CBN –Leon Patillo’s musical accomplishments, it certainly applies. The singer/songwriter is perhaps best known for fronting Santana, one of the most seminal acts of the 1970s’ rock and roll landscape with an indelible hit string that penetrated all facets of pop culture. Besides that incredible run, Patillo is also recognized for his work with Funkadelic and Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, while the last two and a half decades have been filled with a consistent and ground-breaking solo career.
“Man, let me tell you, it’s been an incredible ride,” the silky voiced Patillo offers. “The Lord is good and He’s been using all the experiences I’ve had in music to help me become a more effective minister. A lot of times people want to hear stories from the old days, and that’s allowed me to open up my heart and prepare a place for them to hear my message.”
Indeed tales of yesteryear are a top request on a near daily basis for Patillo, but he’s happy to oblige, especially considering how formative the days with Santana were on his own material and even coming to faith. After attending school in California and fronting a local band called Creation (signed to Atlantic Records), he became aware of Carlos Santana, the guitar guru and founder of his eponomously titled band. Though Patillo’s creative career was already off to a solid start, he couldn’t pass the opportunity to sing lead vocals for Santana upon a personal request from Carlos in 1973.
“I remember driving from L.A. to San Francisco and going to his house for a meeting and a writing session,” he recalls. “Carlos opened the door and greeted me with open arms like we’d known each other for a million years. He took me downstairs to where his studio was and showed me a song he was working on. I listened to what he was doing, sat down at the organ next to him, and he looked at me and said, ‘Oh my goodness, you can play too!’”
Patillo then showed Santana one of his ideas (which would later become “Mirage” off the classic 1974 Borboletta album) and the rest, as they say, is history. With its new singer/songwriter/keyboard player in tow, Santana continued to reach crests on the touring circuit, playing venues as diverse and lauded as Radio City Music Hall, Madison Square Garden, the Hippodrome in England and The Sports Center of Australia. Add in a string of other albums and singles, plus a continual evolution of direction (including R&B and ethnic elements into the group’s eclectic amalgamation) and Patillo skyrocketed to the ranks of rock’s upper echelon.
But despite all the fame, glitz and glamour, there was something missing from the superstar’s life. And Patillo didn’t know exactly what that was until he started dating a girl from San Francisco whose brother was a believer. Having grown up with a father who was Methodist, a mother who was Baptist, and early church memories of Catholicism, the singer was admittedly confused with Christianity. But come July 4, 1974 (after repeated witnessing and encouragement from his newly found friend) Patillo accepted Jesus Christ into his life and made a commitment to steer far from the spotlight’s distractions. However, that didn’t mean throwing in the career towel, and he continued with Santana before branching off on his own.
“I remember we were on tour with Earth, Wind and Fire and both bands were on a plane together,” he says. “Everyone was sitting separately until I finally went up to three of their guys, starting with the one who turned out to be their singer Phillip Bailey. I had a Bible in my hand that day and I remember him saying to me, ‘do you know how that thing works? Why don’t you teach us something out of it?’ I hadn’t been a Christian long, but I studied hard and after every concert for the next six weeks, I would teach what I’d learned.”
It’s as a result of those conversations that Bailey and some of his band mates accepted the Lord come the tour’s completion, though their friendship and evangelism desires didn’t stop there. Patillo and his newly converted friends decided to put their faith into action, renting out The Roxy (Sunset Strip’s infamous night club) and hosting a handful of Gospel nights they christened “Jesus at the Roxy.”
“Word traveled pretty fast that we were doing this and people started pouring in, so much that we had to add a second show one night,” he reminiscences. “We had tons of fellow musicians and celebrities- Smokey Robinson, Donna Summer, producers, people that the public idolized- and all they really wanted to do was praise the Lord with us.”
As it became apparent that such means of reaching out was a success, Patillo began rethinking his vision and decided the most natural way to mix songwriting with spirituality was to embark on a solo path. After stepping down from his highly coveted position in Santana, he signed with Word Records in 1979 releasing the cutting edge celebration Dance Children Dance. An array of blockbuster projects continued throughout the 80s and 90s, spawning smashes like “J.E.S.U.S.,” “Cornerstone,” and the wedding anthem “Flesh of My Flesh.”
“I had no idea God would us me as one of the many pioneers in this new thing called contemporary Gospel, but I think my work in the mainstream prepared me for what was to come,” he confirms, citing session time with Funkadelic and Reeves as providing additional leverage. “In those early days of my ministry and as I continue through today, I’ve always sought to be as innovative as I could be.”
From seamlessly meshing dance, R&B, soul and Gospel styles, to dynamic live shows, Patillo turned his amalgamation of sights and sounds into an all out experience. He was one of the first to tour with an entirely electronic one man band and also was known for having an all female backing band on another jaunt. In current contexts, few inspirational artists are as explosive and uplifting on stage, while keeping their feet firmly planted on the ground.
Since 1999, Patillo has hit the road performing for the “Get Motivated” motivational speaking series, which has put him on stage with everyone from Colin Powell to George Foreman to many of the presidents (including The Bush family, Bill Clinton, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter). It’s out of those conferences and continued support from fans that birthed not only one but a pair of new projects to highlight two prevalent but highly varitized sides of Patillo.
In terms of capturing the concert high, Live Experience 2 packs plenty of punches, revolving around a sizzling live band, previous and present hits, plus Patillo’s unmistakable vocals and arrangements. Tracks like “Sky Is the Limit” and “I Can” are meant to encourage listeners to abundant living, while “Rise Above” and “Pulling Down Strongholds” are sure fire soundtracks to starting life over again. Of course “J.E.S.U.S.” appears in fine form even after all these years, while “Born Again Women” is a sizzling reworking of “Black Magic Women” from the Santana days. The record wraps up with a comical yet carefully delivered Christian message “I Am Your Friend” delivered directly from Patillo.
“It’s pretty self-explanatory, but you have to hear it for yourself to fully take in the whole happening,” he enthuses. “There’s something for everyone on it- those that have followed me since the beginning and the young people who may be hearing me for the first time. It’s sure to give you all the feelings and energy of coming to a Leon Patillo concert and hopefully help start a foundation for someone’s spiritual life that may not already have one.”
The double dose of Patillo power continues with Breathe On Me, a project anchored in praise that showcases the singer’s softer and more introspective side. Tracks like “Spirit of the Lord,” “Peace” and “Give Thanks” are sure to stir the soul, while “Worship and Adore You Lord” and “Manifest Your Power” give the glory entirely to God. It’s all tied around the underlying goal of fully drawing listeners into the Lord’s presence and supplementing their times of intimate prayer.
“Breathe On Me is definitely a worship album and it took me about three years to do,” Patillo explains. “Each song hopefully will speak to something you’re going through, for the need to seek and accept forgiveness when you’ve done something wrong or to getting going and out of the procrastination mode. It’s a spiritual workout of sorts where each song was written on my knees.”
But beyond the chart action and critical acclaim either Positive Pop Records’ endeavor is likely to receive, Patillo looks forward to the future in hopes each will cultivate additional seeds within the Christian and non-believing communities. Based on his communicative credibility and celebrated catalogue, it’s likely he’ll do just that and quite possibly much more than he can even imagine.
”The basis of my ministry is to portray my music in a way that gives people more hope and a better outlook for what is to come,” Patillo sums up. “I just want to be a Christian cheerleader, for lack of a better word, where I can get people excited about all their good qualities and help them reach that next level. I’m all about seeing the glass half full even in our faults and I’m here to remind everyone there’s nothing they could’ve done that could separate them from God’s unfailing love.”
CBN – Mylon Le Fevre was born into a gospel-singing family. When Mylon was 17 years old, his first song, "Without Him," was recorded by Elvis Presley. Over the next year 126 artists recorded Mylon's songs. At 19 he made his first album and has sold millions since then.
Since accepting Jesus as the Lord of his life in 1980, Mylon has released 12 CDs, traveled over a million miles, been honored with a Grammy Award and two Dove Awards, and sold another million records. His latest CDs focus more on worship and praise.
In the last few years God has called for tremendous change in Mylon's life and ministry. Mylon explains, "Up until a few years ago I was a Christian musician who preached a little, worshipped a little, and rocked a lot. I'm thankful for the anointing of God upon our lives during that season, and I know that we have been and are led by His Spirit. But I have become a preacher/teacher and worshiping God has become my lifestyle.
"Over these last 23 years, we've seen over 250,000 people make a decision to make Jesus Christ Lord of their lives, praise God. We've seen the goodness of God at every turn, and this new season of ministry has become even more glorious than anything we've experienced in the past."
Mylon's desire to minister to the church and evangelize the world is more powerful than ever. "More than ever before we need to proclaim the Word of God and to emphasize to every nation His promise to perform it for whoever believes it."
