Prominent charismatic leaders seek to raise awareness about the importance of the Ten Commandments
Fueled by the recent Supreme Court decision that barred the display of the Ten Commandments in two Kentucky courthouses, a commission has been formed with a mission to bring the Decalogue back to the conscience of America.

The Ten Commandments Commission, formed the day after the June 27 ruling, was launched with a threefold purpose, said commission chairman Myles Munroe.

“We want to restore the values of the principles contained in these commandments back to our postmodern society; replace the Ten Commandments back to the consciousness of society; and challenge the powers that be to reconsider the decisions being made,” said Munroe, a best-selling author and pastor of Bahamas Faith Ministries International, one of the largest churches in the Caribbean.

The commission was launched at the International Charismatic Bible Ministries convention in Tulsa, Okla., where Munroe urged fellow Christian leaders to join his efforts, and where Roni Wexler, commission president and CEO, unveiled the commission’s Ten Commandments pin ().

Munroe says the pin, which displays the Ten Commandments in Hebrew, was designed to make a statement: that “collectively, we can make a difference.”

“Democracy works on numbers, and we believe that there are a lot more people who are for the Ten Commandments than against them,” Munroe said. “We want to rally millions of people to not only take a stand but to do it in a unified way.”

“The slogan here is, ‘If we can’t wear it in public and on buildings, we can wear it on the building of God, which is our bodies,'” Wexler added.

The commission hopes to educate the charismatic community by “getting people to understand what we are standing against and identify themselves with a symbol,” Wexler said. That symbol is the Ten Commandments pin.

Washington, motivational speaker Charles Phillips says the battle is not only against ignorance, but also darkness. “I think that this movement through the Supreme Court was not just to take away the Ten Commandments from … public places,” said Phillips, the commission’s spokesman. “I think it’s also a part of the devil’s strategy to remove God from the consciousness of people.”

Phillips said the group’s efforts are not politically motivated. “Right now we’re just trying to make a statement,” he said. “We’re simply emphasizing the fact that we can display the Word of God, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

Mark J. Chironna, commission board member, hopes to see a renewed appreciation for the values embodied by the Ten Commandments. “Those values have to be once again appreciated and understood for a generation that has really been so numbed by situational ethics,” he said. “History proves that when nations do not embrace those kinds of values, they end up being destroyed. If we ignore God, we ignore Him to our own detriment.”

Chironna, pastor of The Master’s Touch International Church in Orlando, Fla., says his church plans to be a part of The Ten Commandments Day, which the commission has declared for Feb. 5.

“I feel that every pastor everywhere on that day should include in their sermon the message of the Ten Commandments, which is bringing the Word of God back to the nations,” Wexler said.

America cannot afford to ignore this discussion, explained Jay Sekulow, chief counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice, a Washington, firm that specializes in constitutional law. “I think the idea of getting the Ten Commandments out of the context of a painting on the wall, into the reality of what the Ten Commandments stand for is important,” said Sekulow, whose firm has defended more Ten Commandment cases than any other in the country.

“We need to come together on this,” Wexler stressed. “So it’s Jew and Gentile, black and white. It’s everybody coming together, holding hands and saying enough is enough.”
Suzy Richardson

Observers say Sight & Sound Theatre reaches people who might never step foot in a church
What started with a slide projector, screen, turntable and microphone has become the leading faith-based theater in the nation, attracting some 800,000 patrons a year.

Glenn Eshelman, founder of Sight & Sound Theatres in Lancaster County, Pa., said he and his wife, Shirley, stepped out in faith 30 years ago with their first production, The Wonder of It All.

Today he says that title has become a fitting way to describe the ministry’s growth and popularity. “What you see in the natural absolutely should not be,” said Eshelman, a former dairy farmer and Church of the Brethren minister. “It is a miracle.”

Sight & Sound’s Millennium Theatre, nestled in Lancaster County’s Amish farm country, is considered the largest faith-based live theatre in the U.S. Some even refer to it as “the Christian Broadway.” To Eshelman, it’s a way to reach people who might never sit through a traditional sermon.

Ruth was on stage at the Millennium through Oct. 22. Complete with a 68-member cast and more than 35 animals, the show carried the audience through Ruth and Naomi’s tumultuous journey of faith, love, loss and redemption. The gleaning fields of Boaz came to life on a 300-foot, wraparound stage illuminated by the largest moving light system on the East Coast.

