Christian Groups Applaud President’s Supreme Court Nominee

Christian organizations praised President Bush’s choice of John Roberts Jr. to fill the Supreme Court seat being vacated by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. Described as a “strict constructionist,” Roberts, 50, has served as a federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit for the last two years and has argued conservative positions on abortion and public school prayer at graduation ceremonies before the high court during his years as a lawyer. Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice, said Roberts “is exceptionally well qualified … and has a judicial temperament that is respected by all who deal with him.” Ohio pastor Rod Parsley, founder of the Center for Moral Clarity, said Bush’s choice “sends a clarion call to return our country to the principles of its Founding Fathers.” He also encouraged Christians to pray that Roberts “would be on the bench on Oct. 3, when the court is back in session.” Roberts’ confirmation hearings were to begin in August.

Oklahoma Zoo Nixes Creationism Exhibit

A Tulsa, Okla., city board rejected plans July 7 to add a creationism exhibit to the Tulsa Zoo, the Associated Press (AP) reported. The 3-1 vote, made during a special board meeting, reversed a June 7 decision to add a Genesis story to the zoo. Tulsa resident Dan Hicks, who lobbied for the exhibit, said the creationism display would balance other religious items at the zoo, which he said include a globe sculpture that promotes pantheism and a Maasai display that contains the equivalent of posting Scripture. Dale McNamara, who voted against the exhibit, said the zoo should develop displays that explain the cultural significance of animals. She said an elephant-like stone statue near the elephant exhibit, which Hicks said depicts a Hindu god, fit within that mission, the AP said. Tulsa Mayor Bill LaFortune was the only board member to support the creation exhibit.

Christians decry high court decision

Christian groups say the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in favor of using eminent domain for development that would increase a city’s tax base may make churches and other tax-exempt organizations vulnerable to land seizures. Several legal experts say various state and federal laws, as well as the First Amendment, make it almost impossible for churches to be targeted for condemnation, the New York Times reported. But the American Family Association, Focus on the Family and the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) all warned that the ruling puts churches at risk. In June, the ACLJ announced a petition campaign in support of the Protection of Homes, Small Businesses, and Private Property Act of 2005.

Glory Reborn, which offers free maternity care to poor and homeless women, has delivered 400 babies since 2003
A 20-something woman from Texas has launched a midwifery ministry in the Philippines, causing hundreds of expectant women to experience new birth.
Since September 2003, Hilary Overton’s Glory Reborn Organization (GRO) has provided free maternity care to the homeless and poor mothers of Cebu City, located 365 miles south of Manila.

Overton, 24, said GRO has delivered more than 400 healthy babies and helped many more women in the community through medical care and services. Expectant mothers are offered prenatal and post-natal checkups, vitamins, health teachings and a feeding program, as well as weekly prayer and worship sessions before their babies are delivered.

Overton estimates that at least 200 women have accepted Jesus. “It is amazing to see the many lives that have been transformed not just physically but spiritually throughout the course of pregnancy and delivery, and how many little lives will be impacted to live for Jesus,” Overton said.

A native of El Paso, Overton is part of a family of ministers. Her uncle is popular worship leader Tommy Walker. Her aunt and uncle, Janey and Sam Stewart, head a worldwide feeding ministry called Charlie’s Lunch. Another uncle, Dale Walker, is founder of Heart for the World Mission Organization. And her father, Steve Walker, was founding pastor of Jesus Chapel West in El Paso.

Overton said she fell in love with ministering in Cebu during a June 2000 missions trip with Youth With a Mission. In September 2000, she moved to Cebu and lived there for 15 months while working on her midwifery degree through a New Mexico school.

She went back to Texas for five months to plan her June 6, 2003, wedding to David Overton, also 24. “I came back to Cebu in September 2003 to start Glory Reborn in my apartment, where we delivered our first baby,” said Overton, noting that her husband is GRO’s clinic administrator and “fix-it” man.

Overton said Glory Reborn’s name is based on 2 Corinthians 3:18. “We chose ‘Glory Reborn’ because it sums up the process of going from glory to glory after we are born again,” said Overton, who doesn’t have any children. “The name really has to do with the ministry being a birthing center for new life.”

Mercy Sanchez, 32, knows this firsthand. Shortly after she came to GRO, she learned her baby had died in her womb. “In the midst of all my sadness and despair, I had to look to Jesus for hope, and through this struggle I gave my heart and my baby to Jesus,” Sanchez said. “When I went home, I felt freedom and happiness for the first time, and I knew that my baby was in heaven with Jesus. Now Jesus is helping me change my life.”

According to a newspaper in Cebu City, which has a population of 610,000, only four of 10 births in the region occur at a health facility. Three out of 10 infants in the area die before reaching age 1, and 20 percent of newborns are born with a low birth weight. For every 100,000 births in Cebu City, 200 mothers will die.

Overton said GRO has outgrown her apartment, and she hopes they will soon be able to purchase a facility for the ministry. Support comes mostly from churches and individuals, though GRO () hopes to receive a grant soon.

Ron Acton, pastor of 300-member Jesus Chapel West, said God is using Overton “in a mighty way.”

