ALPHA GROWS, AND ECUMENICALLY—Nearly two million people worldwide have now done the Alpha Course. Over 40 conferences are set for the year 2000 across the U.S. Every denomination from Catholic to Baptist to charismatic now run it. Alpha speaker Nicky Gumbel says: "It cannot be done alone, but only in partnership….And it is wonderful to work with so many different churches, Roman Catholics, Methodists, Baptists, Salvation Army. We have Presbyterians…Pentecostals, people of entirely different theological positions…." (Alpha News) Alpha is recommended by Cardinal Wm. Keeler, Robert Schuller, Luis Palau, Jack Hayford, Bill Hybels, Chuck Colson, Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey, Fuller Seminary, YWAM, Episcopal bishops, etc. Alpha started 20 years ago in England in Holy Trinity Brompton, an Anglican church with charismatic leanings (1/16/99 Ariz. Rep.). The 10-week course is non-denominational but discusses being filled with the holy spirit and speaking in tongues. There is a kernel of truth in Alpha but it is encased in a toxic shell of ecumenism.

INNER HEALING CAN BE DANGEROUS—Inner healing is a deceptive combination of Freudian psychology and occult visualization [PsychoHeresy Awareness Letter (free), 4137 Primavera Rd., Santa Barbara, CA 93110]. Some inner healers use guided imagery at a point of emotional intensity, bring a Jesus figure into the scene, and take a client back to some painful past event to bring healing. The "Jesus" visualized, created by the healer or client, is not the Jesus of the Bible. Be warned, be wise, beware!

DR. LAURA: PLUS & MINUS—We applaud Dr. Laura Schlessinger for her stands (as we understand them) on family issues, abortion, homosexuality, guns, etc. We defend her against radical homosexuals and other liberals who now try to censor her (and pressure Paramount Pictures) to deny her the right for an upcoming TV show this fall (4/8 World). However, from the few times we've heard her on radio, she is often extremely rude (sometimes deserved) and uses profanity. Psychotherapy, a mixed bag—some of her advice is good, some is psychobabble. The basis of her Jewish faith is the rejection of Christ.

BUSH & E.V. HILL TO BE FALWELL SPEAKERS—Presidential candidate George W. Bush is tentatively scheduled as a speaker at Dr. Jerry Falwell's Vision 2000 Super Conference at Liberty University Oct. 1-4. Wonder if there's an LU policy that Bush will need to denounce or get into hot water with the media as he did at Bob Jones! Moonie funds, for starters. We can be sure the media won't excoriate Bush for Falwell's shameful lovey-dovey confab with homosexuals last October at LU. Other speakers include Southern Baptist leaders and Dr. E.V. Hill. The latter has liberal and charismatic links, and is an ecumenical speaker who shows up at such places as Promise Keepers, Moody, Dallas, and Liberty University.

GRAHAM HONORED—Nancy Reagan last month presented Billy Graham the Ronald Reagan Freedom Award at an event benefiting the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, CA (4/15 World). Past recipients of the award include Margaret Thatcher, Colin Powell, Mikhail Gorbachev, Yitzhak Rabin, and King Hussein.

IBT ANOTHER WACO?—Dr. Greg Dixon has been in a long battle with the IRS over his Indianapolis Baptist Temple's (his son now pastor) refusal to withhold federal taxes from its staff. IBT calls the salaries "love gifts, not wages." The IRS says IBT owes nearly $6 million. Seizure seems imminent unless a stay order is granted. Dixon says: "If not, we may have another Waco…the pastors, deacons and men of the church have already settled the matter in our hearts. We will never voluntarily vacate the property that has been given to [us] by God Himself and paid for by the tithes and offerings of God's people."

