October 2002 Issue of the Pneuma Informer

The October 2002 Pneuma Informer

What’s New at www.PneumaFoundation.org
New Horizons for www.PneumaFoundation.org: New Languages
Reports from around the world
- Uganda: From “Reign of Terror” to Christian Nation
- India: mentally ill mother healed by prayer
- USA: Pentecostal churches growing fastest
Comments from Readers and Web Visitors
Special Offer on Pneuma Review Back Issues
Resources You Can Use: Reaching the 7:21 Window
Excerpts from the Pneuma Review
Prayer Requests and Praise Report

What’s New at www.PneumaFoundation.org

New online article–Living for Jesus Today: Submitting to Authority “Individualism” guest article by Douglas Wilson. Some important lessons about what submission really is. Added October 14, 2002. /resources/articles/article_guest0001.jsp
Coming Soon: The Webmaster and his assistants are working on creating a new index of online resources for Christian thinkers, scholars and students of God’s Word. If you are interested in more academic or theological materials, would you write to Web Servant to tell us what you would like to see in this new area?
Coming Soon: Automatic translation of Pneuma Foundation webpages into Spanish, Korean, Chinese, Italian, French, German, and Japanese. See the article in this issue of the Informer about “New Horizons.”

Also, be sure to check out the “What’s New” section on the Pneuma Foundation homepage. New articles and other features are being added regularly.

Have a website you would like linked to the Pneuma Foundation? Write Webmaster Dave Driggs with your suggestion. Or use the on-line form to submit your suggestion: /links.jsp#link.

Recent Visitors:
Some of the recent international visitors to the Pneuma Foundation website have been from: Australia, Indonesia, Mongolia, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, New Zeeland, Japan, Mexico, Belize, Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Chile, Cocos Islands, Namibia, Cameroon, Togo, Ghana, Tanzania, India, Romania, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Italy, United Kingdom, Belgium, Spain, Poland, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Romania, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, France, and Germany.

Come visit soon. Write to Member Services with any comments or questions you have about the website or the Pneuma Informer.

Reports from Around the World

Uganda: From “Reign of Terror” to Christian Nation
Almost a quarter century after Idi Amin's reign of terror, Uganda is experiencing a spiritual harvest. According to one megachurch pastor, 92 percent of the 24 million population claims Christianity, with at least 75 percent truly born-again believers.

Robert Kayanja, who leads the charismatic Miracle Center Cathedral in the capital, Kampala, told Charisma magazine that it was "incredible" to see thousands of people lined up for miles walking barefoot through the city just to attend church.

His church's $7 million, 10,500-seat sanctuary is filled four times for Sunday services and once on Friday night for a service geared for troubled youth, prostitutes and other prime salvation candidates.

Known as "The Butcher of Uganda," Amin seized power in a coup in 1971. He sent roving squads of his thugs into Ugandan cities, killing anyone who criticized him or appeared to be a threat to his power. Victims were found dismembered and horribly mutilated.

Some estimate that Amin killed between 300,000 and 500,000 people during his reign, which ended in 1979. Currently, he lives in exile in Saudi Arabia.

"He raped the whole country of morality, of integrity," Kayanja said. "He implemented a trend of corruption in a people who were not corrupt. He raised a generation of people who wanted to steal rather than to work for personal gain. He left the church on crutches."

Even worse, dictators followed Amin's exile in 1979, Kayanja said, but a spiritual warfare victory in 1983 helped turn the tide back to the church, he said.

"A witch who challenged me said I would be dead in three days," Kayanja said. "Instead, the witch died. They found his body in the middle of the road, his severed head lying on the roadside. His family came and took his body, and they moved away."

Kayanja said that the night before he had had a dream in which God handed him a sword to fight the enemy. When Kayanja saw the witch's severed head, he knew that God "had dealt with this man," he said.

"We heard a car crash that night but we didn't find the car," Kayanja said. "After his family moved away, revival broke out."

Miracle Center Cathedral has planted more than 1,000 churches across Uganda, and with help from evangelists such as Reinhard Bonnke, T.L. Osborn and others, millions of Ugandans have become Christians, some 2.2 million in crusades led by Kayanja's teams alone, he noted.

"Twenty-five years ago, 22 percent of the population were Muslims," Kayanja said. "Today, only 6 percent are Muslims."

Miracles, signs and wonders have been sweeping the country, as key leaders in the government, military and the business community have been born again, Kayanja said. In 1986, current President Yoweri Museveni came to power. Because of Museveni's and wife Janet's strong Christian faith, the couple have helped turn Uganda around, politically and economically, Kayanja said.

