Acts 29 Removes co-founder Mark Driscoll from network

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Acts 29 Removes co-founder Mark Driscoll from network

Seattle megachurch pastor Mark Driscoll has been removed from a church-planting network of more than 500 churches he helped found after a pattern of “ungodly and disqualifying behavior.” – Sarah Pulliam Bailey |RNS

“It is our conviction that the nature of the accusations against Mark, most of which have been confirmed by him, make it untenable and unhelpful to keep Mark and Mars Hill in our network,” said Acts 29 in an online statement signed by Matt Chandler and other board members of the network of 500 churches.
Acts 29 came to the drastic decision “with deep sorrow,” according to the statement. “In taking this action, our prayer is that it will encourage the leadership of Mars Hill to respond in a distinctive and godly manner so that the name of Christ will not continue to be dishonored.”
Mars Hill is no longer listed on the Acts 29 church directory page for Washington state. Acts 29 declined to comment further to CT.

In an expanded letter reportedly sent to Driscoll and Acts 29 pastors and obtained by Driscoll critic Warren Throckmorton, board members explain that the church planting network has received “countless shots and dozens of fires” over the past three years for Driscoll’s “ungodly and disqualifying behavior.”

Thus, even though Acts 29 remains “eternally thankful for what [Driscoll] as a man and Mars Hill as a church have meant to our network,” board members decided to remove Mars Hill churches from the network because the association “discredits the network and is a major distraction.”

“Based on the totality of the circumstances, we are now asking you to please step down from ministry for an extended time and seek help,” board members told Driscoll.

Driscoll, whose provocative preaching style has proved surprisingly successful in secular Seattle, has already apologized for the steady stream of controversies over the past few years. Most recently, he came under fire when crude, 14-year-old comments he made in a church forum resurfaced in the blogosphere. Driscoll apologized, as he had in a 2006 book, telling his congregation that the posts were a bad idea. “I was wrong to respond to people the way I did, using the language I used, and I am sorry for it and remain embarrassed by it,” Driscoll said.

Acts 29 has supported Driscoll during recent controversies while relying on Mars Hill’s Board of Advisors and Accountability (BoAA) to address the problems, the letter states.
“We have both publicly and internally tried to support and give you the benefit of the doubt, even when multiple pastors in our network confirmed this behavior,” the letter says. “But we no longer believe the BoAA is able to execute the plan of reconciliation originally laid out. Ample time has been given for repentance, change, and restitution, with none forthcoming. We now have to take another course of action.”

Pastor James Macdonald recently stepped down from the accountability board, but defended Driscoll’s repentance, stating:I have great love and affection for Mars Hill Church and I want to make clear this change is not because I am unhappy with Mark’s response to board accountability. On the contrary, I have found him to be exemplary in his current readiness to live under the BOAA oversight. I am not resigning because I doubt Mark’s sincerity in any way. I believe in Mark Driscoll and his heart to leverage difficult lessons in service to Christ and his church in the years ahead. I am excited to continue to support that trajectory as Mark’s friend, as I focus my efforts on Harvest Bible Fellowship.

Driscoll stepped down as president of Acts 29 in March 2012, appointing Texas pastor Matt Chandler as president and moving its headquarters from Mars Hill in Seattle to Village Church in the Dallas area. Driscoll remained on the network’s board for a time before leaving its leadership completely.
At the time, Driscoll pointed to publishing success with his Real Marriage book (which also came under fire recently amid news that Driscoll paid a marketing company more than $200,000 to ensure its success) as well as a new Resurgence conference as reasons to step away from Acts 29 leadership. At the same time, he resigned from the council of The Gospel Coalition, stating, “The men remain friends who are welcome to speak into my life, and I’m transitioning for no other reason than I find myself at the end of my tether with time and energy.”
Today, Driscoll’s Twitter account stated, “Unforgiveness will poison everything you do.” The tweet is likely an ironic mistiming, given that Mars Hill staff have been running the account this summer after Driscoll declared he was taking a break from social media for the rest of the year. Recently, Jonathan Merritt made waves for writing how he has accepted Driscoll’s apology, and how Christians should be “as generous with the salve of forgiveness as we are with the acid of criticism.”

As the news spread through social media early Friday afternoon, evangelical leaders affected by Driscoll’s ministry reacted to the network’s decision.

“Thankful to be a part of the ‪@Acts29 network. Join us in praying for ‪@PastorMark and ‪@MarsHill,” tweeted Juan MacLean, pastor of Redemption City Church, a church plant in Boston.
Another church planter, Aaron Loy, wrote, “I can’t believe what I’m reading about Mark Driscoll & Mars Hill removed by Acts 29. My heart is really heavy today.”

A coalition of aggrieved former Mars Hill members announced that it will delay its plans to bring additional charges against Driscoll. Spokesperson Rob Smith stated:It is with a mix of sadness and relief to see that Acts 29 has taken these actions. We hope and pray that the call for Mark Driscoll to step down from ministry is heeded. We would therefore rather wait and withdraw our plans to file new charges if he steps down, or file them in due course if he chooses to ignore the call of the Acts 29 board. We are in prayer for Mark and his family. We pray that he will find comfort, restoration, and hope in the Christ that he loves. We are committed to love him well and stand ready to support him and his family through these difficult days. We echo the call of the Acts 29 board.

