Free Republic

A Chinese court sentenced the pastor and leaders of a 50,000-member megachurch in northeastern China to prison, rights groups reported Thursday. Pastor Wang Xiaoguang of Linfen Fushan Church in Linfen, northern Shanxi province received three years for “illegal land occupation” and his wife Yang Rongli received a maximum of seven years for “illegal land occupation” and “assembling a crowd to disrupt public order," according to ChinaAid Association. Other church leaders received three- to four-and-a-half-year prison sentences. The sentences are among the most severe for house church leaders in recent years. “To punish an innocent house church leader with seven years...

Enfield (WTNH) - The ACLU of Connecticut is warning the Enfield school board to stop holding graduation ceremonies at a Bloomfield megachurch, claiming the graduates and their families are unconstitutionally being subjected to religious messages.

Apologies for the vanity. I'm looking for FReepers in Dallas, TX to try to regain contact with someone in an Evangelical Church there.They helped me make it through one of the toughest times of my life and promised to email me later, but never did. I never got a chance to properly thank them and tell them my life was truly changed.The only clues I have are that they had in 2006 an assistant pastor whose voice sounded like Al Michaels and they were about 20 minutes away from downtown Dallas.Can someone jog my memory?

One of the largest evangelical churches in the country recently received permission to build a bridge from its campus to a major highway to help ease the flow of traffic on Sundays. North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Ga., will begin construction on the $5 million bridge in December. The bridge, the senior pastor said, will help draw more unchurched people who would otherwise find it difficult to attend because of the usual parking lot jam. "Those of you who are regular attendees have learned to navigate the congestion without losing your faith in the process," Pastor Andy Stanley wrote...

... Golden State has more of these megachurches -- defined as those with at least 2,000 congregants -- than any other state. California is home to 193, slightly more than Texas with 191, ... survey by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research ... some who study the phenomenon call the Southern California Bible Belt... The megachurches are expanding by adapting to changing times and tastes, scholars say. Many have jettisoned formal rituals such as organs and hymns in favor of Christian rock music and overhead projection screens that display lyrics and prayers. They deliver upbeat biblical messages about applying faith...

California Christians Worship In A Big Way The state has more megachurches than anywhere else in the country, with the majority in the suburbs between Los Angeles and San Diego. Their upbeat approach is luring thousands each weekend. A worshiper gets caught up in the music at Shepherd of the Hills in Porter Ranch, which attracts 8,000 people to its six weekend services. California has 193 megachurches, defined as those with at least 2,000 congregants. By Duke Helfand October 11, 2009 Once again, the Sunday faithful have packed the cavernous sanctuary at Shepherd of the Hills Church in the San...

The evangelical movement's eye-popping numbers (new megachurches are opening as mainline churches shrink), cultural power (think The Purpose Driven Life or crossover hits from Christian radio), and political success (George W. Bush, Mike Huckabee, Tim Pawlenty, etc.) makes it easy to forget that evangelical Christianity is very much a countercultural phenomenon. Even as it adapts to the contemporary American cultural landscape—look at Rick Warren's Hawaiian shirts or the number of megachurches that now boast coffee shops—the American evangelical movement nonetheless defines itself as separate from the rest of the country. "Religions that grow are the ones that are hard-core in...

MIAMI – Hundreds of congregants have left a pioneering megachurch in Florida to form their own congregation because they were unhappy with leadership at the church that's seen as a bedrock of the religious right. The action by the unhappy members at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church was the culmination of a feud between loyalists to an evangelical luminary, the Rev. D. James Kennedy, and his replacement as pastor, the Rev. Tullian Tchividjian, a grandson of the Rev. Billy Graham.

A megachurch in Glendale, Ariz., unanimously voted Sunday to cut ties with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and will be joining the smaller Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ. At a congregational meeting following worship, Community Church of Joy voted 129-0 to terminate its affiliation with ELCA as the church’s vision, values and mission are no longer aligned with the nation’s largest Lutheran denomination, according to the Rev. Walter P. Kallestad, senior pastor of the congregation. "There is such a different direction that the ELCA has chosen, a path they're traveling on, and we really believe that it just...

