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.

PREGNANT CHRISTIAN WOMEN DRAGGED NAKED THROUGH PAKISTANI POLICE STATION

PUNJAB, PAKISTAN - International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that a pregnant Christian woman miscarried on July 26 after police beat her and dragged her naked through their police station in the Gujrat District of Punjab, Pakistan. Police had arrested her and a Muslim woman after their employer accused them of theft, but police did not even touch the Muslim woman.
An ICC spokesperson said that the woman, Farzana Bibi, worked as a maid in the house of a wealthy Muslim. During a wedding held at the house, some jewelry was stolen from some of the landlord's female relatives. The police were called, and when they arrived at the scene they arrested two maids: Farzana and a Muslim woman named Rehana.
Nazir Masih, Farzana's husband, said, “Police registered a fake theft case against my wife and Rehana without any proof.”
Nazir went on to say that the police tortured his wife even though she told them she was pregnant. He told ICC, “Sub-Inspector Zulfiqar and Assistant Sub-Inspector Akhter subjected her to intense torture. They stripped off her clothes and dragged her naked around the compound of Cantonment Area Police Station in Kharian. They humiliated and tortured my wife, but did not do anything to Rehana.”
The ICC spokesperson said, “Although Farzana complained of severe pain, the police ignored her pleas and detained her for another two days. When her condition became critical, the police finally transferred her to the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital in Kharian, where she miscarried.
“Nazir filed a report with the District Police Officer in Gujrat, detailing the abuse his wife received and her miscarriage. The District Office initiated an investigation after receiving the report, withdrawing the false accusations and suspending officers Zulfiqar and Akhter.
“The authorities have pledged to punish all those responsible. Please pray that God would comfort Farzana and Nazir and that justice would be carried out. Please also call your Pakistani embassy and ask them to defend the rights of Christians.”
Jeremy Sewall, ICC's Advocacy Director, said, “While we were not able to confirm whether Farzana was innocent of robbing her employers, it is absolutely unacceptable for police to humiliate her and abuse her so severely that she lost her child. The fact that the Muslim woman accused of the same thing was at least treated like a human being just proves again that if you are not a Muslim in Pakistan, you have no rights. The government should go beyond suspending the two officers guilty of this crime and try them for manslaughter.”

SANGGU CHURCH IN HENAN PROVINCE, CHINA, BANNED FOR SECOND TIME BY LOCAL GOVERNMENT

HENAN, CHINA -- ChinaAid has stated that on Thursday, August 13 at 8:00 p.m. (Beijing time), two Laojie Christian Church leaders were guarding their church building in Shandong village, Sanggu town, Xiayi county of Shangqiu in Henan province, China, when they were arrested by authorities.
At the time of the ChinaAid press release, Li Guangren and Zheng Xiancai were still being detained by the Public Security Bureau of Xiayi County.
A ChinaAid spokesperson told ANS, “The arrests are the latest in a series of incidents in which authorities have attempted to confiscate the church building by force. Laojie Christian Church is an unregistered house church with more than 200 believers, and has been meeting at their current location since April 1987.
“Recently village officials began working with real estate developers to build a highway that would go through the location of the church property. In this development, government officials could sell the church property at a higher price, resulting in high profits.
“The Village Party Committee of Shandong village proposed to exchange the church’s current for land half the size and in another location. When Laojie Christian Church of Sanggu turned down the proposal, requesting a more equitable exchange of land, the Village Party Committee of Shandong Village threatened to demolish the church’s building by force.”
ChinaAid stated that on August 6, 2009 the Bureau of Religious and Ethnic Affairs in Xiayi County issued a second notice officially banning Laojie Christian Church in Shandong village, Sanggu town, Xiayi county of Shangqiu in Henan province.
The document declared the church “an illegal site for religious activities” and banned the church. In addition, the document accused the church of “being indifferent” and taking a “laisser-faire attitude” toward the previous document abolishing the church issued on June 27, because the Christians have continued to meet at the site. Since May 26, Christians from the church have been guarding the site almost 24 hours a day.
Laojie Christian Church of Sanggu sent the following three cell phone numbers of church members and invites the international community to contact them:
+86-15836894749
+86-15836444898
+86-1583682-6038
For more information, go to: www.ChinaAid.org