CT has previously covered Acts 29 and its influence in the evangelical world, including the appointment of Matt Chandler as president and how Acts 29 requires church planters to meet leadership standards. CT also profiled Acts 29 leader Matt Chandler, addressing how he is relationally different than Driscoll, and how his churches operate in a more decentralized manner than Mars Hill churches.

CT will update this story as more information becomes available. But here is the Acts 29 letter obtained by Throckmorton:

The Letter

Mark,

As the Board of Acts 29, we are grateful to God for the leadership, courage, and generosity of both you and Mars Hill in not only founding the network but also sustaining it through the transition to this board three years ago. The very act of giving away your authority over the network was one of humility and grace, and for that we are grateful.

Over the past three years, our board and network have been the recipients of countless shots and dozens of fires directly linked to you and what we consider ungodly and disqualifying behavior. We have both publicly and internally tried to support and give you the benefit of the doubt, even when multiple pastors in our network confirmed this behavior.

In response, we leaned on the Mars Hill Board of Advisors & Accountability to take the lead in dealing with this matter. But we no longer believe the BoAA is able to execute the plan of reconciliation originally laid out. Ample time has been given for repentance, change, and restitution, with none forthcoming. We now have to take another course of action.

Based on the totality of the circumstances, we are now asking you to please step down from ministry for an extended time and seek help. Consequently, we also feel that we have no alternative but to remove you and Mars Hill from membership in Acts 29. Because you are the founder of Acts 29 and a member, we are naturally associated with you and feel that this association discredits the network and is a major distraction.

We tell you this out of love for you, Mars Hill, Acts 29, and most significantly, the cause of Christ, and we would be irresponsible and deeply unloving not to do so in a clear and unequivocal manner. Again, we want you to know that we are eternally thankful for what you as a man and Mars Hill as a church have meant to our network. However, that cannot dissuade us from action. Instead, it gives added significance and importance to our decision. We hope and pray that you see this decision as the action of men who love you deeply and want you to walk in the light—for your good, the good of your family, and the honor of your Savior.

Shortly after sending this, we will be informing the members of Acts 29, your Board of Advisors and Accountability, and your elders, as well as putting out a public statement on the Acts 29 website. It brings us no joy to move forward in this direction, and we trust that the Lord will be at work in all of this.

In sorrow and with hope,

The Board of the Acts 29 Church Planting Network

Matt Chandler
Darrin Patrick
Steve Timmis
Eric Mason
John Bryson
Bruce Wesley
Leonce Crump

Original Report by CT

US Military rejects the Bible Camp Acknowledges Gay Pride

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US Military rejects the Bible Camp Acknowledges Gay Pride

Despite the fact that military service members have recently been permitted to march in gay pride parades, the Department of Defense prohibited members of the Missouri National Guard from attending a one-hour meet-and-greet with children at a vacation Bible camp held a small Baptist church in the rural southwest corner of the state in late July…report by CP

According to a military bylaw, personnel are not allowed to participate in an official capacity in religious or ideological events. That regulation, however, appears to have been selectively applied.

Guardsmen were prevented from appearing at the Bible Baptist Church in Carthage to be honored and thanked by kids and their pastor. But the D.C. military color guard should was allowed to march in Washington D.C.’s gay pride parade in early June. There was also one military service member who marched in a gay pride parade in mid-July while holding the hand of his husband.

The regulation states: “Army participation must not selectively benefit (or appear to benefit) any person, group, or corporation (whether profit or non-profit); religion, sect, religious or sectarian group, or quasi-religious or ideological movement.”

“I will never understand why it’s OK for the military to march in a gay-pride parade but not be allowed to spend an hour talking to children who look up to them,” one Missouri guardsmen told Todd Starnes of Fox News.

In 2012, The Defense Department allowed service members to march in San Diego’s gay pride parade while in uniform.

Complete and original Post by Christian Post

Can ISIS be stopped?

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If you’re following the news about ISIS, which now calls itself the Islamic State, you might think you’ve mistakenly clicked on a historical story about barbarians from millennia ago… by CNN

In a matter of months, the group seized territory in both Iraq and Syria and declared an Islamic caliphate, celebrating its own shocking slaughter along the way.

“I don’t see any attention from the rest of the world,” a member of the Yazidi minority in Iraq told the New Yorker. “In one day, they killed more than two thousand Yazidi in Sinjar, and the whole world says, ‘Save Gaza, save Gaza.'”

In Syria, the group hoisted some of its victims severed heads on poles. One of the latest videos of the savagery shows a Christian man forced to his knees, surrounded by masked militants, identified in the video as members of ISIS. They force the man at gunpoint to “convert” to Islam. Then, the group beheads him.

ISIS has targeted members of numerous minority groups in the region, including Christian nuns, Turkmen and Shabaks, according to Human Rights Watch.

France called Thursday for an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council. Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said his country is “highly concerned about the latest progress of ISIS in the north of Iraq and by the taking of Qaraqosh, the largest Christian city of Iraq, and the horrible acts of violence that are committed.”

