BOOKS

Light Force
By Brother Andrew and Al Janssen,
Revell, hardcover, 330 pages, $.

In the presence of deadly force, Brother Andrew, “God’s Smuggler,” moves fearlessly throughout the Middle East with a Bible in each hand and a “light force” by his side. Historic in its telling and inspirational in its reading, Light Force: A Stirring Account of the Church Caught in the Middle East Crossfire is a reminder that the Holy Land may be the most overlooked mission field in the world today. By way of enlightenment, then, Brother Andrew details his fight to equip the church that is struggling to survive in this deeply divided field of war.

From Lebanon and the Gaza Strip and the West Bank to Jerusalem, Brother Andrew serves God’s purposes with divine favor and blessed determination. In this story, we begin to see the Spirit-filled wisdom of Matthew 10:23: “When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”
J. James Estrada

True Prosperity
By James Robison, Tyndale House
Publishers, hardcover, 176 pages, $.

Have nothing or have it all–these are the two extremes seen in the church, author and TV personality James Robison writes. In the simply titled True Prosperity, Robison examines the Scriptures for God’s perspective on this divisive issue.

In sharing his life story, Robison reveals that he, “a boy born as the product of a forced sexual relationship and raised in poverty,” has learned that being raised in a dysfunctional family doesn’t relegate a person to a lack of success for the rest of his life. Despite his beginnings, he never believed that God had overlooked him.

Using his story and the examples of many others, Robison puts prosperity in biblical context, explaining that it is not something he seeks; rather, he seeks God’s will and “prosperity finds me.” Though he and his wife, Betty, always have lived below their means and have achieved a measure of financial wealth, he writes: “Possessing things is not the issue. It is when our things possess us that they become a problem.”

In True Prosperity, Robison has achieved what he set out to do–bring biblical balance to what has long been a hot-button issue in the church.
Christine D. Johnson

Watcher
By Marilyn Hickey, Harrison House,
softcover, 288 pages, $.

There are certain things the enemy simply does not want the believer to know. Darkness and confusion cannot stand the clear light of truth invading its preferred and pervasive dens of ignorance and indifference.

However, Marilyn Hickey has learned a thing or two in 30 years of ministry. Her latest book, Watcher: Are You Ready for His Return? inspects end-time truths and includes topics never-before specified for the Christian.

We discover Bible “love” is absent in the Quran, but God has a plan for Muslims. The heavenly Father’s call for revival in the Islamic world is unveiled by examination of Isaiah and Jeremiah. Find yourself in one of three places: the overcoming church, the lukewarm church or the tribulation church. Solve the Revelation timeline. Learn the names of the Antichrist, the counterfeit of Jesus.

Avoid being a last-days scoffer by transforming ritual into relationship. Watcher will keep you focused.
J. James Estrada

MUSIC

Nothing Without You
By Smokie Norful, EMI Gospel.

Smokie Norful became a household name with his megahit “I Need You Now.” Receiving airplay on gospel and mainstream radio stations alike, the song catapulted this young man to the title of Billboard’s No. 1 Gospel Artist of 2003 and saw him racking up award after award for the phenomenal debut CD.

Well, Norful is back with his sophomore project, a new collection of songs titled Nothing Without You. Many will enjoy the riveting opening cut “Power.” Reminiscent of the classic ’70s sound, this song showcases Norful’s ability to merge the old with the new, all while giving praise to God.

Making sure to provide us with some Sunday-morning church, cuts such as “Worthy” and “I Understand” beckon the listener to sing along with hands lifted. “God Is Able,” one of the most moving cuts on this project, showcases Norful at his best–with an emotive vocal delivery and simply a piano and strings.

Taking us back to the old-time church, Norful also includes the classics “I Know the Lord Will Make a Way” and “Can’t Nobody Do Me Like Jesus.” Music great George Duke provides the CD’s title track, a beautiful love song to the Lord.

Other well-known producers include brothers Cedric and Victor Caldwell, Alex Asaph Ward, Myron Butler, Tommy Sims and Percy Bady. “Continuous Grace,” with its uplifting message and powerful choir vocals, is certain to be sung in choir stands everywhere. This 12-track CD closes with the poignant “Healing in His Tears.”

Nothing Without You is a powerful collage of inspirational tunes and solidifies Smokie Norful’s place in gospel music.
René Williams

Clean
By Shane & Shane, Inpop Records.

Shane Bernard and Shane Everett, known as Shane & Shane, follow up their last disc, the stripped-down Upstairs, with a new pop offering titled Clean. The duo, delivering a theme focusing on redemption, new beginnings and a celebration of God’s grace, use their talented vocals in acoustic-led praise on 11 memorable tracks.

The tempos range from the pop-rock sounds of “Fringes” and “Saved by Grace” to the mellower message of “Acres of Hope” and “Yearn.” Along with original tunes, Shane & Shane breathe new life into Twila Paris’ standard “He Is Exalted” and the familiar praise song “There Is None Like You.”

“God Did” delivers an important message about looking holy versus being holy. The disc closes with the simple praise of “Your Grace Is Sufficient.”

With their voices conveying the passion behind their words, Shane & Shane showcase more of the music that made their previous releases such noteworthy efforts. Clean should be a welcome listen for fans of earthy, organic worship.
DeWayne Hamby

Gloria
By various artists, Rocketown Records.

Imagine if the Rocketown Records family of artists were throwing a Christmas party complete with new music under the direction of Scott Dente and their buddy Charlie Peacock at Peacock’s Art House studios. Gloria, a multi-artist holiday collection, requires a little less preparation than that actual party but nonetheless delivers the same personal feel. The project features acoustic and pop renderings of mostly original material and a few classics.

Watermark’s Christy Nockels could sing “Happy Birthday” and make it sound like a new song, so it’s no surprise that her powerful rendition of “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” shines as one of the highlights of this disc. Also, the extremely underrated Cindy Morgan delivers a jazz-flavored “Follow That Star.” Shaun Groves and George Rowe blend their voices together on the organic sounds of “O Come, All Ye Faithful.”

