The Lilly Endowment has donated a combined $70 million to dozens of Christian colleges and ministries across the nation to help them establish pastor support networks and programs in 29 states.

The Indianapolis-based philanthropic organization is awarding 78 institutions nationwide grants ranging from $31,000 to $1 million through its Thriving in Ministry initiative to help develop or further programs to assist pastors in building relationships and help them deal with the wide range of issues they could face in urban, rural or suburban ministry life.

Grantees include various theological schools, faith-based colleges and universities, church congregations, denominational agencies, independent religious organizations and religious communities that span mainline, evangelical, Catholic and orthodox Christian traditions.

Azusa Pacific University, a private evangelical university in the suburbs of Los Angeles, received nearly $1 million from the endowment. The school plans to use the money to help launch a new certificate course in pastoral health that among other things will help inner city pastors deal with the trauma of urban life.

According to APU Center for Vocational Ministry Executive Director…

Two Christian filmmakers are going before the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Paul, Minnesota on Tuesday, to challenge the state’s law that is forcing them to create videos that contradict their religious beliefs.

According to CBN, Telescope Media Group owners Carl and Angel Larsen wanted to enter into the wedding industry, but the state’s Human Rights Act prohibits the couple from pursuing this avenue unless they make films promoting same-sex marriage, a union that their Christian beliefs define as between one man and one woman.

“The government shouldn’t threaten filmmakers with fines and jail time to force them to create films that violate their beliefs,” said their counsel, Alliance Defending Freedom Jeremy Tedesco in a press release. “Carl and Angel are storytellers – they script, stage, conduct interviews, capture footage, select music, edit and more – all to tell compelling stories through film that promote their religious beliefs.” 

“The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in Masterpiece that the government must respect the belief—held by countless Americans from all walks of life—that marriage is between one man and one woman,” he continued. “The 8th Circuit should reinstate the Larsens’ lawsuit and order the state to stop forcing the Larsens to speak messages about marriage that violate their beliefs.”

The Larsens previously…

Thousands from across the nation will gather at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, this weekend for a millennial-led evangelism event focused on calling and equipping the next generation to move closer to one another, Jesus, and the world He loves.

PULSE founder Nick Hall, who has been called “the next Billy Graham,” told The Christian Post that Together 2018, held Saturday and Sunday, is the culmination of a number of movements, ministries, and denominations wanting to worship Jesus and equip the next generation to share “go out and make disciples of all nations.”

“Together 2018 is a massive training and commission event geared toward millennials and Gen Z,” he said. “This is a revival generation. If revival is going to happen, we feel like now is the time to equip this generation for the best of what’s available. We want to bring Christians from all over the nation together in prayer to empower the Church and awaken the culture to Jesus.”

The free event will feature a number of prominent pastors, speakers, and recording artists including Hall, Matt Chandler, Francis Chan, Hillsong Worship, Andy Mineo, Jesus Culture, Lecrae, Priscilla…

The city of Atlanta agreed Monday to pay former fire chief Kelvin Cochran $1.2 million, four years after he was suspended and then fired for publishing a book containing historic Christian beliefs.

Cochran’s self-published 162-page book, “Who Told You That You Were Naked?: Overcoming the Stronghold of Condemnation,” included Bible verses addresses sexuality and homosexuality. It was the latter topic that sparked a controversy and an investigation and eventually, his termination. He wrote the book on non-work time. 

A federal court ruling in December 2017 ruled against a city policy that required employees to get permission from the government before writing books or giving speeches. The judge said the policy was too broad and “stifled speech.”

On Monday, the city council agreed to pay Cochran $1.2 million. 

Alliance Defending Freedom represented Cochran.

“The government can’t force its employees to get its permission before they engage in free speech. It also can’t fire them for exercising that First Amendment freedom, causing them to lose both their freedom and their livelihoods,” said ADF senior counsel Kevin Theriot, who argued before the court. “We are very pleased that the city is compensating Chief Cochran as it should, and we hope this will serve as a deterrent to any government that would trample upon the constitutionally…

A group of evangelical bishops have sent a warning about the consequences that could arise if the Church of England decides to alter its stance on sexuality.

Eleven bishops affiliated with the Church of England Evangelical Council signed onto a joint letter sent Saturday to the head of the Church of England’s Living in Love and Faith project, which was established last summer by the House of Bishops as a two-year initiative to develop a deeper understanding on sexuality in light of the cultural push for LGBT affirmation and rights.

The project will culminate in the production of teaching resources expected to be released in 2020.

The letter sent to the Bishop of Coventry Christopher Cocksworth urges him and other leaders involved in the LLF initiative to clearly articulate the “traditional teaching” of sexuality in which intercourse is only permitted in the confines of a one man-one woman marriage.

The letter also urges those involved with the project to “enable us as a church better to understand and proclaim this unchangeable Christian standard afresh in…

A biological male who identifies as female won a cycling world championship Sunday, sparking controversy over fairness in athletics. 

Rachel McKinnon won the 35-44 female age bracket at the UCI Masters track cycling championships in Los Angeles 

“First transgender woman world champion…ever*” McKinnon wrote on Twitter.

McKinnon is an assistant professor at the College of Charleston. 

Carolien Van Herrikhuyzen of the Netherlands and Jennifer Wagner of the U.S. finished second and third, respectively. Wagner wrote on Twitter, “I was the 3rd place rider. It’s definitely NOT fair.”

In January, McKinnon told USA Today that the debate over fairness misses the mark. 

“We cannot have a woman legally recognized as a trans woman in society, and not be recognized that way in sports,” McKinnon said. “Focusing on performance advantage is largely irrelevant because this is a rights issue. We shouldn’t be worried about trans people taking over the Olympics. We should be worried about their fairness and human rights instead.”

McKinnon has said the debate over testosterone is irrelevant, although McKinnon says she is under the maximum testosterone levels as required by UCI.

Jillian Bearden, a cyclist and a transgender woman who was born male, said testosterone gives athletes a natural boost. 

“I’ve proven how powerful…

Evangelist Greg Laurie has suggested that a massive Jesus revival in America could lead to Christians being snatched from Earth, removing the U.S. from the End Times conflict.

Speaking with PureFlix on Sunday in a Facebook video, Laurie, who pastors Harvest Christian Fellowship in California, recalled that one of the earmarks of the Jesus movement of the 1960s and 1970s was that people believed Jesus was coming soon.

The pastor insisted that the Christians of that time were not wrong to believe that, noting that “we’ve never been closer to the return of Jesus than right now.”

He said that looking at Bible prophecy, he doesn’t see anything specifically that needs to happen before Christ returns to remove believers from the Earth, which is sometimes called the rapture of the Church.

“When you look at the major superpowers of the world, you can find Israel, you can maybe find Russia, China, you can definitely find Iran-Persia, but why is there is no clear identification of the reigning super power, the United States of America?” he said, referring to End Times scripture found in the book of Revelation.

“We know that the players of the last days will be the forces…