The 18-year-old charismatic Christian was reported by his mother and diagnosed with “reliogious delusions” in June
For eight weeks between mid-June and mid-August, an 18-year-old charismatic believer, who identified himself only as Carl-Johan H., was committed against his will to a local psychiatric hospital in Stockholm, Sweden. The hospital psychiatrists diagnosed him with “religious delusions” and forbade contacts with “all friends … associated with [the patient’s] cult.”

In the first two weeks Carl-Johan was kept in total seclusion and given medication against psychosis and schizophrenia. The young believer had been reported by his mother, who feared for her son’s sanity after hearing him speak in tongues and witness publicly.

In the meantime other psychiatrists have said Carl-Johan manifested no signs of mental disturbance. Sweden’s National Board of Health and Welfare initiated an investigation into the case in August.

Two days before his release, Carl-Johan told Charisma that the hospital committed him against his will based on his mother’s information only, though Carl-Johan is an adult and had no record of mental or social disorders.

Carl-Johan said he had accepted Jesus and was baptized in the Holy Spirit in a large charismatic church in Stockholm in May 2002. “It was a new world to me,” he said, “and I had questions that I discussed with my mother. I always found her a wise person.” Until April Carl-Johan was not active in his newfound faith, and he is still not a church member.

“But in April I started witnessing to people and praising God publicly, which made my parents very upset, especially my visiting the neighbors,” Carl-Johan said. “I also prayed in tongues, and hearing this my mother got hysterical. Once she tried to hit me. I did not recognize her at all. Then doctors started showing up at home, without notice, to examine me.

“On one Sunday two people dropped in: a man calling himself a cult expert and his sister, who was a psychiatrist. I guess I should have said no, but I agreed to talk to them.”

The “cult expert” is a well-known figure in Sweden, Peter Öhlén, a radio journalist who got involved with “deprogramming” people who left the large Word of Life Church in Uppsala in the 1980s after what the former members described as very negative experiences. Öhlén has no medical training.

The same night a hospital psychiatrist visited, though Carl-Johan refused to speak with him. “I had had enough for one day.” The result was that the doctor called the police, while Carl-Johan’s parents locked the doors to prevent their son from “escaping.”

“At the hospital they gave me an injection that made me very weak and dizzy. It turned out to be something against schizophrenia,” he said.

Thomas Jackson, a veteran psychiatrist with specialist authorization in both Sweden and England, told Charisma that “with 100 percent surety Carl-Johan is not seriously mentally ill.” Jackson was not allowed to visit with Carl-Johan, but talked to him repeatedly over the phone and had unlimited access to the medical journal, which he describes as “full of mistakes, and typical of stressed doctors.”

“One doctor who diagnosed Carl-Johan with ‘fulminant psychosis’ had obviously not read through the journal,” Jackson added. “Colleagues [in the same journal] describe Carl-Johan as ‘fully together.'”

The Uppsala Hospital, where Carl-Johan was sent in August for what the doctors call a “second opinion,” confirmed Jackson’s assessment. On his return to Stockholm, Carl-Johan was released.

Carl-Johan’s legal adviser Marina Rosing has reported two heads of department at the psychiatric hospital in Stockholm to the National Board of Health and Welfare, commenting to the Swedish press that the doctors’ treatment of Carl-Johan “is reminiscent of methods that were used against Christians in the old Soviet Union.”

Committing Christians to psychiatric care against their will is rare in western Europe, but human-rights organizations monitoring religious liberties have said there is a clear trend in some countries to view charismatic Christianity as potentially harmful to the emotionally unsettled. A French law passed last year forbids evangelism directed at people groups defined as “weak,” such as children, the elderly and the sick.

Jurist Ulf Holmgren at the National Board conceded to Charisma that the discrepancies in the opinions given by different psychiatrists concerning Carl-Johan’s mental state “seem odd,” but pending the investigation he refrained from further comments.

Professor Lars Farde, head of Psychiatry at the Karolinska Hospital in Stockholm and an international authority in the field of “the human brain and the spiritual,” was highly critical of the interpreting of spiritual experiences in terms of mental disorder.

Farde, himself a Pentecostal believer, told Charisma: “The understanding of the normal Christian experience has been lost in our secularized society.” He said hundreds of thousands of Swedes have had “spiritual experiences [similar to Carl-Johan’s].”

Farde, whose latest research on the human brain’s handling of the spiritual is soon to be published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, also cautioned against “cult deprogramming,” which he described as scientifically “undefined and lacking in quality control.”
Tomas Dixon in Sweden

Through their Hope for the City ministry, Dennis and Megan Doyle will dole out millions of dollars in excess goods this year
A charity that will this year distribute some $300 million in aid worldwide started just a few years ago with a simple realization: “We have lots of warehouse space.”

Coming from Dennis Doyle, that’s a bit of an understatement. As CEO of Welsh Companies, this Christian businessman oversees Minnesota’s largest full-service real estate company: a $125 million privately owned corporation that manages 22 million square feet of real estate valued at $1.5 billion.

Some of that is empty warehouse space. Putting that together with an extensive network of clients in both business and ministry led Dennis and his wife,

Megan, to found Hope for the City, which acts as a “middle man,” taking corporate surplus and getting it into the hands of organizations that fight poverty.

Hope for the City really began when the Doyles began meeting regularly with other couples for prayer. “We … believed that we heard God say that He wanted to start a ministry to reach businesspeople, to awaken them in their careers to be open to the fact that God can use them right where they are,” Megan Doyle said.

That got the Doyles thinking. They realized that in addition to warehouse space, they had contacts with a lot of corporate leaders, for most large Minnesota companies wind up doing business with Welsh Companies at some point.

“We realized we knew who the inner-city workers were because we supported them with both time and money,” Megan Doyle said. “We also realized that … there’s a lot of excess resources out there–food, clothing, medical equipment, office supplies, excess or just slightly used furniture that gets thrown away–that could easily be … distributed to these inner-city ministries to help them be more effective in serving their clients.”

