“Brethren, our preaching will bear its legitimate fruits. If immorality prevails in the land, the fault is ours in a great degree. If there is a decay of conscience, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the public press lacks moral discrimination, the pulpit is responsible for it.

“If the church is degenerate and worldly, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the world loses its interest in religion, the pulpit is responsible for it. If Satan rules in our halls of legislation, the pulpit is responsible for it. If our politics become so corrupt that the very foundations of our government are ready to fall away, the pulpit is responsible for it.”

Those were the words of Charles G. Finney, a leader in America’s Second Great Awakening, recorded on Dec. 4, 1843. Those words were true then but are especially prophetic for our generation. Immorality is prevailing in the land. There is a decay of conscience. The media lacks moral discrimination. The church is degenerate and worldly. The world has lost its interest in religion. Satan rules in our halls of legislation. Politics are corrupt, and the very foundations of our government are ready to fall away.

History Repeats Itself

Yes, those words are true today, they were true 171 years ago—and they were true thousands of years before that in Isaiah’s day. Indeed, history continues to repeat itself as spiritual leaders are struck blind in their disobedience to God’s Word. Many are hearers—and preachers—of the Word but have deceived themselves by not walking in truth (see James 1:22).

The spirit of the world has invaded our church—but some pastors embrace carnal Christianity and are unwilling to confront sin for fear of losing tithes to an ear-tickling church. Their conscience is seared with a hot iron (see 1 Tim. 4:1) so they can’t see how their compromise is affecting the flock—leading them down a broad path that leads to destruction (see Matt. 7:13). I sometimes wonder if God has given some pastors and prophets over to a reprobate mind (see Rom. 1:28)—or at least left them in their blindness and slumber. Isaiah put it this way:

“Pause and wonder! Blind yourselves and be blind! They are drunk, but not with wine; They stagger, but not with intoxicating drink. For the Lord has poured out on you the spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes, namely, the prophets; and He has covered your heads, namely, the seers” (Isa. 29:9-10).

Although many in prophetic ministry are sounding the alarm, blowing the trumpet and stirring souls to wake up and understand the signs of the times, many in pulpits are blind watchman who are just out for greedy gain. Isaiah prophesied to the irresponsible leaders in his day:

“All you beasts of the field, come to devour, all you beasts in the forest. His watchmen are blind, they are all ignorant; they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; Sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yes, they are greedy dogs which never have enough. And they are shepherds who cannot understand; They all look to their own way, every one for his own gain, from his own territory” (Isa. 56:9-11).

Will History Repeat Itself Again?

Saints, immorality is prevailing in the land. There is a decay of conscience. The media lacks moral discrimination. The church is degenerate and worldly. The world has lost its interest in religion. Satan rules in our halls of legislation. Politics are corrupt—and the very foundations of our government are ready to fall away.

But here’s the good news. History repeats itself. Just before the first two Great Awakenings, people thought the church was done for. Many thought there was no hope. But with God there is always hope. God is a God of hope (Rom. 15:13). I am hoping—I am believing—for another Great Awakening in this land. I am hoping—I am believing—that the pastors and prophets will repent from their ear-tickling messages. I am hoping—I am believing—that the remnant will rise up in intercession for this land so that God will intervene.

I’ve been called a false prophet for hoping and believing. So be it. If we cannot hope for another Great Awakening, then we may as well give up. We have Christ in us, the hope of glory (see Col. 1:27). Church, it’s time for us to wake up as individuals and begin hoping and praying again despite the darkness we see all around us. It’s time to walk by faith and not by sight (see 2 Cor. 5:7). It’s time for us to release believing prayers, because our intercession is what can turn this around.

“Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy, to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine” (Psalm 33:18-19). Amen.

 Jennifer LeClaire is news editor at Charisma. She is also director of IHOP Fort Lauderdale and author of several books, including The Making of a Prophet and The Spiritual Warrior’s Guide to Defeating Jezebel. You can email Jennifer at @ or visit her website here. You can also join Jennifer on Facebook or follow her on Twitter.

Like David, have you ever had your reputation tarnished, been betrayed by others or gotten innocently entangled in a mess? If not, keep living—it will happen! I can attest, though, that if you faithfully stand with God in prayer, when the dust settles, you will be standing in your destiny. The principles I learned in this story helped me understand how to apply these concepts in my own life. They also helped me understand the dynamics of how God brought me out when I was entangled in a mess, much like David.

