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The Great facebook Debate

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Charisma Here’s a question we often wrestle with in the office: Should we report on “problems” affecting the body of Christ (e.g., divorce, financial misappropriations, etc.)? Our Charisma Facebook friends gave us their thoughts. Do you agree with their comments? Do you have something to add? Join us at .

D.F.  Absolutely. The Bible does not conceal the sins of God’s people. They are listed, some in stunning detail, for all to see. Not saying anything gives a false impression that all is well; and it is not. We are sick and need healing. A problem needs to be identified and diagnosed before healing can begin.

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S.Q. True believers live in transparency and allow others to grow from it. We need accountability. God will lead you to what is building up and what would be tearing down. Great example: the January issue cover story. Wow, what a great story of overcoming!
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D.B. You should leave the exposing to God. Christians may not admit it, but they like gossip just as much as sinners. If something that isn’t kosher happens in your family, would you sell the story to the media so the whole world can judge your loved ones? No, so why do it to our church family?

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A.P. I’d like to read it from a Christian source first in order to be prepared, rather than from the [secular] news media. From a Christian magazine, it’s handled with sympathy for that person caught in a trial. We can’t point a finger, as we all have sinned. It’s a hard question and I would imagine either way will bring criticism. 
Like ·    2 people

N.M. Yes, just start and end with hope, grace, love—not elder-brother judgments. We need honesty, but in the context of love.
Like ·    2 people

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Storms have always been highly symbolic to me. I never
understood why until I rediscovered a verse in Psalms that reads, “He stilled
the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed” (107:29, NIV).

What prompted my thinking about stormy weather was an
article by Cheri Fuller that we published in SpiritLed Woman titled, “Praise Him in the Storm.” It points out
that there is never a good reason for us to withhold our praises to the Lord.

I can recall growing up in Florida when Hurricane Donna, a
particularly damaging storm, tore through our city, leaving an almost indelible
mark. For my sister Bridget and me, the experience was both fascinating and
great fun—at first. We thought all the sounds outside our house were “neat.”

My mother had baked cakes before the power went out. We
played games, told scary stories and stayed up late to “watch the hurricane.”

We loved the eerie glow of the kerosene lamps. And we
imagined that things must have been like this back when our parents were
children in the “olden days.”

Finally, we got to bed. Through the night we were only
faintly aware of what was happening around us. But when we awoke, we discovered
that we had been saved from a very real danger. All the while my sister and I
had been blissfully enjoying the excitement or sleeping away, a furious storm
had been raging outside.

Our yard was strewn with huge tree limbs and chunks of
debris that had been peeled off our neighbors’ roofs. Oaks that had stood for a
century had been uprooted and tossed aside. Slowly, I started thinking
differently about this experience and realized how grateful we should be that
the Lord had protected us.

Natural storms remind me of God’s sovereign protection. They
help me remember that He rules over every circumstance and stills the storms of
life after they’ve served His purposes.

I’d like to say that I still face life’s storms with the
same kind of abandon I had as a child. But I know a lot more now, and with
knowledge has come the temptation to fear what’s ahead. So, during rough times
I try to look back and recall how faithful God has been to me through all kinds
of tumultuous situations.

Reflecting on God’s faithfulness, you can face your
challenges and continue to praise and worship the Lord. Your praise attests to
your trust in His power and love. It reminds you of Who He is and that He will
never change. It also supernaturally lifts you to the realm where His peace
reigns—where you know with all certainty that He is larger than your troubles.

I felt totally secure while Hurricane Donna raged outside. I
had no doubts that I’d be safe. Though I may never recover that same childish
innocence, I am no less secure. In place of the innocence, God has given me the
experience of His perfect, incomprehensible peace. He has delivered me from the
effects of numerous storms of every sort, and as a result, my faith in Him has
matured.

When we come through storms and experience God’s
deliverance, something wonderful happens to us, inside and out. We remember
that Jesus is Lord over everything. We are blessed with a testimony and a
deeper understanding that life’s storms do not last forever. In the aftermath,
we will never see God in quite the same way again.

