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Remembering Jamie Buckingham

How the charismatic leader’s impact remains 20 years after his death

For a quarter century Jamie Buckingham was the conscience of the charismatic movement. Through his many books, speaking engagements and his monthly “Last Word” in Charisma for 13 years, he called things as he saw them. Now, two decades after his death, we reflect on the spiritual giant he was and his genius as a writer.

Jamie received the baptism of the Holy Spirit in 1967 at a Full Gospel Businessmen’s convention while researching for his first book, Run, Baby, Run, co-authored with Nicky Cruz. Jamie had been a Southern Baptist, but two devastating moral failures left him wounded, humbled and aware he needed the power of the Holy Spirit in his life. He was always open about his own failures in his sermons, columns and books such as Risky Living, and that transparency drew people to him. 

Only Jamie could write about a “sock-eating demon” in his washing machine and make a spiritual point. Or tell how God had to essentially give the Israelites a laxative in the Sinai Desert to “get Egypt out of them.” He loved the Sinai and made several pilgrimages there. In 1979 I climbed Mount Sinai with him (he scaled it six times). It wasn’t only a wonderful experience; Jamie transferred to me his love for Israel, which I have to this day.

No big ministries were beyond having Jamie prick their pompous religious balloons. He was concerned with the extreme fundraising and big egos on Christian TV, which he warned was bound to collapse. And so it did with the PTL scandal of the 1980s, followed by Jimmy Swaggart’s scandal a couple of years later. When the church was reeling from those scandals, Jamie’s voice was a voice of reason—as shown in a powerful cover story he wrote for us after the PTL empire collapsed called “God Is Shaking His Church.” 

Jamie entered my life when I was in my late 20s, struggling to make a small church magazine succeed. While others helped, it was Jamie agreeing to write regular columns in Charisma that put us on the map in the early days. But more than that, he became my mentor, friend and in many ways our spiritual “covering” in the way that Jack Hayford is today.

For several years I’d drive 80 miles to Melbourne, Fla., once a month to have lunch with Jamie and spend hours dreaming, strategizing and problem-solving. He’d challenge me to think bigger and to believe God. He posed a question that he probably heard somewhere but that was nonetheless life-changing for me: “What would you do if you knew you could not fail?”

Jamie was excited about ministry and life. Aside from his own books, he wrote for and hob-nobbed with big names such as Kathryn Kuhlman, Pat Robertson, Dennis Bennett and David du Plessis, yet still befriended unknown people like me. He built a great church in Melbourne, traveled the world and was a prolific writer. He always said he wanted to live to be 100.

But at age 58 he collapsed while playing racquetball. At the hospital they found he had cancer of the kidney. After his kidney was removed, it seemed the cancer was gone, and during the process something wonderful happened, which he recounted in Summer of Miracles. And in one of his last columns, he wrote: “Having tasted from the sweet spring of intimacy with God, we will never again be satisfied with lapping from Earth’s polluted puddles.” Tragically, the cancer came back with a vengeance, and weeks before he turned 60, Jamie went to be with the Jesus he loved.

That was Feb. 17, 1992. Now, 20 years later, we honor him with a monthlong tribute on the website of the magazine he not only edited during the last few years of his life but was also instrumental in helping to start: Ministry Today. Every day we’ll have something new either from or about Jamie. You can write your own tribute or reflections about him and what his life meant to you by going online to ministrytodaymag.com/jamie.

Few readers had the opportunity to know Jamie as I did. But you can still be influenced through his writing, which lives on. One such memorable line is in Shout It From the Housetops and challenges us all: “Attempt something so big that without God it is bound to fail.”

DON'T MISS OUR CONFERENCE CALL WITH MARRIAGE EXPERT JIMMY EVANS ON TUESDAY, DEC. 13

You don't want to miss the next Ministry21/Ministry Today conference call tomorrow with pastor, marriage expert and author Jimmy Evans. Join us for an hour of engaging conversation with the senior leader of 10,000-plus strong Trinity Fellowship Church in Amarillo, Texas, for the past 29 years on Tuesday, Dec. 13, at 4 p.m. EDT, 3 p.m. CDT, 2 p.m. MDT and 1 p.m. PDT.

