BOOKS

Believing God
By Beth Moore, Broadman & Holman,

hardcover, 272 pages, $.

The pages of Beth Moore’s Believing God are packed with 24-karat gold practical nuggets on the day-in, day-out fundamentals of exercising authentic faith. Readers are called upon to experience the faith-building principles that unlock God’s promises of all-surpassing power, productivity, peace and joy despite their life circumstances.

Designed as a nine-week study paralleling the wilderness experience of the children of Israel en route to the promised land, Moore’s book urges readers to take God at His Word. She boldly sounds a shake-up alarm to the church, comparing present Christianity, which she calls “big on systems and small on belief,” to the obvious nakedness of The Emperor’s New Clothes. Faith is the key to “close the gap between our theology and our reality,” the author asserts.

In Believing God, Moore presents a lifestyle that will inspire readers to reconnect with the God of wonders, discovering a “personalized place of divine power.” She offers a dynamic resource to equip believers to become armed and dangerous to the kingdom of darkness.
LeAnn Weiss

Breaking the Enemy’s Grip
By Eddie Smith, Bethany House

Publishers, softcover, 160
pages, $.

Many pulpits in America focus on giving as a means of defeating what ails the church. On the other hand, Eddie Smith’s Breaking the Enemy’s Grip casts an eye on forgiving and finds that a life absent of this attribute will fall short of the “abundant life” God intends for His children. The Father has forgiven us of our sins; are we not to do the same when considering offenses we have experienced?

Smith’s cross-examination of this subject is filled with heavenbreaking wisdom and some “uncommon” sense that advances our knowledge in severing the devil’s hold on what rightly belongs to us: peace of mind and independence from generational sin. The author reveals that God has not only a new future for us but a new past as well.

Among the many truths to be gleaned is that every dilemma needs a “discovery” that will grant greater freedom in Him.
J. James Estrada

History Makers
By Dutch Sheets and William Ford III,
Regal Books, softcover, 200 pages, $.

Dutch Sheets, senior pastor of Springs Harvest Fellowship in Colorado Springs, Colorado, believes that God wants His people to agree in prayer with past generations, creating a “synergy of the ages” that advances God’s kingdom on Earth. In History Makers, Sheets and William Ford III encourage believers to connect with the things God has done in the past and not view historical events as simply a matter of record. Sheets and Ford urge Christians to pray for the renewal of the covenants God made with their forefathers, building on His past work and, in the process, shaping the future.

One key example the authors give reveals how slaves found a way to conceal their passionate prayers for freedom so they wouldn’t be discovered by their masters. Ford, who is African American, believes that those prayers affected his family over time. The authors contend that these and other examples demonstrate that people today may be benefiting from the prayers of those in the past just as the prayers of contemporary believers may shape tomorrow.

Readers who believe in or are open to the role of prophetic prayer in this time will most appreciate History Makers. Those interested in racial reconciliation also will find much food for thought herein.
Christine D. Johnson

MUSIC

He-Motions
By Bishop T.D. Jakes,

Dexterity Sounds/EMI Gospel.

Although world-renowned pastor, author and playwright Bishop T.D. Jakes is known for his powerful messages and conferences, he has recently become a force to reckon with in the gospel music industry. His latest CD, He-Motions, is a musical compilation and companion to his book He-Motions: Even Strong Men Struggle (Putnam Publishing Group).

Backed by a speaking tour, the theme speaks to the needs of men and their specific struggles and demands. The 13-track CD opens with the “He-Motions Intro,” Jakes’ spoken words flanked by a neo-soul musical vibe. The gospel-tinged “Brothers & Friends” includes strong vocals from Michael O’Brien and Micah Stampley.

Jakes brings in some of gospel’s finest, including megachurch pastor Bishop Paul S. Morton on “It Doesn’t Matter,” Donnie McClurkin on the ballad “King Inside of Me” and newcomer Smokie Norful on “It’s All About You.”

The theme of fathers is stressed on Israel Houghton’s moving “Where Are the Fathers” and on Anointed’s Da’dra Crawford-Greathouse’s melodious song “Thanks for Staying.” “Beautiful” by Hallerin Hill gives thanks to women who have been a blessing. He-Motions successfully speaks to the needs and pressing issues of today’s man.

René Williams

Nobody but Jesus
By Melba Moore,
Lightyear Entertainment.

If you grew up in the ’70s, chances are you remember Melba Moore. One of the most beautiful and talented entertainers of the decade, her accomplishments spanned stage, screen and song. Moore didn’t fare as well during the ’80s; her marriage to Charles Huggins (also her manager) ended in a highly publicized divorce that left her emotionally and financially bankrupt. But she made it through that ordeal, thanks in no small part to her faith.

Now Moore is back with a new CD. The 14 songs on Nobody but Jesus cover a lot of ground musically while remaining true to the gospel format throughout. The newer tracks–such as “Rise My Sister” (a tale of endurance that could almost be her theme song) and “Call Me”–were written mainly by either Herb Middleton or the husband-wife team of Shirley Murdock and Dale DeGrot.

But Moore also tackles older gospel standards such as “Take My Hand, Precious Lord” and “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” and makes them her own. Throughout the disc, her vocals are tremendous. If there is any justice, Nobody but Jesus will be a hit with Moore’s longstanding fans while also introducing her to the younger gospel audience.
Dave Steinfeld

When Silence Falls
By Tim Hughes, Worship Together.

Known as the artist behind the modern-worship classic “Here I Am to Worship,” Tim Hughes displays his skills again on his newest release, When Silence Falls. Hughes’ songs tend to gravitate toward the private and introspective, allowing the listener a window into what appears to be his own personal prayer journey. The music features Hughes’ able vocals in a Euro-pop/rock setting.

“When the Tears Fall” stands out as one of the more poignant moments of the record, finding Hughes praising God in the midst of tragedy: “I’ve known sorrow, I have known pain / But there’s one thing, that I’ll cling to / You are faithful, Jesus, You’re true.”

