Pastor David Yonggi Cho of Yoido Full Gospel Church Praised as ‘Spiritual Father’ by Kong Hee

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Pastor David Yonggi Cho of Yoido Full Gospel Church Praised as ‘Spiritual Father’ by Kong Hee

Dr. David Yonggi Cho (Photo: livetsordplay Youtube video screencap)

Christian Post Report – Dr David Yonggi Cho at the Europe Conference 2013, video published December 30, 2013.

Singapore’s City Harvest Church pastor Kong Hee has praised Pastor David Yonggi Cho and Grace Kim Sunghae of Yoido Full Gospel Church, the largest Pentecostal Church in the world, as being “one of the most amazing couples in the history of Christendom.”

Kong also said that Cho, who founded Yoido in 1958 and saw it grow into a congregation of 830,000 members, has accomplished “things of biblical proportions very few could imagine possible.”

The CHC pastor explained in a detailed post on Facebook some of the history behind South Korea’s Yoido, noting that Cho, who is now its pastor emeritus, also founded several other Christian institutions, including Church Growth International, Elim Welfare Town, Hansei University, the International Theological Institute, and the Kookmin Daily newspaper.

“Cho’s teaching on the Holy Spirit and the Fourth Dimension has been nothing short of transformative in our generation,” Kong wrote.

He added that Kim has also accomplished a great deal helping her husband in five decades of ministry, noting that she is an accomplished concert pianist, educator and ordained minister of the Gospel, along with the current president of Hansei University.

“Most of all, she is a ‘mother’ to hundreds of pastors, missionaries and churches in Korea and around the world,” Kong wrote.

“Sun [Ho] and I are blessed to have Cho and Kim as our spiritual parents. Cho is our pastor and discipler, and Kim our encourager and intercessor,” he continued.

“During our recent trip to Seoul, we were honored again to spend private, quality time with both of them, and also with some of their closest disciples. I was given the privilege to preach at the 40,000-member Nowon Full Gospel Church, as well as the famous Gangnam Full Gospel Church, a congregation fervent in prayer and intercession.”

Kong has also praised the major growth of Christian megachurches in South Korea during his recent trip to the country, noting that it has seen “one of the greatest revivals in the last 100 years” of Christianity occur there.

“They have been consistently baptizing 1,000 new converts every month! If you ask any Korean church what is the key to their success, the answer is unanimous — PRAYER!” he wrote last week, referring to Yoido’s success.

Both Kong and Cho have faced controversies and their own separate court battles, however. Kong was convicted and sentenced to eight years in prison last year along with five other CHC members of misusing millions of church donations for the popstar career of Ho, an accusation which he denied and has appealed against.

Cho, on the other hand, was sentenced to three years in prison in 2014 for embezzling church funds, concerning church officials buying stocks owned by his eldest son, which resulted in $12 million in losses to the church.

Yoido remains the largest megachurch in South Korea despite the controversy, however.

In his Facebook post, Kong noted that Cho will be celebrating his 80th birthday later in February, and said that he sends his prayers “for this dear man of God on his special milestone.”

Source : Christian Post

UK Church Leaders Condemn ‘Christian Values’ March as ‘Blasphemy’

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UK Church Leaders Condemn ‘Christian Values’ March as ‘Blasphemy’

Britain First march (Photo: Britain First Facebook video screencap)

Christian Post Report – Video screencap of Britain First march in Bury Park, Luton, posted online on January 23, 2016.

Church leaders from across the U.K. have condemned a “Christian values” march in Bedfordshire town by a far-right group that handed out anti-Islamic pamphlets.

Catholic Herald reported that the group, called Britain First, marched through the town carrying crosses with the aim to defend “Christian values,” with former British National Party Councillor Paul Golding describing its mission as to maintain “British national sovereignty, independence and freedom.”

The “Christian Patrol” march apparently went through what the group labeled an “Islamist hotspot,” with members of Britain First handing out leaflets and arguing with local Muslims.