"I will always write songs to and about my Lord. The splendor of His holiness constantly amazes me. I believe the music that God gives me is anointed and has an important place in my ministry. But I am compelled to share His Word. It is the best news on this planet! I believe that if we do things His way, with His attitude, He will take us from glory to glory and teach us how to 'dwell in the secret place of the most High God' (Psalm 91) where victory in Jesus is guaranteed!"
"In the last few years we have ministered to millions on Christian TV, and in hundreds of churches, revivals, and crusades. God has allowed us the privilege and honor of teaching His Word at Bible Schools, worship seminars, motorcycle rallies, Nascar owner/driver chapel services, NFL and NBA chapel services, and Christi's ladies meetings. We have also had missionary opportunities in the former Soviet Union, Australia, Canada, the Philippines, Cayman Islands, Mexico, and Hawaii. We also have a commitment to Mike Barber Ministries to minister with him in the prisons of our nation where we are seeing revival explode."
With overcoming faith and an increasing understanding of God's Word and its promises, Mylon is looking forward to the future. Jer. 29:11 says, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." We believe our future is very bright and full of promise."
CBN – Benny Hester’s career in the Music Industry has spanned more than twenty-five years. Throughout that time he has been involved in almost every aspect – Music Teacher, Artist, Producer, Songwriter, and Publisher. In 1993 he added a new facet to his career – Television Producer.
It was 1978 when Benny recorded his first record Be A Receiver. This record proved to be a ground breaking recording on the Christian Music scene. For the first time ever traditional Christian radio stations began to take the contemporary sound seriously. The single “Jesus Came Into My Life” was joyously embraced by Christian radio.
Benny’s next album Nobody Knows Me Like You, produced by Michael Omartian, is considered a classic. The title song became one of the biggest selling of all time. Nobody Knows Me Like You also became the first contemporary Christian song to cross over to the pop charts and become a top forty hit.
In 1985 Benny recorded Benny From Here. It was this album that produced one of the top ten singles in the history of Christian music, “When God Ran”. This song made an immediate impact on radio and quickly became a number one hit. “When God Ran” went on to become the longest running number one song of all time.
Simultaneously, Benny’s “Secret Thoughts” was number one on the Christian rock charts, making Benny the only Christian artist to sweep all the Christian Music charts with number one hits at the same time.
For more than a decade, Benny performed over 2000 live concerts, recorded four top ten albums, had ten number one singles, fifteen top ten singles, Dove Award nominations, and two Grammy Award nominations. He also began his publishing company “Benny Hester Music” and published “Why’d You Come In Here Looking Like That”. The single was a number one hit for Dolly Parton and Country Music’s most performed song of the year.
With all these accomplishments behind him, it surprised many when in 1993 Benny decided to put his performing career on hold to pursue television production. As Executive Producer and President of his own television production company – Rebel Entertainment, Benny and his partners produced the award winning Nickelodeon production “Roundhouse”. Benny exclusively wrote and produced the music for the television series. “Roundhouse” was nominated for nine Cable Ace Awards – six for best “Original Song” – three for best “Variety Special or Series”. Benny won the Cable Ace Award for best “Original Song” with “I Can Dream. “Roundhouse” was also the recipient of the Ollie Award for “Excellence in Television Programming for America’s Children”.
Benny’s love for performing is as strong as ever. From 2003 to the present, Benny has been out performing in concert. With hundreds of songs already written, his future as a recording Artist and performer is limitless. Benny Hester is an Artist that not only has had an exceptional history, but a man that promises to deliver the same excellence in the future.
Twila and her husband, Jack, waited about 15 years to have their first child, J.P. In this interview with Lisa Ryan, Twila looks back and sees how following God's timetable can be a joyous endeavor.
LISA RYAN: A lot has changed since the last time you were with us. Tell us about the new addition to your family.
TWILA PARIS: The big change is Jack Paris Wright, whom we call J.P. for short because his dad is named Jack. He’s almost 2 now. The short version of the story is that we found ourselves married for almost 15 years, and due to a combination of circumstances, still did not have children. At that point in our lives, I was not praying, 'O Lord, please give us a baby.' I was just saying, 'Lord, You know what? You know what’s best, and please do what You know is best.' It just so happened that around that same time we were working on a children’s album that had been planned for a long time, and as far as I knew, I was writing lullabies for other people’s children. From my point of view, it looked like I would never have children of my own. But God gave me such a joy and a passion, and I think I enjoyed writing those songs more than I’ve ever enjoyed any project. I literally finished writing those songs and sent the tape off to the producer, and four or five weeks later, I found out I was expecting this child at the age of 41.
RYAN: Oh my goodness!
PARIS: It felt like a miracle to me, and it was so bathed in prayer. We have just seen God’s hand at work every step of the way.
RYAN (reporting): And every step of the way, Twila had faith. But she was candid with me about the disappointment that comes with facing infertility.
PARIS: It had been probably six or seven years before, I guess around that magical age of 35, that it just kind of hit me. I thought, This might not just be a matter of timing. Maybe this in never going to happen, and, girl, you need to confront that and deal with it. I had friends who had gone down that road of bitterness with this same issue.
RYAN: For women, a lot of our identity is wrapped up in motherhood and bringing life into the world.
PARIS: Yes, it is what is expected, and you grow up your whole life, and you get married, and you and your husband look forward to that phase of your lives. When it doesn’t happen, it can be very devastating. And I remember God spoke to me at one point and really encouraged me with the fact that in my particular case, He’d blessed me with an awful lot of spiritual children over the years. That’s not just some sort of compensation; that’s a wonderful blessing, and I’m so grateful for that. The whole thing of God’s calendar, sometimes I’m chasing J.P. around at the end of the day and thinking, This would have been easier 10 years ago, but in some ways my schedule in my life was different, and God knows the perfect season.
Years later, when I was expecting this child, I felt like the Lord spoke to me and said, 'Do you remember that calendar that you thought was getting behind? Well, I have a calendar, too, and I haven’t ever forgotten you. But My calendar is a lot bigger than yours, and it never gets behind.' That’s something that I’ve told a lot of people who don’t have children or who aren’t married yet, whose careers aren’t taking off the way they thought they would be. God doesn’t waste time. He always uses those interim years in beautiful ways to do His work and prepare us for what’s coming.
RYAN: You come from such a great family legacy of ministry. Your grandparents were in ministry; your parents were in ministry, evangelists; you have a cousin who started YWAM. Did you feel a responsibility to go into ministry?
PARIS: I knew even then I never had a dream to be in mainstream music, and with all this family heritage and all these ministers, that I needed to do Christian music. The music was to make me happy; the Christian music was to make them happy. And God, I thought if He could be kept happy along the way, that would probably be good as well.
RYAN (reporting): Favor she has had. Her latest CD, House of Worship, is her 18th recording. Twila wrote half of the new worship songs since the birth of her son.
PARIS: I’ve always sprinkled worship songs along here and there on other projects. About 10 years ago, we did an album that was entirely devoted to worship. And at that time I remember thinking I want to do this again. It took 10 years before we were ready to do an album that was completely new worship songs, although we did add a couple of the older ones on as well. But there are 10 new songs.
RYAN (reporting): While it seems as though everyone in the Christian music industry is into worship, Twila definitely sees the latest movement as a 'God thing.'
PARIS: I think that was a very God-driven thing because suddenly it was the young people that seemed to be the catalyst for what God was doing. It seemed to me this isn’t just something the industry is trying to cook up, or something that the pastors have finally talked people into, but it’s just a movement that’s driven by the Holy Spirit.
And it seems to me that one of the many productive ways that God uses worship in our lives is that when we offer it to Him, He comes and inhabits us and the places in which we worship and does His work.
One of the other ways that He uses worship is that powerful victories are won in the spiritual realm that we can’t see through our worship. I recently finished a tour called 'I Worship,' and I think we started the tour literally the night after the war in Iraq started. So I thought, Here we are. It’s very interesting that night after night the body is just coming together and we’re just worshipping. I wonder what’s happening in the spiritual realm in our world just through this worship.
RYAN: While physical battle is taking place in our world, there is spiritual battle taking place through worship.
PARIS: Yes, and you wonder about so many of these young men and women who have been in harm’s way. They are brothers and sisters. They are Christians. What protection might be coming to them because the body of Christ is together worshipping because we spent some time specifically praying for them tonight in the midst of our worship? It’s always so incredible in all the ways that God allows it to get to feel like we’re a small part somehow of what He’s doing in such a large scale, to have that sense that He’s using us in those ways. It’s just incredible.
[anyone putting their life on the line for this country has the right to be heard] -Dennis
by Jonathan Luke Bass
A speech given by Rev. Bass' son before leaving for West Point Military Acadamy
In less than a week now, I will be leaving for West Point, marking the beginning of my service in the United States Army. And although I have never been asked directly as to how I and others like me can reconcile our faith in a gracious and loving God with service in the military, it is an issue that definitely demands a great amount of thought and which I think is relevant to this generation.