The Doyles use their contacts in the business world to find organizations with high-quality surplus goods. They find organizations working to lift people out of poverty through contacts in ministry, including their church–Grace Church in Eden Prairie, Minn. And they use whatever warehouse space isn’t leased at the moment to store surplus goods that are being transferred from those who have them to those who need them.

An early partner in Hope for the City was Internet-based grocery delivery company that donates surplus food. Others soon followed, including the Gap, Old Navy, Wal-Mart, Office Depot, Bed Bath & Beyond and Avon. Donations from pharmaceutical and medical supply companies, distributed worldwide, soon pushed total retail volume of donated goods to record highs: from $8.6 million in 2001 to $120 million in 2002 to some $300 million and counting this year.

Hope for the City picks up donated goods when necessary and uses Welsh Companies warehouses as distribution sites. Most of the groups benefiting from Hope for the City are Christian ministries, but other faiths and secular organizations are served as well, a fact that opens doors to major corporations. All of this is done with remarkably low overhead: less than 1 percent of their $120 million budget in 2002.

Though the goods are donated without charge, the philosophy behind Hope for the City is not to provide handouts. “We believe that you’re not going to change a city or change people unless you actually work on the core issues behind the problems,” Dennis Doyle said.

With that in mind, Hope for the City partners with organizations “who are touching the people and actually making a change in their lives,” he noted. “There are more than enough quality people doing the job. We aren’t going to compete with the people who are there.” In a biblical reference to the men who held up Moses’ hands during Israel’s battle with the Amalekites, he added, “We’re going to lift up their arms.”

The support role has paid an unexpected dividend. Quarterly meetings of organizational leaders who benefit from Hope for the City have helped smaller inner-city ministries network with one another. “Even though there’s a ton of nonprofits and a ton of people ministering, a lot of them don’t know who’s on the next block,” Megan Doyle said.

The Doyles hope the success of Hope for the City encourages others to look for creative ways to use the resources God has given them. “You can make your business into your ministry,” Dennis Doyle said. “Look at what God put into your hand. Lift it up to the Lord.”
Doug Trouten

Eagle Television broadcast Christian evangelistic programs, news and The Flintstones before it went off the air in April
When U.S. and British troops invaded Iraq last spring, the warren of offices and studios that make up Mongolia’s Eagle Television were electric with the energy of a staff fully aware that it was making journalistic history in the isolated, former communist state. They were the only channel in this landlocked country of 2.7 million offering western-style, seat-of-the-pants coverage of breaking news.

“There wasn’t a bar or restaurant or shop that didn’t have Eagle TV on. You had people standing around the televisions in the state department store,” recalls the independent station’s affable general manager, Tom Terry.

Terry, an American who took over the unusual Christian station last year, was determined to provide a lively, objective alternative to government-controlled television’s staid war coverage. A retired Mongolian general provided commentary. Viewers called in with opinions.

But in late April financial disputes led Eagle Television’s American partners to shut down the station.

In addition to international news, Eagle Television broadcast American evangelistic programs such as the charismatic Hillsong Television from Australia and Christian music videos, as well as The Flintstones and NBA basketball. Eagle Television’s management estimated that it has generated “10,000 contacts for Christ” over its eight years of operation in a country where Tibetan Buddhists and pagans predominate.

“Eagle TV was founded for two purposes,” Terry told the Associated Press (AP). ” … To advance the gospel of Jesus Christ and … for the advancement of freedom and democracy.”

These days, Terry sits alone in his barren office, his laptop plugged into the wall and cans of Coke on the windowsill. With flow charts and a good deal of patience, he explained how an eight-year arrangement fell apart when the Mongolian side threatened to go to court to dissolve the partnership.

AMONG, a nonprofit Christian organization in Sioux Falls, S.D., that helps fund Eagle Television, reacted swiftly to preempt what they thought could be a costly and dangerous legal battle, said Terry, who was hired by the group. To safeguard the station’s expensive equipment, Terry removed it from the studios and locked it up in storage. The Mongolian partners learned what happened after the fact.

“I kind of look at it like coming from the Lord that most of these guys were out of the country at the time,” Terry said.

Today, the two sides are at an impasse, waiting for the government to decide who will get Eagle Television’s broadcast license and return to the air. Government officials are promising to be objective.

“I don’t think there is any kind of hidden political motive between the participants,” said Jagvaral Hanibal, the foreign ministry’s spokesman. “I would really like to see it come back. For the public, for society, it is important.”

The Flintstones was especially popular, the AP reported. The 1960s cartoon was dubbed into Mongolian and renamed The Flint Stone People. “The Flint Stone People showed how normal people celebrate life,” retired civil servant Balganjav Oyunchimeg told the AP. “We learned many lessons from that family.”

On the face of it, AMONG would seem to have an advantage in the dispute because it has no political agenda in Mongolia, whereas the Mongolian partners are in the Democratic Party, which forms a tiny minority in the nation’s Communist-controlled parliament.

“AMONG is the only disinterested party here. All we are here for is the propagation of the gospel. The propagation of the basic [press] freedom of a democracy,” Terry said.

Surprisingly, the station’s religious programming has been barely an issue in the public debate. One exception was a May interview given by one of the Mongolian partners, Batbayar, to the weekly Seruuleg newspaper in which he said he looked forward to running Eagle Television without the Americans.

“We won’t be poked any longer for ‘spreading alien religion’ etc.,” stated Batbayar, who, like many Mongolians, uses only one name.

Bayartsetseg, a legal expert at the nonpartisan Mongolian Foundation for Open Society, said she, as a Buddhist, found the station’s religious content personally repugnant but praised the station’s contribution to making Mongolia into a functioning democracy.

