Plane crash kills pastor who gave free flights to cancer patients

The six-seat, single-engine plane registered to Jeremiah 29:11 Inc, crashed under unknown circumstances killing all five passengers and the pilot.

Mr Valentine founded the company with his wife, which lists on its website the services provided including “pro bono flights for cancer patients, wounded veterans, boy scouts, and other individual and non-profit organizations”.

 

The Independence Rural Fire Department said in a Facebook post that firefighter Nicholas Warner was also killed in the crash, along with two of his sons and his father, Bill Warner.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol told News 9 that the group flew to Ponca City for breakfast and then crashed around 10:45am in a soybean field before it caught on fire.

Independence Community College head football coach Jason Brown paid tribute to his “friend” Mr Valentine.

 

He tweeted: “Pirate Nation was devastated today with the sudden death of my friend and even better man, deepest condolences to his wife and kids our hearts hurt but he gave our program a great quote which we…

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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

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Willow Creek Investigates Hybels as Pastor Quits over New Allegations

Willow Creek Investigates Hybels as Pastor Quits over New Allegations



Willow Creek Community Church announced it will commission an independent investigation of sexual harassment allegations against founding pastor Bill Hybels, a day after one of the two pastors who succeeded Hybels resigned over the church’s handling of the matter.


Heather Larson, lead pastor at the influential evangelical Chicago-area megachurch, announced the investigation Monday (Aug. 6) in an email to church members. The inquiry will be led, Larson said, by an advisory council of Christian leaders from across the country and funded by an anonymous outside donor.


Steve Carter, who was named lead teaching pastor alongside Larson in April, announced his resignation on his blog Sunday (Aug. 5) over differences with how the church has handled the allegations against Hybels. Carter did not appear at Sunday services  at Willow Creek’s main campus in South Barrington, Ill.

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New £3.9m church build starts in Portsmouth

The new build is designed to better accommodate Lock Heath Free Church’s activities and serve their wider community.

They have been planning a site move for eight and a half years. Having purchased the land, construction finally started this week.

The new building will have an auditorium which seats 500, a sports hall, a café, large foyer and staff offices. There will also be a separate 180-seat auditorium, several multi-use rooms, a pre-school area and a youth suite.

The project is being funded through personal gifts from the church family, the sale of a church property, fund raising activities, applying for grants and a large mortgage also paid for by the church congregation.

The church’s August newsletter updated the congregation, saying: “After eight years of prayer, planning, giving, fund raising, legal work, meetings, emails, telephone conversations, being overwhelmed, miracles, prophetic words, simply persevering, questions, more meetings and prayer … it has actually started.”

Lock Heath Free Church is also doing a ‘small group challenge’ in which Bible study groups compete to see which one can raise the most money.

They ask for prayer for the team building the church and “that our conversations, hope and focus remain firmly fixed on Jesus”.

Construction is expected to finish around November 2019.

Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a Christian…

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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

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Willow Creek Leaders Your ‘Time Is Up,’ Scot McKnight Says; Church in New Bill Hybels Investigation

(Photo: Willow Creek Association)

Willow Creek Community Church has said that a new investigation into the alleged sexually abusive behavior of former Pastor Bill Hybels will be launched.

Heather Larson, the evangelical megachurch’s executive pastor, told The New York Times in a statement Monday following the latest allegations against Hybels: “It was heartbreaking yesterday to read about the new allegation against Bill Hybels in The New York Times. We have deep sadness for Ms. Baranowski. The behavior that she has described is reprehensible.”

Pat Baranowski, who says she served as Hybels’ gatekeeper in the 1980s, told the publication that Hybels undressed and groped her on multiple occasions.

Baranowski said that the married pastor also performed oral sex on her, and that she was “unable to say no” to her boss.

The woman revealed that she agreed to keep the situation a secret because she loved Willow Creek and its people and did not want to cause harm.

Hybels, who resigned prematurely in April following previous accusations of sexual misconduct made by several women, again denied that he did anything wrong.

