Died • Rex Humbard, America’s first televangelist, of natural causes on September 21. He was 88. The former pastor of Cathedral of Tomorrow in Akron, Ohio, Humbard began broadcasting on a cbs affiliate in 1949, reaching more than 8 million Sunday-morning viewers at his show’s peak. One loyal viewer was Elvis Presley, whose funeral Humbard officiated at in 1977.
Extended • The jail term of Dara Singh, an Indian Hindu activist already serving a life sentence for the murder of an Australian missionary and his two sons. In September, an Orissa court sentenced Singh and three other defendants to an additional 35 years for the 1999 murder of Roman Catholic priest Arul Doss.
Appointed • Chuck Bentley, as CEO of Crown Financial Ministries, on September 1. Bentley, a former Dallas business owner, joined Crown in 2000, serving most recently as senior vice president of the ministry’s global impact group. He succeeds Howard Dayton, the former CEO and a cofounder of the organization with the late Larry Burkett.
Died • Warren Webster, a longtime missions leader, on August 15 of cancer. Webster, 79, began his ministry career as a missionary in Pakistan, moving back to the U.S. in 1970 to serve as director of the Conservative Baptist Foreign Mission Society (now WorldVenture), a position he held for 22 years. A keynote speaker at several Urbana missions conferences, Webster was also active in the International Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization.
Died • A. Leslie Parrott, former president of Olivet Nazarene University and Eastern Nazarene College, on September 23. A prolific author and the pastor of several churches, educational leadership ran in Parrott’s family: His father, A. L. Parrott, also oversaw Olivet Nazarene and his son Roger currently leads Belhaven College.
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Related Elsewhere:
Christianity Today published obituary for Rex Humbard online.
The Rex Humbard Ministry site has more on Humbard’s life and funeral.
Previous articles about Dara Singh include:
Indian Court Commutes Death Penalty for Staineses’ Murderer | Christians worried as attacks continue with little interference from the government. (May 2005)
“Once you Forgive, there will be Healing” | How a martyr’s widow turned her life around and won India’s prestigious Gandhi harmony award. (February 1, 2003)
17 Men Charged in Murder of India Missionary | Adolescent to serve 14 years for murder of Graham Staines and his sons. (October 1, 2000)
Missionary’s killer arrested | Dara Singh—lean, tanned, and stubble-faced—sits in police custody with a religious book about a Hindu god and personal items such as soap, sugar, and medicine just seized from his bag. (April 3, 2000)
Arrest Made in India Murder of missionary Graham Staines | Hindu radical apprehended after one year, but Christians claim state oppression now main problem. (January 2000)
Hindu Radical Fingered in Killing | The lawyer for an independent commission in India investigating the murder of Christian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons has concluded that Hindu fundamentalists are to blame for their fiery deaths. (September 6, 1999)
The Fiery Rise of Hindu Fundamentalism | After a missionary and his two sons are martyred, Christians in India press for greater religious freedom. (March 1, 1999)
Crown Financial Ministries announced their appointment of Chuck Bentley in early September.
WorldVenture has a memorial page with links to more information on Warren Webster.
Olivet Nazarene University has a special section on A. Leslie Parrott.
