Police Threaten to Arrest Christian Family If Daughter Isn’t Returned to Muslim Abductor in Pakistan

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Police Threaten to Arrest Christian Family If Daughter Isn’t Returned to Muslim Abductor in Pakistan

Pakistani Christians (Photo: Reuters/Mohsin Raza)

Christian Post Report – Members of the Pakistani Christian community hold candles during a protest rally to condemn Sunday’s suicide attack in Peshawar on a church, with others in Lahore, September 23, 2013. A pair of suicide bombers blew themselves up outside the 130-year-old Anglican church in Pakistan after Sunday mass, killing at least 78 people in the deadliest attack on Christians in the predominantly Muslim country.

A Pakistani Christian mother of three who was kidnapped and forced into an Islamic marriage with her Muslim landlord last summer has escaped from her captor and is now in hiding, as local authorities have threatened to arrest members of her family if she is not returned to her abductor.

Thirty-year-old Fouzia Sadiq, whose entire family works as bonded laborers at a brick kiln in Pattoki owned by 60-year-old Muslim Muhammed Nazir, was called to come to Nazir’s home on one of her off days last July to provide cleaning services because he was expecting guests.

Although Fouzia’s family was expecting her to return home later that day, she never returned. As previously reported, Fouzia’s brother went to Nazir’s home to inquire about his sister and was told that she would return the next day. When Fouzia did not return the next day, her brother went back to the landlord and was told not to return to the home because Fouzia committed to a marriage with Nazir and was now considered to be his property.

The family then went to the police and requested that the department to investigate the abduction. According to the British Pakistani Christian Association, the police initially failed to lodge an incident report on Fouzia’s kidnapping. It wasn’t until BPCA officer Mehwish Bhatti challenged the police officials on their refusal to register the case that the department finally lodged a report.

BPCA hired a Muslim lawyer who was referred to them to handle the case. After the lawyer met with a local imam, he attempted to delay the judicial process because he came to the conclusion that Fouzia’s marriage to Nazir was legitimate.

As Fouzia has spent over half a year in the clutches of Nazir, the family was able to devise a plan with her, through a secret phone to help her escape.

With the help of her family, Fouzia was able to escape earlier this week and is now hiding out in a BPCA safe house.

“God has worked a miracle. I never thought I would see my sister again! Our whole family has grieved her loss as if she was dead,” Fouzia’s brother told BPCA. “Now, she is free [and] we will do whatever we can to make sure she is not forced backed into the depravity her Muslim captor subjected her to.”

Nazir’s family responded to Fouzia’s escape by accusing Fouzia of stealing gold jewelry. BPCA, however, maintains that the accusation of theft is false.

After Nazir accused Fouzia of theft, police officers went to Fouzia’s family home on the same day she escaped and told her disabled and elderly father that they will arrest a member of Fouzia’s family if she is not returned to Nazir.

According to BPCA, if Fouzia’s youngest unmarried sister had been home at the time, she could have been taken to Nazir in place of Fouzia. Luckily, she was out of the house with her brother at the time.

If Fouzia’s brother had been home when the police arrived, BPCA states that the police would have likely arrested and tortured him.

“If an adult son had been at home this would have been usual practice,” BPCA Chairman Wilson Chowdhry told The Christian Post. “Fortunately, Paris was away with his sister and the father is seriously ill and disabled. It seems police left the father as there would be a serious risk of him dying under torture or false imprisonment. Fathers have been arrested previously when police are trying to capture sons.”

BPCA has also moved Fouzia’s brother and youngest sister to safety by having them join Fouzia at the BPCA safe house.

The Christian organization has written to the British Embassy and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees requesting humanitarian visas for Fouzia, her brother and sister in order to get them to the safety of the Western world. Chowdhry will write a letter to the U.S. Embassy on Friday.

As for Fouzia’s three children, they are in the custody of their father, who separated from Fouzia before she was abducted.

BPCA is raising funds to help support Fouzia and her family, along with other Christians who are severely persecuted in Pakistan.