Many years ago, I was in a business situation where I was being forced to pay a great sum of money that I did not owe. A business relationship was destroyed when some twisted advice poisoned the minds of this company’s executives concerning me. Influenced by their own “Ahithophels,” this company was pressuring me with legal threats. Because of their influence, my reputation was tarnished with this company, and to make matters worse, they knew I did not owe the money but that I could not prove otherwise. These “advisors” had enormous favor and clout, and suddenly I did not. Legally, I was in a serious bind. I could not prove I did not owe the money due to poor record keeping, the details of which would take too long to explain. Suffice it to say, I was caught up in a web of deception. It was a situation where I had all the responsibility and no authority, or so it seemed.

Depressed and fighting back the suicidal thoughts and scenarios the enemy was throwing at me, I forced myself into a midweek revival service at a local church. Discouraged and depressed beyond description, I sat down, feeling all alone, fighting to last through praise and worship. But when the speaker came forward to speak, something unusual happened.

The evangelist walked to the pulpit, and before he spoke, he peered over the crowd of some fifteen hundred people and made eye contact with me in the middle of the audience. He then leaped forward from the platform and began walking briskly toward me without breaking eye contact. This was long before I did public ministry, and we did not know each other. I wondered, Is he coming toward me? About that time, a woman sitting in front of me stood up and threw up her hands, thinking he was coming to pray for her. He politely moved her out of the way, however, and said, “I’m sorry, but not you, ma’am. You, sir, step out in the aisle.” He then laid hands on me and prayed.

I felt Christ’s love coursing through me in a powerful way. With tears of joy streaming down my face, I asked the Lord why He had the evangelist single me out of the crowd. I will never forget His response. He said, William, I will part a Red Sea to make a way for you, and I will part a crowd of people to let you know how much I love you. That night my nightmare of depression, suicide and despair was broken. The moment I heard this, I knew that God was making a way out of no way for me. I have never felt that sense of hopelessness or struggled with suicide again.

With the newfound faith and assurance God had given me regarding this matter, I found that I did have authority over this situation—in prayer! I realized my battle was not against a large company but against the powers of darkness, and these people were pawns in a spiritual battle. Under the influence of God’s loving assurance that He was with me, God began to show me key prayer strategies and how to partner with Him and take authority over this unjust circumstance. This was nothing that happened overnight; I had to stand in prayer for months while making myself vulnerable to intense scrutiny. But what did God do?

Eventually the company was scrutinized, investigated, audited and exposed for corruption. They later went out of business, and my so-called debt was canceled. God made a way out of no way for me. Did I pray for this company to shut down? No. But because God showed me key strategies for praying into this situation, what was bound in heaven eventually was bound on earth. The influence of the enemy was cut off, and when all the dust settled, I was still standing in the middle of God’s will for my life.

Is it not awesome to know that popularity and the fickle opinions of people do not matter? God is the author of your destiny, and He will give you, as He did David, the special insight into temporary circumstances to know how to pray. He will show you what is going on in the unseen realm if you are willing to draw near to Him as David did. This applies not only to individuals but also to nations. In the end, newspaper headlines only track temporary fads. The real question is whether or not the Church will draw close enough to God in prayer to rise to her rightful place of influence on the earth.

Just as with King David, God has a plan for our personal and national destinies that will prevail through us if we will stand the trial of faithful prayer. Isn’t it a great encouragement to know that your heart and destiny are in God’s grip? He will shape the destiny of loved ones, families, cities and even nations through your intimacy with Him in prayer.

William L. Ford III, director of the Marketplace Leadership major at Christ For The Nations Institute, also speaks on intercession, unity and revival. He is coauthor, with Dutch Sheets, of Created for Influence, from which this article is adapted, and History Makers.

Watch Assemblies of God General Superintendent George O. Wood offers a personal take on what the AG has accomplished and what this year’s AG Centennial celebration is all about.

Pat Schatzline says that when you get your destiny in sync with God, it blesses your whole family. Then it changes the world around you.

See what he had to say on Sid Roth’s It’s Supernatural, and find out how to change your world.

Lee Grady is a real champion for women in ministry—and in women in ministry leadership. So when I saw his column “7 ‘Reasons’ We Don’t Empower Women Leaders,” I was more than a little interested in reading what he had to say.

Grady wrote his column against the backdrop of the Church of England overturning centuries of tradition by voting to allow women as priests and bishops. That’s the highest office in the age-old church. While many celebrated the move, Grady notes, others rose up with strong words against it despite the fact that Queen Elizabeth II is the ultimate leader in Britain.

