Quote Power Is Waiting for You

"I have found that there are three stages in every great work of God: first, it is impossible, then it is difficult, then it is done."

"The goal of worship is not to showcase musical talent, but to bring people into God’s presence."

“Repentant tears are the waters upon which the Spirit of God moves.”

"Attempt great things for God, expect great things from God."

To see whose words these great quotes are, visit our Quote Power site. Almost daily a new power quote is added. These are great devotional thoughts, and also good for messages and writing. Visit Quote Power now.

(And feel free to send suggested quotes to khorn@ag.org. Please identify the source of the quote.)

** Make a Difference: Support Coins for Kids

Coins for Kids is the missions fundraising arm for National Girls Ministries, and since its inception in 1994, has raised more than one million dollars toward missions. Funds sent in through December 31, 2007, will benefit Touched Romania, a ministry helping to reduce the number of abandoned newborns in the European country.

To learn more about Coins for Kids, visit the national Girls Ministries Web site at http://ngmevents.ag.org/cfk/. Then, to learn more about this year's Coins for Kids recipient, visit http://TouchedRomania.org/.

Juleen Turnage on TPExtra Podcast

Juleen Turnage, National Director of Communications for the Assemblies of God, recently appeared on our TPExtra Podcast. With a change of administration and leadership in the Fellowship on October 8, 2007, Turnage shares insights from past transitional times and administrations.

Listen Now:

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Military Chaplains Stage War Service at AGTS

Military chaplaincy candidates staged a mock pre-battle field service Tuesday at Assemblies of God Theological Seminary. The chapel platform was transformed into a military camp.

Chaplaincy candidates conducted the service as they would in an actual war situation just before a battle. President Byron Klaus stated that AGTS prepares more chaplains-in-training than any other seminary.




Col. Scott McChrystal, head of military chaplaincy for the Assemblies of God, spoke.

In Awe In Argentina By Rocky Grams

Rocky Grams' new book, In Awe In Argentina, has been impacting lives. I was with Rocky a few years ago in Argentina and I know this is a story that needed to be written. What God continues doing there is remarkable. I have bumped into missionaries from Argentina all over the world who are graduates of River Plate Bible Institute, the school Rocky leads.

Rocky says, "Writing this book was a mandate from God! It took me five years to write it and a couple of years to find a publisher, Creation House."

Reading the manuscript brought revival to students, pastors and missionaries in Albania.

Edgardo Munoz, a friend and colleague of the Grams, states that the book is "the seed of revival."

It's being sold in countries as diverse as Japan, Great Britain, Australia and Germany. It has been published in English and Spanish.

Argentina is the second largest nation in South America. Its population of approximately 38 million is diverse, with about 85 percent being of European descent. At one time, Argentina was the most prosperous, educated, and industrialized nation in South America. In recent years the government has had to pursue harsh economic measures to combat spiraling inflation. Despite the people's spiritual aloofness of decades, God has sent a mighty revival to Argentina in recent years. Hundreds of thousands have accepted Christ and the urgent need has been discipling and training—to retain the tremendous harvest.
Rocky Grams grew up on the mission field. He spent 16 years in Bolivia ministering alongside his parents, assisting in planting churches in the high Andes Mountains, distributing literature, ministering to youth, and teaching music and Spanish at a Bible School for Aymara Indians.

Rocky and his wife, Sherry, met at North Central Bible College. They have served as missionaries to Argentina since 1979 and have seen a dynamic response to the gospel. Rocky has directed the Instituto Biblico Rio de la Plata in Buenos Aires, and Sherry has served as teacher and counselor. The Bible School has an enrollment of 408 resident students and 529 part-time students.

The school has over 1,873 graduates ministering all over Argentina and in 35 different countries of the world. Of the 179 foreign missionaries sent out by the Argentine Assemblies of God, 53 are alumni of River Plate Bible Institute.

The Grams sense a tremendous urgency to help provide training for the hundreds of young people who are feeling the call to ministry.

For more on Instituto Bíblico Río de la Plata go to: www.ibrponline.org

To order the book, e-mail Rachel Schaible at inaweinargentina@gmail.com. Web site: inaweinargentina.com

Physician’s vision results in free health care to needy

ByJohn W. Kennedy in Des Moines, Iowa

Editor’s note: The following article appeared in the March 10, 2002, edition of TPE, when James and Beth Blessman did short-term medical missions trips with HealthCare Ministries. In 2004, the Blessmans transferred to Caring Connection, where James is responsible for e-mail or phone physician medical care consultations with overseas Assemblies of God missionaries. Blessman also attends to the primary health-care needs of missionary families every summer at the School of Missions in Springfield, Mo. The Blessmans also spend four months in each year in South Africa, caring for 300 orphan children whose parents have died from HIV/AIDS.

Tables and chairs are being set up in the waiting area.
Ear-probe thermometers, blood pressure cuffs and tongue depressors are prepared in the screening section. A toy box and children’s videos are readied in an overflow room.
It’s 5:30 p.m. Thursday in the basement of First Assembly of God in Des Moines, Iowa, and a beehive of active volunteers are transforming Sunday School rooms into a free clinic. Although patients won’t be seen for another half hour, they already are lining up for the first-come, first-served ministry. The church has designated a corner for medical exams and supplies storage.
The weekly free clinic is the brainchild of Dr. James L. Blessman, a member of First Assembly. As founder of the umbrella nonprofit Health Care Access Network, Blessman has started free weekly clinics in 17 Iowa locations. HCAN reaches many Iowans who have jobs, but little or no health insurance.
With the vision of using volunteers from local churches, Blessman in the past decade has recruited 200 doctors and 1,000 non-physician volunteers to donate their services. In addition to the free labor, the use of facilities is donated along with most of the equipment and medicines. The state covers malpractice insurance for the doctors providing the free care. The network of clinics provides free primary medical care, no strings attached, to those who likely don’t have a regular doctor. “We’re just a tiny piece of the safety net,” Blessman says.
From an upstairs meeting of young adults, contemporary worship music can be heard faintly. Many patients who wouldn’t set foot in a church for a service don’t mind doing so for free health care that is run as efficiently and professionally as commercial clinics. The patients who gather are a mixture, representing the neighborhood in northwest Des Moines: a white elderly woman, a Hispanic family of five, a black teenager.
Typically, three nurses, one doctor, a medical student and half a dozen non-medical volunteers will be on hand from 6 to 8 p.m. All likely have put in a full day of work in their regular jobs. An average of 15 patients are seen each Thursday night, receiving everything from bronchitis medication to measles immunizations.
Tonight, Diane Messer, a full-time organs transplant nurse at Iowa Methodist Medical Center, is a volunteer at the free clinic. “All patients need to have equal rights to equal health care,” says Messer, who has been in nursing for 25 years. She spends about 10 minutes with each of her patients, doing a basic assessment of what’s wrong, checking vital signs and finding out about allergies and medications.
Messer, who attends First Assembly, volunteers at least once a month. If she has time, she asks patients if they believe in God and pray. “I recognize that illness can be a time of spiritual uncertainty,” she says.
Tonight’s on-call doctor is Dr. James P. Lovell, a cardiologist who has been volunteering monthly since the clinic opened six years ago. For a specialist who spends his daily life in the intricacies of the heart, treating a common cold is a bit of a departure.
“I’m just a cardiologist,” says Lovell, who also sings in the First A/G choir. “Sometimes I wonder if I should be seeing sick babies. But this is a place where God wants me to be. In a sense, this is a missions outreach. This is the place where I can make a small contribution.”
Sometimes a diagnosis and treatment can change a life. At one clinic, a doctor determined that a baby had phenylketonuria, a genetic disorder that results in mental retardation if not caught early and treated with a special diet.
Lovell engages in good-natured banter with a high school student at the clinic for a basketball physical. The cardiologist asks Garrett Gordon, a first-year student at Hoover High School, what position he plays and how the team is going to do. Eventually he asks the patient whether he goes to church.
Before leaving, patients have the option of counselors praying with them. As they are most weeks, Denny and Joyce Spencer are at the clinic ready to offer spiritual guidance. “Almost everyone lets us pray with them after they receive medical treatment,” Joyce says.
Denny believes those who haven’t made a commitment to Jesus at the start of the night will do so by the end. “I have big expectations because we’ve invited God into this room,” he says.
This evening, Robert Gonzales, a good-looking 17-year-old North High School senior who is at the clinic for the first time for a basketball physical, makes Jesus his Savior after talking with the Spencers. “They told me how to accept God in my life,” he says. Those who make a salvation decision receive a free Bible, discipleship materials and church information.
The cost to HCAN for each patient is $21 per visit, one-tenth of what a trip to a hospital emergency room runs. The entire annual $313,000 HCAN budget comes from private funds and no government money is used. The clinics are dependent upon individuals, congregations, patient donations and private grants to keep going. Blessman is continually on the hunt for more corporate sponsors.
Blessman had practiced family medicine in Des Moines for years, but recent overseas short-term missionary health care trips stirred his heart toward poor and spiritually lost people in Third World countries. At 56, he has reached the point in life where most doctors are winding down and looking forward to a comfortable retirement. Instead, he and his wife, Beth, recently became missionary associates with the Assemblies of God. They will be taking medical team and disaster response trips with the outreach HealthCare Ministries, bringing God’s love and healing to people around the world.