Several different churches have spoken out against the group, however, claiming that it does not represent Christianity in Britain.

“Let’s get this straight. Britain First do not speak for Christians. Their message of hate is entirely at odds with the Christian faith,” a spokesman for the Evangelical Alliance said, according to the Huffington Post.

Fr, Damian Howard SJ of the Roman Catholic Church in Britain added: “It’s extremely painful for any Christian when the name of Jesus Christ is hijacked to justify hatred and to spread fear and mistrust. It is actually a kind of blasphemy.”

Howard affirmed that he had “no hesitation in denouncing their [Britain First’s] crede and divisive tactics as totally contrary to the true spirit of Christian love.”

He continued: “Catholics and others will follow the spiritual leadership of Pope Francis who encourages us all to welcome the stranger and to set out on the path of dialogue with people of other religions.”

Church of England clergy, the largest denomination in Britain, have also previously spoken out against the group, when it came to plans in October to protest against the construction of a new mosque in Burton.

“We support, under the law, freedom of worship and religious assembly. We support, under the law, building for that purpose. We also support the right to legal civil protest,” CofE clergy wrote in a statement back then, Burton Mail reported.

“What disturbs us is the implication that ‘Britishness’ and Islam should be seen as incompatible,” they added. “We offer good wishes to our brothers and sisters in the Muslim community.”

On its Facebook page, Britain First explains that it opposes “the colonisation of our homeland through immigration and support the maintenance of the indigenous British people as the demographic majority within our own homeland.”

The major influx of refugees across Europe throughout 2015 has heightened religious and racial tensions in a number of countries.

Last week, Sweden announced that it will be rejecting the applications and deporting as many as 80,000 migrants, close to half of all who had applied for asylum in 2015. Germany, which welcomed in 1.1 million refugees last year, more than any other nation, has also announced it will be tightening up its asylum policies.

The U.K. government has been debating how many Syrian refugees to allow into its territory, with CofE bishops demanding that political leaders expand the number of allowed refugees from 20,000 to 50,000.

“From what we see in congregations across the United Kingdom we are confident that the country stands ready and willing to support the government to be even more ambitious as it responds to this historic crisis,” read a letter from the bishops in September, addressed to Prime Minister David Cameron.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has also strongly backed allowing in more refugees, telling Christians that Jesus Christ was a refugee fleeing war and persecution.

Source : Christian Post

What are You Doing with Your Life

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What are You Doing with Your Life

C. T. Studd once said, “Only one life, ’twill soon be passed. Only what’s done for Christ will last.” It isn’t how long you live. It’s what you do with the life you have.

 

Christian Cheerleaders Win a Victory in Texas

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Christian Cheerleaders Win a Victory in Texas

Christian Cheerleaders Win A Victory In Texas

Christian Post Report – Public school cheerleaders’ right to include Bible verses on the run-through banners at football games must be protected, according to a unanimous ruling by the Texas Supreme Court.

In a decision released Friday, the Lone Star State’s highest court ruled in favor of the cheerleaders of Kountze Independent School District, sending the litigation to the Court of Appeals for the Ninth District in Beaumont.

Justice John Phillip Devine delivered the opinion, arguing that the cheerleaders’ legal action was not moot solely because the School District had altered their rules regarding religious banners.

“The district no longer prohibits the cheerleaders from displaying religious signs or messages on banners at school-sponsored events,” wrote Judge Devine.

Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/texas-supreme-court-rules-in-favor-cheerleaders-bible-banners-lawsuit-156297/#hJvCD7JLd89PDWLD.99

Source : Christian Post

Phil Robertson and America’s Core Collapse

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Phil Robertson and America’s Core Collapse

Phil Robertson And America's Core Collapse

Christian Post Report – Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson spoke at an Iowa rally for Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz on Sunday, calling gay marriage “evil” and “wicked,” and warning that America’s moral core is collapsing.