The United States is considering emergency air drops to help thousands of stranded Yazidis, a U.S. Defense official told CNN. The department also is weighing “other military options,” a senior State Department official said.

Asked about the possibility of U.S. airstrikes, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Thursday he was “not in a position to rule things on the table or off the table.”

Earlier this week, ISIS fighters tried to seize control of Iraq’s largest hydroelectric dam, but Kurdish forces fended them off, the dam’s director said.

“If ‘IS’ manages to consolidate its territory and preserve its legitimacy, an offensive jihad against all other countries will then be considered viable,” Jonathan Russell of Qulliam, a think tank formed to combat extremism, wrote on CNN.com.

“Al Qaeda will now want to challenge ISIS’s appropriation of its key objectives and tactics. The only way for al Qaeda to stay relevant now is through a violent and spectacular attack. Although ISIS may eventually be a victim of its own success, the real victims will be the thousands of innocent Muslims and non-Muslims caught in the crossfire of this millennarian struggle.”

Pope leads call for action

As the tales of horror trickle out from areas ISIS controls — including Mosul, Iraq’s largest city — a growing chorus of voices is calling on the world to act. The most prominent is Pope Francis.

“The Holy Father follows with strong concern the dramatic news from the north of Iraq, concerning defenseless populations,” the Vatican said in a statement Thursday. “Particularly struck have been the Christian communities, a people fleeing from their own villages due to the violence that in these days is raging and overwhelming the region.”

“Dear brothers and sisters so persecuted, I know how much you are suffering and I know that everything has been taken from you. I am with you in faith, and with Him that has conquered evil,” the Pope said recently during the Angelus prayer.

“His Holiness also sends an urgent appeal to the international community, in order that they may work towards ending the humanitarian crisis and protecting those who are affected or threatened by violence, and to ensure necessary aid, especially that which is most urgently needed by so many homeless, whose fate is solely dependent on the solidarity of others,” the Vatican said.

“An entire religion is being exterminated from the face of the Earth.” Vian Dakhil, a Yazidi, said in an appeal to the Iraqi parliament. She called it a “genocide.”

Yazidis, among Iraq’s smallest minorities, are of Kurdish descent, and their religion is considered a pre-Islamic sect that draws from Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism.

Analyst: West must arm Kurds
“The world now faces two urgent challenges: to prevent the genocide of the Yazidis and to stop ISIS from continuing to conquer swaths of the Middle East,” global affairs columnist Frida Ghitis wrote on CNN.com. “Bombing ISIS positions would help save the Yazidis, but supporting the Kurds is key to success on both counts.”
Supporting the Kurds is key to success.
Frida Ghitis, global affairs columnist

The Iraqi Kurdish army, known as the Peshmerga, has fought ISIS but is “outgunned,” partly because the Iraqi army dropped its weapons “and fled when ISIS rolled in from Syria and captured Mosul,” Ghitis says.

Ghitis wants the United States to help arm the Kurds against ISIS.

The United States has been reluctant to do so, wary that the Kurds will try to break off from Iraq and build a separate state at a time Washingon is trying to bolster a central Iraqi government in Baghdad.

“If the U.S. decided to help the Kurds, there would be no guarantee that the Kurds wouldn’t later use those weapons to further their own interests,” Dexter Filkins writes in the New Yorker. “But what other choice is there?”

Filkins notes that Iraq has begun air strikes aimed at helping the Kurds — but, he says, “the Iraqi Army has proved itself utterly ineffectual in combating ISIS.”

On Wednesday, the Iraqi air force struck a building Mosul believed to be used by ISIS, killing 76 people, an Iraqi official told CNN. But local officials said dozens of those killed were actually civilians who had opposed the Islamic State.

Meanwhile, Iraq’s Badr Brigade Shiit militia is is training women to join men in protecting Baghdad if the Islamic State works its way to the capital.

Masrour Barzani, Kurdish intelligence and security chief, called for direct military assistance from the United States in an interview with the Washington Post.

“We’ve got to help our allies to defend themselves,” says David Schenker, head of the Washington Institute’s Program on Arab Politics, another voice in support of arming Kurds.

“The other half of that equation is working with the moderate Syrian opposition — providing them with robust capabilities against the regime and ISIS.”

Analyst: Build a U.S. base

Michael Rubin, a former Pentagon official who focuses on Arab politics and terrorism, disagrees on both fronts.

At this point, “the definition of ‘moderate’ in Syria is ‘not engaging in cannibalism,'” he says. “If we did not know about two Chechen brothers in Boston before they carried out the Marathon bombings, how could we know whom to trust within Syria?”

It’s too late to arm moderates as a means of curbing the violence in Syria, says Rubin, who is now with the conservative American Enterprise Institute.

And among Kurds in Iraq, there’s a danger: “Kurdish leadership is just as permeated by, and just as close in terms of a working relationship with, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps” — Iran’s elite force. “In the past, the Kurds have leaked intelligence to the Iranians — and they could presumably leak weaponry.”

The Peshmerga is also not as competent as its popular image suggests Rubin says.

He wants the United States to accept an offer from the Massoud Barzani, head of the Kurdistan Regional Government, to set up a base in Kurdistan.

