Trinity Broadcasting Network’s (TBN) youth-focused channel JC-TV marked its first anniversary in January. Though JC-TV is available on only a handful of cable outlets–in Huntsville, Montgomery and Valley, Ala.; Panama City, Fla.; Augusta and Columbus, Ga.; Charleston, S.C.; Knoxville, Tenn.; and the campus of Old Mississippi University–leaders say it is available in 3 million U.S. households and worldwide through its live Internet stream.

The 24-hour channel includes much of the youth-oriented programming that aired on TBN on Saturday nights, including Eastman Curtis’ This Generation and Real Videos. But the network also is chock-full of original shows such as the youth forum WWJD-TV, the extreme sports show Xtreme Life, the fashion and beauty show Mind, Body and Spirit, and more than 10 hours of Christian music videos each day.

The youth network was developed in late 2002 after TBN founder Paul Crouch had a dream in which teens were telling him they needed a media vehicle that would be relevant to their generation. TBN Vice President of Administration Paul Crouch Jr., who also oversees operations for JC-TV, said TBN invested $1 million to create the infrastructure and solicited churches, youth ministries, and Christian colleges and universities for programming.

Crouch Jr. said JC-TV is not a commercial venture. “It costs nothing for youth ministries to be on JC-TV,” he told Charisma. “It’s kind of a missions project of TBN. TBN is underwriting the whole enchilada right now.”

Crouch said the network has been well-received, particularly in Costa Rica and Africa, where youth are watching over the Internet. “The penetration overseas has been faster than in the United States,” Crouch said.

Though he hesitates to describe JC-TV as a Christian version of MTV, Mark McCallie, who works with Jan Crouch as JC-TV programming director, said the goal is to see the network rival MTV’s production quality as it airs Christ-focused, entertainment-driven programs for youth.

Brandon Crouch, a 20-year-old JC-TV personality, said he has received “amazing” feedback about JC-TV. “I’ve had parents come up to me and practically fall at my feet saying: ‘Thank you so much. Your network has saved my son or daughter’s life. What can I do to get involved?’

“Time after time, even in Costa Rica when I was there, I had youth coming up to me saying: ‘Thank you. Your God has changed my life.'”

“Kids are searching,” his dad, Paul Crouch Jr., added. “I think a lot of kids stop on MTV because they think it’s cool or kind of the in thing.” He said hundreds of youth have posted messages on their Web site, , complimenting the programming.”

“I think there was a pent-up demand for this kind of thing,” McCallie noted. “It will have a higher level of entertainment value than you might see on TBN.”

The JC-TV team has plans for further expansion, with new shows in the works, including an extreme-sports show that McCallie said will rival the quality of shows on ESPN.

Previous efforts to create a 24-hour Christian music channel failed. Z Music Television, owned by Nashville, Gaylord Entertainment Company, shut down its cable signal in June 2000 after five years in operation. Crouch said JC-TV isn’t dependent on viewers and distribution as Z Music was because the youth network is not commercial-driven.

He said TBN has the resources to “keep it going forever,” but they hope the network will one day be self-sustaining. “We’re serving the product. Now it’s up to the end-user to see if they can put enough pressure on the cable system to get it into their homes,” Crouch said. “I’d encourage youth ministries and universities to mobilize and say, ‘Put this on the cable systems.'”

Brandon Crouch believes God has blessed their ministry. “We have practically the world covered,” he said. “If it wasn’t for God, we wouldn’t be this far in the first place. If you look at the bigger picture, God has brought us this far.”
Adrienne S. Gaines

The following reports were released during the last month by Charisma News Service. Go to our Web site at to subscribe to the free weekday service or to access full-length versions of each day’s stories. The site also includes a search engine so you can access archived news.

DAYSTAR, FAMILYNET TO REMAIN ON DISH NETWORK
After six months of legal wrangling, Christian TV networks Daystar and FamilyNet will be allowed to remain on the Dish Network. On Jan. 30, a federal appeals court reversed a July preliminary injunction that would have forced both networks to be immediately removed from Dish, which has 10 million viewers. The dispute stems from a lawsuit filed by Dominion Sky Angel, a Christian satellite company, against EchoStar, which owns Dish Network. Dominion claimed EchoStar breached its contract with Dominion by allowing Christian stations other than SkyAngel, Trinity Broadcasting Network and the Eternal Word Television Network to air on Dish. Though the ruling allows Daystar and FamilyNet to air on Dish, Dominion said it is still in litigation with EchoStar. Meanwhile, FamilyNet has announced plans to expand its programming to include a news show in partnership with Fox News, as well as Focus on the Family’s Adventures in Odyssey children’s series. The programs are scheduled to debut in September.

PONZI SCHEME VICTIMS LAUNCH COMPENSATION FUND

Benny Hinn, Marilyn Hickey and Christ for All Nations are among several ministers and Christian groups that helped start a compensation fund for the victims of a three-year Ponzi scheme involving International Product Investment Corporation (IPIC), which bilked mostly churches and Christian ministries out of $160 million. Though some investors lost all their money, others received profits. The fund was established with excess money the ministries or their leaders received through their dealings with IPIC head Gregory Setser, who was arrested in November and charged with securities fraud and money laundering.

