A - PEOPLE FILES
- Saeed Abedini - Abby Abildness - Jay Adams - Meeke Addison - Timothy Agee - Che Ahn - Ayo Akerle - Danny Akin - Sam Alberry - Sheila Alewine - Paul Alexander - Ayaan Hirsi Ali -
Saeed Abedini
Saeed Abedini (Persian: سعيد عابدينی, born 7 May 1980) is an Iranian American Christian pastor who was imprisoned in Iran in 2012 based on allegations that he compromised national security. During his imprisonment, Abedini became internationally known as a victim of religious persecution. Following international pressure, along with other American prisoners, Abedini was released from prison on 16 January 2016.
Saeed Abedini (Persian: سعيد عابدينی, born 7 May 1980) is an Iranian American Christian pastor who was imprisoned in Iran in 2012 based on allegations that he compromised national security. During his imprisonment, Abedini became internationally known as a victim of religious persecution. Following international pressure, along with other American prisoners, Abedini was released from prison on 16 January 2016.
According to reports inside Iran, Mohammed and Nazanin Razvini, two Iranian Christians, were recently arrested. They are presently held in Vakil Abid Prison in Mashhad and their lives are reportedly in danger. They were arrested a couple of hours after their cousin, Pastor Saeed Abedini, appeared on the Voice of America’s Persian-language broadcast, speaking out against Iran’s bloodshed and terrorism around the globe. A relative of the family, Javad Mahdian, who works for the Revolutionary Guards, was asked to help, but couldn’t.
Pastor Saeed Abedini told The Jewish Press in an exclusive interview that there are daily human rights violations in Iran and yet the world remains silent. He cited social media reports of women protesters who were stripped naked and beaten by the Basij militia: “So, they showed one hair through the hijab and now the regime is forcing them to be completely naked, without a brassiere, surrounded by aroused soldiers. They are beaten to death. Their whole bodies are black.” - Rachel Avraham; Jewish Press: Exiled Iranian Pastor Describes the Regime’s Brutality and Perversion 10.27.22
Pastor Saeed Abedini told The Jewish Press in an exclusive interview that there are daily human rights violations in Iran and yet the world remains silent. He cited social media reports of women protesters who were stripped naked and beaten by the Basij militia: “So, they showed one hair through the hijab and now the regime is forcing them to be completely naked, without a brassiere, surrounded by aroused soldiers. They are beaten to death. Their whole bodies are black.” - Rachel Avraham; Jewish Press: Exiled Iranian Pastor Describes the Regime’s Brutality and Perversion 10.27.22
Nahgmeh Saeed
"As Secretary Kerry stated, the United States and Iran continue to talk about the release of Saeed and the other Americans held captive in Iran. It is the hope of our family that Saeed and the others are released and returned to their families. President Obama has told our family that he considers securing the freedom of Saeed to be a "top priority" and I continue to take him at his word. As we prepare to celebrate Easter, I want to thank the many people around the country and the world who are continuing to pray for Saeed's release."
-Pastor Saeed's wife, Nahgmeh Saeed April 2015
-Pastor Saeed's wife, Nahgmeh Saeed April 2015
April 2, 2015: Secretary of State John Kerry addressed the issue following the announcement that a framework for a deal with Iran had been reached:
And finally, with respect to our citizens, we of course have had a number of conversations, and no meeting, no date when we come together has been without conversation about our American citizens. I'm not going to go into any details except to say to you that that conversation is continuing. We have a very specific process in place to try to deal with it, and we call on Iran again, today, now, in light of this to release these Americans and let them get home with their families. And we are working on that and we will continue to be very focused on it.
And finally, with respect to our citizens, we of course have had a number of conversations, and no meeting, no date when we come together has been without conversation about our American citizens. I'm not going to go into any details except to say to you that that conversation is continuing. We have a very specific process in place to try to deal with it, and we call on Iran again, today, now, in light of this to release these Americans and let them get home with their families. And we are working on that and we will continue to be very focused on it.
May 2015: The United States Senate unanimously passed, 90–0, a resolution calling upon the Iranian government to immediately free Abedini and two other Americans imprisoned in Iran, Amir Hekmati and Jason Rezaian, and to cooperate with the U.S. government to locate and return Robert Levinson, who is missing in the country.
January 21, 2013: Iranian state media reported that Abedini would be released after posting a $116,000 bond. His wife, however, stated that the government "has no intention of freeing him and that the announcement is 'a game to silence' international media reports."
January 27,2013: Judge Pir-Abassi sentenced Abedini to eight years in prison. According to Fox News, Abedini was sentenced for having "undermined the Iranian government by creating a network of Christian house churches and ... attempting to sway Iranian youth away from Islam.
January 2013: The U.S. State Department condemned Abedini's sentencing: "We condemn Iran's continued violation of the universal right of freedom of religion and we call on the Iranian authorities to respect Mr. Abedini's human rights and release him."
January 27,2013: Judge Pir-Abassi sentenced Abedini to eight years in prison. According to Fox News, Abedini was sentenced for having "undermined the Iranian government by creating a network of Christian house churches and ... attempting to sway Iranian youth away from Islam.
January 2013: The U.S. State Department condemned Abedini's sentencing: "We condemn Iran's continued violation of the universal right of freedom of religion and we call on the Iranian authorities to respect Mr. Abedini's human rights and release him."
July 2012: Abedini was placed under house arrest in Iran by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
abby abildness
Pennsylvania’s Prayer Warrior: Abby Abildness And Her Dominionist Crusade In The Commonwealth
Apostle Abby Abildness is on a quest to claim the Keystone state for God. She’s a Pennsylvania-based leader in a worldwide network of neo-charismatic Christian leaders called the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), which promotes dominionism, the belief that Christians have a mandate from God to control all aspects of government and culture.
NAR leaders advance a supposedly divine strategy for achieving dominion called the “Seven Mountains Mandate,” which divides society into seven categories, or “mountains”, and encourages Christians to pick a mountain and then head into their community to conquer it for God. Abildness is focused on the government mountain. In a 2012 newsletter, Abildness instructed her network to “pray for and proclaim God’s dominion over your city councils, courts, state legislators, state courts, America’s leaders [and] the United Nations,” as discovered by NAR researcher @KiraResistance (whose research is featured throughout much of this piece.)
One of the organizations led by Abildness, the Pennsylvania Apostolic Prayer Network (PAPN), promotes the Seven Mountains on its website.
Another organization led by Abildness, the Pennsylvania Prayer Caucus, works with state legislators to promote biblically-inspired legislation.