“It would kill two birds with one stone,” he says. The United States could base drones or manned aircraft in the region to be used in the fight against ISIS, and the U.S. presence would help cut through some of the Iranian influence.

The Iraqi government wouldn’t like it, “but at this point, it’s the lesser concern,” Rubin says. “We could mitigate this with a request to Baghdad to approve. Baghdad has more to lose by not blessing this especially if we go ahead anyway.”

But Earnest, the White House spokesman, said Thursday that President Barack Obama has made clear “there are no American military solutions to the problems in Iraq. We can’t solve these problems for them. These problems can only be solved with Iraqi political solutions.”

He added that Obama has “demonstrated his clear willingness to take the kind of military action that’s required to protect core American interests,” including personnel around the globe. But any U.S. military action in Iraq would not include boots on the ground, Earnest said.

ISIS’s cruelty could be its downfall

But the West may have reason to take no immediate action, says Fahad Nazer, terrorism analyst with JTG Inc.

“Unlike other al Qaeda branches, ISIS doesn’t seem eager to attack the West. It has too much to lose,” he writes on CNN.com.
ISIS doesn’t seem eager to attack the West. It has too much to lose.

“While the West has never been comfortable with Hamas in Gaza or Hezbollah in Lebanon, it has largely left it up to the countries of the wider Middle East to deal with these militant, Islamist organizations,” he writes.

Also, “The West may find solace in the fact that ISIS has many enemies in the Arab and Muslim worlds,” Nazer writes. And with so many groups suffering from its persecution and terror, such “violent ideology and brutality makes its endurance over the long-term unlikely.”

The West could work with populations in the region to stand up against terrorism as it did with the Iraq Awakening Councils who turned against al Qaeda in 2006, says Schenker

There’s also the possibility that al Qaeda and ISIS will fight each other so heavily that they inflict casualties and weaken each other. But the risks of inaction by the West in the immediate future may be too great, says Schenker.

“ISIS digging in consolidating gains,” he says, “will make it much more difficult to combat in the long run.”

“Several Obama administration officials have told us that our national security is at risk from ISIS,” adds Elliott Abrams, who served as deputy national security adviser under President George W. Bush.

Abrams supports arming Kurds and says the United States should be willing to use its military power as well. “Otherwise,” says Abrams, who is now with the Council on Foreign Relations, “What is the Obama message: there are huge risks, but we’ll just watch for a while?”

What chance do Yazidis have against group too brutal for al Qaeda?
Complete and Original Post by CNN

South Dakota City Council Meeting to Open With Atheist Invocation for the First Time

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South Dakota City Council Meeting to Open With Atheist Invocation for the First Time

An atheist is scheduled to give a secular invocation for the beginning of a council meeting in a South Dakota city…report by CP

Amanda Novotny, president of the Siouxland Freethinkers, will give the invocation Tuesday evening at the Sioux Falls City Council meeting.

In an interview with The Christian Post, Novotny explained that the inspiration for doing the invocation came courtesy of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision Town of Greece v. Galloway.

In that case, the Supreme Court ruled five to four that a city council can allow for sectarian prayers or invocations at their public meetings.

“Following the Supreme Court ruling, I contacted the city office to find out more information about how one would go about giving an opening to a city council meeting,” said Novotny.

“It was simply a matter of scheduling, so we scheduled for the Aug. 5 date.”

Regarding the content of the invocation, Novotny told CP that she planned to do “a humanistic, inclusive message to begin the meeting on a positive note.”

In May, the highest court in the land ruled that the government of Greece, New York, could open its monthly town council meetings with Christian prayers.

Justice Anthony Kennedy authored the majority opinion, and was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Samuel Alito, with Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas concurring.

Dissenting from the majority opinion were Justices Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

“The Court must decide whether the town of Greece, New York, imposes an impermissible establishment of religion by opening its monthly board meetings with a prayer. It must be concluded … that no violation of the Constitution has been shown,” read the Kennedy opinion.

A key point in the successful defense of the Greece prayer policy was that non-Christians have always been allowed to give invocations.

In keeping with this reasoning, some initially opposed to the Greece v. Galloway decision have called upon non-Christians and especially non-theists to request participation in public meeting invocations.

Dean Karsky, Sioux Falls City Council member and chair, told CP that for his city “the ability to give the invocation is open to any person that requests to do so.”

Karsky also told CP that to his knowledge this was the first time an atheist was giving an invocation at a Sioux Falls council meeting.

Novotny agreed with this sentiment of her possibly being the first, though she also told CP that “there have been other openings that have been void of religious connotations.”

Complete and Original Post by Christian Post

Obama Authorizes Targeted Airstrikes in Iraq as Killing of Christians in IS continues

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Obama Authorizes Targeted Airstrikes in Iraq as Killing of Christians in IS continues

President Barack Obama announced Thursday night at the White House that the U.S. military will engage in targeted airstrikes against Islamic State terrorist convoys in Iraq if they advance toward the U.S. embassy in Baghdad or the consulate in Arbil…report by CP

Obama emphasized that while he believes the “U.S.cannot and should not intervene every time there’s a crisis in the world,” he said his administration is taking action in this case to help “avert a massacre.”

