Thirteen-year-old Joshua LeRette has spent the past four years raising thousands of dollars for his local food pantry. He recently donated $12,583 that slowly accumulated over the years, according to KCCI.

The Iowa teenager started his compassionate venture in the third grade after he heard one of his classmates didn’t have food at Thanksgiving. In response, Joshua asked his friends and family to donate canned goods in lieu of his birthday presents. He was able to gather 100 cans from his request to donate to the local food pantry in Red Oak and hasn’t stopped since.

Joshua slowly built up the cash for his most recent donation with bake sales and lemonade stands. “I’ve seen people pay more than $50 for one of his pies,” his mom, Dawn LeRette said. The teenage entrepreneur has also invited other community members to donate their pies as well.

But Joshua doesn’t take in just high donations. One woman who could only contribute a dollar was allowed to choose anything on the bake sale table. “Those are the people we do this for,” Dawn said.

The motivation behind Joshua’s benevolent work is to help kids in school.

“He thinks if kids are not thinking about being hungry, they will be more focused on school,” Dawn said.

According to the Christ Cupboard, a food pantry run by First Covenant Church in Red Oak, recipients of the donated goods are often…

An off-campus college party descended into chaos Saturday night when a gunman opened fire on patrons, killing two and injuring a further twelve people.

According to the Associated Press, police believe that the gunman was targeting one person, but that others may have been shot at random. In the pandemonium following the gunfire, the suspect managed to evade capture – he has still yet to be located.

The shooting took place at a Halloween party attended by several students from Texas A&M University-Commerce, though it was not thought to be a school-sanctioned event.

Mom Kimberly Wilson said her daughter was at the party when gunshots rang out and she managed to flee the scene. “She’s angry, hurt, upset. She’s going through that whole emotional thing,” Wilson, an Afghanistan war vet, told AP. “When you’ve not been trained to deal with something like that — it just throws you off.”

In a statement, University President and CEO Mark Rudin noted that counseling services were available to all enrolled students at the university’s counseling center. He also urged people to stop speculating on details, adding that there was “a tremendous amount of misinformation” surrounding the incident.

Shockingly, on Sunday night, police reported that gunfire had erupted at a vigil for the victims, held just 24 hours after the murders. There were no injuries recorded, but…

Christian comedian John Crist will release a Netflix special, “I Ain’t Prayin’ For That,” on Thanksgiving.

Crist told The Tennessean that Christian comedy “has gotten a bad rap in the past because it’s very passive, and it’s not honest.”

“It’s like knock-knock jokes type humor,” he said. “What we’re bringing to the table is another level of honesty, and maybe transparency, that I think does make some people uncomfortable.”

Crist’s comedy points to nuances and quirks in the Christian church, but he said he doesn’t joke about core Christian beliefs.

“There’s nothing funny to me about Jesus on the cross or the Virgin Mary, things that are very at the center of our belief system,” he said. “But if your pastor is dressed like he’s on ‘MTV Cribs,’ I’m gonna make fun of that. I worked in a church last week that had ‘Pastors Only’ parking spots, which in my estimation, is, I think, 100 percent everything that Jesus as a person was against.”

Crist’s first gig was at a Chili’s restaurant in 2009. He gained popularity through his online videos, including “Millennial International,” “Every Parent at Disney” and “7 Signs You Grew Up Christian.”

“There’s so much healing that takes place every night at our show,” Crist said in an interview earlier this year.

“Last year, a mom told me, ‘I’ve got…

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to take up the case of a Christian high school student who claims her constitutional rights were violated when she was forced to write on a worksheet, “There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.” 

The justices, without comment, refused Oct. 15 to hear an appeal of the case from the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, which had ruled the teacher at La Plata High School in Charles County, Md., did not violate the free speech or religious rights of the student, Caleigh Wood. She was in the 11th grade at the time and refused to complete the assignment. She received a failing grade. 

“The Supreme Court has recognized the secular value of studying religion on a comparative basis,” the Fourth Circuit ruled in February.

The Thomas More Law Center represented the student. 

Wood and her classmates viewed PowerPoint slides, one of which stated, “Most Muslims’ faith is stronger than the average Christian.” They also were told to fill out a worksheet about the “Five Pillars” of Islam. It was on that worksheet that students were required to write, “There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.” The profession of faith is called the Shahada.

Thomas More alleged that the assignment violated the Establishment Clause by “impermissibly endors[ing] and advanc[ing] the…

Burger King is the latest restaurant chain to tease Chick-fil-A for being closed on Sundays and to face the wrath of Chick-fil-A’s customers.

Burger King posted a simple message on its Twitter account Friday that was immediately taken as a reference to Chick-fil-A and even to Kanye’s new Chick-fil-A-themed song, Closed on Sunday, which was released the same day. 

“open on sunday,” the Burger King tweet read. 

open on sunday

— Burger Town (@BurgerKing) October 25, 2019

Chick-fil-A’s restaurants have been closed on Sundays since founder Truett Cathy opened his first restaurant in 1946.

“Having worked seven days a week in restaurants open 24 hours, Truett saw the importance of closing on Sundays so that he and his employees could set aside one day to rest and worship if they choose – a practice we uphold today,” Chick-fil-A’s website says. 

The top comments on Burger King’s Twitter feed were from Chick-fil-A fans.

“And Chick-fil-a still out sells Burger King with a 6 day week @BurgerKing,” one person wrote. 

And Chick-fil-a still out sells Burger King with a 6 day week @BurgerKing

— Marc Crouse (@MarcCrouse) October 26, 2019

“I would rather have a glass of water for lunch on Sunday and wait for chick fil a to open Monday than eat at a burger king,” another wrote. 

I would rather…