The bluesy folk of “Love Came Just in Time” is a departure from more traditional sounds, but Taylor Sorenson and Alathea create a great musical moment. Christine Dente’s “Christmas Kind of Feeling,” on the other hand, is an instant classic that seems destined for a TV special. Guest Amy Grant also pitches in to deliver the Christmas praise “God Is With Us.”

The Rocketown family has blended themselves together well to create a holiday offering that could be a yearly listening tradition for many.
DeWayne Hamby

When He Came
By Martha Munizzi,
Martha Munizzi Music.

Although previously well-known in contemporary Christian music and Christian conference circles, Martha Munizzi has recently experienced phenomenal success in the gospel community. Her previous project, The Best Is Yet to Come, peaked at No. 2 on Billboard’s Top Gospel chart and saw the praise and worship artist’s ministry expand to epic proportions.

The songwriter of “Say the Name,” “Shout” and “Because of Who You Are” (recorded by Munizzi as well as Vicki Yohe) decided to hit while the iron is hot, delivering a new Christmas project titled When He Came. Her first studio project contains a diverse collection of revamped traditional favorites and new holiday picks.

A funky rendition of “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” and the original song “White Christmas,” penned by Munizzi and fellow praise and worship artist Israel Houghton of Israel and New Breed, are two standouts. Rousing remakes of “O Come, All Ye Faithful” and “O Little Town of Bethlehem” are made extra special with Munizzi’s soulful and reverent flair.

The gospel-flavored “His Name Shall Be Called” will certainly find you clapping your hands and rejoicing. One of the most stirring offerings on the 10-track CD is a medley of two Christmas favorites “Silent Night” and “Away in a Manger,” featuring Munizzi’s children on background vocals.

Other great cuts include the beautiful title tune, “When He Came,” the urban-tinged “Peace on Earth” and “My Only Wish,” a song about the greatest gift of all.

The combination of a powerful voice, touching songs and impressive production make for a great mix and a perfect gift for under the tree.
René Williams

A13-month singing tour, a two-month missions trip and work on a new album left Rebecca St. James exhausted. She thought living on her own would be a time of spiritual refreshing and renewal. Instead God was silent, and she felt lonely and disillusioned.

“I had kind of bought into that feminist mentality that you’ve got to do it yourself, don’t rely on anyone, be independent. I felt myself closing over, shutting off, becoming cold and hard.”

Her pastor challenged her to trust God and reach out for community. She realized she was not the only woman to feel this way. “The feminist movement was very beneficial … but it was also very damaging in our attitudes towards men, in our buying into this over-independent mentality, in the area of beauty … in the area of intimacy. … Even our understanding of what it means to connect with other people has been hurt.”

Offering a biblical approach to womanhood, St. James with Lynda Hunter Bjorklund wrote SHE (Tyndale House). They explore the truths concerning protection, intimacy, femininity, beauty, purity, freedom, mentorship, boundaries and purpose.

St. James says: “We’ve got to abandon every area of struggle to Him. … [The book] kind of says: ‘This is what you’re feeling. We’re coming along beside you. We’ve felt this. There’s hope. … Go to Him for your answers. In all these nine areas let’s together go to God and trust Him.'”
Leigh DeVore

CHARISMATIC TOP SELLERS

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

2. My Spiritual Inheritance
Juanita Bynum (Charisma House)

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

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

5. The Three Battlegrounds
Francis Frangipane
(Arrow Publications)

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

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

8. The Battle Belongs to the Lord
Joyce Meyer (Warner Faith)

9. Heaven
Jesse Duplantis (Harrison House)

10. Prison to Praise

Merlin R. Carothers
(Merlin R. Carothers)

Jonathan Maracle, a Mohawk from Canada, is breaking musical ground with his Christian recordings
Jonathan Maracle used to gyrate his hips and strut across concert stages singing the AC/DC song “Highway to Hell.” Hooked on drugs and alcohol, he almost permanently ruined his voice during the early 1980s by screaming his lyrics while high on cocaine.

But one night Maracle remembered something his evangelist father told him: “Son, when your back is against the wall, call on Jesus.”

That’s exactly what he did in 1985. After losing a record deal in Los Angeles, Maracle considered suicide but instead prayed and gave his heart to Christ. Two weeks later he reconciled with his parents and eventually began a unique ministry that is touching hundreds of Native people in the United States, Canada and beyond.

“Native people have been given a gospel tainted by man’s opinions,” Maracle said. “It’s my job to change that.”

Maracle sings for Jesus today, but his music doesn’t fit in the typical contemporary Christian mold. He uses Native drums, flutes and rattles as well as guitars, and his colorful beads, feathers and fringed shirts complement his Mohawk hairstyle. Some of his songs are in Native languages and include piercing yelps and war cries.

Maracle’s message is pure gospel–yet the popularity of his band, Broken Walls, is growing as more Native people hear about its new sound. Based in Tyendinaga Territory in Ontario, near Toronto, Broken Walls has performed in churches, schools and other venues on dozens of reservations, including among the Onondaga, Navajo, Salish, Mi’kmaq, Apache, Kiowa, Ojibwa and Iroquois tribes.

What makes Maracle’s music so unique is that he is not afraid to blend the gospel with the rich cultural heritage of Native life.

“There’s nothing that reaches a Native person more than for them to know that God loves them the way they are,” he said, noting that in the past many white missionaries told Indians they had to get rid of their Native clothing and jewelry in order to be Christians. This stripped Native people of their dignity, he maintained.

“Native people have been given such a bad example of the church of Jesus Christ that they call it a white man’s religion,” he added.

Maracle, 49, has big shoes to fill as an evangelist. His father, Andrew Maracle, who died in 1999, was a pioneer in Native ministry for the Assemblies of God. His brother, Ross, started the National Native Bible College in Ontario. Their cousin, John Maracle, is active in Native evangelism as well.

But Jonathan Maracle’s decision to embrace Native culture and musical styles has set him apart from his family and stirred controversy within the Native Christian community. Some Native church leaders don’t allow drums or other instruments to be used in worship–a position that upsets Maracle.

“Some folks won’t allow a Native drum in a church, but they will allow a set of Japanese drums with the name ‘Yamaha’ on them,” he said during a recent concert in North Dakota. “So ‘Buddhist’ drums are OK?”

