Hoping to see a generation stake their lives on Jesus Christ, Passion 2012 will be a unique movement that’s about “finding meaning in a story so much bigger than ours.” The worship-oriented conference will be held Jan. 2-5 in Atlanta and will feature well-known teachers such as Francis Chan and Louie Giglio.
Filmed in the Puget Sound area of Washington state, Hollow is a faith-themed urban crime drama that looks at addiction and redemption through the eyes of four desperate people: a drug dealer, an exotic dancer, a narcotics detective with an online addiction and a reformed street thug trying to make a difference. Despite the movie’s emphasis on God’s redemption, the subject matter makes this Pure Flix DVD suitable only for teens and adults.
How to not only survive but even prosper amid today’s economic challenges{jcomments on}
Before a pilot takes off on a flight, he goes through a checklist of things that must be cleared to ensure his plane is in good working order. If he forgets to check his list, he may miss something, and that could cost him his life. This awareness causes him to be extremely careful not to make any mistakes. As Christians, we should be as diligent in our everyday lives at searching the Scriptures to see if we are missing something God’s Word instructs us to do.
We are under grace, so I am not talking about earning anything from God or obeying by our own power. It is His grace that enables us to obey His Word, as Hebrews 12:28 states: “Let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.”
From searching the Scriptures, we know that the Bible says part of God’s covenant with us is prospering us (Deut. 8:18; 28:2). Yet do we even know what biblical prosperity is? Is it synonymous with being financially rich? No, I don’t believe that.
The Bible’s definition of prosperity is “sufficiency in all things.” Biblical prosperity is God’s grace abounding toward us so that we have sufficiency in everything. Here’s the way 2 Corinthians 9:8 defines it:
“And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work” (emphasis added).
Although God says being prosperous isn’t the same as being rich, He is not opposed to His people having material prosperity. But He is opposed to covetousness (lusting, excessively desiring, being greedy). We know this from 1 Timothy 6:10-12:
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called.”
Money is not evil, but the love of it is. Part of our “good fight of faith” is to follow after righteousness and not lust for money. If we keep our focus on eternal things and serve God, His desire is that we prosper.
Examination Time
Yet what if we aren’t prospering? It might mean we aren’t obeying God’s Word and need to examine our lives to see if we are following His scriptural requirements for prosperity.
When something goes wrong in our life, my wife and I first examine ourselves in light of the Word of God. Usually it is because I missed it somewhere. This is not a condemning remark, but instead a welcomed heed to correction. We want to be sure that what we are doing lines up with Scripture.
The Bible says we should judge ourselves and not others (Matt. 7:1; 1 Cor. 11:31). If we can be honest, it takes humility for us to receive instruction and admit we may have missed it.
God wants us to accept correction. It leads to His life being perfected in us, and He promises blessing for us if we receive instruction—as well as difficulties if we don’t:
“For the commandment is a lamp, and the law a light; reproofs of instruction are the way of life” (Prov. 6:23); “He who keeps instruction is in the way of life, but he who refuses correction goes astray” (Prov. 10:17); “Poverty … will come to him who disdains correction, but he who regards a rebuke will be honored” (Prov. 13:18); “Apply your heart to instruction, and your ears to words of knowledge” (Prov. 23:12).
Before we can prosper in the way that God intends for us to, we must follow certain requirements that He has spelled out in His Word and expects us to obey. The point is this: If we live godly lives, we will have success—during any economic period.
The Keys to Prosperity
So what requirements has God established that lead to a pathway of prosperity? The Bible reveals several overarching keys.
1) Seek Him. Jesus said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matt. 6:33). All what things? All the things He mentioned in the verses preceding verse 33—such as treasures upon earth or what you will eat or drink or wear. We are not to seek those things first. We are to seek the kingdom first.
What does it mean to seek the kingdom? It is seeking to do His will. His will is what He did on the earth, such as healing all (Acts 10:38), casting out devils (Mark 16:15-18) and preaching repentance (Matt. 4:17).
Jesus went about teaching and preaching the gospel (Matt. 4:23) and told us to preach the good news of salvation: setting people free from bondages, laying hands on the sick and feeding the poor (Is. 61:1-2; Matt. 25:35-36; Mark 16:15). How could we feed the poor and support the gospel if we are broke ourselves?
Colossians 3:2 states: “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth” (KJV). So, let us understand that He will not prosper us unless we are committed to seeking Him first.
2) Help the poor. Proverbs 19:17 says: “He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, and He will pay back what he has given” (NKJV). Throughout the Bible we are instructed to help the poor. Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:33) to illustrate giving of ourselves for the welfare of others.
Tommy Barnett, co-founder of the Dream Center urban outreach ministry in Los Angeles, explains it this way: “The secret to a successful, happy life is giving yourself away. According to the Bible, you will succeed in direct proportion to how much you give yourself away. ?
“Giving is truly the key to blessing ?.?.?.? because we have learned to focus more and more on servanthood, downward mobility, on giving everything away.”
He goes on to say: “We are conditioned to think in terms of limits, and therefore the world operates on the principle of lack.??
“God approaches life from the opposite angle. He operates on the principle of plenty. In God’s kingdom, the successful man or woman is the one who gives the most away. The world says, ‘He who dies with the most toys wins.’ The kingdom says, ‘He who gives the most away wins.’”
Jesus also said in Matthew 6:19-21 not to “lay up for yourselves treasures on earth … but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. … For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” This is the only 100-percent-safe investment. For us to be about the Father’s business is laying up treasures in heaven.
3) Examine ourselves. As I mentioned earlier in the article, when my wife and I are faced with challenges, we take time out to pray, read God’s Word and examine ourselves to see where we may have missed the mark.
This is a biblical exercise. We see it in, among other verses, Ecclesiastes 7:14: “In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other” (emphasis added); 2 Corinthians 13:5: “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves”; and Haggai 1:7: “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Consider your ways!’”
In examining ourselves, we are not to feel that we cannot come to Him if we have not kept every Scripture verse. No, because it is by grace that we receive the things we desire from Him. We do not try in our flesh to live holy. We live holy because we desire to, and it’s by His grace we can do it.
In addition, God loves us regardless of how we perform. We don’t score points with God, and if we are good enough He will love us more.
No, He loves us already the way we are. However, His desire is for us to grow and mature in Him. Anytime God corrects us, it is because He loves us. Hebrews 12:6 states, “Whom the Lord loves He chastens.”
4) Obey His Word. I want to make it clear again that I am not talking about legalism when it comes to obeying God’s Word. We are not trying to earn God’s grace or to be burdened under “performance.” We can’t earn anything, as it has already been given to us freely.
We are justified by Christ’s blood and by faith in what He did for us on the cross only. (See Rom. 3:24-25; 4:25; 5:9, 16, 18; Gal. 2:16; Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14; Titus 3:7; 1 John 1:7-9.)
