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In addition, I have felt impressed to accelerate what God led me to do in 1994, which was to call the world to fast and pray for revival and his divine intervention. I'm more persuaded as I look back over the last eight years that fasting and prayer is the most important discipline of the Christian life. It destroys the strongholds of the enemy. We're training pastors and Christian leaders to fast and pray and seek God's face. There's no merit in fasting just for brownie points; we do it to remove all the impediments of sin that are hindering God's control of our lives. That's a very important item on my agenda. One of the great burdens of my heart is for pastors worldwide.

Why pastors?

The pastor is the key person to every community, if he's a godly pastor. Other leaders of the community often attend a church that ministers to them. Whether it's the President or the local precinct leader, the local pastor—if he's a godly, spiritual person—can have a profound impact. As you may know, the Barna and Gallup reports are not encouraging. Many pastors say they are not satisfied with what they're doing. Others have struggled with pornography. So my burden is to help pastors. They have a tough time.

What did you mean when you said at the Crystal Cathedral that a large number of believers are not excited about the Resurrection?

In America there will be about 120 million or so people in church on Sunday, but you would not realize that, seeing how little a contribution we make to our culture. A handful of anti-God forces are shaping the destiny of our culture. And Christians are strangely silent because they have, unfortunately, very little strong leadership.

Does that go back to your burden about the pastors?

If the pulpit is aflame, the pews will be.

Is this a failure of the seminaries?

I'm a strong believer in the church, and I'm grateful for the seminaries. But the average fellow who graduates from seminary is not ready to start a church, doesn't know firsthand what to do. It's survival of the fittest. When you figure that some surveys say 90 percent of American pastors are unhappy with their calling, there's something wrong.

What do you think accounts for the state of the church in America today?

Jesus came for what? So he can save the lost, right? He talked, he healed. But the purpose was to seek and save the lost. There are two kingdoms: Christ's kingdom and Satan's kingdom. They are at war.

I was once a member of Satan's kingdom, but nobody ever told me. I was a happy pagan in my youth. In a little church in Oklahoma, where my mother was a member and I was baptized, the pastor was a womanizer and an adulterer who finally left his family and divorced. It simply confirmed to my immature mind that Christianity had nothing to offer.

In 1944, I went to Hollywood and launched my own business. There I received Christ, and my life was changed. I used to be invited to speak in churches as a young Christian, because in those days anyone who had some degree of success was a popular speaker. I would ask members of various churches questions like, "What's the greatest thing that ever happened to you?" They would always say, "Knowing Jesus." I would ask, "What's the greatest thing you could do to help another person?" They would say, "Helping someone to know Jesus." I would ask, "Are you doing it?" They would say, "No."

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October 1 2001, Vol. 45, No. 12