The most pressing concern among American Protestant pastors is the disunity and conflict they see in their congregations as the coronavirus pandemic lags on, a new study conducted by LifeWay Research suggests.

The survey, titled “Pastors’ Views on How COVID-19 is Affecting Their Church,” analyzed responses of 443 Protestant church lead pastors across the nation. The survey was conducted between July 20 and July 22, 2020.

The respondents were all part of the LifeWay Research’s “Pastor Panel,” which consists of “pastors who agree to be contacted by email” for future LifeWay Research surveys. The data has a 5-percentage-point margin of error.

When asked what “pressure points” they are “feeling the most” amid the coronavirus pandemic, over one-quarter of pastors surveyed (27%) reported “maintaining unity/conflict/complaints” in their congregations as the biggest challenge. 

LifeWay included example excerpts of pastors’ responses along with the data. Some explained that “half the church is opposed to any reopening” while another half of the church is “frustrated that we…

NEW YORK — Bucking an ongoing trend of cash-strapped churches selling their buildings to developers to survive, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, founded by Pastor Tim Keller in 1989, has spent nearly $30 million in an all-cash deal to secure a building on Manhattan’s Upper East Side to house a new campus in its family of churches.

The church closed on a multifamily building located at 150 East 91st Street last Friday for $29.5 million, the Commercial Observer reported. The building was sold by GPG Properties which has owned it since the 1960s.

Redeemer did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Christian Post on the purchase Tuesday, but the Rev. Dr. Abe Cho, senior pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church East Side, told the CO that the new acquisition will help the church better serve its community.

“Redeemer looks forward to having not only a local presence on the Upper East Side that will allow us to better serve our congregants but also a community and cultural space that contributes to the flourishing of our neighbors,” Cho said.

The…

A federal judge on Monday blocked a first-of-its-kind Idaho law that prevents biological males who identify as female from playing on girls’ or women’s teams, saying the new law is likely unconstitutional.

At issue is the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, which was signed into law this year and requires biological sex – and not gender identity – to be used in determining who plays on high school and college teams.

U.S. District Judge David C. Nye, in an 87-page opinion, issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the law and asserting that plaintiffs “likely” will “succeed in establishing the Act is unconstitutional as currently written.”

The act was passed after two transgender athletes in Connecticut who are biologically male but identify as female won 15 girls’ state track titles. Legislators hoped to prevent a similar controversy occurring in Idaho.

Nye noted that the NCAA (which governs college athletics) and the IHSAA (which governs Idaho high school sports) require biological males to undergo one year of hormone suppression before competing as a female. That requirement, he indicated, is significant when examining the law’s constitutionality.

“Notably, unlike the IHSAA and NCAA rules in place in Idaho before the Act, Connecticut does not require a transgender woman athlete to suppress her testosterone for any time prior to competing…

A Dallas judge ruled last week that a mother of an 8-year-old boy may solely decide to allow her child to transition from a boy to a girl against the father’s wishes.

According to the Save James Facebook page, Judge Mary Brown ruled that Jeffrey Younger, the child’s father, does not have say in his son’s medical decision.

In 2019, Dr. Anne Georgulas, the mother of James Younger, said she would transition her son to a girl named Luna. The couple also have another son, Jude.

The #SaveJamesYounger hashtag went viral after the case made headlines. According to The Christian Post, Younger’s father told reporters that their child had shown “no signs of wanting to be a girl when given the choice.”

Later in 2019, Judge Kim Cooks ruled that both parents shared responsibility and the right to make medical decisions, but Geogulas’ attorneys filed a motion to have Cooks replaced after she shared a Facebook article and said, “The governor nor any legislature had any influence on the Court’s Decision.”

Cooks was then removed from the case in December.

In the latest ruling, Judge Mary Brown reversed the 2019 decision.

“James and Jude did NOT have a victory in court today,” the Save James Facebook page posted. “Judge Mary Brown has condemned James and Jude to a life of therapy, confusion, and abuse without even having a hearing. There are no other words for what has happened…

Following the death of Donald Trump’s younger brother Robert, the hashtag “#WrongTrump” started trending, implying that the President should have been the one to die instead.

One post that gained particular steam came from Bishop Talbert Swan, a radio host, activist and president of the NAACP, The Blaze reports. Swan has been an outspoken critic of Trump as well as his White evangelical supporters on social media.