Miracle Center now feeds, clothes and ministers to Kampala's 20,000 street children. The church fights for the survival of Uganda's 4 million orphans, of which Kayanja estimated that 2 million are children of parents who have died in the country's ongoing AIDS epidemic.

Kayanja said God has healed many people of AIDS, including a government agricultural official who, after his healing, gave up his career and is now a staff pastor at the church.
Source: Charisma News Service 9/30/2002. By Billy Bruce. Used with permission.

India: mentally ill mother healed by prayer
A church-planting team in Uttar Pradesh, India, arrived in the village Sitapur. Some of the people who had already experienced God's healing power asked the team to pray for Sukh Rani, a 32-year-old mother of two who had lost her mind three months previously. Her husband had died three years before, and everything had gone downhill since then. For 24 days, she had only eaten grass, and drank almost nothing. "As we saw her, our courage left us. But Monica, one member of the team, sat on the woman's bed and prayed. Suddenly, Sukh Rani sat up and began to speak and act normally. Monica told her about Jesus, telling her that Jesus loved her even more than her husband or relatives. Sukh Rani smiled and started eating normally again. The villagers who had seen what happened all said 'Jesus is truly a living God!'"
Source: Operation Agape, by way of Friday Fax 2002 Issue 39

USA: Pentecostal churches growing fastest
A recent study reveals that the Pentecostal churches in the USA are among the fastest-growing, with a growth rate in double figures between 1990 and 2000. A New York Times article about “Religious Congregations and Membership: 2000” shows the Assemblies of God to be the nation's third-fastest growing denomination, with 18.5% annual growth, having gained 2.6 million new member since the previous study in 1990.

The research showed clearly that “conservative Protestants” were generally growing in number, whereas “moderate” and “liberal” Protestant churches are losing members. "I was surprised to see that most of the shrinking churches are moderate or liberal. The more liberal the church, the faster it is shrinking," says Professor Ken Sanchagrin, Director of the Glenmary Research Center and Chairman of the Mars Hill College Sociology Department in North Carolina. The study of over 150 Christian and non-Christian religious groups is performed every ten years by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies. The fastest-growing religious group in the USA in the last decade was the non-Christian Mormon sect, which now has a membership of 4.2 million. The Southern Baptists remain the largest Protestant denomination with 19.9 million members, but grew only 5% in the last decade.
Source: Friday Fax 2002 Issue 40

Comments from Readers and Web Visitors

“I have read the Pneuma Foundation newsletter before and have been impressed with its content. I took the time to look through your web site today and I must say that I have found nothing that I could not agree with.”
— Bishop D
Pentecostal denominational leader

“I pray in the name of Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of God upon my life that the Ministry of Pneuma Foundation has no choice but to succeed in Jesus name, Amen. I know that God will do mighty things in your Ministry and I shall continue to lift up your Ministry constantly into His mighty hand.”
— Francis
in Nigeria

“Greetings from China, I am a messianic Jew sent out by a congregation in US and am seeking more valid/anointed options of resources . . . Although I have some "charismatic roots" my parents also directed us to a couple of excellent Bible Churches when we were kids, so I was inspired by reading Pneuma's mission statement.Thanks for all of the resources you are providing!
Shalom from China,”
— Jim

“Dear Sir: I appreciate the Pneuma Foundation’s ministry and notice that you sometime post scholarly papers on your web site to make them more accessible for the general public. A recently published piece that is informative and easily readable may be of interest to you for that purpose: . . . With best wishes, Paul”

Response
Thank you for thinking of the Pneuma Foundation. One of the goals of our ministry is to make the research and biblical studies being done by today’s Pentecostal/charismatic scholars available to the broad Pentecostal/charismatic movement. Please do send a copy of your paper to us for consideration.

“This is a blessed website for the body of Christ.”
— Alo in Togo, Africa

“Thanks for your kind information. May your service help us to enrich our knowledge in Christ and HIS Kingdom to receive better gift from our Bridegroom. Love,”
— Daniel and Ruby

“I have really appreciated what I've found on the Pneuma Foundation website. We like your Statement of Faith because it is very solid, and unlike many I've seen, it makes room for the fact that it is important to not choose traditions over the Word, and it reminds me that we have to be always alert to the (fallacious) notion that what we believe must of course be God's truth. I got the sense from your Statement (or maybe from your website as a whole) that we are all on a journey, trying to come to a real knowledge of the truth. And that is where my husband and I are at. We're definitely on a journey.”
— JS, from Email

“Thank you for the great work you do in providing Pentecostal/charismatic resources.”
— David R

“Thank you for sending me the Spring and Summer (2002) issues of the Pneuma Review. I just have to make time to read them. Especially the ‘How Much Does God Control?’ debate, it isn’t necessarily easy reading.”
— MR

