While response teams are helping Southeast Tornado victims pick up the pieces, one publisher is helping them pick up the Word of God.

Bardin & Marsee Publishing, publishers of the Waterproof Bible, is on a mission to put Bibles into the hands of many who have been deeply affected by the aftermath of the deadly storms last week.

“The storm missed us by just a few miles and we are extremely thankful that a lot of relief efforts are going on here in our state for necessities,” says Bobby Bardin co-founder Bardin & Marsee Publishing, which is headquartered in Birmingham, Ala. “We, however, are helping to provide something more.”

At first glance, the Waterproof Bible resembles any other book. But this Good Book has durable plastic pages and binding that let it stand up to adverse conditions traditional paper books can’t handle.

Two months ago Bardin & Marsee Publishing raised funds for 600 Waterproof Bibles for the homeless in Indianapolis through its first GIVE initiative. The word about the GIVE initiative spread through social networks and reached as far as the UK in just three weeks. Bardin & Marsee Publishing raised awareness by Bibles on its web site at a 70 percent discount and shipping them directly to partnering ministries.

Says Bardin, “We hoped it was the beginning of many more GIVE together initiatives, however we didn’t realize the next need would come after a path of destruction so close to home.”

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The Wilkerson family on Monday is holding a private funeral for David Wilkerson, 79, in Tyler, Texas. The service will be held at 3 p.m. CT at the Rose Heights Church of God.

“Due to limited seating at the church we have to restrict the funeral to family and ministry associates. We encourage you to attend the memorial service being held at Times Square Church in New York City,” the family said in a statement.

According to the Tyler Morning Telegraph, a burial will follow in Lindale City Cemetery under the direction of Caudle-Rutledge Funeral Home. The paper reported that the Wilkersons received family and friends at the Lindale funeral home on Sunday. Charisma Publisher Steve Strang is attending the services and will be reporting from Tyler later today. The Wilkerson family says Wilkerson’s wife, Gwen, is still in the hospital under observation but is expected to recover.

In lieu of flowers and gifts, the Wilkerson family has asked that people give a donation to World Challenge’s Please Pass the Bread program. As Gary Wilkerson noted in a recent tribute to his father, Please Pass the Brad was Wilkerson’s last heartfelt endeavor to reach the poor.

A public memorial for Wilkerson is scheduled for Saturday, May 14 at 2 p.m. at Times Square Church at 237 West 51st street in Manhattan. Wilkerson founded the church in 1987. Simultaneous translation will be available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Italian, Korean, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. The memorial service will be streamed live on the Times Square Church web site.

Wilkerson, founder of World Challenge Ministries, was killed Wednesday in a car accident in East Texas on April 27. Wilkerson was killed in a head-on collision with a tractor trailer while traveling east on U.S. 175. Read more about Wilkerson’s life and ministry.

Osama bin Laden is dead—and much of the peace-loving world is rejoicing.

Reactions from around the world are beginning to roll in as news of a successful U.S. operation to kill the murderous and elusive al-Qaeda leader spreads.

Obama addressed the nation to announce the news late Sunday night.

“Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan,” Obama said. “A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability.  No Americans were harmed.  They took care to avoid civilian casualties.  After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body.”

The American Jewish Committee (AJC) was among the first to respond to the news that bin Laden was killed. AJC Executive Director David Harris expressed the group’s heartfelt admiration and appreciation to the United States government for the relentless pursuit of bin Laden.

“This is an extraordinary moment for all concerned about the fight against international terrorism. It sends an unmistakably powerful message of American resolve to go after those who would wreak human havoc in the name of their perverted hatred, packaged as fanatical faith,” Harris says.

Since bin Laden’s body was buried at sea, some are skeptical that he has truly be brought to justice. But Harris, for one, is satisfied.

Still, as Harris sees it, much remains to be understood, such as the future of the al-Qaeda network without its long-time leader. Harris also questions how was it possible that bin Laden could apparently live hidden in plain sight in the heart of Pakistan—and not in a cave but a mansion.