2007 Children’s Edition Points Kids to “Dream Jobs”

The Evangel’s Children’s Edition is becoming a fall tradition as kids team up with mascot Petey to explore the exciting life found in following Jesus Christ.

Past issues have featured the lands of the Bible, God’s wonderful world, and Bible doctrines. This year addresses a theme every young person thinks about: What they will become when they grow up.

The “Dream Jobs” Children’s Edition offers interviews and activities that give readers insight into the lives of teachers, preachers, firemen, doctors and other career professionals.

Don’t miss the October 28, 2007, Today’s Pentecostal Evangel and Fall 2007 Evangelio Pentecostal Hoy.

If you place a bulk order of 400 copies or more by October 1, you can have the issues custom imprinted free of charge with a message from your church or ministry.

Visit tpe.ag.org for a downloadable order form with all the details, or call Gospel Publishing House toll free at 1-800-641-4310.

For a special photo essay from this year's Pentecostal World Conference in Surabaya, Indonesia, July 17-21, click here. Included are photos of Charles and Ramona Crabtree ministering.

"TPEXTRA" OFFERS MORE CONTENT ON INTERNET

For "Today's Pentecostal Evangel" readers who want to go beyond the
printed page, there's now something more. "TPExtra" provides
supplementary material to selected content from the "Evangel" on the
publication's Web site, http://www.tpe.ag.org/. "TPExtra" will offer author
insight, additional photos and other exclusive features.

"I'm excited about our new enhancements to the 'Evangel,'" says
Editor Ken Horn. "Our audio extras will let you meet the 'Evangel'
staff and hear how they have been personally impacted by the stories
they have worked on. And, as an avid photographer, I look forward to
sharing extended photo essays beyond the space we have in the
magazine."

"We hope readers will turn to 'TPExtra' for extra content and
information in our special online offerings of audio, video, photo
and blog content," says Managing Editor Kirk Noonan. "The extras
will give readers who want more information a place to go and give
those who want to express their thoughts a place to do that."

—From AG News

Veterans Day Is Coming

Go to agmilitary.blogspot.com to leave a note of appreciation for veterans and/or those in active service. Watch for a special edition of Today's Pentecostal Evangel for Veterans Day, featuring our military.

AGTS Releases Books

Three Exciting New AGTS Resources

Springfield, Mo.—September 20, 2007—Check out three new resources from the
Assemblies of God Theological Seminary (AGTS).

We’ve Come This Far: Reflections on the Pentecostal Tradition and Racial
Reconciliation, edited by AGTS President Byron D. Klaus, is the second in
the Encounter: Pentecostal Ministry Series published by AGTS. It is a
critical reflection on the contributions of Martin Luther King Jr. and
William J. Seymour, the early Pentecostal church leader, to the church and
society. The book seeks to understand the religious and social aspect of the
church’s moral leadership in society through the lens of their lives. (Order
at www.agts.edu/book_order_form.html or by calling 417-268-1055.)

The Essential J. Philip Hogan, edited by AGTS President Byron D. Klaus and
Douglas P. Petersen and published by AGTS, is the first in the J. Philip
Hogan World Missions Series. (Order at www.agts.edu/book_order_form.html or
by calling 417-268-1055.

J. Phillip Hogan was a prolific writer, contributing hundreds of articles to
a variety of publications during his 30-year tenure as executive director of
the Division of Foreign Missions of the Assemblies of God (USA). The
Essential J. Philip Hogan is an introductory collection of Hogan’s writings
for those who wish to explore the legacy of this remarkable pioneer, leader,
theologian and missiologist.

Él Nos Dio Apóstoles, the Spanish version of AGTS’s previously published He
Gave Apostles: Apostolic Ministry in the 21st Century, edited by Edgar R.
Lee, has been published by Vida, the Spanish division of Zondervan (order at
www.zondervan.com). He Gave Apostles discusses the advancement of the
apostolic office within the Pentecostal-Charismatic Movement, which is being
supported by some academic theologians and a growing body of popular-level
writings from leaders who are eager to “jump-start” a lethargic North
American Church. Given the rising debate, AGTS believes that careful
analysis is imperative to protect the unity of the Church and the integrity
of the ministry.

New Assemblies of God Leaders Accept Charge of Office: View It Here

September 19, 2007

"In a solemn ceremony, filled with prayer and emotion, departing Assemblies of God General Superintendent Thomas E. Trask read commissioning statements to the new AG Executive Leadership Team in a service held Tuesday morning in the AG national headquarters chapel auditorium in Springfield, Missouri."

Read the full article from AG News here.

View the service here.

Meet Danny and Martha Morales

I want you to meet Danny Morales. Danny has been instrumental in helping TPE get blog literate. He has taken a lot of time, long distance to help me learn a lot of things I didn't know. Thanks, Danny for all the time you have put in to help the ministry of TPE.

I consider Danny my first "reverse mentor." This is what my friend Dr. Earl Creps calls the young guys who help the older guys learn young stuff. He has been an immense blessing to me.

Danny has been doing this long distance from his home in Hawai'i where he is in the military and ministry. I wanted to know more about him. Here is part of what he shared with me:

"Martha and I are church-appointed missionaries to young adults based out of Christian Life Center (A/G) of Douglas Arizona. Our missionary field are young adult military members and their families. Since entering the Navy in 1999, we have evangelized and discipled many who are now active in ministry. We have two boys, Danny Boy and Michael David, who are missionaries-in-training. Martha is a teacher at a local Southern Baptist preschool where Michael attends and is actively involved in chidlren's ministry at First Assembly of God Hawai'i, where we have been attending since arriving in late December 2005. I am a Ranger Kids Commander at First Assembly and have taught Danny Boy and now Michael for the last year and a half. Martha and I both work under Pastor Cari Hurst as military points of contact for The Reef, the Young Adult Ministry of First Assembly. We help Pastor Cari and her missionary husband Russ in any way we can and consider our involvement with them, our military friends-in-discipleship, and our boy's spiritual development the highlight of our tour."

Thanks, Danny, for all your help! May the Lord bless your ministry.

TPE Blog Reaches 60th Nation

When visitors from Kenya and Myanmar logged on to the TPE Blog earlier today, the blog reached its 59th and 60th nations. The printed word will never be replaced, but the gospel on the Internet can go almost anywhere, including to restricted countries where the Word of God cannot be shared openly.

We're thankful for this new opportunity. There have been more than 11,000 page views since we began about two months ago.

Vietnam Memorial Vandalized

The Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C., was vandalized, the Associated Press reported today. (Read the story here.) Who would do such a thing?

Protest this disrespect of America's veterans by leaving words of appreciation for them and active military at the new site agmilitary.blogspot.com.

