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Success Is More Than a Dynasty
Willie Robertson, star of A&E’s hit reality television show Duck Dynasty, has always been vocal about his family’s mission to see souls saved. Despite the program’s fourth season shattering ratings records this fall, with more than 11.8 million viewers in more than 100 countries, Robertson maintains that the show’s accolades pale in comparison to true success.
“My challenge to you is to not let the world’s measuring stick show you what is successful,” he recently said at Liberty University. “Our family views success [as being] able to go around the country and share the message of the Lord and to talk about our faith.” —Felicia Abraham
Original Post by Charisma Mag
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WATCH: Mary Mary Singer Dishes on Soaring Solo Career
Erica Campbell of the Grammy-winning singing duo Mary Mary is enjoying success as a solo artist.
Her debut single, “I Need a Little More Jesus,” was nominated for Best Gospel song at the Grammy’s this year. And her debut album, “Help,” is also doing well on the charts.
Campbell recently spent two days on the CBN campus for a number of interviews.
CBN News Reporter Charlene Aaron spoke with Campbell about her solo career, working with Hip Hop artist Lecrae, marriage and more:
Original Post by Charisma Mag
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Smokey Robinson Credits God with Saving Him from Cocaine Addiction
Iconic Motown singer and songwriter Smokey Robinson shared his testimony in a recent interview.
The 74-year-old discussed in The Telegraph interview how God delivered him from a cocaine addiction, and he has maintained his sobriety for over 28 years.
Robinson was just 17 years old when he met Berry Gordy for the first time, and went on to become one of the most prolific singers and songwriters on Motown Records. He penned The Temptations hits “My Girl,” “The Way You Do The Things You Do,” and other classics, and his group, The Miracles, were honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In spite of such incredible accomplishments, he began abusing cocaine late in his career, and became an addict at the age of 41.
“I think it happened to me so late because of the fact that I was… protected,” he told The Telegraph.
“I was always, and I still am, open to somebody in my camp saying, ‘No. That’s not right,’ or, ‘What do you think you’re doing?’ I have those kind of people around me, Berry Gordy being the main one of them. I appreciate that as a person and I’m very happy that that’s there.”
When that hedge of protection was removed however, he began making poor choices.
“When you divorce yourself from these types of people in your life, then you have a tendency to be able to run amok, when you surround yourself with ‘yes’ people,” he explained. “And that’s what most people who go amok do – they surround themselves with ‘yes’ people. Anything you do is fine ’cause you’re you and you’re popular. And that’s dangerous.”
Years later, a friend took him to a Los Angeles storefront church, and the pastor prayed for him.
“And she told me that God had told her I was coming,” he recounted. “And she told me all the things that were happening to me, physically and emotionally and mentally – which I shared with no on one earth! No one knew. She told me every one of ’em that night. She said God had showed her what was going on.
“And I walked in that church an addict, and I came out free. May of 1986. Never looked back.”
Robinson continues to write and record music, and recently released a new album, “Smokey & Friends.” The project features duets with legendary singers such as Steven Tyler, Elton John, and Sheryl Crow, as well as relative newcomers Miguel, Jessie J, and Aloe Blacc. The stars sing hit after hit from Robinson’s extensive catalogue.
“Smokey & Friends” is available now in online and physical retail stores.
Original Post by Christian Today
Mom Who Gave Abortion Pills to Her Teen Daughter Gets Prison
A Pennsylvania mother was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Friday for giving her 16-year-old daughter abortion pills.
Jennifer Ann Whalen, a nursing home aide, was found guilty of violating a state law that says abortions must be performed by a physician.
Whalen bought misoprostol and mifepristone online from Europe for $45 in 2012, and gave them to her pregnant 16-year-old daughter to cause a miscarriage.
Slate reported that the mother told police that there was no abortion clinic nearby, the closest clinic would have charged $500, and her daughter did not have health insurance to pay for the abortion. The closest abortion clinic to Washingtonville is 74 miles away in Harrisburg. Whalen also said she didn’t know she needed a prescription for the drugs.
According to the Press Enterprise, the teen experienced acute cramping and bleeding, and was taken to Geisinger Medical Center. Medical records obtained by police show that she was “treated for an incomplete abortion and a urinary tract infection”.
Last week, Montour County Court of Common Pleas Judge Gary Norton sentenced Whalen to 12 to 18 months in prison for the felony crime, fined her $1,000, and ordered her to perform 40 hours of community service upon her release. She could have received up to seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine for the crime. Her attorney, Matthew Bingham Banks, said the case was uncommon.
