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In a development that few Episcopalians of four or five years ago could have imagined, the Episcopal bishops of the most powerful and financially secure dioceses have begun to turn on their own once-strong, but now severely weakened, parishes. Having driven out all the dissenters at enormous expense to their coffers, these dioceses are increasingly trying to make up their losses by sacrificing valuable real estate -- even if it means turning out previously loyal congregations from their hard-won property. And -- who could have foreseen it? -- the parishes most harmed by the continuous litigation were precisely those with...

The historic St. Paul’s Episcopal Church known as the “Cathedral of the Confederacy” has begun removing all images of the Confederate flag from within its walls. The measure includes six plaques with various versions of the Confederate flag, the church’s coat of arms with the flag on kneelers at the high altar, and bookplates in some books in the church’s library. The coat of arms will be retired, and the church will start to dig deeper in its history, the role of race and slavery in that history, and how parishioners can engage in conversations about race in the Richmond...

Let us share a trend from Christian Action Network’s Facebook page, where supporters “Like” the things we do and haters bombard us with profanity and/or insults. When we announced our recent petition drive to keep Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe from settling Syrian refugees in our home state (it’s still open; sign it here), the negative reactions all had a similar tone: that we are “unchristian” for opposing a huge, hasty and very political importation of strangers into our midst from a region known for terrorism and extremist violence. Here are some choice examples: How Christian of you.. WWJTA? (Who would...

The conversation surprised me. I was recently meeting with about a dozen members of a church that was on the precipice of closing. During their perceived "good old days," the average worship attendance was in the 40s and 50s. Now the church attendance was in the teens. The church was on metaphorical life support. I shared with them some items of urgency that might give them some glimmer of hope. So I was surprised when one of the members asked me a question that seemed to come from nowhere: "Will we have to sing from screens instead of hymnals?" she...

So I guess the Syrian refugee crisis is the latest complex issue we're supposed to pretend to have all figured out. Well, perhaps against my better judgment, I'm going to admit that I don't have it figured out, exactly. To be honest, I hadn't even thought much about refugee policy until very recently. I haven't spent very much time studying the legal and moral arguments for and against the various different sides. I haven't investigated the theological justifications for all of the possible positions on the subject. I'm not an expert by any means. What I know about the relevant...

Many around me in the coffee shop nodded in agreement in support of welcoming Christian refugees and rejecting those of other faiths. It fits their narrative that they should help persecuted Christians. After all, despite the fact that American Christians are the most entitled and privileged people in the history of the planet, many feel persecuted.One of the more endearing customs of many of our small town Iowa churches on Sunday morning is story time. The pastor welcomes elementary and pre-school aged kids up front, where he or she sits with the children, and shares a parable. Often the pastor...

A Texas congregation with approximately 2,200 members has voted to disaffiliate from Presbyterian Church (USA) over theological differences. First Presbyterian Church of San Antonio members voted Sunday to seek dismissal from PC (USA) and to join the more conservative Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians. According to a vote tally provided to The Christian Post by FPC San Antonio, out of 1,072 voting members present 87.3 percent voted to terminate their affiliation with PC(USA) and 85.6 percent voted to join ECO.

At the House for All Sinners and Saints in the US city of Denver, a foul-mouthed tattoo-loving Lutheran pastor who was once a Pagan, an alcoholic and a stand-up comedian, is reinventing church. Nadia Bolz Weber walks through the glass doors and immediately commands attention. She is 6'1" (185cm), has short, salt-and-pepper hair slicked back from her face, wears dark pink lipstick, and her bare arms are well-toned from many hours spent lifting weights in the gym. There is no dog collar this morning. But I get a clear view of her trademark tattoos. Elaborate, colourful images extend all the...

American Christians have become a lot more tolerant of homosexuality over the past eight years, according to a landmark study released by the Pew Research Center on Tuesday that showed big gains in acceptance since the last time the study was conducted in 2007. The 2014 Religious Landscape Study, a survey of more than 35,000 Americans, examined a vast array of religious and social issues, including immigration. The study concluded that nearly all major religious groups have become significantly more accepting of homosexuality -- and almost all Christian groups are more accepting than they were in 2007. It holds true...

Protestant pastors are increasingly polarized about Islam, as a growing share label the Muslim faith violent while a sharply rising minority calls it spiritually good. Although a majority considers Islam dangerous, a small but increasing segment believes Islam is similar to Christianity, according to a new survey by Nashville-based LifeWay Research. Two-thirds of Protestant pastors agree Christianity and Islam should seek to coexist in America. The softening of some pastors' views toward Islam is a key finding of a LifeWay Research survey of 1,000 Protestant pastors. Seventeen percent of pastors characterize Islam as similar to Christianity, nearly double the 9...

