Vol. 36, No. 3
March 2014
www.christianexaminer.com
John Piper
Advertising Focus
Called from Islam: Nabeel Qureshi meets Jesus
Death: Shall we weep or rejoice?
Christian Elementary & Secondary Education Guide
page 4
page 5
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John Stonestreet
pages 7-12
The Twin Cities’ Inspirational Lifestyle Magazine
Real life. Real community.
Beginning in April, the Minnesota Christian Examiner newspaper will give way to Refreshed, a full-color, inspirational, lifestyle magazine for the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area.
From the publishers
It’s time for the Christian Examiner to be ‘refreshed’ In 1978 Christian journalism professor Terry White founded the Twin Cities Christian newspaper. In the early ’80s, a talented young editor named Doug Trouten was hired who, over nearly two decades, would lead the Twin Cities Christian — renamed in 1993 as the Minnesota Christian Chronicle — into national prominence as an award-winning community newspaper, with a reputation on par with the best Christian publications anywhere. In 2011 the newspaper revised its name once again to reflect its af-
filiation with the Christian Examiner newspaper chain. Over 36 years the newspaper has had three names, five different owners and about as many editors. 36 years. It’s been a great run for a community newspaper. But the recession that began in late 2007 has taken its toll on the entire newspaper industry, making it difficult for publications like this to remain viable. We determined some time ago that it was necessary for us to See REFRESHED, page 2
Local business files lawsuit over ‘contraceptive mandate’ Owner believes federal law violates his religious beliefs By Scott Noble HASTINGS — The owner of Hastings Automotive, Inc. and Hastings Chrysler Center in Hastings recently filed a federal lawsuit seeking to prevent the government from forcing the business to provide contraceptive coverage to its employees as part of the Affordable INDEX
Editor’s Note ...................... 4 Commentary.................... 4-5 Christian Education Guide ............................ 7-12 Calendar .......................... 15 Professional Service Directory .......................... 16 Classifieds ....................... 16 Community Briefs......... 16-18
Care Act. The suit was filed on behalf of Doug Erickson, who owns both businesses, and was filed by Liberty Institute, a national legal nonprofit organization specializing in religious liberty cases. The federal law requires businesses to provide employees with See LAWSUIT, page 13
Kyle Lance Martin, right, visited the University of Minnesota campus and asked a student from China how he could pray for him. The international student was willing to be prayed for, as well as go through five Bible verses.
Ripe for the gospel Revive Twin Cities aims to recruit 10,000 laborers for summer campaign By Scott Noble MINNEAPOLIS — In January, Kyle Lance Martin and his ministry partners spent seven days in prayer, asking: “Lord, what do you want us to do with this now? What does this look like?” They were praying about Revive Twin Cities, a weeklong evangelism and discipleship effort slated for July 21 to 27. God’s answer, according to Martin, was to ask Him for 10,000 laborers. Martin is part of Time to Revive, a ministry that travels across the country to hold weeklong evangelism events. The ministry spends roughly a year in preparation—working with churches and individuals—before the weeklong
public ministry takes place. In just seven years, Time to Revive has visited Dallas, Santa Fe, Seattle, Asheville, Devil’s Lake, Flint and others cities. The first event in Dallas took place in 2007, when Time to Revive held a 40-day gathering near downtown under a tent. “We had over 200 local churches participating,” Martin said. “We were just crying out to the Lord. I was just being obedient. God just said, ‘Pray for revival.’” Martin had just completed his studies at Dallas Theological Seminary and felt God urging him to pray for revival. “There wasn’t a whole lot of evangelism and discipleship; there was just unity,” Martin said. “The Lord just said, ‘I want you to
pray for revival.’ That’s really what I did.” After Dallas, Martin received a phone call asking him to come to Santa Fe, N.M. He admits the call sort of made him laugh, since Time to Revive was still new and the ministry was developing. Martin asked the caller, “What do you want me to do?” “Just pursue the Lord here for revival,” was the response. So they did … again. That began the seven-year journey of visiting cities and praying for revival. “We really don’t know where we’re going, except wherever the Spirit leads us,” Martin said. See REVIVE, page 14
Chapels provide ministry to people with disabilities By Scott Noble TWIN CITIES — A simple phone call can change the direction of a life and ministry. That’s what happened to the Rev. Larry and Carolyn Campbell in the early 1970s. As child evangelists, the couple traveled the Midwest and held kids’ crusades, introducing children to Christ. One day, the couple received a phone call informing them that Larry’s sister had multiple sclerosis (MS). Despite aggressive treatment with medical technology available at the time, the disease quickly progressed and within a year left her nearly paralyzed. Carolyn became her first caregiver. A decade later, in 1982, a camp was started in Wisconsin for people with disabilities, and the Campbells
Volunteers assist those with disabilities in dramatizing a Bible lesson.
were invited to visit the camp and conduct ministry. Organizers told the couple,
“You’re used to ministering to children; you’ll fit right in.” Larry said the organizers “didn’t
know any different, and neither did we.” Ministry to people with disabilities was still in its infancy, and resources were scarce. “We went that first year and spoke for that week and realized we went right over their heads,” Larry said. “We were talking fast … singing kid’s songs.” Yet they were committed to learning more and finding the best ways to minister to them. “For the next year then until we got ready for camp the next summer, we prayed, ‘Lord, we don’t know what to do. How do we minister?’” Larry said. The couple prayed the same thing year after year, asking God to give them some insight or direction in order to make their ministry more effective. See DISABILITIES, page 18