Free Republic

The Charismatic-Pentecostal movement finds itself at a critical juncture. On the one hand, our movement is arguably responsible for the greatest ingathering souls in Church history, with well over 500 million new converts in the last 50 years. On the other hand, abuses abound in our midst, from sexual scandals to financial impropriety and from unaccountable prophecies to doctrinal deviances. It is high time that we do some self-policing. Better that we judge ourselves than be judged by the Lord (see 1 Peter 4:17; 1 Corinthians 11:31-32). I recently signed up to receive emails from a well-known "prophet," curious to...

During a recent conference, Christian speaker Joyce Meyer made a biblical case for getting tattoos and admitted she has been thinking of getting one herself just to shut the mouths of religious people. The video clip posted by Joyce Meyer Ministries on March 14 kicks off with Meyer explaining the difference between being holy and religious. "Holiness is not legalism," Meyer declared. She went on to explain that religious people have made a mess of holiness by putting a bunch of rules and regulations on people. She listed drinking, dancing, wearing makeup and more among those rules. Meyer quoted Isaiah...

A former religious adviser to President George W. Bush has been accused by federal prosecutors of defrauding investors of $3.5 million. Pastor Kirbyjohn Caldwell and a business partner, Gregory Smith, sold millions of dollars of worthless Chinese bonds, telling investors to "remain faithful and that they would receive their money," according to documents obtained by ABC Houston station KTRK. Both men could face significant jail time and be forced to forfeit assets.

Until today, perhaps the most national news-worthy thing Bill Hybels has done is announce his eventual retirement from being the lead pastor Willow Creek Church, a transition which he has planned meticulously. That all changed, though, when the Chicago Tribune published a story about allegations of sexual misconduct leveled at Hybels by prominent current and former leaders at Willow Creek. Hybels has said he believes those making the claims against him have “colluded” against him in an effort to discredit his ministry. According to the Tribune, which conducted an investigation into the allegations, the claims of misconduct are numerous. “The...

Willow Creek Church Welcomes Muslim Cleric's Perspective Following the Sept. 11 attacks, Pastor Bill Hybels, of the Willow Creek Community Church, was increasingly bothered by reports of hate crimes and misinformation about Islam. "I was so concerned by the gap between Muslims and Christians that I thought Willow could do something about that," he said, according to the Chicago Tribune. That "something" was to have his church invite a local Muslim leader, Fisal Hammouda, to talk about Islam to a total of 17,000 churchgoers, spread out over four services. "There are some Christians spreading half-truths that the Koran encourages violence," ...

If you are older than 40 the name Benjamin Spock is more than familiar. It was Spock that told an entire generation of parents to take it easy, don’t discipline your children and allow them to express themselves. Discipline, he told us, would warp a child’s fragile ego. Millions followed this guru of child development and he remained unchallenged among child rearing professionals. However, before his death Dr. Spock made an amazing discovery: he was wrong. In fact, he said: We have reared a generation of brats. Parents aren't firm enough with their children for fear of losing their love...

In the wake of the death of renowned evangelist Billy Graham, controversial faith-healing televangelist Benny Hinn, who has often been criticized for his endorsement of the prosperity gospel, said in a stunning confession Wednesday that sometimes he has taken the erroneous gospel too far. "We get attacked for preaching prosperity, well it's in the Bible, but I think some have gone to the extreme with it sadly, and it's not God's word what is taught and I think I'm as guilty as others. Sometimes you go a little farther than you really need to go and then God brings you...

A new documentary called “The Heretic,” which centers on false teacher Rob Bell, is set to be released on March 1, and features a number of statements that are already raising concern, such as, “The Bible has caused so much damage” and “Jesus would be absolutely mortified that someone started a religion in His name.” Bell explained in a Facebook post on Feb. 1 that he had been approached by filmmaker Andrew Morgan about creating a film surrounding his work and controversial views, which many decry as being apostate and heretical. “A few years ago, the filmmaker Andrew Morgan approached...

Televangelist Kenneth Copeland announced on his website this week that his duplicitous fleecing operation Kenneth Copeland Ministries (KCM) has taken possession of a Gulfstream V airplane. (HT: Christian Daily Reporter) "What a wonderful gift!" Elite CX Team Leader Charlie Bollinger wrote about the purchase on his KCM blog. "We knew the Gulfstream V would come quickly, and now we have it. And it’s all because of you, the faithful KCM Elite CX Team members–combined with the blessings of a FAITHFUL GOD!" Copeland didn't disclose how much the "ministry" paid for the GV. KCM explained that the Holy Spirit had confirmed...

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WATN) - Across the country, people are sounding off after megachurch pastor Andy Savage confessed to having a sexual incident with a 17-year-old girl while he was her youth pastor in Texas 20 years ago. Savage, a teaching pastor at the popular Highpoint Church, admitted Friday that he "regretfully had a sexual incident with a female high school senior in the church." On Sunday, he addressed members of the congregation. Taking to the stage, he could be seen in a YouTube video addressing the crowd, reading from a prepared statement. "As a college student on staff at a...

