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 (www.eagleswings.to) 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 (www.daytopray.org), 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 U.S.A. (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

Billy Graham said the nation’s 40th president was ‘a man of tremendous integrity, based on his religious belief’

Former President Ronald Wilson Reagan has been lauded as one of the nation’s greatest U.S. presidents, an exceptional communicator who helped redefine Republicanism. Yet the actor-turned-politician–who died June 5 at the age of 93 in his Bel Air, Calif., home after a 10-year battle against Alzheimer’s disease–was also a man of faith, say those who knew him best.

“Mr. Reagan had a religious faith deeper than most people knew,” said evangelist Billy Graham, who described Reagan as “one of my closest personal friends for many years. … The President was a man of tremendous integrity, based on his religious belief.”

Biographer Mary Beth Brown, author of Hand of Providence: The Strong and Quiet Faith of Ronald Reagan, which released from a Thomas Nelson subsidiary in March, said the nation’s 40th president accepted Christ at the age of 11 and was subsequently baptized. Though his father was Catholic, Reagan grew up in his mother’s denomination, the Disciples of Christ, then attended Presbyterian churches as an adult.

Family members said his faith was a guiding force. “My father lived as close to his maker as it is possible for a mortal to be,” said adopted son Michael Reagan, a Christian and conservative radio-show host who will release an autobiography and political commentary, Twice Adopted, in October. “Every morning he put himself in God’s hands, accepting whatever happened as the will of the Lord with absolute confidence that he would receive whatever he needed to cope with whatever the Lord put in front of him.”

Some Christian leaders say Reagan felt a sense of calling to the presidency. Christian broadcaster and author George Otis said he prophesied to then-Gov. Reagan at his home in the late 1960s that he would one day occupy 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.–if he walked uprightly before God. “We realized we had heard the voice of God,” said Otis, who was accompanied by entertainer Pat Boone and evangelist Harald Bredesen at the meeting.

Reagan acknowledged the prophecy to Boone after his first inauguration in 1981, indicating that he felt guided by a sense of divine purpose, Otis said. Observers have said that Reagan’s role in ending the Cold War, stimulating the economy and restoring a sense of optimism to America helped the nation through a critical juncture in its history.

Brown noted that Reagan’s faith informed his views, saying his resistance to communism was prompted in part by his opposition to its atheistic tenets. And his “reverence for the dignity of human life” motivated his pro-life stance, she added.

Because of his declining health, Reagan remained out of the public eye for much of the last decade and was cared for by his wife, Nancy. In her own autobiography, the former first lady wrote that she admired her husband’s faith, but did not share his passion and consulted astrologers because she was a habitual worrier and feared that her husband would be assassinated, Brown noted.

Though Reagan reportedly was private about his faith, he spoke several times to Christian groups, giving his well-known “evil empire” speech before the National Association of Evangelicals in 1983. “Yes, let us pray for the salvation of all those who live in that totalitarian darkness–pray they will discover the joy of knowing God,” he told them.

“But until they do, let us be aware that while they preach the supremacy of the state, declare its omnipotence over individual man, and predict its eventual domination of all peoples on the Earth, they are the focus of evil in the modern world.”

Though some Christians were critical of Reagan’s cuts to social programs that benefitted lower-income Americans, others praised his policies. Focus on the Family founder James Dobson, who served on several White House commissions, said Reagan was “a true friend to the defenders of traditional values.” In 1988, Reagan signed a law establishing the National Day of Prayer as the first Thursday in May.

Millions of Americans watched Reagan’s public funeral, held in the National Cathedral June 11. He was buried at his presidential library in Simi Valley, Calif.
Eric Tiansay and Adrienne S. Gaines

England-based Operation Mobilization recently purchased a new ship in an $18 million venture that will allow for expansion
A fleet of the world’s largest floating bookshops is about to get bigger.

Operation Mobilization (OM) recently bought a new ship in an $18 million venture that will enable the England-based missionary organization to expand its ministry distributing Christian literature and helping with community projects in ports around the world.