CHURCHES UNDER CONSTRUCTION IN CHINA

Two state-sanctioned churches are under construction in communist China, which has repeatedly been criticized by the U.S. State Department for harassing and persecuting Christians there, the Associated Press reported. The Beijing Religious Affairs Office said the new facilities in eastern and western Beijing should be completed by Christmas. The structures would be the first churches built in Beijing since 1949. Critics believe the move is an attempt to get Chinese Christians to abandon their underground congregations for state-sponsored churches, thus making them less of a threat, the AP said.

AIRLINE EXECUTIVE APOLOGIZES FOR PILOT’S CHRISTIAN REMARKS
The head of American Airlines apologized Feb. 13 for remarks a Christian pilot made during a recent cross-country flight. At the start of the Feb. 7 trip from Los Angeles to New York, pilot Rodger K. Findiesen, who had recently returned from a missions trip, asked all Christians on board to raise their hands so fellow passengers could search them out for discussion about faith, the Associated Press reported. In a letter to Anti-Defamation League Director Abraham Foxman, American Airlines’ Gerard Arpey said: “Let me assure you that we take this very seriously and are conducting a thorough investigation. [The airline] promotes an environment of respect for the diversity of all persons, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, disability, gender, age or sexual orientation.” Findiesen has been grounded with pay.

Church Planter and Missionary Earl Kellum Dies

Missionary Earl Kellum, who planted dozens of churches across Mexico and Latin America through his Irving, Texas-based Latin America Missions, died on Jan. 21 of an apparent heart attack at his Iguala, Mexico, home. He was 77. Born in Mississippi, Kellum moved to Mexico in 1954 and went on to plant more than 400 churches there and another 100 in Guatemala, Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua and Peru. He is survived by two adult daughters and two brothers. Memorial services were held in Mexico Jan. 23 and Oneonta, Ala., Jan. 26.

Singer Stacy Orrico Decries Sexy Pop Image

Contemporary Christian singer Stacy Orrico, 17, decried the revealing clothing worn by pop stars Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera during an interview Feb. 14 in Singapore, where she was preparing for the MTV Asia Awards, the Associated Press (AP) reported. Calling the pair poor role models for girls, Orrico said: “I don’t think that’s sexy, I think it’s degrading. I think that a truly sexy woman comes from being confident and being classy, respectable and mature,” the AP said.

Israeli Official Calls for Muslim Conversion

During a February meeting with Christian leaders visiting from Europe, Israeli Tourism Minister Benny Elon asked missionaries to try to convert Islamic militants, the Associated Press (AP) reported. Elon said Israel would not tolerate evangelism among Jews, but recommended missionaries “remind all the Muslim killers that thou shalt not kill. Make them good Christians and good people,” according to the Yediot Ahronot daily, the AP said.

If you have a news tip for Charisma News Service, e-mail us at charisma@.

BOOKS

The Seven Secrets
By John Hagee, Charisma House,

256 pages, hardcover, $.

In this autobiographically-flavored, inspirational volume, best-selling author John Hagee shows that such qualities as attitude, persistence, prayer and faith are the keys to success. The Seven Secrets: Unlocking Genuine Greatness is a clarion call to embrace the values that have inspired great leaders, whether legends of history or quiet heroes whose determination and selflessness enabled them to move mountains.

Each chapter on the seven secrets contains seven applications, fashioning a solid, biblically-based message of motivation. But this book is also packed with riveting, real-life anecdotes that illustrate the teachings. Some will have you laughing out loud and others will tug on your heartstrings.

One of the best chapters opens the book. In it Hagee writes that while success is for everyone, it does not encompass such sacred cows as money, power, attaining goals or “having it all.” Instead, what we long for can be found in trusting–and serving–the God who makes all things possible.

Ken Walker

Deal With It!
By Paula White, Thomas Nelson
Publishers, 241 pages, hardcover, $.

In her latest release, Paula White provides a character study of 10 women of the Bible. The reader will be intrigued to find seldom recognized women–Dorcas, Gomer, the Shunammite woman and the daughters of Zelophehad–considered alongside often-scrutinized women such as Ruth, Leah, Rahab, Hannah, Mary Magdalene and Esther. The result is a candid, compassionate psychology of women that spans the centuries to offer biblical wisdom concerning the life issues women face today.

For example, focusing on Dorcas, White addresses the needs of the 21st century woman. Dorcas falls into the category of women who do too much, and her lifestyle brought on her death. (Fortunately, Peter raised her from the dead.) White dispels the Superwoman myth by emphasizing the Bible’s teaching on work. She writes that “God is calling us to audit our lives and then put our lives in balance.”

Readers will appreciate White’s personal application of the lessons. She practices what she preaches: “If you are willing to identify, confront and conquer the issues of your life–to truly deal with them–God will heal you, restore you and lead you into the destiny that He has planned for you, a destiny beyond your wildest dreams.” Prepare for victory. Deal with it!
Pamela Robinson

The Cross and the Scalpel
By Gwen Wilkerson, Chosen Books,
208 pages, softcover, $.

Gwen Wilkerson has been a minister’s wife for more than 50 years. Her husband, David, was a country preacher who began ministering to street gangs in New York City in 1959. His dramatic story was told in The Cross and the Switchblade. He went on to found Teen Challenge and World Challenge ministries, as well as Times Square Church.

While David’s ministry was growing, Gwen functioned behind the scenes, supporting her husband, raising their four children and facing her own health crises. Hers is a success story: She survived 16 surgeries and nine occurrences of cancer. In The Cross and the Scalpel, Gwen talks frankly about the challenges of body and spirit through which the Great Physician brought her.

