Romanian Revolution - 20 Years Later

A Candle in the Darkness
Twenty Years Later

December 24, 2009


As people across the world tonight light Christmas candles at Christmas Eve services, my mind goes back to another Christmas 20 years ago in Romania, when the country was still in the grip of communist tyranny.

The story begins with Laszlo Tokes, pastor of a fast-growing reformed church in the city of Timisoara. His powerful preaching had caught the attention of communist officials, and they began a strategy of suppression. They stationed police officers around his church, machine guns cradled in their arms. They hired thugs to attack him. Finally, just before Christmas, they decided to send him into exile.

But when the police arrived to hustle Pastor Tokes away, they were stopped cold. Around the church stood a wall of humanity. Christians from around the city—Baptist, Pentecostal, Orthodox, Catholic—had joined together to protest.

All through the day they held their post. As it grew dark, a young Baptist student named Daniel Gavra pulled out a packet of candles, lit one, and passed it to his neighbor.

Then he lit another. One by one the burning candles were passed out among the crowd. Soon the darkness of the December night was pierced by the light of hundreds of candles. When Pastor Tokes looked out his window, he saw a sea of faces lit up by a warm glow.

That night, he said later, was the “turning point in my life.” He would never erase from his mind the picture of believers from all denominations joining hands in his defense.

Two days later, police finally broke through the crowd and dragged Pastor Tokes away. But that was not the end. The people now streamed to the city square and began a full-scale demonstration against the communist government.

Once again Daniel Gavra passed out his candles. Once again the night was lit by their glow.

Finally, the communist officials began to panic. They brought in troops and ordered them to open fire on the crowd. Hundreds were shot. Young Daniel felt a searing pain as his leg was blown off.

Yet the brave example set in Timisoara inspired the rest of the nation. Within days the entire population of Romania had risen up and the bloody dictator Ceausescu was gone. The churches filled with worshippers offering praise to God.

For the first time in half a century, the people of Romania celebrated Christmas in freedom.

In the hospital, Daniel Gavra celebrated while learning to walk with crutches. His pastor came by, offering him sympathy, but Daniel wasn’t looking for sympathy.

“Oh, Pastor,” he said softly. “I don’t mind so much the loss of a leg. After all, it was I who lit the first candle.”

What a powerful image for us here in America as we celebrate this Christmas—the picture of a black December night lit up by a glowing testimony to the unity of God’s people.

What mighty things the church could do today when it is truly is the church: when we stand shoulder to shoulder with all our brothers and sisters, ready to fight evil, prepared to give our limbs—and yes, even our lives—to light a candle in the darkness.

A GREAT WAY TO BEGIN - 2010!!

Night of Praise - 2010

You will love the Night of Praise. 19 years ago, I invited about 100 guests to join me in the fellowship hall of Calvary Baptist in Shreveport. We had a wonderful time that evening and so we decided to do it again the next year. Our Pastor, Bro. "Step" Martin suggested that we use the worship center and so we planned a program and invited the community to join us. That evening there were over 400 in attendance. Since then we had made this a gift to our friends and have used it as a means of blessing and also communicating our ministry to our friends.

This year we have invited several people to bless you. Be sure to get there on time. I usually just start the program by 15 minutes so I get to sing a little bit. We'll start at 6:15 p.m. event though the time is advertised at 6:30 p. m. Our special guest this year is Aaron Wilburn - with the Allen Family, the Calvary Boys, Johnny Parrack, the Praise Choir from First Baptist Church , Haugton, LA singing for us.

We will receive a love offering for our mission work through the year - all of the guest will display their products - this is a great time of fellowship. I want you to be there!!

Price Harris

Regardless of Who You Pull For!!