Some critics have even accused Maracle of syncretism–claiming that he mixes Christianity with paganism. But Maracle stands his ground and says there is nothing inherently evil about feathers, wooden flutes or the large drum he beats during concerts with two other musicians, Kris DeLorenzi and Jeremy Radawiec.

“The drum transcends words,” said Radawiec, 22, who is part Cree. “A Native person is deeply touched by the drum because it touches their core identity.”

The drum is so important, in fact, that Broken Walls released a new recording in October that contains only drum solos. Besides 2004 Broken Walls Drum: Created to Worship, Maracle has released five other recordings and sells them on his Web site, .

Drums are especially effective when Maracle brings a Native dance team with him. Dressed in colorful tribal outfits, the dancers lift their hands and praise Jesus while using typical Native movements. Such performances attract unchurched Native people and sometimes result in conversions.

At one church on a Hopi reservation in Arizona, 50 people made professions of faith in Christ at a Broken Walls concert. Maracle also regularly takes his message to Pikangikum, a remote Native village in Ontario that has the highest per capita suicide rate in the world.

“I can’t stand to see the funerals of all these Native young people who have killed themselves,” said Maracle, lamenting the fact that reservations have chronic problems with alcoholism, drug abuse and suicide. “They are precious people who haven’t been given a chance.”

Maracle intends to give them that chance. And when they give their lives to Christ he will not force them to renounce their ethnic identity.
J. Lee Grady in Devil’s Lake, N.D.

MUSIC

Made Me Glad
By Michael Neale, Integrity Music.

Serving as worship leader for Christ Fellowship in West Palm Beach, Florida, places Michael Neale in front of a fast-growing congregation of 18,000 every week. Though he has released independent recordings, Made Me Glad is an Integrity Music debut. Recorded live at Dayspring Church in Mobile, Alabama, the disc begins with a rousing celebration of God’s goodness and moves into a passionate time of dedication.

“Only a God Like You” is high-energy worship, featuring infectious music and the inspiring message that “Only a God like You deserves my praise.” Neale breathes new life into the classic “Blessed Be the Lord God Almighty.”

The title cut is a popular modern worship tune, but Neale does a great job of making it his own. “All That I Am” is a touching new track of dedication: “I am broken at Your feet, O God / Father, take everything in me.”

Neale ably leads the worship team and congregation through the praise journey and projects an excitement about the material he’s using. The upbeat spirit of Made Me Glad, along with a great collection of songs, will give listeners plenty to smile about.
Dewayne Hamby

Out the Box
By Tonéx, Verity Records.

Tonéx, one of gospel’s most talented, versatile and eccentric characters, recently released the two-disc, 36-track CD set Out the Box. Although he now presents a toned-down image, he still pushes the musical envelope with a diverse collection of inspirational and groundbreaking music.

His flexibility is highlighted on such cuts as the rock-oriented, guitar-driven “The Trust Theory” and the catchy “Doesn’t Really Matter.” Tonéx incorporates mainstream sampling such as The Jackson 5’s “Dance Machine” on “Alive,” the theme to Family Feud on the track “Games,” and the theme to the sitcom Taxi on the song “Taxi.”

Other standout tracks include the ragtime-colored “Work on Me,” the rock-driven “The Children’s Bread,” the smooth jazz-tinged “Why?” and the horn-textured “Believer.” The Latin festive “Todos Juntos,” the worshipful tracks “God Is Love” and “Your Word” are just a few of the strong cuts included in this set.

Not afraid to tackle real-life issues, Tonéx touches on financial woes, religious freedom and homosexuality. Not only does this set include music, but throughout the collection the artist also includes his own sermonic selections.

Fans will appreciate the artist’s live renditions of hits such as “Personal Jesus,” “God Has Not 4Got” and “Real With U.” He also brings in Yolanda Adams, Kirk Franklin and Sheila E. as featured guests. Tonéx is undoubtedly one of gospel’s most exciting players, and this project seals him as more than a fly-by-night sensation.
René Williams

For All You’ve Done
By Hillsong Music, Integrity Music.

With millions of units sold in the United States as well as the songs’ integration into worship in churches around the country, the Hillsong worship series has become known for original and engaging worship tunes. The newest release, For All You’ve Done, is a double-disc set that features more of their polished praise in a live setting.

Fifteen tracks are spread out on the double discs, which allows the songs a little more breathing room. While worship leader Darlene Zschech and others are featured on the release, the sound of a 500-voice choir joining in conveys a more congregational worship feel for the listener.

As in previous releases, the group mixes traditional praise with rock and pop leanings on songs such as the upbeat “One Way,” the celebration of the title track and the infectious “Forever and a Day.” More melodic tunes such as “Hallelujah,” “Glorify Your Name” and “With All That I Am” round out the experience.

If Hillsong’s 13th live album is any indication, the worship team shows no signs of slowing down in delivering the best in modern worship music.
Dewayne Hamby

BOOKS

My Spiritual Inheritance
By Juanita Bynum, Charisma House,
Hardcover, 256 pages, $.

Best-selling author of Matters of the Heart and No More Sheets, Juanita Bynum delivers a strong call to walk in obedience to God and submit to spiritual authority in her latest release, My Spiritual Inheritance.

Her language is personal and specific in pointing out the tangible sides by which we come to know our spiritual authority. Readers will appreciate the detail of coverage and close scriptural support for realizing our spiritual destiny through walking obediently with God. As a result, Bynum helps us see that the moral and spiritual decline of the church and society will be counteracted.

She writes boldly, “God wants us to walk us through the process of inheriting morality, stability, integrity, and right standing with God and man from our spiritual parents.” She witnesses that too many babies in Christ are missing out on the portions that God has set aside for them by failing to find their spiritual authority. Her intention in this book is to map out the means for recognizing and submitting to one’s spiritual parents.

One thing that sets this book apart is that Bynum addresses her remarks specifically to a charismatic audience of believers. A gifted prophetess, she leads the reader on the journey to spiritual inheritance with wisdom, and Bynum herself becomes a spiritual parent. It is a must-have for those seeking a right relationship with God in the here and now–thus enjoying heaven’s abundance right here on Earth.

