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Smokey Robinson Credits God with Saving Him from Cocaine Addiction
Iconic Motown singer and songwriter Smokey Robinson shared his testimony in a recent interview.
The 74-year-old discussed in The Telegraph interview how God delivered him from a cocaine addiction, and he has maintained his sobriety for over 28 years.
Robinson was just 17 years old when he met Berry Gordy for the first time, and went on to become one of the most prolific singers and songwriters on Motown Records. He penned The Temptations hits “My Girl,” “The Way You Do The Things You Do,” and other classics, and his group, The Miracles, were honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In spite of such incredible accomplishments, he began abusing cocaine late in his career, and became an addict at the age of 41.
“I think it happened to me so late because of the fact that I was… protected,” he told The Telegraph.
“I was always, and I still am, open to somebody in my camp saying, ‘No. That’s not right,’ or, ‘What do you think you’re doing?’ I have those kind of people around me, Berry Gordy being the main one of them. I appreciate that as a person and I’m very happy that that’s there.”
When that hedge of protection was removed however, he began making poor choices.
“When you divorce yourself from these types of people in your life, then you have a tendency to be able to run amok, when you surround yourself with ‘yes’ people,” he explained. “And that’s what most people who go amok do – they surround themselves with ‘yes’ people. Anything you do is fine ’cause you’re you and you’re popular. And that’s dangerous.”
Years later, a friend took him to a Los Angeles storefront church, and the pastor prayed for him.
“And she told me that God had told her I was coming,” he recounted. “And she told me all the things that were happening to me, physically and emotionally and mentally – which I shared with no on one earth! No one knew. She told me every one of ’em that night. She said God had showed her what was going on.
“And I walked in that church an addict, and I came out free. May of 1986. Never looked back.”
Robinson continues to write and record music, and recently released a new album, “Smokey & Friends.” The project features duets with legendary singers such as Steven Tyler, Elton John, and Sheryl Crow, as well as relative newcomers Miguel, Jessie J, and Aloe Blacc. The stars sing hit after hit from Robinson’s extensive catalogue.
“Smokey & Friends” is available now in online and physical retail stores.
Original Post by Christian Today
Mom Who Gave Abortion Pills to Her Teen Daughter Gets Prison
A Pennsylvania mother was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Friday for giving her 16-year-old daughter abortion pills.
Jennifer Ann Whalen, a nursing home aide, was found guilty of violating a state law that says abortions must be performed by a physician.
Whalen bought misoprostol and mifepristone online from Europe for $45 in 2012, and gave them to her pregnant 16-year-old daughter to cause a miscarriage.
Slate reported that the mother told police that there was no abortion clinic nearby, the closest clinic would have charged $500, and her daughter did not have health insurance to pay for the abortion. The closest abortion clinic to Washingtonville is 74 miles away in Harrisburg. Whalen also said she didn’t know she needed a prescription for the drugs.
According to the Press Enterprise, the teen experienced acute cramping and bleeding, and was taken to Geisinger Medical Center. Medical records obtained by police show that she was “treated for an incomplete abortion and a urinary tract infection”.
Last week, Montour County Court of Common Pleas Judge Gary Norton sentenced Whalen to 12 to 18 months in prison for the felony crime, fined her $1,000, and ordered her to perform 40 hours of community service upon her release. She could have received up to seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine for the crime. Her attorney, Matthew Bingham Banks, said the case was uncommon.
Whalen’s sentencing follows a case in Florida in which a man gave his girlfriend an abortion pill and told her it was an antibiotic. John Andrew Walden admitted that he scratched the identifying labelling off a bottle of Cytotec – a drug that induces labour and can cause abortions. His then girlfriend, Remee Jo Lee, lost the baby, and filed charges against him.
“I was never going to do anything but go full term with it, and he didn’t want me to,” Lee told WPTV News.
In January, Walden was sentenced to 13 years in prison, and ordered to pay $28,500 in restitution.
Original Post by Christian Today
Mars Hill Announces Closure of Three Churches
US megachurch Mars Hill has announced the closure of three of its campuses due to financial problems.
Mars Hill Church Phoenix will hold its last service at the end of this month, while the Downtown Seattle and U-District campuses in Washington will be consolidated with Mars Hill Church Ballard in October.
A statement posted by Dave Bruskas, an executive elder at Mars Hill, on the church’s website admits that its Huntington Beach plant is “in jeopardy” unless donations increase.
Bruskas also reveals that Mars Hill has “ceased any further development of a Los Angeles church plant” in light of financial difficulties.
The church has faced much scrutiny in recent months regarding its leadership, and at least four pastors have recently stepped down from their positions.
Lead pastor of the church as a whole, Mark Driscoll, announced last month that he is stepping down from ministry for six weeks while a number of allegations levelled against him are investigated.