HARVEST CRUSADES REACHES 4 MILLION ON HISTORIC NIGHT

The Harvest Crusades made history Sunday night, breaking the 4 million mark of persons reached.
Some 50,000 people filled Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif., to capacity to hear evangelist Greg Laurie talk about heaven and to celebrate the ministry's 20th year of crusade evangelism in Southern California. Another 5,000 were turned away at the gate.
"You know, people have asked me what has been the highlight of the Harvest Crusades for me over the last 20 years," Laurie said as he addressed an enthusiastic crowd. "I've recounted some experiences ... but I have to amend that. I would say tonight is the highlight for me ... because tonight we just broke our record.
"We have reached in person ... 4 million people."
Along with the large attendance at the stadium, thousands more joined the crusade on the Internet and on their iPhones. This was the first time live streaming was available for iPhone and iPod Touch users.
It was the final night of the three-day Harvest Crusade which, for the first time, packed the stadium two nights in a row. And for Laurie, it was like "a slice of heaven."

"This is just a preview of things to come," the well-known evangelist, dressed in his signature black button-up shirt, said.
Joining Laurie on stage on the special night were his family and Pastors Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel and Rick Warren of Saddleback Church.
"I don't know why you think you came here tonight, but you're not here by accident," Warren, bestselling author of The Purpose Driven Life, said in a familiar statement. "A thousand years before you were born, God knew you would be here tonight."
More than 4,500 people made decisions for Christ on Sunday, bringing the total number of professions over the three nights to 11,969 and over the last two decades to 329,572.
"What can I say? To God be the glory," Laurie said. "This is the power of the Gospel. This should encourage us all to never be ashamed of the Gospel or embarrassed about our faith. These are people that are ready to believe, people that want to know the answer."
After 20 consecutive years of preaching the Gospel in a large venue in Southern California, Laurie explained that continues to hold the crusades because he is a man under order.
"I have a Commander-in-Chief called Jesus," he recently wrote in a devotional. "He has commanded me to go into all the world and preach the Gospel."
"We have the solution to humanity's problems," he added. "We have the way for people to know God. If we only apply that in our own lives and keep it to ourselves and never tell others, then certainly that is falling short of what God would want."
On Sunday, the long-time evangelist told people how to get to heaven and what heaven will be like.
Heaven, he assured, is a real place for real people. It's a prepared place for prepared people, he added.
"Why would we reject a gift like eternal life? It's the only gift that keeps on giving."
Making sure he told the complete story, Laurie also reminded listeners that there is also a hell.
"God doesn't send people to hell. If you end up in hell you'll have no one to blame but yourself. The last thing God wants is for you to spend eternity separated from Him."

Encouraging the thousands to make their life count, Laurie invited them to choose spending eternity with Jesus.
The anniversary event concluded with a fireworks show and worship led by Chris Tomlin. In total, 126,000 people attended the historic crusade.

SCRIPTURE BALLOONS INTO NORTH KOREA

“Grandma, look at what I found!” The young North Korean girl was so excited. She was holding something she had never seen before. The grandmother looked at it with her failing eyes but could not make out the details. So she called the girl’s mother. “Please come tell me what this child has found.”
The elderly woman’s daughter entered the room and took the item from her mother’s wrinkled hand. Her daughter began to reads the words printed on the well-constructed plastic balloon. “The Lord Jesus loves you. Your brothers and sisters have not forgotten you. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son.”
The grandmother exclaimed, “It’s Scripture! They’ve sent us Bible verses on a balloon! Please keep reading.”
The plastic balloon held words of encouragement for the three generations of North Koreans. It contained a message from Christians in the West and over six hundred Bible verses taking the reader from the creation, to the cross, to the second coming of Jesus Christ. In the last decade, over one hundred thousand of these “Scripture balloons” have been floated into North Korea.
The ministry of The Voice of the Martyrs found a unique way to reach these oppressed people with the Word of God and the gospel. It says in Psalm 19:1, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”
Like the balloons in this story, God longs to float encouraging Scriptures across our minds and hearts just when we need them most. However, he cannot bring to mind Scriptures that were never there in the first place. Ironically, though we live in a free society, we often act as if we were in a restricted nation like North Korea without access to God’s Word. Our Bible reading is sporadic and seldom—as if we did not have a copy of Scripture at all. Perhaps it is time to ask God to “float” his Word across the borders of your closed mind. Carve time in your schedule for Bible reading each day, and ask him to renew a desire for his Word.