Pamela Robinson

Muslims Next Door
By Shirin Taber, Zondervan,
Softcover, 144 pages, $.

This is a vitally important book for Christians. Zeal without wisdom is detrimental and this book will impart the necessary wisdom to help Christians have a more fruitful outreach to Muslim friends, neighbors and co-workers.

Author Shirin Taber has a unique perspective because her father is an Iranian Muslim and her mother was an American Catholic. Her mother died during Taber’s teens, and her mother’s Christian friend and neighbor reached out to help during the time of crisis. Needless to say the neighbor made an eternal impact on Taber’s life and was instrumental in introducing her to Christ.

Taber understands firsthand what it means to grow up in America with a Middle Eastern heritage in the shadow of September 11. She gives helpful insight into matters of hospitality, dress, courtship, education and conversation.

She also warns against stereotypes and paints a broader picture of what it means to be a Muslim in Western counties. She states that books pointing out the differences between Islam and Christianity are important. But she reminds us that it’s vital to know what we have in common and how we can relate respectfully to the Muslim next door.
Deborah L. Delk

Under God
By Toby Mac and Michael Tait
Bethany House Publishers, softcover,

384 pages, $.

Did you know that Benjamin Franklin petitioned the first U.S. Congress to abolish slavery? Or that Thomas Jefferson’s similar proposal fell one vote short of passage and left slavery to wreak its venom another 63 years? Did you know that the “under God” phrase was first introduced by Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg in 1863?

Maybe you did know these things, but a new, easy-to-read volume contains fascinating accounts of heroes and heroines who aren’t so well-known.

Under God, by dc Talk’s Toby Mac and Michael Tait, is the Book of Virtues for “His-story” enthusiasts desiring a deeper understanding of America’s enduring faith and triumphal liberty. The 60 stories compiled (each can be read in less than five minutes) reveal that the story of America is the story of Americans who reached heights and shined the light and, at other times, ceded to darkness and stumbled.
J. James Estrada

NEWS

T.D. Jakes Releases
Mainstream Movie

Bishop T.D. Jakes, best-selling author, pastor and the force behind the recent Mega Fest conference in Atlanta, adapted his popular book Woman, Thou Art Loosed! to a stage play, conference and, most recently, for the big screen.
In October, Woman, Thou Art Loosed: The Movie was scheduled to open on more than 500 screens.

The film () centers on Michelle Jordan (Kimberly Elise, The Manchurian Candidate). Bad decisions, addiction, poverty and an apathetic mother land Jordan on death row. While incarcerated, Jordan asks Jakes (played by himself) to visit her. Through their conversation Jordan’s real story unfolds–one of sexual abuse, pain, healing and forgiveness.

Recognizable actors such as Loretta Devine (The Preacher’s Wife), Debbi Morgan (All My Children), Clifton Powell (Rush Hour) and others make the story realistic and riveting. The message of Christ is woven throughout, yet it is a movie unchurched people would feel comfortable viewing.

Though the film is rated R, the language and violence are not vulgar or overbearing. Jakes defends the film’s rating. “The Bible is violent when Amnon rapes his sister Tamar,” he says.

“The woman caught in the very act of adultery and dragged before Jesus is R-rated. … Too often, Christian films fail in the court of the world’s opinion because they fall short of what the world knows to be true, and audiences reject them as idealistic and preachy.”

Jakes says the church is the perfect place to promote such a film because “abuse statistics don’t stop or even drop at the church door. This movie has a mission to and through the church. When we turn the light on things that happen in the dark, we must also be ready to face the heinous realities among us and minister to both victims and perpetrators.”
René Williams

Since his days as co-host of Entertainment Tonight John Tesh has been hosting his radio show, leading worship at the church he and his wife, actress Connie Selleca, attend and making Christian music. Tesh returned to Red Rocks in Denver to record his latest release, Worship at Red Rocks. He calls his debut Red Rocks album “his first true intimate worship experience with the Holy Spirit.”

“We never should have been able to get it taped [because of rain], and it never should have become a PBS special. … But it did all those things. When God has His hand on something, it just jumps through hoops. … I wanted to go back and be even more honest by doing worship music there.”

Growing up Methodist, it wasn’t until Tesh met Selleca, who invited him to her church, that he got to know Jesus personally. He realized life isn’t about being popular but “about having an afterlife; and it’s only going to happen with your faith in Jesus.”

Tesh wants his music to encourage people to live a worshipful life all the time, not just on Sundays, so they can reach others. He says: “Christians have to be careful not to get trapped in their churches. … We’re hiding in these megachurches, and people from the outside world are seeing Christians meeting together and closing everybody out.

“Church is a training ground for you to go out into the world. … Take what you learn in that church, go out and be wisdom, salt and light in the areas where you’re needed.”
Mark Weber

Christians must have the highest standards of righteousness.
To anyone who has read the recent press reports, it’s obvious that Paul Crouch is the victim of attempted extortion. A convicted felon with a history of child molestation and drug abuse accused Crouch of sexual harassment in 1996. I believe the charge is bogus.

First, the alleged incident had no witnesses. Second, the accuser has zero credibility, whereas Crouch has a lifetime of ministry achievements to his credit. Third, Crouch has never been accused of sexual misconduct at any other time, and since this accusation was made public, no one has come forward with other charges. Finally, he has denied this charge in the strongest way possible in court and to other Christian leaders.

So if Crouch is innocent, why did he pay his accuser $425,000? Crouch says it was to avoid embarrassment to the ministry he founded and loves, and because he believed the man would “go away.”

Sadly, the man didn’t. After receiving the huge settlement, he threatened to sell a biography he wrote to a publisher unless Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) paid him $10 million.

If that isn’t extortion, what is?

I believe Christians should rally around Crouch and TBN. If Crouch says he’s innocent, that’s good enough for me. He has years of credibility as a man of God.

It’s too early to tell what kind of long-term damage these charges will bring to TBN. Some Christians are quick to throw a brother in the pit at the first allegation. Yet it’s possible the man lied about what he says happened with Crouch.

