BOOKS

Standing With Israel
By David Brog, FrontLine,
Hardcover, 288 pages, $.

If you’ve ever wondered what’s going on in Israel and how it relates to Christians and the Bible, Jewish author David Brog’s Standing With Israel: Why Christians Support the Jewish State will help provide you with an answer. He delves into the Christian Zionists, those devoted to Israel and Jewish people, as well as the roots of some Christian contributions to anti-Semitism. Brog, who is not a Messianic Jew, documents anti-Semitic violence stemming from “replacement theology,” the belief that the Christian church has replaced the Jews as God’s chosen people. He also discusses the alliance of Jewish and Christian supporters of Israel. Brog includes political analysis of the Christian Right’s advocacy of Israel and explains reasons for some Jewish people’s unease with the outpouring of Christian support.
Tracee N. Mason

The Israelis
By Donna Rosenthal, Free Press,
Softcover, 480 pages, $15.

Who are the Israelis today? Eons removed from the people Moses called the “children” of Israel, they have grown into a deeply diversified nation marked by common and conflicting ideals, says Donna Rosenthal, a writer and former reporter for The Jerusalem Post. They remain, first of all, Jews, but they are also Arabs, Palestinians, Russians, Ethiopians, Muslims, Druze and Christians. They order Big Macs in the language of the Ten Commandments and buy J-Lo CDs and gas masks in the same malls. They are the inventors of some of the world’s best computer chips, and their young people are the world’s most fervent MTV fans. Some embrace more than one sexual orientation; others maintain strict religious views of modesty. They are mostly secular yet their synagogues are 98 percent Orthodox or ultra-Orthodox. The Israelis is a rewarding guided tour into Israel—a way to see it and feel it through its greatest treasure, its people.
Jimmy Stewart

God’s Promise and the Future of Israel
By Don Finto, Regal,
Softcover, 208 pages, $.

In God’s Promises and the Future of Israel, former pastor Don Finto educates readers on how God’s biblical promises and prophecies merge with current events in Israel. Finto, who established the Caleb Company to support Jewish believers and help the church become aware of its Jewish roots, answers common questions about Israel and the Jewish people. He uses the historical significance of the retaking of Jerusalem during the Six-Day War of 1967 and the re-establishing of Israel in 1948 to compellingly show the nation’s importance to God and believers worldwide. Finto calls for churches to become sensitive to Jewish believers, to become aware of Jewish customs and the biblical calendar, to cultivate God’s desire to bless the descendents of Abraham, and to make Jewish people a priority in outreach ministry.
Tracee N. Mason

Where Jesus Walked
Photographs by Ken Duncan, Integrity
Publishers, hardcover, 166 pages, $.

Veteran landscape photographer Ken Duncan has published more than 30 books of his work, but this collection of scenes in Israel is by far the most striking. Lacing it with Scripture passages and quotes from famous Christians, Duncan uses the book as a doorway to a colorful and sometimes mysterious world. He takes the reader to the hillsides of Galilee, the pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem, Jacob’s Well in Samaria, the site of Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River, the Pool of Siloam and many other biblical locations. Perfect as an Easter gift, this book will enrich anyone’s study of the Bible. But the images also connect the reader to the stark, rugged beauty of the Holy Land and its people. You don’t just read this book. You linger over it with a cup of coffee and allow the images to transport you to another time and place. If you have been to the Holy Land, this book will serve as a nostalgic reminder of your pilgrimage. If you have not traveled there, Duncan’s photography will beckon you to go.
James Finch

The Adventure of Worship
By Gerrit Gustafson, Chosen Books,
softcover, 272 pages, $.

Though this book is comprehensive enough to be dubbed a worship manual, no manual has ever had such style and drama. Reading Gerrit Gustafson’s new The Adventure of Worship: Discovering Your Highest Calling is an adventure in itself. After an introduction about the concept of worship, Gustafson launches into a history of it that begins with Creation and culminates with Christ’s return. He sets the stage in the form of a theatrical production, conveying through drama what teaching alone could not. The latter section describes 12 convictions of a worshiper, covering motives, styles, cautions and encouragements. For more than 20 years, Gustafson has been involved in music ministry, song writing, training seminars and various tools developed to enhance worship. This book has much to offer pastors, worship leaders and any person devoted to Christ.
Deborah L. Delk

MUSIC

A Greater Song
By Paul Baloche, Integrity Music.

For his latest album, A Greater Song, Paul Baloche, whose “Open the Eyes of My Heart” has become a worship classic, teamed with several well-known songwriters and singers, including Matt Redman, Sara Groves, Kathryn Scott and others. Baloche joins Groves on “You Have Been So Good.” He teams with Redman on “A Greater Song” and “Rising.” “What Can I Do” with Graham Kendrick is a gentle ballad of thanks and praise. The album lyrics are simple and straightforward, offering pure, sincere worship to God for who He is, His goodness and His kindness. This simplicity only enhances the collection, making it ideal for personal or corporate worship.
Anna Flynn Stewart

Song to the King
By Pocket Full of Rocks, Myrrh Records.

