CALL TO SERVE - NEW BOOK FOCUSES ON MEDICAL MISSIONARY'S SERVICE IN NIGERIA

Holland — .A new book produced by the A.C. Van Raalte Institute at Hope College provides insights into the foreign-mission experience through the writings and correspondence of long-time medical missionary Tena A. Huizenga.
The book, “Aunt Tena, Called to Serve: Journals and Letters of Tena A. Huizenga, Missionary Nurse to Nigeria,” focuses on Huizenga’s service in remote Lupwe, Nigeria, through the Christian Reformed Church from 1937 to 1954. The volume has been published by the William B. Eerdmans Company of Grand Rapids, and Cambridge, United Kingdom, as part of the Historical Series of the Reformed Church in America.
“This intensely human volume guides us through 17 memorable years of Nigerian mission history,” said Eugene Rubingh, former executive secretary of Christian Reformed World Missions. “Drawn from Tena Huizenga’s own letters, the events are sketched through the lens of joy and tears, of small victories and unimaginable obstacles. Both candor and love transform mundane facts into a warm and lively account of a life poured out for God.”
The book’s managing editor is Dr. Jacob E. Nyenhuis, who is director of the A.C. Van Raalte Institute and provost emeritus and professor emeritus of classics at Hope. Serving as co-editors were Robert P. Swierenga, who is the A.C. Van Raalte Research Professor at the Van Raalte Institute and professor of history emeritus at Kent State University, and Lauren M. Berka, a 2008 Hope graduate who was a student research assistant at the institute and is now a graduate fellow in history at Arizona State University.
“Aunt Tena, Called to Serve” tells its story primarily through Huizenga’s correspondence with family and friends, but also through journals and articles that she wrote. The 976-page book also includes chapters by historian Harry Boonstra that provide biographical and historical context concerning Huizenga and her service as well as the Christian Reformed Church’s support of missions in Nigeria.
Born in 1907, Tena Huizenga grew up in Dutch-American West Chicago. She continued to work as a nurse after leaving the mission field for health reasons in 1954. She died in 1978 at age 70.
The book’s title reflects the Nigerians’ practice of calling all female missionaries “Aunt,” but the designation also applies more literally. The book was commissioned by Huizenga’s nephew, Peter H. Huizenga of Oak Brook, Ill. Peter H. Huizenga’s father, Petro (Peter), was Tena Huizenga’s younger brother, and was a regular correspondent during her mission years. In fact, nearly 300 pages feature Petro Huizenga’s letters to his sister.
Nyenhuis noted that Petro Huizenga’s letters not only demonstrate the strength and importance of familial bonds across time and distance, but also provide insights into the character of life back in the Huizengas’ Chicagoland neighborhood.


“The extensive letters from Tena’s brother Pete offer marvelous insights into the Dutch Reformed subculture of Chicago’s West Side,” he said. “Because his scavenger company later evolved into Waste Management Inc., those letters are especially valuable. Pete’s winsome descriptions and witty dialogue with his sister add a Chicago flavor to this book.”


Tena’s nephew Peter H. Huizenga is a member of the college’s board of trustees and chairman of Huizenga Capital Management. He and his mother Elizabeth had provided a major endowment gift to establish the Van Raalte Institute, which opened in 1994, and he has remained active in supporting the institute’s work in the years since.


Copies of “Aunt Tena, Called to Serve” are available for $49 at the college’s Hope-Geneva Bookstore. The bookstore is on the ground level of the DeWitt Center, which is located at 141 E. 12th St., and is open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. as well as until 8 p.m. on Tuesdays, and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays.

'WALKING BIBLE' MATLOCK GETS PEOPLE'S ATTENTION WITH AMAZING MEMORY

Ask Charles Matlock to recite a random Bible passage, and he'll think for a second before delivering the verses as if reading from the book.
Because of his photographic memory, Matlock, 59, has been able to memorize most of Christianity's holy book.
He is known as the "Walking Bible of West Tennessee." The Savannah native can recite whole books or chapters by request.
"I started when I was very young, sharing about Jesus Christ whenever I could," he said. "Memorizing the Bible is a great opportunity to know Christ and share him with others."
His favorite T-shirt has 26 Bible verses listed, each one beginning with a different letter from the alphabet. He even has the order of those verses memorized.
During an interview Aug. 14 on WTNE 97.7 FM, Matlock recited John 1:1-10 and other passages host Tom Mapes suggested.
Matlock has no cell phone or computer. He's traveled around most of the South and spends little time at his home in Hardin County. He visits churches, nursing homes and street corners, just hoping to share the gospel, he said.
"I just want to try to bring someone to Christ," he said.
Jim Essary, owner of Lexington Chevrolet, first met Matlock when the traveling evangelist visited the car lot. Matlock has prayed for the car business and his family several times, Essary said.
"I've known him several years," he said. "He's a very unique individual. ... He can quote Scripture, and I don't believe any pastor in the world can quote like he can."
Matlock's an intelligent man, Essary said.
"He could've made a lot more money in his life doing something else with his talents," he said. "He's very humble and survives off of the donations people give him. I'm very impressed with his knowledge of the Bible. He's got a good spirit. It makes you feel good when he's around."
For more than 44 years, Matlock has been evangelizing, at the encouragement of his parents, Matlock said.
"I started studying the gospel when I was 12 years old, along with my homework," he said. "I used to sit and learn spelling words. I thought, 'If I can memorize my homework, I can memorize scripture.'"
The first passage Matlock memorized was John 1:1-5. From there, he moved on to other well-known passages to cover the entire Bible. His favorite verse is Romans 8:31.
"I want a relationship with Jesus more than just reading and memorizing verses," he said.
After high school, Matlock began traveling and preaching wherever churches invited him to speak. Today, he averages about one or two churches a month.
Matlock would stand on street corners - something he says he can't do anymore because he's usually asked to leave.
"We're always going to have the sphere of Satan fighting against us," he said. "Whether I'm out, no matter where I am, I see people come to Christ. You have to be real out there for God. You have to come as close as you can to know him."
Visit jacksonsun.com and share your thoughts.

EVANGELICAL FILM MAKER DAN MERCHANT EXPLORES THE CHRISTIAN DIVIDE IN HIS NEW DOCUMENTARY SET TO RELEASE ON SEPT 25TH

Even though he was always taught that religion and politics shouldn’t be discussed in polite company, Dan Merchant decided someone needed to start the conversation.
In his documentary-style film “Lord, Save Us From Your Followers,” which hits theaters nationwide on Sept. 25, Merchant marches around the country asking everyone he meets why what he calls the “Gospel of Love” is dividing the nation.
Wearing a painter-suit covered in bumper stickers that illustrate every side of the “Christian issue,” Merchant travels the country asking tough questions. What Merchant really wants to know: How are Christians supposed to act, and how are they really acting?
In short, does following Jesus mean loving others or being right?
“The goal is to try and understand,” Merchant said during a phone interview from Seattle. “Am I the only person asking these questions?”
The film has been circulating on DVD for at least a year and has attracted a loyal underground fan base. Now Merchant hopes the nationwide theater release will help spread the film’s message.
An evangelical Christian with a background in the entertainment field, Merchant was inspired to explore American Christianity after traveling to Ethiopia and meeting Christians there who sounded and acted nothing like the Christians back home.
“There’s one voice that reminds me of Jesus,” Merchant said, comparing Christian voices on American TV to those in small Ethiopian huts. “And it’s the voice in the hut.”
So he set off to figure out if he was the only one concerned about how U.S. Christians are perceived. By interviewing a broad range of people — including churchgoers, atheists, politicians, scholars, Katrina victims and drag queens dressed as nuns — Merchant looks for everyone to find their voice in this dialogue.
Merchant’s camera captures a diversity of opinions, because it seems that everybody has something to say. “Everyone has a dog in this fight,” Merchant says at the beginning of his film.
What worries Merchant, however, is that everyone seems to be talking at the same time.
Merchant begins his film with coverage from a recent clash in San Francisco between the Christian youth campaign BattleCry and the “more colorful” figures from the city’s liberal population.
The resulting shouting match is exactly the kind of discourse that Merchant wants to address.
“Outrage is way more exciting than humility,” he says.
If everyone is talking over everyone else, where do we begin a civil conversation? Merchant starts with the Rev. Tony Campolo, a progressive-minded evangelical professor at Pennsylvania’s Eastern University. Campolo quotes St. Augustine as having said, “The Church is a whore, and she is my mother.”
“Are you talking about unfaithfulness? You’re talking about the church,” Campolo says in the film. “Unfaithful bride of Christ. Failing to live up to its marriage vows to the Lord. It’s a whore. But she’s also my mother. I wouldn’t be a Christian today … if it wasn’t for this thing called ‘the church.’ For all of its flaws … it has still been that which is kept alive, the gospel story, down through the ages.”
Merchant uses that image to grab the attention of Christians and non-Christians alike. The church may not be perfect, but for believers it still holds the truth. But what is the truth anymore?
In his bumper sticker get-up, Merchant patrols the streets of Times Square and nationwide asking people what Christians are known for versus what Jesus is known for. Big surprise: the answers are often quite different.
By using cartoons such as a Frankenstein Jesus to represent the disjointed body of Christ and Monty Python-style celebrity images spouting loaded comments on faith in America, Merchant eases the tension of an otherwise weighty subject. But he does not forget how important and schismatic the Christian/non-Christian clash really is.
After seriously considering issues where the secular world and the Christian world often butt heads — same-sex marriage, abortion, the “Hollywood agenda,” poverty, war, pornography and consumerism — the film takes a more hopeful turn.
From volunteers washing the feet of homeless people to a confessional booth at a Gay Pride event where people are invited in to hear Merchant’s own confessions, the film offers a glimpse into a kinder, gentler America. Those images and stories, which Merchant cites as the most important, suggest that we are all one in our humanity.
“Life and people are complicated, compassion should be given and not earned,” Merchant offers at the end of the film. And dialogue should never be cut off, he said, because everybody has a piece of the “rest of the story.”

