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Please keep my son Gabriel and I in your prayers as we work here in China. Here are some updates. Denny China Diary Entry #4 November 03, 2009 "Don't you hate it when you go to wash some clothes in the bathroom sink and the sink falls off of the wall and shatters on the floor at your feet? Only in China. I think I should forget the room deposit!" Posted: 04:58 AM China Diary entry #3 November 03, 2009 (Nov.1)The children are very curious around us in these areas. The roads to get here were mostly dirt and rough....

The heart of Glass House Ministries was born during a painful season in our family, when both our sons succumbed to the temptation to use drugs and consequently battled with the force of addiction in their lives. As Christians, Wayne and I raised our four children to honor and respect the Lord, doing our best to train and disciple them to live a lifestyle of integrity. The problems we faced with our boys left us wrestling with anger, hurt, and confusion, as we tried to figure out where we’d gone wrong as parents. We experienced two types of attitudes within...

It was the middle of the night. I was asleep. My mom came in and started punching me. She said I didn't fold my clothes right. I threw her off of me. She was real drunk. She started on me again. The police came. She said: 'What? I'm just kicking my son's ass.' Just another night. -- Carlos, 17 :: The little school in South Los Angeles is the end of the road, reserved for those who have bombed out of the rest of the system. The mildest cases were merely kicked out of their last school. The toughest are...

The motorcycles roared down the street, their riders in black leather vests. Long hair peeked from under helmets. Clad in jeans, dark shades and short-sleeve shirts revealing the occasional tattoo, they parked their bikes and headed toward the Catholic church last month. Almost 100 strong, these bikers are out to change public opinion. One sported a patch on his vest that read: "These Are My Sunday Clothes." They're not your father's Knights of Columbus. They're knights on bikes, New Jersey's first Knights' Motorcycle Ministry. "We want to make sure that the public image of bikers isn't what they see on...

OLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (BP)--Focus on the Family's Love Won Out conferences, which equip the church to reach out to homosexuals, are being transferred to Exodus International, the longtime partners have announced. The transitioning of the conferences from Colorado-based Focus on the Family to Florida-based Exodus comes 11 years after the first Love One Out conference was held. Exodus International speakers always have been featured prominently at the conferences, and Focus on the Family says it will continue to provide speakers and financial support to the conferences. A joint press release Aug. 11 said the transition was a "logical step for...

Focus on the Family announced on Tuesday that it will be passing the reigns of its Love Won Out conferences on homosexuality to another ministry. he move is a logical step, the Colorado Springs-based evangelical organization said, especially as it faces a "serious" budget shortfall. "Everyone knows these are challenging times for organizations and individuals all across the globe," said Gary Schneeberger, vice president of media and public relations for Focus on the Family, in a statement. "It is not an inexpensive undertaking to put on a Love Won Out event; and contrary to what our detractors say, the conferences...

It took a couple of pints of Shock Top ale, but eventually Danyelle Price knew what she wanted to ask her pastor about the book of Psalms...Price, 31, was sitting in the Tavern bar with about 20 members of an after-church gathering called Austin Inklings and hosted by Immanuel Church. Like several other groups in Austin, the Inklings pair drinking with spontaneous dialogue about faith. Price said she thinks such groups should be called "Christians like beer, too."

In a bit of random news, a federal judge ruled last week that Dinosaur Aventure Land, a creationism theme park in Pensacola, Florida, would be seized. The park's owners were convicted of tax fraud and the land the park inhabits and the two bank accounts associated with it will be expropriated to satisfy $430,400 owed to the federal government in taxes. The seizure of the property is the result of 17 years of the park's owner, Kent Hovind, fighting the federal government over $470,000 in employee taxes owed. Hovind claimed he was employed by God and his "ministers" -- I'm...

Dr.Michael Brown Director of the Coalition of Conscience. Statement to the media complete text, July 25,2009 "We are here today to reach out and resist –– to reach out to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community with compassion, as neighbors and friends and fellow-workers, and to declare God’s great love for GLBT [gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender] people. And we are here to resist the gay activist agenda and to send a message to the nation. As followers of Jesus, we first confess our own sins –– our lack of ardent love for homosexual men and women, our lack...

