The president always appreciates it when people tell him they pray for him.

On January 20, George W. Bush will take the oath of office for his second term as president of the United States. After a narrow victory in 2000, he won by a clear majority last year. His re-election, I’m sure, is an answer to prayer by millions of Christians who believe that “righteousness exalts a nation” (Prov. 14:34, NKJV).

Last May I had the privilege, along with seven other religious journalists, of interviewing President Bush in the White House. Each of us had the opportunity to ask one question. When it was my turn, I asked about the election and then added that I pray for him and his wife every day.

The president paused, looked directly at me and replied that he always appreciates it when people tell him they pray for him and that he never takes their prayers for granted. He added that previously when he would shake the hands of well-wishers after a speech they would say, “Good luck, Mr. President.” But more recently about one in three said, “We pray for you, Mr. President.”

For the inauguration, we decided to publish an updated version of our best-selling book The Faith of George W. Bush, which we copublished with Penguin Group (USA). It has sold approximately a half million copies and was on one of the New York Times best-sellers lists–a first for us.

We are humbled by the success of the book, not just because it shows that the author, Stephen Mansfield, did an outstanding job, but also because it propagates the story of a man whose life was changed when he came to faith in Christ.

We would like to send a copy of this book as a blessing to men and women serving in the U.S. armed forces. If you know of a serviceman or servicewoman who might be interested in receiving one, send his or her full name and APO/FPO (Air/Army Post Office or Fleet Post Office) address to Christian Life Missions, our nonprofit partner, at P.O. Box 952248, Lake Mary, FL 32795-2248.

I wrote a prayer for the new edition I hope readers will use to pray daily for the president and his family. I’ve included it here so you can begin this tradition with the new year.

Our dear heavenly Father, We come to you in the name of Jesus on behalf of our president, George W. Bush. We thank you that he is a man who fears You and who seeks You for wisdom as he leads our great nation during one of the most turbulent times in our history.

We pray that Your Holy Spirit gives him both the ability to discern Your will and the courage to carry it out. We pray that He surrounds him with people who will encourage and support him. We ask that He direct the president’s decisions each day.

Please protect President Bush and his family from harm. Surround them with Your peace and love. May the president always trust in You and make every effort to fulfill the responsibilities of his office in a way that pleases You.

We pray this in the name of Your Son. Amen.

One thing about the president I particularly admire is his habit of reading the Bible on a regular basis. It’s a commitment I share. In fact, I make a pledge every few years to read through the entire Bible as a matter of discipline.

To encourage you to do the same, we’ve included a weekly “Bible-Reading Guide” on page 72 of this issue that, if followed, will help you read the entire Bible by the end of 2005. Reading the selections in the order indicated will provide variety and prevent you from getting bogged down in the difficult passages.

Then, if you write us at the end of the year, we will send you a certificate of completion suitable for framing. I did this several years ago and was encouraged by how many not only did the Bible reading but also wrote in for the certificate.

If you haven’t made a habit of reading the Scriptures daily in the past, you’ll be amazed how much benefit you receive from regular study. Don’t be put off by the lack of a good Bible. The Bible-study section on page 68, which describes the various translations available, will help you find the Bible that’s right for you.

We’re excited about the new year. We believe that a lot of good things, which I’ll tell you about in upcoming issues, are in store for our ministry. I pray this is a good year for you and your family as well.

The choice is easy after you’ve identified your specific requirements. The following three basic questions–who, how and what–are designed to help you in choosing the appropriate Bible.

Who is the Bible for?

How will the Bible be used?

But Christians are being warned not to limit their concerns to only gay marriage and abortion
Moral values topped the list of reasons voters re-elected President Bush Nov. 2, presenting what one Christian leader called an unprecedented evangelism opportunity.

“I think it’s obvious that the church has not created a wave, we’ve struck a nerve,” said Rod Parsley, pastor of World Harvest Church in Ohio and founder of the Center for Moral Clarity. “We’ve tapped into the views of the majority of Americans. The left has done just that, they’ve left, and they no longer represent mainstream America. That gives us a tremendous evangelistic opportunity.”

