A MILESTONE YEAR FOR PFO

The year 2000 marks several milestones for Personal Freedom Outreach. It is the twenty-fifth anniversary of the organization’s founding. The ministry began with a handful of Christians meeting to hone their ability to defend their faith. Some in the group repeatedly encountered questions and comments about Jehovah’s Witnesses and Latter-day Saints. They knew that Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons were not Christian, but they didn’t know why.

This year also enters the 20^th year of publication of PFO’s newsletter. In 1981, a young newspaper copy editor moved from Milwaukee to St. Louis to work for the city’s morning newspaper. He had formerly embraced and even taught the principles of Transcendental Meditation (T.M.) prior to his conversion to Christianity. Following his conversion, he on occasion assisted the apologetic ministry CARIS, which is based in Milwaukee. As he made his move south, he was told that once he was settled, he should make contact with PFO, which he did.

He soon asked how he could use his gifts and talents for the ministry. The idea of a newsletter had been considered but not realized up until that time because of a lack of the right skills.

The initial newsletter was a six-page edition. Current issues now run up to 24 pages. Originally known as the Personal Freedom Outreach Newsletter, it was renamed The Quarterly Journal in 1988. It now is considered one of the most consistent and well-respected publications in the countercult and apologetics field. The newsletter repeatedly has served as a way for PFO to realize its objective of educating the Church on the dangers of cultic and aberrational theologies.

In the late 1980s, PFO’s newsletter entered a new phase as it moved into investigative reporting.

The initial article studied the ministry and practices of Rebecca Brown, M.D., a self-proclaimed occult expert. Brown, who spun tales of satanic conspiracies in the Midwest, gained notoriety through the endorsement and sponsorship of Jack Chick, a publisher of religious tracts and comic books. Chick long had been a platform for questionable conspiracy promoters. And up until PFO’s investigation, the pronouncements — no matter how bizarre and unbelievable — by “occult experts” such as Brown, Lauren Stratford, Mike Warnke, Bob Larson and others, far too often went unsubstantiated and unchallenged.

Through primary research, PFO presented the facts about a woman whose life was overrun with a prescription-drug addiction and delusionary stories of occultic warfare. Even people within the occult community recognized PFO’s research as balanced and credible. One newspaper crime reporter said PFO’s research into Brown was done “with the tools of an investigative reporter, seeking out eyewitnesses, court documents and public records to get at the truth.” After PFO’s investigation of Brown, colleagues in the countercult network exposed Stratford and Warnke, among others.

PFO also has played a key role in scrutinizing the doctrine and practices of faith healer Benny Hinn. From his perpetual “revelation knowledge” to his “There are nine of them” statement about the personages in the Godhead to his claims of his father being mayor of Jaffa, Israel, to his wife Suzanne’s “Holy Ghost enema,” PFO has taken a careful look at this Charismatic “superstar.” Even under threats of lawsuits by Hinn’s attorneys, PFO has stayed the course.

Years of primary research have gone into its various reports on Hinn. Many of these reports have been compiled into the book, The Confusing World of Benny Hinn. Hinn and his organization have yet to respond to the book in any credible way. One reader said, “Wow... It’s about time someone writes a book on one of the Pied Pipers out there. [PFO does] a great job of telling just where Hinn’s bizarre teachings fly in the face of Christianity and the Gospel. [It’s] a book that every Benny Hinn fan needs to read.”

Despite the difficult task of evaluating cultic, heretical and aberrational doctrine in its journals, PFO has always strived to not just tell Christians what’s wrong — but to be workmen unashamed who rightly divide the Word of Truth (2 Timothy 2:15). We make every effort to attempt to educate believers in a proper and basic understanding of the Scriptures and the “Apostles’ doctrine.” False teachers and their unchecked false doctrine often bring devastation into the lives of their devotees. PFO and its staff have been used repeatedly to help pick up the pieces of the battered, confused and damaged lives of those vandalized by false teachers — both inside and outside the Church.

Finally, 2000 marks my 15^th anniversary of full-time work in PFO’s ministry. In the early 1980s, PFO had decidedly grown and with its growth came increased demands on my time and energy. After years of struggling with leaving a full time job in the secular marketplace, a young pastor and friend encouraged me to step out in faith and move into full time ministry work. It was a decision that has never been regretted.

In all of these milestones, it pleases us that God has been able to work through PFO in ways that are evident (Ephesians 2:10). And I am personally thankful to God for the spirituality, integrity and other life characteristics of those who serve with me in this ministry. At times, I know their tasks seem like a thankless job, but impact of their dedication and hard work has influenced and changed lives across the world. I thank God for His wonderful grace and for the milestones of this ministry.

I am also extremely grateful for all those who have stood by us with prayers, contributions, moral support, encouragements and practical help over the years. Truly, this is a team effort.

Our greatest testimony and gratitude comes not from any successes God has given us but for a Savior who is gracious and faithful and whose grace is all sufficient. His grace has brought us safe thus far and grace will lead us home.

—MKG

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