As I’ve mentioned, God’s grace empowers us to obey His Word. We cannot obey by our own power or ability but only by His Spirit.
The difference is, when you are truly in love with God, you are eager to please Him. It is not a burden to keep His Word but a delight. We keep His Word because of a heartfelt desire and not our performance (Ps. 119:16, 24, 47, 72).
When we understand His grace, there is a joy that comes to us, because we see it is not based on our power to keep His Word or resist sin, but by His power. However, searching the Scriptures to be sure we are obeying His Word doesn’t nullify grace; being obedient to His Word is a result of grace.
We are to continually strive to better ourselves by receiving correction from His Word. Our desire should be to grow from glory to glory. Our goal is to become more like Him (2 Cor. 3:18). If we say we love Him and do not obey Him, we are liars. We don’t really love Him (1 John 2:3-4), and we don’t know Him (John 14:15).
It is our attitude that makes the difference. An obedient heart seeks to do what pleases Him.
God’s Word is a mirror, and if we look into the face of His Word, we can see where we are. It should give us the desire to want to improve ourselves and please Him.
David said he loved God’s commandments above gold (Ps. 119:127). Solomon said God’s wisdom was better than rubies (Prov. 8:11). Both comparisons are to “treasures” of significant material value “hidden” in the ground.
If I told you I had $10 million hidden for you and gave you the treasure map, you wouldn’t feel burdened to go look for it, would you? No, you would be excited to look for it. In the same way, we are to value God’s Word and apply it to our lives (Prov. 3:1-2). We are to seek after wisdom, knowledge and understanding as hidden treasure (Prov. 2:1-6).
Another important truth we need to apply to our lives is that God’s Word is also holistic—it all ties together. There are built-in safeguards in His Word that cause it to work in its fullness only as a whole.
For instance, if you don’t tithe, you won’t prosper God’s way (Mal. 3:8-9; Matt. 23:23). However, if you do tithe and do not build God’s house (focus on saving souls), the money you are blessed with will have holes in the bag and run out the door (Hag. 1:5-9).
If you do not have faith, you will not receive anything from God (James 1:6-7). However, if you have great faith to move mountains and have not love, it will not do you any good (1 Cor. 13:2-3).
Yet, if we do all of these, but do not honor our parents, it will not go well with us (Eph. 6:2-3).
If we do not put on all the armor of God, we won’t be able to withstand in the evil day (Eph. 6:13). If we do not submit ourselves to God and resist the devil, he won’t flee from us (James 4:7). If we don’t forgive anything, Satan will get an advantage over us (2 Cor. 2:10-11).
If we labor for souls but lose our zeal for the Lord, we have left our first love, and Jesus says He will remove our candlestick (Rev. 2:2-4).
Do you see how God’s Word all fits together? It is our responsibility to learn all of God’s precepts and do them. As we do, God will prosper us, as Joshua 1:8 reveals: “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate … [and] observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your wayprosperous” (emphasis added).
Promises of True Prosperity
God directly links His promises with our prosperity. With that in mind, here is a summary of what we are to do to prosper. If we do these things, we will never fail or have shortage.
Seek after wisdom. Proverbs 3:13-16 states: “Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding. … Length of days is in her right hand, in her left hand riches and honor.” This is a promise that is not dependent on our economic system.
Tithe. Malachi 3:10-11 is the only passage in the Bible where God tells us to test Him. If you trust Him with our tithes, it says, He will “pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.” That is a promise from God.
Honor your parents. The apostle Paul notes in Ephesians 6:2-3 that this commandment is the first one with a promise. He says to obey it so “that it may be well with you.”
Fast. God says in Isaiah 58:11 that if you fast and share with the hungry He will “satisfy your soul in drought.” How’s that for a promise? Satisfied in drought means during a recession. Psalm 37:19 similarly says, “In the days of famine they [the righteous] shall be satisfied.”
Be humble. Proverbs 22:4, which says, “By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life,” is one of the most important keys in the Bible. Whoever will walk in humility and the fear of the Lord will always succeed.
Show God your faith. From Hebrews 11:6 we learn faith pleases God and that “He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.” First John 3:22 says, “And whatsoever we ask we receive from Him” (KJV) because we keep His commandments and do the things that please Him. “Whatsoever” covers a lot!
Understand grace. We understand that it is by His grace and not by our works that we can obtain the blessings He has for us (Eph. 2:8–9; 4:7; Col. 1:6; 1 Tim. 1:14; 2 Tim. 2:1). Second Corinthians 9:8 says, “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work” (NKJV).
Understand the fear of the Lord. Proverbs 19:23 says that the one who fears the Lord will “abide in satisfaction” (emphasis added).
Pray for Jerusalem. Support Israel in prayer, finances and love. When you do that, you will prosper. Psalm 122:6 says, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee” (KJV).
Express God’s love. Love “never fails” (1 Cor. 13:8). That is amazing. If we operate in God’s love, we can never fail. That is a solid guarantee for success.
The promises of God’s Word are for all who will believe Him and obey Him. He has fulfilled His promises for me for more than 40 years and has never let me down—not even once.
You can be delivered out of any and all problems, no matter how serious. His Word works—all the time, in any market and in any condition. Be willing and obey His Word. Deuteronomy 29:9 (NKJV) promises that blessing will come from obedience: “Therefore keep the words of this covenant, and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do.”
Bill Wiese is a speaker, author and former realtor who has appeared on numerous television and radio shows to discuss his book 23 Minutes in Hell (Charisma House), a riveting firsthand account of his afterlife vision. His latest book, Recession-Proof Living, released in October.
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The doom-and-gloom crowd always expects the negative. But behind the troubling headlines, God is working in surprising ways.
Some people are terrified of 2012. Their fear is based on the fact that the Mayans of ancient Mexico mysteriously ended their 5,126-year-old calendar on Dec. 21, 2012—as if they expected the world to end that day.
This stupid hypothesis became the basis for several New Age books and a silly disaster movie, 2012, in which actor John Cusack avoids meteors and earthquakes just in time to get his family aboard the modern version of Noah’s ark (built in China!) before the rest of the world is destroyed by a tsunami.
I’m not worried about 12/21/12 because (1) Ancient Mayans never actually said the world would end in 2012—and even if they did, they didn’t have an inside track to God; (2) Doomsday predictions have never been accurate; and (3) Jesus Christ holds the future in His hands. As long as I’m in relationship with Him, it doesn’t matter what happens on earth. I’m secure.