OM founder George Verwer, a native of New Jersey, described the purchase as the group’s “biggest single project.” Scheduled to enter ministry service in May 2005, the new ship–a 10,000-ton ferry that has been renamed Logos Hope–is the fourth motor vessel to be used by OM since 1970.

All the crew and staff are Christian volunteers, who serve in a variety of roles, from captain to cook, and raise sponsorship to fund their time onboard. Living expenses are covered by the ships’ funds.

OM and floating bookshops were Verwer’s brainchild. He converted to Christianity as a teenager during the 1950s and soon sensed a call to missions. He said he saw many lost people in the United States, “but at least they had a chance. I felt my life must be for those who have never heard. That’s one of the things God built into me, this vision for the more unreached places.”

Verwer said the name Operation Mobilization was inspired in the early 1960s, and expressed the group’s mission, to “mobilize the people of God” to reach the nations. Eventually OM began transporting truckloads of books from Europe to India.

He explained why OM chose to use ships: “We had these 125 vehicles, driving all the way to India. I thought, We need a ship, because we were very geared to moving people, moving large quantities of literature.”

In 1970 OM bought the Umanak, which became the Logos, meaning “word” in Greek. She was joined in 1977 by Doulos, which means “servant.” The Doulos is the oldest active ocean-going passenger ship.

Logos was shipwrecked in 1988 and replaced by Logos II. The group Educational Book Exhibits owns Logos II, and Doulos is owned by the German charity Güte Bucher für Alle, meaning Good Books for All. Both are ministries of OM.

However, Logos II has become too small, and Logos Hope, which is three times its size, will succeed it. “We need more facilities,” Verwer said. “The ship sometimes is having 100,000 people come on the weekends, so a lot of people just have to go through the exhibit and they have to leave. With the new ship there will be many more departments, so you won’t have to leave.”

Logos II has a staff and crew of roughly 200, while Doulos has about 300. Each member who joins must be over 18, speak English, be committed to the beliefs of the ship’s community and be able to raise financial support for their time onboard; the cost varies depending on the stage of development their home country is in.

Jaylene Schlichting, from Iowa will soon leave Doulos, but plans to continue working with OM. “I’ve been interested in missions all of my life,” Schlichting said. “I saw a brochure [about the Doulos] and thought, I could do that. Everyone’s really behind me–I raised my support in one month.”

Doulos visitor James Rowntree, of Southampton, England, was impressed by the ship and its staff. “The people onboard work as a big family, and must really enjoy what they do,” he said. “It’s good for religious people because it promotes the Word of God.”

As well as money raised from volunteers’ sponsorships, which accounts for about 60 percent of each ship’s running costs, finance is raised through book sales and corporate support in their numerous destinations.

Though he recently stepped down as president of OM, Verwer remains active in ministry, speaking at churches and conferences and working on special projects such as the distribution of AIDS awareness literature.

OM is one of the world’s largest missions organizations, with more than 3,000 members from 83 nations. It assists in planting churches, distributing Christian literature and offering humanitarian relief around the world. Verwer said OM has distributed the gospel to about 1 billion people, 100 million through its ships.
Sarah Louise Nicholls

Randy Clark, known for helping spark the Toronto Blessing, says another healing revival is coming to the church
The man credited with sparking the Toronto Blessing says a healing revival is on the horizon.

That’s why Vineyard pastor-turned-revivalist Randy Clark is touring the nation, leading a series of four-day healing schools. He said he hopes to prepare Christians to minister healing and walk in the miraculous. “I want to equip people with models that teach them how to move naturally in the supernatural,” Clark told Charisma.

The first healing school was held May 12 in the Seattle area, with about 250 people attending. Another was to be held June 21 in Harrisburg, Pa. “God wants to anoint you to heal, to bring people into the kingdom,” Clark told attendees in Seattle. “People are drawn to Jesus when they see His healing power, and that is what gives success to missions.”

Assisting Clark is Norwegian minister Leif Hetland, who Clark describes as one of the most influential Christian leaders in Muslim nations today. Hetland was pastor of a small Baptist church in Norway when Clark prayed that he would receive an impartation for power evangelism and healing ministry. Today Hetland is based in Alabama but ministers frequently in Muslim nations.