Over 1,000 women and girls are abducted, sexually assaulted and forced into Islamic marriages every year in Pakistan, a 2014 report by “Movement of Solidarity and Peace in Pakistan” states. An estimated 700 of those girls are Christians.

“We ask for the prayers and support from Christians everywhere,” Fouzia’s brother said. “There is a huge injustice happening in Pakistan and if you do not protect us and ignore our plight, one day it could be your daughters and sisters that are trapped. I pray Christians respond to our pain and offer help as we are desperate and need your assistance.”

Follow Samuel Smith on Twitter: @IamSamSmith

Source : Christian Post

Father of 5 Christian Children Seized by Norway Visits With Sons for First Time in Months

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Father of 5 Christian Children Seized by Norway Visits With Sons for First Time in Months

The Bodnariu family (Photo: Facebook/Norway, Return the children to Bodnariu Family)

Christian Post Report – The Bodnariu family.

The father of five Romanian Pentecostal children who were taken into custody by the Norwegian government last year was finally allowed to visit with his two oldest sons for the first time in nearly three months.

After the five children of Ruth and Marius Bodnariu were taken from their parents custody by the Barnevernet (Norway’s child services) last November based on allegations that they spanked their children, the authorities provided the Romanian Pentecostal parents with limited visitation rights.

Although both parents are allowed to visit their infant son, Ezechiel, twice per week, neither parent has been granted permission to visit with their two daughters, Eliana and Naomi. Even though Ruth has been granted permission to visit with their two oldest sons, Matei and Ioan, once per week for two-hour intervals, Marius was not granted any visitation rights with them.

But according to an update posted to the Bodnariu family’s website, Marius was finally allowed to visit with his sons on Tuesday for a total of two hours.

The visit comes after Marius was told by the Barnevernet that he would be allowed to visit with his sons last week but was later told that the visit had to be canceled because the agency was not able to prepare all the details for the visit.

Bodnariu protest (Photo: Norway Return The Children to Bodnariu Family)

Thousands of protesters gather in Baia Mare, Romania to support Ruth and Marius Bodnariu, whose five children were seized by the Norwegian government in November, on Jan. 30, 2016.

“It was emotional: two hours that Marius anticipated and waited for impatiently,” the post written by Pastor Cristian Ionescu, vice president of the Romanian Pentecostal Union in the United States and Canada, explained. “Ruth was filled with joy to see how happy the boys were to see Marius. Marius was happy to see the children’s joy, but also for Ruth who almost fell into depression last week when the visit was cancelled and delayed.”

Ionescu explained that the last time the boys visited with their mother, they expressed interest in eating hotdogs. During Tuesday’s visit, they were able to heat hot dogs with their father.

“Matei told the parents about a dream he had, a dream in which they were together again,” Ionescu wrote. “Marius asked him if all of them were together in the dream, to which Matei answered: ‘Yes, [we] were together, Eliana, Naomi, Ioan, Ezechiel, mama, papa and [myself].'”

Although Marius was overjoyed to visit with his two sons, the visit was “dampened” by issues that have not been made public due to the Barnevernet’s pending case against the parents.

“One thing is clear: the children miss and love the parents!” Ionescu, who is also the pastor of the Elim Romanian Pentecostal Church in Chicago, asserted. “God protects their fragile minds, even in dreams at night He comforts and encourages them!”

The Bodnariu parents will have to wait until at least March for their next court hearing to determine whether they can regain custody of their children. Before the hearing, the agency wants the parents to undergo a psychological evaluation.

The Bodnariu’s are not alone in their ordeal, as thousands of supporters have taken to the streets in cities all over the world to protest and call on the Norwegian government to release the children back to their parents.

As Norway has strict laws on how parents can punish their children, including laws against spankings, migrant families are susceptible to backlash from the Barnevernet if they do not fully understand the country’s parenting laws.

As thousands of Romanian Pentecostals have already protested outside of Norwegian embassies in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, India, Poland, Belgium, Czech Republic, and other Western nations, even more protests are scheduled for later this week.