LUTHERAN GAY POLICIES FACE CLOSE VOTE : PROPOSAL WOULD ALLOW CLERGY TO HAVE OPEN SAME SEX RELATIONSHIP

America's largest Lutheran denomination has reached its crossroads on homosexuality and allowing openly gay clergy, with crucial votes slated at its biennial assembly this week in Minneapolis that participants say are too close to call.
"We recognize we're in for some long conversation this week," said Virginia Synod Bishop James F. Mauney, who oversees 42,000 members in 163 churches across the state. "I am hopeful that our worship will guide our conversation and we will be guided by the Holy Spirit."
The gathering of 65 synods representing the 4.6-million-member Evangelical Lutheran Church in America mirrors a denomination split over homosexuality.
Only celibate gay clergy can serve in ELCA churches. A small majority - 54 percent - of ELCA clergy support gay ordination, according to a Clergy Voices survey conducted in May and posted recently on the denomination's Web site.
Of the two main documents on sexuality issues that will be considered at the ELCA assembly, one is a proposed social statement, "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust," which, as a statement of church teaching, must be passed by a two-thirds vote (about 700 people) of the 1,045 voting members present.
Eight years in the making, the 33-page treatise is a theological and teaching document that sets out denominational policy on a variety of topics ranging from marriage to pornography, and defines human sexuality as a "gift and trust." It will be debated Tuesday afternoon and put to a vote Wednesday.
The other document, called a "Report and Recommendation on Ministry Policies," recommends a change in ELCA ministry policies so Lutherans who are in "publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous, same-gendered relationships" can serve as ELCA associates in ministry, deaconesses, diaconal ministers and ordained ministers.
The document would set up the ordination of openly practicing gays as a local option, under which each synod could choose or refuse to adopt the policy.
Discussion is slated for Thursday, and a vote is scheduled for Friday afternoon.
But on Monday night, Lutherans will vote on whether the document, known in shorthand as "the recommendation," can be passed by a simple majority vote; that is about 520 people, greatly lowering the bar for passage. However, a two-thirds majority vote is needed to agree that the sexuality recommendation can pass with a simple majority.
Bishop Mauney said everything hinges on Monday night's vote.
"My sense is the vote will be very, very close," said Bishop H. Gerald Knoche of the 90,000-member, 182-church Delaware-Maryland Synod. "My synod is pretty evenly divided."
The convention delegates vote as individuals, but of the 65 synods, 37 have indicated they approve the sexuality statement and 34 have indicated that they approve of the recommendation - both numbers only a bit more than a majority of the synods.
Bishop Knoche said "many" Lutherans are concerned about the sexuality statement "for what they see as a false starting point theologically. The document bases most of its theological work [about sexuality] on the idea of trust."
The Lutheran understanding of sexuality traditionally begins with the creation account in Genesis and "is based on [mankind] being created male and female," he said. "This document does not begin there. They base their reasoning on faith and trust," in order to include same-sex relationships, he added.
Both bishops raised the specter of angry reaction from overseas Lutherans should the ELCA agree to ordain gay clergy. After the Episcopal Church voted to consecrate an openly gay bishop in 2003, Anglican bishops overseas revolted and led the way in drawing thousands of Episcopalians out of the denomination and into breakaway Anglican groups.
"Like the Anglicans, we have a large number of Lutherans in Africa, and they are opposed to change," Bishop Knoche said. "The Lutheran bishop of China told us how damaging to their work it would be if [the recommendation] would pass."
Other issues coming before assembly include an agreement to enter into the full communion with the United Methodist Church and a vote on whether to partner with the United Nations in malaria and AIDS eradication programs.