“There is a gap of independent news. We have a country ruled by the Communist Party,” Bayartsetseg said. “There is so much censorship here. Mongolia’s main [TV] channel is owned by the government, which means the Communist Party controls it.”
Frank Brown in Ulan Bator, Mongolia

Bill Glass has seen some 35,000 inmates make decisions for Christ each year for the last decade at his outreach events
He never thought he’d go to prison. Certainly not as a minister.

But in 1970, Bill Glass, a four-time All-Pro defensive tackle for the Cleveland Browns, did a friend a favor. He led a ministry team into a prison in Marion, Ohio, enticing them with big-name athletes such as Roger Staubach, then sneaking in a testimony about Jesus.

Today, 33 years later, Glass is still preaching, still reaching and changing the hearts of prisoners across the country. The 6-foot-6 Texan with the baritone voice and slight Southern drawl spoke in 400 prisons last year and has seen 35,000-plus inmates receive Christ every year for the last decade.

“I wanted to be an evangelist like Billy Graham,” Glass said. “I thought my ministry was going to be citywide meetings.”

Instead, he found it behind barbed wire, bars and locks. Recently, Glass’ volunteer ministry team spoke in seven prisons in western Washington, seeing 1,166 prisoners accept Christ during a three-day event Glass called “A Weekend of Champions.”

“I had never gotten in trouble with the law,” Glass said. “I wasn’t a street kind of guy. So for me to end up in prisons was totally unexpected.”

But he’s not arguing with the results. About 2 million people are behind bars today in the United States. Seventy percent of all prisoners commit another crime after being released and end up back in jail. Glass’ program reverses that number. Of the prisoners who make decisions for Christ at Glass’ outreach, less than 30 percent return to jail.

“I didn’t come to be preached to,” Jack Murphy said. “I came to see the football players.”

Murphy, in prison for murder and for his involvement in America’s largest jewelry heist, went to one of Glass’ outreaches at a maximum-security prison in Florida in 1974. Murphy came to see Roger Staubach, then the quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys.

“Bill came with the same program that he has today,” said Murphy, now a speaker in Glass’ ministry. “Because of that program I asked the Lord into my heart. It started the process. It started the journey.”

The ministry has a twofold effect. It shares hope with the prisoners and trains Christians how to share their faith.”Too many Christians want to hide in the church,” Murphy said. “They get tied into safe ministries. They make quilts.”

Murphy accuses the church of ignoring the prisons, maintaining its distance because of a better-than-thou attitude. Murphy points out that much of the New Testament was written in prison and that the first Christian was the man hanging on the cross next to Jesus.

“Bill leads the largest group of front-line, hands-on evangelists in the world,” Murphy said. “They’re mobilized to win souls. They learn how to share their faith, how to pray with people to get saved. Ninety-five percent of the people who call themselves born-again Christians don’t know how to lead someone to the Lord.”

A Wheaton College study rated Glass’ ministry among the best of the United States’ 450 prison ministries. It received the highest rating for front-line evangelism to prisoners.

Glass’ ministry has 35 full-time workers and relies heavily on volunteers, people who counsel and share the four spiritual laws with prisoners who have raised their hands during evangelistic meetings, asking for prayer. About 250 volunteers worked at Glass’ outreach in western Washington. The counselors huddle with the prisoners after the program, spending 10 minutes to an hour sharing.

Randy Poe, a dentist in Roseburg, Ore., has counseled at Glass’ ministry since 1981 and often drives a busload of volunteers from his hometown, participating in as many of the outreaches on the West Coast as he can.

“This is an amazing school of evangelism,” Poe said. “One of our missions is to help churches ignite Christians to share their faith in Christ. I believe we probably have the most effective school of evangelism of any organization in the United States.”

Glass, now 68, suffered a slight stroke a year ago and has turned over the administrative duties of his ministry, but he’s speaking more than ever. He is scheduled to speak at all 24 of his weekend ministries this year and has no intentions of slowing down. He started a mentor program for juveniles in Corpus Christi, Texas, where Glass grew up. Said Glass, “I’m having too much fun to slow down.”
Gail Wood

Many of 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.

PASTORS ACCUSED OF SPYING FOR ISRAEL
A Canadian pastor accused by Lebanon of spying for Israel claims the charges against him are “trumped up.” Bruce Balfour, 52, field director of Cedars of Lebanon, a ministry that planned to help replenish the cedars of Lebanon in the mountains of the country’s northern region, has been in custody since he was arrested July 10, when he arrived in Beirut, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported. The trial of Balfour and Grant Livingstone, 81, another Canadian pastor also accused of spying for Israel, was recently postponed at the request of the prosecution, who asked for more time to summon witnesses, AFP reported.

SLAIN ATHLETE HAD ‘FOUND JESUS’
The Baylor University basketball player whose roommate allegedly shot him to death was memorialized Aug. 5 at a San Jose, Calif., charismatic church, where he became a Christian. Jubilee Christian Center (JCC) pastor Dick Bernal said 21-year-old Patrick Dennehy accepted Christ at JCC last year, the Associated Press reported. “I won’t try to deify the man,” Bernal said of Dennehy, who was kicked off the University of New Mexico team for his temper. “But people were really impressed with Patrick’s new lease on life since he found Jesus.” Carlton Dotson, Dennehy’s roommate and former teammate, was arrested and charged with murder July 21, after reportedly telling authorities he shot Dennehy when Dennehy tried to shoot him.

PENTECOSTAL CHURCHES HAVE MORE BORN-AGAIN EVANGELIZERS
Christians who attend full gospel churches share the good news more than those in mainline congregations. In a survey exploring the evangelistic engagement of 4,265 adults, Barna Research Group (BRG) found that 67 percent of those in an Assemblies of God (AG) church were born again and had evangelized in the last year, as had 51 percent of those who regularly attend a nondenominational congregation. Released in August, the study also found
that 50 percent of the people in Pentecostal churches outside the AG were born-again evangelizers. The rates were lower for adults connected to Baptist (40 percent), Presbyterian (31 percent), Lutheran (24 percent), Methodist (21 percent), Episcopal (13 percent) and Catholic (10 percent) churches.

