Episcopal Church Ousts Bishop Amid Gay Row

Yesterday the Church voted to remove a California bishop three months after he and his diocese voted to break away from the official church over disputes about scriptural interpretation.

[03.13.08] The Episcopal Church voted this week to remove the San Joaquin, Calif. diocese bishop only three months after he, along with three-quarters of his 8,000-member diocese, voted to split from the mainline church over biblical interpretational issues, including homosexuality, reported The New York Times.

During the church’s semiannual meeting yesterday in Texas, the Episcopal House of Bishops voted to remove Bishop John-David Schofield.

The unprecedented move served to highlight a schism that has been widening within the Episcopal Church ever since it ordained openly gay New Hampshire Bishop Gene Robinson in 2003.

Schofield, who left the American-based Episcopal Church to align with the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, based in South America, said the church forced the dissension. “I have not abandoned the faith,” he told The Times.

“It is the leadership of the Episcopal Church that is treating itself as a separate and unique church. They may do so, but they ought not expect everyone to follow teaching that serves only to undermine the authority of the Bible and ultimately leads to lifestyles that are destructive,” he said.

Leaders of the Episcopal Church, which has already warned two other bishops not to go forward with their votes to secede, contend that Schofield’s removal was not “punitive” but was “dealt with … prayerfully.”

Healing in Wake of Shootings at Colorado Church

After losing two daughters in a church shooting in December, the Works family met with the parents of the killer. Photo: Rachel Works far left; Stephanie Works far right.

[03.11.08] On an unusually mild day for January at New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colo., Ron and Loretta Murray walked the church grounds where their 24-year-old son had shot and killed two of a total of four young people in the Denver area before taking his own life.

The couple was scheduled to meet surviving family members of Stephanie and Rachel Works—two teenage sisters that their son, Matthew, slew in the back parking lot just a few weeks earlier on Dec. 9, 2007 (Matthew also killed 24-year-old Philip Crouse and 26-year-old Tiffany Johnson at a Youth With a Mission (YWAM) training center in Arvada, Colo., where he was once a student).

Before New Life Pastor Brady Boyd escorted them to meet the Works family in his office, he took them on a private tour, retracing the fatal last steps of their son. “I know as a pastor that many times, when a family has a tragic loss of a loved one, part of the healing process, and one of the steps that a family needs to take sometimes, is to go to the place where the death happened,” Boyd told Charisma.

They were shown where a darkly clad Matthew Murray, armed with an AR-15 assault rifle, two pistols and tons of ammunition, parked his car, jumped out, and blasted out the windows of a late-model Toyota minivan, killing 16-year-old Rachel and 18-year-old Stephanie Works, and also wounding their father, David.

Ron and Loretta Murray were told how in a scene of panic and horror, worshipers frantically scrambled in all directions while their son, who packed hundreds of rounds of ammunition, opened fire repeatedly and randomly, spraying parked and moving cars, and putting many rounds through the back of the church building before going inside.

The couple—heads bowed, hesitant and ashamed—then walked into the office where the Works family was waiting to see them. David Works, father of the two slain girls, shot twice himself by Matthew, was waiting for them with his wife, Marie, and their two surviving daughters—Laurie and Gracie.

David Works told Charisma the Murrays extended their hands to him, but that he ignored their gesture, and instead opened his arms. They embraced. The Murrays pleaded for forgiveness. Pastor Boyd said the two families wept in a pile together for close to 20 minutes. “Weeping, sobbing, crying,” said Boyd. “The Works embraced them and told them: 'We're so sorry you lost your son.'”

Said David Works: “There was an explosion of the presence of God. We just found ourselves comforting them, ministering to them, trying to help them through.”

In a setting that could've been filled with bitterness and animosity, Boyd said he witnessed a miracle. “There was immediate redemption and forgiveness,” he said. “They embraced each other's sorrows. What I saw was Jesus Christ on display that day.” —PAUL STEVEN GHIRINGHELLI

Tithing a Hot-Button Issue on Internet

“We believe that everything the church teaches about tithing is wrong,” author Russell Kelly says. On his Web site he argues against the teaching of tithing, contending it was an Old Testament practice.

