Televangelist Oral Roberts Passes

God is merciful and good. Televangelist Oral Roberts died on Tuesday, December 15, 2009 from complications related to pneumonia and a fall he sustained in his home last weekend. He was 91 years old. When I first read that he'd passed this morning on Facebook, I started thinking about my personal memories of having met him.

I had the privilege and honor of meeting he and his wife in person in 2005, while on a speaking tour in Southern California along with Princess Zulu. We were introduced by a mutual friend, Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in Orange County, CA.
Rev. Roberts honored us by saying he'd come to church that day to hear Princess Zulu speak and share her incredible story. He had a marvelous sense of humor and we took a picture with him.

I also recall visiting his namesake university in Tulsa, Okla., the first Pentecostal university in the world, ironically built by a man who never finished college. As I was driving down the road at nightime in Tulsa, I remember how frightened I was when I approached Oral Roberts University campus and the 60 foot bronze statue of praying hands lit up by a series of flood lights. I wasn't sure what they were at first, but I drove back during the daytime and was so awestruck by the structure's grandeur and the peaceful way I felt walking on the campus.

Rest in peace, Oral Roberts. You led a full life and touched many lives in the Name of Jesus.

Pastor Rick Warren reaches out to Muslims in U.S.

One of my favorite authors, Pastor Rick Warren recently told several thousand American Muslims that "the two largest faiths on the planet" must work together to combat stereotypes and solve global problems. I was very happy to see him extend an olive branch towards a population of people who have been basically despised primarily because of their home countries' political agendas, and not because of the religion itself. Both Muslims and Christians are decendants of Abraham, a prophet found in the Old Testament.

"Some problems are so big you have to team tackle them," evangelical megachurch pastor Rick Warren addressed the annual convention of the Islamic Society of North America.
Warren said Muslims and Christians should be partners in working to end what he calls "the five global giants" of war, poverty, corruption, disease and illiteracy.

Warren is the founder of Saddleback Community Church in Orange County, California and the author of "The Purpose Driven Life." His willingness to show support for U.S. Muslims is a huge gain for the community, which has endured intense scrutiny since 9/11.
"It's easier to be an extremist of any kind because then you only have one group of people mad at you," he said. "But if you actually try to build relationships — like invite an evangelical pastor to your gathering — you'll get criticized for it. So will I."