Area churches are partnering with police to combat a recent increase in youth violence
A series of deadly gang shootings that culminated in November with the shooting of a 17-year-old boy on the steps of a church while he was attending the funeral of another slain boy has caused black pastors in Toronto to work with police and civic leaders to find effective solutions.

Increasing handgun violence in poor, predominantly black Toronto neighborhoods motivated Orim Meikle, pastor of Rhema Christian Ministries, to start prayer walk outreaches and home visits to the city’s five most violent ghettos in 2004. Hundreds of the church’s members walk and pray en masse through the gang-infested areas during the summer months.

Initially Meikle said his team knocked on residents’ doors and asked how they could help. “Their unanimous answer was jobs: ‘We need jobs,’” Meikle said. “So we got some government grants-for skills training and small-business startups-started training youth on computers, and showed them how to dress, walk and behave during a job interview. If you dress like a gangster, you’ll be treated that way. But if you dress for success, that’s what you’ll get.”

Rhema also opened a transitional home for young men at risk for criminal activity, and the church plans to buy more houses.

Meikle believes dysfunctional families, coupled with the glorification of violence, gratuitous sex and drugs in gangsta rap music, has wrongly influenced some young black males to become gangsters themselves. His 2,000-member church includes four families who have had a child gunned down or stabbed. Many other families live in violent areas where fear of gang threats and shootings are a constant companion.

Omar Hortley, the 21-year-old only child of a single mother, was a member of Rhema until he was killed in a drive-by shooting in 2004. Meikle counseled and comforted Hortley’s mother until she pulled through the shock.

“What do I say that will comfort the mother? It’s very difficult,” Meikle said. “In that tragedy, God brought some good out because she committed her life to Christ.”

Meikle, a 38-year-old father of two who immigrated to Canada from Jamaica in 1975, has swiftly risen to a place of prominence with both police and politicians for his outspoken attitude on black empowerment. “Sometimes we have this attitude that people should just accept us as we are, but we also have a responsibility to lift ourselves up,” he told Charisma. “So we’re not going to take the handout approach, but we’ll come to the table to collaborate with other community members.”

He believes churches must once again become an integral part of the city’s fabric in order for them to work effectively with schools, government agencies, grass-roots organizations and the police. “Functional churches should lead the charge,” he said. “The spiritual component sets the tone for the whole city infrastructure.”

Don Meredith, chairman of the Greater Toronto Area Faith Alliance and pastor of Grace Christian Life Centre, echoes that sentiment. Meredith, a 41-year-old father of two teenagers, detected the gang problem back in 2002 and, along with 24 other pastors, followed up by visiting the city’s police chief for answers.

That effort resulted in the formation of the Faith Alliance, an interfaith coalition representing 40 churches. Today Meredith spends much of his time networking with politicians, police and social agencies to find holistic solutions to curb violent crime in poor neighborhoods.

The group has put forth several solutions that have proved effective, such as the mingling of police officers and youth to play after-school basketball in the church gymnasiums of high-crime neighborhoods. Rhema is a participating church.

Meredith’s conviction that there often is a lack of parental involvement in Toronto’s urban communities compelled him last year to visit Rev. Eugene Rivers, a Boston minister who created the National TenPoint Leadership Foundation-named for the 10 tenets the document says are necessary for neighborhood transformation.

“Meredith and I met, and we said there are lessons to be learned here, and it’s got a spiritual dimension. The root component of the problem is fatherlessness,” said Rivers, who grew up in poor, violent neighborhoods in Boston, Philadelphia, and Chicago and eventually attended Harvard.

In 1988, Rivers established the Azusa Christian Community in one of Boston’s most dangerous neighborhoods. The house where he lived with his wife and children was shot at twice and burglarized six times. The purpose, he said, was to live on the same level as the street youth so they’d feel safe enough to trust his group’s motives.

“The way you raise a child is by going to where he lives,” Rivers told Charisma. “The black churches need to put men on the street to live with the troubled youth.”
Although Azusa Christian Community was launched in 1988, Rivers said area churches wouldn’t pay any attention to their efforts until 1992 when a young man was shot during a funeral just as the 17-year-old was in Toronto.

“The first churches to pay attention and come on board were the high-steepled ones-the Episcopalians and the Presbyterians,” Rivers said. “Now our coalition has 47 churches of almost every denomination who work in close conjunction with the police, social and community services.”

Rivers’ efforts helped reduce Boston’s homicide count by more than 80 percent between 1990 and 2000. His plan has since been implemented in cities worldwide.
Josie Newman in Toronto

The much-anticipated Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe raked in a whopping $65 million domestically at the box office, securing its place in best-opening-weekend history at No. 23. But more important than Walden Media and Disney’s collective payoff is how the film’s underlying message ranked in the hearts of moviegoers.

Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Torrance, Calif., rented out two showings opening weekend. Members were encouraged to bring along unsaved friends. A fellowship night commenced directly after the movie, where both kids and adults created ice cream sundaes and played Narnia-themed trivia games with prize giveaways.

“We sent out 10,000 postcard invitations, gave away Narnia-themed booklets and sold over 400 tickets,” said pastor Bob Rognlien, who preached a Narnia-themed series that began Christmas Eve. “We wanted to make a connection with people so that they’d come back for the series.”