“She is able to do so much with so little,” Acton, 54, said. “She is able to train others to do what they never thought they could do. She gives the glory to God.”

Overton’s mother, Sharon Walker, echoed his point. “At the age of 24, Hilary experiences daily what many of us will never experience in a lifetime,” said Walker, 50. “There are great joys and deep sorrows. Hilary literally handles life and death daily. Even if I was not Hilary’s mom, it is so utterly amazing to see someone so young with such unwavering passion.”
Eric Tiansay

Organizer Cindy Jacobs hopes the event will empower Christians to engage in healing and deliverance ministry

The time has come for all Christians to be anointed to do healing and deliverance. So says prayer leader Cindy Jacobs, who is leading a 40-day prayer and fasting event that she hopes will encourage believers to step into this ministry.

“The days of the traveling evangelist being the only person flowing in healing and miracles are over,” said Jacobs, who founded Dallas-based Generals International with her husband, Mike. “With all of my heart I believe that we have entered into the time of the ‘saints movement,’ the time when every believer can lay hands on the sick and see them recover.”

Jacobs’ 40 Days of Prayer and Fasting is to be held in Dallas Sept. 22 through Oct. 31 at the campus of Christ for the Nations Institute, which was founded by healing evangelist Gordon Lindsay. Participants will pray, fast, worship and give to the poor. “Miracle services” will be held the last 10 nights-from Oct. 22 to Oct. 31-and people will be able to bring in the sick to receive ministry. Keynote speakers include Morris Cerullo, John Kilpatrick, Ché Ahn, Guillermo Maldonado, Dutch Sheets, Steve Hill and Mahesh Chavda.

Jacobs said she believes the event will impact Christians around the globe. “The Lord impressed upon me during a time of prayer that we were to set aside 40 days to seek Him,” she said. “He revealed that we should go to a major well of revival for intense prayer, fasting, spiritual warfare and worship that would result in a tidal wave of signs and wonders sweeping the globe.”

Jacobs said Dallas is one such well, noting that pioneering healing evangelists such as Lindsay, F.F. Bosworth, Maria Woodworth-Etter and Oral Roberts ministered there before becoming prominent.

Steve Hill, pastor of Heartland Fellowship Church in Dallas and a former leader in the Brownsville Revival, agrees. “Never in my life have I seen hunger like I have seen here in Dallas,” Hill said. “Hunger is the prerequisite to a move of God.”

The late Ruth Ward Heflin also identified Dallas as the next epicenter of revival. During a 1997 conference held at Brownsville Assembly of God in Pensacola, Fla., Heflin said, “I know this may come as a surprise to those of you who live in Pensacola, but a much larger revival than this one will be coming out of Dallas.”

Jacobs considers hosting the event at Christ for the Nations an integral part of tapping into a “major well of revival.” The ministry has reached out to 120 nations in the last 54 years through its Bible schools, churches and Christian materials.
Renée DeLoriea

Billy Graham

Regarding your very good article about Billy Graham (“A Faithful Witness” by Sandra Chambers, July), I must say that he has no mantle to pass on. Like D.L. Moody, C.H. Spurgeon, Billy Sunday and others, Billy Graham will stand as one of God’s unique chosen few.
Rev. Michael A. Albert
Damascus Road Ministries
Mount Wolf, Pennsylvania

I saw Billy Graham on Larry King Live when he said he was a Democrat and that he thought Hillary Clinton would make a good president. There are many high-profile Christians who vote Democrat. I’m sure they aren’t too dumb to realize when they’re voting for a person who supports abortion and same-sex marriage. Should Clinton be elected president, she will put a stop to the gospel message.
Betty Lemmon
Ellicott City, Maryland

Healing in the Delta

Thank you for the article “Healing in the Delta” (by Ernest Herndon, July). It was so heartening to read about the work that reformer Dolphus Weary is doing in the state of Mississippi. When I left there, I didn’t want to return because of the racist attitudes I encountered. (I’m white, but I saw many hurtful things while growing up there.) Churches are still segregated, but I hope that is changing because of Mission Mississippi and Weary’s work. Hats off to him!
Dianne Lang
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

More on catholics

I want to thank J. Lee Grady for his excellent column about the need for a fresh wave of the Spirit in Catholic and Protestant churches (“Do It Again, Lord,” June). I say: “Lord, turn all of our churches upside down.” We need God—no more business as usual but a radical hunger for the things of the Holy Spirit and the voice of the Lord in our midst.
Marietta Alexander
Everett, Washington

As a former Catholic baptized in the Spirit, I have been grieved by the slander of Catholic Christians. Even though I am now part of a Pentecostal church, I still have respect and affection for my “separated brethren.” I implore Christians who disagree with Catholic theology (I am among them) to embrace Catholics as fellow believers and allow the Spirit to renew their minds.
Marilyn Rej
Columbia, South Carolina

It’s true that some fundamentalists would deny there are any Christians in Catholicism. But Catholicism is more like the church at Sardis in Revelation 3:1-5; a church Christ described as having the reputation of being alive, though it actually was dead. Still, Jesus said it had “a few who have not soiled their garments and will walk with Me in white.” Be careful about judgments.
Janelle Olney
Lubbock, Texas

