Posts in North America
Mark Driscoll Tries To Justify ‘How Dare You!’ Sermon, But Facts Don’t Match Testimony

Disgraced former Mars Hill Pastor Mark Driscoll has posted a video attempting to justify his infamous sermon from 15 years ago in which he screams, “How dare you!” But like other explanations Driscoll has given, the facts don’t match the recollections of former staff from the now-shuttered Seattle megachurch.

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Tornado Levels Indiana Church Building In Pre-Easter Tragedy

About 24 hours after the Winchester church met for its midweek Bible study, an EF3 tornado leveled its 50-year-old meeting place. The twister left a trail of destruction — but no deaths — across 25 miles of eastern Indiana, including Winchester, a town of 4,700 about 70 miles east of Indianapolis.

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Asking The Question Again: Is America A Christian Nation?

(OPINION) With the ever increasing warnings about the alleged danger of “Christian nationalism,” however ambiguous that term might be, it is only fair to ask: Is America a Christian nation? And, just as importantly: Has America ever been a Christian nation? And how does this relate to Christian nationalism?

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Hispanic Protestant Pastors Face Unique Congregational And Community Needs

Pastors of Hispanic Protestant churches in the United States maintain immense gratitude for their role, but many face financial struggles. Their congregations reflect diverse worship styles, but they have a unified desire to reach and serve their communities. A new study looks into the challenges these churches face in modern-day America.

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Crypto Is Coming: Are Religious Nonprofits Ready For It?

As of January 2024, 56% of the largest U.S. charities now accept cryptocurrency donations. According to The Giving Block, a crypto-giving platform for charities, more than $2 billion in crypto has been donated to nonprofits since 2018. Is it the future of giving?

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Southern Baptist Pastors Plan To Open Migrant Center In Mexico

In the works are a humanitarian welcome center in Tapachula — a gateway at the Guatemalan border — for migrants of all nationalities, and Haitian-language church plants in Tapachula and Monterrey near the southern U.S. border.

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‘The Exvangelicals’: Q&A With Journalist And Author Sarah McCammon

In the “The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church,” Sarah McCammon, a national political correspondent for NPR, shares — with a sometimes visceral honesty — the everyday currency of childhood in an evangelical subculture in which the Bible was the ultimate authority.

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Jewish Film Festival Latest Event Canceled Following ‘Security Concerns’

The Playhouse Cinema in Hamilton, Ontario, about 40 miles from Toronto, became the latest venue to call off a Jewish-themed event when it announced Tuesday that the annual Hamilton Jewish Film Festival would not be held in the theater as scheduled in April. The festival is sponsored by the local Jewish federation.

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March Madness: Ranking The Tournament’s Religiously Affiliated Schools

Another March Madness is once again upon us. The NCAA’s men’s Division I basketball tournament will enthrall millions with its bracket-busting upsets. It is, for many sports fans, the best time of the year. This year’s 68-team field features seven Catholic schools. In addition, five are Protestant and one Mormon. Here’s a look at how they stack up.

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Relics On Tour: ‘Kingdom Of David And Solomon Discovered’ Comes To Oklahoma

A new exhibit, “Kingdom of David and Solomon Discovered” — on display now through Jan. 31, 2025, in the lobby of the Armstrong Auditorium in Edmond, Oklahoma — reflects on the panoply of the royal house of Judah, whose influence extended from Tyre in ancient Phoenicia, today Lebanon, to Sheba or Saba, in what is modern-day Yemen and Ethiopia. On display are 49 outstanding artifacts illuminating the material culture of those Hebrew monarchs.

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Nebraska Conference Touts Hope For Revival Amid Political Polarization

Ministers and church leaders traveled to a Nebraska farming town to pray, fellowship and brainstorm ideas for revival at a time of declining numbers, post-pandemic challenges and political polarization.

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American Bible Society to Shut Down Faith and Liberty Discovery Center

Over the past decade, the American Bible Society spent nearly $100 million to build and operate a state-of-the-art interactive museum in Philadelphia that explains the role of the Bible and a Christian worldview in the nation’s founding, as well as in the ongoing history of the nation. At the end of this month, the museum will permanently close.

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Wisconsin Supreme Court Decision Truncates Religion

This decision, Catholic Charities v. Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Commission, might at first glance seem to be yet another boring administrative matter. That’s far from being the case. In fact, the outcome raises the bar for all religions to show that their charity arms deserve such exemptions in the state.

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Oklahoma Church Invites Community To Serve With Food-Packing Service Project

On this Friday afternoon, an Oklahoma church’s usual, angelic a cappella gives way to the guitar riffs of Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.” Volunteers wearing hairnets, plastic gloves and T-shirts that say “Jesus ♥ You” congregate around plastic tables. In unison, the crowd proclaims, “PROTEIN! VEGETABLES! SOY! RICE!” as they fill and seal plastic bags labeled MannaPack.

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Why A California Artist Has Made It Her Mission To ‘Paint God’s World’

Maureen Gaffney Wolfson opened The Maureen Gaffney Wolfson Fine Art Gallery in December 2023. Though it may have originated from heartbreak, her paintings are full of color, light, and, perhaps most critically, the divine. “I started painting out of heartbreak,” said Wolfson. “It was therapy for me. Then it became a hobby. Then it became a career.”

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Georgia County’s First Spanish-Speaking Church Reflective Of Hispanic Growth

Victor Lyons’ work in collecting information for the 2020 Census made it clear to him that Wilcox County reflected the burgeoning Spanish-speaking population of South Georgia. The pastor of First Avenue Baptist Church will officially add another title this Sunday as pastor of Iglesia Vida Abundantè (Abundant Life) Church, which will meet in First Avenue’s sanctuary.

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‘Sacred Alaska’ Masterfully Explores Native Culture And The Orthodox Faith

(REVIEW) This film is not just a historical overview of the growth of Orthodox Christianity in America’s northernmost state among Native Alaskans; it also captures the fusion of Native Alaskan culture and Orthodox spirituality. The film shows what we can learn from Alaskan Orthodoxy. Becoming fully human, caring for the land and the animals are main themes discussed in this documentary. These lessons are not just important for Orthodox Christians, but for all human beings.  

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New Survey Shows Most Americans Say Religion’s Influence Waning

The vast majority of U.S. adults say religion’s role in public life has declined — and a very large number of them are not happy about it. A new Pew Research Center report revealed the stark finding that 80% of U.S. adults agree with the statement that the role of faith in everyday American life is shrinking.

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