Religion Today Summaries – June 6, 2005

'Purpose-Driven' Books Top List
Erin Curry, Baptist Press

Rick Warren and his books "The Purpose-Driven Life" and "The Purpose-Driven Church" topped the list of typical pastor reading material, according to a study by The Barna Group released May 30. Barna asked pastors to identify the three books that had been most helpful to them as a ministry leader during the past three years and found that the most influential books often fail to reach the bestseller lists. Among the 200-plus books listed, just nine were named by at least 2 percent of all pastors, Barna found, and just 10 authors were listed by at least 2 percent of pastors. One out of every five senior pastors named “The Purpose-Driven Life” as one of the most helpful books they had read in the last three years. Demographically, Barna reported, the book had twice the appeal among pastors born during the Baby Boom generation as among younger pastors of the Baby Bust era. Other books cited by at least 2 percent of pastors included "What's So Amazing About Grace?" by Phillip Yancey, "Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire" by Jim Cymbala, "Wild at Heart" by John Eldredge, "Courageous Leadership" by Bill Hybels, "Spiritual Leadership" by Henry Blackaby, "Next Generation Leader" by Andy Stanley and "21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership" by John Maxwell.

Eritrean Police Arrest 250 Wedding Guests
Compass Direct

Police raided a large wedding ceremony in the Eritrean capital of Asmara on Saturday, May 28, arresting at least 250 guests present, including Benyam Gezae and his bride and their wedding party. Police authorities reportedly contacted the families of all the imprisoned Christians, and after detaining the wedding party over night at the Expo police station, released most of the prisoners found to be members of legally sanctioned churches. However, 70 individuals belonging to the outlawed Protestant churches still remain under arrest. The authorities have pressured these evangelical Christians to abandon their beliefs and return to one of the "legal" churches. "The word on the street in Asmara is that these arrests were direct retaliation for the protest vigil held three days earlier in front of the Eritrean Embassy in Washington, D.C.," one informed source told Compass. The vigil marked the third anniversary of a harsh government crackdown launched in May 2002 against Eritrea's evangelical Christians and other religious minorities.

Author Highlights Faith On The Battlefield
Erin Curry, Baptist Press

For most soldiers, the battlefield becomes as much a test of faith as a test of arms, author Stephen Mansfield concluded after spending several weeks alongside America's defenders in Iraq to examine the role religion plays in their lives. "Servicemen who live stateside reflect the populace as a whole in their religious lives," Mansfield, author of "The Faith of the American Soldier," said in an interview with National Review Online published May 27. "It is when they go into battle, face death, see their comrades killed, and have to grapple with the morality of killing the enemy that they reach for faith with new intensity.” "When I was embedded with the troops in Iraq toward the end of 2004, I did not talk to one soldier who was not seeking a stronger connection to God and His hand of protection," he said. "Wars press issues of faith into the lives of those who fight them. From the question of the morality of the war itself to the simple quest for protection from harm, soldiers are constantly reaching for understanding, comfort and protection from a supernatural source. For the vast majority of soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, this means pursuing God like never before."

U.S. Missionary Abroad Faces Western Europe's Anti-American Bias
Chad Groening, Agape Press

A Southern Baptist missionary stationed in Madrid, Spain says there is definite anti-American sentiment in that part of the world, which makes his job of spreading the gospel even more difficult. However, he works with the children of missionaries from all over Western Europe and, in the course of his work, encounters a plethora of opinions and attitudes about America. "My Spanish friends tell me that all Americans are very arrogant," he says. Western Europeans' ideas about Americans also include a misperception of universal wealth, he notes. "They believe every single one of us is rich. You're rich because you're American," he says. "And third is that we're loud." The young missionary tries to combat the negative stereotypes by forging relationships with many of the Europeans he meets -- particularly those who believe the U.S. is full of arrogant, wealthy loudmouths. He says he does not really feel the Western Europeans' antagonism toward the U.S. the way he thought he would. "Yes, there's a very anti-American sentiment," he concedes, yet he believes "most Europeans would say they love Americans, but do not like America." But regardless of the reason for the hostile sentiments, he hopes he can help in some small way to assuage them while he serves in Western Europe as an ambassador for Christ and -- unofficially -- for America.