"What if church wasn't just a building, but thousands of doors?" asks a new website launched by the United Methodist Church. "Each of them opening up to a different concept or experience of church. . . . Would you come?" After watching its membership drop nearly 25 percent in recent decades, the United Methodist Church, which is still the nation's largest mainline Protestant denomination, thinks it knows the answer. So it's pouring $20 million into a new marketing campaign, including the website, television advertisements, even street teams in some cities, to rebrand the church from stale destination to "24-7 experience."...

FORT WORTH, Texas—Authorities say they are investigating a natural gas explosion at the Fort Worth, Texas, home of megachurch pastor T.D. Jakes. Fort Worth fire spokesman Lt. Kent Worley says the blast Sunday in the sunroom of the home appears to have been an accident. Authorities say no one was injured and there was no fire. The sunroom was heavily damaged. Worley says the room had a gas-fed pool heater and a large gas-fed barbecue grill.

Evangelical megachurches across San Diego, Calif., are joining Catholics on Sunday to make a public outcry against abortion in their first ever joint pro-life rally. The demonstration, which will take place after the multiple worship services that typically take place at megachurches, is being held on the same day President Barack Obama will take the stage at the University of Notre Dame to deliver the commencement speech. While the San Diego rally is fundamentally a pro-life rally, the undertone of the event is "a statement to the president that the killing of babies must come to an end," Pastor Jim...

Call it a collision between church and state. For more than two years, residents of the East Hempfield neighborhood "The Meadows" have fought plans to build a 26,000-square-foot church at the edge of their quiet, upscale development. In more than a dozen late-night meetings, residents claimed the proposal, by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, meant that traffic in their neighborhood was going to spike, and that the church was simply out of character with the surrounding community. In February, the residents lost a round when the township supervisors voted unanimously to give preliminary approval to the church...

Mark Driscoll, the pastor of Seattle-based Mars Hill Church, will preach at the famed Crystal Cathedral in Southern California Sunday, June 14, and will appear on the “Hour of Power.” Crystal Cathedral is home to the Rev. Robert Schuller and his successful television ministry but has seen some decline in size and influence in recent years. Financial difficulties have caused the church to lay off staff and sell office space. Mars Hill, on the other hand, is among America’s booming churches. Driscoll preaches a “masculine” form of Calvinist theology that emphasizes the toughness of Jesus and Christianity. He also regularly...

ATLANTA — An evangelical pastor whose leadership of an Atlanta-area megachurch ended in a sex scandal has died. Atlanta Medical Center said Archbishop Earl Paulk, who was in his 80s, died early Sunday. The hospital could not release a cause of death. Paulk had been in bad health for the past couple of years after a battle with cancer. A phone listing for Paulk's family could not immediately be found. Paulk co-founded the Cathedral at Chapel Hill in Decatur and helped grow it to a peak membership of about 10,000 in the early 1990s. A lawsuit by a female employee...

Saddleback Church's Warren calls on believers to make history Church expects to bring 3,000 new believers into its flock Saturday. LAKE FOREST – In what Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren calls historical, the church hopes to bring 3,000 new members into its flock on Saturday. "I'm not sleeping much. I'm too excited," the megachurch's pastor wrote in an e-mail to his congregation this week. "THIS SATURDAY, March 28, will be THE GREATEST DAY in Saddleback's history. OVER 2,000 people have already signed up to become members of our church family on a single day." Citing the Bible, Warren challenges prospective...

Before a backdrop of soaring stained glass and the 6,000 gleaming pipes of a Ruffatti pipe organ, Tullian Tchividjian on March 15 preached one of the pivotal sermons of his life. Tchividjian, 36, pastor of New City Presbyterian Church in Margate, Fla., was preaching 12 miles down the road in Fort Lauderdale. The occasion: Tchividjian's nomination to succeed D. James Kennedy as senior pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church. There had been some dissent in the congregation over who would fill Kennedy's sizable shoes. Kennedy founded the church in 1959 and pastored it for 47 years. In 1974, he launched...