KIDA TRAINING THEIR BRAINS FOR THE FIRST NATIONAL BIBLE BEE IN WASHINGTON

Jason Epps has cerebral palsy but has the attitude of a marathon runner. What others see as a disability, Jason views as a challenge.
This summer, instead of training on the track, he's flexing his brain. Along with 16,000 other youngsters across the country, Jason is preparing for a chance to compete at the first National Bible Bee in Washington.
"The way I look at it, it's just a way for me to get stronger," says the 16-year-old Freedom High School junior.
Jason's mom, Christine, agrees. "He has a lot of goals in mind, and he doesn't let anything stop him," she says. "If he were just a regular kid running around, then he wouldn't have the impact on people like he does."
The Bible Bee will begin with local contests Sept. 12. The children, ages 7 to 18, will compete in either a primary, junior or senior age group. The testing style is similar to Scripps National Spelling Bee, but instead of being quizzed on spelling "conscientious," contestants hone up on biblical knowledge. The Bible Bee includes a written exam. (For sample questions, visit www.biblebee.org.)
There will be 100 finalists from each age group in the national competition. It will be held Nov. 5 and 6 in Washington.
The Bible Bee, sponsored by the Shelby Kennedy Foundation, is awarding more than $260,000 in prize money, with $100,000 given to the first-place winner in the 15 to 18 age group.
Jason says that participating in the bee is a chance to grow his faith. Whether he wins or not, going to nationals "would just be a wonderful experience," he says. "I just think that no matter what happens, this has been a great experience because I've learned tools that I would never have known otherwise."
Still, Jason admits, with a smile, that any help he can get with paying for college would be nice. It's easy to forget that Jason uses a wheelchair. The honors student already has three colleges he's considering.
"I'm just torn because part of me wants to go to Duke for seminary," he says, adding that he leaves tough decisions to the Almighty. "Personally, if God says 'go here,' who am I to debate with him?"
Preparing with songs and games
For now, Jason, along with other youths, is preparing for the Bible Bee. The practices hardly seem like work. Each session consists of songs and games.
Blake Lambson, 11, has memorized numerous verses this summer. He struggles to pick a favorite. "I like all of 'em," he says. The sixth-grader at Burns Middle School does not anticipate competing beyond the local level.
But if he did make it to the nationals? "It'd be pretty awesome, and I'd be really nervous," he says.
Jodie Gregory of Brandon takes her children, 11-year-old triplets and a 12-year-old, to practice sessions at Bell Shoals Baptist Church. She considers the Bible Bee a great parenting tool.
"I want my kids to have a moral compass to help them make decisions in their life," she says. "I think that the Bible is a really good compass."
Jill Cravens, chairwoman of the Lutz Bible Bee group, has three boys, ages 6, 9, and 11, participating in the Lutz competition. Cravens says she always struggled memorizing verses, and she's impressed by the children's dedication.
"The children are truly capable of doing much more than we ever thought they could do," she says. "Instead of one verse monthly, the kids are learning two or three a day."
Doreen Reyson, a mother of seven, is chairwoman for the Brandon area Bible Bee. Her daughter Rachel, 12, wears a nametag heavy with multicolored beads.
"Each bead means a certain thing that we've memorized," Rachel says. In her quest to earn beads, Rachel has delved into the lives of biblical characters. Her favorite? "Joseph," she says, "because he had a lot of struggles in his life, and yet he still held on to God, kept going."
One verse at a time
With the Sept. 12 contest looming, Reyson stresses the need for volunteer proctors. To ensure fairness, "we need people who are not related to the kids," she says.
Unable to volunteer? Reyson says donations are appreciated and help cover the cost of test materials and utilities for use of building space. Although Bell Shoals has given the group free use of two rooms, Reyson wants to reimburse the church for some expenses. Also, she has asked every family with a participating child to raise $100 toward the cause.
That money will offset expenses and go into a kitty for children who make it to the national competition to help pay for travel and hotel costs.
Are any Tampa children contenders for prize money? With 16,000 participating across the country, Reyson says, it's hard to predict. But these kids aren't cutthroat competitive, they're simply having fun learning the Bible.
"Just the reward of having it in our hearts and the treasure of that has been the biggest focus," she says. "Whether they just memorized one Scripture or if they memorized all 300, they're going to walk away as a winner."

GANESHA TEMPLE IN QUEENS FORMS A CHOIR , A HINDU RARITY

With less than an hour to go before the newly formed Hindu temple choir would make its debut, there was time for only a few final run-throughs of the hymn that had been prepared.
“Don’t rush!” implored the conductor, Michael Sample, as the singers surged ahead of the accompanying keyboard’s programmed beat.
About 50 singers had gathered on Sunday morning in the senior center across the street from the Ganesha Temple, operated by the Hindu Temple Society of North America, in Flushing, Queens. They would be performing on the busiest day of the temple calendar — the first day of the festival dedicated to Ganesha, the elephant-headed god.
Ganesha is revered as the remover of obstacles, and his festival is considered an auspicious time to begin new endeavors, not least an experiment in adapting an old religion for a new land. And of the singers, most of whom grew up in India, none had ever heard of a Hindu choir before.
“For us as Indians to learn a whole new thing is wonderful,” said Raji Samant, a member of the choir who runs a bookkeeping business in the city. She said she was drawn by the choir’s novelty.
Choirs are virtually unheard of in temples in India because worshipers tend not to cohere into anything resembling an attentive congregation, said Vasudha Narayanan, a professor of religion and the director of the Center for the Study of Hindu Traditions at the University of Florida.
“People come and go as they please within the temple hours, and it’s more individual prayers,” she said in a telephone interview.
While there are numerous musical traditions that have sprung from Hinduism, they tend to favor solos and improvisation, in keeping with the individualistic and free-flowing nature of Hindu worship, Professor Narayanan said.
She sees the choir as a “gentle process of Americanization” — a kind of adaptation of Hindu traditions to be more “recognizable” to the children of Hindu immigrants and the broader American public.
In Queens, there was a little skepticism at first, said Uma Mysorekar, the president of the temple, one of the largest and oldest Hindu temples in the country. “In the beginning people were a little bit upset with this word ‘choir,’ ” she said. “ ‘Choir — what is this?’ It’s not generally used among Hindus; it’s connected to a Christian choir.”
Resistance quickly faded as Chandrika Tandon, the choir’s founder, who grew up in South India, communicated the joy she had encountered in the gospel choirs of Harlem and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
Nearly 200 people showed up after fliers advertising auditions were posted in the temple and on its Web site in March.
On Sunday, after a final pep talk from Ms. Tandon, the singers, men dressed in kurtas — collarless cotton tunics — in varying shades of cream, and women swathed in embroidered fabrics of deep maroon, padded across Bowne Street in their socks or bare feet and joined the devotees pouring into the temple.
The choir stood crowded into a corner at the rear of the temple near the door, a sea of devotees’ backs between them and the temple’s holiest space, the ornate chamber that houses an image of Ganesha.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then the keyboard’s beat came to life, soon joined by the tabla and harmonium. The choir launched into song: “Om! Ganesha Sharanam!” the choristers sang, in praise of the deity.
Some devotees turned to look over their shoulders. A few began clapping in time. Others started mouthing along to the words. Not everyone was rapt: some continued their conversations, and two bare-chested priests standing nearby chatted and joked.
Nine minutes after they began, the choristers came to a sudden climax with a final “Sharanam Ganesha!”
There swiftly followed another sound rarely heard in the temple: applause. But not for long. Dr. Mysorekar, the temple president, hushed it as soon as she could. “In this temple, the Lord has supremacy,” she explained afterward.
The audience response was politely approving. “I was not expecting it at all,” said Navin Mithal, a retired flight engineer. But he said he liked it: “I was singing along inside me.”
A priest came over and said he had never heard anything like it, in a good way. Then came a clamoring of bells, drums and a woodwind as a palanquin bearing another garlanded image of Ganesha was lifted high.
Devotees rushed to their feet, some heading for the palanquin’s procession, others for a corner of the temple for private prayer, others still for the exit.
The brief experiment in unison was over for now. The familiar disorder was restored.
With one song already under its belt, the choir will resume rehearsals of another work — a medley of “America the Beautiful” and “Vande Mataram” (“Bow to Thee, Mother”), India’s national song. Its ultimate plan is to become a temple fixture. “First,” Ms. Tandon said, “we need to expand our repertoire.”