There are those who think that these two things, faith in a sovereign, loving, all-powerful God and military service, are in some way mutually exclusive, or others who have never seriously considered their relationship or deeper implications. However, I would propose to you that these can not only be practiced together, but in a number of ways also support each other quite well.
Both the Bible and the history of our own nation show that a Christian can serve in the military without any burden to conscience or infringements upon moral or ethical principles and that at times he even has a duty to serve. I have heard both non-Christians and Christians quote Matthew 5:39 as an excuse for pacifism; it is a passage familiar to nearly anyone: “Whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.”
At first it might be easy to adopt a pacifistic attitude from these words, but a careful distinction must be made as to what this applies. That distinction lies between how to deal with violence and threats on a personal level and how to deal with them on a national or governmental level.
The pacifist would argue that this passage requires that the Christian always and exclusively ‘turn the other cheek,’ no matter the threat. The pacifist would argue that the teachings of Jesus always stipulate against any violence, from personal threats to national threats, but especially war.
However, from the context of Jesus’ message in Matthew 5:39 and from other passages in the Bible you can see that one of the implications of this message is that it applies to personal interactions with friends, workmates, and strangers during our everyday lives, especially when facing persecution or criticism for one’s faith.
The context for Matthew 5:39, which is Matthew 5-7, is a series of messages delivered by Jesus, instructing His early followers in Godly living and an explanation of much of the Mosaic Law. In this sense, it is important to understand that Christ’s message applies to how the Christian lives out his daily life in a world that is hostile to Christ and His gospel.
Thus it is fundamental that the Christian, while witnessing his faith and living out the gospel, should be gracious and loving, forgiving insults and provocations, while solving any problems in a nonviolent way if possible and thus best show forth Christ in an active manner. The principle of turning the other cheek is a valuable and guiding one to the Christian, but it cannot be broadened to include the actions of our government or how it deals with threats and violence. The line must be drawn when violence goes beyond the witness of personal faith or threat to personal safety.
Far from condemning war, I believe that there is ample evidence that the Bible justifies war under certain circumstances and in the right hands. In Romans 13, Paul speaks about our responsibility to submit to the authority of our government, revealing the authorities with which it has been invested.
The government is invested with power by God and we are therefore called to obey it. Christian obedience is never passive, that is, true obedience is not just not doing what is wrong, but also supporting the laws by actively doing what is right, supporting the justice of laws and those who hold them.
Thus we are not only to abide by the laws which it lays down, but to also respect the authority with which it has been invested and support that authority when the government employs its God given powers. In the passage just before chapter 13, Paul is speaking of the Christian’s duty to live peacefully with all men, that we should never repay evil for evil or avenge ourselves because God says, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” It is by no means our place to wreak vengeance or war upon fellow man, but it is God’s place, and He uses those means that He has chosen, namely the state.
The power to ‘wield the sword’ is one of the powers that are laid down in chapter 13. Thus Paul brings out the fact that it is not us, individually, that have any right to wage war, for we are commanded to live at peace with all men, even praying for our enemies, because the power to wage war is reserved for the government, given it by God. This is one of the principles of ‘just war,’ that war, in order to be just, must be carried out by a governing state, not rogue groups of civilians or what might commonly be called pirates or vigilantes.
The Christian is a citizen in this world and part of a governing state and that state has a right to use necessary force to protect itself and its citizens. Granted, this power is often abused and history has shown this to happen periodically; nonetheless, it is fundamental to the survival of a government and has been used many times to ensure the survival of just and godly nations, such as our own.
Where would this country be without the wars we have fought or the sacrifices made by the thousands of men and women, past and present, in the armed forces? We have always and must always be ready and willing to defend ourselves and our ways of life, as we have in the past. It is not only a power that is vested in the state, but which the state has a duty to use, in order to protect its people, its laws, and its God. Admittedly war is not glorious or in any a way happy event, it is indeed a taste of hell on earth, as any combat veteran would attest.
Nonetheless in the hands of a just and competent government, it can be used to achieve glorious and happy ends. To the Jews and other minorities under the boot heel of Nazi oppression, World War II was a good thing, and under the direction of the allied governments, those thousands of people’s lives were saved. The Cold War could very well have turned into a blood bath, but had the West backed down, the USSR would have spread it’s iron curtain across Europe and beyond and I’d probably be speaking to you in Russian; instead, because we stood up to the communist threat in another kind of war, thousands of people were freed from the shackles of socialism, the gospel was preached where it had been dead for decades, individuals experienced new prosperity, and the road was set for the evil to be undone, though much of Eastern Europe is still very dark both politically and spiritually.
But the West knew that we might at any moment engage in a war that would cost hundreds of thousands of lives, and that was worth it for the defeat of the USSR and the peace that would have been brought about afterwards.
The Christian West has always advocated the just war, war that is fought by actual states, fought for the protection of innocent and helpless nations, fought so as to minimize civilian casualties, fought by humane means, and fought for the end of peace. War is by far the most hellish thing on earth, but the pacifist, by avoiding it, only serves to encourage the oppressor and leave the oppressed to the will of his enemy, or, as Roland Bainton says, “The final and most telling criticism against the pacifist is that by his refusal to destroy the oppressor he abandons the oppressed, because there are circumstances in which military intervention may terminate tyranny.”
The Bible shows us that man is naturally inclined toward evil, and to use only peaceful negotiations, or to not recognize where these no longer have their uses, is to tempt the evil nature of man to its limits. Yes, it is true that before just war can be engaged, all nonviolent means of establishing peace must be exhausted.
But one must recognize the limits of negotiations and peace talks and ready to back words with force. Without the use of just war, evil nations and men are only allowed to continue and expand their reign of terror. There is no place or use for ‘understanding’ and ‘coming to a round table’ when dealing with such evil men as Adolph Hitler or Sadaam Hussein.
In the very birth of our own country, godly men and women defied the injustice they had undergone and declared themselves free and independent, an act that they knew was sure to require them to back it with force and violent war. But their faith was no inhibition to this. In fact that faith supported the causes of freedom as one and the same as that of the war that was sure to come upon them.
In the Declaration of Independence, the document that was to finally and fully bring war upon the colonies, our founding fathers made numerous references to God and implored for His righteous support of their just war. We read of their “appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions,” i.e., their intentions to rebel, to go to war with Britain, and “with a firm reliance upon divine Providence” for the support of that cause.
Our own story of independence is a perfect example of how a Christian and a godly nation should act if faced with an unjust war or government. Our founders exhausted every means available to peacefully redress the injustices to which they had been subjected.
In our day, we have the opportunity to vote at the ballot box or write to our representatives in protest of the actions of our government or unjust war. Many at America’s birth had misgivings about rebelling, but as justified in the Declaration of Independence, they had born that ‘long train of abuses and usurpations’ and suffered while evils were sufferable. Their rising up against the authority of Britain was not for ‘light and transient causes’ but for reasons necessary to their life, liberty, and property. So even when the Christian finds himself serving in a military that has its injustices or abuses, as all human armies will, he should be very cautious in refusing to continue serving and even then it should only be based upon the gravest reasons and evidence.
This nation of ours has a rich religious history and military tradition as well. And personally I see that as no coincidence. Although not all aspects of the military are renown for their moral habits, Christians have always recognized the ethical responsibilities and sometimes obligations of serving our country in times of peace and defending it in times of war. This is one of the greatest motivating factors that lead me to pursue a career in the Army.
Godly faith upholds active support or participation in the military, just as it supports the freedoms upon which our nation is based. The Biblical principles of justice and equality that lend themselves so well to the political freedom and self-government of our nation likewise compliment the use of military force to protect those rights and the lives of innocent people.
Personally, I think it’s important to underline this aspect of my own faith and the military when it seems that so many in the newspapers and TV are so ready to degrade the military and vilify it as no better than the terrorist enemy that we’re currently fighting.
I think that it’s a shame that both the media and the liberal agenda are making such blatant attempts to undermine not only the war effort, but in consequence the individual soldiers. The nature of the military, both in the ends that it sets out to accomplish, the means that it uses to accomplish those ends, and the leaders that it requires and produces, is a place where godly men and women should be proud to bear their faith and proud to serve their country. I look forward to taking my place as one of those godly men serving in the US Army. Thank You
Christian Military Fellowship (CMF) is an association of believers who are committed to encouraging Men and Women in the United States Armed Forces, and their families, to love and serve the Lord Jesus Christ. We are an indigenous ministry serving all elements of that society including all military services, all ranks, family members, civilian employees, all Christian denominations and traditions.
Within the military society, our members, staff and constituents work to introduce people to Jesus Christ and help Christians to grow in faith.