Only Positives in Tebow’s Time in Swamp
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — If you can’t stand Tim Tebow, Saturday wasn’t a total loss. After putting on a command performance in his final home game, Tebow went for a victory lap to thank his millions of fans. Near the end, he stepped on an adoring cheerleader’s ankle. “She went down hard,” Tebow said. “I felt terrible.” That’s not much for Tebow haters to cling to, but at this point they’ll take any body part they can get. His last appearance at Florida Field showed why Tebow should go down as the greatest player in college football history. Nobody has impacted more people than Florida’s quarterback. After Saturday’s 37- 10 demolition of FSU, you can even add Bobby Bowden to the list. “I need to go home and do some soulsearching,” he said.
If Tebow has driven Bowden into retirement, a lot of FSU followers might join the Tebow Fan Club. Even when he does something negative, it has a positive impact. The thing is, Tebow has done nothing truly negative since arriving in Gainesville. That’s driven Tebow haters crazy. They would have been sickened by the sweetness at Senior Day. There weren’t really millions of fans in attendance. But the 90,907 who were waved palm branches as Tebow rode in on a donkey. In case you’re not up on your New Testament, that’s yet another Timmy of Nazareth comparison. I tried to come up with another reference point years ago, but Mother Teresa never scored more than 100 touchdowns. After passing for three and running for two against FSU, Tebow’s career tally is 140. But it’s not the records or the national championships or the Heismans that make him the greatest. Tebow’s not the best passer or runner
college football has ever seen. But great doesn’t mean the fastest or strongest. It’s a combination of talent and so much more. The man who hugged Tebow when he ran onto the field tried to sum it up. “I don’t know where you start,” Urban Meyer said. You could start with style. Tebow’s rambling, reckless approach redefined what a running quarterback can be. Some say he’s really just a fullback taking snaps. Show me a fullback who’s completed 66 percent of his passes in his career. His only disappointment Saturday was
that his final touchdown wasn’t a jump pass. It was one of his trademarks; a playground move that made it look like the guy was just having fun out there. Tebow did a jumping motion toward the bench on his final scoring drive, hoping the play would be called. It was, but the receiver was tripped at the line of scrimmage. It would have been a touchdown, Tebow said. He had style, he had stats. He also had those off-season performances in the Philippines and Croatia and various prisons around Florida. He preached to inmates, built missions and circumcised underprivileged
natives. He professed to being a virgin and wasn’t embarrassed to say so. It was all so corny, yet all so genuine. We live in a world that should be cynical of sports heroes, but TMZ
could have put a surveillance team on Tebow for four years and never found him doing anything Billy Graham wouldn’t have done. “He made unselfishness part of college
football,” Meyer said. Teammates loved the fact he’d show up at 6 a.m. to lift weights with the offensive linemen. Nobody cared more about winning. The proof is on the wall at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. There’s the plaque with his post-game speech after last year’s loss to Ole Miss. The one where he tearfully vowed nobody will work harder or push his team as hard as he would. That was 22 straight wins ago. Fans will pose in front of that plaque for generations. People will tell their grandchildren they saw Tebow play in person. He went from super recruit to Heisman winner to mythical figure, which is why the stadium was bursting with flashes in the fourth quarter. “Everybody wanted to get a picture of his last snap,” receiver David Nelson said. Everybody noticed it except Tebow, whowas too busy trying to put one more touchdown on a hated rival. Nobody was more competitive, and the way he waved his arms to fire up the crowd got on some people’s nerves.So did the way he wore his religiosity on his face, with the Bible-verse eye patches. So did all that publicity he’s gotten, as if he could have done much to stop it. Imagine how much more Tebow would have gotten if he’d failed a drug test or been in a bar fight or been chased out of his dorm by a girl swinging a golf club. All he did for the past four years is behave himself, get good grades, work harder, win more, care more and inspire more people
than any player we’ll ever see. If you don’t think that’s great, it says more about you than Tim Tebow.

The Gospel on Offense

The Gospel on Offense
The Faith of Tim Tebow
By Mark EarleyPublished Date: October 01, 2009


There’s a reason you’ll find cover stories about Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow. And it’s not just his football prowess.

