Skillet frontman John Cooper says he was trying to protect the “little ones of the faith” in a now-viral Facebook post last week and that he was willing to put his career on the line to take a stand for Christ.

He also wants Christians to be more courageous in defending Scripture. 

Cooper told Christian Headlines Tuesday he wasn’t “attacking one person” in the post and had been mulling over the issue “for several years.”

“It’s time for the silent majority of the church, to speak out and say, ‘Hey, we are reaffirming that there’s only one thing in this world that never changes. That is the unchanging, unerring Word of God,’” Cooper told Christian Headlines. “And I just thought, if it costs me my career, if it cost me some fans, I don’t even care anymore.” 

Cooper posted his comments about two weeks after bestselling author and former pastor Joshua Harris said he was no longer a Christian and just days after Hillsong’s Marty Sampson said his faith was on shaky ground. In his Facebook post, Cooper encouraged Christians to stop following “influencers” and instead to rely on God’s Word. 

Cooper told Christian Headlines he was reacting to multiple social voices who have criticized or contradicted God’s Word. He was surprised and frustrated, he said, that “no one” was “speaking out on the social…

Amidst a violent climate towards faith leaders, a Mexican pastor was shot and killed during a church service on Sunday.

Pastor Alfrery Líctor Cruz Canseco, who preached at the Fraternidad Cristiana church in the town of Tlalixtac de Cabrera in the Oaxaca state, died when a gunman shot him point-blank, according to the Christian Post.

“We extend our deepest condolences to the family and congregation of Pastor Cruz Canseco,” international watchdog group Christian Solidarity Worldwide’s Chief Executive Merwyn Thomas said. “The fact that he was targeted while in the pulpit is particularly shocking.”

The assailant did not attempt to shoot anyone else and congregants were able to prevent his escape, leading to his arrest. Canseco died on the way to the hospital after the attack, who leaves behind a wife and children.

Canseco’s passing comes in the wake of several attacks on faith leaders in the region. Pastor Aarón Méndez Ruiz, who ran a shelter for Cuban immigrants, was kidnapped earlier this month.

“We also remain concerned for the wellbeing of Pastor Méndez Ruiz and urge the Mexican government to spare no effort in ensuring his safe return, investigating all of these crimes and prosecuting those responsible,” Thomas also said.

CSW believes criminal groups are largely behind the attacks, though the motives are unknown. “Even though no wars are being fought…