Grady may have put it mildly when he said women leadership is a “hot-potato” issue in the church. Some Protestant denominations don’t believe women should serve in any leadership capacity, much less stand in the pulpit. Pentecostals and charismatics, by contrast, have seen the likes of Aimee Semple McPherson, Kathryn Khulman, Marilyn Hickey, Gloria Copeland, Joyce Meyer and many others lift their voices for the cause of Christ—with warm welcomes from men and women alike.

You’ve got to read Grady’s seven “reasons” why we don’t empower women leaders, because it’s chock-full of important insights for today’s church—and world. But I want to zero in his final, and perhaps most shocking, point: Some Christians hate women.

“It’s sad but true. Misogyny is alive and well, and sometimes it is even preached from pulpits. In one prominent evangelical church in a Central American country, the pastor often jokes about women and seems to trivialize adultery. It’s no wonder domestic violence thrives in that country,” Grady writes.

“Until some brave men have the guts to challenge the sexism of the good ol’ boy network, abuse will remain a problem among Christians. (I am not saying that there aren’t women who hate men, or that men are never abused—but statistics show the majority of abuse cases involve women victims.)”

Indeed, but do some Christian men really hate women? Hate, after all, is a strong word. Is it appropriate in this context? Yes, I believe it is. Let’s consider Kate Kelly, a lifelong Mormon who was excommunicated on apostasy charges for challenging the status quo of women in the church, and Meriam Ibrahim, who was sentenced to death for apostasy and refused to recant her faith in Christ.

You might expect this misogyny from Mormon men or Muslim men, but from Christian men? Yes, from Christian men—or at least some who claim to be Christians. In an article I wrote last year called “Why Traditional Religion Is Threatened by Women in Ministry” I got all sorts of nasty responses. One commenter called “A Man,” said “I do think it’s dangerous to have women in powerful positions, just from a practical standpoint, because women are more emotional, subject to fashions… When you have a standard policy of women in leadership, you end up with women bending the rules because of what they feel.” Another commenter, who refused to identify himself, wrote, “A female minister’s husband was having an affair. Yes, he was wrong, but I suppose her calling was so great it didn’t discern her husbands needs.”

As I wrote my Watchman on the Wall column “Yes, Christians Spew the Most ‘Hateful Internet Speech,” I’ve received attacks from supposedly righteous men about the way I look and more than one has cursed me, insisting God was going to slam the gates of heaven in my face in the name of a “gentle rebuke.”

Hate is a strong word? Is it appropriate in this context? Yes, I believe it is. I’ve displayed the kinder comments I’ve received from misogynous men. I’m not a feminist, but I’ve certainly felt the hate from Christian men—and from spiritual forces—in trying to do what God has called me to do. This is an ancient issue, and it boils down to religion. Religion is a murdering spirit that respects neither male nor female, and it comes directly from Satan, who is probably still mad because an uncompromising woman birthed the Messiah.

Jennifer LeClaire is news editor at Charisma. She is also director of IHOP Fort Lauderdale and author of several books, including The Making of a Prophet and The Spiritual Warrior’s Guide to Defeating Jezebel. You can email Jennifer at @ or visit her website here. You can also join Jennifer on Facebook or follow her on Twitter.

The following is a complete transcript of the eulogies delivered for Bible scholar Dr. Stanley Horton, who recently passed away at the age of 98. The first is from Horton’s daughter, Faith Horton Stilts. The second is from his biographer, Lois Olena.

From Faith Horton Stilts

Where to begin the story of a man like Stanley Monroe Horton? It is hard because there is so much that could be shared. Not because he was a complicated man but because he had such a full life during his 98 years here on earth.

Dr. Horton was born the child and grandchild of Pentecostal preachers. His mom was his teacher before he went to public school, so in a very real way he was an early homeschooler before anyone ever heard of the word.

He grew up immersed in a life filled with faith, prayer, worship, and bible reading. He could tell you so many stories of people in his family who were healed by God, from broken arms to healing of paralysis to being saved from death’s door. The miraculous happened often.

He was also a very real kid. There is the cave that he and his brothers dug in their backyard where they often played and kept his favorite books and a candle for a boy who loved to read. He also loved to roller skate and would often skate all the way to school. He tried to play baseball with the other kids but usually missed the ball. He said that when he finally got glasses in high school he was amazed that he could see the ball coming as he stood at bat. Before the glasses, he thought everyone listened for the sound of the ball coming to them and tried to hit it according to the sound.

