World Impact Ministries / Peter Youngren

Thanks ,Ms Rice,
she should know what makes one a christian and the way to salvation,more so the grace,the unmerited favour of Yahweh unless she is a wolve in sheep cloth.
Many Blessings

am a fan of anne rice and am also a christian & i hold my belief in Jesus!!! i never knew anne rice was christian but now am sadened to see her political & social beliefs over take her belief in Jesus & christianity!!!! May God bless u anne & be w/ you!!! God bless, Jim

I can totally understand Ann Rice’s frustrations because I too have been burnt by religion and religious groups who claim to be speaking as God’s authority on earth. However as gay Christian who has got to know the love of God through Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, I have got to know and experience an unconditionally loving and merciful God who loves us all, through His Son Jesus Christ, no matter who we are. The verse that the Lord used to open my eyes, as I too struggled for many years with reconciling being a Christian and being gay, was Romans 3:22 - We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. This was in Feb 2009 while under suicide watch because I didn’t have any desire to live as I thought that God didn’t love me and was forever punishing me. I would encourage Ms Rice to read the book of Mark to get to know the real Jesus Christ, not the one preached in mainstream conventional churches. I belong to no church or religious order, what I do have is a personal relationship with an unconditionally loving and merciful God who is full of grace.

I agree with Peter.  God will give proper understanding to each one of us on the issue in question. 
God bless Peter and all of us who are pondering over the issue.
Stephen.

Bravo! Well put, Pastor Youngren.
Those things Anne Rice was against is all religious-man’s ideas of how to get to God. Instead, they make people stumble.
I just pray that Anne realizes she can leave all that stuff and still have Jesus.
Many people think it is one big package deal and decide to leave it all.

Our Lord Jesus did not hate others, the kind he said will be in the kingdom of God are the ones who does his word, ” When i was hungry you feed me, thirsty, you give me drink, sick, you care for me, naked, you clothed me, as long as you do to the least of the people you done to me. Ms. Rice just not want to be part of the hipocrits. By there fruits we shall know them. Says the Lord!!!

I always tell people that we can only pray for the salvation of souls but God does the conversion.  Pastor Peter, let us continue to pray for Anne Rice encounter with Jesus for we truly know that if it is of God, it will stand.  There are no regrets in serving the Master, he is faithful.

To enter into the peace that Jesus left for us here on earth, we need to turn our eyes on Jesus, He never lets us down.  His word says we should do the things that He did.
Sometimes there is not a lot of difference between looking at the Church and looking at the world.

Thank you so much for this blog!  It again affirms what has been stirring in my heart for quite a long time.  We must shed religious thinking and terminology and get back to the heart of the Word - Jesus. 
He came NOT to condemn the world but to save the world.  If we are truly Christians; His disciples, then we, too, should follow Him and be ambassadors of love.  As I have come in contact with people outside of the church, the greatest witness I can bring is loving people - through love they have followed me from the street and into the church.  But Jesus did not need them to step through the threshhold of a building.  He simply met them there on the street through the extension of love, acknowledging their present condition and infusing them with hope of something greater.  I know that I am forever grateful that Jesus saw me not “just as I am” but He showed me that in Him there is fullness of joy.

Wow, this meassage most certainly stirs up some emotions for myself.  There is to much focus on being a christian, and there has been much confusion and disappointment to how I view that word christians. In God’s word it simply says we will be known by our love and when people know us by his love then they know that we are His disciples. Not known as christians but by the love that shows that we are disciples and followers of Christ Jesus. So when people ask what is your religion I always say what do you say that I am? Then I tell them I am a child of God.

Dear Peter,
I can’t begin to express how encouraged I am by this blog entry. It expresses exactly the problem I was having with the church.
I refuse the same things that Ms. Rice does and I am thankful for the faith that I have that gave me that insight.
You raised many questions that I have been asking for years and have never received a logical answer.
The Lord brought me out of the darkness and my despair and I thank Him all the time for His Grace and His Mercy.
I am so happy to have found a Pastor that has given me hope for the “Christian” community as a whole. If they hear you, that is.
I hear you Brother Peter and I will be sharing this blog entry with my best friend. We try to live for the Lord everyday and practice the Golden Rule to the best of our ability.
May the Lord richly bless you in your ministry in every way possible and may all who read this entry take it to heart.
Your sister in Christ,
Christine

That is the truth. I was saddened to hear that Rice had now turned her back on Christianity, but realized too, that maybe she had not found Christ but instead a religion.  A personal relationship w/ Christ Jesus will change us and fill us and heal us.  Going to a set of rules and regulations will only leave us empty, depressed and never satisfy.