Pastor Bruce Cadle transformed his New Hope Church in Melbourne, Fla. , into the fantasy world of Narnia, complete with wardrobe and falling snow. “The response was just incredible,” Cadle told Charisma. “We saw a 50-person increase in one week. Almost all of them said they’d be back and would bring visitors.”

Many pastors got their creative inspiration and materials from Narnia Sneak Peak Events organized by the Mission America Coalition. The group’s goal was to encourage church leaders “to consider the fantastic ministry opportunity” provided by the film. In cooperation with Outreach magazine, Mission America held events in 150 cities nationwide.

“We were so blessed by their personal support,” said René Bogue, service coordinator at New Life Foursquare Church in Canby, Ore. “This was a good wake-up call. Many people did not know the story was a Christian allegory.”

Mission America’s outreach ideas included organizing book giveaways, forming Narnia-themed reading groups, buying out entire theaters and having children act out scenes from the story. Pastor Dave Johnson of Kalamazoo Community Church in Michigan said his church sold out almost 400 tickets in less than an hour. “We were pretty impressed by the reaction,” he said.

The positive response prompted them to purchase 400 more tickets, which also sold out. Members and guests received gift bags filled with Turkish Delight and a copy of Knowing Aslan, which explores the parallels between Aslan’s character and the character of Jesus.

Just weeks after the film released, Mission America was getting feedback from churches that hosted Narnia outreach events. Deacon Godsey of Trinity Church in Omaha, Neb., said 40 people accepted Christ after a showing. “And 20 others rededicated their lives,” he said. “I’m convinced we might encourage members to send thank-you letters to Disney for making the movie.”
Danielle LoCicero

Pastors and ministry leaders gathered in Dallas in January to discuss the future of the church
When revivalist Steve Hill took the microphone at the annual meeting of the Charismatic Leaders Council, he asked a woman in the back of the conference room to dim the lights. After speaking for a few minutes he asked her to dim them even more.

“This is what is happening in today’s church,” Hill told the group, which included healing evangelist Benny Hinn, Baptist broadcaster James Robison and theologian C. Peter Wagner. “There is a dimming of the gospel taking place in America. We’ve got to start preaching the cross again.”

The impressive group of Pentecostal and charismatic church leaders met in a hotel in Dallas in early January. Convened by veteran Pentecostal pastor Jack Hayford and Charisma’s publisher, Stephen Strang, the group listened to panels that included Bishop T.D. Jakes, Argentinean pastor Claudio Freidzon, Jane Hansen of Aglow International and John Dawson, president of Youth With a Mission (YWAM).

Hill’s sober warning was underscored by Ron Luce, founder of Teen Mania, who delivered a plea for renewed focus on youth ministry. Luce cited statistics about American teens that made some people squirm. Included at the top of his list was the fact that only 4 percent of today’s teens are or will be evangelical Christians.

“We are losing,” Luce said bluntly. “What sort of world will our children and grandchildren grow up in?”

Several panel members lamented the fact that charismatic leaders are faltering, either by lack of integrity or by failure to pass the baton to younger leaders. Meanwhile, Jakes, pastor of the 30,000-member Potter’s House church in Dallas, pleaded with his colleagues to provide merciful restoration to ministers who have suffered moral failures.

Other participants expressed concerns that U.S. churches are watering down the gospel and making their message seeker-sensitive in order to attract crowds. Said Seattle pastor Casey Treat: “I am excited about ‘relevant’ ministry. But have we become so relevant to the world that we’ve become irrelevant to God?”

Not all the talk was negative. Many panel members said they were hopeful that genuine revival is around the corner-just in time for the 100th anniversary of the Azusa Street revival that launched the Pentecostal movement.

“Out of our constriction and confinement, a new thing will emerge in 2006,” predicted healing evangelist Mahesh Chavda, who said his North Carolina church is fasting and praying for a spiritual awakening this year.

Bible teacher R.T. Kendall, former pastor of Westminster Chapel in London, said he has sensed for years that true revival is on the horizon. “Something big is at hand. Isaac is coming!” Kendall said.

“What we have seen up to now is Ishmael. Abraham thought that Ishmael was the promised child. Wrong. As the promise to Isaac was proportionately greater than the promise to Ishmael, so what is coming is that much greater than anything we have seen. It will at long last be the coming together of the Word and the Spirit.”

James Robison surprised everyone in the room with his pleas for Christian unity. Admitting that he cannot wear the charismatic label, he begged everyone else to take theirs off. “We cannot let our theological beliefs nullify love itself,” he said.

Several voices also reminded the group that God is calling women not simply into ministry but also into church leadership. YWAM’s Dawson told the group about 25-year-old Brianna Esswein, a vivacious missionary nurse who died in Nigeria in December when a truck plowed into her van. He expressed hopes that Esswein’s story will inspire a new generation of women to head to the mission field.

Perhaps the most hopeful signals came from international and ethnic voices. Hispanic church planter Sammy Rodriguez reminded the group that Hispanics and other immigrant communities are the fastest-growing segments of the American church. Korean-American pastor Ché Ahn, whose father started the first Korean Southern Baptist church in the U.S. 47 years ago, said Asian charismatics in this country are using their wealth and education to transform society.