It was good to point out that Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict are traditionalists. Sometimes Protestants don’t like to hear much about the Catholic Church, but we are part of the body of Christ too.
Berta Medina
St. Johns, Michigan

If you can write an article about Pope John Paul II, will you do one about the Dalai Lama next? I am surprised that your editorial is warming up to Catholics.
Jeff Mills
Antigua, Guatemala

Your story about the pope gives the impression Charisma endorses the view that salvation is obtained by works. Catholic doctrines such as the theology of purgatory speak to the fact that Roman Catholicism does not reflect Christianity. In fact, it opposes it.
Bruce C. Bennett
Medford, New York

How can the Catholic Church make the front cover of a supposedly Christian magazine? Has anyone studied its teachings? Just because the name of Jesus is used by this group doesn’t make them holy.
Rev. Robert Johnson
Word of Faith Church
Sumter, South Carolina

I’m sure it wasn’t your intention to imply that John Paul II was the Holy Spirit’s substitute, but calling him “Vicar of the Spirit” means exactly that. I’m happy he was godly, but long-standing aberrations still exist in the Catholic Church. They, and we, need cleaning by the real Holy Spirit.
Maurice L. Fuller
Calgary, Alberta

I was shocked to receive your glowing articles about Pope John Paul II. The pope was known for his energetic search for common ground not only with Protestants but also with other religious affiliations. This approach is not condoned in Scripture. His interest in the Holy Spirit should not negate the fact that “one God, many paths” isn’t what the Bible teaches.
Karen Johnson
Tehachapi, California

Mixed Signals

I love your editorials and look forward to reading them, but they confuse me. I am getting mixed signals. I read your editorials about the mess the charismatic preachers are making in the area of false prosperity—but then I see your magazine full of articles and pictures of preachers who are of the very school you are against in your editorials. Please explain.
Rev. Raffoul Najem
via e-mail

I am beginning to object to your taking advertising dollars from the very people who are preaching “another gospel.” We are straying from the message that Jesus preached. He taught self-denial, self-control and holiness.
Carmela Croteau
East Branch, New York

BOOKS

The Supernatural Life
By Cindy Jacobs, Regal, hardcover, 224 pages, $.

Cindy Jacobs wants believers to realize that they can experience the supernatural power of God. In her latest book, The Supernatural Life: Experience the Power of God in Your Everyday Life, Jacobs shares experiences and adventures she has had with the supernatural life.

Using a simple, informal approach, Jacobs teaches about speaking in tongues, healing and miracles, laying hands on the sick, testing the spirits (but, she warns, “Don’t go overboard and think there’s a demon behind every bush”), the gift of discernment, words of knowledge, and a phrase she coined, “prophetic evangelism,” or reaching others through a word of knowledge. This book is for those who have never experienced the supernatural life firsthand or those in the Pentecostal-charismatic movement who want to return to their first love, Christ.

The anecdotal style and examples from the lives of past charismatic leaders, such as Smith Wigglesworth and Aimee Semple McPherson, help demonstrate that the supernatural life is available to all believers.
Tracee N. Mason

Losers and Winners Saints and Sinners
By Greg Laurie, Warner Faith, hardcover, 336 pages, $.

In his latest book, the founder of Harvest Crusades weaves lessons from the lives of familiar biblical characters with modern-day vignettes to sound the call for Christians to remain faithful.

Subtitled How to Finish Strong in the Spiritual Race, the book shows how faithful men kept going after they stumbled. Such perseverance makes the difference between those who finish life well and dropouts who crash and burn.

In a world of relativism that is blunting the church’s impact, this book is a dynamic reminder that our actions matter. As Laurie notes, too many people excuse their participation in sinful activities by shrugging, “God will forgive me.”

With 22 chapters, this book is a bit long for a weekly study. But by combining multiple chapters on one character, it can be shortened for use in cell groups, home churches and Bible classes.
Ken Walker

CollegeBound
By Thomas A. Shaw, Moody Publishers,
softcover, 224 pages, $.

For more than 20 years, Thomas A. Shaw has been involved in Christian higher education as an administrator and as a parent. Now, as an author, he hopes to pass along an informed perspective to other parents.

In his book Collegebound: What Christian Parents Need to Know About Helping Their Kids Choose a College, Shaw covers topics such as determining whether college is right for your child, choosing a major and understanding the different types of schools. Perhaps the most important aspect Shaw discusses with parents is striking a balance between being either too controlling or too uninvolved in the choices. It is important to stay between these two extremes because kids need both their parents’ input and to be respected as young adults who take ownership for the direction of their lives.

This book is a helpful resource for parents and teens in finding the best environment not only for career preparation, but for the development of their faith walk as well.
Deborah L. Delk

God@Work, Vol. 2
By Rich Marshall with Ken Walker,
Destiny Image, softcover, 192 pages, $.

The world seeks evidence that Christians will bring practical solutions to problems they face. In his book God @ Work, Vol. 2, Rich Marshall details how “marketplace ministers,” business people who do the work of an evangelist, are that “evidence.”