New Executive Leadership Team Commissioned

A special commissioning service for the new executive leadership team of the Assemblies of God was held this morning in the auditorium at Assemblies of God Headquarters in Springfield, Missouri. The team takes office October 8, 2007. The six-member team includes: George O. Wood, general superintendent; L. Alton Garrison, assistant general superintendent; John M. Palmer, general secretary; James K. Bridges, general treasurer; Zollie L. Smith Jr., executive director, U.S. Missions and L. John Bueno, executive director, World Missions.

Highlights from that service will be forthcoming on this blog.

Pentecostal World Conference focuses on emerging generation

Delegates from 34 nations gather in Surabaya, Indonesia, for 21st triennial congress

By John Maempa

Pentecostal leaders from around the world gathered July 17-21 to acknowledge the spiritual messages a new generation of Christians is raising. Gathering under the theme “Pentecost Today: Impartation to Impact the World,” delegates from 34 nations convened in the 20,000-seat auditorium of Bethany Church in Surabaya, Indonesia, for the 21st triennial conference of the Pentecostal World Fellowship.
Opening ceremonies filled the sprawling, dome-shaped auditorium. A parade of flags from countries represented in attendance included Botswana, Brazil, Cambodia, Cameroon, Ghana, Hong Kong, Japan, Liberia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Singapore, Slovakia, Sri Lanka, Sweden, United Arab Emirates and Zimbabwe.
Events of the conference included morning plenary sessions, a slate of 28 workshops, and evening rallies. All meetings had near- or at-capacity seating. Multiplied hundreds of attendees responded to altar calls for salvation, healing and God’s direction in their lives.
Brian Houston, president of the Assemblies of God in Australia, focused on the importance of empowering the next generation, a theme that surfaced numerous times during the conference. Though fathers generally represent knowledge and experience and sons represent the unknown, the untried, the unproven, and unpredictable, Houston warned that human nature wants to keep things tied to the known and predictable.
“God thinks and moves generationally,” declared Houston, pastor of the 20,000-member Hillsong Church of Sydney and overseer of more than 1,100 churches across Australia. “We must not try to pump new life into the ways of the fathers, but move forward toward the sons, moving from the predictable to the unpredictable.”
PWF Chairman James Leggett, general superintendent of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church in Oklahoma City, challenged Pentecostals to keep the fire burning.
“Jesus’ passion is for His church to have the fire of God,” Leggett stated. “We must have that passion for the fire and pass it on to our sons and daughters.” Leggett noted that the fire of God releases women for ministry, breaks down racial and cultural barriers, brings the supernatural in the Church, and empowers the Church to cover the earth with the gospel.
William Morrow, general superintendent of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada, addressed key issues of oppression, poverty and lack of opportunity for many people around the world.
“As long as there is suffering, the Church must be the voice of hope, life and healing,” Morrow said. He emphasized the importance of investing in emerging generations. “Younger leaders are more interested in function and results rather than in traditional ways of defining purpose and authority,” he said. “If we learn to understand the younger generation, we can join together to reach the world.”
Dag Heward-Mills of Ghana, founder of Lighthouse Chapel International, a charismatic denomination with more than 400 branches, said many Christians have forgotten a message of suffering often is required to see God’s work accomplished.
“We have many big churches with lots of money, but they are powerless to bear fruit,” Heward-Mills said. “Sacrifice and suffering release God’s power. Jesus paid with His life. We must be willing to do the same.”
Prince Guneratnam, president of Calvary International Ministries, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, focused on the need to invest in emerging leaders within the Pentecostal movement.
“There is a great need for leaders as we move closer to the coming of Christ,” Guneratnam said. He cited his own experience as a young minister benefiting greatly from established leaders who supported him. By age 28 he was elected general superintendent of the Assemblies of God in Malaysia. Guneratnam noted that he developed as a leader because spiritual fathers had faith in him.
“They didn’t see failure as final,” Guneratnam said.
Charles Crabtree, assistant general superintendent of the U.S. Assemblies of God, urged the delegation to believe fully in the promises of God.
“Some people spend too much time trying to understand the process, but God is bigger than our thought processes,” Crabtree said. “We need to come away from trying to understand the ways of God and know He is able to accomplish what is needed. The power of the Holy Spirit is greater than all our problems.”
Crabtree cautioned against dwelling on nostalgic memories to the point of thwarting future accomplishments.
“History is a beautiful place to visit, but a terrible place to live,” Crabtree declared. “God’s promises are bigger than doubting and unbelief. Nothing can stand against the Pentecostal movement if we stand on the promises of God.”
Jack Hayford, president of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, warned against the tendency to be impressed with achievements.
“When we become preoccupied with success, we succumb to the temptation to measure our successes against one another,” Hayford said. “Comparisons are outside of God’s order of things.” Hayford noted further that young leaders are particularly vulnerable to the success syndrome.
Four members of the PWF Executive Committee were re-elected July 18 to serve the 2007-2010 term. Bishop James Leggett of the United States will return as chairman. Other re-elected officers are Lamar Vest (U.S.) as vice-chairman, Prince Guneratnam (Malaysia) as secretary and Isak Burger (South Africa) as officer. Three new members elected to complete the Executive Committee are Bill Morrow (Canada), Jack-Tommy Ardenfors (Sweden) and Matthew Thomas (India).
In addition to these officers, the PWF Advisory Committee includes Ingolf Ellssel (Germany), Jack Hayford (U.S.), Ernest Komanapalli (India), Dennis McGuire (U.S.), Alex Tanuseputra (Indonesia), Pavel Rivis Tipei (Romania), Arto Hämäläinen (Finland), Brian Houston (Australia), Gunnar Jeppestol (Norway), George McKinney (U.S.), David Mohan (India), Samuel Uchimura (Japan), Jose Wellington (Brazil), William F. Kumuyi (Nigeria) and Dag Mills (Ghana).
The 22nd Pentecostal World Conference will convene in Stockholm, Sweden, in August 2010.

— John Maempa is director of the National Prayer Center for the U.S. Assemblies of God. The Pentecostal World Fellowship conference marked the completion of his term as president of the International Pentecostal Press Association board of directors.

Military Personnel Appreciation Site Launched

A cooperative venture of Assemblies of God Military Chaplaincy and Today's Pentecostal Evangel has launched a brand-new Web site intended to bolster our troops' spiritual and emotional morale, as well as that of their families.

On agmilitary.blogspot.com, anyone can leave a note of appreciation.

From the site:

The United States of America is blessed to have many brave men and women serving this country in the military. This site was born on September 11, 2007, the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 terror attack on America. It is intended to show our support, as Americans and Christians, of these courageous individuals and their families.

Please leave positive comments of support. Express your appreciation and/or tell them you are praying for them. You may address a particular branch or command or all the Armed Forces. You may even leave a message regarding a particular individual, as long as it does not convey personal or secure information. (Click on "comments" below to begin your message. Please leave your name rather than using the "anonymous" option. You may feel free to just leave your first name and your city or state of residence if you prefer.)

To our military personnel: Please read through the comments to see the support you have. And feel free to leave your own comments, or send news. Photos may eventually be posted on a separate site.

Col. Scott McChrystal adds a personal note:

In my role as Representative for the Assemblies of God to our military, I continue to search for ways to support our brave men and women who serve in our Armed Forces. Having served as an infantryman in Viet Nam, I can vividly recall what it feels like to fight a war that our nation didn’t support. As I am sure you agree, our military men and women today deserve much better for the enormous sacrifices they, along with their families, continue to make. They need our encouragement.

Together, let’s seize the opportunity. Please join us in our attempt to convey our love, appreciation, and support for their heroic efforts. Please take a few moments to express how you feel about them and the service they are providing to our nation. You can make a huge difference!

Scott McChrystal
CH (COL), USA Ret.
Mil/VA Rep & Endorser
Assemblies of God Chaplaincy Ministries
(417) 862-2781, Ext 3281

Visit agmilitary.blogspot.com to leave your comments and read those left by others.