Myles Munroe, a Bahamian megachurch pastor and international speaker, chided the Americans for being too narrow-noting that our sport of baseball celebrates a World Series that is for U.S. and Canadian teams only. Said Munroe: “You must develop a global focus.”
J. Lee Grady in Dallas

Dozens of young men have accepted Christ while receiving treatment at Youth Town
Beth Miller was glad her son had limited phone privileges after she enrolled him in Youth Town, a Christian residential treatment center in Pinson, Tenn.

In his first weeks in the boot camp-like program, Stephen Wallace was limited to just five minutes twice a week. “Then we didn’t have to hear him berate us too long,” Miller said.

She and her husband sought help after they learned Stephen was smoking and selling marijuana. By the time Stephen was eligible for a pass, he had a new perspective. “I understand why you sent me here,” Stephen told his mom, “because if you didn’t, I was going to end up dead or in jail.”

Youth Town has been helping troubled youth since 1962 with its highly structured and physically challenging programs. Some young men are there under a juvenile court mandate. Others, such as Stephen, who has graduated from Youth Town and is now drug-free, are placed by worried family members.

Youth Town was founded by a group of Jackson, Tenn., men as a home for orphaned boys. Through the years, the outreach grew to include girls, and in the late 1980s began to specialize in substance-abuse treatment. In 2004, it began reaching out to young men with addiction problems exclusively.

Youth Town’s eight-week program, Youth Challenge, is designed to deter first-time offenders. The teens live in barracks with no air conditioning, chop wood for heat, shower outside and use portable toilets. “The greatest way we learn lessons is through experience,” said Mark Baldwin, director of programs at Youth Town.

“[Living like this] teaches them the difference between what is a right and what is a privilege. Then they have a greater respect for what their parents-most often just their mom-have provided for them.”

Youth Town’s 90-day substance-abuse program is called River Quest. The boys live in dorm-like rooms and are physically challenged by former professional basketball player Kendall Dancy. Although the program isn’t a quick fix, the National Institute on Drug Abuse reported in 2002 that any program less than 90 days is ineffective, as it takes the first 30 days to “clear the fog.”

Youth Town staff said they combine the best components of 12-step programs and Christian recovery ministries to create their own technique. Today the ministry, which is available through some insurance providers, has an 80 percent success rate and has earned the sought-after stamp of approval from the Counsel on Accreditation (COA).

“When an organization such as Youth Town takes the initiative to seek accreditation from a third party it demonstrates a willingness to take a close look at itself and says to its donors, the community, and the kids themselves that when it comes to these vulnerable kids, good enough is not good enough,” said COA President Richard Klarberg.

Roughly 100 young men went through Youth Town’s treatment programs in 2004. All of them accepted Christ, and most were baptized. “Here we are impacting kids,” Baldwin said, “and yet the denominational differences we have don’t get in the way because we know what the important issue is: to take a kid and lead him to Christ.”

The women working in the cafeteria are considered the campus prayer warriors. “Everyone’s always praying for you,” resident Justin Porter said. “It’s amazing.”

Director Nick Pappas, a former football coach and salesman, was once hooked on gambling and alcohol. After he was converted and baptized in the Holy Spirit, he said he heard about a job opening on the 250 acres south of Jackson, Tenn.

A prophetic word led him to take it seriously. A guest speaker at his church told him he felt God was calling him to a place that was spacious in land and involved young people. “If you’ll honor Him,” the man said, “He’ll send you the most destitute of heart and hope, and in the name of Jesus you’ll see them healed.”

Pappas took the job, sight unseen.

He says addicts bury what’s bothering them. The anger-management training Youth Town offers shows teens how to substitute fits of rage with more positive solutions. “The inability to accept things we cannot change only leads to frustration, anger and anxiety,” counselor Lynn Landrum said. “For the young men in our care, these emotions often lead to self-medicating-using alcohol or drugs to relieve emotional pain or discomfort.”

Methamphetamine tops the list of addictions, as one in seven teens experiments with the drug, and 99 percent of users become dependent after one use.

Youth Town staffers believe Christians are missing some opportunities to help troubled teens. “I would love to see the church begin to acknowledge that mental health and addiction problems are affecting their church,” Baldwin said. “They’re either not willing to see it, or people are hiding it.”
Marsha Gallardo in Pinson, Tenn.

The Christian broadcaster said his January statements were ‘inappropriate and insensitive’
Amid a hailstorm of criticism, Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson apologized for suggesting that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s stroke was divine punishment for withdrawing his nation from the Gaza Strip.

“My zeal, my love of Israel, and my concern for the future safety of your nation led me to make remarks which I can now view in retrospect as inappropriate and insensitive,” Robertson wrote in a letter to Omri Sharon, the prime minister’s son. “I ask your forgiveness and the forgiveness of the people of Israel.”

During a Jan. 5 broadcast of his 700 Club show, Robertson implied that Sharon’s illness was God’s retribution for his role in “dividing God’s land.”