FLORIDA MEGACHURCH PASTORS ENDED THEIR 15 YEARS OF MARRIAGE

Florida megachurch pastors Zachery and Riva Tims ended their 15-year-marriage in late July, two years after it was discovered that Zachery Tims had an affair with an exotic dancer he met in Paris.
The Timses started New Destiny Christian Center (NDCC) in a hotel ballroom in 1996, and grew the Orlando-area church to more than 7,500 members. But in October 2007, Zachery Tims stood before the congregation and said he had committed "an indiscretion" and would be stepping down to seek healing.
He returned to the pulpit three months later, after beginning counseling with a group of ministers including Bishop Joseph Garlington, pastor of Covenant Church in Pittsburg; Bishop Harold Ray, senior pastor of Redemptive Life Fellowship in West Palm Beach, Fla.; and Bishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams of Ghana.
Many members left the independent charismatic church in late 2007 after Judy Nguyen posted details of her affair with the pastor on the Internet. In an e-mail interview with Charisma, Nguyen, who met Tims when he visited the men's club in Paris where she worked, said the long-distance affair lasted from August 2006 to October 2007.
Riva Tims, 38, also left the church and filed for divorce in 2008. The couple share joint custody of their four children.
In a written statement to Charisma, Tims, 40, said he has been involved in counseling since the affair became public.
"I submitted myself to an ecumenical counsel of clergy that came into my ministry and ran the spiritual operations while I submitted myself to a counseling and ministry facility for several months out of state," he stated, adding that he is "still involved with monthly counsel."
Tims said he never meant to harm his family. "It was never my intention to hurt anyone, and over this reality I have spent many days seeking God's grace," he said. "I am grateful for the love my family continues to extend to me as an individual and as a child of God."
Riva Tims would not comment on the circumstances surrounding the divorce, but said she and her ex-husband are cordial to each another. "There's a whole new level of forgiveness," she said. "It's a supernatural forgiveness that I can't even explain. Zachery and I are friends."
She said she is "moving forward" with her life and ministry. In 2008, she founded Majestic Life Institute and on July 12 opened Majestic Life Ministries church in Orlando.
Much like NDCC, the church emphasizes outreach, with programs planned for children with special needs and youth gang prevention, as well as a job placement ministry for former inmates, drug addicts and alcoholics.
"We literally have to go out into the community and model what this Bible really means," said Riva Tims, who plans to begin hosting a Christian TV talk show in the fall.
Zachery Tims said he has been "greatly humbled over these past few years."
"It is now my focus to move forward whereby I can work to extend the love of God's grace and power as it was also extended to me," he said.
New Destiny member Lucy Pierre-Louis remained at NDCC throughout the ordeal, saying she did not leave the church because her pastor has a good heart. "When he preaches, you can tell he's sorry for what he did," she said.
"He is able to minister effectively, powerfully and with love through the Holy Spirit. I think the ordeal actually brought him closer to God."

PREACHER THREATENED WITH ARRESTS FOR READINGOUT EXTRACTS FROM THE BIBLE IN PUBLIC ( LONDON )

