An Oregon Christian school filed a federal lawsuit Friday against the governor and other state officials over restrictions that permit small public schools to gather for in-person instruction during the pandemic but ban small private schools from doing so.

Private school officials that violate the state restrictions face imprisonment for 30 days and/or a fine up to $1,250.

At issue are restrictions by Gov. Kate Brown and other departments that prohibit public and private schools from gathering until certain COVID-19 testing metrics are met. The restrictions, though, provide certain exemptions to small public schools of 75 students or less while denying those same exemptions to private schools of similar size.

The result: Small public schools in certain counties can meet while small religious schools cannot, the lawsuit says.

The suit was filed by Alliance Defending Freedom on behalf of Hermiston Christian School in Umatilla County, an area about three hours east of Portland.

“After 41 years of faithful service, Hermiston Christian School … could be forced to shut its doors for good unless the Court stops an obvious case of discrimination,” the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit alleges violations of religious liberty and parental rights as guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution’s First and Fourteenth Amendments. Religious schools…

The Church of God in Christ, a predominantly African American body of 6.5 million members, is holding its first-ever national ballot drive. Another 10 or so smaller Holiness denominations, including the African Methodist Episcopal Church with 2.5 million adherents, are joining COGIC in urging people to go to the polls.

Holiness churches tend to believe in a second work of the Holy Spirit in the Christian life that brings noticeable change morally, such as stopping smoking, curtailing pornography and ending cursing. Going back to those ways could signal the person is no longer saved. Pentecostal Holiness denominations such as COGIC think this second blessing also can lead to spiritual gifts such as healing or tongues.

Stringent Holiness groups historically have…

The Wesleyan Covenant Association, the largest group within the United Methodist Church, is growing despite some division in the church.

According to The Christian Post, the Wesleyan Covenant Association is also considered the “traditionalists” of the UMC. The association has a strong interpretation of the Bible, including traditionalist views on marriage and clergy. The group also adheres to evangelical beliefs and values.

WCA President Keith Boyette said more than 3,000 churches have affiliated with the association, and the group is growing. In August 2021, the next General Conference will show that growth, he added.

This year‘s conference was canceled amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

“There’s been no pause at all for us,” Boyette says. “We’re working vigorously toward a new, theologically conservative, global Methodist church.”

Boyette said he is hoping the WCA can be part of that new traditionalist church.

“The association will act as a midwife in launching the resulting denomination,” Boyette said.

Traditionalist within the church have argued that UMC evangelism is sometimes too focused on “social gospel of good works” instead of Jesus as salvation.

“Social justice is important — the transformation in us never ends — but the first step is beginning a relationship with Christ,” says the Rev. Thacker Haynes, senior pastor of…

Megachurch pastor Andy Stanley has identified the five questions he believes every Christian should integrate into their decision-making process to find success in all areas of life. 

During an interview with Sean Morgan, vice president of Leadership Capital, Stanley, founder of the Atlanta-based North Point Ministries, explained that as a pastor, it “breaks” his heart “watching people make decisions that undermine their own success, their own marriage, their own finances, their own relationship with their kids.”

“There’s enough headwind in life. There’s enough negative force. The last thing we need to do is to facilitate our own demise,” he said. “There is a super important connection between the questions we ask and the decisions we make. The better the questions, generally, the better decisions.”

Stanley, who recently released his latest book Better Decisions, Fewer Regrets, identified the five questions he believes every Christian should add to their “decision-making filter,” adding: “If you’ll ask these five questions and if you’ll answer them honestly, I guarantee you, you will make better decisions, and…

On Sunday, Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan contended that in order for people to return to church, they must vote for Democratic nominee Joe Biden in the 2020 Presidential Election.

“If you’re tired of lockdowns or you’re tired of wearing masks or you wish you were in church this morning or watching college football, or your kids were [in] in-person instruction, it is time for change in this country, and that’s why we’ve got to elect Joe Biden,” she said on NBC’s Meet The Press on Sunday morning.

Whitmer, who recently was under a threat of a kidnapping plot, denounced President Trump for inciting “domestic violence” as his supporters chanted “lock her up” during a rally on Saturday.

“The president is at it again and inspiring and incentivizing and inciting this kind of domestic terrorism,” she told host Chuck Todd. “It is wrong. It’s got to end. It is dangerous, not just for me and my family, but for public servants everywhere who are doing their jobs and trying to protect their fellow Americans. People of good will on both sides of the aisle need to step up and call this out and bring the heat down.”