Parsley traveled across his state before the election, urging Christians to vote and to support righteousness. He said many of those who cited values as their primary concern on Election Day were not all committed Christians. “Americans realize our basic common values … were under attack,” he said.

Many Christian leaders celebrated Bush’s win, crediting prayer with the decisive swing to the right. Bush gained 62 percent of the Christian vote, according to a poll by the Barna Research Group, which attributed Bush’s win to strong turnout by born-again voters. With the House, Senate and White House under Republican control, many believe an amendment banning gay marriage has a stronger chance at passage.

“The move to amend the U.S. Constitution to preserve traditional marriage will move full steam ahead,” said Mathew Staver, president of Liberty Counsel, which champions religious liberty, pro-life and traditional family issues. “Although the battle for the U.S. Supreme Court is not over … this election sets the future course.”

Gay marriage may have been the issue that gained Bush more support among Hispanic and African American voters, analysts say. Bush won 11 percent of the black vote, a 2 percent increase over 2000, and 44 percent of the Latino vote, a 9 percent increase over 2000, according to exit polls reported by CNN.

Before the election, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a think tank that specializes in African American issues, predicted that Bush might double his percentage of the black vote, from 9 percent to 18 percent. That didn’t happen, but the group’s president and senior analyst, David Bositis, said Bush got more of Ohio’s black Christian vote than he did in 2000.

Had those votes gone to Sen. John Kerry, he said, it would have been possible for the Democratic nominee to win the state that ultimately decided the election. “Given negative black attitudes on the war and the economy and negative views on Bush, I really wasn’t expecting that kind of movement,” Bositis said, noting that Bush gained 16 percent of the black vote in Ohio, up from 9 percent in 2000.

Similarly, pre-election polls showed that Latino voters were strongly opposed to gay marriage, though a majority was still likely to vote for Kerry. A poll by the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute (TRPI) of the University of Southern California, which studies Latino voting patterns, found that although more than 70 percent of Latino voters said religion was very important to them, many opposed the war and preferred Kerry’s policies on education and the economy. TRPI president Harry Pachon said many elected officials were blindsided by the role moral values played in the election.

“We hear that in New Mexico, evangelicals were instrumental in mobilizing Latino voters,” Pachon said. “Twenty percent of Latinos are … evangelical or Pentecostal. If you had a significant number of them mobilized to vote for Bush, that may explain [the increase in support over 2000].”

In 11 states, voters approved constitutional amendments limiting marriage to one man and one woman, most by wide margins. In an article by PlanetOut Network, gay activists called Bush’s win “a really tough defeat.”

But Matt Coles of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Lesbian and Gay Rights Project told the publication that his group is vigorously pursuing gay rights-related lawsuits in several states, including California, New York, Washington, New Jersey and Florida.

Meanwhile, the National Association of Evangelicals is promoting an agenda of its own, which Richard Cizik, the group’s vice president for governmental affairs, said includes broadening the definition of moral values to include an array of issues from human rights to the environment.

“[Moral values] should impact everything from tax cuts to social security,” Cizik said, adding that evangelicals must not be seen as a single-issue special-interest group.

“The challenge is to appreciate that here in Washington, D.C., [values] is not merely about legislation,” Cizik said. “It’s about broad-based ethical renewal. By focusing on ethics, we immediately signal that changes must be directed toward institutions other than government, such as Hollywood.”

But there is one government institution that many conservative voters kept in clear view on Election Day: the Supreme Court. Bush is expected to choose as many as four new justices during his second term, which some observers say will significantly affect abortion.

“Many of the religious liberty cases we deal with are decided on a 5-4 basis,” said Jay Sekulow, chief counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice. “With news of [Chief Justice William Rehnquist’s] medical condition, it now appears that the issue of the Court will be front and center for the nation over the next several weeks and months.”

Still, it is well known that not all socially conservative Christians supported Bush, and talk of Justice Clarence Thomas’ replacing Rehnquist if he retires doesn’t sit well among many African American voters–Christian and non.