His family was very poor and his mother would often serve soup for dinner. Stanley complained about it and his mother added something to make it thicker and called it “stew.” That completely satisfied him. For his birthday he didn’t want cake. His mom would always make him rhubarb pie. His dad’s favorite pie was apple and as an adult Stanley’s favorite evolved to be the same with a twist—apple pie with cheddar cheese melted on it.

His grandmother live nearby. She was the one with the photographic memory who had spoken in tongues back in the 1880s but didn’t know what it was. One of his favorite memories was walking to her house every afternoon because she had a pint of ice cream daily and would share. She said she needed the daily ice cream to stave off the effects of sunstroke that she experienced years before. It was a good excuse for ice cream.

He finished high school earlier than most. He was 16, and his mom wanted him to stay closer to home so he enrolled at the local city college. At 18 he went away to Berkeley but instead of college being a rowdy time of experimenting with different things, Stanley continued to explore his faith and grow in grace as he studied chemistry, making A’s.

He also worked to pay for his housing. A friend who was studying for the ministry taught him how to drive a car. He said his mom was very surprised when he came home from school and could do that.

After college he began a career at a state agricultural chemistry lab. He would often go to youth street meetings and even though he was a shy young man, would share his testimony when he felt led by the Holy Spirit. It was during this time that he had a definite call to the ministry, not to preach but to teach and prepare others for ministry.

He traveled across the country by train, taking the long route where he saw the south for the first time as the train slowly wove its way across the US and up the east coast to Boston. Why Boston? Well God led him there to further his biblical education but even more importantly to find the love of his life, Evelyn. He met her at church as he walked thru the Sunday school class she was teaching to get to his. On their first date, she often said that, after fixing her hair and wearing her nicest dress, his only comment was, “Nice shoes.” I did mention he was rather shy, didn’t I?

He was a great storyteller and his sons Stan and Ed remember he used to make up stories about Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck and do all the voices. He would always weave a life truth into the end of the story. When Faith came along, those stories changed to The Three Bears and Cinderella as he rocked her to sleep each night.

The three children all remember their dad had a great sense of humor and enjoyed good clean jokes. His favorite joke that he told at family gatherings and with friends was about Little Icky. He told this with a full Yiddish accent that I can’t imitate well so keep that in mind as I share it with you.

One day Little Icky’s father, who owned a little shop, told him that he was old enough to come and learn the business. He told Little Icky to stand behind a screen and watch and learn while he dealt with the first customer. A lady came to the door and Little Icky’s father rushed up to her and said, “Good morning good morning, lovely lady! And what can I do to help you on this beautiful morning?”

The lady replied: “Well, I was wanting to buy some silk…”

Little Icky’s father interrupts her and says, “Oh you are the most fortunate lady in the world. We just got a big shipment of the best silk in the whole world, and this morning I got a telegram saying that all the silkworms in China died.” The lady bought all the silk he had in stock and left a very happy woman.

When she was gone, Little Icky’s father went to him and said, “Did you watch and learn what to do?”

Little Icky replied: “Oh yes, Father! I can do this!” So Little Icky’s father went behind the screen and Little Icky came out to wait for the next customer. Another lady came in after a few minutes. Little Icky raced up to her and said, “Good Morning Good Morning lovely lady! What can I do for you on this beautiful day?”

The lady replied: “Well, I’ve been wanting to find this certain kind of tape …”

Little Icky interrupted her and said,”You are the most fortunate lady in the world! We just got a huge shipment of just the kind of tape you are looking for and this morning we got a telegram saying that all the tapeworms had died.”

Dr. Horton’s daughter Faith has an early memory of her mom and brothers going to a meeting at the elementary school, and so she was alone with her dad. It was Friday night and that meant chapel at CBC. Rather than skip the meeting, he bagged up some chocolate chip cookies for her and took her. They sat happily in the balcony during the service. He worshiped and listened to the sermon and kept her happy. She was probably 3 at the time.

You can read about all of Dr. Horton’s degrees and honors online. One that hasn’t been mentioned, though, is that he was the spiritual adviser for the PTA when his daughter was in elementary school. He would prepare a short talk and share it at every monthly meeting. I wish we had recordings of those talks!

If any of his kids had a question about Chemistry or Math, he was always there to help.

He was good to talk about anything they had questions about. Faith remembers him listening to lots of stories about the travails of junior high. His first response was usually,

“I used to feel just like that!” He was a good listener. He treated his students the same way, always there even staying late after a class to explain something.

