The Gospel Music Association issued a statement this week after Dove Award-winning artist Kirk Franklin announced that he would be boycotting GMA along with the Trinity Broadcasting Network and the Dove Awards after a portion of his acceptance speech speaking on a police-involved killing was edited out.

President and Executive Director Jackie Patillo released a statement following Franklin’s boycott announcement stating that the Dove Awards had taken note of his complaint.

She wrote, “Due to our broadcast window, we had to significantly edit the Dove telecast to 2 hours, which aired Sunday, October 20th.  In light of this, we understand that many were disappointed because there were so many memorable moments and noteworthy portions of acceptance speeches absent.”

“Specifically,” she continued, “we were made aware of troubling concerns regarding the edit of Kirk Franklin’s acceptance speech.  At the request of Kirk’s team, we held our response regarding those concerns until we were able to speak with Kirk privately, apologize directly, and discuss resolutions to rectify this unfortunate issue.

“With that said, we would like to publicly acknowledge that we are deeply apologetic for the missteps that happened relating to the editing of Kirk Franklin’s Dove Awards acceptance speech.  We…

Some 250,000 coaches, student-athletes and others are expected to gather together at football fields across the country for “Fields of Faith.”

“Fields of Faith” is a program from the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and invites students from both public and private schools to meet together to pray, testify and read the Bible.

In Virginia, FCA director Derrick Ellison said 16 schools came together for the event, CBN News reports.

“We’ve got 16 schools represented – public high schools – and they’re all coming together tonight to celebrate what God’s doing on their campuses,” he said.

“So kids from all over the county can come together and see what God’s doing, see there are other students just like them…that’s the whole purpose of it.”

Washington Redskins football player Chase Roullier also spoke at the event in Virginia, telling students how important his faith is to him.

“Going out and partying and chasing things you shouldn’t be, you’re going to be very lonely,” he said. “But if you have a relationship with God, you’re going to be very full. Your heart’s going to be full of Him.”

Youth pastor Lee Banton said the event gives students a chance to see how God is moving in their lives.

“There are a lot of people who say they think they have it figured out, but they’re still searching,” he said. “But those who have found Christ,…

Kanye West’s new faith-centric album has sparked an increased interest in Christianity – and a well-known ministry is providing free tools to unbelievers.

The American Bible Society says it is offering free Bibles to Kanye’s fans who fill out a form on the organization’s website. The group got the idea from Google data that showed a spike in searches for information about Christianity the week the album was released.  

Kanye released his latest album, Jesus Is King, last Friday. 

“Kanye West’s album has had an immediate effect on the current news cycle. ‘Jesus is King’ was a trending internet search last week with over 1 million queries on Google alone,” John Farquhar Plake, director of ministry intelligence at American Bible Society, said in a press release. 

“Coincidentally, something we’re seeing as a rising trend is that most Americans turn to Google as a de facto spiritual guide,” Plake added. “Our goal with this campaign is to give Americans – and, yes, Kanye fans – the opportunity to look for answers to their most pertinent questions at the source.”

“Kanye West” was the No. 1 trending topic on Google on the day he released his album, Friday, Oct. 25, while “Jesus” ranked No. 4, according to Google data. Among specific search queries, “Jesus is King” ranked fourth. “What do…

The massacre lasted for five hours.

Esther listened from the makeshift outhouse as she hid behind the door. “Convert or be killed!” shouted Boko Haram militants. Their commands were followed by screams, the popping of machine guns, and the smell of burning flesh and hair as they made their way through the village.

Esther, whose name I’ve changed for her safety, tried to slow her breathing, but the foul stench only made her panic rise. She’d told her children to stay put and be silent, but now she wasn’t so sure if she’d be able to sit still and wait.

She had hidden her children in their village’s graveyard, covering them with grass and leaves so the rebels wouldn’t discover them. Esther had not seen her husband since they all fled. She’d hidden in her family’s latrine, prepared to climb inside the toilet if it came to that.

As she peered wide-eyed through the slight crack in the door, she slowly caressed her growing stomach, wondering what kind of life her unborn child would have. She didn’t know if any of her family would live through this day.

Her breath caught in her chest as two men with guns approached her house. She’d already watched as they’d burned down her neighbors’ homes and their local church. The smoke still smeared the sky. Those who hadn’t been shot in their homes died in the fires.

The men spoke to one…

Late Thursday morning, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the rules of impeachment initiating the formalized impeachment process against President Trump.

According to the Associated Press, the package of rules was passed 232 to 196 with all but two Democrats voting to approve the rules and all Republicans voting against them.

While offering their opinions on the resolution, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) stood before an American flag arguing that the impeachment inquiry is necessary in order to preserve America’s Democracy. She said, “The genius of the constitution:  a separation of powers, three co-equal branches of the government to be a check and balance on each other. And it is to that that we take the oath of office. We gathered here on that opening day, with our families gathered round, to proudly raise our hand to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, and that is exactly what we are doing today.”

Pelosi went on to note that the impeachment of a sitting president is not a joyous occasion, saying “this is not any cause for any glee or comfort. This is something that is very solemn. That is something prayerful.”

Ranking Republican member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee Michael McCaul (R-TX) followed Pelosi stating at the start of his time speaking, “I’d also argue that article one does not say you can do whatever you…