As Christian Headlines previously reported, last month, Swan was joined by Actress Alyssa Milano and other guests in a virtual panel arguing that White evangelicals contribute to systemic racism.

On Sunday, Swan, amongst others Trump critics, used the hashtag #wrongtrump, resulting in over 100,000 posts as it trended on Twitter.

“Dear Grim Reaper, you took the #wrongtrump,” Swan wrote on Sunday morning.

Swan’s post was met with criticism from Christians and Trump supporters, including conservative black commentators.

“You [are] going to hell. The Bible warned us of fake pastor,” Black conservative activist McKayla J wrote to Swan.

Swan quipped in response, “Do you want me to tell your mother or any of your other family members you said hi when I get there?”

“This person is a bishop??” another black commenter asked. “Who ordained him please? The devil??”

Another black user wrote,  “1 John 4:20 – If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar, for…

President Trump said Monday God has tested him during the economic crisis sparked by the pandemic.

Trump made the comments during a stop in Mankato, Minn., where he discussed the campaign and his Democratic opponent, Joe Biden.

“We built the greatest economy in the history of the world and now I have to do it again,” he told a crowd of supporters that was gathered outside at the airport near Air Force One. “You know what that is? That’s right, that’s God testing me. He said, ‘You know, you did it once,’ and I said, ‘Did I do a great job, God? I’m the only one that could do it.’ He said, ‘That you shouldn’t say. Now we’re going to have you do it again.’ I said, ‘OK, I agree. You got me.’”

Trump discussed other issues, including differences between him and Biden on judges. Referencing potential nominations to the Supreme Court by Biden, Trump said, “You will change this country around. It will be irreversible.”

“I think this is going to be the most important election in the history of our country,” Trump said. “This is a very, very big deal going on. Joe Biden is the puppet of left-wing extremists, trying to erase our borders, eliminate our police, indoctrinate our children, vilify our heroes and take away our energy.”

Biden, he said, would “destroy our Second Amendment, attack the right to life and replace American freedom with left-wing…

A new podcast by Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson has climbed the charts, sparked discussion and led to an unforeseen blessing for the outspoken Christian: fans wanting to be baptized by him.

The Unashamed with Phil Robertson podcast launched in 2019 and currently ranks in the Top 10 in Apple’s religion and spiritual podcasts.

“We’re reaching out to our neighbor and we’re telling them to love their God – repent and turn to God – walk like Jesus did. Love God and love your neighbor,” Robertson said of the podcast on a recent episode of Edifi with Billy Hallowell.

Despite him living in rural Louisiana, Robertson says fans drive to his area to be baptized by the patriarch of the Duck Dynasty clan.

“They’re coming from that podcast,” he said. “… About nine or maybe 10, in the last three days, they’ve come all the way down here. … And I baptized that whole little crew. It’s that way every day or two. They just keep coming.”

Referencing concerns some might have about baptizing strangers during a pandemic, Robertson said, “I baptized ‘em, and I’m still kicking.”

Robertson also has a television show, In the Woods With Phil on BlazeTV, and a new book, Jesus Politics: How to Win Back the Soul of America.

“I’m down here in the woods. I live a quiet life. I mind my own business. I work hard with my hands. … I’m not dependent on anybody, including…

In a culture defined by anxiety, toxic habits, and information overload, Pastor Levi Lusko is urging Christians to quiet the noise and take ownership of their God-given purpose.

In an interview with The Christian Post, Lusko, the lead pastor of Fresh Life Church, a multisite church in Montana and Utah, said he believes the COVID-19 pandemic is forcing millions to confront fissures in their lives — and most don’t know how to do so in a healthy way. 

“This time is exposing what maybe was already there all along: Toxic habits, unhealthy patterns of thinking, numbing medications, living on adrenaline and coffee, two hours of sleep,” the 38-year-old pastor said. “We’re chronically overloaded, overwhelmed, and lack a margin lifestyle. In this cultural moment, we’re overstimulated by screens and stimulants.”

“Soldiers don’t get PTSD when they’re overseas; they get it when they get home because everything settles down and then their body starts to feel the miles and the physical and psychological abuse they’ve been put through,” he continued. “The reason…