“There is a strong need in the world today for this type of a ministry,” Eshelman said. “For too long, the world has looked at Christian drama as bathrobes and half-cut wigs. Why should it not be equal to that of Broadway, equal to that in Las Vegas.”

Sight & Sound Theatres, which includes the more intimate, 643-seat Living Waters Theatre also in Lancaster County, uses innovative production technology while remaining faithful to its mission. Patrons return year after year for more.

Lancaster County resident Beth Fisher said she has visited Millennium Theatre dozens of times. “The message is the draw,” she said. “I love how they represent the Bible so well. [The stories] are not stretched out of proportion.”

Though it isn’t a traveling theater, Sight & Sound has reached theatergoers outside the U.S. “Delegations from China have visited the Millennium Theatre in hopes of taking Noah the Musical to the Olympics to represent Christianity amongst the other religions,” Eshelman said. “Impossible logistics deterred it from taking place.”

The theater has also helped ministries from within the U.S. develop their drama departments. “Churches are doing [theatre] with excellence, not to compete with the world, but so that it would be intriguing for the world to come in and say, ‘Let me see,'” said producing director Earl Grove. “We’re just doing it in the culture in the way that the culture can understand it.”

Area ministers agree that Sight & Sound is an effective evangelism tool. “Many people that won’t come to a church will come to a theatre,” said Tommy Stoudt Jr., pastor of Victory Church in Lancaster. “They play a critical role in reaching people.”

“The Bible speaks that the body has many members,” Eshelman said. “I feel like we are an arm or member of the body of the church that presents the gospel in this fashion. [It is] all part of God’s final program here to bring in the final harvest.”
Psalms of David is on stage at the Living Waters Theater through December. Noah the Musical is to open in a Branson, Mo., Sight & Sound Theatre in June 2008.
Paula Hornberger in Lancaster County, Pa.

Charismatic attorney David French fights for religious rights as president of secular civil liberties organization
When the new school year started, ReJOYce in Jesus Campus Fellowship hoped to again attract up to two dozen students to its weekly Bible study meetings.

Affiliated with a charismatic church in Los Angeles, the group spent most of the 2004-05 academic year fighting for official recognition after running afoul of the Milwaukee School of Engineering’s (MSE) anti-discrimination policies.

The school yielded in April after intervention by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), a Philadelphia-based organization that publicizes campus First Amendment violations.

“We’re happy we don’t have to have this problem again,” said ReJOYce chapter adviser Daphne Wilson. “We just want to continue to do the Lord’s work, have our meetings open to everyone and be there to help them and spread the gospel.”

The conflict in Milwaukee is only one of numerous battles FIRE pursued in the last year. Among others:

As battles over stem-cell research rage, pro-life couples are calling the adoption method a ‘noble’ choice
As the battle over federal funding for stem-cell research intensifies, some Christians are using leftover embryos for what they say is a more noble cause.

Adoption of embryos-the earliest stage of fetal development-from people who have gone through in vitro fertilization (IVF) and have spare embryos is now a popular choice for infertile couples who believe in the sanctity of life and want to experience the joys of pregnancy.

Doni and Jim Brinkman of Phoenix had their son Tanner after adopting an embryo through Snowflakes, a branch of Nightlight Christian Adoptions agency, located in Fullerton, Calif. “I always wanted a big family, so when we discovered Jim was infertile in 1996, we were devastated,” Doni Brinkman said. “We dabbled with different options, but when I heard about embryo adoption on Focus on the Family in 1999, it seemed like the perfect thing for me to do.”

The process involves adopting several embryos and implanting two or three at a time in a woman’s womb. After completing a home study with Snowflakes, the Brinkmans adopted 11 embryos in February 2000. Doni started carrying two embryos that August but lost one after seven weeks. In May 2001, she gave birth to Tanner, a mischievous redhead with brilliant blue eyes.

“There are no words to describe the miracle that he is, even down to his hair color,” Doni Brinkman said. “I always dreamed of having a redhead, but it seemed impossible because I’m very dark-haired and so is my husband.”

Doni lost the other nine embryos after three successive tries. Still determined to have a large family, the Brinkmans tried traditional adoption. The first two times the birth mothers backed out, but the third time the couple experienced a “second miracle,” when their son Ty Jordan joined the family.