God is the judge. If there was wrongdoing, He will expose it.

Meanwhile, each of us must judge ourselves. What is in our lives that is not pleasing to God? Self-assessment is especially important for large ministries with high visibility that often become a laughingstock for their showmanship and extravagance. That’s because what they do affects the rest of us in the body of Christ.

Long before the Los Angeles Times reported on the charges against Crouch, prophetic voices had been warning that a new season of judgment is coming to ministry leaders who don’t walk in righteousness. We’ve raised concerns in previous issues about ministries with a haphazard attitude toward divorce, remarriage and other lifestyle issues. Immorality in leadership is more common than any of us wants to admit.

God has brought down ministries before that lacked integrity. Consider Robert Tilton, Larry Lea and Praise the Lord (PTL)–the ministries they had no longer exist.

If anything, the media buzz over the accusations against Crouch should be a warning to other ministries in which unrighteousness exists. Surely the media realize the attack against Crouch is extortion. But they seem to take great delight in rehashing reports of extravagant living, well-stocked wine cellars and behavior unbecoming to Christians–especially those in leadership.

I know Satan would like to bring down an effective ministry such as TBN that is beaming the gospel into places not otherwise reached. But I also believe God is judging His church. The fact that a ministry is big and successful doesn’t mean it is blessed by God–and success is not a license to do whatever the leadership wants to do regarding money, morality, pride or arrogance.

This is a time for humility and repentance. All ministries are subject to media attention and attack. If it’s unwarranted, it will backfire on the media, just as the unfounded charges against President Bush backfired on CBS and Dan Rather.

But there is another side too. The Christian community must have the highest standards of righteousness among its leadership. At a time when there are so few values in the culture and a plethora of failed leaders in government and corporate America, we must live by a higher standard. Otherwise, how can the world look to Christians for answers?

If the unthinkable is true and Crouch did what his accuser says, then for the good of TBN and the larger body of Christ, Paul must step down. Otherwise, God cannot bless that ministry.

Let’s support Crouch and pray for him during what must be the most difficult time in his life. And let’s pray he discerns God’s will.

Churches and missions organizations have been reaching out to victims of the recent storms

Since a recent wave of hurricanes swept through the southeast United States and much of the Caribbean, Christians have been reaching out to their communities, sharing hot meals, water, ice and other relief. Leaders say church attendance has gone up as a result.

Covenant Centre International church in Palm Beach Springs, Fla., lost the roof and much of the interior of the building, forcing the church to rebuild from the ground up, pastor Norman Benz said.

“Florida has been hit hard, but I believe God is in control and this will result in a real move of God in our state and even nationwide,” he said. “Buildings are clothing for the ministry, but it’s really what God is doing in the lives of people that matters.”

Steve Lyons, a hurricane expert with The Weather Channel, told Charisma the 2004 season–which saw hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne rip through Florida from mid-August to September–is just slightly above normal. In a typical season, hurricanes form and then dissipate at sea, but this year storms are making landfall in the United States, primarily Florida, at an alarming rate.

In Pensacola, where Hurricane Ivan made landfall, churches have been rallying. Pastor Jody Herrington, assistant to the president at the Brownsville Revival School of Ministry, is leading relief efforts for Brownsville Assembly of God.

“God has used this [hurricane] to open the eyes and hearts of the community toward this church,” she said. “This is a moment for us to reach out to the community. The loudest gospel we can preach to them is to serve them.”

Herrington said scout teams are assessing damages in neighborhoods and then reporting back to the church so needed supplies and services can be provided. “We want them to see Jesus with skin on,” Herrington said.

Perdido Bay United Methodist Church, also in Pensacola, helped about 1,000 people per day after the storm hit Sept. 15, leaving many without food or a roof over their heads. “We’ve been able to offer security for people who have lost their security,” associate minister Rusty Glasgow said.

The church cared for two brothers who lost their homes, cars and jobs to Ivan. The young men packed their wives and children into their mother’s small house.

Central Chapel Worship Center joined with the American Red Cross to feed people and distribute supplies, even though the back of the church’s sanctuary was torn off by the storm. Senior pastor Tim Nail said at one point they were nearly out of food when a woman on the serving line prayed for God to provide. The next morning, five big trucks arrived loaded with food.

Pace Assembly of God became a key distribution point for aid, partnering with U.S. Army troops and federal relief agencies. As church members worked to help others, tragedy struck. Four key members–Bill Walther, Traves Neff, Cristy King and Daniel Wesley–died in a plane crash a week after Ivan hit.

Neff, who at the age of 26 was Continental Airlines’ youngest commercial pilot, wanted to perform an aerial assessment to help remote areas hurt by Ivan. The small, single-engine, four-seat Cessna crashed shortly after takeoff. Walther was a Pace Assembly staff member described as pastor Glyn Lowery Jr.’s “right-hand man.” King and Wesley, both 20, were raised in the church and due to be married in January.

Lowery was supposed to be on the flight but opted out at the last minute. He has been shaken by the tragedy but is comforted knowing his friends are in heaven. “I know they were doing what they wanted to do, and I know they wouldn’t come back for anything in this world,” he told Charisma.

Pensacola Mayor John Fogg, a committed Christian, told Charisma he’s encouraged by the outreach of area churches–many of them greatly affected themselves–and the strong sense of community that has developed in post-Ivan Pensacola. “I’m extremely optimistic that at the end of the day–and the end of the day may be a year or two down the road–we are going to be a better community because of this,” he said.

The four storms have taken a heavy toll. In addition to battering Pensacola, Hurricane Ivan ravaged Jamaica, killing 50 people and destroying more than 8,000 homes. In Haiti, the death toll was staggering–more than 3,000 dead and 200,000 homeless after Jeanne, then a tropical storm, ripped through the nation Sept. 17.

According to ASSIST News Service, an American Youth With A Mission (YWAM) staff member in Haiti said groups of needy people turned into angry mobs as relief aid was distributed. YWAM staff encountered one man who said the storm killed six people in his house. The man said he slept in a tree for two days, waiting for help.