“Woe unto any prime minister of Israel who takes a similar course to appease the [European Union], the United Nations or the United States of America,” Robertson told viewers. “You read the Bible and [God] says, ‘This is My land,’ and for any prime minister of Israel who decides he is going to carve it up and give it away, God says, ‘No, this is Mine.'”

The comments prompted Israeli officials to cut ties with the televangelist on a project to build a $50 million Christian retreat center in Galilee near historic Christian sites such as Capernaum and the Sea of Galilee.The center, financed by a group of prominent Christian leaders, is expected to draw 1 million visitors annually when it opens within two years, the Associated Press (AP) said.

Daniel Ayalon, Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., said Israel “respects Rev. Robertson and accepts his apology,” the AP said. But it was not clear at press time whether Robertson would rejoin the project.

Robertson’s remarks about Ariel Sharon were the latest in a string of awkward comments the televangelist has made in recent months. In August, Robertson found himself in the national hot seat when he called for the assassination of Venezuela’s president, Hugo Chavez. He later apologized.

In November, when residents of Dover, Penn., voted out eight school board members for their support of the intelligent design theory, Robertson advised townspeople not to call on God in times of crisis. “I’d like to say to the good citizens of Dover, if there is a disaster in the area, don’t turn to God,” Robertson said on his show. “You just rejected Him from your city.”

Later that day he issued a statement to clarify his remarks. “God is tolerant and loving, but we can’t keep sticking our finger in His eye forever,” he said. “If they have future problems in Dover, I recommend they call on Charles Darwin. Maybe he can help them.”

Ted Haggard, president of the National Association of Evangelicals and a participant in the retreat center project, said the controversy was a “blow to evangelical-Israeli relations.”

“It is my sincere hope that this project move forward,” Haggard said. “To successfully do this, the leadership of the evangelical community must exercise sensitivity and grace toward the people and leadership of the nation of Israel.”

At press time, Ariel Sharon remained in serious but stable condition in Hadassah Hospital, the AP said. Hospital officials said the 77-year-old leader is comatose and shows no signs of regaining consciousness.
Valerie G. Lowe

Gospel Light will now publish the popular K.I.D.S. Church Sunday school material
In order to focus more on the books and magazines published by Strang Communications, Stephen and Joy Strang have sold their CharismaLife curriculum in two phases.

The CharismaLife Sunday school curriculum was sold July 1 to One Accord Resources Inc., a consortium of Pentecostal denominations and fellowships that joined forces in 1999 to produce a common Sunday school curriculum that fit their theological distinctives.

In January, the Strangs announced that Ventura, Calif.-based Gospel Light had purchased the publishing rights, customer database and inventory for The Next Generation K.I.D.S. Church products, which has been the most successful part of Strang’s curriculum publishing enterprise. Financial details of the sales were kept confidential.

“Our decision to sell was not an easy one,” said Stephen Strang, CEO of Strang Communications. “In our company’s history, we have never sold any part of our company. But we decided we are trying to focus on too many things. In order to give a greater priority to our book area, which is exploding, and also to focus on our core magazine business, we felt that this was the right strategy to maximize our company’s growth in the future.”

Since 1990, CharismaLife has created a variety of children and youth ministry resources for churches, including Sunday school, CrossTraining, and, most recently, The Next Generation K.I.D.S. Church and The Next Generation Jr. K.I.D.S. Church, an acronym for “Kids in Divine Service.”

Strang’s late father, A. Edward Strang, Ph.D., headed CharismaLife for the first five years of the curriculum-publishing venture until he retired. Through the years, more than 38,000 churches have used CharismaLife products.

Before the acquisition, CharismaLife and One Accord partnered with Standard Publishing to use their HeartShaper and Encounter curricula as the core material for a new Sunday school curriculum, revising the material to be more distinct for the Pentecostal and charismatic churches.

Officials for Gospel Light, which has been selling curriculum since 1933, said purchasing K.I.D.S. Church will enable them to offer churches a broader selection of resources. “While the need to disciple young people is as essential now as it always has been, the changing face of culture and technology demands that we offer ministry tools that connect with today’s ‘sight and sound’ generation,” said Bill Denzel, vice president of publishing and marketing at Gospel Light. “We are thrilled to be able to offer churches this amazing K.I.D.S. Church program.”

Strang said he believes CharismaLife’s mission to see a generation experience a personal relationship with God, empowered by His Spirit, will continue. “I have a lot of respect for Gospel Light,” Strang said. “I’m happy that they’re able to carry on the ministry that my father and I started back in 1990.”
Eric Tiansay

Jesus and Narnia

I’m thankful that something as high quality and intellectually stimulating as The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe has caught my grandsons’ attention (“The Gospel According to Narnia” by Steve Rabey, December). I’m glad I can take them to a movie that causes them to think about salvation and gives them a chance to follow up with a discussion.
via e-mail
Entebbe, Uganda

It is awesome that something good such as The Chronicles of Narnia has come out of Disney. This film is a great tool to reach younger kids. It helps us explain what Jesus did for us.
via e-mail
Riverside, New Jersey

God may be using Hollywood. But I saw a report on CNN about how The Chronicles of Narnia is being marketed to churches. A Disney representative was asked if he thought C.S. Lewis wrote the Narnia book as a religious story. He said no, and he said Disney did not create this to be a religious film. Disney is only concerned about making money.
name withheld