“In the last nine years since we prophesied over him and an impartation came, over 1 million people have been saved through his ministry,” Clark said of Hetland. “It is one of the most miraculous ministries in the world right now.”

Clark said he launched the schools to correct wrong theology and equip Christians to minister healing. “I believe that we are going to see another healing revival, so I wanted to do a school where there could be a solid biblical basis for both the models and the theology behind healing and power evangelism,” Clark said. “People like the models I learned in the Vineyard and the balance, so I do expect that there will be a multiplication of healing in churches, communities and nations as a result of our healing schools.”

The Seattle healing school covered three main categories: information, activation and impartation. The information segment discussed ecclesiastical history of the phenomena of God’s presence, past and emerging models for healing, and the role of power evangelism in international church growth. Clark described “power evangelism” as the Word of God being demonstrated by the Spirit of God through signs and wonders.

The activation time covered such topics as how a person can align himself with the heart of God, the role of healing in the ministry of Jesus and the Great Commission, and training on how to activate the gifts of word of knowledge, healing and deliverance.

During nonteaching times, healing school participants received prayer for the impartation of spiritual gifts. Evening sessions were open to the public, giving students an opportunity to activate words of knowledge and begin to minister healing.

Jean Andrews, a technical writer and grandmother from Suwanne, Ga., said she was influenced by Clark’s “Spend and Be Spent” message. “I was going on mission trips as they fit into my life,” Andrews told Charisma. “But when Randy said, ‘Spend and be spent for the reward of His suffering,’ I felt like totally surrendering. How can we sit back and go just when it’s convenient?”

The message also had an emotional impact on Ryan Adair, 23, of Puyallup, Wash., one of Clark’s interns. “I’ve heard [Clark] preach it multiple times, but God just came and touched me,” Adair said. “I felt like I was supposed to surrender myself [to the Lord] again–‘Do what You want to do with me; take me where You want to take me.'”

Mark Moody, whose Northwest Awakening organization coordinated the Seattle meetings, said he believes the schools are effective training tools for Christians. “Northwest Awakening’s vision is to provide conferences and resources to enable people to walk in new dimensions of the power of God both in and through their lives,” Moody said. “I believe this school brought about a marriage of understanding and experience for many.”

Healing schools are scheduled for Redding, Calif., beginning Sept. 29 and Englewood, Fla., beginning Nov. 17. Clark’s ministry organization, Global Awakening, is also planning 10-12 additional healing schools to be held in 2005.
Julia C. Loren in Seattle

Sam Der-Yeghiayan came to the United States and attended Evangel University, thanks to an Assemblies of God missionary

The first person of Armenian heritage to ever become a federal judge keeps a low public profile. Sam Der-Yeghiayan (dare-yea-ge-yan) doesn’t grant interviews, to avoid giving political adversaries fodder for misconstruing his Christian views.

But that doesn’t stop others from loudly applauding his accomplishments.

The one-time Assemblies of God missionary who helped him enter the United States isn’t surprised that his protégé now sits on the U.S. District Court for Northern Illinois.

“Sam always had the drive to be somebody and not just be another person,” said William Ilnisky, pastor of Lighthouse Christian Center International in West Palm Beach, Fla. “That’s what made me willing to invest time in him and help him out.”

Born in Syria but raised in Lebanon, 52-year-old Der-Yeghiayan came from a Christian family. But as a teen he generally spent more time with gangs than in church, Ilnisky said.

The two met soon after Ilnisky went to Beirut in 1969 to establish a campus ministry near American University. His first year the missionary also taught at a high school for Armenians.

While Der-Yeghiayan “played a lot of games,” at 18 he accepted Christ and was filled with the Spirit, telling Ilnisky, “I’ve traded my gun for a sword.”

Despite this change, “I realized if he stayed in Lebanon he would probably be dead quickly because of uprisings between Muslims and Christians,” Ilnisky recalled. “In Lebanon, everyone carried a gun for protection.”

Because of his connections to Evangel College, which became a university in 1998, Ilnisky arranged for Der-Yeghiayan to obtain a visa and enroll. His first home in Springfield, Mo., was with the school’s president, the late Robert Ashcroft, father of U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft.