Dr. Horton’s form of social conscience was all about saving the unborn and helping others. He walked to raise money for the Pregnancy Care Center here in Springfield as long as he was able. He came to give his support by sitting on the platform after that.

He also gave regularly to Victory Mission and one year helped serve the Thanksgiving meal with Faith, Brent, and Zachary.

Dr. Horton was very proud of his son Edward and his military service. Edward served in Desert Storm and in the Army Reserve for 20 years.

When it came down to the real Dr. Horton, he loved God, and cared about people.

From playing on the floor with his kids and grandkids to helping with math problems, counseling and loving a child who was acting out because her parents had deserted her to play Mexican Train. All these things are Stanley Monroe Horton.

There is a scripture that describes Dr. Horton well: Micah 6:8 : He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. ” And that is what he did.

Lois Olena, Stanley Horton’s Biographer

Note: Olena recounts Horton’s bridge-building across the racial divides. Central Bible College did not allow African-American students, but Horton helped to change that policy and personally mentored and encouraged African-American students, including Spencer Jones, Frank Davis, and Lemuel Thuston (now a prominent COGIC bishop).

In 1947, my father was one of dozens of students at Metropolitan Bible Institute in Paterson, New Jersey, sitting under the tutelage of the new Harvard grad, Rev. Stanley Horton, who was teaching twenty‐one credits per semester, caring for his young family, and preaching on the weekends.

I, on the other hand, first met Dr. Horton when he was 89 years old. One day at the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary I noticed a quiet, unassuming man sitting off by himself at an event in the Great Hall. I went over and sat by him, enjoying his gracious conversation and pleasant spirit—only later realizing who he was.

It was in this first meeting that I encountered the man, Stanley Horton. Not the author, the educator, or the theologian. Just a man, sitting by himself and happy to carry on a friendly conversation with a stranger. Little did I know at that time that I would have the honor and privilege of enjoying the good company and friendship of this man over the next nine years.

A few months after this, during a meeting of the Society for Pentecostal Studies in Pasadena, a former student of Dr. Horton’s, Dr. Ray Gannon, suggested a project to write Dr. Horton’s biography “Surprised” and “humbled” that someone would want to write about his life, Dr. Horton agreed, and the project began.

Because of his longevity and keen mind, Dr. Horton willingly served as an invaluable source of information as I attempted to meet the challenge of writing about a life that spanned over nine decades. His godly heritage ran deep—providing the fertile ground for a life of service characterized by Pentecostal fervor, commitment to biblical scholarship, and Christlike character. He patiently answered vital questions, relayed countless stories, shared valuable insights, and of course made excellent editorial suggestions! Our friendship grew as I witnessed firsthand what it meant to joyfully serve God with everything, be gracious toward everyone, trust God obediently as He leads step by step, and live a life that honors the past, embraces the present, and prepares hopefully for the future.

Three years later the biography was published, and we “took our show on the road!” My husband Doug and I traveled with Dr. Horton to the 2009 SPS meeting in Oregon where I had arranged for a panel of scholars to honor him. Dr. Wood moderated as each spoke—Dr. Horton as central to Pentecostal history, as a colleague in higher education, as an exemplar, as a bridge for racial reconciliation, as a theologian … But my role was to honor him simply as a man. I relayed stories that spoke of his spirituality, of his being an overcomer, an encourager, content, trusting, generous, loving to his family, faithful, humble, funny, even musical! (He told me the Choir director in Sacramento didn’t mind “if a person was a little flat now and then!”). And of course I spoke of him as smart—even as a kid. (His sister Esther always joked that her brother “got all the brains,” and “she got none.” His son, Ed, used to tell his dad that if he ever got senile and lost half his intelligence, he would still be twice as smart as him!)

Young Stanley gave his heart to the Lord in 1922 when he was just six years old. Right after that experience, he wanted to be baptized in water. He never forgot that baptismal ceremony: “I can still picture it in my mind,” he reminisced. Six years later, after interacting with a woman who told Stanley she was not sure he really could have been saved when he was six years old, Stanley slipped away and found another rescue mission where no one knew him. He went to the altar when they gave the invitation for salvation, and the Lord reassured him that he was indeed saved.

He received the baptism in the Holy Spirit on New Year’s Day of 1936. As he recalled:

Jesus was so real to me. I could feel His touch like never before. I was so overwhelmed with the presence of Jesus that I was hardly conscious of speaking in tongues; I did speak in tongues, but not for very long. That night I remembered an evangelist saying something derogatory about young people who spoke only a few words in tongues, while he spoke for hours. The next night I went to the altar; no one gathered around to pray for me, but I simply said, “Lord, if there is a freedom in this, I want it.” Suddenly it was like a dam broke, and my praises and prayers to God in a heavenly language poured out of my mouth. For a couple of weeks I could hardly pray in English.