Despite strange weather patterns, global terrorism and the spectre of an economic crash, I’m actually optimistic about where we’re headed in 2012. Through my research and travels, I’ve noticed these emerging trends—some negative, some positive—that will shape our future:
1. Record numbers of Christians will be martyrs. More than 400 Christians die for their faith every day around the world, and most of these believers suffer in Islamic countries—although the top hot spot for Christian persecution is the atheist regime of North Korea. Open Doors International says the most dangerous countries for Christians today are: (1) North Korea; (2) Iran; (3) Afghanistan; (4) Saudi Arabia; (5) Somalia; (6) Maldives; (7) Yemen; (8) Iraq; (9) Uzbekistan and (10) Laos (which has a communist government). Persecution will likely increase in African countries such as Nigeria, where a militant brand of Islam is clashing with indigenous Pentecostal Christianity. Let’s live in solidarity with our persecuted brothers and sisters by supporting them in prayer.
2. The Asian church will take the lead in missionary ventures. More than 60 percent of the world’s population is Asian. China and India alone, each with more than 1 billion people, are set to become the world’s powerhouses of evangelism in this decade—and the efforts of the church in those nations and in Singapore, South Korea and Indonesia will eventually overshadow the missionary legacy of the United States. Asian countries not only will fuel church growth in their own regions but also deploy huge numbers of missionaries (both full-timers and “undercover” marketplace missionaries) into difficult mission fields in the Middle East, Europe and Africa.
3. The Arab Spring will thaw resistance to the gospel. Politicians can debate the pros and cons of democracy movements in Egypt, Syria and Libya. Meanwhile, there’s no question that the gospel is finding fertile ground in Middle Eastern nations. Many are hearing about Jesus through gospel programming (not the constant begging for money we hear on American TV). Consider that 90 percent of Saudi Arabians have access to Christian programs on cable! While persecution of Christians will continue, there is no stopping the tsunami of the Holy Spirit that is headed for the Muslim world.
4. North America increasingly will be viewed as a needy mission field. The United States now has the largest unchurched population in the English-speaking world. The trend is disturbing: 50 percent of Americans attended church in 1950 compared with 20 percent today. Add this to this mix: There are more internationals studying on American campuses than ever before—more than 690,000. Of the nations that send students to universities here, China, India and South Korea send the most, and Saudi Arabia is seventh. American churches involved in missions need only look in their own backyards for huge evangelism opportunities.
5. The debate over approving homosexuality will take center stage. The Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church and the Presbyterian Church USA all have abandoned biblical standards of sexuality in the last few years, and the United Methodist Church is likely to step off the same cliff soon. Evangelical, and even Pentecostal, groups are also flirting with the idea that God approves of homosexual practice. Bible-believing Christians can’t continue ignoring this issue. We must discover how to effectively communicate Christ’s healing to people who want to overcome same-sex attraction. Note: We can’t do this until we first get our own sexual house in order.
6. America will experience a church-growth renaissance. Church-growth expert Ed Stetzer says the number of new churches being planted in the United States has now surpassed the number of church closures. While mainline churches are dying, as many as 5,000 new churches are being started every year in this country—mostly by newer, evangelical networks that offer a nontraditional style of ministry. Stetzer believes that if this movement continues unhindered we could see the same explosion of church growth that the U.S. experienced from 1795-1810, when Baptists and Methodists evangelized America for the first time.
7. The economic downturn in the U.S. will actually be good for the church. Minnesota pastor John Piper recently listed four reasons why he believes the Great Recession is a blessing in disguise: (1) People tend to be more dependent on God during tough times; (2) During an economic downturn, non-Christians are more likely to see your efforts to reach them as love rather than exploitation; (3) People who need Christ are more ready to hear about eternal life when they are less secure about earthly things; and (4) Christians are more likely to give to missions when they have been awakened to the fragility of material things. Instead of complaining about this economic squeeze, let’s welcome the way God can use it to stretch us.
8. Look for a radical reformation to occur in charismatic/Pentecostal churches. Younger leaders are rejecting old paradigms of event-driven, money-focused sensationalism that tainted our movement. Churches that insist on basing their ministry values on exotic manifestations, media showmanship and the prosperity gospel will become irrelevant to an audience starved for authenticity. Expect to see more embarrassing scandals in our movement in 2012, both moral and financial. The Holy Spirit is cleaning house and removing the cancer of immorality and greed that has been spreading behind closed doors among high-profile leaders. These scandals will rock the largest media ministries in the country and redefine the spiritual landscape. But in the end, the exposing of sin will produce a fear of God and a return to accountability, integrity and holiness.
9. Denominations will be redefined. Younger leaders today are uncomfortable with the rigidity and uniformity imposed by denominations. They place a high value on relationships and aren’t attracted to wasteful or needless structures. In order to keep younger ministers on board, some Pentecostal denominations will ditch old wineskins and change tired policies. The emphasis will shift from strict hierarchy to team-based leadership, and from impersonal organization to organic relationships. Denominations that don’t make this vital shift will shrink and become irrelevant.
10. Many megachurches will stop trying to grow bigger and will instead branch out. Wise pastors are realizing that bigger is not always better. Unless the people in large churches are equipped for ministry, they will simply warm seats without actually becoming mature disciples. In this next season, forward-thinking leaders will start building horizontally rather than vertically—by planting small churches out of their larger congregations. The shift will be from big to small, from impersonal to personal, and from a corporate business model to a relational family model. (A return to New Testament Christianity is possible!)
11. Disasters will continue, but Christians will often be the first responders. In the United States in 2011 we had wildfires, droughts, a record-breaking blizzard, a hurricane that tore through New England, killer tornadoes that wiped towns off the map and a weird earthquake that damaged the National Cathedral. President Obama declared more disasters in 2011 than any year on record, and the cost had already topped $35 billion by September. Some weather experts blame global warming while others insist these patterns are cyclical. Whatever the reason, our priority is helping victims. Organizations including Samaritan’s Purse, Convoy of Hope and Somebody Cares—along with thousands of local churches—will show the mercy of Christ when disaster hits.
12. Expect a supernatural surprise. Throughout the history of the church, God has often broken into our routines—and our negative circumstances—to bring spiritual revival. In response to the prayers of a remnant of believers, God invaded history during the Great Awakening, the Welsh Revival, the Azusa Street Revival and the Jesus Movement. This really is our only hope. Our generation has never witnessed a revival. We must cry out to the Lord for another divine visitation. If He surprises us with a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit in 2012, negative trends will be reversed in an instant and history will be forever altered. That’s what I’m living for.
J. Lee Grady was editor of Charisma for 11 years. Today he directs The Mordecai Project, an international outreach focused on confronting the abuse of women. He is the author of several books, including The Holy Spirit Is Not for Sale.