“In the end, did Pakistani officials actually help the U.S. track him down or, in fact, try to prevent his discovery?” Harris asked. “But for now, we can only breathe a sigh of relief and express profound gratitude that, nearly 10 years after the horrors of 9/11, the killer-in-chief has, at long last, been hunted down and killed.”

Obama stressed in his address that the United States is not—and never will be—at war with Islam. “I’ve made clear, just as President Bush did shortly after 9/11, that our war is not against Islam,” he said. “Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader. He was a mass murderer of Muslims. Indeed, al Qaeda has slaughtered scores of Muslims in many countries, including our own. So his demise should be welcomed by all who believe in peace and human dignity.”

Often criticized by groups battling radical Islam, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, welcomed the announcement that bin Laden was killed. CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization.

“As we have stated repeatedly since the 9/11 terror attacks, bin Laden never represented Muslims or Islam,” the organization said in a statement. “In fact, in addition to the killing of thousands of Americans, he and Al Qaeda caused the deaths of countless Muslims worldwide. We also reiterate President Obama’s clear statement tonight that the United States is not at war with Islam.”

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I was 20 years old and a student at North Central Bible College (Now North Central University) in Minneapolis, Minnesota when the entire direction of my prayer life was profoundly shaken and transformed through my first encounter with David Wilkerson. He had come to speak at the Minneapolis Gospel Tabernacle and it was there that I received my first copy of The Cross and the Switchblade. His ministry, Teen Challenge, was in its infancy. It was a dream in the heart of David Wilkerson that he was just beginning to live. I’m not sure he even knew all that lay ahead as he began living out his dream.

Reading David’s just-released book, almost straight through in one sitting, fueled in my heart a passion for God as never before and a burden to reach the lost at any cost. I wept as I read his story. That was more than 45 years ago. Although there were other leadership influences in my young life at the time, none impacted my life, particularly in the area of personal prayer and pure obedience, as did David Wilkerson.  

Not many months after that first encounter in hearing David in person, I began dating (and soon married) a cousin to David, Dee Krans, whose mother is a member of what we call the Wilkerson clan. (Dee recently counted at least 25 Wilkersons in the full time ministry!) I soon learned that Dee’s father, a minister, had been killed in a car accident when Dee was not yet four years old. Together, Dee’s mom, Dee and her younger sister Karen moved to the family farm near Toledo, Ohio where they grew up in the home of the legendary grandpa Wilkerson who David described so vividly in his best selling book, The Cross and the Switchblade.

It was David’s (and Dee’s) granddad who was uniquely influential in encouraging David to go to New York City to begin what clearly has become one of the most effective restoration ministries in the world today for addicts of all ages—Teen Challenge and its global counterpart, World Challenge. In fact, Dee was but a 14-year old when David first came from Pennsylvania to the farm to share his burden for the gangs of New York City with granddad. Dee says no one on the farm during those days could ever have imagined what God was doing in (and would ultimately do through) David as the result of that visit. 

  Years later, when Dee and I were working with young people in California, David came to Sacramento’s Memorial Auditorium for one of his challenging youth rallies. The place was packed with thousands and many hundreds were turned away. At that time, God had just given me a vision to begin a 24/7 prayer ministry for young people. We called it the Prayer Corps and planned for those who joined to live in residence and pray day and night for revival and awakening in our nation and the nations. But as I began sharing about this fledgling ministry among area churches, criticism began flowing. Some were saying that Dick Eastman was starting a “religious commune for hippies.” These were the days that the hippy counter-culture had taken over that part of California and we were a “stone’s throw” from San Francisco, the unofficial global headquarters for the movement. I was about to give up even before our first center opened. Criticism from some in my own denomination was especially hurtful.  

   But late that night, after David spoke at Memorial Auditorium, he invited Dee and me out for a late-night snack. As I told him about the criticism I was getting regarding my newly received vision, he boldly advised, “Don’t let it get to you, Dick. Critics lined up to tell me that what I was trying to do in starting Teen Challenge would never work.” He smiled and added, “I just ignored them. I’ve learned to live by something I heard years ago—‘Never complain; never explain; just do the job and let them howl!’”  

