Los Angeles County Edition Vol. 22, No. 10
October 2011
www.christianexaminer.com
Archeology
Community
Branding faith: Sharing your story in a media-driven culture
230 tons of dirt, debris removed from ancient Canaanite water system
Christian radio icon Rich Buhler retires from hosting radio show
page 4
page 11
page 14
FREE
Phil Cooke
Cell’n out for God Inmate turns life around, heads up Protestant ministry in San Quentin By Lori Arnold
TREVER HOEHNE/HARVEST MINISTRIES
Mobile phones are illuminated for the 9/11 Memorial at the 2011 Los Angeles Harvest, held Sept. 10 in Dodger Stadium.
L.A. Harvest Crusade uses virtual ‘candlelight’ prayer vigil to mark 9/11 Outreach draws record single-night attendance, 5,934 decisions reported By Dan Wooding Assist News Service LOS ANGELES — For more than two decades, Harvest Crusades have led people to the light of Christ. On Sept. 10, organizers of the record-breaking gathering at Dodger Stadium urged the 50,000 people gathered for the stadium rally to participate in a cell-phone “candlelight” vigil to commemorate the 10th anniversary of 9/11. To create the virtual vigil, the crowd was asked to download a smart-phone app that replicated a burning candle and, as the stadium
darkened, they were asked to hold up their cell phones as The Katinas led the audience in a song of remembrance. Chuck Smith, pastor of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, said a prayer for the survivors of the 9/11 attacks. The stadium was filled with reverence and awe after hearing evangelist and Harvest founder Greg Laurie share about the promise that the Savior brings. “Hope has a name, and it is Jesus Christ,” he said. The one-night evangelistic out-
SAN QUENTIN — Robert Lott makes no excuses for his austere surroundings. It’s the price to be paid for a life derailed by bad choices and drug addiction. Even his Christian upbringing failed to reign in his rebellion. “He’d be good for three or four months then he’d get back on the drugs,” said his father Andy Lott, a retired firefighter. After each cycle of incarceration— sometimes jail, sometimes prison— the younger Lott, a graduate of a Southern California Christian high school, would seek out a construction job, work diligently at sobriety, become depressed, relapse and then often steal to finance the next buzz, his father said. “He’d tell his mom, ‘Do not pray for me’ because she would pray that he would get caught and he always did,” his dad said. “That was a blessing because he didn’t fry any brain cells.” Years later, the father still hears his son’s mantra ricocheting around in his head. “Dad, you don’t know how good the high feels,” Robert would tell his disappointed father. “I’m thinking, ‘I’m high on life. I don’t need anything else in my life. I love the Lord,’” the elder Lott said. The Lord, however, was the farthest thing from Robert Lott’s mind when he broke into a resi-
A team of spiritual leaders pray over Robert Lott at a ceremony marking his ordination at San Quentin.
Three strikes: Critics of California sentencing law say it’s time for reform ..........3 dential garage looking for loot to finance his habit. He got caught, and with two priors he qualified for California’s three strikes law. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison and shipped off to Centinela State Prison in El Centro. Once inside those walls, Lott said he could no longer escape a most certain reality: “Sometimes God is trying to get a hold of you. How far are you willing to go for God to get your attention?” His father quickly recognized the change of heart.
See HARVEST, page 8
“God was talking to him,” Andy Lott said. “God put a burden on his heart. Twenty years will get your attention.” With the state now in control of his physical life, Lott finally surrendered his spiritual life. “Before long, my cell was full of guys wanting to hear what I had to say about the Bible,” Lott said. “I told Him, ‘If you are really calling me, I will do what I can to prepare myself for ministry.’” Following through on a promise In the El Centro prison, Robert Lott was asked to serve on the ChapSee INMATE, page 2
Jesus Movement reunion keeps the music playing By Patti Townley-Covert IRVINE — When rock icon Barry McGuire finished his gig at the Whiskey A Go Go, he walked outside and noticed a man chained to a cross. Though it was 40 years ago, McGuire hasn’t forgotten the moment that dramatically impacted his life. “I looked him in the eyes and said, ‘Hey, what’s happening?’ His eyes poured love into me. His eyes said, ‘Are you OK?’ I saw concern, compassion for my well-being. I saw no judgment, no condemnation, no self-righteousness in this man. He was just a guy sitting there. His lips spoke one name, ‘Jesus.’” That incident melted McGuire’s “armor plating.” “I ran around the corner, but He (Jesus) got me,” he said, In 1971, McGuire asked Christ to
PHOTO BY BRAD HODGE
From left, Chuck Girard, Tom Stipes, Barry McGuire, Karen Lafferty and Mike MacIntosh share stories backstage.
be his Savior. Ron Strand, founder of the Upper Room ministries, which organized a recent Jesus Movement reunion at Concordia University, said McGuire was one of the “first musi-
cal legends who came to Christ during the Jesus Movement.” Because McGuire was a “noted icon in the folk rock community, for him to become a Christian was a big deal.” Soon after McGuire’s protest
song “Eve of Destruction” became a hit, the Jesus Movement began to spread from the West Coast across the United States and beyond. Mike MacIntosh, senior pastor of Horizon Christian Fellowship in San Diego, described the ’60s culture that led to revival among the hippies: “We had a national crisis,” the pastor said. “Universities were on fire. There was a lot of bad coming down. ... God sovereignly answered the prayers of our parents and grandparents. ... Music was the bridge.” For McGuire becoming a Christian meant leaving Hollywood for good. “I didn’t know what I was supposed to do,” he said. “I just knew what I’d been doing wasn’t it. We were looking for freedom, so we threw all the rules away.”
Consequences brought pain That same lifestyle McGuire chose to leave led to the death of 16 of his friends through drug overdose, suicide and sexually transmitted diseases. Those tragic events deepened his quest for truth. “Freedom is good, but freedom without rules will kill you,” McGuire said, comparing life to the vehicle code. “If you throw the rules away, you’re going to kill yourself and somebody else. There’s a road code for life, and it’s basically the 10 commandments. The two greatest commands, to love God and others, sum up all the rest.” This understanding gave McGuire the answer to the “Eve of Destruction,” and he began singing about new life. Among his most memorable songs is “Bullfrogs and See REUNION, page 6
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