America’s largest church has a capacity to hold 16,000. But while Tim Tebow may not be a preacher, when he runs into the University of Florida’s football Stadium—affectionately known as “The Swamp”—his congregation numbers just over 90,000. And you can bet they’re hearing Tim’s message.

It’s not just that this University of Florida quarterback wears Bible verses etched into his eye black on game days. Tim Tebow has been making headlines for more than simply his Heisman Trophy win as a sophomore and his two national championships. This summer the New York Times, GQ, and Sports Illustrated all covered the quarterback’s strong Christian faith.

Last year, when the Florida Gators won the national championship, the pre-game show followed Tim into a local Florida prison where he can regularly be found sharing his testimony and preaching the Gospel.

And this top-notch athlete, who spends his spring breaks and summers ministering to orphans in the Philippines has actually helped change the culture of the University of Florida. According to Sports Illustrated, “Since Tebow’s arrival on campus, and in large part because of him, the University has launched a series of community-service initiatives.” Even coach Urban Meyer has taken his family on a “Tebow-inspired mission trip to the Dominican Republic.”

The press seems to be fascinated with outspoken Christian quarterbacks like Tim Tebow; Sam Bradford, the 2008 Heisman winner; and now USC’s Matt Barkley. Only a few decades ago, it would have been taken for granted that these would be the kinds of fellows any father would want his daughter to marry. Now they are put under the microscope as some kind of curious anomaly—well-known athletes who actually exhibit character.

In our doped-up, mug-shot celebrity culture, sadly these young men do look a little out of step. And that’s to our culture’s shame.

Perhaps that why last year when the press asked Tim Tebow a rather impertinent question—they were more embarrassed by the response than he was. It was at a Southeastern Conference news media event where one reporter asked in front of the crowded room, “Are you a virgin?” Tim answered with an unequivocal yes and had yet another platform to explain how his faith impacts every area of his life.

That platform for sharing the Gospel is exactly what Tim’s parents prayed for before he was born. Tim’s father, Bob, a missionary in the Philippines, had been weeping over the millions of babies aborted in America. It was then that he prayed, “God, if you give me a son, if you give me Timmy, I’ll raise him to be a preacher.”

Soon after, when Pam Tebow learned she was expecting, the parents’ faith was put to the test. After a series of grave complications, doctors encouraged them to abort the child. They refused. Born small and weak, Timmy struggled from the beginning. But his dad continued to tell him, “God’s got a purpose for you, and at some point, He’s going to call you to preach.”

Dad was right. God’s message would come through the roar of the crowd, beamed to millions via satellite. But little did they know, Tim would don a jersey, not robes, and use a stadium for his pulpit.

Tim’s a great example of an opportunity every believer has—to put our faith to work on the field of play where God has gifted us and called us.

(A personal note: Recently, in our fellowship here in Shreveport, one of our men read the Sports Illustrated article on Tim. He confessed to his wife that for years he had dodged the preaching of the word by doing other things in the church because he knew that even thought he was a preacher's son - he didn't have a personal relationship with Jesus! Our friend, Ed Hearron - deacon, great father, moral giant - bowed His knee to trust Jesus as the way the truth and the life. Don't miss heaven for anybody or anything! - Price)

First Baptist Satsuma Homecoming

[Photo] Ann and were so blessed to be at First Baptist Church Satsuma for their Homecoming Weekend. Pastor Roy Hill and his staff were such good hosts and we enjoyed staying with our friend, Perry Shewmake. God is working there - they baptized three young mothers and their daughters at the beginning of the service. How many times have you seen that happen? We were saddened at the death of one of our favorite friends while we were there. George and Carol Davenport and their girls were so faithful. George was on his patio watching the birds and drinking a glass of tea when the Lord just suddenly took him home. Pray for this family during this time. Ann and I were there from 1994 to 1969 and worked with music and youth. Precious Memories of Old Friends. Price Harris

Labels: Old Friends

The Passing of a Pop Star

A very tender and inciteful article

The Pinnacle of Success?

