Best-selling author and singer Sheila Walsh has shared how her battle with depression and suicidal thoughts allowed her to experience the power of Jesus — and why the Church must “wake up” to the number of pastors struggling with mental illness.

Walsh, an internationally-known speaker and Bible teacher, recalled to The Christian Post how, twenty-six years ago, she checked herself into the psychiatric ward of a hospital. She was diagnosed with clinical depression, a devastating condition affecting more than 16.1 million American adults.

“At the time, I was serving as the co-host of The 700 Club show on Christian Broadcasting Network,” she said. “I knew how to put on a good face and isolate myself from people. I was surrounded by people, a ministry leader, but so desperately lonely and depressed. Up until that point, I’d based so much of God’s love on me getting everything right. When you end up in a psych hospital, that platform has been pulled from beneath you.”

While at the hospital, Walsh said she was overwhelmed with a sense of God’s presence in the midst of her…

At a Bible camp hosted by Siloam Christian Ministries in Peru, dozens of children gave their lives to Jesus.

According to Christian Today, Siloam Christian Ministries, a UK-based ministry, hosted a Bible camp for impoverished and underprivileged youths from the Coma district of Lima, Peru. 

Christian Today reports that 66 children between the ages of 12 and 16 attended the camp where they played games, did crafts, participated in Bible studies and worshiped together. 

According to Siloam Ministries, 27 children gave their lives to Jesus by the end of the camp. 

The ministry noted that most of the kids who attended the camp came from “one-parent or dysfunctional families” and as such volunteers at the camp were specially trained to engage with the kids. 

“It takes about three days for youngsters to really express how they feel about themselves and their difficult home situations,” Camp director Margot Alzamora said. “Our caring teachers and counselors are trained to engage with the children and the issues they face.”

According to CBN News, the theme for the camp was “Our Eternal Father,” and volunteers sought to teach the children to look past their circumstances and know that they have a God who loves them. 

“Our ethos is to reach out with the Gospel wherever needed most,” the director of Siloam UK Richard Norton said. “That is why we chose to partner…

The United Methodist Church’s highest court has ruled that a plan that would change the mainline denomination’s official position against homosexuality is largely constitutional.

The UMC will hold a special session of General Conference next February with the intention of ending the internal debate over the Church’s stance on LGBT issues.

The United Methodist Judicial Council reviewed the constitutionality of the three main plans proposed to end the debate and issued a ruling last Friday.

Regarding the “One Church Plan,” which would allow local bodies within the Church to determine their position on homosexuality, the Judicial Council concluded that most of the petitions in the plan were constitutional.

In Decision 1366, the Judicial Council stated that…

There is no shortage of Christians in the NFL, from the newly baptized Giant Odell Beckham, Jr. to the Greenbay’s veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Recently, L.A. Ram’s wide receiver Brandin Cooks announced his place in the long tradition of Christianity in the NFL. 

Though Cooks has talked about his faith in the past, recently he has been flooding his social media with encouraging posts about God and the bible.

Most recently, on October 29, Cooks took to Twitter with a message that said, “Faith in the unseen!”

Faith in the unseen!

— Brandin Cooks (@brandincooks) October 29, 2018

The Oregon State University alumni posted on October 26, “Love those who persecute you. Pray for them.” 

Love those who persecute you. Pray for them

— Brandin Cooks (@brandincooks) October 26, 2018

Two days prior he tweeted 1 Peter 5:7 simply writing, “Cast all your anxiety on him for he cares.”

Cast all your anxiety on him for he cares

— Brandin Cooks (@brandincooks) October 24, 2018

Another time the atheleted professed his love for God was on October 5 when he tweeted, “Jesus is the Light of the World.”

Jesus Is the light of the world whoever follows him will never be in darkness

— Brandin Cooks (@brandincooks) October 5, 2018

Cooks’ Twitter feed is littered with inspirational quotes about Christianity and faith as well as Bible…

Bishop Paul S. Morton, founding presiding bishop of The Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship International which encompasses some 5,000 churches and 1 million members, confirmed on Saturday that his “spiritual son,” who leads a megachurch, engaged in “multiple” sexual relationships. Morton apologized to the women involved. 

“I was recently made aware of a situation involving one of my spiritual sons, Bishop Victor Couzens, being involved in multiple relationships that caused me concern. I spoke with Bishop Couzens about his actions as they were not in alignment with the level of character I expect of pastors, especially one that is my spiritual son. He has repented and tendered his resignation as the Bishop of College of Elders of Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship,” Morton said in a statement. 

“Though I understand the relationships were consensual, I want to also offer an apology to the young ladies…

The daughter of a British World War I veteran says a bullet-scarred pocket Bible saved her father’s life.

Ena Thompson, 87, described during a recent speech at the Royal British Legion’s 2018 Poppy Appeal how her father’s life was spared. 

Her father, 23-year-old Private Leslie Friston, was recovering in a hospital bed from a gas attack when a German plane flew overhead in 1917 and machine-gunned the building, Sky News reported. The Bible was on his bedside table. Without the Bible, the bullets could have ricocheted and killed Friston.  

“He said the Bible saved his life as it took the brunt of the attack,” Thompson said.

She added, “If the bullets had landed just a few inches further towards him, he would not have survived — and I wouldn’t be here today.”

Thompson now owns the Bible. 

“It still has his name and his service number in it which he wrote,” she said. 

“When I hold the Bible I just get a special feeling. It might sound a bit strange but it makes me feel comfortable and happy. It’s a nice feeling that it saved his life. It makes me feel close to him.”

Like many veterans, Friston did not want to talk about the war, Thompson said. His younger brother died during it but his older brother survived, Sky News reported. He died in 1958.

“I used to ask him ‘Would you tell me about the war…?’ and he would say ‘No, I don’t want to…

Fantasy sports gambling is a multi-billion dollar industry in the United States — but should Christians participate? Theologian John Piper recently shared seven reasons why he believes the answer is “no.”

Piper, founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College and Seminary, weighed in on the issue in response to a reader, who revealed he spends $20–$50 a week gambling on fantasy football.

“Is modest online sports gambling sinful?” the reader asked.

Online gambling in general, little or big, is sinful — whether you call it modest or exorbitant, Piper began.

“I’ve got seven reasons, at least, that I would encourage this young man to consider in order to rethink the way he spends his time and his money as a Christian,” he said.

First, Piper reminded the reader that he has one single life to live on this earth. Every day, he said, should be lived for the glory of God and is either “invested well” or “lost forever.”

“Our friend calls himself a big sports fan. He says he absolutely loves fantasy football. He speaks of multiple avenues of playing. He talks about putting money on the line. I would say all this time, all this intensity, all this money shows things are…