[03.11.08] To tithe or not to tithe—that is the question author Russell Kelly wants churches to address. His answer is a categorical “no.”

“We believe that everything the church teaches about tithing is wrong,” Kelly says.

Through his Web site shouldthechurchteachtithing.com, he argues against the teaching of tithing, contending it was an Old Testament practice and that verses supporting it are often taken out of context by preachers CBS reports.

Kelly also believes it has been used as a tool of abuse.

“Almost every person I contact on the Internet, they tell me the same story, where they go to their pastor—no matter what kind of church it is, Baptist, charismatic, Methodist, you name it—and start asking questions about tithing, they are told to shut up, to be quiet, to leave the church,” he told CBS.

According to a recent CBS News report, tithing “is a hot button issue that has reached critical mass on the Internet.”

Study Suggests Moses was High on Mount Sinai

A new study from an Israeli professor suggests that Moses had eaten hallucinogenic plants when he received the Ten Commandments.

[03.10.08] A study by Israeli professor Benny Shanon, suggests that Moses was high on a hallucinogenic plant when he came down from Mount Sinai with the Ten Commandments reports MSNBC.

According to Shanon’s article, originally published in the British philosophy journal Time and Mind, the Israelites were also high as a result of the hallucinogenic plants.

He pointed out that two plants in the Sinai desert contain the same psychoactive molecules found in plants from which the powerful Amazonian hallucinogenic brew ayahuasca is prepared.

Shanon, who is very familiar with the affects of the ayahuasca plant, having “partaken of the brew about 160 times,” says that the thunder and lighting described in Exodus may have been no more than drug-induced visions of people in an “altered state of awareness,” MSNBC reported.

Shanon concedes he has “no direct proof.”

Scholars are less than impressed.

Rabbi Yuval Sherlow told Israel Radio, “We have to fear not for the fate of the biblical Moses, but for the fate of science.”

City Proclaimed No Swearing Zone

Yesterday the South Pasadena, Calif. city council declared this week No Cussing Week. The idea for the week originated with a 14-year-old high school student.

[03.06.08] A California city has declared this week No Cussing Week. Standing in sharp contrast with Los Angeles, its neighbor eight miles away that has battled irreverent gangs for decades, South Pasadena, Calif., officials hope to promote more civility throughout the city, the Associated Press (AP) reports.

South Pasadena Mayor Michael Cacciotti and the city council declared yesterday that No Cussing Week would continue through Friday.

“It's part of exercising self-discipline,” Cacciotti told the Pasadena Star-News. “It's about treating each other with love and respect. Profane language causes pain, anger and could lead to violence.”

Though the city council has designated the first week of March as No Cussing Week, the idea did not originate with the council but with a 14-year-old high school student.

When McKay Hatch was in junior high he became despondent with the abundance of colorful words that many of his friends were using “to fit in.”

“I finally told my friends ‘I don't cuss.’ And I said ‘If you want to hang out with me, you don't cuss,’” Hatch told the AP.

He admits that it took a few years for some of his classmates to rally behind him. But eventually 50 Pasadena High School students agreed with Hatch’s idea and last June held their inaugural No Cussing Club meeting.

Nine months later a Web site was launched, which now boasts numerous chapters and 10,000 members throughout the U.S. and the world.

“My mom and dad always taught me good morals, good values, and not cussing was one of them,” Hatch told the AP.

Hatch’s parents, Brent and Phelecia, are co-authors of the family handbook Raising a G-Rated Family in an X-Rated World.

www.nocussing.com

Evangelicals Attend College in World Landmark

The King’s College, which occupies three floors of the Empire State Building, seeks to bridge the gap between a secular world and a Christ centered-church.

[03.05.08] Above the fast-paced streets of midtown Manhattan, in one of the tallest buildings in the world, a Christian four-year college seeks to bridge the gap between a secular world and a Christ centered-church.

The King’s College, which was founded 70 years ago and moved from upstate New York to the big apple several years ago, occupies three floors of the Empire State Building, which includes classrooms, lounge, student recreation center and administrative offices.

Undergraduates at the private school are taught to excel in fields such as business, philosophy, economics and politics, with hopes that they will impact secular society with godly principles.