Piano ballad “Nothing in This World” follows a similar style, offering worship and allegiance over worldly possessions. Celebration breaks out on the bouncy “Joy Is in This Place” and the soft rock of “Beautiful One.” Other highlights include the sweet acoustic sounds of “Holy,” the crescendo of “Whole World in His Hands” and the melodic “You.” The album closes with a gentle, unrefined reprise of “Beautiful One.”

With this release, Hughes’ artistry continues to build bridges between modern praise and contemporary pop music. Passion and Delirious fans will enjoy this album.
DeWayne Hamby

VIDEOS

Popular Fiction, TV Shows on VHS, DVD

Christian fiction readers can now enjoy the movie adaptation of Janette Oke’s novel Love Comes Softly (Fox Home Entertainment) on VHS and DVD.

Set in the 19th century in the American plains, this story brings a widow and widower together in a marriage of necessity. Clark and Marty struggle through the rigors of living in a harsh land and a new relationship.

Michael Landon Jr. wrote and directed this version for the Hallmark Channel. Although avid Oke fans might be disappointed with the changes made to make the plot work as a TV movie, the story still exudes the same charm and depth as the novel.

Also available on DVD from Paramount Home Entertainment are the first seasons of 7th Heaven and Touched by an Angel. The 7th Heaven collection includes 16 hours of episodes chronicling the life of the Camden family. The show tackles real-life situations.

The Touched by an Angel set includes 13 episodes as well as the series finale, commentaries and interviews. With more than 11 hours on four discs, viewers can again enjoy the stories of angels on Earth showing God’s love to people in need.
Leigh DeVore

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT

A Voice of Direction

Barbara J. Yoder grew up in the church. She says, however, her trust was damaged during her young life and that a battle with bitterness and anger turned into a study of existentialist philosophy and an atheistic worldview.

A “Damascus Road experience” and a “leap of faith” set her on the path back to God. Her story is one of overcoming an emotional life turned cold. Yoder has since become a voice of direction for a lukewarm church seeking its way: “It’s critical that righteousness be restored.”

Yoder is the founder and senior pastor of Shekinah Christian Church in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Her roots are in the modern evangelical movement, and through the years she has counted Foursquare pastor Jack Hayford and healing minister Kathryn Kuhlman as her mentors. She travels as a speaker at prophetic conferences and serves on the board of Christian International.

Growing up next door to the widow of renowned evangelist Billy Sunday, Yoder believed God had a plan for her but found the door closed. Her book The Breaker Anointing shows the Jesus she came to know, the “breaker” who bursts through the gates that loom before us. “Christ became real,” she says, “when He opened the door” and the questions of past hurts were answered with an understanding of His love. Yoder, herself now a widow, is surely an inspiration to her children and grandchildren and a church in America that needs to heed her call to reformation and renewal.
J. James Estrada

CHARISMATIC TOP SELLERS

1. Pigs in the Parlor
Frank and Ida Mae Hammond

(Impact Christian Books)

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

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

4. The Three Battlegrounds
Francis Frangipane (Arrow Publications)

5. Matters of the Heart

Juanita Bynum (Charisma House)

6. The Tongue
Charles Capps (Harrison House)

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

8. (tie) Blessing or Curse: You Can Choose
Derek Prince (Chosen)

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

10. Heaven is So Real
Choo Thomas (Creation House Press)

BOOKS

Fatal Attractions
By Jack Hayford, Regal Books,

softcover, 152 pages, $.

No-nonsense straight talk is what pastor and author Jack Hayford delivers in his newest book, Fatal Attractions: Why Sex Sins Are Worse Than Others. A great communicator, Hayford reiterates that God forgives and cleanses individuals from sex sins as easily as other sins. But he warns readers that the consequences of these sins may remain for a lifetime. Sex sins do more damage to individuals, marriages, families and even societies as a whole than other sins. They affect people in body, soul and spirit.

Hayford delicately balances proclaiming hope of recovery for those who have already messed up and yet holding out the promise and possibility of living pure for those who have not. He also makes it clear that he is speaking to Christians who want to live under the lordship of Jesus Christ; he doesn’t expect the unconverted to understand these principles or have the power to live them.

And for the non-Christians who open this book, Hayford doesn’t leave them without hope. An appendix includes prayers for salvation, being filled with the Holy Spirit and deliverance. The prevalence of deception surrounding promiscuous sex makes this book a valuable tool for today’s church.
Deborah L. Delk

From Zero to Eternity in 60 Seconds Flat
By Wendell Smith, Charisma
House, softcover, 180 pages, $.

Wendell Smith, senior pastor of the City Church in Seattle, provides believers with a quick and simple guide on how to evangelize in a matter of minutes in From Zero to Eternity in 60 Seconds Flat. Smith, who takes an assertive approach to being a witness, exhorts readers to open their eyes to see the many opportunities Christians are given each day to evangelize.

Getting to the point quickly, Smith offers multiple lists, ranging from Scripture verses on evangelism to places Christians normally would not think of to evangelize. He also provides “door openers” such as, “Are you ready for heaven?” and “God knows where you are, God knows where you need to be and only God knows how to get you there.”

With wisdom and sensitivity, Smith addresses being led by the Spirit, the gifts of the Spirit and prayer–all essential for effective evangelism–making this book suitable for readers who appreciate the value of making the most of every encounter with the lost.
Tara Ringham

FICTION

The Priest
By Francine Rivers, Tyndale House
Publishers, hardcover, 232 pages, $.

Award-winning author Francine Rivers’ newest series, Sons of Encouragement, begins with its first novella, The Priest, a story about Moses’ brother and encourager, Aaron. Similar in style to her Lineage of Grace series, which highlighted the lives of women in the Bible whom God included in the lineage of Christ, this series highlights men in the Bible who played a key role in bringing the story of redemption.

Rivers stays true to the biblical narrative’s outline, adding insightful details that give a richer understanding of what may have been happening between the lines in the lives of these characters. Readers will see their own human nature in the life of Aaron as he battles fear, envy and doubt in order to overcome failure and to fulfill his calling from God.