After obtaining a social sciences degree, Der-Yeghiayan went on to the Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord, N.H., and became a naturalized citizen. After graduating in 1978, he became a trial attorney for the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) in Chicago.

Four years later Der-Yeghiayan became counsel for the INS Chicago district, overseeing a three-state area. He held that post until becoming an immigration court judge in 2000, where he served until joining the federal court a year ago.

Rated “qualified” by the American Bar Association, Der-Yeghiayan was approved by Congress 89-0.

Der-Yeghiayan is the third Evangel grad to hold high public office. The others are Adm. Vern Clark, chief of U.S. naval operations, and Todd Tiahrt, a five-term congressman from Kansas.

The first alumnus on the federal bench, Der-Yeghiayan has a legion of admirers in Springfield. His alma mater recently presented him its 2004 Regius Award, which honors social sciences alumni for outstanding professional achievement.

While in Missouri Der-Yeghiayan visited Bryan Sanders’ administrative law class, where the professor said the judge “captivated” his students.

A former real estate developer and attorney, Sanders believes the skilled graduate’s integrity enables him to walk a fine line between his Christian beliefs and upholding the law.

The professor is also impressed with the judge’s humility, saying “it’s like a breath of fresh air” to see someone of importance avoiding an arrogant stance.

“He’s very well reasoned and cautious in the things he says and does,” Sanders said. “He’s not a knee-jerk judge. I think that’s what has gotten him credibility. I didn’t perceive in him a political bent. He truly looks to the written law.”

Robert Spence, who succeeded Ashcroft as president and knew Der-Yeghiayan his senior year, remembers a focused, dedicated student–one who opened a pizzeria during college to help pay his tuition.

Sometimes challenged by struggles with language differences, Der-Yeghiayan “had to work a little harder and excelled,” Spence said. “It was obvious to those who knew him that he was going somewhere.”

J. Calvin Holsinger, a semi-retired professor who continues to teach a course in public history, echoes that sentiment. He described his former student as a “go-getter,” and Holsinger said he was touched by the people who came from long distances to attend the spring dinner honoring the Evangel graduate.

“People from his past who heard about it made an effort to be there,” said Holsinger, who heard the judge praised as a capable, helping person. “He seeks to do his best for the country.”

During Der-Yeghiayan’s swearing-in ceremony, Attorney General Ashcroft said the Founding Fathers knew individuals who would lead this nation best were those committed to fundamental maxims of liberty.

“This nation needs more men and women, more boys and girls, who will follow in Sam’s footsteps,” Ashcroft said, the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin reported.

On Evangel’s campus, many would add a hearty, “Amen.”
Ken Walker

Organizers say the Appleton, Wis., shopping and activity center will help churches reach out to teens in their community
In 1954 Appleton, Wis., opened the nation’s first fully enclosed shopping mall. Now, 50 years later, the Valley Fair Mall is getting a major makeover to become the nation’s first youth mall.

But this isn’t some corporate leech trying to tap into the $90-per-week wad of cash the average teen spends. This is a faith-friendly, community-based effort that sees dollar signs as secondary.

“What good does it do to gain the world and lose your soul?” asks Dave Lehman, founder and executive director of the nonprofit YouthFutures, a faith-based community organization. “This could be very profitable, but that’s not our passion. We want to take that money and invest it in kids.”

The investment begins with the pending purchase of the dying Valley Fair Mall with an Aug. 21 Grand Reopening planned. “Part of the concept behind the mall is that there are 94,000 teens in this four-county region, and like a lot of other communities, there’s not that much for teens to do,” said CEO Greg Books, a former pastor and currently an elder at Evangel Worship Center in Menasha, Wisc.

“Teens really don’t have that much to do, and it’s a breeding ground for trouble,” Books said. “What we want to create is a venue where there’s entertainment choices–a skate park, theater, paintball, stores, food court, places to sit, a comedy house–there’s just a plethora of choices, but none of those choices will get you into trouble.”

An inexpensive theater, skate park, PC gaming venue and hip-hop clothing store already are open, and other attractions should open their doors in time for the Grand Reopening. With an eye toward investing in teens, Books and Lehman describe their concept as a town square. Community involvement is essential and gives the church space beside government and commercial establishments.

