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SPOTLIGHT

Grace Awakening

When preparing for her latest release, Waking Up, singer-songwriter Bethany Dillon found inspiration in the simplest of places. During a brief break, the 19-year-old writer of hit singles such as “Beautiful” and “All I Need” woke up one morning “overwhelmed in a good way by the reality of Jesus in my life,” she says. “I’ve grown up in the church and I feel like I’m constantly reciting and believing these things. But that morning was one of the first times it really hit me, like a kick in the stomach, that I have something I didn’t earn.” Dillon says she wrote a song about her grace awakening as a way of saying thanks. “I didn’t intend it to be on the record. I was just freaking out over Jesus.”
DeWayne Hamby

Prayer Point

Millions of people worldwide struggle with addiction, and this month Just Pray No () is hosting its 17th annual weekend of prayer for the addicted April 14-15 to intercede for them. They are praying that:

The Holy Spirit will convict those bound by addiction

The addicted will seek God with all of their hearts and trust Christ as their Savior

Addicts will be set free from substance abuse and hunger and thirst for the Word of God.

Counter Culture

Thousands of students are expected to participate in the third annual
Day of Truth, a national student-led event to be held April 19 that
seeks to counter the promotion of the “homosexual agenda.” Sponsored by the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), the event was launched in 2005 after school officials disciplined San Diego student Chase Harper for wearing a T-shirt condemning homosexuality during the school’s observance of the gay-affirming Day of Silence. Last year’s Day of Truth drew nearly 3,000 students, and ADF expects more participation this year. Harper’s case awaits action by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Paul Steven Ghiringhelli

FAITH & POLITICS

Under Fire

A charismatic chaplain is the latest Christian embroiled in legal battles with the U.S. Navy, which is contesting allegations of discrimination in its chaplain corps. Lt. Gordon Klingenschmitt was forced out of the service in January after being court-martialed last fall for praying in front of the White House in uniform. His ouster became official on March 1 after an appeals court reviewed the case. Klingenschmitt has long advocated that chaplains be allowed to pray in Jesus’ name. Formerly endorsed by the Evangelical Episcopal Church, Klingenschmitt is now affiliated with the Chaplaincy of Full Gospel Churches. The Dallas-based organization has eight chaplains among 66 involved in a series of lawsuits stretching back to 1999. The Rutherford Institute is representing Klingenschmitt, saying the military violated his First Amendment rights.
Ken Walker

Together Again

Mario and Mechelle Murillo remarried after 14 years apart

He calls it the greatest miracle in the 38-year history of his ministry—a story of “love lost and reborn.” California-based evangelist Mario Murillo has renewed his wedding vows with his former wife, Mechelle, after a 1992 divorce and 14 years spent apart. “This entire experience has been heaven on earth,” he told Charisma in January, one year after his remarriage. “We are still walking in a sort of dream state.”

Murillo says he brought “the stress of success” home and took it out on his wife. She eventually “ran for her life,” he says, taking their 4-year-old son and eventually marrying a man Murillo calls a “false prophet.”

Meanwhile, after gaining primary custody of their son, Murillo also remarried. But his new wife eventually left him to marry another man. After the divorce, Murillo says the Holy Spirit gave him a burden to pray every day for Mechelle. “I saw how deeply I failed Mechelle,” he says. “I only prayed for a chance to say that I was sorry and to encourage her to be with her son.”

When the man Mechelle married abruptly died of a stroke, Murillo says, “the scales fell off Mechelle’s eyes.” Months later, he and Mechelle went on a date. The couple moved slowly, submitted to premarital counseling, and once remarried kept news of it low-key in order to protect their “tender love,” Murillo says.

Murillo says he and his wife are “stunned by the sovereign power of God.” Today he urges Christians to “call for a red alert” when their marriages are under attack. “You take drastic action to shut everything down to get to the root of what is threatening your marriage,” he says. “No amount of money, time or reputation spent on rescuing your marriage can compare to the horrors of divorce.”
Paul Steven Ghiringhelli

Students Trade Partying for Ministry

During spring break this year, more than 4,000 students chose to participate in philanthropic activities.

Christian spring break alternatives have grown in popularity among high school and college students in recent years. “Across America universities have taken an active notice that there are many college students that aren’t particularly motivated to participate in the traditional spring break … what I call sun, sand, surfs, suds and sex,” said Tony Arnold, media relations director for Campus Crusade for Christ (CCC). “Millennials, the college students of this generation, they are very interested in being active and involved in helping America and the world become a better place.” Instead of partying their spring breaks away some young people are choosing more philanthropic activities. More than 4,000 students worked with CCC to help rebuild areas in New Orleans affected by Hurricane Katrina; evangelize the 4 million college students in Mexico City; and minister to the poor in cities such as Chicago, Detroit and Los Angles. In Panama City Beach, Fla., some 1,300 students witnessed on the beach, by pools and outside nightclubs in an outreach dubbed “The Big Break.” “Students from our ministry are able to [speak to] students from around the country and turn that conversation to spiritual areas and introduce students to Jesus,” Arnold said. This year alone CCC has recorded 2,500 student conversations about spiritual matters and roughly 80 decisions for Christ. –Felicia Mann

Explosions in Mozambique Kills 93

Missionaries Rolland and Heidi Baker founder's of Iris ministries in Mozambique report no death's or injuries to their ministry volunteers.

