Friday, April 27, 2012

THE CHRISTIAN POST: "Front Page" Friday April 27, 2012 Iyyar 5, 5772

United Methodist Church
(Photo: AP Images / Matt York)

Same-Sex Marriage, Gay Clergy on Table at Methodist General Conference

By Stoyan Zaimov

The United Methodist Church's General Conference is currently taking place in Tampa, Fla., and will feature a debate on gay clergy and same-sex marriage. Some have suggested that, in order to keep its membership from dwindling, the Methodist church must come to a compromise on its long-held doctrines on such issues.

Star-Studded Rally for Trayvon Martin Held at Calif. Megachurch

By Anugrah Kumar

Celebrities, civil rights activists and relatives of Trayvon Martin got together at a church in Los Angeles, Calif., Thursday to mark the two-month anniversary of the Florida black teen's killing by a neighborhood watch volunteer.

US

joel osteen

Joel Osteen Visits Christian Pregnancy Center in DC

By Michelle A. Vu

Pastor Joel Osteen of the 40,000-strong Lakewood Church in Houston visited a place he is not commonly associated with – a pregnancy center – during his activities Thursday in the nation's capital.

The latest poll from Pew Research on the hot-button political issues of gun rights and same-sex marriage shows that Americans are becoming more conservative when it comes to protecting the rights of gun owners, but more accepting of same-sex marriage.

An evangelical leader whose organization sponsored a prayer event on environmentalism believes that global poverty is strongly connected to man-made climate change.

Oprah Winfrey recently professed to being a Christian during one of her widely broadcast programs, which has been taken as evidence by some of her faith in Christ. Others, however, remain skeptical.

Mitt Romney, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, is yet to clinch all the 1,144 delegates he needs to officially be declared the winner of the race, and all but one of his previous campaign rivals have given him their support – with Rick Santorum being the only apparent holdout.

Church & Ministries

Bill Hybels

Bill Hybels on Church Planting Willow Creek: I Did a Lot of Scrambling

By Alex Murashko

Megachurch pastor Billy Hybels' first five years of establishing a church in a Chicago suburb was one of the hardest experiences in his life, he told Christian leaders at the Exponential conference.

Doctors recommended surgery for Calvary Chapel movement founder Chuck Smith, whose cancerous tumor in his lungs has been reduced in size but is still a health factor after he underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatment.

Christian leaders with a heart for church planting are being encouraged at the Exponential conference to move past the difficulties they will encounter when they start their houses of worship.

BBC Plans 2-Hour Live Broadcast From Abortion Clinic

Growing negative reaction to the BBC's plan to ...

Marine Discharged for Calling Obama an 'Enemy' Admits Regret

The sergeant who called President Barack Obama an ...

Obama Touts Work on Behalf of Gays on Campaign Website

President Obama may not be planning to publicly ...

Mark Driscoll's Mars Hill Church Vandalized by 'Angry Queers' Group

A police investigation has been launched over ...

Ariz. Christian Student Club Wins; Can Distribute Religious Fliers

Students at an elementary school in Phoenix, Ariz., will be allowed to pass out fliers promoting a Good News Club after-school program as the result of a settlement between district officials and a Christian lawyers association.

Voice of the Martyrs President Comments on Tom White's Apparent Suicide

The Voice of the Martyrs' president released a ...

Churches May Be Forced to Rent Their Facilities to Gay Couples

The city of Hutchinson, Kan., is mulling over a ...

Atheist Group Wants Memorial Cross Removed From RI Fire Station

An atheist organization is demanding that a Rhode ...

Chuck Colson to Be Buried With Full Military Honors

Chuck Colson, the Prison Fellowship founder and ...

'Bounty' on Tim Tebow's Virginity a Form of Prostitution?

The New Orleans Saints bounty scandal is ...

Entertainment

"American Idol" contestant Colton Dixon gets eliminated.

'Idol's' Christian Contestant Dixon Invited to White House Dinner

By Anugrah Kumar

"American Idol" contestant Colton Dixon chose to ignore producers' suggestion to refrain from expressing his Christian beliefs on the show and was eliminated last week. But this weekend, the 20-year-old singer will be a special guest at the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner.

"Communism" is an ugly word in the United States and has been closely associated if not altogether defined by fascist leaders like Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin. But actor and filmmaker Matthew Modine says there is another leader who was a communist but isn't like the others: Jesus.

Anthony Federico, the former ESPN editor who was fired for creating a headline that was interpreted as a racial slur against New York Knicks Asian-American point guard Jeremy Lin, recently told The Christian Post that his faith was the only thing that helped him through the potentially career-ending incident.

World

Kenyan people in line to receive mosquito nets.