“Richard John Newhouse wrote a series of books where he coined the phrase ‘naked public square,'” Books said. “And his concern was that in political debate and in public debate you can be involved no matter your motivation–unless that motivation is religious, and then you’re required to check your beliefs at the door as the price of getting into the square.”

YouthFutures wants its mall to be a place that welcomes faith. The plan calls for a major anchor to be Matt’s House, which will occupy a former Kohl’s department store, and offer a café, climbing wall, inflatable games, a recording studio and practice rooms, and more.

“Matt’s House is really a bridge for the churches into the community,” said Rob Strauss, president of Matt’s House and former pastor at Calvary Bible Church in Neenah, Wis. The name for Matt’s House comes from Matthew the disciple, who Strauss said essentially threw a party for his friends to introduce them to Jesus. Matt’s House isn’t its own church or youth group, but instead it is a point of contact for the 34 local churches involved.

While Matt’s House is a Christian-based tenant, organizers say the mall itself is more of a venue that allows faith to have a voice, distinguishing Valley Fair from other wholly Christian ventures, such as the Concord, N.C., mall owned and operated by First Assembly of God.

The whole idea is the brainchild of Lehman, who’s been mulling the prospect for more than 10 years. Three years ago he resigned from Appleton Community Evangelical Free Church to pursue the project full time. “Dave showed me the concept on the back of an envelope–that’s where all great ideas are birthed,” Books said.

So far Lehman and Books aren’t alone in thinking this is a great idea. At least 13 corporate donors have signed on with substantial gifts. Appleton Mayor Timothy M. Hanna and U.S. Congressman Mark Green are both on the YouthFutures board of advisers. The Chris Farley Foundation plans to open the Chris Farley Comedy House at the mall. Teens have signed up as well, eagerly joining a Teen Advisory Board and committing to raise $250,000 for the mall themselves.

And the youth mall concept doesn’t end in Appleton. Said Books: “There are literally hundreds of cities that have that same combination of a dead or dying mall, a teen population with nothing to do, and a strong, vibrant faith community.”
Kevin D. Hendricks in Appleton, Wis.

The inner-healing method is being used worldwide amid concerns that it is a form of guided-imagery therapy
Even as an adult and devout Christian, “Mary” struggled to overcome a childhood marred by incest. She was seeing a Christian counselor on a weekly basis. But feelings of guilt and shame still crippled her to the point where she was taking antidepressants and a host of other medications.

Her counselor, meanwhile, was facing his own struggles. Ed Smith had been a Southern Baptist pastor for 17 years before opening a Christian counseling
practice in Campbellsville, Ky., in 1991. He thrived on helping others but by 1996 was completely burned out, discouraged that his clients were not seeing significant results.

Smith, who had a doctorate in pastoral ministry from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Mo., was using cognitive therapy–the same as many other counselors, Christian and non-Christian.

Week after week, often growing into year after year, Smith would discuss with his clients their past trauma, such as rape, incest or abuse. “I would look for ways to apply biblical truths,” he said. “I would tell them these truths repeatedly.”

Yet his clients still struggled with guilt, shame and other emotional pain.

“What I was doing was a farce,” Smith said.

It dawned on him that he was actually standing in God’s way. So he came up with a simple approach and used it in his next session with Mary (not her real name). Instead of discussing her painful past, Smith told Mary to “go to the memory” of her childhood abuse. He then prayed aloud a simple prayer: “Lord Jesus, what is it You want Mary to know in this memory?”

The results were dramatic, Smith said, as Mary encountered God’s presence and healing power. What’s more, he said, for the first time Mary grasped that she was not at fault for what had happened to her as a little girl.

The guilt and shame were gone and Mary soon no longer needed to see Smith nor was she in need of prescription drugs. Her medical doctor was stunned and called Smith. “He wanted to know what I had done,” Smith said.

Smith explained to him the concept, which he named “theophostic prayer ministry”–“theo” meaning God and “phostic” meaning light. The doctor was soon referring a host of other patients to Smith.