Because God never stops seeking the lost, those He finds may not come from the aisles of a traditional church but might instead be reached in a bank lobby or on the call-in line of a late-night TV program. The author points out that God has found individuals who not only make profits but also become prophets in an increasingly global work place.

Marshall describes how these Monday-to-Friday ministers cannot afford to rely on anything other than solid foundational truths from the Bible in the fiercely competitive settings where they work. He documents some amazing signs and wonders that follow these servant leaders who pastor “congregants” on the job.
J. James Estrada

Biblical Principles for Releasing Financial Provision!
By Frank Damazio, Rich Brott; City Christian Publishing,
softcover, 439 pages, $.

“Fantastic” describes this huge resource produced by pastor Frank Damazio and leadership guru Rich Brott. In this day and age of rampant materialism and self-serving doctrines that present God the Father as some divine sugar daddy, Releasing Financial Provision is a welcome relief.

The book is divided into seven “keys” for opening the heavens and obtaining the favor of God in your personal and vocational life. Biblical principles about finances bolster each key, enabling the book to read like a daily devotional, with each principle including specific Scriptures and a short teaching on the subject that is always practical and often pleasantly insightful. In addition to the 98 or so principles expounded upon throughout the book, there are at least 100 pages of Scripture references on everything financial, as well as an excellent bibliography of printed and electronic financial resources.

This book is a must-have for anyone who is serious about understanding and applying a biblical approach to finances.
Eric Wilbanks

SHE TEEN

By Rebecca St. James, Tyndale House,
softcover, 208 pages, $.

Today’s teens face countless opportunities to make wrong choices, which seemingly are becoming the norm.

With her latest book, SHE Teen, music artist Rebecca St. James comes along as a big sister, mentor and friend to tell teen girls that they can be “safe, healthy and empowered” by allowing Christ to define their identity.

Packaged as a magazine, SHE Teen offers a fresh, culturally relevant tool for girls to acknowledge their own questions, fears and concerns. It also offers practical everyday advice on relationships and self-esteem. There’s even a recipe for “a fruit smoothie that will change your life”!

Although the style of this book might make you think it’s made for a quick, one-time read, the truth the book conveys is not sugar-coated. Mixed with the lighter segments are tough questions. One quiz helps girls analyze what their makeup communicates (harsh? lazy? seductive?). Throughout the magazine, readers are reminded by biblical truths of how beautiful and valuable they are to God.

Today’s teens respect those who speak the truth yet are vulnerable, and St. James fits that bill. As she shares her own struggles and triumphs, young women will be encourage to choose the freedom, protection and power God’s higher standard provides.
Leigh DeVore

MUSIC

Rock of Ages: Hymn & Faith
By Amy Grant, Word Entertainment.

Rock of Ages: Hymns & Faith is a follow-up to 2002’s Legacy: Hymns & Faith that showcased hymns that have had an influence in artist Amy Grant’s life. Certainly Grant has been the premier artist of Christian music for nearly three decades, having many awards and platinum records, so the idea of her returning to the hymns of her youth at this time in her career is understandable.

Produced by Grant’s husband, Vince Gill, and her longtime producer, Brown Bannister, Rock of Ages features some beautiful hymns, great studio production and lovely vocals, but it would be stronger if it were expressed by Grant with more intimacy. The hints of country, blues and Americana used in the production perhaps could have been stronger as well, which might have made the hymns come to life more.

The title track, “Rock of Ages,” is a duet with Gill, whose strong, passionate vocals are out of balance with Grant’s, which sound almost weary. The compilation “Jesus Loves Me/They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love/Helping Hand” weaves together a single thought, which helps the listener reflect on older and newer texts together.

Other highlights are “Abide With Me” and “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus”—which includes Grant’s sisters singing harmony and her father doing a speaking part—”I Surrender All” and “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee,” which has an upbeat and simplistic arrangement that allows the true nature of the hymn to emerge.

Although this disc could have delved further to find common ground with a younger audience, Rock of Ages: Hymns & Faith is soothing and uplifting.
Debbie Gibboney

Reflection of Something
By Todd Agnew, Ardent Records.

The latest CD from Todd Agnew is a guitar-driven and edgy mix of blues, rock, gospel and contemporary sound.

His flexibility is highlighted on such cuts as “New Name,” with its blues feel and sassy guitar sound and the slow, soft ballad “Blood on My Hands.”

Agnew tackles trials of faith such as battered self-esteem and doubts. His rugged sound reveals some of his musical influences, such as Led Zeppelin and Memphis blues. On Agnew’s second CD, his background as a worship leader comes through on songs such as “Unchanging One.”

Reflection of Something will satisfy the most devoted of Agnew’s fans and likely bring in new ones.

Tracee N. Mason

Rescue
By New Song, Integrity Music

Although NewSong is a veteran to the music industry, Rescue is the group’s first worship album and live recording. Yet, this award-winning band still displays the fresh sound listeners expect and enjoy.

Rescue’s 12 tracks combine several well-known worship songs such as “How Great Thou Art” and “You Are Holy” with new songs and a new version of a NewSong classic, “Arise My Love.”

