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Transcript of Joel Osteen's invocation prayer over Houston Mayor, Annise Parker, who was inaugurated as mayor of Houston. She is the first openly gay mayor of the city: FATHER, THANK YOU FOR THIS TIME TO COME TOGETHER WITH OUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY TO CELEBRATE YOUR GOODNESS AND THE GREAT CITY WE LIVE IN, AND THE NEW LEADERSHIP WITHIN OUR CITY. LORD, WE ASK YOU FOR WISDOM FOR ALL OF OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS. LORD, WE PRAY THAT YOU WILL GUIDE THEM, DIRECT THEM, THAT YOU WILL HELP THEM MAKE THE BEST DECISIONS FOR OUR CITY. LORD WE JUST PRAY FOR YOUR STRENGTH...

The city of Houston, Texas (Mayor Annise Parker), has issued subpoenas for pastors' sermons... Not surprised at all. To get right to the point without taking up any unnecessary space, who do statists want Separation of A.) Church and B.) State, but not Separation of B.) State and A.) Church? They apparently want the forward of this, but not the reverse. And they want religious folk to butt out of politics, but they seize every opportunity to stick their noses into the affairs of religious folk. In your opinion, why do you think this is; what do the statists want?

Although much has been reported regarding the ethics and legality behind the city of Houston's subpoena of five Houston-area pastors that had asked them to turn over all of their sermons that address homosexuality, gender identity, and the city's first openly-lesbian mayor, little attention has been given to who those five pastors actually are and the ministries they operate.Although those five pastors, Steve Riggle, David Welch, Hernan Castaño, Khanh Huynh and Magda Hermida, were not technically parties of the lawsuit against the city's new equal rights ordinance that sparked the need for the subpoenas, they all participated in the coalition...

The recent arguably unconstitutional moves by the Houston city council to subpoena the sermons of five area ministers, as well as internal correspondence dealing with social issues, should have the American Civil Liberties Union and everyone else who believes in free speech and religious freedom up in arms. We as Americans must guard every aspect of our Constitution and recognize when it is being threatened. One of the great dangers in America today is extreme intolerance in the name of tolerance. For example, in this Houston case, it is presupposed that the pastors in question may have said something that...

Houston Police are responding to a shooting in progress outside Ben Taub Hospital in the Medical Center. The incident happened in the outpatient pharmacy area, between the pharmacy and a parking garage. The area now cordoned off by police is a busy walkway, used to get to and from Ben Taub to the public parking garage, ABC 13 reports.

Houston recently passed an ordinance through its city council that has sparked quite a bit of controversy amongst conservative evangelicals. The Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO), a broad-sweeping, left-leaning law trumpeted by the City of Houston and its openly gay mayor, Annise Parker, is supposed to protect gay, lesbian and transgender people from discrimination. All well and good, but according to the Independent Journal Review, the ordinance to ensure nondiscrimination, discriminates against those of faith who oppose it. Five pastors, members of Houston's conservative, evangelical base, oppose HERO, as does the liberal Americans United for the Separation of Church and...

People say America is one of the most religious countries in the world. But is it religious in the way that you think it is? You’re bound to learn something new in this list:

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said pastors from across the United States should send "thousands and thousands" of Bibles and sermons to the Houston mayor who demanded pastors turn over their sermons to the government due to their objection to an LGBT discrimination city ordinance. "I hope she gets thousands and thousands of sermons and Bibles," Huckabee said on his Fox News show Saturday, referring to Mayor Annise D. Parker. "It ought to make you mad that the mayor thinks she can turn in her pastors. And so I got an idea," Huckabee explained. "If she wants a sermon, here...

AUSTIN, Texas -- The battle over Houston's non-discrimination ordinance has moved from the ballot box to the church pulpit, as a group of pastors fights efforts by the city to subpoena their sermons and private communications with church members. The law, passed last June, was criticized because it could be used to allow men to use women's bathrooms, among other objections. Opponents to the law had collected more than 50,000 signatures to place a repeal measure on the ballot this November, far more than the 17,269 required. However, the City of Houston moved to invalidate the majority of the signatures,...

Support for legalizing same-sex marriage dropped from 54 percent to 49 percent since February, according to a Pew Research Center poll. Analysts said they had no idea why or if it was just a random blip. I joked on Twitter that my April article “Rise of the Same-Sex Marriage Dissidents” probably was the cause. But in all seriousness, perhaps seeing the totalitarianism of extremist wings of the gay rights movement has soured some people on efforts to change marriage law — or at least given people pause about the tradeoffs involved with redefining marriage or enacting broad legislation around sexual...