Recently relaunched Myrrh Records has its focus on praise and worship, and its first signing, Pocket Full of Rocks, delivers just that with its debut, Song to the King. The disc features acoustic pop-rock tunes with a tight sound, earnest vocals and heart-rending lyrics. The six-member, Texas-based group accomplishes the somewhat daunting task of creating infectious melodies that succeed on the disc and should still translate well to corporate worship settings. Like breakout worship group Casting Crowns, Pocket Full of Rocks shines brightly on rock-influenced praise tracks such as “This Is the Life” and the soaring proclamation of the title track. Song to the King is an impressive first step for the capable modern worship band.
Dewayne Hamby

Songs for Communion
By Hillsong, Integrity Music.

Hillsong Music series releases a collection of songs centrally focused on the death and resurrection of Christ. Songs for Communion, performed by Darlene Zschech and members of the Hillsong worship team, slows down the series’ normal energy for a calmer approach. Songs include a slow, orchestral version of the hymn “Nothing But the Blood of Jesus,” the piano ballad “Oh, the Blood,” the worship anthem “With Christ” and a slightly peppier version of Hillsong’s popular worship song “Worthy Is the Lamb.” Although the release works perfectly as background music for communion services, it will also fit nicely in devotions and prayer times.
Dewayne Hamby

The King of All of Me
By various artists, Maranatha! Music
Vineyard Records U.K.

To capture and highlight the newest worship songs, Maranatha! Music and Vineyard Records U.K. produced six tracts each of songs from evangelical and charismatic churches for an entire disc of fresh worship songs from both sides of the Atlantic. The result is The King of All of Me, a surprisingly cohesive effort that places the spotlight on new songs for corporate worship. Kevin MacDougall’s title track is a simple and solemn acoustic-pop number, while Suzanne Manning’s “All Hail Jesus” features earthy rock that builds into a passionate punch. MacDougall, along with Lyndsey Wallace and Scott Reed, deliver the mellow pop-rock of “Thirst,” and Kate Miner performs the acoustic-pop of “My Offering.”
Dewayne Hamby

New on DVD

Love’s Long Journey
Fox Home
Entertainment $

The third novel in Janette Oke’s Love Comes Softly series comes to life on DVD. The story continues as now married Missie and Willie LaHaye venture to the West on their own. The two face many challenges, good times and bad, fears and loneliness as they build a new life together.

A Piece of My Mind
INO Records $

Funny lady Chonda Pierce is back after experiencing depression resulting from total exhaustion and menopause. Pierce addresses her struggle on her new comedy DVD, A Piece of My Mind. As usual the “Queen of Clean” includes music with her humor routine, and this time she is backed by a 60-voice choir.

The Chronicles of Narnia
Walt Disney,
Walden Media
$
$

The blockbuster The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is now available on DVD. Follow four siblings as they encounter good and evil in the fantasy world of Narnia. The single disc DVD includes bloopers, fun facts and commentaries. The two-disc set offers additional material such as behind-the-scenes diaries, a 3-D map, profiles and more.

More than 80 Christian leaders issued a statement in February announcing their support for a major initiative to fight global warming and calling on the government to pass a law requiring a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.

“Many of us have required considerable convincing before becoming persuaded that climate change is a real problem and that it ought to matter to us as Christians,” the statement said. “But now we have seen and heard enough.”

Among the signatories are Bishop Charles Blake of West Angeles Church of God in Christ, Jack Hayford, president of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, and Bishop James Leggett, head of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church, as well as Rick Warren, author of The Purpose-Driven Life, and the Rev. Jim Ball, executive director of the Evangelical Environmental Network.

“This is not a partisan issue, this is a biblical, Christ-centered approach to the global warming problem,” Ball said. “Our signatories are proud to be pro-life, and addressing global warming is a pro-life issue.”

The statement, titled Climate Change: An Evangelical Call to Action, makes four claims: that climate change is real, that its consequences will have the greatest impact on the poor, that Christian moral conviction requires a response, and that the government, businesses and individuals all are part of the solution.

However, the Rev. Lou Sheldon, head of the Traditional Values Coalition, argues that restricting carbon dioxide emissions is not the compassionate course. “The poor are just as affected if you do away with the combustion engine,” he told Charisma, adding that 1.3 million jobs would be lost in the next six years if a restriction were enacted.

Sheldon, Prison Fellowship founder Charles Colson, Cornerstone Church pastor John Hagee and Focus on the Family founder James Dobson are among 22 influential leaders who issued a letter in January asking the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) not to take a position on global warming because the research is still “inconclusive.”