 From that day on Dee and I ventured forward and watched the prayer ministry grow until whole movements of prayer and worship were born out of those early 24/7 centers. We’ve even recently told much of our story in a book with a rather unusual title, The Purple Pig and Other Miracles (published earlier this year by Charisma House). David Wilkerson clearly was one of the great visionary leaders of this generation and he leaves a remarkable legacy. 

 One aspect of that legacy is close to home for Dee and me because David’s son Gary started a church two years ago in our building, The Jericho Center, here in Colorado Springs. Amazingly, what began with a handful of worshipers quickly grew beyond our seating capacity (even with multiple services) and now their fellowship, The Springs Church, numbers in the many hundreds and has purchased a former convention center of our city. It is rapidly becoming one of the fastest growing churches in the Rocky Mountain region.  

 David Wilkerson truly lived a dream, one almost beyond comprehension, and is leaving a remarkable legacy that will continue to impact multitudes globally. I can only imagine David’s welcome in Heaven. I can almost hear angels around him begging, “Tell us again that story about how Nicky Cruz came to know Jesus!” 

Dick Eastman is International President for Every Home for Christ.

The iPad is making its way into Christian curriculum, sort of.

Vacaville Christian Schools is using the iconic tablet device to execute on its vision to educate and prepare today’s students to become tomorrow’s leaders.

Specifically, Vacaville Christian Schools is rolling out a new “Leading the Way in iPad Education” program in August. The program makes iPads part of the every day lives of students.

Harrell explains that teachers will actively engage their students through a tool that’s attractive to them. While the iPad may seem challenging to “digital immigrant” teachers, he says, it’s natural for “digital native” kids. 

“Times are challenging for schools,” says Vacaville Christian Schools CEO Paul Harrell. “We want to give our children every single advantage. If we use the iPad, we’re giving our students a classroom without walls. It opens up the entire horizon.”

It was early evening, April 28, when a cell-phone
call let me know the devastating news: David Wilkerson had been killed in a
tragic traffic accident. Dr. George Wood, general superintendent of the
Assemblies of God, had just learned the news and felt I would want to report
it. Knowing how important this was, we had a story online within 40 minutes
that included a statement from Dr. Wood until we could get more details. The
traffic on our website was so great the site temporarily crashed, and the article
had more forwards on Facebook than any in the history of Charisma
News.

That’s because David Wilkerson was one of the great
Christian leaders of our generation, and his passing is a loss to the global
church. He was the model of integrity, and he finished strong in a day when
some televangelists are photographed in foreign countries with women they
aren’t married to while others are exposed for secret gay activity while
publicly opposing the gay agenda. Wilkerson was the paragon of virtue and his
influence was tremendous.

We covered him many times in Charisma—twice on the
cover. We’ve posted some of those articles on a special tribute page at
that includes videos, photos, memorable quotes from Wilkerson and much
more—including tributes and remembrances from leaders around the world that
we’ll add as they’re written. If you’d like to share your own thoughts about this great man,
you can post them on our website, .
Or send us your own tribute of fewer than 500 words and we’ll include the best on
our tribute page.

Click here for videos, photos, articles and more in tribute to David Wilkerson.

Wilkerson was best remembered for his book The Cross and
the Switchblade and for founding Teen Challenge, which now has centers
around the world (including one a few miles from our office). Dr. Wood says
there are currently 24,000 men and women with life-altering addictions being
helped on any given day. In the late 1980s, Wilkerson founded Times Square
Church, which has had a great impact in New York City.

What hasn’t been highlighted as often—until now—are the ways
Wilkerson’s life influenced others in ways he probably never knew. For example,
the young Roman Catholics at Duquesne who received the baptism in the Holy
Spirit, which sparked the Catholic charismatic renewal, had read The Cross
and the Switchblade, as well as They Speak With Other Tongues by
John Sherrill. Along with his wife Elizabeth, Sherrill co-authored Wilkerson’s
book.