JIM BAKKER LAWSUIT NETS SMALL SUM
A 16-year-old class-action lawsuit against Praise the Lord (PTL) founder Jim Bakker netted $ for each of the 165,000 plaintiffs. Their lawyers were to get $2.5 million of the $3.7 million settlement, The Asheville (N.C.) Citizen-Times reported. The plaintiffs gave $1,000 each for four-day vacation stays at a PTL resort that was never built near Charlotte, N.C. Settlement checks were to be issued within a month of the July order. Char Graham, Bakker’s business manager and mother-in-law, said Bakker had no comment “because he doesn’t have all the facts on it. He hasn’t been included in any of that.”

Black Pastor Launches ‘Pay to Pray’ Campaign

A Shreveport, La., pastor decided to pay white people to attend services through the month of August to increase the diversity at his Greenwood Acres Full Gospel Baptist Church. Bishop Fred Caldwell paid $5 per hour for Sunday services and $10 an hour for midweek services in a campaign that gained worldwide media attention. “This is about the Lord drawing attention to the fact that the church is segregated,” he said. By mid-August about 80 whites had visited, and Caldwell had paid $500 of his own money, though he said most refused the payments.

Pastor Javier Vásquez Dies

Javier Vásquez, head of the Methodist Pentecostal Church of Chile, which is affiliated with the International Pentecostal Holiness Church (IPHC), died of liver failure July 25. He was 86. The IPHC said Vásquez was pastor for nearly 40 years of the Evangelical Cathedral (Jotabeche Church) in Santiago, which is one of the largest Pentecostal churches in the world. Vásquez is survived by his second wife, Olga Hansen; four children; 16 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.

Businessmen’s Group Names Executive Director

In July, Business Men’s Fellowship International (BMFI), a network of charismatic businessmen, named Chuck Evans the first full-time executive director of its U.S. group. Evans, 36, is a partner in a real-estate development firm and former associate pastor. Founded in 1995, BMFI has nearly 1,400 U.S. members, and operates in Brazil (the largest network, with 38,740 members), Europe and Asia.

MUSIC

City on a Hill: The Gathering
By various artists, Essential.

City on a Hill: The Gathering is the final chapter of Steve Hindalong’s award-winning City on a Hill series, and he ends it on a resoundingly worshipful note with its 14-tracks aiming to remind the church to love others as an extension of our faith.

The Gathering combines original worship music with remakes of traditional hymns and features the impressive musical collaborations fans have come to expect from the City projects.

Unique vocal pairings include Ginny Owens with GlassByrd (“We Will Trust You”), FFH with Paul Colman (“Instrument of Peace”), and Caedmon’s Call with new Essential act Silers Bald (“Hallelujah Never Ending”).

Bebo Norman and Sixpence None the Richer’s Leigh Nash blend their distinctive vocals on album highlight “Beautiful, Scandalous Night,” a stirring portrait of Christ’s death and resurrection, written by Hindalong and Derri Daugherty. The Gathering also features Jars of Clay, Sixpence None the Richer, Sara Groves and Andrew Peterson.

Rich lyrics, solid vocal performances and masterful production make The Gathering a beautiful finale to this series and should leave listeners yelling, “Encore! Encore!”
Angela Folds Fox

Simple Things
By Amy Grant, Word.

Amy Grant’s new album finds the singer getting back to the basics because when the world becomes almost unbearably complicated–with its international conflicts and general unease–it’s comforting to seek out simplicity.

This may be why Grant sings, “I believe in simple things” on the album’s title track. Simple Things is not as spiritually centered as her recent album of hymns, nor is it as lovey-dovey as the music she made during her “Baby, Baby” pop hit phase. Instead, it’s a little of each.

“Out In the Open,” for example, is a Point Of Grace-ish song about God’s desire for fellowship with humanity; and the album-closing “After the Fire” is a simple, acoustic guitar-accompanied gem that expresses God’s steadfastness during trials.

“Looking for You” details a romance almost too good to be true, whereas “Eye to Eye” concerns itself with ironing out the rough spots in a relationship.

“Innocence Lost,” which features a Celtic hymnlike feel, is probably this album’s best song. It’s a meditation about the price paid for maturity. On it Grant sings: “I miss my innocence/Oh, to be innocent.” Such innocence is one of life’s better simple things.
Dan MacIntosh

Jekyll & Hyde
By Petra, Inpop.

Jekyll & Hyde is an appropriate title for this long-lived Christian rock band, in that the band’s lineup is always doing an about-face. Petra recently lost three members–drummer Louie Weaver, guitarist Quinton Gibson and keyboardist Bryce Bell–leaving only vocalist John Schlitt, founding member Bob Hartman and bassist Greg Bailey.

Hartman wrote or co-wrote all 10 songs on this heavily-reminiscent-of-1980s-metal album. Petra’s new songs sound like a combination of early Alice Cooper, Poison, Styx and AC/DC, with aggressive, crunchy electric guitars laying the foundation for each tune.

Schlitt provides the vocals and continues to be the consummate rock ‘n’ roll screamer, making Jekyll & Hyde no doubt a great album to hear live. However, on disc it alternates sonically between fresh and dated.

Overall, Jekyll & Hyde lives up to its promise of being the most aggressive album Petra has ever made, but that doesn’t mean it is the band’s best. Petra seems so determinedly out to prove it can still rock that the songs sound much the same, the relentless metal beat driving the point home every time.