Although the NAE opted not to take an official position on the issue, the group’s president, Ted Haggard, told the New York Times he had “no doubt” climate change was occurring. He said he declined to sign the statement because it would have been interpreted as an endorsement by the NAE.

Ball said evangelical leaders have been discussing the claims made in Climate Change since a conference in 2004 and that the NAE was never asked to endorse a statement on global warming. “We asked people to sign on as individuals, not as representatives of their organizations,” he said.

The statement is the first phase of an Evangelical Climate Initiative that includes TV and radio spots, informational campaigns in churches and educational events at Christian colleges, the Times said.
Jomili Noble

Wade Burleson says Southern Baptists should not bar missionaries from service over a ‘nonessential’ doctrine
On the heels of recent controversial policy changes, trustees of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) International Mission Board (IMB) have moved to oust a fellow trustee who publicly opposed new enactments—specifically one prohibiting missionaries from practicing a “private prayer language,” or speaking in tongues, in their devotions.

In a statement issued Jan. 11, IMB Board Chairman Tom Hatley called for the removal of Wade Burleson, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Enid, Okla., who was elected to a four-year term as an IMB trustee in 2005.

“In taking this action, trustees addressed issues involving broken trust and resistance to accountability,” Hatley said in the statement, adding that the action was “absolutely necessary for the board to move forward in its duties as prescribed by the SBC.”

Hatley told Charisma the issue involved “relationship,” though he would not elaborate.

Following the November policy changes, Burleson began keeping a Web log, or blog, where he strongly opposed the changes. “We may not interpret the Bible the same, but we will not allow good men and women to be crucified by the sword of legalistic conformity,” wrote Burleson, who himself does not practice speaking in tongues.

Though Burleson’s blog “may be” related to the request for his removal, his personal opinions did not encourage the decision, Hatley said.

After the board requested his removal, Burleson issued a statement on his blog. In a post titled “Heartbroken,” he wrote that “a growing problem within our convention is the removal from leadership and service of those who do not conform to specific interpretations of the Bible.”

The bigger issue, Burleson said, is that “the new policy changes violate many historic Baptist principles.”

“They go beyond our confession of faith. … They exclude conservative Southern Baptists who would normally be qualified to serve, they replace old policies that were excellent and staff initiated, they demand conformity on nonessential doctrines in order to ‘represent’ the Southern Baptist Convention,” Burleson said.

The SBC has always prohibited missionaries from speaking in tongues publicly, but since the new policy is not retroactive, only new applicants will be prohibited from practicing the same prayer language that IMB President Jerry Rankin has admittedly practiced privately for more than 30 years.

The new shift in policy creates a climate that is unsupportive of its own president, said charismatic SBC pastor Ron Phillips, whose Fresh Oil church network includes Southern Baptist congregations. “A Spirit-filled man who has given his life to missions, Dr. Jerry Rankin, has been more or less told that what you believe, we don’t agree with.”

Rankin was unavailable for comment.

Southern Baptists who have embraced “private prayer language” are already feeling the backlash of the new policies. Southern Baptist Scott Camp adopted the practice 15 years before he was appointed dean of students at Criswell College in Dallas.

But a year into his post, the renewal of his contract was denied following the IMB policy changes. Camp says the decision is “directly related” to IMB’s policy change regarding speaking in tongues.

“They had full knowledge that that was my position when they hired me,” Camp said of the college. “What’s happened is the political climate has changed in the last six months, and the IMB’s decision to not allow this practice had a direct impact on the president’s decision to not renew my contract.”

Criswell President Jerry Johnson declined comment.

Hatley said the IMB stands behind its new policies. “The main intent of the new policy regarding tongues is to be sure that our churches and our church-planting movements across the land are solidly Baptist,” he said. “What we’re trying to do is protect our work on the field from theological damage from outside movements.”

The final vote to remove Burleson as a trustee will be held June 13-14 in Greensboro, N.C., though Hatley said the board hoped to revisit the issue in a March meeting. “I have very high hopes that we’re going to be able to do something to avoid asking the convention to have him removed,” Hatley said. “Let’s keep our eyes on the mission field. We’re going to get our family business taken care of.”
Suzy Richardson

The Heavenly Man continues to be a best-seller despite claims that Brother Yun’s testimony is false
The publishers of a quiet international best-seller are anticipating a sales spike with the English-language release of a graphic novel version of the book, despite an ongoing campaign to discredit its subject.

YUN: The Graphic Version is due out this spring from Monarch Books in England. Monarch editorial director Tony Collins said he expected the edition “to reach a lot of people, especially young people who are daunted by the length of the existing book. Graphic novels are a big market.”