84 Salvation Responses Received Last Week

This morning, like most Monday mornings, the TPE staff prayed for all of the salvation responses received the previous week. Eighty-four people sent responses in last week and were sent information to help them in their new Christian walk. This is the most ever received in one week. We are grateful for God's goodness. Please agree in prayer with us that God will use this magazine to touch lives in an eternal way.

Core Values - Audio

Dr. George O. Wood, general superintendent-elect of the Assemblies of God, recently addressed Assemblies of God Theological Seminary students and faculty on the subject of his core values as general superintendent. To hear that message, click here.

The Secret of Happiness

By Charles T. Crabtree

Without question, most people would doubt the wisdom of using the title “The Secret of Happiness” for such a relatively short dissertation on a subject that has given birth to thousands of books by some of the most gifted authors who ever lived.

However, the secret of happiness is not really a secret at all. It is boldly declared by Jesus himself in John 15:10,11: “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” (NIV, emphasis added).

It is amazing how little has changed since the Garden of Eden when our first grandparents 100 or so times removed brought so much tragedy and grief into the human family. It is there we learn the secret of unhappiness: a spirit of rebellion and an intentional decision to disobey God’s commandments.

Somehow Satan has succeeded in deceiving people of every age and culture into believing they can find happiness by focusing on selfish goals, seeking instant gratification and insisting upon self-rule.

Leaving God out of the formula for happiness is like drinking saltwater to quench your thirst or borrowing money to spend your way out of debt. It may bring a brief moment of pleasure or relief, but it simply delays the inevitable tragedy. Proverbs 14:12 brings a self-directed life into focus: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.”

Most of the popular self-help books on success and happiness should carry the following warning label:

This book may be injurious to your spiritual health. Its basic philosophy is human deification. Its appeal is to pride, and the only successes promoted are temporal.

Read the rest of this article in today's issue of Today's Pentecostal Evangel.

Divine Healing

By Charles T. Crabtree

Diving healing is an integral part of the gospel. Deliverance from sickness is provided for in the Atonement, and is the privilege of all believers (Isaiah 53:4,5; Matthew 8:16,17; James 5:4-16). — One of four defining truths of the Assemblies of God.

Something tragic has taken place in the name of God. The great biblical doctrine of divine healing has been so abused that many have abandoned its benefits.

This article will identify errors surrounding divine healing and deal with the scriptural principles, patterns and promises of the doctrine.

Errors concerning divine healing

1. The gifts of healing were a temporary sign gift to establish the authority of the apostles, but spiritual gifts no longer play a role in the Church.

This concept has absolutely no basis in Scripture. On the contrary, we are encouraged to seek earnestly the best gifts. According to James, part of the elders’ role in the church is to pray and anoint the sick with oil for the purpose of divine healing. Healing of the sick is one of the signs Jesus said would follow believers (Mark 16:17,18).

Jesus is still in the healing business. The day of miracles is not past.

2. It is God’s will for me to be sick.

The Bible teaches that the physical body is corrupt or mortal because of sin. Sin brought a curse upon this world. But it is not God’s will for His people to live under the curse. In fact, He is building a city where there is no curse.

3. Everyone should be healed right now because healing is in the Atonement.

The atonement of Jesus Christ paid for the redemption of mankind. He took our punishment and suffered so we could be healed. He shed His blood and died to complete the perfect work of redemption. Jesus Christ conquered Satan and arose as the firstfruits of those who die in Christ (1 Corinthians 15:20).

He forgave our sins by His sacrifice, but our redeemed souls are still dwelling in unredeemed bodies. We do, however, have the promise that one day we will have redeemed or glorified bodies. Romans 8:23 tells us: “We ourselves … groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (NIV).

Jesus Christ provided for our complete and eternal salvation on Calvary, signaled by His cry, “It is finished” (John 19:30). We can claim the redemption of our souls — total forgiveness from sin. Jesus Christ also provided complete and eternal healing for our bodies, but no one presently living on this planet has yet received a glorified body. No one on this earth has been totally removed from the consequences of the curse.

When we say, “Healing is in the Atonement,” we must remember that we have not yet seen the ultimate healing. Even those who have been miraculously healed have not been perfectly healed as yet. Salvation has come through Calvary, but we have not yet realized perfection in our body, soul, spirit or world.

4. All sickness is a result of sin in the one who is sick.

To say that all sickness is a result of the curse is biblical, but to say that all sickness is a result of sin in the person who is sick is not scriptural. Sickness might be a result of the consequences of sin, but nowhere did Jesus limit sickness to being the result of unconfessed sin.

If all sickness were a result of unconfessed sin, every time the Christian confessed sin in his life, known or unknown, he would be instantly healed. Such teachings bring condemnation, causing the believer to doubt his salvation and putting him in a place of failure through self, rather than a place of victory through Christ.

5. All faith healers are con artists.

To be technically accurate, we should probably call the legitimate faith healer a “faith builder” or a “Christ exalter,” because only Christ heals.

Jesus Christ has given many gifts to the Church. God has chosen unique people and ministries to edify the body of Christ. Some of these people have been given an extraordinary ability to build faith for healing through the Word. I resent anyone placing a whole group of people in one category, then dismissing the whole lot because of an unscrupulous few. There are legitimate God-given faith builders in His church.

To our sorrow, it is obvious there are men and women who are con artists. The Bible clearly says there will be those who will stand before the Throne and ask for entrance into heaven because they say they have healed the sick and cast out devils in His name. But God will tell them they are iniquitous workers and He never had anything to do with them (Matthew 7:22,23).

The Bible admonishes us to know those who minister among us for our own God-given protection. We should be more concerned about a man’s character than about his claims. Beware of anyone who asks for your allegiance. No man can be a substitute for your own faith in the Man of Galilee.

The scriptural basis for divine healing

1. The person of God.

It is within God’s character to heal. As a matter of fact, one of the names of God is Jehovah-Rapha, or “The Lord that healeth.”

When the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, He healed the sick. The divine Healer set people free from every incurable disease known to man. No sickness stymied His ability to heal. The blind received their sight, the dumb spoke, and the lame and paralyzed were given strong, healthy limbs. The awful scourge of leprosy was lifted time and again, the high fever was checked and the temperature returned to normal, the issue of blood was dried up by a touch, and the withered hand was stretched out and made whole. Funeral processions were interrupted and changed to resurrection parades, the demons of hell were evicted from their habitations, and epileptic seizures were silenced.

This same Jesus is alive today. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. In Matthew 28:20, He said, “Lo, I am with you always.”

2. The promise of God.

We have sound, scriptural reasons for believing in divine healing. When Jesus gave His disciples the Great Commission, He also gave them the power to cast out demons and heal all manner of sickness. Jesus said, “I give unto you power” (Luke 10:19). The word “power” here is the word dunamis — the same power given to the Church at Pentecost, and the same power He has promised to His church in all ages.

Jesus gave the disciples the authority to use His name; it was His power of attorney. When someone is given the power of attorney, he is authorized by that person to act in his place. Jesus Christ has given believers the authority to use His name in His place, during His physical absence (Mark 16:17,18).

Jesus also promised healing through the anointing of oil and the laying on of hands:

“Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up” (James 5:14,15). That promise doesn’t sound like our Healer has decided to resign.

Jesus also provided gifts of healing to benefit the human body. When God answers prayer, He often uses the natural functions of the body to restore healing. He starts a trend toward health rather than sickness — this is a gift of healing. However, there are times when He chooses to supersede the natural healing process and instantly makes the person whole — this is a miracle of healing.

3. The pattern of divine healing.

God’s pattern of divine healing was established in the New Testament church and follows the teaching of our Lord Jesus. The ultimate purpose and object of healing is not to avoid a problem or to relieve pain, but to bring glory and honor to Jesus. The fundamental reason for healing is the same as the reason for the gift of the Holy Spirit: to make Jesus known.

The means of healing is through faith. You cannot be good enough, and you cannot work hard enough for it. The means is faith, and the object is Jesus. God has provided, but faith is the means whereby we take what God has promised and act accordingly.