Scriptural portions and questions are included in the book for personal devotion or group study. The Priest will certainly prove to be an encouragement to those who read it.
Deborah L. Delk

A Delirious Summer
By Ray Blackston, Revell,
softcover, 336 pages, $.

A Delirious Summer, literary sequel to Ray Blackston’s Flabbergasted, takes you into the psyche of a single man, Neil, a language teacher and missionary living in Ecuador. Based on a whimsical suggestion from one of his students, Jay–who found love in the first novel–Neil searches for Miss Right in South Carolina, during his summer furlough.

As he encounters many of the same quirky characters from the first novel, Neil experiences life-altering events and exhilarating adventures. A thrill-seeking blonde, a zany Italian and a rule-abiding redhead lead Ladies of the Quest, girls ever ready to church-hop in search of Mr. Right. Neil quickly discovers that the jungles of Ecuador are no match for what he encounters in the jungles of dating, and even there, he finds there are people in need everywhere and that a missionary is never truly on furlough.

A humorous yet thought-provoking novel about dating, church-hopping, friendship and missions, A Delirious Summer is an enjoyable romantic escape that single as well as married individuals won’t want to put down.
Debra L. Edgar

Silenced
By Jerry B. Jenkins, Tyndale House
Publishers, hardcover, 348 pages, $.

As the dramatic saga of special agent Paul Stepola continues in the second book of the unnamed trilogy that began with Soon, the born-again agent is hot on the heels of the bomber who took down the Eiffel Tower and Big Ben with simultaneous explosions.

Keeping secret his newfound faith while on assignment for the government to root out believers in Christ, Stepola is on the verge of being discovered because his father-in-law, a former war hero, thinks Stepola has become sympathetic to Christians. If discovered, he could lose his wife and kids and, possibly, his life.

The bomber, meanwhile, takes credit for an ultimatum to the new world government when it is announced all believers must register or be executed. But when the bomber is killed in an attempt to capture him, many scoff at the ultimatum, and any doubts that Stepola had crossed over to the other side are erased.

However, the ultimatum is fulfilled by God with a plague on unbelieving families that surely will heighten Stepola’s anxiety about being discovered in the final book.
Larry J. Leech II

MUSIC

A Call to Worship: Live in D.C.
By Stephen Hurd, Integrity Music.

Stephen Hurd, a new Integrity Gospel artist, just released his debut project titled A Call to Worship. Hurd, a native of Washington, D.C., has been a worship leader at some of the largest and most influential churches.

He gained fans with two independent projects but now introduces himself to the world on the first cut, “Let It Rise,” remade with a smooth, sweet orchestral arrangement. He also includes “Cry Out O Zion,” a Caribbean-flavored tune, and the jazzy “Rejoice.”

Flowing into worship, Hurd leads listeners into God’s presence on “Lead Me to the Rock.” He also wrote “Philippians 4:13,” which is inspiring and moving with the beautiful background vocals of Hurd’s group, Corporate Worship.

“Undignified Praise (I Will Dance, I Will Sing),” written by worship artist Matt Redman, is a hand-clapping, foot-stomping tune beckoning listeners to take an active part in the praise experience. The Spirit keeps flowing with “The Oil of Your Anointing,” featuring melodious saxophone solos from James Cheeks.

This is a wonderful project from one of praise and worship’s most noted leaders.
René Williams

Today
By Brian Doerkson, Integrity Music.

For Brian Doerkson, his newest worship project must have felt like coming home. Recorded live in his hometown of Abbotsford, British Columbia, it’s quite the hometown effort, with a 75-voice chorus, children’s choir and the Mennonite Jazz Committee all pitching in to help.

Doerkson, who is known as the writer of “Come, Now Is the Time to Worship,” leads the experience with capable yet low-key vocals. Several songs deserve extra attention, including the opening celebration of the title song, which also benefits from vocals by Doerkson’s father and daughter in the closing reprise.

A men’s chorus heartily sings “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” setting the stage for the guitar pop of “Fortress 144.” The Jazz Committee blends perfectly on the reworking of the classic “Great Is Thy Faithfulness,” a duet with Brenda Janz.

By alternating tempos and moods, Doerkson has created a fine release with songs that could be easily incorporated into church worship.
DeWayne Hamby

VIDEOS

Sumo of the Opera
By VeggieTales, Big Idea Inc.

VeggieTales friends are back with a lesson from Hebrews 10:36. Sumo of the Opera teaches the importance of perseverance.

This Rocky-style flick features Larry the Italian Scallion as a wrestler who does not follow through. But when Larry has his eye on a prize, he is willing to enter the ring to face Apollo Gourd. But will the Italian Scallion persevere even though he’s outweighed?

VeggieTales movies wouldn’t be complete without silly songs. This time it’s “Schoolhouse Polka.” A clever, silent vignette featuring Three Veggie Stooges, of course based on the classic trio, reiterates the lesson. It’s available on VHS as well as DVD–which includes extra features such as a maze game, Veggie karaoke, coloring pages and more.

Classic VeggieTales. Classic fun!
Leigh DeVore

We don’t play black artists,” Christian radio stations told Integrity Music when it was promoting Live From Another Level, the new CD by Israel Houghton and New Breed.

Houghton, a worship leader at Lakewood Church in Houston, is not deterred. “It creates a vacuum of challenge for me to be an advocate. I’m half-black, half-white, raised in a Hispanic church. I love the meshing of these cultures.”

Houghton’s songwriting for the last 14 years reflects that blend, and at Lakewood Church he is at home among the culturally diverse congregation of 30,000. In most churches, though, Houghton finds that Sunday morning worship services are segregated.

Houghton says: “It’s sad there’s still a skin-tone issue. … In heaven are there sections? A black section? A white section?”

Houghton is motivated even more because he was born of a white teenager shunned for getting pregnant by her black boyfriend. Pressured to abort, Houghton’s mother ran away, was led to the Lord and named him after reading about Israel in the Bible.