A SHORT BIOGRAPHY OF FANNY.J.CROSBY ,BLIND HYMN WRITER AND POETESS

Frances Jane Van Alstyne, poet and hymn-writer, known by her pen name Fanny J. Crosby, was born at South East, Putnam County, New York, March 24,1820. When six weeks old she lost her sight, through the negligence of the attending physician, but in spite of this severe affliction has always been noted for her cheerful and happy disposition.
She was educated in the New York City Institution for the Blind, which she entered in 1835, and proving herself one of the brightest of its favored pupils, completed the course of instruction in 1842. In 1847 she was appointed teacher of English grammar, rhetoric, Roman and Greek history, in this institution, filling the position acceptably until 1858. In 1851 she joined the Methodist Episcopal church, of which she has ever since been a devoted member.
When still very young she manifested poetic talent, composing creditable verses at the remarkably early age of eight years. She is described as an impressionable child, keenly appreciative of the beauties of nature, and left so greatly to her own thoughts, her intellect matured rapidly.
Her first volume of verse appeared in 1844, under the title "A Blind Girl and Other Poems." In 1849 came "Monterey and Other Poems," and in 1858 "A Wreath of Columbia's Flowers." From 1853 to 1858 she wrote a number of songs, which were set to music by George F. Root, some of them becoming exceedingly popular, such as "Rosalie the Prairie Flower," "Hazel Dell," "There's Music in the Air," etc.
Her first Sunday-school hymn was written in 1864, at the request of William B. Bradbury, the father of popular Sunday-school music in America, and was published by him in his " Golden Censer." During the succeeding thirty-two years she has been pouring forth from the riches of her heart and intellect, hymns, songs, and poems until they now number over 5,000, many of which have been published by The Biglow & Main Co., of New York City.
Her hymns are characterized by simplicity, directness and intense earnestness. Among the most popular are "Safe in the Arms of Jesus," "Pass Me Not, O Gentle Saviour," "Rescue the Perishing," "Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross," "The Bright Forever," "Close to Thee," "Saviour, More Than Life to Me," and "I Am Thine, O Lord."
Fanny Crosby never writes out her poems, but completes each one in her mind and dictates it to an amanuensis. It is said that she can thus compose a dozen or more hymns before finally committing them to paper.
Through the publication of the famous "Gospel Hymns," and innumerable Sunday-school hymn-books in this country, and Mr. Sankey's "Sacred Songs and Solos" in England, her hymns have attained a wider circulation, and are at this time more extensively sung throughout the world than those of any other living hymn-writer. Many of her latest and best productions have appeared by her own request under various noms de plume.
In 1858 Miss Crosby was married to Prof. Alexander Van Alstyne, a talented teacher of music in New York, and, like herself, totally blind. She has, however, continued to write under her maiden name, which has become justly noted.
Possessed of a strong and hopeful Christian faith, a faculty for hard and persistent work, and a kindly interest in all about her, she is, even in old age, one of the brightest mortals, and the life of every circle into which she comes. Her residence is in Brooklyn. New York. [Note: Information up to 1897; Fanny Crosby died in 1915.]

PASTOR ROB SMITH TO LAUNCH FERRIES ON LAKE VICTORIA , AFRICA'S LARGEST LAKE

Evangelical Christians have been plowing money into Africa for decades, even before megachurch pastor Rick Warren made it fashionable with his development program in Rwanda.
One of the more unusual ideas that's come across my desk belongs to a South Africa-born Seattle resident who believes that Africa needs capital investment, not another handout.
So Rob Smith, the son of a Nazarene pastor, has begun EarthWise Ventures, which seeks to build a fleet of ferries on Lake Victoria, Africa's largest lake. Thirty percent of the Ugandan economy once depended on a water-transport service built by the British during colonial days but which Africans failed to keep up once the British left.
There are two untrustworthy ferries operated by the Tanzanian and Ugandan governments that have very limited service, but most of the 1,600 people who journey between the two countries instead choose a two-day grueling bus trip. EarthWise's ferries will move between Kampala, Uganda, and Mwanza, Tanzania.
Mr. Smith is the founder of the Agathos Foundation, which has been feeding and housing African orphans and widows devastated by AIDS since 2002. In 2006, he encountered a Ugandan, Calvin Echodu, who runs a similar Christian nonprofit helping former child soldiers and sex slaves in the northern part of his country.
After Mr. Echodu told Mr. Smith of the need for a ferry system to help his native land, the South African realized here was a solution that would help orphans and widows by building up the local economy.
Plus, the Seattle area relies on an extensive ferry system that connects the Olympic Peninsula and various islands in Puget Sound with each other, so it was not hard to grasp the benefits a similar system would be to Africans.
He has raised $800,000 of the $1.2 million he needs for a 65-foot wood-and-fiberglas catamaran, the first in a series of 10 boats, that will hold 200 passengers and revitalize the economies of the three countries, including Kenya, that border the lake. He needs to raise the rest by mid-September, which is when the first ferry will be sent overseas.
The 30-ton catamaran will run on biofuels, specifically the jatropha plant, that can easily be grown by local farmers. It is being built at a plant in Everett, Wash., then will be disassembled, shipped to Africa in 40-foot containers, then reassembled there. A crew of 40 in Uganda will assemble and operate the ferry, which it is hoped will start operating by December.
It can go up to 32 knots per hour, making the run across the lake in an easy six to 10 hours.
Mr. Smith is no head-in-the-clouds kind of guy. He hopes to run EarthWise as a for-profit venture and expects a return of at least 7 percent to investors a year after the ferry is up and running.
All the key players are Christian, but they don't have to be.
"We're doing this because of our sense of calling to Africa," he says, "which is primarily to reach out to the poor and the needy."
All ferries will be constructed to U.S. Coast Guard standards and tickets will cost about $25, the same as the bus fare.
"It will have such a big footprint," he says. "It will help the indigenous farmers in Tanzania, the local economy and our orphan farms in Uganda, which will also benefit from our purchase of our fuel."

To mark the first anniversary of the violent attacks on Christians by Hindu fundamentalists, Christians on Monday organized Inter Religious Harmony and Candle Light Homage in South Indian city of Madurai in Tamil Nadu State.
Christian Today India reported that around 800 human rights activists, secular thinkers, lay persons, pastors, priests and sisters participated in the event organized by the Ecumenical Christian Forum for Human Rights held at Arasaradi in Madurai city.
The forum has demanded full justice for the victims. The eight point demands made by the forum include providing education to displaced children and job opportunity to the affected women and youth.
It said, the government must “provide further compensation for those who have been affected by the violence, including covering the loss of crops, livestock and employment, and assess required levels of compensation on a case-by-case basis through certified independent evaluators.”
They also called on the federal government to bring in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate the death of Hindu priest Lakhmanananda Saraswati Swami, whose death led to the subsequent anti-Christian violence from August 2008 onwards.
Following the swami’s death, Hindu mobs attacked Christians, burning their homes, shops, churches and orphanages. More than 30,000 Christians from Orissa were forced to take shelter in refugee camps for many months.
About 4,500 Christian homes were burned and 180 churches destroyed. At least 60 Christians were killed, according to the Orissa government’s report, but church leaders in Orissa report higher figures and have accused the government of intentionally undercounting the number of deaths.
The two Fast Tract Courts - I and II set up in the district is now examining 827 cases registered during the riots in which 10,000 people were named. Chargesheet has already been filed in 437 cases and investigation was on in other 354 cases, including the nun’s rape.
So far 6 persons have been convicted in the riots case. Five persons were sentenced to six years rigorous imprisonment on 27 July and one person was earlier sentenced to four years imprisonment on on 29 June.
Rev. Dr. M. Gnanavaram, Principal of Tamilnadu Theological Seminary who presided over the event explained the demands and emphasized the urgency of actions to solve the issue of religious fundamentalism.
The historical background of the riots was spelt out by Father Jebamalai Raja and clearly gave the picture of the present condition of the victims in Kandhamal. He said actions must be done to bring justice to the victims immediately by the State and Central Governments.
Rev. Wilson Mohanraj invoked the Spirit and prayed for the suffering people of Kandhamal.
Last week, Open Doors, a persecution watchdog reported that more than 4,000 Kandhamal Christians are reportedly still stuck in squalid refugee camps, too scared to return to their villages and have called for Christians to pray for the “brothers and sisters remain homeless”.
There are an estimated 25 million Christians (about 2.3 percent of the population) in India. The majority of India’s population is Hindu.

SOUTH KOREA MULLS RESTRICTING MISSIONARY WORK IN MIDEAST

SEOUL — South Korea is considering restricting the operations of its Christian missionaries in the Middle East after dozens were expelled for their activities, officials said Thursday.
Missionaries could run the risk of terror attacks and ordinary Korean tourists or businessmen might also be targeted, they said.
"Dozens of our citizens were expelled from Iran, Jordan, Yemen and other Islamic countries in the Middle East last month," a foreign ministry official told AFP, asking not to be identified.
He gave no exact figure. Chosun Ilbo newspaper, quoting a government source, said more than 80 were expelled in the past two months.
"The government is considering taking various and prudent steps for the safety of citizens overseas," the ministry official said without elaborating.
The Korea Herald, without giving a source, said Jordan had recently warned Seoul of possible terror attacks against South Korean missionaries.
In 2007 Afghanistan's Taliban kidnapped 23 South Korean Christian aid workers, two of whom were later killed. The remainder were set free after an undisclosed deal between the Seoul government and their captors.
In March four South Korean visitors to Yemen were killed in a suicide bombing at a historic tourist site. A statement purportedly from Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility.
In June a female volunteer was murdered after being kidnapped in Yemen.
It was unclear if the Yemen victims had links to missionary groups.
South Korea was also targeted after sending non-combat troops to Iraq.
In 2004 a militant group believed linked to Al-Qaeda beheaded a South Korean hostage after unsuccessfully demanding the Seoul government pull out troops.
Under South Korean law the government can restrict citizens' overseas travel if they are subject to a criminal investigation or it is feared they could damage national interests or public safety.
It can refuse to issue or renew passports for up to three years for those who have tarnished the nation's reputation abroad.
Christian and civic groups have maintained that any restrictions would violate constitutional rights to free travel and religious freedom.
South Korea has some 13.7 million Christians (8.6 million Protestants and 5.1 million Catholics) and about 10 million Buddhists, according to the National Statistical Office.
Some Protestant groups are noted for aggressive proselytising.