“We need to have a family meeting with Clarence Thomas because his stance on civil rights is illogical and insensitive,” said Bishop Harry R. Jackson Jr., a Washington, D.C., pastor and leader of the High Impact African-American Church Coalition. “The truth is, we haven’t made things right yet.”

Though he is a registered Democrat, Jackson announced his support for Bush in October and predicted that black Christians would decide the election. He believes that happened in Ohio. Considering the race riots that have plagued Cincinnati in recent years, Jackson said, “for that many black Christians to vote that overwhelmingly for Bush … that is nothing short of miraculous.”

His coalition is planning summits nationwide to mobilize black Christians to support a federal amendment limiting marriage to one man and one woman. But he said the group also will promote “justice” issues, such as reducing poverty among African Americans, reforming the education and prison systems, helping minorities gain better health-care access and ending the Sudan conflict.

“We’ve had Watergate and all these other gates; I think now we have a Justicegate,” Jackson said. “It’s unconscionable that Americans would vote out of fear about marriage but would not vote out of responsibility for justice. That’s a matter of maturity and having a biblical worldview as Christians.”
Adrienne S. Gaines

Nominated for his song ‘Jesus Walks,’ Kanye West eventually was pulled from the rap/hip-hop category of the Stellar Awards
Ever since Thomas Dorsey, the author of “Precious Lord” and the founder of gospel music, began writing sacred music against a blues backdrop, the genre he created has faced criticism that it is becoming too worldly. That debate heated up again last fall when the Stellar Gospel Music Awards nominated rapper Kanye West in its rap/hip-hop category for his mainstream hit “Jesus Walks.”

The song, edited because of some profanity, has been played generously in Christian circles and speaks mostly of West’s search for peace: “(Jesus walks.) God show me the way ’cause the devil trying to break me down. (Jesus walks with me.) The only thing that I pray is that my feet don’t fail me now. (Jesus walks.) And I don’t think there is nothing I can do to right my wrongs. (Jesus walks with me.) I want to talk to God but I’m afraid because we ain’t spoke in so long.”

But the CD on which the song appears, The College Dropout, carries a parental advisory for explicit lyrics and has been criticized by Christians for
promoting violence and fornication. Though West’s promoter Neily Dickerson, president of ND Co. and Church Howse Music, said only the single was nominated, dozens of letters poured into the offices of Central City Productions, headquarters for the Stellar Awards, demanding that West’s name be immediately removed from the ballot.

Among those protesting the song was Bobby Herring, also known as Tre9, founder and president of the Houston Holy Hip-Hop Alliance. “The leaders of Holy Hip-Hop were outraged,” Herring said. “I gave them 30 days to respond [to my letter], and then I would go further with the protest.”

Through his organization, the 29-year-old has strong relationships with retailers, pastors, media, artists and vendors in Houston. “I was going to get the whole city to protest,” he said.

But in September, the Stellar Awards, being held this month in Houston, announced the removal of West’s nomination and apologized, saying it “did not intend to offend the gospel music community with this glaring oversight. We have implemented corrective action to make sure that such an error never happens again.”

Gerard Henry, host of the popular gospel video show Lift Every Voice on Black Entertainment Television, said the Stellar Awards may not have realized the full scope of West’s CD. “I have mixed feelings about the song,” said Henry, who is also college ministries leader at Hope Christian Church in College Park, Md., pastored by Bishop Harry R. Jackson Jr.

“I think it sounds great. I like the name of Jesus being put into the mainstream. It creates discussion. But I think that instead of attacking him, we should reach out to him and disciple him. He needs to be fathered and to know that there is a difference between just knowing that Jesus walks and walking with Jesus.”

But others say Jesus can use anyone, not just mature Christians. “The Bible says, ‘Let everything that has breath, praise the Lord,'” said Gerard Bonner, senior writer for . “Based on that, [West and other secular artists who have performed religious singles] are qualified to testify, to share the gospel.

“We have to remember that this gospel is not ours but belongs to the Father. Therefore, God can use whoever He’d like. He shared a message through a donkey.”

