New Executive Order Aims to Protect Religious Liberty from Government Overreach

New Executive Order Aims to Protect Religious Liberty from Government Overreach



 President Trump plans to unveil a new initiative that aims to give faith groups a stronger voice within the federal government and serve as a watchdog for government overreach on religious liberty issues.


He is scheduled to sign an executive order on Thursday (May 3), the National Day of Prayer, “to ensure that the faith-based and community organizations that form the bedrock of our society have strong advocates in the White House and throughout the Federal Government,” a White House document reads.


Trump plans to sign the order in a Rose Garden ceremony that is expected to be attended by members of his cabinet and some 200 representatives of religious groups.


The White House said those working on the initiative will provide policy recommendations from faith-based and community programs on “more effective solutions to poverty” and inform the administration of “any failures of the executive branch to comply with religious liberty protections under law.”


The creation of the White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative follows the initiatives of previous administrations that created similarly named offices to foster partnerships between the government and religious organizations.


President Obama launched the Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, whose work ranged from fighting the Ebola and Zika viruses to feeding schoolchildren…

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Pastor believed to be Elvis Presley by fans refutes claims

Robert Joyce from a small town in central Arkansas was challenged to identify himself and admit to being the king of rock, after a video was shared online of him singing gospels in a deep baritone voice.

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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

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Former Transwoman, Gay Male Prostitute Shares New Life in Christ

(Photo: Courtesy of Jeffrey McCall)Jefferey McCall, former transwoman, organizer of May 5 Freedom March in Washington, D.C.

An event proclaiming freedom of all kinds of sexual identity issues is set to occur this weekend in Washington, D.C., spearheaded by a man who identified as a gay and transgender for approximately 15 years. Several former LGBTQ speakers from a variety of backgrounds will be sharing their stories of how they encountered the living God.

Jeffrey McCall is the main organizer of what is being called The Freedom March, and in an interview with The Christian Post Wednesday, explained that despite constant talk in society about the perils of gay “conversion therapy,” the March is centered on how the Holy Spirit has transformed the lives of countless people and their journeys of newness of life in Christ. And, he argued, a great shift in how things are done in the modern Church is currently underway, particularly as it relates to how Christians minister to the LGBTQ community.

McCall, 30, is from Franklin Springs, Georgia. He lived and identified as a homosexual man from ages 15 to 27, and as a transgender woman named “Scarlet” from ages 27 to 29.

The Freedom March will showcase the stories of people who lived and identified as lesbians, gay men, bisexual, transgender, and queer — including two survivors of the June 2016 Pulse nightclub mass shooting in Orlando — for many years but now have found a new life in Jesus Christ.

McCall first got the idea to do the event last fall and obtained the permit earlier this year, feeling called to do it in the nation’s capital. The…

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Sutherland Springs pastor led National Day of Prayer service

Frank and Sherri Pomeroy helped lead yesterday’s National Day of Prayer service in Washington, DC. The service came just two days before the six-month anniversary of the shooting that took the lives of twenty-six members of Pastor Pomeroy’s church, the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Texas.

Among the members killed was Pomeroy’s fourteen-year-old daughter, Annabelle.

The church plans to hold a memorial tomorrow to honor the victims and survivors. The congregation will then transition into a groundbreaking ceremony for its new sanctuary. It will be built next to the old church, which currently and forever will serve as a memorial for their lost loved ones.

The new church will be built of stone, symbolizing the strength of the congregation and community.

Their church’s remarkable ministry to their grieving people is just one example of Christians acting as salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16). There were many others yesterday. Those who organized the National Day of Prayer expected some forty thousand events to mark the day across the country.

How much does religion contribute to our economy?

President Trump signed an executive order yesterday creating the White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative. The order was signed in the Rose Garden, attended by his cabinet members and some two hundred religious representatives.

Previous administrations created similarly named offices to foster partnerships between religious organizations and the government. The Faith and Opportunity Initiative will provide policy recommendations on “more effective solutions to poverty” and inform the administration of “any failures of the executive branch to comply with religious liberty protections under law.”