“You Are Holy” is a fun, fast, call-and-response song while “Blessed Be Your Name” is soothing and mellow. The title cut is a modern, worshipful love song to Jesus that stands out as an anthem, and “I’ll Rise” is inspirational and romantic.

If NewSong’s 16th album is any indication, the band shows no signs of slowing down in delivering powerful music, and they have found a comfortable fit with their first worship CD.
Tracee N. Mason

Movies

Aimee Semple McPherson
By Richard Rossi Productions, $.

The new movie Aimee Semple McPherson (currently on DVD) is as provocative as it is touching and explores the human side of one of America’s towering spiritual icons.

Get past the shoestring production values by former minister turned producer Richard Rossi and you’ll find a sensitive script, ample acting and a story that portrays the Pentecostal woman, who, like the rest of us, lived in a skin of real flesh.

In Sister Aimee’s acutely dichotomous world, she founded the International
Church of the Foursquare Gospel and the first Christian radio station and used illustrated sermons. Thousands were healed at her crusades, and millions came to Christ through her ministry.

Sister Aimee, played by screen newcomer Mimi Michaels, was friend to the famous and a provider to the poor. Yet her ministry was rife with controversy. History records arguments with her mother, church-leader shake-ups, lawsuits, court appearances, a kidnapping by the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) and two divorces.

A study in contrasts, she is seen as a creative genius who was vulnerable, often melancholy and most of all lonely. “A lot of leaders anointed by God with spiritual gifts feel they have to hide their despair because they would be considered unfit for leadership,” Rossi says. “Healers, especially, pour out into everyone else and come to find out they are depleted.”

In a life that was as amazing as plagued, the movie is fairly accurate historically. Critically, the film is middle-of-the-road. The viewer must decide its merits.

The movie traces Sister Aimee’s early life as daughter of Canadian farmer James Kennedy, portrayed by Ron Howard’s father, Rance, and her shrewd, strong-willed mother, Minnie, played by Teres Byrne.

Her conversion, aided by traveling evangelist and future husband Robert Semple, and her husband’s death on the China mission field are treated with sensitivity. She returns, pregnant with daughter Roberta, and soon marries Harold McPherson, a kind man who does not fully understand her call to preach and leaves her evangelistic tent.

Yet the movie best explores Sister Aimee’s aching earthliness through her short third marriage to former Angelus Temple singer David Hutton, her strange 39-day disappearance and her death by an accidental overdose of barbiturates.

On May 18, 1926, three years after she opened Angelus Temple in Los Angeles, Sister Aimee walked into the surf at nearby Ocean Park for a swim and disappeared. Many thought she had drowned. But 39 days later she walked in from the desert near Douglas, Arizona.

Newspaper writers and the local district attorney, Asa Keyes, alleged she had spent at least some of that missing time in a cottage with her married audio-engineer Kenneth Ormiston. Sister Aimee insisted she was kidnapped by the KKK. Hundreds of journalists and two courts of law spent five years and more than a half-million dollars, but never proved otherwise.

In 1931, she married singer David Hutton, who may have been slightly less of a scoundrel than the movie indicates. Her second divorce in 1934 was especially painful, and the movie touches on her well-documented bouts with depression. It ends in 1944 with her unusual death from an overdose of barbiturates.

Because the movie explores both sides of her disappearance and her bipolarlike personality, controversy will likely hound it as it did her ministry. Yet, the movie as well as Sister Aimee’s life adds a dynamic dimension when draped with frail flesh.

“In a sense, we’re all wounded soldiers,” Rossi says. “She was a powerful conduit for the Holy Spirit, yet she struggled. It’s ironic that a lot of churches today would reject her because she was divorced twice. But hers is a story of grace, and it’s grace that gives all us sinners hope.”

After she won the legal battle regarding her disappearance in the movie, her father tells her, “But whether you’ve done something wrong or … something right [Christ] is there for forgiveness.”

And that is the proper way to view Sister Aimee’s life and this movie. If you can believe that Christian legends still wear skin that longs to be touched, this movie is a must-see. Rossi says he believes depicting her humanness will attract non-Christian viewers. And he hopes church leaders, especially those in her denomination, will view the movie with objectivity.

The film will be in select theaters this fall. The DVD is now available. For a copy send a donation of $ or more to Eternal Grace, 5030 Whitsett Ave., #1, Valley Village, CA 91607. Movie-related news can be found at .
E.C. Donnally

CHRISTIAN GROUP ENDS DISNEY BOYCOTT

The American Family Association (AFA) has ended its nine-year boycott of the Walt Disney Co., citing new challenges in the culture wars and some positive signs of change at Disney, including the resignation of CEO Michael Eisner. The Tupelo, group was instrumental in initiating the boycott in 1996 to protest Disney’s extension of benefits to domestic partners of homosexual employees, promotion of gay-related events at its theme parks, and violent and sex-filled content of movies made by its Miramax subsidiary. In June, the Southern Baptist Convention announced that it also is ending its boycott of Disney. Earlier this year, representatives from Focus on the Family and other Christian groups that had participated in the boycott agreed to meet with Disney to discuss its production of C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, set to release in December. The Orlando Sentinel reported that Disney has launched a 10-month marketing campaign to get Christian support for the film.

