Kilpatrick says he will remain at Brownsville Assembly of God, but will travel and minister to other pastors
The leader of a revival movement that defined Pentecostalism during the 1990s announced Oct. 19 that he is leaving the pastorate. John Kilpatrick, 53, who for 22 years pastored Brownsville Assembly of God in Pensacola, Fla., said he plans to focus his ministry on mentoring other pastors.

“The Lord told me that He has called me to be a father [to leaders],” Kilpatrick told Charisma. “Brownsville needs to move ahead, but it cannot move ahead with me at the helm because my mantle has changed.”

Brownsville Assembly became a flashpoint for revivalism in June 1995, when a visit from evangelist Steve Hill on Father’s Day triggered an unusual outburst of Pentecostal fervor. Christians and non-Christians alike attended protracted meetings at the church, prompting observers to call it “the Pensacola revival.” At the height of the revival in 1996 and 1997, when meetings were held almost every night of the week, visitors from around the world stood in long lines outside the church to get seats.

Today the lines are shorter, and revival services are held on Friday nights only. Kilpatrick said the church now has about 3,000 members, and a training center the church launched in the late 1990s is grooming 320 students for full-time ministry.

Kilpatrick emphasized that he will remain a member of Brownsville and will base his traveling ministry in Pensacola. The church’s board was expected to recommend a replacement pastor soon. Randy Feldschau, 42, an associate pastor at the church since August, was a strong candidate.

“[Kilpatrick’s] heart has been torn between pastoring this local church and addressing the national arena,” Feldschau said. “It’s obvious that his mantle has changed. He ministers to ministers.”

Kilpatrick estimates that up to 10,000 pastors visited his church during the revival. About 600 were expected to attend a ministers’ conference he will host at Brownsville in November.

One week before Kilpatrick’s resignation, the church’s popular worship leader, Lindell Cooley, 40, announced plans to leave Brownsville. He told Charisma that he intended to plant a church in Nashville, Tenn., where he was based before moving to Pensacola nine years ago. Cooley helped stoke the fervor of the Pensacola revival by recording several CDs including Integrity’s Revival at Brownsville, which sold almost 400,000 units.

Other leaders of the Pensacola movement also have moved away. Evangelist Steve Hill, who moved to Pensacola and preached there nightly for several years, left in June 2000 and launched a church in Dallas this summer. Michael Brown, who helped launch the Brownsville School of Ministry, split from the church in 2001 and started his own school. It is currently based in Harrisburg, N.C.
J. Lee Grady

Scott Bauer, senior pastor of The Church on the Way in Van Nuys, Calif., a Foursquare congregation founded by Jack Hayford, died Oct. 24 after an aneurysm ruptured at the conclusion of the midweek service two days before. He was 49.

“It is with deep sadness and great rejoicing we announce the homegoing of pastor Scott Bauer,” a message from the church’s Web site said. “The Bauer family and the elders of The Church on the Way want to thank the host of believers worldwide who have expressed their love and sympathy.”

A graduate of Fuller Theological Seminary and Oral Robert University, Bauer was Hayford’s son-in-law and supervisor of the Los Angeles North Valley District of Foursquare Churches. He took over as senior pastor of The Church on the Way in 1999 after serving with Hayford since 1982. The church’s council has asked Hayford to lead the 12,000-member congregation.

“Scott was a respected brother, pastor and leader within our church, as well as to the body of Christ at large,” Paul Risser, president of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, said in a statement. “The impact of this loss will be felt around the world.”

A memorial service was held Oct. 29 at The Church on the Way. Bauer is survived by his wife, Rebecca, two sons, a daughter, his parents and three siblings.
Eric Tiansay

Each of us, at times, must answer questions that seem to have no logical answer.
I was on a business trip when I received an urgent call from my secretary. She told me that my friend Scott Bauer, pastor of The Church on the Way in Van Nuys, California, had just been hospitalized due to a brain aneurysm that burst. Please pray.

What we didn’t know was that by the time I received the call, he was already brain dead. Two days later the family decided to remove the life support systems. On October 24, 2003, a beloved pastor, brilliant scholar, and loving husband and father passed away at age 49.

Most would have considered it the prime of his life. He died four years to the day after becoming pastor of the church his father-in-law, Jack Hayford, had pastored for 25 years.

Inevitably, when something unexpected happens, people ask why. Was this an attack of Satan? Did those praying for Scott lack faith? Why would God take one of the “good guys”?

Jack Hayford dealt with these questions the Sunday after Scott’s death. Hayford’s insights and the beautiful words of Scott’s widow, Rebecca, impacted me so much when I read them that I decided to share them here as my own tribute to this wonderful friend.

But there’s another reason I’m sharing them: Each of us, at times, must answer questions that seem to have no logical answer from our limited human perspective. Perhaps the insights of these godly people will help us when we face our own difficult circumstances.

Pastor Hayford told the congregation that though Scott’s death was not the success of a satanic attack, there is an attack Christians should gird themselves against–the lies of the enemy.

“[Satan] will say, ‘You didn’t pray enough’; or ‘What you think is “prayer’s power and promise” isn’t really true’; or ‘Something’s wrong with you, and that’s why the heavy trial is present,'” Hayford said.

He pointed out that all believers have a decision to make. Whom will we listen to–the Good Shepherd, or the enemy, who lies to us?

Hayford said: “This was not the result of a failure of faith. This was not the result of a failure in medical care. This was the result of a finite body’s failure and demise. In Scott Bauer, we received a great gift for as long as the physical package could contain it.”