Companies that specialize in church mortgages report that foreclosures and delinquencies for congregations are on the rise as the tough economic times start to make their impact at the offering plate. Metropolitan Baptist Church was bursting out of its home. From a group of freed slaves in Civil War-era Washington, Metropolitan Baptist had grown into a modern-day megachurch and community service powerhouse. In 2006, construction began on the congregation's dream complex in Largo, Md. - a $30 million campus with a 3,000-seat church, an education center and an 1,100-car parking lot.

Washington - A widely-known megachurch founded by an architect of the religious right and seen as a national political force selected a grandson of Billy Graham on Sunday as its new leader. The overwhelming vote by congregants at Coral Ridge Presbyterian in Fort Lauderdale to appoint the Rev. Tullian Tchividjian could represent a softening of the message spread by the Rev. D. James Kennedy, who was pastor at the church until his death in September 2007. Kennedy's preaching against homosexuality and abortion made him one of evangelical Christianity's most divisive figures, and he worked to inject his faith in all...

GARDEN GROVE, Calif. – A man shot and killed himself in front of a cross inside televangelist Robert H. Schuller's Crystal Cathedral on Wednesday as a nearby volunteer told a group of visitors about the church's suicide-prevention program, police and church officials said. The man handed a note and his driver's license to two ushers, walked to the cross and then shot himself in the head as he appeared to be praying, Senior Pastor Juan Carlos Ortiz said. The Orange County coroner's office identified the man as Steve Smick, 48. Church spokesman Mike Nason said there was no record of...

The son of Potter’s House Bishop T.D. Jakes turned himself in to the Dallas County Jail on Thursday on an indecent exposure charge stemming from an incident at a southern Dallas park last month. Jermaine Jakes, 29, posted $1,000 bail and was released Thursday morning, according to jail records. Jakes is accused of exposing himself in front of an undercover Dallas police vice detective at Kiest Park, near West Kiest Boulevard and South Hampton Road, on the night of Jan. 3, police said. T.D. Jakes is founder of the Potter’s House, a 30,000-member mega-church in the Mountain Creek area.

The Associated Press is reporting that after a year of accolades that followed her shooting of a gunman who killed two teenage sisters at her church, concealed handgun license-holder Jeanne Assam remains "low key" and says she thinks of the family of gunman Matthew Murray. From the story: “He didn’t start off to be mixed up and confused. He started off to be a good person but he went down a wrong path,” Assam said during a news conference after a church service Sunday. A former police officer, Assam said that now she is hoping to join the Colorado Springs...

Ex-evangelical leader Ted Haggard, who fell from grace after the exposure of his sex and drug scandal two years ago, recently opened up about the dark secret from his past that likely led to his downfall as an adult. He spoke at Open Bible Fellowship Church, a small congregation in Morrison, Ill., on Nov. 2 – the second anniversary of his resignation as president of the 30 million-member National Association of Evangelicals. The church’s pastor, Chris Byrd, is a long-time friend of Haggard of over 30 years. “The first thing I want you to know is I sinned,� Haggard told...

DALLAS (AP) - The pastor of a mega-church says he will challenge married congregants during his sermon Sunday to have sex for seven straight days _ and he plans to practice what he preaches. "We're going to give it a try," said the Rev. Ed Young, who has four children with his wife of 26 years. Young, 47, said he believes society promotes promiscuity and he wants to reclaim sex for married couples. Sex should be a nurturing, spiritual act that strengthens marriages, he said. "God says sex should be between a married man and a woman," Young said. "I...

Crystal Cathedral founder Rev. Robert H. Schuller has removed his son as preacher on the church's weekly "Hour of Power" syndicated TV broadcast. Schuller said in a statement read to some 450 congregants Saturday by church president Jim Coleman that he and his son, Robert A. Schuller, "have different ideas as to the direction and the vision for this ministry." "For this lack of shared vision and the jeopardy in which this is placing this entire ministry, it has become necessary for Robert and me to part ways," Schuller said.

In his e-mail to his church members he writes: "For 5,000 years, every culture and every religion - not just Christianity - has defined marriage as a contract between men and women,” Warren wrote. “There is no reason to change the universal, historical definition of marriage to appease 2% of our population.” On the Saddleback site there is video of him discussing the issue, here.