JESUS'S ' HEAD ' TAKEN FROM CHURCH'S STATUE IN WAUWATOSA

In recent months, Wauwatosa has seen cemetery headstones, city stop signs and the Hoyt Park pool house damaged. But this time, vandals have struck a new target: The statue at the entrance to St. Joseph Congregation now features a headless baby Jesus.
"Somewhere someone is using (the head) for a trophy," church Business Administrator Deb Labermeier said. "The officer and I and the custodians looked everywhere on the property for it, and it's gone."
The statue of Joseph holding his infant son was given to the church by the Christian Women's Society more than 10 years ago. The marble statue is one of several on the church grounds at 12130 W. Center St.
"It's not essential to what we do, we can function without it," Labermeier said. "But our members take this personally. They take pride in the property. This is so senseless."
The church has insurance, which will pay for the majority of the estimated $5,000 cost to replace the statue. But the parish will be responsible for paying the $1,000 deductible.
Labermeier said she was "surprised and disappointed" by the decapitation, which occurred between Aug. 9 and 11, because the church has rarely had problems with crime.

PRIEST RISK LIFE FOR CHURCHLESS CHRISTIANS IN EGYPT

A Coptic priest who renovated his home to accommodate Christian ceremonies in his churchless village is not afraid of the death threat Fatwa issued against him, he declared.
The Rev. Estefanos Shehata of the village Upper Ezbet Dawoud Youself, about 124 miles south of Cairo, is fed up with the unfair treatment of Coptic Christians in Egypt.
There is no church for the 800 Copts in his area, which means funeral and marriage ceremonies are carried out in the streets, he complained in a recent letter to the Middle East Christian Association.
Two years ago he converted part of his family house into a space where these services could be performed and went to obtain a permit for its use. Authorities kept refusing to give a direct answer and finally told him to talk to the village’s Muslims because they didn’t want to be responsible for any problems.
Shehata then talked to the village’s Muslims, who he said have a good relationship with the Copts in the area, about the permit.
The Muslim in his village held a meeting with the elders of neighboring villages, and, to his surprise, they were “extremely angry” with his proposal and issued a Fatwa (religious edict) calling for his death.
“They told the Copts in the village that it takes just one bullet to get rid of me since there is no ‘blood money’ for killing a Christian,” Shehata wrote in the letter.
“I have been banned from my village for over a month now. I cannot even go [see] my mother.”
In Egypt, Christians are not allowed to construct or fix churches unless they receive a permit from governors. Nearly all requests for church building permits are denied. However, there are no such building permits necessary for the construction or fixing of mosques.
“What harm is it to you if we have a hall? What harm is it to you if we build a church? This is one question,” Shehata said in an interview with the advocacy group Free Copts. “Secondly, why do we have to conduct a funeral in the street? Why do we have to celebrate weddings, with the bride and groom standing in the street? This is definitely not right. Why are Muslims angry when Christians want to pray?"
Though Egypt’s constitution guarantees religious freedom, in practice the situation is very different.
“Enough humiliation and persecution of the Copts. I do not fear death and issuing a Fatwa to spill my blood is an honor to me,” he said.
Egypt is predominantly (90 percent) Sunni Muslim with the rest of the population (10 percent) being Christian. Although Egypt’s Christian population is small, it stands as the largest Christian community in the Middle East and is also among the oldest.

CITYSIDE CHURCH'S FUTURE IN DOUBT DUE TO THE DECLINING NUMBERS

The future of one of the last remaining protestant churches in Londonderry's Cityside is being reviewed due to declining numbers.
The congregation will meet in September to discuss the future of Strand Road Presbyterian Church.
The number of Protestant families in the area shrank in line with an overall decrease following the Troubles.
Reverend Robert Buick said the Presbytery will examine all available options over the church's future.
"Depending on the consultation with the congregation, the minister, and other church bodies, the presbytery will then recommend various options to the congregation," he said.
Any decision the congregation takes will go to the Derry & Donegal Presbytery and then to the General Assembly which sits in Belfast.

MISSION VIEJO PILOT ROBERT EARL REMEMBERED FOR HIS MISSIONARY WORK

LAKE FOREST – A pilot who devoted himself to flying to help people around the world is remembered as being inspirational and bringing out the best in others.
Robert Earl Lehnhart, 76, spent decades flying for Mission Aviation Fellowship – a worldwide organization of missionaries that brings, medicine, emergency supplies, food and community development to people in developing countries.
Lehnhart died following a boating accident in Alaska on Tuesday.
Lehnhart joined the fellowship in 1960 and first flew on missions to Brazil. He flew to Ecuador in the mid 1960s. He left the organization in the early 1970s and returned as its director in 1981. He left again in 1985 a formed AirServ – a similar missionary organization.
Several PBS and other channels showed Lehnhart's and AirServ's humanitarian role with aviation in isolated areas of the world He was a graduate of Bryan University in Dayton, TN and later got his masters from The Johns Hopkins University. Recently, Lehnhart served as adjunct professor at Concordia and other universities.
Lehnhart, 76, died on Tuesday after the boat he and other family members were riding in flipped in choppy waters off the coast of Juneau, AK, trapping him underneath, according to information from the Alaska State Troopers. Wind at the time was blowing at about 16 knots and waves were about three. The boat had taken on several large waves.
Rescuers performed CPR as they took Lehnhart to a local hospital but he was pronounced dead a short time later.
In a Christmas message to his family last year, Lehnhart detailed some of his life's experiences in an email he called "The Evolution and Final Days of a Famine Fighter."
"Then we went with MAF to Brazil to fly for missions in the Southern end of the Amazon jungle. The Chavante tribe had never been in contact with civilization and had only come out of the jungle a few years earlier. Why?" he wrote. "They had been attacked by rubber hunters and land surveyors hired by the wealthy business men from the cities. They fought back for years to protect their land but had no chance with their bows, arrows and clubs against the guns of their 'civilized' attackers."
Gene Jordan, a MAF pilot and personnel director of the group, met Lehnhart as a teen in Ecuador where he lived with his missionary parents.
"He was a serious thinker and a good pilot. He always said the airplane was only a tool to impact people. I looked up to him. He was what I wanted to be."
Lehnhart was active in Mission Viejo's Presbyterian Church of the Master. He worked with the church's Christian education program. He worked with a faith-based group in San Juan Capistrano that worked to strengthen families there.
Pastor John McKeague of Church of the Master said Lehnhart always had a clear, sharp mind and a great smile. He was the kind of guy you could start a conversation with and he'd always be interested, McKeague said.
"He brought out the best in us," McKeague said. "He was a real mover and shaker. He pushed the envelope. He looked out for those who were shuffled away though the business of life. A deep love for the Lord bubbled out of him. He was a real light among us."
Services for Lehnhart will be held at 1 p.m. on Aug. 29 at the Presbyterian Church of the Master, 26051 Marguerite Parkway, Mission Viejo.

AMERICANS BECOMING MORE HINDU - NEWSWEEKS LISA MILLER REPORTS

Among "25 Surprising Things You Need to Know," Newsweek’s Lisa Miller reports that "conceptually, , at leastwe are slowly becoming more like Hindus and less like traditional Christians in the ways we think about God, our selves, each other, and eternity." How can the land of mega churches, televangelists, and the Bible Belt become more Hindu?
America is a place where politicians pepper speeches with biblical references, athletes point heavenward when they score, and the founding fathers’ religious views are a matter of intense speculation. It’s also a place, Miller learned, where one in three people choose cremation, a majority believes there is more than one path to eternal life, and thirty percent of us describe our beliefs as "spiritual" rather than religious. Nearly a quarter of Americans believe in reincarnation.
Our fascination with Hindu thought isn’t new. Emerson and Thoreau read the Hindu scriptures and found much to agree with. The Beatles introduced transcendental meditation to popular culture. More recently, Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love brought her quest to find God in an Indian ashram and on the mostly Hindu island of Bali to millions of readers. Americans have become so enamored of yoga that a group of entrepreneurs even tried to patent it.
There is certainly much more to Hinduism than yoga and meditation, but it’s not surprising that Hindu ideas have seeped into our culture through practices that are relatively accessible to Westerners. What I found notable is Miller’s finding that many Americans see more than one path to eternity. I’m hopeful this tolerance spills into public discourse and political problem solving.