Because Scott’s condition was probably a congenital birth defect, the question should not be why did he die so young, but why did he live so long? As his widow stated in her comments about his passing, God had a plan.

She told their congregation: “I want you all to know that I am at peace. The Lord always moves into our current circumstance and speaks to us. So it shouldn’t
be a surprise that He has now. …

“Although I cannot see the reason, the Lord sees something beyond Scott and me, beyond this moment, beyond this challenge … and in His grace and mercy has progressed His kingdom plan. As we all step into tomorrow, though I feel deep grief, I am confident that the Lord has a hope and a future for me, for my family, and for us as a congregation.”

Rebecca went on to share the Lord’s reminder to her that we have only one sure foundation. “[The day he died], I went to the hospital early to sit and hold Scott’s hand. I knew it was the last time I would be able to do so. As I sat there, I said to the Lord, ‘All I know to do, is to keep clinging to Jesus.’

“[The Lord] immediately replied, ‘All other ground is sinking sand–even Scott.’ I knew what He meant. My life is to always be built on Jesus alone.”

This is something we all need to remember when we find ourselves asking why.

A memorial scholarship fund to advance continuing education for pastors is being established in Bauer’s name. Maybe you knew Scott, or maybe you’ve just been touched by what you’ve read. You can send your gifts, marked “Scott Bauer Fund,” to our nonprofit partner, Christian Life Missions, at P.O. Box 952248, Lake Mary, FL 32795-2248, and we will pass along 100 percent of the donations.

Please also remember to pray for Scott’s widow, children, parents and extended family.

MUSIC

Who We Are Instead
By Jars of Clay, Essential Records.

With Who We Are Instead, Jars of Clay has returned to what the band was at its musical beginning, an acoustically inclined pop-rock band, known for its coffeehouse covers of harmonious acts such as Simon & Garfunkel. Instead of playing edgy rock songs as it did on some previous albums, Jars has unplugged for Who We Are Instead, trading electric guitars for unencumbered arrangements here.

For example, the band covers the group America’s strummy and empathetic “Lonely People,” and even when it’s not performing 1970s soft-rock hits like that one, it is playing songs such as “Sunny Days” that sound just like aural relics from that kinder, gentler musical era.

The album’s lyrics are particularly Christ-centered; even the romantic love songs such as “Only Alive” are couched in spiritual terminology. Because of this album’s intentionally plain-spoken musicality, it is hard to imagine any of these new tracks achieving the Floodlike success of past Jars’ efforts. But the simple sweetness that is Who We Are Instead offers a nice alternative to all the technological bells and whistles now crowding the pop charts.
Dan MacIntosh

Throne Room
By CeCe Winans, Sony.

CeCe Winans is probably one of the most popular gospel artists of our time. Now releasing her sixth solo project, she moves into a posture of worship with her latest, Throne Room.

Winans starts off this very emotive CD with the peaceful orchestral interlude “Hallelujah to the King.” Written by gospel great Andraé Crouch, the song is performed wonderfully, as is the marvelous tune “Jesus, You’re Beautiful to Me.” On the title cut Winans effortlessly breathes life into the relaxing melody. She also covers the popular church anthem “How Great Thou Art.” “You’re so Holy” will find the listener in the ultimate stance of reverence as will “Oh, Most High” and “Worthy Is the Lamb.” Other favorites are “I Thirst for You” and “Come Fill My Heart.”

Winans truly moves the listener on the song, “Mercy Said No.” Dedicated to her brother Ronald, the track speaks of how mercy steps up to the plate for us, not giving us what we rightfully deserve.

Winans steps into a praise mode with the upbeat tempos of “No One Else” and “Hallelujah Praise.”

It’s easy to bask in the glory of the Lord with the worshipful sound of Throne Room.
René Williams

Go Tell It on the Mountain
By The Blind Boys of Alabama,
Real World.

When The Blind Boys of Alabama decided to go tell it on the mountain for this album of Christmas cheer, they also invited practically the whole musical community to share in this holiday mountaintop experience. Lead vocalist Clarence Fountain is more than qualified to give any old Christmas carol a large shot of authentic soul power, yet fellow R&B stars, such as Solomon Burke (“I Pray on Christmas”), Mavis Staples (“Born in Bethlehem”) and Aaron Neville (“Joy to the World”), also lend their vocal talents to this collection of spirited performances.

Although gospel-soul is the genre of choice here, The Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde turns “In the Bleak Midwinter” into a quietly moving ballad, and Me’Shell N’degiOcello adds a spoken word part to the traditional “O Come All Ye Faithful.”

But wait, there’s more. This album’s cast of all-stars doesn’t just end with singers. Pedal steel master Robert Randolph is also in the band, and jazzer Les McCann is the guest pianist for “White Christmas.” All that talent makes Go Tell It on the Mountain one large and joyful musical family gathering.
Natalie Nichols Gillespie

Christmas
By Rivertribe, Inpop Records.

Australian act Rivertribe once again teams up with Inpop for this unique instrumental Christmas offering. Packed with violin arrangements, didgeridoo, African drums and Native American flutes, plus unusual instrumentation by the tabla and light harp, Christmas is a study in modern instrumental simplicity. Not the typical holiday collection by any stretch of the imagination, Rivertribe generates a sound that is part Mannheim Steamroller (without most of the electronics), part New Agey mystical atmospheric music (but don’t let that description scare you; these are all Christmas carols).