Here is the call information: Dial-in number (712) 432-1000; access code: 597057048#. Listen in as we to talk to Jimmy about strengthening marriage, the theme of the November-December issue of Ministry Today, now available.

Jimmy is also the founder and CEO of Marriage Today, a ministry that is devoted to helping couples build strong and fulfilling marriages and families. You can read Jimmy's informative article about avoiding the traps of ministry marriages in the November-December issue of Ministry Today by clicking here click here. 

DID YOU MISS THIS IN THE NEWS?

GIVE YOUR MARRIAGE A MAKEOVER IN A MONTH

EXCITING 'MINISTRY TODAY' GUEST EDITORS LINEUP FOR 2012

GOT A QUESTION ABOUT SEX FOR DR. DOUG WEISS?

You don't want to miss the Ministry21/Ministry Today conference call next week with Dr. Doug Weiss. Join us for an hour of engaging conversation with the nationally known author, speaker and Christian counselor on Tuesday, Nov. 15, at 4 p.m. EDT, 3 p.m. CDT, 2 p.m. MDT and 1 p.m. PDT.

Here is the call information: Dial-in number (712) 432-1000; access code: 536322215#. Listen in and call in with your questions as we to talk to Dr. Weiss about strengthening marriage, the theme of the November-December issue of Ministry Today, now available.

CATCH LEADERSHIP EXPERT TIM ELMORE FOR OUR NEXT CONFERENCE CALL

DID YOU MISS THIS IN THE NEWS?

DO YOU WANT CHRISTIAN NEWS FOR YOUR WEB SITE?

MINISTRY21 NETWORK IS IN LIGHTS

LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLES YOU CAN USE

The third of four sessions of Dr. Mark Rutland's National Institute of Christian Leadership (NICL) this year was recently held in Tulsa, Okla. I had the privilege of attending, and it was as good if not better than any of the previous sessions Dr. Rutland has done.

Click here to watch a video of Dr. Rutland talking about how you can participate in the NICL.

The topic of the recent NICL was on Public Speaking, Preaching and the Relationship of the Pastor with the Music Minister. Dr. Rutland gave one of the most interesting analysis I've heard on the growth and evolution of Christian music over the years, and he compared it with what was happening with secular music at the same time. It was very fascinating. It dealt a lot with the cultural issues of what's going on in the church and the world.

The next session (Turning the Ship: Strategic Leadership for Growth) of the NICL is to be held Nov. 7-9 at Strang Center in Lake Mary, Fla., located near Orlando, and the headquarters of Ministry Today.

You can also plan to attend the four sessions of the NICL in 2012: Feb. 6-8 (Leadership Management); March 26-28 (Staff & Volunteers: Building, Directing & Leading for Quality); and Sept. 10-12 (Preaching & Worship: Excellence in Expression). Several universities recognize Dr. Rutland’s leadership training. By completing the four-session course, you can earn college credit towards your degree.

For more information on the NICL, contact Daniel Prince at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , call him at 407-333-7106 or click here.

JOIN US FOR A CONFERENCE CALL WITH PASTOR SHARON DAUGHERTY

Share this with your friends. We are widely publicizing it, and we expect a lot of people on the call. Here is the call information: Dial-in number (712) 432-1001; access code: 430871248#.

Along with her late husband, Billy Joe Daugherty, pastor Sharon founded Victory Christian Center in 1981. Victory, which has a membership of 17,000, has planted more than 1,000 International Victory Bible Institutes in 98 countries. Pastor Daugherty is the host of Victory in Jesus, a daily broadcast that is transmitted via satellite to more than 200 nations. She is the author of several books, and has also produced 12 music CDs. She is the Oklahoma state director for Christians United for Israel and a graduate of Oral Roberts University.