' THE CAMBRIDGE SEVEN ' YOUNG MISSIONARIES WHO MADE A DIFFERENCE IN CHINA : READ THIS AMAZING BIOGRAPHY

The Cambridge Seven
C.T. Studd, M. Beauchamp, S.P. Smith,
A.T. Polhill-Turner, D.E. Hoste, C.H. Polhill-Turner, W.W. Cassels

"And He [Jesus] said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." Mark 16:15
The seven young men who came to be known as "The Cambridge Seven" were all Englishmen, but the story of how God used this handful of students really begins in China, with a medical missionary named Dr. Harold Schofield. Dr. Schofield was a member of the China Inland Mission, the first Protestant mission allowed to penetrate into the interior of China and it was the mission pioneered by Hudson Taylor in 1866. Dr. Schofield had been a brilliant young doctor at Oxford who gave his life to Jesus and at the age of 29, God sent him to China as a missionary.
There was nothing glamorous about missionary life in the interior of China. The stench of dung, mingled with the stench of unwashed bodies was everywhere. Disease was common, especially among the poor, peasant class, and in fact, Dr. Schofield would later die from typhus, contracted in his mission field. At the time, few in England were interested in China mission. Fewer still had even heard of Hudson Taylor's China Inland Mission and the handful who did go to China were not university men, "trained in mind and body for leadership." Students in the universities were not interested in foreign missions and actually, there were not many students who were deeply interested in Jesus. Of the university students who had answered God's call to be missionaries, they wanted to follow the paths blazed by Dr. David Livingstone in Africa or the footsteps of William Carey in India. As Dr. Schofield surveyed the province (Shansi) in which he lived, with its nine million unsaved heathen Chinese and only five or six missionaries total, combined with the sleeping church back in England, he should have packed up his bags and went home in utter defeat. However, Dr. Schofield was a man of prayer and so night after night, "leaving behind food and leisure," he got on his knees and prayed that God would raise up Bible teachers and shepherds, especially from the universities and send them to China as missionaries. When Dr. Schofield died, he did not physically see much answer to his prayer. But God was working in such a way as not only to answer one man's faith and prayer but to awaken an entire nation from its spiritual slumber.

First, consecration and dedication of seven young men.
In 1873, Dwight L. Moody and his co-worker, Ira Sankey, began a three year evangelical mission of the British Isles. He was already a famous and respected evangelist in the United States but when he went to England, he was, at first, looked upon as a curiosity and the press especially did not like them. Many people ridiculed Moody, who did not speak well and Sankey, who was, at best, only an average musician. But strangely, many people went to their meetings, with the meeting halls often overflowing with people.
One of these attendants was a thirteen year old boy named Stanley P. Smith. He came from a Christian family and his father was a successful London surgeon. When Stanley Smith listened to Moody's message, the Holy Spirit opened Smith's heart to see his own sins and to see how Jesus "Christ had died on the cross, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God." In Stanley Smith's own words, "I was by grace enabled to receive Christ."
We cannot deny the reality of Smith's conversion and the power of the Holy Spirit. Two years later, as a student at Repton, one of the premier prep. schools in England, Smith joined a prayer meeting/Bible study formed by his friend Granville Waldegrave. But he was young, only fifteen years old, and he was often sick so his faith depended on how he was feeling. His diary is full of entries of his own un-Christ like behavior. He wanted to become an Anglican minister but his faith soon degenerated into habit. Outwardly, he looked okay. He was popular and seemed happy. He worked hard at school and devoted his time to playing sports, even though he was often in pain. Smith was known for his good sense of humor. But he knew that he was not right with God. By 1880, the same life he had given to God when he accepted Jesus six years previous, Smith had taken it all back for himself.
In 1879, Stanley Smith entered Cambridge University (University of Cambridge). Rowing was Smith's passion and in spite of his health, he joined the Cambridge rowing team and was placed in the lowest boat. His best friend from prep school, Montague Beauchamp, a tall, athletic type, was also a Cambridge student and member of the rowing team and the two were inseparable. Beauchamp also came from a Christian family, and his parents and uncle had been original sponsors of Hudson Taylor's China Inland Mission. Together, Smith and Beauchamp occasionally attended the Daily Prayer Meeting, weekly Sunday meetings of the Inter-Collegiate Christian Union and even taught Sunday school. But the two of them had not yielded their lives to Christ and soon, rowing became more important to Smith than any relationship with God, even a nominal one.
In April 1880, Granville Waldegrave, Smith and Beauchamp met for chapel service and then breakfast. Waldegrave was also a Cambridge student and had been praying for his friend Stanley Smith, for three and a half years. God was working and the conversation soon changed to a deep, spiritual conversation. Beauchamp was not ready yet, but Smith was. Smith confessed his own sin that he no longer had any joy from his salvation and was hardly a Christian at all. Waldegrave showed Smith that making small, token pledges to God were useless and that he had to give himself fully to God, even as God in Christ had wholly given himself for us. Only then can we know the joys and unsearchable riches of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit. When Smith gave his life to God that night, he was changed forever. Smith would later say, "I decided by God's grace to live by and for Him." God had raised the first member of "The Cambridge Seven."
One of Smith's good friends from the rowing team was William Hoste, a Christian. Hoste had a younger brother named Dixon Hoste, a disinterested, callous and quiet young man, who although only twenty-one years old, was already a commissioned officer in the British army (a gunner subaltern), right below the rank of captain. Dixon Hoste was living a life "entirely indifferent to the claims of God," as he would later say. He had been raised in a Christian family but he himself had no spiritual desire. He felt that his life was in the army and in fact, he had a bright future in it.
During the Winter of 1882, Dixon was on leave and William, home for Christmas break, tried to persuade Dixon to attend a meeting of Moody, who was in the midst of his second great evangelical mission of Great Britain. For three nights, Dixon refused to attend. On the fourth night, William's persistence triumphed and Dixon went to the meeting, in spite of himself. When Dixon listened to God's word, his heart was opened. He saw his own ugly sins. His pride crumbled. Dixon's deep dissatisfaction with his life overwhelmed him and he saw how much his dissatisfaction contrasted with the joyful life of his brother who knew Jesus. Dixon had heard the same message too many times already, but this time, he had to repent and give his life to the Only One who could save him, Jesus Christ. But Dixon Hoste felt it too costly, giving up his easy-going desires, incurring the ridicule of worldly people and the bad effect this might have on his promising military career. Dixon's brother William prayed for him and the Holy Spirit worked so that on the last night of the mission, Dixon knelt down and gave his life to Jesus. Then peace and joy welled up in his soul, like he had never known before. At that moment, Dixon realized that there was nothing better than to know, adore and serve his Lord and Master Jesus Christ. When Dixon returned to his post, he became a faithful witness of Christ. But with each passing day, he grew more and more sure that God was calling him to leave his commission and go out as a missionary. In due time, God would answer his call.
Montague Beauchamp had been childhood friends with the Studd family and at Cambridge, Beauchamp introduced Stanley Smith to Kynaston Studd, a member of the Cambridge cricket team. In fact, Kynaston was a rather famous cricket player (as were his younger brothers) but he was first and foremost, a Christian and he had a strong sense of mission to serve others in Jesus. One day in early February of 1881, Smith, Beauchamp and Studd were hanging pictures in Studd's room when Beauchamp felt ill and left early for bed. When the pictures had all been hung, Smith and Studd prayed together for their friend, Monty Beauchamp, who was really only a nominal Christian even though he came from a missionary family. Afterwards, Studd suggested that they get together everyday to pray for Beauchamp and Smith wholeheartedly agreed. So each day, Smith and Studd met and prayed fifteen minutes for their friend to give his life to Jesus. God accepted the prayer of these two friends and opened Beauchamp's heart. In early October of 1881, Montague Beauchamp "yielded all to Christ" and the three friends rejoiced together. Beauchamp was changed so much so that everyone could see how much Christ had done for him. Interestingly, Beauchamp and his family were friends with Hudson Taylor and were very familiar with China Mission. Beauchamp, saved by grace and owing a debt of love to his two friends and especially to God, would become the instrument in guiding the direction of "The Cambridge Seven."
William Cassels was an acquaintance of Smith's from the rowing team. They were different personality wise. Smith was out going while Cassels was a gentle and quiet young man. Furthermore, Cassels was three years older than Stanley Smith. Cassels was a Christian and was studying to be a minister. Cassels was not distinguished in any way, but he was a faithful man, serving in a slum-parish and considering going to Africa as a missionary. After Smith gave his life to Christ, suddenly Cassels and Smith became very close friends. They attended the same Bible study and prayer meeting and prayed together for campus students, especially for the boat club of which Smith was the captain and therefore, a man of great influence throughout the whole college. Later, Cassels would become an instrumental figure in the formation of "The Cambridge Seven."
Cecil Polhill-Turner and his younger brother Arthur were classmates and friends of Kynaston Studd and his two younger brothers at Eton, another premier prep school in England. Both Cecil and Arthur were exceptional athletes, excelling at cricket and football. According to tradition, Cecil, as the second son, would enter the military and Arthur would become a minister. But neither brother had much spiritual desire, even though their nanny had prayed for them from the time they were babies and told them wonderful Bible stories throughout their childhood. At Eton, Cecil and Arthur respected the athletic prowess of the Studd brothers who conducted a Bible study but the Polhill-Turners were not interested. Arthur even thought it was indecent to openly talk about Jesus.
In October of 1882, Arthur Polhill-Turner entered his second year at Cambridge. D.L. Moody and Ira Sankey were to appear at Cambridge as part of their evangelical Mission and each undergraduate at the university received a personal invitation to the meeting, signed by Kynaston Studd. Arthur, like many of his friends, thought it was ridiculous that these uneducated Americans were coming to one of the world's best universities to preach to them. He went, curious to see what would happen. At the meeting, God's word spoke to his heart and Arthur could not help going back again the next night. He went night after night and when Moody spoke on the Prodigal Son, Arthur's pride and sin were exposed. He had planned on using his position as a minister to earn an easy and comfortable living but he realized how much this grieved God. Arthur realized God's grace and love for him, sending His One and Only Son to die for his sins. He saw how God had been calling both him and his brother Cecil, first through his nanny, then his sister and now, through Moody's preaching. One word of God pierced Arthur's heart and took away his fear. That one word was Isaiah 12:2, "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation." On the last night of the Mission, Arthur offered himself to Jesus, just as he was, and Jesus accepted him just as he was. Arthur Polhill-Turner never looked back.
Cecil Polhill-Turner, like Dixon Hoste, had also become a commissioned officer in the British army (subaltern). During the winter of 1882-83, Cecil was on leave and he went home. Arthur immediately began to talk to his older brother about his new faith in Jesus and forced Cecil to promise to read a verse or two from the Bible each morning. Arthur also took Cecil to Moody's meetings in London and Cecil was impressed. But Cecil had his own ideas about Christianity, thinking that Christians were sad because they were always thinking about their sins. Furthermore, he felt that he could not give up his promising military career, which he felt he would have to do if he accepted Christ. God was working though and by the winter of 1884, he was praying everyday, his thoughts were occupied with the word of God and Christ, who was calling him to repent and accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior. Finally, his year-long spiritual struggle ended in victory for Jesus. In Cecil's own words, "I had yielded to and trusted in Jesus Christ as my Savior, Lord and Master."
Kynaston Studd, a friend of Stanley Smith, Monty Beauchamp and the Polhill-Turner brothers, had two younger brothers himself, George and Charles Thomas or C.T. [Studd]. Their father, Edward Studd, had made a fortune in India and the Studd family lived in complete luxury. Edward Studd had become a Christian in 1877, when his friend, Mr. Vincent, took him to one of Moody's meetings. After Edward Studd accepted Jesus, he devoted the remaining two years of his life to bring the Gospel to anybody and everybody. He opened his home for weekly Christian meetings and invited Christian speakers to speak and all of his friends and neighbors to listen. He took his servants to listen to Moody. He worked doubly hard to convert his three sons. Charles Studd would later say of his father, "I was not altogether pleased with him. He used to come into my room at night and ask if I was converted. After a time I used to sham sleep when I saw the door open and in the day, I crept around to the other side of the house when I saw him coming." Through one Godly man whom Edward Studd knew, Charles accepted Jesus as his Savior and the Bible meant everything to him, when he was only seventeen. But unlike his brother Kynaston, Charles's zeal for Jesus would slowly fade with time.
Charles Studd liked playing sports and he had a particular passion for cricket, the most popular sport in England at the time. He was not athletically gifted but he worked hard at his sport and was determined to become the best cricket player. He spent hours in front of a mirror, perfecting his swing and refusing to smoke or even be in the same room with smokers for fear it would hurt his eyes. As he played and practiced and watched other players, his own game improved to the point where he had mastered every facet of cricket. He became captain of the Eton cricket team and his popularity grew and grew. In 1879, Studd entered Trinity College of Cambridge University (University of Cambridge) and from there his name no longer remained only in cricket circles. Rather, C.T. Studd became a household name throughout Great Britain. By 1883 Charles Studd was the captain of the Cambridge cricket team and he was the idol of undergraduates and school boys and admired by elders. Studd had become the Michael Jordan of cricket. Studd was recognized as the greatest player to have ever played the game, and years later, he was still recognized as the greatest cricket player since.
Yet all the while, his faith in Jesus grew cold. At Eton, Studd and his brothers Kynaston and George, had formed a group Bible study. While at Cambridge, his older brother Kynaston still devoted his heart to serving Jesus but Charles and George were lukewarm. Charles went to the occasional Daily Prayer Meeting and identified himself as a Christian, which, combined with his talents and good nature, gave him a good reputation amongst his peers and throughout the university. But he was not living for Jesus. Studd would later say, "Instead of going and talking of the love of Christ I was selfish and kept the knowledge all to myself. The result was that gradually my love began to grow cold, and the love of the world came in." In short, he was only a nominal Christian.
In November of 1883, Charles' younger brother George was dying. Charles loved his brother dearly and he was stricken with grief. But God used this event to change his life. When Charles looked at his dying brother, who was also a popular cricket player in his own right, he could only conclude, "Now what is all the popularity of the world to George? What is all the fame and flattering? What is it worth to possess the riches of the world, when a man comes to face Eternity?" As George lay dying, his only concern was for the Bible and for the only one who could save him, Jesus Christ. Charles' concern became the same. Miraculously, God restored George's health and at the first opportunity, Charles went to hear Moody. While listening to God's word, Charles's heart was opened. Cricket did not matter; only a relationship with his Savior and Lord Jesus mattered. Charles T. Studd said, "There the Lord met me again and restored to me the joy of His salvation. Still further, and what was better than all, He set me to work for Him, and I began to try and persuade my friends to read the Gospel, and to speak to them immediately about their souls."
Charles gave himself to God and God accepted him. God set him to work and God would use C.T. Studd, in a way greater than the cricket player could have ever imagined.

