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<p>MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — After listening to his sermons for 24 years, parishioners of the Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church probably thought they knew the Rev. Juan D. McFarland.</p> <p>But from the very pulpit where he preached about God's love and service to the community, he delivered some stunning revelations: He had had affairs with women in the parish — and neglected to tell them he had AIDS.</p>

Last Thursday evening I had my pastor over to Casa de Giles to enjoy one of my fine cigars with the family and me. During the course of catching up, I found out that several new families from a local South Florida mega-church had left that zoo and had joined our church. The reason why they said they absconded had me gobsmacked – and I’m a hard critter to shock. Having been in the ministry for twenty-five years, I’ve pretty much heard it all and have seen it all, but I wasn’t ready for this curve ball. This time it...

I encounter so many struggling pastors. And unfortunately, I know so many who used to be pastors but no longer hold the position. It may be through a blatant sin or a casual drifting from doing what they knew to be right, but it landed them in disaster. A pastor friend of mine said recently, “We need healthy churches and we need healthy pastors.” Amen. Agreed. We must stand guard. What are we guarding against? No single post would be perfect. Obviously sin, but I can’t address everything that gets in the way of a healthy pastor. I can only...

Earlier this month, a preacher delivering a homophobic sermon set up camp outside the Carrier Library at James Madison University in Virginia. According to reports, the radical preacher was telling gay individuals they were going to hell, in addition to telling students who identified as Christians they too were headed “straight to hell” for living a life of sin. Instead of reciprocating with hateful rhetoric, however, JMU students responded in an admirable way. As the preacher rages on, one student began to play the guitar while others sang the hymn “How He Loves.” “This is the way you handle it,”...

CONCORD, N.C. — A former Concord youth pastor was sentenced to at least 16 months in prison after pleading guilty to molesting young boys in his care. WECT-TV reported that Robert Price pleaded guilty to three counts of indecent liberties with a child.

ooks by megachurch Pastor Mark Driscoll have been pulled from 180 Christian stores. LifeWay stores have temporarily suspended sales of his books, including "A Call to Resurgence" and "Real Marriage." "LifeWay Stores and LifeWay.com are not selling Mark Driscoll's books while we assess the situation regarding his ministry," the company said in a statement. lRelated Lauren Bacall on writing: The most complete experience I've ever had Jacket Copy Lauren Bacall on writing: The most complete experience I've ever had See all related 8 Driscoll founded Seattle's Mars Hill Church in 1996; it has grown to a reported 13,000 attendees and...

Full Title: Hope Carpenter Repents, Apologizes to SC Megachurch for First Time Since Husband Ron Carpenter Revealed Marital Woes _____________________ Hope Hilley Carpenter, wife of Pastor Ron Carpenter, has addressed for the very first time their marital woes that were made public last year before the congregation she and her husband founded over 20 years ago. Mrs. Carpenter repented and apologized to members of Redemption World Outreach Center, but did not cite the specific sins or behavior she regards as stumbling blocks to her husband, family and church community. This past Sunday, Pastor Carpenter took a few minutes before his...

It’s not easy being a celebrity pastor these days with that pesky Internet around. Consider the struggles of Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Seattle. Faced with mounting accusations circulating online — plagiarism, misusing church funds to prop book sales, silencing anyone in his church with the temerity to question him — Driscoll has urged his followers to stay off the Web. “It’s all shenanigans anyway,” he explains. Steven Furtick, a megachurch pastor in North Carolina, and Dave Ramsey, an evangelical finance guru, have been taking hits, too, as have the wheeler-dealers on the Preachers of L.A. reality show....

LITTLE ROCK, AR - According to the Little Rock Police Department, Jacob J. Taylor was arrested for parole violations. Additional investigations have been started. We will bring you updates as they become available to us. video on link

FULL TITLE: Duane Youngblood: Pastor Who Wrote Book About Overcoming Homosexuality Arrested For Molesting Teen Boy Duane Youngblood once wrote a book about how he was able to de-convert from homosexuality, but police say the Pittsburgh pastor was actually sexually abusing a teenage boy over the course of several years. Youngblood, who leads the Higher Call World Outreach Church, was arrested this week and charged with corrupting a minor. The boy, who has since turned 21, told police that Youngblood abused him over the course of nearly three years. The young man claimed that the sexual assaults took place inside...