“O Come All Ye Faithful” is ethereal and beautiful, while “We Three Kings” drops in a light piano melody over a backdrop of Eastern-sounding electronica and rapid drumbeats. Packed with fresh interpretations of Christmas classics, Rivetribe has given fans something different and daring to add to their Christmas music collections.
Natalie Nichols Gillespie

BOOKS

The Anointing
By R.T. Kendall, Charisma House,
224 pages, paperback, $13.99.

Noted theologian R.T. Kendall considers the anointing of yesterday, today and tomorrow in the persons of Saul, Samuel and David in his latest work to reach America’s shores. Of Reformed background, Kendall recently retired his post as senior pastor of London’s famed Westminster Chapel, which he held for 25 years.

Kendall’s twin emphases on Word and Spirit unite in The Anointing as he explains his view that all branches of the church need balance. Yet he does not shy away from an anointing that moves God’s people out of their comfort zones. With respect for history, Kendall demonstrates that it is important not to live in a former anointing, to be “yesterday’s man.”

Continually renewed intimacy with God, and walking in the calling and capabilities He has given brings spiritual power for living for today and tomorrow. As a pastor, Kendall has learned from key leaders in the church, such as Martyn Lloyd-Jones and Paul Cain, and he offers valuable insights from these relationships. In The Anointing, Kendall is articulate, personal and firmly grounded in both Word and Spirit.
Christine D. Johnson

Always Enough
By Rolland and Heidi Baker,
Chosen Books, 186 pages, paperback, $12.99.

Do you feel helpless when facing personal problems? Do you feel cynical when confronting the challenges of living in a predominantly non-Christian world? Have you stopped believing in even small miracles?

Allow the glory of God to fall heavy upon you through experiencing revival in Africa’s Mozambique, where God led lifelong missionaries Rolland and Heidi Baker in 1995.

Mozambique still waits to recover from the ravages of fighting, famine and flood. Yet, the Mozambicans have trusted in Jesus in spite of continuing pestilence, poverty and pain. Often without the comfort of even a slice of bread, the people still hunger for the Bread of Life. For them, He’s always enough.

Jesus has fed the Mozambicans with supernatural life. He has healed the blind, the deaf, the lame, the AIDS victim, the demon-possessed. He’s multiplied the loaves of bread and raised the dead. He’s filled hundreds of thousands with “passion and compassion,” heavenly visions and language.

God has planted more than 5,000 churches in Mozambique (groups of more than 50 each), and now the Bakers minister in 10 countries through Iris Ministries. They work tirelessly for the abandoned of this world, always “ministering to the one.”

The Bakers write: “The poor teach us how to seek after God. … The poor will never say no to a feast. They’ll come and eat. The Lord is setting out spiritual banquets for his Church, but so many are just full. They have smorgasbords and buffets and restaurants at every corner. They’re just not hungry.”

You’ll want to feed on the Bread of Life again after reading the Bakers’ story. There’s always enough, but never too much.
Pamela Robinson

Street Children
By Andy Butcher, Authentic Media,
224 pages, paperback, $11.99.

Andy Butcher takes a systematic look in Street Children at a problem that is no repsecter of national borders. This small volume, subtitled “The tragedy and challenge of the world’s millions of modern-day Oliver Twists,” surveys the vast scope of a serious problem that leads to crime, drugs, violence, disease and death.

Butcher traces the historical record of the battle against systems that seem to breed street children, but succeeds in bringing the faces of street kids to the fore. He intentionally calls readers to take responsibility to combat the problem.

Offering a ray of hope, he demonstrates how Christians who have counted the cost of such dangerous work are responding. Interviews with street kids and urban ministry workers afford Butcher an understanding about the way street kids think. An eight-page photographic insert shows in detail the conditions in which these children live.

Although the simplistic title will not draw readers not already curious about street kids, Butcher has done a service for those willing to expand their knowledge of this complex issue.
Christine D. Johnson

On “Only God’s in This,” on Virtue’s new disc, Free, sisters Heather Trotter, Ebony Holland and Karima Kibble offer a trendy R&B groove telling listeners they want to give people something to sing and dance about. But it is not about relationships, partying or materialism. It is about God.

Instead of singing about getting rich and partying without purpose, Virtue offers positive, affirming songs to encourage those who are looking for healing, peace and self-acceptance.

“At this point in our lives, we are growing, and we’ve let go of so many things in order to grow,” Trotter says. “We made a decision to give our worries and concerns to God. We just felt He was telling us to free ourselves of everything … free of negativity, free of self-doubt, free of whatever it is that holds you back.”

Virtue is very serious about “being real,” and this fourth release seems even more transparent. You can sense a fresh anointing. Virtue is more confident and focused than ever.

“You have to free yourself of insecurities–people or things that prevent you from reaching your purpose,” Kibble says.

“We’ve gone back to our roots, straight up singing His praises,” Holland says. “A lot of the songs [on Free] say you are free to worship, free to praise. Once you can be free of things that weigh you down, you are free to be yourself and worship God for who He is.”
Mark Weber

CHARISMATIC TOP SELLERS

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

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

3. Pigs in the Parlor
Frank and Ida Mae Hammond

(Impact Christian Books)

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

5. The Three Battlegrounds
Francis Frangipane (Arrow Publications)

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

7. The Tongue
Charles Capps (Harrison House)

8. The Believer’s Authority
Kenneth E. Hagin (Faith Library Publications)

9. Blessing or Curse
Derek Prince (Chosen Books)

10. A Divine Revelation of the Spirit Realm
Mary K. Baxter (Whitaker House)

Musician Johnny Parks has seen youth from both sides of ‘The Troubles’ unite in worship at Mannafest concerts
A new revolution is taking place among hundreds of young people in Northern Ireland. At the height of “The Troubles,” some of them were lining up to support the “armed struggle”–now many are lining up to praise God.