“In recent days, these terrorists have continued to move across Iraq, and have neared the city of Arbil, where American diplomats and civilians serve at our consulate and American military personnel advise Iraqi forces,” Obama said. “We’re also providing emergency assistance to the Iraqi government and Kurdish forces so they can more effectively wage the fight against ISIL.”

Obama said he’s also authorized targeted airstrikes to protect Iraqis who are stranded along Mount Sinjar, because the Iraqi government has requested military assistance.

“We’ve begun operations to help save Iraqi civilians stranded on the mountain,” Obama said. “As ISIL has marched across Iraq, it has waged a ruthless campaign against innocent Iraqis. And these terrorists have been especially barbaric toward religious minorities, including Christians and Yazidis.”

“Yazidi women, men and children from the area of Sinjar have fled for their lives by the thousands, perhaps tens of thousands,” noted Obama, who said the U.S. had to act to “carefully and responsibly prevent a potential act of genocide.”

“Today, America is coming to help,” Obama commented, in response to Iraqi civilians’ pleas for intervention.

By Thursday night, the Defense Department said it had already dropped 72 bundles of food (8,000 ready-to-eat meals) and 5,200 gallons water to the estimated 40,000 Iraqis stranded on the peaks of Mount Sinjar.

Prior to Obama’s announcement, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest announced Thursday afternoon that while the administration would be taking action to combat the Islamic State terrorists who have a “callous disregard for human rights,” he emphasized that there is “no American military solution for the problems in Iraq.”

Earnest further explained that while the U.S. was considering airstrikes, the administration hadn’t yet committed to taking direct action, but did plan to coordinate strategic efforts with Iraqi and Kurdish forces.

“Iraqi and Kurdish authorities are focused on this specific threat to the nation, and to the vulnerable populations that live in these areas,” Earnest said. “The U.S. government and military is supporting the ongoing efforts of Iraqi and Kurdish officials to address this urgent humanitarian crisis that exists.”

Earnest added that the U.S. has military personnel on the ground in Iraq who are working with Iraqi and Kurdish Security Forces to evaluate their capabilities and will be providing an assessment of the situation to the administration.

The adminisrtation is also working to persuade Iraq’s Shi’ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to form a more inclusive government.

Islamic State terrorists extended their gains in northern Iraq Thursday, seizing more towns and strengthening gaining territory near the Kurdish region, according to Reuters.

“The militant group said in a statement on its Twitter account that its fighters had seized 15 towns, the strategic Mosul dam on the Tigris River and a military base, in an ongoing offensive that began at the weekend,” Reuters reports. “Kurdish officials say their forces still control the dam, Iraq’s biggest.”

Reuters also reports that two witnesses said Thursday that “Islamic State fighters had hoisted the group’s black flag over the dam, which could allow the militants to flood major cities or cut off significant water supplies and electricity.”

Mark Arabo, national spokesman for the group “Ending Genocide in Iraq,” told CNN Wednesday that “Christianity in the city of Mosel is dead and a Christian holocaust is in our midst.”

“This is truly a living nightmare that’s not going away,”Arabo explained. “Day-by-day, it’s getting worse and worse. More children are being beheaded; mothers are being raped and killed; fathers are being hung. Right now, 300,000 Christians are fleeing, living in neighboring cities, just wanting a chance — not just to survive, but to live.”

Arabo, who said his group met with Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes at the White House last week, has been asking the administration to take action against the Islamic State and protested outside the White House in support of Iraqi Christians seven weeks ago.

“The world hasn’t seen an evil like this for generations,” he added. “There’s actually a park in Mosul (the second largest city in Iraq) where they put beheaded children on a stick. These are crimes against humanity.”

Ninety five percent of all Christians have fled Mosul and 5 percent have converted to Islam, according to Arabo. He further explained that even if Christians are able to meet the Islamic State’s demands to pay a fine instead of converting to Islam or be killed, their homes and property are being taken and men are watching the terror group capture their wives and daughters.

Andrew White, an Anglican canon at St George’s church in Baghdad, who has served the Christian community in Baghdad for 10 years, said in a newsletter that the Islamic State has been able to commit atrocities in Iraq without fear of reprisal because the world’s attention is focused on the Israel-Hamas conflict.

“The Islamic State simply said we can do anything now the world is just looking at Gaza,” White said in the newsletter sent to supporters of the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East, according to the Anglican Communion News Service.

“It is as if hell has broken out here and nobody cares … The situation is so serious and it is very easy to feel forgotten,” White said.

He continued: “Even in Baghdad people are terrified of what is happening around us. … The number of kidnappings here has soared and people simply do not know what is going to happen next.”

On Tuesday, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power released a statement announcing that the administration is condemning the Islamic State’s attacks in Iraq.

“I condemn in the strongest possible terms the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant … [And ISIL’s] reported abuse, kidnapping, torture and executions of Iraq’s religious and ethnic minorities and its systematic destruction of religious and cultural sites are appalling.”