He now feels like the captain of an all-star team. All 14 members of New Breed also lead music in their own churches. The group spreads a message that crosses cultural, generational and denominational boundaries. Houghton says New Breed creates interactive worship for “an audience of one; everything is lyrically geared toward ministering to God.”
Marsha Gallardo

CHARISMATIC TOP SELLERS

1. Pigs in the Parlor
Frank and Ida Mae Hammond

(Impact Christian Books)

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

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

4. The Three Battlegrounds
Francis Frangipane
(Arrow Publications)

5. Matters of the Heart

Juanita Bynum (Charisma House)

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

7. Heaven Is So Real
Choo Thomas (Creation House Press)

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

9. The Tongue
Charles Capps (Harrison House)

10. Blessing or Curse: You Can Choose
Derek Prince (Chosen)

‘Creation care’ advocates say protecting the environment is part of biblical stewardship
For the last 20 years, charismatic pastor Leroy Hedman has taught his small Seattle congregation that caring for the environment is part of being a good Christian.

“Romans 8 says creation is in travail, and we can help that as Christians,” said Hedman, pastor of the nondenominational Georgetown Community Chapel.

The congregation of several dozen grows a large vegetable garden that it uses to feed people in the community. And in 1999, Georgetown became the first U.S. church to be awarded an Energy Star Award from the Environmental Protection Agency for its use of energy-efficient appliances, lighting, heating and cooling, which Hedman said has cut its electricity bill down to $25 a month.

He said the savings are used to fund outreach and missions activities. “It honors Christ to serve the creation,” Hedman told Charisma. “Why should the New Agers be the ones gathering the attention for preserving ‘Mother Earth’?”

For many Christians, environmental issues haven’t been high on the list of social concerns. But that may be changing as a small but growing number of believers begin to view “environmental stewardship” as part of their Christian responsibility, and examine ways to become more vocal about such issues as global warming, air and water pollution, and species extinction.

In June, about 30 ministry leaders–including representatives from the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE), World Vision, Southern Baptist Convention, Church of God (Cleveland, Tenn.), International Church of the Foursquare Gospel and Charisma magazine–convened at the Sandy Cove Christian Retreat Center outside Baltimore for a “creation care” conference aimed at raising awareness among Christians about pressing environmental issues.

Organized largely by the Evangelical Environmental Network (EEN), the invitation-only meeting included presentations from Sir John Houghton, an evangelical British physicist who is widely considered to be a leading authority on global warming; Howard Snyder, an Asbury Theological Seminary professor who discussed developing a theology that embraces creation care; and Larry Schweiger, a Christian who was recently named president of the National Wildlife Federation.

Several participants were hopeful that Christians would one day reclaim biblical environmental stewardship from radical extremists who have been accused of valuing trees and birds over humans. “Many people believe that in order to be concerned about the environment, you have to embrace liberal politics,” said NAE President Ted Haggard. “That is not true, and we need to reverse that stereotype.”

The three-day conference ended with participants agreeing to give further study to environmental issues, to educate their constituents about them and to develop a formal position on global warming within a year.

For people like the Rev. Jim Ball, who has been trying to mobilize Christians around environmental causes for 10 years, the meeting was an encouraging sign. “This [conference] was to reach out to those key leaders who really hadn’t thought about [the environment] much,” said Ball, executive director of the EEN (). “This is what we were hoping to achieve, that they would be open to listening to what other evangelical leaders were saying about this issue.”

Last year, Ball organized the What Would Jesus Drive? campaign to challenge Christians to purchase more fuel-efficient vehicles. It is widely believed that fuel emissions from cars are raising the level of carbon in the atmosphere, which some, such as Houghton, say is causing the earth to grow dangerously warmer. Other scientists say the warming trend is part of a natural weather cycle.

The debate, and the complicated scientific jargon, is what has kept many Christians from engaging environmental concerns, said NAE Vice President of Governmental Affairs Richard Cizik, who attended the creation care meeting with Haggard. Although both men say they are committed to addressing environmental issues, they want to find solutions that nurture free-market capitalism. “There are over 6 billion people on the earth. During our lifetime it could go up to 9 billion,” Haggard said. “The only way to provide enough goods and services is through capitalism.”

But for many other Christians, environmentalism is not a debate about science or economics; it’s about theology. “Any time Christians get seriously involved in public policy issues, Christians have to be clear that they understand how things work and that they’re not being taken advantage of by the left or the right because you’re bringing the moral authority of the church [to the debate],” said Gerald Zandstra, programs director for the Acton Institute, a Christian think-tank that studies religion, economics and public policy.

Cheryl Johns, professor of church formation at the Church of God Theological Seminary and a participant in the Sandy Cove meeting, said Christians have a unique responsibility toward the environment. “I think most Pentecostals and charismatics understand that Jesus saves, but He also heals,” she told Charisma. “God is at work restoring and bringing healing. We participate in that as people of God. We participate in the creation being restored. To care for creation, I think, is to participate in healing.”

Snyder has studied renewal movements extensively, and he said mobilizing charismatic and Pentecostals around this issue would cause a significant shift in momentum, as that demographic is believed to be the largest segment of Christianity worldwide.

“The same God who is concerned about the renewal of the church is concerned with the renewal of creation,” Snyder told attendees at Sandy Cove. “The same Spirit who hovers over the church hovers over the waters and wants to bring both into reconciliation under the headship of Jesus Christ.

“If we are concerned about revival in its truest sense, we will be concerned about creation care. Conversely, if we are genuinely concerned with creation care we will want to see the Holy Spirit renew God’s people, sending a revival of such depth that it not only stirs our hearts but also heals our land.”

For Francis MacNutt, a longtime leader in the charismatic renewal, change begins when individuals decide to do something. In 2002, he bought a Toyota Prius, a hybrid car that gets an estimated 52 miles per gallon in the city, compared with 36 miles per gallon for a nonhybrid Honda Civic and 22-25 miles per gallon for the more fuel-efficient SUVs.