Dickerson agreed. “I think the Lord is showing that you’ll be shocked at who [He will] use. He said He would use a rock to cry out. Kanye is that rock. We have to get to a worldview of who Jesus is–outside of the Baptist or Pentecostal churches. There are young people who would have never been exposed to Jesus if it were not for this song.”

That proved true in Fort Washington, Md., recently when Ebenezer AME Church hosted West in concert. West performed “Jesus Walks” and “All Falls Down,” which talks about materialism, and fielded youth ministers’ questions about “Jesus Walks.” Ebenezer youth pastor Tony Lee told the Washington Post the event drew 3,000 youth, and that more than 300 responded to the altar call.

Even though West won’t receive a Stellar Award this year, Henry said he has been an example for Christians. Said Henry: “If believers who actually have a good knowledge of who Christ is stood up the way Kanye did–with courage and sincerity–we would have a revolution.”
Jevon Oakman Bolden

Critics say using Islam’s holy book to prove Christianity can blur the differences between the two faiths
Many Christians denounce the Quran’s teachings, but some believers have taken the controversial approach of using Islam’s holy book to bring Muslims to Jesus. They say by communicating the gospel in a manner Islamists can understand, many receive Christ. Their converts are called “Messianic Muslims,” partly because they are encouraged not to abandon some Islamic traditions

“I use their own book of precepts to validate the authenticity of Christ,” said Patricia Bailey, who has ministered in many Arabic nations. “If Muslims embrace the Quran as their holy book, then it is the ultimate tool to reach them and at least to provoke them to question what is written in their own book of the law. The Quran makes references to the Bible. The Bible never refers to the Quran for truth or authenticity.”

The founder of Georgia-based Master’s Touch Ministries, Bailey said more than 4,000 Muslims have been converted via one-on-one ministry, her TV appearances, and leadership-training centers and conferences in countries such as Kuwait, Egypt, Sudan and Turkey.

Bailey is not alone in her provocative way of reaching Muslims. John Taimoor is an itinerant preacher and founder of Crossbearers, a California-based ministry that presents Christianity within an Islamic context. Born and raised a Muslim in an area near Pakistan and southern Afghanistan, Taimoor seeks to establish new communities of Messianic Muslims throughout the Middle East.

A Messianic Muslim is an Islamist who has accepted Jesus but refuses to be referred to as a Christian and chooses to stay within the Arab community.

“Ethnically I am a Pushtun or Pathan who never had a church among them, and I was probably the first-known convert to Christ in the last 50 years,” Taimoor, 46, explained. “Christ visited me supernaturally while reading the Quran in a mosque, and later the New Testament changed me into a new person.”

Jeremiah Cummings, who studied Islam with Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, is now on a mission to bring the gospel to Muslims. He does not use the term Messianic Muslims, but Cummings, 53, said more than 40,000 Islamists have converted to Christianity through his appearances on Christian television, including Daystar and the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

However, some leaders of Arabic missions organizations question the way Bailey, Taimoor and Cummings evangelize Muslims, especially when it comes to using the Quran.

“I teach courses on Islam in various parts of the world. I do not believe the Quran is the Word of God,” said Don McCurry, president of Colorado-based Ministries to Muslims who served for 18 years in Pakistan as a missionary. “In fact, at every cardinal point of the gospel, it contradicts the Word of God.”

David Goldmann, missions consultant with Frontiers, an organization that plants churches among Muslims in more than 40 countries, agreed.

“Using the Quran to prove Christianity can emphasize Quranic authority over the Bible,” said Goldmann, 73, who spent 24 years ministering to Muslims in North Africa.

“Emphasizing the similarities between the Bible and the Quran can confirm to Muslims that the Quran is truly the final part of progressive revelation,” he added. “Pointing out the differences between the Bible and the Quran can bolster Muslims’ belief that the Bible has been corrupted.”

McCurry, 77, said he has “a big problem” with the name Messianic Muslims. “In the dictionary, ‘Muslim’ simply means someone who is submitted,” he said. “Muslims will tell you that it means someone submitted to God. But the bottom line is that ‘Muslim,’ in a Muslim’s eyes, means someone submitted to Muhammad and his version of God.”

Goldmann concurred, noting that “a Christian who calls himself a Messianic Muslim will only confuse people.”