“What The King's College is doing is a beautiful illustration of what Christ did,” student David Lapp told the The Washington Post. “He came into the muck and mire of this world, and He lived among men, and lived in a real place, Nazareth. So that's fundamentally what we as Christ's followers are to do as well: Go into those places where there is real hurt, real sin, and live among them and strive to live the way of Christ.”

Many students indicated that they planned to remain in New York City after graduation in order to work for secular companies.

Survey: Evangelical Leaders Want to Stay in Iraq

The National Association of Evangelicals recently conducted a survey that found that most evangelical leaders believe the U.S. should stay the course in Iraq.

[03.03.08] According to a survey by the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) most evangelical leaders believe the U.S. should stay the course in Iraq. Even those who felt the invasion was not initially justified supported continued U.S. presence in Iraq.

“Iraq represents that existential threat we have from global Islamic Jihadists,” said one unidentified leader. “We must defeat it in Iraq, Afghanistan and then act pre-emptively to destroy it wherever it emerges.”

Though the majority of respondents supported the war, the NAE reported that many leaders voiced serious reservations.

“I am also very concerned that the ardent support by evangelicals for the war in Iraq, and unquestioning support of President Bush has made evangelicals appear as if we are ‘pro-war.’

The increasing battle cry among evangelicals to fight radical Islamists is also troubling to me,” said one leader.

Christian Publishing Pioneer Robert Walker Dies

Robert Walker, the man who published the first national cover story about Billy Graham, died peacefully Saturday in a retirement community in Carol Stream, Ill. He was 95.

[03.03.08] The founder of Christian Life magazine helped bridge gap between Pentecostals and evangelicals.

Robert Walker, the man who published the first national cover story about Billy Graham, propelled Pat Boone's encounter with the Holy Spirit to best-seller status and inspired millions of Christian writers and readers alike is dead at age 95.

The editor emeritus of Charisma & Christian Life, Walker died March 1at a retirement community in Carol Stream, Ill. Although a former athlete and avid weightlifter, Walker had suffered from Parkinson's disease and dementia since 2005.

Friends, family and industry acquaintances remember the pioneering journalist as a giant whose legacy will outlive his years on earth.

“He was one incredible man,” said Boone, the popular entertainer whose 1970 book, A New Song, sold 2.5 million copies after Walker helped him shape his story. “There was an Old Testament quality to him, like I was talking to a modern Gideon or one of the patriarchs.”

Among his many professional accolades was receiving the first Magazine Publishers Award from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association in 1994.

Born April 30, 1912, in Syracuse, N.Y., Walker attended a boarding school in Massachusetts and then enrolled in the University of Illinois. But after two years there he decided his football talents were better suited to a smaller school and transferred to Wheaton College.

Walker accepted Christ while at Wheaton and considered enrolling in seminary, but opted to continue studying journalism instead and enrolled in Northwestern University. After graduation, he worked at two newspapers in Michigan and for two years as a copywriter for a Chicago-based advertising agency. He then returned to Wheaton to start a journalism department and served as an associate professor there from 1941-51.

During that time, Walker responded to an invitation from a friend with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship to start a campus magazine titled HIS, which would be the first of his many publishing endeavors. In 1941 he started a magazine called Sunday, which he renamed Christian Life in 1948 after acquiring Christian Life & Times from a friend. Christian Life would merge with Charisma in 1986.

To report on the then-fledgling Christian Booksellers Association in the mid-1950s, he started Christian Bookseller, which was renamed Christian Retailing after its acquisition by Strang Communications. Creation House Books followed in 1970; the company lives on as one of several imprints under the Strang book division’s flagship, Charisma House.

Walker’s vision didn’t stop with profitable enterprises. When he saw a need to help Christian writers, he started the Christian Writers Institute; when he saw a need for missions outreach, he helped missionaries and founded Christian Life Missions, a 501(c)(3) charity.

Raised in the Methodist church, Walker was present in 1942 when the National Association of Evangelicals held an organizing conference in Chicago. That brought his first exposure to Pentecostals, who stirred up controversy over whether they should even be considered part of the evangelical camp.

