Exploring God’s Great Outdoors – Voices From a Faith-filled Convention

By Tom Claycomb III

All of the big-name Christian authors, speakers and movie producers attend the National Religious Broadcasting Convention. I attend as Media so I get offered to do 5,000,000 interviews but can only fit in about 25 if my assistant and I want to have a few free minutes to work the show, preview movies, etc. So, let’s cover some of the most interesting interviews that we did. Due to space restrictions, I’m not be able to do them justice!

You’d expect me to have a form with questions to ask. Such as:

• When did you come to the Lord?, or
• How did you come about getting into your ministry?

But what if my generic Christianese verbiage list didn’t allow them to express their passion? So this year I only asked one question: What is your passion?

LANA SILK: She softly repeated my question, “What is my passion?” Then with fire in her eyes she exclaimed, “I want Iran for Christ! Every bit of it!” I could have closed the interview right then. What could be added to that? Pretty much covered it all, but she went on to give me some Iranian history. The Magi gave gold to Jesus in the manger, which probably sustained Joseph, Mary and Jesus to live on while in Egypt. Esther lived there; Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego; Daniel. She’s passionate that God is going to use Iran. There’s over 1,000,000 Christians there. She showed me a short video of Iranian Christians doing prayer walks and praying over their cities and streets and buildings. It was cool. Go for it, Lana. (Visit TransformIran.com)

1. HORMOZ SHARIAT: Love this guy! Gung-ho and passionate. Goal? To transform Iran and inform Americans and invite us to have a part in the Middle East. His satellite TV has over 6,000,000 daily viewers, as well as radio broadcasts, into the Middle East. God is revealing Himself to them in dreams and visions so much so that they think that’s the norm. (I’ve been hearing rumblings of this for the past few years from many sources.) Before my interview I asked my buddy Naghmeh Panahi if she knew a guy from Iran named Dr. Shariat. She excitedly said, “He’s my uncle. He led me to the Lord.” Of course I had to text her a picture of me and him at the show. Nagmeh asked me who the girl in the picture was. That it looked like Neda, one of the house church leaders that Nagmeh attended in Iran. Sure enough it was. I don’t really know Dr. Hormoz Shariat but I love his countenance. He beams with joy. I just ordered his book, “Iran’s Great Awakening.” (Check out IranAlive.org)

RENATA DASILVA: From 100 yards away Renata is easily distinguished as a Christian by her beaming smile. She’s on staff with BLEXIT. As advertised, she provided a fresh perspective on racial issues. I loved her attitude. She said we are victors, not victims. She was whipping out so many profound quotes that I couldn’t write them all down.

Such as: An absence of God is the presence of evil.

I didn’t get to attend her 2-hour panel discussion, but they were going to cover moving blacks from a victim mentality into one of victory in Jesus and to accept personal responsibility. I hated missing the panel. Next year I’m taking 1-2 more assistants so I don’t miss any premier meetings like this. (Check her out at https://godandcountrybyrenata.com/)

VIRGINIA PRODAN: Unbelievable. A lawyer in Romania. She uncovered a lot of corruption in the Romanian government. Ceausescu sent an assassin to kill her. Put his pistol against her head. Soon she was leading him to the Lord. Another time, guards were slamming her head against the desk and against the wall. She told them she didn’t like them but that God was telling her to tell them that He loved them so she had to forgive them too. They quit beating her, turned around and started crying.

I asked how she got to America. Due to the exposed corruption, President Reagan told Romania he was cutting off their aid. But he’d extend the aid for one year if they released Virginia and her family. She later got invited to the White House to meet President Reagan. After arriving in America she got a law degree since her Romanian law degree was not valid here. Her mission is to help America fight against socialism and to act courageously even under persecution to keep America free. Her book is titled, “Saving My Assassin.” (See VirginiaProdan.com)

TIM MAHONEY: In school they teach evolution as a cold hard fact. (Even though their cold hard facts change and are replaced with another set of hard facts, frequently.) I’m not a scientist/archeologist so I can’t argue on that level. But I love it when others can. The last few decades God has raised up a slew of outspoken Christian scientists and archaeologists. Tim was told there was no archeological evidence of the Israelis ever being in Egypt. Really? So he flew over to Egypt and spent 12 years researching and producing the movies, “Patterns of Evidence for Exodus” and “Patterns of Evidence: The Israel Dilemma.” He is annihilating one lie after another. He said if he can physically prove that what God says here and there in Scripture is true, then we’ll know that everything else He says is also true. Check out his movies. (AmericanMiracleMovie.com)

CHRISTOPHER BETH: I met The Bucket Ministry crew at an outdoor show in Texas last summer but finally met the founder, Christopher Beth, at NRB. Unique how he started this ministry. His 16-year-old daughter was going overseas on a mission trip, so being the dad, he went too. He was shocked when he saw the dirty river water the locals had to drink. He was doubly shocked to learn that they don’t even name their kids until they’re 2 years old — too many died beforehand.

He got with a company called Sawyer and developed a water filter that fits onto a 5-gallon bucket. They give them out free with the stipulation that they get to visit twice to ensure it is properly being used — which coincidentally allows for witnessing opportunities. He’ll go into slum sections and give families a filter. He’s smart in that they have local pastors, missionaries and laborers do the follow-up work. If they get saved then they can get plugged into a local body.

Below are some quotes off their website at https://thebucketministry.org/.