“When a fellow like me looks at the landscape and sees the depravity, the perversion – redefining marriage and telling us that marriage is not between a man and a woman? Come on Iowa!” Robertson said in Iowa City, according to CNN.

“It is nonsense. It is evil. It’s wicked. It’s sinful,” he added. “They want us to swallow it, you say. We have to run this bunch out of Washington, D.C. We have to rid the earth of them. Get them out of there.”

Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/phil-robertson-at-ted-cruz-iowa-rally-americas-moral-core-is-collapsing-156444/#exIaxe9srayQBHrb.99

Source : Christian Post

Texas Megachurch to Pay PC(USA) $1.525 Million to Leave Denomination

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Texas Megachurch to Pay PC(USA) $1.525 Million to Leave Denomination

First Presbyterian Church (Photo: FPC San Antonio)

Christian Post Report – First Presbyterian Church of San Antonio, Texas.

A Texas megachurch that recently voted to leave Presbyterian Church (USA) over theological differences agreed to pay its former regional body approximately $1.5 million to maintain control of its church property.

First Presbyterian Church of San Antonio announced Sunday that it reached a settlement with Mission Presbytery over retaining ownership of its name and property.

“Under the terms of the settlement, FPC will provide $1,525,000 to the denomination. Mission Presbytery will contribute $125,000 of this amount to the John Knox Ranch Summer Camp,” read the announcement.

“The contribution to the camp provides one quarter of the $1 million being raised for the hall’s reconstruction. Anyone interested in helping can visit www.johnknoxranch.com.”

Mission Presbytery(Photo: Ruben P. Armendariz/Mission Presbytery Associate Presbyter)The office building for Presbyterian Church (USA) Mission Presbytery, located in San Antonio, Texas.

In an interview with The Christian Post, FPC San Antonio spokesman Hank Cherry explained that the settlement was viewed by the church as preferable to a lengthy legal battle with the presbytery over property rights.

“We believe it was in the church’s best interest to resolve an issue that has been hanging over this church for over 30 years, which is whether or not FPC owns its property free and clear of any claim by the PCUSA,” said Cherry.

“While we believe we had a good legal position, the time to get a court resolution, the cost of the litigation, the uncertainty to the congregation, and the cost to the church in time and distraction from its real mission, all warranted in favor of a resolution of the dispute.”

Last November, FPC San Antonio voted overwhelmingly to leave PCUSA and join the Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians, a smaller, more conservative reformed body.

In a letter sent out last October, FPC Clerk of Session N. A. Stuart, III, MD argued that “our denomination is not what it once was, and it has wandered from its biblical and confessional moorings.”

“Ultimately, after years of prayer, discussion, and input from our members, on Oct. 12, 2015, the Session of FPC voted to recommend to the congregation that we leave the PC(USA) and join the ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians — a rapidly growing Reformed Presbyterian denomination,” wrote Stuart.

“In contrast to the theological concerns and membership declines within the PC(USA), we find ECO to be a vibrant, growing Presbyterian denomination which shares this church’s historical vision for teaching, evangelism and mission.”

However, there were certain procedural issues with the congregational vote that made the regional body declare it invalid, according to Mission Presbytery Interim Stated Clerk William C. Poe.

“I communicated with the Session, or local council, of the church on more than one occasion prior to the day of the vote to inform the church’s officers of this constitutional difficulty, but they chose to continue with the meeting anyway,” explained Poe to CP last November.

“Presbyterian Ruling Elders and Teaching Elders take vows at their ordination to ‘be governed by our church’s polity,’ and to ‘abide by its discipline.’ That was not done in this case.”

Another point of contention centered on PC(USA)’s “trust clause,” which is found in the PCUSA Book of Order G-4.0203 and states that “All property held by or for a particular church … is held in trust nevertheless for the use and benefit of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).”

The provision notes that this property includes not only for “a particular church” but also “a presbytery, a synod, the General Assembly, or the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).”