A few months later, Walker was invited to the Assemblies of God (AG) headquarters in Springfield, Mo., to lead a seminar on communications. For the first time he saw people speaking in tongues. The experience sparked a hunger in Walker’s heart for a closer walk with God. Still, a decade passed before he was baptized in the Holy Spirit after meeting with a Spirit-filled Presbyterian minister.

“I went through one of the most deeply spiritual, satisfying experiences wherein the Word of God, which had led to my conversion, seemed to fill me,” Walker said. “Now, here was the Word of God, the object of truth, and, on the other side of the coin, was the subject of truth, the witness and the Spirit of God with my spirit.”

Walker was known for his pioneering nature. He printed the first national cover story on Graham in 1948, withstood criticism from some evangelicals for first reporting on the AG’s Sunday school program, and broke new ground by profiling a living cartoonist at a time when Christian magazines restricted such stories to profiles of the deceased.

Despite such efforts, Walker was quick to credit others, praising the late George Otis Sr. for persuading Boone to agree to publish A New Song. And remembering the late Herbert Taylor—a prime mover in launching the National Association of Evangelicals—as one of his primary mentors.

“I would like people to think that I was sort of the chap who responded to what God wanted done,” Walker said. “I sometimes kicked, and I often blew it by taking off in the wrong direction. [God] had to bring me back.”

Walker is survived by second wife Barbara—whom he married in 1995 after the death of his first wife, Jean; five children; two stepchildren; 18 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren. A memorial service will be held March 14 at Wheaton Bible Church in Illinois.

New Man

CBS Sports analyst Clark Kellogg
Evel Knievel’s faith remembered
SPOTLIGHT

Calling the Shots

CBS sports analyst Clark Kellogg talks about Jesus and jump shots.

Millions of college hoops fans will hear Clark Kellogg hold court on power forwards, full-court presses and the Final Four this season. The CBS basketball analyst hopes his love for God is as evident as his passion for the game—even if the conversation centers on jump shots instead of Jesus.

“We’re all ambassadors of Christ,” says Kellogg, who starts his 15th season with CBS. “The aroma of Christ should be flowing out of our thoughts, actions and words. Who I am in Christ is my life. It’s consistently on display—and I hope to God’s glory—in spite of my warts and occasional stumbles.”

Kellogg was a self-described “happy pagan” as a star at Ohio State, where he earned Big Ten Conference MVP honors in 1982. The NBA’s Indiana Pacers made him a first-round draft pick the same year. But a chronic knee injury cut short Kellogg’s pro career and started his quest to find a deeper meaning.

“[Retiring] was difficult,” says Kellogg, 46, who played five seasons with the Pacers. “The uncertainty that comes with that is uncomfortable. I was searching and probably open to the things of God.”

With the help of several spiritual mentors, including a Pacers team chaplain, Kellogg and his wife, Rosy, both became Christians in November 1986.

“It was a freedom and a newness of purpose I can’t even explain,” he says.
Kellogg traces his gift for gab partly to his mother.

“She told me, ‘If you’re going to be in front of a microphone, you’d better be able to put a sentence together,'” Kellogg says with a laugh.

Kellogg jumped at the chance to call basketball games when his playing days ended. A successful stint at ESPN led him to CBS. Now for three weeks every March, Kellogg’s life revolves around the wildly popular NCAA basketball tournament. He’s in the studio from the bracket-busting first-round upsets until the champion trims the nets.

“Those are long days,” he says. “But it’s so much fun, you’re operating on adrenalin. [The challenge] is staying energized.”

When Kellogg isn’t broadcasting games, he’s watching his kids play them. Kellogg’s daughter, Courtney, plays volleyball at Georgia Tech and his son Alex is a basketball player at Providence College. His son Nick is a high school hoops star in the family’s home of Westerville, Ohio.

“It’s a real treat and a blessing to watch them,” Kellogg says. “I try to be as low key as a 6-8 black man can be. I just try to encourage and support my kids.”