More than 600,000 copies have been sold worldwide of the original book, The Heavenly Man, in the last three years. Written by Paul Hattaway, a New Zealand missionary to Asia, the book tells the dramatic life story and persecution of a Chinese house-church leader known as Brother Yun.

Distributed by Kregel Publications in the U.S. , where it has sold around 150,000 copies, The Heavenly Man has also seen strong interest in Korea, the Philippines and Australia. It has been translated into 30 languages, including Arabic, Turkish and Mongolian.

The title won the U.K. Christian Book Award in 2004, and recently prompted one reader to launch a Web site collecting testimonies from others whose lives have been impacted by the story.

Although internationally renowned German evangelist Reinhard Bonnke has endorsed the book, it has been criticized at a Web site that claims Yun’s story is false. Some house-church leaders in China have issued a statement denouncing Yun, who now lives in Germany and travels widely to speak in churches, as a fraud.

One congregation in Wisconsin that bought 1,000 copies of the book for its members sent them back to the publisher after being told that Yun’s story—including remarkable answers to prayer and a supernatural escape from prison—was untrue, Hattaway said in an open letter at his Web site that dismisses the allegations of falsehood.

Other Chinese house-church leaders who have investigated the charges against Yun have issued a statement saying they believe his story, Hattaway said.

“Christians like Brother Yun would consider it a great honor to be shot dead by a Muslim or speared by a tribesman while they are preaching the gospel in some far-flung corner of the earth,” he wrote.

“But to come under fire from fellow Christians, who are meant to be fighting on your side, is a miserable and terrible thing to have to cope with.”

Collins said a few stores and churches refused to stock the book, “but the level of resistance has been very low. As far as I can tell, the attacks have not slowed the book’s sales at all.”

Collins said Monarch was approached with the book: “We checked the story out with sources who could vouch for Yun’s character and veracity and it rang true. So we decided to take a chance.”
Andy Butcher

Increasingly, indigenous believers are reclaiming their cultural traditions as tools for worship and evangelism
Evangelist Arild Maso won’t soon forget 1994.

That year he hosted a conference in Norway and attempted for the first time to perform what he calls a “Jesus joik,” a variation of the traditional form of chanting practiced by the Sami people of northern Scandinavia and northwest Russia. As a result he was banned from preaching in Norwegian churches for 10 years and accused of “spitting at God.”

Though many indigenous Christians have been told that traditional forms of worship such as joiking are sinful, a growing number are slowly reclaiming their cultural traditions as tools for worshiping Jesus.

At the fifth World Christian Gathering on Indigenous People held Aug. 7-14 in Kiruna, Sweden, several hundred indigenous people such as the Maoris from New Zealand, First Nations people from North America and Australian Aborigines gathered to pray, fellowship and worship.

First Nations Americans drummed and chanted “Jesus is good medicine.” Moluccans performed a war dance to “prepare the way for Jesus.” Aborigines joked that “if Eve had been one of us she would have refused the apple and eaten the snake.”

Testimonies from people such as 74-year-old Aborigine Mona Olsson revealed why indigenous Christians would travel the globe to participate in the event.

“I was 5 and playing with my cousins by a desert stream when a truck pulled up, police officers got out and started to round up us children,” said Olsson, whose sister is the custodian of the Uluru Monolith, the sacred mountain of the Aborigines located at the heart of the Australian desert.

Olsson, her baby sister and her cousins were thrown into a truck and taken to a mission house. Though her mother managed to board the vehicle, she was not allowed inside the house. Olsson said she didn’t see her mother again for 32 years.

From 1910 until 1970 roughly 100,000 “half-caste” and Aborigine children were orphaned by the Australian government, often with missionaries’ involvement. The officials entertained ideas of “breeding out” an undesirable race, Olsson said, and many missionaries believed that unless the “heathen” were “civilized” they were not “fit receptacles” for the gospel.

Still, Olsson became a Christian during her first year with the missionaries. One evening, she said, God comforted her and explained the Scriptures she had been reciting without understanding. For years since then she has been involved in intercession and reconciliation.

“These gatherings mean a lot to our self-esteem,” said Håkan Enoksson, a reindeer-breeding Sami from Kiruna who with his wife, Marie, organized the 2005 event.

During his childhood, Enoksson got used to being called “lappjävel” by many Swedes. “Lapp” is a derogatory term for the Sami; jävel literally means devil and is a common swearword in Swedish.

In both society and the church, Enoksson’s way of life and language have been derided more often than not. “But we are no longer ashamed of our cultural identity,” he said. “We know that we have a contribution to make.”

But there are dark streaks in most native traditions, among them shamanism and idolatry. Enoksson said for years he felt haunted by a curse. “I could not put my finger on the cause,” he said, “until one day my wife and I came across an old book in an antique bookstore.”