A former champion surfer, Mary Setterholm suffered sexual abuse and turned to prostitution before finding a new path. Next month, she’ll begin the master’s of divinity program at Columbia University’s Union Theological Seminary. Real life stories of redemption and healing don't get much better than this. How long until Lifetime turns it into a movie? From the Los Angeles Times: It's another beautiful day in paradise and I'm out on the ocean, riding waves with a former national surfing champion and onetime prostitute who's about to join a seminary. Go ahead, try to name one other state where I could...

Exodus Youth, part of the evangelical ministry Exodus International that deals with the issue of homosexuality, is aiming to reverse a "disturbing" trend seen across churches and perceived widely by young Americans – that the Church is anti-homosexual. Homosexuality is a topic that churches are still struggling to address in a culture that is increasingly accepting gay and lesbian lifestyles. It's a struggle that hasn't come across to many Americans in a positive light. "I think for a long time, the church just hasn't known how to talk about homosexuality," said Exodus Youth Director Scott Davis. "They've been very uncomfortable...

ACLU pushes prison to stop cutting out Bible passages included in letters from the outside.

A group of individuals was recently denied the privilege of having a booth at the Twin Cities Pride Festival due to the fact that they believe what the Bible says about homosexuality. The following email correspondence has been posted as a result.

A Christian group in Missouri will be allowed to freely distribute religious literature at “gay pride” event this weekend after a federal judge ruled in their favor. Another Christian group in Michigan, however, was not so fortunate in its quest for free distribution at a recent Arab festival but is still hopeful for a favorable conclusion. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds denied a motion from Calif.-based ministry Arabic Christian Perspective (ACP) for a temporary restraining order that would have prohibited the city of Dearborn, Mich., from restricting the group from handing out literature during the Arab International Festival,...

The sudden crush of worshipers packing the small evangelical Shelter Rock Church in Manhasset, N.Y. — a Long Island hamlet of yacht clubs and hedge fund managers — forced the pastor to set up an overflow room with closed-circuit TV and 100 folding chairs, which have been filled for six Sundays straight. In Seattle, the Mars Hill Church, one of the fastest-growing evangelical churches in the country, grew to 7,000 members this fall, up 1,000 in a year. At the Life Christian Church in West Orange, N.J., prayer requests have doubled — almost all of them aimed at getting or...

Venezuela and Bolivia are supplying Iran with uranium for its nuclear program, according to a secret Israeli government report obtained Monday by The Associated Press. The two South American countries are known to have close ties with Iran, but this is the first allegation that they are involved in the development of Iran's nuclear program, considered a strategic threat by Israel.

Christian Children's Fund is changing its name to ChildFund International. The board of directors of the worldwide relief organization voted this week on the change as part of a new strategy. The new name aims to reflect the charity's worldwide reach and its affiliation with the ChildFund Alliance, a coalition that includes 11 other international organizations that help children living in poverty. Chief executive Anne Lyman Goddard said Friday that the name change, which takes effect July 1, will standardize the ChildFund name globally among groups that work to connect donors to programs that help children. "Now working under different...

I was watching Sunday ABC News and the Salvation Army was the big sponsor for the newscast. They showed a commercial that was very touching. The Salvation Army is the greatest organization ever created! It is truly doing God's work. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90cfMSqAj0o&feature=related

ESPN's Chris Mortensen reports that Tony Dungy will meet with suspended QB Michael Vick in early May. Dungy is expected to be a kind of sponsor for Vick as he attempts to achieve reinstatement. Mortensen also said that Vick is very likely to be let back in the league this season.

I was a porn star. I was living the unglamorous life in the porn industry...

Only after the Strongmen had torn the phone books and smashed the ice slabs did I figure out how Team Impact and their “feats of strength ministry” worked. But by then it was too late. By then my 10-year-old son had already accepted Jesus Christ as his personal lord and savior. Before we continue, I’d like to make it plain that I have no problem with Team Impact, in particular, nor the Southern Baptist Convention, in general, with which Coppell-based Team Impact is affiliated. Also, I love Jesus Christ. It’s just that I’m Catholic. We are raising our son Catholic....

Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these? " "Yes, Lord," he said, "you knoyv that I love you," Jesus said, "Feed my lambs. "Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me? " He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. " Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep. " (John 21:15-16) The silver morning mist arises from Galilee, as we see Jesus speaking to His disciples after His resurrection. Jesus looks at Peter and three times asks, "Do you love Me more than these?"...

This video arrangement has an Merlin falcon expounding the Biblical New Testament scripture verse John 3:16-17.

In a respectful and compassionate manner, Nightline’s March 12 broadcast of the “Faith Matters” series brought to light a group of reformed prostitutes who have turned to religion and who are helping other women leave the destructive life of a Vegas prostitute. Hookers for Jesus is a group started by former prostitute Annie Lobert who hit rock bottom with a cocaine overdose, and decided to leave the prostitute lifestyle when, as she put it, God changed her life. ABC reporter Neal Karlinsky graciously told her story and the story of other women who have found hope through Lobert’s ministry and...

ELKHART, Ind. - In this job-starved city where President Barack Obama last month made a public appeal for his economic stimulus plan, hundreds of volunteers — and an agency that specializes in handing out food — worked together Tuesday to feed 5,200 hungry families. Roughly 300 local volunteers worked with Feed the Children to distribute more than $2.1 million worth of food at Concord Mall as part of the nonprofit relief organization’s “Feeding Americans Emergency Caravan.” The caravan of semi-trailers is visiting small cities and towns across America hit hard by the economic crisis. No area in Indiana has been...

Fairly inspirational.

WAUPUN, WI — At 51, he looks two decades older. His thin body is swallowed up by the afghan that covers his bed. The blanket's vibrant colors, and the powder-blue paint on the walls, make his gaunt face look even paler. His chest is sunken, his limbs are fragile and doctors just found two new fractures in his spine. He is in some pain but says he's at peace in this place. "I'm very comfortable here," he said in a voice one must strain to hear. "I wouldn't wish this on anybody or anything, but I would never get treated...

This video, shot by the Anchorage Daily News on Friday, highlights interviews with Gov. Sarah Palin and Franklin Graham, and it's interesting, not because of Graham -- son of Rev. Billy Graham -- but because of Palin's thoughtful remarks on the never-ending struggle facing many villages. Palin approached a topic that most Alaska politicians shy away from -- the need to seek employment and opportunities outside village Alaska. (For Outside readers, there are more than 200 villages in Alaska, most unconnected to roads and the power grid.) Palin may have been criticized for not reacting swiftly enough to cries for...

The new president of HCJB Global says the Christian radio ministry now has an estimated seven million mostly-Muslim listeners in North Africa and the Middle East. Wayne Pederson says the Arab world is full of "lost people who need Jesus, and they're getting tired of a message of hate and are looking for a message of love." He says that through HCJB radio broadcasts, the gospel is penetrating Muslim societies -- so much so that entire households, and in some cases entire villages, are converting to Christianity. When Jesus came, He didn't just preach. He healed. And so we want...

Millard Fuller, who at 29 walked away from his life as a successful businessman to devote himself to the poor, eventually starting Habitat for Humanity International, which spread what he called “the theology of the hammer� by building more than 300,000 homes worldwide, died Tuesday near Americus, Ga. He was 74. His brother, Doyle, said Mr. Fuller became ill with a severe headache and chest pains and was taken to a hospital in Americus, his hometown. He died in an ambulance on the way to a larger hospital in Albany, Ga. Doyle Fuller said the cause had not been determined,...

For decades he was a fixture on the Billy Graham Crusade stage and on televisions in living rooms around the country. Now, George Beverly Shea, the award-winning baritone who is often described as "America's Beloved Gospel Singer", will reach a new milestone in his storied life - the century mark. Shea will celebrate his 100th birthday on Sunday, February 1. One day later, he will be the guest of honour during a special private gathering of family and friends at the Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove in Asheville, North Carolina. "On the ladder of life, I have reached...