Dr. Horton’s biography is full of stories that we don’t have time here to relay. Each one is a golden nugget in its own right. And the book’s appendix contains hundreds of 90^th birthday greetings and expressions of love from people around the world in 25 five countries, many unable to be here today.

One story that stands out to me, though, is the encouragement Dr. Horton showed CBC African-American students during an era when it was not easy or popular and when others may not have been so Christ-like. One young student, now Church of God in Christ Bishop Lemuel Thuston, tells how Dr. Horton showed a personal interest in him—encouraging him in his undergraduate work when the way was difficult, spurring him on to graduate work at the new Assemblies of God Graduate School, guiding him in his Ancient Near Eastern History specialty at SMSU, connecting him with Pastor Spencer Jones to do an internship in Chicago’s inner city, and providing Lemuel with the “first and only” scholarship he ever received. Dr. Horton, he said, was the inspiration for much of what he was able to accomplish and pursue academically and in other areas. He acknowledged with gratefulness, “I probably would not have finished if it was not for him.”

Such transmission of grace from one generation to the next stands at the heart of who Dr. Horton was as a godly man and a disciple of his Messiah. It serves as a clarion call to us today to walk step by step in the same faithfulness.

I saw that call in action at the 2009 AG General Council in Orlando the year the biography was released. Dr. Horton and I had attended the retired ministers’ luncheon to share the book with those in attendance. The theme there was, “Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come” (Ps. 71:18). Scores of retired ministers came up to him at the book-signing table to recount how they had had him as their teacher 20—30—40—even 50 years prior. We finished at the luncheon, and I wheeled Dr. Horton back across the street and into the huge conference complex. (He only needed the wheelchair because of the distance—most of that Council he could be seen pushing his own wheelchair around). As we entered the elevator, a teenaged girl with an injury to her ankle entered the elevator on a scooter.

When I turned Dr. Horton around, she looked at him wide-eyed and said, “Oh my! Are you Dr. Stanley Horton?”

“Yes,” he smiled.

“Wow!” she exclaimed. “I have read everything you’ve ever written! I can’t believe I’m meeting you!”

There in that elevator was a connection between the generations that was stunning, in that the work of his hands had been able to declare God’s power and might to the next generation—many years after he had served as a college or seminary professor.

The years since have been seasoned with rich times of honoring Dr. Horton, at such events as the Annual Horton Lectureship at Evangel, the Legacy Chapel at AGTS, graduations, the Society for Pentecostal Studies meeting, and many other events. It has been my great privilege to celebrate his life and work not only from coast to coast, but also in quiet lunches, dinners, and car rides around Springfield where our conversation would be sprinkled as much by his wonderful sense of humor as with those “aha” moments of biblical understanding where at the stop light I would just turn and say, “Wow. I never thought about it that way.” And he would just smile.

Five years have passed since we finished the biography; I used to say to Dr. Horton that we will need to do a Volume 2 pretty soon! Now I’m sure he has cast all his crowns at Jesus’ feet, and Volume 2 is not on his agenda at all in the face of the opportunity to worship His Number One.

I will greatly miss caring for and celebrating my friend, and of course, stopping by Andy’s Frozen Custard—just to see the smile on his face. smile on his face.

God showed Dutch Sheets how to get rid of hopelessness in every area of our lives. God told Sheets to tell you, “Your season of hopelessness is over!” God wants to renew your mind, heal your heart and restore your dreams. He is your hope.

Watch Sheets’ testimony on Sid Roth’s It’s Supernatural! in the video below.

Prisoners all across the country are hungry for God’s word. Chaplains are eager to collect Christian materials to pass around to those under their care. You may not be able to visit a prison, but you can make a difference with a gift subscription to Charisma magazine.

A couple months ago a letter from a reader, David Bradford of New Mexico, caught my attention. He wrote to say he had been sending a subscription toCharisma for years to a friend in prison in Huntsville, Texas. His friend is an on-fire Christian, leading Bible studies and growing in his faith while serving his debt to society for breaking some serious laws regarding business ethics.

“Your magazine not only goes to Bill, but also is passed around to hundreds of inmates who are hungry for the Light of the world,” David wrote. He went on to say that he and his wife continued to buy their subscription even though he had been laid off. He challenged me to send magazines to prisoners and offered to help.

