Reaction to Pastor Mark Driscoll’s Resignation Includes Sadness, Gratitude From Mars Hill Church Community

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Reaction to Pastor Mark Driscoll’s Resignation Includes Sadness, Gratitude From Mars Hill Church Community

Christian Post reports – Seattle Megachurch Leader Expresses ‘Profound Sadness’ But Says He Is at Peace With Departure

Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church, has resigned from the multi-city megachurch he and his wife helped found 18 years ago after a series of calls were made for the Seattle, Washington, preacher to step down from ministry due to his admitted “divisive” leadership style.

Reaction to Pastor Mark Driscoll's Resignation
(PHOTO: MARS HILL CHURCH)

 

According to an announcement published on marshill.com:

On Tuesday, October 14, Pastor Mark Driscoll submitted his resignation as an elder and lead pastor of Mars Hill Church. The Board of Overseers has accepted that resignation and is moving forward with planning for pastoral transition, recognizing the challenge of such a task in a church that has only known one pastor since its founding. We ask for prayer for the journey ahead.

As is well known, inside and outside of Mars Hill, Pastor Mark has been on a leave of absence for nearly two months while a group of elders investigated a series of formal charges brought against him. This investigation had only recently been concluded, following some 1,000 hours of research, interviewing more than 50 people and preparing 200 pages of information. This process was conducted in accordance with our church Bylaws and with Pastor Mark’s support and cooperation.

The statement on Driscoll’s resignation, signed by the Mars Hill Board of Overseers, Michael Van Skaik, Larry Osborne, Jon Phelps, and Matt Rogers, can be read in full here: https://marshill.com/2014/10/15/pastor-mark-driscolls-resignation.

… Read More

Source and Original Content by : Christian Post

C.S. Lewis Foresaw Rise of Scientism as Religion Today, Says Scholar at Apologetics Conference

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C.S. Lewis Foresaw Rise of Scientism as Religion Today, Says Scholar at Apologetics Conference

The rise of “scientism,” in which science is uncritically treated as a religion, holding the power to decide ethical questions, was predicted by famous 20th century Christian author C.S. Lewis, scholar John West explained at Southern Evangelical Seminary’s 2014 National Conference on Christian Apologetics.

Neither he nor Lewis are anti-science, West said, recalling that science produced the cure for his father’s cancer. Rather, they are opposed to scientism, which West defined as “the wrong-headed belief that modern science supplies the only reliable method of knowledge about the world, and its corollary that scientists should be the ones to dictate public policy and even our moral and religious beliefs simply because of their scientific expertise.”

West is vice president and senior fellow at the Discovery Institute, a think tank that researches issues related to intelligent design and the role of science and technology in culture and public policy. He previously served as an associate professor of political science at Seattle Pacific University. He has authored or edited 12 books and numerous articles on the intersection of science, culture and public policy.

His Saturday talk, “The Magician’s Twin: C.S. Lewis’s Prophetic Critique of Scientism,” is based upon his edited book and documentary of the same title, which you can watch below.

The title comes from a combination of one of Lewis’s children’s book series The Chronicles of Narnia called The Magician’s Nephew (1955) and this quote from The Abolition of Man (1944): “The serious magical endeavour and the serious scientific endeavour are twins.”

In addition to The Abolition of Man, the Lewis works most often cited by West were The Pilgrim’s Regress (1933), “Willing Slaves of the Welfare State” (1958), and his science fiction works, The Space Trilogy, which were written during the rise of Nazi Germany and World War II.  …. Read More

 

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPeyJvXU68k[/youtube]

Credit : CS Lewis

 

Source & Original Content by : Christian Post

Evangelist Accused of Forcing Abortions

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Evangelist Accused of Forcing Abortions

Megachurch Evangelist Ernest Angley, has been accused of forcing vasectomies and abortions on his congregation; the 93-year-old has also been accused of homosexual acts and abuse of church members.

Angley denied the allegations in a taped message.

“I’m not a homosexual,” Angley said in the message. “God wouldn’t use a homosexual like he uses me. He calls me his prophet, and indeed I am. They called Jesus a homosexual, did you know that? And still do. Because he was with men. Oh, Mary Magdalene and a few women. But you can’t stop the people’s lies.”

Angley did however admit that he asked boys to “uncover themselves” but did not touch them.