Snowflakes program director Lori Maze said Nightlight started embryonic adoptions in 1997 when the agency’s Christian owner recognized that couples with extra embryos from IVF treatments had two options: stem-cell research or thawing.

“We’ve learned by listening to clients that families who see life as sacred and have extra embryos feel guilty and/or responsible, while those who don’t see embryos as life [at that point] still want to help another couple start a family,” Maze said.

Snowflakes charges $6,600 for embryo adoption and implantation. Shipping and blood work is extra. Since 1997, roughly 151 families have adopted embryos through Snowflakes; 88 babies have been born and 11 more are on the way. Maze said the live birth rate of implanted embryos adopted through Snowflakes is 37 percent.

Although half of all American fertility clinics allow their clients to donate their embryos to other couples, only a handful of adoption agencies give clients the option of adopting an embryo. There are no adoption laws in place yet for embryos, but the agencies that do it have legal papers drawn up for the transfer of ownership. Donors and adoptive parents have three choices-anonymous donation, anonymous adoption and known adoption, in which both sides meet each other.

Diahn Oakley, public relations manager for the National Embryo Adoption Center in Knoxville, Tenn., said the center suggests that donors and adopting families live at least 500 miles apart. “If they live in the same town, a donor might think a child they see on the sidewalk looks like them and wonder if he came from one of their embryos a few years earlier.”

The center, located within Knoxville Baptist Hospital for Women, started in May 2004 through federal funding and donations from the Christian Medical Association. Clients have come from 48 states and four countries to the one-stop shop, where couples can fill out the paperwork and have their embryo transfers done on-site by a fertility specialist. The package, including studies and legal documents drawn up by an outside adoption agency, costs $5,000.

Bonnie Bernard, a professional counselor and executive director of Embryos Alive, an embryo adoption program in Cincinnati, said emotional attachment to the embryos can happen the same way it does with traditional adoptions. “So far, we’ve only had one couple who have chosen to re-adopt their embryos,” Bernard said.

According to the latest statistics available from the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, in April 2002 there were 400,000 frozen embryos in fertility clinics across the ,250, or 2 percent of them, were available for donation or adoption.
Josie Newman

Christian Teachers Sentenced to Three Years in Prison

Three Christian women in Indonesia were sentenced Sept. 1 to three years in prison for allowing Muslim children to attend a Christian Sunday school program, Compass Direct reported. Rebekka Zakaria, Eti Pangesti and Ratna Bangun were found guilty of attempting to convert children under the Child Protection Act of 2002. Jeff Hammond of Bless Indonesia Today said the women asked the children to get permission from their parents before attending the program, and those without permission were asked to go home. The Sunday school teachers were not given the maximum sentence of five years in prison but said they were devastated by the prospect of being separated from their students, who range in age from 6 to 19, Compass said.

International Church in Vietnam Shut Down

Local authorities shut down a 500-member international church in Vietnam Aug. 27, Compass Direct reported. Eric Dooley, pastor of New Life Fellowship, had sought a permit to meet since it was founded in 1997. Dooley said District 5 police ordered the church to close because it had no permit-though the government has repeatedly ignored the church’s efforts to get permission to worship. On Aug. 28, the Sunday after the church was closed, Dooley stood outside the hotel where the church has been worshiping to inform those showing up that they would not be able to meet. Church leaders hope the action does not represent an effort by the national government to harass the church, Compass said.

Chinese Christian Denied Asylum in U.S.

In August, Xiaodong Li was denied asylum in the U.S. because he was a member of an “illegal” house church, Assist News Service ANS) reported. Li, who is receiving assistance from Virginia-based Christian Freedom International (CFI), fled to the U.S. after police raided his apartment in Ningbo, China. CFI said Li was punched, kicked and shocked with electric batons until he “confessed” to organizing “unauthorized” Christian house-church meetings. The 11-member Board of Immigration Appeals determined that Li fled China because he feared legal action, not persecution, ANS reported. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the board’s decision and denied Li asylum. CFI said the ruling will make it hard for others who face religious persecution to find refuge in the U.S. “America was founded by men and women fleeing religious persecution,” CFI said in a statement. “It is unfortunate that a group of unelected officials … have lost sight of this.” The Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian law firm that specializes in religious liberty issues, has taken over as Li’s lead counsel.