It was a 100-year-old travelogue about the land of the Sami. The author had visited Enoksson’s native village and told of a Sami father who sacrificed his son on a nearby mountaintop in 1860—a site that many Sami still held sacred. Enoksson later went secretly to the mountain to repent for the sins of his forefathers.

During the indigenous peoples’ gathering, a group of leaders joined Enoksson on the mountaintop to intercede for the Sami people and to break curses evoked by centuries of occult practices, especially the sacrifice of children. Enoksson told attendees he believed that act represented a “turning point for the Sami people.”

The World Christian Gathering also addressed the social and political issues facing indigenous people, in particular the approximately 70,000 Sami. In Russia the average life expectancy for Sami men is no more than 40 years because of high rates of alcoholism. In Sweden, tension over hunting and fishing rights, reindeer breeding, and land ownership are dangerously inflamed, said Judge Marie Hagsgård, a government expert on Sami relations.

Although the Jesus joik caused the Norwegian church to “excommunicate” Maso, he said doors opened for him to reach a new mission field: North America. Maso has shared the gospel on several reservations in Canada, and he said many First Nation Americans have accepted Jesus and some have received healing.

“One day 13 shamans from different tribes came to my meeting to ‘put a lid on their people,'” Maso recalled. “As I was joiking one shaman sneaked up from behind intending to ‘sap’ my power, as I was told later. Next thing I knew the shaman was slain under the power of the Holy Spirit, and I went over and prayed for him. I thought he had come for ministry.”

This year’s World Christian Gathering on Indigenous People will be held in the Philippines. The symbolic seventh gathering will take place in Jerusalem in 2007.
Herti Dixon in Kiruna, Sweden

New Tribes Mission Relocates Venezuelan Missionaries
New Tribes Mission (NTM) relocated its Venezuela workers in compliance with a resolution giving the Florida-based missions organization until Feb. 12 to exit tribal areas. In October Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez ordered NTM to leave Venezuela, accusing the group of spying for the U.S. government. The process to overturn the expulsion order is ongoing, but a final decision could take up to a year, NTM stated.

Human Rights Group Calls for Release of Cuban Prisoner
Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is calling for the release of human rights activist Dr. Oscar Elías Biscet, who is serving a 25-year sentence at Combinado del Este Prison in Cuba. Biscet was jailed in December 2002 for organizing meetings for the Friends of Human Rights groups he was establishing. Previously, Biscet had exposed a widespread government practice of using the chemical substance Rivanol to abort advanced pregnancies and to allow some infants born alive to bleed to death or be asphyxiated, the Wall Street Journal reported. After exposing those practices, Biscet lost his home and was beaten by mobs, the newspaper said. Biscet’s family told CSW he continues to face harassment in prison. CSW, a United Kingdom-based human rights organization, is asking the U.K. government and the European Union to intervene on Biscet’s behalf.

Christians Attacked by Hindu Mob in India
At least 10 Christians were injured and two were hospitalized after Hindu extremists influenced residents in Malkangiri district, Orissa state, to attack Christians there Jan. 24, Compass Direct reported. Fourteen Christian families and four missionaries from the Indian Evangelical Team (IET) had gathered to worship at a believer’s house on Jan. 23 and stayed overnight, IET district coordinator Satya Das Benya told Compass. Members of the Hindu extremist group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh apparently heard the Christians singing and gathered the villagers for a meeting. The next morning roughly 50 villagers beat the missionaries and attacked other Christians in the house. Though one of the missionaries filed a written complaint naming 11 of the attackers, the Malkangiri district police superintendent said no attempt to arrest the accused had been made and denied that a formal complaint had been filed, Compass said.

Christians Arrested in Eritrea for Bible-Reading, Prayer
Eritrean military authorities jailed 75 Christians Feb.1 for “reading Bibles and praying during their free time,” Compass Direct reported. The youth were completing their required military service at Sawa Military Training Camp in the east African nation. Although Muslim recruits are allowed to read the Quran and perform religious duties in Sawa, it is “considered an act of Christian extremism” for Christians to read the Bible, an Eritean Christian told Compass. The 75 recruits were put under “military detention and punishment,” though they had not broken any military law, Compass said. Jailed youth often endure physical and mental abuse by authorities who wish to see Christians deny their beliefs, the news service reported.

SPOTLIGHT

Coming Alive

Singing from the soul: Warren Barfield

Singer Warren Barfield is a Pentecostal preacher’s kid who knows a thing or two about soul-stirring music. But he was so surprised when God revived his own weary heart, he had to write about it. The result was “Come Alive,” on his newest CD, Reach, and it tells of his private Pentecost. “Christ left us His Spirit to be with us at all times,” he says. “That’s what the Holy Spirit is about. … He still wants to find me at my level and come alive to me.”