A third organization led by Abildness, the Global Apostolic Prayer Network (GAPN) is in 115 nations. Abildness and her NAR colleagues see Pennsylvania as the cornerstone of their mission to take dominion of the nation, as well as other nations, for Jesus. It is Abildness’s job to make this vision a reality. Abildness’s involvement is evidenced by (among other things) her book bio, which says she’s “the Pennsylvania representative for the Cindy Jacobs’ Reformation Prayer Network and John Benefiel’s [Heartland] Apostolic Prayer Network, and was commissioned as an apostle by John Benefiel in 2011.” (Emphasis added.) As far as I’ve seen, Abildness does not claim to receive prophetic words herself. But she does claim that William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania, received a “prophetic revelation from the Lord” that told him Pennsylvania would serve as a “holy seed” for “godly governance” throughout the nation.
Abildness has even made a video promoting Penn’s alleged prophecy. In the video, throngs of seemingly entranced believers drop to their knees as they face the Pennsylvania state capitol. Abildness calls herself “Dr. Abby Abildness,” rather than “Apostle Abby Abildness” on her website at Healing Tree International, an organization that she founded with her husband to “restore the God-ordained destiny of people and nations in collaboration with affiliate networks.”
The website doesn’t disclose where Abildness earned her doctorate or medical degree, if any, but describes Abildness as a “former Behavioral Science Professor at Hershey Medical Center/Penn State University and Pastoral Care and Counseling Professor at Myerstown Theological Seminary.”
Through Healing Tree and a book released in 2010, Abildness has encouraged “healing prayer” as an adjunct to medical care. She claims to have personally received miraculous healing from endometrial cancer.
This may sound benign in the abstract. But Abildness is closely affiliated with NAR Apostle Ché Ahn (founder of Harvest International Ministries) who claims to have cured a girl’s blindness by licking his thumb and putting it in her eye. Abildness also is the State Director of the Pennsylvania Prayer Caucus, a subsidiary of the Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation (CPCF). In this role, Abildness meets with state lawmakers once a week.
Her caucus has collaborated with the state level Pennsylvania Freedom Caucus and with Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA), who currently chairs the federal House Freedom Caucus in D.C. Abildness even attended the recent launch of the state level freedom caucus in Harrisburg, which Perry emceed, as the Beacon reported in April. (You may recall that Trump’s former Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows, burned documents after meeting with Perry in the runup to Jan 6, 2021, per the testimony of former White House staffer Cassidy Hutchinson.) Abildness’s Pennsylvania Prayer Caucus also promotes state legislation using model bills from CPCF. Many of these bills attack LGBTQ+ rights. In 2013, when Project Blitz was still years away, Abildness championed a bill to require that Pennsylvania public schools post “In God We Trust” inside classrooms. Abildness promoted the bill with former State Representative Rick Saccone who once said that he was running for office because God wants Christians “who will rule with the fear of God in them to rule over us.”Their bill “was certainly a model for the [“In God We Trust”] model bill in the [subsequent] Project Blitz legislative playbook,” Clarkson told me. This bill “has been the most popular model bill in the playbook,” and thus “we might think of Apostle Abildness as the grandmother of the whole thing,” Clarkson added. Abildness made multiple appearances with Mastriano in 2020, as we previously reported, including an interview in June 2020. Abildness later supported Mastriano’s failed 2022 gubernatorial campaign. She even spoke during his campaign announcement, declaring that his candidacy would “bring a holy shift to the nation.” Last year, Abildness conducted a “William Penn Proclamation Signing Ceremony,” with help from Mastriano, State Representative David Zimmerman, and State Senator Cris Dush. The ceremony was promoted by Intercessors for America (IFA), which has recruited “prayer warriors” on the NAR-affiliated Elijah List.
Abildness had created and promoted a “Penn Proclamation” document, which approximately 60 lawmakers reportedly signed. Her website includes a PDF of the proclamation, but does not disclose who signed it.
State Representative Stephanie Borowicz participated in the Penn ceremony and has collaborated with Abildness on other occasions, as have Zimmerman and Dush. Dush and his chief of staff, John Foust, another Abildness ally, spoke at a “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 5, 2021, as reported by Sean Kitchen. Abildness seems to have forged an alliance with State Representative Rob Kauffman as well.In April this year, Abildness hosted a prayer call with state lawmakers, as reported by NAR expert Clarkson. During the call, Mastriano and Abildness promoted Penn’s alleged “prophecy.” Borowicz, Zimmerman, and state judge Patricia McCullough participated in the call too. (McCullough lost her bid for the state Supreme Court in May this year.) Abildness’s Pennsylvania Prayer Caucus doesn’t publish its legislative priorities. But they likely overlap with those of the so-called “Concerned Women for America” (CWA) nonprofit, which “promotes Biblical values and Constitutional principles through prayer, education, and advocacy,” per its website. We found this link to CWA’s legislative priorities for Pennsylvania in 2023. It includes a descriptive list of CWA’s favorite bills, including bill sponsors, such as Mastriano, Borowicz, Kauffman, Zimmerman, and Dush.
Abildness met with CWA in October 2020. Abildness engages with her local community through Life Center Ministries International in Harrisburg, where she’s a pastor. Abildness and her husband have been “part of Life Center’s leadership team for many years,” according to Life Center. (FN1) Abildness also is the State Leader of the Pennsylvania Apostolic Prayer Network (PAPN), which states on its website that PAPN seeks to bring forth William Penn’s vision and to “Network positional relationships among seven mountain leaders … and impact the community.”
PAPN’s apparent plan is to create the statewide infrastructure for taking dominion of the Keystone state. Per its website, PAPN “is a statewide network established with leadership teams in the 67 counties of Pennsylvania.”
The website includes a state “spiritual mapper.” According to NAR expert André Gagné, “There are several practices tied to spiritual mapping, one has to do with ‘research.’ Mappers gather detailed information i.e., on the status of … demonic powers that pose spiritual opposition in a given region.” (Here’s a link to additional information on spiritual mapping.)
After spiritual mapping, believers strive to chase the demons away using spiritual warfare, which is what Abildness endeavored to do in Philadelphia after Trump’s 2020 defeat. Abildness’s influence also extends to other states. She’s involved, for example, with the 13 Colony Council (“Council”), which calls itself “a peer group of Kingdom minded Christian leaders … in each of the original 13 Colonies.” Abildness, Mastriano, and Zimmerman participated in a Council event two years ago. Abildness also is “the regional leader over the 5 middle colony states of Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey for the Heartland Apostolic Prayer Network and Generals International,” per Healing Tree’s website.