8-YEAR-OLD’S CHRISTIAN SONG BANNED AT TALENT SHOW

A federal judge declined to overturn a New Jersey school’s ban on a
second-grader singing “Awesome God” at a talent show, but said he
would consider the case later. On May 20, Stanley Chesler declined an emergency request to compel Frenchtown Elementary School to let Olivia Turton sing the pop song by the late Rich Mullins at Frenchtown Idol, which was held that night, the Associated Press (AP) reported. School officials claimed that such a performance would be inappropriate at a school event. A lawsuit filed May 27 on behalf of the 8-year-old claimed the school violated her constitutional rights. The suit, brought with the support of the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), a Christian legal advocacy group based in Scottsdale, Ariz., argued that the constitutional separation of church and state does not restrict an individual’s religious speech.

CHRISTIAN ATTORNEYS APPLAUD SUPREME COURT DECISION

Religious liberty attorneys are applauding a June 1 Supreme Court decision that upheld the constitutionality of a federal law requiring prisons to accommodate inmates’ religious beliefs, AgapePress reported. Cutter v. Wilkinson involved two Ohio prison inmates-a witch and a Satanist- who claimed they were improperly denied access to religious literature and other ceremonial religious items. The high court overturned a lower court ruling that a 2000 law called the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act prohibited the access because it would violate the separation of church and state, the news service said. Attorney Brian Fahling of the American Family Association Center for Law & Policy said the decision will benefit Christians, “but the oddity about this, again, is the fact that we have religious freedom being protected through the agency of a Satanist and a witch.” Brad Dacus of the Pacific Justice Institute
called the decision “an outstanding victory for prison ministries and
people of faith,” and he expected it to enhance his group’s work.

Syvelle Phillips has spent the last 30 years working to make the Scriptures available in every language
In an effort to make the gospel accessible to the more than 500 million people who don’t have a Bible in their mother tongue, a former Assemblies of God pastor has taken up the task of translating the Scriptures into little-known languages spoken in remote regions around the world.

During the early 1970s, while he was pastoring an Assemblies of God church in
Southern California, Syvelle Phillips says he felt God calling him to translate the
Bible. Through relationships with church members who worked for Wycliff e Bible
Translators, Phillips learned the importance of their unique ministry.

“I had never been aware of the need for Bible translation,” Phillips said. “I thought
the entire world had the King James Bible, and it was good enough for everyone.”

After much prayer and research, Phillips founded Evangel Bible Translators, which is based in Rockwall, Texas. Since 1976, he and his team have devoted millions
of hours to studying and recording the nearly 7,000 languages spoken worldwide. “When I said goodbye to my church, I had no missionaries and no money,” Phillips said, “but I attacked the project with great zeal, and there was tremendous
response.”

More than 30 translators and their families, located primarily in Africa and India, currently direct Evangel projects. Most work in their native countries. They receive both biblical and linguistic training before journeying to the mission field, and they are equipped with laptop computers to aid in their translation work.

“One of our first translators was a Quechua Indian who took up a project Wycliff e had abandoned and returned to his native people,” Phillips said. “After we trained him, he completed an entire Bible before he was killed by guerillas in Peru.”

Evangel also encourages missionaries to plant local churches and lead the
congregations in worship and Bible study. “I’m highly committed to the church,”
he said. “I tell our people when Sunday comes to get their guitars, go sing and tell
someone about Jesus. It will be therapy for your souls.”

Evangel trained 15 translators last year and expects another 30 to complete their
preparation this year. Although the ministry is grateful for the increased interest,
the growing demand also requires more financial resources. To fund these needs,
the 76-year-old Phillips preaches more than 200 times annually in local churches
and at conferences.

“God called me from the start to challenge the charismatic, Full Gospel churches
into involvement with Bible translation,” he said. “He began us at a point we
could comprehend and moved us into an area we had never known. We’ve seen
God raise up our mother-tongue speakers and connect us with them.”
JOHN HILLMAN IN ROCKWALL, TEXAS

Through their Oasis of Hollywood outreach, Ron and Judy Radachy are sharing the love of Jesus with needy families
Nestled in Hollywood’s inner city, a Christian outreach and drop-in center is shining a different kind of light in a city filled with stars.

Oasis of Hollywood, founded in its current location by pastors Ron and Judy Radachy in 1993, is located a half dozen blocks away from the famous Walk of Fame sidewalk and the Kodak Theater, site of the Academy Awards and the
crowning episodes of American Idol.

But within another 10 minutes’ walk is Santa Monica and Highland, a haven for
male, female or transsexual prostitutes of almost any age and drugs of all kinds. Two blocks farther is Panpipes Magickal Marketplace, a supermarket for occult shoppers and spiritual home to local Satanists.

“This is a very oppressive area,” Ron Radachy said. “It’s like someone handed
you a 10-pound weight to carry around and you carry it easily for a while, but
then it starts to wear you down. There’s obviously a spiritual influence on the
kids here.”