“Thank you so much for having the vision to start this organization, I'm very excited about finding something that I'm in agreement with.”
— Matthew M

“Newest issue of the Pneuma Review looks great. Blessings to you and on what you are doing!”
— MW

“I looked at your website and could not find your position on women in ministry???? Please let me let me know what it is?”
— Rev. Terri

Response
Thank you for your question about the Pneuma Foundation’s position on the role of women in ministry. The role of women in ministry is one of those teachings over which the editors and writers of our publications are not required to agree. Some of us are what are called complimentarians and some are egalitarians. However, we are united in proclaiming that women are to be led of the Spirit in the ministries they participate in, even if we are not in agreement regarding what roles they are to fulfill. Likewise, we are in agreement that everyone in the body of Christ is to be submitted to one another in humility and the fear of the Lord (Ephesians 5: 5, 1 Peter 5:5). This follows our principle of teaching on controversial doctrines:

When presenting teachings over which there is disagreement in the body of Christ (secondary teachings, for example, the security of the believer, or the role of women in ministry), the Pneuma Foundation will not make its position in a manner that alienates or ignores opposing views. It is better to follow the Biblical mandate of preferring others over ourselves (Phil. 2:3-4). The Foundation desires to present the differing viewpoints and promote dialogue, acknowledging that the goal of our instruction is love (1 Tim. 1:5).
From Principles of Teaching and Dialogue

Special Offer on Pneuma Review Back Issues

Would you like a complete collection of all 17 issues of the Pneuma Review? Volumes 1 through 5 (1998-2002), is now available for $56.95, stock number PRV15. [Price still good as of Nov. 1, 2004]

Members in the US and Canada do not pay shipping charges for back issues, but for a limited time, shipping charges have been waived for the purchase of PRV15.

You may securely pay for this special back issue bundle on-line. Please contact Member Services for instructions.

For information about the Pneuma Review, visit: /intro_pr.jsp
For a complete index of articles that have appeared in the Pneuma Review, visit: /pr_archive.jsp

Resources You Can Use:
Reaching the 7:21 Window

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven , but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”
-- Jesus in Matthew 7:21 [NKJV]

Christian researcher George Barna made a startling discovery in the mid 1990s that half of all adults attending a Protestant church on a Sunday morning are not Christians. This means that churches are filled with people who have never come into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ based on grace. Whether by reason of tradition, misinformation, demonic deception, or something else, they are “lost in church.” They are in the “7:21 Window.”

One ministry addressing this need and developing materials to minister to this gospel-hardened group is Church Initiative. They have put together an effective intra-evangelism program that can be used to educate and lead church attendees and nominal Christians into a real relationship with the God of the Bible.

Visit their website, http://www.facingforever.org and you will even be able to view one of the program’s segments online.

Excerpts from the Pneuma Review

The Pneuma Review is a quarterly printed journal of ministry resources and theology for Pentecostal and charismatic ministries and leaders.

Excerpts from the Fall 2002 issue of the Pneuma Review will appear next month in the November issue.