According to reports, Angley’s church, Grace Cathedral, call the church a cult and claim he intimidates the congregation.

“None of us have kids because he makes all the men get fixed,” Becky Roadman, 32, who left the church in 2014, said. “You’re not allowed to have babies there.”

Greg Mulley, a singer who appeared on Angley’s show, said Angley used “scare tactics.”

“He really forced people into abortions through scare tactics, as if he were a medical doctor,” Mulley said. “It turns my stomach.”

Source and Original Content by Christian Headlines

Deacons File Suit Against Pastor Following His Confession

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Deacons File Suit Against Pastor Following His Confession

Deacons of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church in Alabama have filed suit against their pastor Juan McFarland after he admitted to having sexual intercourse with several women in the congregation without informing them he had AIDS. The pastor also confessed to drug use and misuse of church funds.

According to the lawsuit, “The Defendant Juan D. McFarland attempted to change the by-laws and constitution of the Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church by deception in an attempt to prevent the Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church from terminating him as Pastor, in the event the church members discovered his debauchery, sinfulness, hedonism, sexual misconduct, dishonesty, thievery and rejection of the Ten Commandments.”

McFarland has refused to step down from his leadership position despite a church vote that resulted 80-2 in favor of terminating the pastor.

The church has also filed suit against McFarland’s ally, church member Marc Anthoni Peacock. The Christian Post reports Peacock threatened the deacons with taking advantage of the so-called “castle doctrine” if they would return to the church. The lawsuit states that doctrine is in reference to shooting as self-defense.

“The vast majority of the members of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church are afraid to go to church for the fear of violence,” the lawsuit against Peacock says.

McFarland has not yet been charged with any crimes; it is a Class C misdemeanor to knowingly spread a disease in Alabama.

Source and Original Content by Christian Headlines

Bishop Speaks Out On Neglect Faced By Liberians

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Bishop Speaks Out On Neglect Faced By Liberians

A Catholic Bishop in Liberia says his people are being treated like “scum” in a world gripped by the Ebola crisis.

Bishop Anthony Borwah, 48, of the GBarnga diocese in central Liberia, has been unable to travel to Rome for the extraordinary synod on the family because of the crisis in Liberia, where his diocese is among those areas worst affected.

The issues facing Liberian families are not just Ebola, but include polygamy, migration, unemployment, lack of father figures, domestic violence, child trafficking and sexual tourism, he says.

In an interview in the latest Time magazine, he reveals that the dead include his spiritual director, Father Miguel from Spain, his mentor and medical doctor Abraham Borbor, and his prayer partner Tidi Dogba. Other relatives and friends have also succumbed to the virus. “As Bishop of my people I carry within my heart their wounds and pains every moment of life here,” he tells Time.

Although he is not at the synod, Borwah has submitted a paper which will form part of the final record. It reads: “Existential questions from the poor, prevalently during the Civil war, are been asked again: Where is God? What wrong have we (Liberians) done again? How come we have once again become the abandoned and scum of the earth?” More than eight in ten people in Liberia live below the poverty line.

Even when a person survives the virus they are pursued by other demons. “Recently one of the survivors — my kinsman — committed suicide when people avoided him and he felt that he was unworthy of love anymore,” Borwah tells Time. He appeals for more help from the West. “We need more support to feed the thousand whom are hungry and angry and to care and counsel the Ebola survivors who carry the stigma.”

He was speaking as divisions deepened in Rome between conservatives and liberals over the direction the synod is taking. The mid-way report released a few days ago shows moves towards more liberal attitudes on homosexuality, cohabitation, contraception and civil marriage after divorce…Read More

Source and Original Content by Christian Post

Christian Homes Raided By Police In Uzbekistan

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Christian Homes Raided By Police In Uzbekistan

TOSHKENT (Worthy News)– A Christian in Uzbekistan has been fined and threatened with further punishment after religious literature was seized from his home during a raid by Uzbek police in August, according to Barnabas Aid.

Artur Alpayev was fined 50 times Uzbekistan’s minimum monthly wage for storing religious literature at his home in Navoi.

During sentencing, Judge Oltinbek Mansurov said: “We will continue fining you unless you stop storing religious literature in your home.”

The judge said that the literature should have been stored in a building belonging to a registered religious organization, but Alpayev is a member of a Christian denomination that refuses on principle to seek state registration.