The latest church closure announcement is therefore unlikely to have come as a surprise. A news bulletin released by Mars Hill two weeks ago attributes a significant drop in tithing to the “negative media attention surrounding our church”.
“It is your continued support that is needed now more than ever. While we were able to end the fiscal year strong, giving and attendance have declined significantly since January. Specifically, we have seen a substantial decrease in tithes and offerings these past two months,” the bulletin reads.
“We now find ourselves in a tougher financial position than we expected.”
An updated statement posted yesterday then appeared to blame the congregation for the difficulties:
“Church budgeting is really a simple process in one respect: we are able to provide the level of staff and ministry programs that those who attend our church provide the resources for. In other words, it is ultimately our people, not our leaders, who determine how much ‘church’ we are able to provide.”
Two hours after the statement was posted, however, a disclaimer was added, which noted that the original post “failed to acknowledge that the reason for much of the decrease in attendance and giving falls to us, the leadership of Mars Hill.
“We shoulder the responsibility for our past sins and mistakes – which has caused many to leave.”
Patheos blogger Warren Throckmorton, who has been deeply critical of Mars Hill, has already questioned the legitimacy of this claim, amid concerns about the long-term future of the church.
“Can it be trusted? Clearly, each reader will have to decide what this is about and what shouldering the responsibility would look like,” he writes.
Original Post by Christian Today
Christians Who Fled Extremist Terror in Mali Return to the Churches that were Reduced to Ruins
While the world’s attention is focused on the threat of the Islamic State in the Middle East, Christians in northern Mali have returned to their shattered communities after French forces wrested control back from Islamist groups.
Churches were desecrated and looted when the region fell under radical groups in 2012. French forces were able to take control but the reconstruction is slow and costly, and peace talks between the government and mainly Tuareg armed groups are still ongoing.
Dr Mohamed Ibrahim Yattara, president of the Baptist Church in northern Mali, told World Watch Monitor most Christians who fled the region had now returned to their homes but their churches are “in ruins”.
He said the church there has lost most of its buildings and valuable property, including vehicles. The damage done by the extremists has also affected the church’s work in the area of community provision. In Timbuktu, the church’s water project set up over a period of 20 years has been rendered unusable as most of the materials were stolen.
Dr Yattara also expressed disappointment that the government and international community was not helping the church rebuild.
“So far nothing has been done,” he said. “Actually, with regard to the current post-conflict situation, we have no means to undertake reconstruction projects. We can only rely on the generosity of people of good will to walk with us in these efforts of reconstruction.”
But he remains grateful that the church is at least still there and was not wiped out completely by the radical groups.
While Mali remains a difficult place for Christians – it was ranked No 7 on Open Doors’ 2013 World Watch List for persecution – Dr Yattara is determined that the churches will continue doing what they were called to do.
“We had this feeling that jihadists wanted to wipe out any trace of Christianity in the north of Mali. But God in his goodness has not allowed such an eventuality,” he said.
“The church is still there and most of the believers have returned, albeit in very difficult conditions, without external assistance or the financial resources needed in such circumstances.
“And despite such adversity we are determined to resume our ministries because after all, this northern Mali is ours. We have the right to freely exercise our faith and we are firmly committed to make this happen.”
Original Post by Christian Today
Former Employee of Tony Blair’s Faith Foundation Turns Whistleblower
The Charity Commission has called a meeting with representatives of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation after a former senior employee turned whistleblower and raised concerns about aspects of its operation.
The Sunday Telegraph reported that the Commission has asked for the meeting after Martin Bright, employed by the foundation to edit its website analysing religious conflict, complained that the former Prime Minister was interfering.
He effectively accused Mr Blair of abusing his role as the charity’s patron to use it as a think tank for his private office. Bright also complained that large sums of money were spent on the communications team, and said this appeared to be aimed at protecting Mr Blair’s image rather than promoting the charity.
The controversy threatens to overshadow the recent announcement by GQ magazine that Tony Blair had won its Philanthropist of the Year award. Mr Blair has contributed more than £10 million to charity since 2007.
Mr Bright, former political editor of the New Statesman, told The Sunday Telegraph: “The Faith Foundation is an independent charity with Tony Blair as its patron. He is not supposed to have any executive role. But it was clear from the outset that … his [Mr Blair’s] reputation was to be protected at all costs.”
Mr Bright, who runs his own charity, said that “huge amounts” of the foundation’s time “were spent in meetings to ensure the website didn’t embarrass Blair.”
He also complained in an earlier article in the Mail on Sunday that is being examined by the Charity Commission: “Tony’s private office began to treat my website as its own think tank or government department, with regular calls for briefings on the Middle East, radical Islam or particular conflicts.”
He said that on one occasion, Mr Blair asked him to create an “interactive map” of Islamic religious schools or madrasas in the world “according to how radical they are.” He questioned why “such a small charity” needed five communications officers when its “sole aim seemed to be to say as little as possible.”
