San Diego County Edition Vol. 31, No. 12 December 2013 www.christianexaminer.com Eric Metaxas Christmas Gift Showcase Community ‘Gravity’ and the true Inspirational ideas Youth mime group FREE meaning of salvation for meaningful gift-giving creates handiwork with God’s Word page 4 pages 6-9 page 15 San Diego’s Inspirational Lifestyle Magazine real life. real community. Beginning in January, the Christian Examiner newspaper will give way to Refreshed, a full-color, inspirational, lifestyle magazine for San Diego County. From the publishers It’s time for the Christian Examiner to be ‘refreshed’ Thirty years ago the San Diego bless the newspaper, renamed the Christian Classifi eds was launched Christian Times, as we quickly grew as a tabloid newspaper to serve the into a multi-region—and eventu- Christian community by providing ally a multi-state—publication, dis- a platform for Christians to fi nd tributing hundreds of thousands roommates, houses to rent, jobs, of copies each month as the largest Bethlehem comes alive in Spring Valley items for sale, and many other typi- regional Christian newspaper in Faith Chapel’s live, interactive ‘Bethlehem Story’ experience returns Dec. 5 to 8 after a successful debut cal things found in newspaper clas- North America. last Christmas. The free walk-through event with a huge production set features Roman soldiers, shepherds, sifi ed ads. We’ve had the highs—being Mary and Joseph, storytellers, bakers, brick-makers, tanners and more. Children will also be able to play Twenty-fi ve years ago, we had named the best Christian newspa- games and pet animals as they get to know Bethlehem residents. See story on page 12. the career-changing opportunity per in the United States, and the to become the owners of this small lows—selling out to a company newspaper. It was 1988 and desk- that would go bankrupt, leaving top publishing was just beginning us nothing and forcing us to buy Mass burials begin in Philippines as to take off, offering us the chance the newspaper back, but losing our to run a home-based business with name in the process. a single Macintosh 512e computer Out of that three-year roller aid trickles in after deadly typhoon while homeschooling our children. coaster ride we became the Chris- Little did we know the ride we San Diego groups would have and how God would See REFRESHED, page 2 provide assistance Staff and wire reports TACLOBAN, Philippines — Golden touch International aid is now trickling into the central Philippines where Typhoon Haiyan struck on Nov. 7. Missional faith community The USS George Washington air- craft carrier arrived a week later, leaves transformational mark along with 21 helicopters, to reach inaccessible areas. on San Diego neighborhood By Nov. 18, the death toll had risen to more than 3,900, with By Lori Arnold another nine million residents directly impacted by the monster IMB PHOTO. COPYRIGHT © SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION SAN DIEGO — As he typhoon, one of the largest on re- Filipino children hold up signs asking for relief assistance on the edge of the cord, spreading to 370 miles wide main road in Tabuelan municipality on the northern Cebu island, one of the neared his Golden Hill areas most seriously impacted by Typhoon Haiyan. home Jon Huckins was and blowing gusts in excess of 230 basking in the accomplish- mph. Nearly one million are dis- cines—have arrived and are being (give) medical attention to the ments of his just-ending placed, offi cials report. processed. About 1,500 families in wounded and sick,” says Lt. Col. trip to Washington D.C. Also helping in the relief effort Ormoc, Leyte—reached by boat— Bob Lee, Chief Secretary, The where he met with national is San Diego-based International have already received deliveries of Philippines Territory. church leaders, politicians Relief Teams, which is tapping water and water purifi cation tab- “We encourage prayer support and activists as they hashed Jon Huckins is involved in global reconciliation into well-established in-country lets, thanks to ministry volunteers. for all those who have been devas- out vital work on reconcili- efforts and is developing a missional partnerships to expedite emer- The local Salvation Army Divi- tated by this calamity.” ation. leadership cohort for area pastors and gency supplies of food, water, and sional Headquarters in San Diego In addition to the basic neces- Christian leaders. “It was an important other necessities to communities reports that its volunteers, primar- sities, a Salvationist doctor is part meeting and I got plenty of pats on backyard as they celebrated the ar- in the central Philippines. ily from the four Salvation Army of the initial response team. That the back for my role in it,” he said. rival of a neighbor’s newborn. According to ministry offi cials, centers on the island, have also team, assisted