Judy Radachy recounts the details of their ministry in her book, Walk of Faith on the Walk of Fame. Included in its short chapters are accounts of their Jesus Night
Patrol, a fistfight at the center’s front door and a 9-year-old who overdosed on drugs during a suicide attempt.

But the most poignant moment in the book-and perhaps in Judy Radachy’s life came in 1982. Three years after she and husband Charles McPheeters arrived
in Hollywood, he suddenly died, leaving her with two young children and a leaderless ministry. A talented speaker and musician, McPheeters had found Christ after a nearly fatal drug overdose and became one of the best-known ministers and anti-drug advocates of the 1970s’ Jesus Revolution.

After Charles’ death, Judy Radachy’s family wanted her to move home to Texas.
“Charles was the source of all my financial support, and I just couldn’t see how I could go on,” she said. “I opened my Bible and out popped Joshua 1: ‘Moses my servant is dead. Now arise and take his place.'”

She started another nearby drop in center for teens and continued their House of Magdalene, a residential facility for local street prostitutes. During a midnight
outreach to nearby Pasadena Rose Parade revelers four years later, she met the
Rev. Ron Radachy. Both now licensed Foursquare ministers, the two married in
1986 and six years later made an offer on their current facility, $300,000 below an
already reduced price.

In an area where few outreach ministries survive, Oasis has flourished. Reaching
gangbangers, prostitutes, homeless alcoholics, single moms and “good” kids
with abusive parents, the center offers after-school programs, tutoring, emergency
food and shelter for families, and a Sunday evening youth service.

Yet the Radachys believe their most vital program is the Urban School of
Evangelism, a one-week mission trip for youth and college-age groups from across
the nation. They stay in the center and minister in Hollywood streets, on skid row and on the Santa Monica beach.

“Both of our hearts are not just in sitting in a pew in a blessing club,” Judy
Radachy said. “But a world where God is real and people see it because we meet
them where they are.”
ED DONNALLY IN HOLLYWOOD

Organizers believe God is positioning the church for’ a new Europe’
by restoring the continent’s’ apostolic and prophetic foundations’
A Channel Islander-whose homeland was the only part of the British Isles to be occupied by Nazi forces-found himself praying with a German. He conferred a “blessing” on a nation that his own people had despised as a wartime enemy.

That was just one of the moving scenes at Target Europe-a recent event that drew
nearly 400 people from 20 nations to the strategic naval port of Portsmouth, England.
“The last thing I expected was to be praying with a German church leader,” said attendee Ray Tostevin, who was born on Guernsey.

Now an idyllic island retreat, Guernsey once was part of Hitler’s frontier. Back in the 1940s, swastikas were draped from civic buildings, Jewish businesses had to
display a yellow notice and listening to the BBC on a clandestine radio set was
punishable by imprisonment.

“My father and grandparents lived through fi ve years of that,” Tostevin explained.
“My father might be forgiven for feeling a sense of harshness toward the German people. Far from it.

“It’s a real irony that, 60 years on, my father recently found himself in a German
hospital being operated on for a serious spinal condition by a German surgeon.
The operation was a complete success.”

Tostevin, who runs an independent TV company called GRACE Productions, said he participated in the event because he wanted to express his thanks for the way German people cared for his father. He ended up praying with Michael Schiffman, a leading German pastor.

“I didn’t realize who this guy was only that his lapel badge said he was from
Germany,” Tostevin said. “I prayed that God would bless the German people, thanking Michael, as their representative, for the kindness they’d shown toward my dad.”

Tostevin’s personal story summed up the Target Europe event-which was officially
opened by the Lord Mayor of Portsmouth Jason Fazakerley. Uniting former enemies and praying blessings on one another’s nations was high on the agenda at this conference. “This event is for those following the Spirit,” said speaker and writer Roger Mitchell, who was one of the key facilitators for Target Europe, “as He positions the church for a new Europe.”

Delegates packed out a meeting suite overlooking the English Channel, a narrow
stretch of water that separates Great Britain from the rest of Europe. But people
were also crossing more symbolic gulfs as they prayed and worshiped together.
The event was jointly hosted by a French mission group called Cibler L’Europe, which is translated Target Europe, and an English network dubbed Building Together. The aim was to play their part in “restoring the apostolic and
prophetic foundations of our continent.”

That included praying for reconciliation between Europe and Africa and sending a representative group to attend the Make Poverty History protest event that happened to be under way at the same time in central London.

Among the intercessors at Portsmouth were Dutch intercessory leader Pieter Bos, national coordinator for Holland’s City Prayer Movements; and Martin Scott, author of Gaining Ground, which discusses prophetic intercession. “We lift up the cross this day into the very heavens above,” Scott cried out, “and we thank You that the cross speaks of justice. It speaks for an end-and it speaks for a new beginning.”

Mitchell described the effort as “a kind of rallying cry-not an organization.” The
initiative had resulted from various groups and networks working together. “I see
some incredibly exciting new expressions of the body of Christ happening across
Europe, with the help of the faith of Africa, South America and Asia,” he said. “I see seeds that make me incredibly hopeful.” In particular, he believes the spiritual
landscape of France has been changing, an observation other Christian leaders have been making recently.