Ann Briere, spokeswoman for Food for the Poor (
) based in Deerfield Beach, Fla., said the aid organization has been involved in hurricane relief in Jamaica, Granada, Grand Bahamas and Haiti.

In Granada, Briere said, 90 percent of the population of only 100,000 had their homes either destroyed or badly damaged. She said both Granada’s spice tree and tourism industries were critically damaged, crippling the economy.

Though the United States has suffered billions of dollars in damage, there are means to gain help from relief agencies, she said, unlike in Caribbean and Latin nations. “Those who haven’t traveled in the Third World don’t fully appreciate the lack of resources there,” she said.

Food for the Poor partners with local churches and organizations to distribute aid, helping pastors help their people, she said. “We believe we see Christ in all of the faces of the poor,” Briere said.

Springfield, Convoy of Hope () sent out quick-strike response teams to bring food, water and supplies immediately, sometimes the day after the hurricane. Randy Rich, vice president of administration and disaster response, said the organization delivered 169 semitrailer-loads of food and supplies weighing more than 6 million pounds to some 300,000 hurricane victims. “Our heart is to be a resource for churches reaching out to their neighborhoods,” Rich said.

Florida children, many still recovering from their own losses, are joining others from across the United States to provide shoe boxes filled with school supplies, candy and letters of encouragement to 7 million children worldwide, including many in Haiti and Granada.

“I know what it feels like to see just about everything you have swept away by a storm,” said 11-year-old Connor of Melbourne, Fla., which felt the impact of Charley, Frances and Jeanne. “I hope my shoe box gift makes another kid who’s lost a lot in the hurricanes feel better.”
Richard Daigle in Pensacola, Fla

Two Christian TV networks can no longer be seen on the nation’s second largest satellite TV provider.

Daystar and FamilyNet were removed from DISH Network Sept. 17 after an arbitration panel unanimously ruled that DISH’s parent company, EchoStar Communications Corp., must comply with a 1996 contract it made with Dominion Sky Angel, the nation’s only Christian direct-to satellite TV service.

The agreement forbids EchoStar from broadcasting any Christian channels on DISH Network besides Dominion’s Angel One network, and Trinity Broadcasting Network and Eternal Word Television Network, which were airing on DISH before the contract was made. Dominion also was awarded more than $3 million for past economic damages and legal fees, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.

The dispute stems from an April 2003 breach-of-contract lawsuit that Dominion filed against EchoStar after it began airing Daystar and FamilyNet. The networks fought to remain on DISH, which is said to reach 25 million homes, leading to a heated dispute between Daystar and Dominion in particular.

Roughly a month before the arbitration panel’s ruling, Dominion founder Robert W. Johnson Sr. died of heart failure Aug. 5 at the age 66. His son, Robert Johnson Jr., is serving as Dominion’s interim CEO.

“It is our desire to put this issue behind us and move forward in obedience to the vision that the Lord has given for this important work of ministry,” the younger Johnson said.

Before Daystar and FamilyNet were removed from DISH, Daystar founder Marcus Lamb said he hoped Dominion would “do not necessarily what is legally right, but what is spiritually and Scripturally right and allow Daystar and FamilyNet to stay on the DISH Network so we can continue to win souls on that secular platform.”

Though he said FamilyNet was disappointed with the ruling, Chip Turner, vice president of marketing and distribution, noted that his network had increased the number of cable outlets on which it is carried by 100 percent.

EchoStar spokesman Steve Caulk said the company believed the ruling was unjustified and planned to appeal.
Adrienne S. Gaines

Declaring that gay rights are not civil rights, some 160 black ministers urged Congress to support a marriage amendment

More than 160 African American pastors convened on Capitol Hill Sept. 8 to register their opposition to gay marriage and in the process publicly chided the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) for failing to meet with them to discuss the issue.

The Sept. 8 press conference was the culmination of a 24-hour summit sponsored by the Traditional Values Coalition (TVC), a conservative lobbying group based in Washington, D.C., and Strang Communications, which publishes Charisma magazine. The event was aimed at educating black ministers about the homosexual agenda and allowing them to voice their opposition to legislative attempts to legalize gay marriage.

Among the attendees were Bishop Paul S. Morton of the New Orleans-based Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship, California pastor Frederick K.C. Price, National Religious Broadcasters Chairman Glenn Plummer, Detroit pastor Marvin Winans and Church of God in Christ Bishop Samuel L. Green.

The pastors said their intent was not to bash homosexuals, but to oppose the assertion that the gay rights movement is a continuation of the civil rights struggle of the 1960s. They also expressed concern that gay marriage would threaten the stability of black families.

Recent statistics show that more than two-thirds of black babies are born to single parents, which pastors say only adds to the challenges of divorce, teen pregnancy, fatherlessness and the disproportionate number of HIV/AIDS cases in the black community.

“These trends should not be overlooked,” said a statement signed by most of the summit participants and presented to the CBC. “Further destabilization of traditional marriage must be prevented at all costs.”

The ministers’ effort to preserve traditional marriage, which translates into support for a constitutional amendment limiting marriage to heterosexual couples only, put them at odds with the CBC, many of whom have expressed their opposition to a marriage amendment.

When none of the CBC members showed up for a meeting scheduled before the press conference, the pastors took note. “Apparently, [the CBC] doesn’t respect God’s people enough to meet with us,” Morton told the media.

Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) and Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-Mich.) later addressed the pastors. Jefferson told Morton he would support a marriage amendment. But Kilpatrick said that though she opposed gay marriage, she did not want to open up the Constitution “under this current administration.”

Winans, who is from Michigan, was not deterred. “Anything short of an amendment … will be circumvented to allow gay marriage,” he said.

Despite their unity on gay marriage, the pastors were not all supporters of President Bush, though he opposes gay marriage. Some argued that the fight for a marriage amendment would take years and wouldn’t be won from the top down.

“The House must have two-thirds of the representatives in place,” Winans said. “It aids when you have a man at the top [who is sympathetic to a marriage amendment] … but again, the House of Representatives are from the ‘hood to represent people and vote in accordance to what the majority of people want.”