That same month police also raided Maksim and Tatyana Kostin’s home in Tashkent; Christian books and materials were seized, including childrens’ Bibles. The Kostin’s were singled-out despite being members of an officially registered religious denomination.

The raid on the Kostin’s followed an earlier search at the home of Aleksei and Diana Meshkov in Samarkand; among the items confiscated were 21 Christian books — including two Bibles in Braille — and 132 biblical broadsides.

Confiscated items are often ordered destroyed by the court.

In Uzbekistan, all religious literature is subject to censorship by the government before it can be privately owned, but there is no law per se that bans individuals from owning religious literature. The only personal prohibition applies to materials that encourage people to change their beliefs or that “distort religious canons”.

Source and Original Content by Worthy News

City Of Houston Subpoenas Pastors Over Homosexual Sermons

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City Of Houston Subpoenas Pastors Over Homosexual Sermons

A group of pastors in Houston have been ordered to turn their sermons that address homosexuality over to the city or be held in contempt of the court. Sermons that mention gender identity or Annise Parker, Houston’s first openly gay mayor, have also been subpoenaed.

Five Houston pastors have filed suit in Harris County court, arguing that the subpoenas are “overbroad, unduly burdensome, harassing and vexatious.” Attorneys from Alliance Defending Freedom are representing the pastors in the case.

Attorney Christina Holcomb said, “The city’s subpoena of sermons and other pastoral communications is both needless and unprecedented. The city council and its attorneys are engaging in an inquisition designed to stifle any critique of its actions.”

She continued, “Political and social commentary is not a crime. It is protected by the First Amendment.”

The pastors and their attorneys believe that Houston’s demands, which are under the city’s new non-discrimination ordinance, are really an attempt to “out” the pastors as anti-gay.

Steve Riggle, senior pastor of Grace Community Church, is one of the pastors served with a subpoena. He said, “This is an attempt to chill pastors from speaking to the cultural issues of the day. The mayor would like to silence our voice. She’s a bully.”

Source and Original Content by Christian Headlines

Truth Lasts; Lies are Here today, Gone Tomorrow.

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Truth Lasts; Lies are Here today, Gone Tomorrow.

Truth lasts Forever;
lies are here today, gone tomorrow.

Wise People Take Advice

13 The gossip of bad people gets them in trouble;
    the conversation of good people keeps them out of it.

14 Well-spoken words bring satisfaction;
    well-done work has its own reward.

15 Fools are headstrong and do what they like;
    wise people take advice.

16 Fools have short fuses and explode all too quickly;
    the prudent quietly shrug off insults.

17 Truthful witness by a good person clears the air,
    but liars lay down a smoke screen of deceit.

18 Rash language cuts and maims,
    but there is healing in the words of the wise.

19 Truth lasts;
    lies are here today, gone tomorrow.

20 Evil scheming distorts the schemer;
    peace-planning brings joy to the planner.

21 No evil can overwhelm a good person,
    but the wicked have their hands full of it.

22 God can’t stomach liars;
    he loves the company of those who keep their word.

23 Prudent people don’t flaunt their knowledge;
    talkative fools broadcast their silliness.

24 The diligent find freedom in their work;
    the lazy are oppressed by work.

25 Worry weighs us down;
    a cheerful word picks us up.

26 A good person survives misfortune,
    but a wicked life invites disaster.

27 A lazy life is an empty life,
    but “early to rise” gets the job done.

28 Good men and women travel right into life;
    sin’s detours take you straight to hell

Proverbs 12 : 13-28

Second health care worker tests positive for Ebola at Dallas hospital

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Second health care worker tests positive for Ebola at Dallas hospital

(CNN) — A second health care worker who cared for an Ebola patient at a Dallas hospital has contracted the virus herself.

The worker, a woman who lives alone, was quickly moved into isolation at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, authorities said Wednesday.

The news cast further doubt on the hospital’s ability to handle Ebola and protect employees. It’s the same hospital that initially sent Thomas Eric Duncan home, even though he had a fever and had traveled from West Africa. By the time he returned to the hospital, his symptoms had worsened. He died while being treated by medical staff, including the two women who have now contracted the disease.