Are you wondering whether religion offers tangible benefits worthy of such recognition?

A recent study by Georgetown University found that the faith sector contributes $1.2 trillion to the US economy. That’s more than the combined revenue of…

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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Denison Forum.

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Donald Trump vows to defend religious freedoms ‘always’

Donald Trump praised the role of faith in inspiring the nation’s commitment to charity and liberty during an address observing the annual National Day of Prayer.

Speaking before reporters and religious leaders in the landmark’s Rose Garden, he said: “We are proud of our religious heritage.

 

“And as President, I will always protect religious liberty. We’ve been doing it…”

The US leader also signed an executive order he said would guarantee “equal access” to federal government funding for religious groups

The 71-year-old said the new measure would also grant religiously-affiliated groups “equal right to exercise their deeply held beliefs”.

He explained: “The faith initiative will help design new policies that recognise the vital role of faith in our families, our communities, and our great country.

 

“This office will also help ensure that faith-based organizations have equal access to government funding and the equal right to exercise their deeply held beliefs.

“We take this step because we know that, in solving the many, many problems and our great challenges, faith is more powerful than government, and nothing is more powerful than God.”

He was joined on the grounds of the White House by Cissie Graham – the granddaughter of Billy Graham, US Catholic leader Cardinal…

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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

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BBC sorry for ‘shocking’ portrayal of priest as terrorist

The Corporation also apologised to relatives of Fr John Gerard after the ‘Elizabeth I’s Secret Agents’ programme said he gave the conspiracy “God’s blessing”.

In a letter seen by the Daily Telegraph, bosses said that “presenting his foreknowledge as settled fact was seriously misleading”.

 

The BBC Two documentary, which was made by 72 Films and was first aired last October, shall be altered before it is re-broadcast.

The admission comes after the priests’ ten times-great nephew, Michael Maslinski, complained to the BBC and argued for the Jesuit’s innocence.

‘Elizabeth I’s Secret Agents’ states that Guy Fawkes and his fellow co-conspirators met Fr Gerard in London before the plot which was foiled better it could be realised.

Anthony Devlin/ PA Wire

 

He was quoted by the Telegraph as saying: “John Gerard has been revered in my family for 400 years… To see him represented as a terrorist was shocking”.

A previous complaint of a similar nature levelled by Mr Maslinkski against the BBC One drama ‘Gunpowder’ was dismissed by the Corporation on the grounds of dramatic licence.

Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a Christian perspective. Sign up to our daily newsletter and receive more stories like this straight to your inbox every morning.

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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

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Six Major Staff Issues Pastors Face

Podcast Episode #429

SUBSCRIBE: iTunes • RSS • Stitcher • TuneIn Radio • Google Play • iHeart Radio

Staff issues can derail a church. And when a pastor doesn’t know how to lead a staff, it’s a disaster waiting to happen. Today we discuss six issues pastors often struggle with when they have a staff to lead.

Some highlights from today’s episode include:

  • When a new pastor comes to a church, cleaning house with the staff is not always needed.
  • You have to set expectations with staff—especially inherited staff.
  • Being a lifelong learner is important in ministry because ministry paradigms are always changing.
  • If a staff member has lost his/her passion for ministry, it’s likely the result of a personal discipleship issue.

The six staff issues we cover are:

  1. How do I lead them?
  2. What should I do with inherited staff?
  3. How do I deal with a lazy staff member?
  4. What if a staff member is no longer competent or passionate about his or her ministry?
  5. What if a staff member refuses to follow my leadership, but he or she has a lot of allies in the church?
  6. What is the next staff position I should hire or call?

Episode Sponsors

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Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Thom Rainer.

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Christian unions could benefit from government uni plans

Student groups in recent years have faced increasing scenarios of ‘no-platforming’, often from fellow students, over external speakers with views considered extreme or offensive. This has often affected Jewish speakers, Christian guests but also feminists like Germaine Greer.  

Sam Gyimah, the government’s Universities Minister met university and student groups on Thursday to announce that there would be a new set of guidelines which would protect free speech on campus.