Pastor Who Opposes Abortion to Deliver DNC's Closing Prayer By Krissah Williams Sen. Barack Obama's team will continue its aggressive outreach to evangelical voters at the Democratic National Convention next week. Making a prime-time appearance Thursday night will be Joel C. Hunter, a Florida megachurch pastor who will deliver the convention's closing prayer following Obama's speech accepting the Democratic presidential nomination. Hunter is a registered Republican, opposes abortion and, at one point, had been chosen to lead the Christian Coalition. He has not endorsed Obama and says he agreed to give the benediction because has was asked to do so....

... A Southern Baptist minister who breaks the conservative mold. Touted by some as the likely successor to Billy Graham. On Saturday, pastor Rick Warren, author of "The Purpose-Driven Life," will do what no one else has yet accomplished: bring the presumptive GOP and Democratic presidential nominees onto the same stage to discuss their views. It's a sign of religion's importance in the 2008 presidential campaign. The event, back-to-back one-hour interviews at Mr. Warren's California megachurch, will be broadcast live on CNN and streamed on the Web. It also represents the emergence of a new style of evangelical leadership on...

When John McCain and Barack Obama appear on the same stage Saturday at the sprawling religious campus of Orange County's Saddleback Church, their presence will vividly underline the reach that has made Pastor Rick Warren among the most significant evangelists of his generation. ~snip~ But Warren's willingness to soft-pedal political issues once central to U.S. evangelicals, such as opposition to abortion, has opened him to criticism that he has strayed from his calling to spread the Gospel. It's likely that both fans and critics will be watching closely when Warren plays host to the two presidential contenders at his church...

Mosques are multiplying across the country and their inspiration may come as a bit of a surprise – Christian megachurches. Similar to many megachurches, new mosques are popping up as extension campuses to a main mosque with the stated goal of making it more convenient for Muslims in an area to worship. These extended mosque sites are sometimes referred to as “mosque chains” and tend to be adopted by more progressive Muslim congregations. "Because of how streamlined we are, you can get off the highway from anywhere and find a mosque that is well-maintained, well-structured and that will always be...

Presidential hopefuls John McCain and Barack Obama will speak Aug. 16 at Saddleback Church in what is expected to be the only joint campaign event for the candidates before the national conventions. The Lake Forest megachurch’s pastor, Rick Warren, will moderate the joint appearance, which will take place on the eve of the two national party conventions. After a brief appearance together, the two candidates will separately spend an hour talking with Warren.

The 23rd Psalm rolled off the Rev. Jason Strand's tongue with soothing familiarity, the way it had since he memorized it as a boy. "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters ..." But up on the 16-by-24-foot screens flanking Strand, the PowerPoint version displayed the updated words "quiet waters" instead of the "still waters" of Strand's memory. Amy Anderson noticed the problem instantly. She began scribbling notes in her three-ring binder, then flipped to a new page to catch up with what...

A campaign worker for Barack Obama and the Texas Methodist pastor who advises President Bush have been linked to a website that bashes prominent Christian leader and Focus on the Family founder James Dobson. The site, called "jamesdobsondoesntspeakforme," appeared just days ago after Dobson criticized Obama's interpretation of the Bible during a 2006 speech and Obama responded essentially by calling Dobson a liar, accusing him of "making things up." Now a report from OneNewsNow, a division of the American Family Association, said the website originally was registered to Obama campaign worker Alyssa Martin, but the registration later was changed to...

Barack Obama discussed Darfur, the Iraq war, gay rights, abortion and other issues Tuesday with Christian leaders, including conservatives who have been criticized for praising the Democratic presidential candidate. Bishop T.D. Jakes, a prominent black clergyman who heads a Dallas megachurch, said Obama took questions, listened to participants and discussed his "personal journey of faith." The discussion "went absolutely everywhere," Jakes told The Associated Press, and "just about every Christian stripe was represented in that room." Jakes, who does not endorse candidates and said he also hopes to meet with Republican presidential candidate John McCain, said some participants clearly have...

