Judge Steps in to Settle Dispute in a Church, Divided
Flint Hill Baptist Church, a 90 year old church in Rock Hill, SC, has been divided by a six month dispute over firing the pastor that has resulted in locked doors and lawsuits. A local judge ordered the congregation to hold a vote next month on the future of their pasto r and ultimately, whether the church will continue to exist. Source: Charlotte Observer
Former Pastor’s Sexual Transgressions Further Wound Congregation
Richmond Outreach Center, a Virginia church which was recently rocked by its pastor’s departure on charges of sexual assault at a previous church, learned that he had also conducted multiple affairs with ROC’s own parishioners. Ex-pastor Geronimo Aguilar faces 4 felonious assault charges in Texas, some of which involve minors. Source: Charisma News
Vince Gill Has Words with Westboro Baptist Protestors
Vince Gil, an iconic country music artist, confronted Westboro Baptist Church protestors gathered outside his show in Kansas City, MO. Their protest centered around Gil’s marriage to Amy Grant and although no punches were thrown, the heated encounter was laden with choice words and can be found on YouTube. Source: Charisma News
Church’s Size May Have Attracted Terrorist Threats
Harvest Christian Fellowship, recently the target of 9-11 terrorist threats, may have been targeted because of it’s size and high profile status. “It appears that...he was trying to use our church as a platform … to get his twisted message across” said executive pastor John Collins. Source: PE Bloggers
Pastor’s Wife Feeds Strippers, Changes Lives
A former stripper in Nashville, TN credits a Pastor’s wife and her “Strip Church” ministry for helping her leave her job as an exotic dancer and make a fresh start. “She wasn’t begging or bugging me, and she wasn’t handing me a Bible and she wasn’t trying to change me, she was trying to help me” says the ex-stripper. Source: CP Church and Ministry
Focus On The Family and NavPress Experiencing Hefty Layoffs
Colorado Springs based ministries Focus on the Family and NavPress are both cutting budgets and jobs says The Gazette. Focus will be cutting 40 jobs while NavPress will be slashing its employee base by 75%, many speculate this is due to a recent publishing merger with Tyndale. Source: Christianity Today
Pope Francis Engages Atheists
School District Monitors Student’s Social Media in Hopes to Stop Bullying
The Glendale, CA School District paid nearly $15,000 to a monitoring firm to track the activity of it’s students on popular social media sites. The district hopes that these efforts will increase the safety of it’s children, but privacy proponents argue that it will ultimately foster mistrust with the students. Source: Digital Trends
In an open letter to Eugenio Scalfari, founder of La Repubblica newspaper, Pope Francis engages non-believers and encourages them to follow their conscience to find God’s mercy. “Sin, even for those who have no faith, exists when people disobey their conscience.” Source: The Independent
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Ministry Briefing by Todd Rhoades & Matt Steen | SEPTEMBER 20, 2013