It can be tempting to dismiss Abildness and her colleagues as religious fanatics. Unfortunately, some of our elected officials (including former President Donald Trump) have embraced religious fanatics in exchange for political support. Below is a photo of NAR Apostle Jim Garlow with Trump at the White House. Fifteen years later (in 2019), Abildness declared in a Facebook video that she and her colleagues seek to “bring transformation — from Pennsylvania to the nations,” adding that, “We are what [NAR Apostles] Chuck Pierce and Dutch Sheets said, ‘we’re the governmental shift state, to bring this change in our nation.’”
She didn’t specify what this “change” might mean for ordinary Americans, but it can’t be good for LGBTQ+ people. When the Supreme Court recognized a constitutional right to same-sex marriage in 2015, Sheets wrote that America had taken “one step closer toward the death of our God-given destiny and greatness,” and that “we are now an apostate nation.” In May 2020, Abildness held an event in Pennsylvania titled “Restoring the Holy Seed of a Nation,” a reference to William Penn’s supposed prophecy. The event featured Abildness, Sheets, and Pierce.Abildness reunited with Sheets and Pierce in April this year when she hosted the final call of their 50-state prayer call series, as reported by Clarkson. During this event, Abildness again characterized Pennsylvania as a “‘governmental shift state,” declaring that “the way that government would be successful is if all the legislators were believers in God.”Abildness had previously collaborated with Sheets in trying to undo Trump’s 2020 defeat with spiritual warfare. In Dec 2020, Abildness conducted a pro-Trump prayer march around Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Sheets, who had conceived of the march in a dream, called it “Operation Valkyrie,” which also was the codename for the plot to assassinate Hitler during World War II. Abildness also hosted a series of Pennsylvania based, pro-Trump “Jericho marches.” (Jericho was an ancient town surrounded by high walls. According to the Bible, the walls collapsed after Israelites marched around Jericho seven times while priests blew on trumpets.)I’ve seen no evidence that Abildness traveled to D.C. for Jan. 6. But a week before Jan. 6, she tweeted: “Senators, Stand Your Ground and object to the fraudulent ‘results’ of the 2020 election.” She also led a group prayer for Vice President Mike Pence to “do the right thing.” Even if Abildness was not in D.C. on the 6th, her NAR colleagues were there, including Jacobs, Ahn, and Wallnau.
Despite failing to overturn Trump’s loss, Abildness and her colleagues remain focused on their dominionist agenda. And their efforts extend beyond the United States.
Abildness and her husband, for example, seek to establish a so-called “Penn United Nations Peace Council,” per Healing Tree’s website. Abildness reportedly met in London with “several European UN diplomats” last year, per Intercessors for America.
Abildness also leads the Global Apostolic Prayer Network, an international dominionist project founded by NAR Apostle John Benefiel. According to Abildness, Benefiel said that he wanted the “DNA of what Pennsylvania carries to go global,” and that’s when she was “named the Global Apostolic Prayer Network [GAPN] leader.” Last year, Abildness and other NAR leaders met with the president of Guatemala. Abildness also is a fan of Israeli President Bibi Netanyahu and former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro.Abildness, however, is well aware of the handful of researchers and journalists who seek to expose the NAR. In April this year, during the Pennsylvania prayer call reported by Clarkson, Abildness acknowledged “those right wing watchers that are being drawn to watch this grassroots movement and try to stop it.” She nonetheless proclaimed that God would “render victory over the enemy’s ineffectual attempts at trying to stop this holy seed.”
-Jennifer Cohn; Bucks County Beacon; Pennsylvania’s Prayer Warrior: Abby Abildness And Her Dominionist Crusade In The Commonwealth 7.11.23
Apostle Abby Abildness is on a quest to claim the Keystone state for God. She’s a Pennsylvania-based leader in a worldwide network of neo-charismatic Christian leaders called the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), which promotes dominionism, the belief that Christians have a mandate from God to control all aspects of government and culture.
NAR leaders advance a supposedly divine strategy for achieving dominion called the “Seven Mountains Mandate,” which divides society into seven categories, or “mountains”, and encourages Christians to pick a mountain and then head into their community to conquer it for God. Abildness is focused on the government mountain. In a 2012 newsletter, Abildness instructed her network to “pray for and proclaim God’s dominion over your city councils, courts, state legislators, state courts, America’s leaders [and] the United Nations,” as discovered by NAR researcher @KiraResistance (whose research is featured throughout much of this piece.)
One of the organizations led by Abildness, the Pennsylvania Apostolic Prayer Network (PAPN), promotes the Seven Mountains on its website.
Another organization led by Abildness, the Pennsylvania Prayer Caucus, works with state legislators to promote biblically-inspired legislation.
A third organization led by Abildness, the Global Apostolic Prayer Network (GAPN) is in 115 nations. Abildness and her NAR colleagues see Pennsylvania as the cornerstone of their mission to take dominion of the nation, as well as other nations, for Jesus. It is Abildness’s job to make this vision a reality. Abildness’s involvement is evidenced by (among other things) her book bio, which says she’s “the Pennsylvania representative for the Cindy Jacobs’ Reformation Prayer Network and John Benefiel’s [Heartland] Apostolic Prayer Network, and was commissioned as an apostle by John Benefiel in 2011.” (Emphasis added.) As far as I’ve seen, Abildness does not claim to receive prophetic words herself. But she does claim that William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania, received a “prophetic revelation from the Lord” that told him Pennsylvania would serve as a “holy seed” for “godly governance” throughout the nation.
Abildness has even made a video promoting Penn’s alleged prophecy. In the video, throngs of seemingly entranced believers drop to their knees as they face the Pennsylvania state capitol. Abildness calls herself “Dr. Abby Abildness,” rather than “Apostle Abby Abildness” on her website at Healing Tree International, an organization that she founded with her husband to “restore the God-ordained destiny of people and nations in collaboration with affiliate networks.”
The website doesn’t disclose where Abildness earned her doctorate or medical degree, if any, but describes Abildness as a “former Behavioral Science Professor at Hershey Medical Center/Penn State University and Pastoral Care and Counseling Professor at Myerstown Theological Seminary.”
Through Healing Tree and a book released in 2010, Abildness has encouraged “healing prayer” as an adjunct to medical care. She claims to have personally received miraculous healing from endometrial cancer.
