The Pope and the Pentecostals

No papal visit would be complete without the obligatory New York Times article about the challenge posed to the Catholic Church by Pentecostalism, complete with photos of frenetic worshippers:

As Pope Benedict XVI completes his visit to the United States on Sunday with a Mass at Yankee Stadium, in a borough that has been home to generations of Latinos, he does so facing something of a growing challenge to the church’s immigrant ranks.

For if Latinos are feeding the population of the church, many have also turned to Pentecostalism, a form of evangelical Christianity that stresses a personal, even visceral, connection with God.

Today, it has more Latino followers in the United States than any other denomination except Catholicism; they are drawn, they say, by the faith’s joyous worship, its use of Latino culture and the enveloping sense of community it offers to newcomers. As the Pew survey revealed, half of all Latinos who have joined Pentecostal denominations were raised as Catholics.

Of course, being the New York Times, all of this is chalked up to "populism." There is no reference at all to theology in the sense of anyone's actual beliefs, only the feelings of belonging that people have. The Times seems to give voice to the sentiment of some that more Mariachi masses will stem the exodus. Is this analysis?

Updates to the Connecticut Church Map

A quick note to let you know that we've updated the Connecticut Church Map by adding an index. You can now search for churches by town, making the map much more useful for everyone. Check it out here!

The rise of Asian Christianity

Section of the Great Wall of China

As the risk of generalizing, it will come as no great revelation to anyone who has spent much time with Asian Christians that they are people of prayer and passion for souls. So it's not surprising to see so much in the news lately about the rise of Asian Christianity, including its missionary thrust. Part of this is due of course to the hostage situation in Afghanistan, but this has really only spotlighted the trend in Korean and other Asian missions work for a wider audience.

This week's National Catholic Reporter featured a column called The uphill journey of Catholicism in China, which discussed the massive growth of Pentecostal and Charismatic groups in China, while noting the relative lack of success of Roman Catholics here.

Perhaps the most remarkable burst of religious energy is in China's Pentecostal Christian population. At the time of the Communist takeover in 1949, there were roughly 900,000 Protestants. Today, the Center for the Study of Global Christianity, which puts out the much-consulted World Christian Database, says there are 111 million Christians in China, roughly 90 percent Protestant and mostly Pentecostal. That would make China the third-largest Christian country on earth, following only the United States and Brazil.

The Center projects that by 2050, there will be 218 million Christians in China, 16 percent of the population, enough to make China the world's second-largest Christian nation. According to the Center, there are 10,000 conversions in China every day.

Religious data is notoriously imprecise in an officially atheistic state, and not everyone accepts these eye-popping estimates. In the 2006 update of his book Jesus in Beijing, former Time Beijing bureau chief David Aikman put the number of Protestants at 70 million. Richard Madsen, a former Maryknoll missionary and author of China's Catholics, told me he would put the number still lower, at 40 million. That's in line with the CIA World Factbook, another widely consulted resource.

Various reasons are suggested for the relatively slow growth of Catholicism, but the writer, reporter John L. Allen, Jr., suggests the answer lies in the Pentecostals' expectation of the miraculous.

How would a "Christianized" China affect the region - and the world? Allen says,

By universal consensus, China is an emerging global superpower. Its economy grew at an average annual rate of 9.4 percent over the last 25 years, and today has a GDP of $11 trillion, making it the second-largest economy in the world after the United States. Foreign companies have poured more than $600 billion into China since 1978, far eclipsing what the United States spent rebuilding post-war Europe in the Marshall Plan. China now has a middle class of 200 million people, 80 million of whom are quite well-off. The country exports more in a single day than it did in all of 1978.

How things shake out religiously, therefore, is of tremendous strategic importance, even for people who don't feel any particular spiritual stake in the result. If Christianity ends up at around 20 percent of the population, for example, China could become an exponentially larger version of South Korea (where Christians are between 25-50 percent of the population, depending upon which count one accepts) -- a more democratic, rule-oriented, basically pro-Western society. On the other hand, if dynamic Muslim movements create an Islamic enclave in the western half of the country, with financial and ideological ties to fundamentalist Wahhabi forms of Islam in Saudi Arabia, at least that part of China could become a wealthier and more influential Afghanistan. If growing religious pluralism in China becomes fractious, it could mean that a well-armed and wealthy superpower is destabilized by internal conflict, posing risks to global peace and security.

Asia Times columnist Spengler discusses Allen's article in a piece entitled Christianity Finds a Fulcrum in Asia, exploring both the religious and geopolitical aspects:

Where traditional society remains entrenched in China's most backward regions, Islam also is expanding. At the edge of the Gobi Desert and on China's western border with Central Asia, Islam claims perhaps 30 million adherents. If Christianity is the liquidator of traditional society, I have argued in the past, Islam is its defender against the encroachments of leveling imperial expansion. But Islam in China remains the religion of the economic losers, whose geographic remoteness isolates them from the economic transformation on the coasts. Christianity, by contrast, has burgeoned among the new middle class in China's cities, where the greatest wealth and productivity are concentrated. Islam has a thousand-year presence in China and has grown by natural increase rather than conversion; evangelical Protestantism had almost no adherents in China a generation ago.