"And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. This is the wonderful message he has given us to tell others. We are Christ's ambassadors, and God is using us to speak to you. We urge you, as though Christ himself were here pleading with you, "Be reconciled to God!" For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ." 2 Corinthians 5:18b-19 NLT96 "For there is only one God and one mediator who can reconcile God and people. He is the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message that God gave to the world at the proper time." 1 Timothy 2:5-6 NLT96
"Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds." Hebrews 10:24 NLT96
Christian Military Fellowship (CMF) supports United States military personnel and their families, worldwide, with prayer, Bible studies, local fellowships, conferences, referrals, free literature, correspondence, hospitality, and Christian resources.
Would you consider partnering with us in this effort to carry the Gospel to those in the military society who have not heard and hug with Christ's love those who have been wounded by life?
Local Representatives (that's you) who are willing to facilitate fellowship groups at their location.
Prayer Warriors (that’s you) willing to pray daily for the concerns of the troops, their families and this ministry.
Financial Support (that’s you) for the ministry.
One of our most important services is linking Christians in the armed forces and their families with one another when they transfer or travel. We also work to link believers with other Christian contacts (members and missionaries of other agencies, chaplains, pastors, and churches) who will help them find fellowship and opportunities for ministry at their new duty station. Toward those ends, we publish an annual Worldwide Directory of folks who volunteer to serve as “Contacts” or "Hospitality Contacts” in their respective locations. Our goal therefore is to be able to provide a Christian “Link Up” ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD that a military person or family member might be stationed. This is obviously an impossible task without the help of as many believers as possible who share our vision. While we cannot guarantee that every volunteer will get the opportunity to serve, we can absolutely guarantee that we will provide every opportunity that arises.
Our members may obtain a copy of our directory in either print or digital format from the "Resources" page of this website. We also maintain a real-time data base of contacts throughout the year.
We sat there till 130am.....four hours of chatting with our friend. The Lord has renewed me a little tonight because of the posibilities at hand. I want Mercy here so bad.
A new opportunity may just be at hand. I would appreciate your prayer that this new door is the right one.
Its an older article. My Nephew was in it so it captures my fancy.
High death rate lingers behind fun facade of pro wrestling
By Jon Swartz, USA TODAY
Mike "Road Warrior Hawk" Hegstrand died from an enlarged heart caused by high blood pressure at 46. Mike "Crash Holly" Lockwood died from what a medical examiner ruled a suicide at 32. A lethal combination of painkillers was found in his system.
Mike Lozanski died from what his family says was a lung infection at 35. His relatives are awaiting an autopsy report.
All died in the last five months. All were professional wrestlers with bulging muscles on sculpted bodies. The deaths received little notice beyond obituaries in small newspapers and on wrestling Web sites, typical of the fringe status of the $500 million industry.
Yet their deaths underscore the troubling fact that despite some attempts to clean up an industry sold on size, stamina and theatrics, wrestlers die young at a staggering rate. Since 1997, about 1,000 wrestlers 45 and younger have worked on pro wrestling circuits worldwide, wrestling officials estimate.
USA TODAY's examination of medical documents, autopsies and police reports, along with interviews with family members and news accounts, shows that at least 65 wrestlers died in that time, 25 from heart attacks or other coronary problems — an extraordinarily high rate for people that young, medical officials say. Many had enlarged hearts.
Illegal steroid use in professional sports has gained plenty of attention: President Bush in his State of the Union address in January urged athletes and professional sports leagues to stop steroid use, and a federal grand jury has been investigating Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative.
However, it is pro wrestling where the problem appears to be the most pervasive and deadly. In five of the 25 deaths, medical examiners concluded that steroids might have played a role. Excessive steroid use can lead to an enlarged heart. In 12 others, examiners in medical reports cited evidence of use of painkillers, cocaine and other drugs.
The widespread use of drugs and the deaths associated with it raise questions about a largely unregulated business that is watched on TV and in arenas by an estimated 20 million fans a week, including children. Those fans will tune in Sunday for the industry's biggest event, WrestleMania XX.
Fifteen current and former wrestlers interviewed by USA TODAY say they willingly bulked up on anabolic steroids, which they call "juice," to look the part and took pain pills so they could perform four to five nights a week despite injuries. Some admit to use of human-growth hormones, a muscle-building compound even more powerful and dangerous than steroids. And many say they used recreational drugs.
"I experienced what we in the profession call the silent scream" of pain, drugs and loneliness, says wrestling legend "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, 49, who has been in the business more than 30 years. "You're in your hotel room. You're banged up, numb and alone. You don't want to go downstairs to the bar or restaurant. The walls are breathing. You don't want to talk. Panic sets in and you start weeping. It's something all of us go through."
Scott "Raven" Levy, 39, says he used steroids and more than 200 pain pills daily before he kicked the habit a few years ago. "It's part of the job," Levy says. "If you want to be a wrestler, you have to be a big guy, and you have to perform in pain. If you choose to do neither, pick another profession."
The costs are high. Wrestlers have death rates about seven times higher than the general U.S. population, says Keith Pinckard, a medical examiner in Dallas who has followed wrestling fatalities. They are 12 times more likely to die from heart disease than other Americans 25 to 44, he adds. And USA TODAY research shows that wrestlers are about 20 times more likely to die before 45 than are pro football players, another profession that's exceptionally hard on the body.
Some wrestlers bet among themselves on who will die next, says Mike Lano, a former wrestling manager and promoter.
Steroids-ingrained culture
Unlike amateur wrestling, which is a competitive sport in high school and college, pro wrestling combines sports, stunts and storytelling. The results are scripted.
Pro wrestling does not test for performance-enhancing drugs such as steroids. Nor are they banned by wrestling organizations as they are in pro football, basketball and baseball.
That is one reason, wrestlers and industry watchers say, that use of steroids and other drugs in pro wrestling has gone largely unchecked. It also has been ingrained in the culture for decades. Several of wrestling's biggest names, including Hulk Hogan and former Minnesota governor Jesse "The Body" Ventura, years ago acknowledged using bodybuilding drugs.
"There was a joke: If you did not test positive for steroids, you were fired," former wrestler and broadcaster Bruno Sammartino told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 1991.
"That's a cop-out," says Vince McMahon, head of wrestling's biggest organization, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). "These guys took steroids because they wanted to.
Del Wilkes, during his stint with the WWF wrestling as "The Patriot."
"Because we are the most visible organization, we get the black eye," adds McMahon, noting that only two of the 65 deceased wrestlers died while working for his company. "It is alarming whenever young people pass away from these insidious causes, but you can't help someone if they don't want to help themselves."
Piper says he lived on a steady diet of muscle builders and painkillers for more than two decades.
The amateur boxer and wrestler left home in Canada at 13. A promoter noticed his "mean streak" and paid him $25 to fight the legendary Larry "The Axe" Hennig in Winnipeg. Piper made a lasting impression with his entrance: Clad in a kilt, he ambled to the ring as his bagpipe band played. Hennig pinned the 15-year-old in 10 seconds, the shortest of Piper's 7,000 matches, but Piper quickly was assigned to shows in Kansas City, Montreal and Texas.
Soon Piper had become one of the industry's best-known villains. By the mid-1980s, he was the foil to Hogan, the WWF's golden boy. Wrestling had become a pop-culture phenomenon. Both moonlighted as movie and TV stars, had their own action figures and hobnobbed with celebrities.
Even so, Piper never forgot what he heard as a penniless teenager. "A promoter said to me, 'If you die, kid, die in the ring. It's good for business.' "
A 'rock god' lifestyle
Despite, or because of, its testosterone-fueled danger, wrestling attracts mostly young men to a circuslike life built on outsized personalities, "ripped" bodies and death-defying stunts. Newcomers dive headfirst into the rough-and-tumble profession. Current and former wrestlers interviewed say they live on the edge and see few career options. Only a handful of stars have more than a high school education. During a typical 15-minute match, combatants exchange choreographed body slams and punches. Some leap from top ropes onto cement surfaces outside the ring.
In more physical "hard-core" matches, wrestlers are smashed through tables, whacked in the head with steel chairs and punctured with barbed wire and tacks. Those antics are not fake. "Wrestling is sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll because we have a rock god kind of thing going," Levy says.
Top performers make more than $1 million annually. Millions of youngsters pine to become the next Mick Foley. He parlayed death-defying stunts — he plunged more than 20 feet from steel cages and was frequently bloodied — into a multimillion-dollar wrestling career. He has since written books on wrestling that made the USA TODAY best-seller list.
But for every star, scores of others toil in obscurity at run-down gyms. "Strongman" Johnny Perry, 30, who died of cocaine intoxication in North Carolina in 2002, moonlighted as a repo man. Curtis Parker, 28, accidentally killed in practice in St. Louis in 2002, also worked at a Jack in the Box.