“The biblical approach is for a Christian to associate himself with Jesus Christ of Christianity,” he said, referring to Acts 11:26.

Taimoor admitted that some Christians do not understand his strategy. “If some do accuse me of compromise or heresy, it is because they do not understand the linguistic and cultural significance, or they expect the gospel to be Westernized before it is preached,” he said.

“Unless we become boldly creative, we will keep doing what others have done before and failed,” he added. “Muslims are desperate to find the truth. They pray to God five times a day to find it. Christians must be like Paul, who became a Roman with the Romans and a Jew with the Jews without compromising the gospel.”

Bailey echoed his point. “Though I do not condone or embrace the religion philosophy or doctrine of Islam, I do passionately love the people,” she said. “You will never aggressively reach out to a people that you don’t have an affinity toward. You cannot see all Arabic or Islamic people as your enemy.”
Eric Tiansay

Conservative Groups Oppose Arlen Specter

Despite attempts by conservatives to block the appointment of Sen. Arlen Specter as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Republican from Pennsylvania was unanimously nominated to the judiciary panel Nov. 18, the New York Times reported. Pro-life and pro-family groups had opposed Specter because of his support for abortion. Though further confirmation is still required, Specter is likely to assume the role when Congress reconvenes this month. Specter said he would not use a “litmus test” to block judges who oppose abortion from being confirmed to the Supreme Court and promised to give the president’s nominees quick consideration. Still, pro-family leaders were wary of Specter’s confirmation and said they would be watching him closely.

John Ashcroft Resigns

Attorney General John Ashcroft resigned Nov. 10, saying the “objective of securing the safety of Americans from crime and terror has been achieved,” the Associated Press (AP) reported. A longtime member of the Assemblies of God, Ashcroft said he believed his “energies and talents should be directed toward other, more challenging horizons,” the AP said. Focus on the Family founder James Dobson and Prison Fellowship founder Chuck Colson welcomed President Bush’s nomination of Alberto Gonzales as Ashcroft’s replacement.

Jerry Falwell Launches New Organization

To maintain the momentum gained by social conservatives Nov. 2, the Rev. Jerry Falwell has launched a 21st century version of the Moral Majority, which he is calling the Faith and Values Coalition. Falwell said the group, based in Lynchburg, Va., will focus on seeing pro-life, “strict constructionist” judges–or those who interpret the Constitution based on what they believe was the authors’ original intent–confirmed to the Supreme Court and lower courts; passage of a federal amendment banning gay marriages; and the election of another “socially, fiscally and politically conservative president in 2008.” The 71-year-old will lead the organization with his son, Jonathan, and Liberty Counsel founder Mathew Staver.

Organizer Bishop John Gimenez says the call to champion righteousness did not end with the presidential election
Thousands gathered on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., days before the November election to fast and pray that righteousness would prevail in the United States. But in the wake of President Bush’s re-election, Bishop John Gimenez said the task is still far from over.

Quoting an old Spanish proverb–“Tell me who you walk with, and I’ll tell you who you are”–Gimenez, organizer of the Oct. 22 America for Jesus (AFJ) rally in Washington, D.C., said he hopes Christians will continue to walk together as “watchmen” in prayer, and then work together to reclaim American culture.

He says in order for the nation to be healthy, prayer needs to be returned to schools, a marriage amendment must be passed and Christians must gain more influence in such secular strongholds as the media. At the AFJ rally, Gimenez gathered evangelical and charismatic leaders from across the country, as well as nationally known musicians, including pastor Donnie McClurkin, entertainer Pat Boone and the worship band Starfield.

AFJ leaders reported some 25,000 attendees, but said thousands more in the United States, Europe, Asia, Africa, South America and Australia joined in prayer while watching satellite broadcasts.

“We were few, but we were committed,” Gimenez told Charisma. “We prayed in dozens of languages and we prayed: ‘Lord, save our nation. Bring righteousness back to the forefront.'”