Diane Bickle contributes all the profit from her Glad Heart Realty to the International House of Prayer
Diane Bickle, wife of International House of Prayer (IHOP) founder Mike Bickle, started a real estate company in 2001 that is a model for effective marketplace ministry. “God told me to do it,” she said. “When God speaks, you don’t know why, you just do it.”

When she heard that still, small voice, Bickle was working for a real estate company while serving as co-pastor of a 3,000-member church in south Kansas City, Mo. She started working in real estate in 1997 for the broker of a small company. “I was in real estate previously, but it was a switch to start my own company.”

The start of Glad Heart Realty coincided with the launch of the IHOP ministry, which facilitates 24-hour prayer and worship. “People were moving here to be a part of the ministry,” she said. “As the CEO, I could set up the company to facilitate and serve the ministry.”

The connection between IHOP and Glad Heart Realty shows in the prayer meetings that the staff have weekly and their commitment to fast for the first three days of every month. “The House of Prayer has prayer for us on a daily basis,” she said. “I have a prayer meeting with the agents once a week. We pray for our clients, for their health, finances and communication, and we pray for one another.”

In the last five years, 17 people have joined her staff. They are all Christians with a heart to reach the city. “We’re making an impact on the community,” Bickle said. “It’s not uncommon for us to lead clients to the Lord. We’re a presence of light and salt as we move into the community.”

Glad Heart Realty owns the building it’s housed in. The 50,000-square-foot shopping center includes IHOP, a food pantry, a child care center, a coffee shop, a bookstore and an international missions center.

Glad Heart contributes all its corporate profits to IHOP. “After the agents and the bills are paid, everything goes to the International House of Prayer,” Bickle said. “We’ve contributed tens of thousands every year. An example is the first year we were in business, we installed stucco on the outside of the shopping center.”

The agents are actively involved with IHOP, and Bickle leads a prayer meeting every Wednesday at 6 a.m. for professionals who want to reach the marketplace. She also has the freedom to pray in the Healing Room for two hours every Thursday.

Bob Frasier, founder of the Joseph Company, said he asked Bickle to lead the prayer meeting. “Diane is an example of where God is leading many business people, to make Jesus the center of their pursuit and prayer as their chief methodology,” he said.

Glad Heart client Cindy Dodd said Bickle’s faith-based business approach set her apart from other real estate companies. “When Diane came to look at our house, she said we had three strikes against us but because of our motive for selling the house, she believed God would move on our behalf,” said Dodd, who wanted to sell her 3,800-square-foot home because of the time it took to care for it.

“The first person who looked at our house decided to buy it,” she said. “I was so glad to have a real estate agent who trusts God.”

Since Glad Heart opened its doors in 2001, Bickle says there has been an impact on the community. “Property values have risen around the shopping center because of the quality of residents moving in who are joining IHOP,” she said.

IHOP also has purchased two apartment complexes near the shopping center. The complexes are full of hundreds of students attending IHOP’s ministry-training center.

Bickle said she drew the name of her company from Scripture. “Hebrews 1:9 says Jesus was the gladdest person who lived,” she said. “This truth that Jesus is kind and happy about people has really impacted me. I decided this would be the personality of this business. I wanted Glad Heart Realty to reflect the gladness Jesus has when He reaches people.”

The name piques people’s curiosity and sets the tone for the working relationship with clients. “All of the agents have a reputation for honesty and hard work,” Bickle said. “Our clients and other real estate companies know that we are different.”

What’s the next step for Glad Heart Realty? “I’m praying for wisdom and expecting miracles in my business,” Bickle said. “I’m expecting that we are going to lay hands on the sick and they will be healed. It’s about the harvest, that’s why we’re doing what we’re doing.”
Leilani Haywood in Kansas City, Mo.

Attorney General Seeks to Overturn Pledge Ruling

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said the Justice Department would fight to overturn a federal court ruling that the Pledge of Allegiance can’t be recited in public schools because it refers to God, the Associated Press (AP) reported. Gonzales said the Supreme Court has affirmed “time and again that such official acknowledgements of our nation’s religious heritage, foundation and character are constitutional, Gonzales said in a statement. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton in San Francisco could put the issue before the Supreme Court, which declined to hear a similar case last year. The high court said the plaintiff, atheist Michael Newdow, did not have standing to file suit on behalf of his daughter because he did not have custody of her. In the current case, Newdow is acting as attorney for the three parents who challenged the pledge because it contains the words “under God.” After Karlton’s ruling, the Senate unanimously approved a resolution stating that the phrase “one nation under God” is “fully constitutional,” the AP reported.