Yes, Petra can rock out, but it should take a lesson from the band’s 1982 album, More Power to Ya, which rocked hard with single “Judas’ Kiss” but also softened the mood with the title track and “Rose-Colored Stained Glass Window,” and lighten up a little.
Natalie Nichols Gillespie

BOOKS

Spiritually Parenting Your Preschooler
By C. Hope Flinchbaugh,
Charisma House, softcover, 167 pages, $.

Hope Flinchbaugh firmly believes in making the home a positive spiritual environment for the nurture of children, and for readers of Spiritually Parenting Your Preschooler, it is a joy to listen in as she instructs her own children in the ways of the Lord. Many parents will identify with the exasperation Flinchbaugh felt when she asked God, “Is it really possible to actually walk in the Spirit with three wild preschoolers in the house?” This book is her answer.

Not a book about “historical parenting,” Spiritually Parenting shows parents how to teach their children to come to Jesus and to follow the Spirit. Among other important topics, Flinchbaugh offers advice on choosing a school, spanking (she believes in it, in moderation) and winning the war of wills.

The author also encourages new mothers to pray the Scriptures with faith for their babies and urges other mothers not to place burdens on the new moms by sharing birthing stories that are not edifying.

Flinchbaugh writes insightfully and with humor, incorporating illustrations of everyday life. She seems to have thought through the child-rearing process with great care, and her readers will appreciate the effort.
Christine D. Johnson

FICTION

Cover Girls
By T.D. Jakes, Warner Faith,
hardcover, 256 pages, $.

Best-selling author T.D. Jakes has attempted what few writers can do well–cross genres.

In his first novel, Cover Girls, Jakes tells the story of four women in four different seasons of life–none of them aware of how intricately their lives are woven together. Nor do they realize that what appears on the outside is a cover-up for harsh, intimate truths.

Michelle is young and pretty, but her marriage is as shattered as her past is violent. Tonya appears to be a spiritual giant, but her outward appearance suggests anything but the joy of the Lord. Their boss, Delores Judson, with all her money and power has a life spinning out of control and a great-grandchild on the way who was conceived in incest. The fourth woman, Miz Ida, knows people think she is “three bricks shy of a load,” but it will be her faith and prayers that see these three women to the throne of God.

Although the beginning of Cover Girls displays the typical mistakes of a first-time novelist–point-of-view shifts, weak dialogue–the author’s talent strengthens as the pages turn–and pages will turn. The book will sell well because of the author’s name but will do well because of the author’s talent.
Eva Marie Everson

And the Shofar Blew
By Francine Rivers, Tyndale House
Publishers, hardcover, 464 pages, $.

In the Old Testament, God used a shofar–a trumpet made from a ram’s horn–to call His people to action. And the Shofar Blew by award-winning novelist Francine Rivers is a contemporary story about hearing God’s voice and about building–both churches and relationships.

Young Paul Hudson is zealous about serving God and building the church he believes God wants him to pastor. But over time he stops listening to God’s voice, and his success becomes his focus. The consequences of his actions affect everyone around him–his faithful wife, his son who is ignored by Paul, and his church members–all of whom also must discern God’s will or follow their own paths. Conflict builds slowly as the author carefully develops each character’s motives and responses.

The resulting believable spiritual growth of several characters will inspire readers to
examine their own hearts. Discussion questions at the end of this novel are designed to help readers take the lessons learned from the story and apply them to their own lives.

With And the Shofar Blew Rivers has succeeded in constructing a timely novel that ministers as much as it entertains.
Leslie Santamaria

Firefly Blue
By Jake Thoene, Tyndale House,
softcover, 361 pages, $.

Dubbed “the Christian Tom Clancy,” Jake Thoene’s writing does have that edge, with quick action, suspense and government conspiracy. Firefly Blue is the sequel to Shaiton’s Fire, both volumes in a series of post-9/11 novels by Thoene. However, reading the first novel is not necessary for understanding and enjoying this second
offering.

Firefly Blue centers on the FBI’s special counterterrorism unit called Chapter 16, a reference to the book of Revelation. The discovery of a hijacked shipment of sodium cyanide tips off an old enemy who has made new friends. While dealing with a potentially deadly plot, main character, Special Agent Steve Alstead, is caught between family, faith and country. He has to maintain his marriage and faith while fighting terrorism.

Thoene effectively develops the secondary characters in the novel, adding interest. However, it is at some expense to knowing more about Alstead and his family.

Thoene does a good job avoiding a preachy style. Some characters quote Scripture, but the Christian aspect of the book does at times seem to be tacked on as an extra thought.

The author excels in exploring with great insight the emotional aspects of law-enforcement work, giving his writing depth and validity. And even though this novel has many side stories, Thoene masterfully ties all the twists together for a satisfying and intriguing ending. Readers looking for a fun and light read will enjoy Firefly Blue.
Margaret Hull

The Light of Eidon
By Karen Hancock, Bethany House

Publishers, softcover, 400 pages, $.

In the tradition of . Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, Karen Hancock has created an exciting allegorical fantasy. The Light of Eidon, the first novel in the Legends of the Guardian King series, is a classic hero’s journey. Fifth in line for Kiriath’s throne, Abramm Kalladorne has renounced his title, changed his name to Eldrin and entered a religious order to make himself worthy to tend the Holy Flames of Eidon.

As the story begins, Eldrin’s years of study are about to culminate in his initiation, but he has reservations. Evil forces thrust him into slavery in a foreign land where he must fight in gladiator-style games. In captivity, Eldrin faces many false gods with counterfeit powers and must decide what he believes about Eidon and truth.

Hancock’s writing, often eerie and suspenseful, is rich in sights, smells and sounds. Tension is sustained as the reader wonders whom Eldrin should trust. The allegories for atonement and salvation are fresh and insightful.

