Gray Lady Blesses Child Preacher

There are so, so many small churches that crave publicity, "And a little child shall lead them," sayeth Isaiah (11:1-10). Fort Lauderdale's 11-year-old wunderkind preacher, Terry Durham, who fishes for souls using an invisible pole and a hook baited with the blood of Jesus, has had several articles in the local papers, plus one segment on ABC's 20/20. But yesterday, the wee master of the pulpit at True Gospel Deliverance Ministry in Fort Lauderdale took his holy mission to the New York Times.

Terry sat in a living room decorated with three posters of him in his Sunday clothes and bearing the words "Little Man of God." Sitting on a large red and gold couch, he tapped his shoes against the floor and explained how he prepared for his sermons.

He does not write anything down, he said. He simply reads the Bible the day before the service and waits for the Spirit to move him. "I don't plan to say those things," he said, "but when God gives them to me, I say them right away to be obedient."