PRAYER POWER WEEK OF 2/21/2011

This week thank God that He has helped you through the
storms of your life, and that He is able to see you through anything that may
come your way.  Praise Him in the
midst of your current challenges and come boldly to His throne with your
requests and concerns for the future. 
Continue to pray for the situation in the Middle East and pray for God’s
purpose to be fulfilled there. 
Pray that God’s people would pray in one accord for revival and the
expansion of His kingdom around the world. Pray that our leaders would turn to
the Lord for wisdom and strategies to solve our nation’s foreign, domestic and
economic problems. Remember our military and their families. Psalm 107:29; Heb.
4:16; James 1:5

Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” —1 Corinthians 15:33

Spanish novelist Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra wrote in his masterpiece, Don Quixote de la Mancha, “Tell me thy company, and I will tell thee what thou art.” There is some truth to that statement. We are known by the company we keep.

We often believe that this concept applies only in our interaction with unbelievers; however, this can be applied to our relationship within the body of Christ, also.

Some years ago I was in a situation where I found myself unwittingly in the grip of someone who I could see was not good for me. The person was a professing Christian, but I found myself in his grip, and I was leaning on him. I realized that this was wrong, and God delivered me from the situation. I was so thankful.

Am I advising you to avoid altogether unbelievers or certain members within the body of Christ? Most certainly not. However, ask the Lord to shine His light on the various relationships in your life.

Could it be that at this moment you are in this snare? You are trapped with bad company, and they are doing you no good. Maybe, however, you have rationalized the situation and made up excuses, concluding that you can be an exception. You wouldn’t recommend anybody else to do what you are doing.

The worst thing that you can do, however, is to begin to think that you are the exception to the rule. For the devil will come alongside and say that you are different, that you can associate with wrong company. Then, before you know it, you are in a trap.

It is a wonderful thing to realize that God delivers us from bad company.

Maybe you are in a situation where you are being wrongly influenced, and as a consequence you have lost the sense of inner peace. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But bad company causes you to lose the peace that God wants you to have. I ask you, are you in the grip of bad company?

Excerpted from Higher Ground (Christian Focus Publications Ltd., 1995).

20 – Pastor Rick Warren‘s rank on the list of most influential Twitter celebrities. With around 220,000 Twitter followers, the Purpose Driven Life author was among the likes of the Dalai Lama, Lady Gaga and Justin Beiber, who led the Forbes list. 

5 % of those who made New Year’s resolutions for 2011 resolved to improve their connection with God, according to a survey from the Barna Group.

56% of the new, 112th Congress identify themselves as Protestant, according to a recent Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life analysis.

33% of people who attend church weekly and have three to five “church friends” say they are “extremely satisfied” with life. This compares with only 19 percent of people who attend church but don’t have close church friends, reports a study released in the American Sociological Review.

 Former stripper and porn star Shelley Lubben found herself making X-rated films in the multibillion-dollar sex industry by the time she turned 24. 

Known then as “Roxy,” Lubben starred in more than 30 films, her success fueled by the rage she built up from being abused as a child and teenager. 

“‘You’re dead to me,’” Lubben recalls her father telling her when he kicked her out after high school. “When he said those words to me, the demonic spirits entered me, and I was never the same.” 

But Lubben always believed God had a calling on her life, and after years in the sex industry, she has finally left it behind. In her new book, Truth Behind the Fantasy of Porn—The Greatest Illusion on Earth, Lubben exposes the secrets, horrors and hazards of the porn industry as she tells how she was abused, became pregnant, caught genital herpes, battled alcohol and drug addictions, and even attempted suicide. 

Today Lubben’s life is fueled by love instead of rage. Lubben and her husband, Garrett, have since founded the Pink Cross Foundation, a nonprofit organization that offers emotional, financial and transitional support to those who want to say goodbye to the sex industry. 

“When God starts using ex-porn stars to do His bidding, people should pay attention,” she says.

Why You Should Care·

• The largest group viewing online pornographyis between ages 12 and 17
•  More than 11 million teens regularly view porn online
• Of all known child-abuse domains, 48 percent are housed in the U.S.

Stovall Weems, a pastor who once fully embraced the partying lifestyle, now lives to reach the lost and help people passionately pursue God

Stovall Weems, the pastor of Celebration Church in Jacksonville, Fla., is demonstrating his passion for Christ in word and deed. As a result, he’s fueling the fire of not only his congregation but also of those around the world.