Hancock’s book will appeal to Christian fantasy readers and to fans of Francine Rivers’ Mark of the Lion trilogy, but The Light of Eidon is so well-done it also should attract new readers to the genre.
Leslie Santamaria

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Retired syndicated cartoonist, speaker and author Tim Downs delivers his first novel, Shoofly Pie, a book you can’t put down once you get involved with its roller-coaster plot. The title alone is intriguing.

“Shoofly Pie,” Downs explains, “is made from a concoction of molasses and brown sugar. It’s so sweet that it’s impossible for flies to resist, and that’s why I used the term as a euphemism for a decomposing body.”

Set in rural North Carolina, Shoofly Pie finds Kathryn Guilford questioning a friend’s death. She enlists the help of Nick Polchak, the “Bug Man.” He studies bugs on corpses, offering clues to the when, where and how of death.

Intensely curious and even-keeled, Kathryn has to work with sarcastic wiseguy Nick, best described as an endearing eccentric. Their relationship is the basis for much of the novel’s witty dialogue.

According to Downs, Nick is “a scientist who takes a completely material view of life and death.” As Nick gets closer to the truth, a personal tragedy forces him to reconsider the inadequacy of his worldview. Says Downs: “That’s what I want my readers to ask themselves: Where is my own worldview inadequate? How am I like Nick?”

Shoofly Pie will not disappoint fans of the popular CBS-TV series CSI. “It’s a love story, a mystery and an adventure all rolled into one,” Downs says.

The author hopes to do a series, with sequel Chop Shop on the way. With his detailed style of writing that makes you feel as if you’re right alongside the characters, here’s hoping Bug Man novels become movies.
Mark Weber

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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

Upside Down
By Benny Perez, Charisma House,

224 pages, softcover, $.

Author and speaker Benny Perez has a heart to encourage youth to become consumed with God’s purposes. Perez offers a comprehensive training manual for today’s youth, addressing topics such as bucking the trend, setting the pace, influencing culture, and advancing the atmosphere of faith and revival. He wants young people to have a blazing passion for radical evangelism and discipleship.

Divine Desperation
By John Hurston,
Creation House Press,
224 pages, softcover, $.

John and Maxine Hurston gave their lives to God in the 1950s. They served first as missionaries in the United States and then in Liberia, witnessing a national revival. Later, they moved to Seoul, South Korea. There John Hurston became mentor to a young Bible student, David Yonggi Cho, who today pastors the world’s largest church. This account is proof of what dedication to God’s will can do.

Heaven Is So Real!
By Choo Thomas,
Creation House Press,
224 pages, softcover, $.

Raised in Korea, Choo Thomas was the only child of nonreligious parents. She embraced the Lord in 1992 and wanted to spend every moment in His presence. Her desire led to a deep prayer life, moments of seeing Jesus and a series of heavenly journeys, which changed her life forever. As Thomas recounts her heavenly visits, she often says she wants everyone to realize that heaven is very real–and that heaven and hell are closer than we think.

Favor Makes No Sense
By Jerry Grillo, Creation House Press,

128 pages, softcover, $.

Jerry Grillo has been in ministry for more than 20 years. He issues a challenge to Christians to move from poverty to prosperity, from fear to faith and from failure to favor. Grillo reminds us God is not hiding from us and that He wants us to know Him and the power of His resurrection.

Adoracion sin reservas
(Extravagant Worship)
By Darlene Zschech, Casa Creación,
204 pages, softcover, $.

Well-known worship leader Darlene Zschech shares that we can enter the presence of the Lord when we understand what it means to be an extravagant worshiper. Worship is not about performing–it’s a way of life. Zschech teaches how we can become people of excellent and extravagant worship in every area of our lives.

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To order these books call (800) 599-5750 or go to .

I personally believe Bush is the real deal in terms of his walk with Christ.
It will be interesting to see how the secular media respond to the new book The Faith of George W. Bush when it comes out next month. More than any other presidency in recent memory, Bush’s has been “faith-based,” yet the media often have trouble knowing how to cover the faith aspect.

For those of us who are believers, there is something that rings true about the conversion experience described in the excerpt from the Bush book we’ve featured in this issue. It’s more than just knowing “one of us” is in the White House. Whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican, you have a sense there is something real about our president’s faith and how it motivates him to lead the country.

When Bush was running for president he gave J. Lee Grady, the editor of Charisma, an opportunity to interview him. The headline for Grady’s article in November 2000 became prophetic. We called it “The Faith of George W. Bush.”

Little did we know how close the presidential election would be or how soon our country would be embroiled in a war against terrorism. Little did we expect this man–who wasn’t considered a success until he was nearly 40 and was labeled by many an intellectual lightweight–to become a leader of almost Churchillian proportions.

The key to his success? In a word, faith. It was his faith that transformed him from the mediocre son of a famous father and grandfather into what many are already considering a great president.

That’s the topic of this book. I believe the author, Stephen Mansfield, did a masterful job in not only explaining where Bush came from but also identifying his spiritual roots and telling his spiritual odyssey in a way that is believable to the nonbeliever.

We didn’t want to publish a book that, like so many others, merely preaches to the choir. We wanted to get out the message to the wider market–not to preach, but to show what can happen to a man when his life is touched by Christ and
he believes God has called him to the presidency because, in his words, “My country is going to need me.”

Our desire to reach nonbelievers is the reason we teamed up with Penguin Group (USA), the second-largest book publisher in the world, to publish this book. Our publishing house–Charisma House–is promoting it in the Christian products market. Penguin is pushing it in the secular arena.

The books are identical. And the message, while not written in Christianese, is very clear. At one point, the narrative even includes the plan of salvation as it was presented to Bush in 1984.

So how will the secular media respond? Usually they ignore books on conversion or spiritual experience. But it’s hard to ignore the spiritual journey of the president of the United States–especially when he has been so open about his faith. I suppose that’s why some in the media have started writing about it–even if what they say is critical. Recent articles in Newsweek, Vanity Fair and Gentlemen’s Quarterly have taken a skeptical look at the Christian experience of the president.