This may sound benign in the abstract. But Abildness is closely affiliated with NAR Apostle Ché Ahn (founder of Harvest International Ministries) who claims to have cured a girl’s blindness by licking his thumb and putting it in her eye. Abildness also is the State Director of the Pennsylvania Prayer Caucus, a subsidiary of the Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation (CPCF). In this role, Abildness meets with state lawmakers once a week.
Her caucus has collaborated with the state level Pennsylvania Freedom Caucus and with Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA), who currently chairs the federal House Freedom Caucus in D.C. Abildness even attended the recent launch of the state level freedom caucus in Harrisburg, which Perry emceed, as the Beacon reported in April. (You may recall that Trump’s former Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows, burned documents after meeting with Perry in the runup to Jan 6, 2021, per the testimony of former White House staffer Cassidy Hutchinson.) Abildness’s Pennsylvania Prayer Caucus also promotes state legislation using model bills from CPCF. Many of these bills attack LGBTQ+ rights. In 2013, when Project Blitz was still years away, Abildness championed a bill to require that Pennsylvania public schools post “In God We Trust” inside classrooms. Abildness promoted the bill with former State Representative Rick Saccone who once said that he was running for office because God wants Christians “who will rule with the fear of God in them to rule over us.”Their bill “was certainly a model for the [“In God We Trust”] model bill in the [subsequent] Project Blitz legislative playbook,” Clarkson told me. This bill “has been the most popular model bill in the playbook,” and thus “we might think of Apostle Abildness as the grandmother of the whole thing,” Clarkson added. Abildness made multiple appearances with Mastriano in 2020, as we previously reported, including an interview in June 2020. Abildness later supported Mastriano’s failed 2022 gubernatorial campaign. She even spoke during his campaign announcement, declaring that his candidacy would “bring a holy shift to the nation.” Last year, Abildness conducted a “William Penn Proclamation Signing Ceremony,” with help from Mastriano, State Representative David Zimmerman, and State Senator Cris Dush. The ceremony was promoted by Intercessors for America (IFA), which has recruited “prayer warriors” on the NAR-affiliated Elijah List.
Abildness had created and promoted a “Penn Proclamation” document, which approximately 60 lawmakers reportedly signed. Her website includes a PDF of the proclamation, but does not disclose who signed it.
State Representative Stephanie Borowicz participated in the Penn ceremony and has collaborated with Abildness on other occasions, as have Zimmerman and Dush. Dush and his chief of staff, John Foust, another Abildness ally, spoke at a “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 5, 2021, as reported by Sean Kitchen. Abildness seems to have forged an alliance with State Representative Rob Kauffman as well.In April this year, Abildness hosted a prayer call with state lawmakers, as reported by NAR expert Clarkson. During the call, Mastriano and Abildness promoted Penn’s alleged “prophecy.” Borowicz, Zimmerman, and state judge Patricia McCullough participated in the call too. (McCullough lost her bid for the state Supreme Court in May this year.) Abildness’s Pennsylvania Prayer Caucus doesn’t publish its legislative priorities. But they likely overlap with those of the so-called “Concerned Women for America” (CWA) nonprofit, which “promotes Biblical values and Constitutional principles through prayer, education, and advocacy,” per its website. We found this link to CWA’s legislative priorities for Pennsylvania in 2023. It includes a descriptive list of CWA’s favorite bills, including bill sponsors, such as Mastriano, Borowicz, Kauffman, Zimmerman, and Dush.
Abildness met with CWA in October 2020. Abildness engages with her local community through Life Center Ministries International in Harrisburg, where she’s a pastor. Abildness and her husband have been “part of Life Center’s leadership team for many years,” according to Life Center. (FN1) Abildness also is the State Leader of the Pennsylvania Apostolic Prayer Network (PAPN), which states on its website that PAPN seeks to bring forth William Penn’s vision and to “Network positional relationships among seven mountain leaders … and impact the community.”
PAPN’s apparent plan is to create the statewide infrastructure for taking dominion of the Keystone state. Per its website, PAPN “is a statewide network established with leadership teams in the 67 counties of Pennsylvania.”
The website includes a state “spiritual mapper.” According to NAR expert André Gagné, “There are several practices tied to spiritual mapping, one has to do with ‘research.’ Mappers gather detailed information i.e., on the status of … demonic powers that pose spiritual opposition in a given region.” (Here’s a link to additional information on spiritual mapping.)
After spiritual mapping, believers strive to chase the demons away using spiritual warfare, which is what Abildness endeavored to do in Philadelphia after Trump’s 2020 defeat. Abildness’s influence also extends to other states. She’s involved, for example, with the 13 Colony Council (“Council”), which calls itself “a peer group of Kingdom minded Christian leaders … in each of the original 13 Colonies.” Abildness, Mastriano, and Zimmerman participated in a Council event two years ago. Abildness also is “the regional leader over the 5 middle colony states of Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey for the Heartland Apostolic Prayer Network and Generals International,” per Healing Tree’s website.
It can be tempting to dismiss Abildness and her colleagues as religious fanatics. Unfortunately, some of our elected officials (including former President Donald Trump) have embraced religious fanatics in exchange for political support. Below is a photo of NAR Apostle Jim Garlow with Trump at the White House. Fifteen years later (in 2019), Abildness declared in a Facebook video that she and her colleagues seek to “bring transformation — from Pennsylvania to the nations,” adding that, “We are what [NAR Apostles] Chuck Pierce and Dutch Sheets said, ‘we’re the governmental shift state, to bring this change in our nation.’”
She didn’t specify what this “change” might mean for ordinary Americans, but it can’t be good for LGBTQ+ people. When the Supreme Court recognized a constitutional right to same-sex marriage in 2015, Sheets wrote that America had taken “one step closer toward the death of our God-given destiny and greatness,” and that “we are now an apostate nation.” In May 2020, Abildness held an event in Pennsylvania titled “Restoring the Holy Seed of a Nation,” a reference to William Penn’s supposed prophecy. The event featured Abildness, Sheets, and Pierce.Abildness reunited with Sheets and Pierce in April this year when she hosted the final call of their 50-state prayer call series, as reported by Clarkson. During this event, Abildness again characterized Pennsylvania as a “‘governmental shift state,” declaring that “the way that government would be successful is if all the legislators were believers in God.”Abildness had previously collaborated with Sheets in trying to undo Trump’s 2020 defeat with spiritual warfare. In Dec 2020, Abildness conducted a pro-Trump prayer march around Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Sheets, who had conceived of the march in a dream, called it “Operation Valkyrie,” which also was the codename for the plot to assassinate Hitler during World War II. Abildness also hosted a series of Pennsylvania based, pro-Trump “Jericho marches.” (Jericho was an ancient town surrounded by high walls. According to the Bible, the walls collapsed after Israelites marched around Jericho seven times while priests blew on trumpets.)I’ve seen no evidence that Abildness traveled to D.C. for Jan. 6. But a week before Jan. 6, she tweeted: “Senators, Stand Your Ground and object to the fraudulent ‘results’ of the 2020 election.” She also led a group prayer for Vice President Mike Pence to “do the right thing.” Even if Abildness was not in D.C. on the 6th, her NAR colleagues were there, including Jacobs, Ahn, and Wallnau.