The methods of healing are not limited. We see the pattern in the Early Church. The disciples exercised faith by a simple word and command. People were healed through fasting and prayer. People were healed by anointing handkerchiefs and aprons with oil. People were healed when Peter’s shadow passed over them. People were healed by the laying on of hands.

What is the Word trying to communicate? God will use any method, but it is up to us to simply exercise faith in His name and for His glory.

God still heals today.

Adapted from This I Believe (Springfield, Mo.: Gospel Publishing House, 1982). Used by permission.

Charles T. Crabtree is assistant general superintendent of the Assemblies of God.

When Death Brings Life

By John W. Kennedy

Editor’s note: This article ran in the Sept. 24, 2006 edition of TPE. Brandy Horton continues to work at the school and her daughters are now in second grade and pre-kindergarten. Business route 81 in Rush Springs has been renamed the “Destry Horton Memorial Highway.”


During his boyhood near Rush Springs, Okla., John Destry Horton lived across the pasture from Brandy Pittman. In between his periodic teasing and tormenting his neighbor, the 10-year-old Destry turned serious. He told Brandy, then 6, that someday he would marry her.

But that idealistic childhood vow sustained a bump or two along the road to adult reality. At 21, Destry embarked on a new venture: cooking up methamphetamine and dealing illegal drugs.

One day, after he shot up a lethal mixture of crank and heroin, a dazed Destry realized he had pushed too far. In a plea to God to spare his life, Destry promised to serve Him the rest of his life if he survived.

God spared Destry that day in 1996 and the young man made good on his promise, doing everything with evangelistic gusto. From that point on, Destry — who never endured withdrawal symptoms or went through drug rehabilitation — told everyone he met how God intervened to disrupt his descent into death, and how Jesus Christ powerfully transformed him and gave him newfound life.

Unlike Destry, Brandy grew up attending church three times a week. But in her late teens she rebelled.
Destry got her interested in the Lord again. After declining repeatedly, Brandy finally accepted Destry’s invitation to a revival meeting, where she renewed her commitment to the Lord. Destry and Brandy’s friendship blossomed into romance, and the couple wed in 1998.
...

To read the rest of the article, click on the title above.

AG Pastor Refuels With Air Force

I just received this email with these photos from Pastor Dennis Huenefeld in North Pole, Alaska. We have mentioned him once in the blog. I was with him awhile back for an upcoming story in TPE. These are some amazing photos.

"I flew a few weeks ago on an Air Force KC 135 to do a refueling run
over W Alaska and refuled some F-22 Raptors (the new planes in the Air Force). Here is a shot from the 'service station in the sky'."

Mount McKinley (Denali)

Tapping the Fountain of Youth

8 Ways to Live Longer and Stay Stronger

By Christina Quick

As a professional dietician, 49-year-old Rose Clark of Willard, Mo., instinctively thought of food allergies when she started suffering from eczema, fatigue, facial swelling and eye pain a few years ago.

Her doctor agreed that food was likely the culprit and prescribed a special diet. Yet the symptoms didn’t subside. One day as she was praying, Clark sensed God telling her that the source of her ailment was something she hadn’t considered.

“God told me my problem had nothing to do with food,” Clark says. “He said fear, rejection and anger were the causes and what I was seeing were the symptoms.”

Clark says God reminded her of someone she needed to forgive. As she knelt in prayer, she confessed her lack of forgiveness and asked God to help her release it. By the next day, most of her symptoms had vanished.
“I could have spent my whole life modifying my diet and never dealing with the real issue, which was forgiveness,” Clark says. “Not every disease has that kind of inner root, but I believe there are times when God wants to heal us from the inside out.”

Though some doctors would view Clark’s story with skepticism, a mounting body of evidence suggests our beliefs — and how we practice them — are more closely linked to physical health than the scientific community previously imagined.

“They’re very intertwined,” says Dr. Harold G. Koenig, co-director and founder of Duke University’s Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health in Durham, N.C. “A human being is truly made up of a mind, a body and a spirit, and they are so connected that you cannot separate them. We’ve been trying to pull them apart for a couple hundred years and it just doesn’t work.”

In their efforts to unravel the mystery of why some people live longer and enjoy better health than others, researchers like Koenig have made some remarkable discoveries. As it turns out, you don’t have to compete in triathlons or discover the fountain of youth to add years to your life — and life to your years. Many of the secrets to longevity and good health aren’t secrets at all. In fact, they’re right out of the pages of Scripture.

“The Word of God is not only life, but medicine,” says Stephen Sparks, former Senior Adult Ministries director for the Assemblies of God. “When you live by the Word and do the Word, you’re getting back to the basics of the way God designed you to function.”

Consider the following eight Bible principles that are now touted and supported by modern medical research.

1. Forgive

Forgiveness is a central element of Christianity. Jesus himself said the purpose of His death was to secure forgiveness for our sins (Matthew 26:28). He also warned that we must forgive others in order to receive God’s forgiveness (Matthew 6:14,15).

There may be other benefits of forgiveness as well. Dr. Frederic Luskin, a Stanford researcher and author of the book Forgive for Good: A Proven Prescription for Health and Happiness, has found that those who let go of grudges tend to have fewer physical symptoms of stress and a lower risk of cardiovascular disease.

Another study from Duke University Medical Center showed that people who forgive others experience less pain, anger and depression.

2. Pray and read the Bible

Proverbs 4:22 describes God’s wisdom as “life” and “health to a man’s whole body” (NIV). Koenig’s research has demonstrated the literal truth of these words.

In one study, Koenig found that senior adults who didn’t pray and read the Bible were 47 percent more likely to die during the study period. This held true even after factoring in social differences and health behaviors, such as diet, exercise and smoking and drinking habits. Other studies have shown similar health benefits for younger people.

“People who pray, read the Bible and are involved in a religious community are mentally and physically healthier, less depressed and less anxious,” Koenig says. “They have better immune function that we can actually measure, they don’t use as many health services and they live longer.”

3. Attend church

Next time you’re tempted to skip church, you might want to think again — especially since church attendance may add eight years to your life. A 1999 National Health Interview Survey that followed 21,204 people over eight years found that those who didn’t attend weekly religious services were almost twice as likely to die as regular attendees.

Based on the results, researchers calculated that the average life expectancy at age 20 for frequent church attendees is 83 years, compared to 75 years for those who stay away from church or attend infrequently.

“These findings do not indicate that nonattenders who start attending services, and change nothing else, will live eight years longer,” says David Myers, an author and psychology professor at Hope College in Holland, Mich. “But they do indicate that as a predictor of health and longevity, religious involvement rivals nonsmoking and exercise effects.”

4. Don’t worry

In explaining the futility of worry, Jesus reminded His disciples that they could not add even an hour to their lives by fretting (Luke 12:25,26). Researchers have found, in fact, that worry can reduce a person’s life span.

A 1997 Harvard study showed that worriers have an increased risk of coronary heart disease. A 2000 Mayo Clinic study demonstrated that optimists, on average, live longer than pessimists.

A more recent study from Australia concluded that individuals who live to be 100 tend to worry less throughout their lifetimes than the average person.

Even worrying about getting older can shave years off a person’s life, according to a Yale University report. In that study, people who said they had positive perceptions about aging lived an average of 7.6 years longer than those who held negative views.

5. Laugh

Proverbs 17:22 says, “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” Cardiologists at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore would likely agree. In a study involving 300 people, doctors found that people who developed heart disease generally laughed less and displayed more anger and hostility.

In addition, Japanese researchers have found a connection between laughter and lower blood sugar levels among both diabetics and nondiabetics.

“People become healthier from laughter,” says Judy Goldblum-Carlton, a humor therapist at the University of Maryland Children’s Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology. “It improves circulation. When you laugh heartily, every organ is being massaged, including your heart, lungs and digestive system.”

6. Rest

Although He is omnipotent and could never tire, God himself demonstrated for us the value of rest when He paused on the seventh day of creation. When Jesus walked the Earth, He too set aside time for rest, frequently going to a secluded setting for prayer and rejuvenation.