Prayer Point

The World Christian Encyclopedia reports that more than 1 billion people have yet to hear the gospel. That’s 27.8 percent of the world’s population. Please join us in praying that:

Faith and Politics

Thanks for the outstanding February issue! I thought it was over-the-top. It was excellent and relevant to my needs. Since I live in Michigan, the article on Keith Butler (“The Bishop’s Campaign” by Valerie G. Lowe) was very timely and appreciated.
Dawn Sneden
Hudsonville, Michigan

The Republican Party is synonymous with scandalous greed and the wholesale slaughter of Americans, Iraqis and Afghans. The Republican Party stands for corporate greed and the whittling away of middle-class wages—to say nothing of the poverty and so many other selfish encumbrances foisted on those “without a loud voice.”

Shame on you for your role in the disillusionment of the trusting Christian community.
name withheld

I strongly support the candidacy of Keith Butler to replace Debbie Stabenow in the U.S. Senate. So do former congressmen Jack Kemp of New York and J.C. Watts of Oklahoma. Come join us and let’s revive the American spirit.
George Wiland
Tulsa, Oklahoma

I am writing in response to Stephen Strang’s endorsement of Keith Butler for U.S. Senate (Final Word, February). I do not take issue with the endorsement. I know Keith Butler and I believe he is a fine man and a man of God. But I take issue with the suggestion that there are those in the Republican Party who were “uncomfortable” with his candidacy.

Is it fair to say that people were concerned that Butler couldn’t beat Stabenow? Yes!

These weren’t powerbrokers who engineered an opponent. They were voters who, in poll after poll, suggested that Butler wasn’t their choice. It left an opening, which Mike Bouchard opted to fill—not because anyone got him into the race. Mike believes he will make the best U.S. senator.
Kathryn Packer
Okemos, Michigan

On the Brink of War

Thank you for pastor John Hagee’s article on Iran’s threat to Israel (“The Coming Holy War,” February). It is important that as Christians we are aware of events occurring in the Middle East, especially those concerning Israel.

We need to remember that the only nation whose boundaries are clearly laid out in Scripture is the nation of Israel. These boundaries are for today just as they were for the day when God first laid them out.
David Cottrell
Grande Prairie, Canada

Have you or John Hagee ever considered that hostility in the Middle East from non-Jews has been provoked in the last few decades not by the preaching of the gospel but by Christians’ efforts to manipulate a wrong prophetic fulfillment? Hagee is naive if he thinks Iran would blow up Jerusalem with a nuclear weapon. It has Islam’s third holiest site.
Samuel Bowman
Tuscaloosa, Alabama

In Defense of Narnia

Although I appreciate Diane Valentine’s right to her own viewpoint in My Turn (Feedback, February), I don’t think C.S. Lewis ever intended his work to be placed literally next to Scripture. The Chronicles of Narnia is a fictional tale filled with symbolism. It is fantasy!

Narnia was an excellent film. The mysteries of the gospel were woven throughout the film in a way that made it relevant to young people. I am grateful, and I want to encourage Disney and others to produce more movies like it.
Lisa Gardella
Palm Coast, Florida

I was disappointed to read Diane Valentine’s letter regarding The Chronicles of Narnia. The writer’s misunderstanding of the differences between literalism and allegory would not only discount every artistic endeavor, it would cancel many of the Lord’s parables and other stories.
John L. and Debra Moore
Miles City, Montana

The Bible clearly tells us to stay away from any type of witchcraft. A book titled The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe should offer a clear enough warning to stay away, yet so many Christians and churches are embracing the book and movie. I wonder if Christians think we must have something to compete with Harry Potter?
Valerie Amsdil
Hinton, West Virginia

C.S. Lewis was influenced by the occult poet W.D. Yeats, and he was fascinated by old Norse, Germanic, Celtic, Greek and Roman mythology. It is a tragedy that an influential mind such as Lewis’ is used as a rationale to encourage acceptance of these things in the church.
name withheld
Grand Rapids, Michigan

Unless you printed Diane Valentine’s comments for the purpose of evoking rebuttal, it is disappointing that you would give such prominence to her misperceptions. She said: “Narnia supports the idea that the glory of an incorruptible God can be changed into an image of a four-footed beast.” Though there is certainly room for criticism of the film for not having been more true to the book, it conveyed enough of the book’s Christian theology to touch unbelievers with the gospel.
Edwin W. Brown, M.D.
Indianapolis, Indiana

Editor’s note:

Obviously if we agreed with Ms. Valentine we would never have run a cover story on The Chronicles of Narnia. Our new My Turn feature offers readers with opposing viewpoints an opportunity to challenge us. And, in turn, we invite all our readers to speak out if they disagree with My Turn. All My Turn entries must include a photo of the writer.