Read more here.

Photo by Michael Mooney, some rights reserved.

Join Connecticut Christians on Facebook

Facebook has been taking off as a way for people to connect and communicate. If you don't know, Facebook started out as something for students but has recently exploded to become the #6 website in terms of traffic - it is already viewed more than eBay!

With this in mind, we started a "Connecticut Christians" group on Facebook a few days ago. This will be a great way to meet and connect with Christians in our state and share news, events, prayer requests and all kinds of things. (And no, it's not a dating service!)

Just click on the Facebook badge in the right-hand column (the one with a picture of yours truly) and help us build a better online community of Christians in Connecticut - people are already joining!

Tags: Connecticut, Christian, Christianity, Evangelical, Charismatic, facebook

Hispanics Changing American Christianity

Here's an interesting profile piece on religious trends among Hispanics in the U.S., based on a recent survey of 4,600 people. A casual observer would probably have to say that these trends are at work in Connecticut as well:

'Evangelicalism as we know it in this country is fast disappearing in many places,'' said Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, which conducted 4,600 interviews for the survey with the Pew Hispanic Center. ``Not surprisingly, we're beginning to see some of that in the immigrants who are coming to this country. They're helping to transform American Christianity.''

In South Florida, Pentecostal and evangelical worship is growing among Hispanics as storefront churches multiply and megachurches draw thousands of Hispanic worshipers with lively worship and extensive social programs.

Calvary Chapel, a 20,000-member church in Fort Lauderdale, has about 4,000 Hispanic congregants, said Guillermo Novoa, Calvary's Spanish ministry assistant. The church's Hispanic outreach includes English classes, live Spanish translation of services and Bible study, discipleship and marriage counseling in Spanish.

Attendance in the Spanish-language services has grown to 300 people, up from 40 people when the church launched its Hispanic outreach seven years ago.

''The majority of them are Latin American immigrants who are Roman Catholic when they come here,'' Novoa said. ``They see it's a huge difference to be a Christian in this country.''

At El Rey Jesus, a 7,000-member church in West Kendall, worship services are punctuated with Pentecostal practices such as casting out demons and hands-on healing.

Some Spanish-speaking Pentecostal megachurches -- such as Alpha and Omega Church in south Miami-Dade County -- are offering live English translations of their services for second-generation Hispanics who prefer English.

12 Keys for Excellence in the Prophetic Ministry, from the Life of Samuel

In order to provide some inspiration as well as information and prayer points, we plan to begin posting teaching articles and other devotional material from time to time. While we do look, out of necessity, at issues which are political, we also want to help strengthen the Church in our region. With that in mind, we hope you'll enjoy some teachings every now and then. When articles are final, they'll be posted on the Pray Connecticut website in the Articles section.

This teaching is from an ongoing class I've been helping to teach on the prophetic ministry in today's Church. We pray it will bless you.

12 Keys for Excellence in Prophetic Ministry from Samuel’s Life

And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground. (1 Sam. 3:19)

(To prepare for this teaching, please read 1 Samuel 3.)

I am always impressed by Samuel, not just by his prophetic ministry but by the impact of his life on his nation. What he accomplished was astounding – he was an anchor of stability in his nation for many years, and kept the people tied to the Lord and the Lord’s ways.

I’m impressed by what he did to lay a foundation for prophetic ministry in Israel. When Samuel was a boy, it says that the word of the LORD was precious or rare – there was no open vision. And yet, without probably having the benefit of what we nowadays think of as prophetic training, Samuel came to a place where his words did not fall to the ground. Not only this, we believe that Samuel founded what became known as the schools of the prophets in Israel. How did he do this when he most likely had no mentors? I think the answer was found in his heart, as well as his giftings. We know it’s God who gives gifts, but there is the human side of the equation in which we cooperate with God’s grace. If we study his life we see that he wasn’t perfect, but this I think makes him more appealing. Let's see what we can find from the Word concerning Samuel’s life which can propel us into excellence in the prophetic.

This passage, 1 Samuel 3, gives us a great capsule summary of Samuel’s commission and also sets forth our goals as prophetic people:

Display excellence in both your character and your ministry: “And Samuel grew…”

Become a person of impact: “…and the LORD was with him…”

Speak words that have an impact: “…and did let none of his word fall to the ground.”

Notice that it is the Lord who lets none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground.

What are the keys in Samuel's life that made him a person of impact?


1. Take time to minister to the Lord, both personally and with others.

And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. (1 Sam. 3:1)

Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” (Acts 13:1-2)

Samuel ministered to the Lord individually. He did this as part of his ceremonial duties, but we are sure he had devotional times or worship and intercession before the Lord. The Word speaks of him passing the night in prayer to God. The Antioch example is a great example of how leaders must minister to the Lord together. If you are in leadership, even the leadership of a ministry if not the leadership of your whole church, I challenge you to take times where you simply wait on God together, even with fasting. When you do, the Spirit will come alongside with words of direction and even commissioning, as happened in Acts 13.