We give subscriptions when asked. But we could do so much more by partnering with ministries like that of William Bumphus, who was featured on the cover of Charisma years ago. We supply William with books and magazines and help his prison outreach in other ways. His is an example of a ministry that can give us lists of names of many prisoners who would be blessed every month to get a copy of Charisma in the mail. Yet we know there are countless others we’re unaware of who would also love to receive the magazine.

That’s why we have developed the Charisma Cares Prison Outreach. With the help of readers like you, we can send thousands of Charisma subscriptions to prisoners.

Through our non-profit partner, Charisma Cares, your tax-deductible gift of $10 pays for two gift subscriptions, $15 pays for three and $100 pays for 20.

We get requests every week asking for free subscriptions. Of course they have no money to pay, so we send them a subscription and have been doing that for years. Most of the letters we get are just asking for a free subscription, but sometimes we’ll get letters commenting on articles they’ve read or telling us about their lives. Some of them break your heart.

One such letter was from a man also named David who was incarcerated in Arkansas for 20 years for rape. He had been moved by reading an article called “A Home for Stella” from several years ago highlighting Stella’s House, a home in Moldova that rescues orphan girls from human trafficking. (Often prisoners comment on old articles because older issues of the magazine are circulated in prison for many years.) David said he was glad to read that teenage girls who age out of Moldova’s state-run orphanage system and quickly trafficked as sex slaves are instead given hope and a home in a Christian environment.

“I am glad I am serving time because I hurt someone physically and mentally,” he wrote. “[It] has cost me my daughter and 20 years of my life. I don’t care that I’m doing time. I just want help too. Is there any help for me?”

It grieves me to think of the hopelessness men like David feel—especially around Father’s Day, when few are remembered by their families, often because of the trail of broken lives these inmates have left.

For the past few months we’ve organized a network of prison ministries that will give us the names, addresses and inmate numbers of prisoners who want to read Charisma. To avoid contraband getting into facilities, prison regulations require that magazines be mailed through the post office. That’s easy for us to do; we mail issues to people’s homes anyway. We just need to know the recipient’s name, either from a request from the prisoner or from a chaplain. If you know a prisoner you want to bless, send us their information with your own subscription information and we’ll handle it as we would any gift subscription.

These subscriptions are actually tax-deductible through our nonprofit partner Charisma Cares, a part of Christian Life Missions. You’ll receive a tax receipt, and our company makes the issues available at cost—$5 each, which covers paper, postage and fulfillment costs. Give any amount and Charisma Cares will apply 100 percent to this program with nothing taken out for overhead.

Jesus said, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matt. 25:40)—and that includes serving those who are incarcerated. Isn’t this an investment in the lives of the prisoners Jesus asked us to visit? Think of how a single copy can get passed around to inmates eager to read something from the outside world. What a witness!

Here are three ways to donate Charisma subscriptions to help prisoners: 1) To donate by mail, make a check payable to: Charisma Cares, 600 Rinehart Road, Lake Mary, FL, 32746; 2) To donate online, visit ; 3) To donate by phone, please call 407-333-0600 and ask to speak with Charisma Cares. Thank you so much for your generosity.

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CHARISMA: When did you first discover that your testimony could help bring healing to others?

Sarah Jakes: I created this blog and took what I was feeling and I put it into words. It exposed my wounds and helped me vent. I revealed situations that still had pain, and I found out that I wasn’t just telling my story, I was telling the story of a lot of other people. The blog began to really grow. It helped me to heal from things I didn’t know I was still dealing with. I found healing through telling my story.

CHARISMA: What types of situations did you share on your blog?

Jakes: I was married for four years, but when I first got married I was still coping with loving myself. When I got married I really wanted [my husband] to love me back so that it could be validation for me that I was lovable. But because he had his own issues and his own brokenness, we ended up breaking each other even more.

At the time I started the blog there was this lady who was pregnant with a child by my husband. She was due July 19 and my birthday was July 17. I was trying to become this perfect wife. I had been through a teen pregnancy and had cleaned up my act—I was doing things the “right” way. Yet I was still hurting and saying, “Why? Why is this happening to me?”

That’s why I began writing the blog. [Until now] the general public has only known about my teen pregnancy; they haven’t known about some of the difficulties I endured in my marriage.

So I’m excited to see the inspiration that comes from me being willing to share that part. It’s amazing to see how God really covered me during that time, even though I tried to create a perfect picture. He really did show me that my life didn’t have to be picture perfect for Him to bless it.