Carlton Pearson

You reported that Carlton Pearson’s church has gone into foreclosure (News, January). That means the gift of discernment is alive and well in the church! I do not rejoice when a church or ministry struggles to keep its doors open. My prayers are with Pearson and his congregation. But this is what happens when heresy shows up on the menu.

Sadly, the church is filled with parrots who are quick to squawk “Amen” and drop large sums of money into the laps of ministry leaders who water down or pollute the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Rev. Rene De La Cruz
Hesperia, California

Too Much Sugar?

Thank you for Steve Hill’s article on churches that water down the gospel (“No More Candy-Coated Gospel,” February). If ministers can’t challenge their congregations, and if their words don’t bring conviction to those harboring sin, God cannot bring new life or growth to our churches.
Terri Swerzler
Tacoma, Washington

I was disappointed with Steve Hill’s message. Rather than produce even one quote from any credible source, Hill rants in a five-page diatribe. He says people are “never confronted,” Christians are “turning aside to fables,” and the gospel is becoming “watered down.” Please hold your writers to the same standard of journalistic integrity as any other serious publication.
Jeff Appel
Littleton, Colorado

Steve Hill’s article was another of too many Charisma articles criticizing churches and pastors and accusing them of forgetting the cross and “sugar-coating” the gospel.

I was raised on this type of judgment and guilt. But hearing that I was a sinner every day didn’t stop me from sinning. Not until I learned that my heavenly Father loves me could I grow as a Christian.
Linda Zent
Bismarck, North Dakota

People will faint and die of malnutrition if they continue to be fed candy instead of meat. Those in America’s pulpits must not soften the gospel or pacify people with words without challenging them to be holy.
Alyce D. Paul
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Don’t Blame God

It was a breath of fresh air to read your article about people who are angry with God (“Are You Mad at God” by Duane Vander Klok, January). I’ve been preaching the same thing about Job for years and I’m glad to see that someone else sees it that way too. I’m tired of so-called “Spirit-filled” people blaming God for everything from pimples to hurricanes! You published the truth.
Tom Rambow
Colorado Springs, Colorado

Your article about people who are mad at God was simplistic. It didn’t deal with a difficult theological problem—that God allows the devil to operate. When honest people are struggling, they are not being “scornful,” as the article states. They deserve more meaningful counsel than the “good God, bad devil” the article provides.
Mark Brower
Westerville, Ohio

Comb Your Hair!

Why should Seventh Day Slumber, a group of four young men who look like hippies and punks, be profiled in Charisma (Buzz, January) as a Christian rock group?

It is now common for people with tattoos, body piercings, and eccentric hairstyles and clothes to introduce themselves as servants of God. Christian musicians should dress decently.
Chukwuma Ukoha
Umuahia, Nigeria

The Elijah List has more than 127,000 subscribers and has become the largest platform for prophetic ministers
A fast-growing Web site that posts prophetic messages and prayer alerts is playing an increasingly influential role in today’s Christian prophetic movement.
Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the Elijah List has moved from a small-scale newsletter to a Web site with 127,000 e-mail subscribers, making it the largest platform for modern prophetic voices in the country.

Steve Shultz, founder and organizer of the Elijah List, said he didn’t have big plans when he first began sending e-mails containing prophecies and prayer requests to a circle of friends in the late 1990s.

“That’s the funniest thing of all this is [that] it was an accident,” Shultz said. “I was just sending a few [prophetic] words to people. I thought, Well, this is getting tiring—pasting and sending.”

Then 9/11 happened, and the Web site began getting 500 to 600 subscribers a day. “Whenever there is a disaster we get more subscriptions because people turn to God,” Shultz said.

Based in Albany, Ore., the Elijah List sponsors conferences and sells books and teaching tapes about prophecy. Shultz described the site as an online bookstore with an edge because some of the material is “cutting edge.”

“Most of what we make available is not available at your Christian bookstore because it’s a little too cutting edge for your local Christian bookstore,” Shultz said. “They’re afraid they’re going to be criticized.”

From 1991 to 1998, Shultz ran a business that reunited about 5,000 people who had lost contact with one another, attracting a national audience as he appeared on talk shows such as Geraldo.

But the rise of the Internet undermined Shultz’s people-finding business and led to his ministry, the Elijah List, which has grown from a one-man operation to employing 50 people.

Shultz said the primary purpose of the Elijah List is to dispense prophetic words as they come out “from all the different streams,” and he referred to the Web site as “a clearinghouse of many prophetic streams.” The Web site includes links to prophetic ministers listed alphabetically.

“What we’re trying to do is pick the most edifying and encouraging prophecies and once in a while a warning prophecy,” Shultz said.

