Mike Pence Says Pro-Life Democrats ‘Have a Home’ in the Republican Party

-
0
Mike Pence Says Pro-Life Democrats ‘Have a Home’ in the Republican Party


Mike Pence Says Pro-Life Democrats ‘Have a Home’ in the Republican Party

Vice President Mike Pence said this week that pro-life Democrats “have a home” in the Republican party.

As The Christian Post reports, Pence made these remarks while speaking at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday near Washington, D.C.

“Life is winning in America,” he said. “That’s what makes it so remarkable that every leading Democrat running for president has actually said that there’s no room in today’s Democratic Party for pro-life voters.”

“So let me say to every pro-life American, Republican, independent, or Democrat: You have a home in today’s Republican Party.”

In recent weeks, Democratic presidential candidates have debated what place pro-life supporters may have within the Democratic party.

“By this time in history, I think when we talk about what a Democrat is, I think being pro-choice is an essential part of that,” Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said at a forum earlier this month.

Candidate Sen. Amy Klobuchar also addressed the topic on ABC’s The View, saying that pro-life supporters are “part of our party.”

“I believe we are a big tent party and there are pro-life Democrats and they are part of our party,” she said. 

“I think we need to build a big tent. I think we need to bring people in instead of shutting them out.”

During his speech Thursday, Pence discussed the Trump…

… Read More

Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.

قالب وردپرس

From Tiny Beginnings, Catholic Charismatics Celebrate 53 Years of Holy Spirit-Led Renewal

-
0

Pope Francis celebrated Pentecost 2017 at the Circus Maximus in Rome with thousands of Christians from around the world to mark the Fiftieth Jubilee of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal.

The college-aged American pioneers of the Renewal are now its elders, and many were in attendance.

In their lifetime, the Renewal has sparked a “New Pentecost” among Catholics worldwide. The movement began in 1967 when the gifts of the Holy Spirit were bestowed upon a group of Duquesne University students on retreat at the Ark and the Dove.

“My Faith Was Renewed, I Was Filled With Joy”

Kevin and Dorothy Ranaghan remember when friends first told them about the Duquesne outpouring.

“My reaction here was pretty negative and so was Dorothy’s,” Kevin said with a laugh. “But we knew these people well.  I mean, they were solid, responsible, renewal-minded Catholics and they were scholars. We were all students or professors in theology, church history, and philosophy.”

“So we could see that even in their faces there was something changed and different,” Dorothy said. “And so although we wanted to discount what they were saying as sounding a little fringy, we could not deny the experience we saw they had, had changed them. And whatever it was, I think we came to see we wanted that too.”

Newly married at the time, Kevin taught theology at St. Mary’s College in Indiana, and Dorothy was a Catholic high school teacher. Both earned master’s degrees in theology from the University of Notre Dame. After hearing about his colleagues at Duquesne, Kevin embarked on a six-week study of the scriptures and received the baptism in the Holy Spirit at a Bible study among fellow Catholics.

“And it was so changing,” Kevin recalled. “I mean, suddenly, even that night, scripture was alive, my faith was renewed, filled with joy.”

Dorothy received the baptism the next day alone in a chapel. 

“It was like the Lord planted a flag in the center of my life and said, ‘This is permanent, hang on to this!’ You know, and it changed everything,” said Dorothy.

Learning How to Use the Gifts for Ministry

The couple sought out the Full Gospel Businessmen’s Fellowship, an organization with roots in Pentecostalism, to learn how to use the gifts for ministry.

“And I can’t imagine how he reacted in this phone call,” Kevin said. “‘Hi, we’re a bunch of Catholics from Notre Dame and we’ve just been baptized in the Holy Spirit and we would like to find out about the spiritual gifts. Can you help us?'” he said.

After spending some time with the Full Gospel Businessmen, the Ranaghans began to lead meetings on the Notre Dame campus and witnessed the gifts of the Spirit flowing freely. 
 
“Well, we had these large prayer meetings, sometimes 400 people every week. And they were amazing meetings in that we were all so new to this,” Dorothy recalled.