Let’s Keep Celebrating

Stephen Strang’s “The War on Christmas” (December) was right on! I understand why many Christians feel Christmas celebrations have become materialistic. However, things such as Christmas trees and celebrating certain days are neither good nor evil in themselves; what matters is the way they are used. Let’s use Christmas celebrations to honor God.
Glen Beyeler
Sun City, Arizona

A Virtuous Lady

Thanks for your article on Nicole C. Mullen (“She’s Just Everyday People” by Chad Bonham, November). Talk about a woman who is really beautiful on the inside! Your article could not have been more timely, when the world and even the church are busy talking about total body makeover. She is a role model for young Christian women today.
Chijindu Nworgu
Baltimore, Maryland

Nicole C. Mullen is one of my favorite Christian artists. I listen to her music several times a week. I thought her voice was beautiful, but when I read the article, I was able to see that she is beautiful inside and out. We need more people like her in the world.
Jasmina Cotton
Raleigh, North Carolina

Pushing Beyond the Past

The article “Press Toward the Mark” by Judy Jacobs (December) really spoke truth into my life. I am planning to get married next month and I am still struggling with past sins. I obviously do not want to take any of these sins into my marriage. The Holy Spirit spoke to me and told me that I must “press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil 3:13). The Lord also told me Judy was correct in everything she said. God wants me to clean up my life, forget about my past and look to Him.
name withheld
Winona Lake, Indiana

More on Farrakhan

I salute Kimberly Daniels for her bold article “Don’t be Fooled by Farrakhan” (November). Islam is encroaching relentlessly on Christianity largely because Christians have with open arms and mostly ignorance welcomed the enemies of Jesus instead of introducing them to Christ as Savior.
Katie Thomas
Kanab, Utah

Though many of the things [Farrakhan] says are true, we must not be blinded to his true colors. The “appearance” of godliness is only a disguise. The agenda has, and always will be, to establish Islam as the religion of the black man and to worship only Allah as god.
Michael Henderson
Los Angeles, California

I was a little saddened by Kimberly Daniels’ article. Though African-Americans do face injustices in America today, rather than focusing on how unfair things are-for example, that white people get away with crime and black people are punished-we should focus on the fact that no one should be committing crime at all.

It grieves me that black men are profiled and regarded with suspicion based only on the color of their skin. But the claim that “prisons have replaced plantations in America as a place of bondage for the black man” grieved me as well.
Glenda Grant
Thomaston, Georgia

As a born-again black male who is in prison, I believe that as a people we have in fact lost our way. Our focus has been distorted, and our views have caused many of us to shift blame for a lot of situations from ourselves to others. In other words, “God has been taken out of the equation.”

I believe Mrs. Daniels was right in stating that we must set our faces in prayer against Farrakhan’s idolatry because we are in a spiritual war. And yes, he is a devil! However, that devil is not a white American.
Anthony D. Clark Sr.
West Liberty, Kentucky

Fire in My Bones

You go, J. Lee Grady! Keep up the good work telling the church like it is (“We Need Tough Love,” December). Somebody has to keep the church on the straight and narrow. Thank you for being that someone.
Clyde Clymer
Amsterdam, New York

The column “We Need Tough Love” is right on. It referred mostly to Carlton Pearson’s slide into heresy, but doctrinal error is becoming so common among well-known preachers, teachers, evangelists and so on, that it’s truly a sign of the last days.
M. Galbreath
Star City, Indiana

I always enjoy reading J. Lee Grady’s column. It doesn’t cater to church politics. I am weary of church leaders compromising biblical truth for the sake of unity.
name withheld

J. Lee Grady feels the need to label Bishop Carlton Pearson a heretic. Jesus was labeled a blasphemer because He included sinners, and now Mr. Grady labels Pearson a heretic because he proclaims that God includes all sinners in salvation. Then Grady wonders why others have not jumped on his bandwagon of condemnation.
Kevin Cawley
Jackson, Missouri

My husband and I have been called to separate from a lot of ministries because we saw the wives having plastic surgery, experienced gossip among leaders and observed extravagant lifestyles. We’ve challenged our church to bring back a spirit of holiness in our personal walks with God.
Rev. Eric and Michelle Hensley
Orange, California

The message “We Need Tough Love” by J. Lee Grady should be preached from every pulpit. “’Love your brother’ does not mean ‘Always be nice.’” I wholeheartedly agree that we must confront. Too often I have seen those in authority shy away from confrontation, and their negligence leads only to greater shame, sorrow and pain.
L. Mabry
Maple Grove, Minnesota

I agree with Lee Grady when he says we need to “defend the faith from those who pervert it” and suspect that Bishop Carlton Pearson is promoting a false gospel. However, a Web banner that says “God is not a Christian” is not enough evidence to indict a person. There is a legitimate challenge to the exclusivist, conservative Christian culture that needs to be considered.
Scott Schmitt
Winter Park, Florida

I agree with most of what editor J. Lee Grady said in his column “The Devil Is Religious” (October). However, his suggestion that Pokémon and Harry Potter were not part of the devil’s ploy surprised me. I can’t help but refer to Scriptures that clearly call witchcraft sin.
LaVonya Goodwin
Omaha, Nebraska

My Turn

Charisma’s article on The Chronicles of Narnia nearly sold me on the idea that the movie was good fare for my grandchildren. I agree with the perception that there is a captivating message in the movie. But to promote this “mythical tale” as Christian seems unsound when major elements of the story do not line up with basic Christian tenets.