July 8, 2009
I am an aging, white conservative Baptist. My taste in music runs from Bach to Mozart to Lawrence Welk. Indeed, my staff might say I am the un-hippest man alive.
So you might think that I am surprised by the frenzied and non-stop media coverage of the death of Michael Jackson—perhaps the greatest pop star of all time. But I’m not.
You may think that I don’t “get” why his fans by the millions are grieving, buying up Jackson CDs like they are going out of style, holding vigils at his mansion, desperately trying to get tickets to his memorial service in Los Angeles. But I do.
Here is why they have reason to mourn: Michael Jackson was, by any standard, a musical genius. His albums and his videos thrilled successive generations of pop fans. In fact, I was enthralled myself when I first watched his video presentation at an Epcot exhibit some 20 years ago.
There was, indeed, no one quite like Michael Jackson. And now there will be no new albums, no comeback concert tour, no new dance moves. That’s why they’re mourning.
But here’s why they—and all of us—should mourn the real tragedy that Michael Jackson’s story is. Andrew Sullivan at the Atlantic Monthly blog said it well: Michael Jackson “was everything our culture worships; and yet he was obviously desperately unhappy, tortured, afraid and alone.” He was, as Sullivan noted, nothing but a creature of our culture, which puts “fame and celebrity” at its core, with money as its driving force, without regard for the person caught up in it or the character he exhibits.
By numerous published accounts, Jackson was emotionally abused by his father, a man consumed by the idea that his child could be a superstar. Jackson was a drug addict accused of pedophilia, given to all manner of bizarre behavior. He was, in the end, as Bob Herbert opined in the New York Times, “psychologically disabled, to the point where he was a danger to himself and others.”
It makes the scenes of adoring crowds pushing and shoving to get near yesterday’s memorial service, and the non-stop live television coverage, all the more bizarre and tragic. We worship the celebrity for his fame, degenerate lifestyle not withstanding.
Jackson achieved the summit of what this culture values most—fame—and paid for it with his life. And that is a tragedy.
Life is filled with teaching moments. And for parents, this tragedy is an opportunity to talk with our children about what they really want out of life—what matters most.
And it’s also a time for parents to look in the mirror and ask what we really want for our kids. If the answer is success in life, then we had better know what that definition of success is.
That’s because even Christian parents are not immune to the siren song of fame and fortune for their kids. It’s great that your child can sing and dance. It’s wonderful that he can hit a baseball a country mile. She just might win that academic scholarship to Harvard.
But winning that scholarship, or playing in the major leagues, is not the Christian definition of success. Doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with your God is.
Character matters. Not fame. No matter how un-hip that sounds.

www.breakpoint.org

July/August 2009

July/August 2009 Dear Friends, As we reflect on our trip to Romania, our hearts are just full. The highlight of the trip was to see 144 precious people respond to the gospel message. Several years ago we met a precious Campus Crusade missionary, Cristina Marinescu. We became involved in helping her through your gifts to our work. I had the joy of sharing with her sister, Ionela, on one of our earlier trips and she was saved. Cristina has been burdened that her parents come to Christ. Her Mother was saved earlier, and that left her Father. He is a professor in a university in Ploiesti, Romania and every year has come to our meetings there. After church this year, after the team had prayed faithfully for him, Bro. Mike Goforth had the joy of leading him to Christ. Cristina interpreted as he was saved!

We were able to give to the Viisoari Gypsy Ministry the funds for continuing the program through the 2009-2010 school year. What a quality ministry! We were there for a morning and saw several respond to the gospel. Also, we delivered funds to the Esther Foundation. They continue to help young ladies and couples as their babies are born. Romania leads Europe in abortions, but our help saves many precious lives each year. Thanks for helping me bear the burden for these ministries. We will go back to Romania in June of next year. Why not begin to pray about making this trip with us.