12 Global Hot Spots
The Holy Spirit is working in places you might never expect
China. Nothing in the history of missions rivals the success story that is China. Mao Zedong tried to wipe out Christian faith in the 1970s when there were only 2.7 million believers. Today, the most conservative estimate is that China had 75 million believers in 2010. A few years ago the greatest growth was among rural “house churches.” Today Christianity is also growing in China’s major cities, and charismatic renewal has infiltrated state-sponsored churches.
India. Despite language barriers, tribal divisions and violent attacks by Hindus, indigenous church-planting movements have flourished all over India in the last 40 years. Fifteen years ago in Andhra Pradesh, a woman who heard a gospel radio broadcast, asked if someone could plant a church in her remote village. Within the first year after a pastor came, the church had 75 converts. After a church building was constructed in 1994, this church planted 125 churches with a combined membership of more than 5,000. This type of growth is occurring throughout India today.
Iran. Despite crackdowns on church gatherings, arrests of pastors and confiscation of Christian videotapes and other materials, Iranian believers are finding increased openness to the gospel in this stronghold of Shiite Islam. The leader of one indigenous ministry says, “Everyone we share the gospel with wants to become a Christian.” His ministry actually considered limiting outreach until it could obtain more Bibles and train workers to handle the overwhelming response.
Ghana. International Bible Worship Center started in 1991 as a home Bible study with 12 people in Accra, Ghana’s capital. The church grew to 5,000 by the year 2000; today it exceeds 30,000. The pastor of the church, Sam Korankye-Ankrah, grew up in a polygamous family with 24 children. Today, Ankrah and his wife, Rita, lead a multifaceted ministry that is addressing the physical and spiritual needs of a country that could be one of the first African nations to break the cycle of poverty and corruption.
Brazil. This nation of 203 million is experiencing an economic boom during a global recession. It is also in the midst of a Christian awakening. Pentecostal churches have been growing exponentially since the 1970s, as have Baptist, Presbyterian and Nazarene groups that have adopted Pentecostal practices. If Brazil can avoid the traps of greed and moral scandal that crippled American charismatics, it could become a spiritual superpower.
Ethiopia. Since the deposing of Ethiopian dictator Haile Selassie in 1974, evangelicals have grown from 5 percent to 20 percent of the population. Mainline Christians from Lutheran and Orthodox backgrounds have been swept up in Pentecostal revival movements in recent years—and this has fueled huge church-planting initiatives.
Guatemala. At least 24 percent of the country’s population is evangelical, and churches are pushing farther into unreached areas where indigenous people are trading their superstitions for faith in Christ.
Romania. What this Eastern European nation lacks in economic strength is offset by its spiritual passion, especially in the western cities of Oradea, Cluj-Napoca and Timisoara. Many of the Pentecostals in this country are leaving old traditions and embracing a more relevant, charismatic faith and planting vibrant churches—and their sights are set on sending missionaries to the nearby Middle East.
Pakistan. Although it is a dangerous place to be a Christian, the small minority of Pakistani believers is aggressively evangelizing their nation. Many of them report that the Holy Spirit is working miracles that end up bringing Muslims to faith in Christ.
Kazakhstan. There were no known Christians in this former Soviet republic in 1990. Today there are 15,000 believers, and they are spreading their faith from more than 100 healthy congregations. All this is taking place against a backdrop of Islam—since about 53 percent of Kazakhs are Muslims.
Singapore. This tiny, prosperous nation is emerging as an Antioch of the East—a strategic base for both missionary sending and funding. Members of Trinity Church, one of many megachurches in the nation, give more than $6 million a year to missions.
Indonesia. In the world’s largest Muslim country, Christianity is growing so fast the government tries to hide statistics. Operation World says evangelicals have grown from 1.3 million to 13 million since 1960. Time magazine recently called what is happening in Indonesia “a religious revolution.” And Christians in the Banda Arc province say Muslims are much more receptive to the gospel since the 2004 tsunami that devastated the region.
12 Spheres of Renewal in the USA
The Holy Spirit is working in fresh ways in many sectors of the church
As we enter this new year, pray that the Holy Spirit will spark renewal in all the varied segments of the American church. Use this as your guide:
1. Independent charismatics. It’s been more than 40 years since the charismatic movement began. Today many networks of charismatic churches are growing, but others have aged or become locked into religious ruts. Pray for fresh vision.
2. Classical Pentecostals. This group includes the Assemblies of God, the Church of God (Cleveland, Tenn.), the Foursquare Church and the International Pentecostal Holiness Church. Pray that leaders will trade in old wineskins and sacred cows in order to reach the younger generation.
3. African-American charismatics/Pentecostals. Black churches are positioned to powerfully impact America’s inner cities, but some are out of touch with young people. Pray for visionary leaders to emerge in the Church of God in Christ and other groups.
4. Spirit-Sensitive evangelicals. Powerful young communicators such as Francis Chan, Mark Driscoll, Steven Furtick and Craig Groeschel have inspired a nontraditional church-planting movement in our nation. Pray these leaders will build solid churches that are committed to evangelism.
5. Mainline denominations. Many faithful believers provide a witness for Christ inside Methodist, Lutheran, Episcopal, Presbyterian and Baptist churches. Pray they will be renewed and encouraged. Pray also that Catholic churches will be open to another wave of the Holy Spirit’s renewal.
6. Apostolic/prophetic movement. Many charismatic churches in the 1990s began specializing in prophecy and emphasizing apostolic governance, and they place high priority on reforming society. Pray the Holy Spirit enables them to reach many in the secular arena.
7. Immigrant Charismatics. Hispanic churches are the fastest-growing segment of the American church—but Spanish-speakers are just one category of immigrants. God is bringing Asians, Middle Easterners, Africans, Brazilians and other nationalities to this country, and they are intensely passionate. Pray they will effectively reach their local areas.
8. Word-Faith movement. This segment of charismatic Christians enjoyed a huge following in the 1980s, rallying around leaders such as Kenneth Hagin Sr. and Kenneth Copeland. The movement has aged today, and many affiliated churches are refocusing their priorities on outreach. Pray for renewal and revitalization.
9. Messianic/Zionist movement. These churches began as a mission to reach Jews with the gospel, but non-Jews who are interested in the Hebrew roots of Christianity now make up a larger segment. Pray these churches will achieve their original mission.
10. Media charismatics. Many Christians today—including older believers who can’t go to church—find their faith connection in television preachers. Others who live in remote areas are connected by Internet to various ministries. Pray that these media ministries will offer solid, biblical teaching.
11. Revivalist movements. Mike Bickle of the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, Mo., Lou Engel of TheCall and Bill Johnson of Bethel Church in Redding, Calif., are just a few of the leaders calling for radical Holy Spirit revival in America, and their message has particularly inspired the younger generation. Pray that these movements stay on track and fulfill their mission.
12. House church movements. Many Christians in the United States have left larger churches to meet in homes. Some do this to find genuine relationships they lacked in formal churches. Pray that these house churches will be effective in evangelism and outreach.
