Recently two well-known charismatic leaders contacted me to voice their concerns about the sudden increase in attacks against charismatic Christian
leaders—especially Peter Wagner and the New Apostolic Reformation. How timely, then, that I had already planned to publish Wagner’s response in this issue and examine the new role that Pentecostals and charismatics are playing on the national scene.
What’s being attacked isn’t new. Conservative, Bible-believing Christians have long believed we should put righteous people in government and other positions of influence. Preachers have thundered against sin from the pulpit and called people to repentance. Yet mostly we do that within the church’s four walls, out of range from hearing the cultural elites who increasingly don’t want any restraints on their favorite sin.
These attacks are part of an effort to intimidate using a spirit of fear—and sadly most of the time it works. This happened to Sally Kern, the Baptist pastor’s wife who as an Oklahoma legislator was concerned about how some gay activists were targeting Christian candidates. She sounded the alarm and was viciously attacked in ways so extreme we can’t even repeat some of them here—just because she voiced biblical principles. If you want to read more, buy her book, The Stoning of Sally Kern—if you can find a copy, that is. Most secular stores won’t even stock it, and sadly many Christian stores won’t either because they don’t want to stir up problems. (You can still order it online or buy the Kindle version.) read more