NBC Pledge of Allegiance Apology Not Enough for Family Research Council

American flag
AP Photo/David Duprey

An apology is just not good enough for the Family Research Council.

NBC apologized for removing the phrase “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance in a broadcast of the U.S. Open Golf Tournament on Sunday, but the FRC wants more.

The council is urging its members to send NBC a message, demanding that “the network … take corrective action to ensure that the public airwaves will not be used to censor our nation’s Pledge of Allegiance.”

Woman Loosed From Demonic Chains After Six Years

GFA PastorSukhra Chauhan was unknowingly possessed by a demon for almost six years. After an arduous search for deliverance, she unexpectedly came to the right place—her relative’s house.

Sukhra’s torment robbed her entire family of peace. Desperate for a solution to her problems, they spent a lot of money going to magicians who could supposedly heal sicknesses.

None of them could help Sukhra. But when she went to another state for a religious festival, she ended up visiting a relative, a Christian woman who belongs to the congregation of GFA-supported pastor Vibhas Jaiteley. Sukhra’s relative realized she was demon possessed and asked her to stay in her home for a few days.

Bishop Rebukes Eddie Long

Paul MortonIn response to the recent lawsuit filed against Bishop Eddie Long, Bishop Paul Morton recently spoke out against Long, calling him to apologize and repent.

Long, pastor of Atlanta’s New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, in May quietly settled the sexual misconduct lawsuits filed against him, after he vowed to his congregation he would fight.

Four men—all former members of Long’s church now in their early 20s—claim the pastor used gifts, trips and money to coerce them into engaging in sex acts with him beginning when they were 17 or 18. Because the men were over the age of consent in Georgia, which is 16, no criminal charges were filed.


Evangelists Risk Lives to Deliver Bibles to Iran’s Youth

IranDespite the persecution and risk associated with assisting believers there, Bibles are being sent to Iran.

Iran ranks second only to North Korea for its poor treatment of Christians, according to Open Doors’ World Watch List. Believers make up a tiny minority of the nation and pay dearly for their faith.

And yet amid this severe atmosphere, Christ followers are determined to remain in their country and spread the Word. Their persistence is working, and the home church movement is booming—especially among Iranian youth.

“We just believe this is a tremendous opportunity to put Scriptures into the hands of young believers; the youth in that country are incredibly open to the gospel,” says Ken Leggatt with WorldServe Ministries in Canada. “It’s an incredibly youthful nation as well,” Leggatt adds.

Brother Turns Against Brother on Mission Field

GFA film teamGospel for Asia-supported missionary Sunil Damral was shocked when the police came to his house with a search warrant. Sunil, who serves on a GFA film team, had no choice but to allow them to search through his equipment. The police did not find anything out of order, so they left.

Sunil later learned that someone had filed a legal complaint against him, saying he was using force, fraud and allurement to get people to convert to Christianity. The state where Sunil lives has legal statutes, known as “freedom of religion laws,” which have strict guidelines that a person must follow when they want to change their faith. In reality, the laws mostly target Christian pastors and laypeople who share their faith.

The police told him the complaint against him indicated that he was also carrying illegal weapons with his film equipment.

COPG’s Bishop Beya Passes Away in DRC

bishop_beya_familyA key Church of God of Prophecy leader has died in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Bishop Ntambwe Beya, 57, passed away on June 18 of natural causes. Beya had served as the COGP’s national bishop in the DRC since 1998. He was involved in leadership on a national level in the Congo for more than 25 years.

According to the COGP’s Global Outreach Ministries, Beya had been struggling over the past several months with health issues—mainly diabetes. In mid-June he became very ill and developed a high fever. He was admitted to the hospital on June 16 and passed away two days later.

Couples Head to NY to Fight for Gay Marriage Rights

Gay rights
AP Photo

Dozens of gay couples are planning to converge on Albany, N.Y., Thursday to witness what would be a historic vote to legalize gay marriage in New York. But for that to happen, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s considerable political skills will be tested as never before to engineer one of the biggest social changes in a generation.