“I never had an inappropriate physical or emotional relationship with her before that time, during that time or after that time,” he said in a statement.

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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – The Christian Post.

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Deptford church-goers rally round after boy dies in suspected arson fire

The seven-year-old, named as Joel Urhie by his father John Uhrie, lost his life in a blaze at a house on Adolphus Street in Deptford.

Speaking to reporters at the scene, he said: “It’s terrible, the pain we cannot forget.”

 

Vicar of nearby St Nicholas Church, Rev Louise Codrington-Marshall told Premier: “Obviously, we’re all shocked and grieved at this sad news and our thoughts and prayers are with the family at this time.

“We’ll be praying for them at church and lighting candles and supporting the family the best we can.”

The fire was first reported to emergency services at 3.25am on Tuesday.

Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire

 

Neighbours described hearing screams from the property.

Two women were taken to hospital with non-threatening injuries after jumping from a first floor window.

Rev Codrington-Marshall added: “I’ve spoken to one of my parishioners who lives along that street.

Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire

 

“She said she was out until 3am, lots of people were shouting and trying to assist. The fire was too great so they had to wait for the fire brigade in the end.”

Around 35 firefighters and six engines responded to the blaze, which was brought under control by 4.50am.

Treating the fire as suspicious, the Metropolitan Police has launched an arson investigation.

No arrests have been made.

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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

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Bill Hybels and the illusion of “private” sin

Bill Hybels is making headlines again. The New York Times tells the story of a woman who worked as his personal assistant at Willow Creek Community Church. She is now describing multiple occasions in which he behaved toward her in extremely inappropriate ways I will not describe here.

Hybels denies her allegations. “I never had an inappropriate physical or emotional relationship with her before that time, during that time or after that time,” he stated in an email to the Times. He has already taken early retirement following other allegations of misconduct. Ten women in total have now made such accusations.

Willow Creek’s elders have stated: “We now believe Bill entered into areas of sin related to the allegations that have been brought forth.” Yesterday, the church announced that it plans to launch a new independent investigation into the charges against Hybels.

After Hybels took early retirement, Steve Carter became Lead Teaching Pastor at Willow Creek last October. He resigned his position on Sunday, stating that he and church elders disagree about ways the church can move forward. “I cannot, in good conscience, appear before you as your Lead Teaching Pastor when my soul is so at odds with the institution,” he wrote in a letter to the congregation.

The personal assistant making the latest allegations against Hybels worked with him some thirty years ago. Whether we believe he is guilty or not, we should take note of this fact: the public consequences of personal sin can come to light years after the sin is committed.

A satanic strategy

Satan loves to tempt us to sin, then use the consequences of our sins against us. But he wants these consequences to devastate us and the people of God as much as possible.

I think he sometimes waits until Christian leaders are even more visible so that their public disgrace can be even more traumatic. The higher we climb a ladder, the farther we have to fall.

We can see this in the timing of the…

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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Denison Forum.

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Giant scarecrow version of Pope is star of festival

The pontiff is due to visit the Republic later this month.

The massive model of Pope Francis in his popemobile was created by a group of men in Durrow, Co Laois, for the popular annual Durrow Scarecrow Festival.

 

Chairwoman of the Durrow Development Forum, Evelyn Clancy, said there had been a huge amount of interest from across Ireland.

The festival is known for its topical depictions, from Donald Trump to King Kong.

Niall Carson/PA Wire

 

Ms Clancy added: “People expect it, King Kong was higher than a two-storey house, people have that expectation from this group of men.”

The talented and creative group behind the creation includes engineers and carpenters who have put many evenings of work into their scarecrow.

Niall Carson/PA Wire

 

Chairman of the Conahy Vintage Club, Michael Bergin, told the Leinster Express they enjoyed the camaraderie.

“We always think that big is beautiful.

“There was work for everybody in it from steel to straw, overalls, shoes down to making tea and having a chat. You make it up as you go along.”

