James MacDonald, controversial founder of Harvest Bible Chapel in greater Chicago, is now in danger of losing his custom-built home in Elgin, Illinois, for failing to pay his mortgage with the Republic Bank of Chicago, according to a new lawsuit.

MacDonald, according to a Daily Herald report, owes the Republic Bank of Chicago $947,546.34 on the 5-bedroom, 5.5-bathroom home that sits on 10 acres along Highland Avenue.

The Harvest Bible Chapel founder who was ousted from the helm of the church in February 2019 for “highly inappropriate recorded comments” he made on a radio program as well as “other conduct,” allegedly borrowed $990,000 from Republic Bank of Chicago to purchase the home in 2016. Since last December, MacDonald hasn’t made a mortgage payment, the bank argues, and now owes $925,902.96 on the loan, $20,669.34 in unpaid interest, as well as $974.04 in late charges.

MacDonald’s LLC, Vanilla Bean, is also named as a defendant in the foreclosure lawsuit filed last week in Kane County.

A California church filed a federal lawsuit Saturday challenging the state’s restrictions on houses of worship, including what the suit says is a ban on “in-home Bible studies.”

At issue are prohibitions by Gov. Gavin Newsom and state officials on “in-person religious gatherings” in 30 counties, as well as bans on corporate singing statewide. 

Liberty Counsel filed the suit on behalf of Harvest Rock Church and an associated organization, Harvest International Ministry. Each is headquartered in Pasadena. Harvest Rock has multiple campuses. 

Harvest Church requires masks, takes temperatures of attendees and requires the proper social distancing, the lawsuit says. Despite that, the state has imposed a “total prohibition” on religious activities, thus violating its constitutionally protected freedoms of religion, speech and assembly, the suit alleges.

“While the Governor has unilaterally and significantly restricted the number of individuals permitted to ‘gather’ in Plaintiffs’ churches, he has imposed no similar restrictions on the untold thousands of protesters who have gathered all throughout California cities with no threat of criminal sanction, and no social distancing or restrictions whatsoever.” the suit says. “And, the Governor explicitly encouraged such large gatherings of protesters while condemning churches for singing hymns in their churches.”

The…

A Tennessee church that shuttered last month after suffering an outbreak of COVID-19 announced the loss of two senior members to the virus but said they are also experiencing miracles in the pandemic too.

“We have lost two wonderful vulnerable seniors who were with us on Father’s Day and that’s tough. This horrendous virus attacked and we lost Bro. Frank Cunningham as well as Dr. Jimmy Bilbo,” Kelvin Page, pastor of Westmore Church of God in Cleveland, Tennessee, said in a video announcement on Facebook last weekend.

“Both of these men were special men who are greatly appreciated by the Westmore family. And we have learned from this horrendous virus that we must do all that we can do to protect our vulnerable. We have to. Even when we think that we were doing our due diligence and doing our best, we thought that, it still slipped in. And so we’ve got to do an even better job than what we thought we were doing.”

Cunningham, who died on July 9, was 73, and Bilbo, who passed a day later on…

As many households across America continue to struggle with food and job insecurity, i5 City Church in Glen Burnie, Maryland, partnered with Joyce Meyer Ministries in Missouri and several others over the weekend to distribute some 100,000 pounds of food and two new cars to community members in need.

“We have so many people in need and that are feeling hopeless and lonely, that what better way to get people together than to serve the community?” i5 City Church Pastor Jimmy Rollins told the Capital Gazette at his church Sunday where scores of volunteers had come to help distribute food from the church’s parking lot.

The church, which describes itself as “a group of people crazy enough to believe we can change the world,” draws its mission from Matthew 25:34-36.

“God has called us to be the tangible hands and feet of Jesus. We do this by meeting practical needs in our community. And all this can be seen in our name ‘i5.’ The ‘I’ stands for IMPACT, and the ‘5’…

A former ESPN host sparked a debate about prejudice and politics Sunday by alleging that Americans who vote for President Trump are racist.

The former host, Jemele Hill, is a contributing writer for The Atlantic and host of a Spotify podcast, Jemele Hill is Unbothered. At ESPN, she hosted SportsCenter, His and Hers, and Mike & Mike.

“If you vote for Donald Trump, you are a racist. You have no wiggle room,” Hill tweeted.

If you vote for Donald Trump, you are a racist. You have no wiggle room.

— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) July 19, 2020

The tweet received more than 250,000 likes and was re-tweeted 60,000 times. It also led to more than 45,000 comments.

Some agreed.

“Amen! I concur,” one person wrote.

Amen! I concur 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾

— G. Crump (@gcrump21) July 20, 2020

Others, though, said Hill had crossed a line.

“How can you call someone a racist when you don’t know anything about them?” one person tweeted.

How can you call someone a raciest when you don’t know anything about them? Do you know I voted for trump and will vote for him again, and I do not have a raciest bone in my body. Married a beautiful African American woman and have a beautiful mixed daughter.

— Trey (@trey242402) July 19, 2020

“I am voting for President Trump and so is the rest of my Hispanic family,” another person tweeted.

I am voting for president Trump and so is the rest of my Hispanic family…

JUBA, South Sudan, July 17, 2020 (Morning Star News) – Radical Muslims in Sudan took to the streets on July 17 to protest the transitional government’s adoption of amendments to decriminalize apostasy and repeal other Islamist laws.

The apostasy law has been used for more than 30 years to persecute those who leave Islam. The government’s adoption this week of the Fundamental Rights and Freedoms Act also allows non-Muslims to drink alcohol and abolishes public flogging as a criminal punishment.

“We [will] drop all the laws violating the human rights in Sudan,” Justice Minister Nasredeen Abdulbari said.

Since the government announced plans for amendments to Sudanese law late Saturday night (July 11), Muslims took to social media to criticize the moves, terming them anti-Islamic and calling for massive demonstrations. Some called for “holy war” against the government for scrapping sharia (Islamic law) provisions.

Today (July 17) limited demonstrations took place in Khartoum, Khartoum North and Omdurman to protest the amended laws.

“Sharia, sharia or we die,” protestors shouted. “Listen you, Hamdok, this is Khartoum not New York.”

Dozens of people reportedly gathered in the protests. Brandishing banners reading, “No to secularism,” they shouted, “God’s laws shall not be replaced.”

Abadalla Hamdok was appointed prime minister by an 11-member sovereign…