A Missouri city is defying an atheist group’s demands by keeping up a large cross in a public park – at least, for now.

The city of Ozark, Mo., initially sent out a press release Tuesday to media members saying it was removing the cross after receiving a letter from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which says the cross on public land is unconstitutional. The cross, which is lit at night, is part of a Christmas-themed display at Finley River Park.

But shortly after the press release went out – and after citizens expressed outrage — Ozark Mayor Rick Gardner ordered that the cross remain standing.

“The controversy about the lighted Cross in the park is not over,” he wrote on his Facebook page. “The cross is NOT down and will be lighted tonight. We have heard your thoughts and agree with them. We are now assessing all our options for addressing this situation. Stay tuned.”

This doesn’t mean the cross will remain up for good. It only means Gardner wants more time to consider the issue with city officials. He told the Springfield News-Leader he received hundreds of messages supporting the cross. 

“Everybody wants it up,” Gardner said. “One lady is crying. This is part of Ozark. This is Christian County, for Pete’s sake.”

Ozark is the seat of Christian County, Mo.

He added, “This is a complicated constitutional issue. It’s sure not going…

WASHINGTON (RNS) — The Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., which towers above other buildings near the White House, is best known for hosting global diplomats and prominent dignitaries in its lavish facilities.

But last Friday afternoon (Dec. 7), one of the hotel’s many glimmering ballrooms was transformed into a sanctuary, where dozens of worshippers held their hands aloft and spoke in tongues as Jon Hamill, co-founder of Washington, D.C.-based Lamplighter Ministries, led the group in prayer.

Hamill — whom supporters describe as a prophet — closed his eyes tightly and shouted above the chattering: “In Jesus’ name, we declare the Deep State will not prevail!”

He then hammered a judge’s gavel onto a podium as people raised their voices in approval.

It may seem unusual to mix ecstatic worship with a popular conservative theory that Donald Trump’s administration is being sabotaged from within by government officials installed by previous presidents. But last week’s Revolution 2018 conference (Dec. 6-8), organized by Hamill and Lamplighter Ministries, offered a rare glimpse into a peculiar subgroup of faith-fueled Trump support: a loose network of charismatic Christians who see his election and presidency as a catalyst for a spiritual “turnaround” in America, even as the nation is under siege by forces of spiritual evil.

Speakers at the conference described visions, prophesies, direct conversations with God and encounters with angelic beings — all hallmarks of charismatic Christianity. But while some…

Outspoken Christian and veteran TV show host Kathie Lee Gifford announced Tuesday that she will be leaving the Today Show. 

After more than 10 years on the air, CBN News reports that Gifford has decided to leave NBC in April. A staff memo obtained by The Hollywood Reporter announced the news saying, “Kathie Lee is generously staying with us through the show’s next anniversary, April 7, 2019. We will have much more to share before then about our plans for that hour, which will, of course, continue to include Hoda.”

Gifford confirmed the report on the Today Show with her co-host Hoda Kotb. She said, “In 2008, I joined the Today show family intending to spend one year, but something unexpected happened along the way: I fell in love with a beautiful, talented, extraordinary Egyptian goddess named Hoda, and an amazing group of individuals who work tirelessly and joyfully at their jobs, many of them starting at midnight, creating an unprecedented four hours of live television.”

She continued, “I stayed year after year making a million memories with people I will never forget. I leave Today with a grateful heart but I’m truly excited for this new creative season in my life. Many thanks to all the wonderful people who made the years fly by.”

Kotb jumped in to tearfully thank Gifford for the time they have had together. She said, “The minute you stepped…

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) has filed a friend-of-the-court brief pushing the Supreme Court to review an abortion case out of Indiana.

The case, Box v. Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky (PPINK), deals with two provisions of Indiana law that were overturned by the lower federal courts. Humane disposal of the remains of aborted babies is called for in one provision, while the second provision bans abortions that are based on the sex, race, or disability of the unborn baby. The ACLJ filed the amicus brief on behalf of itself and parents from 44 families who gave birth to “children born with various disorders including Down Syndrome, Noonan Syndrome, Patau Syndrome, Turner Syndrome, Edwards Syndrome, Meckel-Gruber Syndrome, Potter Syndrome, spina bifida, and congenital heart disease, among others.”

The brief emphasizes the love each family felt for their unborn child, regardless of the diagnosis: “learning of these prenatal diagnoses did not change the love these parents felt for their children. Though many of these families ultimately lost their children, these parents do not consider that to have diminished the importance of the children’s lives. Indiana’s law protects children like theirs and recognizes that unborn children deserve protection from invidious discrimination.”

The state of Indiana is requesting that…