Beaten Christians Tonsured, Paraded in India

Beaten Christians Tonsured, Paraded in India


NEW DELHI, October 6, 2020 (Morning Star News) – After beating and parading Pastor Raj Singh along with four other Christians in eastern India, Hindu extremists were tonsuring them to further ridicule them when one cut the pastor’s head.

“While shaving my head, the razor cut my skull, and blood oozed out,” Pastor Singh said of the Sept. 16 attack in Jharkhand state. “A man standing nearby pointed out the cut and asked the man shaving my head to be careful, to which he promptly answered back saying, ‘This Christian should be grateful that I am only using the razor on his head and not on his neck.’”

After shaving their heads, the mob tied garlands of old shoes and slippers around their necks and continued parading them from one area of Bherikudar village, in Simdega District, to another. The Hindu extremists told them to chant “Jai Shri Ram [Victory to god Ram]” and, when the Christians did not comply, beat them with wooden sticks, he said.

“Some of us chanted, to escape the beating from time to time,” Pastor Singh said. “Whoever did not chant was immediately beaten by sticks. They also had long wooden handles of large iron picks with which they hit us.”

Accusing them of eating and smuggling beef in the Hindu-majority country where both activities are illegal, the mob of 60 to 70 people had initially attacked seven Christians in the village, but two managed to escape, he said.

The…

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‘I’m Thankful for God’s Faithfulness’: Natalie Grant Thanks God for Restoring Her Voice following Thyroid Cancer Diagnosis

‘I’m Thankful for God’s Faithfulness’: Natalie Grant Thanks God for Restoring Her Voice following Thyroid Cancer Diagnosis


Singer-songwriter Natalie Grant is one of Christian music’s most influential members.

Grant, who has been in the music scene since 1992, told Christian Headlines in an interview that while she seemingly has a sea of admirers now, that wasn’t always the case. In fact, it would take well over a decade before she would see any numerical growth in her musical ministry.

But now, after nearly 30 years in the music industry, Natalie is simply thankful that she still gets to sing for a living. “I’m just thankful to the Lord that I’m still doing this,” Grant told CH.

For Grant, who is getting ready to release her new album, No Stranger, she wants her audience to know that she is so thankful for them and she does not take them for granted. “Women artists seem to have an expiration date, so I’m thankful for God’s faithfulness,” she said.

Grant is not only thankful for her career. After receiving a thyroid cancer diagnosis in 2017, which left her singing career in jeopardy, she is thankful to be healed and alive.

“God still kept his hand on me through the ordeal.” Grant shared. Grant almost lost her voice from the thyroid cancer.

The common message that Grant wants all to know is that with God, all things are possible.

This sentiment is a common thread throughout her new album, No Stranger.

Grant shared that this album is much…

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Farmers harvest 1,000 acres of neighbor’s crops after he suffers heart attack: How to be the change we need to see

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Lane Unhjem was working on his farm near Crosby, North Dakota, when his combine caught fire. While fighting the flames, he went into cardiac arrest and was hospitalized. If his farmstead had gone unharvested, the loss would have been devastating for his family.

In response, sixty local farmers came together with eleven combines, eleven semitrucks with trailers, and several grain carts with tractors. In about seven hours, they harvested approximately fifteen thousand bushels of canola and thirty-five thousand bushels of durum across a thousand acres. Their wives also made a month’s worth of meals and filled a freezer for the Unhjem family. 

A friend explained: “The outpouring of support for Lane and his family is not surprising for those of us who live here. We have a long history of helping people in our community when they are faced with tragedy or hardship. We strongly believe in faith, family, and the Golden Rule.” 

As you read this story, did part of you wish you lived in their community? 

A pastor walked 175 miles for the poor 

An electrician called to help an elderly woman with one of her light fixtures discovered holes in the ceiling where raccoons were getting into the house. She didn’t have proper running water and the kitchen sink was broken. In response, he organized “Gloria’s Gladiators,” raising $100,000 to renovate her home completely. The electrician hopes the movement will spread to help other elderly people in need. 

