A municipal council in a West London suburb voted this week to allow a buffer zone around an abortion clinic — the first such zone of its kind in Britain, where abortion has been legal for 50 years.

The move has buoyed abortion-rights supporters, who are looking for the creation of more such zones around the nation. But it troubles abortion opponents and others who say it violates their free speech rights.

The debate, while relatively new to Britain, has a long history in the United States, where cities and states have taken varied approaches to the zones. They have been tested in several courts, and then in the Supreme Court in 2014, which declared them presumptively illegal.

In Ealing, the suburb where the 100-meter zone will be established, the clinic run by Marie Stopes International charity for more than 20 years had long served its clients without much protest. On most days, the only people who used to pass its door were commuters traveling to the nearby train station or dog walkers heading for the adjoining park.

Vigils outside the clinic used to consist of a few people on the weekend praying silently and saying the rosary. Some would also hand out leaflets to women arriving for abortions, offering to help them if they chose to continue their pregnancy.

But in the last few years the area in front of the clinic has become a culture war battleground.

Those…

A former cheerleader for the Miami Dolphins says she faced discrimination from her team and the NFL after she admitted she was a Christian and a virgin.

Kristan Ann Ware filed a complaint with the Florida Commission on Human Relations saying that her workplace became hostile after she told the other cheerleaders that she was waiting until marriage to have sex.

Ware was a cheerleader for the Dolphins for three years.

Ware says she was also criticized after she posted a photo of her baptism with a Bible verse on social media.

When she interviewed to return to the team in 2016, cheerleader director Dorie Grogan allegedly told Ware: “Let’s talk about your virginity.”

A source with the cheerleading team said the team knew about Grogan’s meeting with Ware and the director had been reprimanded.

“In 2016, we were made aware of an incident with our cheerleaders that fell short of our standards and expectations,” the source said. “We immediately addressed the issue and reprimanded the supervisor, who subsequently apologized to the entire team.”

Grogan is still director of the team.

Ware’s lawyer, Sara Blackwell, said Ware told the cheerleaders about her virginity in 2015 when the cheerleaders were in London. The other dancers were talking about their “sex playlist” and Ware was “pushed to give her playlist.”

Blackwell said she told…

Family and friends of Ashley Ford, a beloved children’s ministry supervisor at the Cascade campus of the 12,000-member Ada Bible Church in Michigan, are now grieving after she died Monday from injuries she suffered in a two-vehicle crash on Sunday.

A WoodTV report said the accident happened at about 2:30 p.m. in Lowell Township.

Contacted for further details on the incident Tuesday, Michigan State Police officials said they would not be releasing any further details on the crash.

In an interview with The Christian Post Tuesday, John Ackerman, Ada Bible Church’s communications director, said he didn’t have any further details to share beyond what the church shared in a statement Monday via Facebook. It noted that the accident happened on Fulton Street near Lowell.

“She was taken to Spectrum Butterworth Hospital downtown with life-threatening injuries. This afternoon – Monday, April 16th, she passed away,” the church said.

“This is a difficult time for all and we would ask that you would be praying for Ashley’s family, friends and loved ones as they navigate this tragedy. Our hearts go out to all who are grieving her loss. We grieve the loss of Ashley in this life and celebrate that…

After relatives and activists commemorated on Saturday the 4th anniversary of the Chibok girls’ kidnapping, there are now fears that many of over 100 girls still missing will never return home.

Of the 276 schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram on 14 April 2014, 57 escaped, 107 were rescued or released, and 112 are still missing.

And now a Nigerian journalist with links to the radical Islamist group has claimed that only 15 of the missing girls are still alive, though he did not disclose their names.

Ahmad Salkida, widely known for his exclusive reports on the insurgency, said it was the responsibility of the Nigerian government to disclose their names because, he alleged, many of the captive girls died as a result of crossfire and bombardments of the security forces.

19/ It will be unbearable to share the names of the 15 that are alive here, this is the responsibility of Govt. When I was involved I regularly provided proof of life. Govt must demand that to prove me wrong or stop negotiating for many of the girls that don’t exists… 

— Ahmad Salkida (@ContactSalkida) April 14, 2018

But the Nigerian government denied his claims, saying in a statement yesterday: “Following the numerous press enquiries on the information contained in the series of tweets by Mr Ahmed Salkida, we wish to reiterate that the information is not known to the officials of this administration either…

A BBC video belittles Christian street preachers and says that Holy Communion “smells like hate.”

