Apprising Ministries brings you the news that now MHBC will be looking for yet another teaching pastor.
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.
Reviving Faith by ‘Taking Up Serpents’
Thomas Kinkade, popular Christian artist, dies
First Circuit Court Hears Arguments in Same-Sex Marriage Case
The Christian Post reports :
A Massachusetts appeals court heard from lawyers challenging the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman, on Wednesday.
A lawyer for gay married couples argued before the three-judge panel of the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, saying that any law that prohibits them from receiving the same federal benefits that heterosexual couples get should be struck down as unconstitutional.
Mark Driscoll Resigns from the Gospel Coalition
Theologians Debate Calvinism Amid Calvinist Resurgence
The Christian Post reports:
Two prominent theologians took opposite sides and debated the theological system of Calvinism, which is experiencing a resurgence in church culture, on “The Exchange” webshow this past week.
Ed Stetzer, president of Lifeway Research, moderated the discussion between Roger Olson and Michael Horton, who both have recent books released on the topic of Calvinism, but taking opposing views on the system. Stetzer wrote in a Nov. 15, 2010 blog post that he thinks “there is a resurgence of Calvinism (particularly within evangelicalism),” and that it is among a younger population.
Free Sterilizations Must Be Offered to All College Women, Says HHS
CNSNews reports:
All student health care plans covering female college students in the United States must include coverage for free voluntary sterilization surgery, the Department of Health and Human Services announced late Friday afternoon.
Women of college age who do not attend school will also get free sterilization coverage whether they are insured through an employer, their parents, or some form of government-subsidized plan.
Faith-based films made more money in 2011 than their left-leaning counterparts
What’s a good recipe for box office and DVD sales success? It seems in 2011, pro-America sentiment mixed with conservative values and faith-centered themes equaled a hit.
This according to an annual study conducted by the Christian-focused entertainment advocacy group Movieguide, which found that in 2011, American audiences preferred movies with strong conservative content and values over movies with liberal or left-leaning values by an almost six-to-one margin.
The 760-page report claims that films with a conservative or pro-American edge, such as “Captain America,” “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol,” “Soul Surfer,” “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” and “Battle: Los Angeles” raked in significantly more box office green than more liberal films like “Red State,” “Super 8,” “J. Edgar,” “Glee” and “Ides of March.”
Apprising Ministries Exclusive on Rick Warren, Jim Hinch, and Islam
Rev. Franklin Graham: Romney Not a Christian
News Max reports:Campus Crusade group in university asked to cease activity because they have "offended other faiths"
In the island of Singapore that promotes the idea of religious harmony, religious intolerance and hostility towards the Christian faith has increased. Recently, a by-stander was offended by posters put up by the National Univeristy of Singapore (NUS) Campus Crusade for Christ which is aimed at promoting short term missions to various countries of the world including Thailand and Turkey. The offence came about because the posters insist that people of other religions need Christ. As a result of this complaint and the subsequent publicity, the university (NUS) has ordered Campus Crusade to cease all its activities.
In light of this act of religious intolerance against Christianity, you are invited to contact the Singapore embassy and the university and voice your opposition to this deplorable action.
You can contact the Singapore embassy at singemb_was@sgmfa.gov.sg, and you can contact NUS at askiro@nus.edu.sg.