Though Weems was not raised in the church, today he and his wife, Kerri, are seeing the church they founded become one of the largest and fastest-growing in America. Weems says he is driven by his passion for the local church and reaching people. 

“Different things have driven me at different seasons—but reaching people drives me. I love the unsaved. I like reaching really lost people. We really reach a lot of people out of the party scene,” he says.

That scene is something Weems knows about from personal experience. While attending Louisiana State University, he was into the party lifestyle and even became a bouncer at a local bar. Working at a bar, if you’re in the party lifestyle “was the place to be,” Weems recalls.

However, both as a result of seeds being sown in Weems years earlier at a youth camp and of people praying for him, God saved the party-loving bouncer. His passion turned from being a party animal to a follower of Christ—and leading others to the same grace he’d discovered.

“I didn’t know any better than to witness in the barrooms,” he says. And he did so until he felt God telling him to pull completely out of that scene.

In fall 1998, after much prayer and counsel from his church leadership in Baton Rouge, La., Weems, Kerri and their baby daughter moved to Jacksonville to plant a church. Their launch team consisted of seven people. Today Celebration has 10,000 members and includes 27 weekend services spread over 12 regional and international locations. There are 90 extension services, countless missions trips and the church recently established a Dream Center in the inner city. Stovall Weems Ministries broadcasts weekly in 200 countries and can be seen in 90 million homes across the U.S. 

Relevant messages of grace and overcoming victory are drawing hungry souls to Celebration where they are ignited to walk in power. But the pastor is quick to give God the glory and to point out that the success he’s experienced is the grace and favor of God in action. Weems has witnessed God move in mighty ways in his personal life, ministry and church as a result of fasting and prayer. 

These results have fueled his desire to see others walk in passion and fire, motivating him to write Awakening: A 21-Day Experience That Will Revolutionize Your Walk With God. Weems and his church corporately participate in a 21-day fast every year. 

In Awakening, Weems draws on his own experience as well as from others who have fasted and prayed and received dramatic results. The book offers a 21-day plan that guides readers through the principles that maintain an ongoing, new relationship with God.

“I want to help others get a game plan to walk in personal revival,” Weems says.“It’s time to wake up and put an end to spiritual sluggishness! I promise this year will be the best of your life if it is your best year spiritually.”

The Scoop on Stovall

Age: 41 

Hometown: New Orleans 

Hobbies: Fishing and hunting 

Favorite sports team: LSU Tigers 

Favorite Scripture: Matthew 6:33

We’ve all heard the saying, “Every little bit helps.” Because of Kiva, an online lending network, more than 468,000 entrepreneurs in developing countries worldwide can now attest that the saying is true.

Started in 2005 by Matt and Jessica Flannery, Kiva allows individuals to loan money—from $25 and up—to entrepreneurs in countries such as Cambodia and Colombia. The end goal: to end poverty. 

“Kiva was started because its founders had the opportunity to experience firsthand the power of giving entrepreneurs a chance to realize their dreams of growing their own businesses,” says Premal Shah, president of . Kiva works with many microfinance institutions, also called “field partners,” that disburse loans and upload stories of borrowers so lenders can choose which loans to fund. 

Thanks to the Internet, lenders can send money through Kiva to field partners as they assist men and women who aim to be self-sufficient and provide for their families. “The loan allows them (lenders) to make a very personal connection to someone they’ve chosen and come to care about,” Shah says. As of December, more than $178 million in loans had been made through Kiva.

Kiva at Work   

Loan recipent: Jerilyn Camarines, wife and mother of two
Business location: San Jose, Antique, Philippines

Industry:  Fishing and transportation
Loan use: Buy a motorized outrigger canoe to transport fish to sell in the market

Repayment plan:  13 months

Loan Status: Paid in full, 2010 

—

No Darkness Left Behind

I have been praying about what we can do to get involved in helping young women trapped in the global sex trade (“Leaving No Darkness Behind” by Nicole Partridge, December). Many children come out of orphanages at age 18 with no one to care for them. With little life skills and no family support, they are easily lured by evil traffickers. Reading about A21 lets me know that others are also concerned about this issue and a net is being drawn by the people of God to bring this evil to a standstill. 