The first 15 chapters of this book include events in her life through 1977–material covered in an earlier book published by the ministry titled In His Strength. Chapters 16-20 discuss her life in the last two decades. In one chapter, Gwen’s daughter Bonnie tells of her own bout with cancer.

Gwen sees herself as “a normal woman who has asked of God and received from God.” She stresses the importance of God’s Word in her life, saying she always kept her Bible close. Her honest, transparent story can minister to every woman.
Leslie Santamaria

Soul Sister
By Beth Redman, Regal, 120 pages,

softcover, $.

Beth Redman, wife of worship leader Matt Redman, has a passion for guiding Christian women through the pleasures and pitfalls of their teenage years. Unlike many authors who use a coming-of-age theme, Redman conveys an authenticity based on personal experience, giving credence to her advice to young women struggling with being “in the world” but remaining true to their Christian values.

Soul Sister lives up to its title, with a focus on the community of women who are believers and who want to live all aspects of their lives to please God. Redman goes beyond discussing the usual topic of sex before marriage and touches on issues such as the meaning of Christian friendship, being salt and light in the world, and the importance of forgiveness.

Redman is not afraid to speak the language of youth, and her writing is both charming and relevant, although her “British-isms” might be perplexing for some American readers. With enthusiasm for her subject matter and a heart for the audience she wants to reach, this author makes a real contribution to young readers.
Janice Elsheimer

MUSIC

Carried Me: The Worship Project
By Jeremy Camp, BEC Recordings.

With his deep, modern-rock-suited voice and striking lyrics, Jeremy Camp made a name for himself as an artist in the last year with hits “I Believe” and “Right Here.” What fans may not know is that Camp got his start leading worship at Bible studies and church groups and still considers himself a worship leader. Camp’s
new album, Carried Me: The Worship Project, clearly displays that side of this talented singer-songwriter from the first phrase to the final word on the project–Camp whispering a reverent “Jesus.”

Camp’s original songs are cut-to-the-chase worship, with echoed refrains centering around the theme of wanting to be filled by the Lord. Original worship standouts include “Walk by Faith,” the harmonious “Revive Me” and the intriguing title track. Classics re-recorded Camp-style include his emotion-steeped vocals wrapped around “Enough” and the rocked-out “You’re Worthy of My Praise,” hands-down the most infectious track on the album.

Carried Me clearly shows that Camp is a talent that should be here to stay.
Natalie Nichols Gillespie

In the Name of Love: Artists United For Africa
By various artists, Sparrow Records.

Christian artists have responded en masse to U2 frontman Bono’s call to action for the AIDS-stricken nations of Africa. The latest evidence is In the Name of Love, a tribute to U2 by top artists in the Christian music industry, with 50 cents from each album sold going to World Vision to help fight the AIDS crisis.

The lyrics to the songs covered here clearly reveal Bono’s own Christian faith from standouts “Pride (In the Name of Love),” performed by Delirious and the elegant “Grace” by Nichole Nordeman to former hits such as “Sunday, Bloody Sunday” by Pillar and classic rock song “40,” covered by Starfield.

Some of the other U2 favorites include Jars of Clay on “All I Want Is You,” a nice fit for lead singer Dan Haseltine’s plaintive vocals, Chris Tomlin on “Where the Streets Have No Name,” Todd Agnew rocking the house on the bluesy “When Love Comes to Town” and Tait’s smooth crooning on “One.” The only misstep is the urban interpretation of “With or Without You” by Jadyn Maria and Grits, which seems out of place among this collection of rock songs.
Natalie Nichols Gillespie

Passion: Hymns Ancient and Modern
By various artists, Sparrow Records, Sixsteps Records.

The Passion movement has produced an astounding body of new worship music. But for Passion: Hymns Ancient and Modern, lead worshipers Chris Tomlin, Charlie Hall, David Crowder Band, Matt Redman and Watermark’s Christy Nockels reached into the past and drew inspiration from great church hymns that are from 100 to 1,800 years old.

From the most ancient hymn the “The Phos Hilaron” (“Hail Gladdening Light”) to the more familiar “Doxology,” there is a common thread of humility, and reverence for and honor of each member of the Trinity. Though the songs are from long ago, the interpretations are thoroughly modern. Recorded live at Passion’s Thirsty Conference, the project captures both the intimacy of worship and the exhilaration of a praise gathering.
Mike Parker

World Service
By Delirious, Sparrow.

British rock group Delirious is back with its sixth album and latest collection of original worship songs. For the last couple of albums, Delirious seemed to struggle to decide if it is a rock band that sings about Jesus or a worship band that happens to rock.

With World Service, Delirious seems to answer the question ably with a collection of 12 tracks purposely designed to fit corporate worship services while packing a praise-filled punch. Still heavily influenced by U2 and using frontman Martin Smith’s emotive vocals to the max, these songs range musically from sweeping orchestral rock (“With You”) to the haunting piano-based lament “Mountains High.”

Opener “Grace Like a River” kicks this album into high rock ‘n’ roll gear with great guitar work reminding fans why Delirious remains an innovator on the worship music front. The first single “Rain Down” leads the charge to worship with serious guitar riffs and a catchy chorus. “Majesty (Here I Am)” adds sweeping strings and an easily adaptable corporate chorus destined to be a new classic.
Natalie Nichols Gillespie

A New Season of Gratitude

After singer and songwriter Sara Groves found success with debut album Conversations, faith became a challenge. She was constantly touring with her husband and young son, Kirby, and working on sophomore album All Right Here.