Prayer Requests

Adams Apaka in Tanzania has asked for prayer that God would provide the necessary funds for him to travel for an evangelism conference in December.
According to a recent survey, many American “Christians” do not really believe the Bible. This means that ministries like the Pneuma Foundation need the support of churches and individuals as they seek to lead Christians to a greater understanding of God’s Word. Read this report from Charisma New Service about the state of faith in North America: Nine of 10 Americans own at least one Bible and eight of 10 call themselves Christians, but their smorgasbord of religious beliefs appear to contradict that second statistic. Examining 13 different beliefs, the Barna Research Group's (BRG) latest survey found that a large percentage of Protestants or Catholics have adopted beliefs that conflict with the teachings of the Bible and their churches. Released last week, the poll of 630 adults discovered that most of them reject the notions of original sin, the existence of Satan and salvation by God's grace alone. The report also found that 80 percent of Catholics believe that "praying to deceased saints can have a positive effect in a person's life." Surprisingly, 41 percent of Protestants believe in praying to dead saints, too -- a notion dismissed by most evangelical churches. Thirty-five percent of Protestants surveyed also said that it is "possible to communicate with others after they die." And in yet another break from biblical teaching, the study found that 44 percent contend that "the Bible, Koran and Book of Mormon are all different expressions of the same spiritual truths." "Americans still revere the Bible and like to think of themselves as Bible-believing people, but the evidence suggests otherwise," said BRG president George Barna, who was not surprised by the findings on Americans' pluralistic beliefs. "Christians have increasingly been adopting spiritual views that come from . . .other sources."
Source: Charisma News Service 10/16/02. Used by permission.
Manoj S. has asked for prayer about a difficult family situation.
Alfredo D. Labial has asked for prayer for outreach efforts to tribal peoples in the Philippines. D. Labial, a Foursquare pastor, and his family have given up much to follow God’s call on their lives and ask for God’s blessing as they reach out to those who have never heard the good news of Jesus Christ.
A member of a charismatic Roman Catholic prayer group in Kerala, India has written to request prayer to be effective in sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with their larger community and also for some personal needs within their fellowship.
Gelegdorj Amartuvshin in Mongolia would like believers to join with him in praying for an orphanage he founded as a ministry of demonstrating the love of Jesus to needy children. The ministry has many needs, but is a wonderful opportunity to show the love of God and the salvation of Messiah.
Mwundra Isidore in Namibia, Africa has asked for prayer for God’s provision of funds to build a building on land he has acquired where the believers may gather, for ongoing support of the evangelists and pastors on staff, and also for needed office equipment. Brother Isidore ministers in a refugee camp of those who have escaped the violence in Congo, as well as traveling to rural areas where there is no other witness of Jesus Christ.
Allan A. is requesting prayer to made on behalf of the needs of the evangelism ministry he is a part of in the Philippines. There is a need for a truck, a new Bible school building, and equipment to build churches in the mountains. Pray also for the pastors and fulltime local missionaries ministering in the mountains that God will protect them.
A friend of the ministry writes: “My close friend Jeff Hammock—He was diagnosed with throat cancer 8 months ago; went through radiation and chemotherapy, and it spread to his lungs and stomach. He is on morphine and more chemotherapy. He was given 6mths to a year to live but now it's in his brain stem and he was told by his Dr. that he needs a miracle. He is on dialysis now; his kidneys went down. He is the kindest sweetest, loving man.I know God will heal him. He has a wife and three girls so please pray that God will remove this cancer from his body and make him well again. Thank you and god bless all of you. he went to Dr yesterday and the cancer on the brain is going down his spine now. He almost lost his fight this weekend but he woke up last night. He can’t eat and is on iv and cath but needs to gain weight. I'm not giving up and he promised to keep fighting. God bless you.”
Pastor Richard M. Ogiseh has asked for prayer for efforts to purchase land and to build an orphanage in Johannesburg, South Africa. This will be part of the ministry effort of his church Flames of Fire Family Fellowship Ministry which also includes a homeless shelter, a drug rehabilitation program, and vocational training center. Let us pray for these efforts to impact a community with the love of Jesus.
Please pray for Christians in Pakistan as they face a new wave of persecution: Seven Christian human rights workers were executed September 25 in the latest attack by Islamic extremists. Police said two gunmen burst into the offices of a Christian charity in the city of Karachi, and tied up and gagged the Pakistani believers before shooting them at point-blank range, Reuters reported. Six men died instantly, and doctors said a seventh died shortly afterward. Doctors said an eighth man faced permanent paralysis of his left side from a head wound, while a ninth was under sedation after being beaten up in the attack. Cecil Chaudry, executive secretary of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance and senior vice chairman of the Minorities Advisory Council, knew all of the victims through working in the same field. "These extremists just want to keep targeting our places of worship and institutions," he told Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW). "There is a great deal of fear, and Christians are asking when is it going to stop. I sometimes wonder whether they're trying to drive us to take up arms against them, but we are not going to do that." It was the first attack on Christians in Karachi, but there have been numerous other attacks farther north in Pakistan. In August, six Christians were killed during an attack on a missionary school in Murree, and four were killed at a Christian hospital in Taxila. Five people were killed in an attack on a church in Islamabad in March, and 15 were killed in an attack on a church in Bahawalpur in October last year, CSW said. Assaults on Christians and Westerners have escalated since Pakistan's military government sided with the U.S.-led war on terror and Afghanistan last year.
Source: Charisma News Service 9/25/02. Used with permission.
Paul, of the Church of Pentecost International in Ghana, has asked for prayer that the Lord open an opportunity to work with an evangelist/missionary to help reach the lost in his region. The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Pray that the Lord of the harvest send workers into the fields.

Praise Reports

Another article printed in the Pneuma Review has been featured in Current Thoughts & Trends. "Workmen Or Captives: Avoiding the Snare of Subjectivity" by David Harvey, takes a serious look at how we interpret God’s Word and cautions us to avoid the trap of subjective impressions. Please join the editorial committee in thanking the God of heaven for the opportunity to serve Him by sharing the truth of His Word with people around the world.

Please send us your prayer requests and praise reports. We have a great God who always meets our needs.
If you would like more information about how you may help in meeting these needs, please send an E-mail to Member Services.