There is a chapter in The Cross and the Switchblade
in which Wilkerson tells a Catholic priest that the former drug addicts who
received the baptism in the Holy Spirit had more power to live for God. In the
book he described what the Bible says in Acts about the Holy Spirit. My
longtime friend Bert Ghezzi, who was among the first leaders in the Catholic
charismatic movement, told me that reading those books certainly made the
students (which included him) more open to the Spirit in those fateful days in
early 1967. That movement today is said to now include 120 million around the
world.

It seems nearly every Christian leader from that era has a
David Wilkerson story. Dr. Wood remembers that at the time David Wilkerson’s
dad was pastor of the Assembly of God church in Turtle
Creek, Penn., his own father pastored 30 members at the Assembly in nearby Pitcairn, Penn. A young, enthusiastic David Wilkerson
wanted to preach in Pitcairn, but Dr. Wood’s father—ever mindful of his small
flock—wasn’t sure David was ready and didn’t let him preach there.

John Sherrill remembers how when The Cross and the
Switchblade was translated in many languages, sales took off around the
world except in one Scandinavian country. Wilkerson suspected the translation
was bad, so he had someone read it and discovered the translator had stripped
out all references to the power of the Holy Spirit due to a personal
theological bias. Wilkerson was so upset he insisted the book be republished
with the material on the Holy Spirit reinserted as he’d intended. The sales
after that took off.

I also was impacted by Wilkerson. I read his book as a
teenager, and his description of drug addiction scared me so much I never
experimented with drugs, even though it was the norm among many in my
generation. I had the privilege of interacting with David Wilkerson many times
over the years, and I have my own story about him.

In February 1972, as a junior at the University of Florida,
I found out Wilkerson was speaking at a youth rally in Lakeland, Fla. I drove
120 miles from Gainesville with two friends to attend. It was that weekend I
met a beautiful woman named Joy, who today is my business partner, my wife and
my best friend.

Years later when I took a picture (shown below) with
Wilkerson at his church office in New York, I was able to tell him about his
influence on my life and career—because without Joy, there would never have
been a Charisma magazine.

I, along with millions of others around the world, thank God
for the life and influence of David Wilkerson.

After taking considerable flak for not issuing an Easter proclamation, President Obama has just released a proclamation for the 2011 National Day of Prayer. The proclamation comes just about a week before the hotly-contested National Day of Prayer on May 5.

In 2010, a Wisconsin federal judge struck down the National Day of Prayer as unconstitutional. But on April 14, a U.S. appeals court overruled the decision. The ruling cleared the way for Obama to release his prayer day proclamation.

Here is the text of Obama’s proclamation:

Throughout our history, Americans have turned to prayer for strength, inspiration, and solidarity.

Prayer has played an important role in the American story and in shaping our Nation’s leaders. President Abraham Lincoln once said, “I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for the day.” The late Coretta Scott King recounted a particularly difficult night, during the Montgomery bus boycott, when her husband, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., received a threatening phone call and prayed at the kitchen table, saying, “Lord, I have nothing left. I have nothing left. I have come to the point where I can’t face it alone.” Dr. King said, in that moment of prayer, he was filled with a sense of comfort and resolve, which his wife credited as a turning point in the civil rights movement. 

 It is thus fitting that, from the earliest years of our country’s history, Congress and Presidents have set aside days to recognize the role prayer has played in so many definitive moments in our history. On this National Day of Prayer, let us follow the example of President Lincoln and Dr. King. Let us be thankful for the liberty that allows people of all faiths to worship or not worship according to the dictates of their conscience, and let us be thankful for the many other freedoms and blessings that we often take for granted. 

 Let us pray for the men and women of our Armed Forces and the many selfless sacrifices they and their families make on behalf of our Nation. Let us pray for the police officers, firefighters, and other first responders who put themselves in harm’s way every day to protect their fellow citizens. And let us ask God for the sustenance and guidance for all of us to meet the great challenges we face as a Nation. 