Glenda Kuhn,
via e-mail 

Be Charismatic (but not crazy)

I have to tell you how blessed I was by the encouraging words in “How to Be Charismatic Without Being Crazy” (by Greg Surratt, November). The term “born again” has become a laughingstock to today’s world because of how we portray ourselves. The author re-energized my faith by reminding me that there are people standing on firm ground for God. Our faith needs to be real to others. 

Melanie Marcial,
Long Island, N.Y.

What Happened Next?

Charisma reported the miraculous healing of pastor Delia Knox at the Mobile, Ala., revival as she was raised from her wheelchair after 22 years (Inform, November). The short article ended by stating she exited in her wheelchair, which leaves the impression that she was not actually healed. Knox has experienced a progressive healing and has returned to the revival to testify to the world, via God TV, that she now is able to walk normally and can do so in high heels. It is unprofessional for Charisma not to follow up this miracle with an updated report to its readers.

Leland L. Harms,
Raymore, Mo.

Editor’s note: Actually, we have given updates on Delia Knox’s healing on our website, . Check out these follow-up reports online, as well as other “progressive” healings, revivals and more. We even have new video of Knox leading worship. Due to the timeliness of developing situations such as this one, it’s far more effective for us to update readers through the Web than with printed reports.

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If it’s Digital, We Have It

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I was in my car at an intersection, waiting for the light to
change. Through the window of the car to my right, I saw a woman standing on
the curb. It was the view of her upper body that caught my eye. She was
grinning from ear to ear and highly animated, with hands pointing to the
traffic light, while she talked and talked—to herself! Poor thing!

Then the light changed and the car next to me moved on,
revealing the whole scene. A young boy was standing by the woman—indicating
that she was a mom talking with her son, instead of a disturbed woman talking
with phantoms. Her young son had been there all along, hidden from view.

My original assessment of this scene reminded me of the way
in which we often misjudge people and situations based on our limited view. We
notice a fellow employee in a lower position who is hardworking and determine
that he is contending for our job. We consider a bad report from the doctor and
determine that it is the final verdict. We look at the mistakes of our past and
determine that we are failures.

If we are not careful, we end up living—and being ruled—by
the judgments we make based on what meets the eye.

Consider Joseph of the Old Testament. He is an example of
someone who could have been deceived by focusing on what met the eye. The pit
his brothers threw him into after he revealed his prophetic dreams to them
looked like the end of the dreams! (See Gen. 37.) Joseph could have considered
himself defeated, but he kept the faith. In Potiphar’s house, when things
turned from bad to worse for him, Joseph continued to trust God—who took the pit
and made it the very vehicle that moved Joseph in the direction of the palace,
the fulfillment of his dreams (see Gen. 39-41).

Now think about your own life. Regardless of the way things
look, God has a wonderful purpose for you. Where is the evidence? Since God is
Spirit (see John 4:24), He often moves in ways we can’t see.

That’s why we need faith—defined in Hebrews 11:1 as “the
substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (NKJV). We get
glimpses of God and the evidence of His work through our faith.

Today, I challenge you to join me in dwelling not on the
evidence of your calling, but on the God of your calling—the God who is
faithful (see 1 Thess. 5:24); the God who will make it happen, just as His Word
promises (see Phil. 1:6); the same God who brought Joseph from the pit to the
palace.

The God of your calling cares about what you see. He also
cares about what you don’t always see—the evidence of great things yet to come.

PRAYER POWER WEEK OF 1/24/2011

This week as you pray take time to review examples in the
Word that provide evidence of His faithfulness through the generations. Thank
Him that His plan for your life and his faithfulness in fulfilling His promises
is no less secure. Anticipate the good things He has in store for you and
praise Him for it.  Pray for
continued direction and let Him know that you are available for whatever He
desires for you. Continue to pray that those persecuted for the sake of Christ
would stand firm, and that the American Church would be among those with
radical passion for God and His purposes. Remember Israel, our military and our
leaders. Thank Him in advance for a great revival and harvest of souls.  Heb. 11:1-16; I Thess. 5:24; Phil. 1:6