Niall Carson/PA Wire

 

The group added lights to the popemobile and when you press a button the scarecrowPope waves.

Money raised from visitors to the festival is reinvested in the community, Ms Clancy said.

Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a Christian…

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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

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Willow Creek church founder Bill Hybels faces new investigation after fresh harassment claims

Speaking with the New York Times, Bill Hybels’ former executive assistant Pat Baranowski accused the former leader of Willow Creek Community Church near Chicago of sexually and emotionally abusing her during the 1980s.

Lead pastor Heather Larson said the probe would be given “full autonomy” and overseen by an advisory board of “external” Christian leaders from across the US.

 

In a meeting held in April, Hybels announced he was stepping aside as a leader of Willow Creek with immediate effect.

Addressing his former congregation, the evangelical leader admitted naivety by placing himself too frequently “in situations that would have been far wiser to avoid.”

As many as ten women have now come forward to accuse Hybels of inappropriate behaviour, including prolonged hugs, comments about their appearance and invitations to his hotel rooms during a number of years.

www.steveryancarter.com

 

The women took their claims to the press, after two investigations initiated by leaders at Willow Creek found no wrongdoing.

Hybels told the New York Times he denied Ms Baranowski’s allegations. He has refuted previous claims made against him, calling some ‘flat-out lies’.

A member of the Willow Creek leadership team, Rev Steve Carter (pictured above) quit his post on Sunday, citing concerns over how church officials have handled the allegations made against…

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Nine Key Statistical Insights from Churches in 2018

Podcast Episode #456

SUBSCRIBE: iTunes • RSS • Stitcher • TuneIn Radio • Google Play • iHeart Radio

Tony Morgan joins us to discuss statistical trends he’s finding in churches today and what those trends can mean for your church in the future.

Some highlights from today’s episode include:

  • Churches shouldn’t settle when it comes to attendance, but try to get members to become more regularly engaged.
  • Building a bigger building might not the best way for your church to reach more people.
  • Churches are starting to engage students as volunteers in ministry and seeing them connect better to the church as a result.
  • When your church starts to track different metrics, it forces discussions on intentionality of service and evangelism.

The nine statistical insights we discuss are:

  1. Churches are averaging 1.7% YOY attendance growth
  2. 18% of churches are multisite
  3. 45% of the congregation are serving monthly
  4. Average baptism rate is 6.4% (16:1 ratio)
  5. 60% of congregation are involved in groups
  6. Per capita giving is 47%
  7. 50% of budget is for staffing
  8. 1:61 staff to attendance ratio
  9. 56% of church staff are part time

Episode Sponsors

Vanderbloemen Search Group is the premier pastor search firm dedicated to helping churches and ministries build great teams. They’ve helped hundreds of churches just like yours find their church staff and are uniquely geared to help you discern who God is calling to lead your church.

For more information, visit WeStaffTheChurch.com.


The ministry landscape is changing,…

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Joyce Meyer Daily 7 August 2018 Devotional — Today May Be “One of Those Days”

Topic: Today May Be “One of Those Days” [Joyce Meyer’s Devotional Tuesday August 7, 2018]

And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. — Luke 10:39

Have you ever had “one of those days” where nothing went right, yet you were hesitant to pray because you didn’t know where God might lead you? God won’t always ask you to do something; sometimes He just wants to talk to you.

If He does ask you to do something, He will anoint you to do it. You will enjoy the presence of His power, and someone will be blessed by your obedience. Those are the best days of your life. Take time to pray this morning. Today may be “one of those days” that God has a special assignment for you.

Prayer Starter: Father, I offer myself up to You today. I want to delight in Your presence…and fulfill Your good plan for my day. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

If you missed yesterday devotional, please click to read “Joyce Meyer Daily Devotional HERE’’

From Joyce Meyer’s Ministries.

The post Joyce Meyer Daily 7 August 2018 Devotional — Today May Be “One of Those Days” appeared first on Flatimes.