I have backslided and backslided but Jesus Christ never left, I know He was and is always there.  He is always there, I not sure how to get rid of Him.  So I surrendered and is only getting a little bit of taste of his goodness, lovingkindness, gentleness, gentle desciple, His Mercy.  I am getting to see how much He loves me and how much he see in me what I donot.  I am absolutely grateful for Jesus, God the Father, Holy Spirit.  I need to examine myself everyday and reexamined again.  God is so good, He always show me what I would never have known should I had keep going my way or others way. 
I love His pastor, teacher, healer, 
I love you, Pastor Youngren and thank you for your faithful teaching. 
I am forever grateful He used you for your obedience in our Lord.  :)

Dear PETER:
I love this blog message today and I really am inspired by
mostly all of your great blog messages. I recall listening to a CD message that you shared about the JESUS FREAKS of the late 60’s
That JESUS NOW message caused me thamk God for that clarity and urgency.
Blessings with much gratitude,
JON

If you have “no idea if Ms. Rice had an encounter with the person of Jesus Christ” why is the title of this piece, “Anne Rice Quits Christianity”?  I wonder if the Church mentioned here is the “Catholic Church”?  You must know that many Christians have left the church on “religious grounds”, those of us who are born again, on fire for God, love His presence and are grieved at the amount of Flesh that is prevelant rather than the Spirit of the Lord.  As the Holy Spirit is grieved so are we. 
As you mentioned she has some stinkin thinkin and wonder where the concepts come from about what a Christian is, clearly not from the Spirit of the Lord but from the Spirit of Man and this happens when people look to the Church and not God.
As Christians we ARE the Church, not a building, not a denomination and not a list of rules.
Most people leaving the church are doing so because God is drawing them out of the bondage there and into Himself.
I will continue to pray that Rice has an encounter of the God kind that is life changing and undeniable.

Peter you are so right when you say it is not about religion its about Jesus we are ministering to Indian reserve were does people have been abuse by religion and were having success by our approach telling them we don’t want to change you from your religion or your habit. We cannot change people not event ourself only god can and they are accepting Jesus and they get baptise in water and you should see how the holy spirit is moving in those community praised god for peter you have been a model for us

I hope every believer in Christ who truly knows Him as Saviour will pray for this lady.  It appears that Ms. Rice has hangups about christians being lethargic about moral issues.  It’s time that we rise up and take our stand for God

I have had in my experiences as an abuse child, the memories itself was very painful and I was suicidal, having an encounter with Jesus, he healed my hurts and took away the remembrance, so I don’t dwell on past hurts anymore for many years now. I am permanently healed.
This all happened by simply seeking him first at his request, spending time with him, tuning out the world entirely, he touched me, spoke to me and it is just glorious, that’s when reality clicked in.
We all will definitely experience adversities and opposition in the body of Christ, there is no escaping from it. 
At a time when I was a baby christian I had a very surprising and severe attack upon me, I was only a few months old in the Lord, I felt like giving up on Christianity, and never attend church…ever again.
The Lord bought this to my attention, was it Jesus himself that said something mean to me or hurt me, and my answer was definitely a “NO”, he then said to me that I am always welcome to be in his house, that was the words I heard spoken to me, and that is what kept me going. 
How can someone attack a newly born christian, giving dirty looks and speaking harshly instead of lovingly or gently, their attitude at the time made me really see the wrong in it, I did not want to be like that, I want to love everybody, that was when I became encourage to be like Jesus, at that moment I got turned off, it was an ugly feeling, I did not see or felt Jesus in that situation.
From that time, Jesus himself taught me how to grow in him through his spirit, and to become like him. Was he ever judgemental to us or condemned us while we were all sinners, “No”.  He was and still is so loving and gentle, even if he shows us our wrong or mistakes, it is the goodness of the Lord that leads us to repentance, he is not a harsh and cruel God. 
I learned from seeing people’s mistakes how they handled other people, as though they take the place of God to judge, when he said not to judge others, nor condemn. Some people can be so hard on another person, but when the lord called them he did it in a loving way, we all should have that same attitude, and not self-righteous and condemning attitude. 
Some people have not come to realize that they will have to stand before HIM one day and give an account for the people that they drove out, or did not accept and has gone to a lost eternity because of the damage they have done. 
Also, there are some that is withdrawing from the faith for petty reasons.  When you grow up in him spiritually you become stronger, my trials made me strong, and encourage to draw closer to the Lord and not to depart from him. I am not pridefully saying this, but to exalt him for who he is.
My encouragement to Anne Rice is that if she can compare another person’s persecution or hard-trials, somebody else’s might be more difficult than hers and yet still that person did not throw in the towel and give up. 
I am one of them I am not giving up, Jesus is so wonderful when you get to know him, you just can’t give up on him. I can only speak for myself and not for anyone else, all I can do is encourage others. 
Don’t give up on Jesus if others can make it to heaven though difficult it may be, well so can I/we.

