Racism is “contrary to the evangelical Gospel,” some two dozen evangelical scholars said in a statement released this week.

“Today’s situation requires more than a statement, but certainly no less than a statement, said the “Evangelical Statement on the Gospel and Racism,” according to the Christian Post. “As evangelical academic voices, we condemn racism as contrary to Scripture and to the evangelical gospel.”

Signees of the statement included members of the Evangelical Theological Society’s executive committee. ETS is a professional association of scholars, teachers, pastors and students committed to the written expression of theological thought and research.

Some of the members part of the statement include Craig Keener, ETS president and Asbury Theological Seminary professor; Gregg Allison, Southern Baptist Theology professor; and Al Mohler, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary president. Mohler is also ERS president-elect and program chair.

More than 150 teachers and church leaders have signed the statement.

The mission is to “listen, mourn, speak, and act in accordance with the gospel in our own lives, in our institutions, in our churches and in our communities.

“As we grieved over recent events in our communities, we realized that although a statement is insufficient, it is necessary.

“We are compelled to declare that the Gospel stands…

Over the weekend, Grammy award-winning artist Chance the Rapper had a heated scuffle with pastors on social media about the church’s response to racial injustice.

According to Relevant Magazine, the exchange began after the singer, whose full name is Chancelor Johnathan Bennett, asked his Christian followers on Twitter why the church has long refused to speak on the topic of racism.

He wrote, “Why don’t we as a church explicitly address White Supremacy and racism on Sundays? Why don’t we engage the truths of America and how it’s values are antithetical to the Gospel?”

Bennett continued, “Is it not directly the responsibility of the Church to dismantle and defeat White Supremacy? Is equality not the basis for forming the body of Christ?”

I’m sure I’m gonna get replies from nonbelievers but I’d like to ask my Christian followers out there: Why don’t we as a church explicitly address White Supremacy and racism on Sundays? Why don’t we engage the truths of America and how it’s values are antithetical to the Gospel?

— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) June 13, 2020

Bennett, who has long been outspoken about his Christian faith, responded to his followers with thoughtful responses and questions until someone tagged several pastors to discuss the matter further with the Chicago based rapper.

The first to respond was Pastor Phil…

Planned Parenthood officially endorsed Joe Biden for president on Monday, saying women who need “safe and legal abortion[s]” cannot afford four more years of President Trump.

The endorsement was made in a two-minute video by Planned Parenthood Action Fund featuring acting president Alexis McGill Johnson. Biden also appeared in the video, saying he “will protect women’s constitutional right to choose.”

“I’m proud to stand with you in this fight,” Biden said.

Johnson told National Public Radio “this is literally a life and death election.”

“We felt like we can’t endure another four years of Trump; we have to do everything we can to get him out of office,” Johnson said.

In the video, Johnson applauded Biden’s record while criticizing that of Trump.

“Americans need a president who will empower women, families and young people,” she said in the video. “When Joe Biden was vice president, more people got insurance coverage than ever. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, birth control, STI testing [and] cancer screenings were all covered.”

Trump, Johnson said, “has tried to tear down our progress, making it harder to access birth control, sabotaging the Affordable Care Act, blocking access to care and Planned Parenthood, appointing a record number of judges opposed to reproductive rights.”

“The last four years, our most fundamental rights,…

CHICAGO (RNS) — Dave Dummitt said “no” to Willow Creek Community Church twice.

When the Chicago-area megachurch first reached out to him about stepping into the role of the senior pastor, Dummitt worried it was “not an environment that I felt like I could serve very well.”

The church hadn’t had a full-time senior pastor in nearly two years, ever since founding pastor Bill Hybels resigned amid allegations of abusing power and sexual misconduct. Though Hybels has denied those allegations, an independent group of Christian leaders found them credible.

Hybels’ successors and Willow Creek’s entire elder board later resigned over the church’s handling of the allegations.

Dummitt thought the new elder board might try to micromanage the next senior pastor.

He thought the church might need a “shepherding, relational leader,” which isn’t what he called his “unique gift.”

In the end, he said, the people of Willow Creek, based in South Barrington, Illinois, drew him to the church.

“Once you get to know the people of Willow Creek, it’s hard not to love the people of Willow Creek,” he told Religion News Service in a recent interview.

Dummitt, who recently preached his first message online as senior pastor of Willow Creek, talked to Religion News Service last week about stepping into his new role amid pandemic and protests, rebuilding trust at Willow Creek and his…

The Trump Justice Department is pressuring Washington Gov. Jon Inslee to loosen restrictions on churches by arguing the state’s policy of allowing unlimited peaceful protests while capping houses of worship is discriminatory and likely unconstitutional.

The Department of Justice, in a June 11 Statement of Interest in a Tacoma, Wash., federal court supporting a Washington state church, argues “imposing a hard cap on all religious worship and no cap on secular gatherings constitutes unequal treatment.”

The state of Washington limits outdoor worship services to 100 people “regardless of distancing, hygiene, and other precautionary measures.” It also limits restaurants and taverns at 50 percent capacity while limiting houses of worship to 25 percent capacity, with a hard cap of 50 individuals.

“Yet, they permit protests without numerical limitation with only an unenforceable and unenforced suggestion by the Governor for ‘people to be safe for themselves and the people around them’ by ‘wearing a mask and … distancing as much as you can,’” the brief says.

The lawsuit against the state was brought by Harborview Fellowship in Pierce County, Wash.

The federal court brief also cites Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts’ May 29 opinion that suggested churches should be treated the same as “comparable secular gatherings” of “large groups of people” in…

In 2019, more women in the UK sought after abortions than in any previous year, according to a new report released by the UK Department of Health and Social Care.

The 20-page report showed statistics for England and Wales last year. Over 207,000 abortions were performed on women last year, which is the largest number recorded since the 1967 Abortion Act was passed, according to the Christian Post.

The largest increase occurred among women over the age of 35 while women under the age of 18 stayed the same. However, women aged 22 saw the highest increase with 31.6 abortions per 1,000 women. In 2018, women aged 21 had the highest rate of 30.7 per 1,000.

Minors seeking abortions have decreased.

“The decline since 2009 is particularly marked in the under 16 age group, where the rates have decreased from 4.0 per 1,000 women in 2009 to 1.4 per 1,000 women in 2019,” according to the report.

Additionally, women ages 18-19 have also sought fewer abortions with a decline from 31.6 per 1,000 to 23.8 per 1,000 women.

Abortions are legal in England, Wales, and Scotland up until 24 weeks gestation. And last fall, Northern Ireland stripped its country of its abortion laws, allowing for greater access.

Both pro-life and pro-choice advocates see the rise in abortions as concerning. According to Jonathan Lord, medical director of abortion provider Marie Stopes U.K., the uptick could be a result of poor access to…