Rebels in Ukraine’s Luhansk region are reportedly raiding Christian churches.

According to reports, the group, which controls Luhansk, has demanded that churches re-register as a religious organization, but the rebel group is denying approvals for those registrations.

Forum 18, a Norwegian human rights organization, says neither Baptist nor Seventh-day Adventist churches have been allowed to re-register.

There are also reports that Protestant churches have been raided in the past few months. In September, rebels raided a Baptist church in Brianka and the pastor of the church is facing possible punishment for allowing worship without registration.

In another instance, police officers shut down the morning worship service at Revival Baptist Church. Pastor Dmitry Sirbu is facing legal threats for allowing the worship gathering.

In August, armed men reportedly raided Grace Church of God Pentecostal Church in Alchevsk during the church’s worship. The group forced the church to lie on the floor while the men seized church computers.

Andrei Litsoev, head of the Religious Organizations and Spirituality Department of the Culture, Youth and Sport Ministry in Luhansk, hasn’t commented on why the churches are being denied registration.

According to The Christian Post, Catholic churches in the area are waiting to hear on their own applications for registration.

Luhansk authorities say…

Four years after becoming the first major CEO to come out as gay, Apple’s Tim Cook says he has no regrets.

“I’m very proud of it – yes, absolutely. To me, it is God’s greatest gift to me,” Cook told CNN in a new interview. 

Cook further said he came out as gay to support children who are being bullied.  

“I am a private person,” Cook said, describing his struggle to make his sexuality public. He added he wanted to show children that “you can be gay and still go on and do some big jobs in life – that there’s a path there. That is the reason I did it.”

Asked his thoughts on the Trump administration’s debate over the definition of gender, Cook said, “My strong view is that everybody should be treated with dignity and respect, and that’s the way I look at everyone.”

Cook’s comments about God sparked a debate on social media.

“I love Tim Cook and Apple but that’s a stupid comment,” Holly Elizabeth wrote on CNN International’s Facebook page. “God didn’t make you gay. It was a personal choice.”

Another person, Marcia N. Smith, wrote, “I wonder which God is that because it isn’t the God of the Bible.”

Others, though, applauded Cook. 

“I for one am happy to hear he gives Glory to God for his happiness,” Marlon Wilson wrote.

Michael Foust is a freelance writer. Visit his blog, 

Dave Stone, senior pastor of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky, who announced his retirement at age 57, said he chose to step down from the helm of the 25,000-member church to make way for younger leadership.

“I’ve seen a lot of church leaders and business CEOs who have stayed longer than they should have,” Stone told WDRB News in a recent interview. 

Stone announced in September that over the next six- to-nine months he will be handing over the church’s senior pastor responsibilities to 42-year-old Kyle Idleman who is serving as Southeast Christian’s teaching pastor. He told WDRB that his mentor, former Southeast Christian Pastor Bob Russell, retired from the helm of the church in 2006 at age 62 to make way for his leadership.

“He chose to step aside because he knew that the way to influence a church, and to help it grow younger, is by having younger leadership,” Stone said.

Stone expanded the church from its main campus in Louisville to include six satellite campuses during his tenure and he believes that the church’s growth will continue under Idleman.

“If you believe in your heart that those who don’t…

Lauren Daigle made her Ellen debut on Tuesday when she took to The Ellen Show stage to perform the hit song “Still Rolling Stones” from her new album. 

On Tuesday, award-winning Christian artist Lauren Daigle appeared on The Ellen Show, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, and had the opportunity to worship God through music. 

Daigle, who met DeGeneres briefly in 2010 at her American Idol audition, serenaded the studio audience singing the lyrics: “Now that You saved me / I sing ’cause You gave me / A song of revival.” 

As Daigle sent praise up to the Lord, she was able to bring church to the Ellen Stage and illustrate her love for Christ in an impactful and engaging way.

After her performance, DeGeneres announced that she would be giving everyone in the audience a copy of Daigle’s new album Look Up Child.

Many are seeing Daigle’s appearance on Ellen as a breakthrough in Hollywood and in the music industry for Christians and Christian music.

One YouTube user commented on the video of Daigle’s performance that was posted by “The Ellen Show” channel saying, “I am genuinely surprised to see a christian artist appear on ellen! And i have to say, as a lauren daigle fan, im not complaining! i hope millions of people come to know God as their savior because of this!”

Another person took to social media to express her amazement at Daigle’s performance writing on…

An Oregon couple who closed their bakery after being fined $135,000 for refusing to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding is asking the Supreme Court to intervene in their case. 

Aaron and Melissa Klein, who owned Sweet Cakes by Melissa in Gresham, were fined by the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries in 2015 after they refused to bake a cake for a wedding with two brides. At the time, the Bureau of Labor and Industries also told them that they were not allowed to “cease and desist” from stating the conviction that their beliefs exempt them from baking cakes for same-sex weddings. 

The Kleins took their case to the Oregon Court of Appeals, who rejected their appeal but lifted the restriction on speaking their convictions. They next appealed to the Oregon Supreme Court, who denied their appeal this summer.

The Klein’s attorneys filed a petition on Monday, asking that their case be heard before the Supreme Court. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Colorado bakery that refused to bake a same-sex wedding cake. However, that 7-2 decision focused on the Colorado Civil Rights Commission’s hostility towards the owner’s religious beliefs. Observers believe that ruling did not settle the issue in other cases where that kind of overt hostility was not on display.

Two weeks ago, the United Kingdom’s highest court ruled in…

Two middle school girls were arrested in Bartow, Florida on Tuesday, after plotting to kill fifteen classmates as an act of Satan worship.

According to Fox 13, two middle school girls, one 11 and one 12-years-old, brought scissors, knives and a pizza cutter to school with them in order to stab, kill and dismember unsuspecting students in a school restroom.

“They wanted to kill at least 15 people and were waiting in the bathroom for opportunity to find smaller kids they could overpower to be their victims,” Bartow Police Chief Joe Hall said at a press conference on Wednesday.

According to CBN News, investigators believe the girls planned on drinking the blood of their victims’ out of a goblet in worship of the devil. Investigators were told by the girls that they hatched the plan over the weekend.

“As I sat there last night and watched these interviews, I do not believe this was a joke,” Hall said.

Reportedly, the school’s vice principal found the girls in the bathroom before anyone was harmed after one of the girls was reported missing from her classroom. 

Local authorities have searched the girls’ homes and reportedly found a map of the school with the words “Go to kill in bathroom,” written on it. 

Fox 13 also reports that police found text messages between the girls about the planned attacks.

According to Police, one of the…