Peter, are you going to get in touch with her?

Thank you Peter for your comment, I was recently in a conversation concerning a dear friend of mine who I know that Jesus transformed her life, but because of storms in her life (serious medical problems) I have never let her go and I support her, I have Christians say (your wasting time, throwing pearls before swine, she isn’t a Christian). How hurtful those words are, what happened to love and compassion and being a light in the darkness, there seems to be alot of Fruit Pickers who cause more bruises by thinking they know a persons heart and what they think, to justify their judgements. I would rather love a person until death than push them over the cliff by my words. 
Thanks you for listening, Kathie

Anne; I am sincerely sorry for your hurts.  Please read Ravi Zacharias’s new book “Has Christianity Failed You.” Stop looking at the people and start looking to the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ.
It is the soul working of the Holy Spirit that brings a true conversion in our lives. It is a Heart transformation. Stop allowing the enemy of the brethern, to use the imperfections of mankind to keep you from having a personal relationship with the Father. Lean not unto your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths. God bless you and may He woe you unto Himself through Christ Jesus by way of His Holy Spirit.  Amen

It seems peculiar,but satan is a roaring lion searching whom to devour.Satans main target is to target fleshly attitude of every CHRISTIAN upon this earth. I and you need to be alert in our relationship with CHRIST. These things will become common if we are not allowing SPIRIT of the LIVING GOD in our Lives.

Hurray for Anne Rice!  My kudos and heartfelt congratulations go to someone with the courage of her convictions to say NO to a religion that has had a 2000-year history of anti-Semitism and other forms of racism, sexism, violence, imperialism, and oppression of every sort.  If you don’t believe me, study its history, then talk to some Jewish, Native American/First Nations, African-American, Maori, and other aboriginals about what their peoples have had to endure.

god bless you and your ministry

Is Anne Rice a Christian? Well that’s between her and GOD. We need to remove the plank from our own eyes, before trying to remove the speck from her eye. AMEN +

I absolutely love your blog on Anne Rice for how much it describes the marvelous grace that belongs to all of us because of God’s unconditonal love and Jesus sacrifice. I agree that it seems Anne’s faith and relationship to God got contaminated by some man-made religious edicts. I love that the Word also says that no one can pluck us or Anne out of His hand and that, in spite of her confusion/disillusionment, she is still HIs and He is waiting for her to get to know HIm better.
Thank you Peter Youngren for explaining the gospel so well!

The law of Love is greater then the laws of theology. May she find the true mercy and grace of Jesus in her quest for truth. When Jesus was confronted with the woman at the well or the woman caught in adultery, He revealed His true nature of mercy and grace, Jesus is the gospel of love!
- Matthew 9:13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
- 1Samuel 15:22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

Good Day: I stand corrected on my comments about Anne Rice. I pray that before her day of judgement, that she will repent and ask the Lord to accept her (once again) as one of his children. In the Bible Peter asked Jesus how many times should I forgive someone, 7 times? Jesus answered NO, 70 times 7. May the peace of Christ be with all of you.

for anyone in particular to be named is to give them the glory. anne will see how she is not Anne Rice but a vessel of God given that name and vocation not to put her above anyone, so that her name, opinions or talents can bge idolized, and nor is it for us to idolize her over God or Jesus or the Holy Spirit,k , she is a fellow vessel, nameless, striving against He who indwells her, coughing out the last of her ‘Anne Riceness;; to join in unity in peace and in harmony as one part of a universal nameless whole, whole gracefully and debted to Christ Jesus as His Name shines above all and no other name. Whoever she is , was or will be, she has her maker inside of her and Christ Jesus and if these are the last cries from Anne Riceness than praise God that the Spirit is working in her.

This have been a good topic for christians to learn from, as long as that LOGO of christianity is on our forehead, which we use to tell others how to eat, who to be and how to think.
They were first called Christians in Anthioc, but there has always been the way, which the disciples have been part of.
Be a disciple not a Christian!