“It would take a million people driving Priuses to make a dent in [global warming]; I know that,” MacNutt said. “But it’s something I can do.”
Adrienne S. Gaines

Christian leaders are still urging support for laws banning gay marriage despite the Federal Marriage Amendment’s failure to pass in the Senate.

The American Family Association (AFA) is encouraging supporters to visit and sign a petition calling for an amendment prohibiting same-sex marriage. The AFA hopes to present 3 million signatures to the House of Representatives before it votes on the issue in September.

Other efforts are under way to get gay marriage banned on the local level. So far the November ballots in nine states will include referendums calling for amendments prohibiting gay marriage.

On July 23, conservative Christian leaders welcomed the passage of Indiana Republican Rep. John N. Hostettler’s Marriage Protection Act in the House. The bill limits the jurisdiction of federal courts over questions arising from the Defense of Marriage Act, which was signed into law by former President Bill Clinton in 1996. The act protects states from having to recognize gay marriages performed in other states.

But limiting the scope of federal judges is a secondary strategy in the battle to defend traditional marriage, which some say could be a 10-year fight. Several conservative Christian leaders say amending the Constitution is the most certain way to bar gay marriage.

Bishop Paul S. Morton plans to submit 8,000 petitions collected during his Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship convention to the Congressional Black Caucus. He is calling for its opposition to same-sex marriage and noted that his group would “remember those who do not support family values.”

Meanwhile, pastor Ken Hutcherson of Antioch Bible Church in Seattle hopes to convene thousands of Christians in Washington, D.C., Oct. 15 for a Mayday for Marriage Rally (). Similarly, Bishop John Giminez of Rock City Church in Baltimore plans to host an America for Jesus rally Oct. 22 on the National Mall (). The event is aimed at getting Christians to fast and pray for the nation’s future.
Adrienne S. Gaines

Organizers plan to hold a Day of Prayer for Jerusalem each October until the second coming of Christ
Christians from around the world are joining a massive army of intercessors to pray for Israel on Oct. 3, as part of an annual Day of Prayer inaugurated by Eagles’ Wings (EW) ministry based in Clarence, N.Y.

“This is a biblically mandated requirement for all who believe,” said Robert Stearns, EW executive director, at the Jerusalem Prayer Banquet held in New York City on May 20. “We have gathered here at a crucial moment in history.”

About 500 Christian and Jewish leaders attended the interdenominational gathering co-chaired by Stearns and Jack W. Hayford, president of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel and founding pastor of The Church on the Way in Van Nuys, Calif. Many signed a public resolution affirming their commitment to the Day of Prayer. Hayford said the signing was a significant action for the church to the biblical call to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Hayford sees Israel’s role in the end times as a turning point for the church because of the prophetic season. “I don’t mean how you read the prophetic handbook,” he said. “I mean recognizing that this is a moment that God is at work in our world. It’s manifest first in the recovery of Israel, the challenge to that recovery by hostile forces that are more than political forces. They clearly are spiritual forces that are antichrist-nourished, antichrist in spirit.”

Stearns unveiled EW’s ambitious plan labeled The Jerusalem Project, which calls for an International Day of Prayer on the first Sunday of October every year until the Messiah returns. EW () is seeking to enlist the support of 20,000 U.S. churches and 50 million believers in 70 countries to back the effort.

More than $100,000 was raised at the banquet to fund a $1 million budget that includes literature, videos, a Web site (), offices on six continents, and scholarships for a three-week Israel Experience college-student ambassador program.

A group of 10 handpicked students returned from the first ambassador trip in June. They met with educational, political, business and religious leaders. Members of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, mentored each student for a day.

Brewing for several years, The Jerusalem Project has been warmly received by Yona Metzger, the chief rabbi of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu and other members of the Knesset, as well as Arab leaders in Jerusalem.

Among almost 500 international Christian leaders endorsing the idea are broadcaster Pat Robertson, Korean pastor David Yonggi Cho, prayer leader Mike Bickle, Elim Bible Institute President Paul Johansson, Charisma publisher Stephen Strang and Ted Haggard, president of the National Association of Evangelicals.

“There is going to be a massive end-times swell of prayer across the globe for Israel,” said Lou Engle, co-founder of The Call prayer events. “It’s the heartbeat and sweetheart of heaven. I have a dream to mobilize a young generation for Israel.”

In addition to Alon Pinkus, consul general of Israel in New York, members of the Knesset participated in the banquet. “I think to have friends here in the United States of America, people of the Bible, with the point of view that brings them together with us in this celebration is a unique thing,” said Binyamin Elon, chairman of Israel’s Moledet Party.

Yuri Shtern, chairman of the National Union Faction, told Charisma about the Christian Allies Caucus (CAC) formed in January. “The CAC is a group of 10 members of the Knesset from six different parties who committed themselves to developing our relationship with the Christian world,” he said. “People appreciate what the evangelical Christians are doing for Israel politically, in American politics especially.”

Shtern reported that the World Council of Churches has denounced the CAC. “They told us it’s a new provocation of the extreme Israeli right with fanatical evangelists, which I think is a compliment,” he said. “It means we are on the right path.”

Messianic believers also back the project. “There is no question Israel has risen to the center stage of Gentile and world attention,” said Felix Halpern, rabbi of Beth Chofesh, an Assemblies of God congregation in Wykoff, N.J. “God is supernaturally imparting a love for the Jewish people through a restorative work of Hebraic roots. Out of this Jewish people are being provoked for the first time in a long time.”

Stearns expects 4,000-5,000 Christians from many nations to participate in the final ceremony in Jerusalem on Sunday, Oct. 3, when the prayer resolution signatures will be presented to representatives of the Knesset.
Peter K. Johnson in New York City

Jesus House director William Bumphus says Christians don’t have to wait for grant funding to reach out to former prisoners

With tan siding, a porch dotted with oversized furniture and a fireplace in the living room, the modest, two-story home in inner-city Indianapolis doesn’t look like the cutting edge of prison reform.