More than 1,000 youth raise the roof on Belfast’s Ulster Hall every month at Mannafest, an event run by Youth for Christ. The initiative has also spread to Enniskillen–a town that was torn apart by an IRA bomb in 1987.

Each location has its own flavor but shares the same aim–to provide a place where young people can meet and discover more of God. “It got to the stage recently where we couldn’t let people in because it was beyond capacity,” said Mannafest team member Johnny Parks.

“So we’ve opened up the stall seats behind the stage now, which means you can get another 300 or 400 people in. We’re filling that as well.” The 30-
something musician said Mannafest has been “hugely significant” in people’s lives.

“It’s had its highs and lows,” Parks admitted. “We feel like it’s going through a real harvest at the moment. A lot of that is because there’s a good team on board who don’t do anything too radical, and make it accessible to people.”

It’s caused such a stir that a “live” recording was released on a label called Emerge, which offers listeners a sample of new and up-and-coming worship leaders from across the United Kingdom. The CD Close to You displays Parks’ brand of gritty guitar-driven praise.

Leaders say these clear, spiritual songs help the young people open up to God. “It’s simple things that I’d probably notice,” Parks said, “just seeing a lot of young people who at the end of the night are being prayed with and are in tears. God’s moving and speaking to them.”

Parks experienced a breakthrough himself after leading worship at Mannafest for about a year. Then during 2000 he returned home from a U.S. visit–with a broken leg. “One night I thought, ‘Stuff it, I’m going to take my guitar off and dance my heart out here.'”

Parks used to be embarrassed about such behavior. But now he isn’t afraid of what others might think. He started dancing, and the idea caught on. “People came out of their seats into the aisles, up the front and started dancing. It was fantastic. … Now every night you play, they expect you to dance.”

However, Mannafest is not only about one night. “We try to provide facilities and support for people outside the Saturday night,” Parks said. “We would run Bible notes for them, access to the Web site, training events in drama, worship and teaching.”

Parks’ full-time job is directing a secular organization called the Northern Ireland Youth Forum that represents young people’s views to policy makers.

That means he works among a broad spectrum of youth–from both republican and loyalist areas (the two sides of the Northern Ireland conflict). “I love that richness,” said Parks, who has family roots on both sides of the border. “It keeps me on my toes.”

Though he said most Mannafest participants are Protestant, he dares to believe that the sound of praise could help bring Catholic and Protestant together. “I feel the next challenge for Mannafest is to engage in that issue,” he said. “An outsider would probably think it’s quite straightforward–but it’s … very complex. I still think we have a responsibility to think about it and to seek God.”

Parks and his band plan to be involved with Mannafest for another year. They want to make way for younger leaders and musicians, and to honor increasing commitments in the United States and Canada, where Parks is involved in Worship Together conferences.

He finds that American Christians have a particularly keen interest in Northern Ireland. Whenever he leads worship in the States, he said another line appears–this time of people wanting to know more about his homeland.
Clive Price

Jailed Canadian Pastor Cleared of Spy Charges

A military tribunal cleared a Canadian pastor jailed in Lebanon of charges that he was a spy for Israel. Bruce Balfour, 52, field director of Cedars of Lebanon, a ministry that was planning to help replenish the cedars of Lebanon in the country’s northern region, was arrested at Beirut’s airport July 10. Judicial sources said he was jailed on charges of working with the Jewish state to spy on Shiite Muslim Hezbollah guerrillas and the Lebanese army, Reuters reported. On Sept. 1, the court found Balfour innocent of espionage, but ruled that he was guilty of stirring religious strife, court sources said. It sentenced him to one year in jail, but reduced it to the time already served. Grant Livingston, another Canadian pastor charged with espionage, was also cleared, Agence France-Presse reported.

Australia

The Islamic Council of Victoria (ICV) and three Australian Muslims took two pastors to court after the pair made critical statements about Islam on a Web site and during a Christian seminar in March 2002, The Barnabus Fund (BF) reported. Danny Nalliah and Daniel Scot could receive significant fines if they are found guilty of committing blasphemy against Islam under the Victorian Racial and Religious Vilification Act, passed in 2001 to promote intercultural and interfaith harmony in Victoria. The case was due to be heard in mid-October in Victoria, which is located in the country’s southwest region. Many Christians in the state fear the ICV is using the case to stifle all criticism of Islam or Muslims, BF said.

Turkmenistan

Police recently banned members of a Baptist congregation from meeting for services, threatening them with fines if they continued to meet. The raid occurred in late August during a Sunday service in the town of Balkanabad, located in the country’s western region, Forum 18 News Service reported. Leaders said the church has been targeted for several raids this year, and members have been fined the equivalent of $48 each for gathering for worship services in July and August. The church is not registered with the authorities. Turkmenistan has the harshest religious policy of all the former Soviet republics, Forum 18 said. Authorities recognize no faiths except Islam and the Russian Orthodox Church.

Many of the following reports were released during the last month by Charisma News Service. Go to our Web site at www.charismanews.com to subscribe to the free 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.

VEGGIETALES BOUGHT BY ‘WONDERFUL PARTNER’
In a deal announced Sept. 2, Big Idea Productions sold its copyrights to VeggieTales to Classic Media LLC, owner of such children’s properties as Golden Books and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. “Due to their great enthusiasm for both our business and our ministry, I believe Classic Media is a wonderful partner to help guide Big Idea back to financial health,” Big Idea founder Phil Vischer said. The financially troubled company was forced to sell after losing a breach of contract lawsuit to former distributor Lyrick Studios in July. Forced to pay around $15 million in damages, Big Idea filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as a condition of its agreement with Classic Media.