Nevertheless, their focusing on it has perhaps made it acceptable to write about faith. Early indications are there is a great deal of interest in this book, and we expect to get a lot of publicity and have a lot of books in the marketplace.

But we could use your help. First, you can pray. Pray that what God has done in George W. Bush’s life will be a witness to the entire world.

We didn’t write the book to proselytize or convert anyone. But it’s my belief that when confronted with genuine Christianity–the kind C.S. Lewis called “mere Christianity”–people do notice and are touched.

The Faith of George W. Bush makes it clear that Bush is not perfect and that his walk as a Christian leaves much to be desired. But I personally believe he’s the real deal in terms of his walk with Christ. Hopefully you’ll want to buy a copy and come to your own conclusion.

This book wasn’t written just to make money for the author or publisher. It was written to spread a message about a life that has been changed and a man who is affecting history as a result. Please join with us in getting the message out to those who desperately need to hear it.

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Stephen Strang is the founder and publisher of Charisma.

God made our bodies to produce health unless we interfere.
Lately I have received many e-mails from Christians who are filled with fear about their health. My passion is to help people overcome health challenges by balancing their bodies with proper nutrition, herbs, vitamins and minerals, and their minds and emotions with the Word of God. But I believe too many people are ingesting supplements without proper supervision. They are running “to and fro” seeking the latest elixir for vitality or the latest pill for eternal youth.

Some people are so desperate for a pill to “fix” them that they forget the true source of all healing–God.

Nutritional supplements do have a place in our lives. They fill nutritional gaps left by our poor American diets. But if searching for the perfect supplement or newest supernutrient has become a way of life for you, you may have allowed fear to take the throne in place of God.

Take comfort in this fact: God wonderfully designed your body with an immune system that acts as the greatest pharmacy in the world. It makes more than 100 billion types of medicines, called antibodies, to attack just about any unwanted germ or virus that enters your body.

It helps keep you well and healthy and makes you well after a viral, bacterial or fungal infection. It can even manage to stop a cancer cell from setting up shop in your body and multiplying.

All the medicines made by your own internal pharmacy are completely natural and custom-tailored to work specifically for you. They do not produce side effects, are free and are the most powerful healing agents known to man.

Your faith in God and education about your body can arm you with the knowledge you need to stimulate and support your body, especially during times of stress, poor eating, lack of sleep and negative thinking. In addition, renewing your mind will reverse negative thoughts that can destroy your health.

I recommend that you become educated on the subject of your body. The Bible says, “‘My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge'” (Hos. 4:6, NKJV). A good source of information for you is my book The 90-Day Immune System Makeover (Siloam).

Also, continue to focus on God as your source for healing. Have faith and take part in the process, but do not become a slave to it! Before your eyes, you will see and feel signs that will cause you to be in awe of God’s intelligence at work in your body.

Here are some practical things you can do to improve your health:

Get enough rest. Regeneration takes place while you sleep. Sleep experts agree that although seven hours of sleep per night is the minimum amount needed for a properly functioning immune system, eight hours is still optimal.

Control stress. Stress and a depressed outlook can lower immunity. Prayer is especially effective in managing stress.

Go low-fat. According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, eating a low-fat diet may help boost the activity of your natural killer-cells, thereby enhancing your immune response.

Eat less sugar. Consumption of refined sugar can interfere with immunity. A study reported by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that sugar slowed the ability of the immune system to eradicate, engulf and consume alien material.

Eliminate alcohol. Alcohol lowers immunity by inhibiting the ability of your white blood cells to react to infection.

God made our bodies to produce health unless we interfere. Notice the self-curing nature of many conditions such as colds, fevers, cuts, swelling and bruises. These are examples of how the body always strives for health and healing unless we do something to stop the process.

If you are too preoccupied with your health, take comfort in Philippians 3:20-21: “We are citizens of heaven … and we are eagerly waiting for Him to return as our Savior. He will take these weak mortal bodies of ours and change them into glorious bodies like His own, using the same mighty power that He will use to conquer everything, everywhere” (New Living Translation).

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Janet C. Maccaro, Ph.D., ., is a leading expert on natural health. She holds doctorates in nutrition and naturopathy and appears frequently on national radio and TV programs. She is the author of 90-Day Immune System Makeover and Breaking the Grip of Dangerous Emotions (Siloam). Maccaro lives in Central Florida with her husband and three children.

President Bush and U2’s Bono have helped inform Christians about the disease’s spread in Africa
The leader of the free world and a legendary rock musician have played an unlikely role in galvanizing Christians to help fight the spread of AIDS in Africa.

President Bush and U2 front man Bono are helping put AIDS on many Christians’ radar by highlighting the region where some 6,5000 people die every day of AIDS-related illnesses and another 9,500 daily are infected with HIV. Roughly 14 million children have been orphaned by the disease, with another 10 million projected to be parentless by 2010.

Bush’s promise to earmark $15 billion toward the global fight against AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean during his January State of the Union address led the National Association of Evangelicals to become “deeply involved” in the issue, according to a statement from the organization. Members lobbied Capitol Hill to ensure that a third of the funding would support sexual abstinence programs. And in June the group convened a forum in conjunction with the humanitarian organizations MAP International, World Relief and World Vision to examine evangelicals’ role in addressing the pandemic.

President Bush’s July tour of Africa, during which he again pledged to provide $15 billion in aid over five years, brought further attention to the AIDS crisis, said Larry Warren, president of African Leadership ( ). The Franklin, organization offers pastoral training to African leaders and is developing health clinics to help care for the infected.

The week of the president’s trip, Bono began a campaign to ensure Bush keeps his $15 billion promise. The effort has drawn support from many in the contemporary Christian music (CCM) industry, who have become increasingly vocal about Africa’s needs in the last two years. Christian musicians turned out in droves at a July meeting at songwriter-producer Charlie Peacock’s Nashville, Tenn., home in support of Debt, AIDS, Trade in Africa (DATA), the nonprofit group Bono backs ().