• The reality of clean water scarcity is commonly endemic to regions of the world that also lack any evangelical presence or knowledge of the gospel message. Where there isn’t any clean water, there usually isn’t any Living Water either.
• The mission of The Bucket Ministry is to provide underprivileged communities around the world with both.
• When we first meet an individual’s physical needs, they become much more open and receptive to their spiritual needs being met as well. It’s through this holistic approach that we’ve been able to watch God move in the hearts of thousands around the world and help end the physical suffering of even more.

MATTHEW & KRISTINA SPENCER: They said military enlistees are taught all manner of survival skills, how to use their weapons, how to clean their weapons, etc., etc. But no one teaches them how to make their marriage survive the military life. This is their goal, to strengthen marriages amidst the unique challenges of service life.  Check out their book, “Valor & Vows.” Send it to your kids in the military.

GIGI BUTLER: Gigi moved to Nashville to be a singer. Through a few twists, she ended up opening a cupcake shop, eventually expanding to 125 shops in 25 states. She sold the company in 2016 and is coming out with a cooking/hospitality show. It will be a cooking show which will lead into her guests sharing their spiritual journey. I love how creative people get in glorifying God. I also love seeing time after time how, unbeknownst to us, God is perfectly training us and placing us in positions so we can be used by Him. We never even know what is going on until He pulls back the veil.

1. SAUNDRA DALTON-SMITH: When I saw her book titled, “Sacred Rest,” I had to interview her. I think it’s a big deal to observe the Sabbath and wanted to hear her take. I’ve read about half of the book so far and am enjoying it. She comes from a different angle than I expected. I’ve been trying to work on abiding in Christ and would sort of sum up her angle as that you have to abide in Christ to find real rest or you’ll never be rested no matter how many hours you sleep or how many sleeping pills you take. She told me that most people with a great work ethic have a zero rest ethic. Ministers who work in the flesh won’t hit the level they could if they learn to abide. Trying to conform to the world brings pressure. She is a good writer and has a new book out titled, “Being Fully Known.”

CHRISTINE TRIMPE: If I can paraphrase, her goal is simple and laser-focused. She wants to help overweight Christian women lose weight, thereby improving their self-worth. She lost 100 pounds and likes to help others. Her book is titled, “SugarFreed.”

BENNY DICHIARA: Benny is the lead singer for the band Empowered. He said that, “Sometimes God does His best work when we’re just going about our daily business.” (I too have found this to be true). After a traumatic brain injury, Benny went from worldly music to Christian rock. When we talked, his band was scheduled to play a rugby event in Louisiana. He’s reaching crowds that I never could.

EPOCH TIMES: There’s two sources from which I get my news: Mike Huckabee and The Epoch Times. The ET is run by a group that escaped from communist China. They publish a weekly newspaper. I think it cost me $150 per year. They also send daily emails. It’s actual reporting! For me, reading the ET is refreshing.

So when I had a chance to interview Janice Trey, the CEO of ET, I jumped at the chance. She knows first-hand the horrors of communism. She was born during China’s Cultural Revolution. Her dad was a successful businessman, but since he didn’t bow down to the revolutionaries, her family got sent to a labor camp. As the adults worked in the fields, an old lady watched dozens of their kids, so Janice babysat her little brother in this so-called nursery. All they had to play with were rocks, so they made up their own rock games. At the ripe old age of 9, Janice was made to work in the fields.

She told me how despicable communism is and described its horrors. During the years 1966-1976, the communists burned books and killed or imprisoned professors.

A 30-minute interview was not enough so we scheduled for me to get to go to her booth on-stage, and they recorded our second interview. Halfway through I realized how important this history was and wanted my daughter to hear it. Janice allowed me to go get Kolby and let her finish the second half of the recorded interview so Kolby could hear first-hand how horrible communism is. I hear that our youth have been swayed to believe that socialism/communism is a glorious thing. This evil needs to be exposed. I am so happy that my daughter got to hear first-hand from Janice.

LISA BURKHARDT WORLEY and LANE JORDAN BURDAY: We had a fun interview. They are lively! I won’t be able to cover all that they do, so I’ll just hit the highlights. They have a devotional which is a 52-week devotional (5-day/wk.) titled, “Treasured: A 52-Week Pearls of Promise Devotional.” They are both authors and have written numerous books.

They own Pearls of Promise Ministries. Lisa spent 19 years as a local and national sports anchor and reporter for the NBA and NFL. She is now an author, public speaker and producer and co-host of POP Talk television and radio.

Lane is the author of 11 books. She is an international speaker, life coach, Bible teacher, recording artist, prayer coordinator, cohost for Pearls of Promise Radio and Television Ministry, and was an associate producer for the program In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley.

PATTI GARIBAY: Due to the large volume of interviews that I have to do, I took my daughter to help me out. She wrote this interview (which is why this one will be better written than the others). After years of involvement with the Girl Scouts of America, Patti found herself at a crossroads of choosing between the well-known and established Girl Scouts programs that she had loved for so many years and the shifting ideology the Girl Scouts were now embracing. Preceded by much prayer and contemplation, Patti felt God was leading her towards a completely new venture, an endeavor that would blossom into a beautiful legacy for the young women of America.

Through that effort sprouted the American Heritage Girls, a program that still incorporates the character-building skills of the Girl Scouts, while being grounded in Christian principles and a Christ-centric philosophy. AHG programs are available in every state for young women ages 5-18. For more information about AHG and its commitment to the young women of America, visit americanheritagegirls.org.

 

For more information about anything in this column, contact Tom at [email protected].