But after six years in operation Jesus House boasts a recidivism rate of 6 percent, or less than one-tenth the national average. Only eight of 130 men who have lived at the halfway house have returned to prison–a feat the federal government is still trying to duplicate. Two years ago the Department of Justice announced a “re-entry initiative” to offer education, job training and substance-abuse treatment to help ex-convicts adjust to life on the outside.

Jesus House director William Bumphus is doing his part–but without any of the grants available under the Justice Department initiative. The 57-year-old founder of Jesus Inside Prison Ministry says he can’t qualify because of his insistence that residents attend two church services and a weekly men’s support group.

However, Bumphus plans a similar approach at Freedom House, a 60-bed residential drug-treatment center that he hopes to open in 2005. With 55 percent of federal inmates locked up for drug crimes, the affable, smiling minister says it makes more sense to send them to drug treatment. When they get there, though, Bumphus wants them to find the same Savior who released him from the grip of heroin in 1978.

“I’m suggesting Christians open drug-treatment centers like Teen Challenge and deal not only with the physical and emotional part of men, but the spiritual element,” Bumphus said. “Then a whole lot of crime would go away.”

As for the expense, he thinks Christian ministries should depend on God instead of Uncle Sam. Even if they obtain funding, they still won’t be able to run such treatment centers the way they want, said the pastor of Faith Center Church, an independent charismatic congregation. “There’s enough money in the church for everyone to have a Jesus House if they wanted one,” he said.

The home’s population fluctuates between a few and 10, although its director envisions remodeling it to double its capacity to 20. Many current and former residents credit its wholesome influence with steering them straight, including its first resident director, Robert Weddington.

Scholarly-looking behind wire-rim glasses, Weddington stepped aside last fall to run a Christian bookstore and Faith Center’s men’s ministry. He still serves as an informal adviser and counselor.

“When I left prison, it wasn’t in my program to lead Jesus House,” Weddington said. “God just put it together.”

His replacement, Jerry Banks, arrived early in 2003 after four prison stays. Accepting Christ in 2001 was his first step toward reformation; coming to Jesus House marked the second. “It had a strong impact on my life,” Banks said. “I was able to maintain my Christianity and continue to be around godly men who want to grow [spiritually].”

The outreach continues despite financial challenges. Thanks to various churches donating food, clothing and other supplies, Bumphus operates the home for less than half the projected cost.

Jesus House is only one aspect of what Bumphus sees as a thriving revival in the nation’s prisons. Since 1997 the number of annual conversions he records has more than doubled to more than 2,000.

For those who would shrug at the relatively small numbers he has helped–in comparison with an inmate population in excess of 2 million–Bumphus notes that he saves taxpayers $100,000 a year for every five residents who aren’t locked up.

“[Many] guys who came through were major drug dealers; they hurt people,” Bumphus said. “[Jesus House] gives hope to thousands from all over the [nation]. We get applications from all kinds of people who want to come to Jesus House.”
Ken Walker in Indianapolis

Organizers say they hope the new group will bridge the gap between liberal and conservative ministry organizations
Despite critics who fear it will be dominated by liberals, a new ecumenical organization is forming with support from several Pentecostal and charismatic denominations.

After a three-year organizational process, Christian Churches Together in the . (CCT) plans its formal launch next year. Participants will span five major groups: Roman Catholic, Orthodox, racial-ethnic churches, historic Protestant and evangelical-Pentecostal.

Supporters say it will help bridge a longtime gap between members of the theologically liberal National Council of Churches (NCC) and the theologically conservative National Association of Evangelicals (NAE). The group envisions holding annual meetings for prayer, fellowship and theological discussions, and various regional forums.

Organizers foresee participants speaking out on such issues as pornography, sexual trafficking of women, the persecuted church and poverty.

The steering committee includes three Pentecostals: the Rev. Jeffrey Farmer, president of Open Bible Churches; Bishop James Leggett of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church and Bishop George McKinney of the Church of God in Christ.

Representatives at recent meetings have also come from the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, Association of Vineyard Churches and Church of God (Cleveland, Tenn.). The Missionary Pentecostal Churches of God sent an observer. Evangelicals participating included members of The Salvation Army, Free Methodist Church, Church of the Nazarene and World Vision.

“I’m extremely excited about it,” said Farmer, who joined the committee in January. “It’s an historic thing, and this time it appears it’s going to happen.”

Leggett agreed, saying CCT will create a group that is broader and more faithful to Scripture than the National Council of Churches. “There are areas of agreement and common commitment to the core of the Christian faith,” Leggett said of the two meetings he attended. “I think that is going to be the strong point.”

Though acknowledging the criticism that has cropped up because of mainline church involvement, Farmer said he and other Pentecostals made it clear they wouldn’t be involved if the NCC played an active role.

Noting that the late David du Plessis founded Pentecostal-Catholic dialogues years ago, Farmer expressed excitement about born-again Christians from various backgrounds coming together.

“Mainline denominations are losing members fast, and evangelicals and Pentecostals are at least holding their own,” Farmer said. “They’re coming to us and saying, ‘We need to hear from you.’ I think it would be a mistake not to take the opportunity.”

CCT, which has sponsored exploratory meetings the last three years, hasn’t selected the site of its next meeting or a city for its headquarters. Still, it hoped to reach its target of 25 member organizations by June and start operating in the fall of 2005.

Steering committee chairman Wesley Granberg-Michaelson expects CCT to overcome past divisions between evangelical and mainline Christians. That process has already begun through its preliminary meetings, said Granberg-Michaelson, general secretary of the Reformed Church in America.

In addition to fostering a deep sense of communion and fellowship, the group will help mainline churches gain valuable insights into evangelicals’ and Pentecostals’ faith, Granberg-Michaelson said. “I think they can learn that the knowledge of faith in Christ really needs to be lived out at a deeply experiential level that allows for personal freedom,” he said. “And how individuals testify to what God is doing in their lives.”

