World Impact Ministries / Peter Youngren

This article was published in the St.Catharines Standard.

Jesus seems to be popping up in the most unusual news stories. I was scrolling the television listings the other day and came by ‘Celebrity Wife Swap’, a show I’ve never watched, but the names Ted and Gayle Haggard caught my attention. Ted and Gayle are acquaintances of mine. After their ‘scandal’ broke (if you haven’t heard about it, I won’ bore you with the sordid details), when most of the church would have nothing to do with them, I had the opportunity to spend a few hours encouraging them, that God is gracious and He gives people a second chance.

This article was published in the St.Catharines Standard.

It’s time for the annual Christmas discussions. Is Christmas too commercialized? The obvious answer is “yes”, but does it matter? Aren’t we all free to decide to make this season all about shopping, or to take a more balanced approach?

Another typical question: How do we know Jesus was really born on December 25th? We don’t, and in fact there is good reason to think He wasn’t, but does that change anything?

This article was published in the St.Catharines Standard.

Recently, I was told by a critic that I am a “Chrislamist”. Not sure exactly what the term meant, I did a little research. First I discovered that I am not the only one so accused. Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Community Church in Orange County, California, recently responded to similar accusations. He pointed to Proverbs 14:15, which states, “Only a fool believes all that he hears.” Amen, to that.

This article was published in the St.Catharines Standard.

Until just a few days ago, Iranian Christian Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani was languishing in jail, expecting his imminent execution, having been found guilty of apostasy and numerous other crimes. This week’s stunning reversal in Iran’s Supreme Court is fresh evidence of the power of activism. For several months thousands of Christians and non-Christians have made their voices heard to their political representatives and Iranian embassies around the world, until Iran’s supreme religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini became involved, and now the Supreme Court has granted a new trial for Nadarkhani.

This article was published in the St.Catharines Standard.

For decades the “prosperity gospel” has been a hot topic of debate within the evangelical movement. Lately it has caught the attention of the secular media, including the Guardian in the UK and ABC News. As far back as 2006 Time magazine featured the, so called, Prosperity Movement in a piece entitled “Does God want you to be rich?” Lately it is the indictment on fraud charges by Brazilian prosecutors against prosperity preacher Bishop Edir Macedor has caught the attention of the news media.

GraceTV has met its Victory Goal of $325,000 to pay for cable and satellite distribution. Thank You, Lord! Thank You, Partners!

By Aug 28th we had received $102,000 on top of regular giving, so we really needed a miracle, going in to the final week. Hundreds of you gave, and one person particularly gave a very large gift. We thank God that He is working through willing people. The total received is $345,267.62.

The Internet has become a haven for anonymous liars, who operate without accountability. The lies about myself, our church and ministries are too many to itemize. To list them would dignify that which is inherently evil. Grant it, a few statements are by people, who probably have good intentions, but they are just as ignorant and untrue nevertheless. Others make serious lies, which rise to the level of defamation. The worst lies are half- truths; facts are twisted and motivations are imagined.

This article was published in the St.Catharines Standard.

Earlier this month, on a Thursday morning, Linda Gibbons arrived at a Toronto Morgentaler abortion clinic that is “protected” by law from pro-life activity within 500 feet. Linda, who believes women have the right to receive pro-life counsel before having an abortion, began walking back and forth on the sidewalk, quietly and without interfering with anyone, while carrying a sign depicting a baby and the words, “Why mom? When I have so much love to give?” It didn’t take long for two sheriffs and six police officers to surround Linda, and off she went in handcuffs.

This article was published in the St.Catharines Standard.

Evil incarnate is the term used by the head of Norwegian security police to describe the 32 year old confessed mass-murderer, Anders Breivik. Norway has rightfully been able to describe itself as a peace-loving nation. It has been a point of national pride that most of the police is unarmed, and even those who carry a gun, keep it locked and unloaded unless specially authorized.

July 22^nd changed Norway. First a bomb exploded in the heart of the government buildings in Oslo, killing eight and injuring many. While the police was busy securing the center of the city the perpetrator, disguised as a police officer, traveled to a nearby island, and went on a systematic killing spree with at least seventy-six fatalities among mostly young people, all members of the youth wing of the Norwegian governing Labor Party.