Died • Harold O. J. Brown, professor of theology and philosophy at Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina. Brown, 73, spoke forcefully against abortion and in 1975 founded the Christian Action Council, which became Care Net. He had also served on the faculty of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and worked on the editorial staffs of Christianity Today, Human Life Review, The Religion and Society Report, and Chronicles.
Arrested • Pastor Kojo Nana Obiri-Yeboah, after trying to clear an electric shock machine at Entebbe Airport in Uganda. Authorities said the minister from Ghana may have used the machine, which is sold at magic shops, to make worshipers believe he had supernatural healing powers. But the pastor said the device was a toy for his daughter. According to The Monitor in Kampala, police have been investigating evangelical churches as allegations of fraud have increased.
Fled • Canon Andrew White, from Iraq after receiving death threats. The threats came after he worked to secure the release of five British hostages kidnapped in May at the Iraqi Finance Ministry. White, executive director of the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East, led the country’s only Anglican church.
Died • Tammy Faye Messner, after a public bout with cancer. She was 65. Messner co-hosted Praise the Lord Club with her husband, Jim Bakker, in 1987 when word of his adultery surfaced. She divorced Bakker while he served prison time on federal fraud and conspiracy charges in connection with the Christian theme park Heritage USA. Even as cancer racked her body, Messner lingered in the public eye, appearing on talk shows testifying to God’s faithfulness.
Died • Ray Ortlund, head of Renewal Ministries for pastors and former host of the “Haven of Rest” worldwide radio broadcast. He was 84. Ortlund also served for 20 years as pastor of Lake Avenue Congregational Church in Pasadena, California.
Resigned • Thomas Trask, as general superintendent of the Assemblies of God in the United States, effective in October. Trask, 71, will step down with two years left in his term. After serving as general superintendent for 14 years, Trask plans to return to local-church ministry as an interim pastor.
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Related Elsewhere:
We published our obituary for Harold O.J. Brown on July 9.
Articles on the arrest of Obiri-Yeboah and the police search for more wired pastors include:
Ugandan police seize magic trick from preacher | Ugandan police are holding a Ghanaian preacher over a stage magic device they fear may dupe people into believing they have experienced miracles (Reuters)
Police start hunt for wired pastors | Police are investigating the conduct of churches for born-again Christians in the wake of rising cases of pastors’ impropriety. Police publicist Asan Kasingye said all allegations – from sodomy to fraud – would be investigated (The Monitor, Uganda)
Uganda pastor denies miracle scam | A Uganda-based preacher has denied charges he tried to import an electric shock machine to make people believe he could pass on the Holy Spirit. He says it was a toy for his daughter (BBC)
Police must act on the crooks in our churches | The arrest of ‘Pastor’ Obirir Konjo Yeboah while trying to clear an electric charge releasing device at Entebbe Airport Customs Office is a revelation (Editorial, The Monitor, Uganda)
Christianity Today interviewed Canon Andrew White in 2003.
The Times reported that he may have been threatened because of his work in trying to free British hostages.
White’s accounts from the church in Iraq go up to July 9, the day before he left Iraq. The Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East has not posted anything further.
Articles about Tammy Faye Messner include:
Resurrecting the Public Death | Tammy Faye reminded us how to die. (July 27, 2007)
Will Tomorrow’s Evangelicals Remember Tammy Faye? | She was an icon of a changing movement, but didn’t actually change it, say experts. (July 27, 2007)
Review: The Eyes of Tammy Faye | “She has unintentionally become an ambassador of God’s grace to a community that has received too few envoys from evangelicalism.” (October 2, 2000)
Highlights from Tammy Faye’s last interview with Larry King are available online.
David Neff blogged about “singing Tammy Faye’s song.”
TammyFaye.com and the website of The Eyes of Tammy Faye (CT’s review) have more information on her life.
Weblog links to many of the eulogies written about her.
Renewal Ministries has a biography of Ray Ortland and a short tribute from his family.
John Piper wrote about Ortland’s influence on his life and ministry.
The Assemblies of God site and the News-Leader of Springfield, Missouri have coverage of Thomas Trask‘s resignation.