Last week a depot housing old weapons remaining from Mozambique’s devastating civil war exploded, killing 93 people and injuring hundreds more. According to CNN, the explosion was due to the blistering heat, which overheated the building. Missionaries Rolland and Heidi Baker of Iris Ministries have served in Mozambique for the last 12 years and report damage to their physical structures but no injuries or deaths to the ministry’s volunteers. “Shrapnel and missiles rained down on a radius of 10 kilometers,” Rolland said. “At least two missiles directly struck our Zimpeto base. Others kept flying over the center. Our church was hit, but our children were huddling in our prayer hut. It’s miraculous that no children were hurt.” Ministry volunteers report protecting the children in the prayer hut for almost five hours until the bombs and missiles stopped exploding. “We just prayed and prayed and sang to the Lord,” said Anna Coumos, a 21-year-old volunteer with the ministry. “We met death face to face and walked away in victory. God is perfect and His ways we will never understand, but He is faithful. We have lived through Psalm 91.” She asked intercessors to pray that the ministry would be able to meet people’s physical, spiritual and emotional needs in the explosion’s aftermath. “Please pray for the healing of shock and trauma,” Coumos said. “For me, every time I hear a drum or a loud truck rumbling by or a kid whistling like that sound of a missile flying through the air, I just cringe and feel so awful inside.” Nearly a month ago Mozambique was devastated by floods and cyclones that hit this impoverished country.

Study Finds Values Movies More Profitable Than R-Rated

Films with very strong Christian values fared three times better at the box office than ones with very strong non-Christian values.

For films released between 2002 and 2006, ones with very strong Christian values fared three times better at the box office than ones with very strong non-Christian values, according to a recent study by MovieGuide, a Christian movie review company. The study compared films with explicit Christian content such as The Nativity Story and movies with morally uplifting themes such as Charlotte’s Web to films with strongly unbiblical worldviews such as The Da Vinci Code and Brokeback Mountain. Though there were 116 uplifting films and 299 strongly non-Christian films, MovieGuide found that films with Christian values earned more collectively than those with non-Christian worldviews. “American moviegoers want movies with overt Christian values and biblical worldviews,” said Ted Baehr, leader of the research team and founder of MovieGuide. “They don't want to see movies that mock their faith and values.”

Photo Credit: Jamie Trueblood/New Line Cinema

Christians Participate in Global Day of Prayer for Burma

Roughly 1 million people from Burma have been displaced from their homes as a result of the destruction caused by an ongoing internal conflict.

Christians from around the world participated in a prayer day designed to raise awareness about the plight of the Karen people of Burma, which has been under a military dictatorship since 1962. Roughly 1 million Karen have been displaced from their homes as a result of destruction caused by an ongoing internal conflict, reported Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), which organized the Global Day of Prayer for Burma along with Karen Aid, the Karen Action Group and the Committee for Internally Displaced Karen People. The prayer day was held in London on March 10. “[CSW] believes that prayer changes things in ways beyond our imagination,” said Mervyn Thomas, CSW’s chief executive officer, the Christian Post reported. “Burma is a country that needs prayer—for the regime, for those suffering oppression and for those helping to change people’s despair to hope.” Among the prayer targets were for God’s truth and love to penetrate Burma; for lasting peace and freedom in the nation; and for the restoration of democracy, ethnic rights and freedom for all political prisoners, the Concerned for Burma Web site reported.

Gilbert E. Patterson Dies

G. E. Patterson, presiding bishop of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), died March 20 after battling prostate cancer. He was 67.

Gilbert E. Patterson, presiding bishop of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), died March 20 after battling prostate cancer. He was 67. Senior pastor of 12,000-member Temple of Deliverance COGIC in Memphis, Tenn., Patterson had led the nation’s largest Pentecostal denomination since November 2000. “Under his leadership we've seen tremendous strides toward true spirituality,” Bishop George D. McKinney, overseer of COGIC’s San Diego jurisdiction and a member of the church's General Board, told Memphis’ Fox 13 News. Even after announcing in September 2005 that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, Patterson remained active in ministry. He was seen in weekly broadcasts from his church that aired on Trinity Broadcasting Network and Black Entertainment Television. “It was a direct result of his work, such as his TV ministries, that allowed people to see COGIC as it should have been projected,” Bishop Jerry Maynard told Fox 13 News. Patterson leaves two leadership positions vacant, but COGIC leaders said filling those seats is not their immediate focus. “We have lost a great leader, and we are in mourning,” said Bishop Charles Blake, who is now serving as the denomination’s interim presiding bishop. “Time will take care of all those leadership issues. Right now we must reflect on the great leadership of Bishop G.E. Patterson. We’re not focusing on succession. Right now we want to focus on the bishop’s family and how we can help them.” Senior pastor of West Angeles Church of God in Christ, Blake will lead the 5.5 million-member denomination until its next election is held in November 2008 or until a special election is called. Patterson is survived by his wife of 35 years, Louise.

