pastor controversy

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Feds Nab Pastor, Son in Alleged $8.4M COVID Scam

Evan and Josh Edwards accused of setting up fake ministry, trying to buy posh home near Disney

(Newser) - In early July, NBC News filed a report about a Florida pastor and his family, accused by federal prosecutors in late 2020 court papers of pulling off a big-bucks COVID relief scam. "Why haven't they been charged?" the news outlet asked regarding the "curious" case. That question...

Pastor's Sermon Goes Viral for Eyebrow-Raising Guilt Trip

Carlton Funderburke berated congregation for not buying him Movado watch, among other items

(Newser) - It's not surprising to occasionally feel guilty in church. But one Missouri pastor's recent sermon has gone viral after he dressed down his congregants and told them he was "disgusted" with them for not buying luxury items for him. NBC News reports that the sermon delivered by...

Priest Resigns After 20-Year-Long Semantics Error

Rev. Andres Arango of Phoenix used the word 'we' instead of 'I' in baptisms, rendering all invalid

(Newser) - If you or any of your children have been baptized in San Diego, Arizona, or Brazil over the past two decades, you might want to check who the presiding pastor was at that purification ceremony. That's because the Rev. Andres Arango, a priest in the Diocese of Phoenix, has...

Anti-LGBT Pastor Resigns Amid Prostitute Allegations

Donnie Romero, who called Pulse Orlando victims 'scum,' allegedly paid for sex, used drugs

(Newser) - The website for Fort Worth's Stedfast Baptist Church describes it as an "old-fashioned" institution that goes in "hard against sin" and "stands for the old paths and zero compromise preaching." Its notorious founder, however, who railed against the Pulse nightclub victims as "perverts" and...

Megachurch Pastor: 'I Have Been Accused of Many Things'

Bill Hybels steps down, acknowledges 'making people feel uncomfortable'

(Newser) - A pastor and former spiritual adviser to President Clinton has stepped down from one of the largest evangelical churches in the country over allegations of misconduct with women. Bill Hybels, 66, planned to retire from the Chicago-area megachurch he founded 43 years ago in October. But at Willow Creek's...

Politically Minded Pastors Dare IRS to Sue Them

Numbers participating in Pulpit Freedom Sunday swell

(Newser) - You can't have your cake and eat it, too—or, in the case of the "rogue" pastors described by Politico , you can't endorse political candidates and still get sweet tax breaks. Although the ministers assert it's within their First Amendment rights to preach their political preferences,...

Bishop Long: I Am Not the Man on TV

 Bishop Long: 
 I Am Not the 
 Man on TV 
SEX ALLEGATIONS
Sep 26, 2010 9:17 AM CDT

Bishop Long: I Am Not the Man on TV

'This thing I will fight,' he tells congregation

(Newser) - Bishop Eddie Long, the subject of various lawsuits alleging that he used his position to take advantage sexually of young men in his church, broke his silence today, telling his congregation that, "I’m under attack. I want you to know as I said earlier I am not...

Irish Church Long Shielded Pedophiles: Report

Long-awaited report finds rampant abuses at reform schools

(Newser) - Sexual abuse was endemic in Irish Catholic institutions until the 1980s, a 9-year government inquiry has found. Over a 60-year period, 2000 children—mostly boys, now over 50—suffered physical and sexual abuses at the rigid schools, the BBC reports. Church officials encouraged beatings and shielded pedophiles in their orders,...

Playmobil Demands Pastor Stop Crucifying Toys

(Newser) - Playmobil has demanded that a German pastor stop using its toys to depict Bible scenes, reports the Telegraph. One plastic human figure has been given breasts to be a naked Eve, and another has been nailed to a cross. Photos of the altered figures have been posted on the internet....

Wife Knew Haggard Was Hot for Guys
Wife Knew Haggard Was Hot for Guys
Jan 28, 2009 4:53 AM CST

Wife Knew Haggard Was Hot for Guys

She believed he was 'winning the battle,' spouse tells Oprah

(Newser) - Ted Haggard told his wife early in their 30-year marriage that he struggled with his attraction to men, she tells Oprah in an appearance with her husband due to air today. Gayle Haggard says she was shocked by the disclosure, but believed he was "winning the battle" before a...

HBO Doc Unveils Down-and-Out Haggard
HBO Doc Unveils Down-and-Out Haggard
glossies
Jan 11, 2009 5:47 PM CST

HBO Doc Unveils Down-and-Out Haggard

"Wincingly candid" documentary set to air Jan. 29 on HBO

(Newser) - A new HBO documentary on Ted Haggard catches the disgraced minister at his most candid and vulnerable, Newsweek reports. Emmy-winning director Alexandra Pelosi shot the film impromptu, capturing Haggard the failed insurance salesman as he struggles with gay feelings and looks out the window at his old church. But hasn't...

Palin Might Also Have Pastor Problems

Wasilla church leader Kalnins says Bush critics will go to hell

(Newser) - It turns out Sarah Palin has a controversial preacher of her own: Ed Kalnins, senior pastor at the Wasilla Assembly of God, which the Alaska governor has attended much of her adult life. Radar compiles some of his greatest hits:
  • On the Bush Administration and Katrina: "I hate criticisms
...

Obama Repudiates Preacher Over 'White Tears' Slam

'Renegade priest' mocked Hillary Clinton from pulpit

(Newser) - Barack Obama has had to apologize for another troublesome preacher at his home church, reports MSNBC. The Rev. Michael Pfleger—a white Catholic priest widely known as Chicago's "renegade" priest for his liberal social activism in the city’s black community—mocked Hillary Clinton in a guest sermon, saying...

McCain May Pray For Pastors to Zip It

Hagee not talking, but another high-profile preacher may be in news soon

(Newser) - John McCain may be heading for his own preacher problems, but at least one of his problematic pastors is clamming up for now, Newsweek reports. John Hagee, who called Hurricane Katrina “the judgment of God,” and Catholicism a “false cult system,” recently answered a request for...

Clinton Slips to New Low in Poll
Clinton Slips to New Low in Poll
Mar 27, 2008 6:51 AM CDT

Clinton Slips to New Low in Poll

37% approval rating worst of campaign; Obama appears to weather pastor storm

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton is suffering some of the worst poll numbers of her political career, according to an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll. Clinton chalked up a personal approval rating of just 37%, the lowest since March 2001, two months after her election to the Senate. And of Clinton, Barack Obama, and...

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