Churches Partner With World Vision in 'Divine Initiative' to Help End Malaria

By Ivana Kvesic

In the past, the church has not been a major player in the fight against malaria, but World Vision, along with Christian leaders and churches across the U.S., is working to unite the faith community in its war against the disease responsible for the deaths of millions of children.

Pastor Terry Jones has once again threatened to burn Qurans, this time in protest of Iran's continued imprisonment of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani. The Florida minister, whose previous protests attracted violent reaction, explains why he is once more taking such a controversial stance.

Jesus.net Japan, an Internet-based evangelism ministry with an arm in the U.S., will be observing Internet Evangelism Day on April 29, which is set to draw attention to the ever-expanding role the web plays in today's world.

After recently being one of eight NGOs denied international registration with the Egyptian government, the humanitarian group Coptic Orphans is speaking out on what many see as an unjust move on behalf of an Islamic-run government.

Dove Awards 2012: Kirk Franklin, Kari Jobe, Jaci Velasquez Interviews (EXCLUSIVE VIDEO)

Three of Gospel music's biggest stars took time to speak with The Christian Post before the Dove Awards on April 19. Kirk Franklin, Kari Jobe, and Jaci Velasquez are icons in the industry and each attended this year's awards ceremony.

Jeremy Lin, Cardinal Timothy Dolan Among Attendees at Time 100 Gala

Jeremy Lin and Cardinal Timothy Dolan were on ...

Dove Awards 2012: David Mann, Chondra Pierce Host, Mary Mary Attend (VIDEO)

The 43rd Annual GMA Dove Awards have recognized ...

Madeleine McCann May Still Be Alive; UK Police Release New Photo

The U.K.'s Metropolitan Police Service announced ...

Dating Website Offers $1M to Women Who Can Prove Romance With Tim Tebow

Tim Tebow, 24-year-old Christian New York Jets ...

Russell Crowe Confirmed to Play Noah in Film

Months of rumors have now been confirmed: Russell ...

Florence Colgate Face Prettiest? Measure Your Own in Numbers

Scientists have agreed that Florence Colgate has ...

Tech & Biz

amazon

Amazon Kindle Fire Conquers Half of the Android Market

By Vincent Funaro

The Amazon Kindle Fire tablet has conquered over half of the Android market, according to new data collected by the research firm known as ComScore.

Brazilian soccer star, Kaka, has become the world's first athlete to reach 10 million followers on Twitter, making him only the sixteenth person in the world to pass the benchmark.

A picture of what is being confirmed to be the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S3 has leaked onto the internet.

Sprint plans to continue to offer unlimited data plans on its network for the LTE iPhone when it is released later on this year, according to a statement made by the company's CEO Dan Hesse.

Subjecting Local Congregations to Off-Site Control

By Dan Delzell

In the New Testament, no one ever served as a spiritual leader for a congregation that he wasn't also feeding. God's Word prescribes no leading where there is no feeding. Every "elder" in the New Testament was required to faithfully teach the Word of God (2 Timothy 2:24), and to serve alongside the believers in that particular congregation.

COLUMN

Beyond a Trickle-Down Liturgy

harvest crusade

I don't know about you, but I'm tired of trickle-down liturgy. What I mean by that is music that is designed and marketed somewhere, makes it on Christian radio or other media, and then becomes familiar enough that people start singing it in church.

COLUMN

Four Problems the Church Has GOT to Deal With!

cross

At the end of the day people are not asking about the five points of Calvinism, the trichotomy or dichotomy of the Spirit or the peccability/impeccability of Christ!

CP BLOG

America Is Addicted to Porn (INFOGRAPHIC)

One study shows that there are 200,000 porn addicts in America. These addicts spend at least 11 hours each week viewing porn.

COLUMN

Three Ways We Say 'No' to Law

Tullian Tchividjian

The Law is shorthand for an accusing standard of performance. Whenever the Law is coming, accusation comes close behind. Whenever an expectation stands before us, we are either condemned by our failure before it, or we become condemners in our fulfillment of it. The Law is unfeeling – it tolerates no excuses, it accepts no shortcuts.

CLIMATE CHANGE

Environmentalist Scientist Admits He Was 'Alarmist' on Global Warming

climate change

James Lovelock, the scientist who developed the "Gaia theory" of Earth, said in a MSNBC interview that he was too "alarmist" in an earlier book on global warming.

OPINION

Chuck Colson Never Left Prison

Manhatthan Declaration

Apart from Watergate, Chuck is best-known for his ministry to prisoners. But to say that Chuck ministered to prisoners is to miss the point almost entirely.

COLUMN

The Ugly American — Sex Trafficking and Our National Humiliation

Albert Mohler

The sexual revolution of the last several decades has transformed any public conversation about sex and sexuality. The revolutionaries directed their attention to the dismantling of an entire edifice of sexual morality that had been basically intact for well over 2,000 years.