The First International Catholic Charismatic Conference

Just after Easter in 1968, Catholic students from top American universities met at Notre Dame to learn more about the Duquesne outpouring. Dr. Ralph Martin, a Notre Dame philosophy graduate, was a campus ministry leader when he brought 40 students from Michigan to the gathering.

“They called it ‘The First International Catholic Charismatic Conference’ because there was one nun from Canada who came,” Martin said with a laugh.

That summer several Duquesne University students lived with Lutheran pastor and founding CBN board member Harald Bredesen in his parish home near New York City to learn street evangelism.  

“We realized that we had a responsibility not just to preach the gospel, but to learn how to do it well and to be effective at it, not just kind of throwing it at people,” said David Mangan.

Renewal Meetings Spread Across the US and Around the World

Back home at Notre Dame, Catholic priests, nuns, and lay leaders attended the renewal meetings while on campus for continuing education. 

“When they went home they took this with them. They went all over the United States. They went to Australia, they went to the Philippines, they went to various countries in Europe,” said Kevin Ranaghan.

After the National Catholic Reporter ran newspaper coverage of the outpouring, Pope Paul VI sent Cardinal Suenens of Belgium, one of the four moderators of Vatican II, to evaluate what was happening. The Cardinal met with Ralph Martin and observed various student groups.

“‘All my life,’ [Suenens] said, ‘I’ve been searching for wherever the Holy Spirit is working, trying to understand what’s happening. I came here, I see the Holy Spirit is working, I want to do whatever I can to help you integrate this and open the whole Catholic Church up to it and bring you into the very center of things,'” Martin recounted.

Pope Paul VI: Charismatic Movement is “A Chance for The Church”

Cardinal Suenens invited Martin and his young family to Belgium to help lead the renewal in Europe. By 1975, 10,000 Catholic Charismatics from around the world joined Cardinal Suenens in Rome for Pentecost.

Pope Paul VI entered St. Peter’s Basilica and addressed the movement as “A chance for the Church.”

The renewal also birthed new religious orders and increased the number of those called into ministry. In the early 1970s, Father George Montague, a Pauline scholar and professor at St. Mary’s University in Texas, received the baptism in the Holy Spirit after a nun who had attended the Notre Dame meetings demonstrated spiritual gifts.

“Well, here’s the New Testament alive right in front of me,” Father Montague said with a laugh. “This is happening, the Holy Spirit is coming right in front of me! You know, I had been baptized. I had been confirmed. I had made religious vows. I was ordained as a priest, you know?  And so all those things kind of blocked me a little bit because, you know, what more do I need?”

After 25 years of ministry in the renewal, Father Montague, along with Father Bob Hogan, formed “Brothers of the Beloved Disciple” to serve in San Antonio, Texas.

“The Holy Spirit empowers our ministry through the spiritual gifts so that people can say, ‘Wow, truly God is in your midst. Truly Jesus is reaching out to me,'” Father Hogan said.

Today, more than 20 million Catholics in 240 countries enjoy life in the Spirit. 

“The Lord is Getting Ready to Do Something Big”

As the pioneers of the movement recall their history, they anticipate greater Holy Spirit wonders ahead. From Sister Elena’s urgent letters to Pope Leo to the 1901 outpouring in Kansas to the Azuza Street Revival to the Duquesne weekend and beyond – all of these events declare the gifts of the Holy Spirit are intended for every generation, as the Spirit works to unite all Christians to Christ and to each other, in order to reach the world. 

“It’s a surprise of the Holy Spirit that’s opening up great new possibilities,” Kevin Ranaghan said. “And we don’t know what’s next. We have a sense I know we have a sense here, the Lord is getting ready to do something big.”

Source CBN

All Content & Images are provided by the acknowledged source

As fear of the coronavirus abounds, where is your trust?

-
0
As fear of the coronavirus abounds, where is your trust?

