Many former members of the LGBTQ community told their stories of change at Capitol Hill recently.

The group is part of the CHANGED community, an organization of people who previously identified as LGBTQ and believe their sexual identity was changed because of Jesus.

April Lockhart, of New Mexico, told attendees at the event that she wanted to change from her lesbian lifestyle.

“I had fully believed in this lie that gets perpetuated that people don’t change, they can’t change, and if you try to change them, it’s detrimental to their health. And I just want to say that’s a lie,” she asserted.

“Nobody has the right to tell you (that) you can’t be what you want to be. And I did want change.  And through the power of God, the Creator of heaven and earth, this was able to happen. These days were able to happen. These moments. And I’m a happy woman.”

Luis Ruiz, of Florida, said he was devastated when he found out he was HIV positive because of his homosexual lifestyle.

“While I was searching for men, sleeping around a lot, I didn’t realize that there was a man looking for me,” he said.

“And His name is Jesus. I was able to find a church where they loved me. And they taught me that my identity is not my behavior. My identity was not who I thought it was.  But it was a child of God. So I stand here to say that I was a homosexual, a former ‘ho.’  And now I am a child of God.”

CHANGED…

A devastating series of bushfires continue to wreak havoc across vast swathes of Southern Australia. In New South Wales, over half a billion animals have been killed and more than 20 people are confirmed dead, including three firefighters deployed to help tackle the inferno.

Millions of acres have been destroyed by the relentless flames, with many homes being reduced to smoldering ashes. On Monday, despite some much-needed rainfall, there were still 136 fires burning across New South Wales alone. According to the NSW Rural Fire Service, 69 of those remain uncontained.

The smoke and smog generated by the fire is causing concern among public health officials, too. According to CNN, the capital city of Canberra is currently suffering from an arid and toxic atmosphere, logging a rating of 340 on the air quality index. For comparison, Beijing, which is known for its dreadful air quality, is rated at 170.

According to the BBC, in December, cricket players breathing in the air at a Sydney cricket ground said it felt as if they were “smoking 80 cigarettes a day.”

“It’s not healthy,” said bowler Steve O’Keefe. “It’s toxic.”

The smoke in Canberra is so severe that the very agency tasked with dealing with these sorts of crisis situations has been forced to close.

The Department of Home Affairs and Australian Border Force (ABF) on Sunday ordered staff members to stay home from work…

In the early morning hours Friday, the U.S. engaged in a drone strike at Baghdad International Airport that led to the death of Iran’s top security and intelligence commander.

Leader of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and key player in Tehran’s proxy wars in the Middle East, Major General Qassim Suleimani along with several Iranian backed Iraqi militia officials were killed when an American MQ-9 Reaper drone shot missiles at their convoy as it was leaving the airport, the New York Times reports.

The drone attack – which was authorized by President Trump – was ordered after an American defense contractor on an Iraqi military base was killed last week in a rocket attack. 

CBS News’ national security correspondent David Martin reports that “The attack on the base which killed an American was carried out by an Iranian-backed militia which is directly controlled, according to U.S. intelligence, by Soleimani.”

According to the Associated Press, the U.S. Defense Department holds Soleimani responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Americans in the area and was killed because he “was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region.” The Defense Department also shared that they believed Soleimani was responsible for approving an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq earlier this week.

The…

When Actress Michelle Williams accepted a Golden Globe over the weekend, she used her acceptance speech slot to praise her ability to “employ a woman’s right to choose.”

Williams, who accepted a Golden Globe on Sunday for best actress in a limited series or TV movie for her role in “Fosse/Verdon,” spoke to a teary-eyed crowd about how thankful she was to live in a country where women can have abortions, Fox News reports. 

Holding up her award she said, “When you put this in someone’s hands, you’re acknowledging the choices they make as an actor – moment by moment, scene by scene, day by day. But you’re also acknowledging the choices they make as a person – the education they pursued, the training they sought, the hours they put in.”