But after growing up in a liberal Presbyterian church where he never heard the gospel, NAE President Ted Haggard doubts that CCT will be able to mesh such divergent views.

Noting that evangelicals and Pentecostals emphasize the born-again experience and a high view of Christ and the Bible, Haggard is wary of the influence of those who don’t uphold those positions.

If a group doesn’t stake a position on high moral ground, it inevitably becomes liberal because of the tendencies of the old sin nature, said Haggard, senior pastor of New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colo.

“That’s exactly what we’ve seen with the steady decline in the Methodist Church and so many others,” Haggard said. “Now many in their churches don’t even believe the Bible is the Word of God. Or they may say it symbolically, but they don’t read it and live it as if they believe it.

“I believe we need to have respectful and cordial relationships, but I’m … not going to take my time pretending that those who don’t believe in being born again are helpful to the cause of Christ.”

But Farmer, whose family was kicked out of the Disciples of Christ Church in the 1960s after being baptized in the Holy Spirit, thinks CCT will increase networking and empower Christians.

“We can speak louder to our nation at a time when our nation needs to hear from Christians,” Farmer said. “It’s all about relationships and relating to one another.”
Ken Walker

Susan Cagna says her title as Mrs. U.S. Beauties opened doors for her to encourage and pray for sick children

A Tennessee woman who turned her back on a glamorous career as a runway model after accepting Christ says God has used beauty pageants to give her an unconventional ministry platform.

Crowned Mrs. U.S. Beauties in 2003, Susan Cagna, 37, has spent the year of her reign bringing moments of sparkle to sick children in hospitals and whispering prayers in their ears. The visits, she says, are God-given opportunities for her to lay hands on children by way of hugs and pray for their healing.

“If someone thinks you’re special, even for a moment, they’ll listen to you,” Cagna said. “So with a crown on my head, I share God’s love.”

Cagna says she grew up embarrassed by her gawky height and flat chest, hanging on to compliments at ballet recitals to offset the self-critical voice in her head. She was so afraid of speaking in public that, when forced to, she would babble incoherently. Boys hardly noticed her.

Then she stumbled into the world of glamour. Having been told she was photogenic, she entered the Seventeen magazine Look of the Year contest. Out of the 75,000 applicants, she ended up in the top six. She was presented with a contract and plane ticket to Puerto Rico. Her father wouldn’t agree, but Elite Agency had spotted her, and after graduating from high school she entered their modeling school in Los Angeles.

There she was taken aback by the sad self-absorption of the models. So when she went home for the holidays during her second year and her sister presented the gospel to her, she was ready. “I knelt in the bathroom and gave my life over to God,” she said. “A warmth … poured all through my body down to my toes.”

When back in Los Angeles Cagna, then 19, was offered a job as a runway model in Paris. It highlighted how her feeling of self-worth had changed in a prayer. “I had this sense that I was wrapped in God’s love, and ‘You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body’ came to mind. I headed home to Alabama.”

She went to college, then Bible school, got married and gave birth to a daughter, Sarah. Then one day she saw a pageant for married women on television. A search on the Internet led her to a Christian-based pageant. At the age of 35, she ballet-danced her way into the Mrs. Tennessee crown in September 2002, which a year later put her backstage at the national competition.

“I stood behind the curtain white-faced, frozen with fear,” Cagna said. “Another more seasoned contestant came over and gripped my arm: ‘You have just one shot to share what’s on your heart and tell the judges why you want this title. That’s all–just one.'”

Cagna said the woman’s words jerked her back to her mission. From the year of visiting children around her state as Mrs. Tennessee, she said she realized that what had the greatest impact on her was talking one on one with the children in hospital rooms.

She was called on stage, and she said she suddenly felt as if she were walking into a room full of friends. “In one word, what would you bring to this pageant system?” the judges wanted to know.

“Without the fear, it was like my head and my heart connected. I heard myself answer in a voice that was both gentle yet firm: ‘Integrity,'” she said.

In the last year, Cagna has visited six major hospitals across the country in her gown and crown. Ailing children light up in her Cinderella-like presence, and she lets them try on the crown and get a picture. Embracing them, she whispers a prayer. Sometimes whole families in distress join her in prayer.

Other times the children are aloof. She remembers one little boy who wouldn’t look at her despite her comment on his beautiful eyes. She stayed and told him how brave he was and how soon he’d be better, but it was clear he wouldn’t respond. “It was when I was turning to leave,” Cagna recalled, “that I saw the tears streaming down his face.”

Diane Wozniak, who founded the U.S. Beauties Pageants in 2001, said queens typically are expected to promote the pageant. “But I knew this is what God wanted for Susan, so I didn’t step in,” Wozniak said. “When Susan goes to heaven she’ll find out how many souls she touched and lives she changed by what she did this past year. She was truly an instrument of the Lord.”

As Cagna relinquishes the crown, she’ll go on to teach children the art of worshipful dance at her charismatic church, Christ Church in Nashville. In yet another way, she’ll be honoring God with her body and touching the lives of children.
Marsha Gallardo in Nashville, Tenn.

Both former Muslims, the pastors say new believers are risking their lives to tell others about Christ
Two former Muslims who are now pastors in the United States have separately launched satellite TV ministries that try to reach Muslims in a country where it is illegal to evangelize.

Their groundbreaking work in Iran has resulted in thousands coming to Christ, many of whom become such fervent believers that they risk their lives to share the gospel in the Islamic republic.

“Islam has held a grip on this land for over 1,500 years,” said Reza Safa, 43, pastor of Fishermen’s House Church in Tulsa, Okla., and founder of Nejat Christian satellite TV station, which has sought to evangelize the millions of Farsi-speaking people in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan since May 2003.

Nejat means “salvation,” “freedom” or “deliverance” in the Farsi language.