Song performed by the reverend Erik Goodman and church members on a Christmas trip to visit Inmates at Oklahoma State penitentiary. Big Mac. Sponsored By Jack Peery Prison Ministries, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma Christmas 2008.

On Monday afternoon the LLM team will be traveling up to DC. Please pray for us and all of the other Christians who will be preaching and witnessing on the street. As many as 5 million people are expected to be coming to DC for the Inauguration so we will all be very busy. Our Truth Truck will also be on the street so pray for the protection of the truck and drivers. Would you like to come along to share the Gospel to the masses? Contact me for more information. "If sinners be dammed, at least let them leap...

A Prison Evangelist Answers the Bishops If the bishops truly wish to address crime they need to stop preaching generic values and start preaching the totality of Catholic morality.Russell L. Ford Homiletic & Pastoral Review – September 2001“As Catholic bishops, our response to crime in the United States is a moral test for our nation and a challenge for our church” [sic]. This is the opening sentence to a new document on criminal justice called Responsibility, Rehabilitation and Restoration: A Catholic Perspective on Crime and Criminal Justice, issued by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) in November 2000. What follows is a...

SHAWNEE, Okla. (BP)--Steve Green's father, David, started his retail career in high school through the DECA program. Never the model student, but with an affinity for math, David Green embraced the opportunity provided by the work program, starting the art-supplies store Hobby Lobby in a 300-square-foot space in 1972. Thirty-six years later, the retail chain now operates 407 stores, reaching sales of about $1.8 billion dollars in 2007. The company operates in a 33-state area, with headquarters in Oklahoma City. The family built the company not only on sound financial and business plans, but also on a legacy of faith...

NEW YORK — Twenty-two New York City churches have been ordered by the city to stop providing shelter to the homeless. With temperatures below freezing Saturday, the churches had to follow a city rule requiring faith-based shelters to be open at least five days a week or not at all. Arnold Cohen, president of the Partnership for the Homeless, a non-profit organization that serves as a link between city officials and shelters, delivered the news to the churches several weeks ago that they no longer qualify. As a result hundreds of people now won't have a place to sleep, he...

NEW YORK (CBS) ― City officials have ordered 22 New York churches to stop providing beds to homeless people. With temperatures well below freezing early Saturday, the churches must obey a city rule requiring faith-based shelters to be open at least five days a week -- or not at all. Arnold Cohen, president of the Partnership for the Homeless, a nonprofit that serves as a link with the city, said he had to tell the churches they no longer qualify. He said hundreds of people now won't have a place to sleep. The Department of Homeless Services said the city...

Liz Freeman's recent trip to a home storage center wasn't motivated by reports of a slipping stock market or looming recession. It was simply part of her long-term plan. Two weeks ago, Freeman visited the home storage center at Welfare Square in Salt Lake City with a list in hand, leaving with three cases of items to add to her inventory. Long before she began scooping dried onions, refried beans and hot cocoa mix into No. 10 cans, she made sure to measure her needs and weigh them against her budget. It's part of a steady, systematic approach she's maintained...

Suppose you were sitting in church one Sunday peacefully minding your own business, praying that God grant our new president the wisdom to do what is right when suddenly, the sanctity of the church is violated in the most horrific way by vandals, thugs, and screaming lunatics. This is what happened at a small church in Lansing, MI called Mount Hope. From the blog Right Michigan: Mount Hope, for the record, is an evangelical, bible believing church whose members provide free 24 hour counseling, prayer lines, catastrophic care for families dealing with medical emergencies, support groups for men, women and...

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Evangelist Billy Graham was hospitalized Saturday after tripping and falling over one of his dogs at his North Carolina home, a hospital spokeswoman said. The 89-year-old Graham was at Mission Hospital in Asheville with discomfort and bruising and hoped to be home later in the day, said spokeswoman Merrell Gregory. He was listed in fair condition and his physicians report that X-rays showed no broken bones, Gregory said in a news release. -Snip- The Southern Baptist minister fell late Friday at his home in Montreat, N.C. Earlier this year, Graham had elective surgery to update a shunt...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Gov. Sarah Palin's church is promoting a conference that promises to convert gays into heterosexuals through the power of prayer. "You'll be encouraged by the power of God's love and His desire to transform the lives of those impacted by homosexuality," according to the insert in the bulletin of the Wasilla Bible Church, where Palin has prayed since she was a child.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Gov. Sarah Palin's church is promoting a conference that promises to convert gays into heterosexuals through the power of prayer.