“I don’t think we have a systematic institutional problem,” Dr. Daniel Varga, chief clinical officer of Texas Health Resources, told reporters Wednesday, facing questions about the hospital’s actions. … Read More

Source and Original Content by : CNN

Wendy Alec says husband Rory has left her for another woman, no longer wishes to be part of ministry; ‘The devil got in very, very easily’

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Wendy Alec says husband Rory has left her for another woman, no longer wishes to be part of ministry; ‘The devil got in very, very easily’

GOD TV co-founder Wendy Alec has made an emotional live broadcast today in which she disclosed that her husband and ministry partner of over 20 years, Rory Alec, has left her for another woman.

Her comments on Oct. 8 were made after the TV channel confirmed last week that Rory would be stepping aside as chairman and chief executive with immediate effect following an undisclosed “moral failure”.

Rory said in a statement on October 2: “After 20 years of service, I have had a moral failure this year. For this reason, I am stepping down. Please forgive me for the disappointment I’ve caused, but I know your eyes are on Jesus who is the author and finisher of your faith and not on me, an imperfect man.

“It is with a heavy heart that I confirm my season with GOD TV is over for now.”

In a lengthy statement broadcast live on GOD TV today, Wendy said Rory had been having an affair with a divorced woman in Austria and that he is currently staying on the farm belonging to the woman’s father in South Africa.

Wendy also stated that he no longer wishes to be involved in the GOD TV ministry, which they founded together in 1995.

She was frequently tearful as she explained Rory’s decision, which she described as a “satanic assault on God TV and Rory and I”.

Wendy said problems first appeared in March this year when Rory returned home from a visit to South Africa and announced his intention to go to Germany for some “space”.

“My whole world started turning upside down and the next morning he just went,” Wendy said.

“It started to be extremely traumatic for me because suddenly my husband just started to change in a pattern and a way I had never seen him act before.”

She shared the situation with trusted friends and they initially kept it quiet because they were believing God for a breakthrough, but “it got worse”, she says, and Rory “just started to go off”.

She alleges he told her to keep his behaviour quiet for the sake of the ministry and the staff, and that she started to feel “very manipulated and intimidated”.

Wendy said she and the board of GOD TV asked Rory to go for counselling because they thought he might be suffering from burnout as a result of carrying the financial burden of the ministry for so many years, but she says he was not able to trust anyone enough to go for counselling and refused.

As the year went on, he “started going away for weeks at a time” but rather than making things better, it “seemed like every time he had more space it got worse and worse for our marriage”, she alleged.

“To live like that for me was really, really hard.”

She described one time when she had emergency hospital treatment for gall bladder on the Global Day of Prayer and while she was in hospital, Rory “just flew off to Austria”.

Wendy said he only returned home when her brother, who is a doctor, told him how serious it was, but she says he left again just a few days after she came out of the hospital.

She also said that she had at one point asked him if there was another woman and that he had denied there was.

It was following a night of prayer with friends for the situation on August 15 she says she discovered he had been having an affair with a divorced woman in Austria that he had apparently come to know as a result of working with her on her jazz album in the studio.

“The devil got in very, very easily,” said Wendy.

She said the unnamed woman supposedly heard a voice from God telling her that Rory was her Mr Right and her husband.

Wendy continued: “That landed up in adultery.  The [GOD TV] board talked to him and it was just too far gone and Rory said ‘I won’t be controlled’.  He went upstairs, packed his bags and he went to Austria.”

Rory did then return and he and Wendy headed out to South Africa for what she anticipated would be a time of counselling but during the stay, he “turned around to me and said our marriage is over”.

While Wendy says she wants her marriage to be restored, she told viewers Rory does not feel the same way.

“Today I have to tell you guys it’s not like that,” she insisted.

“Rory is on this lady’s father’s farm in South Africa.  He doesn’t want to be involved in the ministry anymore and as far as he’s concerned, the marriage is finished. He doesn’t want restoration, he doesn’t want counselling, he doesn’t want anything to do with it.  He wants a new life.”

Wendy said that in spite of the breakdown of her marriage, God has been faithful to her and “been healing my heart where it couldn’t be healed”.

“It is traumatic because it’s like your life is over, all our memories,” she said.

“I don’t know what the outcome will be but I know this with all my heart … I’ve got absolute trust in my Father God.  He is beautiful and he is always good.  I have absolute faith in incredible restoration and incredible restitution in our lives ahead.”

…Read More

Source and Original Content by:  Christianity Today

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