Showing posts with label Myles Munroe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Myles Munroe. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Pause to Say Goodbye: Christians Who Died in 2014 - J. Lee Grady

obit collage
Some well-known Christians died this year—along with many nameless believers who were martyred. (J. Lee Grady)

Fire in My Bones, by J. Lee Grady
At the close of every year I always look back to see which members of our Christian family passed away. I don't have room to include everyone, but here are some believers who left behind a special legacy.
1. Louis Zamperini. I'll start my list with this army hero, since his amazing story of courage was immortalized this year in the movie Unbroken. During World War II the Olympic runner-turned-soldier survived 47 days on a raft in the Pacific, then endured two horrific years in a Japanese prison camp. Unfortunately he died (at age 97) five months before the movie hit theaters. An Italian immigrant, he came home after the war and embraced faith in Jesus at a Billy Graham crusade in 1949—and this led him to seek out his Japanese captors so he could forgive them. (A documentary about Zamperini's faith, Louis Zamperini: Captured by Grace, will air Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 on Fox.)
2. S. Truett Cathy. He was not your typical billionaire. The Southern Baptist entrepreneur, who grew up poor, began his Chick-fil-A restaurant chain with one odd-shaped diner in Atlanta called the Dwarf House. Today the company's tasty boneless chicken sandwiches are sold in 1,800 locations—with $5 billion in annual sales. Cathy's Christian faith not only shaped his store policies (always closed on Sundays) but also his giving: He donated millions to build foster homes for kids and launched a scholarship program to provide career opportunities to underprivileged youth. Cathy was 93.
3. Ann Kiemel Anderson. With her hippie hairdo, maxi dresses and chirpy, high-pitched voice, Ann Kiemel was an unlikely evangelist in the 1970s. But she personified the simplicity of the Jesus Movement when she took to stages all over the United States and challenged young people to serve Jesus. "I am just one young woman ... but one plus a giant of a God can do anything," she said. Her 18 books, including I'm Out to Change My World, sold 28 million copies. Later in life she developed a drug dependency because of medical problems, but she talked openly about her weakness and always pointed people to Christ. She died of cancer at 69. (You can see her speaking at a youth rally here.)
4. Steve Hill. Pentecostals knew him as the voice of the Pensacola Revival, a marathon series of meetings hosted by the Brownsville Assembly of God from 1995 to 2000. A former drug addict who was discipled through the Teen Challenge rehab ministry, Brown brought a folksy Alabama drawl to his famous pulpit in Florida. But he aimed for the jugular vein when he gave altar calls. Never afraid to confront sin, he spoke several times a week in Pensacola and saw hundreds of thousands of decisions for Christ in meetings that attracted more than 4 million people over the course of five years. He and his wife, Jeri, later moved to Dallas to plant Heartland World Ministries Church. He battled cancer for years and died in March at age 60. The Dallas ministry is now raising funds to create a digital library of Hill's sermons.
5. Myles Munroe. The world-famous Caribbean faith preacher died with his wife, Ruth, and seven other members of their church when their ministry plane crashed in severe weather in November. Munroe became a hero to many Christians in the developing world because he rose from poverty in his native Bahamas to attend Oral Roberts University. He later planted a thriving church, Bahamas Faith Ministries, in Nassau and began authoring motivational books such as Releasing Your Potential. The prime minister of the Bahamas, Perry G. Christie, told reporters that Munroe "was indisputably one of the most globally recognizable religious figures our nation has ever produced." Munroe was only 60. Dave Burrows, a Bahamian who also graduated from ORU, will reportedly replace Munroe as pastor.
6. Stanley M. Horton. Some people make a big splash in life. Others spread their impact more quietly over decades. That was true of Horton, a Harvard graduate who became the most respected Pentecostal theologian of our lifetime. Author of What the Bible Says About the Holy Spirit and many other books, he served as professor of Bible at Assemblies of God Theological Seminary in Springfield, Missouri, from 1978-1991. He then continued to travel and speak until he was 92. An expert in Greek, he most recently worked on the Modern English Version of the Bible, which was released this year by Charisma House. He died at age 98.
7. Ann B. Davis. The world knew this ditzy actress as the housekeeper Alice Nelson on ABC's 1970s sitcom The Brady Bunch. Few knew that she was also a charismatic Episcopalian who shared her testimony wherever she went. When she retired from show business she fully dedicated her life to ministry at a time when many Episcopalians were being baptized in the Holy Spirit. She told People magazine: "I'm convinced we all have a God-shaped space in us, and until we fill that space with God, we'll never know what it is to be whole." In her later years she led a Bible study at her home church in Texas. Unlike the maid she played on TV, she did not enjoy childcare or cooking. She died after a fall at age 88.
8. Richard Dobbins. He was both a Pentecostal and a psychologist—terms that do not often go together. But Dobbins, an Assemblies of God pastor and prolific author, believed that Pentecostals should do a better job addressing mental health challenges. He started a nonprofit Christian counseling ministry, Emerge, in 1973 after he realized there were few counselors who integrated faith and psychology. Also a local church pastor in Akron, Ohio, he broke new ground by offering counseling resources to ministers—who are often expected to have no emotional problems of their own. Dobbins was 86.
9. Maria Von Trapp. The last survivor of the seven Von Trapp children portrayed in The Sound of Music, Maria was called Louisa in the film to avoid confusion with her famous stepmother. When she contracted scarlet fever as a child, her father, Georg, decided to employ a governess, Maria, who was played by Julie Andrews in the film. The musical family fled the Nazis in Austria and came to the United States in 1938, where they purchased a lodge in Vermont and made it their base. Like her famous stepmother, Maria was influenced by the Catholic charismatic renewal movement of the 1970s and spent 30 years as a missionary in Papua New Guinea. She was 99.
10. The martyrs of 2014. Perhaps the most "famous" people on this list are the ones we forget. In November, Sajjad and Saima Massih, a Christian couple in Pakistan, were beaten and then thrown alive into a brick kiln near the city of Lahore. They were falsely accused of blaspheming Islam—and incinerated. Hundreds of thousands of people like the Massihs were killed for their Christian faith in 2014 in places such as Nigeria, Syria and Iraq—where 40,000 have reportedly died at the hands of ISIS terrorists. Mark Arabo, a spokesman for Iraqi Christians, told CNN in August that Islamic militants were beheading children of Christian parents. "The world hasn't seen an evil like this for a generation. There's actually a park in Mosul that they've actually beheaded children and put their heads on a stick," Arabo said.
All of these people made a mark on the world because of their faith. I pray you will do the same in 2015. Happy New Year.
J. Lee Grady is the former editor of Charisma. You can follow him on Twitter atleegrady. His newest book is The Truth Sets Women Free (Charisma House). You can learn more about his ministry, The Mordecai Project, at themordecaiproject.org

