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Ministry Miracles

Details: Published on Wednesday, 07 October 2009 17:36; Written by David Shibley

Reflections on God’s Intervention at ORU

In the last several years I have witnessed at least two astounding miracles where Christian ministries have experienced a literal rebirth.

The first is a doctrinal miracle. The Worldwide Church of God, founded by Herbert W. Armstrong in 1934, reexamined its doctrines and practices after Armstrong's death in 1986. This led to a complete theological reformation to Christian orthodoxy in the 1990s. Today, no longer viewed as a cult, the denomination has changed its name to Grace Communion International and is a member of the National Association of Evangelicals.

In my view, this is nothing short of a miracle. Almost always throughout history, the drift of denominations over time is away from biblical orthodoxy. But the Worldwide Church of God was captured by grace and took a radical turn out of darkness and into the light.

There's a second, even more recent miracle where a ministry has experienced a genuine resurrection. This is the financial miracle experienced recently by Oral Roberts University (ORU). Two years ago ORU was drowning in a quagmire of a $55 million debt. Millions were owed in current bills. Added to this crisis were high-profile accusations and lawsuits filed by former faculty, the resignation of the second president, and a general malaise that had gripped many students, faculty and staff.

But all that has changed - and changed dramatically. The generosity of a missions-hearted family from Oklahoma City erased almost all of the University's debt. Alumni giving is now at an all-time high. Student morale has soared. Millions of dollars have been poured into campus renovations. And a new, capable and godly president, Mark Rutland, is pointing ORU toward a bright future and its greatest impact ever.

ORU has played an important role in my family. I have been privileged to know Oral Roberts, his wife, the late Evelyn Roberts and their family since I was in high school. Both of my sisters received their undergraduate degrees from ORU. One sister met her husband there. Although my undergraduate degree is from another outstanding Christian university, I was humbled to receive an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from ORU in 1988.

Growing up in Tulsa I watched with joyful amazement as an evangelist's colossal faith was translated into the construction of innovative, futuristic buildings and a bustling hub of worldwide ministry. Now, four decades later, it's thrilling to sense the same excitement that permeated the campus in those early years returning to ORU.

In 1967, as a teenage preacher, I attended the dedication of ORU. My young heart pounded with vision as I witnessed the two greatest evangelists of that era, Billy Graham and Oral Roberts, standing together at the zenith of their strength. I will always remember how Billy Graham, in his dedicatory address, charged the new institution to be forever faithful to its commitment to world evangelization.

Fast-forward 42 years. Last month I stood in ORU's Christ's Chapel. As today's ORU students exit the chapel, they read again the directive the Lord gave Oral Roberts at the university's founding: "Raise up your students to hear My voice, to go where My light is seen dim, My voice is heard small, and My healing power is not known, even to the uttermost bounds of the earth." That is Great Commission language and a clear, missional vision.

The next day I attended Rutland's inauguration as the third President of ORU. I drank in the historic importance of the moment as the 91-year-old founder, Oral Roberts, laid his hands on the new president and pronounced blessing over Rutland and the university Roberts' faith had birthed.

Oral Roberts was a towering figure of the 20th century. We have much to learn from his life and legacy. In a few years we will begin to understand just how much we owe him. I am convinced that his fiercely focused faith, in the university's darkest hours, simply would not permit ORU to die. Like the patriarchs of old, he was human and therefore (like all of us) imperfect. But also like the patriarchs of antiquity, he shaped history by his faith and his clear vision of an all-sufficient, conquering Christ.

At the investiture of Rutland, the ORU combined choirs and orchestra performed the majestic "Hallelujah" from Beethoven's Christ on the Mount of Olives. The powerful strains of triumph filled the air:

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

Hallelujah unto God's almighty Son!

Let your heart rejoice today. God still performs miracles. Hallelujah unto God's almighty Son!

David Shibley is founding president of Global Advance, a Dallas-based ministry that provides on-site training and resources for some 40,000 developing world church and business leaders each year. His latest book, co-authored with his son, Jonathan, is Marketplace Memos.

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Introducing Ministry Today

Details: Published on Sunday, 30 April 2006 20:00; Written by Matthew Green

A sneak peak at major changes to Ministries Today.

For nearly 23 years, Ministries Today has been the foremost journal for charismatic and Pentecostal pastors and church leaders. So why change now? Simply put, the Holy Spirit has prompted it, and the shifting landscape of the 21st-century church demands it.

First, today's church leaders have little time for the labels that often divided their forebears. The theological distinctions of yesteryear are melting away as leaders—evangelical, charismatic and Pentecostal—shed their differences and link arms to bring cultural transformation.

Second, the growing currents of secularism and pluralism combined with an increasing fascination with spirituality demands that leaders understand the times in which they live and that they possess intellectual and spiritual tools for capturing the hearts and minds of this generation.

The growth and influence of the church in some sectors—combined with the troubling statistics of dropout pastors and shrinking congregations—indicates that the stakes are high for those who navigate these waters.

In light of these dramatic shifts, founder and publisher Stephen Strang has felt the leading of the Spirit to relaunch Ministries Today under a different name, and with a redefined mission, to more effectively serve the needs of faithful subscribers and expand readership beyond the current boundaries of the magazine.

Beginning with the May/June issue, Ministries Today will be relaunched as Ministry Today. The mission of Ministry Today will be to identify and explore trends relevant to the next generation of Christian leaders, engaging the interests of church leaders from diverse theological, ethnic and generational backgrounds.