Despite failing to overturn Trump’s loss, Abildness and her colleagues remain focused on their dominionist agenda. And their efforts extend beyond the United States.
Abildness and her husband, for example, seek to establish a so-called “Penn United Nations Peace Council,” per Healing Tree’s website. Abildness reportedly met in London with “several European UN diplomats” last year, per Intercessors for America.
Abildness also leads the Global Apostolic Prayer Network, an international dominionist project founded by NAR Apostle John Benefiel. According to Abildness, Benefiel said that he wanted the “DNA of what Pennsylvania carries to go global,” and that’s when she was “named the Global Apostolic Prayer Network [GAPN] leader.” Last year, Abildness and other NAR leaders met with the president of Guatemala. Abildness also is a fan of Israeli President Bibi Netanyahu and former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro.Abildness, however, is well aware of the handful of researchers and journalists who seek to expose the NAR. In April this year, during the Pennsylvania prayer call reported by Clarkson, Abildness acknowledged “those right wing watchers that are being drawn to watch this grassroots movement and try to stop it.” She nonetheless proclaimed that God would “render victory over the enemy’s ineffectual attempts at trying to stop this holy seed.”
-Jennifer Cohn; Bucks County Beacon; Pennsylvania’s Prayer Warrior: Abby Abildness And Her Dominionist Crusade In The Commonwealth 7.11.23
jay adams
Jay Adams
Here, we see a man who cared. The people who had returned to Jerusalem remained a pitiful lot. They were poor, lived among the ruins of a formerly great city, were outcasts among those who lived in the land; their situation was miserable. Nehemiah recognized the fact and cared. Already burdened beyond belief, to take upon themselves a new responsibility, now that the new governor had arrived, would have been almost beyond their ability. Or, so Nehemiah saw it.
So, on his own, he determined not to place an additional burden upon their shoulders. He was entitled to his share of the food allotment that was to be given to him and his officials. But he chose not to enjoy that entitlement. He understood the needs of others and, in effect, determined to identify with them. Here was no pompous person, gobbling up all he can get from others; rather, here was a servant of the Lord who saw his responsibility in that service to stand with—not above—those he served.
What a difference there would be in government today were our officials to adopt a similar attitude. Of course, it would not take the same form that it did with Nehemiah. But to adopt Nehemiah’s attitude would have significant impact. Of interest, in this regard, can you think of five ways in which our officials could refuse to take advantage of those perks that are rightfully theirs for the taking? It might be a challenge to you as well if you should do so. --Jay Adams; Institute for Nouithetic Studies; Nehemiah; 3.20.12
So, on his own, he determined not to place an additional burden upon their shoulders. He was entitled to his share of the food allotment that was to be given to him and his officials. But he chose not to enjoy that entitlement. He understood the needs of others and, in effect, determined to identify with them. Here was no pompous person, gobbling up all he can get from others; rather, here was a servant of the Lord who saw his responsibility in that service to stand with—not above—those he served.
What a difference there would be in government today were our officials to adopt a similar attitude. Of course, it would not take the same form that it did with Nehemiah. But to adopt Nehemiah’s attitude would have significant impact. Of interest, in this regard, can you think of five ways in which our officials could refuse to take advantage of those perks that are rightfully theirs for the taking? It might be a challenge to you as well if you should do so. --Jay Adams; Institute for Nouithetic Studies; Nehemiah; 3.20.12
Jay Adams
If Christian magazines didn’t have a lot to write about politics in relationship to the church, they’d probably fold for lack of material. After all, is the emphasis of the church today on the right thing? Is the passage (or failure) of a bill in the congress as important as the beginning of a new congregation in Chinatown? As the salvation of a child in Sunday School, in God’s sight? In yours?
Perhaps we need to examine our priorities when it comes to prayer, to the giving of time and money and those long, heated political discussions with others. Where do we put the focus? Where does our money go? With what matters are we concerned to speak over and over again with other people? In other words—what are our priorities? Perhaps our concerns are wrongly placed. Perhaps we should get back to more Bible study, more fellowship around the Word—discussing passages of the Bible with other Christians, and spending more time witnessing to the lost!
Politics is an interesting area (as Citizens we can’t avoid it altogether)—but it can soon overcome us in ways that tend to make us forget who is really in charge of what will happen on earth tomorrow, and in days ahead to our children. Perhaps we should re-focus—making sure that in the lens we see what the Scriptures place up front and center rather than focusing on some other interesting, even vital, topic off to the side. What do you think?
--Jay Adams; Institute for Nouithetic Studies; Rights and Right Focus; 5.2.11
Perhaps we need to examine our priorities when it comes to prayer, to the giving of time and money and those long, heated political discussions with others. Where do we put the focus? Where does our money go? With what matters are we concerned to speak over and over again with other people? In other words—what are our priorities? Perhaps our concerns are wrongly placed. Perhaps we should get back to more Bible study, more fellowship around the Word—discussing passages of the Bible with other Christians, and spending more time witnessing to the lost!
Politics is an interesting area (as Citizens we can’t avoid it altogether)—but it can soon overcome us in ways that tend to make us forget who is really in charge of what will happen on earth tomorrow, and in days ahead to our children. Perhaps we should re-focus—making sure that in the lens we see what the Scriptures place up front and center rather than focusing on some other interesting, even vital, topic off to the side. What do you think?
--Jay Adams; Institute for Nouithetic Studies; Rights and Right Focus; 5.2.11
MEEKE ADDISON |
Meeke Addison is assistant director of special initiatives and co-host of "Airing the Addisons" on AFR. She began working for AFA in 2007 while she was a stay-at-home mom in Louisiana. Since then, she has primarily worked on-air as a radio personality. Meeke is a conference speaker, women’s teacher, author, and pro-family activist who keeps a close eye on politics, pop culture, and the church. Her focus is on equipping everyday Christians to effectively engage and transform culture. Before coming to AFA, Meeke served as a nationally appointed missionary to America’s colleges and universities. Meeke is married to Wil Addison, director of special initiatives for AFA. Together they co-host the radio show "Airing the Addisons." Both New Orleans natives, Wil and Meeke now live in Mississippi.
