Because of his near cult level status among younger evangelicals Apprising Ministries really wishes this was satire, but tragically, it’s not.
Latest On Creflo Dollar’s Alleged Assault Upon His Daughter
Apprising Ministries has been pointing out that one of the fruits of the Seeker Driven movement gaining a stranglehold upon contemporary evangelicalism is the growing influence of Word Faith prosperity preachers so many attractional megachurch pastors so fancy.
Yet another reason this sad story should not be allowed to be swept under the rug.
At a Glance: Contemplative Prayer
CRN research articles give a concise overview of a specific topic and provide links to resources for further study. The most recently published research article examines contemplative prayer, discussing some of the dangers of this practice and contrasting it with what the Bible teaches about prayer.
Video: Creflo Dollar Speaks of his Arrest from Pulpit
Apprising Ministries is doing what we can to help you see that, as silly as it sounds, Word Faith prosperity preachers are slithering closer to acceptance within contemporary evangelicalism.
This story involving one of the popular of them has taken an important turn. As such, I bring you this important follow up containing the video of Creflo Dollar addressing his arrest with his congregation from his pulpit yesterday morning.
You’ll see that he does present an alternate story from what his daughters testified to in the police report and says it was “appalling” how law enforcement handled this incident.
Word Faith Preacher Creflo Dollar: “I shouldn’t have been arrested”
Joel Osteen Set As Executive Producer For Movie “Mary, Mother Of Christ”
Apprising Ministries says, you really can’t make this stuff up anymore. The bad news is we’ll likely see Seeker Driven pastors enter this arena as well.
Of course, they aren’t millionaire business moguls like Joel Osteen…yet. Well, the good news is, maybe Mary will be in a better mood and stop holding the Holy Spirit hostage.
Gay Marriage at Issue in Pentagon Budget Bill
The Baptist Press gives details of amendments to the House defense bill that prevent same-sex marriages from taking place on U.S. military bases. According to one amendment sponsor, Rep. Steven Palazzo, R-Miss:
This amendment is intended to clear up any doubt and reinforce the [Defense of Marriage Act’s] authority as it applies to those installations.
What is at stake here is the religious liberty of all military service members including chaplains. The report asserts that,
The Obama administration issued a statement saying it “strongly objects” to these amendments protecting chapels and the conscience of chaplains and other service members. The administration stated those provisions “adopt unnecessary and ill-advised policies that would inhibit the ability of same-sex couples to marry or enter a recognized relationship.”
Richard Land’s Future With Baptists May Hinge on Report
Heretical Shane Hipps Leaving Mars Hill Bible Church
White House 'Strongly Objects' to Legislation Protecting Military Chaplains from Doing Same-Sex Weddings
CNS News Reports:
The Obama administration “strongly objects” to provisions in a House defense authorization bill that would prohibit the use of military property for same-sex “marriage or marriage-like” ceremonies, and protect military chaplains from negative repercussions for refusing to act against their consciences, as, for example, in being ordered to perform a same-sex marriage ceremony.
In a policy statement released Wednesday, the White House Office of Management and Budget outlined numerous objections to aspects of the fiscal year 2013 National Defense Authorization Bill (H.R. 4310). The bill was reported out of the House Armed Services Committee last week and is set to be debated in the House, beginning Wednesday.
At A Glance: Spiritual Formation
Trinity Broadcasting Network Fires Back Regarding Financial Fraud Allegation
Jennifer Knapp, "Gay Christian Icon"?
The Religion News Service has released a story about musician Jennifer Knapp, calling her “an unlikely gay Christian icon.” Knapp was a popular contemporary Christian singer until she came out as a lesbian several years ago. Now Jennifer refers to herself as a “gay Christian artist” and urges Christians to affirm homosexuals. The singer performs regularly for Christian congregations and youth groups and revealed that, “Those listeners who used to treat her like ‘a big rock star’ now approach her after a concert for counsel about their sexual orientation.”
According to the article:
Her new album and her performances have found an audience with some of her old fans as well as Christians who — gay or straight — are hungry for churches to address LGBT issues and the challenges gay Christians face when they come out.
Nebraska Football Coach: "To Be Fired for My Faith Would be a Greater Honor"
LifeSite News reports:
University of Nebraska’s assistant football coach, Ron Brown, who is facing censure and calls for his dismissal for publicly expressing his biblically-based views against the homosexual lifestyle, has stated that he’d rather be fired than retract his comments.
Brown expressed his belief in the Bible’s condemnation of homosexual acts as sinful, then stated, “the real question I guess I have for you all is – what does God say?”
Now Joel Osteen says Mormonism itself is Christian
What's Up With Liberty University
SBC's Richard Land Issues Apology for Plagiarism
Baptist Press reports:
Richard Land, recently in the news for comments about the Trayvon Martin killing, has responded to charges that he failed to attribute the comments on air to a Washington Times columnist.
In a statement to Baptist Press April 16, Land, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, expressed regret for the way he handled remarks on his March 31 radio broadcast.
The official statement has been posted on the Richard Land Live! website, and reads in part:
“On occasion I have failed to provide appropriate verbal attributions on my radio broadcast, Richard Land Live!, and for that I sincerely apologize. I regret if anyone feels they were deceived or misled. That was not my intent nor has it ever been. Clearly there has been no attempt to deceive the public or we would not have posted the articles that are used on the air. Source
In the statement, Land also noted that he was “grateful this oversight was brought to my attention.”
On 18 April, an additional announcement was made regarding the availability of archived episodes of Land’s radio show:
We, the Executive Committee of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, have decided, with Dr. Land’s encouragement, to remove the links to past shows for the reason set forth below.
We recently became aware of instances in which Dr. Richard Land read from materials written by others during his radio show without clear and proper attribution to the authors of those materials on the program. We have also learned that news agencies occasionally access this website and use clips from Dr. Land’s past broadcasts without prior notice or permission. Due to the danger that such unauthorized use by news agencies or others might include quoted material used by Dr. Land without clear and proper credit being given to the author or source of the quoted material, we have removed links to prior radio broadcasts. Richard Land Live! will continue to post links to broadcasts from this date forward, with careful attribution given to the authors of any material quoted on air.
Chuck Colson 'Will Soon Be With the Lord'
NYC Pastor's Tweets Get XXX Billboard Removed
Christians ‘Vilified’ by British Courts
Christianity the Only Means of Eternal Life? Some Pastors Disagree
The Christian Post reports:
A recent survey conducted by LifeWay Research found that while a majority of Protestant pastors believe Christianity is the only way to obtain eternal life, there is a small percentage who strongly feel other religions offer eternal salvation as well.
The survey asked 1,000 Protestant pastors the question, “If a person is sincerely seeking God, he/she can obtain eternal life through religions other than Christianity.”
Seventy-seven percent of the pastors questioned said that they strongly disagree with the statement and seven percent somewhat disagreed. Another seven percent somewhat agreed and five percent strongly agreed. Three percent said they are not sure.
Vanderbilt University Tells Catholic Student Group to Change Name
Fox News reports:
The chaplain of Vanderbilt Catholic, one of the largest student religious groups at Vanderbilt University, said their organization has been ordered by university officials to change their name. The order came after the Catholic group announced it was leaving campus rather than comply with the university’s new nondiscrimination policy.
Church Of Famed “Brownsville Revival” Struggles
In the mid-1990s, the Brownsville Assembly of God church in Pensacola, Florida was home to what was known as the “Brownsville Revival.” In the time since then, much has changed. The Associated Press notes that Pastor John Kilpatrick, who was leading the church at the time, has moved on. The AP also reports that the church is $11.5 million in debt and on the edge of financial ruin.