Forget about Ann Rice. She is only one person and there are multitudes to be reached out by this incredible message of gospel of Peace and Grace. And I do believe that, the more this gospel of Peace and Grace gets to the minds of people, ( I am talking about, Christians and non Christians, Church goers and non Church goers)  i believe there can be world peace for us to see in our life time.
Right wing Americanized Christianity says, If you sin you have broken God’s commandments. YEA right!!! Tell that to a black man that has been raised in poverty all of his life and has heard nothing but that the white race is keeping him down. What is his brain going tell him??? That he has “void”, “lack” he feels insecure and inadequate. Our Problem in this world goes much deeper than ‘sin” “Sin” isn’t and has never been the problem. We have made a much bigger deal about it than what it really is.

The last comment made about forgetting about Ann Rice, no way, first of all we are our brother’s keeper, we should encourage everyone, and that includes you, even if I don’t know you.  I myself am a black woman, raised in poverty, after knowing that Jesus loves me regardless, I asked forgivness of my sins, because I acknowledge that I had sinned, if there was no such thing as sin, then we will be doing wrong feeling no remorse, and Jesus came and died for sin. As the word of GOD declares that all have sinned and come short of the glory of GOD. As a black person if i had it all, I may not be in church, because there are some that are prosperous and not acknowledging him, not everyone of us is poor, but I look to him and depend on him for everything, I don’t steal, beg or con anyone to get what I want, I don’t even tell anyone of my struggles, I pray and he helps me, another reason for some blacks not getting ahead, they have to point a finger at themselves, some is very hostile, rude and arrogant, no one will hire them, not even our own people.  I had to personally point that out to some of my own people, they don’t act professional, and handle some people in an unfriendly manner. They did not argue, they agreed, so that is helping them to see themselves and their flaws, with my personal life I disagree there, I had gotten accepted many times in the past, even though my jobs were temporary, one day GOD will make a way, we may be tested at first and God comes along with rewards, so we must keep our minds clear and free, be unblamable, he is our rewarder. As I go through life I see it as it is not what anyone will do for me, but it is what HE will do for me, sometimes God may not want you to work for someone, HE possibly want to give some of us ideas for your financial freedom, so let us take our eyes off man and put it on GOD, and we must not play the blame game.  He is our rewarder.  I will not make another comment to anyone else because some people have a way of changing a story into something entirely different….I am not fighting back here, it goes for me as well, I must practice what I preach, or else that will make me a hypocrite. This Blog and story ends right here, now and forever.  I am heading off the church now…love to you and everyone… have a good day!!!!

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@ Terry How do you know I am a black woman obviuosly you know me..

You see that is what I am talking about….Now I know what is wrong with Christians and I blame it on their twisted theology, If they believe in a deity that murders himself to appease himself, he can’t forgive the sin of the world with out killing himself, or with out the shedding of Innocent blood and believing in heinous doctrine like god torments ’ eternally people who refused to love him some how….. I mean….what do you expect from people who believe in such madness?
And why would they be any nicer than their deity? After all…. they are in love with this cosmic shylock right?
No wonder Christians are so vicious and that is why I run away from them as fast as I can….

Terry, Do you realize that you ‘re encroaching on my freedom ?
This is Youngren’s blog, not yours, so, he is the one to respond to whatever we say here. Plus, how very condescending and rude. Nothing you have said about what I beleive and my stance on it is true. this is not coming from fear or hatred or prejudice. So how Dare you judge Me!!! You Madam are the prejudiced one. You Madam misjudged Me. You Arrogant Seminarian. Even the pharisees were staunch in their “education” and they knew the law backwards and forwards. Jesus opposed them too. Usually I run from people from seminary both sides of the theological field as their minds have been programmed by men, and not God.

She wont be the first to recount their profession of Christianity.  There are many who lack root that is able to endure suffering for Christ.  She probably, well definitely won’t be the last.

Dear Peter, This is a last days sign as Apostle Paul quotes in 2Timothy 3;1_5, Many will quit the faith, That is why Jesus Christ asked the disciples one time that, ‘When I return will I find faith on earth?’ Anne Rice did have the form of Godliness but denied the Godly power. But recall what Jesus said in John 10;28,‘I will not allow anyone to snatch those who have come to me.’ Therefore I trust Anne Rice will one day before long come back, but after a torture of bodily suffering just like the prodigal son in the Book of Luke 15. She will pay the first announcement she did as she first confessed Christ as her savior. My urge to all who confess Christ to watch their Walk, Actions,Talks, Character,Holiness, That is “watch’,