But the Elijah List has stirred controversy. Jonathan Benz, resident prophet and pastor of prayer and outreach at Covenant Centre in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., encouraged intercessors he was affiliated with to unsubscribe after the Web site posted prophecies saying Hurricane Katrina was the result of God’s judgment. He said those kinds of messages took the focus off helping the victims.

Shultz said he’s constantly seeking feedback from prophetic leaders he knows and from his pastor. “We don’t call it a board, but there are advisory people who I trust who give me a thumbs up or down,” he said. “Since 1997 when this began, there are three or four words I wish I wouldn’t have sent out. I rushed them. I’ve learned as we went.”

Among those advisers are Chuck Pierce, president of Glory of Zion Ministries; James Goll of the Encounter Network; C. Peter Wagner of Global Harvest Ministries; and Cindy Jacobs of Generals International.

Shultz also sits on the board of the Apostolic Council of Prophetic Elders, founded by several prophetic leaders including Wagner and Jacobs.

Shultz’s pastor, Denny Cline of Vineyard Christian Fellowship in Albany, said he has been surprised by the way the Elijah List has grown. He believes God has used the Web site to “build up the saints.”

“We are both aware of the hot buttons the prophetic can push, but Steve is prayerful and gets wise counsel from other men and women who many people would know before publishing words that reach so many people,” Cline said. “I am always amazed at how many people are touched, encouraged and stirred because of the prophetic and the many impacting words that go out on the Elijah List.”

The Web site also is criticized for being too commercial. But Shultz explains that like a pastor, a prophet needs to support a family by selling books and CDs, or charging for conferences.

Shultz said he accepts and expects controversy. Yet he remains committed to a spiritual gift he believes is beneficial to church growth.

He believes the best days are ahead for the prophetic movement and plans to release a monthly magazine titled Voice of the Prophetic, which will include prophetic words and teaching articles about prophetic ministry. “We are a lightning rod,” Shultz said. “But it’s worth every bit of it.”
Gail Wood

The Rock and the Rabbi offers a contemporary telling of Peter’s relationship with Jesus
An off-Broadway musical based on the relationship between the disciple Peter and his Lord, Jesus, is bringing audiences to their feet from Orlando, Fla., to Tulsa, Okla., and throughout the Southeast.

This first-time dramatic collaboration between a former television host and a central Florida minister of music is venturing beyond church walls and taking the gospel message to secular audiences amid thunderous applause and testimonies of changed lives.

Told from Peter’s perspective, The Rock and the Rabbi, a contemporary treatment of the classic biblical story, is a cross between a concert and musical theater. The play begins and ends with Peter’s miraculous catches of fish, and follows his relationship with Jesus through Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection.

Though its message is strictly biblical, the show defies traditional religious labels. “People expect hymns and a costumed drama with period sets,” said Gary Richardson, the show’s writer-producer and narrator, “but what they get is minimalist storytelling and hip, ‘island-style’ music that’s heavy on percussion.”

The idea for the play emerged in 1974 when Richardson learned of Peter’s two miraculous catches of fish: one at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry and one at the end. Then in 1997, after discussing the idea with Danny Hamilton, minister of music at Harborside Christian Center in Safety Harbor, Fla., Richardson believed he had the makings for a good production.

Richardson had produced numerous vaudeville-style shows to existing music tracks, and Hamilton, the show’s composer-music director, had many sacred titles in print. But neither had created a theatrical presentation from scratch.

With the show written, the pair heard Neal Coomer, a former member of the Christian music group East to West, sing at a Tennessee church. Despite numerous hit songs, Coomer was searching professionally, feeling a call to minister outside the church but unsure how to pursue it.

When he took a look at the book and score of the show, Coomer liked what he saw: a strong theater piece with a Christian context, meant to be performed in secular venues. He had found a way to realize his passion, and the pair had their Peter.

After a series of short engagements including the Lamb’s Theatre in New York City and Hard Rock Live at Universal Studios in Orlando, the production eventually found a permanent home at the Plaza Theatre in Orlando. Coomer would commute weekly from New York City, and the other actors, musicians and support staff would commute locally.

The show caught the attention of Larry Peyton of Tulsa-based Celebrity Attractions, a theatrical promotion company that has placed shows such as Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera in a variety of Southeastern venues.

The Rock and the Rabbi opened in Tulsa in July and is scheduled to travel to states such as New York, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri this year, with David Wise now playing the role of Simon Peter.

“The message is so positive,” said Derrick Williams, a Tampa, musician who sings the role of the Rabbi. “It’s not manipulative. It challenges your intellect. Even if you don’t choose to believe it, you’ll still be entertained.”

“People generally leave with a euphoric feeling of hope and joy,” Hamilton said. “They see the truth of this message of forgiveness, hope and love. The show makes it real.”
Amado J. Bobadilla in Orlando, Fla.