Gimenez said the focus of the event was not on promoting a particular candidate but on encouraging Christians to seek righteousness and to pray that God would “exalt [His] name and the one [He] wants to rule.” He’s already looking toward the 2008 presidential election, when he may organize another rally urging Christians to cross denominational and racial lines to support the candidate who promotes righteousness.

“We have a problem in the church, and that is division, but little by little we are coming together,” said Gimenez, who founded The Rock Church in Virginia Beach, Va., with his wife, Anne, and organized three previous prayer rallies. The couple’s 1988 Washington for Jesus rally is said to have drawn more than 1 million participants.

“If we can be one, we can bring healing to the nation, we can turn things around, we can have a bright future for our children,” he added.

It is a point that was echoed by nearly everyone in attendance. Ted Haggard, president of the National Association of Evangelicals and a speaker at the AFJ rally, said the church is more united than it has been in several years.

“Evangelicals are more united than ever before,” he said. “We fragmented with the Protestant Reformation and continue to fragment … which gives us different flavors in the body. Now there is a high degree of relational camaraderie between the leaders of evangelicalism, and so you look at the platform here at America for Jesus you see every ethnic group imaginable here praying together, and that’s a wonderful thing.”

Emphasizing the importance of unity, McClurkin gave a stirring rendition of songwriter Rich Mullins’ classic “Awesome God,” singing its popular chorus in German and Russian.

“Our nation was built on godly principles, godly intention–that’s how our founders structured the framework of this country,” McClurkin said.

“My prayer for this nation is that [we] would go back to God, the true and living God, and that we would come to grips with the fact that you cannot extract God from the very fabric of the society that He built. Stop running from the very one that calls us into being as a nation. Turn back to God and allow Him to bring about change.”
Chris Pettit in Washington, D.C.

Pastor Wesley Campbell says personal revival should motivate believers to reach out to the world’s poor and needy
A Canadian pastor is calling for Christians touched by renewal to translate their passion into activism for children worldwide who are plagued by poverty, exploitation and war.

Wesley Campbell, who co-founded New Life Church in Kelowna, British Columbia, with his wife, Stacey, has focused his international renewal ministry on teaching Christians how to pray for and rescue children at risk, particularly the fatherless and the poor.

“After experiencing the Toronto renewal, while people were being touched and blessed and bearing fruit, I saw little being harvested for the poorest of the poor–specifically the children,” Campbell told Charisma.

In Be a Hero: The Battle for Mercy and Social Justice, Campbell and co-author Stephen Court, a captain in The Salvation Army who lives and ministers with his family in the poorest neighborhood of Vancouver, British Columbia, reveal simple strategies to transform personal revival into public action.

Campbell says heroes don’t need a superhuman gift or a flashy uniform. They simply must take action by praying for the poor, investing in the life of a child through child sponsorship, starting or supporting a project working with children, advocating for the “invisible” people so that they become visible to others, or participating in short-term missions trips.

“The whole thrust for mercy and justice for children rose out of the prophetic renewal my church experienced in 1988 when the Holy Spirit came on the leadership in great power, and people started prophesying specific themes about where God would take us in ministry,” Campbell told Charisma. “That experience resulted in a burst of salvations in Kelowna and pushed us into the prayer movement.”

That prayer movement led Campbell to delve deep into Scripture to discover the power of praying biblical prayers aloud daily. With his wife, Campbell compiled what he learned into a book titled Praying the Bible: The Book of Prayers. The manual guides readers into praying some 88 prayers, including the prayers of Jesus, the psalms, prayers of the apostles and prophets, and others.

“David’s psalms talk about the mercy of God for the refugee, widow and orphan, about God’s heart for the poor,” Campbell said. “He became passionate about what God loves as a result of meditating on Scripture and ended up writing many psalms expressing the heart of God for the poor. As we continued to pray the Bible, stare at God, look at attributes of God, those attributes came into our spirit and moved us out into ministry.”

Campbell says the natural outgrowth of revival is faith that changes societies. Past Christian heroes established hospitals and universities, provided literacy and education for the masses, spearheaded the abolition of slavery, fought for the dignity of women and children, and built organizations focusing on charity and the sanctity of life.