CHURCH LAUNCHES MINISTRY TO COMBAT TOWN’S DRUG WOES
An Alabama church has started a drug-rehabilitation ministry to combat a growing methamphetamine problem in its community. The Church of the Rock (COTR) in Piedmont recently launched a chapter of Mothers Against Methamphetamine (MAMA), a national organization founded a year ago by an Albertville, Ala., physician whose brother killed himself while addicted to the drug, which is also known as speed, meth and chalk,The Birmingham News reported. Despite national statistics that say only 6 percent to 10 percent of users ever recover, MAMA founder Mary Holley said more than 80 percent of users can recover with a year of intense therapy if Christian counseling is used. COTR began its chapter after seeing a MAMA ad in Charisma.

FORBES EXAMINES MEGACHURCH GROWTH
Megachurches have a lot in common with corporations, said a September Forbes.com report. Examining Protestant congregations with more than 2,000 worshipers weekly, Forbes found that “pastors often act as chief executive officers and use business tactics to grow their churches.” The report noted also that three of the largest–23,093-member World Changers Ministries in Atlanta; 18,500-member The Potter’s House in Dallas; and 25,060-member Lakewood Church in Houston–run businesses and spend millions on broadcasting. Kingdom Ventures, a company designed to help ministries grow, said megachurches’ use of technology also contributed to their size. John Vaughn, founder of Church Growth Today, which tracks megachurches, said the number of megachurches has risen from 250 in 1970 to 740 today.

SETTLEMENT DISBANDS FIRE CHAPLAINS PROGRAM
A chaplain program by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDFFP) will be disbanded to settle a lawsuit filed by six firefighters who claimed it violated separation of church and state. Under the settlement terms, CDFFP will disband the program, but will allow employees to provide chaplain services voluntarily, the Associated Press reported. The chaplain corps included 54 employees throughout California who were trained to provide counseling for the agency’s firefighters. Fifty of the chaplains are Christian. Sarcastically calling themselves the Satanic Six, the six firefighters sued earlier this year, claiming chaplains conducted prayers at meetings, wore crosses on their uniforms and sent e-mails promoting a Christian viewpoint.

Churches Fund Jailed Missionary’s Defense

Churches in Oklahoma and Texas have raised more than $15,000 for the defense of a missionary to Mexico who was jailed Aug. 23 for possession of allergy drugs commonly sold over-the-counter in the United States. Police arrested Steve Frey in the border town of Reynosa, Mexico, after they found allergy medications in his van, the Associated Press reported. Frey, a Texas-based missionary with Cornerstone International, is being held in a federal penitentiary in Reynosa.

Harald Bredesen Honored

Some 500 civic and church leaders honored charismatic pioneer Harald Bredesen with a birthday bash Aug. 23 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Bredesen, who turned 85 Aug. 16, helped introduce the gifts of the Holy Spirit to mainline denominations in the 1950s. He later founded the Prince of Peace Foundation (PPF), which honors international peacemakers in a Christian counterpart to the Nobel Peace Prize. Past recipients include Anwar Sadat, Mother Teresa and Jordan’s King Hussein. Bredesen was given a PPF award at the birthday event.

Paramedic Sues Over Firing

A Georgia paramedic filed a religious-discrimination lawsuit against her former employer after she was fired for inviting a co-worker to her church. Sherry Lambert sued Memorial Health Inc. in September, claiming the company violated a federal law prohibiting discrimination based on religion. Her lawsuit seeks reinstatement and back pay. The case stems from an Oct. 31, 2001, incident, in which Lambert invited a colleague to church while on duty. Although the co-worker did not complain, Lambert was later terminated.

If you have a news tip for Charisma News Service, e-mail us at [email protected].

The former atheist, educated as a scholar, was a forerunner of modern teaching on prayer and the biblical restoration of Israel
Internationally known author and charismatic Bible teacher Derek Prince died of heart failure Sept. 24. He was 88. Prince had suffered from a series of chronic illnesses in the last several years and died in his sleep at his Jerusalem home, a statement from Derek Prince Ministries said.

Prince, who had lived in Israel off and on since the 1940s, had a teaching and healing ministry that spanned some six decades. His daily radio program, Today With Derek Prince, currently reaches more than half the world and includes broadcasts in Arabic, Chinese, Croatian, Malagasy, Mongolian, Russian, Samoan, Spanish and Tongan.

A controversial though popular Bible teacher known for his logical and reserved teaching style, Prince wrote more than 45 books about the Holy Spirit, faith, marriage, deliverance ministry, healing, prayer and fasting, and God’s destiny for Israel. His The Spirit-Filled Believer’s Handbook has been translated into more than 60 languages.

“I really believe he is going to be remembered as one of the leading teachers in the charismatic renewal, and one who helped save the charismatic renewal from extremes,” said author Stephen Mansfield, who is writing a biography about Prince and was with him days before he died. “He always tried to ensure that his teaching was solidly biblical.”

But Prince did not set out to be in ministry. As a university student he was a philosopher and self-described atheist.

Born in India of British parents, he was educated in England as a scholar of Greek and Latin at Eton College prep school and at the University of Cambridge. He held a fellowship in ancient and modern philosophy at King’s College, Cambridge. While serving with the British army in World War II, he began to study the Bible and became a Christian.