Monday, November 17, 2014

Must Listen! Myles Munroe's Prophetic Warning Before Dying

Must Listen! Myles Munroe's Prophetic Warning Before Dying



The Christian community around the world is still reeling from the loss of well-known pastor and teacher Dr. Myles Munroe.
Munroe, his wife-and co-pastor Ruth Munroe, and seven others were killed when the private plane they were traveling in crashed near Grand Bahama International Airport, Nov.9.
Munroe founded and led the Bahamas Faith Ministries International Fellowship.
In July 2014, just four months before his death, the prominent evangelical leader delivered a prophecy about people dying within the year and a shift in Christian leadership in the Bahamas.
Meanwhile, celebration services for Dr. Munroe and his wife will be held on Dec. 3. The official funeral service for the Munroes will be held on Dec. 4 at Bahamas Faith Ministries International Diplomat Center.

Watch here: Myles Munroe

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Myles Munroe in one of his last media interviews said…

Myles Munroe in one of his last media interviews said…

10538458_10152853086054936_6964473261815948353_nMyles Munroe in one of his last media interviews said…
“I want to challenge every Kenyan to go to the cemetery and disappoint the graveyard. Die like the Apostle Paul who said I have finished my course, I have kept the faith and I have been poured out like a drink offering. There is nothing left. I am ready to die. That’s how I wanna die because there is nothing else for me left to die.”
“You weren’t born just to live a life and to die, you were born to accomplish something specifically,” he said. “Matter of fact, success is making it to the end of your purpose, that is success. … Success is not just existing, success is making it to the end of why you were born.”
He also discussed the human lifespan and making the most of one’s life.
“The value of life is not in its duration, but in its donation. You are not important because of how long you live, you are important because of how effective you live. And most people are concerned about growing old rather than being effective,” he said in 2003. “The people who have impacted the world didn’t live long. Martin Luther King. John F. Kennedy. These people who impact the world were not old people, but they lived so effectively that we cannot erase them from history.”
BRILLIANT till the end…and even then, being dead he yet is still speaking!
lance
Source: Lance Wallnau

Monday, November 10, 2014

Myles Munroe, Wife and Daughter Killed in Airplane Crash

Myles Munroe
Myles Munroe
Dr. Myles Munroe, internationally-known author, bible teacher, governmental consultant and leadership mentor, was one of nine passengers on a plane that crashed in Grand Bahama on Sunday afternoon, according to multiple news reports.
A Lear 36 executive jet left the Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) for the Grand Bahama International Airport, the Department of Civil Aviation reports. The plane departed at 4:07 p.m. and carried nine people. The vessel crashed while making its landing approach, the Department of Civil Aviation said. 
News reports indicate his wife, Ruth, and daughter were also killed in the crash.
Myles Munroe's ministry was not immediately available for comment.
Stay tuned to Charisma News for an update to this story. And please keep his family in your prayers.

Monday, September 2, 2013

[RUDDICK SHIELD] INTERIM REPORT - INDONESIA - Morris Ruddick

Morris Ruddick

September 2, 2013

Dear Steve, 

Thank you for praying. Every prayer has been vital. The spiritual warfare has been beyond the ordinary; but so have the opportunities. The Lord has truly exceeded our expectations at every step.