Lawyers acting for Miguel Hayworth, 29, have demanded an explanation over the alleged intimidation and abuse of power by three officers.
Andrea Minichiello Williams, the director of the Christian Legal Centre, has written to Peter Fahy, the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester, over the incident.
She claims that Mr Hayworth and his father, John, 55, were unlawfully and unfairly treated as they preached Christianity in the city at the end of July.
"They were clearly told that reading the Bible and preaching can be offensive and that they could be arrested," she wrote.
"Furthermore, they were subjected to abuse and intimidation. They were told that they were being monitored and filmed," she wrote.
Critics claimed that a Muslim preaching his religion in the street would not have been treated in such a way by police.
Mr Hayworth, a voluntary worker who is married with two children, has been a street preacher in the Manchester area for five years and he is often accompanied by his father.
He said that he and his father had decided to preach from 11am at St Ann's Square in Manchester instead of their usual place on nearby Market Street.
He was reading passages from the Old and New Testaments while his father distributed leaflets containing the message of the gospel.
"At 2pm, I was approached on more than one occasion by several police officers who falsely accused me, stating that I was inciting hatred with homophobic and racial comments," he said.
"One plain-clothed officer, who was with the other two uniformed officers, said: 'It is against the law to preach and hand out tracts: preaching causes offence and handing out tracts is harassment and could result in an arrest.'"
Mr Hayworth said that at about 2.30pm a second officer confirmed that his colleague had accused the preacher of inciting religious and racial hatred and wanted to warn him that this was an arrestable offence.
The second officer, Mr Hayworth claimed, also warned him his actions were being videoed and recorded, and he stopped preaching.
Some passages in the Bible are regarded as homophobic. For example, sections read out by Mr Hayworth in St Ann's Square included Romans Chapter 1 Verse 27, from the King James Bible, which says: "And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly..."
He also read from 1 Corinthians Chapter 6, Verse 9: "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind."
Mr Hayworth says he cannot understand how the racism complaint arose. Shortly after being confronted by the police, he stopped reading from the Bible.
He and his father later approached the Christian Legal Centre, which seeks to promote religious freedom and, particularly, to protect Christians and Christianity.
The centre, in turn, has instructed Paul Diamond, the leading religious rights barrister.
The centre and Mr Diamond believe that the police abused their powers during the dispute on Saturday, July 25.
It is against the law to use offensive, threatening or abusive words or behaviour. It is also an offence to incite hatred on grounds of race, religion or sexual orientation.
However, in its letter to the police, the Christian Legal Centre said: "Freedom of religious and freedom of religious speech is specifically protected by the European Convention on Human Rights."
The letter added: "This means that any restriction on the 'right' to evangelise will have to be justified by the Police by a 'pressing social need'.
"In a free society, this is very difficult to do; and a few complaints by irate individuals will not suffice."
The centre and Mr Diamond have represented a number of Christians in alleged religious discrimination cases.
Earlier this year The Sunday Telegraph revealed that Caroline Petrie, a nurse, has been suspended from her job for offering to pray for an elderly patient's recovery from illness. She was later reinstated.
Chief Inspector Chris Hill, of Greater Manchester Police, said: "Police were called to St Ann's Square in Manchester city centre following complaints from members of the public who considered the comments being made by two street preachers as racist and homophobic.
"When spoken to, the men said they were quoting from the Bible. The officers confirmed they were entitled to preach on the street, but advised them offensive behaviour is not acceptable.
"No one was arrested. I have received a letter from the Christian Legal Centre and will respond in due course."