Mr Bright also revealed that Harvard Divinity School pulled out of a joint project with Mr Blair’s charity after the former prime minister wrote an article claiming that religion was responsible for fuelling conflicts.
Mr Bright was employed in January to launch and edit the “religion and geopolitics” section of the website but resigned five months later.
In a statement, Mr Bright said: “TBFF does important work to tackle religious extremism but it is hamstrung by the relationship with Tony Blair himself.”
A Charity Commission spokesman said there were no regulatory issues and the foundation is not under investigation. She added: “But we are to meet with the charity in the autumn for a general discussion. We then expect to publish an operational case report about our involvement.”
A spokesman for the foundation said: “Tony Blair established the Tony Blair Faith Foundation in 2008 because he believed that religious ideology and its impact on the world would be the biggest challenge facing the 21st Century. We are immensely grateful for the considerable amount of time and energy Mr Blair devotes to working as our founder and patron. The Foundation is an independent entity and a registered charity in the UK that abides by all relevant laws and regulations. We are governed by a board of independent trustees who ensure we meet our charitable objectives.”
Mr Blair runs consultancy under the umbrella Tony Blair Associates, is an unpaid Middle East peace envoy and besides the foundation has set up the Tony Blair Sports Foundation and the Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative.
Original Post by Christian Today
Three Iranian Christians Face Death Penalty for ‘Spreading Corruption on Earth’
Three Iranian Christians have been charged with ‘Mofsed-e-filarz’, or ‘spreading corruption on earth’, which carries the death sentence.
Pastor Matthias Haghnejad, Pastor Behmnam Irani and Silas Rabbani have all been charged in recent weeks, Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) reports. All three men are well known and respected leaders within the Church of Iran.
Pastor Haghnejad was originally charged with ‘Moharebeh’, meaning ‘enmity against God’ following his arrest on July 5, but has now charged with the more serious crime.
While both crimes carry the death sentence ‘Mofsed-e-filarz’ is thought to be the more dangerous charge, resulting in more executions.
Pastor Irani has been was given the charge along with 18 new charges against him. In 2011 he was sentenced to six years in prison for his faith. He had been leading a 300-strong evangelical church in Karaj, a city near the capital, Tehran.
Irani is now being held in solitary confinement and is suffering numerous health problems which have been exacerbated by his time in prison.
All three men all being held separately at Ghezal Hesar Prison in Karaj where they have been pressured into confessing they are spies.
Iranian Christians are forbidden from praying in public churches, and converting to Christianity from Islam can carry the death penalty.
“Under international laws, being a religious minority is not a crime, but under certain stipulations in Sharia law they can work their way around that. A lot are converts, and apostasy is a crime, they see that a threat to the Islamic state, and so it becomes a political crime,” a spokesperson for CSW said.
American pastor Saeed Abedini is serving an eight-year prison sentence for ‘threatening the security of the state’, having worked to develop home church communities.
In January, the UN said it was alarmed by the increase in executions under President Hassan Rouhani, who came to power in August 2013. Between January and June there were 411 executions recorded, and eight men have already been executed for ‘Moharebeh’ this year.
“The new charges are tantamount to an indictment of Christianity itself and CSW is growing increasingly alarmed by what is a clear escalation in Iran’s campaign against Persian Christians under the Rouhani presidency and by what is effectively an attempt to gain an apostasy conviction by other means,” said CSW chief executive Mervyn Thomas in a statement.
Original Post by Christian Today
Indian Christians to Protest Increased Persecution Under Narendra Modi’s BJP Party
Despite the promise of greater protections for religious minorities, there have been over 600 attacks on Muslim and Christian groups during the first 100 days of the new Indian government’s rule.
In response to the increase in violence, Christians and activists are planning a public protest in New Delhi on October 4, two days after a convention on minority rights is to be held.
Meeting on September 2, a central committee of over 50 Christian leaders, lawyers and social activists branded the increased persecution a “conspiracy”.
Fears had been raised following the landslide victory of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, leader of the BJP Party, in May that persecution against religious minorities would increase.
Extremist Hindu groups have been using a nationalist ideology to promote ‘Hindutva’ – which equates being Indian with having a Hindu faith.
Modi has strong connections with these groups, and five states in India have anti-conversion laws which state that those who wish to convert to another religion must first gain official permission.
Religious leaders are also required by law to report conversions or risk a three-year jail sentence themselves.
Two particular anti-Christian incidents sparked recent outrage, including the supposed reconversion of a Christian family, which was then used by a Hindu fundamentalist group to promote their cause, and denounced as “intimidation” by Christian groups.
In addition, World Watch Monitor (WWM) reports that 12 pastors were illegally detained on false charges of converting Hindus to Christians near New Delhi on August 30.
