The Elders Said Go

When the call for Brigadier General Jose Efrain Rios Montt went out over Guatemalan radio early last Tuesday, he was in a most unmilitary setting: presiding over a parent-teacher conference at a school run by the Christian Church of the Word, a small charismatic group in Guatemala

City. Since his political career had gone into eclipse after Guatemala's 1974 elections, Montt had received a call of quite a different kind. A devout Roman Catholic, the general found himself increasingly drawn to the charismatic movement, whose followers believe that God can give them the power to heal, prophesy and speak in tongues. He soon became an active member of the Christian Church of the Word, teaching Sunday school, preaching and serving as academic director of the school.

So complete was his transformation that he often manned a broom and swept out the large green-and-yellow revival tent in the church compound. Says Elder James DeGolyer: "It was very surprising to see him being such a serving kind of person, so willing to take guidance from people younger than himself."

Rios Montt was approached by the Christian Democrats last October about possibly becoming a vice-presidential candidate. At that time, he asked the church elders for permission to run. "During a three-day fast and prayer session," says DeGolyer, "we received some prophecies." The message: the general's time would come in the future.

After Rios Montt got word of the radio appeal for him to join the leaders of the coup, he again consulted the church's elders. Said DeGolyer: "There is a proverb that says that in a multitude of counsel there is safety." Rios Montt clasped hands with the elders and prayed. The phone rang. As the others listened on an extension, the general spoke to the coup leaders:

"Well, what do you want of me?"

"We want to know if we can count on your cooperation and counsel."

"Do you want just my counsel?"

"We want to talk to you."

"Why?"

The military men explained that they had staged the coup to clean up political corruption and wanted to hold new elections with civilian candidates. They pressed Rios Montt once more to talk with them. Finally, he agreed:

"Where can we meet?"

"We are in the command portico in front of the palace."

"I'll call you back in ten minutes."

Rios Montt needed more time to confer with church leaders. This time they gave their approval. As Rios Montt sat with eyes closed and palms uplifted in prayer, the elders laid their hands on his head and shoulders and asked for God's blessing. An army helicopter arrived 30 minutes later to pick up the general, but he already had departed. Church members had driven him to the National Plaza in a car with darkly tinted windows, so that he would not be spotted. An elder was sitting by his side to witness the unfolding events.

For Christian Church of the Word elders, Rios Montt's rise to power was nothing less than a miracle. Said Carlos, the governing elder of the church: "We feel a great door has opened. We don't understand what is going to happen, but he will be operating with a power that is not like men's corrupt power. He is going to have an anointing from God."

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