Groves had her second son, Toby, and took a break before recording her third project. The Other Side of Something is a testament to Groves’ wrestle with faith.

She explains: “I had always told God ‘Whatever, whenever–mold me, make me, break me.’ Then I had a son, and it was hard to say: ‘Mold him. Break him.'”

Between having her sons, Groves studied the story of Job, and she got angry at the Lord.

“All my gauges were on empty. I was not feeling the joy of the Lord.”

Then a friend’s teenage son was killed in an accidental shooting. The man and his wife turned their sorrow into joy by adopting terminally ill children.

Groves says: “[I] told the Lord how unfair it was, how giving him other children wasn’t enough to replace what was lost.

“The Lord told me, ‘You go back and tell him his second family doesn’t cut it.’ Suddenly, I could see [my friend] doesn’t believe that.

“He has such joy that he will see his son again in heaven and that he has his second family here. I finally had to swallow the sovereignty pill.

“I am now in a season of total joy and gratitude.”
Natalie Nichols Gillespie

CHARISMATIC TOP SELLERS

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

2. The Torch and The Sword
Rick Joyner (Destiny Image)

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

4. Matters of the Heart
Juanita Bynum (Charisma House)

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

6. The Final Quest
Rick Joyner (Whitaker House)

7. The Three Battlegrounds
Francis Frangipane (Arrow Publications)

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

9. A Divine Revelation of Heaven
Mary K. Baxter with T.L. Lowery (Whitaker House)

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

I am not alone in my desire to see the church return to biblical standards.

Jack Hayford called it a “watershed moment.” The occasion was a meeting of 50 to 60 key charismatic leaders who came together in Orlando in January to discuss tough integrity issues facing the church (see the report on page 20). In an age when it seems nearly anything goes–even in the church–and when confrontations about conduct, doctrine and morality are often greeted with charges of “judgmentalism” or “legalism,” the symposium convened to determine what can be done to set a standard.

Hayford and I both had felt for a while that we had to do something. We saw that too many leaders who are endeavoring to walk in integrity are hurt by extremists–those who, by their erroneous teaching or extravagant lifestyles, create negative stereotypes for all charismatics. So last fall Hayford wrote an article in Ministries Today magazine calling for accountability.

Then we decided to host an invitation-only meeting of ministers who are concerned about the same integrity issues that concern us. The group included charismatic leaders from several major denominations as well as various independent “streams.” Our common denominator was a commitment to God’s Word in the power of the Spirit.

Hayford set the tone for the meeting by declaring that charismatics must shed the image that our convictions regarding basic, Christ-like values are foggy. “By reason of an absence of a collective voice to address this,” he said, “the silence seems to be approval, or, at the very least, an indifference to righteous standards.”

A longer analysis of the meeting by Hayford appears in the March/April issue of Ministries Today, along with a copy of a statement, dubbed the “Orlando Statement,” that was drafted by the group. “I was impressed how quickly common acknowledgment was made that a reasonably practical, solidly biblical statement be set forth,” Hayford wrote in Ministries Today. “All expressed concern that a tidal drift from the stream of the Spirit’s purity and from leadership accountability be stemmed.”

I was encouraged by the strong affirmations made by other leaders. As a Christian journalist for the last 28 years, I have seen ministries rise and fall and some increasingly disturbing trends develop. A decade ago, leaders of a widely known charismatic church were accused by more than two dozen women of gross sexual wrongdoing by the leadership. When we appealed to leaders to investigate the charges, the response was to sweep the issue under the rug. Recent experience has shown that a similar attitude on the part of Roman Catholic leaders created one of the greatest crises that denomination has faced in 50 years.

Unquestionably, there are wonderful things happening. But it seems that not a month goes by that another scandal doesn’t develop. This month Lee Grady reports in his column that in at least one city charismatics are saying churches should condone homosexuality.

The leadership symposium was an encouragement to me that, like the prophet Elijah who believed he was the only one serving God but found out there were 7,000 other prophets that had not bent their knee to Baal, I am not alone in my desire to see the church return to biblical standards of life and ministry.

The symposium and its resulting statement was Step No. 1 in a process that must continue. I hope the statement will be widely accepted, and I’m urging all ministry leaders to affirm it.

Please read it on our Web site, , and then post your comments. I believe a tidal wave of response will make a statement not only to the church but also to the world. It will show that we are committed to focusing on the church’s greatest calling, emphasized at the symposium by evangelist Reinhard Bonnke: winning souls.

Our hope, as Rod Parsley so aptly expressed it, is that “a paradigm shift can take place in the leadership and the body of Christ at large, where souls, once again, truly become our focus.”

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Stephen Strang, founder of Charisma, hosted the symposium in Orlando in January. Go to to access the Orlando Statement.

The co-founder of the 1970s pop group now coaches gospel choirs and mentors aspiring musicians

At the height of his fame, the co-founder of one of the most successful pop-and-funk bands of the 1970s left his lucrative career to return to his Christian roots. Today one-time Commodores guitarist Thomas McClary leads a simpler life, overseeing the music ministry at his Orlando, Fla., church and preparing to release a CD by its 100-voice choir.

Once famous for million-selling singles such as “Three Times a Lady,” “Shining Star” and “Brick House,” McClary is a deacon and worship team leader at New Destiny Christian Center. Later this year he will produce the church’s first CD on his own Visitation Records label.

“He has the zeal of Peter but the wisdom of Solomon,” his pastor, Zachery Tims Jr., said. “He keeps everything balanced. He’s a team player and a team builder. When he takes charge, people want to follow him.”