Artists such as Steven Curtis Chapman, Leigh Nash and Matt Slocum of Sixpence None the Richer, dc talk’s Michael Tait and saxophonist Kirk Whalum signed their names in a show of support to urge President Bush to send aid to Africa.

Singer Margaret Becker, who helps World Vision raise funds for its Hope Initiative () aimed at caring for AIDS widows and orphans, said the current level of involvement stands in stark contrast to the CCM industry’s response nearly 10 years ago. At the Gospel Music Association’s 1994 convention, she said the vast majority of attendees declined to wear ribbons expressing their support for the fight against AIDS.

“People had such an odd stigmatization about the disease,” she said. “It was associated with liberal politics … and left-wing leanings.” The Christian music community “was sort of like, we’re not about that. That’s somebody else’s problem.”

While insiders say some Christian artists are motivated to fight AIDS because of Bono’s involvement, others have taken ownership of the issue. Switchfoot’s Jon Foreman, who also works with a group of Sudanese refugees, said his Christian pop-rock band raises awareness about AIDS at concerts and included statistics about the crisis in the liner notes of its CD.

“When you look into the face of someone who is affected by the numbers, it’s no longer a statistic, it’s now a friend,” Foreman said. “The church … has an ideology that obligates us to help. I really believe we are to lead in this.”

Christian rock group Jars of Clay founded Blood: Water Mission in April to educate Christians, especially its young fan base, about the epidemic and to raise funds to support grass-roots initiatives such as African Leadership.

“We don’t mind saying the things nobody wants to say,” said Jars front man Dan Haseltine, who visited three African nations in December.

“Some of that comes from going into the mainstream rock arena and doing what we do,” added guitarist Stephen Mason. “This is just one more risk that really kind of seems like a no-brainer.”

Jars is donating its proceeds from an upcoming children’s book called Scribblepotemus to Blood: Water Mission. It also contributed to Mission: Africa, a “field guide” to mobilize teens to fight AIDS.

The book gives detailed action steps for youth who want to get involved. Its proceeds will be split between World Vision and the aWAKE Project, a Nashville-based AIDS awareness and fund-raising effort.

“That was our goal, to educate and then motivate,” said project editor Kate Etue, who has been involved in the AIDS issue since 2001. “We felt the teens could be more revolutionary than the adults.” She added that musician Michael W. Smith and author Max Lucado, who appeal to an older demographic, are also drawing support for the issue.

The push comes not a moment too soon for World Relief president Clive Calver, whose Mobilizing for Life initiative () has been helping African churches respond to AIDS since 1997. “We’re 15 years late,” Calver said, adding that HIV infections decreased in Uganda because European churches supported Christians there.

He said Christians in Africa bear a heavy burden, caring for the sick and the orphaned. “The real need is to pray, and the real need is to give,” Calver said.

A 2001 study conducted by researcher George Barna found that just 3 percent of Christians were willing to give financially to a reputable organization fighting the spread of AIDS in Africa. But ministry leaders say that is changing.

“I think that if Barna were to do that study now, the percentage would be much higher,” Warren said. “There’s been a lot of awareness raised.”

During a July press conference, Bono told a group of reporters he has been surprised by Christians’ response to his campaign. “Particularly evangelicals, who seemed very judgmental to me over the years, turned out to be incredibly generous in their time and their support of the effort,” Bono said. “I’ve really had my view of the church turned upside down.”

Though the level of involvement is increasing, it does not match Africa’s need, leaders say. The Rev. Jessica Ingram, supervisor of missions for the African Methodist Episcopal Church’s 15th Ecclesiastical District, which includes three nations in southern Africa, is raising $100,000 for a Balm in Gilead Center that will help care for AIDS victims in South Africa. She said many U.S. churches still are not tuned in to the issue.

Warren is familiar with her frustration, but believes the tide will turn. “Uganda cut their infection rate in half twice over an eight-year period,” he said. “There’s a clear example of how it was done. All we have lacked up to this point is the will to do it.”
Adrienne S. Gaines

As part of its effort to reach the world’s least evangelized regions with the gospel, Colorado Springs, Every Home for Christ (EHC) opened its Jericho Center in June. The 40,000-square-foot complex will serve as EHC’s international headquarters and house six other missions organizations rent-free.

EHC President Dick Eastman said the center will help facilitate strategic partnerships among missions groups by hosting regular consultation meetings designed to coordinate world missions efforts. “The point is that out on the mission field there [will be] some level of cooperation,” Eastman said. “If these [plans] were woven together there could be an almost exponential increase in church planting.”

The author of several books on intercession, worship and missions, Eastman said the complex has two rooms for intercessory worship, which those in planning sessions will be able to observe during meetings. “When these consultations are conducted … we will see them covered with 24-hour intercession and 24-hour worship so … God is enthroned in the strategic planning.”

More than 10 years in the making, the Jericho Center was dedicated Aug. 2 in a service that included pastor Jack Hayford and worship leader Terry McAlmon.

In addition to EHC’s 45-member staff, the Jericho Center houses the Joshua Project, an agency that charts the progress of world evangelism; Morningstar Development, which coordinates humanitarian efforts in Afghanistan; and Mission America, a coalition of ministry organizations that seeks to help mobilize the church for world evangelism. The ministries are not charged rent, but are responsible for certain overhead costs, Eastman said.

Founded in Canada in 1946, EHC has distributed 2.2 million gospel booklets in 192 nations, resulting in 30 million decisions for Christ, Eastman said. The ministry oversees an international staff of 2,000 full-time employees and 14,000 volunteer “associates,” who distribute gospel material to 50,000 homes daily.
Adrienne S. Gaines