HOUSTON - So what happens when a guy who looks and dresses like Joel Osteen goes to a Joel Osteen “night of hope?” He gets free parking, gets into the venue and poses with Joel fans, of course. For about 45 minutes, a Los Angeles comedian pretended to be Houston's very own Joel Osteen at an Osteen worship event in California on Oct. 28. He got all the way from the parking lot to the stage just by pretending to be the popular pastor. Is he or isn’t he? Well, that wasn’t even a question on their mind when dozens...

A progressive evangelical pastor whose 2015 pro-gay marriage announcement led to a steep decline in his church's membership now says that he believes he should have given his church more input on the announcement than he did. Pastor Stan Mitchell, founder and head of the Nashville area-based GracePointe Church, garnered national headlines in early 2015 when he said that his church would support and recognize gay marriages. Since the announcement, GracePointe has seen a steep decline in worship attendance, membership and financial giving. In an interview with The Christian Post on Thursday, Mitchell explained that he felt his position of...

Mega-church Pastor Carl Lentz responded Tuesday to criticism about his recent comments on abortion, saying he does believe abortion is a sin but he chose to emphasize grace instead of the sin. Lentz, who leads the influential Hillsong Church in New York City, faced a lot of criticism this week after he side-stepped a question about abortion during his appearance on “The View.” His answer disappointed a lot of pro-life Christians. Many want their clergy to speak boldly about the value of unborn babies, the atrocity of abortion and the love that should be shown to both mother and child....

On Sunday, as Hurricane Harvey began to crush parts of Texas, Joel Osteen, pastor of Houston megachurch Lakewood, tweeted that his church was “inaccessible due to severe flooding,” and then let his Twitter followers know that they could go to an area shelter should they need help. Followers who were near the church then took video and photos of the “severe flooding” to show that the roads and entrance to the church were actually accessible. Those on Twitter then began bashing the pastor, who quickly blocked those on social media who called him out. Lakewood church staff began posting photos...

After NewSpring Church former pastor Perry Noble was fired by the church he founded, he went into a brief period of media silence. The firing related to alcohol use and family issues and the response was to enter rehab followed by a helping relationship with psychologist John Walker. More recently, Noble launched a consultation business called the Growth Company which targets both businesses and churches. Even more recently, Noble has been preaching at churches as a guest speaker. Now, apparently, Noble plans to launch a new church — Second Chance Church. According to a filing with the South Carolina Secretary...

Eddie Hilburn, a married associate pastor and father of three at The Woodlands First Baptist Church in Texas, resigned from his position Friday, a day after he was arrested by a Harris County Sheriff's deputy who he allegedly paid for sex. Early Friday morning, The Woodlands First Baptist Church still highlighted a profile of Hilburn, 52, and his family on their website stating that he had been with the church since July 2012. By Friday afternoon, however, his information was scrubbed from the website and the church released a statement that he had resigned. "In regard to the recent arrest...

Rob Bell, who once enraged many evangelicals by questioning hell, is back with a new book that could re-ignite their fury. It’s called “What is the Bible?” And in it, Bell calls for the Bible to be read “literately, not literally.” In these polarized times, many Christians who claim to read the Bible are really more interested in cherry-picking verses to support their political or social points of view, Bell said in a phone interview with the Observer. “You can pull a verse out to justify almost anything,” he said. “When you read the Bible fuller and in-depth, suddenly you...

A circuit judge in Michigan has refused to make a decision in the ongoing dispute between the board of elders of the Detroit World Outreach church in Redford Charter Township, Michigan, and Charisse Gibert, widow of the megachurch's late pastor, Benjamin Gibert, over who should be the church's rightful leader. In a recent ruling reported by The Detroit News, Wayne County Circuit Judge Annette Berry said the court could not get involved in a decision about who should lead the controversial megachurch which has been making headlines since its senior pastor suffered a fatal heart attack on Feb. 28. "The...

Texas televangelist Joel Osteen and his wife Victoria announced Thursday that they plan to stop in Smyrna during their national “America’s Night of Hope” stadium tour. The couple leads Lakewood Church in Houston, which boasts 50,000 weekly attendees, according to the announcement. Their weekly television broadcast reaches 13 million people in the U.S.

A spokesman with the Federal Bureau of Prisons has confirmed the death of evangelist Tony Alamo. He was 82. Alamo, who operated ministries in Arkansas decades ago, had been imprisoned under his real name of Bernie Hoffman at the Federal Medical Center (FMC) Butner in North Carolina. Hoffman died on Tuesday, the spokesman said. He had been sent to prison in 2009 after a conviction of transporting minors across state lines for sexual purposes.