Unfortunately, modern society places little value on rest. Many people today work longer hours, get less sleep and take fewer vacation days than ever before. These practices have been linked to such problems as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and depression.

A Harvard study found an increased likelihood of premature death among those who get less than six hours of sleep per night. Another study, published in 2002 in the Occupational and Environmental Medicine journal, showed that longer work hours and fewer days off significantly increased the risk of heart attack among workers in the United Kingdom.

In addition to disease risks, the National Sleep Foundation estimates that 23 percent of Americans have fallen asleep while driving — an act that claims more than 1,500 lives annually.

7. Stay married

The Bible supports the institution of marriage and encourages married couples to stay together. After witnessing the disastrous effects of rising divorce rates over the past few decades, experts from a wide range of fields are making the same recommendation. Not only does divorce wreak havoc on finances and personal relationships, it can also take a toll on the physical and emotional health of those involved.

Numerous studies have shown that married people tend to live longer. Divorce, on the other hand, appears to have a detrimental effect on health. A 2005 study funded by the National Institute on Aging found that divorced people are more likely to suffer from heart and lung disease, cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes and stroke.

According to the Center for the Study of Aging, by the time divorced men reach age 50, their health declines more rapidly than the health of those who remain married.

A study from the University of California at Riverside also found that divorced men are more likely to commit suicide. The increased risk factor was not present for men who were widowed or had never married.

8. Give

The Bible teaches that it’s more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35). While there are many rewards to giving, longevity may be a nice bonus.

According to a study conducted by the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research, those who help others tend to live longer. Even after accounting for other contributing factors, participants who reported providing no help to others were more than twice as likely to die during the five-year study period.

Receiving help from others, however, was not shown to reduce mortality.

Similarly, a decade-long study in Israel found that elderly people who volunteer on a regular basis outlive not only those who do not volunteer, but also those who postpone retirement to continue their careers. Amazingly, volunteering was found to be an even greater predictor of longevity than exercise.

Of course, there are no guarantees of perfect health or long life. Even the most committed Christians are susceptible to sickness and tragedy. Yet the Bible’s principles continue to withstand the test of time and prove their trustworthiness in every facet of life.

Proverbs 3:5-8 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.”

“There’s a balance of doing what we know to do and trusting God with our lives,” says Sparks. “My grandfather lived to be 94, but my son passed away at 21 from cancer. No matter how long or short our lives may be, there is great wisdom and a wealth of blessings in living each day according to the Word of God.”

Christina Quick is staff writer for Today’s Pentecostal Evangel.

"What do you think? Can living God's way impact a person's health?"

ImMEDIAte Impact

What is your child learning today that you’re not teaching?

By Kirk Noonan

Lindsay Harrup, a colleague’s 15-year-old daughter, attends church regularly, is active in her youth group, is an honors student at a Christian school, and is an ace on her notebook computer. That final detail puts her within clicking distance of a worldwide Web of information and misinformation.

At her parents’ insistence, Harrup’s Internet service provides a thorough filter to pre-empt any pornography she might stumble upon. Even so, that hasn’t stopped the occasional unsolicited and insidious e-mail from slipping into her inbox.

“I immediately put that person’s address on my block list,” says Harrup, “so I never hear from them again.”

Porn is not the only detrimental thing teenagers have to contend with on the Internet and in the world. Each day, up to 500 times according to some research, children and teens are bombarded with advertisements packed with messages telling them they would be happier or cooler if they owned or did this or that.

Read the rest of this article here, on our main site.

For a pdf, click here.

A Slow Journey on a Chosen Road

Editor’s note: Since publication of the following article in the Nov. 14, 2004, issue of TPE, much has happened in Steve Kramer’s life. While itinerating in January 2005 to raise missionary funds, he met his future wife, Julie, in Medford, Ore. They wed in June 2005. The couple arrived in the Netherlands in July 2006.

The Kramers completed a year of Dutch language school while simultaneously pastoring a Chi Alpha group in their Leiden home each week. The group eventually grew to 25 students. Then the missionaries began helping a church in Groningen with a new Chi Alpha chapter, handing leadership of Chi Alpha Leiden to missionary associate Emma Hansen. In the summer of 2007, the Kramers accepted an assignment as the first national directors of Chi Alpha Campus Ministries in the Netherlands.



A Slow Journey on a Chosen Road

By John W. Kennedy

When Steve Kramer entered the world in 1973, doctors gave his young parents little hope for survival of their first baby, born 11 weeks premature.

“If he lives, you’ll be fortunate,” a physician told Randy Kramer, 21 and in the Air Force, and his wife, Linda, just 18. It was an era before medical technology could do much to save small-weight infants. Steve’s weight dipped below three pounds and repeatedly he suffered breathing apnea because of underdeveloped lungs. When his heart monitor stopped, a nurse vigorously tugged on a string tied to his leg to jostle the boy into breathing again.

Those touch-and-go early days also put a strain on Randy and Linda, who lived in Arizona. They were visiting Linda’s parents in Placerville, Calif., when she went into premature labor. The closest hospital that would treat preemies was in Sacramento, and for the first two months they had to make a 100-mile round trip to see their son in a hospital incubator.

When Steve turned 6 months old, the family moved to the Azores, a group of islands 800 miles west of the coast of Portugal. The parents grew concerned when their 9-month-old baby couldn’t sit up and had difficulty grasping toys.

The mounting pressures of marrying young — Linda had been 16, Randy 19 — the growing medical concerns over Steve and the rigorous military life took a toll on the Kramers. The couple separated for 6 months and contemplated divorce.

But a trip to a U.S. military hospital in West Germany unified them. Upon hearing physicians diagnose his son with cerebral palsy, Randy, who had been raised in a strong Christian home, recommitted his life to Christ and thus preserved the marriage. Doctors told the Kramers that their son would never walk.

From that point on, the Kramers stuck together.

Steve’s parents always included him in family activities. They let him go at his own pace, which resulted in him becoming more independent-minded. And Steve didn’t set limits on himself.

“My family never treated me like I was disabled,” Kramer says. “My parents knew that the limitations others set on me weren’t what God planned. God knew before I was born what purposes He had for me. God doesn’t look at the doctor’s chart before He calls you.”

Today, Kramer is one of 764,000 people in the United States with cerebral palsy. Usually the condition is caused by brain damage during fetal development, affecting a person’s ability to adequately control body movement and muscle coordination.

But overcoming difficulties has been something Kramer has done with great regularity. In fact, his impressive career almost makes it seem as though he had been born with a silver spoon in his mouth. The handsome, articulate, good-natured, extroverted young man has pursued and realized his dreams of becoming a television news anchor, associate pastor and now, itinerating missionary.

Certainly an upbeat attitude and stick-to-itiveness have contributed to his achievements. But more importantly, Kramer’s faith in Christ has helped him accomplish goals rather than despair about limitations he faces.

PAINFUL CHILDHOOD

The Kramers returned to California just after Steve’s first birthday. By age 13, Steve had undergone a dozen surgeries on his legs, knees and hips in attempts to loosen stiff spastic muscles. Sometimes he would be in a body cast up to his chest, hospitalized for months at a time. At night his legs would be in splints.

When it came time for Steve to enter school he and his parents had a new battle to fight: prejudice. His parents vociferously, and ultimately successfully, argued for Steve’s inclusion in a public school program. Steve’s teacher, counselor and superintendent had all sought to place him in a school for the disabled. Because of the cerebral palsy, Steve’s movements appeared uncoordinated, prompting classmates to tease him cruelly and even throw rocks at him. Unlike God, people often tend to judge mental capacity by physical appearance. Steve did need to repeat kindergarten, but it was primarily because he spent most of the first year in hospital rooms rather than the classroom.

Steve lived most of his childhood in a wheelchair, on crutches or using a walker. After completing intensive and painful physical therapy, he would improve — only to face another operation which doctors deemed necessary.

Although Steve committed his life to Jesus as his Savior at age 5, four years later he felt overwhelmed as to why God allowed his pain and suffering. “My dad told me, ‘You can know God is good, whatever you go through,’ ” Steve recalls. “That has been the foundation of my life.”

