They loved not their lives unto the death - Persecution of Christians in Turkey

The British Christian Today website is carrying an item (click here) about three Christian missionaries in Turkey who were martryed on Easter Sunday. Unfortunately, severe persecution of Christians is alive and well around the world today.

"32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37 They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them..." (Hebrews 11:32-38, NIV)

For more information on the persecuted church, check out www.persecution.org and www.opendoors.org.

Breakout Churches

If you are like me, you are always looking for a great book, particularly one that communicates information you find helpful that you have not seen before. On a couple of recent flights from Dallas to London to Amsterdam back to London on to Prague, I read Breakout Churches: Discover How To Make The Leap by Thom Rainer. It takes several of the principles from the business bestseller, "Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't" and applies them to churches that have gone from plateaued or declining membership to significant growth over a period of several years.

Based on extensive research and analysis of several tens of thousands of congregations, Breakout Churches details how several congregations of different sizes, movements, and regions of the country experienced lasting turnaround. Director of the Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism, and Church Growth at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, Rainer's obvious passion is to see churches increase numerically through conversion, not transfer, growth.

Every one of the churches he profiled broke out of their previous pattern without changing senior pastors. Perhaps above all else, Rainer's work points toward the necessity of a leader's willingness to not only persevere, but to also undergo deep, personal change in their life and methodology. Many other factors contributed to the tremendous, positive change each church experienced, but nothing was more important than the Senior Pastor's profound personal transformation.

Don Imus & Bishop G.E. Patterson

Frank Lockwood, the Bible Belt Blogger who in his day job is Religion Editor at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (since leaving the Lexington Times-Herald in Lexington, Kentucky) just ran an interesting piece connecting radio talk show host Don Imus with Bishop G.E. Patterson. Imus, who was fired a few days ago for making racist comments on-air, had apparently recently devoted a substantial portion of his show to commemorating the passing of Bishop G.E. Patterson who presided over the nation's primary African-American classical Pentecostal denomination, the Church of God in Christ.

Lockwood writes,

On March 20, the leader of the nation's largest African American Pentecostal denomination passed away in Memphis. The death was ignored by most members of the mainstream media's millionaire news readers -- people who wouldn't know the difference between the late G.E. Patterson's Church of God in Christ, the Churches of Christ, the Church of God (Cleveland, Tenn.), the Church of God (Anderson, Ind.) and the Church of God of Prophecy. As far as I know, Patterson's demise wasn't big news on Fox & Friends, CNN, the Today Show or Good Morning America. But there was one news outlet that owned the story: MSNBC.

Shock jock Don Imus thought Patterson's passing was a really big deal and he devoted a lot of time to honoring the memory of the Pentecostal pastor. Patterson's widow appeared on Imus' program soon after the preacher's death, and Imus spoke movingly about the bishop's contribution to America's spiritual life. Imus played excerpts of Patterson's sermons -- including a clip (if I recall correctly) that called for the church to reach out to all of God's children regardless of color.

What a strange thing that someone who would make such ugly comments about a girl's basketball team would be so moved by the death of a very old-fashioned Pentecostal preacher...! It makes me wonder if Imus is yet another celebrity who has spiritual roots in his background we know little or nothing about ... and if Imus is one of those silent, successful, even famous, viewers in Christian television's global audience who are deeply touched by some things they see that we would never imagine would be capable of impacting their souls.

Here is one of many clips available on Youtube. This one is a blend of several excerpts that show the evolution of Bishop Patterson's preaching style over the years.

Here is a clip showing some eulogies, including footage of him in the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., and from celebrities like Jesse Jackson.



Click here to listen to live streaming from the radio station owned by the church he pastored in Memphis, Tennessee.