Some, like Hegstrand, fade from being headliners at sold-out football stadiums — as he was in the early and mid-1990s — to performing at high school gyms and armories. For nearly two decades, Hegstrand — a hulking figure with wrecking-ball biceps who died in October — freely admitted he indulged in hard living. Though he didn't specify what he took, he made it clear that pro wrestling was fraught with steroids, pain pills and recreational drugs. Then came the sobering news: Years of excess had created a tear in his heart.
"I'd put just about everything (drugs) in me that was humanly possible during my wrestling career," Hegstrand told wrestling radio talk-show host Lano in April 2003.
Hegstrand spent his last few years barnstorming in wrestler-turned-evangelist Ted DiBiase's "Heart of David Ministry" promotion. When he died, traces of marijuana were found in his body, according to his autopsy report.
Others, like Lozanski, wrestle despite serious injuries. More than 18 months after he took a nasty fall that damaged his lungs during a match, Lozanski traversed North America, wrestling for small promotions. He died unexpectedly in his sleep in December.
"That's the nature of the business," says Chris Lozanski, 31, Mike's brother and a former wrestler. "Mike felt he had to keep working. I left the business because I want to see my 11-month-old son grow up," he says.
Since he could walk, Lockwood wanted to be a wrestler. What the 5-foot-8 Lockwood lacked in height, he made up for in determination and tireless training, his mother, Barbara, says. "Everyone laughed when this kid said he would make it, but he did."
Lockwood won more than 20 titles in the WWE and a cult following from 1998 to 2003.
With fame came sacrifices. Lockwood was in constant pain and began using prescription painkillers 18 months ago. He also gained noticeable bulk and was irritable — two signs of steroid use. But when Barbara asked, her son denied using them.
Lockwood was released from his WWE contract after five years on July 1 because it did not have "further plans for his character," the WWE said in a statement.
He was about to move back to California, where he planned to reunite with his high school sweetheart and their 7-year-old daughter. He planned to perform in Japan and train young wrestlers. "He was on his way home, but he didn't make it," Barbara says. Lockwood died in November in Florida. He was 32. A medical examiner ruled it a suicide from an overdose of painkillers. But Barbara thinks it was an accident. "Mike had too much to live for," she says.
Wrestling on trial
When anabolic steroids were cast as a controlled substance in 1991, federal law made purchases and possession of them illegal except for medical purposes. Two grand jury investigations shortly thereafter resulted in admissions of steroid abuse by a handful of big wrestling names and the 1991 conviction of a urologist, George Zahorian of Harrisburg, Pa.
He was convicted of 12 counts of selling steroids and painkillers to a body builder and several WWF performers, including Piper (whose real name is Roderick Toombs) and Hogan (Terry Bollea).
"The doctor had shopping bags with our names on them that were filled with steroids and prescription drugs," Piper says.
Shortly thereafter McMahon was indicted. But he was acquitted of charges of conspiring to distribute steroids to wrestlers.
The probes led to stringent drug testing in the WWF, but only for a few years. A few stars were suspended for flunking tests. By late 1996 the program was scrapped because of the expense — and other wrestling organizations didn't test or were lax in enforcement, the WWF said at the time.
Jerry McDevitt, the outside legal counsel for McMahon's wrestling organization, contends testing "just doesn't work" because wrestlers can fake urine tests or use designer steroids that are undetectable. "Anybody who wants to beat it can beat it. The only ones who are caught are stupid," he says.
Last year, the WWE — the WWF changed its name to World Wrestling Entertainment after a copyright dispute with the World Wildlife Fund in 2002 — let go star performer Jeff Hardy for refusing to undergo drug rehab treatment. Within weeks, several wrestling organizations lined up to hire him.
Major promoters say the industry has moved on from its "Wild, Wild West" days of the late 1980s.
Young wrestlers take better care of themselves. "The new guys play PlayStation in their hotel rooms," wrestler Sean Waltman, 31, says.
WWE, the largest wrestling organization in North America with 125 wrestlers, says it tests for recreational drugs if there is probable cause. If a wrestler refuses rehab, he is booted. It has cut weekly performances to three or four, down from about five in the mid-1990s. And it has improved training techniques to minimize injuries.
"Steroids and painkillers (aren't) a professional choice but a lifestyle," says WWE wrestler John Cena, 26, who at 6-1 and 240 pounds is the size he was when he played college football. "I've learned to play in pain. If it's a serious enough injury, I take time off."
McMahon says he requires only that his wrestlers are in shape, not that they're "the size of monsters," as many were in the 1960s, '70s and '80s. "We're not looking for bodybuilders," he says.
The No. 2 wrestling employer, NWA-TNA, is considering mandatory drug testing. In November it began offering medical coverage for injuries inside and outside the ring to its 35 contracted wrestlers — the first time a pro wrestling organization has done so. It is considering medical and dental coverage.
But such reforms help only those wrestling for the top two organizations, leaving hundreds of wrestlers largely working under the same conditions as years ago.
Not much has changed on the regulatory front, either. Attempts by wrestlers to unionize have flopped. They have no player associations, as do football, basketball and baseball players.
In most states, oversight of pro wrestling is left to local athletic commissions. They usually have lenient prematch requirements. In New York, for example, performers are subject to little more than a blood-pressure test.
"No one is standing up. Either they don't know what's going on or they're terrified of being blacklisted," says wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer, echoing the sentiment of others.
For now the only one standing up seems to be Piper. He says he forfeited hundreds of thousands of dollars in potential earnings because his outspokenness about rampant steroid and drug use got him fired from the WWE in June.
The WWE denies Piper's allegations. It says the two were unable to negotiate a contract.
Piper doesn't allow any of his four children to watch wrestling — or harbor dreams of being a wrestler. He is sober, living on a 12 1/2-acre spread near Portland, Ore. He is hardly down on his luck. He's been in 26 movies, such as They Live, and TV's The Love Boat and The Mullets since 1978. He has agreed to appear in the movie Fish in a Barrel with Burt Reynolds.
Yet he clings to hopes of another big payday in wrestling. He suggests he and McMahon take their feud over Piper's dismissal to the airwaves.
"It would be great reality TV: two strong personalities going at it over a topical issue," he says, wistfully. "Maybe we could save lives in the process."
For more information on the Jesus Movement, order "The Jesus People Movement: An Annotated Bibliography and General Resource" - now available.
By most accounts, the Jesus People Movement began in 1967 with the opening of a small storefront evangelical mission called the Living Room in San Francisco's Haight Ashbury district. Though other missionary type organizations had preceded them in the area, this was the first one run solely by street Christians.
Within a short time of these first stirrings a number of independent Christian communities sprang up all across North America. In Seattle, the Jesus People Army was born in response to a vision experienced by evangelist Linda Meissner, who had seen an "army of teenagers marching for Jesus." On the Sunset Strip, evangelist Arthur Blessitt opened the His Place nightclub and coffeehouse as a 24 hour way station for youth. At the University of California at Berkeley, Dr. Jack Sparks and some other members of Campus Crusade decided to begin a countercultural outreach program called the Christian Liberation World Front (CWLF) directed towards reaching campus radicals.
The ensuing groundswell of activity spawned a number of other developments as well. Realizing the need to open their churches to the hippie generation, many conservative pastors recruited hippie liaisons to their ministerial staff. Both Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel (in Santa Ana, California) with the recruitment of Lonnie Frisbee, and Lyle Steenis of Bethel Tabernacle (in Redondo Beach) with the recruitment of Breck Stevens found their churches radically transformed in the wake of their decisions.
In order to proclaim the message of the gospel, hippie Christians simply adopted existing forms of communication. Mirroring the development of underground newspapers such as the Berkeley Barb, in 1969 evangelist Duane Pederson began publishing the Hollywood Free Paper as an evangelistic tool. Jesus papers with names like Right On!, The Fish, Street Level, and Cornerstone became a fundamental component of each street Christian community.
Another development was Jesus Music, the controversial combination of rock music and the gospel as one of the most effective (and subsequently lasting) institutions of the revival. Artists and groups such as Ron Moore, Love Song, John Fischer, Larry Norman, Randy Matthews, Agape, and the All Saved Freak Band are just a few of the performers that felt the need to communicate spiritual truths through a popular medium.
Christian coffeehouses and Jesus rock festivals emerged as the music gained momentum as a popular alternative to the mainstream industry. Contemporary Christian radio shows sprang up as did magazines devoted solely to monitoring the fledgling Jesus Music scene.
While many conventional church-goers lamented that Jesus Music was a spiritual compromise, these pioneers maintained that they were combating the negative influence of mainstream rock music. In an attempt to develop an apologetic for their evangelistic efforts they echoed the sentiments of reformer Martin Luther when he asked "why should the devil have all the best tunes."
Adding to the excitement of the era was the sense that the revival was a foreshadowing of the impending apocalypse. Hal Lindsey's runaway best seller The Late Great Planet Earth hit upon a deep seated nerve in the public with his combination of biblical prophecy and news events. Lindsey based much of his writing on the premise that the re-establishment of Israel as a nation was a prominent signal that the "countdown to Armageddon" had begun.