That was eight years ago, and since that time Smith changed his practice into a ministry–International Association for Theophostic Ministry–and focuses on training people in theophostic prayer ministry (TPM). Smith doesn’t know how many pastors and laypeople minister in TPM, but one indication of its growing popularity is that his office receives an average of 800-1,000 requests per month for basic training kits. Based on those requests, TPM is being used in more than 100 countries.

“Theophostic ministry is shining the light of Christ into darkness,” said Jean LaCour of Orlando, Fla., who has been ministering with TPM since 1999. “We simply lead the person to the feet of Jesus through prayer, and allow God to reveal His truth to their wounded heart and mind.”

Smith said that oftentimes the woundedness stems from what he calls lie-based pain. “I believe that emotional pain in people’s lives is almost always rooted in what they believe–not what is, but what they believe,” he said. “That’s why in traditional counseling, people have to keep going back over and over again. Because counseling can’t give them the experience that God wants to give them.”

TPM is used in various churches–from charismatic and Pentecostal to Baptist and Roman Catholic. Recognized leaders such as John and Paula Sandford, Paul Meier of New Life Clinics and Charles Kraft of Fuller Theological Seminary also use the method. Smith has recently spoken at annual conventions for the American Association of Christian Counselors and the Christian Association of Psychological Studies.

But TPM is not without its critics, who say the method is actually guided imagery and age regression therapy. David Entwistle, a Christian psychologist who has researched and written about theophostic prayer ministry, said several elements of TPM troubled him. For one, he said TPM techniques may not offer adequate safeguards to distinguish true from false memories.

But for Entwistle, the most central issue is how to understand the presence of Jesus in the “memories” of people undergoing TPM. “On what basis are we to conclude whether the appearance of Jesus in TPM is literal or figurative, based on revelation or imagination?”

Smith said TPM training seminars and resources stress that TPM facilitators are never to engage in guided imagery or recovered memory therapy. “We don’t do that,” he said. “We’re not implanting or suggesting any kind of memory content. We’re to be careful that we’re not the ones trying to give the person the truth.”

However, Smith said, he cannot monitor everyone who claims to use theophostic ministry. “Theophostic is simply a tool and people can use it improperly,” LaCour explained.

She added that she believes God has been using TPM all along. “It is profound how Jesus expresses His tender love to people,” she told Charisma. “His love that I have seen poured out is more tender, more fierce, more cleansing than I could ever imagine.”
Nancy Justice

Pakistani Pastor Released on Bail

A Pakistani pastor imprisoned on blasphemy charges since December has been released on bail, Christian Solidarity International (CSI) reported. Jailed in Lahore, Pakistan, Anwar Masih was accused of insulting various prophets. His accuser, Nasser Ahmed, a recent convert to Islam, is said to have a grudge against Masih and previously was accused of severely beating a neighbor. In a May 28 letter to Pakistan President, General Pervez Musharraf, the Rev. Hans Stuckelberger, president and founder of CSI, called for a broader review of the blasphemy law, calling it an open incitement to violence.

Christian Children Lured To Buddhist Monasteries

Children from Christian families in Myanmar are being lured from their homes and placed in Buddhist monasteries. According to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), the children between the ages of 5 and 10 reportedly have their heads shaved and are trained as novice monks, never to see their parents again. During a visit with Chin and Kachin refugees in India in March, CSW officials also heard other accounts of persecution and discrimination. The government of the Southeast Asian nation, located between India and Thailand, offers incentives to impoverished villagers to convert from Christianity to Buddhism in Chin state, an area that is 90 percent Christian.

At least 350 People Die in Religious Clash in Nigeria

Two months after Muslim militants killed a pastor and 48 members of his church, fresh religious violence has erupted in the town of Yelwa in the central state of Plateau. The Muslim-Christian clash in May resulted in the deaths of at least 350 people, Compass Direct reported. Elsewhere, more than 120 people were killed and thousands more displaced when inter-religious violence erupted in Sarkin Kudu and Dampar villages in the northern state of Taraba in April. The skirmishes followed the murder earlier this year of a Church of Christ in Nigeria pastor and members of his congregation. Samson Bukar died on Feb. 23 when Muslim militants attacked his church in Yelwa.