One of our most faithful supporters was a lady named Lena Lively! We met Lena over 30 years ago in a meeting in Baton Rouge. Every month she faithfully sent a small check and a note of encouragement. We will miss her so much. The last time Ann and I saw her was at Jefferson Baptist Church. She probably weighed less than 100 pounds, but came with her oxygen bottle to support us. Pray for her family and know that our ministry survives on the Lena Livelys’ who feel impressed to pray for us. Lena looks on from heaven and is a motivation for us to be faithful.

This year our Labor Day mission will be to New Orleans, LA. There has been so much trouble and publicity about the borders of Mexico, that I felt it would be wise to divert to another plan. We will leave early on Friday morning of September 4, drive to New Orleans and then on Saturday minister at the Global Maritime Ministry until noon. The director, Phillip Vandercook is a long time friend. That afternoon we will work with Pastor Dave Fochum and the River Place Campus of Celebration Church. We will have a block party and then stay for the services on Sunday morning. We will leave from Shreveport, but if you want to join us in New Orleans, be sure you send a $50 deposit to our address by August 1.

We have a busy schedule the remainder of the summer – there are some good dates still available this fall. Pray with us that we will fill these dates as the Lord leads.

The year is quickly passing – it won’t be long until January and the Night of Praise. What a great night is planned for January 8, 2010 with Aaron Wilburn, Johnny Parrack and the Calvary Boys. Circle this night in red on your personal calendar. God bless – pray for us to be faithful, healthy and in the center of HIS will.

In HIS love, Price and Ann Harris

MAY - JUNE NEWSLETTER

May/June 2009

Dear Friends:

My Choice

I want my breakfast served at eight, with ham and eggs upon the plate,
A well-broiled steak I’ll eat at one, and dine again when day is done.

I want an ultramodern home, and in each room a telephone,
Soft carpets, too, upon the floors, and pretty drapes to grace the doors.

I want my wardrobe, too, to be, of neatest, finest quality,
With latest style in suit and vent: why should not Christians have the best?

But then the Master I can hear, in no uncertain voice so clear,
“I bid you come and follow me, the Lowly Man of Galilee.”

If He be God, and died for me, no sacrifice too great can be
For me, a mortal man to make; I’ll do it all for Jesus sake.

Yes, I will tread the path He trod, no other way to please my God;
So henceforth, this my choice shall be, my choice throughout eternity.

Missionary William McChesney
(martyred in Congo – November 24, 1964)
http://www.inlovewithjesuschrist.com/slain-missionarys-mother

I have pondered and prayed several months about sharing this poem with you all. However, as we approach our leaving time for Romania this summer – it was good for me to reflect on on our purpose for making the trips. So many of you give to make it possible – we want to labor for the Master and for Him alone. Pray for us – we’ll leave on Tuesday, June 3 and return on Monday, June 15. There will be 16 travelers from all over. It will be a great blessing to have Bro. Carl Carrigan with us this year. This will be his first trip – and the people will love his ministry. Also, Jim Lyons, a long-time friend will be going with us. Jim is a world-class weight lifter and has won many awards in his age category. Jim is from Louisiana but lives in Dallas and is a member of Prestonwood Baptist. He really felt God speaking to him about the trip at our Night of Praise in January.

As has been our practice, for several years we will be taking gifts for the two special projects that we support there – The Esther Foundation (a pregnancy crisis ministry), and the Viisoara Gypsy Feeding ministry. Your gifts this month will help us complete the goal for this year. Pray that God will save many precious souls and that God will use us to encourage the people. We have in our garage a great collection of children’s clothes that friends have donated. We will be getting these ready to ship over between now and our departure date. A precious lady in Bossier City has given us knitted caps for each of the gypsy children. Every work for Jesus will be blessed! The offerings for Millions for Missions (pennies and special gifts) have been more than $4500.00 since the first of the year. About $1500.00 are actually pennies that we have received and counted. “Little is Much When God is in It”.

Thank you for your continued prayers for our family and for Jon specifically – he is back at work. God has done a great work!

In HIS love,

Price and Ann Harris