Catholic Charities of Buffalo chose to end foster care and adoption services rather than end their practice of only placing children in homes with a father and a mother. The state of New York has a rule that forces registered foster care and adoption agencies registered with the state to see no difference between a husband and a wife and same-sex couples.

In explaining the difficult decision, Catholic Charities of Buffalo CEO Dennis Walczyk explained, “We’re a Catholic organization, so we have to practice what we do consistent with the teaching of the church.”

The agency’s leadership began discussing the issue over the summer when a same-sex couple applied to be foster parents through Catholic Charities. Some employees told The Buffalo Newsthat they were not aware that they would not place children in same-sex households until they received the same-sex couple’s application.

The state of New York has no intentions of bending their rules to accommodate Christian agency’s objections to same-sex marriage. New York Office of Children and Family spokeswoman Monica Mahaffey said, “Discrimination of any kind is illegal and in this case (Children and Family Services) will vigorously enforce the laws designed to protect the rights of children and same sex couples.” Then she added, “There is no place for providers that choose not to follow the…

She was perhaps his greatest cheerleader but the miracle Kayla Stoecklein hoped and prayed would pull her husband from the depths of despair and anxiety never materialized and now she is “completely heartbroken.”

“Please pray for me and the boys. I don’t know how I am going to face this, I am completely heartbroken, lost, and empty. Never in a million years would I have imagined this would be the end of his story,” she wrote on Instagram Sunday.

Kayla’s husband, Pastor Andrew Stoecklein, 30, took his own life last weekend after an open battle with depression and anxiety.

The couple, who have three sons together, had been frank with their congregation at the nondenominational Inland Hills megachurch in Chino, California. They were all believing together that God would give him the strength he needed to overcome a succession of unexpected challenges he experienced as he tried to lead the church his father had only recently left behind.

Andrew’s father, Dave Stoecklein, founded Inland Hills Church in 1987 and it flourished under him. On Oct. 9, 2015, at age 55, Dave Stoecklein died from cancer, leaving…

Amnesty International is calling for the release of four Iranians who were sentenced to prison for “practicing their Christian Faith.”

Amnesty International’s report is asking the Iranian government to “quash the convictions and sentences of Victor Bet-Tamraz, Shamiram Isavi, Amin Afshar-Naderi, and Hadi Asgari, as they have been targeted solely for the peaceful exercise of their rights to freedoms of religion and belief, expression, and association, through their Christian faith.”

The prisoners are out on bail and awaiting appeal decisions.

Amnesty International is asking its supporters to write letters to the government to “stop harassment, arbitrary arrest and detention, and imprisonment of Christians, including converts, in Iran.”

The Assyrian pastor Victor Bet-Tamraz and wife Shamiram Isavi were both arrested in 2014 during Christmas celebrations.

Victor was charged with “conducting evangelism” and “illegal house-church activities.” He was given a 10-year sentence and his appeal was heard in court in June.

His wife also appealed her own five-year prison sentence for “acting against national security and against the regime by organising small groups, attending a seminary abroad and training church leaders and pastors to act as spies.”

Representatives for Article 18, an organization that supports Christians in…

The church is not an exclusive place for “church people,” Alabama megachurch pastor Chris Hodges said.

“We’ve got to make sure the church understands what the church exists for,” the pastor of Church of the Highlands told Premier while at a Hillsong Conference last month. “We don’t exist to be a little club that we have just for us — too many people think the church is for church people.”

Hodges, who leads a congregation of over 45,000 people in Birmingham, maintained that church was never supposed to be a place just for believers.

“I personally believe the church is a place where people who don’t agree with us can come,” he said. “We’ve had to train our church people and teach them how Jesus lived his life and how He ministered to people.”

He stressed that God’s heart is with the “lost” (nonbelievers) moreso than those who have been found (are already Christians).

“[God’s] not thinking about His found kids, He’s thinking about His lost kids,” Hodges said. 

And the best way to love God is to love the people He loves. “God loves the lost,” he stressed.

When it comes to reaching out to the community with the Gospel, the…

National Football League analyst and former coach Tony Dungy says he believes God has given him a job at NBC in part so he can be a voice for Christian athletes.

He also says the media shouldn’t withhold comments that Christian athletes make about their faith.  

Dungy made the remarks to CBNNews.com while discussing a new children’s book series he co-wrote with his wife. Among them are “Austin Plays Fair” and “Maria Finds Courage.” The books teach life lessons.  

Dungy, a Hall of Fame coach who won a Super Bowl with the Indianapolis Colts, said he received some pushback after reporting, on air, comments that Philadelphia quarterback Nick Foles made to him prior to the Super Bowl.

“He told me he felt that God had him on that Philadelphia Eagles team for a reason,” Dungy said. “He had been the backup quarterback, now he was starting in the Super Bowl and he felt very confident he was going to have a good game because he believed God had him there for that purpose.”

Dungy said he received some criticism for bringing religion into his reporting, although most of the comments were positive. 

“So many people wrote in and said, ‘Hey, I’m glad that you said and reported on exactly what he said and I’m glad you talked about his faith in Christ,’” Dungy said before adding: “I feel like that’s one of the reasons God has me at NBC, to be the…