Others said supporting Kerry this month would send a conflicting message. “I could not vote for someone who was opposed to [traditional marriage],” Price said. “To me, you’re saying … that homosexuality is all right–especially when you say I have to bow my knee to it.”

In the coming year, additional summits are to be held across the country, culminating with a large meeting in Washington, D.C. More than once, the pastors were told they held the key to turning the tide on gay marriage.

“This is our Esther moment,” said Atlanta pastor Darryl L. Foster, who leads the ex-gay outreach Witness Ministries. “God has anointed African American preachers who believe the Bible to ‘save our people’–white, black, everybody. Homosexual activists know they need the credibility of black people” to cast gay rights as a civil rights issue.

The pastors hope to present themselves as a nonpartisan group, but plan to work with the TVC as they develop a lobbying plan. “We want to create a tipping point,” said TVC founder Lou Sheldon, “where every Christian knows they must call their … representatives about this issue.”
­Adrienne S. Gaines in Washington, D.C.

Tommie Harris Jr. is a Pentecostal preacher’s kid who wants God to get ‘all the glory’ during his football career

Tommie Harris Jr. is a rookie defensive tackle with the Chicago Bears, but he is not a neophyte when it comes to recognizing the spiritual challenges of playing in the NFL, with its barrage of temptations.

“The Bible says we wrestle not against flesh and blood,” Harris told Charisma a few weeks before the season started in September. “It’s all about the spirit man. A man who can’t control his spirit is like a city without walls. That man has no protection. I plan on looking to God to help me control my spirit in the NFL.”

If he needs any reminders, Harris can look at a cross tattoo on his left arm and another tattoo on his shoulder that says: “For God I live and for God I die.” Harris, who got his tattoos when he was 17, can also look at his No. 91 jersey number, which will remind him of Psalm 91.

“I want to dwell in the shelter of the most high and keep my eyes always on God,” said Harris, who credits his parents for their Christian influence.

Harris’ father, Tommie Sr., is a retired career Army man and Pentecostal minister. His mother, Janie, is a former missionary and special education teacher.

Tommie Sr. said his son calls himself MAGOH–“Man After God’s Own Heart.”

“My wife and I are not concerned with the trappings and pitfalls of life in the NFL because he’s well versed about the issues of life, and he tries to apply God’s Word,” he told Charisma. Tommie Sr., 51, is a former Church of God in Christ pastor who is currently a music minister at a Spirit-filled Methodist church in Texas.

Harris has also made an impression on former Green Bay Packer and ordained minister Reggie White. The NFL’s all-time sack leader when he retired in 2000, White believes Harris has the right priorities.

“Most of the time, I just talk to Tommie on how to get stronger,” White told a Chicago newspaper. “He didn’t want me to show him anything about football. He just said I just want to know the truth and life and get closer to the Father. I haven’t heard a lot of young men as concerned with that as he was.”

Harris, who turned 21 five days after being picked 14th overall during the NFL draft in April, left Oklahoma University after his junior season when he won the prestigious Lombardi Award as the nation’s top interior lineman.

A three-year starter who was a two-time Associated Press All-American first-team selection, Harris made news off the field at Oklahoma because of his twice rejected Playboy’s offer to be photographed as part of its preseason All-America team out of respect for his four sisters and his dislike for the magazine’s portrayal of women.

In addition, before Oklahoma’s game against Louisiana State University in last season’s Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, Harris passed on the party atmosphere of Bourbon Street.

Oklahoma Sooners coach Bob Stoops called Harris “one of the spiritual leaders on our team.”

“He participated in a number of Christian activities and often spoke publicly about his faith,” Stoops, who expects Harris to be “an exceptional professional player,” told Charisma. “His faith provides him a great base.”

Harris, who stands 6 feet, 2-1/2 inches tall and weighs 289 pounds, became the first Bears rookie to start an opening game since 2000 after impressing coaches with his speed and athleticism in training camp and the preseason.

Harris, who is involved with a team Bible study made up of several Bears players, said he wants to live a lifestyle in the NFL that aligns with the Bible.

“The way I live may be the only Bible that someone reads,” explained Harris, who has two cousins in the NFL, Detroit Lions guard Stockar McDougle and his brother, Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Jerome McDougle.

Harris said he desires to stay spiritually focused as a professional football player. “During training camp, I heard it said that man doesn’t stumble over mountains; he stumbles over rocks,” recalled Harris, who sees himself preaching someday. “It’s the little things that keep us from Christ. … My prayer is that God may get all the glory for me playing in the NFL and that God would continue to grow me in Christ.”
Eric Tiansay

Author of the best-selling Wild at Heart, Eldredge says he wants to help Christians break free of works-oriented religion
John Eldredge has a simple way of summing up Isaiah 61:1–“God has sent Jesus on a mission. He has great news for us. God has sent Him to restore and release something. That something is you. He came to give [us] back our hearts and set us free.”

That’s the crux of the message he shares in books such as his best-selling Wild at Heart, which has sold more than 1 million copies, and at conferences across the country that attract thousands of participants each year.

“It’s possible that reading my books may create more questions than provide answers,” Eldredge told Charisma. “That’s OK with me. I want my readers to seek God with their whole heart and get the answers for themselves.”

He offers some assistance in his latest book, Epic, which summarizes the gospel and helps readers share the reasons for their faith. But Eldredge’s own journey to faith has been less structured.

He describes himself as a “flaming pagan” who experimented with drugs in the 1970s. The son of an alcoholic parent, Eldredge realized he didn’t like the person he had become and at the age of 19 prayed that God would begin changing him.

After studying drama at California Polytechnic University, he spent more than a decade at Focus on the Family, first in its public policy division then as an instructor in its institute. Writing came later, as a byproduct of his interests in acting and counseling.

But he was also seeking a deeper Christian life. “I realized in order for my words to touch others I could not write about anything that I had not first lived,” he said. “To this day I do not teach beyond my personal experiences and my own walk with God.”

He says his best-known book, Wild at Heart, “is not about things a man can do to be a nicer guy. It is a book about the recovery of a man’s heart, his God-given masculinity, and his need to be real.

“Many churches have taught men to be nice, be passive, be polite. The real life of the average man seems a universe away from the desires of his heart.”