Jackson, Tn - It's a Sunday morning in Jackson, Tennessee, and for David O'Rouke, on this particular Sunday, it's a day of uncertainty and possible change. O'Rouke, who has been a long time member of the popular Longview Baptist Church, which has over 15,000 members, has ventured out into the unknown, paying a visit to the much smaller but friendly congregation of Mt. Olive Baptist Church on the outskirts of town. With just over 300 active members and a 4 member praise band, Mt. Olive's worship service is a far cry from the massive production that occurs every Sunday at...

The California pastor who has helped churches worldwide increase attendance by leaps and bounds through his “purpose driven” phenomena now has his eye on New York City. Wed, Jan. 30, 2008 Posted: 11:25:35 AM EST MT. BETHEL, Pa. - The California pastor who has helped churches worldwide increase attendance by leaps and bounds through his “purpose driven” phenomena now has his eye on New York City. Speaking at the 17th annual Pastors' Prayer Summit in Pennsylvania Tuesday, Rev. Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life, asked for the collaboration of 300 pastors and church leaders from the Greater New...

Texas: Plano man Joe Barron, 52, a minister at Prestonwood Baptist Church near Dallas, was arrested after driving nearly 200 miles to Bryan to meet who he thought was a 13-year-old girl he had been chatting with sexually online for roughly two weeks. The girl was actually an undercover agent leading police to Barron and his car, inside of which they found condoms and a web-cam. He had been with the 26,000-member church for 18 months; they said this was the first incident of this type with Barron. Executive pastor Mike Buster said, "We are disturbed and saddened by the...

An evangelical pastor who backs John McCain tried to put his controversial remarks about the Catholic Church behind him, apologizing to the head of the Catholic League and expressing "deep regret for any comments Catholics found hurtful." ...In his letter, Hagee said he had gained a better understanding in recent weeks of the Catholic Church's relationship to the Jewish faith. He wrote of his "profound respect for the Catholic people" and said he hoped to advance "greater unity among Catholics and evangelicals." The Catholic League said in a statement that it accepted the apology. "Pastor John Hagee has demonstrated an...

After modeling a seeker-sensitive approach to church growth for three decades, Willow Creek Community Church now plans to gear its weekend services toward mature believers seeking to grow in their faith. cut Since 1975, Willow Creek has avoided conventional church approaches, using its Sunday services to reach the unchurched through polished music, multimedia, and sermons referencing popular culture and other familiar themes. cut .....surveyed congregants at Willow Creek and six other churches, suggested that evangelistic impact was greater from those who self-reported as "close to Christ" or "Christ-centered" than from new church attendees. In addition, a quarter of the "close...

The American Family Outing, a gay-friendly outreach to mega-churches, responds to Family Research Council fund-raising letter.Austin, TX (PRWEB) April 10, 2008 -- On Thursday, April 3, 2008, The Gay City News reported on a Family Research Council (FRC) fundraising letter devoted to the American Family Outing, a project that aims to create dialogue between lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) families and members at six American mega-churches. The letter, dated March 2008 and signed by FRC President Tony Perkins, asks for $50,000 to create "Church Crisis Response Teams" to react to same-sex couples and their children who have expressed a desire...

TV preacher Joel Osteen shuns lavish lifestyle of some others MARK I. PINSKY The Orlando Sentinel ORLANDO, Fla. — If the evangelical world is looking for a poster child to offset the negative publicity surrounding rich televangelists, Joel Osteen would be a good choice. Joel Osteen, pastor of the nation’s largest megachurch, preaches at Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, where services are broadcast around the world.MCT Photo Times Leader Photo Store Osteen is among the nation’s most widely recognized television ministers, trailing only Billy Graham and Rick Warren, and in 2006 was named the most influential Christian in America by...

February 27, 2008, 6:22 pm Mega-Church Pastor in Texas Backs McCain By Elisabeth Bumiller SAN ANTONIO — Senator John McCain got support on Wednesday from an important corner of evangelical Texas when the pastor of a San Antonio mega-church, Rev. John C. Hagee, endorsed Mr. McCain for president. Mr. Hagee, who argues that the United States must join Israel in a preemptive, biblically prophesized military strike against Iran that will lead to the second coming of Christ, praised Mr. McCain for his pro-Israel views. “John McCain has publicly stated his support of the state of Israel, pledging that his administration...