How a short season of self-denial will restore lasting passion for God in your life
One Sunday morning before our church service, I received a text from a passionate man of God who used to be our youth pastor at Free Chapel in Georgia. He had since relocated to Kentucky to pastor a church that was in rapid decline. He was texting to tell me what a huge difference fasting had made in his church’s turnaround.
He and his wife had rebuilt and reinvented the identity of that struggling Kentucky congregation. They’d grown it in a few years from 600 people to 3,000, while also winning more than 4,000 to Christ. Fasting—a spiritual commitment he once tried to avoid—had changed both his life and thousands of others in his community.
In his text, he recounted how this happened:
“Ten years ago I walked into your office and said, ‘Pastor, this fasting thing isn’t for me.’
“You replied jokingly: ‘You are on staff. You’re fasting.’
“So, after some encouragement I joined the fast. Fourteen days later, I cracked—and destroyed a Whopper burger! I thought I was done. I confessed to you, and you said: ‘You did your best. You made it 14 days; that’s not bad.’
“I want you to know that this January marks my 10th annual fast, and it is our church’s sixth annual 21-day fast.”
Even though this young man’s first fast was “forced,” God raised him up and led him into deeper places of worship, brokenness and power through fasting. He and I still laugh about his Whopper mauling. And I still rejoice in how the fast God gave him the tools to sharpen his anointing and regain his passion for God. In short, it gave him back his spiritual edge.
How about you—have you lost your edge? Has your worship grown dull? Are people still coming to Christ because of you? On Sunday mornings are you like the dead in Christ, lifelessly taking your seat in the pew, waiting for “the grave” of a dry church service to “give you up” at noon?
If so, then you don’t need me to tell you that you’ve lost your edge.
What you do need to hear, though, is this: It’s time for you to declare a fast and pray—because God wants to supernaturally change you. His plan for you hasn’t changed: He still wants to make you the son or daughter in Him you are meant to be.
God Restores the Edge
How does fasting help to accomplish this? I have been asked that question more times than I can remember. My answer is always the same: “Fasting and prayer bring you closer to God.”
That brief answer is by no means simplistic. Because whenever you begin a spiritual fast, you are choosing to break away from your life routines to draw closer to God, and amazing things happen as a result.
I chose to develop a lifestyle of prayer and fasting more than 25 years ago, and nothing has been more powerful in my Christian life. I am convinced that fasting is a gateway through which God releases His supernatural power into our lives. The choice is ours, though. We can either open that gateway or ignore it and stay in our routines.
At Free Chapel church for the last 12 years our members have undertaken a 21-day fast each January. With every year I become more certain this annual fast to honor God is part of His design and calling.
I’ve witnessed profound miracles in this church and through this ministry—things that could not have come about from our own strength or effort. I was amazed to learn that nearly a million people visited our fasting website over a two-day period during our most recent annual fast.
So many people have lost the edge in their lives; they’ve lost their homes, their marriages, their commitment to the Lord. We stand in church and sing the songs and lift our hands, but there is no edge to our worship. There is no edge to the preaching. It all has become just dull routine and ritual.
Fasting can change all that. It’s a short season of self-denial, but it releases long-term rewards.
Taking the time to fast is like taking the time to sharpen an ax before you cut down a tree. Ecclesiastes 10:10 says, “If the ax is dull, and one does not sharpen the edge, then he must use more strength.” Sure, you can cut with a dull ax, powering along in your own strength until your energy runs out. But the writer of Ecclesiastes is saying, “There’s a better way.”
Dull “axes” is the problem for so many people and churches today. Fasting restores your sharp edge. God uses fasting to give you the power to do far more than you could possibly do in your own strength.
When a young man in 2 Kings 6 lost his edge (literally), God gave him the miracle he needed to get it back. He was part of the so-called Sons of the Prophet, followers eager to be mentored by Elisha. The group had outgrown their living quarters, so they headed to the banks of the Jordan River to cut trees and make beams for a new lodge.
As he worked, this young man didn’t notice that with each swing against the tree the head on his ax was working loose. Suddenly the piece of iron slipped off the handle and flew into the muddy river. He stood on the bank, ax handle in hand, devastated and powerless to change what had just happened. He was eager to do something great for God, but now he couldn’t even help chop wood.
He’d lost his edge—literally!
Maybe you know how that feels. You had an edge once. You sensed the Lord’s anointing on your life. You were going for it. Your life was consecrated to God. You had a deep passion for spiritual things. Then something slipped, and you lost your edge. Now the enemy has convinced you that it’s out of sight, out of reach, buried, stuck at the bottom where you can never get it back.
The young man did the only thing he knew to do. He cried out for help from Elisha. He knew God had used Elisha. The seasoned prophet made the water of Jericho drinkable again He made oil multiply in a widow’s house. He raised a young boy from the dead. He even healed a man’s leprosy. If anyone had the faith to see God do what seemed impossible, it was Elisha.
Second Kings 6:6-7 tells us what happened next:
“So the man of God said, ‘Where did it fall?’ And he showed him the place. So [Elisha] cut off a stick, and threw it in there; and he made the iron float. Therefore he said, ‘Pick it up for yourself.’ So he reached out his hand and took it.”
Have you bought the lie that your anointing, your purpose, your dream, your family, your lost children all are gone forever? Are you facing dire circumstances; have you lost a job, a home, or even respect and hope? I want to encourage you right now, God still can make iron float. Like He did for the young prophet, He can return the edge you lost.
You Have a Part Too
Just like the young man had to reach out and take the iron from the water, there are a few steps you too will need to take to regain your edge.
The first step is: Make up your mind that you are going to get your edge back. It’s the starting point for fasting to regain your edge.
Think about the young prophet-in-training: There he stood at the edge of the Jordan, not prophesying for anyone, not speaking forth any great oracles of God to the nations; just a person who had been stopped cold. The word in his heart said he would be a prophet, but his world said he was a woodcutter without an ax. He easily could have tossed the handle aside and given up.
You may be in a season when your word doesn’t match your world. Faith is trusting God no matter how impossible the odds are. Sometimes God allows the odds to be stacked against us so we can experience a miracle.
Let me remind you that as a born-again believer you serve the same God Elisha served! He is the God of the impossible. Now is the time to make up your mind that you will believe Him for what seems to you to be impossible and stop believing the lies of the enemy, who wants to see you defeated.
The second step is: Confess that you have lost your edge. The young man did not keep silent. He immediately sought help from God’s prophet to regain what he lost.
You will not get anything accomplished by remaining in denial about your situation. Going through religious motions day after day is no way to live. It is not what God has called you to.
If you have lost your passion, if you have lost your edge, be swift to confess it to someone who can pray with you and help you find your way back.