Evel No More. When iconic daredevil Evel Knievel died at 69 last November, many were surprised—not by his passing—but that he lived as long as he did. The fearless showman made a name for himself in the ’70s with death-defying jumps and spectacular crashes. But the life of the hard-living legend had a surprise ending. Just months before succumbing to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, Knievel was baptized during the Rev. Robert Schuller’s Hour of Power service at the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California. “I’ve accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior,” Knievel says. The stuntman’s conversion prompted an impromptu mass baptism that morning. Though Knievel would die six months later, it seems his last jump had a succesful landing.

Perfect Weight Challenge. The years have not been kind to New Man editor Drew Dyck. In five years of marriage he has ballooned from 190 to nearly 240 pounds. He says it’s his wife’s good cooking—of course his love of fast food and his hatred of treadmills probably don’t help either. Whatever the cause, today the former college athlete is a pudgy, unhealthy couch potato. But he’s taking action. Drew started the diet Perfect Weight America by Jordan Rubin, author of The Maker’s Diet. During the four-month program, Drew will be blogging about his experience. If you need to shed a few pounds too, join him on the program. Check out his progress by visiting newmanmag.com/weightloss.

Vibes

A New Kind of Conservative
By Joel Hunter, Regal Books, hardcover, 224 pages, $19.99.
In his instructive, thought-provoking book, Florida pastor Joel Hunter expands the list of issues he thinks Christian conservatives ought to embrace. Along the way, he accomplishes another aim: exposing as a myth the idea that theocracy is the preferred form of government. Among reasons Hunter details for not supporting a theocratic model are humans’ sin nature, the fact that the church’s role is to use influence rather than force, and the abysmal historical record of mixing church and state. In addition, he releases Christians from the guilt trips that they should favor one particular political party, style of candidate or certain sacred political cows. And, while saying people should care about the sanctity of life and marriage, Hunter writes that a well-rounded, biblical emphasis will encompass such concerns as poverty, justice, peace and the environment. This book also serves as a primer on democratic participation, explaining how and why Christians should be involved in government as a way of caring for all members of society.
Ken Walker

BOOKS

Don’t Leave God Alone
By Hank Kunneman, Charisma House, softcover, 224 pages, $14.99.
Hank Kunneman was inspired to write Don’t Leave God Alone after God beckoned him to spend more time in prayer by pleading, “Don’t leave!” The experience forever changed him and inspired a book urging believers to pray constantly and churches to “create a house of prayer environment.” Kunneman points out a pattern in Scripture that shows men from Jacob to Bartimaeus imploring God even though it seemed He wanted to be left alone. When we refuse to quit, Kunneman asserts, God will respond to our determination with blessings, public power, victory and even changing His mind. This book offers a fresh perspective on ceaseless prayer and spiritual persistence, two scriptural principles that modern believers often neglect. Because man primarily exists for God rather than God existing for man, some of Kunneman’s applications are problematic. Several chapters, including “I will not leave You alone until You change,” “I will not leave You alone until You bless me” and “I will not leave You alone until my issues stop,” will undoubtedly miff some readers as they seem to picture God more as a heavenly bellhop than a sovereign King whose thoughts, ways and will are above ours.
Jonathan Merritt

I Want to Believe
By Mel Lawrenz, Regal Books, hardcover, 256 pages, $16.99.
Written for those exploring options for a belief system, Mel Lawrenz’s book invites readers to contemplate not only the choices of faith, but also why humans wrestle with ideas about creation and a creator and what the response should be if such a being exists. A Christian pastor for 25 years, Lawrenz does not chastise his readers for having doubts. He maintains that to have an honest faith, a person will have to ask honest questions and find satisfying answers. Although he doesn’t evaluate every religion, he does evaluate the main types of religious belief. His style is very readable for teenagers, with a presentation that is concise and to the point. But his work is not just information and logical arguments. Lawrenz urges readers to make sure their hearts are open and ready to respond rightly to the truth.
Deborah L. Delk