Rev. Zac Morton of First Presbyterian Church in Morgantown, West Virginia, recently completed a 175-mile walk over eight days to draw attention to extreme poverty and homelessness in his state. When he arrived at the State Capitol, he made contacts and built relationships with leaders with whom he will be working on future solutions. 

The pastor explained: “As someone who strives to emulate Jesus, I believe it is my responsibility, and the responsibility of all…

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The Dinners That Didn’t Make Instagram

Editors, authors, and TASTE contributors tell us about their most phoned-in meals of the past seven months.

The post The Dinners That Didn’t Make Instagram appeared first on TASTE.

Leading a Whiteboard Session with Your Staff or Church Leaders

By now, you’ve heard the call to capture the opportunity of a blank slate. The current pandemic is prompting every church to reconsider approaches to ministry.

 Practically, how do you start this process? 

One consideration is a “whiteboard session.” The term refers to a meeting in which a group of people collaborates with an open mind. The whiteboard reference implies starting fresh with nothing on the board—a “blank slate” if you’re referencing a chalkboard. The two keys to a whiteboard session are collaboration and creativity. The group should work together on new ideas. Multiple people share ideas in a visual format.

Some whiteboard sessions have the purpose of closure. The meetings are short and precise, mainly for solving a specific problem. In these shorter meetings, decisions are finalized. Other whiteboard sessions have the purpose of exploration. The meetings are open and longer in duration, mainly for engendering creative ideas through collaboration. In these longer meetings, new ideas are discovered.

 I’m referencing the longer, more exploratory whiteboard sessions in this post. How should you lead one?

 Be visual. Write on the board. While people may take notes on their computers, at least one person needs to draw out and write the actual ideas on a whiteboard. This meeting should be free-flowing but focus on a specific question or problem. For example, you might ask, “If our church could be exactly who we need to be for the next five years, what would…

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

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Greg Laurie Contracts COVID-19, Urges People to Stop Politicizing Issue: ‘It’s Real’

Greg Laurie Contracts COVID-19, Urges People to Stop Politicizing Issue: ‘It’s Real’


Author and pastor Greg Laurie revealed Monday he has tested positive for COVID-19 and is doing OK, although he requested prayer and urged Americans to stop politicizing the pandemic.

Laurie, senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in California, said he tested positive on Friday and is quarantining.

“It started with some fatigue that I was feeling, some aches and pains, and a fever. And then I found out the news I didn’t want to find out – that I actually have the coronavirus. I’ve been doing okay actually,” Laurie said in a video he released.

“I just wish at a time like this we cannot politicize something like this and [that we] show compassion to people that are struggling with this. It’s real,” he said of the coronavirus. “It really is a pandemic that has swept our nation, and even the world. … If the president of the United States can get it, obviously, anybody can get it.”

With “God’s help” and with the prayers of the church, Laurie said he expects “to get through this.”

“Another couple of symptoms I’ve experienced is [that] things don’t taste right to me. So as a result, I’ve maybe lost two pounds – a little Romans 8:28 moment there. Another symptom I’ve experienced is boredom. … I want to get out again, doing what I’m called to do. So, thank you for your interest and your concern,” Laurie said.

“It’s important as Christians, for…

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Biden Pledges to Make Roe v. Wade ‘the Law of the Land’ if Supreme Court Acts

Biden Pledges to Make Roe v. Wade ‘the Law of the Land’ if Supreme Court Acts


Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden pledged Monday to make Roe v. Wade “the law of the land” through legislation if the Supreme Court overturns the 1973 decision, a move that could ensure abortion remains legal even if the high court gets involved.

Speaking at an NBC News town hall, Biden was asked about his “plans to protect women’s reproductive rights in the U.S.” in light of the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett for the Supreme Court.

“We don’t know exactly what she will do, although the expectation is that she may very well move to …. overrule Roe,” Biden answered. “… The only responsible response to that would be to pass legislation making Roe the law of the land. That’s what I would do.”

Biden had previously said he would move to “codify Roe” in such an instance, although Monday’s answer occurred in a more high-profile setting, less than one month before the election. 

A tweet from his campaign read, “Roe v. Wade must remain the law of the land.”