AIDS STATISTICS—Bible translation is a race against time in Southern Africa because AIDS is reducing a tribe's population so fast that no member may still be alive when the Bible in its language is delivered (4/00 Sim Now). Of the 14 million who have died of AIDS-related illnesses worldwide, 11.5 million were African. In a recent UN report, about 5,500 Africans die of AIDS-related illnesses every day. One million African children under 15 have AIDS. 95% of the world's AIDS orphans are African. In 1997, 30% of Zambian children were orphans.

COLLEGES ALLOW OPPOSITE SEX ROOMMATES—Partly in response to requests from homosexual students, Haverford College (Pa.) will allow men and women to share bedrooms next fall in its apartment-style dorms (4/1 HT). Some "gay" and lesbian students "have difficulty finding people who they're comfortable living with." Wesleyan U. (Middletown, CT) and Hampshire College (Amherst, MA) already allow men and women together.

KEN MEDEMA AT GARBC-APPROVED SCHOOL—For over a decade, singer-composer Ken Medema has been featured by liberal, Catholic, and new-evangelical groups. He admits his faith now has "more affinities with liberalism" and he questions the "onlyness" of Christianity (9/15/90 CC). So why does his schedule list a performance by him at GARBC-approved Cornerstone University (Grand Rapids) for Feb. 9? We confirmed by phone with Cornerstone that he was actually there Feb. 9. It grieves us to see the once-fundamentalist GARBC year-after-year maintain its ties with blatant new-evangelical practices while also insisting it is separated from ecclesiastical compromise/apostasy. Medema performed at the Mar. 29 - April 1 Religious Communications Congress in Chicago where leftists/liberals Jesse Jackson, NCC's Joan Brown Campbell, and Martin Marty were speakers.

GRAHAM'S AMSTERDAM 2000—Remember Dr. Billy Graham's big Amsterdam '83 and '86 International Conferences for Itinerant Evangelists? Full double-page ads for Amsterdam 2000 are now appearing in Charisma, World, and Christianity Today. This evangelism conference is set for July 29 - Aug. 6 and involves nine days of prayer, strategy sessions and training seminars for preaching evangelists from over 185 countries. The ecumenical speakers range from liberals to new evangelicals and include: Bill/Vonette Bright, George Carey (archbishop of Canterbury who questions the certainty of the resurrection - see 3/1 CC), John Stott (questions eternal fire of hell), BWA president Billy Kim, Luis Palau, Franklin Graham, Anne Graham Lotz, J.I. Packer, Ravi Zacharias, Stephen Olford, and Gerry Gallimore. The latter two are Southern Baptists. ACCC Exec. Sec'y Dr. Ralph Colas plans to be on hand with press credentials to report on this vital conference if funds are available.

NAE MOVES LEFTWARD—Under its new president Kevin Mannoia the National Association of Evangelicals at its recent meeting welcomed its fifty-first member denomination, the charismatic Association of Vineyard Churches, once led by the late John Wimber of "signs and wonders" notoriety (4/24 Chr. Today). The Vineyard movement was influential in the birthing of the Toronto Blessing and Promise Keepers. The NAE board voted to allow member organizations to hold dual membership with other groups such as the left-wing National Council of Churches. Mannoia said the NAE's reason for existence has changed from providing an alternative to theological liberalism to calling the church to transform communities. Sounds like the, "If you can't beat them, join them" maxim.

NEW BLACKABY BOOK—Illinois Pastor Gary Gilley reviews Fresh Encounter, a new book by Henry Blackaby and Claude King (BDM Letter, PO Box 679, Bedford, IN 47421), and says it is unclear what the authors believe revival to be. Concerning the Wheaton College "revival" of 1995, Gilley asks where those who were supposedly revived are today? And, "Did the Wheaton students in [this] revival repent of their doctrinal errors or just have a momentary fling with emotionalism? True revival should …lead to a move back to Scripture and away from the theological compromise that Wheaton has long embraced." Blackaby tells of a charismatic pastor who said: "We have a group in our church studying Experiencing God. It is led by a Presbyterian, filled with charismatics, and has a Church of Christ pastor in attendance, and they are studying Baptist materials. That's got to be revival." Gilley says: "Get it? Their evidence of true revival is not serving God in truth, it is ecumenism among those who have laid down their doctrinal distinctives to join hands over mutual experiences." Gilley cites the book's error of mysticism and constant confusion of the church with Israel.