Reports of the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, are plastered across media platforms. Everywhere we turn, we see and hear concerns and warnings regarding the respiratory illness it can cause, COVID-19. 

How should we prepare? What do we need to know about the virus? Are we stocked up on the pharmaceuticals we regularly consume? How dangerous is the coronavirus to our health?

The internet is laden with tips to prepare for potential contact with the sickness. Infectious disease specialists now say that it’s not if, but when the virus begins circulating in the United States. The New York Times has created a newsletter dedicated entirely to daily reports surrounding the progression of the virus.

For the first time since the coronavirus outbreak, a greater number of new cases are being reported outside of China than within. Conspiracy theories are surfacing like wildfire. Just this week, a report of an infection in California—without link to foreign travel—raises possible confirmation that we already have undetected viral circulation, or community transmission, within the United States.

And despite our wildly equipped force of scientists, infectious disease specialists, and stout political authority, we remain generally mystified by the infection. There is still great uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus. Elements such as the virus’ incubation period, transmissibility, and mortality have yet to be fully determined.

What does the coronavirus expose about the times?

Peter Brooks, Senior Research Fellow at the Heritage Foundation, recommends our focus be geared toward the fundamentals: “Keeping the crisis in context, pushing for full transparency, seeking international coordination and cooperation, employing a ‘whole of government’ approach, enhancing epidemic indications and warning, prioritizing the development of treatments, and supporting all elements of the U.S. health care system.”

These points of attention…

… Read More

—

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

قالب وردپرس

Muslim Landowner Tortures Young Christian Man in Pakistan, Sources Say

-
0
Muslim Landowner Tortures Young Christian Man in Pakistan, Sources Say


Muslim Landowner Tortures Young Christian Man in Pakistan, Sources Say

LAHORE, Pakistan, February 28, 2020 (Morning Star News) – A Muslim landowner on Tuesday (Feb. 25) chained and tortured a young Christian man after accusing him of “polluting” his tube-well water by rinsing in it, sources said.

Saleem Masih, 22, had finished unloading chaff in fields in Baguyana village, Karsur District, some 50 kilometers (31 miles) from Lahore, and was rinsing himself off in the tube-well when property owner Sher Dogar and other men rushed over, yanked him out of the water and began beating him, according to the Christian’s father, Ghafoor Masih.

“They cursed and abused Saleem for ‘polluting’ the water, calling him a ‘filthy Christian,’” the elder Masih told Morning Star News. “They then dragged him to their cattle farm, where they chained his hands and feet and continued to torture him with sticks and rods. They also rolled a thick iron rod over his entire body, causing multiple fractures in his left arm and ribs. Saleem couldn’t bear the pain and fell unconscious.”

The father of eight, a member of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian (ARP) Church USA, said police officers informed the family at about 9 a.m., telling them to come to Dogar’s cattle farm.

“When we reached there, we found Saleem lying unconscious on the ground, his face and body bloodied due to the torture,” he said. “Dogar had apparently summoned the cops himself, and it…

… Read More

Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.

قالب وردپرس

International Mission Board Launches Efforts to Mobilize More African American Missionaries

-
0
International Mission Board Launches Efforts to Mobilize More African American Missionaries

Most Ugandans assume Southern Baptist missionary George Smith is one of them. They talk to him and his wife Geraldine, who are African American, like they’re talking to one another, they said.

Anglo missionaries, on the other hand, tend to be “a spectacle,” said Smith. “They draw a crowd.”

Through 20 years of ministry in Africa with the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board (IMB), blending in with locals has afforded the Smiths distinct ministry advantages—from freedom to call local believers “on the carpet” in sermons, as Smith puts it, to an opportunity to live with Africans as peers.

Back in the United States, IMB leaders also have recognized the strategic advantage of sending black missionaries around the world. They’re making a concerted push to send more African Americans—not only for the sake of missions strategy, but also to align the percentage of black IMB missionaries with the percentage of black church members in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), which includes nearly 4,000 predominantly African American churches.

