The Q & A with Rod Parsley (“He Will Be Silent No More,” by J. Lee Grady, May/June) was eye opening. I’m sure I am not alone as a pastor who’s still trying to figure out what I’m allowed to say in the pulpit, when it comes to political issues.
Dave McNabb
via e-mail

Keep It Practical

I travel a lot and speak to a number of pastors, mostly of churches under 200 members. I hear these guys asking for the resources that help them “do church” better. What they are looking for is the practical stuff; they already have the theoretical in the bag or simply aren’t interested. Your magazine is scratching them where they itch. Please keep up the good work. Leaders are listening.
Michael P. Fletcher,
Senior Pastor Manna Church
Fayetteville, North Carolina

REPLY: Thanks, Michael. We’re just “scratching” the surface—and we’re “itching” to provide our beloved readers with more “expert advice for Spirit-led leaders.” FYI: Readers, don’t miss Michael’s article “To Heaven and Back” on page 54 of this issue.

Pentecostals in Peril?

In reading the article on William J. Seymour by S. David Moore (Pentecostal Pioneers: 100 Years of Azusa, May/June), I painfully reflected on what Pentecostalism has become in 100 years. We Pentecostals have gone from a common people who championed the plight of the downtrodden to a people who love power, wealth and fame. From a people who abhorred violence and preached separation from the world to those who say that to not support war is sin.
Jeff Henningvia e-mail

‘Destiny’ Inconsistency?

I appreciated the article by Larry Keefauver on destiny and favor (“Watch Your Language,” Ministry Matters, March/April). However, the same issue featured a sidebar titled “Eight Habits of a Long-Haul Minister” (Ministry Matters). Item No. 4 encourages “an ever-present sense of a divine call and destiny.” Since Dr. Keefauver shows the secular, unbiblical etymology of “destiny” just two pages later, how do you reconcile the two?
James Wallis Jr. Virginia Beach, Virginia

Confronting Sin

I was appalled to read in your March/April issue a paragraph in R.T. Kendall’s column (“Yesterday’s Leader,” Theology & Preaching) dragging prophetic minister Paul Cain through the mud. The way in which your magazine publicly flogged this great man of the faith is, I believe, inexcusable. I believe that Mike Bickle, Rick Joyner and Jack Deere should repent for their role in uncovering Paul Cain’s “nakedness.” This is a poor example of leaders in a feeding frenzy, felling the long and heavily anointed career of Paul Cain, and Strang Communications should, I believe, be profoundly chagrined and ashamed of themselves.
Kenneth P. Beres,
Senior Pastor Trinitarian Congregational ChurchTroy, New Hampshire

REPLY: If both the apostle Paul (see 1 Cor. 5:1-5; 1 Tim. 5:20) and Jesus (see Matt. 15:15-17) advocated the public confrontation of unrepentant sinners, how much higher should the standards be for a leader entrusted with the care and feeding of the church? The purpose of our coverage was not to punish Cain, but to alert readers of his move toward repentance and restoration—something that occurred only after his sin had been exposed.

Don't Blame the Church

As a Christian woman of many years, I have felt just the opposite of the message conveyed in “Mild at Heart” by David Murrow (May/June). Many women have become unhappy with what they see as the male “stronghold” of the church. As for the suggestion that churchgoing men are effeminate, it is the American culture that has limited men’s forms of relational expression. Put the blame where it lies. God’s church is not gender exclusive on any point.
Cheryl Leigh
Ruskin, Florida

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