MILLIONTH BIBLE SENT TO RESTRICTED NATIONS : TEAM EFFORT GETTING GOD'S WORD INSIDE CHINA

A new report from Voice of the Martyrs says the millionth Bible dispatched under its Bibles Unbound program has been sent by a Texas woman sponsoring the effort to a private address in China.
The organization's program was started in 2006 to let Christians in free parts of the world send Bibles directly to individuals in restricted nations such as North Korea, China and Columbia.
As WND reported, the program shipped off its 100,000th Bible to Egypt after only nine months of operation.
The pace has increased since then, and in the 42 months of operations, the program has shipped about 800 Bibles per day – about 24,000 per month.
The Bibles Unbound effort is based on a very simple fact. While a truckload or container of Bibles can be spotted and stopped, the same amount of Bibles, wrapped and mailed individually, disappears into even a nation that restricts access to religious books.
In an announcement yesterday, Voice of the Martyrs confirmed the milestone came when a Bibles Unbound sponsor named Mary, living in Crane, Texas, mailed a Chinese Bible to an address she had been given under the program.
Christians, students, missionaries and others working within the restricted nations collect addresses, channeling them into the program for sponsors to use.
"Our persecuted brothers and sisters joined in the project by collecting names and addresses of those who would be blessed by receiving God's Word. Our readers responded excitedly, and New Testaments began to go out from every part of the United States to hostile nations all over the world," the announcement said. "With your help, in just 42 months we have shipped the story of God's love for all mankind and his free offer of salvation through Christ to non-believers in several restricted nations."
VOM also now offers an opportunity to support a "covert operation" to get Bibles into regions of the world where not even mailing is possible.
"The Bibles are delivered by very courageous believers who know the dangers associated with evangelizing these regions," VOM explains.
"They personally carry Bibles in and distribute them at great risk. Who are the Christian 'evangelists' partnering with you to carry New Testaments into difficult places? Some are former communists, Muslims, Hindus or terrorists who used to oppose Christians. Others are Christians who have experienced persecution and understand the risks. All are committed believers in whom God has placed an extra measure of compassion and courage."
In the covert operations, names of Bible recipients cannot be distributed. Sponsors do receive a name representing those responsible for the Bible deliveries.
About the only other details that can be shared with sponsors is the name of the nation where the undercover outreach took place.
In North Korea and Columbia, only covert operations are possible, VOM said.
The mailing program reaches intensively into nations such as Egypt and China. For $30 monthly, sponsors are sent a package of five Bibles with addresses. Tens of thousands of addresses already have been compiled to which to send more Bibles, VOM says.
"Christians in today's hostile countries are frequently beaten or arrested for sharing their faith in Jesus Christ. However, they will not back down. They are ready to share their faith with curious neighbors, co-workers and even those opposed to the gospel. Until recently, all that most Christians in the free world could do was pray for their safety and courageous efforts. Now through Bibles Unbound, we can put actions to our prayers by partnering with them in the direct distribution of New Testaments," VOM said.
A Chinese house church leader reported, "I know everyone in my village enjoys getting mail and loves to read, so when they get a New Testament in the mail, they are intrigued, and many will begin to read it. Then when I, or others from our church, speak to them about Christ, they will have questions because of the New Testament that was already sent to them."
VOM is a non-profit, interdenominational ministry working worldwide to help Christians persecuted for their faith and to educate the world about the persecuted church. Headquartered in Bartlesville, Okla., it has 30 affiliated international offices.
The group was launched by the late Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand, who started smuggling Russian Gospels into Russia in 1947, just months before Richard was abducted and imprisoned in Romania, where he was tortured for his refusal to recant his Christian faith.
He eventually was released in 1964 and the next year he testified about the persecution of Christians before the U.S. Senate's Internal Security Subcommittee, stripping to the waist to show the deep torture wound scars on his body.
The group that later was renamed The Voice of the Martyrs was organized in 1967, when his book "Tortured for Christ" was released.

LUTHERANS PREPARE FOR BIG DECISION ON GAY CLERGY

FRIDLEY, Minn. — The Rev. Dave Glesne stood before the members of Redeemer Lutheran Church a few weeks ago and told them there might be some painful decisions in the near future.

Glesne is against letting people in same-sex relationships serve as pastors of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, and he says his congregation is behind him. They're worried this suburban Minneapolis church could find itself on the losing side as leaders of the nation's largest Lutheran denomination vote on whether to take that step at their biennial national convention, which starts Monday in Minneapolis.

"Of course the question was asked: What will we do, Pastor Dave, if this goes?" Glesne said. "The conversation we had left me no doubt that we will definitely have a discussion about leaving the ELCA."

Avoiding such divisions was a main goal of an ELCA task force that prepared recommendations for debate by the 1,045 voting members at the convention. One is a revision of ministry standards that would let individual congregations employ gay and lesbian people in committed relationships as clergy. The other is a broader statement on human sexuality, a 34-page document that tries to craft a theological framework for differing views on homosexuality — but which critics say would simply liberalize the ELCA's attitudes.