She continued, “I’m grateful for the acknowledgment of the choices I’ve made, and I’m also grateful to have lived at a moment in our society where choice exists, because, as women and as girls, things can happen to our bodies that are not our choice.

“I’ve tried my very best to live a life of my own making … and I wouldn’t have been able to do this without employing a woman’s right to choose,” Williams said as the crowd erupted with applause.

Williams went on to share that she was thankful for the ability to choose when and with whom to have her children. 

“I know my choices may look…

“I forgive him, and that’s the hardest thing to say.” These are the words of 32-year-old Tiffany Wallace, the daughter of one of the victims who died in the shooting at West Freeway Church of Christ in Texas over the weekend.

As Christian Headlines previously reported, more than 240 parishioners were gathered inside the church located near Fort Worth, Texas, when a gunman began firing upon them. The gunman shot two members of the church before members of the church’s security team drew their own weapons killing the shooter. One of the two victims was 64-year-old Anton “Tony” Wallace, NBC DFW reports. Tony was a father, grandfather, husband, church deacon and registered nurse.

According to his daughter, Tony had just finished giving out the eucharist when an unfamiliar man stood up and took aim at the church’s security guard. In the chaos, her father was shot. 

Wallace recalled running to her father upon realizing that he had been hit. 

“I ran toward my dad and the last thing I remember is him asking for oxygen, and I was just holding him, telling him I loved him and that he was going to make it,” Wallace told the NBC News affiliate.

The grieving daughter then reflected on what a wonderful person her dad was. 

“He was very loved – a very loved man – very humble. He would literally give you the shirt off of his back,” She said. “He…

The United Methodist Church announced on Friday that they are planning to split the denomination.

According to The Washington Post, UMC church leaders shared in a nine-page announcement that an agreement had been reached allowing for the creation of a new denomination for traditional-minded churches within the UMC. 

If the plan is approved in May at the UMC’s annual General Conference, the new denomination will be called “Traditionalist Methodist” and will be made up of all of the churches opposing same-sex marriage and LGBT ordination. The plan would also give the new denomination $25 million in UMC funds and allow the churches that are breaking off to keep their local church properties, United Methodist News reports. The plan also designates $39 million toward ensuring that “there is no disruption in supporting ministries for communities historically marginalized by racism.”

According to The Washington Post, the majority of the UMC’s African churches along with several American churches are expected to adopt the Traditionalist Methodist denomination. 

Following the split, the remaining part of the UMC will hold a second conference in order to remove bans on same-sex marriage and LGBT clergy. The remaining part of the UMC will maintain the denominational title of United Methodist.

UM News reports that the plan – which is still officially being drafted…

Christian conservative commentator Candace Owens says she will not be appearing on a British podcast with Jameela Jamil after the podcaster rescinded the invite to speak on the show.

According to the Christian Post, Owens said she believes Jamil canceled the show after Owens and the podcaster exchanged divided messages on Twitter about a news story where a transgender man gave birth using a female sperm donor.

“SAD TO ANNOUNCE that @jameelajamil has revoked my invitation to her podcast [because] I tweeted ‘only women can give birth,’” Owens said on Twitter. “Apparently the statement made her trans co-workers feel ‘unsafe.’”

SAD TO ANNOUNCE that @jameelajamil has revoked my invitation to her podcast bc I tweeted “only women can give birth”. Apparently the statement made her trans co-workers feel “unsafe”.

My refusal to untether myself from biological realities has cost me, yet again.

SAD! pic.twitter.com/OTHcO0TEy4

— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) December 30, 2019

In the tweet, Owens also shared a screenshot that showed Jamil telling Owens she was disinvited from the podcast appearance because “we have trans people working with us” and they could be offended by Owens’ tweet.

“You are both free to say whatever you like about this publicly,” Jamil’s message read. “I’m sure you will have an entertaining spin. But nothing is worth my…