CHARISMA: What spiritual lessons did you learn from your experiences?

Jakes: Life is funny. When I was pregnant with my son, I thought it would bring [my husband and me] closer together. Our baby was premature and so we really had to huddle together to get through the pregnancy.

I thought maybe God was showing us how to work together. Now that I’m in a different stage of life, I realize that maybe my teen pregnancy was preparation for a larger stage where you have to learn to deal with isolation and people not always liking you or the things you’ve gone through. So I would say right now the greatest lesson is that it really is OK to be broken.

CHARISMA: You reveal this in your new book, Lost and Found. Explain the title.

Jakes: I called it Lost and Found because I didn’t really know that I was lost. I was still trying to find my way, and my heart was in the right place. I didn’t think that you could be lost if you were doing the right things and you were trying. Then finally when I really admitted [that I was lost], that gave me the grace for God to really find me.

CHARISMA: What would you like readers to take away from your book?

Jakes: That they have the grace to try again. Whether it’s a divorce, whether it’s a teen pregnancy, or whether you were the victim or the villain in someone’s story, you really do have the grace to try again.

One mistake doesn’t have to define the remainder of your life. You still have time and you still have hope, and if God is with you, He said He’s going to complete this work in you.

But we have to really give Him permission to complete that work. And if readers of this book really accept grace and the ability to try again, then I know that God will meet them as He has met me. 

Chonda Pierce’s personal testimony of enduring abuse, depression and the death of two sisters is anything but funny. Yet the Christian comedian has used it—and lots of genuinely hilarious material—to heal hearts through laughter for more than 20 years. She was recently named the top certified female comedian by the Recording Industry Association of America for having sold more comedy DVDs than any other comedian—secular or Christian. Charisma talked with Pierce about how she turned her pain into praise.

Charisma: Why did you decide to become a comedian?

Pierce: Sometimes I feel like comedy found me. But I also believe that it’s the way the Lord works sometimes.

I got a job at a theme park in Nashville called Opryland USA. I was simply trying to pay my college bill. They gave me the part of impersonating Minnie Pearl. I fell in love with her and that character. I fell in love with the sound of people laughing. It’s almost cliché now that we say laughter does good like a medicine, but for me it became medicine.

Charisma: What was happening in your life that made it such a means of healing?

Pierce: In about a two-year period, everything I knew, in terms of security, comfort and my foundation, had changed for me. My father was not a good person. He was not a consistent Christian man. He was very difficult to live with and difficult to be around as a child. That was my childhood.

Within a two-year period, my big sister was killed in a car accident—she was 20—and about 19 months later, my little sister died of leukemia. She lived only 21 days after being diagnosed. Everything was such a whirlwind. My mother and I had to move out … and find a new life. My father had eventually left the family.

They used to make a joke, “Well, you’ll find out how saved you are when you share a bedroom with your mother.” My mother prayed for me out loud every day—and I’m in the bed with her. Out of that great dysfunction came some really great material.

Charisma: You found Christ in the midst of your traumatic youth. How did that happen?

Pierce: There is no other explanation for having to survive the whirlwind life that I had than God [was there for me]. I didn’t wind up on drugs or alcohol. I didn’t wind up totally washing my hands of the church, which a lot of people do when they’ve grown up in such a difficult structure.

Laughter came along and became that soothing balm—just a healing oil for me—and it smoothed the edges of my life. … In those years, there was healing, and I really committed my life to Christ. I got serious about the evangelistic side of what comedy could do, and I wanted to tell my story.

Charisma: Even after you were saved, you found yourself facing dire circumstances. What happened?

Pierce: I went through a tough bout with depression. I felt like I was filled with the Holy Spirit and making a great effort to walk with the Lord, and all of a sudden I got depressed.

If you’re a stand-up comedian and someone diagnoses you clinically depressed, that’ll throw a kink in your trunk. For the first time in a long, long time, I didn’t feel funny. I didn’t feel like God could use me. That’s when I realized that my relationship with God was about who He was and not about how I felt.

The more I talked about the reality of what I’d walked through and where I’ve been—even in funny ways—the better I’d feel. The more I talked about the woman squeezing into Spanx and trying to feel pretty for a 30-year marriage … you cannot avail yourself to authenticity like that and someone in the room not come up to you and go, “I have felt the same thing.”

In comedy, the reason we laugh is because we feel a common denominator or a connection. And it’s the same way when we are sharing our testimony or our story. —Felicia Abraham