HATTIESBURG, MS (WDAM) - A Baptist church in Hattiesburg that is self-described as "a different kind of Baptist church" was kicked out of the Pine Belt Baptist Association. A written statement by University Baptist Church Pastor Dr. Rusty Edwards said members of the association voted to dismiss UBC from its membership on Tuesday, Oct. 20. ... The statement specifically outlined University Baptist Church's decision to openly affirm the practice of a "homosexual lifestyle" into their church. According to the statement, the church is listed as an "affirming" church on the website gaychurch.org. The Pine Belt Baptist Association said that doctrine...

In Ohio, Reverend Laura Young says she believes pro-life protesters in front of Planned Parenthood and other abortion facilities have “misguided faith.”...In Ohio, Reverend Laura Young says she believes pro-life protesters in front of Planned Parenthood and other abortion facilities have “misguided faith.”...Young also says religious groups are fueling the so-called war on women. She explained, “Women are being attacked at a moral level by the radical Religious Right. They’ve hijacked the political discussion. This event is an opportunity for progressive religious leaders to stop the silence. We need to be in the conversation.”...The abortion reverend heads up a group...

When the 2014 stats came out last week, it was no surprise that The Episcopal Church had again lost membership across the board. However, the newest released figures show that there is a dip in most church growth indicators -- total membership, ASA, congregations, baptisms, communicants, faith formation pupils, confirmations, and receptions from other Christian denominations. There is a slight uptick in marriages and an increase in funerals. For the first time in 75 years, The Episcopal Church's total membership dipped below the two million member mark. TEC's just-released official 2014 stats show worldwide church membership standing at 1,956,042. The...

On Saturday evening, as hundreds of bishops convened in Rome for a major church assembly on family issues, former Vatican priest Krzysztof Charamsa headed a mile across town to a different gathering: the founding meeting of the Global Network of Rainbow Catholics, a group of 13 organizations advocating for inclusion of gays in the church. Charamsa had lost his job just before, when he was fired from his position in the Vatican’s doctrine office after announcing that he was gay and introducing reporters to his boyfriend. “I want the Church and my community to know who I am: a gay...

There was a time when even if you were not Catholic, and even if you strenuously disagreed with Roman Catholic doctrine and practice, you could still expect the pontiffs to be on the right side of world events. Yet, we've come a long way from John Paul II joining with Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher to oppose the Soviet Union and worldwide Communism. Those who believed that Communism "fell" with the Berlin Wall were premature, and didn't realize that it was merely going underground, taking on new forms and putting forward new faces to the public at large. One of...

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican dismissed a priest from his post in a Holy See office on Saturday after he told a newspaper he was gay and urged the Catholic Church to change its stance on homosexuality. Monsignor Krzystof Charamsa was removed from his position at the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican's doctrinal arm where he had worked since 2003, a statement said. Charamsa, 43, and a Polish theologian, announced he was gay and had a partner in a long interview with Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper on Saturday. He later held a news conference...

The last temptation of Christ may not have occurred in the desert when Satan confronted Jesus. In the biblical book of Matthew, Christ goes alone into the desert and fasts for 40 days. While he is starving, the Devil confronts and tempts him: “If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.” Christ answers, “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” The Christian church, both Catholic and Protestant, has faced a similar temptation to turn stone into bread in the form of socialism....

After first refusing to confirm nor deny it, the Vatican has confirmed that Pope Francis met with the Kentucky clerk Kim Davis at the Vatican Embassy in Washington, where Davis' attorney -- who made the news public after the pope's trip ended -- said Francis told her to "stay strong." And that simple encounter completely undermines all the goodwill the pope created in downplaying "the gay issue" on his U.S. trip. The pope played us for fools, trying to have it both ways. As I noted last week, he's an artful politician, telling different audiences what they want to hear...

Appeal comes in briefing paper sent to English bishops attending family synodGay Catholics have sent a briefing paper to the two English bishops attending the family synod next week, urging them to reject “harsh” language about homosexuality. The LGBT Catholics Briefing Paper resulted from a reflection day, sponsored by the LGBT Catholics Westminster Pastoral Council, held in June 2013. The briefing paper is addressed to Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, and Bishop Peter Doyle, Bishop of Northampton and chairman of the bishops’ conference Committee for Marriage and Family Life, who will be at the synod which opens on Sunday....

One thing that that has puzzled a lot of people since the selection of Pope Francis two years ago is how a left-leaning Pope could succeed two very serious conservative Popes—John Paul II and Benedict XVI—who you would have thought had stacked the ranks of the Cardinals with clergy that would perpetuate their theological and philosophical outlook. Was Benedict hounded out of office by some kind of internal Vatican scandal perhaps? Was there some ecclesiastical version of a coup?There’s no evidence that I’m aware of—until now. Three days ago the National Catholic Register ran a very curious article about...