Bishop John Keenan of Paisley told the Catholic Herald on Friday that the “BBC The Social” video, which has been viewed over 8.5 million times on Facebook, is “offensive to Catholics in both the words and images used.”

The video, with the caption “this is how homophobia feels in 2018” features a spoken free-verse poem by a young gay man who says that society is judging him for romantic displays of affection with his boyfriend.

The video takes a critical look at different people in society who would disapprove of gay relationships, including those in the faith community. It depicts a man who appears to be an angry street preacher yelling at the gay man, with the words “see him, he thinks it’s faith.”

Then it switches over to a woman receiving Holy Communion inside a church, though the priest is depicted holding Mini Cheddars instead of sacramental bread. When the woman eats the wafer, the voice says, “But under all that din, it tastes like cardboard and smells like hate.”

Rev. Franklin Graham said President Donald Trump “understands the power of prayer.”

Graham was speaking on “Fox & Friends” earlier this week about the president.

“I appreciate that we have a president who understands prayer and solicits prayer,” Graham said Sunday. “Our country is in trouble, the world is in trouble, and the perplexity of the problems that the president faces every day — at home and abroad — is just incredible.”

Graham said those in authority need prayer and they’re not perfect.

“They’re imperfect, and that’s why God wants us to pray — to pray for the president, all those that are in leadership, and the president in turn asked us to pray for our soldiers, and those that were leading this charge, and for the Syrian people,” he said. “And I just appreciate that we have a man in office that understands the power of prayer and the need for prayer.”

Last week, after the U.S. launched airstrikes into Syria, Trump asked the country to pray “for our noble warriors … as they carry out their missions.”

“We pray that God will guide the whole region,” he said on Friday.

The U.S., France and the U.K. launched airstrikes Friday after the Syrian government used chemical weapons near the capital city of Damascus earlier in the month. The chemical attack killed dozens of civilians and injured hundreds, according to The Christian…

Reformed theologian John Piper spoke about what distinguishes a Christian from a non-Christian.

“The most basic distinction between the body of Christ and the world is not godly decisions, not good deeds, not genuine doctrines, but glad delights in the glory, beauty, excellence, and marvelous mercies of God,” Piper began.

The Bethlehem College & Seminary Chancellor and DesiringGod.com founder delivered a message titled “New God, New Gospel, New Gladness: How is Christian Joy Distinct” at this year’s Together for the Gospel conference in Louisville, Kentucky.

The world, he said, is perfectly able to use its willpower to make decisions for Jesus.

“The devil himself knows more right doctrine to be true than anyone in this room,” he said. “But neither the devil nor secular philanthropists nor the whole unbelieving world does or can delight in the glory of God supremely.”

“Our God is what we take most pleasure in,” Piper added. “Everyone has a god … everyone has a gospel. Everyone believes a good news, whether it comes true or not.”

The belief that true Christians “have a new gladness in a new God through a new Gospel” is “unbelievably controversial,” Piper said. Christianity…

California music festival Coachella is going on this week, with dozens of popular artists playing for thousands of fans. Although pop star Justin Bieber was not in the official lineup, he was at the event yesterday, leading people in worship.

Several festival attendees posted videos of Bieber leading Sunday morning worship, passionately singing worship songs and raising his hands in praise.

Relevant Magazine reports that Bieber took the stage at a Churchome event at Coachella. One of Churchome’s leaders is Pastor Judah Smith, a friend and mentor of Bieber’s.

One of the songs Bieber sang was “Reckless Love” by Cory Asbury. Bieber previously had posted a video to Instagram of himself passionately singing this song while he’s sitting in a vehicle.

“God’s love is reckless, and he loves you mad tons,” he wrote in the caption.

The chorus to the song says:

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God

Oh, it chases me down, fights ‘til I’m found, leaves the ninety-nine

I couldn’t earn it, I don’t deserve it, still You give Yourself away

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God

Photo courtesy: Getty Images

Publication date: April 16, 2018

The United Methodist Church’s highest court will hold a special session in May to consider any petitions regarding the denomination’s upcoming meeting on the Church’s stance on LGBT issues.

Over the past several years, the UMC has had considerable internal debates over the mainline Protestant denomination’s official position against homosexuality, same-sex marriage, and ban on noncelibate homosexual clergy.

The divisive debate led to the creation of a Commission on a Way Forward, whose recommendations for a solution to the debate will be considered at a special General Conference scheduled for 2019.

Lui Tran, secretary for the United Methodist Judicial Council, sent a letter on Monday to the UMC Council of Bishops confirming that the high court will hold a special session.