Appeals Court Permits Ten Commandments Display

A Nebraska federal appeals court ruled Aug. 19 that a Ten Commandments monument could remain in a Plattsmouth city park, the Associated Press (AP) reported. The 11-2 decision reversed a previous decision, citing the Supreme Court’s recent ruling that it was constitutionally permissible for a Ten Commandments monument to remain on the grounds of the Texas Capitol. In that decision, the high court determined that the monument was a legitimate tribute to the nation’s legal and religious history, the AP said. Writing for Nebraska’s 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Pasco Bowman said the park display “makes passive and permissible use of the text of the Ten Commandments to acknowledge the role of religion in our nation’s heritage.”

Abstinence Program Funding Suspended

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) suspended funding for the Silver Ring Thing abstinence program Aug. 22, saying it “includes both secular and religious components that are not adequately safeguarded,” the Washington Post reported. Officials ordered the group to submit a “corrective action plan” in order to be considered for a $75,000 grant this year, the newspaper said. The move came three months after the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit against HHS, saying its activities and materials were “permeated with religion.” Joel Oster, senior litigation counsel at the Alliance Defense Fund, which is representing Silver Ring Thing, said the group offers both a religious and a secular program, though its Web site said a secular program was “in development,” the Post said.

Appeals Court Overturns Big Idea Ruling

A Texas appeals court has overturned a decision that helped push Big Idea Productions, creator of VeggieTales into bankruptcy. The Fifth District Court of Appeals ruled in August that Big Idea did not breach an agreement with Lyrick Studios, creator of Barney, over distribution of products. The reversal of the April 2003 decision means the $11.5 million award Lyrick received will go to Big Idea’s creditors. After the 2003 ruling, Big Idea’s assets were sold in a bankruptcy auction to Classic Media, the New York distribution company that owns the rights to Lassie. Classic Media continues to produce new VeggieTales products through Big Idea. VeggieTales founder Phil Vischer said he had “total peace” with the outcome. “The great thing about the higher court’s decision is that everyone who worked at Big Idea Productions in those dark days can rest now knowing that we did, in fact, act with integrity,” said Vischer, who has launched a new company called Jellyfish.

Shariah Law Rejected in Ontario

The head of the Canadian province of Ontario said Ontario will not become the first Western government to allow Shariah, or Islamic law, the Canadian Press (CP) reported. “There will be one law for all Ontarians,” Premier Dalton McGuinty said. The province has allowed Catholic and Jewish groups to use faith-based tribunals to settle family disputes since 1991. The Ontario government revisited the practice when Muslim leaders began demanding the same right. McGuinty has promised to outlaw the tribunals, CP said. “Ontarians will always have the right to seek advice from anyone in matters of family law, including religious advice,” he said. “But no longer will religious arbitration be deciding matters of family law.”

California Governor to Veto bill that would have legalized Gay Marriage

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger planned to veto a bill that would have legalized gay marriage in his state, the Associated Press (AP) reported. The bill passed in the State Assembly Sept. 6 in a 41-36 vote, the minimum number needed for passage. However, Schwarzenegger said the legislation would conflict with the intent of voters when in 2000 they approved Proposition 22, which stated that “only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California,” the AP reported. Gay-rights advocates accused Schwarzenegger of pandering to the right. Some conservative groups expressed concern that Schwarzenegger’s decision to let the state appeals court decide the issue would invite socially liberal judges to legislate from the bench. Meanwhile, on Sept. 14, the Michigan legislature rejected a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage and create civil unions, the New York Times reported. Last year, the ban received preliminary approval in a 105-to-92 vote. In September, it was rejected 157 to 39 by a joint session of the House and Senate. Observers say the turnaround reflected the fact that some legislators now consider same-sex marriage more acceptable politically.

Church Removes Sign Claiming Hurricane Was God’s Judgment

A Massachusetts church was criticized in September for posting a sign suggesting Hurricane Katrina was divine judgment, the Boston Herald reported. New England Baptist Church in Medford removed the sign that read “New Orleans: Natural disaster? Or God’s anger with sin?” after a journalist questioned one of the leaders about it. “It’s not supposed to be a slight against the people of New Orleans,” said church Deacon Brian Codi. “All it is, is a wakeup call.” Stephen DeFerrari, who escaped from New Orleans on a canoe, said he didn’t know which God the church worshiped. “It certainly isn’t mine,” he said. “There’s been a lot of churches down here, but they’re all busy helping, not preaching.”