At this point, it’s going to be a stark challenge. Of approximately 3,700 career missionaries serving with IMB at the end of last year, just 13 (0.3%) were African American, according to the IMB’s 2020 ministry report. For the percentage of black missionaries to approach the percentage of black church members in the SBC overall—6 percent, according to Pew Research—nearly half of the 500 new missionary slots the IMB aims to create over the next five years would have to be filled by African Americans.

Observers within and outside the SBC are hopeful, though they wonder if the IMB’s black missionary recruitment effort will include sufficient money and commitment to make a meaningful difference.

“It’s a bit too early to tell” if the IMB is serious about mobilizing African Americans, Smith said.

Last month, the IMB announced the hiring of Jason Thomas as a full-time African American church mobilization strategist. Thomas told Christianity Today he’s aiming for 75 black IMB missionaries by 2025—about six times as many as there are now. He plans to recruit by visiting churches, attending conferences and meetings, partnering with seminaries, and working closely with the SBC’s National African American Fellowship (NAAF).

“All Christians are called to fulfill the Great Commission,” Thomas said. “To do that, we must send missionaries from all ethne,” all races and nations.

Bolstering Thomas’s efforts, the SBC Executive Committee voted this month to add a George Liele Church Planting, Evangelism, and Missions Day to the denomination’s calendar annually, honoring the Revolutionary War-era slave credited as the first overseas missionary from the United States.

“African Americans who have served through IMB have made a tremendous contribution to getting the gospel to the nations, so we want to see more and more African Americans on the mission field,” IMB President Paul Chitwood told CT.

The number of black Southern Baptist missionaries has never been high, but the IMB’s latest push comes amid a mild ebb of African Americans on the field. In 1999, there were 19 black IMB missionaries, 0.4 percent of the total SBC international missionary force. The number increased to 27 (0.6%) in 2013 before falling again to current levels.

NAAF President Marshal Ausberry cited SBC history as a factor in the recent shortage of African American missionaries. Because the denomination was founded in 1845 to retain the right of missionaries to own slaves, racism “seeped into policies,” he said. The era of Jim Crow also inhibited black participation in SBC missions, so black Baptists sometimes engaged in mission work apart from the SBC. Efforts over the past four decades to make the SBC’s racial composition “reflect the kingdom of God” have yet to fully overcome the convention’s history.

More recently, the IMB didn’t immediately replace its staff liaison to black churches after he retired some five years ago. When the agency downsized its missionary force in late 2015 and early 2016 for financial reasons, some claimed the downsizing disproportionately, through unintentionally, affected African Americans. (Black recruitment waned in recent years, the argument went, and few young African American missionaries were being sent to replace their older peers.)

Source: Christianity Today

All Content & Images are provided by the acknowledged source

Duck Dynasty Star Spotlights Radical Stories of Redemption in New Series Restored

-
0
Duck Dynasty Star Spotlights Radical Stories of Redemption in New Series Restored


Duck Dynasty Star Spotlights Radical Stories of Redemption in New Series Restored

A new television series by a former star of Duck Dynasty is a departure from the nutty antics seen on that popular show, although it contains a faith-centric message that’s far more significant.

In the Pureflix.com series Restored, former Duck Dynasty star Missy Robertson interviews women who came from rough backgrounds but found hope when given a second chance in life – with their faith in Christ and with a new job.

The grace-filled series includes stories about women who formerly were addicted to drugs and/or were in prison. One woman also was involved in prostitution. 

Each woman now works at Robertson’s jewelry company, Laminin, which employs people from all walks of life – including those who might not have been hired at some companies.

“We’re all given second chances,” Robertson told Christian Headlines. “Those who have embraced Jesus as our Lord, He gives us a second chance every single day. So who am I to say, ‘You’re not worth that second chance with me?’ I ask it of my Savior every day. … We’re all flawed.”

Often, she said, the women grew up being told by their mothers and other family members, “You’re not good enough. You’re never gonna find a man.” They walk into Laminin with low self-esteem, looking for hope. 