Six protests will be held on Saturday in San Francisco, Madrid, Toronto, Athena, and in two Romanian cities. On Friday, one protest will be held on in Belgium.

Follow Samuel Smith on Twitter: @IamSamSmith

Source : Christian Post

Methodist Church Shares Christ’s Love for All in ‘Drive Thru Ashes’ Lenten Observance

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Methodist Church Shares Christ’s Love for All in ‘Drive Thru Ashes’ Lenten Observance

Ash Wednesday (Photo: Facebook/Munholland Church)

Christian Post Report – To commemorate Ash Wednesday, Munholland United Methodist Church of Metairie, Louisiana holds a “Drive Thru Ashes” event on Wednesday, February 10, 2016.

Faithful throughout the world participated in Ash Wednesday services yesterday at the start the Lenten season, and hundreds took the opportunity to join one Methodist congregation in its “Drive Thru Ashes” event.

Munholland United Methodist Church of Metairie sponsored a “Drive Thru Ashes” event in which hundreds of drivers received the ashy cross upon the forehead.

“This event is about taking the church into the community and meeting people where they are. Many of the people who came through yesterday were on their way to or from work or unable to attend services at their church,” said the Rev. Tim Smith of Munholland UMC to The Christian Post, explaining that this was the second year the congregation has hosted the event.

Ash Wednesday(Photo: Facebook/Munholland Church)A sign for the “Drive Thru Ashes” event at Munholland United Methodist Church of Metairie, Louisiana, which took place on Ash Wednesday 2016.

“They wanted to ‘start their day’ with the observance of Lent and the marking of ashes. It’s a reflection of the still strong spiritual hunger and desire still very much a part of people’s lives.”

Both this year and last hundreds of people went to the “Drive Thru Ashes” with Smith telling CP that many attendees this year had come the year before.

“We were very grateful they chose to return and it speaks of the power of this event in their lives and spiritual journey for Lent,” continued Smith.

“We ask each person, carload if there is anything we can pray for. They responded, sometimes with very personal concerns or burdens in their life, and we pray with them right there before we impose ashes. We believe it made it much more personal from them.”

In addition to prayer requests, volunteers for the drive thru also handed a Lenten devotional guide that included daily Bible readings and Lenten prayers.

Ash Wednesday(Photo: Reuters/Carlo Allegri)A woman receives ashes at St. Andrew’s church in observance of Ash Wednesday in the Manhattan borough of New York, March 5, 2014. Christians celebrated Ash Wednesday, which serves as a reminder that “as a man is dust, so unto dust he shall return” and marked the beginning of a 40-day period of Lent in the Roman Catholic calendar.

An annual holy day on the liturgical calendar followed by many Christian churches, Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season known as Lent.

Generally Ash Wednesday is observed with a worship service centered on spiritual discipline and a reminder that all people are destined to die.

A key part of the observance is when a pastor or priest takes palm branches from last year’s Palm Sunday and burns them to ashes and then places said ashes in the form of a cross on a person’s forehead.

When asked by CP what he hoped drivers took away from the “Drive Thru Ashes,” Smith replied many things, “first, that they know through this act they have communicated to God their intent to observe Lent and follow Jesus in His footsteps.

“Second, to feel loved and cared for through the personal prayers we were given the opportunity to share. This was often shown through a hand on the shoulder as we prayed for them.

“Third, that they would feel blessed through this experience and encounter with our church, ministers, staff and laypeople. [And] fourth, that they and the community would know we as a church are seeking to meet them where they are in their spiritual journey and be there for them.”

Source : Christian Post

Michael W. Smith to Play Jesus Christ Disciple in Tyler Perry’s ‘The Passion’

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Michael W. Smith to Play Jesus Christ Disciple in Tyler Perry’s ‘The Passion’

Yolanda Adams (Photo: Reuters/Danny Moloshok)

Christian Post Report – Yolanda Adams poses on arrival at the 53rd annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California, February 13, 2011.

Multiple Grammy Award-winning singers Yolanda Adams and Michael W. Smith are joining the cast of Tyler Perry’s Palm Sunday live performance of “The Passion.”