ANGLICANS, CATHOLICS TO MEET IN TORONTO—A high-level conference of delegates from Anglican and Roman Catholic churches is set for Toronto, May 14-18, as part of an ongoing dialogue intent on reversing the Reformation (Jan-Feb Canadian Revivalist). It is expected that at the conference's end, a statement will be made stating that both churches accept the Pope as the head of both churches and the Anglican Church and the Roman Catholic Church will sign a document to this effect. Ministers from the Free Presbyterian Church (Dr. Ian Paisley, e.g.) and the British and American Councils of Christian Churches plan to be on hand to protest the event.

ACCC RESOLUTION OF PROTEST OF ANGLICAN PAPAL RECOGNITION—Whereas the Church of Rome teaches that it is the way to Christ, rather than Christ the way into the church, and; whereas the Church of Rome teaches the mediation by a class of priests, thereby transgressing the biblical truth that "there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus," and; whereas the Romish mass purports to be the re-sacrifice of Christ, and; whereas the Roman church has suppressed, tormented, persecuted and murdered countless saints of God who proclaimed truths which it denies and distorts, and; whereas the Church of England is known in history for its stand against Roman Catholicism's errors, conspicuously demonstrated by its martyrs (e.g., Cranmer, Latimer, Ridley), and; whereas the Church of England now proposes betrayal of its martyrs and the truths for which they died, by official recognition of the pope as the head of the church, and; whereas the pope's apology for his church's history of persecuting believers named only "excesses" of rather than total repudiation of the Spanish Inquisition; be it therefore resolved that the Executive Committee of the American Council of Christian Churches meeting at the Bible Presbyterian Church, Charlotte, NC, this 11^th day of April, 2000, decries this betrayal by the Church of England of the truth of God's Word and of England's martyrs who died for these truths at the hands of a yet unrepentant Roman church.

IBFNA CONFERENCE—The 10th Annual Conference of the Independent Baptist Fellowship of North America is set for Bethel Baptist Church, Sellersville, PA, June 20-22. Dr. Richard Harris is host pastor. Speakers include: Ernest Pickering, Ralph Colas, Duane Brown, Charles Dear, Clay Nuttall, Tom Nieman, Mike McCubbins, Jeff Bailey, Paul Gustine, Jeff Kistler, Nestor Mercado, Scott Reeves, Sherman Skeens, Lloyd Streeter and Ralph Weer. For infor. call 215/536-9200; e-mail ibfna@bethelbc.org.

FBF CONFERENCE—The 80th annual meeting of the Fundamental Baptist Fellowship is set for Faith Baptist Church, Taylors, SC, June 13-15. Host pastor is Dr. John Vaughn. General session speakers include: Drs. Vaughn, Dave Jaspers, Sam Horn, Tim Jordan, Chuck Phelps, Dave Doran, and Ken Connolly. Super Workshop speakers are: Bob Jones III (men), Beneth Jones (ladies), and FBF Pres. Rod Bell. For more info call 864/322-0700.

WRONG AUTHOR—Mikhail Gundyaev was not the author of the book about the WCC being infiltrated by the KGB (4/15 CC). He questioned that Nikodim worked for the Soviet government (3-4/00 Foundation). The book was published by German scholars Gerhard Besier, Armin Boyens, and Gerhard Lindemann who spent years of research in writing the 1074-page book. "KGB agent" Metropolitan Nikodim was one of the WCC's presidents.

HENRY MISQUOTED MIDDLETON?—J. Richard Middleton says Carl Henry, former CT editor, quoted him out of context in a 5/27/95 World article. [6/1/96 CC]

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