“My heart breaks when I hear these women tell stories like this,” Robertson said. 

In hiring them, Robertson’s goal…

… Read More

Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.

قالب وردپرس

Grocery bagger wins $70 million from lottery ticket he bought at work: Your net worth and your true worth

-
0
Grocery bagger wins $70 million from lottery ticket he bought at work: Your net worth and your true worth

A twenty-two-year-old just won the biggest jackpot in Quebec’s history after buying a lottery ticket from the store where he works.

Gregory Mathieu is a bagger at the IGA Extra in Québec City,
Canada. On Wednesday, he brought the lotto office the winning ticket. According
to a lotto official, “There will be eight winners from the same family. He
shared it with seven family members.”

The lottery plans to hold a press conference today to
introduce Mathieu and have his picture taken holding a giant check. Officials
plan to give the winner advice: “If you like your job, you don’t need to
retire yet. And be careful what you post on social media.”

That’s good advice for us all.

Imagine how much your life would change if you won a $70
million lottery today. Now think of all the ways it would not.

The latter answers define you far more than the former.

Your net worth and your true worth

If I won that much money, I would still be a husband,
father, and grandfather. I would still want to do just what I’m now doing at
our ministry. I would want to have the same friends.

Most significantly, I would still be a child of God saved by
grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8–9). And my eternal reward would depend not
one iota on my net worth in this world.

Henri Nouwen: “You are not what you do, although you do
a lot. You are not what you have collected in terms of friendships and
connections, although you might have many. You are not the popularity that you
have received. You are not the success of your work. You are not what people
say about you, whether they speak well or whether they speak poorly about you.
All these things that keep you quite busy, quite occupied, and often quite
preoccupied are not telling you the truth about who you are.

“I am here to remind you in the name of God that you are
the Beloved Daughters and Sons of God, and that God says to you, ‘I have called
you from all eternity and you are…

… Read More

—

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

قالب وردپرس

Family of 11 Homeless for Leaving Islam in Eastern Uganda

-
0
Family of 11 Homeless for Leaving Islam in Eastern Uganda


Family of 11 Homeless for Leaving Islam in Eastern Uganda

NAIROBI, Kenya, February 27, 2020 (Morning Star News) – The pastor of a church in eastern Uganda faces a dilemma after receiving threatening messages from Muslim villagers last week.

A large family is staying at his church site after Islamist threats for leaving Islam forced them to flee their home. His congregation is dwindling as members have stopped attending services out of fear of an Islamist attack. Should he ask the family to try to relocate?

“On Feb. 20, I received some threatening messages that my church is going to be destroyed because of converting Muslims to Christians,” said the pastor, whose name is undisclosed for security reasons. “Some of my members have stopped attending the church for fear of their lives in a possible attack by the Muslims. Sending away the helpless family is not a good idea, but losing church members is also not good. We as a church are in a dilemma.”

Namuwaya (surname withheld), a 40-year-old mother of nine children in an area of Kamuli District undisclosed for security reasons, had first gone to an evening service at the church on March 18, 2019, after sleepless nights of unexplained anxiety. After the pastor prayed for her, she was still not at peace, she told Morning Star News by phone.

“As the church faithful were leaving, I shared with the pastor my troubled heart,” Namuwaya said. “He told me that it is only Isa [Jesus] who can heal a…

… Read More

Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.

قالب وردپرس

Six Years after Girls Kidnapped in Chibok, Nigeria, Attacks Persist in Area

-
0
Six Years after Girls Kidnapped in Chibok, Nigeria, Attacks Persist in Area


Six Years after Girls Kidnapped in Chibok, Nigeria, Attacks Persist in Area

JOS, Nigeria, February 26, 2020 (Morning Star News) – Nearly six years after Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls from a high school in northeastern Nigeria, the Chibok area in Borno state is under threat of “annihilation” from the rebel group and the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), area leaders said.

While 112 of the kidnapped girls remain in captivity, Boko Haram abducted another 22 people in the predominantly Christian Chibok area in December, according to a statement from the Kibaku Area Development Association.