The musical event tells the 2000-year-old story of the last hours of Jesus Christ’s life on Earth. Adams will kick off the show with a special live performance and Smith will have dual roles in the production as two of Jesus’ disciples.

Narrated by Tyler Perry, Smith and Adams will be joined on stage with cast members Jencarlos Canela (Jesus Christ), Chris Daughtry (Judas), Prince Royce (the disciple Peter), Seal (Pontius Pilate) and Trisha Yearwood (Mary, the mother of Jesus).

“The Passion,” written by Peter Barsocchini (“High School Musical”) is set in modern day. It will follow the account of Jesus, as he presides over the Last Supper, and then is betrayed by Judas, put on trial by Pontius Pilate, convicted, crucified and resurrected.

The story will unfold live at some of New Orleans’ most iconic locations, while featuring a procession of hundreds of people carrying a 20-foot, illuminated cross from Champion Square outside the Superdome to the live stage at Woldenberg Park on the banks of the Mississippi River.

Harvest (Photo: The Christian Post/Edwin Tsuei)

Michael W. Smith performs at the annual Southern California Harvest Crusade at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, on Sunday, August 17, 2008.

“We are excited that New Orleans has been chosen as the location for ‘The Passion,’ New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said in a statement shared with The Christian Post.

Last week it was announced that the role of Jesus will be played by singer-songwriter Jencarlos Canela, a theater actor who debuted in the 2008 musical “Miami Libre” and currently stars on the NBC primetime show, “Telenovela.” Judas, the man who betrays Jesus, will be portrayed by singer and actor Chris Daughtry.

Along with Canela, Daughtry and Smith, Trisha Yearwood, the singer and host of Food Network’s “Trisha’s Southern Kitchen” is set to play the role of Mary, the mother of Jesus.

“‘The Passion’ is one of the most exciting and compelling projects that I have ever been involved with,” said music producer Adam Anders in a statement to CP. “I cannot wait to bring the greatest-story-ever-told to life through music in a way that has never been heard before. To be able to create new arrangements of some of the biggest songs of all time and to create a live film score is a creative dream for me.”

The elaborate production is a format originally created in the Netherlands by Eye2Eye Media’s Jacco Doornbos. The Dutch version of “The Passion” has been produced annually since 2011 and has aired for the last five consecutive years.

“The Passion” is scheduled to broadcast live on the FOX network on Palm Sunday, March 20.

Source : Christian Post

7 Reasons Why You Should Go Travelling Alone

CM Editor
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7 Reasons Why You Should Go Travelling Alone
 There’s no denying it is great to go on holidays with those closest to you in life, but that doesn’t mean you should completely rule out ever travelling on your own. In fact, in the following article we will look at 7 reasons why it’s great to explore the world on your own once in a while.

It’s Logistically Simple

Planning a holiday for you and another person or group of people who all have busy lives can be tricky. Although these problems can be solved by planning in advance, by choosing to travel alone you eliminate these issues completely.

Work through Your Bucket List

Are there things you have always wanted to do or places you have always wanted to visit that no-one else in your network of friends and relatives fancies? Whether it’s eating snails and frogs legs in France, exploring the rainforest or skiing in Hawaii; by going solo you get to experience the things you’ve always dreamed of without dragging loved ones along who just aren’t interested in it.

Quality Time Alone

As human beings we rarely get the opportunity to spend time alone and if you decide to travel alone you may be surprised at just how enjoyable it actually is. You have plenty of time to dream and ponder on deep thoughts that you usually keep locked away in the recesses of your mind. A trip alone can be a very life-changing and character building experience in this regard.

Meet New and Interesting People

Even if you are not the most extrovert person in the world, travelling alone can be a great way to improve your social skills. When you travel alone, it is amazing how much more approachable people will find you than if you were in a larger group. Always keep an open mind, while remaining safe and you will undoubtedly meet some great people along the way.

You Can Do Exactly What You Want

When you travel as a couple, family or small group there is the tendency to feel guilty if there are things you want to do that no-one else does, meaning that you miss out. However, when you are travel alone you don’t have to worry about what anyone else wants to do, and are free to do what you want when you want.