A day after our arrival, we were conducting our first workshop on a Tuesday evening. It was organized as a "by-invitation only" gathering of business owners, entrepreneurs,


leaders and potential business owners from a wide mix of churches. Our host wrote the host on the second island we're leaving for today.

So after the first night of this downtown Jarkarta workshop, our host wrote: "There is very thick anointing. No one is going home. We have 300 people here, many successful business owners."

After the second night, he wrote: "Ruddick is amazing. Everyone returned, eager for more and there are more than 300 tonight. In his very first trip to Jakarta, he is bringing meat (not milk) and the Indonesia audience is eating with an appetite. Ruddick is methodical, meticulous and very well organized ....and speaks with a captivating intensity that keeps people in their seats during the entire four hour session. No one leaves."

On Thursday we spent a very long and packed-out day ministering first to the leaders of CBN Indonesia. These leaders and their director play a major, cohesive role in the incredible dynamic underway within the mobilized, dynamic church in Indonesia. Then following a luncheon meeting with the Director and the ministry's chief spiritual advisor, there was in-depth ministry to the core group of intercessors behind this vibrant ministry. That evening I brought a message of exhortation to a group of local pastors.

On Friday we traveled to the beautiful mountain city of Bandung for the second God's economy workshop. I'd already been impressed by the expansive network of committed business people tied to everything we've been doing. Our stop for a meal at a unique restaurant was one of seven restaurants owned by a sold-out man of God putting his faith into practice.

The second workshop was a multi-church mix of business owners and entrepreneurs. It was hosted by a very large fellowship that specializes in their people playing key roles in the city's community activities. Bandung is one of the most heavily populated and strongly-influenced Muslim cities on this island. Yet, it is that very fact that makes it a seedbed for opportunity.

Sunday brought us back to Jakarta where I brought the message to two hungry and very eager downtown congregations. The theme of both messages was the process and the cost of spiritual maturity needed to change a city and to change a nation. With that goal in mind, I was reminded of a company which we had association with in the 1970s which was the result of a $10 million business acquiring a $90 million firm. The Wall Street Journal likened it to a minnow swallowing a whale.

So it is in the Kingdom that God uses the most unlikely candidates; as He gives them the most unlikely strategies; to then bring about the most unlikely results. Ten years after the minnow swallowing the whale acquisition, the company had grown to be a $1 billion. That was really big in 1977.

The pastor who hosted our first workshop very much fits the model of the minnow swallowing the whale. God led him to move his church to a central, downtown location. In this Muslim nation, churches don't build buildings like in the West. They have to be more discrete and more often than not, they locate in commercial areas.

Having heard from God, this pastor signed the contract to purchase a floor in a high-rise office building. As the deadline approached and the money required only partially materialized, he sold his home to pay off the difference. Then in building out the space, the same thing happened and he sold his car to meet the obligations.

These are the type of people I relish working with. Let me explain that more fully. Many years ago, during a very challenging time in our walk with the Lord, I arrived at 6:30 one morning for a men's prayer group in the conference room of an Omaha business. There was special speaker, a very prophetic man-of-God. We had never met.

When this man of God began his time of ministry he pointed to me and said: "That is a man of God. That's what the Lord spoke to me when I saw him walk through the door." Then he spoke directly to me: "You sir, have a spirit of prosperity on you. You might be a millionaire or you might be broke." The reality was that I had just lost my job and was "in the hole" financially. He continued with the words: "Prosperity has nothing to do with money. A spirit of prosperity comes from the heart and it will overflow into those around you."

Over the years, we've watched as again and again, the Lord has uniquely blessed those he has sent us to minister to. The Lord called me as a consultant. It carries a strong

 

prophetic gift that I've seen in instance after instance to operate far beyond my understanding. I've been involved at the helm in a number of corporate turnarounds. I've been involved at the start of the launch of numerous initiatives and new ministries.

So it has been that this dynamic has extended into the nations in which we've been sent; as the Lord has connected us with those who are at a stage of turning/ of transition in walking out His blueprint for their mantles. There's no earthly way I can explain it, but we've seen the result and we've seen the change as we have played small roles in speaking into and establishing God's order in these divinely appointed relationships.

So it is that we see this same expectation in operation as we plant our gift among these most incredible leaders and pioneers that we're serving here in Indonesia. The Indonesians are amazing!

We are only at mid-course for what we came to Indonesia to do. We still have before us more than another week; and another workshop, key leaders to minister to, two mini-workshops in the Myles Munroe Kingdom Leadership Conference and ministry in a very pivotal church. Please continue praying. Your prayers and the anointing are what counter the spiritual forces trying to undermine these efforts. These are strategic times and these are strategic opportunities. Thank you, thank you for praying.

In His love and mine,





Morris Ruddick
Global Initiative Foundation
www.strategic-initiatives.org
www.strategicintercession.org