Feb 1, 2023: Madison County Journal: Rep. Ford co-sponsors transgender legislation
Speakers included Dr. Ligon Duncan, CEO of Reformed Theological Seminary, House Speaker Philip Gunn, Meeke Addison of American Family Radio, Matt Sharp of Alliance Defending Freedom, Dr. Mike Artigues, President-Elect of the American College of Pediatricians, Xandra, a de-transitioner, Ford, and Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gibson.
Speakers included Dr. Ligon Duncan, CEO of Reformed Theological Seminary, House Speaker Philip Gunn, Meeke Addison of American Family Radio, Matt Sharp of Alliance Defending Freedom, Dr. Mike Artigues, President-Elect of the American College of Pediatricians, Xandra, a de-transitioner, Ford, and Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gibson.
Meeke Addison Files
“I'm a black woman, so when I think of a civil right and the fight for freedom, it kind of strikes a chord for me that your sexual preference is not equal to the colour of my skin, an immutable characteristic," Addison said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. "It's offensive, just that what you want to do in your bedroom is the same thing as the colour of my skin and who I am............ When you come across passages that condemn homosexuality, you don’t dispute that. It is never supported biblically, so for a Christian to say they are a Christian and they are also homosexual … if you go according to Scriptures, they’re mutually exclusive.......We could be entering a time where the fire could be turned up under the feet of Christians, and I don't mean that in a good way"
--Meeke Addison at a "Do Not Harm; rally in Jackson, Mississippi; 1.25.23
--Meeke Addison at a "Do Not Harm; rally in Jackson, Mississippi; 1.25.23
Meeke Addison Files
“Excuse me for what I am about to say. We are talking about a man who engages in violent sexual acts with a person he claims to love. Now that’s ugly.”
“Let’s just stop for a second here and let’s realize that our defenses have been eroded,” she added. “We have been fed a narrative for so long that now we have unrighteousness that we accept … A man who marries a man and says that this could potentially be the First Gentlemen of the United States and we’re supposed to talk about his policies? I don’t think so. I don’t think so. Do you understand the type of judgment that will be brought upon our country?...When we no longer fear God,” Addison said, “this is what we get.” ---Meeke Addison appeared on the “Focus Today” on gay Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg 5.20.19
“Let’s just stop for a second here and let’s realize that our defenses have been eroded,” she added. “We have been fed a narrative for so long that now we have unrighteousness that we accept … A man who marries a man and says that this could potentially be the First Gentlemen of the United States and we’re supposed to talk about his policies? I don’t think so. I don’t think so. Do you understand the type of judgment that will be brought upon our country?...When we no longer fear God,” Addison said, “this is what we get.” ---Meeke Addison appeared on the “Focus Today” on gay Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg 5.20.19
Meeke Addison Files
“If we do not stand between our kids and a radical transgender ideology that has now found a partnership with money and increased revenue, then they (kids) will be destroyed...There is no other explanation that since 2007, when we had one gender transitioning clinic in this country, to now in 2023 we’ve got 300. Why? Because they’re lucrative.”
--Meeke Addison as reported in LA Times 6.30.15
“If we do not stand between our kids and a radical transgender ideology that has now found a partnership with money and increased revenue, then they (kids) will be destroyed...There is no other explanation that since 2007, when we had one gender transitioning clinic in this country, to now in 2023 we’ve got 300. Why? Because they’re lucrative.”
--Meeke Addison as reported in LA Times 6.30.15
timothy agee |
Pastor Timothy was born and raised in Suwanee, Georgia, and surrendered his life to Jesus while attending Camp Kaleo in the summer of 2003. He and his wife Rachel spent nearly two years in Texas while in seminary but moved back to Georgia in 2019. After volunteering with our college and young adult ministry for a little over two years, Timothy surrendered to the call of full-time ministry and joined the Hopewell staff in the Fall of 2022. They currently live in Talmo, Georgia, and are excited to welcome their newborn child in the Fall of 2023.
Feb 24, 2023: The Christian Index: Hundreds pray for revival across Georgia campuses on Collegiate Day of Prayer
Pastor Matthew Vandegriff of Poplar Springs Baptist Church and Timothy Agee, Pastor of Young Adults at Hopewell Baptist, joined Georgia Baptist Campus Minister Keith Wade and students on a prayer walk on the Gainesville campus of the University of North Georgia. Wade said, “May we continue to see the Lord move among this campus and students be bold to share Jesus.”
Pastor Matthew Vandegriff of Poplar Springs Baptist Church and Timothy Agee, Pastor of Young Adults at Hopewell Baptist, joined Georgia Baptist Campus Minister Keith Wade and students on a prayer walk on the Gainesville campus of the University of North Georgia. Wade said, “May we continue to see the Lord move among this campus and students be bold to share Jesus.”
che ahn
July 11, 2023: Bucks County Beacon: Pennsylvania’s Prayer Warrior: Abby Abildness And Her Dominionist Crusade In The Commonwealth
We initially reported on the NAR in August last year. As stated in that report, some of the NAR’s most prominent leaders include:
We initially reported on the NAR in August last year. As stated in that report, some of the NAR’s most prominent leaders include:
- Cindy Jacobs
- John Benefiel
- Lance Wallnau
- Abby Abildness
- Dutch Sheets
- Chuck Pierce
- Ché Ahn
- Lou Engle
- Jim Garlow
- Steve Strang (Charisma News)
- Steve Shultz (Elijah List).
Jan 10, 2023: Baptist News Global: The New Apostolic Reformation drove the January 6 riots, so why was it overlooked by the House Select Committee?
Other self-proclaimed modern-day apostles include Bill Johnson of Bethel Church, Mike Bickle of the International House of Prayer, Dutch Sheets, Cindy Jacobs, Che Ahn and Don Finto.
Other self-proclaimed modern-day apostles include Bill Johnson of Bethel Church, Mike Bickle of the International House of Prayer, Dutch Sheets, Cindy Jacobs, Che Ahn and Don Finto.
