Buzz

A New Hallelujah

Michael W. Smith marks 25 years in Christian music.

This month Michael W. Smith releases his 21st album in 25 years.
Though he is well-known for contemporary songs such as “Friends” and
“Place in This World,” the pioneering musician continues to explore
worship in A New Hallelujah, which was recorded live at
Lakewood Church in Houston. Backed by a 250-member choir, Smith sings
familiar worship songs such as “I Surrender All” and “Mighty to Save”
as well as original cuts including “The River Is Rising.” Smith is
joined by the African Children’s Choir and worship leaders Israel
Houghton and Coalo Zamorano, who he says “elevated the songs to amazing
moments of praise and worship. It was more than I could have hoped
for.”

—Leigh DeVore

Prayer Point

This month Christians around the world will gather in prayer for Israel
as participants in the Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem on Oct.
5. We invite you to join us in praying that:

• God uses Israel’s political and judicial processes to help bring
  justice and peace to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (see Is. 33:5)

• God protects Israel from foreign nations that have threatened to
  annihilate the Jewish people (see Is. 45:17)

Servant Evangelism

Instead of protesting Democrats’ platform on abortion or gay rights,
Denver Christians opted to serve delegates at the Democratic National
Convention and spend the week in prayer and worship for the nation’s
future. Calling itself One Church Metro Denver, the coalition of more
than 60 churches distributed maps and water and helped keep the area
clean. Reece Bowling, senior pastor of Orchard Road Christian Center
and one of the group’s leaders, says the coalition is “not against
promoting issues that we feel are consistent with the Christian
message. But the Christian message is not about issues; it’s about
loving people the way Christ teaches us to love people.”

—Felicia Mann

Discipleship

A Design to Shine

Christina DiMari was just 7 years old when she first ran away from
her San Francisco home. She would flee another 100 times before
reaching adulthood. But after years of abuse, the abandonment of her
mother and teen years marked by drugs and rebellion, DiMari discovered
the love of God while in college. Today she helps girls discover the
sense of purpose that was illusive to her during her own childhood.
“When I had kids, I realized how hard it was not to have a mom because
I loved my kids so much,” says DiMari, who leads You’re Designed to
Shine workshops nationwide (oceanstargifts.com).
“It started hitting me how not having a mom affected my life and how
important other women were going to be in my life.” Through her memoir,
Ocean Star, DiMari shows young women how God healed her heart.
Her follow-up You’re Designed to Shine facilitates
small-group discussions that address such topics as choosing good
friends, discovering one’s uniqueness and uncovering God’s dream for
one’s life.

—Suzy A. Richardson

Mentoring

Leading a Chosen Generation

Doug Stringer says emerging leaders need spiritual mentors

No matter where he ministers, whether in the U.S. or abroad, in
inner cities or suburbs, evangelist Doug Stringer encounters a common
need: mentors, or spiritual fathers, who can help a largely fatherless
generation find its way.

“Every young woman, every young man is waiting to hear the sound,
‘That’s my girl, that’s my boy,’ ” Stringer says. “They’re longing for
some sort of affirmation, acceptance and approval from someone they
respect. It doesn’t even have to come from their biological parents
anymore.”

He found the need so overwhelming that he wrote a book about it in
1995, The Fatherless Generation, which he recently followed up with
Who’s Your Daddy Now? Stringer, the founder of Somebody Cares (somebodycares.org), an
evangelistic ministry based in Houston, says God wants to release a
“prophetic generation” for bringing hope to people worldwide but that
these young leaders need direction.

“They are wandering around without any covering, without a sense of
destiny and purpose, but they’re ready to do something, they’re ready
to give their lives for something they believe in,” he says, “but they
need to know what they believe.”

He believes the church is called to help move young leaders into
their destinies. “There is an army of volunteers that will emerge for
the day of His power,” he says, “and I believe that’s this generation.”

—Adrienne S. Gaines