We broke the news that Planned Parenthood, the nation’s top abortion provider had published a Pastoral Letter to Patients. The outrage of the pro-life community to this heretical letter was so great that the abortion giant pulled it off the Internet.Now I have discovered a 2nd letter called “Pastoral Letter About Your Abortion Decision”. The letter features Planned Parenthood’s RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS COMMITTEEReverend Debbie Pitney, Reverend Steve Carlson, Reverend Ken Henry, Reverend Ben Dake, Reverend Melanie Oommen, Reverend Gregory Flint, Reverend Danna Drum Hastings, Reverend Dan Bryant, Reverend Zane Wilson, Reverend Jonathan Weldon, Reverend Jan Fairchild, Reverend Bruce Cameron, and Rabbi...

BROKEN ARROW, Okla. (BP) -- When George Aguilar broke into and vandalized a Baptist church, the last thing he expected to find was love and forgiveness. But that November night in 2004 changed the 20-year-old man's life forever. That year, Aguilar, a native of El Salvador -- who at age 10 came to live with his father in the U.S. as a legal resident -- found himself without a place to live. He moved in with some young men in Tulsa who were involved in stealing items and converting them to cash. An impressionable young man who lost his job...

BALTIMORE, Md. – Southern Baptists elected Arkansas Pastor Ronnie Floyd on Tuesday to be the new president of the nation's largest Protestant denomination. Floyd was elected by messengers during the Southern Baptist Convention's 2014 Annual Meeting, beating out SBC presidential nominees Dennis Manpoong Kim of Maryland and Jared Moore of Kentucky. Over 3,000 messengers voted and Floyd won on the first ballot, receiving 51.6 percent of the votes. Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of The Southern Baptist Theological seminary, had praised the Arkansas pastor, whom he nominated, as "dependable" and "faithful" and someone who will "lead all Southern Baptists...

A California youth pastor has been charged with murder after a fight with a Las Vegas man last year ultimately led to his death. Robert Cox of Manteca, California was just passing through Sin City last June when he stopped for a late dinner with his church group en route to Texas. There he encountered 55-year-old Link Ellingson. A scuffle broke out in which Cox pushed Ellingson over, causing him to hit his head. After a six-month coma, Ellingson died from brain hemorrhaging. Now, police are holding the beloved pastor responsible for his death even as members of his family...

During a conversation with Joel Osteen and his wife Victoria Osteen, HuffPost Live’s Marc Lamont Hill asked whether gay marriage is against the fundamental “rules” of Christianity. Osteen responds by talking about how he doesn’t like to focus on that.

Texas pastor Joel Osteen is getting his own channel on SiriusXM satellite radio, which will air his sermon at Yankee Stadium this Saturday live nationally.

A Baptist church in California has voted to welcome the gay community despite going against the Southern Baptist Convention's views on homosexuality. The New Heart Community Church in La Mirada, CA faced a difficult decision in early 2014 when lead pastor Danny Cortez told the congregation that his son, Drew, had come out -- and that he himself no longer agreed with the church's teachings on homosexuality.

As a pastor who regularly performs weddings, I can tell that some couples are more likely to divorce than others. It’s not most evident in pre-marital counseling or private comments made before the service. I can’t see it as the vows are said or rings exchanged. It’s not even in the kiss. As a pastor, I can predict the likelihood of divorce based on how the wedding cake is exchanged. I’ve been performing wedding ceremonies since I was 18. One of the first ceremonies I performed was pretty routine. Everything went without a hitch until it came time for the...

I have a new poll question up: How often does your pastor preach against abortion annually? Most pro-lifers I know complain their pastor doesn’t talk about the abortion issue enough. So how often is that? Vote on the lower right side of the home page. (Is your pastor resistant? Have him/her read what Franklin Graham thinks.) In the last poll, 90% thought Emily Letts’ “abortion video” damaged the pro-abortion brand… Emily Letts poll - abortion video hurt pro-choice movement As always, make comments to either the previous or current poll here, not on the poll site.

The Rev. Mark Crow, founder of the multisite Victory Church in Oklahoma, resigned Tuesday “after confessing to marital unfaithfulness,” said Executive Pastor Dale Swanson in a statement. “The Victory Church family and staff are praying for Mark, that the same grace we all experience and draw comfort from in our own spiritual journey, will be ever present in Mark’s transition to healing and wholeness,” Swanson continued. Crow, a televangelist who is well-known because of his connection to Oral Roberts University, founded Victory Church with his wife, Jennifer, in 1994. “Mark will be focusing his full attention on his personal relationship...