David Platt, president of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, has ordered an investigation of IMB’s “handling of past actions” with sexual abuse.

Platt’s announcement comes after a Southern Baptist leader, Mark Aderholt, was arrested and charged with sexual abuse crimes against a child.

In 2007, Anne Marie Miller reported that Aderholt had sexually abused her. The IMB investigated the allegation of Aderholt, who was also an IMB missionary. The IMB agreed with Miller, but they did not fire Aderholt and did not report the crime to police.

According to Baptist News Global, Miller was 16 at the time. Aderholt was 25 and working as a youth pastor.

This summer, Aderholt was arrested after Miller reported the incident to police.

Platt said the situation was “extremely disturbing.”

“I am commencing a thorough, outside, independent examination of IMB’s handling of past actions—including this case and any other similar situations,” he said in a statement. 

“In addition, I am commencing a thorough, outside, independent examination of IMB’s present policies and practices to ensure that our current commitment to zero tolerance for child abuse, sexual abuse, and sexual harassment is completely and consistently enforced across IMB today.”

Miller also issued a statement, saying she was “grateful” to Platt for…

The Willow Creek Association revealed Friday that their annual Global Leadership Summit set for Aug. 9–10 has suffered a loss of 111 host sites as a direct result of the sexual misconduct allegations that led to the resignation of Willow Creek Community Church founder Bill Hybels earlier this year.

“Certainly, Bill Hybels played a strong role in The Global Leadership Summit and the allegations made against him, as well as his resulting resignation from Willow Creek and the WCA, has had an impact on participation,” the WCA said in a statement to The Christian Post Friday evening.

“The Global Leadership Summit has lost 111 host sites as a direct result of the allegations made against Bill Hybels. Attendance will be impacted by the loss of host sites and the allegations against Bill Hybels. The 2018 global goal was 445,000, but it is way too early to know by how much this goal will be impacted,” the organization added.

It takes a big person to admit they made a mistake. And when actor Chris Pratt gave away a trip by mistake on Live TV, the lovable nice guy stepped up in a big way!

Actor Chris Pratt is no stranger to television. For years he played the goofy character of Andy Dwyer on the popular TV sitcom, Parks and Recreation. But when he made a guest co-host appearance in 2016 on Live TV, the friendly guy made a pretty big “boo boo.”

The blunder came during the Travel Trivia segment of the early morning show, Live With Kelly. Sitting opposite of Kelly Ripa, Chris asked the show’s caller, Melissa, a movie trivia question.

Melissa had 20 seconds to answer. And if she got it right, she’d win a $5,700 trip to Mexico.

Melissa’s first try at answering the question was incorrect. And that should have been it. But Chris couldn’t stand it and quickly chimed in with a second chance.

“We’re gonna be wishy-washy and give you a second guess,” he said, surprising Kelly Ripa and the show’s producers.

As Kelly cuts her eyes at Chris, you can tell this move was completely unprompted.

And when Melissa then answers the question correctly on her impromptu second try, Kelly covers her face in disbelief.

Completely oblivious to his snafu, Chris cheered excitedly saying, “You won!” But then he realizes he may have overstepped his bounds.

“Did I break…

A Christian woman, who defected from North Korea, said the world cannot “just sit and keep watching” as North Korea persecutes Christians and others.

Ji Hyeona spoke at the U.S. State Department’s Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom event at the Harry S. Truman Building this week. She told her story of abuse and torture while trying to escape North Korea.

“Since I first escaped from North Korea in 1998, I have since escaped from the North a total of four times and got repatriated to the North three times until I finally came to South Korea in 2007,” Ji said, “In between, I fell victim to human trafficking and I was also subjected to abortion violently forced on me even with no anesthesia because the North Korean regime couldn’t accept what they call ‘mixed love.'”

She said she was repatriated three times and interrogated about her beliefs. 

“Just like Peter denied Jesus three times, I lied each of those times that I got repatriated and got interrogated,” she said.

Ji first tried to escape with her family in 1998. Her father was arrested and she never saw him again. She was then arrested and sent back to North Korea.

That same year, Ji was arrested for trying to leave North Korea. She was sent to North Korea’s Jeungsan Camp No. 11 and held at the camp for more than a year.

Then, in 2000, she escaped a third time, but was…

A Toronto plastic surgeon who calls himself a “leader in the LGBT community” says he has performed mastectomies on girls as young as 14 who identity as boys.

LifeSiteNews.com interviewed the doctor, Marc DuPéré, who said he performed surgeries to remove the breasts of two 14-year-old girls in the past five years who considered themselves transgender. He has conducted mastectomies on girls ages 15 and 16, too. The surgery costs around $9,000.

“Parents should encourage questioning with their children to understand ‘their story,’” he told the website.

In an online forum with a patient, DuPéré was asked the youngest age he would perform a mastectomy. He responded “14 and older” and said it’s helpful if the child is 16-18 or older.

“As long as it is clear your child is firm about the decision to transition and with my consultation with him and yourself, I would be happy to help,” the post read. 

One controversy – as noted by LifeSiteNews – is that a child may grow to regret the decision to have surgery. Michelle Cretella, president of the American College of Pediatricians, says it’s not uncommon for children who experience gender confusion to stop having those feelings.

“There are at least 6,500 genetic differences between men and women,” Cretella says in an online video. “Hormones and surgery cannot, and do not, change…

United Methodist megachurch pastor Adam Hamilton stated at a Texas gathering that Christians can support gay marriage and not be at odds with orthodoxy.

In recent years, the UMC has had intense debate over the denomination’s official stance against homosexuality and same-sex marriage.

Speaking at a conference organized by the group Uniting Methodists held last week at Lovers Lane United Methodist Church in Dallas, Hamilton spoke about the authority of Scripture regarding the church body’s debate over LGBT issues.

He argued that both sides of the debate within the UMC held high opinions of Scripture and that the differences were over interpretation instead.

Hamilton took issue with the idea that Christians accepting same-sex marriage means that they have rejected “the historic essentials of the Christian faith.”

“So orthodoxy now means that I hold a particular view of same-gender marriage and/or a particular view of Scripture that gets me to a particular view of same-gender marriage,”