The third step is: Take action while the opportunity exists. Elisha did not grab the ax head and put it back on the handle. The young man had to do that for himself.
God will not do for you what you can do for yourself. You’d think that if the miracle could cause the piece of iron to float, it also could have reattached it to the handle! But God intends for you to do your part in regaining the edge.
When you declare a fast and set aside time for prayer, you are reaching into the river and picking up the sharp edge that God has provided in order for you to be effective.
I challenge you to do your part. Declare a fast while you are reading this article. I’m in agreement that sharp ideas are going to come to you. Sharp relationships with new people are going to add significantly to your life. Cutting-edge creativity is going to flow your way as you begin to hunger and thirst for more.
Let the crisis drive you to your knees in a season of prayer and fasting. Go back to the place where the edge was lost.
Where did you lose it? Was it due to life’s batterings and disappointments suffered along the way? Was it through sin that you need to confess? Go back to that place and get it under the blood of Jesus. The altar is a place to get free from the thing that weighs you down and drowns out your fiery passion for God. The altar is a place to alter your direction and get back on the right track with God.
Holy Surprises Will Come
You’ll find that when you fast and pray, the supernatural possibilities suddenly become much more natural! Holy surprises seem to come out of nowhere. God knows where the ax head fell off, and He will help you get your edge back!
One Thursday night, God illustrated vividly for me how He can do this.
I met my daughter Courteney for dinner, and she began to tell me about her friend Nate. He was not much of a churchgoer. He decided to come to Free Chapel for the first time on a Wednesday night when I preached a message titled “Jesus Passing By.”
But he was so moved by the message that when he got home, he felt compelled to start reading his Bible again. It had been months since he had picked it up—six months to be exact.
He knew it had been that long because six months before coming to Free Chapel, he had been paid $2,000 for a job. He had stashed the cash somewhere safe, but had forgotten where he hid it.
He searched for it for months, but finally concluded he’d left it on the seat of his car and it had fallen out. He assumed it was long gone.
That Wednesday night as he was stirred to dig into the Word of God, he was blown away to find the $2,000 tucked safely inside the pages of his Bible—right where he’d “lost” it six months before.
Seeking God will help you get back the things He gave you that you feel like are gone. Seasons of fasting and prayer make this happen. Cry out to God; fast and pray. Invite Him to begin demolition in your life. He’s going to tear down who you used to be as He raises up who you are meant to be!
Remember, fasting is a gateway through which God releases His supernatural power into our lives, and we have the choice to either open that gateway or ignore it and stay in our routines. I challenge you: To whatever degree you can, make it part of your life.
Jentezen Franklin is the pastor of Free Chapel in Gainesville, Ga., and Orange County, Calif. He hosts a weekly TV program, Kingdom Connection, and is an author. His new book, The Fasting Edge (Charisma House), from which this article is adapted, released in November. His other books include Fasting and Believe That You Can (both Charisma House).
No More Religious Persecution in China?
With reports of 30,000 people accepting Christ daily, one thing is for sure: God is moving in the most populous country in the world. But missionary Dennis Balcombe says the 21st century Chinese church is not experiencing the same persecution their predecessors did. Visit to watch an exclusive interview with Balcombe and Charisma Editor Marcus Yoars.
Praise from prison
As a Christian living in communist China, Dorothy Sun spent six years in prison and 14 more working in a forced-labor factory. She has since become a U.S. citizen. Today she returns regularly to China with her husband, Freddie, who also was jailed there for his faith, to work with house churches and spread the gospel. Watch their amazing testimony at .
How fasting can be edgy
Visit and find out how choosing prayer over your dinner plate can help you reclaim your spiritual edge. Watch as pastor Jentezen Franklin gives key principles to fasting that will catapult you into your spiritual destiny and restore your edge.
Win The Harbinger
Starting in 732 B.C., God gave Israel nine prophetic warnings of coming judgment for refusing to repent. Messianic rabbi Jonathan Cahn writes that the same nine harbingers are now manifesting in America with profound ramifications for this nation’s future. Win a copy of his compelling prophetic novel at
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Few things rile Christians more than talk of God’s judgment in the wake of disaster. When mass tragedy hits it’s become routine for some prophet, preacher or politician to stir up controversy by pronouncing God’s role in the matter. The problem for believers, however, is discerning exactly what that role is.
After Haiti’s earthquake in 2010, multiple leaders in the prophetic movement declared God had judged the already poverty-stricken country for its spiritual ties with witchcraft. Japan’s quake and tsunami last year yielded similar “words from the Lord,” some of which harkened back to warnings issued decades earlier. Yet these prophetic responses also drew the ire of fellow leaders upset by those whom they felt were misrepresenting God’s heart as if He were gloating over the millions suffering through these tragedies.
Around the same time another judgment prophecy warned of a massive earthquake that would hit California and the West Coast. When catastrophe didn’t come as predicted, many local believers—particularly those who feel called to California—not only questioned the prophecy’s source, but also took issue with the implied theological ramifications.
This is nothing new, of course, as divine judgment prophecies have been issued—and challenged—since the days of Noah. As Christians, we’re continually challenged by our limited understanding of how God’s mercy and judgment work in tandem, and what that means in a world facing the consequences of its own sinful nature. But we confuse the matter by invariably equating disaster with judgment.
Jesus addressed this when referring to the 18 “on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed” (Luke 13:4). His answer to whether disaster proves God’s judgment: “Do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish” (vv. 4-5).
The real issue to be concerned about, as Jesus indicated, isn’t judgment but repentance.
And that’s what intrigues me with The Harbinger, a prophetic message delivered via a New Jersey Messianic rabbi and the focus of our cover package this month. Though Jonathan Cahn isn’t naturally a fire-and-brimstone kind of guy, it would be easy to interpret The Harbinger as just another doomsday prediction were it not for two things: 1) the profound correlation it establishes between ancient Israel and modern-day America; and 2) its overarching reminder of God’s ceaseless love.
The Harbinger is an actual book written as a story, but it’s far from fiction. Cahn weaves the factual details surrounding 9/11, the current recession and a handful of other nation-changing events into the underlying fabric of an ancient Jewish mystery that seems to be replaying itself with uncanny precision. Yet behind every revelation emerges a love-drenched clarion call to America from God: Repent!
This call is steeped in love, not indictment. It perfectly balances—as only God can do—mercy and judgment, which explains how the Lord has continued to bless our nation while also issuing warning after warning to “turn from our wicked ways.” So while The Harbinger speaks of judgment, it doesn’t pronounce it in the questionable way many prophetic types do. Instead, Cahn asks questions that connect the dots between God’s past judgments upon Israel and our nation’s current state—and the conclusion reveals itself.