The trust clause is connected to the dismissal process and involves a departing congregation paying a certain sum to its former presbytery to keep their property.

When asked by CP about how the two parties came to the amount of $1.525 million, Cherry of FPC San Antonio explained that the amount “was simply the result of negotiation, and was not tied to any kind of formula or policy.”

“Furthermore, we wanted to have some of the settlement going to a mission project that both the church and presbytery had historically supported,” added Cherry.

“With the loss of the dining hall in the 2015 Memorial Day floods, we all thought John Knox Ranch Camp was a good choice.”

The date for the settlement payment is on or before March 21. Once paid, FPC San Antonio and Mission presbytery will issue a joint statement.

Source : Christian Post

Mark Driscoll Will Launch New Church in Phoenix This Year

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Mark Driscoll Will Launch New Church in Phoenix This Year

Mark and Grace Driscoll (Photo: Screen Grab via markdriscoll.org)

Christian Post Report – Pastor Mark Driscoll (R) and his wife Grace (L).

It’s official. Former Mars Hill Pastor Mark Driscoll will make his comeback this year at a new church plant in Phoenix, Arizona, called The Trinity Church.

“We have some exciting news to share from Mark Driscoll Ministries. Lord willing, in 2016 we’ll be launching The Trinity Church in Phoenix,” wrote Driscoll in a blog post publicized through his social media pages.

He also directed those interested in his ministry to a video where he and his wife, Grace, talked more about the new chapter in their life.

“We have a big announcement. At least it’s big for us and our family,” said Driscoll. “We have moved to Phoenix, love it here, healing up, making new friends and excited about this city and the future that God would have us to play in serving the people here along with some other great churches in the valley. And so Lord willing, we are hoping, trusting, praying, planning, and also a little bit worrying about planting a church here in early 2016,” Driscoll said, looking at his wife.

Driscoll didn’t give an exact date on when he intends to start services but he asked supporters to join him and his wife in prayer for the new ministry.

He called his wife the “founding and first” church member who said she loved living in Phoenix.
“We felt very supported by the community and leaders and fellow Christians,” said Grace.

Mark and Grace Driscoll, The Trinity Church (Photo: screen grab via TheTrinityChurch.com)

A screen shot of The Trinity Church

Grace added that she was excited about the new church plant and explained that they had “healthy fear” taking on a new project with her husband who is not as “young as he used to be.”

“I’m excited. I’m excited to see people get saved, whoever God saves in this process. I’m excited to be in community with the people of Phoenix,” she continued. “I’m just excited to hear you preach. I think the kids are too.”

Driscoll, who made a controversial exit from the now defunct Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington, in 2014 thanked his wife for her warm words and said she was making him cry.

In a tearful video interview with Hillsong Church’s Brian Houston last summer, Driscoll explained that even though he had not planned to resign from his church, God told him and his wife to resign because a trap had been set. Driscoll was embroiled in a controversy concerning issues including his domineering leadership style, his views on the role of women in the church and longtime online comments.

“Our plan was to come back as volunteers. On that Monday night, I was in the bedroom, Grace was in the living room. He (God) spoke to me and He spoke to her in a supernatural way that neither of us anticipated or expected,” Driscoll explained last summer.

“So Grace walked in and said, ‘I feel like the Lord just said what we are supposed to do.’ And I said, ‘I feel like the Lord just spoke to me and said we’… it’s not what we wanted,” Driscoll noted, prefacing his comments with a hint of pain.

“It’s not what we agreed to and it’s not what we planned for, and so I asked her ‘What did the Lord say to you?’ Because I didn’t want to influence her and she said …”

Grace interjected, saying at the time: “We’re released from Mars Hill.”

“She said, ‘Well, what did He say to you?’ I said ‘the Lord revealed to me a trap has been set, there’s no way for us to return to leadership.’ And I didn’t know what that meant or what was going on at the time. He said we’re released and we need to resign.”

