their churches, and a Christian woman was stabbed to death in front of her home. “Islamic extremists in central Sulawesi have long been trying to provoke a renewed round of Muslim-Christian conflict by repeatedly attacking Christians,” said Wilfred Wong, Jubilee Campaign’s researcher and parliamentary officer. He said Ndele’s beheading may have been inspired by the killings in Iraq.

Churches Ordered to Close in Indonesia

Authorities recently ordered 12 churches in Rancaekek, Indonesia, to close their doors. The order came after Muslim leaders in the Bandung region protested that the churches were meeting illegally, Compass Direct reported. The congregations had applied as early as 1993 for permits for church buildings, but were refused because officials said the land was reserved for a housing development. Christians have since been meeting in private homes, but a local Muslim group complained that this also was illegal.

Christian Worker Freed In Saudi Arabia

A Christian worker from India who had been jailed in Saudi Arabia for seven months for his faith was released Nov. 1 because of advocacy efforts by a human-rights group. Brian O’Connor was convicted of possession and sale of alcohol in the strictly Muslim kingdom. Without explanation, an Islamic court in Riyadh ignored the previous charge of spreading Christianity against him, and sentenced him on Oct. 20 to three more months in jail along with a punishment of 300 lashes for the liquor accusations, Compass Direct reported. He refused to accept the verdict, declaring that he was not guilty of any crime. He was released after dozens of Christians worldwide contacted the Saudi Embassy, Assist News Service reported.

BOOKS

Why Drown When You Can
Walk on Water?
By David D. Ireland, Ph.D.,
Baker Books, softcover, 192 pages, $12.99.

If a repairman arrived and his first question was, “Do you have a screwdriver?” you’d think to yourself, How can you call yourself a repairman and not have the necessary tools?

David D. Ireland’s Why Drown When You Can Walk on Water? asks a similar question, “How can you call yourself a Christian if you don’t have active faith?” Ireland is a pastor and a scientist, so expect a unique perspective on the subject of faith, including a number of equations (knowledge + belief + assent = faith). The author thoroughly dismantles “mystical faith” in favor of “authentic faith” for real-life applications.

Why Drown is penetrated with furnace-fired wisdom and concrete building blocks leading to “higher” knowledge. Ireland notes that “in a spiritual sense, your faith is proof that you are the owner of and heir to God’s promise.”
J. James Estrada

BIBLE STUDY

Focus on the Family Women’s Series Group Starter Kit
Gospel Light, $69.99.

Everything Focus on the Family produces is well thought out, well prayed over and well put together. The Women’s Series Bible study curriculum is no exception.

The Group Starter Kit includes an in-depth guide to women’s ministry (this alone is worth more than the cost of the entire package), four Bible studies, and a crafts and activities guide.

The Women’s Ministry Guide prepares the leader, helping her discover her gifts and passions and further establish her relationship with the Lord. It is jam-packed with samples, surveys, resources and training lessons. It also offers tips on everything from icebreakers to childcare to dealing with conflicts. It’s a must-have for seasoned or first-time leaders.

This curriculum is applicable to any woman and easily lends itself to deeper study, discussion and ministry. Yet, the studies are easy to follow, even for a new believer. Women of Worth helps women discover who they are in Jesus as opposed to who the world says they are. Healing the Heart studies restoration and covers such topics as forgiving and letting go of the past.

Balanced Living offers tools to help women balance life demands while nurturing a vital relationship with God. The Blessings of Friendship explores developing and maintaining real relationships–not relationships that are 500-miles wide but only 1-inch deep.

Each study covers eight topics. The leader’s discussion guide included for each session allows the facilitator to do just that–facilitate.

The crafts and activities guide is a bit deceiving at first glance with its black-and-white pages and illustrations. However, it offers a wealth of ideas for crafts just for pleasure or activities with goals, all designed to build fun and unity. Also included are suggestions for icebreakers and small- and large-group events.