His parents were a constant encouragement. “I would never trade a bad set of legs for a bad set of parents,” Steve says. “God has always blessed me with incredible favor even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.”

“It’s always been amazing to me that Steve did not become embittered,” Randy says. “Instead of getting angry at God when bad things happen, he has allowed the Lord to build his character.”

The Kramers ultimately found the operations to be more experimental than helpful. When Steve was 13, he had a wedge removed from his left femur and replaced by a steel plate. Immediately afterwards, medical specialists told the family that Steve needed a similar operation on the right femur or he would never walk. At this point Steve’s parents allowed their son to make a life-changing decision.

Steve had recently sensed a specific call by God to become a missionary to the Netherlands. He believes that sense of divine leading helped him focus on a difficult choice. “I believe God knew I would need it to carry me through the tough times,” he now recalls. At 13, Steve determined he would consent to no more operations.

Randy asked members of Highland Assembly of God in Bakersfield (now Canyon Hills Assembly) to pray for a healing so that yet another corrective surgery wouldn’t be necessary.

Six weeks later, X-rays revealed that the right femur had returned to its socket. Doctors couldn’t account for the reason.

“One of my regrets is that I should have prayed more instead of automatically conceding to surgeries,” says Randy, whose faith increased from that point. He went to Bible college and spent 15 years as a pastor.

Soon after the femur healing, the Kramers were at the beach and a giant wave came ashore. The receding water washed Steve’s crutches out to the ocean, never to be seen again. Steve saw it as divine intervention. Since then he has walked on his own ability.

OVERCOMING DIFFICULTIES

Kramer lives independently, but he isn’t against practical help. “A shoe lift didn’t come out with me when I was born,” he says. And there are limitations. He becomes fatigued after a mile of walking. Stairs are difficult to negotiate because of trying to keep his balance.

“I am disabled,” says Kramer. “It’s noticeable when I look into a full-length mirror. But God can be glorified through weaknesses.”

Kramer graduated from the University of Oregon with a broadcast journalism degree. He served sports reporting internships for NBC affiliates in Yuma, Ariz.; Eugene, Ore.; and Seattle.

God then opened doors full-time in television, a medium not known for welcoming the physically disabled. Kramer spent two years as a news anchor for the CBS affiliate in Coos Bay, Ore.

Kramer had hoped to become a professional sports announcer, but his desires were changing. He saw how much ministry transformed his father’s life.

When Kramer heard David Lee, then-director of International Media Ministries, speak at a church missions convention, he felt God calling him again to missions. At Lee’s invitation, Kramer left a promising future in television news and went to work for IMM in Belgium for 15 months. He wrote scripts and narrated videos for IMM. In his spare time he ministered to refugees and homeless people in Brussels.

“In spite of his training in the TV and radio profession, Steve’s number one passion has always been evangelism,” says Lee, now U.S. Relations director for Assemblies of God World Missions. “He is bold about sharing the gospel one-on-one on the streets.”

After his stint with IMM, Kramer moved to Springfield, Mo., where he graduated from Assemblies of God Theological Seminary with a master’s degree in theological studies in 2002. His thesis, based on Philippians 1:29, explored how suffering can be a gift from God.

Kramer served as associate pastor for a year and a half at Abundant Life Assembly of God in North Salt Lake City, Utah.

“Steve has a real good heart for starting ministries that most people don’t really care about,” says Abundant Life Pastor Alex Lucero. “He started helping at a rescue mission here and passed that ministry on to someone else when he left.”

PREPARING FOR MISSIONS

Kramer is now based in Jefferson, Ore., where his parents live. The Kramers have three younger children, all born without complications.

“I always saw great potential in Steve,” says Linda, a county sheriff’s correctional sergeant. “We never wanted him to think he couldn’t do anything, mentally or physically, that he set his heart to do. Other people see that he’s disabled. We don’t see that.” Linda Kramer went to college, even though she never finished high school.

In 2004, Kramer received approval to become an Assemblies of God world missionary in preparation to work with Chi Alpha and church planters in Amsterdam.

“Steve will find a place where there is a real need and that’s what will drive him,” says Lucero, who has been pastor of Abundant Life for 16 years.

Already, Kramer has led three Chi Alpha short-term teams to the Netherlands. Being robbed at knifepoint the first week of his first visit didn’t deter him.

“I’m the last guy who should be leading a street evangelism team through the red-light district,” Kramer says. “I walk half the speed of everybody else.”

Greg Mundis, Europe regional director for Assemblies of God World Missions, recognizes that Kramer takes longer to do some tasks but says that’s not a problem.

“Steve has exhibited an incredible amount of tenacity in the face of obstacles,” Mundis says. “He demonstrates a positive attitude in facing the challenges of life that most don’t experience. He will bring a dimension into his missionary career that few of us have because he knows what it means to endure.”

Mundis finds it especially fitting that Kramer will be living in Holland, which in 2001 became the world’s first country to legalize euthanasia, in part as “mercy killing” for the disabled. “That will provide an added dimension to what Steve can contribute to that society,” Mundis says.

Kramer works out regularly in a gym and believes he’s in the best physical shape of his life.

“But if I have to go back into a wheelchair someday it won’t dampen my testimony,” he says. “The eternal things are more important.”

John W. Kennedy is news editor of Today’s Pentecostal Evangel.

Another Don't-Ever-Give-up-Hope Miracle

Missing Maryland Student Found Alive After a Week

Another reason to never stop hoping and praying. Excerpts from this amazing story (click here for full Fox News story):

WASHINGTON — James McCormick drove by a ravine near his Laurel, Md., home many times in the week since his 18-year-old son disappeared, oblivious to the fact that his son lay trapped below.

"The prayers that everyone sent up — the prayers are truly answered," James McCormick told The Associated Press after being reunited with his son at the scene.

"They said it's a miracle he's still alive," he added.

read more | digg story

Trask, Crabtree Appreciation Deadline Set

Assemblies of God News Service

Appreciation deadline set, glitch resolved
September 7, 2007

The "Today's Pentecostal Evangel" Web site (www.tpe.ag.org) currently features a pair of links to sites that enables individuals to post words of appreciation for departing executives General Superintendent Thomas E. Trask and Assistant General Superintendent Charles T. Crabtree.

According to TPE Editor Ken Horn, the opportunity to post a message for either or both men will continue through Sunday, October 7, 2007.

"We want to provide ample opportunity for individuals across the country and around the world to post their memories and words of appreciation," explains Horn. "Your words can be part of something these two remarkable servants of God will always treasure."

Horn also says that a technical error, which has recently kept people from posting their comments, has been resolved. "We are monitoring the sites regularly to make sure they remain accessible," he says.

After the October 7 deadline passes, Horn says the comments from both sites will be printed, bound and presented to Trask and Crabtree.

To post a note of appreciation, go to http://tpe.ag.org and click on the appropriate link to express appreciation for either or both men.

Car Bomb Explodes Injuring 17 in Pakistan

"PESHAWAR, Pakistan — A car bomb exploded in the parking lot of a military-owned bank in northwestern Pakistan on Saturday, wounding 17 people, police said."

The bleeding continues in Pakistan. I have been there twice for TPE. Both times I was at our church in Islamabad that was bombed by terrorists, killing and maiming AG members. People who attend there now must go through security. I was also in Peshawar where this recent bombing took place.

My second trip was for the massive earthquake that hit the country.

This is one of my favorite parts of the world ... and it needs a lot of prayer.

Click the title for today's story.

Divine Healing Painting By Ron DiCianni

Read this post from the Surrendered Scribe blog for an example of how Ron's paintings on the four defining truths of the AG have impacted lives.

A Miracle in the Oregon Mountains: Don't Ever Give up Hope

"My prayers are always answered, always," Iris Anderson said, according to a FoxNews report.

When others had given up, one woman didn't. This miracle is a message to everyone: With God, all things are possible. Don't ever give up hope.

From the article:

"Ora Doris Anderson, 76, of Sandy had missing for almost two weeks in the Wallowa Mountains of Eastern Oregon. She was found alive, the Baker County Sheriff's Office said Thursday.