Ministry Today will provide tools for understanding the challenges and seizing the opportunities of 21st-century ministry, not merely informing readers about what is working and not working in the church, but inspiring critical thought and creative action.

Expect to find analysis of cultural and religious trends from experts such as George Barna, insight from columnists such as Andy Stanley—as well as profiles, news stories and commentary.

Each issue of Ministry Today will celebrate innovation and experimentation, connecting inquisitive readers with thoughtful experts who will help them understand the times, and proactively engage their communities and the world with the gospel. Our goal is not only to also offer information, but to be a catalyst for ongoing transformation in the church.

Matthew Green is managing editor of Ministries Today. He invites your comments and questions at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

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Introducing Ministry Today

Details: Published on Tuesday, 28 February 2006 19:00; Written by Matthew Green

Beginning with the May/June issue, Ministries Today will be relaunched under a new name: Ministry Today.

Expect to find analysis of cultural and religious trends from experts such as George Barna, insight from columnists such as Andy Stanley—as well as profiles, news stories and commentary.

Matthew Green is managing editor of Ministries Today. He invites your comments and questions at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

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Africa’s Paradox

Details: Published on Saturday, 31 December 2005 19:00; Written by Matthew Green

In spite of its depressing social and political realities, Africa has become the new epicenter of the global church.

Although it's been nearly 15 years, I remember the first time I visited Africa as though it were yesterday. What I remember most was how difficult it was to come home. (Those who've been there know what I'm talking about.)

There's something about the grace of its people, the diversity of its topography, the winsome sound of its music and language—even when you can't speak it—that burrows into your soul and leaves you itching to return again.

These warm and fuzzy feelings stand in contrast, however, to the desparate plight of a continent on which the fate of the rest of the world seems to hang.

It is in the furnace of Muslim Sudan that Osama bin Laden's and al-Qaida's hatred smouldered—and where he issued a "Declaration of War" against the United States in 1996.

Although it is the most impoverished continent on earth, greed for Africa's vast wealth of natural resources has created a fertile environment for the wars, colonialism and slave trade that have wracked the continent for centuries.

Until recently, the world stood idly by while Africa became an incubator for a global AIDS epidemic. The latest United Nations estimates say 26 million of the 40 million people infected with HIV worldwide live in Africa, and that Africa saw about 3.2 million of the nearly 5 million new infections recorded in 2005—most of whom are women and children.

In spite of what may appear to be the depressing realities of Africa's political and economic past and present, the nation's spiritual future could not be brighter. The observations of scholars (such as Philip Jenkins, in his book The Next Christendom) vividly reveal that the center of Christianity has shifted from the Western world to the East—and that Africa is at the epicenter of this shift.

For those who suspect the speculations of pointy-headed academics, we offer "Out of Africa" (page 28), just one example among many that the mission field of Africa has become a missionary-sending continent, and that God is using the creativity, spiritual sensitivity and courage of African church planters like Sunday Adelaja to take up where many of us in the West have left off.

These pioneers teach us that crises on the homefront are no excuse to neglect the Great Commission's call to cross-cultural witness. The students have become the teachers, and I, for one, don't plan on skipping class.

Matthew Green is managing editor of Ministries Today. He invites your questions and comments at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

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Missing Links

Details: Published on Wednesday, 31 August 2005 20:00; Written by Matthew Green

"History is littered with institutions that lost sight of their reason for being and embraced the goal of self-preservation."

When denominations can no longer provide authentic connections of accountability and fellowship, they should be reformed or disbanded.

Recently I had a conversation with a friend who held credentials in a large denomination for several years. After confessing to his denominational officials that he viewed pornography online, his credentials were suspended, and he was placed in a program of restoration for several years.

At a gathering of ministers in his denomination, my friend stood up and confessed his failure to his colleagues. After returning home, he received calls from friends in ministry who also viewed pornography online, but were terrified to confess their failure to denominational officials for fear of losing their livelihoods.

The incident reveals the challenge denominations face in providing authentic accountability to their entire constituencies. (One official actually warned my friend not to tell him if he fell again—but to confess his sins to someone who would not be obligated to report his failure to the denomination.)

While denominations are composed of people who hold the best of intentions and the highest of ideals, the entropic effects of institutionalism are unavoidable. History is littered with institutions that lost sight of their reason for existence and embraced the goal of self-preservation instead. In the process, they neglected the very people they intended to serve.

Some who have left denominations have done so out of rebellion, bent on escaping the oversight of what they perceive as narrow-minded institutions. But others have departed in search of deeper accountability—not independence. These reluctant pilgrims should be encouraged, not criticized.

As Ron Carpenter says in this issue's cover story, "My generation will not be loyal to a denomination, but they will die for a man." This passion is not birthed in rosy idealism, but in the realization that effective ministry cannot be accomplished unless we relinquish individualism and commit to God and one another with a loyalty that transcends institutional structure.

Ironically, this commitment to relationship is not a revolutionary concept. In fact, it's what gave birth to every denomination that has stood the test of time.

Thankfully, it would appear that a new wind is blowing through denominational structures, and leaders are rediscovering the importance of spiritual parenting, relational leadership and flexibility in the face of changing times—further evidence that God is very much at work in His church.

Matthew Green is managing editor of Ministries Today.

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