You Will Feel Empowered

While traveling in general can make you a smarter and better person, traveling alone can make you an even smarter and better person. It will seem daunting, especially if you hate going to cafes and cinemas alone, let alone going halfway across the world alone. However, if you take the plunge and face the fear and do it anyway, you will feel incredibly empowered.

You Avoid Any Drama

It’s often par the course to wait until you are in a relationship before having any big holiday and often these can make or break new relationships. If things go badly wrong, it can fill your time away with unwanted drama and misery. However, when you travel alone, you avoid the chance of any drama happening.

Gospel for Asia With held Hundreds of Millions Meant for ‘Urgent’ Needs, Says ECFA

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Gospel for Asia With held Hundreds of Millions Meant for ‘Urgent’ Needs, Says ECFA

Christian Post Report – A screen shot of Gospel for Asia’s Christmas catalogue.

Shortly before cutting ties with Gospel for Asia last October, the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability warned the organization’s leader, K.P. Yohannan, about a list of concerns it has with its financial accounting, including the withholding of hundreds of millions of donor dollars earmarked for “urgent” work overseas.

The warning is presented in a nine-page letter submitted as evidence in a class action lawsuit filed Monday against GFA, one of the largest missions agencies based in the U.S., alleging that the organization and several affiliates fraudulently solicited hundreds of millions of dollars in charitable donations, and misdirected the money into Yohannan’s personal empire.

In the letter dated Sept. 2, 2015, exactly one month before the ECFA cut ties with GFA, 16 key concerns about the way GFA conducts its financial affairs are highlighted.

Among the concerns are the presence of excessive cash balances held in partner field accounts in India and the use of trip participants to move hundreds of thousands of dollars out of the country that were not reported to U.S. authorities.

Concern was also raised about the use of nearly $20 million in donations earmarked for foreign missions for the construction of GFA’s new multimillion dollar headquarters in Texas.

Gospel for Asia (Photo: Screen Grab via HH Architects)

Gospel for Asia’s headquarters in Texas.

“Allegations were made that GFA had upwards of $150 million in partner field accounts, far more than necessary to provide appropriate operating reserves. During our visit on June 3, ECFA was informed that GFA field partner cash reserves were approximately $7 million,” said the letter signed by John C. Van Drunen, executive vice president of the ECFA.

“After ECFA requested detailed documentation of cash balances held by foreign field offices, on June 29, we discovered that GFA’s field partners had $259,437,098 on hand at March 31, 2014 and approximately $186 million in June 2015,” the letter noted.

When ECFA officials asked about the high cash balance in partner field accounts held in India, they were told “it was important to maintain the high balances in case the Indian government decided to block funds being transferred into the country.”

“The source of the balances was primarily from donor-restricted gifts to GFA, often raised in response to gift solicitations that communicated urgent field needs. ECFA staff expressed concern that the high reserves may not comply with ECFA Standards 4 and 7.1,” the letter continued.

It was only after the ECFA raised this concern that the organization put forward a plan to reduce the reserve cash balances to $72 million in late July and then to $11 million in late August. GFA staff told the ECFA that they had no control over field partners.

In a meeting with Yohannan in July as well, the ECFA said he told them he had no idea the field offices held such high cash balances.

“In our meeting on July 1, ECFA staff asked you what the GFA board would think if they knew of the high balances in partner field accounts. You indicated that neither the board nor you were aware of the magnitude of the balances. You responded, ‘They would be as surprised as I am,'” the letter noted.

The board was informed on July 13.

In further observations of the financial practices of GFA, the ECFA appeared dissatisfied with the reason the organization gave for using trip participants to hand-carry nearly $290,000 overseas.

“ECFA received concerns regarding GFA’s lack of disclosure with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security regarding a total of $287,500 of cash sent with trip participants that exceeded federal mandatory reporting during the years 2013, 2014, and 2015,” the organization noted.