...

"Iris Anderson, 71, who is married to Harold's brother, Melvin, credited the miraculous survival to prayer and Anderson's healthy lifestyle.

...

"About 70 volunteers a day combed the mountains for several days looking for Doris Anderson until the search was scaled back in late August.

"Overnight temperatures have dipped into the 30s over the last two weeks, and she was lightly dressed. Authorities had largely given up hope.

"'I don't think there is very much chance of her being alive, not in that area,'" Sheriff Mitch Southwick said last week.

"Iris Anderson said Harold and the couple's two daughters were also starting to lose hope, especially when the search got scaled back."


Click on the title for the full original story.

And don't ever lose hope.

Atheists have taken aim: How should Christians respond?

By Kirk Noonan

If some prominent atheists have it their way, the United States will be devoid of religion. To that end they are rallying constituents by lashing out at God and the faithful through scathing, anti-religion books. They do so, they say, because religion — specifically evangelical Christianity — is toxic, has too much influence in America’s social and political arenas, and deceives people.

As evidence, atheists point to the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding a national ban on partial-birth abortion, strong opposition of evolution and stem cell research by evangelical leaders, and the government’s funding of faith-based initiatives.

To thwart such influence, atheists are ratcheting up their invective.

According to Christopher Hitchens, author of God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, “Religion kills.”

Sam Harris, author of The End of Faith, calls it a “ludicrous obscenity” to take one’s children to church.

“I am attacking God, all gods, anything and everything supernatural,” writes Richard Dawkins, in his book The God Delusion, which has been on The New York Times best-seller list for weeks.

Hitchens and company represent a burgeoning breed of atheist. These neo-atheists are strident and possess a fervor that leaves little room for civil discourse or tolerance of other people’s views, especially those who follow Jesus.

Despite the written and verbal salvos, Christian leaders implore followers to take a different tack, one they hope will change the minds and hearts of countless atheists.

Rhyme and reason

“If you’re going to create a market for anti-religion literature you have to create some kind of buzz,” says Earl Creps, who is working with the Northern California-Nevada District of the Assemblies of God to plant a church in Berkeley, Calif. “As with a lot of social groups, atheists have become defensive and have started to ‘evangelize.’ ”

A survey of culture and media seems to support Creps’ view. Television talk shows have become the atheists’ bully pulpits. On the Internet there are numerous sites devoted to atheism, including one that encourages users to blaspheme the Holy Spirit on video then post it on YouTube.

Last year on eBay an atheist put his soul on the auction block giving bidders an opportunity to save him. The atheist has since written a book about his experience and done numerous media interviews.

Recently, a U.S. congressman was among the first high-ranking government officials to come out of the closet as an atheist.

There is even a summer camp for the children of atheists. Traditional summer camp activities such as horseback riding, archery and campfires are offered.

“But campers also learn about critical thinking, science education and humanist values,” reads the camp’s promotional material. “Through an exercise that challenges campers to disprove the existence of two invisible unicorns that live at the camp, the children discover the limitations of arguments for and against supernatural claims, like the existence of God or gods.”

One atheist group even boasts of targeting children by advertising on Web sites geared for preteens. Creps warns, “If atheists have a Sunday School, the Internet is it.”

In perspective

Despite the strides atheists have made of late, they remain a minority group on the fringes of society. Studies indicate that only 8 to 11 percent of the U.S. population describe themselves as agnostics or people of no faith. Only 1 percent identify themselves as atheists.

Paltry numbers for sure, but atheism seems to be gaining traction in a culture that is increasingly moving away from its spiritual moorings. Some Christian leaders wonder if the state of the Church has something to do with this.

In the United States 80 percent of the population identify themselves as Christians. But a recent Harris Poll found that only 76 percent of Protestants say they are absolutely certain there is a God.

Church attendance and membership have also declined. On any given weekend only 45 percent of Christians, according to The Barna Group, attend a Christian church.

The divorce rates among born-again believers and those who are not are almost the same.

George Barna says in his book Revolution that the typical churched believer will die without leading a single person to Jesus Christ.

“It is important for Christians to understand the environment and the perspectives of people who are different from them, especially among young generations whose culture is moving rapidly away from Christianity,” says David Kinnaman, president of The Barna Group, who recently directed a study of the lifestyles and habits of no-faith adults in America. “Believers have the options of ignoring, rejecting or dealing with the aggressiveness of atheists and those hostile to the Christian faith.”

Christian leaders TPE spoke to lean toward not only dealing with atheists, but also actively seeking opportunities to share Christ with them. But doing so, they warn, should not be taken lightly.

Turning from atheism

Though anti-religion rhetoric can be offensive, Creps says, it can also serve a valuable purpose in that it can get believers thinking about how they are representing Jesus as they live and share their faith.

“Believers should continually be asking themselves questions such as: Am I loving and caring toward nonbelievers? Am I living out the relationship I say I have with Christ? Are there any discrepancies between what I say I believe and how I live my life?” says Creps.

Alicia Britt Chole was once an atheist. She says she used to believe that God had not created humans, but humans had created God to help explain complex matters.

“There were just so many questions in life that were never going to be answered by science, reason or experience,” she says. “Because of that, it seemed understandable to me that individuals and communities would create mythical beings and call them gods or God.”

Atheism took Chole on a wild ride. She became suicidal at her lowest point and angry enough to lash out at anyone who suggested the existence of God. Like others with doubts, she wondered how God could be all-powerful but would not use His power to prevent all the pain and suffering she saw in the world.

Despite her worldview and penchant for berating anyone who tried to share their faith with her, two Christian friends eventually played a part in her conversion to Christianity.

“My friends gave me what God gave them,” she says. “I now call that the ‘present of Presence.’ They got close enough for long enough that God actually echoed through their humanity and suddenly something within me began to quicken.”

Today, Chole, a wife and mother of three children, is a popular Christian author and speaker. Her conversion experience is illustrative of things believers should and should not do when reaching out to atheists.

“All too often, believers underestimate the power of proximity,” she says. “God is within us, and His existence is not awaiting an affirmation from our senses to begin to be true. With the Living Word within us we give people the present of Presence.”

Chole recalls feeling agitated, as an atheist, when believers tried to convert her but could not explain why they believed what they believed.

“I was open in that I considered all thoughts equally,” she says. “But when people of faith couldn’t articulate their thoughts, instead of listening to their hearts over their words, I let their words distract me and give me a reason not to take their beliefs seriously.”

Randy Hurst, the AG’s commissioner on evangelism, says every Christian is responsible to share his or her faith with those outside the body of Christ — even with angry atheists.

“As believers our lives cannot contradict our message,” says Hurst. “In our culture, which is one that is hugely exposed to Christian images and verbiage, the credibility of the messenger is paramount.”

Creps says religion is the name people give to Christians’ relationship with Jesus Christ. The challenge for Christians, he adds, is to keep that relationship alive and healthy with love at its center — for God and other people — even in the face of attacks.

Besides Scripture study, intercessory prayer and the offer of genuine friendship, another effective way to communicate God’s love, says Randy Rich, operations director for Convoy of Hope, is to be an agent of compassion.

“When the Church serves like Jesus, it makes a tremendous impact on people’s lives,” says Rich. “For many people — including atheists — such outreach may be the first real demonstration of Christ’s love they’ve ever seen. When an individual feels loved, respected and cared for, that greatly opens up his or her heart and mind to Christ.”

High stakes

No matter one’s evangelistic goals, it is important to remember many atheists would like nothing more than for evangelical Christianity to be abolished in the United States. If Christians quietly stand by hoping the rising interest in the subject will eventually dissipate, the consequences could be severe on social, cultural, political and scientific fronts.

“Christians need to be well informed about atheism and able to give a defense of their faith,” says Creps. “But Christians shouldn’t treat atheists as a special class of people. Like all humans, atheists need a radical solution — which is Jesus — to a radical problem — which is sin.”

KIRK NOONAN is managing editor of Today’s Pentecostal Evangel.