Contact: [email protected]; follow me on Twitter @leoblair

Source : Christian Post

Christian Leaders Who Oppose Spanking Say Norway Not in Violation of Christian Parents’ Rights

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Christian Leaders Who Oppose Spanking Say Norway Not in Violation of Christian Parents’ Rights

The Bodnariu family (Photo: Facebook/Norway, Return the children to Bodnariu Family)

Christian Post Report – The Bodnariu family.

As the removal of five Romanian Pentecostal kids from their parents’ custody over spanking allegations has enraged thousands of global supporters, some Christian leaders in Norway are combating the notion that parental and religious freedoms are being violated by the Norwegian government.

As The Christian Post has extensively reported, the five children of Ruth and Marius Bodnariu were removed from their parents custody on Nov. 16. after a school principal told Norwegian authorities about their oldest daughter’s allegation that her parents spanked her and her siblings as a form of discipline.

As spanking and other forms of physical punishment are considered illegal under Norwegian law, the Barnevernet (Norway’s child services agency) placed the five children of the Romanian Pentecostal migrant couple in three separate foster homes while their parents have been granted limited visitation rights.

While the Bodnariu parents wait until at least March for their next court hearing to determine whether they are found to be competent enough to regain custody of their children, a number of human rights activists, lawyers and pastors have argued that the Bodnariu case is essentially a part of a larger pattern displayed by the Barnevernet of targeting Migrant families.

In an interview last Monday with The Christian Post, Texas-based lawyer Peter Costea, the president of the Alliance for Romania’s Families, explained that many migrant families feel that the Barnevernet is targeting them and removing their children to ensure that the children “grow up Norwegian.”

Costea, who sent a letter to the Norwegian ambassador to Romania in December and also has access to court records, argued that the Norwegian government does not have the right to remove children from their parents simply on the allegation of spanking. He added that spanking is not listed as a violation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

At a protest held outside the Norwegian Embassy in Washington D.C. in January, Norwegian human rights lawyer Marius Reikeras and other supporters of the Bodnariu family claimed that there are thousands of families just like the Bodnariu’s — normal, well-educated families that get in trouble with the Barnevernet over disciplinary issues.

Despite the claims that the Barnevernet is targeting migrant families from eastern European countries and other nations, Andreas Nordli, Norway’s national director for Youth With a Mission, told CP that such a claim is not true and feels that the tendency for migrant and ethnic families to get in trouble with Barnevernet is simply because they are unaware of Norway’s child abuse laws.

Nordli, who collaborated with the Barnevernet when he was a pastor of a church that had a number of migrant families, said his own experiences with the Barnevernet have been very good.

“I hear both in this specific case with the Romanian family and cases with Russian [families,] Lithuanian [families,] and [families] from Czech Republic that there have been accusations toward child protective services in Norway, but I haven’t [seen] it myself,” Nordli said. “Because we have strict laws against physically disciplining your kids, I think a lot of non-Norwegians coming here, they are not aware of the law. Because of that, that creates the problems, I think. Maybe even the child protection [agencies] in Norway are not good enough in explaining to non-Norwegians how our laws are set up.”

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Contact: [email protected], @IamSamSmith (Twitter)

Source : Christian Post

Tyra Banks ‘Prayed Hard’ for Newborn Son, York

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Tyra Banks ‘Prayed Hard’ for Newborn Son, York

Tyra Banks (Photo: Reuters/Mike Blake)

Christian Post Report – Tyra Banks, chairman and CEO of the Tyra Banks company and founder of Fierce Capital speaks during the Wall Street Journal Digital Live conference at the Montage hotel in Laguna Beach, California, October 20, 2015.

Some Tyra Banks fans might be wondering where the former Victoria’s Secret model hid her baby bump for nine months, following the birth of her son, York, last week. That’s because she and her boyfriend of two years, Erik Asla, found a surrogate to birth their new born son, York Banks Asla, who was introduced to the world last week in an Instagram post.