Whalen’s sentencing follows a case in Florida in which a man gave his girlfriend an abortion pill and told her it was an antibiotic. John Andrew Walden admitted that he scratched the identifying labelling off a bottle of Cytotec – a drug that induces labour and can cause abortions. His then girlfriend, Remee Jo Lee, lost the baby, and filed charges against him.
“I was never going to do anything but go full term with it, and he didn’t want me to,” Lee told WPTV News.
In January, Walden was sentenced to 13 years in prison, and ordered to pay $28,500 in restitution.
Original Post by Christian Today
Mars Hill Announces Closure of Three Churches
US megachurch Mars Hill has announced the closure of three of its campuses due to financial problems.
Mars Hill Church Phoenix will hold its last service at the end of this month, while the Downtown Seattle and U-District campuses in Washington will be consolidated with Mars Hill Church Ballard in October.
A statement posted by Dave Bruskas, an executive elder at Mars Hill, on the church’s website admits that its Huntington Beach plant is “in jeopardy” unless donations increase.
Bruskas also reveals that Mars Hill has “ceased any further development of a Los Angeles church plant” in light of financial difficulties.
The church has faced much scrutiny in recent months regarding its leadership, and at least four pastors have recently stepped down from their positions.
Lead pastor of the church as a whole, Mark Driscoll, announced last month that he is stepping down from ministry for six weeks while a number of allegations levelled against him are investigated.
The latest church closure announcement is therefore unlikely to have come as a surprise. A news bulletin released by Mars Hill two weeks ago attributes a significant drop in tithing to the “negative media attention surrounding our church”.
“It is your continued support that is needed now more than ever. While we were able to end the fiscal year strong, giving and attendance have declined significantly since January. Specifically, we have seen a substantial decrease in tithes and offerings these past two months,” the bulletin reads.
“We now find ourselves in a tougher financial position than we expected.”
An updated statement posted yesterday then appeared to blame the congregation for the difficulties:
“Church budgeting is really a simple process in one respect: we are able to provide the level of staff and ministry programs that those who attend our church provide the resources for. In other words, it is ultimately our people, not our leaders, who determine how much ‘church’ we are able to provide.”
Two hours after the statement was posted, however, a disclaimer was added, which noted that the original post “failed to acknowledge that the reason for much of the decrease in attendance and giving falls to us, the leadership of Mars Hill.
“We shoulder the responsibility for our past sins and mistakes – which has caused many to leave.”
Patheos blogger Warren Throckmorton, who has been deeply critical of Mars Hill, has already questioned the legitimacy of this claim, amid concerns about the long-term future of the church.
“Can it be trusted? Clearly, each reader will have to decide what this is about and what shouldering the responsibility would look like,” he writes.
Original Post by Christian Today
Christians Who Fled Extremist Terror in Mali Return to the Churches that were Reduced to Ruins
While the world’s attention is focused on the threat of the Islamic State in the Middle East, Christians in northern Mali have returned to their shattered communities after French forces wrested control back from Islamist groups.
Churches were desecrated and looted when the region fell under radical groups in 2012. French forces were able to take control but the reconstruction is slow and costly, and peace talks between the government and mainly Tuareg armed groups are still ongoing.
Dr Mohamed Ibrahim Yattara, president of the Baptist Church in northern Mali, told World Watch Monitor most Christians who fled the region had now returned to their homes but their churches are “in ruins”.
He said the church there has lost most of its buildings and valuable property, including vehicles. The damage done by the extremists has also affected the church’s work in the area of community provision. In Timbuktu, the church’s water project set up over a period of 20 years has been rendered unusable as most of the materials were stolen.
Dr Yattara also expressed disappointment that the government and international community was not helping the church rebuild.
“So far nothing has been done,” he said. “Actually, with regard to the current post-conflict situation, we have no means to undertake reconstruction projects. We can only rely on the generosity of people of good will to walk with us in these efforts of reconstruction.”
But he remains grateful that the church is at least still there and was not wiped out completely by the radical groups.
While Mali remains a difficult place for Christians – it was ranked No 7 on Open Doors’ 2013 World Watch List for persecution – Dr Yattara is determined that the churches will continue doing what they were called to do.
“We had this feeling that jihadists wanted to wipe out any trace of Christianity in the north of Mali. But God in his goodness has not allowed such an eventuality,” he said.
“The church is still there and most of the believers have returned, albeit in very difficult conditions, without external assistance or the financial resources needed in such circumstances.
“And despite such adversity we are determined to resume our ministries because after all, this northern Mali is ours. We have the right to freely exercise our faith and we are firmly committed to make this happen.”
Original Post by Christian Today