“The police even beat some of the pastors to please the Hindi mob creating a violent scene,” said Pramod Singh, a senior Christian lawyer who witnessed the arrest.
“The police chief of the area even told us that ‘This is a Hindu nation.’ The police have changed colours with the change of government,” he added.
During the September 2 meeting, Indian Christian leader John Dayal warned that violent incidents of religious persecution “are not isolated”.
“There is a clear strategy and plan behind it. Such instances are only spreading,” he said.
Founding director of Act Now for Harmony and Democracy, Shabnam Hashmi, lamented the lack of religious freedom in India, and urged minorities to stand up for their rights.
“It is time for all to join hands and protest,” she said.
Original Post by Christian Today
Trial Set for American Citizen Held in North Korea
A US citizen detained in North Korea will go on trial this Sunday, North Korean state media has confirmed.
It is not known exactly what charges are being held against Matthew Miller, 24, though it has previously been reported that he was detained for “perpetrating hostile acts” against the state.
Korean Central News Agency said yesterday that the Supreme Court will “judge” Miller later this week.
The government has “decided to hold on September 14 a court trial on American Matthew Todd Miller, now in custody according to the indictment of a relevant institution,” a statement read.
Miller allegedly tore up his tourist visa at the airport upon arriving in North Korea, shouting that he had come “to the DPRK after choosing it as a shelter.”
He is one of three American citizens currently being held by North Korean authorities. Kenneth Bae, a 46-year-old Christian missionary and tourist operator, and Jeffrey Fowle, 56, are also detained.
Bae was convicted of preaching against and planning to overthrow the North Korean government and was sentenced to 15 years of hard labour in April 2013.
Fowle was arrested after apparently leaving a Bible in his hotel room while on a tour of the country, and was investigated for acts “inconsistent with the purpose of a tourist visit”. He has not yet stood trial.
Last week, Miller, Bae and Fowle spoke to the media and urged the White House to negotiate their release.
Speaking with CNN from an unidentified hotel in Pyongyang, Miller described his situation as “very urgent”.
He also added that he has apologised to the North Korean government for his actions and has “been asking for forgiveness,” but did not give an explanation as to why he attempted to seek asylum.
Bae asked for continued prayer, and expressed concerns about his own health.
Attempted visits by the US special envoy for North Korean human rights issues have been cancelled several times in the past by North Korean officials.
Original Post by Christian Today
Son of Chinese State Church founder sues government to save father’s reputation
The son of the founder of China’s state-sanctioned Church is suing the government in an attempt to restore honour to his father’s name.
Wu Zongsu believes Chinese officials have hidden evidence showing that his father’s original purposes have been twisted to further the government’s secular agenda.
YT Wu, full name Wu Yaozong, is credited with founding the state-sanctioned Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) – the only Protestant Church to be officially recognised by the Communist government.
After meeting privately with China’s premier Zhou Enlai several times before the CCP took power in 1949, and later with Chairman Mao Zedong, YT Wu led China in the establishment of a national Church that would be faithful to the Communist government.
The TSPM – which promoted self-governance, self-support and self-propagation – hoped to harness the Christian population, which stood at around one million in 1949, while ensuring that there would be no conflict between faith and the party line.
However, the Movement has been fraught with contention – considered by many to be a tool used by the atheistic government to control, and ultimately limit, the growth of Christianity.
YT Wu, therefore, has a mixed reputation among the Chinese Christian community. According to William Wan of the Washington Post, he is “vilified” among the underground church, who believe Wu “delivered China’s Christian community into the hands of the Communist government and abetted the persecution of hundreds of thousands of Christians.”
Now, more than six decades since the TSPM was founded, Wu Zongsu, is hoping to restore his father’s legacy.
Wu has filed a lawsuit against the Chinese government in an attempt to recover 40 of his father’s diaries which he lent to authorities following his father’s death.
The government has failed to return them, claiming they are now “state property”. Wu believes they contain vital information which will show that the Three-Self Church is a distortion of his father’s original vision.
“Some call my father a prophet; others say a betrayer. But the truth is he was just a man, a very complicated one,” he told the Washington Post.
Wu has been critical of some of his father’s moves, but insists that his motives were good.
“My father saw Communism and Christianity as two sides of the same truth – in pursuit of the same goal, a better society,” he said.
Wu even published a 60-page paper entitled ‘Fallen Flower, Ruthless Waters’ several years ago, which details his father’s life and work. It has been described as “surprisingly unsentimental and unsparing in parts,” though it is ultimately favourable towards his father, who Wu labels a “tragic figure”.
Despite now being extolled by the Chinese government, YT Wu was actually sentenced to hard labour during the Cultural Revolution, a time when all religious activity was outlawed by Mao.
He died a year before the Three-Self movement was re-established.
Original Post by Christian Today