At 4.7 million members and about 10,000 congregations in the United States, the ELCA would be one of the largest U.S. Christian denominations yet to take a more gay-friendly stance on clergy.

In 2003, the 2 million-member Episcopal Church of the United States consecrated its first openly gay bishop, deepening a long-running rift in the worldwide Anglican Communion about homosexuality and Scripture.

Last month in Anaheim, Calif., the Episcopal General Convention declared gays and lesbians in committed relationships eligible for "any ordained ministry." The move came despite Anglican world leaders' calls for a clear moratorium on consecrating another gay bishop.

The divide in the Episcopal Church in the last few years has led to the formation of the more conservative Anglican Church in North America, which claims 100,000 members.

Headed into next week's convention, ELCA leaders on both sides of the issue wonder if a similar split could be in store for them.

"I'm not going to predict that," said Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson, the national leader of the Chicago-based denomination. "I'm also not going to deny that I have concerns about the implications about whatever we do, for our life together coming out of it."

A variety of views are represented at Redeemer Lutheran, a congregation of about 2,000 that has grown steadily in recent years.

"We value intellectual honesty around here, and we are willing to look at other views," Glesne said.

But he said most of the congregation sides with him against changing church policy on gay clergy.

"I think I'm a voice that represents the great majority of the people in the ELCA who are sitting in the pews," Glesne said.

That wasn't the case, however, in recent synod votes on the proposed change. Thirty-four synods approved resolutions supporting the change and 12 called for its rejection. The votes put synods on record for advocating for a position, which ultimately will be decided by voting members at the national assembly.

Past efforts to change the ELCA's policy on gay clergy have failed. ELCA churches can already take on celibate gay and lesbian pastors, a policy in place since the early 1990s. Some churches are already testing the denomination's position by taking on pastors who are open about their gay relationships.

The proposed changes are designed to avoid divisions by letting congregations decide whether to have pastors in same-sex relationships.

The Rev. Bradley Schmeling, an Atlanta pastor who became the focus of a church disciplinary hearing in 2007 after he acknowledged being in a relationship with a man, said he's aware of the argument that the ELCA would lose some members and churches by liberalizing policy.

"What they don't say is that we're losing people now who see that exclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals by the church is unloving and hypocritical," said Schmeling, who was removed from the ELCA clergy roster but whose congregation kept him on as pastor. "We have the chance to demonstrate to the next generation of Christians that our church can be open and loving to all people."

Glesne and many of his allies say they're not homophobic. They say the issue is not about homosexuality but about being true to the word of God as dictated by Scripture.

"It is our feeling and our belief that what the Bible is telling us is that same-sex marriage and relationships are harmful," said Diane Baardson, a member of the Redeemer Lutheran Church council. "We welcome homosexuals into our church, and we love them. But we're not going to say hey, that's a good idea."

People who favor the recommendations to be considered in Minneapolis say the Evangelical Lutheran Church has never demanded what Schmeling calls a "blind obedience to one point of view."

Bishop Peter Rogness, leader of the church's St. Paul, Minn., synod, said differences over homosexuality are "driven more by the hysteria in the culture" than by what Scripture says.

"If someone tries to argue this is going to be the test as to whether we are scripturally faithful or not, that's a hard argument to make because Scripture says so little about homosexuality," Rogness said.

At the grass-roots level, he said, "people don't want their church to go to war over this."

Few on either side of the debate want to predict how many members and churches the ELCA might lose if it moves toward greater acceptance of clergy in gay relationships. Even Glesne said he would lean toward staying in the ELCA and "struggling from within."

"I think leaving the ELCA would be on the table — it would have to be," said Baardson, the Redeemer member. "But my first reaction would not be knee-jerk, 'Let's leave.' My first reaction would be, can we stay and work on our disagreements? That's a biblical approach as well."

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■Evangelical Lutheran Church of America: http://www.elca.org