“He’s really a nice guy,” added Sam Kenoly of the Kenoly Brothers, who is also a member at New Destiny. “He’s given me so much advice that it’s like taking college courses. He’s really been an inspiration to me.”

Born Oct. 6, 1950, in Eustis, Fla., the youngest of eight children, McClary played high school sports and graduated as valedictorian. He went on to the Tuskegee Institute in Montgomery, Ala., where his life took the path that would lead to fame. While standing in line to register for classes, he heard someone whistling a sax solo by legendary jazz musician Eddie Harris.

“He was going through all the riffs, and I was thinking this guy’s got to be a musician,” he recalls.

McClary asked the student to start a band with him. His name was Lionel Richie, and they founded the Commodores in 1968 with four other Tuskegee students.

They started off as a backup band for Jerry Butler, Candi Staton and the Ike and Tina Turner Revue. Later they landed a two-year opening spot for the Jackson 5’s world tour. Their popularity growing, Motown head Berry Gordy wanted to sign them.

Their string of pop smashes brought them negotiating power. They demanded to keep their song-publishing rights–something Motown’s Jobete Publishing never surrendered to artists.

But the Commodores became trailblazers, creating music that won fans worldwide. “Some of the letters we’d get were amazing,” McClary remembers. “One lady was dying of cancer. She said every time she put a certain song on, it would ease the pain.

“We had people write us from around the world who didn’t speak a lick of English but knew the spirit in which the songs were written. … We tried to be good stewards of that gift that God gave us even though we didn’t give God the glory at that time.”

One of the group’s most beloved songs, “Jesus Is Love,” hit the R&B Top 40 in 1980.

By 1982 McClary and Richie had co-written songs for Diana Ross and Kenny Rogers. After their manager–the glue that kept the group together–died, both men went solo.

McClary cut the Hot 100 single “Thin Walls” and produced a hit with the group Klique. He was scheduled to produce James Ingram, Melissa Manchester and the Four Tops. Then, “I heard an audible voice from God while I was in the shower,” he recalls. “The voice said, ‘It’s time for you to come home now.’ I thought I was hearing things.”

McClary went home–literally. He returned to Eustis, where he joined a church and produced a documentary titled The History of the Apostolic Faith. He used his celebrity influence and recording royalties to fund local church and community charities and, as a local hero, gave motivational speeches at youth groups.

Meanwhile, Universal Records keeps all of the Commodores’ music in print with various hit compilations. Because of the group’s enduring popularity, McClary says there may be a reunion tour in the near future. He keeps in touch with his band mates and reminds them of the source of their good fortune.

“I tell the guys all the time that God had to honor me to honor His Word,” McClary explains. “I was a tither even back then. I tithed even though I wasn’t saved because of my praying parents who feared God. My accountants used to laugh at me and wonder why I’d be giving six figures to the church. … For the last 20 years the royalties have not stopped. It’s been incredible.”
Bill Carpenter

High-profile charismatic leaders convened in Orlando in January to discuss the state of the church
A who’s who of prominent charismatic ministers decried what they called an ethical “crisis” in the body of Christ during a first-ever symposium in Orlando, Fla., Jan. 6-7, calling on Christian leaders to deem those who demonstrate persistent ungodly behavior as unrepresentative of true Christianity.

The invitation-only meeting was hosted by Ministries Today magazine, published by Charisma’s parent company, Strang Communications. It drew more than 50 high-profile leaders including Rod Parsley, Joyce Meyer, Rick Joyner and Myles Munroe, and was moderated by Foursquare leader Jack Hayford, pastor of Church on the Way in Van Nuys, Calif.

After discussing issues of moral and financial integrity and the appropriate use of titles, particularly apostle and prophet, participants endorsed a document that has been dubbed the “Orlando Statement.”

“This event was not just significant for the 50 people in attendance, but for the church at large,” said Ministries Today publisher Stephen Strang, who convened the meeting. “It will make a statement about the growing unity in the charismatic-Pentecostal community regarding the need for ethics and a renewed focus on winning the lost.”

An attempt to foster unity and further world evangelism, the Orlando Statement affirmed the “fivefold” ministry gifts listed in Ephesians 4, with the panel noting that the titles apostle and prophet should be used by those who demonstrate “the character and gifting requisite those titles.” The document noted that the use of those titles must “be submitted to the demands of servanthood and not become a distraction … to the very offices that they claim to serve.”

The group also acknowledged an ethical crisis in the church that is marked by a greater tolerance for sexual infidelity, an increase in divorce “under the guise of commitment to ministry callings,” an “indulgent understanding” of the concept of restoration, and a lack of self-moderation in areas of financial responsibility and extravagance.

The crisis was attributed to an increase in the number of ministries that operate outside existing accountability structures, as well as a failure by existing accountability structures to enforce their legal standards because of a lack of peer relationships.

During the two-day event, the group also attributed the moral breakdown to an increased prevalence in ministry being seen as a profession “in which the importance of success and power outweigh the demands of servanthood and integrity.”

The participants urged Christian leaders to asser-tively accept responsibility to minister discipline with love and grace, and to identify behavior that is “adverse to godly values” as “alien to the lifestyle of charismatic Christians and unrepresentative of the true charismatic Christian community.”

“I am certain that the symposium was the beginning of an opportunity that could have a lasting effect on bringing greater understanding and credibility to the charismatic movement from its leaders to the broader body of Christ,” said Parsley, pastor of World Harvest Church in Columbus, Ohio.