Second, the power of Christian fellowship.
When these seven young men yielded their lives to Jesus, they didn't runaway to a cave and become monks. They didn't shut their mouths and become quietly self-righteous. Instead, they continued to struggle and grow in love for Jesus and for others. They made the most of their situations for the sake of telling others about their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, even though their individual positions meant nothing to them because of the joy and meaning they had in Jesus. Stanley Smith was the captain of the rowing team and his friend Montague Beauchamp was also a member and together, they formed a group Bible study for the rowing team and prayed for their teammates to all become Christians. Stanley Smith had wanted to go out as a missionary but God had given him Ezekiel 3:5, "For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and an hard language, but to the house of Israel--" and so at every opportunity he witnessed to others about Jesus. Dixon Hoste wanted to resign his commission and also become a missionary but at the urging of his parents, he stayed in the army and told everyone about his new faith in Christ. William Cassels, with deep evangelical zeal, was pastoring a church located in the slums of South Lambeth. Arthur Polhill-Turner, the seminary student, co-working with his sister, went around telling people about his experience with Jesus and at Cambridge, he engaged in Christian activities with zeal. Cecil Polhill-Turner decided to do everything the best he could for Christ, like the Old Testament Joseph, so that while some soldiers wanted to ridicule his faith, they couldn't because he was such a good soldier. Both Cecil and Arthur also worked together at a Children's mission. Charles Studd, of great cricket fame, had only one desire; to win souls for Christ. He took several of his teammates to hear Moody preach and they were converted. Studd joined the Moody Mission and spoke at the subsidiary meetings, along with his brother Kynaston.
These men were being used precisely where they were. But God had a greater plan for them and brought them all together for one common goal. Monty Beauchamp became a seminary student and was good friends with Arthur Polhill-Turner, who, through Beauchamp, was the first to hear God's call for China. In 1883, Stanley Smith was invited to speak at the seminary and there he met Arthur Polhill-Turner for the first time. It was also during this time that Smith received one word of God, Isaiah 49:6, "...I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth." Smith now had no doubt that God was going to send him out somewhere as a missionary.
Dixon Hoste was the second to hear God's call to go to China. Through his brother William and probably Montague Beauchamp, Dixon had received a booklet written by Hudson Taylor called, "China's Spiritual Need and Claims." The contents was very simple. There were 385 million Chinese in the interior of China who were living in complete darkness. At the same time, Jesus commanded in Mark 16:15, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." Dixon was overwhelmed with the spiritual need of the Chinese people and resolved to see Hudson Taylor who had just returned from China, to apply through the China Inland Mission to go as a missionary.
The Christian Union, of which Beauchamp and Arthur Polhill-Turner were members, had long been interested in Hudson Taylor's China Inland Mission. Stanley Smith, through the good influence of Beauchamp, also became interested in China and after much prayer and personal talks with Hudson Taylor, applied in January of 1884 to go as a missionary through the C.I.M. Smith also went to see his good friend, William Cassels, who had been thinking about going to Africa as a missionary through the Church Missionary Society. But after several, heart-to-heart talks and prayer, Cassels' interests shifted to China. By September of 1884, God had opened Cassels' heart for China and he also applied to go to China as a missionary through the C.I.M. The applications of Smith, Hoste and Cassels were accepted. After a brief farewell tour to awaken university students to the needs of China, the three were to leave for China by December of 1884. But God was not yet finished. God had a different plan.
Studd had been struggling about what God wanted to do with his life. He only knew that he wanted to devote his life in bringing Jesus to lost souls. Studd said, "I have tasted most of the pleasures that the world can give. I do not suppose there was one that I had not experienced; but I can tell you that these pleasures were as nothing compared to the joy that the saving of that one soul gave me." Still, he became anxious about his future. Then God worked mightily in Charles' heart once again and C.T. Studd, by faith, gave himself newly to Jesus. "I realized that my life was to be one of simple, childlike faith.... I was to trust in Him that He was my loving Father and that He would guide me and keep me, and moreover that He was well able to do it."
Stanley Smith and Charles Studd had been friends for quite some time. In November of 1884, Smith invited Studd to a meeting at the C.I.M headquarters where John McCarthy, a returning missionary from China, would be speaking. Studd accepted the invitation and when McCarthy spoke of "thousands of [Chinese] souls perishing everyday and night without even knowledge of the Lord Jesus," C.T. Studd was convinced that God was calling him to China. At first, he was hesitant because of his widowed mother. Even his older brother, a faithful Christian, tried to persuade him not to go. C.T. prayed and prayed until God gave him one word, "...a man's enemies are the men of his own house." (Micah 7:6) Charles Thomas Studd was going to China as a missionary.
Stanley Smith rejoiced at Studd's decision. Studd's decision also had a remarkable effect on Monty Beauchamp. Beauchamp had introduced the C.I.M to Smith, Hoste and Arthur Polhill-Turner but he himself had no desire to go to China. Studd's decision to go to China influenced Beauchamp to reconsider. Beauchamp had a serious talk with Stanley Smith and he also met and spoke with Studd. On Nov. 4, 1884, Beauchamp studied his Bible and prayed for God's leading. Afterwards, he was convinced that not only should he go to China as a missionary, he should induce others to do the same.
Meanwhile, Stanley Smith's farewell tour was continuing and the departure date for China was postponed because of Studd's decision. A week long mission was scheduled at Cambridge and Smith, Studd, Beauchamp, Cassels and Hoste were speakers and Hudson Taylor was also there. The Cambridge students were greatly moved because these five were not simply missionaries, but their own friends and classmates, people whom everyone knew and respected, especially C.T. Studd. On the last day of the mission, students who had decided that they would also go out as missionaries were asked to come forward and pray. Arthur Polhill-Turner was one of them.
Arthur Polhill-Turner had long been thinking about China but was not one to make rash decisions. Instead, he waited on God. He had several long talks with Studd and Smith and received much grace. Arthur also prayed and prayed until the Holy Spirit worked in his heart and convinced him that he was to join his friends in going to China as a missionary.
Cecil Polhill-Turner was still in the military but God had been working in his heart as well. Cecil had encouraged Studd to go to China but Cecil also had a personal calling from God. He went to a China missionary meeting, independent of his brother Arthur, and then personally visited Hudson Taylor in London for advice. Hudson Taylor said to him, "Let us have some prayer about it." By January of 1885, both Polhill-Turner brothers were conscious of God's pulling them to go to China. Together, they went to Hudson Taylor in London and "offered [themselves] for China." Hudson Taylor accepted them as missionaries, believing that it was surely God's providence to raise the number to seven. The seven were then scheduled to leave in early Feb. 1885. The seven continued the farewell tour and someone dubbed them "The Cambridge Seven." The name stuck. God had forged together "The Cambridge Seven:" Stanley P. Smith, Dixon Hoste, William Cassels, Montague Beauchamp, Cecil Polhill-Turner, Arthur Polhill-Turner and Charles T. Studd.
For the next month, these seven young men toured the campuses of England and Scotland, holding meetings for the students. God used these students to bring revival throughout Great Britain. Everywhere they went, the meeting place was always filled with people. Many people, hundreds, even a thousand were converted each night through the simple but heart-moving testimony messages, which told simply the grace of God in their lives and why they were going to China. Those who were converted at these meetings, went out and witnessed to their friends and brought them to Christ. Every night, it was the same messages and with the exception of Smith, none were talented speakers, but people kept coming and coming. The Queen of England was pleased to receive a booklet containing "The Cambridge Seven" testimonies. God had used "The Cambridge Seven" to shake the foundations of a sleeping church in England and awaken her newly to the Gospel of Salvation and World Mission. The influence of "The Cambridge Seven" even came across the Atlantic to the United States and led to the formation of Robert Wilder's Student Volunteer Movement, an organization which toured college campuses, encouraging students to volunteer as missionaries. Fittingly enough, the last farewell meeting was held at Exeter Hall and ended with an address from C.T. Studd:
"Are you living for the day or are you living for life eternal? Are you going to care for the opinion of men here, or for the opinion of God? The opinion of men won't avail us much when we get before the judgment throne. But the opinion of God will. Had we not, then, better take His word and implicitly obey it?"
Third, Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
"The Cambridge Seven" obeyed the great commission command and after six weeks, arrived in Shanghai on March 18, 1885.
William Cassels worked hard in the mission field to bring souls to Christ. After ten years, he returned to England in 1895 where he was consecrated as the new Bishop of a new diocese in Western China. He returned to his mission field, Western China and brought the Gospel of Jesus to dying souls. He lived in Western China until his death 1925.
Stanley Smith was sent to North China. God enabled him to master the Chinese language until he became as fluent a preacher in Chinese as he was in English. His life in China was very difficult but he worked hard until the end, preaching and teaching until he also died in China on January 31, 1931. [He had been forced to resign from C.I.M. after 20 years over a doctrinal teaching].
C.T. Studd, the best known of "The Cambridge Seven," was sent home because of ill health in 1894. But God recovered his health and he spent six years in India as a missionary and a brief period in Britain and America. Then, in 1910, he set off for the greatest challenge of his life, to pioneer the tropics of Africa. He had a strong, absolute attitude before God's word and some people did not like him. He had to endure poverty and much suffering for the sake of evangelizing the native African people. But he loved Jesus and the native African people and labored to the end, as a Bible teacher and shepherd. When he died in the Belgium Congo in 1931, over one thousand native Africans saw him to his grave.
Arthur Polhill-Turner was a faithful Gospel worker. He was ordained as a minister in 1888 and moved to the densely populated countryside to reach as many people as he could with the Gospel message. He was in China throughout the uprisings against foreigners at the turn of the century and did not leave until 1928, when he retired and returned to England. He died in 1935.
Cecil Polhill-Turner, stayed in the same province with the others for awhile before moving steadily northwest, in the direction of Tibet. During a violent riot, Polhill-Turner and his wife were nearly killed in 1892 but after God restored his health, he returned to the border near Tibet to bring the Gospel to the lost souls there. In 1900, his health failed again, he was sent home to England and he was forbidden to return to China. But his heart was still in China and throughout the rest of his life, he made seven prolonged missionary visits. He died in England in 1938.
Montague Beauchamp loved the hard evangelistic journeys. Once, accompanied by Hudson Taylor, he went "about a thousand miles in intense heat, walking through market towns and villages, living in Chinese inns and preaching the gospel to crowds day by day." He also co-worked with Cassels and was a source of blessing to the native Chinese people. In 1900, he was evacuated because of the uprisings but returned again to China in 1902. He returned to England in 1911 and served as a chaplain with the British Army. His son became a second-generation missionary in China and in 1935, although he was much older than his Cambridge days, he went back to China as physically strong and untiring as ever. He died at his son's mission station in 1939.
Dixon Hoste lived the longest of "The Cambridge Seven." Hoste was a faithful man of prayer and in 1903, he succeeded Hudson Taylor as the Director of the China Inland Mission. For thirty years, he led the Mission, which made great advances, reaching many with the Gospel until he retired in 1935. But he remained in China until 1945, when he was interned by the Japanese. He died in London, in May 1946, the last of "The Cambridge Seven" to die.
"The Cambridge Seven" revealed God's power through their lives of fellowship, lives of prayer, and lives of devotion to their first love Jesus Christ. Their beautiful lives were a blessing to the whole world. May God raise up men such as these from the campuses of America in our generation.