Listen in as we to talk to pastor Sharon about leadership, the theme of the September-October issue of Ministry Today. Click here to read pastor Sharon's article on “Leading Through Loss” in the magazine's latest issue, now available.

After the Republican Debate: Why This Isn't Politics as Usual

While attending last night's showdown in my hometown, I was reminded of the crucial role believers play in our country's future

It was interesting to attend the Republican presidential debate in Orlando, Fla., last night as a member of the media. Charisma doesn't usually cover debates like this, and I wouldn't have attended had it not been in my hometown. It was broadcast live on Fox News and, truth be told, I could've seen it better on TV at home.

Even though I took notes on what the candidates said, I knew my readers either watched the debate or could read more extensive articles elsewhere. The question I had to ask was: "Where is God in all this? How does this affect the Spirit-filled community? And how do I cover it in Charisma?"

The most interesting experience for me was after the debate when Doug Wead, who is a "senior adviser" with candidate Ron Paul, approached me in the "spin room" as hundreds of media people milled around interviewing whoever they could find. I've known Doug since I was a teenager. He's been a political gadfly for years, serving in various campaigns and once working in the White House for George H.W. Bush as a liaison to the evangelical community. In that role Doug arranged a couple of appointments for me with President Bush. He also worked closely with the president's son and had some sort of falling out that resulted in his being persona non grata later when George W. Bush became president.

Now Doug has resurfaced in the political world working for Ron Paul, even though historically he has not been a libertarian. This is after an unsuccessful campaign for Congress, a stint in Amway, writing books and who knows what else.

Like me, Doug has a Pentecostal background, and over the years he has told me many conspiracy theories about all the behind-the-scenes things in politics where Pentecostals are marginalized or persecuted—if not by the liberals, then by the non-charismatic evangelicals. I find his theories interesting because some of what he says is probably right—I just never know which part.

First, he told me about all the born-again Christians who now work for Paul, as if that would make it easier for me to support Paul (which I don't). He said they like Paul's libertarian stance of keeping the government out of people's lives, even though that means things like giving Muslims the right to build a mosque at Ground Zero. That's because if the government can keep Muslims from building a mosque, the government can prevent Christians from building churches.

He also speculated about how the conservative Christian power brokers are jockeying this political season to "have a seat at the table." I listened as Doug theorized that some of these evangelicals are so anti-Pentecostal that they'll refuse to back a candidate like Michele Bachmann just because she graduated from Oral Roberts University. He said they like having "their own candidate" so they recruited Rick Perry, a former Methodist turned Southern Baptist, to run for president.

I don't necessarily agree with Doug's assessment. But my own involvement in former Gov. Mike Huckabee's campaign in 2008 let me see some of these dynamics at work. I'm glad Christians are getting involved. For years Pentecostals were passive and quiet when it came to politics. But with the direction our country is going, it's not just a political issue any more. There is a moral issue of getting leaders into office who share our values and legislate and lead accordingly.

Thankfully, good people are running for office. I believe George W. Bush was a sincere evangelical, as we documented in a book we published in 2003 called The Faith of George W. Bush. (Wead tried to make me think last night that Bush only pretended to be an evangelical.)

The reason I supported Huckabee was because of his character, his motivation to get this country on the right track and because he seemed to appreciate support from Christians rather than take it for granted, as many do. It wasn't until evangelicals supported him that he rose from being an asterisk in the polls to winning the important Iowa Caucus in 2008. Alas, he lost that early momentum to John McCain and as a result Barack Obama is in the White House today.

With Huckabee's decision not to run I'm in a quandary of who to support. I have my personal favorites, but that's not necessarily a reason to support someone—just because you like them.

Interestingly, the debate came about the same time we are finishing a Charisma cover story for November called "Pentecostals, Politics and a Crash Course That Could Change a Nation." John Stemberger, the attorney who led the campaign to put a marriage amendment in the Florida constitution, is writing it. He looks at many of these issues, including how politicians—especially the left—attack any candidate who has a Pentecostal connection, such as John Ashcroft, Sarah Palin or Michele Bachmann. It isn't your typical "political issue" and we don't endorse anyone. But I think you'll find it interesting.

