Free Republic

A former Pentecostal bishop has admitted stealing nearly $160,000 by fraudulently soliciting loans from parishioners and religious associates in New Jersey. Steven Parrott of Newark pleaded guilty Friday to misconduct by a corporate official.

Lutheran pastor and author Nadia Bolz-Weber has argued that there should be no shame in consuming pornography, especially if it is "ethically sourced." In a recent interview with the New Jersey-based LGBT publication Out In Jersey, Bolz-Weber discussed her upcoming new book on the issue of sexual ethics and the church. In discussing pornography, Bolz-Weber explained that while she recognizes that there are "issues of justice and exploitation within the porn industry," she still does not believe that the "consumption of pornography should be shamed." "There is ethically sourced porn. There are people who say it's sexual immorality, but if...

On October 12, 2018, a Turkish court freed U.S. pastor Andrew Brunson whose arrest on terrorism charges just over two years ago had fueled a diplomatic crisis. Since July, President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence had collectively tweeted about Brunson’s case almost two dozen times. Even in hyper-partisan Washington, Brunson’s plight received bipartisan support. In a quiet meeting only later disclosed, Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)  met  President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to lobby for Brunson’s release. Brunson’s release reportedly comes after a  deal  negotiated by National Security Advisor John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike...

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump welcomed American pastor Andrew Brunson to the Oval Office on Saturday, celebrating his release from nearly two years of confinement in Turkey that had sparked a diplomatic row with a key ally and outcry from U.S. evangelical groups. Brunson, who returned to the United States aboard a military jet shortly before their meeting, appeared to be in good health and good spirits. He thanked Trump for working to secure his freedom and then lead his family in prayer for the president. "You really fought for us," he told Trump. "From a Turkish prison to...

Freed American pastor Andrew Brunson met and prayed with President Trump in the Oval Office Saturday, thanking him for having "really fought for us" -- a day after his release from house arrest in Turkey.

On Friday, Turkish officials released U.S. pastor Andrew Brunson, who has been imprisoned for the past two years on alleged charges of conspiring with illegal groups. Brunson was released upon a ruling that said the 24-months the U.S. pastor spent in detainment was sufficient for the courtÂ’s three-year sentence. The imprisonment of Brunson has been a sore spot in U.S.-Turkey relations, with the U.S. applying pressure through increased tariffs and sanctions against Turkey over the summer, resulting in a rapid devaluation of the Turkish lira. While this may seem like a positive development in bilateral relations, the Brunson case fatally...

Why Latina Pastoral Leaders Believe Judge Kavanaugh's Appointment Will Protect Religious Freedoms Contact: Karon Smedley, 480-320-8547, Karon@i360.Consulting; www.i360.Consulting WASHINGTON, Aug. 28, 2018 /Christian Newswire/ -- Reverend Eve Nunez, President of the National Latina/Latino Commission (NLLC), is praising President Trump's nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh for Justice of the Supreme Court. Rev. Nunez and Latino pastoral leaders are united in their support of President Trump's nomination. Rev. Nunez said: "We're thrilled with President Trump's nomination. Judge Kavanaugh is a Christian who's devoted his life of faith to public service, gives his time to advance religious liberty, and to serve God...

[Snip] Singer Ariana Grande took the stage to sing "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," a funeral fit for a queen also served as a reminder that there isn't a single place in this country where a woman can feel safe from sexual assault and harassment. Following Grande's performance, Pastor Charles H. Ellis III wrapped his right arm around Grande, pulled her close to him and touched her breast. He did this on stage, in a church, during a funeral -- in front of thousands of attendees. Visibly uncomfortable and tense, Grande forced her way through awkward laughs...

Ted Haggard was once one of the most power evangelical leaders in America. New Life Church leader Ted Haggard was once one of America's most charismatic and powerful evangelical leaders, with an audience of more than 30 million people. Ted began counseling foreign dignitaries and consulting on a weekly basis with President George W. Bush. By 2005, Time magazine named him one of the most influential evangelicals in America. But no one—not even his devoted wife, five children and his Colorado Springs, Colorado-based congregation—suspected that Ted was paying an admitted male escort for crystal meth. In November 2006, Mike Jones...