Nov 30, 2022; Religion Dispatches: Apostle Ché Ahn’s California-based Harvest International Ministry (HIM) claims “more than 25,000 affiliated ministries and organizations in 65 nations,” and seeks to advance the Kingdom “by equipping leaders, multiplying churches, evangelizing, and bringing revival and reformation to the nations.” Unlike more patient revolutionaries, he wants to accelerate the arrival of the Kingdom. In the run-up to the January 6th insurrection, he declared, “I believe that this week we’re going to throw Jezebel out and Jehu’s gonna rise up, and we’re gonna rule and reign through President Trump and under the lordship of Jesus Christ.”
ayo akerele
Ayo Akerele is the senior pastor of Rhema for Living Assembly in Toronto, a fast-growing congregation of firebrand believers. Pastor Ayo hold a doctorate degree in human resource management and has worked extensively in the corporate world in Africa, Europe, and North America before answering the call to ministry. He is a sought-after intercessor, dynamic writer, public speaker, and anointed teacher of the word. His itinerant prayer, teaching, and speaking ministry under different Christian organizations has lasted for many years since he met the Lord in the early 1980s. He is the author of many other titles, including the end-time epic The Days of Noah. Pastor Ayo is married to Omolara and they are blessed with two great sons, Enoch and John.
Ayo Akerele
“Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus; but Paul chose Silas and departed.” (Acts 15: 39-40a).
At the root of the growing spiritual weakness of the younger generation of Christians is the loss of the virtue of patience. They do not want to suffer for anything, yet suffering is a crucial furnace for killing the flesh. Suffering here does not always refer to the lack of food or water or the basic needs of life. It also speaks to the subduing of the desires of the flesh to the power of the Spirit. One of such desires is the quick success syndrome, manifesting in the desire for quick financial success, quick church growth, quick exposure, quick this and quick that. An unprepared generation will never make the most of God’s grace, much less preserve it for the next generation.
--Ayo Akerele; Rising on the platform of faithfulness, July 2023
At the root of the growing spiritual weakness of the younger generation of Christians is the loss of the virtue of patience. They do not want to suffer for anything, yet suffering is a crucial furnace for killing the flesh. Suffering here does not always refer to the lack of food or water or the basic needs of life. It also speaks to the subduing of the desires of the flesh to the power of the Spirit. One of such desires is the quick success syndrome, manifesting in the desire for quick financial success, quick church growth, quick exposure, quick this and quick that. An unprepared generation will never make the most of God’s grace, much less preserve it for the next generation.
--Ayo Akerele; Rising on the platform of faithfulness, July 2023
Ayo Akerele
One of the greatest principles of the scriptures is faithfulness. It is an extremely critical virtue and value of God’s kingdom that tons of Christians really know very little or even nothing about. What does it mean to be faithful? It refers to being truthful, loyal, consistent and honest. Faithfulness is God’s greatest test of the Christian character because it is on that basis we will all be judged after our time here on earth. Faithfulness does not jump on anyone. There is no special anointing from God for some people to be faithful. It is an intentional effort with the help of the Holy Spirit in desiring to do things right at all times and in all cases. This is what God said to the Israelites:
“And may not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that did not set its heart aright, and whose spirit was not faithful to God (Psalms 78-8)
All through the Bible, God never trivialized the subject of faithfulness, either in the Old or New Testament. Every single person that God distinguished and blessed was faithful to God in their live and calling. Let’s see some of these people in the scriptures. -Ayo Akerele; May 2022
“And may not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that did not set its heart aright, and whose spirit was not faithful to God (Psalms 78-8)
All through the Bible, God never trivialized the subject of faithfulness, either in the Old or New Testament. Every single person that God distinguished and blessed was faithful to God in their live and calling. Let’s see some of these people in the scriptures. -Ayo Akerele; May 2022
danny akin
Daniel Lowell "Danny" Akin (born January 2, 1957) is the sixth president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and the College at Southeastern in Wake Forest, North Carolina, United States. A leader in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), he has authored and edited numerous books and journal articles and is best known for his commitment to expository preaching and to the Great Commission.
Danny Akin
“Our faculty constantly bless me and encourage me, and I marvel at the giftedness God has given them. In the midst of all that joy, there is sadness when it comes time in some of their lives for them to retire — not from serving the Lord but from full-time teaching here at Southeastern... They have served not only with distinction but also with a love and a passion for the gospel, the word of God, and these students...Your assignment as you leave this place is to be sure that the gospel gets to the nations in time. The good news for the thief on the cross is good news for all the nations as well. Graduates, never forget that wherever you go, He’s already there. And when you arrive, He’s waiting on you. And wherever He leads you — even if it’s in the valley of the shadow of death — He will be with you every step of the way......The good news of the gospel is that the man on the middle cross says that you can come and that you can come today. All you have to do is ask Him."
--Danny Akin; Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary Graduation ceremony. May 2023
--Danny Akin; Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary Graduation ceremony. May 2023
Danny Akin
“Charles Stanley made an impact on my life from the time I was a child. My mother would watch him every Sunday morning as we got ready for church. Later God raised him up at a critical time in the life of our Convention and the Conservative Resurgence. We are debtors to this servant of Christ.”
--Danny Akin, president, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary 4.18.23
“Charles Stanley made an impact on my life from the time I was a child. My mother would watch him every Sunday morning as we got ready for church. Later God raised him up at a critical time in the life of our Convention and the Conservative Resurgence. We are debtors to this servant of Christ.”
--Danny Akin, president, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary 4.18.23
Feb 9, 2023: Danny Akin: Alabama Baptist: First person: Why the M.Div. program matters for ministry
June 28, 2021: Biblical Recorder: Jordon Willard recommended to serve as 2023 N.C. Pastors’ Conference president
Willard served as director of discipleship at the North Roanoke Baptist Association from 2013-16 and as a member of the church strengthening team at the South Roanoke Baptist Association in 2018. He helped organize church strengthening and revitalization conferences in 2018 and 2019, featuring speakers such as well-known author and speaker Richard Blackaby, seminary president Danny Akin and preaching professor Jim Shaddix.
Willard served as director of discipleship at the North Roanoke Baptist Association from 2013-16 and as a member of the church strengthening team at the South Roanoke Baptist Association in 2018. He helped organize church strengthening and revitalization conferences in 2018 and 2019, featuring speakers such as well-known author and speaker Richard Blackaby, seminary president Danny Akin and preaching professor Jim Shaddix.
Sam Alberry |
- Samalberry.com - Twitter -
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Sam Allberry is a pastor, apologist and speaker. He is the author of a number of books, including Is God Anti-Gay?, Why Bother with Church?, 7 Myths about Singleness, and What God Has To Say About Our Bodies.