What a great way to start 2005! These studies and activities can be catalysts for personal growth and can open doors for ministry–and that’s what it’s all about!
J.J. Everett

MUSIC

The Worship Project
By Jonathan Butler, Maranatha Music.

Jonathan Butler gained much of his popularity with mainstream hits such as Grammy-nominated “Lies” and “Sarah, Sarah.” The Cape Town, South African native, a guitarist and smooth jazz artist, found fame in the secular arena in the ’80s, easily making him a household name.

Although few knew it, it was also in the ’80s that he gave his life to Jesus Christ. The singer-songwriter recently saw a rebirth in his career with his recording of “Falling in Love With Jesus” on saxophonist Kirk Whalum’s project The Gospel According to Jazz, Chapter 2. Now Butler releases his first all-gospel CD with The Worship Project.

Butler showcases his uplifting vocals on the 12-track CD with such cuts as the festive, exotic-sounding “You’re Worthy of Praise,” the reverent “You Are So Beautiful” and an acoustic rendition of his hit “Falling in Love With Jesus.” He reinvents the memorable worship anthem “Lord, I Lift Your Name on High,” with a relaxing, mellow texture.

His special touch is also added to the Lenny Leblanc-penned track “No Higher Calling.” The song highlights the humility of one standing in the presence of God.

Worship is certainly the theme on the pensive “Lord, I’m Ready” and the pop-flavored “No Matter What.”

Providing praise-filled tunes as well, cuts such as the urban-inspired “Don’t You Worry” and two powerful cuts, the destined-to-be-sung-by-praise-teams songs “That’s Why We Praise Him” and “He Is the Lord,” beg to be favorites. Producer and principal songwriter on this project, Butler indeed has just found a new audience.
René Williams

One
By Andy Chrisman, Word.

For well over a decade, Andy Chrisman has lent his voice to the best-selling group 4Him, singing lead on many of the group’s popular songs, including “For Future Generations,” “Where There Is Faith” and “Measure of a Man.” Now, Chrisman takes a break to do his first solo project, One.

The songs stay in the adult contemporary-pop realm, including the opening statement of faith “Believe,” the ballad “Atmosphere,” the infectious praise of “Adore You,” the piano praise of “Love Remains” and the soothing title track. Chrisman varies it a little with the moody “Debt of Gratitude” and a vocal verse variation on “Complete.”

Many times when singers break away from a group to stretch their musical wings, they delve into other genres and sounds. But Chrisman seems to stick with the sound he’s already known for. That’s a good thing for fans of the group who already love Chrisman’s voice.
DeWayne Hamby

I Owe You
By Kierra Kiki Sheard, EMI Gospel.

Rarely has there been such anticipation for the debut recording of a 17-year-old artist. But Kierra “Kiki” Sheard is not an average teenager. After already gaining a huge following from guest appearances on projects with mom, Clark Sister member Karen Clark Sheard, and aunt Dorinda Clark-Cole, Kiki Sheard now steps into her own limelight.

Dropping an impressive project, I Owe You, which already debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Gospel Chart, Sheard will gain even more fans with this urban-gospel offering. Hitting you from the first note, the granddaughter of the late gospel legend Mattie Moss Clark delivers the head-bopping “You Don’t Know.” Alluding to the illness her mother suffered a few years ago, the younger Sheard sings about God bringing her through.

Other strong cuts include the danceable “Let Go,” the soulful “All I Am,” the down-home quartet-sounding “Done Did It” and the rhythmic “Closer.” Spanning the musical gamut, Sheard flows seamlessly from the hip-hop grooves of “War” to worship-filled, solemn “Praise Offering.” Filled with a strong contemporary repertoire, the project showcases Sheard’s impeccable vocals and inspiring message-driven collection of tunes.

Teens and adults will relate to the relevant topics Sheard addresses–a lost friendship, godly priorities and growing closer to God.
René Williams

NEWS

Caedmon’s Call Focuses On India’s Oppressed

The contemporary Christian folk-rock band Caedmon’s Call has long helped raise funds for relief organization Compassion International. Yet an unexpected encounter with a man from India led the band to deepen its involvement in missions and become advocates for India’s oppressed Dalit people.