For more details just mail me at titto.nidhi@gmail.com . would love to hear your comments and feedback…..may god bless you….

NEWYORK COLLEGE SCRAPS BAN ON ' RELIGIOUS SERVICES '

A Christian law firm settled another case of alleged religious discrimination in which a church was not allowed to use facilities at a Binghamton, N.Y., college.
According to the Alliance Defense Fund's announcement on Tuesday, attorneys reached a favorable settlement with Broome Community College on behalf of North Pointe Church. The church can now access campus facilities.
"Churches shouldn’t be discriminated against for their beliefs," said ADF Litigation Counsel Daniel Blomberg. "We are pleased that Broome Community College now recognizes the constitutional right of churches and other religious groups to meet in public meeting facilities on the same terms as other groups."
The lawsuit against the community college was filed in February after North Pointe Church was barred from renting space on campus. Although the church had been holding meeting there for several months, a few members of the public complained to the college about a church meeting in a public facility, according to ADF.
ADF lawyers stated in their arguments that the college's policy banning "religious services" violates First Amendment rights to free speech and the free exercise of religion as well as Fourteenth Amendment rights to due process and equal protection under law.
The college has agreed to scrap its ban and allow equal access to campus facilities as well as reimburse legal fees and costs. The settlement prompted ADF lawyers to file a voluntary dismissal of the lawsuit with the court Tuesday.
The Broome College case is just one of numerous cases of religious discrimination on college and university campuses that ADF has been fighting.
A legal alliance of Christian attorneys, ADF has set up the Center for Academic Freedom to address the religious liberties, particularly that of Christian students, that are being attacked across the country.
"There's something terribly wrong on American campuses when Christian students are silenced or punished for speaking their most basic beliefs, when Christian student groups are denied access to facilities or to funds on the same basis as any other student group, and worst of all when Christian students are compelled to participate in activities that violate their deepest beliefs or even compelled to believe things that violate Scripture as a condition for getting a degree," said David French, senior legal counsel for ADF.
According to the legal group, nearly 50 major universities and colleges have had their discriminatory policies legally challenged by the ADF Center for Academic Freedom. And in all of those cases, ADF has been successful in having policies changed or removed.