Canadian Teacher Suspended for Views on Homosexuality

A Christian high school counselor in Canada who was suspended without pay in 2002 for stating “homosexual parents don’t make a good fit to raise children” recently had his appeal to the Supreme Court of British Columbia overturned. The presiding judge said Chris Kempling, who made the statement in a letter he wrote to the Quesnel (British Columbia) Cariboo Observer, could jeopardize his need for impartiality as a public educator because of his views on homosexuality. A second three-month suspension was imposed in April after Kempling wrote a letter to the same newspaper describing homosexuals as promiscuous and objecting to Canada’s gay marriage legislation. Kempling planned to appeal the decision.

Michigan Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Declared Unconstitutional

A federal judge ruled in September that a Michigan law banning partial-birth abortions is unconstitutional, the Associated Press reported. U.S. District Court Judge Denise Page Hood said the law was vague and placed an “undue burden” on a woman’s right to choose. Hood said the act “does not describe any specific procedure to be banned … [or] distinguish between induced abortion and pregnancy loss.” The Michigan Catholic Conference said it would urge Attorney General Mike Cox to appeal the decision.

My Turn

Bishop Harry R. Jackson Jr.’s column about ministry in prison was excellent and honorable (“Church Behind Bars,” June). As an inmate called to ministry and scheduled for release within the next three years, I have seen quite a bit of apathy directed at men “behind the wall.” But what Christians on the outside fail to realize is that this place is fertile ground for spiritual harvest and revival.

God called me and six other elders (in cooperation with chapel staff) to start Allenwood Word of Faith Christian Center in this prison. The response has been phenomenal. The church grew from seven members to 70 in about a year and a half. The congregation hovers around 50 to 70 people on any given Sunday.

In celebration of our fourth anniversary, our vision for the year is “Pursuing Holiness: Lining Ourselves Up With the Standard of God’s Word.” Keep us in prayer.
Gary Mabry
White Deer, Pennsylvania

The Next Generation

Your issue (“Youth on Fire” by Lou Engle, September) is awesome! I’m 20 years old and agree that this is the generation the church must focus on. Youth are so different now and are exposed to so much. Thank you for recognizing our need for attention from God’s people.
Sarah McCormick
Seattle, Washington

The article by Lou Engle may encourage a view of nonviolent “sieges” on abortion clinics. These may seem less deadly than clinic bombings, but they are still dangerous. The Christian community needs to understand that closing abortion clinics will do little to decrease the number of abortions in America. Children will still die.

Abortion needs to be stopped, but abortion and the clinics are only symptoms. Christians are making women who abort feel victimized and persecuted by the community. The anti-abortion movement should be about the individual, not the institution.

The current methods used to “combat” abortion are flashy but superficial. They attract media attention but do nothing for suffering women. They paint an image of a church that is detached from and judgmental of the community it could help heal.

We should remember that when Jesus wanted to change a life He didn’t throw a protest. Jesus sat down and had dinner with the people He wanted to save. Loving is more difficult than passing judgment. Too many Christians are taking the easy way out.
Aubrey Wilson
via e-mail

True Healers

Thank you for the wonderful article about John and Paula Sandford (“Healers of the Wounded Soul” by Julia C. Loren, September). They are loving and wise, yet tough when they need to be. The principles of emotional healing promoted through their Elijah House ministry have changed my life! Everyone could benefit from the classes, books and tools for recovery.
Teri Hamrick
Marietta, Georgia

I enjoyed reading about the Sandfords. They seem to care about people. It’s wonderful when Christians are concerned with what concerns God. May the Lord bless their work.
name withheld

Cry from Catholics: Stop Bashing Us

I was disheartened to see all the negative comments from your readers about the Catholic Church after you published “Vicar of the Spirit” by Stephen Mansfield (June). I hadn’t realized so many fellow Christians feel such disdain for Catholics. Thank you for including Catholics as part of the “body of Christ.”
Brenda Rice
Horton, Kansas