According to ABC News, the FBI has arrested 14 men in their alleged attempt to kidnap the Michigan governor.

Whitmer has also been vehemently criticized over her COVID-19 lockdown policies and her…

Netflix reported slower-than-expected growth in worldwide subscribers in its third-quarter report Tuesday, potentially reflecting an impact from its controversial Cuties movie and a subsequent boycott.

Netflix said it had gained a net 2.20 million worldwide subscribers compared to the 3.57 million that investors were expecting and the 6.8 million net subscribers it added during the same quarter one year earlier, CNBC reported.

In the U.S., Netflix netted only 177,000 new subscribers during the third quarter.

The streaming giant was hit this fall with a boycott over Cuties a TV-MA film about a group of 11-year-old girls who join a dance group and dance in sexually suggestive ways. A Twitter clip that amassed more than 22 million views showed the girls on stage dressed in revealing outfits while they twerked and touched one another. A Texas grand jury indicted Netflix earlier this month for “promotion of lewd visual material” depicting children. Netflix has stood by the movie.

Gary Levin, USA Today’s TV editor, surmised the boycott may have played a role in the lack of subscriber growth.

“It’s impossible to attribute the lower numbers directly to the ‘Cuties’-inspired boycott drive. But at least two analytics firms said last month their data showed Netflix was suffering higher ‘churn’ rates, which measure subscription…

Alfred Street Baptist Church, a predominantly Black church in Alexandria, Virginia, has donated more than $1,000,000 to various organizations to help those affected by the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic, The Christian Post reports.

The money came from excess tithes that the church didn’t need to run. It was part of an initiative called “Tithe-The-Tithe.”

According to a press release from the church, “Alfred Street Baptist Church (ASBC) has donated $1,079,287 under their Tithe-the-Tithe Initiative to 69 community-based and national organizations to support COVID-19 relief and other needs.” The press release further goes on to name some of the organizations that received the financial support, including Children’s National Hospital, Unity Health Care, D.C. Rape Crisis Center, and others.

The initiative was started on Easter Sunday, when the head pastor, Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley, announced that 10 percent of all money tithed to the church would go toward organizations that help the community. “I believe that the Black church has the opportunity and the obligation to reach into segments of our community that are always overlooked by government,” he said.

A portion of the money is also going to other churches that had to shutter their doors during the pandemic. “One of the things that we’re going to do is, take some of that 10 percent…

In the midst of the 2020 presidential election, church leaders across various denominations in the U.S. have expressed differing stances when it comes to abortion, The Associated Press reports.

Some leaders who are overtly against abortion are also outspoken against the political party that supports it, namely the Democratic Party.

In a viral video last month, Father James Altman of St. James the Less Catholic parish in Lacrosse, Wisconsin slammed the Democratic Party and its Catholic supporters for endorsing abortion.

“You cannot be Catholic and be a Democrat,” Altman said in the video. “Repent of your support of that party and its platform or face the fires of hell.”

Similarly, Pastor Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Church of Dallas – a staunch supporter of President Trump – expressed strong remarks against Christians planning to vote for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

“As long as Joe Biden and the Democratic Party continue to support unrestricted abortion for any reason and at any stage in a pregnancy, priests and pastors like myself will have no problem saying, ‘Only Christians who have sold their soul to the devil would vote for Joe Biden,’” Jeffress asserted.

Conversely, some mainline Protestant denominations have endorsed abortion in their official positions as a matter of reproductive care.

According to a 2018 Episcopal Church

76 Percent of White Evangelicals Approve of President Trump’s Job: Poll

According to a poll by the Public Religion Research Institute, evangelicals are the only major group of religious demographics to approve of President Trump at 76 percent, or three in four white evangelicals. They were also the only group to list terrorism as a significant concern in the upcoming election. Most other groups’ top issue was the Coronavirus pandemic, with only one group, Black protestants, saying that racial equality is a main issue for them in the election.

Interestingly enough, white evangelicals were the only group to care about abortion as a major issue. But virtually every group cited fairness in the election as an important issue. The only groups to highlight crime as an important issue were Hispanic Protestants and White Mainline Protestants.

However, there were a few groups missing from the demographics research: Hispanic, Black, and Catholic Evangelicals. These groups, although smaller, still make up large portions of Christianity.

A graphic from Religion News Service has each sect and their most important issues, in addition to non-Christians.

The poll also asked Republicans and Democrats a series of questions, including if American Culture has changed for better or for worse since the 1950s. Fifty-two percent of Republicans believe America’s culture…