When I felt led to start a small church magazine, I barely knew what
God had in store. That magazine released 36 years ago today, so I
thought it was appropriate to reflect on what’s happened, and more
importantly what is on the verge of happening as we move boldly into the
digital world.

Many of you know Charisma started at a megachurch in central
Florida. I was working full time as a newspaper reporter then. My, how
the media world has changed! The staff found this in the archives: a
black-and-white photo of me holding a copy of The Rock, a youth newspaper that I published before Charisma.
They had me hold an iPad to show the contrast. Back then I could have
never imagined today’s iPad! Yet I dreamed that maybe somehow we’d reach
a million people. Do you know how many trees you’d have to cut down to
print that many magazines?

So from 1975—before the personal computer was invented and a time
when the electric typewriter I used was considered
high-tech—fast-forward more than three decades and now Charisma (and our other magazines) are available in digital format that’s almost beyond belief.

I wish you could have experienced the powerful connections that
took place recently at our headquarters near Orlando, Fla., with high
level ministry and business leaders. It illustrated the “power of
connection,” which to me is important since I am a “networker”
by nature.

Graham Power, a successful Christian businessman from South Africa
who founded the Global Day of Prayer, shared from his rich experience
in the marketplace and in ministry. He taught on principles of
leadership and living out one’s calling as a believer in the business
world in a program he calls “Unashamably Ethical.” Click
here to listen to an interview
with Power.

We also had time to talk in a confidential round-table setting
about some of the opportunities and challenges we were facing in our
different situations, share ideas, offer counsel and of course pray
together. We all left encouraged and equipped. The emails I’ve been
getting have told how much they got as members of the new Ministry21
Network.

M21 Network (as we sometimes call it)
is a relational network bringing together like-minded pastors and
leaders to develop their own leadership skills, connect them with
others, provide needed coaching, continuing education and wonderful
resources.

Rose Cameron Ferrell, 1915-2011

For many, mother-in-law jokes have a ring of reality. But for me
they don’t. I had the perfect mother-in-law—Rose Ferrell who left
us this week. In the 38 years I’ve been her son-in-law, we never had
a cross word. It was well known in the family that she always sided
with the in-laws if there was ever an argument.

She lived with Joy and me for the past 3-1/2 years. She was always
independent and a pleasure to have in the home. She was a godly
woman, and I would hear her praying for her six children, nine
grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren.

Now she’s gone. On Monday, at age 96, she breathed her last
surrounded by family and friends. I had spent the night with her in
the hospital on Friday, helping the nurses care for her. I fed her
breakfast and she was doing so well I took off the next morning for
the annual booksellers convention in Atlanta. But she had been
hospitalized for congestive heart failure and Monday morning it was
obvious it was a matter of hours until she died. As soon as I found
out, I immediately flew home from Atlanta and arrived at the
hospital in Altamonte Springs, Fla., an hour before her heart quit
beating.

For nearly 10 years, I’ve been meeting three times a year with 10
business and ministry leaders in a small closed group we call “CEO.” We
gave it that name because you must be a CEO to be invited. It’s for
accountability and for what the Bible calls “iron sharpening iron.” I
can’t tell you how valuable it is to discuss important issues I’m
dealing with both in business and my personal life with men I know care
about me, who have come to understand me and will keep everything in total confidence.

It was my small group experience that gave birth to the idea to start the Ministry21 Network—a
relational network to bring together like-minded pastors and leaders to
develop their own leadership skills, connect them with others, provide
needed coaching, continuing education and wonderful resources. So far, we’ve had several hundred join; most are raving fans and tell me how
some aspect of what they’ve learned has changed their lives.

Next
week, I’m combining the two for a special networking meeting at our
headquarters at 600 Rinehart Road in Lake Mary, Fla. I decided to reach
out to the 35,000 who have signed up for my blog to see if you’d like to
attend on June 16-17.

Last week, news
stories about Randy White and Eddie Long had special meaning to me because
there is a Matthew 18 story, which I have not revealed until now, where it says
to go to your brother privately.

Bishop Eddie
Long announced last week that he settled with four young men who accused him of
having homosexual relations. Long had said he was innocent and would fight the
allegations, but he settled for an undisclosed amount so “his ministry
could go on.” You can read more here.

The other news
item was former Pastor Randy White who was picked up on driving under the
influence in Tampa, Fla. You can read a secular report with the sad
details.  Suffice it to say, at one
time, Randy was one of the brightest young pastors whose vision to reach Tampa
with innovative ministries brought him a lot of accolades from civic and
religious leaders. We once featured him and his ex-wife, Paula, on the cover of
Ministry Today. It’s so sad because, for reasons we’ll never know, White
let all that influence and potential go down the drain.

What wasn’t
known until now is that in the late 1990s, I called Randy and asked to meet
with him privately to share a concern. We both drove to the small Disney town
of Celebration, Fla., about halfway between where we each lived. Over lunch I
told him I was concerned that his success seemed to be promoting pride and he
should be careful lest he fall. He thanked me for caring enough to come to him.
He responded humbly and said he’d take the warning. I felt I had done what God
wanted me to do and forgot about it.

I enjoyed attending the 19th annual Expolit trade show in Miami,
Fla., last weekend. Miami is a world of its own—or, as the joke goes,
one of the few places in the United States where a passport is required.
Miami is certainly one of the most international cities in the country
and is perfect for distributors from around Latin America. It makes
sense, then, that the premier trade show for the Spanish Christian book
and music industry is held there.

Luis Fernández, an industry veteran of more than 20 years, described
Expolit to Dr. Don Colbert, our bestselling health author who spoke at
Expolit, as “partly like NRB
[National Religious Broadcasters], partly like the International
Christian Retail Show and part bazaar.” I know that to be true because
I’ve been attending Expolit for 18 years. I’ve seen the growth of the
Spanish publishing market, and I have come to appreciate Expolits’s
cultural aspects: the trade show closing for afternoon siesta, then
staying open until midnight; the crowded aisles in the exhibit hall; or
the music blasting from nearly every booth, each one louder than the one
next door. I especially enjoy drinking sweet Cuban coffee!

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Note from Steve Strang: Attending this meeting of leaders was a great honor. Please read my commentary on what I learned.  I took the opportunity to bring home “flip camera” interviews with about half of the participants representing churches and ministries around the world.  Each one is only 2-3 minutes but gives you more information about that ministry.  If you view several or all of them, you’ll begin to get a feel for what is happening around the world—and that is my goal.

What a global network of megachurch pastors can teach usFor more than three decades I’ve been reporting on the move…