After being discharged from the army in Jerusalem at the end of the war, Prince witnessed the return of Jews to Israel from around the world and interpreted it as a fulfillment of biblical prophecy. Israel’s restoration became a main focus of his teaching. His books Our Debt to Israel, The Last Word on the Middle East and The Destiny of Israel and the Church have informed Christians of their scriptural responsibilities to Israel and the Jews.

“He was an example … for many believers throughout the world,” said Batya Segal, who with her husband, Barry, leads Vision for Israel ministry. “He had a tremendous passion for the Word of God, for the land and people of Israel.”

In 1945 Prince married Lydia Christensen, a Danish missionary more than 26 years his senior. He became father to her eight adopted daughters–six Jewish, one Palestinian Arab and one British–and the couple later adopted another daughter in Kenya.

The Princes immigrated to the United States in 1963 and pastored a church in Seattle. In the early 1970s Prince began to teach about the need for Christians to pray for national leaders, and helped found Intercessors for America (IFA) in 1973. Prince’s book Shaping History Through Prayer and Fasting is still one of the IFA’s best sellers, said President Gary Bergel.

“Many people don’t know how much influence he had on the prayer movement,” Bergel said. “That initial teaching really set the course of our ministry.”

Though well-known for his teaching on deliverance ministry, Prince is also remembered for his participation in the controversial discipleship, or “shepherding,” movement in the 1970s. As reports of control and manipulation began to circulate, Prince eventually withdrew from the movement he began with Don Basham, Ern Baxter, Bob Mumford and Charles Simpson. He publicly repented for his involvement, saying, “I believe we were guilty of the Galatian error: having begun in the Spirit, we quickly degenerated into the flesh,” WorldNet Daily reported.

Pentecostal historian Vinson Synan said that although Prince never regained the level of popularity he had before 1977, he had widespread influence in the charismatic renewal and his “well-organized teaching” filled a void for many charismatics.

Prince’s first wife, Lydia, died in 1975, and in 1978 he married Ruth Baker, a single mother to three adopted children. She died in 1998 in Jerusalem, where the couple moved in 1981.

Prince is survived by 11 children and an extended family of more than 150.
Eric Tiansay and Adrienne S. Gaines

BOOKS

Character Matters
By Mark Rutland, Charisma House,

160 pages, hardcover, $15.99.

Courage is the first and great element of character,” author, evangelist, and international conference speaker Mark Rutland proclaims, and it inspires all 10 chapters of Character Matters.

Rutland is sure to bring fire to your cheeks–initially in defense of your character, then in shame for your defenseless behavior. For example, who hasn’t failed the test of loyalty to employers or employees by talking them down? Or who hasn’t displayed disloyalty to a spouse by disputing over the correct date of an event in a tactless effort to keep things straight?

Peppered throughout with such contemporary examples in addition to biblical examples, Character Matters gives Christians a tall order to follow. It will most certainly lead to repentance in one or more of the nine areas of character discussed: courage, loyalty, diligence, modesty, frugality, honesty, meekness, reverence and gratitude.

Rutland calls for Christians to act with the utmost virtue as role models in a nation headed down a slippery slope to character disintegration. Following the call will require not only deep repentance, but also great faith. For in a post-Christian society, our initial reaction may be to label Rutland’s model for integrity as unrealistic and extreme. Indeed, it is. Rutland’s model for character matters is supernatural, the divine Word of God.
Pamela Robinson

Breakthrough Prayer
By Jim Cymbala, Zondervan,
240 pages, hardcover, $19.99.

Subtitled “The Secret of Receiving What You Need From God,” Breakthrough Prayer focuses on the blessings received through prayer. As pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle, Jim Cymbala has experienced the urgency that prompts prayer in times of hardship and the desperation that comes before God blesses. He draws upon Scriptures, his own prayer life and that of others in showing how all believers can be blessed by God as a result of intercession.

Cymbala points to the fact that believers rarely pray the “lost prayers” of the Bible, not taking full advantage of God’s promises. Bearing in mind James’ explanation that believers do not have because they do not ask, Cymbala points to the unusual prayers that ought not to be overlooked such as a request for joy or to understand God’s timing in a particular situation. The author also humbly testifies of his own learning experiences in communion with God.

Likely, some Christians will not appreciate Cymbala’s approach to prayer, as it may appear to be more blessing-centered than God-centered, but that does not discount the usefulness of this book that demonstrates the value of intercession and God’s willingness to answer the petitions of His people.
Christine D. Johnson

Deadly Emotions
By Don Colbert, M.D.; Nelson Books;

256 pages; hardcover; $22.99.

Enlightening and accurate is the book Deadly Emotions by Dr. Don Colbert, practicing physician and best-selling author of What Would Jesus Eat (Nelson) and the Bible Cure series (Siloam). In it, Colbert takes a startling look at the adverse effects of negative emotions on the physical, spiritual and emotional aspects of life, and how to overcome them.

Offering scientific evidence, Colbert shows how negative emotions, such as depression, anger, guilt, condemnation, resentment and denial, have lifelong implications for a person’s health. He clearly defines these emotions, examines their origin as well as how they manifest themselves, and offers hope in dealing with toxic emotions through God’s power to help forgive and receive true joy.

Practical, insightful and chock full of good advice, this book can help turn the poison of negative emotions into a balm of Gilead that soothes wounds and brings healing to those who hurt.
Kristy Elkins

BIBLE STUDIES

Focus on the Family Marriage Series
Gospel Light, Group Starter Kit, $79.99.

The all-in-one concept for VBS and children’s programs has graduated to adult curricula with Focus on the Family’s Marriage Series. Based on Al Janssen’s book, The Marriage Masterpiece, this array of resources provides all the ingredients to teach couples about biblical marriage.