Joel Osteen wants you to stand up straight. "Even many good, godly people have gotten into a bad habit of slumping and looking down," Mr. Osteen writes in his best-selling self-improvement tract Become a Better You. "[Y]ou need to put your shoulders back, hold your head up high, and communicate strength, determination, and confidence." After all, "We know we're representing Almighty God. Let's learn to walk tall." Mr. Osteen is the pastor of Houston's Lakewood Church, a Pentecostal congregation recently named the largest in the country by Outlook magazine, hosting some 47,000 souls in the former Compaq Center, where the...

According to the Family Research Council, a new Barna poll shows that the "born again," whatever that might this week, now overwhelmingly support Hillary (20% of the "born again" vote) and Obama (18%). How is it possible that seemingly devout Christians could support the party that stands like a phalanx behind partial birth abortion and redefining marriage into oblivion and opposes biblical free market principles? Look no further than "America's Pastor" and the Saddleback Church, where Obama and Hillary were guests last year. Rick Warren, while claiming to be acting in a Christian, conciliatory manner, treating these leftwing politicians as...

People were walking toward the impressive auditorium from every direction. I got the impression of a crowd going to a sporting event. Almost every person was dressed as if they were. Out of thousands of people, I saw one man wearing a suit; most people were in shorts so I saw lots of leg. It was a very causal event. I did see five or six women carrying what seemed to be Bibles, although surely not a KJV! But then, I’m making an unsupported judgment. Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, IL is having an incredible impact on “evangelical”...

This winter, as the Rev. Joel Osteen graces the pages of People Magazine, the familiar image of the old-school, anti-gay televangelist is rapidly being replaced by a new iconography: a younger generation of mega-church leaders with upbeat and inviting messages. Unfortunately, while this generation's tone may seem less harsh, many of their mega-churches still enforce policies of exclusion and teach theologies that label Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) people as sick, sinful, and in need of change. An "American Family Outing" is taking shape in the spring of 2008 so LGBT families can talk with mega-church leaders and congregation...

"Small Church Manifesto." We will no longer purchase any teaching videos or books produced by mega-church pastors. We will no longer feel guilty that our 1897-version sanctuary is not suited for today's contemporary worship services. Neither, we believe, is a pastor's theology suspect because he doesn't wear his shirttails out and sit on a stool while preaching. We will no longer feel that a sermon is lacking something if it doesn't include a video clip from a major motion picture. We will no longer use any statistics produced by religious research groups that are paid for by our denominational contributions...

ATLANTA - The 80-year-old leader of a suburban Atlanta megachurch has been charged with lying under oath, court documents show. A warrant for the arrest of Archbishop Earl Paulk, co-founder of Cathedral of the Holy Spirit at Chapel Hill Harvester Church, was issued Monday, according to court documents. Paulk was making arrangements Monday night to turn himself in to authorities, WAGA-TV reported. Paulk's attorneys did not immediately return calls from The Associated Press for comment. Former church employee Mona Brewer is suing Paulk, his brother, Don, and the church for allegedly manipulating her into an affair from 1989 to 2003...

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) — Republican Mike Huckabee spoke from the pulpit Sunday, not as a politician but as the preacher he used to be, and delivered a sermon on how merely being good isn't enough to get into heaven. Huckabee is vying for support from the Christian conservatives who dominate the GOP in South Carolina, which on Saturday chooses a Republican presidential nominee. A former Baptist minister and Arkansas governor, Huckabee is competing for their votes with fellow southerner Fred Thompson. As in Iowa, where Huckabee won the Jan. 3 caucuses, Huckabee is rousing pastors to marshal their flocks for...

Megachurch leaders such as Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, and Robert Schuller have principles like the elastic in an old woman’s drawers: It will stretch to fit almost any shape! They have problems with principle. It seems their ambition has outrun their character. In deciding right and wrong, character does not consider friends or foes, personality or position; family or faith; reputation or riches, but will apply absolute truth that comes from the Scripture. The above three leaders of aberrational Christianity are very careful to never offend anyone with such “barbaric” teachings as personal sin, repentance, judgment, hell and the like;...