“There is a lot of encouragement in France now, but we sense that the Lord is making a shift,” said French Christian leader Samuel Rhein, another Target Europe
facilitator. “There’s a lot of disappointment at the same time because it’s not the breakthrough that we were waiting for. But still we see a lot of changes.”

Rhein cited one example as the fact that he had brought 70 French people to the conference. “That’s a major thing,” he said with a smile. “I thought I was the only Frenchman in love with England.”

CLIVE PRICE IN PORTSMOUTH, ENGLAND

CHARLES COLSON ‘SHOCKED ‘ BY DEEP THROAT REVELATION

Prison Fellowship founder Charles Colson said he was “shocked” to
discover that W. Mark Felt, 91, former deputy director of the FBI, was the notorious informant who helped expose the Watergate scandal. In a statement on his ministry’s Web site, the former senior Nixon adviser said he knew Felt well and considered him trustworthy. “No matter how Felt may justify his actions, it is not honorable to leak
classified information to the press,” Colson said of the man who became known as Deep Throat. Ironically, the crime that led to Colson’s seven-month imprisonment was leaking a secret FBI report to the media. He believes going to prison was good for him, and he said he realizes that the end doesn’t justify the means. That’s why he says Felt is no hero. “I am disappointed in Mark for choosing the media as the way to expose the corruption,” Colson said. “If he felt that the wrongs of the Nixon administration had to be remedied, he should have walked into the FBI director’s office and told him so, and if necessary walked in to the president.”

JUDGE OFFERS OFFENDERS ‘WORSHIP
SERVICES’ OPTION INSTEAD OF JAIL

A Kentucky judge has been offering some drug and alcohol off enders the option of going to God’s house instead of going to the “Big House” or rehab. District Judge Michael Caperton, 50, a devout Christian, believes church attendance could help some of those convicted find spiritual guidance, the Associated Press reported. But
critics say the practice violates the separation of church and state. “The goal is to help people and their families,” said Caperton, who requires defendants who choose the church option to get a signed affi davit from a pastor or spiritual leader after attending 10 services. “I don’t think there’s a churchstate issue because it’s not mandatory and I say worship services instead of church.” A district judge since 1994, Caperton has offered the option about 50 times to repeat drug and alcohol off enders in Laurel and Knox counties since early spring.

PASTORS MEET WITH WHITE HOUSE TO DISCUSS AFRICA INITIATIVE

More than two dozen African-American ministers met with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and senior White House offi cials in May to discuss how the faith-based initiative could be expanded to fight AIDS in Africa and care for orphaned children, the Los Angeles Times reported. Attendees at the private meeting included Bishop T.D. Jakes, Bishop Eddie Long, Bishop Charles Blake, the Rev. Eugene Rivers, the Rev. Frank Reid and pastor Donnie McClurkin, as well as civil rights veteran Andrew Young and the Rev. William Shaw, president of the National Baptist Convention. Observers say the meeting was an attempt to woo African-American voters to the Republican Party by expanding black church participation in the faith-based initiative. The meeting was held the same day as a Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) summit with 200 black clergy. Some saw the timing as an attempt to upstage the CBC’s eff ort to
strengthen ties between Democrats and religious leaders. Several of the delegates at the Rice meeting also attended the CBC event.

PASTOR PLANS TO RETURN TO PULPIT AFTER
REHAB.

An Arlington, Texas, pastor is expected to return to the pulpit of his church after his June release from a second drug-treatment facility.
Charged in March with drug possession and sexually assaulting three church members, Bishop Terry Hornbuckle was reinstated as pastor
of Agape Christian Fellowship in April after a six-week suspension, the Fort Worth Star Telegram reported. After being rearrested in May for failing to pass a drug test, Hornbuckle checked himself into a drug-treatment facility May 16. On June 1 he checked himself into another “after care” center, his attorney, Mike Heiskell, told the newspaper. Hornbuckle maintains his innocence and says he is a victim of extortion. His wife, Renee, has been leading the church since his arrest and suspension.

MINNESOTA CHURCH HIRES TRANS-GENDER MINISTER

A Minneapolis church has hired a minister who had surgery to change
sexes from a woman to a man, the Associated Press (AP) reported. The Rev. Malcolm Himschoot, 27, is to serve as an outreach minister
at 1,800-member Plymouth Congregational Church. Himschoot, who is married to a woman, is the subject of a documentary titled Call Me
Malcolm, which was produced by the United Church of Christ, the denomination that ordained Himschoot, the AP said.

RONALD WINANS DIES

Gospel recording artist Ronald Winans died June 17 of heart complications. He was 48. The second oldest of 10 siblings, Winans was part of the five-time Grammy winning quartet The Winans and a member of a famed musical family. He had suffered a massive heart attack in 1997, but experienced a miraculous recovery. In recent weeks, he had been admitted to a Detroit hospital for observation because he was retaining an unusual amount of fluid, the family said. In addition to recording with his brothers, Winans released solo projects, the most recent of which, Ron Winans Family & Friends V: A Celebration, came out in January. A musical tribute was to be held June 23 at Perfecting Church in Detroit. Funeral services were to be held June 24 at Straight Gate Church, also in Detroit.