Coupled with this end times theology was a premillennial doctrine concerning the "rapture of the saints" which taught that prior to the rise of the Antichrist and final war believers would be "raptured" (or 'caught up') to escape a time of tribulation perceived as being foretold in the Book of Revelation. Jesus musician Larry Norman's haunting song "I Wish We'd All Been Ready" touched on this theme:
Two men walking up a hill One disappears and one's left standing still I wish we'd all been ready
The revival also spawned a number of extremist groups such as the Children of God, The Alamo Foundation, and the Way International. Although at first accepted and welcomed as more militant and committed street Christian groups, as apologetic ministries such as the CWLF's Spiritual Counterfeits Project rose to expose doctrinal deviations, these groups were branded as heretical.
Though the revival had progressed for four years, the mainstream media did not really focus on the story until 1971. Though Christianity Today and Christian Life had followed the story from its beginnings in the Haight Ashbury, it wasn't until 1970 when articles about 'street Christians' and 'Jesus freaks' appeared in Time and Commonweal.
The major breakthrough came in February 1971 when Look magazine printed a story that anyone had described it as anything more than a local California event. This article spawned a virtual cottage industry of press articles, denominational ruminations, television exposes, and films all detailing various facets of what was now being called a "movement."
Ocean baptismal services, exuberant prayer meetings, long-haired evangelists, and Jesus rock musicians were portrayed throughout national magazines like Time, Newsweek, Life, Rolling Stone, and U.S. News & World Report. In 1971 the Jesus People were the religious event of the year while ranking third in Time's story of the year poll. Alongside the emergence of Black Panthers, hippies, Yippies, Diggers, student activists, Weathermen, and women's liberationists, the 'Jesus freak' was certainly the most curious social phenomena of the late 1960's and early 1970's.
Although the media's interest in the movement waned by the end of 1971, there was much evidence that the revival was still going strong. The Jesus People USA, an offshoot ministry of the original Seattle Jesus People Army, would soon find a home in Chicago ministering to street youth.
In 1972 Campus Crusade organized Explo '72 in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas where many of the movement's top performers were invited to sing. In 1973 former Calvary Chapel pastor Kenn Gulliksen was just starting a string of Bible studies that would culminate in the Vineyard churches.
With Watergate and President Nixon's promises to end the war in Vietnam dominating the front pages, the counterculture receded thus removing the mission field that the revival had targeted. Where previous efforts of evangelism had been as simple as playing a guitar on a street corner for a group of spiritually interested hippies, the cynicism born of societal fears towards "cults" and their "brainwashing" techniques made evangelism a less fruitful endeavor than it once had been.
As the counterculture came to an end, Jesus People groups either disbanded, institutionalized as churches, or stubbornly clung to their countercultural roots. Though the Jesus People Movement had effectively ended by the mid-1970s, there were still a host of churches, parachurch organizations, apologetics ministries, converts, Jesus musicians, independent evangelists, and missionary workers that had been funneled into Protestant and Catholic denominations of all theological skews.
Though the Jesus People Movement remains relatively neglected by mainstream and religious historians, its influence throughout the church was influential. It is our hope that through your participation on this page that we can offer insightful analysis of this period with the knowledge that historical reflection is an important part of our Christian heritage.
David Di Sabatino Mississauga, Ontario November 1997
PEOPLE & FACES OF THE JESUS MOVEMENT
Arthur Blessitt and His Place - The minister of the Sunset Strip and founder of the His Place nightclub, the psychedelic evangelist came to prominence in the late 1960s after preaching at a local strip club. Blessitt was responsible for Christianizing some of the counterculture's sayings, including "turn on to Jesus," and comparing salvation to an "eternal rush." The local businessmen were successful in getting His place shut down in the summer of 1969 but Arthur chained himself the 12 foot cross in front of the building and fasted for 28 days,--- until they got another building just down the Strip that was kept open for two more years. It was open even as Arthur carried the cross across America and felt called of God to go overseas in the summer of 1971. He has continued to do so until the present. Visit Arthur's website
Lonnie Frisbee - After a short stint with the original street Christian community in San Francisco, Lonnie was recruited by Chuck Smith, then pastor of a fledgling congregation in Costa Mesa, California, to be one of his evangelical liaisons to the counterculture. Frisbee was successful in drawing many to come to Calvary Chapel. During his tenure (1968-1971) as unofficial youth pastor, the church grew from 200 to several thousand members. He was also involved in the Shepherding movement before coming into contact with John Wimber in 1980 where he was integral to the development of the "signs and wonders" theology. In 1993 Frisbee passed away resulting from AIDS. At his funeral he was best eulogized as a Samson figure.
Larry Norman - One of the most popular Jesus music performers, his 1969 release Upon This Rock contributed some of the most lasting anthems of the Jesus People Movement. Songs like "I Wish We'd All Been Ready," with its theme of expectation for the second coming, and "Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music," with its apologetic for using rock music as a tool of evangelism, did much to bolster Norman as the premier Jesus rock performer of the revival. His trilogy of albums (Only Visiting This Planet, So Long Ago the Garden, and In Another Land, were extremely influential. Though controversy has continued to follow him, Norman has continued to tour and perform his songs throughout the world.
Jack Sparks and the Christian World Liberation Front - One of three founding fathers of the Christian World Liberation Front (CWLF) on the Berkeley campus of the University of California in 1969. A former statistics professor and Campus Crusade worker, Sparks felt the need to begin a campus outreach to left-wing student activists. In 1975 he and a number of other Campus Crusade members made the move into the Eastern Orthodox church. Most recently he has worked on the Orthodox Study Bible while continuing to teach at St. Athanasius Academy.
Linda Meissner and the Jesus People Army - Former staff worker with David Wilkerson's Teen Challenge program, Meissner founded the Jesus People Army (JPA) in Seattle in response to having vision of "thousands of youths marching for Jesus." After opening a number of outreaches in other areas in the Pacific Northwest basin, the JPA dissolved when she threw her support to the Children of God who took her with them to England. Disillusioned with her decision, she left the group and settled in Denmark.
Jim Palosaari and the Milwaukee Jesus People - Saved at a tent revival meeting in 1969, Palosaari and his wife Sue joined Linda Meissner's Seattle outreach before venturing off to begin a similar outreach in the Midwest in 1971. After growing to approximately 200 members, the Milwaukee Jesus People split into four groups with Palosaari's crew (The Jesus Family) settling in England. While there, the group staged the Lonesome Stone rock musical and founded the annual Greenbelt Music Festival. Returning to the United States, Palosaari established another community in Oregon called the Highway Missionary Society from which the rock group Servant originated. After HMS disbanded, Palosaari continued to work in the CCM business.
David Berg & The Children of God - After taking over responsibility of a Huntington Beach coffeehouse ministry, formerly operated by David Wilkerson's Teen Challenge Organization, evangelist David Berg and his musically-inclined family by 1968 had recruited a modest number of hippie followers. Berg's message centered on compelling listeners to make a radical break with society (the "systemites") by making an "one-hundred percent commitment" to his "Teens for Christ" ministry. Recruits were assured that by this action they would be joining the one true remnant of Christian faith in the last days before the return of Christ.
But because they encouraged teenagers to make such a radical break with society, the group came under the scrutiny of local law enforcement who responded to a number of irate parents wondering where their children were. Charges of "brainwashing" and "kidnapping" ensued. Berg and his group were subsequently chased from their California location and on to the road. Despite these initial rumblings, however, in early 1971 the newly dubbed "Children of God" were still considered orthodox by most, although they were branded as the most radical (and perhaps eccentric) arm of the larger Jesus Movement. The favorable attitude changed soon after, as the charges from parents intensified and some of Berg's internal writings laced with profanities escaped to the public. After stops in Arizona, Quebec (Canada), and a one in the Pacific Northwest where they took over the main operations of the Jesus People Army, Berg and the Children of God (COG) fled to Europe leaving behind a number of lawsuits and scandals.