There is a battle for the soul of this nation that goes deeper than just "politics." Since America stands for freedom around the world, what happens here has ramifications around the world. This isn't the place to discuss in depth the terrible condition of the nation nor how President Obama seems to be leading in the wrong direction. With him going down in the polls almost daily—even with his core constituencies—it's as if the country is waking up to this. But it's more than just replacing him with someone with a more conservative approach to governing. There is a spiritual dynamic involved. Remember, "we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers" (Ephesians 6:12).

The Bible tells us to pray for righteous leaders who we can live a peaceable life (See 1 Tim. 2:1-2). So my takeaway after being immersed in the political world for a few hours: Pray! For all intercessors, pray that God will give us leaders both in government, business and in other areas, who will get this nation on the right path.

JOIN US FOR A CONFERENCE CALL WITH THE CALL FOUNDER LOU ENGLE

This month our Ministry 21 conference call is with Lou Engle. Join us for an hour of interesting conversation with the founder of The Call on Tuesday, Aug. 23, at 4 p.m. EDT, 3 p.m. CDT, 2 p.m. MDT and 1 p.m. PDT.

Here is the call information: Dial-in number (712) 432-1000; access code: 535576622#.

A senior leader of the International House of Prayer (IHOP-KC) in Kansas City, Mo., Lou came to prominence after launching The Call, which has drawn crowds of more than 100,000 to its 12-hour prayer rallies for breakthrough and revival.

Listen in as we to talk Lou about his ministry, the state of affairs in the United States and his part in The Response—the prayer and fasting assembly in Houston that drew media attention earlier this month. If you missed the report in Charisma News, click here.

Click here to read Lou's article on God's plans for victorious spiritual battle in the July/August issue of Ministry Today, now available.

SHARPEN YOUR LEADERSHIP EDGE WITH HELP FROM DR. MARK RUTLAND

We've finalized the next issue of Ministry Today for September-October with Dr. Mark Rutland, president of Oral Roberts University, as the guest editor.

It's an excellent issue, and you won't want to miss it. Besides the information that you'll get in the issue, I want to call your attention to our partnership with Dr. Rutland on the National Institute of Christian Leadership (NICL). The next session is to be held Sept. 12-14 in Tulsa, Okla. If you register, you can bring your music minister, worship leader or another staff member to the Preaching & Worship session for a special price. We're thrilled to be part of the NICL, which is an intense training and learning experience.

The leadership training has impacted many pastors and ministry leaders. "There's so much great information, and my life and ministry have been blessed by it," said Daniel Kolenda, president and CEO of Christ for All Nations. "I want to encourage everyone out there who has a desire to learn more, to grow in leadership, to grow in ministry and plug into the National Institute of Christian Leadership because it will enrich your ministry, enrich your business and enrich your life."

Justin Senesi, senior pastor of New Life Community Church in Rathdrum, Ind., added: "The National Institute of Christian Leadership has helped me as a young pastor to know that I'm going the right way. I'm surrounded by people who have done this before. They are a great resource to help me be successful moving forward to see our church accomplish all that God has for us."

There are four NICL sessions per year. Seating is limited, so registering early ensures more interaction and personal attention. Start as early as next month or attend the first NICL session of 2012 in February. Ask us about college credit, how spouses can attend at no charge, Early Bird and group discounts.

For more information on the National Institute of Christian Leadership, contact Daniel Prince at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , call him at 407-333-7106 or click here.

Known for his remarkable ability to turnaround struggling organizations, Dr. Rutland is often sought after for leadership training and has written several books published by Charisma House and Creation House, including Hanging by a Thread; Nevertheless; Dream; Power; Holiness; Resurrection; Most Likely to Succeed; and Character Matters.

Click here to read a free chapter on "loyalty" from Character Matters, which Dr. Rutland says is one of his best.