“The Kibaku Area Development Association (KADA) wishes to cry out and put it on the record that we are being targeted for attacks and annihilation, whether at home or wherever we are,” Dauda Iliya, head of the association, said in the statement issued from Abuja on Feb. 3. “Our people and homelands are in danger. Our homes, farms, barns, and places of worship are destroyed. We are unable to exercise our religious freedoms as we prefer. Our very existence is under grave threat.”

Iliya said 11 parents of the girls kidnapped in 2014 have been killed in subsequent attacks, and eight other parents have died from post-traumatic disorders such as heart conditions related to the abduction of their daughters.

“Of 20 Chibok girls’ parents – our kinsmen and women – who are now deceased, 11 were killed during the Boko Haram attacks, eight died of…

… Read More

Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.

قالب وردپرس

‘A Sign of Hope’: Christian Charity Commits to Rebuilding Towns Decimated by ISIS

-
0
‘A Sign of Hope’: Christian Charity Commits to Rebuilding Towns Decimated by ISIS

A small Christian village in Iraq is finally getting back on its feet after being largely destroyed by ISIS fighters.

Faithwire: Nigerian President Buhari Insists Boko Haram ‘Significantly Weakened’ After Military Campaign

When ISIS fighters came across the rich Christian history of Batnaya, Northern Iraq, they were incensed. Hell-bent on ridding the Assyrian town of its historic Christian heritage, the terrorists defaced churches, decapitated statues and smashed up any and every religious symbol they could lay their hands on.

“Slaves of the Cross, we will kill you all. This is Islamic territory. You do not belong here,” the militants wrote across one of the church buildings.

Now three years on from ISIS being defeated in the region, an extensive restoration program organized in partnership with Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) is set to bring hope back to the small town.

The charitable group has been tasked with restoring the parish church of St Kyriakos, along with the nearby Chapel of the Immaculate Conception. They will also rebuild the flattened St Oraha’s Dominican Convent and kindergarten. Wonderfully, the daycare center will become fully functional once again, catering for some 125 children.

The scheme won’t stop there — ACN’s restoration project is set to cover some 13 Daesh-occupied Christian towns and villages across the Nineveh Plains.

In response to the exciting announcement, ACN Middle East projects director, Father Andrzej Halemba, described the program as “a new and courageous step forward to secure the future of Batnaya.”

“Even if the situation is not very clear, we see the importance of a sign of hope,” he added. “ACN is determined to help the Christians to stay. Our task is to stand by the people who would like to come back.”

Within eight months of work beginning on Batnaya to restore its ruined civic infrastructure, some 300 people have returned. Church leaders estimate that hundreds more will soon return after being displaced in neighboring towns and villages for the past few years.

The rebuilding process will not be a straightforward task, however, as the villages found themselves on the frontline of fighting between ISIS and coalition forces.

“Widespread booby-trapping has delayed work which could only begin after a huge de-ordnance program had been completed,” ACN highlighted. “Restoration has been further hampered by the extensive tunnels dug under the village by captives of Daesh who went underground to escape bombardment.”

Faithwire: Asia Bibi Says She is Seeking Asylum in France, May Return to Pakistan in Future

While the physical restoration will not be easy, for many of the region’s residents, getting over the trauma of the ISIS years will be much tougher.

“For many Christians, returning has meant overcoming memories of Daesh daubing homes with ‘n’ for ‘Nazarene’ (Christian) and demands to pay jizya Islamic tax, convert to Islam or face execution by the sword,” ACN noted.

Still, with time, the project is sure to entice locals back to their homes. As ACN urged, the “resettlement of Batnaya is seen as crucial for the recovery of the Christian presence in the Nineveh Plains.”

Do pray for all the teams involved in this important project, along with all those who are returning home. May God protect and heal them as they claim back their land and restore their religious traditions.

Source CBN

All Content & Images are provided by the acknowledged source

1...480481482...3,893Page 481 of 3,893