“On June 3, ECFA reviewed this issue regarding compliance with ECFA Standard 4. When ECFA staff queried GFA concerning the reason that excessive cash was carried out of the U.S., GFA staff said the practice was used to avoid reporting the incoming cash in India,” it added.

ECFA officials didn’t buy it.

“ECFA observes that GFA has been transferring approximately $50 million from the U.S. to India per year. Thus, carrying in a few hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash to avoid reporting in India does not seem to be a sound basis for the practice,” it said. “While ECFA cannot conclusively determine if there was a sound basis to carry cash into India, we are clear that there is no justification to disobey U.S. law with respect to reporting cash carried out of the U.S.”

Source : Christian Post

Ciara Suing Rapper Ex-Fiance Future for Defamation

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Ciara Suing Rapper Ex-Fiance Future for Defamation

Christian Post Report – Singer Ciara arrives at the 2015 American Music Awards in Los Angeles, California, November 22, 2015.

Ciara Harris believes her ex-fiance and rapper Future has marred her public reputation. Now the R&B singer is suing him.

In the lawsuit obtained by the New York Daily News, Ciara, 30, says Future, who was born as Nayvadius DeMun Wilburn, publicly lied about paying $15,000 in child support and never seeing his child.

“Defendant has never paid the plaintiff ’15k a month’ for child support ever, but he made this statement deliberately to cast the plaintiff in a negative and disparaging light,” the lawsuit states.

While Future has claimed Ciara’s controlling nature has kept him from seeing his child, the singer said she has offered him multiple opportunities and he has done so 19 different times in 13 months.

“Some of those occasions spanned several days. (Ciara) has gone out of her way to bring the minor child to Georgia to spend time with the defendant,” the lawsuit states. “(Ciara) has never withheld the minor child from defendant and has offered numerous dates for visitation that the defendant has declined. Plaintiff’s name, professional reputation, reputation as a good mother and brand have been significantly injured.”

Despite her differences with the rapper, Ciara has been vocal about how much of a blessing their shared son is in her life.

“Honestly, I feel like everything in life happens for a reason and my son has been the greatest gift that God has given me in my life and been the most game-changing thing that’s happened to my life, in a necessary way,” she said on Power 105.1 FM’s syndicated radio show “The Breakfast Club” earlier this year.

According to the entertainer, she has already taught her son to praise Jesus.

“The other day we were saying, ‘Thank you, Jesus’ and I would say, ‘Say, thank you!’ And he would say, ‘Tank you!’ I’d say, ‘Je-sus’ and he’d say, ‘Yee-yus,'” she previously told People about her son. “It is so sweet!”

Although she only has one son, some believed the singer was also carrying another child by her boyfriend and Seattle Seahawks player Russell Wilson last year. The singer called in to the nationally syndicated “Russ Parr Morning Show” where she addressed pregnancy rumors started by fans who noticed that her normally slim figure was a little thicker around the mid-section.

Since some believed this was evidence of pregnancy, Ciara decided to respond by saying, “Of course not!”

“You know, it’s so funny, I might have had a cheeseburger a little too close to showtime. What’s funny is that I’ve learned, after pregnancy, your body changes differently,” she said on the radio show. “Listen, I can have a salad and it’ll be like ‘aww junk!’ [My stomach] was not that big, they exaggerated that. I’m not carrying anything in my belly but good food.”

Still, the singer has spoken about having children with the Seattle Seahawks’ Wilson in the future.

“I definitely [want more kids], yes. [Russell and I] discuss a lot of things … a lot of good things,” she previously told People.

Source : Christian Post

Cora Jakes Coleman Questions If God Told Le’Andria Johnson to Pass Out Cigarettes, Condoms

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Cora Jakes Coleman Questions If God Told Le’Andria Johnson to Pass Out Cigarettes, Condoms

Christian Post Report – “Preachers of Atlanta” premieres February 3, 2016. The cast features (l-r) Pastor Le’Andria Johnson, Pastor Canton Jones, Pastor Judah Swilley, Pastor Corey Hambrick and Pastor Kimberly Jones-Pothier. Premieres Feb. 3 at 10 p.m. ET.