He said it would be wrong to silence “unfashionable or unpopular” opinions and that he would propose that the Department of Education should write some new guidelines to “provide clarity”. 

Gyimah added: “There is a risk that overzealous interpretation of a dizzying variety of rules is acting as a brake on legal free speech on campus.”

Speaking about this announcement, Simone Ramacci, a chaplaincy intern at the University of Essex told Premier: “I would say that it’s not really possible to say whether these measures are good or not until they come out”

Ramacci said the University of Essex had not had any problems and that: “as long as people are able to find ways to witness to people that work in the current cultural setting this is a very minor issue that is limited to a very few topics.”

He said these can be: “topics such as LGBT issues or termination of pregnancy issues…

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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

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Seeds of Destiny 4 May 2018 by Pastor Paul Enenche: Developing Strong Root In God

Topic: Developing Strong Root In God [Seeds of Destiny Friday May 4, 2018]

Scripture: And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward: Isaiah 37:31

Thought For The Day: Your root in God determines your place in life.

It has been confirmed that a strong root is needed in God in order to have a strong destiny in life. This is because your root in God determines your place in life; your foundation in God determines your destination in life.

Beloved, if you must go far in life, your foundation in God must be solid. If you want to grow tall in life, your root in God must be deep. To take root downwards is to bear fruit upwards.

Now, there are three categories of people on earth as far as destiny foundation or root is concerned;
i) People with zero root.
ii) People with shallow root.
iii) People with strong root.

One reason a witch can easily destroy a person is that his/her root is not strong in God. The wind that can blow and uproot an Iroko tree, for instance, hardly exists. This is because the Iroko tree has a strong root. A grass or shrub can easily be blown off or pulled up by the wind because of weak roots. Today, many people are at the mercy of the circumstances of life because of the shallowness of their root in God; they live so carelessly that it would not take any extra effort by the Enemy to pluck up their lives; this ought not to be so.

Now, how do you develop strong and rugged root in God? It is by the fervency of prayers, intensity of fasting, consistency in the study the study of God’s Word and brutal commitment to God. When you do these, your future is great and no devil can stop it.

Remember this: Your root in God determines your place in life.

Assignments:
1. Decide to develop a strong root in God.
2. Be fervent in prayer and fasting and consistent in the study of God’s Word.

Prayer: O Lord, deliver me from the shallowness of my Christian life. I ask for the grace to develop a strong root in You, Lord, in Jesus’ Name.

FOR FURTHER UNDERSTANDING, GET THIS MESSAGE: DESTINY CAPSULE (PART 1).

Daily Bible Reading: Judges 19:1 to 20:48, John 3:22 to 4:3, Psalm 104:24 to 35, Proverbs 14:22 to 24

Amazing Fact: Your eye is the fastest muscle in your body; that is the reason why when something happens quickly, we say “In the blink of an eye”

Today In History: 04/05/1979 – Margaret Thatcher becomes Britain’s first woman prime minister

Quote: When you become bigger than your root, collapse is inevitable. Culled from 21 FOOLISH THINGS PEOPLE DO by Dr Paul Enenche.

Don’t Forget To Attend: The Home church nearest to you tomorrow by 6pm. Come with your friends and loved ones.

“If you missed yesterday devotional, please click to read Seeds of Destiny by Pastor Paul Enenche“

Today’s devotional was written by Pastor Paul Enenche of the Dunamis International Gospel Centre (DIGC), headquartered at Abuja, Nigeria, with Pastor Paul and Becky Enenche, as the Senior Pastors. It is a power-packed arena where God’s Presence, Principles and Power are at work for the salvation, healing and restoration of human destinies and dignities

Flatimes Notice Board: Until you are born again, God ever abiding presence will never be with you. You must be born again to enjoy continuous victory. Please say the displayed prayer below in faith:

Lord Jesus, come into my life. I accept You as my Lord and Personal Saviour. I believe in my heart You died and rose from the dead to save me. Thank You Lord for saving me, in Jesus name Amen.

If you just prayed the prayer of salvation online please send your testimonies and prayer request to [email protected], 07026385437 OR 08141320204.

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