ALICE COOPER BANNED FROM GIG FOR ANTI-CHRISTIAN VALUES

Alice Cooper, of “School’s Out for Summer” and “I’m 18” fame, was told that his show can’t go on in Finland. Cooper and his band were booked to perform at Tampere Areena Oy, an arena in Tampere, Finland Dec. 11.
However, the owners of the arena cancelled the event when the supposedly dark nature of Cooper’s “Theatre of Death” show came to light.
Harri Wiherkoski, managing director of the arena said that "artists who express suspicious values from Christianity's point of view cannot be allowed to perform at the venue."
He also told reporters that his venue doesn’t “arrange concerts where Satanism or non-god-worshipping occurs."
Concert promoter Kalle Keskinen, said “We never imagined that a rock veteran who has performed in Finland in four separate decades without any problems and who has spoken in public of his own religious convictions would not be allowed to perform at Tampere Areena in 2009."
Keskinen said the concert will probably be moved to nearby Espoo, however this is contingent on Alice Cooper’s approval, he said.
Cooper, who is a practicing Christian, told Cross Rhythms magazine last year that he reconciles his stage persona with his personal faith without problem.
“As a Christian, I don't declare myself as a 'Christian rock star.' I'm a rock performer who's a Christian. Alice Cooper is the guy who wants to entertain the audience - it happens that he's a Christian. Alice (the character I play on stage) began life as a villain and he remains one. There's a villain and a hero in every Shakespeare play," he said.
" Alice is no more dangerous than a villain in a cartoon or a Disney film. We have fun with him. He snarls and wears make up. He's punished for his crime and he comes back on the stage in white top and tails. We put on a good show. I've always put limits on Alice because I believe there's a certain amount of Alice that's a gentleman. He'd slit your throat, but he'd never swear at you. And there's always a punchline; he may kill you, but he'll slip on a banana peel. I get right-wing Christians down on me and I always ask them the question: 'If I was doing Macbeth, would it be OK?' And they always say that's Shakespeare so of course. I say that's about four times more violent than anything I do on stage."

FIJI : CHURCH RULES NO PANTS ON SUNDAY

THE strict observance of Sunday worship has resulted in men on a Bua island not being allowed to wear pants on Sunday.
The Sunday ban also forbids travel and the hanging of clothes on lines.
Galoa Village headman Josefa Baleinasiga said the ban was enforced so that the islanders could learn to respect the significance of Sunday as a holy day.
Mr Baleinasiga said the Methodist Church and the vanua also decided to impose the ban as a means of bringing good fortune to the people.
"The ban is meant to bring good luck to the island as we respect the day of the Lord," he said.
"You can see that often misfortune befalls us because we don't respect His commandments that there be no work performed on Sunday except worship.
"Before our islanders used to go diving on Sunday, and there was a lot of travelling and it was difficult to separate the days all the days were the same.
"Now on Saturdays the clothes line in the village is full as the villagers know they can't hang anything out on Sunday."
As a mark of respect, men can only wear a sulu or sulu vakataga on the day; travelling by outboard from the island is forbidden.
"But we make exceptions during emergencies for the sick so it's not a ban that hasn't been well thought out."
A villager who requested anonymity said the ban was too restrictive because it limited movement.
"We can't understand how wearing a sulu vakataga on Sunday will help us forge closer relations with the divine," he said. "At times too for the school children who come home for the weekend, the best time to return to their hostel in Labasa or Savusavu is on Sunday - so that is getting in the way."
Mr Baleinasiga said anybody who breached the ban would be chastised by the vanua.

MORMON CHURCH INVESTIGATES BAPTISM OF OBAMA'S MOTHER

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is investigating the posthumous "baptism" of President Barack Obama's mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, as a "serious breach" of religious code, a spokeswoman said.
Church records published by a liberal blog, Americablog, show that Dunham, who died in 1995, was baptised last June 4 in Provo, Utah, and received endowment, another sacrament, a week later.
"The offering of baptism to our deceased ancestors is a sacred practice to us and it is counter to Church policy for a Church member to submit names for baptism for persons to whom they are not related," said spokeswoman Kim Farah in an emailed statement. "The Church is looking into the circumstances of how this happened and does not yet have all the facts. However, this is a serious matter and we are treating it as such."
Mormons believe that souls cannot enter heaven without undergoing baptism and other sacraments, and that those sacraments can be given by proxy after death. The practice of posthumous baptism by proxy has caused controversy in the past, as when Jewish groups raised objections to the baptism of victims of the Holocaust.
According to "doctrinal background" provided by an LDS spokesman, "well-meaning Church members sometimes bypass this instruction and submit the names of non-relatives for temple baptism. Others — perhaps pranksters or careless persons — have submitted the names of unrelated famous or infamous people, or even wholly fictitious names. These rare acts are contrary to Church policy and sometimes cause pain and embarrassment."

LUTHERAN GAY CLERGY PROPOSAL PASSES FIRST HURDLE

MINNEAPOLIS — A proposal to allow people in same-sex relationships to serve as clergy in the country's largest Lutheran denomination has passed its first hurdle.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's national convention began Monday in Minneapolis. A proposal likely to get a final vote Friday would let individual congregations hire gays and lesbians in committed relationships as pastors.
Critics of the proposal moved Monday to require a two-thirds supermajority of the 1,045 voting delegates for approval, rather than a simple majority. But the effort fell short, with only 43 percent of delegates supporting it.
ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson says the majority versus supermajority vote shouldn't be seen as strongly indicating the debate's ultimate outcome.

MUSLIM RADICALS BEHEAD CHRISTIAN ORPHAN WORKERS : TELLS FAMILY OF PENALTIES OF APOSTASY

Four Christians working in Somalia to provide services to orphans have been executed by beheading by al-Qaida-linked interests who told their families that is the penalty for apostasy.
The report on the outrage comes from International Christian Concern, which said the executions took place sometime after the kidnapping of the Christians July 27, but it only discovered the tragedy recently.
The organization identified the Christian orphanage workers as Fatima Sultan, Ali Ma'ow, Sheik Mohammed Abdi and Maaddey Diil. They had been kidnapped in the coastal Somalian town of Merca, about 50 miles from Mogadishu.
According to ICC, al-Shabaab, an Islamic extremist organization, claimed responsibility and said the Christians were killed when they refused to renounce their faith in Jesus.
The ICC report said a junior al-Shabaab militant notified the families Aug. 4 the four were beheaded for apostasy. ICC said the militant described the Christians as promoters of "fitna," a Muslim term for religious discord.
The militant said the families would not even be given the bodies, "as Somalia does not have cemeteries for infidels."
The ICC quoted one eyewitness, who said, "All the four apostates were given an opportunity to return to Islam to be released but they all declined the generous offer."
The report confirmed the four Christians had been working for a local non-governmental organization that helps orphans in southern Somalia.
A Somali church leader who monitors the persecution against the Somali church described the latest beheadings as a desperate attempt to "purify" Somalia by eliminating all Christians from what the al-Qaida-linked terror group considers an Islamic republic.
But the church leader, whose identity was withheld, said such murders will only serve to launch more house churches.
ICC described al-Shabaab as "a radical Islamic organization fighting to establish an Islamic state in Somalia and enforce Wahhabi/Salafi Islam, an ultra-conservative interpretation of Islam practiced by the Taliban and al-Qaida."
The extremists already control large parts of Somalia and are trying to overthrow the internationally recognized transitional federal government of Somalia.
The Islamists last year killed half a dozen Somali Christians and just last month beheaded seven people in the town of Baidoa after accusing them of converting to Christianity, ICC said.
"Al-Shabaab has once against demonstrated its utter disregard for the dignity of human life," said Jonathan Racho, ICC's regional manager for Africa and the Middle East.
"The majority of Muslims in Somalia, who are also the victims of al-Shabaab's cruelty, do not support their ideology or practices. It is high time for the international community to take robust measures to end the heinous crimes that al-Shabaab and other extremist groups are committing against the people of Somalia," he said.
WND reported several weeks ago on the Compass Direct News story about al-Shabaab militants who kidnapped and beheaded two boys because their father refused to provide information about a church leader.
"I watched my three boys dragged away helplessly as my youngest boy was crying," said the mother, Batula Ali Arbow. "I knew they were going to be slaughtered."
A short time later, 7-year-old Abdulahi Musa Yusuf came running back to his mother, wailing and crying. Dead were his brothers 12-year-old Hussein Musa Yusuf and 11-year-old Abdi Rahaman Musa Yusuf, according to the report.
The killers were seeking the father, Musa Mohammed Yusuf, who was gone at the time, the report said. He was the leader of an underground church in Yonday village in Somalia before April, when the family fled to a Kenyan camp.
Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin earlier reported when al-Shabaab was linked to the stoning execution of a 13-year-old girl.