Hayford, who serves as Ministries Today’s senior editorial adviser, moderated three panel discussions. The first consisted of Meyer, Parsley, evangelist Reinhard Bonnke, Christian International Ministries founder Bill Hamon, theologian C. Peter Wagner and North Carolina pastor Kingsley Fletcher.

Wagner issued a strong challenge for the church to recognize the ministry of apostles. Although none of the panelists questioned the legitimacy of the fivefold gifts, some expressed concern that the power vested in the titles apostle and prophet often motivates the holder to exercise authority rather than to serve.

“All the fivefold should shepherd the church of God,” said author John Bevere, who issued a forceful call for accountability in prophetic ministry in his 1999 book Thus Saith the Lord? “If we’re not careful, we’re going to get right into what the Pharisees did–more interested in serving themselves than in serving people,” Bevere said.

Bonnke, founder of Christ for All Nations, said the use of titles is a “side issue,” and he called the church to focus on its primary task: winning souls. “It’s not a matter of position but a matter of function,” Bonnke said. “If we concentrate on functions, we will see the fivefold ministries in all their excellence.”

The second panel–comprised of Bevere, Joyner, Generals of Intercession head Cindy Jacobs, Detroit pastor Keith Butler, seminarian Mark Rutland and evangelist Steve Hill–explored ethical and moral issues. Expressing his concern at the onset of the discussion, Hayford said: “Like the book of Judges, the Pentecostal-charismatic movement is increasingly moving toward everyone doing what is right in their own eyes. We’re watching the dumbing down of a movement, in many ways–dumbing down in the thoughtful pursuit of what we’re really about.”

Hayford added that many people embrace charismatic tenets but are hesitant to identify with the movement because of concerns about high-profile leaders who flaunt excess and demonstrate shoddy ethics.

“We don’t have good character because we think we’re so important,” said Jacobs, who added that the larger a ministry becomes, the more layers of accountability it needs.

Joyner, founder of Morningstar Ministries, was more blunt: “In anything, our main commodity is truth, integrity, reality. Shame on us for what we’ve allowed the church to become on our watch.”

The third and final panel–consisting of Munroe, National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) head Ted Haggard, Bible teacher R.T. Kendall, Charisma editor J. Lee Grady, pastor and author Francis Frangipane, and pastor Frank Reid of Bethel AME Church in Baltimore–explored the Pentecostal-charismatic movement’s future.

Haggard suggested that the distinction between the Pentecostal-charismatic community and the evangelical world was quickly becoming irrelevant. In his work with the NAE, he said he has “found no resistance to the Pentecostal-charismatic message, and within 10 years, I don’t know if there will be a distinction. I don’t think the issue is theological; the issue is style.”

Munroe, pastor of Bahamas Faith Ministries International, expressed concern that many in the movement had not offered a public statement on the issues of homosexuality, gay marriage and the doctrine of universal reconciliation. “My heart is that we will take generational responsibility in this room before we leave,” he said. “I don’t want to be famous or important, but I want to be faithful to this generation.”

The Orlando Statement was published in the March/April issue of Ministries Today and posted on its Web site. Readers can log on to to read the entire document.
Matt Green

Chinese evangelist Nora Lam, who pioneered missionary ministry for women, died Feb. 2 in a nursing home in San Jose, Calif., at the age of 71. She had suffered a massive stroke six months before.

“Nora Lam liberated thousands of women for missionary ministry, and she especially helped Christians respond to the needs of persecuted, underground believers in China on many different levels,” said William Bray, who serves on the board of directors of Nora Lam Ministries (NLM).

“Most people probably think of her work only in terms of Bible distribution, evangelism and support for persecuted house churches and Bible schools in China, but she was also very concerned for children and the humanitarian needs of Chinese people everywhere,” added Bray, who is a staff member of Christian Aid Mission.

Lam, who fled her native Shanghai in 1958 as a refugee from Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution, is best known for her book China Cry, which chronicles her suffering under communist persecution. The book, which the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) made into a movie in 1991, tells how Lam refused to deny Christ even while enduring physical abuse. She immigrated to the United States in 1966.

“Nora Lam was a dedicated soul-winner, prayer warrior and precious saint of God,” TBN founder Paul Crouch told Charisma. “Our lives are richer for having known her. Jan and I, along with all of us at TBN, will dearly miss her.”

Lam spent 30 years traveling around the world holding evangelistic crusades and raising awareness about China’s persecuted church. She supported Christian humanitarian ministries working there and hosted radio and TV broadcasts to free Chinese around the globe.

“Nora Lam’s life on this earth is over, but the work she started goes on,” said her youngest son, Joseph Lam, vice president of NLM, Assist News Service (ANS) reported. “Every one of us is still inspired by the life of sacrifice and service, which she taught us to live. We are still distributing Bibles, saving orphaned babies and helping persecuted believers.”

Her oldest daughter, Ruth Lam Kendrick, head of NLM, added: “Mom loved the house churches of China and needy children everywhere, and that is the legacy she has left for us to fulfill,” ANS said.

Lam is survived by three daughters–two of whom were adopted–two sons and seven grandchildren. A memorial service was held Feb. 24 in San Jose.
Eric Tiansay

Since Sept. 11, 2001, and the start of the war on terror, violence against believers has become more common

Christians in Pakistan have been the targets of a number of recent terrorist attacks in random violence that has become increasingly common since Sept. 11, 2001, and the onset of the United States-led war on terrorism.