As Berg became more reclusive, his doctrinal interpretations became more novel. In 1973 it was revealed that Berg had prophesied that female members of the COG were to recruit new members by offering their sexual services. In a writing entitled "Flirty Fishy," Berg asked the female members of the COG, "How far would you go to catch men? All the way?" Word of Berg's deviation from traditional views of Christian sexuality spread like wildfire. An entire cottage industry of apologetics books warned about the COG and their aberrancy despite the fact that their numbers remained under 10,000.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s "The Family of Love" (as they renamed themselves) continued to evangelize with the belief that that the Second Coming of Christ would occur in 1993 as Berg had prophesied. Controversy still surrounds the group as many ex-members have brought forth accusations of sexual abuse and child molestation. Family spokespeople deny the charges. David Berg passed away in 1994 and his legacy is still promoted by his followers
Scott Ross and Love Inn - Seeing the powerful but destructive force rock music could generate from his vantage as a former celebrity disc-jockey, Scott Ross desired to impact teenagers by combining the attractive elements of rock music with positive spiritual messages. In 1968 Ross approached CBN owner Pat Robertson with his vision from which the first Christian rock radio program, Tell It Like It Is, was born. In 1969 Ross opened a community called Love Inn in Freeville, New York where they established a Jesus paper (Free Love) and a record label (New Song) around the talents of guitarist Phil Keaggy. By 1979 Ross left the community to become more involved in the Discipleship movement. By the mid-1980s he returned to CBN where he continues to work. Chuck Smith and Calvary Chapel - Frustrated by church growth contests and recruitment techniques, in 1965 Smith took over as pastor of a tiny congregation in Costa Mesa, California. While watching hippies gather at Huntington Beach he and his wife were moved to find some way to reach these lost youth with the gospel. In 1968 Smith recruited Lonnie Frisbee and John Higgins to start a drug rehabilitation and commune called The House of Miracles. Smith's openness to the hippie culture sparked thousands of hippies to come to the church where he functioned as their father figure. Heavily influenced by premillennial interpretation of the Bible, Smith has become one of the leading figures of prophecy books and end-times publications selling thousands of copies of his various texts. Under his leadership, Calvary Chapel has spawned hundreds of similar churches and is cited as one of this half century's church growth phenomenons.
Ted Wise and the House of Acts community - Converted in 1966 Wise is remembered as the first street Christian converts of the ensuing Jesus People Movement. In 1967 he and his wife Liz (and three other couples) opened The Living Room mission in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco. Although in operation for only 18 months, the staffers suggested they talked with several thousand people. Wise and his group also came to live in community, taking the Acts' account of the early Christians as a literal guide. The resultant House of Acts community, the first Jesus commune of the movement, stood as a model for other similar communities that sprung up all across the continent. After this, Wise was recruited by Ray Stedman of Peninsula Bible Church (PBC) to work with drug addicts and open rehabilitation clinics. He remains affiliated to PBC to the present. (Read a recent interview with Ted)
Jim Durkin and Lighthouse Ranch - In the summer of 1970 while Jim Durkin was experiencing dissatisfaction with his ministry, he was approached by several Jesus People looking to begin an evangelistic ministry to the hippies. Though initially hesitant, Durkin allowed the young group access to one of his apartment complexes helping them establish a coffeehouse outreach program. As the ministry blossomed they looked to him for leadership. He acquired an abandoned coast guard station eleven miles outside of Eureka, California allowing the young Christians to use this as their new home.
Gospel Outreach Lighthouse Ranch, Table Bluff Road in Loleta, CA They dubbed it the Lighthouse Ranch. By 1972 the group had grown to between 250 - 300 active members. Under Durkin's oversight the group began to send out church planting teams all over the world eventually calling their growing organization Gospel Outreach. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Gospel Outreach (G continued to send out missionary teams including successful campaigns in Mendocino (California), Germany, Nicaragua, and Hawaii. With 100 affiliated churches worldwide the Gospel Outreach network is one of three denominational legacies of the Jesus People Movement.
Victor Paul Wierwille - A graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary and ordained in the United Church of Christ. Believing that much of the Christian was in error, in 1955 Wierwille founded The Way to educate young men and women in the "correct way of biblical education." In 1968 Wierwille contacted and recruited two members of the first street Christian community in the Haight Ashbury, asking them to head up Way International training centers in California and New York. The Way International raised the ire of other Christian groups, labelled a "cult" because of their antitrinitarian views. One of the largest of all the extremist groups of the Jesus People movement, by the mid-1970s the organization boasted over 20,000 active members. Wierwille died in 1986 leaving The Way International in a state of disarray having to deal with financial mismanagement, accusations that he had plagiarized some of his writings, and sexual immorality.
Greg Laurie - In 1970 Greg Laurie was profoundly influenced by an encounter with hippie evangelist Lonnie Frisbee who was preaching on the lawn of Laurie's Newport Harbor High School. After this experience, Laurie was invited back to Calvary Chapel where in 1972 he was offered oversight over a congregation that had been nurtured by Frisbee at All Saints Episcopal Church in Riverside, California. Under Laurie's leadership the Harvest Christian Fellowship has blossomed into one of the flagships of the Calvary Chapel denomination. In 1990 Smith took his protege and began billing Laurie as the featured speaker for what has become the annual Harvest Crusade meetings. He is noted by some as being the "evangelist of the MTV generation."
Pat Boone & Duane Pederson Duane Pederson and the Hollywood Free Paper - Originally a ventriloquist from Minnesota, Pederson moved to California and founded what became the most widely distributed underground Jesus newspaper of the movement called the Hollywood Free Paper. Used as a tool of evangelistic communication the paper's editors boasted that their largest circulated copy had a printing of 500,000 copies. Pederson wrote a number of books in the early 1970s while serving as pastor of a California congregation. In the mid-1980s he tried unsuccessfully to resurrect the Hollywood Free Paper and eventually followed former Jesus People associate Jack Sparks into the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Hal Lindsey - In 1970 Lindsey left Campus Crusade to begin the Jesus Christ Light and Power Company, a youth oriented ministry on the Los Angeles campus of the University of California (UCLA). Previous to this he had begun to compile a number of eschatologically based sermons publishing them under the title The Late Great Planet Earth later that year. The book became an overnight best seller hitting on a raw nerve of excitement concerning the close proximation of the second coming of Christ. With one eye on the Bible and one towards the daily news, Lindsey's book enchanted Christians into a wave of expectational end-times frenzy. Launched by the success of his first book, Lindsey was commissioned to begin writing others. In 1972 he published Satan Is Alive and Well on Planet Earth, a book based on the theme of worldwide satanic conspiracies. Lindsey has continued to be one of the leading experts of Biblical prophecy traveling throughout the world and continuing to be a popular conference speaker.
Bethel Tabernacle - One of the obscure hippie churches to gain notoriety during the intense media frenzy in 1971. Drawn into the movement when Pastor Lyle Steenis recruited ex-drug addict Breck Stevens to be the church's evangelistic liaison to the counterculture. Although the church claimed that over 100,000 people passed through their doors, the congregation never grew to more than several hundred. After Steenis died in a plane crash in 1972, Stevens took over control of the church despite the protestations of Steenis' widow who may have realized that the young man lacked the necessary maturity. Though he led the church for another 14 years, Stevens committed suicide in 1986.
Toronto Catacombs - In 1968 Gord Morris and Don Rossiter desired to begin a Christian club on the campus of their Toronto high school. After approaching their music teacher who was also a Christian, they formed the Catacomb Club. By 1971 they had grown into a group of 850 and began meeting in St. Paul's Anglican Church where they held a Thursday night 'Praise and Worship Celebration' that at its peak attracted 2,500 enthusiastic teenagers. The core group eventually spawned a church that lasted into the late 1980s.
Explo '72 - Billed as the "Spiritual Woodstock" or "Godstock," the Campus Crusade sponsored event featured a number of evangelical leaders and Jesus Music performers in a week long campaign (May 12-17). Featured artists were Love Song, Larry Norman, Randy Matthews, Children of the Day, Johnny Cash, and Kris Kristofferson. The week was closed with a sermon by Billy Graham who had recently penned a book affirming his allegiance with "The Jesus Generation."
John Higgins and the Shiloh Youth Revival Centers Organization - Saved in 1966 after reading the Bible in an effort to disprove it, the former New Yorker started attending the fledgling Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa. Along with Lonnie and Connie Frisbee, John and his wife Jackie were asked to be the elders of the very first House of Miracles communal home in 1968. Under Higgins' leadership a number of other communities opened throughout the southwestern United States all subsequently dubbed The House of Miracles. While scouting some property up in Oregon, Higgins received a vision to move their various ministries north. Naming this first Oregon communal location 'Shiloh' after an Old Testament prophetic passage, the Shiloh Youth Revival Centers Organization (SYRC began planting other communal houses throughout the Pacific Northwest. It is estimated that from 1968 to 1978 the SYRCO established 178 locations although no more than 50 houses were in operation at one time. After charges of financial mismanagement and authoritarianism were brought up against Higgins in 1978, he was asked to leave the ministry. The SYRCO battled to stay afloat for the next several years but finally sold their remaining properties and closed operations in 1988. John Higgins moved to Arizona and is presently the pastor of a Calvary Chapel affiliate.
Kent Philpott - As a young pastor and student at Golden Gate Baptist Seminary in 1967, Philpott felt compelled to begin evangelizing in the Haight Ashbury after hearing Scott McKenzie's song "San Francisco." Along with his wife he opened a number of communal houses and was a member of a Baptist organization called Evangelical Concerns which funded some of the street Christian activities in the area. Philpott is presently a pastor in the San Francisco Bay area.