After being dramatically touched by the Holy Spirit, Campbell and several other leaders in New Life Church launched ministries that take the power of the Holy Spirit into the streets. New Life founded the Society of Hope, which has built 350 subsidized housing units, assisted single-parent families and offered progressive employment opportunities.

Church leader Ralph Bromley later launched Hope for the Nations and built more than 50 homes in 20 countries to care for orphans. Worship leader David Ruis, once a leader at New Life, uses his music and Los Angeles-based ministry to share his own expression of prophetic mercy and justice.

Daniel Germain, who was discipled by Campbell during that time, started a ministry called Quebec Kid’s Breakfast Club, which feeds thousands of children and is currently expanding internationally.

Today, Campbell’s ministry is focused on raising up heroes who will pray and minister to the world’s poor and needy children. In their book, Campbell and Court explain the “seven deadly sins” facing children in the most need–extreme poverty, slave labor, orphanage, sexual trafficking, war, religious persecution, and AIDS and other diseases. It also lists groups reaching out to them in hopes that readers will support their work.
Julia C. Loren

The nation’s leading jockey uses his fame as a platform to share Christ within the horse-racing industry

At 4 feet, 11 inches and 106 pounds, Pat Day stands tall, sharing his faith unashamedly to the horse racing community and fans alike.

“Christianity to me is not a way of life, it is life,” he said. “My heart’s desire is to share that wonderful news.”

He points to Christ in media interviews, while among jockeys and track employees, and at public speaking events sponsored by the Rack Track Chaplaincy of America Inc. (RTCA). Always pressured for autographs he writes, God loves you. John 3:16 alongside his signature.

Day’s professional credits earned him a coveted berth in the Racing Hall of Fame in 1991. An ex-rodeo cowboy, he joined the thoroughbred racing circuit in 1973. At 50 years old, he has collected more than 8,700 victories and is the leading active jockey in North America. His winning purses top $290 million.

Day learned long ago that scaling the pinnacle of success does not gain contentment. “I had fame and fortune and all that the world had to offer,” he said. “I discovered that it was very hollow and short-lived.”

Jostled out of a deep sleep in Miami in 1984, he turned on the television in his hotel room. His eyes collided with evangelist Jimmy Swaggart pleading with the audience to receive Christ. “I just got down on my knees and wept and invited Jesus Christ into my life,” Day said. “My life changed radically and instantaneously. I had come to the conclusion that the moment I accepted Christ the chains had been broken. I had been set free from the addiction to drugs and alcohol.”

In 1985 his wife, Sheila, became a born-again Christian.

Day considered leaving the racing circuit. “As I baby in Christ I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do or where I was supposed to go,” he said.

Pursuing a seminary degree and becoming a minister were serious options. He shared his dilemma with an RTCA chaplain. Together they searched the Scriptures and prayed for God’s direction. “And through that process the Lord revealed to me that He saved me to work within the [racing] industry and not to leave it,” Day said.

Some jockeys knocked his conversion as a religious fad. “They called me a Jesus freak and Bible thumper,” Day recalled.

But today he is a respected role model with a national reputation. “Pat is willing to help people,” said Robert Landry, a veteran jockey. “He lets people know he believes, but he doesn’t bother you about it. He’s a great inspiration to young riders.”

Christians have criticized Day for working in a field that abets gambling and have chided him for riding on Sundays. “I don’t have any problem doing what I sense and believe God would have me to do,” said Day, who attends Northeast Christian Church in Louisville, Ky.

Besides sharing Christ in his daily walk, Day is RTCA’s chief spokesperson to the racing industry. He recently launched an annual RTCA tour of racetracks, where he meets fans, participates in media promotions and shares his testimony. “Because of this tour Christ’s name has appeared on a lot of sports pages,” said Ed Donnally, a spokesman for RTCA ().

The association oversees 50 chaplains in 80 racetracks and training centers in the United States and Canada. About 20 of them represent Pentecostal denominations, including eight from the Assemblies of God (AG). “Salvation is at the forefront of what we do,” Donnally said. “We hope to bring in 25,000 decisions for Christ in the next five years within the horse racing industry.”