“Muslim fanatics associate Christians in Pakistan with ‘Christian’ America,” said Ann Buwalda, U.S. director of the international human rights organization Jubilee Campaign. “They justify killing innocent believers, including women and children, as a reprisal against the West.”

On Jan. 15, a church compound in Karachi was rocked by a grenade blast. Fifteen minutes later, a car bomb exploded outside the complex, injuring nearly a dozen police officers and bystanders. Similar attacks in Chianwali, Islamabad and Bahawalpur have Pakistani Christians on edge.

Unlike many Muslim nations, the Pakistani government allows Christians–roughly 2 percent of the population–a great deal of religious freedom, yet they are afforded little state protection. On Jan. 25 three Muslim men opened fire in a Sunday service in Patoki. Though the men were easily identified, the police made no
immediate arrests.

“The position of Christians in today’s Pakistan is that of a wounded traveler on the way to Jericho,” said former Pakistan High Court Judge M.L. Shahani. “The [Pakistani government] … has refused to look after the injured traveler by refusing to afford proper security to churches and Christian organizations.”

Today many churches employ armed guards and screen congregants with metal detectors. Despite the ongoing hostility, the Catholic renewal movement is growing, and many churches are hosting large retreats that include healing services. Such services used to be attended by Muslims; however, it has become increasingly dangerous to minister to or evangelize Muslim seekers.

In January Mukhtar Masih, the pastor of a small Church of God congregation, was gunned down over a dispute with a local mosque about the church’s use of loud speakers–a common practice in Christian communities.

Meanwhile, Pakistani believers say the nation’s blasphemy laws–which carry a mandatory death sentence–are used to silence Christians and settle disputes. Anwer Masih, a young Christian laborer, is currently on trial for insulting a local troublemaker, who allegedly brought the charge as payback for an old grudge.

The Center for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS) is a Christian organization that provides legal representation and financial support for persecuted Pakistani believers. CLAAS leaders claim that during blasphemy trials, the judicial system is held hostage by Muslim fanatics who pack courtrooms and threaten judges, defense lawyers and the accused. Both a judge and a defense lawyer have been murdered in connection with blasphemy acquittals.

One defendant, Manzoor Masih, was shot dead after a High Court proceeding. Another defendant, Ayub Masih, was shot by his accuser during a trial, yet the accuser was never criminally charged. Ayub Masih survived but was kept in solitary confinement for his own protection until his acquittal four years later. Thanks largely to CLAAS, to date every Christian accused of blasphemy–who survived prison–has been acquitted.

To varying degrees, every Christian in Pakistan is at risk. Poorer Christian women, who are particularly vulnerable to rape, are denied justice because of a nearly impossible burden of proof, CLAAS officials said. However, Natasha Emmanuel, a 10-year-old Christian raped in March 2003 by a Muslim neighbor, was for the first time able to circumvent the requirement to have two male witnesses testify to the rape by using DNA evidence, which led to her rapist’s conviction.

Many Christians are not so fortunate. In January, six Christians were arbitrarily arrested after a failed assassination attempt on Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. These Christians, who say they are innocent, happened to be in the same train compartment as members of a dangerous Muslim group.

“To be Christian in Pakistan is to walk daily in the valley of death,” said CLAAS founder Joseph Francis. “Yet we must never to give up hope, never to cease praying, and never to stop striving for justice.”
David Mundy
with Adrienne S. Gaines

Tireless Christ for the Nations Co-Founder Celebrates 90th Birthday

As she approaches her 90th birthday on April 18, the leader of an international Bible training organization shows no signs of stopping–or even slowing down.

Freda Lindsay is still deeply involved in the ministry activities at Dallas-based Christ for the Nations Institute (CFNI), which she founded with her late husband, Gordon. The two-year Bible school has trained more than 28,000 students in the last 34 years, and has established 44 associate Bible schools in such nations as Germany, Belarus, Moldova, Romania, Brazil, Japan and India.

Lindsay has served as president of the international ministry since the death of her husband in April 1973. CFNI’s board elected her president the day after Gordon Lindsay’s funeral. “She was forced into a leadership role as a woman and had the enormous debt of a new building,” said her son, Dennis Lindsay, adding that within several years everything was paid for.

Dennis Lindsay, who was on staff with Youth With A Mission (YWAM) in Europe for several years, has served as CFNI president since December 1985.

In the 1970s, Lindsay’s role didn’t sit well with some who believed women should not be in such a leadership position. “I used to get a lot of letters from people chewing me out,” she told Charisma. “I would write them back humbly and say, ‘All of these men put me in this position, and I report to these men.'”

Dennis Lindsay said his mother has the hard-working ethic of a German yet the friendly warmth of a Texan. “She can be like a ‘sarge’ at one moment and the next moment at ease. That has helped her in leadership over the years.”

For more than 30 years, “Mom Lindsay,” as she is known around campus, has lived in the same two-bedroom apartment on campus, which she said has kept her living expenses low and enabled her to give back to the ministry.

One of 12 children, Freda Lindsay began working in the fields of Oregon when she was 9 years old to help put food on the table. In 1932, 18-year-old Freda Schimpf attended a revival meeting in Portland. As she was making her way out the door, evangelist Gordon Lindsay stopped her and said, “Freda, I thought this would be your night.”