2. Be quick to respond to authorities and to obey .

…the LORD called, “Samuel;” and he answered, “Here am I.” And he ran unto Eli, and said, “Here am I; for you called me.” And he said, “I called not; lie down again.” And he went and lay down. (1 Sam. 3:4-5)

We know that Samuel probably did not learn this type of obedience from serving Eli the priest, because Eli did not discipline his own sons. Notice the instant obedience of Samuel’s heart. How many children or young people come literally running the first time they are called?


3. Put yourself in a position to listen to the Lord’s Voice.

Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, “Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he calls you, that you shall say, ‘Speak, LORD; for your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, “Samuel, Samuel.” Then Samuel answered, “Speak; for your servant hears.” (1 Sam. 3:9-10)

Do we have our own times of solitude and reflection? Are we training our senses? I bet Samuel was fully ready, his ears fully open when the Lord came by again. So let it be with us!


4. Carry on with the normal responsibilities of life in this world.

And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD. (1 Sam. 3:15a)

Some of us, if we’d had this type of revelation, would get on the phone and tell our friends. It doesn’t say he slept, he was probably too excited to sleep. But notice that he got up and performed his duties. Be careful that when we begin to have experiences in the Spirit that we leave off doing the normal things of life. We still have responsibilities in this life if we are to function and to maintain a good testimony.


5. Learn to deal well with rejection, and don’t become overly sensitive.

[The elders of Israel] said unto him, “Behold, you are old, and your sons walk not in your ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.” But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed unto the LORD. And the LORD said unto Samuel, “Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto you: for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.” (1 Sam. 8:5-7)

It seems that Samuel took this personally. Many prophetic people have to deal with a lot of rejection in life and we need to bring that to the Lord and let it be crucified. The Lord pulled out of Samuel’s heart the real issue – it had become about Samuel a little bit!


6. Walk with integrity – even in the smallest of matters.

“Behold, here I am: witness against me before the LORD, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose donkey have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind my eyes with? and I will restore it to you.” And they said, “You have not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither have you taken anything of any man's hand.” (1 Sam. 12:3-4)


7. Love and pray for those to whom you minister.

…God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way. (1 Sam. 12:23)


8. Learn to speak difficult truths to others in love, as your position may require it.

And Samuel said, “Has 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.” (1 Sam. 15:22)

Notice I say as your position requires it. If your position does not require you to speak a corrective word, you may enter into great presumption by delivering it. Samuel was the senior prophetic figure in the nation. However, this word still cost him something. By the next chapter, he tells God he can’t go anoint David because if he does, Saul will kill him!


9. Love the whole body and mourn over sin.

Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul. And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul… (1 Sam. 15:34-35a)


10. Don’t “turn your eyes and ears off” – your own wisdom and experience can fail you.

And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, “Surely the LORD’S anointed is before him.” But the LORD said unto Samuel, “Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD sees not as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” (1 Sam. 16:6-7)


11. Have a correctable spirit – and then take heed to the correction.

Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.” (1 Sam. 16:8)


12. Prepare the next generation – individuals, prophetic people, and other leaders.

Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed [David] in the midst of his brethren: and the spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. (1 Sam. 16:13)

And Saul sent messengers to take David: and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as appointed over them, the spirit of God was upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied. (1 Sam. 19:20)

All these who were chosen to be gatekeepers in the gates were two hundred and twelve. These were recorded by their genealogy in their villages, whom David and Samuel the seer did ordain in their office of trust. (1 Chron. 9:22)

Let's pursue excellence in the prophetic!

Christian Events in Connecticut This Week

The following events are coming up this week... for more details please visit the Connecticut Christian Events Calendar!

Monday, April 16:
Litchfield County Regional Prayer Meeting (Torrington - Advent Christian Church)

Wednesday, April 18:
School of the Spirit with Pastor Jan Nel (Darien - St. Paul's Church)

Friday, April 20:
NCS Men's Breakfast with Guest Speaker, Jerry Root (Stamford)

Saturday, April 21:
Reclaiming Our Spiritual Heritage Tour (Torrington)
Christian Coffeehouse (Danbury)

Sunday, April 22:
Unity Service with Pastor Jan Nel (Greenwich - Presbyterian Church of Old Greenwich)

Christian Events in Connecticut this Week

The following events are coming up this week... for more details please visit the Connecticut Christian Events Calendar!

Wednesday, April 11:
School of the Spirit with Pastor Jan Nel (Darien - St. Paul's Church)

Thursday, April 12:
Regional Prayer Meeting (New Haven)

Friday, April 13:
NCS Men's Breakfast with Guest Speaker, Allan Houston (Stamford)
Sozo Cafe Friday Night Jam (Hamden)

Saturday, April 14:
Statewide Intercessors Gathering (Kensington - Wellspring Church)
House of Grace Community Coffee House (Milford)