Are we losing our religious freedoms in this country? Are Christians being pressured to keep silent when laws they biblically disagree with are being passed? This is the subject matter of the new movie, Persecuted, written and directed by Pueblo, Colorado native Daniel Lusko. The PG-13 rated picture just opened on July 18 and is currently showing at Celebration! Cinema North, South and at River Town Crossings Mall. Its runtime is 91 minutes and a lot of action and hot potatoes are featured in the movie.

The synopsis for the movie is as follows: Nationally acclaimed evangelist John Luther is the last obstacle in the way of sweeping religious reform in the States. When a U.S. Senator and Luther’s own supporters abduct and frame him in the murder of an innocent teenage girl, an unprecedented era of persecution is unleashed. Out on personal recognizance, Luther escapes police surveillance in search of the truth. And suddenly, a once-normal life is targeted by a team of ex-military operatives who wage a relentless campaign to eliminate the incriminating evidence. As evangelist turned fugitive, Luther vows to expose anyone involved with or profiting from the girl’s murder; a mission that brings him face-to-face with the coming storm of persecution that will threaten the entire Christian community in America.

Tim Bauer recently spoke with me for West Michigan Christian News regarding an event he has planned for August this year. He shared his background and what led up to his plan to bring foreign missions to Michigan.

“My wife, Shelley, and I have been serving the Lord for many years now. We are in our mid 50’s and have five children ranging in age from 11 to 30. By the way, our youngest daughter is from China. Shelley was delivered from a Mormon background. I was born and raised in the church, but didn’t surrender my life to Christ until February, 1984. Soon afterward, He began to burden me with the need for repentance within the church in America. When we were younger we almost went with Life Action Ministries, a revival ministry based in Niles, Michigan. The Lord closed that door after a 3 year period and then led us to Cedar Springs where we now reside.”

Guiding Light Mission is seeking appropriate candidates to lead and manage its development function. The ideal candidate will demonstrate multiple years of successful development in the faith NP sector. This individual will need highly developed organizational skills and be able to multi-task. The candidate must be comfortable meeting and communicating with major donors.

Highlights of the position include, but not limited to, the following areas:

Local authors Norman and Lynn Reed will be speaking and leading a discussion about their novel on Tuesday, July 8 at 2:00 p.m. at the Gary Byker Memorial Library in Hudsonville. Their novel, “The Black Angel of the Lord,” is an intriguing fictional account of the events surrounding the death of the entire Assyrian army in II Kings 19:35.

The book explores themes of culture, politics, love, and religion between three main characters based on historical figures. The idea for the book first came to Norman while watching a program on the History Channel. The program was about some arrows found around Jerusalem dating back to the era the Assyrians would have been attacking the city. The program said the existence of the arrows was still a mystery, but Norman came up with a possible solution. “My mind was clear, I could write page after page” of material on the event Norman says.

And so the beginnings of a book were formed. Norman would write down pages of material, and Lynn would decipher and type up the chapters. Countless days were spent in the library, researching the characters and culture of the time by reading accounts from ancient historians and scribes. “The research makes the story,” the Reeds say, “the three main characters are real people, and we gave them life. The life we gave them is the life we found in history.”

West Michigan Christian web writer Terry DeBoer surveys the landscape for the area’s faith-based arts and entertainment events over the coming month. Here are three highlights for July:

*Praise in the Park – A music ensemble from The Springs Free Methodist Church in Cedar Springs performs at 6 p.m. Sun. July 6 at the weekly “Praise in the Park” series at Garden Park in downtown Rockford. Praise-oriented music is highlighted, with different churches and area artists leading each week. There is no admission charge, bringing your own seating is encouraged. Other artists in July: Marty Miller on July 13; Perfect Shelter July 20; CrossWise July 27. (Series runs through Sept. 14). Garden Park is just off W. Bridge St. east of the dam along the Rogue River. For more information visit www.rpmoll.com/praise.

Alone Yet Not Alone is a movie based on the true story of a German family during the French and Indian War.

After leaving their native Germany, the deeply religious family settled near Penns Creek in picturesque Central Pennsylvania. The family worked hard and crops were abundant in this fertile area, and they never forgot to thank God for His provision.

    Master Arts Theatre, the faith-based community theater group, has announced that it’s reprising last year’s successful production “The Great Divorce.”|
     The stage adaptation of the noted C.S. Lewis fantasy novel will return June 19-22, including weekend matinees. The play had an extended run last spring with numerous sold out performances.
     “We feel this particular play has so much to say and so much life in it, that it just shouldn’t rest,” said director Pris McDonald.
     The tale poses several theological questions – and reflections – in the context of an unusual collection of characters on a metaphorical bus trip from hell to heaven.

CBH Ministries, originally known as Children’s Bible Hour, has recently changed its name to Keys for Kids Ministries. While the name and logo have changed, the ministry is still devoted to providing Christian media and resources for children, something it has done since its beginning in 1942.

The ministry’s name change came as a result of people not knowing what CBH Ministries was. “It took a lot of time and effort to explain who we are and what we do” says Kristen Gearhart of Keys for Kids Ministries. “We wanted to upgrade our name and look (i.e., logo, website), to reflect our contemporary ministry – we do more than just radio programming and we wanted our new look to reflect that.”

West Michigan Christian web writer Terry DeBoer surveys the landscape for the area’s faith-based arts and entertainment events over the coming month. Here are three highlights for June:

*Festival of the Arts – The downtown Grand Rapids event June 6-8 features performances from many area church ensembles. Among them: Frontline Community Church 5:15 p.m. Fri. on the Clock Tower Stage; Resurrection Life Church Music Team 7 p.m. Fri. Calder Stage; Bella Vista Church Praise Band 1:45 p.m. Sat. Circle Stage; Lighthouse Full Life Center Mass Choir 6:15 p.m. Sat. Calder Stage; Kentwood Community Church 2:45 p.m. Sun. Calder Stage; 5:15 p.m. Sun. Bethel Pentecostal, Calder Stage. Also concerts by several other faith-based music groups, such as Jubal Brass, 3:45 p.m. Fri. on Circle Stage. Details and complete schedule at www.festivalgr.org.

   Year three of the “Praise in the Park” summer series began Sunday evening June 1 at the Garden Park in downtown Rockford.
     The worship team from Grace Fellowship Church in Comstock Park took the stage leading praise songs such as “Jesus, Messiah,” and “Your Great Name.”
   They even passed around lyric sheets for those who wanted to sing along.
     It was a beautiful beginning for the weekly series, which features music from more than a dozen northern Kent County churches and several other Christian artists.
     “We’ve had more interest from churches this year who have asked to be a part of it and we expanded it to 16 weeks,” noted organizer Richard Moll of the Sunday schedule.

Throughout American history, many revivals have been started by groups of people praying together as they walked through the streets of their city. As they walked, they would ask God to intervene and work in the lives of the people living in the homes, or working in the businessesthey passed.

Recently on a beautiful spring evening, a group of twelve men and women from a local Northeast Side church met in Ah-Nab-Awen Park in Grand Rapids to take a walk together. They took a walk to pray for the City of Grand Rapids.