A few days ago, I came across this All Things Considered piece about yet another effort by fringe pentecostals and charismatics to "touch" their areas. In this case, it's "Light the Highway," a campaign to pray over I-35. Churches from Laredo to Duluth have joined in, and according to this outfit's Web site, they're trying to get similar efforts going along other major highways.
Looks innocuous, right? Well, not to this radical lefty, tongue-talking, holy-rolling, charismatic Christian Dem.
The ringleader of this effort is Cindy Jacobs, one of the loonier folks in the dominionist movement. It started out after she was praying and reading Isaiah 35:8, which talks about a "highway of holiness." She then organized an effort to pray for 35 days along I-35 ... and "Light the Highway" was born. They don't believe Isaiah refers only to I-35, but believe that book is a catalyst to begin praying (for instance, Isaiah 40:3 is a catalyst for I-40).
Have a look at this "Word" about the '06 elections to get an idea about what this woman is all about:
"This is a time that judgment must begin in the House of God. I am shaking everything that can be shaken - and unholiness cannot overthrow holiness. Do not think that your prayers are not availing in the heavens, because you do not get the answers in the way you think they should be given. Your prayers are pressing out the wickedness in my people first. There is more that is going to be exposed of leaders in homosexuality and sexual wickedness. The court of heaven has been convened through your intercession. I am shaking the church, political parties and all things that can be shaken."
I would say to you, "I never lose - and I have not lost this election. Unrighteousness is now on trial and I say to you, sanctify yourselves church, for there is a movement of the fear of the Lord about to fall on the land. I say to you this is a time of circumcision and it is painful. My sword is cutting away all hidden and secret sin."
A major player behind this effort in Dallas is Steve Hill, who was the "evangelist" of the Brownsville Boondoggle--er, Revival--and now pastors a church in Irving. They send "prayer teams" into jails, malls and Dallas' gay bars. Well, apparently it ain't sticking so well. The Dallas Voice did a story on James Stabile, one of the guys "touched" by one of Hill's "Purity Sieges" into Dallas gay bars. Stabile, the son of a Methodist pastor, was not only coerced into the ex-gay boondoggle, but to go off his bipolar meds. Disgraceful.
You can't help but marvel at the political implications. Deep-blue Austin, Kansas City, Des Moines, the Twin Cities and Duluth and pale-blue San Antonio sandwiched around deep-red DFW, Oklahoma City and Wichita. Obviously some "strongholds" need to be broken in order to prevent--gasp!--those librul cities along I-35 from gaining too much power.