The Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church has approved the conditional disaffiliation of 55 churches over human sexuality issues, including same-sex marriages and potential ordination of pastors who identify as LGBTQ+.
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An investigation into embattled Hillsong Church by the top-rated news outlet in Australia has uncovered new revelations of financial and sexual misconduct, as key sources go on the record for the first time. “Hellsong: Hillsong Church Global Investigation” first aired on Australia’s 7News on April 23 and released Friday on YouTube.
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With membership shrinking, churches closing and preachers in short supply, how do churches grow again? It’s not a new question, but Kairos’ answer is one it believes many Christians haven’t considered: Instead of focusing entirely on maintaining or revitalizing existing churches, put efforts into planting new ones.
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Now the woman, known as Betty, is among the 98 people who fasted to death in the doomsday cult headed by Pastor Paul Mackenzie which has left Kenyans — and the world — shocked. With the Kenya Red Cross reporting more than 100 people still missing, the toll could reach 200 and beyond. From President William Ruto to church leaders and the public, Kenyans are now calling on the government to tighten laws governing the opening and operation of churches.
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Since the end of the Cold War, four Muslim-majority countries — Kazakhstan, Libya, Iran and Indonesia — have hosted the FIDE World Chess Championship. Despite the fact that hundreds of Muslim players have been ranked by FIDE over the years, the game remains controversial with many mainstream Sunni and Shia scholars disapproving of chess.
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A partnership between Dallas-based Spoken Worldwide and Seed Company to create 20 Bible translation projects for language groups that are primarily oral, not written, in their communication, is on track as it enters year three.
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Charles Stanley, the pastor at Atlanta megachurch First Baptist for 51 years and longtime leader of the Southern Baptist Convention, died Tuesday at the age of 90.
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After first pleading not guilty to drunk driving charges, disgraced Hillsong founder Brian Houston has pleaded guilty to the charges and received three years’ probation, $140 in fines, and other penalties.
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More Protestant church congregations close than open in a year in America. According to Lifeway Research, in 2019, 4,500 churches closed their doors, while only 3,000 new churches were started. As they face closure, some churches are turning to a strategy found in the 2018 book “Dying to Restart” by Greg Wiens and Dan Turner — not just to survive, but thrive.
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Police raided the Baptist Church in Karshi during worship on Easter Sunday. They “damaged the door of the prayer house, behaved crudely, and arrested three church members,” Baptists said. Police refused to explain why they raided the church and tortured church members. Meanwhile, Prison No. 49 in Olmalyk banned prisoners from fasting during Ramadan, threatening those that do.
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The Christian movie “Jesus Revolution,” which has surpassed the $50 million mark in theaters, premieres today on digital platforms and soon on Blu-ray. Released by Lionsgate, the movie telling the story of the 1970s Jesus People movement earned more than $51 million in box office receipts. That makes it the ninth highest-grossing faith-based film of all time.
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(OPINION) Surveys since 2020 show that a "steady share of Americans — about 40% — say they have participated in religious services in the prior month one way or the other," according to a Pew Research Center report. But other details are blurry, since the "share of U.S. adults who ... attend religious services once a month or more has dropped slightly, from 33% in 2019 to 30% in 2022."
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Students at a Nashville, Tennessee, Christian school will not complete the academic year in their facility, where seven people died in a March 27 mass shooting. Instead, the 200 students of The Covenant School, plus about 40 staff, will resume classes in the meeting place of the Brentwood Hills Church of Christ.
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The chairman of the Bob Jones University board of trustees has resigned following pressure from the school’s students, alumni and donors. The decision is a surprise to many BJU watchers, since Lewis appeared to have had the upper hand in a conflict with BJU President Steve Pettit.
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For the first time in more than 50 years, four humans are set to visit the moon, NASA announced Monday. Piloting the 2024 Artemis II mission will be Victor Glover, a Christian who has worshipped with Churches of Christ in the Houston area as well as his home state of California.
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(PERSONAL ESSAY) It was as if I faced what we call in development economics a “false paradigm.” A few days before leaving my home country, every stop I took at a bank around my place of residence as well as at the O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa, I felt I was wrongly advised by the forex department to not carry cash on hand for safety precautions. They, however, did not perceive the current naira scarcity saga that has affected millions of Nigerians — Christians, churches, nonbelievers, the rich and the poor.
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This real story of the Whites’ harrowing experience after the pilot of their private plane died midflight inspired the Amazon Studios movie “On a Wing and a Prayer.” The film, starring Dennis Quaid and Heather Graham, comes out Good Friday, April 7, on Amazon Prime Video.
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More than a third of the 143 known administrative prosecutions in 2022 punished individuals for posting religious texts and recordings on social media accounts without state permission. In one case a journalist was initially fined — changed to a verbal warning — for posting her interview with a state-approved imam.
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Bob Jones University President Steve Pettit has announced he’s resigning following months of contention between him and BJU Board Chairman John Lewis over the direction of the fundamentalist school.
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About 200 miles south of Asbury University in Kentucky, where a marathon worship service sparked a revival that made national headlines, about 400 people committed to be baptized — 200 each in two Sunday morning services at Winterfest Gatlinburg. At least 100 more made the same commitment a few weeks earlier during Winterfest Arlington in Texas.
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