I do not agree that it is the same gospel found in the holy Scriptures. If nothing else is realized from a comparison of Narnia’s gospel and the biblical gospel, we should have discernment about the breath of God, the Holy Spirit. Christian teaching does not associate the “breath of God” with a lion.

Narnia supports the idea that the glory of an incorruptible God can be changed into an image of a four-footed beast. That an animal can bring life with its breath, even in a fabricated tale, has creepy notions. To imply that this is Christian spirituality gives me a chill.
Diane Valentine
Bloomington, Illinois

BOOKS

The Glory of Living
By Myles Munroe, Destiny Image,
Softcover, 176 pages, $13.99.

Once again Myles Munroe delivers a powerful message on how to discover and achieve your purpose. In his latest book, The Glory of Living: Keys to Releasing Your Personal Glory, Munroe addresses ways to find your purpose in life and discover your personal “glory.” He says that every living thing possesses its own glory and exists to manifest that glory-meaning that we release our full potential by the work we do and by our personal holiness. Munroe’s book is a page-turner, and he exemplifies a wealth of knowledge about his subject. This is a must-read for anyone who is searching for the inspiration to accomplish his personal, God-given dreams.
Tracee N. Mason

In His Image
By Kenneth Ulmer, Whitaker House,
hardcover, 224 pages, $19.99.

In this excellent study, we discover that “as God becomes more visible to us He also becomes more visible in us.” To help us experience this truth, Kenneth Ulmer discusses the various names and attributes of God while examining some of His key “physical” attributes. Examining such distinct features as the hand of God, the heart of God and the face of God, Ulmer brings readers closer to understanding that God resides in our hearts as a caring Father. Ulmer explains that “God wants to be within our grasp” and will use what’s familiar to us to help us better understand His ways. Ulmer notes that revelation, recognition, relationship and reflection help accomplish this process.
J. James Estrada

Revolution
By George Barna, Tyndale House,
Hardcover, 160 pages, $17.99.

According to demographer George Barna, there are more than 20 million souls spread across America, whom he calls “Revolutionaries,” demanding an authentic relationship with Jesus regardless of where it may be found. Labeling himself one of these counterculturalists, Barna lays out a strong case for his view that the traditional church is anemic. Whether he is measured by giving, servanthood, spiritual accountability or practicing faith in daily life, the “average” church member, Barna says, bears little evidence of Christ-likeness. In defense of traditional congregations, Barna says they cannot be roundly condemned for members’ failure to embrace scriptural commands and live for Christ. Still, this book is likely to stir a national dialogue and force millions to re-examine their Christian walk.
KEN WALKER

A Field Guide for Evangelical Christians
By Jews for Jesus,
Purple Pomegranate Productions,
softcover, 198 pages, $10.

Jews for Jesus has created a field guide for evangelicals to navigate the Messianic movement. To clear up confusion and correct false assumptions about the nature of the organizations within the movement, the book makes a distinction between Messianic congregations, missionary outreach organizations, educational institutions and friends-of-Israel groups. Readers will be enlightened about some of the history, as well as the purpose and function of these groups, and also encouraged to use discernment to figure out which ones are biblical and open to Jewish evangelism and which ones are not. Many evangelical Christians, in their zeal to show love and support to Jews or the nation of Israel, have actually supported groups that restrict evangelism or have unscriptural doctrines and practices. This guide is a valuable tool for Jewish Christians and those who want to understand the Jewish roots of Christianity.
DEBORAH L. DELK

MUSIC

Wherever You Are
By Third Day, Essential Records.

Third Day’s Wherever You Are carries a theme of hope on each song-a move that makes the album feel complete rather than predictable. Lead singer Mac Powell says, “Wherever you are … whatever you’re going through, God is ready to meet you right there.” This message helps listeners relate to the singable, all-out rock tracks “I Can Feel It” and “Tunnel”; strong ballads such as “Communion” and “Cry Out to Jesus”; and fun, up-beat tracks such as “Keep On Shinin’.” Some artists trade their music’s original edge for polished studio production after a few successful albums, but the music on Wherever You Are sounds both professional and honest to the band’s trademark guitar-driven sound. Creating an album with good music and a positive, Christ-centered message from start to finish, Third Day has succeeded once again.
MATT FEHRMANN

Ana Laura
By Ana Laura, Reunion Records.

Nineteen-year-old Ana Laura’s self-titled debut is a collection of vocals-based, adult-contemporary and pop songs. Her voice is rich and compelling, certain to draw comparisons to counterparts Jaci Velasquez and Rachael Lampa. She excels in the mellow musical territory, with songs such as “If You Ever Fall,” the ballad “Completely,” the worshipful “Abide in Me” and the cover of Celine Dion’s “Because You Loved Me.” The soft rock of “Don’t Run Away” and the grand pop of “Sometimes I Fall” also show she can easily deliver the more contemporary song. Ana Laura’s skilled vocal ability mixed with a good collection of songs make this debut a noteworthy release. Hers is a voice to listen for in years to come.
DEWAYNE HAMBY

All the Earth
By Parachute Band,
Integrity Music.