Mozambique Floods Help Bring Revival

Missionaries Rolland and Heidi Baker report that Mozambicans are accepting Christ and being healed despite the widespread destruction.

The recent torrential floods that washed over Mozambique devastated infrastructures and have left tens of thousands of people without homes and in need of food. But missionaries Rolland and Heidi Baker, who lead Iris Ministries in Mozambique, said the widespread destruction has also caused residents to be more open to hearing about Jesus. “No one resists the gospel,” Rolland Baker said. “Everyone is eagerly listening to every word, responding to every call, wanting prayer for everything.” The prayer requests are numerous, he said, as many people have gone without food for weeks and are living in huts made from sticks and grass. Many also are very sick or have died from diseases that have started to spread. Iris Ministries is helping to meet physical needs while some Mozambican pastors are praying for residents. Together, the efforts are bringing a glimmer of hope, Baker said. One result is that they have received several reports of physical healing, he said. “We always have good news,” Baker said. “We tell the people, ‘Jesus knows your suffering.’ Through all of this we will seek Him more, and He will reveal Himself more than we ever thought He would.” The Bakers say that although God is moving in this southeastern African country much of the promised relief has yet to arrive and area residents need humanitarian support from Christians abroad. To learn more about assisting Iris Ministries’ relief work, log on at . –Felicia Mann

BattleCry Pushes Past Controversy to Worship God

Roughly 22,000 young people gathered to worship God in San Francisco, a city known for its ultraliberal politics.

Last weekend 22,000 young people gathered for Teen Mania’s BattleCry event at the AT&T stadium in San Francisco. Teen Mania founder Ron Luce said teens are inundated with negative images and activities in the culture and that BattleCry events are a way to give teens positive alternatives. “They're pillaging these kids,” Luce told the San Francisco Chronicle. “We've got a whole generation, an innocent generation, a virgin generation being raped on the sidewalk by the perverseness of this culture.” Luce said BattleCry is an example of positive cultural alternatives. The two-day event included a rock concert featuring popular Christian bands, speakers, a comedian and a rally at City Hall. During last year’s BattleCry event in San Francisco, an abortion protest led to a verbal brawl with city officials, causing some local leaders to criticize this year’s conference, the Chronicle reported. But despite the controversy, participants said it was incredible to see so many young people praising God and standing up for their beliefs. “Just seeing all the people in one place, it’s amazing to see just how powerful God is,” Seongwoo Chae, 18, told the Chronicle. This was the first of three BattleCry events scheduled this year; the other two will be held in Detroit and Baltimore.

AG Summit Issues Prayer Challenge

Prayer summit attendees were challenged to 'cry out' for the Holy Spirit's fire and warned against having a New Testament Christianity without an emphasis on the Holy Spirit.

The Assemblies of God (AG), concluded a prayer summit March 7 that drew 1,400 people to Central Assembly of God in Springfield, Mo. On opening night, Rev. Jim Cymbala, senior pastor of Brooklyn Tabernacle in New York City, challenged attendees to “cry out” for the fire of the Holy Spirit in their churches and their personal prayer lives. “How sad to travel around the country and world and see churches trying to have a Christianity that represents the New Testament without an understanding and an emphasis on the ministry of the Holy Spirit,” he told attendees. AG leaders said the summit was held to encourage believers to become knowledgeable about prayer and to allow the Holy Spirit to invigorate their prayer lives. “The devil does not care how much we talk about prayer, how much we preach about prayer,” General Superintendent Thomas E. Trask admonished. “We didn’t call a prayer summit just to preach about prayer. We are going to pray.”

Earl Paulk Sexual Misconduct Case Dropped

The sexual misconduct lawsuit that was filed against Atlanta minister Earl Paulk was dropped on Monday.

The lawyer for Bobby and Mona Brewer dropped a sexual misconduct lawsuit filed against Atlanta minister Earl Paulk, founder of the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, on Monday, less than a month before it was scheduled for trial, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The Brewers filed suit in 2005, alleging that Paulk used his role as a spiritual leader to coerce Mona Brewer, a former church soloist, into having a 14-year affair with him. Paulk's lawyer acknowledged that Paulk had a sexual relationship with Mona Brewer but said she initiated it. The couple’s lawyer, Louis Levenson, said he dropped the case because he was having difficulty getting witnesses to testify against Paulk and was experiencing long delays in preparing the case, the newspaper said. Levenson dropped the case just before DeKalb Superior Court Judge Mark Anthony Scott was to rule on Paulk's lawyers’ motion by to dismiss the allegations on grounds that the couple waited too long to file suit under Georgia law. Because he dropped the case before the ruling, Levenson can file another suit with the same allegations, the Journal-Constitution. Currently, the Brewers ha ve not announced plans to refile the lawsuit.