megachurches

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Georgia Megachurch Pastor Arrested
Georgia
Megachurch
Pastor Arrested

Georgia Megachurch Pastor Arrested

Creflo Dollar allegedly choked and punched 15-year-old daughter

(Newser) - A pastor of a 30,000-member megachurch in Georgia was arrested for allegedly assaulting his 15-year-old daughter. Creflo Dollar was taken into custody after police responded to a domestic disturbance around 1am today at his Atlanta home. Dollar's daughter told the officers her father choked and punched her during...

Pro-Obama Clergy Wrestle With Stance on Gay Marriage

President contacted ministers just after announcement

(Newser) - In one breath, President Obama endorsed gay marriage last week. In the next, he turned directly to a contingent of supporters likely to be offended by that endorsement: Obama called up a number of ministers to explain his views and get feedback, the New York Times reports. On a conference...

Pastor Who Questioned Hell Dumps Megachurch

'Love Wins' author is taking his message on the road

(Newser) - Holy hell. A beloved local evangelical preacher who dared to question the notion that some people spend eternity suffering for their sins in hell has quit his Michigan megachurch to pursue "strategic opportunities." Rob Bell's book Love Wins sparked a furious controversy among conservative evangelical theologians. Bell...

Dead Megachurch Pastor Found With Suspected Drugs

Police awaiting test results on white powder

(Newser) - The Florida megachurch pastor discovered dead in a Times Square hotel room was found with a white powdery substance believed to be narcotics, police sources have told several newspapers. Zachery Tims, founder of Orlando's 8,000-member New Destiny Christian Center, was discovered by hotel workmen lying on his back...

Crystal Cathedral Will Be Sold to Pay Debts

Megachurch forced to offload California landmark

(Newser) - Crystal Cathedral Ministries has found a way out of bankruptcy: Selling its giant crystal cathedral. The megachurch's landmark 10,000-glass-pane building in Orange County will be sold along with other buildings on the church's campus to pay off the $50 million owed to vendors and creditors, the Los ...

Megachurch Targets 'Grinch Stores' That Ignore Christmas

Baptist pastor won't tolerate 'minority voices'

(Newser) - A Dallas megachurch is getting downright Black Peter and landing like a ton of coal on stores that aren't celebrating Christmas. "Politically correct" establishments shying away from the Christian holiday get no peace and goodwill from the First Baptist Church . Instead, Pastor Robert Jeffress has launched a " Grinch...

Bankrupt Crystal Cathedral Paid CFO $132K Home Fee

Fred Southard dodged taxes with housing 'allowance'

(Newser) - A US trustee and a creditors committee are challenging Crystal Cathedral's spending habits—including a six-figure housing allowance for the church CFO, who owns a $2.3 million home, as well as mystery payments to officials, according to documents filed with the court. Last year, the megachurch paid Fred Southard...

Crystal Cathedral Megachurch Bankrupt

Chapter 11 is all part of God's plan, pastor says

(Newser) - California megachurch Crystal Cathedral Ministries has filed for bankruptcy protection amid a flood of lawsuits from unpaid creditors and a steep drop in donations. Officials of the Orange County church, best known for its Hour of Power telecast, say the filing was necessary because creditors refuse to prolong a moratorium...

Eddie Long: Confused Hypocrite

 Eddie Long: 
 Confused 
 Hypocrite 
Eugene Robinson

Eddie Long: Confused Hypocrite

Pastor should forgive himself—and homosexuals everywhere

(Newser) - There are a lot of ironies in Bishop Eddie Long’s sex scandal. For example, in his sermon Sunday, Long said he feels “like David against Goliath.” Really? On the one side we have one of the most powerful clerics in America, and on the other four allegedly...

Pastor Scandal Should Shake Homophobic Black Church

Eddie Long represents a too-large portion of the black community

(Newser) - Bishop Eddie Long’s sex scandal has predictably generated a media firestorm. After all, Long “is one of the most outspoken homophobes in the black church,” writes Joshua Alston in Newsweek . But Alston hopes the community takes the time to skip past the tawdry details of Long’s...