His website includes a lengthy section on abortion where he pledges to:

  • Block pro-life state laws that violate Roe. “Biden will work to codify Roe v. Wade, and his  Justice Department will do everything in its power to stop the rash of state laws that so blatantly violate Roe v. Wade,” the website says.
  • Restore funding for Planned Parenthood that was pulled by the Trump administration. “As…

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Black Lives Matter is a ‘Profoundly Theological Statement,’ Hillary Clinton Tells Pastor

Black Lives Matter is a ‘Profoundly Theological Statement,’ Hillary Clinton Tells Pastor


On the first episode of her new podcast You and Me Both with Hillary Clinton, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and Pastor William J. Barber II of Greenleaf Christian Church in Goldsboro, North Carolina, spoke about justice and racism.

According to The Christian Post, Clinton contended that “Jesus and justice are the same thing” and that Christians must understand as to “how profoundly true that simple phrase really is.”

“You know, to say that Jesus and justice are the same thing seems to me to be so obvious,” Clinton asserted. “I mean, how can you be a Bible reading person, a church attending person, and not understand how profoundly true that simple phrase really is?” Clinton asked.

She then proceeded to ask Barber, a known social justice advocate, how he is “trying to open up people’s minds and hearts to understand what Christianity should mean and what should be expected of us who claim to be followers of Jesus.”

Barber reposnded assrting that there must first be an admission that there have been many things in Western and American culture’s that have negatively impacted theology. Barber cited, the “genocide of First Nations people and the enslavement of African Americans,” and seeing women oppressed and excluded as events that negatively impacted theology.

Barber then recalled what one of his professors told him as to what it means to be…

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Hippopotamus Drags a Child to His Death in Lake Victoria as Screaming Crowds Desperately Pelt the Animal With Rocks – Urban Christian News

A hippopotamus was caught on camera dragging a child to his death in Lake Victoria as screaming crowds desperately pelted the animal with rocks.

The little boy had been playing by the shore in Mbita, Kenya, as adults washed clothes nearby.

Footage shows the child submerged in the murky water as residents helplessly cried out.

The animal eventually released the boy but he died from his injuries.

In the clip, which was originally filmed on September 16, residents can be seen rushing toward the water’s edge.

Crowds scream and cry out in the background as the hippo drags the boy further out into the water.

The predator rears its head from under the surface as those gathered on the banks of the lake throw rocks and sticks in its direction.

One man can be heard saying ‘oh Jesus’ as the hippo continuously submerges itself under the water.

The boy’s body was later recovered.

Click here to read more.
Source: Daily Mail

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Duck Dynasty Star Sadie Robertson Huff Announces Pregnancy

Duck Dynasty Star Sadie Robertson Huff Announces Pregnancy


Duck Dynasty star Sadie Robertson Huff and her husband Christian Huff have announced they are pregnant with their first child, The Christian Post reports.

This news comes after almost a year of being married.

Robertson Huff shared the news in an Instagram post writing, “We are thankful to be carrying a miracle into the world! Baby, you are already loved and already believed in.”

Sadie Robertson Huff, Sadie Robertson Huff announces that she is pregnant

The caption went along with a photo of the husband and wife holding up an ultrasound picture.

Celebrities, including Candace Cameron Bure, Shawn Johnson and Jeremy Camp offered their congratulations to the couple.

“Ahhhhhhhh Sadie, congratulations!!!!!!!! we are SO excited for you guys!!!!!” Bure commented on the post.

“OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!!!!!! We are so excited for you guys!!!!!” Johnson wrote.

Camp shared his excitement for the couple simply writing, “Amazing!!”

Christian Huff shared her wife’s Instagram post, writing “mom & dad” as the photo’s caption.

Christian Huff, Sadie and Christian Huff announce pregnancy

Korie Robertson, Sadie’s mother, also shared the news on her Instagram account, writing “Big, crazy, awesome news!! My baby is having a baby … y’all are going to be the most amazing, fun, joyful parents. Baby Huff we adore you already, we promise to love you forever and always! Welcome to the fam little one!”

Sadie and Christian Robertson Huff, Korie Robertson instagram

Accoridng to The Christian Post, Sadie, who has struggled with anxiety for years, made a YouVersion devotional to help other young people…

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