Racetrack chaplains minister to a forgotten and unchurched subculture of grooms, hot walkers, exercise riders, starting gate crews and trainers. Danger, low pay, long hours, boredom, loneliness, alcohol abuse and drugs are all part of the scene. “There’s a city behind every racetrack of 800 to 2,500 people,” says Alvin Worthley, director of AG Chaplaincy Ministries. “Many don’t leave the racetrack. The church has to come to them.”

Instead of reveling in success, Day leverages it as a platform for evangelism. “The only thing that I can take credit for is the desire to serve God,” he said. “Everything I have and all that I am is by the grace of God.”
Peter K. Johnson

The Canadian province has allowed independent tribunals to employ the Islamic legal code since October 2003
A 1,400-year-old Islamic system of family and business law that was approved without public fanfare in Ontario in October 2003 is now under review by the province’s government.

After several women’s- and human-rights groups decried Ontario’s use of Shariah law, which they say can be unfair and dangerous to women and children, the province’s Ministry of the Attorney General ordered a review of the Arbitration Act. The 1991 legislation enables independent tribunals from various religions to arbitrate matters of family and business law according to their beliefs and customs.

Though the Jewish community also uses the act, criticism has mostly been levied against Muslims. Opponents say in extreme cases, Shariah law has permitted Muslim men to beat their wives, divorce them for not having sex on demand and gain uncontested custody of children over a certain age.

Still others worry that the law is a ploy for Muslims to gain a greater influence in Canadian society in hopes of establishing political Islam. Homa Arjoman, a transitional counselor for immigrant Muslim women in Toronto, is spearheading the International Campaign to Stop Shariah Courts in Canada, where she estimates the population of Muslims is between 600,000 to 800,000 people. Most live in Ontario.

“Whenever the population of Muslims increases in a geographical area, it’s part of the Muslim mandate to run their own ‘state’ within the secular state,” said Arjoman, who fled Iran in 1989 for fear of execution after serving as a women’s-rights activist.

Ontario, which has a Muslim community numbering 420,000, is the first place in the world other than Muslim-run countries to utilize Shariah law. British Columbia is also considering allowing independent Shariah law tribunals.

Although the decision of the tribunal can be appealed through the Canadian court system, opponents say the likelihood is small that a Muslim woman would do so because of the pressure put upon her to be a “good Muslim.”

“The shame and shunning a Muslim woman who ‘goes against the flow’ faces from her own family and community is so great that most of them don’t want to risk losing everything that’s important and will often stay in abusive, controlling relationships because of this,” Arjoman said.

She cites the situation of one woman in her caseload who, since the introduction of the Shariah arbitration board, was divorced by her husband because she couldn’t have sex with him. The woman, who is in the advanced stages of cancer, was declared divorced and thrown out of the house along with her six children in the middle of the night. Her husband married another woman three days later and now has custody of the couple’s six children, while his former wife is dying in a Toronto hospital.

“We don’t believe in Shariah law because Canadian law is just and fair,” said Alia Hogben, head of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women and a former women’s social worker. “There’s enough research that demonstrates that none of these laws have been fair to women.”

Abused women who fled their native lands to experience equality in Canada are afraid their husbands will track them down if they hear Shariah courts have been legalized in Ontario, said Maged El Shafie, president of One Free World International, a Christian human-rights organization.

“Shariah law is evil, and it is dangerous because it’s a stepping stone to the potential establishment of an Islamic state in the West,” said El Shafie, an Egyptian Christian who found political refuge in Canada after being tortured for his faith in Egypt. “It’s also a threat to Jews and Christians because the Quran states clearly that Muslims should not take Jews or Christians as friends or business associates.”

Janet Epp-Buckingham, counsel for the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, says her group is carefully monitoring the issue. “It’s a cause for concern when the Web site of the Canadian Society of Muslims says that the push for Shariah law in Ontario is part of a larger plan for this law to become more prominent in Canada,” she told Charisma.

“A number of family lawyers in Toronto have mentioned that it’s making a big difference to their practices because more and more issues amongst Muslims are being resolved at the Shariah tribunal.”
Josie Newman in Toronto