I was shocked at the number of your readers who complained about your coverage of Pope John Paul II. It appears that many of your readers aren’t knowledgeable of Catholic beliefs. For example, our respect for the pope’s authority dates back to Jesus’ words to Peter, “You are the rock and on this rock I will build my church.” We respect our popes as successors to Peter.
Patricia Baldwin
Rocky River, Ohio

If we call ourselves Christians, then where do we get the right to judge someone else who is preaching and teaching God’s love?
name withheld

I am a Catholic charismatic and very much a Christian. There are a lot of Catholics who read your magazine, and we respect everyone in other denominations. Please let your other readers who have hate in their hearts for Catholics know that we forgive them. Love is the message of Jesus. We love the Lord, too.
Vangie Santos
Oakdale, California

I would like to thank you for the feature on Pope John Paul II. As a Catholic, I was disheartened by some letters bashing Catholic brothers and sisters. As baptized children of God, we need to stand together for Christ. In Him there is no room for a superior attitude among Christians.
Susan Kennedy
Bella Vista, Arizona

We all have been deceived at one point or another, regardless of our religious background. Don’t just pray for Catholics, pray for all denominations. We all have some form of idolatry; it’s a heart condition. I know many Catholics who have encounters with the living God. It’s time to stop judging.
Carla Schobeck
Toledo, Ohio

I read the comments about Pope John Paul II. Some of them saddened me. In his teachings, this pope defined four laws of God. One of them reiterates the commandment to “honor your father and mother.” The conclusion he reached in his book says that to have reconciliation in churches, we have to honor our “parent” religious group. So shouldn’t Protestants at least desire to honor Catholics for giving them a spiritual heritage?
Marie Nield
Masterton, New Zealand

I am disturbed by all the letters filled with anti-Catholic bigotry. Is Charisma the forum for the ignorant and intolerant fringe? These pitiable people do not speak for me or the church of Jesus Christ. These critics need to remove the planks from their own eyes and learn something about the faith they supposedly follow.
David S. Roberts
Lumberton, North Carolina

Casting stones at Catholics must stop. We are followers of Jesus Christ, too!
Kathy Reder
Tuolumne County, California

I was saddened to see so much Catholic bashing by your readers in the August issue. Thank you for your efforts to promote unity in the body of Christ.
Scott Schmitt
Winter Park, Florida

I bought your August issue and was very disappointed with how people responded in their letters to the editor. To those who wrote the letters, you sounded like the Pharisees when they questioned Jesus. I’m a charismatic Catholic, and for once I would like to pick up a Christian magazine and not have to read about people putting down Catholics.
Imelda Garcia
Modesto, California

I have been reading Charisma for years, but I have always felt left out because I never see any writings from charismatic Catholics. I was thrilled to read your June issue with articles from Ralph Martin and Al and Patti Mansfield. There are many born-again Christians who live in the Spirit within the Catholic community.
Pat Baldwin
Rocky River, Ohio

Many of your readers’ comments reflected an ignorance of the Catholic faith and the theology of John Paul II. Some readers claiming to be filled with the Holy Spirit found an opportunity to disparage Catholic beliefs. The gifts of the Spirit include wisdom, which should increase our capacity to love others as Jesus would.
Peter J. Bernot
Howell, New Jersey

I am appalled at the letters to the editor regarding Pope John Paul II and Catholics. To think people honestly believe the church teaches witchcraft or idolatry is absurd! What happened to “love thy neighbor as thyself”? It pains me to think there are people who call themselves Christian and yet publicly beat up other Christians.
Michelle J. Dougherty
Waverly, New York

Changing of the Guard

I was very encouraged by J. Lee Grady’s recent comments regarding the end of the charismatic era (Fire in My Bones, August). I am a pastor with strong charismatic roots, but recently I realized I’ve been chasing a version of Christianity rather than Christ Himself. We are living in changing times and I would love Charisma to continue to address this change.
Peter Magelssen
Kenmore, Washington

Tomorrow’s Church

It was wonderful to see the variety of young leaders you profiled in your anniversary issue (“30 Emerging Voices,” August). It’s very encouraging to see that the future of Christian leadership includes women and men, singles and people of various racial backgrounds. I look forward to the day when the leadership of our churches reflects the same mix.
Gayle Robinson
Raleigh, North Carolina

Excuse Me, Mr. Colson?

Charles Colson worries that people may elevate environmental concerns over human needs (People & Events, July). His two examples do not bear this out.