A member of Imago Dei church, which he describes as charismatic, Eldredge said he was deeply influenced by the teachings of Jack Hayford, former senior pastor of The Church on the Way in Van Nuys, Calif. “From pastor Hayford I learned the dynamics of healing, counseling, deliverance and discipleship–to see God’s people truly set free,” Eldredge said.

He brought those characteristics to Ransomed Heart Ministries in Colorado Springs, which he founded in 2000, and to the four-day retreats he hosts in Colorado for approximately 300 people six times a year. He refers to the events as times for “open heart surgery.”

“God shows up and heals the hurting and brokenhearted,” Eldredge said. “Dogma doesn’t do it. Legalism doesn’t do it. If people come with open hearts and a desire to pursue Jesus, they will find Him.

“Jesus is the antidote for our wounds. One of the things I tell men is this: Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and go do that. Because what the world needs are men who have come alive.”

Today Eldredge, who holds a master’s degree in biblical counseling from Colorado Christian University, is perhaps one of the nation’s best-known men’s ministers, with Wild at Heart video Bible studies held at thousands of churches nationwide. Jason Kemp led a Wild at Heart Bible study at the Church at Rocky Peak in Chatsworth, Calif.

“The teaching of John Eldredge was deeply impactful,” Kemp told Charisma. “It helped me become more adventuresome and to view my life from the perspective of a spiritual battle. There are few books that have changed my life like Wild at Heart has.”

“I went because I had read the book and was hoping his video would expand on the book to make it come alive, and it did,” added Greg Hunt, a small-group leader at the Church at Rocky Peak and a participant in the Bible study.

“I was reminded that God designed the husband to love and ‘rescue’ his beautiful wife, and to offer her my strength, which I gain from following the Lord and making right decisions based on the Bible. It has had a tremendous impact on my marriage.”

Eldredge’s message, however, is reaching beyond men. He is collaborating with his wife, Stasi, on a book for women titled Captivating, which is scheduled to release next spring.

And his Waking the Dead is aimed at helping the American church get unstuck from a works-based Christianity. He said many Christians think more knowledge, performance and duty will result in righteousness, and they become exhausted trying to use clever designs of their flesh to handle life and to stay on the straight and narrow path.

“I see a richness in Scripture that beautifully portrays the progressive relationship God desires to have with His people,” Eldredge said. “Many Christians get stranded in the servant-master stage. The full and ultimate height of our relationship is to be a bride to God the bridegroom.”
Judith Hayes

Patricia King’s reality show documents her Extreme Prophetic school’s street outreach in cities in North America and Europe

The camera reveals the eyes of a man hardened by anger, vestiges of prison life still marking his face as he listens to Extreme Prophetic team members on the streets of Las Vegas.

Canadian minister Patricia King and participants in her Extreme Prophetic school are shooting a reality show documenting their evangelism activity on city streets in North America and Europe. The man in this segment had walked out of prison just hours before team members stopped him on the sidewalk outside a casino and told him that God loved him and had a plan for his life.

Tears ran down the man’s face when Stacey Campbell, one of the team members from Kelowna, British Columbia, shared prophetic insights about childhood events that had filled the man with anger. He accepted Christ there on the street, virtually unconscious of the cameras that would spread his testimony around the world.

“We don’t even think of it as religious broadcasting,” King told Charisma. “It’s not at all churchy. It’s just God being God and touching people’s lives with His love. We are so blessed that He shows up every time we shoot, and the people He touches are never the same.”

King, the woman behind Extreme Prophetic, is a hip and extroverted 50-something grandmother who lives with her husband in Kelowna, about a three-hour drive from Vancouver. Saved in the 1970s after practicing the occult, then serving as a missionary with Youth With A Mission, King has become known as a Bible teacher who emphasizes prayer, evangelism and the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

She credits a 1994 visit to the Toronto Blessing renewal with spawning both a storm of questions and some “amazing” spiritual experiences that motivated her to dig deeper in prayer and Bible study. The result was a teaching series about biblical encounters with a supernatural God. She later founded a “glory school” and wrote a book, Third Heaven, Angels and Other Stuff.

“The Western church, for the most part, has an academic orientation rather than spiritual,” said King, who says God led her to change her name from Pat Cocking last year after her ministry began receiving obscene messages. “The school offers an invitation to walk in that divine realm and dispels people’s fear of legitimate supernatural encounters.”

But she hasn’t stopped there. King believes supernatural encounters should be taken to the streets. “[People] are not hungry for institutionalized religion; they are hungry for true encounters with God,” King said. “The whole idea behind the Extreme Prophetic school is to take God’s prophetic gift with extreme love into extreme places–anywhere and everywhere the unsaved congregate.”

The four-day schools, held in such cities as Los Angeles, Amsterdam and Chicago, offer hands-on training in prophetic evangelism. King and her team offer what they call “spiritual readings”–a New Age-sounding term they use to describe personal prayer during which they offer any prophetic insights they believe God has given them.

One episode of the Extreme Prophetic show pans in on people lined up outside a Kelowna juice café. They had waited for up to an hour to hear what Extreme Prophetic team members had to say. Many received words of encouragement, others accepted Christ.

The Extreme Prophetic school has spawned similar ministries in other cities. Doug Addison, a Los Angeles pastor and evangelist, attended one of King’s glory schools and now runs InLight Connection, a prophetic street outreach.

“I immediately saw that this type of evangelism is relevant for our spiritually curious culture,” Addison said. “It is a great way to get into deeper spiritual conversations with people, pray with them, and lead them to Jesus.”

Others stepped out more hesitantly. Former Chicago ad executive Rob Hotchkin said he’d been conditioned to ignore people on the street. “During the Extreme Prophetic school God gave me a heart for these people,” he said. “I remembered that these people are human beings. They are lost and broken but God loves them.” Today he works for Extreme Prophetic ministries.

The show airs on Monday nights and Sundays on The Miracle Channel, which streams a simulcast of the show on its site, . King’s Web site, , also carries the program. Sky Angel has recently agreed to air an Extreme Prophetic TV special, and King anticipates that the show will be picked up in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Julia Loren