Known as “untouchables,” the Dalits are at the bottom of India’s caste system, which divides the bulk of the population into four primary social groups. But beneath these classes is a fifth group. The population of Dalits–which literally means “downtrodden” or “broken”–is estimated to be 160 million. Though India’s constitution forbids “untouchability,” discrimination is widely practiced toward the Dalits and sometimes includes acts of violence.

Caedmon’s Call lead vocalist Cliff Young said his band was compelled to help the Dalits after a man named Timothy Kasbe sought Young out after a concert in North Carolina in the fall of 2003. Kasbe told Young about the plight of his people and asked the band to help. Young said he knew this was God’s plan.

Joseph D’Souza, international president of Dalit Freedom Network, said, “Caedmon’s Call heard the challenge from the Lord and have taken up the cause of what Dalits call the ‘socio-spiritual freedom’ of the Dalits.”

To raise awareness and funds for the Dalits, Caedmon’s Call released Share the Well. Drawing its title from one of the many indignities Dalits face–they cannot share wells with those outside their caste–the recording includes multicultural sounds and stories from India, Ecuador and Brazil. Working with Peace Gospel Ministries, Dalit Freedom Network and Compassion International, the band traveled and saw firsthand the deplorable conditions many people suffer.

The album title also reminds Christians that they have a well of “living water” to share. Young says giving is an important part of worship and believes many American Christians are self-centered. He sees India as a perfect place to start changing a self-centered worldview.

D’Souza agreed: “It is time for the Christian audience in [the United States] to wake up to this epic struggle for Dalit emancipation and participate in every way in what God is doing in the nation–in the areas of justice, in the areas of educating Dalit children, in the areas of bringing the good news, in discipleship.”

People can get involved immediately by giving money and starting advocacy groups to help raise awareness. And Christians can pray, Young said. But his main challenge is still to spread the gospel.

In an effort to encourage college students to consider the mission field, Caedmon’s Call’s Share the Well Foundation offers sponsorships to students to go on missions trips to India. And through the Share the Well tour, which will feature seven international musicians, the band hopes to raise enough money to fund the construction of two Dalit schools.

The band also will be working with Living Water International, a ministry that builds wells in areas where there is no clean water. Living Water plans to build 30 wells, a well for each Dalit school.

Young has hope: “As dark as India seems … it is on the brink of revival. And what are we going to do?” he asks. “The only answer is the gospel. … [If] we step up, [the Dalits are] going to see Christians all over the world … loving them and taking the gospel to them and turning this all around. I really, truly think we’re talking about worldwide revival. And it could all start with the Dalits.”
Leigh DeVore

Prophet Glenn Miller says we must understand what God is doing and align our lives with His plan. Once we step into the revelation, we will step into destiny, success and spiritual dimensions and dynamics that will unveil the kingdom of God.

His book, The Prophetic Fall of the Islamic Regime (Creation House Press), explores God’s strategies against His enemies. God is attacking the false god of Islam, Miller claims. He says: “The war was not about terrorism; it’s about Allah. … Muslims are deceived. We don’t hate the Muslims, but we hate the spirit behind them. And if we don’t do what we’re called to do, we can’t set them free.”

Miller says of the church and Islam: “We have a snake on the doorstep and we don’t know it. … [The church is] not raising up warriors. They’re not raising up illuminated men and women. They’ve not allowed them to be birthed in their purpose and their destiny. They’re just still trying to be nice, sweet people. … That’s not going to get the job done.

God wants us to not just be saved from something but for something, and that’s divine purpose.

“Once I know what God’s doing I can become a weapon in His hand to accomplish His purpose. If I’m blind to what He’s doing and I’m just being a sweet Christian going to church, I’m missing my destiny. … And the result will be I will have a basically very fruitless life.”
Leigh DeVore