“The U.S. supports the Iraqi Security Forces and Peshmerga Forces working to defend these areas against ISIL. …. The U.S. is committed to helping the people of Iraq as they confront the security and humanitarian challenges in their fight against ISIL. Iraq’s leaders must move swiftly to form a new, fully inclusive government that takes into account the rights, aspirations and legitimate concerns of all of Iraq’s communities,” Power added.

Islamic State terrorists, an offshoot of al Qaeda, have come within a 30 minute drive of Arbil, according to Reuters.

Complete and Original Post by Christian Post

Noah’s Ark Project May Get $18 Million From Kentucky

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Noah’s Ark Project May Get $18 Million From Kentucky

A Creationist group’s project to build a park centered around a life-sized model of Noah’s Ark might benefit from an estimated $18 million in tourism incentives. This would come by way of a state sales tax refund that would be received after the Ark Encounter has been open to the public for at least three years…report by CP

The Kentucky Tourism Development Finance Authority has given “preliminary approval” on the Ark Encounter project overseen by a Christian apologetics group known as Answers in Genesis.

Gil Lawson, spokesman for the Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet, told The Christian Post that the “preliminary approval” was given last week.

“The authority gave preliminary approval on July 29, which means a study will be conducted to determine if the application meets all of the criteria required under the law,” said Lawson.

“Once the study is complete, it will be presented to the authority for consideration. A public hearing must also be held.”

Lawson told CP that contrary to some early reports, “legislative approval is not required” for the tourism incentives to be given out.

If approved, the park may benefit from an estimated $18 million in tourism incentives, reported Maryanne Zeleznik of WVXU Cincinnati.

“The finance board will make a decision on whether to grant final approval on the incentives in the next month-and-a-half. The board is awaiting a final analysis of the project by a contracted consulting firm,” noted Zeleznik.

The Ark Encounter is a major project of Answers in Genesis, a young-earth Creationist organization and Christian apologetics group that also oversees the Creation Museum of Petersburg.

Slated to be built in Williamstown, a small community located in Northern Kentucky, the Ark Encounter has had its share of issues getting started.

In late December 2011 it was reported that the Ark Encounter was suffering from a lack of donations, having raised only $4.4 million of the needed $24.5 million at the time.

While donations were one source of income, the Ark project continually found itself having to push back it’s expected groundbreaking date.

Ken Ham, Creation Museum CEO, told CP that another factor causing delays have been bureaucratic issues stemming from construction contracts.

“Construction is not easy these days. And it takes a long time to get some permits and we’ve actually been waiting on some of the permits,” said Ham.

“It’s moving ahead. We would like to have seen it built earlier, but that’s just the way it is; it happens in any construction project.”

Ham also told CP that “all the heavy equipment” will be at the Williamstown site by tomorrow and Thursday, with an expected opening date set for 2016.

“The secularists make all sorts of accusations,” said Ham. “the truth of the matter is, even if we had had all the funds two, three years ago, we couldn’t have started doing what we’re doing until tomorrow.”

“And the reason is because you got to get all these permits in line and you just don’t know how long some of them are going to take because there’s a lot of bureaucracy involved sometimes.”

The Ark project also garnered the criticism of groups like Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which has long voiced concern that the religious park is entangled with government funding.

In a recent blog entry, Americans United’s Rob Boston wrote that the Ark project is “clearly designed to promote fundamentalist views of the Bible, views that stand in sharp contrast to modern science.”

“Ham and his pals have every right to build and operate the Ark Park on their own time with their own dime. But that’s not what they’re doing,” said Boston.

“From the beginning of this enterprise, they have sought to tap the taxpayers’ wallets for their fundamentalist theme park. That’s not right. The goal of the Ark Encounter is to persuade people that Ham’s view of Christianity is true and that they ought to adopt it. The government has no business helping Ham proselytize.”

Regarding church and state concerns, Lawson told CP that “our tourism incentive law looks strictly at the economic development aspect.”

“This project is being treated like other applications for tourism incentives. We are reviewing it to see if it meets the requirements under the statute,” said Lawson. “The law allows a tax rebate based on sales tax receipts generated by the project and is performance based. The rebate can be for up to 25 percent of the approved cost of the project and is spread out over 10 years.”

Complete and Original Post by Christian Post

Ben Carson’s Arguments against treating Ebola-Infected Missionaries into the US Refuted by Expert in Infectious Diseases Chances Extremely

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Ben Carson’s Arguments against treating Ebola-Infected Missionaries into the US Refuted by Expert in Infectious Diseases Chances Extremely

Dr. Ben Carson, a leading neurosurgeon, has argued that the missionaries infected with Ebola should not have been brought back to the United States for treatment, but his argument as to why has been refuted by an expert in infectious diseases, Dr. Rossi Hassad…report by CP

“Would you have brought those patients here?” Fox News host Neil Cavuto asked Dr. Carson.

“No, I would not have. I’m not a risk-adverse person, but I think risks ought to be done in a logical way … The worst thing that can happen is so much worse than the best thing, you wouldn’t even consider putting people at risk. It’s a matter of protecting the American populace,” Dr. Carson explained. “And that’s the duty of our government. We have to guard against worst-case scenarios, and obviously we’re not.”

Dr. Hassad, however, has argued that there is very little risk to Americans and that much of what is seen in the media is overhyped.