Turkey announced this morning its intention to raise tariffs on several products imported from the United States, including cars, alcohol and tobacco. .....

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday Turkey will stand its ground after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to slap sanctions on Ankara if it does not free an American pastor. The United States would be losing a strong and sincere partner if it does not change this attitude, Erdogan said, according to Reuters. In a tweet on Thursday, Trump threatened to impose economic sanctions on Turkey over its refusal to release American pastor Andrew Brunson who has been detained in the country for more than year. “The United States will impose large sanctions on Turkey for their long...

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump declared on Thursday the United States will impose sanctions on Turkey, a crucial NATO ally, in retaliation for the detention of an American pastor on terror and espionage charges. Turkey's response was both harsh and dismissive, calling his words "unacceptable" and a "cheap threat." Trump's promise of unspecified punishing action marks the latest deterioration in relations between Turkey and the U.S. as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's powers expand two years after a failed coup against his government. Trump also has praised his counterpart, saying Erdogan's leadership is "getting very high marks." The U.S has long...

Andrew Craig Brunson is a pastor from NC who, for the past twenty-three years, has lived in Turkey with his wife and three children.  He was the pastor of the Izmir Diriliş (the Resurrection) Church, a small evangelical Presbyterian congregation in Izmir with about twenty-five members. When he arrived home on October 7, 2016 he found a written summons to report with his passport to a local police station. Pastor Brunson assumed the summons was related to his routine application for a renewal of his residence visa so he reported to the Izmir police that same day. The police informed him that...

Defying expectations, a Turkish court rebuffed appeals today to free Andrew Brunson, the US pastor whose trial on bogus terror charges has become a litmus test for turbulent ties between Turkey and the United States. The trial was adjourned until Oct. 12.The North Carolina pastor has been charged with espionage and links to coup plotters and Kurdish militants and could face up to 35 years if convicted. Brunson continued to deny any wrongdoing in his third courtroom hearing, amid a string of wild assertions from witnesses for the prosecution. “I am an innocent man on all these charges. I reject...

A Turkish court ordered on Wednesday U.S. pastor Andrew Brunson, who is being tried on terrorism and spying charges, to remain in detention, rejecting his lawyer's plea for release. The judge said the next hearing in the trial would be on October 12. Brunson, a Christian pastor from North Carolina who has lived in Turkey for more than two decades, was indicted on charges of helping the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), which Ankara blames for the failed 2016 coup, as well as supporting the PKK terrorists organization. Speaking to reporters in western Izmir province after the ruling, U.S. Charge d'Affaires...

At a time when church attendance is shrinking in America, I, a pastor, am encouraging people to quit church. Why? The answer is birthed out of conversations and research I’ve been a part of over the last several years. Regularly, I meet and train pastors and church leaders from all over the country through my leadership platform, ChurchBOOM. The conversations carry a common theme – a lot of people who attend church are passive towards serving, giving and community outreach. In most churches, 80 percent of the work is being carried out by 20 percent or less of the people....

Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.( ! Corinthians 3:16-18)We are currently living in the very times that the Apostles and Prophets long warned of, the terrible “last days” which would be marked by such things as Betrayal,...

A crocodile has killed a Protestant pastor who was baptising followers near a lake in southern Ethiopia. Residents and police told BBC Amharic a crocodile leapt from the water during the baptism and attacked him. Pastor Docho died after being bitten on his legs, back and hands. "He baptised the first person and he passed on to another one. All of a sudden, a crocodile jumped out of the lake and grabbed the pastor," local resident Ketema Kairo told the BBC.

For those of you familiar with fundamentalist movements, particularly the IFB (Independent Fundamental Baptist), you’ll know these movements tend to be rife with sexual abuse and cover-ups. Because the IFB maintains ideologies of separatism and elitism, they tend to deal with their issues “in house.” The trend is: keep it in the church, don’t tell anyone (authorities included), blame the victim, and re-locate the offender to another church in another town (and don’t forget his severance package). Well, in a shocking turn of events, one IFB mega-pastor took a public stand against these actions, and those of us who have...

The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. ( I Peter 5:1-4) I am a Pastor. By that...