Energy needs in the U.S. could easily be met by a major switch to clean, green energy such as wind farms and solar energy. Green energy would make the U.S. self-sufficient and would provide the complete energy security that is so desired.

Many Brazilians live in poverty, but clearing away the rainforest will do nothing to alleviate that poverty. The human cost of clearing the rainforest is, first, genocide because at least 50 isolated tribes still live there.

In addition, ranchers often use slave labor to work their loss of the rainforest also means the loss of all the medicinal plants that grow there that might save lives.

Environmental concerns and human needs are not in conflict. It is only by honoring environmental concerns that human needs may truly be protected.
Elizabeth Moberly
Durham, England

Thousands reported salvation and deliverance during two weeks of youth-led revival meetings in São Paulo
Instead of basking in the sun during a summer trip to Brazil, about 250 teens and 20-somethings spent their two-week stay in the South American nation preaching the gospel and ministering healing and deliverance in dozens of churches.

In a joint effort to raise up a new generation of healing evangelists, revivalist Randy Clark of Pennsylvania-based Global Awakening ministry and Brazilian pastors from across Sao Paulo brought North and South American youth together for Youth Power Invasion July 4-17.

Instead of returning home with traditional travel stories, the young ministers talked about the cane left by the wayside after its owner was healed, a platform shoe no longer needed because the ownerís leg had grown out to match the other, the images of parents weeping as their children receive healing and their memories of standing before crowded churches and arenas teaching and preaching.

Aaron Bass, an 18-year-old from Franklin, Tenn., l’d one young man through deliverance from drug addiction. “Some time during the deliverance, two broken bones in his hand were put back together and realigned,” Bass said. “It was a two-for-one!”

The first phase of the three-pronged “invasion” featured ministry training by Clark, a former pastor who is credited with sparking the Toronto Blessing revival; Bill Johnson, pastor of Bethel Church in Redding, Calif.; Jaime Galloway, an itinerant minister from Nashville, Tenn.; Tom Ruotolo of Global Awakening; and eight Global Awakening interns. At the end of the training, Clark told the youth to “get ready for more” because “the anointing always increases in phases two and three.”

During phases two and three, the leaders organized the youth into “attack forces” and sent them into São Paulo. Teams of 14-58 youth held three-day mini-conferences in assigned churches. Replicating what they had learned during the training sessions, young leaders taught on the biblical basis of healing, how to receive words of knowledge and specific prayer models to minister healing and deliverance.

Jaime and Emily Galloway later led groups of young people into the streets of São Paulo, where they spent their mornings ministering healing to people alongside the road, in hospital emergency rooms and in grocery stores. In the evenings the youth ministered in packed churches.

Testimonies of healing and supernatural experiences ran rampant throughout the trip. Brazilian pastor James Baptista Ferreira of Campinas, located in São Paulo state, was visibly touched while watching children seated in the front rows crying as God touched them. Their parents also were moved to tears.

“Their hands started to shine,” he said, adding that he believed gold-colored dust was appearing on the youths’ hands “as a sign of anointing for healing.”

Many of the youth experienced much more than an anointing to heal others. Some said they received visions. Others said they felt an overwhelming sense of God’s love for them during an evening focused on worship led by renowned Brazilian ministry leader Davi Silva of Casa de Davi (House of David).

“When Davi prayed for me, I kept feeling this love that I had never felt,” said 16-year-old Kateland Hilty of Wasilla, Alaska. “It was a love I only wish I could express.”

Global Awakening leaders said by the end of the trip, the youth had impacted more than 44,000 people in some 50 churches throughout São Paulo and Curitiba, which is located in southern Brazil. More than 800 people reported decisions for Christ, and 8,673 people reported physical healing. Team members also noted that more than 2,000 people said they experienced emotional healing and deliverance.

“I know of no better or quicker way to be trained in the ministry of the supernatural than go on a trip with Randy,” Johnson said. “To spend time with passionate young people and those who have the commitment and anointing to shape the course of human history is an honor beyond words. Every day is filled with the gut-level awareness that anything is possible at any time. Everyone involved will be changed forever.”

Kathleen Seagram, a 25 year-old Global Awakening intern who helped teach basic ministry training in one of the churches, believes the youth should be allowed to minister in U.S. churches. “There have been so many different kinds of healings that it has made me realize that we would be wise to have youth teach in North America, in our own home groups and churches,” she said. “Look out North America, here we come!”
Julia Loren