Would God really tell Grammy Award winning gospel singer and pastor Le’Andria Johnson to minister to prostitutes by giving them cigarettes and condoms?

Bishop T.D. Jakes’ daughter and Faithing It: Bringing Purpose Back to Your Life! author Cora Jakes Coleman doesn’t seem to think so. After catching wind of the Oxygen show “Preachers Of Atlanta,” Coleman admits that her spirit was troubled when she witnessed Johnson’s actions.

“It vexed my spirit to sit back and watch it. I cannot wrap my head around God telling someone to give somebody a cigarette,” Coleman said on Periscope, according to EEW Magzine reports. “She says that she cusses, she drinks, but at the end of the day, when the Lord tells her to do something, she does it.”

The daughter of the famed senior pastor at The Potter’s House in Dallas, Texas, went on to speak about Johnson’s claims that God told her to lead such an unconventional ministry.

“I feel like when you start saying, ‘God told me to do this’ and ‘God said so and so,’ that you have to be careful with that because you have to be held accountable for what you said that God told you to do,” she said.

However, Johnson, the 33-year-old pastor and founder of Imperfect People Changing Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia, explained her ministry to Entertainment Tonight.

“I want to meet them where they are, you know? And the best thing that I can do [is] dress up like them … and start a conversation, create a conversation,” Johnson told Entertainment Tonight. “By the end of that conversation, then I can be like, ‘OK, let me take this wig off, you know, let me come back. I’m gonna meet you at this place, let me come back and I’m dressed in regular clothes,’ and they gonna be like, ‘Who are you?’ And I’m like, ‘The same girl that was in them shorts and fishnets.'”

It is hard for the youth minister to agree with Johnson’s representation of Christ.

“This is a poor representation of what we as preachers and ministers of the gospel are supposed to be showing the people of God,” she said. “..We have to be very careful about what we allow people to see. There is an issue I have when you open up the world to seeing your struggle in such a way and then you don’t offer a resolution or a solution or wisdom or encouragement or something right off the bat.”

While Johnson allowed cameras to follow her as she cursed at her husband on the show, Coleman believes the pastor needs to be concentrating on her home, which is her “first ministry.”

“You are not concentrating on your first ministry,” Coleman said. “I think there is a thin line between being a preacher and cussing your husband out in the parking lot. I feel like if we continue to condone sin and we continue to allow sin to be okay, that we will really lose the integrity of our church and it’s not good.”

Source : Christian Post

Newboys Starting ‘Love Riot’ After Achieving First Platinum Record

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Newboys Starting ‘Love Riot’ After Achieving First Platinum Record

Newsboys (Photo: Newsboys)

Christian Post Report – (L-R) Jody Davis, Jeff Frankenstein, Duncan Phillips and Michael Tait are Newsboys.

After three decades in the music industry, the Newsboys have decided to do something different.

The Christian rock band, consisting of Duncan Phillips, Jody Davis, Jeff Frankenstein and Michael Tait, has decided to start a Love Riot.

Love Riot is the name of the group’s 19th studio album, which was inspired by their desire to spread love to people who need it.

“When I speak from stage, I often talk about love,” Newsboys frontman Michael Tait said in a statement obtained by CP. “Darkness has been so prevalent in our culture. Let’s have a love riot — it’s time.”

One of the ten songs featured on the record record is called “Guilty,” which also happens to be featured in the upcoming film “God’s Not Dead 2” that the band also appears in. However, the album is not going to focus on what’s wrong with the world, according to the band’s drummer.

“It doesn’t work to get out there and point a finger,” drummer Duncan Phillips said in a statement. “We want to impact the world with a straight and true message, and deliver it with all-encompassing love.”

Last year, the group passed a major milestone by officially receiving a platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for their song “God’s Not Dead (Like A Lion).” The song, released on the independent contemporary Christian music record label Inpop Records, was one of the first Platinum certifications in Christian music last year, which means it sold at least one million units.

Mark Lusk, president of Inpop Records, spoke about the importance of the Daniel Bashta written record “God’s Not Dead,” which was released in 2011.