“Iranians have seen the true nature of Islam and are desperate for change and the truth,” Safa told Charisma. “This is also God’s time of visitation upon that land. There is an openness and receptiveness to Jesus that I have never seen there before. Many are having dreams and visions of Him and are experiencing a tremendous hunger and thirst. … We are seeing them accept Christ instantly, which has been unheard of in Iran in the past.”

Hormoz Shariat, co-founding pastor of the Iranian Christian Church in San Jose, Calif., and founder of International Antioch Ministries (IAM), which has broadcast Iranian Christian TV (ICTV) since 2002, agreed.

“We are finding that many young people are converting their families and friends after they come to Jesus,” Shariat, 49, told Charisma. “Still, they have to hide their viewing of the Christian broadcasts, as they risk imprisonment, loss of residence and jobs, and even death.”

In December, the U.S. State Department’s Annual Report on Religious Freedom assailed Iran among the worst offenders of religious liberty in the Middle East. According to this year’s Open Doors’ “World Watch List,” Iran ranked fifth among nations that persecute believers.

A missionary working in the Muslim world who asked that his name be withheld because of security concerns said persecution of Christians has “grown sharply” in Iran, where Muslims make up 99 percent of the population.

Despite the persecution, he said, in the last decade an estimated 30,000 Muslims have become “isolated believers” through Christian radio broadcasts and Bible correspondence courses. “Satellite TV broadcasts have long been one of the only significant ways of reaching the Muslim world in any large quantity,” he said.

Safa, who like Shariat was raised a devout Shiite in Iran and became a Christian after leaving the country, said Nejat TV has seen more than 3,000 Iranians and Afghans accept Christ since they started broadcasting.

With a goal of becoming a 24-hour station in five years, Nejat TV now broadcasts four hours daily into Iran and the surrounding area. Safa has received death threats, but he also receives hundreds of e-mails and telephone calls from curious Muslims, with many calling from cell phones to avoid government surveillance.

One of Safa’s challenges is funding a religious program overseas via satellite, which doesn’t come cheap. Through donations and preaching, he has raised $250,000, with a goal to raise $1 million to continue to grow Nejat TV.

Meanwhile, Shariat said ICTV’s live call-in show has been “the catalyst” for more than 50,000 Muslim conversions worldwide. “One time we had 30 people listening in on a single phone call and all came to Jesus through our show, and we ministered to them off the air,” he said.

ICTV broadcasts 18 hours weekly over two satellites, with the telecast seen in the United States, Canada, the Middle East and Europe. Shariat said it costs $280,000 annually to broadcast in Iran over satellite. The ministry is paid for through donations, grants, partnerships with parachurch groups and tithes from IAM’s four affiliated churches.
Eric Tiansay

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For more information on International Antioch Ministries, visit or call 408-267-3274. For more information on Harvesters World Outreach, visit or call 918-488-9645.

Leaders say the Café-Bohne coffeehouse has become a surrogate church for many of the city’s disaffected teens
Christ, coffee and basketball have become unlikely tools for reaching German youth who are disenchanted with traditional church.

A ministry of Lauf Free Community Church, the Café-Bohne (The Coffee Bean) in Lauf an der Pegnitz, outside Nuremberg, acts as a surrogate church for many teens who credit the youth ministry with turning their lives around.

“I don’t go to a traditional church,” said Nicolas Schumacher, a 19-year-old café regular. “I come here, meet with friends, and attend the youth group because the people care about us and it’s a lot of fun.”

Although Germany is the birthplace of Martin Luther and other important names in Christian history, most of its centuries-old cathedrals are practically devoid of young people. “I skipped church every chance I could get,” said 15-year-old Simon Kreuz. “There, there is no faith, only a pious service.”

Many 12- to 18-year-olds find traditional churches boring and would not be involved in a Christian community at all if it weren’t for the café, said Petra Becker, who runs the ministry. According to estimates from the Lutheran and Catholic churches, only about 5 percent to 10 percent of Germans are active Christians, and Operation World reports that 53 percent of these are over the age of 50.

A recent German study by the Kinder Evangelisation Bewegung (Child Evangelism Movement) showed that 86 percent of Christians made a decision for Christ before age 15, Ethos magazine reported, making youth evangelism crucial.

In addition to being a safe hang-out spot for youth, the café, which officially opened in January 2003, coordinates a variety of activities, including weekly music jams and youth groups. The ministry also hosts an annual basketball camp, put on by Becker and her team in cooperation with the American sports missionary organization News Release Basketball based in Denver.

High school and college basketball players from the United States visit various cities in Europe each summer, helping teens not only to hone their basketball skills but also to discover the message of Jesus Christ through sports, telling them “what jocks have to say about Jesus,” Becker said.

For most, basketball is initially a bigger attraction than Jesus. “I sat through the daily Bible study, bored and uninterested,” said Kreuz, who attended the camp in 2003. “I just wanted to play basketball.”

Yet the Holy Spirit was at work in his life, and like many youth, Kreuz came to Christ the last day of camp. “What brought me to Christ were the unbelievable wonders at the basketball camp,” he explained. “Things happened there that you really can’t describe in words. … On the last day of camp, I gave my life to Jesus. This decision changed my whole life. Without Jesus you are missing the best part of life on Earth. And you are missing the eternal life, the big party in heaven.”

With more than 30 years’ experience working with youth, Becker directs the youth ministry at Lauf Free Community Church and has a degree in counseling and social work. She and her team show the teens “that they are accepted by God and others just for who they are,” Becker told Charisma. “When they feel that, then they are wide open for God’s Word. ”

Sometimes the teens just drink coffee and hang out. At other times they discuss topics from the weekly Bible studies or special youth conferences. Becker said many youth who come to Christ go on to work with other teens. “This is the joy of my life, what motivates me,” she said. “That’s the reason we make coffee.”
Rebecca K. Weber in Nuremberg, Germany

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For more information about Café-Bohne, write to Jugendcafé Johannisstrasse 8, 91207 Lauf a. d. Pegnitz, Germany; or log on to .
begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life'” (John 3:16).