I’m not gay. I get called gay all the time by Leftists who seek to disparage me when they’ve run out of their specious, illogical arguments and the full weight of common sense lands on their fetid heads and they have no other recourse but to go ad hominem on me and say, “he must be gay.” Which, like I said, I take they equate with a cut down; which is weird because, supposedly, they’re the homosexual’s champion. For what it’s worth, the only gay thing about me is, and I must confess, I did tear up a bit during...

Houston’s power-mad Mayor Annise Parker has backtracked on those subpoenas that she had the city issue to five city pastors, at taxpayer expense. The mayor made the move as Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott sent a letter to Parker asking that she withdraw the subpoenas “immediately.” Attorney General Greg Abbott Asks Houston City Attorney to Withdraw Subpoenas Seeking Sermons, Other Documents from Houston-area Pastors AUSTIN — Attorney General Abbott today asked that the Houston City Attorney to immediately withdraw the subpoenas sent last month to several Houston-area pastors seeking sermons, notes and other information. In his letter to the city...

HOUSTON (RNS) Recently, Houston city attorneys, acting on behalf of Mayor Annise Parker and the City Council, issued subpoenas to five area pastors requiring they hand over copies of all communication with members of their congregations about a gay rights ordinance. The subpoena asks for communications from the pastors related to the mayor, the ordinance, and “gender equality” issues. What are pastors to do when coerced by a government entity like the city of Houston? It seems to me that there are a two possible responses: one from a Christian pastor, who serves in Christ’s kingdom, and another from a...

In an exclusive interview with The Brody File, Senator Ted Cruz says pastors being hauled off to jail by the government for preaching against homosexuality is a “real risk” in the future. ““I think that is a real risk,” Cruz tells me. “Some in the media ridicule that threat saying there is no danger of the government coming after pastors. That is the usual response.” But he adds: “The specter of government trying to determine if what pastors preach from the pulpit meets with the policy views or political correctness of the governing authorities, that prospect is real and happening...

AUSTIN, Texas -- Houston Mayor Annise Parker has backed down from the subpoenas the City of Houston issued to several area pastors, Breitbart Texas has learned. Breitbart Texas reported earlier about the controversy, stemming from litigation challenging the city's anti-discrimination ordinance and subpoenas asking the pastors for the content of their sermons, speeches and communications with church members. Texas Senator Ted Cruz weighed in, firmly supporting the pastors in their efforts to fight the subpoenas, while Mayor Parker initially remained adamant that the city had the right to request those records. Despite posting comments on Twitter just hours before that...

Pastor Castano speaks for millions of Americans, who are sick and tired of political correctness run amok This week the country learned that in the politically red state of Texas is the liberal, blue city of Houston, which is led by Mayor Annise Parker, an avowed lesbian. In May, Mayor Parker rammed through the city council a controversial transgender rights measure called the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO), otherwise known as the “bathroom bill.” It would allow men who self identify as females to use the women’s bathroom and vice versa. Obviously, the ordinance was controversial and five local pastors...

Twitter allegedly blocked a new online campaign designed to support the Houston pastors who were subpoenaed by the city's lawyers demanding that they turn over their sermons dealing with homosexuality, gender identity or the city's first openly lesbian mayor, Annise Parker. The #HoustonWeHaveAProblem campaign and petition were created by Faith Driven Consumer, the same organization that supported and helped to reinstate Phil Robertson to "Duck Dynasty" after he was thrown off the show for his comments about homosexuality surfaced from a GQ interview.

Five Christian pastors will no longer have to turn their sermons over to attorneys for the city of Houston. Instead, they will be forced to turn over their speeches related to the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO). I don’t mean to point out the obvious here—but what do those attorneys think a sermon is? It’s a speech. According to an amended motion filed Friday in Harris County, Texas court, the city’s attorneys will no longer demand sermons related to homosexuals, gender identity, or Mayor Annise Parker—Houston’s first openly lesbian mayor. The amended subpoenas do require the pastors to turn over...

<p>That’s the bottom line of a harshly-worded letter written by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott to Houston City Attorney David Feldman.</p> <p>Feldman’s office sent subpoenas to five Houston pastors last month demanding that they turn over any sermons dealing with homosexuality and gender identity issues. They also wanted sermons or correspondence that referenced Annise Parker, the city’s first openly lesbian mayor.</p>

Do Democrats know the difference between fascism and liberalism? Apparently the Mayor of Houston, Ms. Annise Parker, is incapable of separating her own sexuality – her fragile sensibilities and biased opinions – from the rights of others who disagree with homosexuality and/or gay marriage. What’s even more offensive, or better yet bewildering, is that she actually demanded local pastors turn over their sermons and personal correspondence for examination. Excuse me?!!! For examination by the gay Gestapo in this Constitutional Republic known as the United States of America?!!! Is Ms. Parker a Pontiff, a Governor of Rome, Nero? Yes, Houston’s Mayor...