Church Foreclosures Soar Heavenward

Houses of worship ensnared by same shifty credit as homeowners

(Newser) - Homeowners and banks aren’t the only ones laid low by the reckless mortgage market of years past, as churches across the nation teeter on the brink of foreclosure. Houses of worship ensnared by the promise of low rates and big loans set out on a spree of new construction,...

Rick Warren's Plea Rakes In $2.4M

Saddleback pastor sought $900K from parishioners to bridge budget gap

(Newser) - Evangelical pastor Rick Warren's plea for donations to fill a $900,000 deficit at his Southern California megachurch brought in $2.4 million, Warren announced to cheers at the church yesterday. Warren said the amount raised after the appeal was posted online Wednesday included only money parishioners brought in person...

Rick Warren Asks Followers for $900K, Pronto

Unexpected deficit sparks 'urgent' call for donations by tomorrow

(Newser) - Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church has hit a major fundraising speedbump and has asked members to help out with almost $1 million by tomorrow. Warren described the situation yesterday in an “urgent letter unlike any I've written in 30 years.” Last weekend, “our total offerings were less...

Churches Put Faith in Housing Biz
Churches
Put Faith
in Housing Biz

Churches Put Faith in Housing Biz

More launch own programs to provide affordable homes

(Newser) - Churches that have long called for an increase in affordable housing have started taking matters into their own hands, the Washington Post reports: A growing number of them have launched their own housing projects, partnering with developers to build whole communities. Their weekly flow of donations allows them to qualify...

You're Going to Hell, and There's Nothing You Can Do About It

Hip 'cussing pastor' revives fire, brimstone

(Newser) - Jesus needs salvation from the liberal, pansy ethos of mainstream evangelicals, and Mark Driscoll is determined to save him, Molly Worthen writes in the New York Times Magazine. The foul-mouthed Seattle pastor, who preaches in distressed jeans and unflinchingly discusses oral sex in the Bible, is a culture warrior resurrecting...

Candidates Score in Pastor Rick-a-thon
 Candidates Score
 in Pastor Rick-a-thon
OPINION

Candidates Score in Pastor Rick-a-thon

Even in a non-debate, pundits still find a way to label somebody a winner

(Newser) - Pastor Rick stressed that last night's Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency wasn't a debate, but that won't stop the pundits from deciding who came out ahead:
  • Byron York, of the National Review, sees the night as a big win for McCain, who's had a "much bigger life."
...

McCain, Obama to Share Megachurch Stage

Warren lures both candidates to Orange County

(Newser) - Influential evangelical pastor Rick Warren has scored the first joint appearance by Barack Obama and John McCain. The presidential candidates will spend just a few minutes on stage together at Warren's Saddleback Church next month between back-to-back interviews with the pastor. It will be the country’s first look at...

Shunning Makes a Comeback in US Churches

Pastors resurrect old practice to tame black sheep in their flocks

(Newser) - In an effort to reclaim their churches' role as moral authority, many Protestant ministers have reinstated the all-but-lost practice of shunning unrepentant sinners from their congregations. And while nobody's yet had to pin a scarlet "A" to their Sunday best, the consequences of the puritanical revival have weighed heavy...

Colo. Church Gunman 'Hated Christians'

Was expelled from missionary school where he killed 2

(Newser) - The gunman at two Colorado church shootings yesterday had been expelled from the missionary school where killed two people, the AP reports. He also sent the school hate mail in recent weeks and may have "hated Christians," police said. The school admitted that it had kicked out the...

Colo. Shooter Had Ties to Church
Colo. Shooter Had Ties to Church

Colo. Shooter Had Ties to Church

Lone gunman ID'd as ex-mission worker who sent threatening letters

(Newser) - A former mission worker was the shooter in both of yesterday’s Colorado church shootings, CNN reports. The killer, identified as Matthew Murray, worked with Youth With a Mission in Arvada, where the first shooting occurred. The Rocky Mountain News describes Murray as the 24-year-old son of a local neurosurgeon,...

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