Regardless of the economic climate, the U.S. is in a crisis like never before, as evident by our Isaiah 5:20 culture that “calls evil good and good evil.” For this reason, I pray The Harbinger wakes up a nation called by God to repent—whether that’s in the face of disaster, judgment or both.
Marcus Yoars is the editor of Charisma. You can connect with him on Twitter @marcusyoars or .
Someone once said, “When you’re finished changing, you’re finished.” Change is a part of life. It’s also uncomfortable and can be scary. Here are a few facts about change:
It’s a process. And it’s often a lengthy one that requires long-term commitment.
It’s frightening. Even though we usually want change, we also like to be in control. But we have to be willing to let go of something to move toward something new—without knowing exactly what the new thing will be like.
It takes action. It comes when we confront our fears.
Now, nothing in your life changes until you change your mind. Romans 12:2 says, “Be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind” (AMP). A lot of people are trying to change, but they haven’t changed their minds about anything and are thinking the same way they’ve always thought about things. Proverbs 23:7 says, “As he thinks in his heart, so is he.” In other words, where the mind goes, the man follows. So we can’t keep doing things the way we’ve always done them and hope for a different result.
What’s been on your mind lately? Do you think about what you’re thinking about? Do you realize how your thoughts affect your life? Thoughts are powerful! And the good news is, we can choose what we think about.
This has been one of the most life-changing revelations of my life. I used to believe I couldn’t help what I thought. If I woke up in the morning and my thought was, I’m depressed, then I just obeyed it and was depressed all day. But Jesus died to set us free, and one of the greatest freedoms we have is freedom of choice.
It was so wonderful to realize that my mind didn’t have to be a trash can for the devil all day or a channel for him to do his dirty work through. And the key to my victory over the enemy was learning to renew my mind.
How do we renew our mind? With the Word of God. The Bible is our instruction manual on how to live a victorious life. We have to study it, not just read it, to learn how to think like God thinks and experience the life of overcoming victory we can have in Christ—a life of forgiveness of sins, right relationship with God, the power to live right, peace and joy.
For more than 30 years I’ve been studying the Word, and I’m still learning every single day. We need to be lifetime learners of God’s Word because it has the life, power and anointing we need to change.
There’s actually a transforming power that takes place when we study the Word. Hebrews 4:12 in The Amplified Bible says this power is active, energizing and effective, and it exposes, analyzes and judges the thoughts and purposes of the heart. The Word of God is like a mirror: When we look into it, we see the way we are and what needs to chnge. That’s why it’s so important for us to renew our minds every day through the Word.
Here’s how it works: We hear the truth and are convicted by it as we recognize what we’re doing is wrong. We repent of our sin; this means we are sorry and want to turn away from it. We ask God to help us change because we can’t change without Him. Then we study Scriptures about the area we are dealing with, such as unforgiveness, anger, self-control and so on.
God’s Word is the medicine we need to heal our souls! I encourage you to go to the Word like you would medicine. When you’re struggling with something, pick it up and say, “I’m going to take my medicine.” Then begin to say what God says, rather than what you think or feel that doesn’t line up with His Word.
We have to learn to believe what God says more than what we think and feel because a renewed mind is stronger than feelings.
Remember, you can choose to think about whatever you want to think about. Choose to think about the truth in God’s Word and there won’t be room for anything else. You’ll find that when you get your mind straightened out you’ll get your life straightened out.
Joyce Meyer is a New York Times best-selling author and founder of Joyce Meyer Ministries. She has authored more than 90 books, including her new Living Beyond Your Feelings (Hachette). To read her past columns in Charisma, go to . Visit her online at .
People often ask me if I have a title. My normal reply is: “You can call me Lee. Or if you want to sound formal, you can say, ‘Brother Grady.’” But my reply doesn’t always satisfy everyone.
All kinds of labels have been pinned on me: Reverend, pastor, prophet, apostle … even bishop. Once I was introduced to a church as “Dr. Grady” and I almost crawled under my seat. I only have a college degree. There are no letters after my name.
Today it seems we’ve developed a title fetish. For a while everyone in charismatic circles was becoming a bishop (and some were installed into this office with rings, robes and strange hats). Then the same guys with the pointy hats started calling themselves apostles. Then the prophets got jealous and started calling themselves apostles too. And I knew one lady who required people to call her “Exalted Prophetess.”
The latest fad is requiring church folks to address certain people as apostles. (As in, “When Apostle Holy Moly arrives, please only address him as, ‘Apostle,’ and then make sure he is seated in a private room while his two adjutants guard his door.”) They’ve even invented an elaborate theology to go along with this ridiculous rule. It suggests that you can’t receive the true anointing from a man of God if you don’t honor him with the right title.
This sounds so very ooo-ooh spiritual to the naive. But it’s garbage.
Jesus didn’t play this religious game, especially when he was around the Grand Poobahs of His day—the long-robed scribes and Pharisees. After accusing them of loving the best seats in the synagogues, He pointed out that they loved to be called “Rabbi” by men (see Matt. 23:7).
Then He warned them: “But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. … The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted” (vv. 8-12, NASB).
People have quibbled over these words for centuries, insisting that ecclesiastical titles are not the problem; pride is what Jesus was rebuking. I would agree that Jesus was going to the root sin. But He was also asking these title-crazy guys if they’d be willing to ditch their labels and act like normal people.
A few years ago I met some amazing leaders in China who had planted thousands of congregations. They had spent a lot of time in jail for their faith, and they’d been beaten with iron rods for preaching the gospel. They were the bravest apostles I’ve ever met. But when I asked them if they used “apostle” as a title, one guy said: “We believe in those roles in the church. But we prefer to call each other ‘brother’ or ‘sister.’”
That settled it for me. If these giants of the faith—and true apostles—don’t require to be addressed with titles, then Your Worshipful Grand Master Rev. Dr. Bishop Jones (who claims oversight of maybe four churches) shouldn’t wear his ministry role around his neck like a tacky neon name badge.
If people can’t see the anointing on your life through your character, then don’t cheapen the gospel by wearing a title you don’t deserve.
I’m not saying people shouldn’t use reverend, minister or even bishop to identify their roles in the church. And I believe we need genuine apostolic ministry today. But requiring a title? Can we please dispense with the insecurity and the childish, “I’m more important than you” appellations, and get back to the simplicity of the gospel? Let’s get over ourselves!
Jesus is the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Son of David, the Prince of Peace and the apostle of our confession. Yet when He came into this world He laid aside His heavenly glory and took on the lowly name of Jesus.
He wore no fancy robes. He demanded no titles. He did not come to be ministered to, but to minister. If we want to serve Him honorably, we must forsake our need for fame and cast our crowns at His feet.
J. Lee Grady was editor of Charisma for 11 years. He now serves as contributing editor while devoting more time to ministry. You can find him on the Web at . His newest book is 10 Lies Men Believe (Charisma House).