Sam Allberry is a pastor, apologist and speaker. He is the author of a number of books, including Is God Anti-Gay?, Why Bother with Church?, 7 Myths about Singleness, and What God Has To Say About Our Bodies.
May 4, 2023: Sam Alberry: Gospel Coalition: Open Your Church Service with a Gospel Welcome
Feb 8, 2023: Christian Post: New Tim Keller Center for Apologetics will equip the Church to reach 'post-Christian' society
Collin Hansen, TGC's vice president for content, serves as executive director of the center. Michael Graham serves as the director. Fellows include Sam Allberry, Josh Butler, Sam Chan and others.
Collin Hansen, TGC's vice president for content, serves as executive director of the center. Michael Graham serves as the director. Fellows include Sam Allberry, Josh Butler, Sam Chan and others.
Jan 28, 2023: Desiring God: Single but Not Lonely
Our faithfulness in singleness is valuable because it honors Christ. As Sam Allberry says, “If marriage shows us the shape of the gospel, singleness shows us its sufficiency” (7 Myths About Singleness, 120).
Our faithfulness in singleness is valuable because it honors Christ. As Sam Allberry says, “If marriage shows us the shape of the gospel, singleness shows us its sufficiency” (7 Myths About Singleness, 120).
Gospel Coalition: God Cares About Your Body
At TGC21, Sam Allberry gives five reasons why our bodies are good and explores how we should treat them as we wait for bodily redemption.11.4.22
At TGC21, Sam Allberry gives five reasons why our bodies are good and explores how we should treat them as we wait for bodily redemption.11.4.22
Christianity Today: Sam Allberry on the Queen’s Death and the Church’s Future
“We’re learning what she meant to us by having to cope with her absence.”
So says Sam Allberry, British author, speaker, pastor, and apologist as he reflects on the death of Queen Elizabeth II during this week’s episode of The Russell Moore Show. Allberry and Moore talk about the role the queen filled in the British and global imaginations, what it means for the Elizabethan age to end, and the type of leadership the queen embodied. 9.21.22
“We’re learning what she meant to us by having to cope with her absence.”
So says Sam Allberry, British author, speaker, pastor, and apologist as he reflects on the death of Queen Elizabeth II during this week’s episode of The Russell Moore Show. Allberry and Moore talk about the role the queen filled in the British and global imaginations, what it means for the Elizabethan age to end, and the type of leadership the queen embodied. 9.21.22
Dec 30, 2021: Evangelical Focus: Top 10: Our best interviews of 2021
- Sam Allberry, a Christian apologist who has much to say about sexuality, identity and the church: “Christians need to keep biblical convictions and still show grace”
- Sam Allberry, a Christian apologist who has much to say about sexuality, identity and the church: “Christians need to keep biblical convictions and still show grace”
Sam Alberry Files
“I can imagine, if you are a 13 or 14-year-old insecure teenager (and we were all insecure at 13 and 14) it is a way of becoming noticed. If you feel like you are being overlooked, you do not see other people interested in you, coming out gives you a way of being seen. I wonder if a part of it is peer pressure as well.
It is a mixture of fashion, pornography and other things I am sure I am not aware of. Our culture is putting sexual fulfillment as being one of the key things that make your life complete, so that there is much more eagerness for sexual exploration and experimentation that it would have been in the past.”
-Sam Alberry - Dec 2021 - Evangelical Focus: Europe
It is a mixture of fashion, pornography and other things I am sure I am not aware of. Our culture is putting sexual fulfillment as being one of the key things that make your life complete, so that there is much more eagerness for sexual exploration and experimentation that it would have been in the past.”
-Sam Alberry - Dec 2021 - Evangelical Focus: Europe
sheila alewine
Sheila Alewine
It sounds offensive to us to think we must hate our own families. Surely this is not what Jesus meant? The word means to detest, but in context, Jesus is telling us that our love for God must be so deep and abiding and surpassing that our affection for our families looks like hate. To hate is to “love less.” Our love for anyone, even our own mother and father, cannot supersede our love for God.
This has practical implications. Jesus is describing the cost of being a true disciple. If we love God most, then we will follow Him in spite of any persuasion or influence that would hinder us. The love for God that Jesus describes causes us to give up anything and everything that deters our passion for Him.
Our love for God must surpass not only our love for other people, but also for the things of this world. John tells us if we love the world, we do not love the Father (1 John 2:15). Demas, one of Paul’s disciples, deserted the ministry to which he was called, because he loved the world more (2 Timothy 4:10). A surpassing love for God can keep us from trading away an eternity with Him for a few short years of pleasure here on earth. --Sheila Alewine
This has practical implications. Jesus is describing the cost of being a true disciple. If we love God most, then we will follow Him in spite of any persuasion or influence that would hinder us. The love for God that Jesus describes causes us to give up anything and everything that deters our passion for Him.
Our love for God must surpass not only our love for other people, but also for the things of this world. John tells us if we love the world, we do not love the Father (1 John 2:15). Demas, one of Paul’s disciples, deserted the ministry to which he was called, because he loved the world more (2 Timothy 4:10). A surpassing love for God can keep us from trading away an eternity with Him for a few short years of pleasure here on earth. --Sheila Alewine
paul alexander
Paul Alexander (MDiv, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is the pastor of Grace Covenant Baptist Church in Elgin, Illinois. He is co-author of The Deliberate Church with Mark Dever. He lives in Elgin with his wife, Laurie, and six children.
ayaan hirsi ali
From Islam to Atheism to Christianity - the unlikely conversion of Ayaan Hirsi Ali
I was reminded of C.S. Lewis’s unconventional and circuitous road to faith when I read with shock the recent announcement that Ayaan Hirsi Ali has become a Christian. Ali is a public intellectual, author and women’s right’s activist, but is also famous as a fiery atheist, former Muslim and later fierce critic of Islam, her criticism driven by the hatred and violence she had seen both in her first-hand experiences as well in as Islam’s core texts, as detailed in her book, Infidel. (Andy Bannister/Premier Christianity 11/17/23)
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I was reminded of C.S. Lewis’s unconventional and circuitous road to faith when I read with shock the recent announcement that Ayaan Hirsi Ali has become a Christian. Ali is a public intellectual, author and women’s right’s activist, but is also famous as a fiery atheist, former Muslim and later fierce critic of Islam, her criticism driven by the hatred and violence she had seen both in her first-hand experiences as well in as Islam’s core texts, as detailed in her book, Infidel. (Andy Bannister/Premier Christianity 11/17/23)
READ MORE>>>>>