by the Philippine As Huckins reached for the latch As the women shared coffee and tea, a warehouse has already been been able to serve, though sup- Air Force, is working in the city of to his gate, his focus was redirect- Huckins could smell fresh-baked good- secured inside the country and plies have been limited. Tacloban in Leyte province, one ed from self-achievement as he ies in the crisp fall air, a welcome respite a host of relief supplies—food, “We are struggling with the ac- of the worst affected areas. watched the spontaneous rhythm water, water purifi cation tablets, cessibility of roads so that relief of eight women lingering in the See HUCKINS, page 14 personal hygiene kits and medi- goods can reach the survivors and See TYPHOON RELIEF, page 2 For information about advertising, subscriptions, or bulk delivery, please call 1-800-326-0795 2 • CHRISTIAN EXAMINER • December 2013 SD www.christianexaminer.com TYPHOON REFRESHED… The Christian Examiner will still live on. Readers can continue to Continued from page 1 access us online at christianexaminer.com. Print editions will con- RELIEF… tinue to be published in other parts of Southern California and in Continued from page 1 tian Examiner in 2003. Same news- Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn. paper, just a new name. Once Additional international support again we had a number of years of lifestyle with a deep appreciation monthly, faith-based lifestyle maga- from the Salvation Army are en a thriving business. for beauty and the fi ner things of zine that will feature informative route to develop a long-term relief But the recession that began in life. Their lives are challenging, and thought-provoking columns, response plan for the region. late 2007 has taken its toll on the but fulfi lling, and incorporate a inspirational articles, human inter- variety of interests including music, The breadth of the disaster has PHOTO COURTESY OF SAMARITAN’S PURSE entire newspaper industry, mak- est stories, and intriguing accounts prompted Philippine offi cials to A Samaritan’s Purse airlift from ing it diffi cult for publications like the arts, sports, holistic health and about life in the local community, Charlotte, N.C. provides 110 tons of wellness, history, faith, literature begin burying unknown victims in ours to remain viable. We deter- as well as occasional features on emergency relief supplies to disaster and continued education. They mass graves. mined some time ago that it was nationally-known personalities. victims after typhoon Haiyan in the embrace the confl uence of a wide Mark Martin, a CBN news re- necessary for us to reinvent our Our mission statement clearly out- Philippines. range of personal experiences and lines our intent: Refreshed magazine porter covering the tragedy, said business-as-ministry model. thousands of people were lined up “Tacloban is destroyed, com- welcome media that celebrates and seeks to generate vibrant cultural at the airport Nov. 14 for fl ights out pletely devastated. They say a 20- San Diego publications encourages their diversity. dialogue within the framework of Most Americans (78 percent, biblical faith and to present engag- of the country, foot wall of seawater, like a tsunami, San Diego County is home to scores according to a recent Gallup poll) ing, real stories and features that “We’ve got no electricity, no just rushed in and smashed the of periodicals serving a wide variety identify with Christianity; 88 percent offer our readers practical solutions phones, so people back home have businesses and really left nothing of niche markets. While newspaper no idea if we’re alive, dead or not,” in its wake.” of us own a Bible (Barna, 2013). to the challenges and complexities formats seem to be fl oundering, the Young people are showing a grow- of life. We are unabashed about one man from the United Kingdom He said relief teams are limited magazine industry is gaining momen- said. by access to the airport. ing interest in the Bible’s wisdom our Christian worldview but are tum. Advertisers have demonstrated on subjects like death and illness, also nonthreatening for the un- The news agency, which also had “The only way in is by air. Boats a willingness to pay more for higher its own disaster relief teams in mo- aren’t really an option because the family confl ict, parenting, romance churched. We are intentional about quality. And magazines have not and sex, relationships, divorce. glorifying God and sharing His truth tion, reported that Operation Bless- port’s been smashed.” experienced the same decline in ing had begun to unload one of its Complicating efforts are contin- As David Kinnaman, president in a compelling style to a community readership, due to the Internet, that cargo planes. ued reports of gunfi re and violence of Barna Group, observes: “Most craving spiritually edifying content.