 Let us remember in our thoughts and prayers those who have been affected by natural disasters at home and abroad in recent months, as well as those working tirelessly to render assistance. And, at a time when many around the world face uncertainty and unrest, but also hold resurgent hope for freedom and justice, let our prayers be with men and women everywhere who seek peace, human dignity, and the same rights we treasure here in America. 

 The Congress, by Public Law 100-307, as amended, has called on the President to issue each year a proclamation designating the first Thursday in May as a “National Day of Prayer.” 

 NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 5, 2011, as a National Day of Prayer. I invite all citizens of our Nation, as their own faith or conscience directs them, to join me in giving thanks for the many blessings we enjoy, and I ask all people of faith to join me in asking God for guidance, mercy, and protection for our Nation.

The Florida Constitution has a ban on spending public funds to help religious organizations. But that could soon change. The Florida House this week approved a proposed amendment that would repeal the ban.

Scott Plakon, a representative in Florida House District 37 who sponsored the bill, told Charisma News that the legislation passed by about a two to one margin. Specifically, the Florida House voted 81-35 on proposal HJR 1471.

Before the vote, Plakon explained to Charisma News that the funding ban dates back to the 19th century and represents anti-Catholic prejudice.

“This bill is simply about righting a wrong that happened in our state 126 years ago,” the Associated Press reported Plakon as saying after the vote.  “At the time Protestants thought they could get away with using our state constitution to treat Catholics differently. It was sinful what we did.”

Not surprisingly, Republicans unanimously voted on the bill. Three Democrats also gave the nod to a repeal on using public funds to help religious organizations.

Now, the Florida Senate will vote on the bill. If the bill doesn’t get signed into law, voucher programs that pave the way for low-income students and students with disabilities to attend private schools, including religious schools, could be stalled. Public dollars going to religious hospitals could also be cut off.

Fighting in Libya seems far from over.

Voice of America News reports that President Gaddafi’s troops have been firing rockets at the city of Misrata. Attacks have increased as NATO forces have stepped in to protect a Misrata port, the only inlet to the city for much needed international aid.

In the meantime, rumors are flying that NATO forces accidentally killed a dozen rebel fighters with a bomb on Wednesday.

Hundreds of civilians have died in the crossfire of the ongoing battles. On either side of the conflict, life in Libya is dangerous.

As a result, people are fleeing the country in droves. Thousands have fled to neighboring Tunisia, especially since, National Public Radio reports, rebel forces took over the border post. Others fled elsewhere at the first chance. Included in the mass exodus are Christians.

“We know of two congregations in Libya which are no longer meeting. Their members, who were from other Arab nations, have left the country in the wake of the violence there,” says Lee DeYoung with Words of Hope.

Believers that remain in the country only proceed with routines using extreme caution. “The few Libyan believers seem afraid to meet except in secret,” notes DeYoung.

Fear is widespread in the volatile nation. Pray that believers would be safe and that they would cling with all they have to the hope they have in Christ.

As other Libyans seek answers in this dire time though, pray that believers would continue to be the light to truth.

“Pray for discernment–that they may stand bold where that could be productive and where the Lord would lead them to do so, but at the same time be prudent in minimizing the needless exposure to they might be able to continue to serve in those places which are now experiencing unrest,” DeYoung says.

While an estimated 2 billion viewers around the world watched the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton at London’s Westminster Abbey, more than 150,000 young Americans have a different focus: fighting hunger.

Indeed, as the prince and his new princess enjoy their honeymoon, these young Americans are taking part in World Vision’s 30 Hour Famine, the world’s largest teen hunger awareness campaign. As the teens fast, they consume only water and juice and engage in local community service projects.

“Everyone seems to be paying attention to London right now,” says Michele Tvedt, World Vision’s 30 Hour Famine Manager. “But we continue to count on the remarkable commitment of young people. And they keep coming through.”

Since 1992, 30 Hour Famine has raised more than $140 million and involved more than 6 million teens in fighting global hunger. In 2010, 30 Hour Famine raised $10.4 million with funds going to fight global hunger. This year’s goal: $11 million.