Convicted, she rushed to the altar. “I was no big sinner, but I knew I wasn’t serving the Lord,” she said. “That night, I felt the Lord spoke to me and said, ‘Freda, if you follow Me, obey Me, walk faithfully in pureness, you will one day marry this evangelist.”

Five years later she married Gordon Lindsay.

In 1948 the Lindsays began an evangelistic ministry and publishing house called Voice of Healing, which was the precursor to Christ for the Nations.

The same year, Israel became a nation, and Lindsay said the Middle Eastern country has long held a special place in her heart. She has traveled to the Holy Land 34 times, and her daughter has lived there for more than 30 years. “If there is one reason Christ for the Nations has been blessed in the areas it has, it is because of our love for Israel,” Lindsay said.

Her love for Israel may be matched by her passion to train young believers from around the world. Each year CFNI has about 200 international students, 50 of whom are on scholarship. They are required to sign an agreement saying they will go back to their country to minister in their own nations.

Pavel and Andrey Novik, Russian brothers who are enrolled in their first year at CFNI in Dallas, first heard about the school when they lived in Belarus. “Christ for the Nations is for the nations, not necessarily Americans,” said Andrey, whose father pastors a Slavic Pentecostal church near Boston. “Mom Lindsay loves international students.”

CFNI reaches 120 nations, has helped build more than 11,000 churches, has distributed more than 60 million books in 82 languages, and provides food, clothing and medical aid to nations in need.

Still, Lindsay would like to see God do more. A few years ago, she says she gave the Lord a list of things she would like to see come to pass in her final days. Among these– she hopes to complete a World Missions Training Center and build a new Bible school in Vancouver.

The problem? She thinks she may make it through the list too quickly. “If that happens,” she said, smiling, “I’ll have to make another list.”
Carol Chapman Stertzer in Dallas

The Network of Anglican Dioceses and Parishes was formed in response to the denomination’s election of V. Gene Robinson

Angered by the U.S. Episcopal Church’s recent election of an openly gay man as bishop of New Hampshire, a group of conservative Episcopalians, headed by a charismatic bishop, have formed a new network that leaders say will function as a part of the broader Anglican Communion.

Chartered Jan. 20 in Plano, Texas, the Network of Anglican Dioceses and Parishes (NADP) was organized by the bishops of 12 dioceses, which represent at least 10 percent of the 2.3 million Anglicans in the United States. So far, four diocese have ratified the charter.

The Episcopal Church in the United States (ECUSA) is part of the Anglican Communion, a global association of denominations that trace their lineage to the Church of England.

The new group’s charter said the network constitutes “a true and legitimate expression of the worldwide Anglican Communion,” Reuters reported. Its leader,
Robert Duncan, a charismatic Episcopal bishop from Pittsburgh, said ECUSA strayed from the denomination’s constitution when it blessed homosexual unions and elected V. Gene Robinson, who is openly gay, as a bishop.

The new network, which was formed after consultation with Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, would “operate in good faith within the constitution of the Episcopal Church,” Duncan said. “We are not splitting off from the Episcopal Church.”

Formed during the annual meeting of the American Anglican Council (AAC), a conservative group of Episcopal churches, the network is led largely by people influenced by the charismatic renewal that swept through ECUSA 40 years ago.

“The majority of the bishops and priests who are leaders of the orthodox movement leading the charge today against ECUSA have charismatic renewal backgrounds,” said AAC board member Roger Ames, rector of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Akron, Ohio.

“They are the fruits of the charismatic renewal of the ’60s to the ’80s,” said Ames, who is charismatic. “The days of working … to bring charismatic renewal have now come of age. The majority of the leaders who are resisting [ECUSA’s] culture moves have been prepared like Esther for a time like this.”

Before his death in 1991, ECUSA renewal leader Dennis Bennett said that if his denomination ever declared that homosexuality was the norm, he would have to leave, his widow, Rita Bennett, told Charisma. Though she has chosen to remain in her Episcopal congregation, Rita Bennett said: “I believe the Episcopal Church has stopped teaching and taking the book of Moses and the Torah seriously. All the laws on sexuality are given there. … It’s dangerous to throw out the law and be left with grace only.”

Alan Hansen, president and CEO of Acts 29 Ministries in Atlanta, which is designed to help strengthen leaders, believes ECUSA is going through a “mini-reformation.” Churches that choose to withdraw from the Anglican Communion entirely stand to lose their facilities, and ministers would forfeit their parishes and possibly their retirement benefits. Duncan claims his network–a “realignment” that remains connected to the broader Anglican Communion–would circumvent that kind of sacrifice.

Still, Hansen, who is charismatic, said the mini-reformation will not come without a price. He believes orthodox clergy will be persecuted as they work to restore fellowship with the rest of the Anglican Communion and the ecumenical family.

Since Robinson’s election, Anglicans worldwide have expressed their disapproval of ECUSA’s actions. In December, the archbishop of the Anglican Church in Uganda sent a letter to ECUSA’s presiding bishop saying the Uganda church “has recognized your departure from the faith” and “cuts her relationship and Communion.” The letter also rescinded an invitation to participate in a January ceremony to consecrate a new archbishop.

Letters of condemnation also have been circulating from Anglican leaders in Guatemala and Papau New Guinea. In October the top primates, or spiritual leaders, of the Anglican Communion condemned ECUSA’s moves during a conference at Lambeth Palace in London. In February, ECUSA reported a $3 million drop in donations, due in large part to churches withholding financial support in protest of Robinson’s election.
Mercedes Tira Andrei