Power Team Christian Men Break Records And Stereotypes

Pastor Barry Foster is a godly man with grit.

Hulking men smash concrete blocks and break handcuffs on his altar. They light torches with their bare hands and bend steel with their teeth. Sunday night, Foster himself will lie down on a bed of nails while weightlifters place a 400-pound slab of ice on his chest.

“It’s a way to bring in people who ordinarily wouldn’t listen,” said the Baptist preacher, who lifts weights and works out two days a week. This week, Foster’s church is hosting the muscle-busting - and devil-busting - Power Team, a group of Christian men who travel the world breaking strength records and stereotypes about religion.

The team attracted more than 700 curious spectators its first night at Pines Baptist Church in the Valley. Performances continue tonight at 7 and Sunday at 6 p.m.

Supporters hope more than a thousand will turn out each night for the message.

“We need to reach people at their point of interest,” said Foster, recalling how his father-in-law was introduced to Christianity.

“The first time he went to church, it was because they promised him ice cream,” he said. Now, his father-in-law is an evangellist.

The Power Team’s promises are bigger. They stand up to 6-foot-5-inch tall and weigh up to 390 pounds. They break concrete blocks with a whack of the arm and drive nails with their fists.

Between stunts, they talk about God.

Keenan Smith, known for crushing walls of ice with his body, tells of growing up in a broken family, with an alcoholic father. His teachers, he said, predicted he would be behind bars or dead by 18. Instead, his father found God, and so did he.

Smith eventually married his pastor’s daughter, quit his construction job and joined the Power Team. He challenges those in the audience to let faith change their lives also.

The Power Team’s approach is contemporary, and sometimes controversial. Some in the religious community view it as sensationalistic, Foster said. He views it as a valuable tool for reaching non-believers.

“It’s a way to get people’s attention,” he said. “They do a good job at it.”

Bringing in the Power Team for five nights will cost Pines Baptist Church about $12,000. The Team doesn’t charge for its performances, but does require churches to provide the concrete they smash and the handcuffs they snap, as well as pay all other show-related expenses.

The group makes its money by asking for donations and convincing members of the audience to switch their longdistance service to LifeLine, a carrier that gives 10 percent of each phone bill back to the Power Team.

Foster believes the church’s investment will be well worth it. He’s set up an overflow room with a big screen TV in the church basement, in case the crowds fill up the 850-capacity sanctuary.

The pastor says he’s only slightly nervous about Sunday night, even though it will probably be his only opportunity to try out a bed of nails.

“I resent it,” he said, “when ministers are portrayed as soft types.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 3 Color Photos