The seven books for group or individual couple study are compact, containing four studies each. Couples could easily opt to study one or more on their own, or create a home Bible study. Topics cover unity, commitment, intimacy, communication, service, adventure and devotion.

The contemporary and airy design invites couples to discover biblical guidelines and then apply them realistically and purposefully. A man’s pragmatic perspective and a woman’s relational, emotional sides are both accommodated in the discussion questions and application suggestions. These study guides can also be bought separately.

Couples on their own or churches who want to strengthen their congregants’ marriages or create a marriage ministry will get plenty of well-rounded help with this kit. It’s a masterpiece: complete, well produced and user friendly.
Karen Schmidt

MUSIC

Believe
By Jason Breland, Hosanna! Music.

Recorded live at First Baptist North Mobile in Mobile, Alabama, Believe features Jason Breland and the North Mobile Worship Choir. Breland, a former lead singer and music director for TRUTH, now serves as a worship minister at the church.

Breland’s musical talents are well displayed on this album, featuring a seven-member praise team. The recording opens with the big-church sounding “Make It Glorious” and flows into the upbeat “Let There Be a Blessing.” The track slows down midway through with the soulful “To You” and ends with the piano-laden “When I Think About the Lord.”

Overall, Believe is a solid easy-listening worship album with variety and a strong song selection.
Margaret Feinberg

I Just Want You
By Vicki Yohe, Wellspring Gospel.

Worship leader Vicki Yohe has resurfaced as the first artist on CeCe Winans’ Wellspring Gospel. I Just Want You is a smooth, inspirational collection of worship that should be familiar to Yohe’s fans who are used to seeing her guest star on Trinity Broadcasting Network.

Yohe’s album is a collection of choir-backed worship that will fit right into the contemporary church. The music is simply background for Yohe’s clear vocals and the powerful choir that accompanies her. Throughout, Yohe worships with straightforward lyrics such as, “I worship You because of who You are” (“Because of Who You Are”), an updated version of fan favorite “Mercy Seat.” The only time Yohe tries to pick up the pace is with the jazzy “Almighty” and the pop tune “Help” that closes this project.
Natalie Nichols Gillespie

Visible
By 4HIM, Word.

In 1990, 4HIM released their self-titled debut album. Thirteen years later, the band is still encouraging believers with pop worship songs and church anthems. The group has garnered 22 No. 1 singles and recorded 10 studio albums including their newest offering, Visible.

This album fuses easy-listening Christian music with worshipful lyrics and moments. As usual, the four guys–Andy Chrisman, Kirk Sullivan, Mark Harris and Marty Magehee–add heartfelt harmonies to their timeless musical sound.

Though a bit predictable, the lyrics are filled with encouragement and inspiration. Album standouts include “Fill the Earth” with its reflection on God as Creator and the worshipful “It’s All About Jesus.” “The Final Word” is an infectious ballad about the true meaning of love.

Visible is a great album for 4Him fans as well as listeners of adult contemporary Christian music.
Margaret Feinberg

Kiss of Heaven
By Darlene Zschech, INO.

Australian worship leader Darlene Zschech releases her first solo effort, Kiss of Heaven, and it is breathtakingly beautiful. The worship pastor and songwriter wrote or co-wrote everything on this 14-song collection, except the old hymn “Beautiful Savior” and a fine cover of U2’s “Walk On,” with Delirious’ Martin Smith.

Zschech remains grounded in personal worship throughout, and veers only slightly to incorporate earthly romance on “Everything About You,” the singer’s unashamed declaration of love for her husband (and an album highlight).

Zschech has a supernatural ability to draw listeners close to the throne to worship. This is evident throughout Kiss of Heaven. It draws listeners into a spiritual encounter through the sheer beauty of urgency of worship songs such as the title track, “Faithful,” “Irresistible” and “Wonderful You.” It builds to a climax with the powerful rendition of “Shout to the Lord” and follows that with the gentle “Dream.”

Praise and worship fans can seal their collection with this Kiss.
Natalie Nichols Gillespie

It took broadcast journalist Andria Hall nearly 20 years to learn the secret of true success. She had achieved professionally, working at one of the top stations in the top news market before becoming a weekend anchor for CNN. But it was only when she learned to surrender to God’s will that she found “soul satisfaction” on her job.

Fusing faith and profession has become the foundation of her latest book, The Walk at Work. The book guides readers through a seven-month process of spiritual growth to help navigate workplace sabotage, resolve ethical dilemmas and balance work and family life.

Now host of America at Worship, on the Hallmark Channel, Hall writes from experience. “It’s not about the money; it’s not about the recognition or the fame,” she told Charisma. “It’s not about the image that someone else would think, Oh, now you’ve arrived. If you try to pursue those things it counts for nothing in heaven.”

As the workplace is increasingly viewed as a mission field, Hall tells readers the average workplace can be a higher calling, a place “where true success can be achieved.”

“When you work in a tunnel and someone at the very other end has a match lit, you follow the light,” Hall said. “That’s how I felt [at CNN]. People were following the light in me. I would finish anchoring the news and someone would [ask for prayer]. What I realized was that they hadn’t heard me; they had seen me.”
Adrienne S. Gaines

CHARISMATIC TOP SELLERS

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

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

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

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

5. The Three Battlegrounds
Francis Frangipane (Arrow Publications)

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

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

8. Holiness, Truth and the
Presence of God
Francis Frangipane (Arrow Publications)

9. No More Sheets
Juanita Bynum (Pneuma Life Publishing)

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

CHARISMA RECOMMENDS

Good for You!
By Mary Ann Mayo, Siloam, 256 pages, softcover, $14.99.