“‘God’s Not Dead’ is among Christian music’s most significant songs of the decade,” Lusk said in a statement. “Newsboys’ impassioned performance of Daniel’s powerfully-penned statement of Truth is not only a defining song in Inpop’s history, but it continues to encourage people around the world to stand for Christ.”

Although Newsboys have sold more than 8 million units, garnered eight Gold certifications with 33 number one radio hits with numerous Dove awards and Grammy nominations, the group only received their first platinum record last year.

In a previous interview with The Christian Post, Newsboy drummer Duncan Phillips spoke about how meaningful each accomplishment is for the band.

“To be in it as long as we have and to kind of be riding the success level that we are, I don’t take it for granted. We’re all stoking so hard saying I can’t believe it,” he previously told The Christian Post. “People still want to come see us play. I’m the most excited about this band than I’ve ever been in my life.”

Love Riot will be available where albums are sold on March 4. For more information, visit http://www.newsboys.com/.

Source : Christian Post

Iran Claims Republicans Worked to Stall Release of Pastor Saeed Abedini, American Hostage Until 2016 Elections

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Iran Claims Republicans Worked to Stall Release of Pastor Saeed Abedini, American Hostage Until 2016 Elections

saeed abedini (Courtesy of ACLJ)

Christian Post Report – Pastor Saeed Abedini is imprisoned in Iran for working with underground churches and his effort to build an orphanage.

A top Iranian official claims that Republican members of Congress directly asked the Iranian administration to hold off on releasing Pastor Saeed Abedini and three other American hostages until the eve of the 2016 elections.

“In the course of the talks for exchanging prisoners, the Republican rivals of the current U.S. administration who claim to be humanitarians and advocates of human rights sent a message telling us not to release these people (American prisoners) and continue this process (of talks) until the eve of U.S. presidential elections,” said Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, according to Tasnim News Agency, a privately owned news agency whose stated aim is “defending the Islamic Revolution against negative media propaganda.”

Abedini and three other Americans were released by Iran back in January following a prisoner swap, after years of campaigning for their freedom.

Admiral Ali Shamkhani(Photo: Reuters/Khaled al-Hariri)Admiral Ali Shamkhani, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Director, speaks to the media after his arrival at Damascus airport, September 30, 2014.

Some Republican presidential candidates, such as Sens. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, celebrated the release of the hostages, but blasted President Barack Obama for agreeing to the prisoner swap that entailed giving Iranian regime $1.7 billion in exchange for releasing five Americans.

Cruz, who had spoken out for Abedini’s release, said that the pastor coming home to his family in Boise, Idaho, is great news, but added that the deal is problematic, because “it reflects a pattern we have seen in the Obama administration over and over again of negotiating with terrorists, and making deals and trades that endanger U.S. safety and security.”

Rubio added in a separate statement: “Our enemies now know that if you can capture an American, you can get something meaningful in exchange for it.”

He insisted, however, that he still would have found a way to free the Americans.

“We would have given them sanctions, crippling sanctions … there would have never even been a discussion on these deals until they were released. Iran needs more from us than we need from them. We need to remind ourselves of that,” Rubio asserted.

Shamkhani refused to say which Republicans allegedly asked for a delay in releasing the American hostages, but said Iranian officials “acted upon our independent resolve and moved the process forward.”

The Supreme National Security Council Secretary also argued that Iran decided to release a number of the Americans the regime is holding hostage ‘based on the country’s [so-called] humanitarian approach’.”

Abedini, who Iran claims endangered national security because of his Christian faith, opened up about some of the abuses he suffered during an interview with Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren in North Carolina.

The pastor told Fox News that he was beaten and tortured during prison, with interrogators trying to get him to sign confession papers for crimes he didn’t commit.

Abedini also refused to renounce his Christian faith despite pressure to do so, and revealed that he would spend some days in near constant prayer.

“Each day for hours and hours, sometimes more than 20 hours, I just prayed,” he said.

“The best thing I could do over there was [pray],” he added.

Source : Christian Post

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