“From a scientific perspective and based on evidence, panic is not warranted, but the general public does not have that knowledge or information. So when it comes to the general population, and given that when people think of Ebola they think of movies they’ve seen or documentaries … that’s more fiction than it is infection,” Dr. Hassad explained.

“There is a version of that that is real, and that is a severe case of Ebola, which is when the patient progresses to end-stage and begins hemorrhaging from every organ, internally and externally. Sometimes that is what is portrayed by the media as scary, but most patients don’t get there,” Dr. Hassad added.

Dr. Carson has also called into question the CDC’s handling of people in the United States being tested for the Ebola virus.

“Certainly I’m a strong proponent of privacy of health care information,” Dr. Carson said on Fox News’ program “Your World.” “But you can certainly reveal that a patient has been tested and is negative to allay hysteria because when you have a situation where you’re acting in a secretive manner, people have a tendency to assume the worst. So you have to be smart enough to weigh one thing against the other. You can’t just sort of have blinders on and say ‘privacy, privacy, privacy’ and there’s a riot going on outside. So, that’s where wisdom comes in.”

“Becoming infected is a multiplicity of factors coming together,” Dr. Hassad noted. “Yes, a person can be infected when he/she visits a country where the disease is active, like West Africa. But for the average American, the odds are almost zero. The two patients who we are currently treating were infected overseas and are being treated here. Because of healthier systems and an abundance of resources, there is an abundance of caution being used and extreme containment measures. It’s extremely low to zero that you’ll see any people infected because of the two we are treating here.”

Both doctors have urged the public to become educated and learn about the Ebola virus.

Complete and Original Post by Christian Post

Dr. Ben Carson Says it’s a mistake to bring Infected Missionaries to US

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Dr. Ben Carson Says it’s a mistake to bring Infected Missionaries to US

Renowned neurosurgeon and possible 2016 presidential hopeful, Dr. Benjamin Carson criticized the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Monday for bringing two Ebola infected missionaries to the U.S. for treatment, citing the highly contagious and deadly nature of the disease…report by CP

“Why would we bring that into our country? Why would we expose ourselves when we already know that there are problems that can occur and have occurred,” said Carson, who is a former director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins University and Hospital, in an interview with Newsmax TV.

“Ebola is a terrifying disease. If you don’t treat it, close to 90 percent of the people will die,” said Carson.

Two missionaries, Dr. Ken Brantly, 33, who works with Samaritan’s Purse and Nancy Writebol, 59, an aid worker with SIM, are both being treated at a special unit set up at Emory University Hospital in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, after being infected with the deadly virus while working in Liberia. They were both flown to the U.S. in the last few days after receiving doses of a trial serum call ZMapp and are now reportedly improving.

Dr. Carson, however, does not believe it was a wise move to treat them stateside.

“I’m a little concerned that we’re bringing it back here. I think we have the ability to treat it in other places,” said Carson.

“The reason I would be concerned about bringing it back here is because it is transmitted primarily through bodily fluids. And it can actually survive outside of the host, outside of the body for several days at least. Which means that, let’s say a container or urine or vomit or whatever for whatever reason, gets disseminated into the public, you got a big problem,” he noted.

“Why do we even risk such a thing when we can send experts elsewhere? We can send a plane equipped to handle this somewhere to land. We can create parts of a hospital somewhere. We have lots of options,” explained Carson.

When asked if he thought it was a mistake for the CDC a

Syrian Muslims Behead a Christian After Compellling him to Deny Jesus Christ and Profess Mohammed as ‘Messenger of God’

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Syrian Muslims Behead a Christian After Compellling him to Deny Jesus Christ and Profess Mohammed as ‘Messenger of God’

A Christian man in Syria recently had his head brutally hacked off by Islamic militants after being forced to deny his faith and salute Mohammed as “the messenger of God”…report by CP

The incident was caught on video for the world to see and broadcast as a warning to “everyone like him”.

In the video that was posted to YouTube with translated captions, the helpless Christian man is surrounded by armed militants wearing masks and he is heard reciting as instructed: “There is no God but God and I testify that Mohammed is the messenger of God.”

An apparent leader in the group of militants is then heard instructing the group: “No one will shoot him now, do you understand? He will not be killed by shooting because it is merciful for him.”

“He will be beheaded because he is Kaffir, non-Muslim, sided [with] the government and was not praying at all. Everyone like him will have the same end, beheading,” said the militant.

A militant armed with a machete then grabs the defenseless man by the hair and begins to cut his head from his body as the group cries “Allahu Akbar…there is no God but God.”

Click Here to See Video

The 2014 report from the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom highlights Syria among several countries where being a Christian can be extremely hazardous due to terrorist and extremist Muslim threats.

“Extremist groups and terrorist organizations, including al-Qaida and ISIL, also are perpetrating egregious religious freedom violations. They espouse violence and the creation of an Islamic state with no space for diversity, and have carried out religiously-motivated attacks and massacres against Alwaite, Shi’a, and Christian civilians,” explained the document in highlighting conditions in Syria.