New Zealand’s Parachute Band recorded its first live project before a crowd of nearly 25,000 at the annual Parachute Festival. The subsequent album, All the Earth, captures the event’s worshipful atmosphere along with the band’s signature sound. The CD incorporates ballads such as “Complete” and adult-contemporary sounds such as “Shout” and “To Live Is Christ.” Other highlights include the pop-rock “Amazing,” the solemn “High Above,” the captivating reverent “Lord of the Heavens” and the traditional-worship title track. Because of an invasion of rock in the worship genre, the band’s sound falls squarely into the mid-tempo territory of current CD releases but manages to make its mark with memorable songs and varying lead vocalists.
DEWAYNE HAMBY

MOVIES

End of the Spear
Every Tribe Entertainment,
PG-13, opens Jan. 20.

A project seven years in the making, End of the Spear commemorates the 50th anniversary of the martyrdom of five U.S. missionaries. Nate Saint, Jim Elliott, Ed McCully, Pete Fleming and Roger Youderian were killed in the eastern rainforests of Ecuador in 1956 by the Waodani tribe, who before their exposure to the gospel were the most violent society ever documented by anthropologists.

The film tells the story with a focus on Steve Saint, one of the slain missionary’s sons, and his father’s killer. It shows the events that lead to Saint’s reconciling with the killer in 1994 and subsequently moving with his family to live and minister among the Waodani for 16 months.

End of the Spear is not overtly evangelistic. Rather, it is a story of courage, redemption, reconciliation and forgiveness.

Although the story is raw at some points because of the once-violent nature of the tribe (spearings and machete slayings), humor is also woven throughout. Whether it is through scenes of the missionaries joking with one another or witty one-liners, the movie evokes the humanness of these slain heroes and the Waodani tribespeople.

Chad Allen (as Nate Saint and Steve Saint); Chase Ellison (Steve Saint as a child); Louie Leonardo (Mincayani); Jack Guzman (Kimo); and Christina Souza (Dayumae) bring forth a provoking performance that will move audiences to tears. The intense sequences of violence and some nudity earned the film a PG-13 rating, but there is no profanity or explicitness.

Moviegoers might feel fatigued keeping up with the rapidly paced subtitles that translate the Emberra dialect (the language of the Panamanian tribe who portrayed the Waodani). In addition, trying to remember the names of the Waodani, how each was related and what vendettas they held against one another could easily confuse some viewers.

Overall, these details do not detract from the plot and message of the film. End of the Spear will challenge moviegoers to live out their faith with boldness, courage, and conviction and with eternity in view.

Also releasing is Steve Saint’s chronicle of his return to the jungles of Ecuador. His book End of the Spear (Tyndale House) is an update to Elisabeth Elliot’s Through Gates of Splendor.
LORIE G. MUNIZZI

Fiction – THRILLER

Showdown
By Ted Dekker, WestBow Press,
hardcover, 375 pages, $22.99.

Preacher Marsuvees Black comes to Paradise, Colo., offering hope and grace-but at a high price. Will anyone stand up to his charisma and charm? Meanwhile, 37 orphan children who have been raised apart from a sinful world and taught the benefits of selfless living face evil’s lure. Can their faith save Paradise?

ROMANCE

Pink
By Marilynn Griffith, Revell,
softcover, 320 pages, $12.99.

Raya Joseph and her fashion-business partners collaborate on a million-dollar wedding dress-for the woman who stole Raya’s fiance. Will the project save their fledgling company? The first volume in the Shades of Style series combines multicultural characters with heartache, drama, humor and romance.

SUSPENSE

The Witness
By Dee Henderson,
Tyndale House,
Softcover, 378 pages, $13.99.

For eight years Amy Griffin’s two sisters believed she had been murdered. A witness to a killing, Amy had chosen to live in hiding to protect her family. Now she must come back, an act that puts all the sisters in danger. Is their faith strong enough to carry them through the dangers ahead?

The Redeemed Christian Church of God has built its North American office in once-segregated rural Texas
In what some see as a role reversal, the Nigeria-based Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) is building a North American headquarters as part of its ongoing mission to evangelize the U.S. and other parts of the world.

RCCG is constructing the facility on several hundred acres of pastureland it purchased in a back-road, north Texas community called Floyd. Just four decades ago a banner over the main county road read “Blackest Land, Whitest People.”
Even today some residents of Floyd-population 100-have expressed discomfort with having large gatherings of Nigerians and an active church headquarters in their conservative Caucasian farm town.

Detroit pastor James Fadele, RCCG’s North American chairman, said the ministry’s goal is simply to reach the lost. “In the heart of every man is a vacuum [that] only God can fill,” Fadele said. “Be it America or Africa, our objective is to preach Christ to the people so as to fill the vacuum.