Thousands of studies have shown that the media, including movies and television programs, can shape the thoughts and behavior of people. Politicians, advertisers and educators depend on this being true.
People’s view of history also can be shaped by movies and television programs. For instance, in 1915, the popularity of D. W. Griffith’s Birth of a Nation led to an increase in the Ku Klux Klan’s membership, and in the 1930s, Adolph Hitler’s propaganda minister, Goebbels, took command of the German movie industry to solidify Hitler’s power across Germany.
Thus, people of truth and values understandably view the release of The Iron Lady, a new biopic about former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher starring Meryl Streep, with trepidation.
First, the good news. The Iron Lady doesn’t completely bash Margaret Thatcher and her conservative politics. In fact, it has several scenes showing Thatcher ably defending her conservative, capitalist, democratic ideals of limited government and free markets.
The bad news? The Iron Lady fails to capture the regal strength, wit, faith and intelligence of Margaret Thatcher, even in her aging years. Half of the movie is a stagey presentation of an aging Thatcher reminiscing about her life while she interacts with a hallucination of her late husband, Denis. The movie also spends too much time concentrating on the outcry and street protests among the radical left against some of her policies.
The movie starts off by showing Thatcher in the twilight of her years. Her daughter and staff have given her the task of throwing out her late husband’s things. Facing this sad prospect, Thatcher procrastinates and envisions herself talking with her beloved husband, Denis. As they converse, Thatcher recalls her political career, beginning with her memories of her conservative, politically oriented father.
As the timeline goes back and forth, Thatcher recalls the beginning of her political career in the House of Commons, her marriage to Denis, her takeover of the Tory Party, her election as Prime Minister, her tussle with Argentina over the Falkland Islands, her renovation of Britain’s economy, and, finally, her resignation.
Supporters and opponents of Margaret Thatcher can agree on at least one point. She was, without a doubt, one of the most influential and results-driven political leaders of the 20th century. She was the first woman to lead a major political party in the United Kingdom and, after leading her party to victory in the 1979 general election, became the U.K.’s first and only female prime minister.
Thatcher was re-elected to an unprecedented three terms and voluntarily resigned in 1990 after Michael Heseltine’s challenge to her leadership of the Conservative Party. In over three decades as prime minister, she successfully reversed a precipitous national decline and, as the movie eloquently states, “left the country in a better state than [she] had found it.” In recognition to her service to her country, she holds a life peerage as Baroness Thatcher (only mildly referenced in the movie when she is once addressed as “Lady” Thatcher), and is entitled to sit in the House of Lords.
One thing and one thing alone stands out in the 2011 movie which fictionalizes the life of Lady Thatcher: Meryl Streep’s enchanting, masterful performance. In fact, at times, viewers will have to pinch themselves in order to remember that they are watching a work of fiction. Even so, Streep fails to capture the regal dignity of Thatcher, and therein lies one of the movie’s major problems.
Fiction is, precisely, the greatest failing of the movie, marketed as a biopic about the former “Iron Lady.” The movie doesn’t completely bash Thatcher and her politics. In fact, it features several scenes in which Streep successfully defends her conservative, capitalist and democratic ideals of limited government and free markets.
Despite this, the movie deceptively downplays the former prime minister’s successes by drawing the viewer’s attention to the weakness and sickness that allegedly dominate her later life. However, Thatcher leads an extremely private life in London, and such allegations are purely speculative.
At the end of the day, audiences are misled (intentionally or not) by director Phyllida Lloyd, a distinguished professor of Theatre at Oxford who was also named one of the 101 most influential gay and lesbian people in Britain by the Independent. Lloyd re-envisions Thatcher’s political successes in light of her later frailty. “I will not die washing a teacup,” the young Margaret Roberts proclaims when Denis proposes to her; and yet, at the end of the movie, that is precisely what she does. The movie’s iconography, though perhaps subtle, is dangerous because it leads viewers to believe, at the end of the day, that Thatcher’s life, no matter how grand and how accomplished, is reduced to that very moment, when finding herself alone after saying goodbye to her dead husband, she cleans up a teacup.
Although one might argue that this constitutes a portrayal of the eventual state of all human beings reaching a certain elderly age, it’s a dangerous, misleading view of Thatcher and her impact on history. One cannot help but wonder how much stronger Streep’s portrayal could have been if the movie had closed on the extraordinarily powerful eulogy Thatcher delivered via video for President Ronald Reagan’s funeral in 2008. Overall, therefore, Thatcher ultimately comes off as weak, befuddled, and sometimes strident, not regal, tough, smart and faith-filled. Only a few scenes point to her underlying personal strength.
A watery script further weakens The Iron Lady. The script skims the surface and jumps from postcard to postcard images and recollections of Margaret Thatcher’s life, interspersed with scenes from her now allegedly precarious mental state. These scenes of an elderly Thatcher take up too much time. They could have been made better if Thatcher didn’t look so befuddled so much of the time and if the movie made the scenes seem more like just imaginary conversations with a dead loved one rather than hallucinations. For contrast, see the dignified, touching scenes in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon where a middle-aged John Wayne talks to his clearly beloved dead wife at her grave.
Another failing of the movie is its focus on Thatcher as a grocer’s daughter. Although Lloyd does include two references to Thatcher attending Oxford university (one of the most prestigious institutions of higher learning in the world), it fails to note she was a successful chemist and lawyer. When she first took office in Parliament, it was based on those talents and abilities, and her clear conservative philosophy, not on her popularity as a commoner’s daughter.
Perhaps the most bizarre aspect of the movie is the director’s choice not to emphasize Thatcher’s relationship with Ronald Reagan and Pope John II. Together with Thatcher, these Western leaders helped defeat the Communists in Russia and Eastern Europe in the 1980s while forcing the Russians to tear down the Berlin Wall. Only about 30 seconds in the movie makes note of this remarkable and enduring achievement.
In contrast to this, the movie spends a lot of time focusing on some of the riots and political unrest that greeted her election as Prime Minister and led to her resignation. Very little of the movie focuses on how her conservative policies led to a huge reinvigoration of the British economy.
As a result of all of these problems, one cannot help but wonder, What is the agenda of the filmmakers? Apparently, Meryl Streep’s agenda was to offer the most heart-wrenching, memorable performance she could, and for this, she should be commended. However, it seems that the filmmakers didn’t achieve such a noble end. Without Streep’s performance, in fact, Thatcher would lose any resemblance to the regal, strong, and wise woman who helped change the course of Great Britain and the world. As Norman Tebbit points out in a recent interview with the Telegraphy, that is how we ought to remember her–instead of as the elderly, weakened, slightly befuddled retiree the scriptwriter and the director decided to bring to the forefront.