“NGO’s report that several different anti-regime opposition groups have established Shari’ah courts in areas they control. Recently ISIL, a terrorist organization not aligned with the internationally-recognized opposition, announced that the approximately 3,000 Christians in Raqqa province must either face death, convert to Islam, or be treated as dhimmis (non-Muslim citizens of an Islamic state) who must pay a tax for their ‘protection’ and obey serious restrictions on their religious practices,” it continued.

The report further noted that Bishop Boulos Yazigi of the Greek Orthodox Church and Bishop John Ibrahim of the Assyrian Orthodox Church are still missing since they were kidnapped by unknown assailants in the Northern province of Aleppo in April 2013.

Some 13 nuns and three workers from a Greek Orthodox monastery in the Christian village of Maaloula, who were kidnapped by the al-Nustra Front in late November 2013, were finally freed on March 9, 2014.

Al-Nusra took over Maaloula in September 2013 and their fighters reportedly attacked Christian homes killing at least a dozen people, and burning down a church. Those who remained were forced to convert to Islam according to the report.

Complete and Original Report by Christian Post

August Writers’ Seminar with Rick Joyner and Deborah Joyner holds 25th to 28th August

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August Writers’ Seminar with Rick Joyner and Deborah Joyner holds 25th to 28th August

August Writer’s Seminar with Rick Joyner and Deborah Joyner holds 25th to 28th August at Moravian Falls,North Carolina,USA.

Highlights:

  • Four days of intense training with Rick Joyner and Deborah Joyner
  • Limited to 30 People
  • Personal Coaching
  • Beautiful environment(Mountain Retreat Centre)

    • Training Content

  • Essentials of writing
  • How to become a more creative and passionate writer
  • Ways to grow as a writer
  • One-on-one help with writing projects and much more!

    • “If I had known when I started writing what we teach in this seminar, everything I’ve written would be much better than it is. I also think that those who apply what we teach in that seminar can go from having almost no chance of getting published to having a very good chance.” Rick Joyner

    Speakers
    Rick Joyner
    Rick Joyner is Founder and Executive Director of MorningStar Ministries and Heritage International Ministries and is the Senior Pastor at MorningStar Fellowship Church. Rick is President of The Oak Initiative, an interdenominational movement that mobilizes Christians to engage in the great issues of our time. He has authored more than forty books, including The Final Quest Trilogy, There Were Two Trees in the Garden, and A New America. Rick and his wife, Julie, have five children: Anna Jane, Aaryn, Amber, Ben, and Sam.

    Debbie Joyner
    Deborah Joyner has been the managing editor for MorningStar Publications and Ministries for more than ten years. Deborah has written numerous articles that have inspired many to seek a closer walk with the Lord and His calling. She hosts writing workshops and has a gifted teaching ministry, sharing at conferences. Deborah has published three books, The Chosen Path, Pathway to Purpose, and her most recent, Write to Ignite. Deborah lives in North Carolina and has three children: Matthew, Meredith, and Abby.

    Check-in Time
    Monday, August 25

    Registration Information
    Seminar Registration Options:

  • $1250 per person / $1975 per couple for single room lodging, including Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights.
  • Nine meals served, beginning with dinner on Monday and ending with lunch on Thursday.
  • Additional nights of lodging are available on Sunday and Thursday for $50 per night.*Meals will not be available Sunday or Thursday evenings.

    • *All additional guests that would like to stay on site must also register for the Writer’s Seminar.
    **Registration fee also includes materials.
    ***Be sure to bring a notebook or computer. You are also encouraged to bring a manuscript or article that you have written. (optional)

    NOTE: If you cancel a week or more before the seminar begins, you will receive a full refund of $1,250. If you cancel less than a week before the seminar, you will receive a refund of $1,000. We must retain $250 to help offset our expenses that the conference center charges us for late cancellations.

    To Register Call: 1.877.HIM EVENTS (446.3836)

    Children

    There will be no childcare available during this event.

    Accommodations

    Directions to Morning Light Retreat Center:

    Take I-77 North to I-40 West (about 40 miles north of Charlotte)

    Take I-40 West to I-64 West (about 5 miles)

    Take I-64 to Hwy 16 North (about 20 miles)

    Take Hwy 16 North to Price Rd (a little over 12 miles)

    Price Road is on your left, go up until you see a group of mailboxes on your right, and turn up the concreted driveway. Go right at the fork, and the Guest House will be immediately on your left.

    For GPS:

    Guest House

    158 Morning Light Drive

    Moravian Falls, NC. 28654

    (828) 352-4747

    Transportation

    The closest airport is the Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, NC, approximately 1 hour 45 minutes from the event location of Moravian Falls, NC. Those flying into Charlotte-Douglas International Airport will need to rent a car at the airport for the drive.

    RENTAL CAR:

    Local Car Rentals: You may contact Enterprise at 800-736-8222 or on line at www.enterprise.com Use the MorningStar account number L53W367 to receive a discount.

    Meals

    Meals will be included with the registration fee. Dinner will be provided on Monday. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be provided on Tuesday and Wednesday. Breakfast and lunch will be provided on Thursday.

    Other Information

    To Register Call: 1.877.HIM EVENTS (446.3836)
    Log on to http://www.morningstarministries.org for more details

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