David Hoyt - A member of the Krishna temple when first approached by evangelist Kent Philpott in the Haight Ashbury, Hoyt had a powerful conversion experience and worked towards opening numerous Christian communes. In 1970 he moved to Atlanta and opened Upper Streams and the House of Judah before being the first Jesus People leader to align with the Children of God. Hoyt left the COG after their exodus to Europe. While in England he teamed up with former Milwaukee Jesus People leader Jim Palosaari and his crew. Hoyt is currently writing a book about his experiences.
Don Williams and the Salt Company Coffeehouse - Having just obtained his doctorate from Columbia University, Williams became the youth pastor of Hollywood First Presbyterian Church. Feeling a "Call to the Streets" (the title of a book he wrote on his experiences in the JPM), he began a coffeehouse ministry called the Salt Company where many notable Jesus Musicians played. The church also sponsored a Jesus paper and a couple of communal homes for new converts. Wrote a book on his experiences called "Call to the Streets." After the JPM he taught at Claremont MacKenna College before becoming involved in the Vineyard movement.
Connie Frisbee - While living at a number of hippie communities, Connie became acquainted with and eventually married Lonnie Frisbee. In 1968 they became the fifth couple to live at the House of Acts community in Novato, California where she helped out with the daily routines of making soup and preparing the storefront mission for the regular stream of guests. Though the two were divorced in 1973, Connie remarried and is presently living in Auburn where she shares her experiences with troubled youth.
Sandi Heefner, Judy Doop, Liz Wise, and Sandy Sands - The wives of the four men who organized and ran The Living Room storefront mission in the Haight Ashbury and The House of Acts (the first countercultural Christian community of the revival). Although Ted Wise usually gets credit for being the first convert of the Jesus People Movement, it was Liz's going back to church which really began the desire to search the Bible. Like many unsung participants of the Jesus People Movement, these four women deserve credit for doing the behind the scenes work at The Living Room and House of Acts.
Kathryn Kuhlman - A charismatic healing evangelist who briefly embraced the Jesus People as they became front page news. Kuhlman befriended a number of converted hippies from Calvary Chapel and was convinced to do a number of her "I Believe in Miracles" television shows with them as the main guests.
Edward E. Plowman - As editor of Christianity Today, Plowman was one of the first to report on the emerging 'street Christians,' and follow through with many subsequent stories and editorials on the Jesus People as they progressed into a movement.
Glenn Kaiser - Was a young hippie blues guitarist in Milwaukee when he made contact and subsequently joined a community of Jesus People while they were holding revival meetings in the early 1970s. Was the focal musician in one of the community's two rock bands (named Charity) which eventually was renamed Resurrection Band. After two custom cassette projects the band released their first album entitled Awaiting Your Reply in 1978. Beyond his duties as lead guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist for the band, Kaiser has been an uncompromising voice within the CCM industry and larger evangelical movement. Still serves as a pastor to the Jesus People USA community in downtown Chicago, Illinois where the Jesus People Movement continues.
Martin Meyer 'Moishe' Rosen - While in California as the leader of a missionary organization to Jewish people, Rosen befriended a number of Jewish hippie converts in the late 1960s. He subsequently founded the Jews for Jesus organization which gained a lot of media attention in the early 1970s for their confrontational style of evangelism.
David Rose - Young charismatic hippie who converted and was later influenced by Jack Sparks of the Christian World Liberation Front. Compelled by a vision to open a mission to teenagers in the midwest, he returned to Kansas and opened the House of Agape. By the early 1970s their efforts had spawned a well attended church out of which came the music of Paul Clark and The Hallelujah Joy Band. After joining a mission team to the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Rose ventured to Israel where he functioned as the church's overseas missionary for a number of years. Rose presently runs a successful Hollywood video production company.
Mario Murillo - Pastor who directed Resurrection City, a Pentecostal styled ministry and outreach geared towards presenting the gospel to radical activist leaders at the University of California at Berkeley campus. His ministry continues today and he also has a popular bible study on Christian TV.
Top 50 Collectible Jesus Music Albums of All Time
It could be argued that the synthesis of popular music and the gospel stems back as far as the Great Reformer, Martin Luther who queried as to 'why the devil should be allowed to have all the good tunes?' The genesis of blues, soul and black gospel styles all have their roots in the music of early black work songs which were by nature overtly spiritual. Though the rock'n'roll music of this generation has degenerated taking on the perverse themes of nihilism, permissiveness, and violence, there is evidence to support the claim that rock music was given its formative impulses from rudimentary spirituality. Thus, when you hear Larry Norman lament that 'rock'n'roll music originated in the church' you can rest assure that he is correct.
In the late '60s when rock music became the voice of the burgeoning youth populace the rock media tended to focus on the shocking stories of those pushing the envelope of experience. Although many were offering positive messages, the deaths of Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Keith Moon and others were much more news-worthy. Though the music of the late '60s is more remembered for its anti-establishmentary themes, there were a gamut of musicians who spoke of salvation through another means.
The Jesus People Movement among the counterculture hippies was the background from which most of the following albums emerged. Though the production is at times not up to present standards, the spirit behind the music indicates a freshness and verve that capture the essence of experiential Christianity.
The following is an admittedly subjective list of Jesus Music albums. This list concentrates on roughly a 15 year period (1965 - 1980), so there are some collectible CCM lps that obviously won't be included. Albums were picked for both their quality and their market value. Thus, if your favorite album doesn't appear, please remember this reflects my personal tastes more than anything else. It is my hope that you will find some (or all. . . good luck) of these gems in your searching. They represent a formative time that many CCM fans know little or nothing about. I hope you are enriched by this music as I have been over the years. Maranatha! - David Di Sabatino
Agape - Victims of Tradition (Renrut, 1972) I am admittedly biased on placing this one first (seeing as we are responsible for reissuing both of Agape's albums on CD), but it definitely deserves to be here. This is the 2nd of Agape's lps and is a more progressive lp than the first adding jazz keyboardist Jim Hess to the already tight musical lineup. Fred Caban on lead guitar and vocals, Mike Jungman on drums and Jim Peckhart on bass make up the rest of the band.
Wilson McKinley - Spirit of Elijah (Voice of Elijah, 1973) The members of Wilson McKinley were saved as the result of the ministry of Carl Parks, one of the leaders of the Jesus People Army in Seattle. The Jesus People Army was the vision of Linda Meissner, a former staff worker of David Wilkerson's Teen Challenge ministry, who saw 'an army of young people marching for Jesus.' While on crusade through the Pacific Northwest, the members of the band wandered into a park to heckle Carl Parks' preaching. They ended up becoming Christians and becoming the JPA band. Though the quality is admittedly sub-par, the band has elements of the west-coast guitar scene.
Randy Stonehill - Get Me Out of Hollywood (Phonogram, 1973) In this list because of its absolute scarcity. In 1973, or thereabouts, Randy left California to search out a recording contract in England. He recorded this over there and scrapped it just before release. The story is that most of the copies were destroyed, but a few survived and are floating around out there. Album includes the song 'Vegetables' which ended up being included in the Lonesome Stone Musical performed by The Sheep over in England as a part of Jim Palosaari's wandering Jesus People group. Good luck finding copies of this album.
All Saved Freak Band - Brainwashed (Rock the World, 1975) Interesting story. This was a communal group of Jesus freaks from Ohio who revolved around the leadership of Larry Hill and included former lead guitarist for Pacific Gas & Electric, Glenn Schwarz. The group became intensely prophetic and apocalyptic, believing that their group was the sole remnant of Christianity. The band had 3 other albums, one of which also appears on this list.
Out of Darkness - same (Key, 1970) English band sounding very much like Jimi Hendrix. A live CD of their music was just reissued by Plankton Records in England called the Celebration Sessions.
Azitis - Help (Elco, 1971) The rumor is that this band won a music contest to record an album, but could only do so if they changed their lyrics to Christian themes. A really startling story because the content is very strong and seems to be penned by someone who is on the ball. Other than that, it is an excellent psychedelic album.
Water Into Wine Band - Harvest Time Don't know a heck of a whole lot about this band or this album except that it is English folk rock and was sold solely at the first Greenbelt festival in 1972. It now sells for over $750. By virtue of its price alone it merits inclusion in this list. Yikes!
Larry Norman - Street Level (One Way, 1971) One of the three albums he and Stonehill recorded with the money given to One Way by Pat Boone. There are two different versions of this lp (and numerous different label and numerical permutations). The more rare version is the 'Gold Label Underground Edition
continued to send out missionary teams including successful campaigns in Mendocino (California), Germany, Nicaragua, and Hawaii. With 100 affiliated churches worldwide the Gospel Outreach network is one of three denominational legacies of the Jesus People Movement.