You can also listen to a previous conference call of Dr. Rutland with Ministry 21 Network by clicking here.

AMAZING DIGITAL OPPORTUNITIES ON 36TH ANNIVERSARY OF 'CHARISMA'

When I felt led to start a small church magazine, I barely knew what God had in store. That magazine released 36 years ago, so I thought it was appropriate to reflect on what's happened, and more importantly what is on the verge of happening as we move boldly into the digital world.

Many of you know Charisma started at a megachurch in central Florida. I was working full time as a newspaper reporter then. My, how the media world has changed! The staff found a black-and-white photo of me holding a copy of The Rock, a youth newspaper that I published before Charisma. They had me hold an iPad to show the contrast. Back then I could have never imagined today's iPad! Yet I dreamed that maybe somehow we'd reach a million people. Do you know how many trees you'd have to cut down to print that many magazines?

So from 1975—before the personal computer was invented and a time when the electric typewriter I used was considered high-tech—fast-forward more than three decades and now Charisma (and our other magazines) are available in digital format that's almost beyond belief.

This is your invitation to be a charter subscriber to Charisma Digital. In mid-September it's available on the iPad; in mid-October it's on the Android. About the same time it will be available as single issues on the Nook and Kindle.

Click here to read the full Strang Report.

THE NEWEST ISSUE OF 'MINISTRY TODAY' WITH MIKE BICKLE AS GUEST EDITOR IS NOW AVAILABLE

"We continue with guest editors, and for the July/August 2011 issue of Ministry Today it's my good friend Mike Bickle. He is the founder and director of the International House of Prayer (IHOP-KC) in Kansas City, Mo. My visits to IHOP-KC over the years have really impacted my life."

Click here to read Mike's cover story on IHOP-KC. You can also click here and here for free resources on prayer.

Click here to subscribe to Ministry Today, so you won't miss reading about some of the most influential and impactful ministries in the world.

DON'T MISS TALKING WITH MIKE BICKLE ON JULY 26

This month our Ministry 21 conference call is with Mike Bickle. Join us for an hour of interesting conversation with this respected prayer leader on Tuesday, July 26, at 4 p.m. EDT, 3 p.m. CDT, 2 p.m. MDT and 1 p.m. PDT. Share this with your friends. We are widely publicizing it, and we expect a lot of people on the call. Here is the call information: Dial-in number (712) 432-1000; access code: 588396487#.

You can also listen to a previous conference call of Mike Bickle with Charisma magazine by clicking here.

CHRISTIANS UNITED FOR ISRAEL'S WASHINGTON SUMMIT TAKES PLACE THIS WEEK IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

"As you read this, I'm in Washington, D.C., as I am every time this time of year for Christians United for Israel's (CUFI) Washington Summit. CUFI founder and Pastor Israel John Hagee told me that registration is 1,000 more than it was last year due to the concerns people have about President Obama's declaration to return to Israel's 1967 borders. If you're in the Washington, D.C., area, there still may be time to get a ticket to attend the Night to Honor Israel Banquet on Tuesday night, July 19. If you've never been to one, it's a wonderful event to attend."

Click here for more information on Christians United for Israel's sixth annual Washington Summit, to be held July 18-20. Click here to watch the Night to Honor Israel Banquet live online starting at 7:30 p.m. EDT on Tuesday night, July 19. The Night to Honor Israel will also be shown on the Daystar Television Network at the same time. Click here for Daystar’s stations.

DID YOU MISS MY STRANG REPORT

My Tribute to Rose Ferrell, a Great Mother-in-Law

For many, mother-in-law jokes have a ring of reality. But for me they don’t. I had the perfect mother-in-law—Rose Ferrell who left us this week. In the 38 years I've been her son-in-law, we never had a cross word. It was well known in the family that she always sided with the in-laws if there was ever an argument.

She lived with Joy and me for the past 3-1/2 years. She was always independent and a pleasure to have in the home. She was a godly woman, and I would hear her praying for her six children, nine grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren. ... Click here to continue reading