“The best present we worked and prayed so hard for is finally here,” the former TV host captioned a photo showing a baby’s traditional hospital hat. “He’s got my fingers and big eyes and his daddy’s mouth and chin.”

baby hat(Photo: Instagram/ TyraBanks)Tyra Banks post her new born son’s hospital hat, January 28th.

Banks, 42, and her boyfriend, 50, owe it all to someone they pegged an angel, a gestational surrogate who birthed their child. “As we thank the angel of a woman that carried our miracle baby boy for us, we pray for everyone who struggles to reach this joyous milestone,” she added.

Banks has been vocal about her fertility struggles in the past. During an interview with People magazine last week she teared up while revealing her efforts to try and conceive. “You’re like, ‘OK, I’m just going to do it,’ then it’s not so easy as you get older.” The America’s Next Top Model creator confessed that she had undergone IVF procedures in hopes of conceiving but they did not work.

“I’ve had some not happy moments with that, very traumatic moments,” she added. “It’s difficult as you get older. It’s not something that can just happen.”

Banks now joins the ranks of celebrities who have used a surrogate to have a baby. Some of her peers include Nicole Kidman, Sarah Jessica Parker and Jimmy Fallon. The stylish business woman does not want to stop at one child, however.

“I don’t just want one child. I want a litter! And I want to be the kind of mom where my child can come to me for anything,” she continued.

Banks has been hard at work on her new daytime talk show, “FABLife” in which she’s joined by co-hosts Leah Ashley, Joe Zee, Chrissy Teigen and Lauren Makk. Each co-host brings something different to the table, in the feilds of fashion expertise and cooking. The new series will be Banks’ second attempt at a daytime talk show and is said to be ranking No. 1 in it’s time slot on ABC.

Source : Christian Post

Best-Selling Author Mandy Hale Talks ‘Beautiful Uncertainty’ of Being Single (Interview)

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Best-Selling Author Mandy Hale Talks ‘Beautiful Uncertainty’ of Being Single (Interview)

Mandy Hale (Photo: Courtesy of Mandy Hale)

Christian Post Report – Mandy Hale, known as “The Single Woman,” released “Beautiful Uncertainty: Singleness, Surrender and Stepping Out on Faith” on February 2, 2016.

Now that she has the attention of millions of singles worldwide, author Mandy Hale isn’t using her platform to guarantee anyone a husband or wife.

“I wish I had 140 characters of brilliance to share that ‘your man is on his way, or your wife is on her way.’ But I don’t,” Hale admitted to The Christian Post ahead of her third book release Beautiful Uncertainty:Singleness, Surrender and Stepping Out on Faith.

“When I was in prayer one day God was asking me: ‘If it’s only you and me one day, is that going to be enough?’ I had to reach the point where I said, you know what God, it is going to be enough.'”

The 37-year-old author is seeking to help others realize God is more than enough when struggling with waiting for their prayers to be answered. Known as “The Single Woman” on social media, Hale wrote Beautiful Uncertainty after she made a vow to seek God first in 2014.

While that promise has yet to result in Hale’s single status changing, it did help her live what she calls the best year of her life. The blogger-turned-New York Times best-selling author likens her latest book to a recipe that outlines how she waited on God with purpose by taking chances, getting uncomfortable, being bold and saying “yes” to her dreams and faith.

Since much of life involves some type of waiting process, the Tennessee native believes more than just single women can glean from the lessons, prayers and entertaining stories sprawled throughout the pages of her book.

“Of course if you’re single you’re waiting for love, a relationship, marriage, children, etc. If you’re not single, we’re always waiting for something whether it be a better job, a raise, diploma, answer, miracle or whatever it may be,” she told CP. “The thing that I learned over the process of living the events that inspired the book is waiting definitely serves a purpose, but at the same time you don’t have to just sit around and wait. You can live and wait at the same time.”

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Source : Christian Post

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