“Our goal is to plant churches within 10 minutes’ drive in every developed nation and within five minutes’ walk in every developing nation … until every nation in the world is reached for Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Fadele said the most misunderstood concept about RCCG is that the church, which was born in Africa and internationally draws a largely African attendance, must be only for Africans. “Every lost soul is a priority to the Lord,” he told Charisma. “The soul of the African, European and American are all of equal value and worth to God. Jesus died for every lost soul.”

RCCG reports more than 200 churches in the U.S. and between 2 million and 5 million members worldwide, with congregations in 90 nations. The church was founded in 1952 in Lagos, and is currently under the leadership of Enoch Adeboye. He has been quoted as saying the Floyd location was chosen because God told him to build there.

Each month, RCCG hosts an all-night prayer meeting at its Redemption Campground in Lagos that draws several hundred thousand people. Every December the RCCG Holy Ghost Congress reportedly draws around 7 million attendees.

Out of Africa, a 2004 Regal Books release edited by Global Harvest Ministries founder C. Peter Wagner and pastor Joseph Thompson, names RCCG as a significant leader in a burgeoning trend of Africans becoming missionaries to the U.S.

The book reports that Nigerians are planting more new churches outside their own country than Americans are planting outside theirs. It says Nigerians are creating larger churches-with an average of 500 members-than most American churches, which are comprised of 200 or fewer members.

It also reports that of the world’s six continents, Africa is experiencing the most accelerated rate of church growth-2.62 percent per year compared with .81 percent in North America.

Thompson, a native Nigerian and former teaching pastor at New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colo., said Africa’s history of military rule and corruption, civil war, famine and oppression, coupled with its current soaring crime rate, unemployment, and overpopulation have provided the impetus for its turn toward Christianity.

“The Bible is very clear that God uses people who are broken and hungry for Him,” said Thompson, whose own church, The Well in Lake Mary, Fla., is scheduled to launch in February.

“We have the West to thank for exposing us to the truth of Scripture,” Thompson added, “but then again, it is the mind-set of the West that has become a hindrance to the church in America-keeping Christians from being able to experience the full power of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Our first recourse is God, while for Westerners God is often the last recourse when every other means has failed.”

Thompson said the same African culture that once wrapped its arms around the power of witch doctors and the demonic today is more open to the spiritual aspects of Christianity. Although Westerners have a tendency to intellectualize miracles away, he said, Africans embrace them.

Some media have reported that plans for the Floyd campus include an elaborate Disneyland-like facility with a 10,000-seat sanctuary, lecture centers, dormitory, lake and Christian-themed water park-amenities similar to the ones at the church’s 18,000-acre Redemption City global headquarters in Lagos.

However, James Alao, overseer of the Floyd RCCG campus, said that as of press time nothing more specific than the initial building, which is structurally complete and features a 700-person meeting area and modest office facilities, has been confirmed.

The RCCG ministers’ conference Oct. 20-22 marked the first official gathering at the new Floyd headquarters. In June 2007 the Floyd campus will be the site of RCCG’s North American Convention.
Marcia Davis-Seale in Floyd, Texas

Case of Kindergarten Censorship will Go to Trial

A case of censorship involving a kindergartner’s picture of Jesus is proceeding to trial. In 1999 Antonio Peck, then a kindergarten student at Baldwinsville Elementary School in Syracuse, N.Y., created artwork for a class assignment about ways to save the environment. His poster included an image of Christ along with cutouts of children recycling and picking up garbage. Citing church-state concerns, school officials folded the mural so the image of Christ could not be seen. Peck’s parents later sued the school for censorship. In 2000, a trial court said the school had the right to censor the student, but in 2001 an appeals court unanimously reversed that decision, sending the case back to the trial court, which in 2004 again ruled in favor of the school. In October, a federal appeals court reversed that decision, allowing the case to go to trial. Liberty Counsel is representing the Pecks.

Appeals Court Dismisses Parents’ Suit Over Sex Survey

California’s Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declared that parents have no “fundamental right” to be the exclusive provider of their children’s sex education, the Associated Press (AP) reported. The ruling came Nov. 2 when the three-judge panel dismissed a lawsuit filed by parents angered that the Palmdale School District, located in Los Angeles County, surveyed their elementary school students about sex. Upholding a lower court ruling, the high court said the parents “have no due process or privacy right to override the determinations of public schools as to the information to which their children will be exposed while enrolled as students,” CNS News.com reported. The school district said the survey, which asked first-, third- and fifth-grade students how often they thought about sex, among other questions, was part of a program to gauge exposure to early trauma and help students overcome learning barriers. The parents argued the consent forms never mentioned that students would be asked about sex. Their attorney planned to appeal.

Campaign Declares Legality of Celebrating Christmas

Jerry Falwell urged pastors to resist “bullying tactics” by the American Civil Liberties Union during the holiday season by participating in a campaign aimed at spreading the message that celebrating Christmas in public places is constitutional. The Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign began in 2004 in Alaska when Anchorage Baptist Temple ran a series of newspaper ads declaring the celebration of Christmas to be legal. Pastor Jerry Prevo said “the pre-emptive measures resulted in not one incident of religious discrimination.” In 2005, Florida-based Liberty Counsel (LC) spearheaded the effort, which also involved posting ads defending the legality of public commemorations of Christmas. LC said the campaign gained support from thousands of public school teachers and administrators.