Feedback June 2010

Stoke the Fire Again

Thanks for honoring Dennis Bennett (“Charismatic Renewal Marks 50 Years”; April). As a conservative Baptist, I read Bennett’s books with great anticipation when they were first published. Two of his former Los Angeles parishioners prayed for me to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. He was way ahead of his time. We need more people like him now and we desperately need a new outpouring of the Spirit in the American church today. And we need a renewed emphasis on the baptism of the Spirit in the historical Pentecostal denominations.

Thank you for the article “God’s Strength for This Generation” by Dennis Bennett (April). He truly was an apostolic leader in the Charismatic Renewal. His thoughts about the “brick-and-mortar” church and home groups still ring true today.

Lost sheep … or shepherds?

Thank God He is raising up new leaders who understand the basic elements of His ways and His heart (“We Cry Out”; April). Most, if not all, of the points in this article are lost on the majority of today’s leaders—and their followers.

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Not so fast on those ‘articles’

I am sorry that J. Lee Grady is leaving (“Passing the Torch”; April). I shall miss his articles. He’s always written what needs to be said.

With great sadness I read that Lee Grady is leaving us. Your articles have inspired me, taught me and encouraged me to be all that I could be in God.

Editor’s note: Yes, Lee’s leaving, but his writing isn’t. Flip to the end of the magazine each issue to read his latest Fire in My Bones column.

MY TURN

Environmentalism is no longer about clean air and water or preserving wildlife (“Churches Add ‘Creation Care’ to Social Agenda”; April). After the fall of communism in the late ‘80s, the modern environmental movement was hijacked by former communists and socialists who use the global-warming issue to punish developed countries by forcing us to use less energy, while giving millions of tax dollars to poor countries for “clean” energy. It’s basically wealth redistribution in disguise. Many activists also support population control because they think fewer humans on the planet is good for Mother Earth. (I’m sure God would beg to differ on that issue!) Christians need to be wary about getting involved with what has become a pagan-oriented, anti-human, anti-capitalist movement. We don’t have to worship the earth to keep it clean.

Unchurched and unamerican?

The church isn’t a building; it’s the people, the supernatural body of Christ (“Majority of Unchurched Adults Identify Themselves as ‘Christians’”; Charisma News Online; April 13). If someone doesn’t go to “church” that doesn’t mean they are in error. It means they want something with more life. I meet with other believers when the Spirit is leading, and it’s way more fulfilling than church services. Jesus is enough; you don’t need an institution to be saved.

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The majority of the “unchurched” choose to describe themselves as Christian because it is in some way related to being American. To say openly that they don’t go to church because they aren’t Christians would risk that they’d be looked down upon.

The Godfather’s blessing

Thank you for featuring Moishe Rosen (“The Godfather of Jewish Evangelism”; March). His life, commitment and faithfulness are to be celebrated. Everywhere I go I run into Jews who have accepted Y’shua as Messiah, and in many cases Jews for Jesus played a key role in their coming to faith. Only God knows how many lives have been changed when a Jewish person considered the gospel after reading a Jews for Jesus tract. As a gentile, I had the privilege of being welcomed as part of the Jews for Jesus family for seven years, and I know I am a better servant of Y’shua today because of my time spent there.

Thanks for the Facebook hugs

I’ve received Charisma magazine in my home for more than two years, and I am even more grateful for it now that it’s online because I can freely share my printed copies with friends who don’t have a computer. Thanks for making it all available online.

Your magazine is up-front and gives great insights about matters Christians face every day. It helps me stay strong and positive with my faith, and reminds me that the Lord is always there.

Remembering a role model

Freda Lindsay has and always will be a role model for Christian women because she was unafraid to follow God’s will despite what others said (“Christ for the Nations Co-Founder Dies at 95”; Charisma News Online; Mar. 26).