Mary Ann Mayo believes women need to take responsibility for their own health, learn how to make good decisions and build a healthy lifestyle. Topics covered include hormone replacement therapy, if and when a physician should be fired, and what determines good health. Women must learn to ask questions, set boundaries and take charge of their health.

Reversing Degenerative Disease
By Joseph Elrod, Ed.D.; Siloam; 256 pages; softcover; $13.99.

Joseph Elrod explores natural steps to overcoming degenerative diseases such as fibromyalgia, alzheimer’s, arthritis, immune disorders and more. Elrod discusses the importance of de-stressing, detoxifying and cleansing the body, taking the best nutritional supplements and restoring restful deep sleep. In an easy-to-read format, success cases, resources, programs and testimonies will encourage readers to make lifestyle changes to experience better health.

Take Up the Sword of the Spirit
By Lori Strong, Creation House Press, 80 pages, softcover, $8.99.

Lori Strong has seen firsthand the bondage that can result from generational curses. Strong explores 20 different strongholds, including fear of man, pride, anger, addiction and abortion, all of which can hold people captive if not broken. Strong uses Scriptures and optional prayers, to help readers walk through the process of recognizing and breaking generational curses so that they can experience the truly abundant life Jesus wants all of us to embrace.

Man, Listen to Your Woman
By A.J. Beech, Creation House Press, 80 pages, softcover, $7.99.

Communication is key to having a successful marriage. But A.J. Beech believes many men have been taught that they do not need their wives’ input on key issues. Beech explores the diverse needs of men and women, the importance of respect and the need to tear down man-made gender walls in the church. Men who discover the boldness to listen to their wives will experience a new level of intimacy.

Serie La cura bíblica
(The Bible Cure series)
By Don Colbert, M.D.; Casa Creación; softcover; $4.99 each.

Don Colbert, a practicing physician, offers a series covering health topics containing bits of biblical wisdom alongside professional advice and natural remedies. The 12 Bible Cure booklets from Casa Creación address cures for diseases, including cancer, headaches, heart disease, depression and anxiety, allergies and more.

The passing of the giants means it’s time for us to take the baton.
The charismatic community suffered a tremendous loss in September when two spiritual giants went home to be with the Lord. Kenneth E. Hagin Sr., who has been called the father of the modern Faith Movement, died in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on September 19, and Derek Prince, one of the most respected teachers in the charismatic movement, died on September 24 in Jerusalem.

The passing of these two giants was sad for me personally because early in my spiritual journey I learned much from hearing them speak, reading their books and listening to their tapes. In later years I had the privilege of knowing both men.

Though they were dissimilar in gifts, calling and sphere of influence, each of them greatly influenced the wider charismatic community. Each was a man of integrity never tainted by moral scandal. Each left thousands of disciples who were molded by what he taught. And I believe each was way ahead of his time in bringing to the body of Christ spiritual truths that were later widely accepted.

More than 8,000 people attended Hagin’s funeral in Tulsa, including most of the well-known leaders in the Faith Movement. Yet the four-hour memorial service focused not on Hagin’s role in Christendom but on his role as a family man and on the humility he maintained in spite of enormous success.

Hagin was a simple Texas preacher who preached about faith and healing long before it was popular. In the early years he spoke at Full Gospel Business Men’s conferences and at whatever churches would have him, often driving long distances or taking the bus.

His son, Kenneth Hagin Jr., said that even when Hagin rode the bus because his car was broken down, he continued to preach that God wanted to prosper his people. In the early days when his bills piled up, he’d say, “This is just another way to prove God is faithful.”

At the memorial service Ken Jr. asked those who had been influenced by his father’s ministry to stand. Then he held out to those who responded a large baton and urged us to take hold of it and do what God had called his father to do–“to teach My people faith.”

I was reminded that a large part of the story of Charisma’s growth in the early years revolved around my believing God to fulfill the vision He had given me. In those years many of Brother Hagin’s tapes encouraged me when I was tempted to quit.

Derek Prince, who passed away several days after Hagin, was a man ahead of his time. Born in India, he was educated at Eton College and at King’s College, Cambridge University, in England. He wrote more than 45 books on subjects ranging from the Holy Spirit to prayer and fasting to Israel. He was also known for his support of deliverance ministry and in the late ’60s and ’70s was involved in the Discipleship Movement, which, in view of its excesses, he later helped to dismantle.

Prince was in Israel after World II and saw the Jewish people returning to their homeland. He was among the first to teach that Christians owe the Jewish people an enormous debt. He wrote: “Without them, the church would have no patriarchs, no prophets, no apostles, no Bible and no Savior. My most precious possession in life is my Bible, and I owe it to the Jewish people.”

His life and work has influenced the Christian world like that of few others. But now he and “Papa” Hagin are gone.

What does the passing of these giants mean to us? I believe it means that it’s time for us to take the baton. We must ensure that the revelation they brought to the body of Christ continues to be shared through their books and tapes and through the lives of those they touched. By passing on their messages and following their godly example, we can make a difference in the world.

In an era in which many are in ministry for what they can get out of it, we can be pillars of integrity. We can model what a man or woman of God should be: a person who is devoted to the Word, willing to take risks, willing to change, and willing to follow the call of God on his or her life. And in a day when divorce is increasingly common, we can remain faithful to our spouses, as these two giants did. Let’s commit to passing on their legacy through our lives.