THE NEON SIGNS at Sauna City, a nightclub-and-massage complex in northern Beijing, offered little promise of spiritual comfort. But the rent was good and the landlord sympathetic, so Jin and his partners signed a lease in May 2007 on their improbable new home, a fifth-floor office large enough for 150 chairs, a choir and a band. Then Jin took a step once inconceivable for a non-sanctioned church in China: He printed business cards. In proclaiming his name and number and the location of the newly christened Zion Church, he spurned the label of "underground" church. He describes his group as...

The recent liturgy of ordination to the diaconate honored the ministry of presence which is primary to the vocation of permanent deacons. Nineteen men were ordained as permanent deacons at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angles June 7 before a congregation of more than 2,500 faithful. During the nearly three-hour liturgy, Cardinal Roger Mahony, main celebrant, prayed for the blessings of the Holy Spirit to be poured forth on this class of deacons known as St. Ignatius. "May there abound in them every Gospel virtue," said the cardinal, "love, concern for the sick and poor, unassuming authority, the...

Temetum Per Occasionem. If it is true that the Holy Spirit works in each and every baptized person, then what is the role of the individual believer when something contrary to the Gospel of Jesus is preached in a faith community? Is it to sit idly and say nothing? Is it to walk out and come no more? Or is it to confront and open dialogue in search of truth? Is it not a sad commentary that no one in a congregation is willing to question, to perhaps object, or at least seek clarification? Are members of such a congregation...

Homosexual activist groups long have denied that ex-"gays" exist and have charged those ministries that work with the needs of those desiring to leave the lifestyle are fraudulent. One such activist even recently attributed the crime of rape to the "sickness" of the ex-"gay" movement. But some attacks on those who have left the lifestyle, or are trying to, go far beyond verbal denigration, according to those who have experienced it, including Joe and Marion Allen. Their son Bart was in the process of leaving the homosexual lifestyle in 2001 when the "gay" with whom he'd shared an apartment strangled...

New research shows that a majority of churches use some type of emerging technology in their services, but the pace of technology adoption has slowed in recent years. Although 65 percent of Protestant churches now have a large screen projection system, that number is just slightly higher than in 2005 when 62 percent had such a system, according to The Barna Group. The use of large screens had jumped from the year 2000 when only 39 percent were using them. Since 2005, there was only a 5 percent increase in the adoption of a large screen projection system. The Barna...

One of Canada’s largest Christian ministries dedicated to caring for the disabled was fined $23,000 recently by the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario for allegedly discriminating against a former homosexual employee. Connie Heintz claimed discrimination against Christian Horizons after she said she was “subjected to a poisoned work environment” and pressured into quitting her job after she entered a homosexual relationship – which was in violation of her work contract back in 2000. In line with its Christian foundation and principles, the ministry requires that all its employees sign “morality statements” vowing to abstain from immoral behavior, including pornography, pre-marital,...

Imagine that Mother Theresa and her Missionaries of Charity had been told that their ministry in the streets of Calcutta was, in essence, not ministry but “social work.� In order for the sisters to continue in their work, they would no longer be permitted to require that staff members share their beliefs and ministry commitment. As bizarre as this may sound, this is essentially what a single adjudicator acting as an Ontario Human Rights Tribunal recently decided in the case of Heintz v Christian Horizons. Christian Horizons is, and has been since 1964, a practical ministry expression of the Evangelical...

Seth Kleg is a Hollywood casting director who has founded The Christian Studio to produce films that have a positive moral vision. The end result will be a nonstop stream of excellent movies released with budgets ranging from $100,000 to $25,000,000. There are a lot of good people working in the motion picture industry who are working to make it better. However, the messages in most of the PG-13 and R-rated movies reflect a total disregard for God and His commandments. The numerous times God’s name is taken in vain, the use of four-letter words, exploitation of sex and violence,...