Can’t You Talk Louder, God?
By Steve Shultz, Destiny Image, 208 pages, $15.99.
If you think God doesn’t talk to you because you’ve never heard a burning bush speak or listened to an audible voice, Steve Shultz reveals that God does indeed speak today—we just need to be aware of how He communicates. In Can’t You Talk Louder, God?, Shultz explains that God speaks to His children through such sources as His Word, music, people, dreams, thoughts, nature, or a simple impression or urging. According to Shultz, God is constantly speaking, and Christians need to learn to be more attuned to Him. Shultz’s conversational style and interesting examples deliver his points without being preachy. He also answers some common questions about prophecy, the focus of his ministry. Whether read individually or in a small group, this book to help Christ’s sheep recognize His voice.
Jeff Friend

Dominion!
By C. Peter Wagner, Chosen, hardcover, 224 pages, $18.99.
Bringing to tangible reality the closing request of the Lord’s Prayer, C. Peter Wagner shows the body of Christ how to make God’s “kingdom come and His will be done on earth” in his new book, Dominion!: How Kingdom Action Can Change the World. Wagner effectively lays out the aggressive strategy for believers to transform the world and disciple nations. This transformation will take place as the people of God shift their paradigm and go outside the four walls of the church. With “workplace apostles” and “extended church leaders” in position, the kingdom of God will take dominion in business, government, arts and entertainment, media, family and education. This cultural mandate of social transformation, Wagner says, can be made possible only through the “operational power of the Holy Spirit among believers.” Dominion! is a motivating read for those who want to use their influence to advance Christ’s kingdom and “occupy” until His return.
Jevon Bolden

MUSIC

Worship in the Waiting
By FFH, Kindred.
Inspired by six months in the mission fields of South Africa, Worship in the Waiting is a collection of traditional praise and worship covers and original pop songs. It’s been two years since FFH’s last CD, but it was worth the wait. From the moment the CD opens with “You Are God Alone,” it’s clear that FFH developed the kind of maturity that comes when someone has actually been through what they are singing. The title track is the highlight of the project—full of spirit, persistence and surrender with lyrics such as: “If You choose to be silent I’ll be silent too. / I will worship in the waiting, quiet before You / Until Your voice like manna from the sky falls.” They sing like firsthand witnesses who know what it’s like to battle through spiritual impasses and wake the next morning ready to trust in God again. This is a great CD for the traditional worshiper.
Jevon Bolden

Roadmaps and Revelations
By Parachute Band, Integrity Music.
Originally fronted by husband and wife Wayne and Libby Huirua (writers of popular worship anthem “All the Earth”), New Zealand’s Parachute Band now features five young men from various churches around the island. The personnel change has brought significant changes on the creative front with a sound much more akin to its Australian counterparts Hillsong United. On the band’s latest project, Roadmaps and Revelations, the opening track is especially telling. “The Way” relies on big guitar tones and hectic drum riffs that at times seem a bit overdone. “I Belong to You” also leans toward an excessively busy arrangement. But with the album’s third track, “Surrender All” (a piano-driven rock ballad), Parachute Band settles into a comfortable groove that leans toward simple melodies and straightforward worship songs. In fact, that simplicity is the biggest positive of this project.
Chad Bonham

CONTEMPORARY

Leaving November
By Deborah Raney, Howard Books, softcover, 384 pages, $12.99.
Vienne Kenney is determined to escape her reputation as the town drunk’s daughter. She goes to law school but fails the bar exam—twice. She returns home to run her mother’s café and befriends Jackson Linderr. Though God has helped him with his addiction to alcohol, Vienne has a hard time trusting him and not allowing her father’s legacy to continue to keep her from finding happiness.

HISTORICAL

My Heart Remembers
By Kim Vogel Sawyer, Bethany House, softcover, 352 pages, $13.99.
Orphans Maelle, Mattie and Molly are sent to Missouri for adoption. Maelle, the oldest, but only 8 years old, wants to keep her family together, but each child is adopted by a different family. Seventeen years later Maelle is still looking for her brother and sister. Will they ever be together again?

MYSTERY

My Name is Russell Fink
By Michael Snyder, Zondervan, softcover, 368 pages, $12.99.
Russell Fink, 26, has a lot of issues to work through. He needs to move out on his own for good; he hates his job; his ex-fiancee won’t leave him alone; and he thinks he gave his twin sister cancer when they were 9. Then his basset hound, Sonny, is found murdered. As Russell works to solve the mystery, he confronts everything about his life.