CP BLOG

So You Want to Date My Daughter?

secret life

1. You must love Jesus. I don't care if you're a "good Christian boy." I was one of those too. So I know the tricks. I'm going to ask you specific, heart-testing questions about your spiritual affections, your daily devotional life, your idols, your disciplines, and the like.

PHOTOS

Joel Osteen Encourages Underserved Children, Homeless Single Mothers (PHOTOS)

joel osteen

Perhaps what is less reported and seen are photos of Joel Osteen in the nation's capital on Thursday greeting and encouraging children at an underserved school where the property had not been renovated for decades, visiting a small Christian pregnancy center, or doing the honors of cutting the ribbon for a shelter housing homeless single mothers with disabled children.

OPINION

Bulgaria: 'Child Law' Bill Threatens the Family With Totalitarian Social Engineering

bulgaria

Totalitarian thinking still permeates much of the societal structure in Bulgaria, a post-communist democracy and a member of the European Union since 2007. This attitude is especially visible in the latest legislative attempt at policies against the family.

OBITUARY

Gabrielle (Elle) Devenish: Anorexia Steals Life of Colleague, Friend

Sara Gabrielle Devenish, better known to her colleagues and friends as "Elle," was taken home by her Lord and Savior on Thursday in the early morning hours. She died peacefully in her sleep, just the way she had imagined she would.

EVOLUTION

What's Wrong With Theistic Evolution?

creation museum

Why can't we say Adam was a real person and the first person to know God, but not the only human on the planet?

CHURCH & MINISTRIES

Pastors to New Believers: You'll Have Doubts About Your Conversion, Word of God

harvest crusade

Having doubts about Christianity even after having just made a profession of faith in Jesus is inevitable for new believers, say pastors, including Harvest Ministries founder Greg Laurie.

CP BLOG

A Fresh Look at Morning Devotions

You get up in the morning, groggy and sleepy eyed. Maybe you take your shower and have a cup of coffee and then for many Christians it is off to do your "morning devotions." You may find a quiet place in the house if that is possible, or go to your computer and look up a devotional like Spurgeon's Morning and Evening or Oswald Chamber's My utmost for His highest or if you are really hip then you go and read Greg Laurie's devotional.

CP BLOG

Counterpoint: Gay Man and Ex-Gay Discuss Homosexuality

gay protest

As the 2012 presidential election draw closer, several questions of spiritual importance have led to partisan political discussion. However the subject of homosexuality and same-sex marriage has proved to be an especially divisive subject.

EDITORIALS

Chuck Colson – God's Man in the Arena

Richard Land

Chuck Colson (1931-2012) was a giant among Christians in America. If there were an Evangelical Mount Rushmore, Chuck Colson would be on it.

OPINIONS

Olympic Host Prime Minister Is a Pace-Setter in Race to Help Poor

Poverty

With less than 100 days to go, the race to the London Olympics is entering the home stretch. But at the same time, with less glamour and glitz, a far more challenging set of races are on in nations across the globe.

MUSIC

Dove Awards 2012: Lecrae, Jason Crabb (VIDEO)

Jason Crabb

Christian artists Jason Crabb and Lecrae garnered some of the night's highest honors during the GMA Dove Awards Thursday. See their video interviews with CP here.

OPINION

Don't Attempt Relationships or Marriage Without Jesus

marriage

Relationships can get very messy. Perhaps you already have firsthand experience in that area. The only Person I know who has the ability to clean up the mess is Jesus Christ. In fact, He also has the power to help a man and woman stay out of a bunch of stuff that will only bring heartache into their home.

POLITICS

Evangelical Christians Agree, Disagree on Budget Priorities

paul ryan budget

House Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan recently commented that the House Republican Budget for the federal government reflected Catholic principles. While Catholics have been debating the veracity of that claim, the occasion has also provided an opportunity for evangelicals of different political persuasions to debate how they understand biblical principles and the federal budget.

CP BLOG

Calvinism vs. Arminianism: Has There Been Enough Said?

Calvin

Sometimes I believe that people are more interested in arguing over Calvinism vs. Arminianism than sharing Jesus. In his book, Southern Baptist Thought Since 1845: Has Our Theology Changed, Paul Basden writes about our history of theology, saying that predestination is that doctrine that relates God’s purpose to the human hope of salvation.

OPINIONS

Freedom of Religion = Freedom of Worship?

Code Orange, Elevation

It may not have even caught your attention. It may not appear to be that different. But when people, especially the current president of the United States, intentionally replace the words "freedom of religion" with "freedom of worship," is it just a distinction without a difference, or is it a major change about which we need to be concerned?

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