The Democrat has been using a kind of shuttle diplomacy to privately test proposals for additional religious exceptions within the Senate’s Republican majority. He’s talked to individual senators or small groups of lawmakers privately, breaking down barriers and letting them take his message to others in the Republican caucus.

The proposed protections are aimed at saving religious groups from discrimination lawsuits if they refuse to recognize gay marriage based on their principles.

Apple Removes Anti-Israel App

third_intifada_screen-shot-1b-lgApple has removed an offensive anti-Israel smartphone application from its popular App Store. The move is a response to a letter from Yuli Edelstein, Israel’s Minister for Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs, saying “The Third Intifada” is a call for an uprising against the State of Israel.

“We removed this app from the App Store because it violates the developer guidelines by being offensive to large groups of people,” Apple said in a published statement.

Doomsday Prophet Camping Leaves Radio Show

ap_harold_camping

AP Photo

The voice of prophetic doom is silenced, sort of.

Harold Camping, the 89-year-old Christian radio broadcaster who three times predicted the world would end—most recently on May 21—is putting an end to his weekday segment called Open Forum on Family Radio.

Camping suffered a stroke on June 9, and Family Radio has been playing reruns of earlier recorded episodes on the radio station he founded since then. Specifically, Camping’s staff aired 20 segments he recorded between May 23 and June 9, according to the Oakland Tribune.

Hostile Rhetoric Turns Up Heat on Iranian Christians

iranundergroundchurchcpIncreased public statements against Christianity in Iran have intensified pressures on Christians, sources said, but at their core they reflect Islamic leaders’ dismay with the growth of house churches and may signal dissension within Iran’s leadership.

“The reality is most of the house churches are so hidden that the government can’t do anything, and they know it,” said a regional expert who requested anonymity. “They just see how the house churches are still growing.”

The source said that since mass arrests at the beginning of this year, Christians have been more cautious.

84 People Accept Christ Where Witchcraft Rules

gfa_tractsIn an area plagued by darkness, Gospel for Asia-supported pastor Josiah Munda is working to proclaim the name of Christ.

People in this region hold to traditional beliefs and superstitions. If a person dies, the people in the community often blame a widow or an older woman for the death, accusing her of witchcraft. Sometimes they will even kill people over such matters.

Last August, a local newspaper reported that nine people took part in murdering a 56-year-old woman. A pregnant young woman in their village had died, and they suspected the older lady had committed witchcraft against her.

Although this woman was falsely accused, Munda knows from personal experience that people in his area do practice witchcraft. When he was a young man, he followed the traditional religion of this region.

One day, he had a stroke that left him paralyzed. His wife consulted a magician who told them that if they did not offer goats to their deities, Munda would die. Because he could not afford to sacrifice goats, Munda went to a doctor instead. He took the medicines prescribed by the doctor and experienced complete physical restoration.

Mission Aviation Fellowship Celebrates 50 Years in Congo

maf_congoanniversaryMembers of the Congolese medical community joined church and mission leaders, relief workers and Congolese government officials in celebrating 50 years of Mission Aviation Fellowship service in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

MAF is a Christian ministry organization that uses airplanes and other technologies to serve church and relief organizations in remote areas of the world.

During a gathering at the International Protestant Church of Kinshasa last month, Dr. Tony Karemere of the Institut National de Recherche Biomedicale commended MAF’s commitment to sharing the gospel and providing access to medical care. Karemere emphasized MAF’s work to combat Ebola epidemics in 1995 and 2007, as well as the measles outbreak that threatened the DRC this spring.


Will Kansas Become First Abortion-Free State?

stop abortion now
AP Photo/Joel Page

Kansas could become the first abortion-free state in the nation.

According to the new state law, clinics offering abortions must meet minimum safety standards before they can be licensed. If clinics fail to meet the new standards, they cannot legally do abortions.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has the authority to deny, suspend or revoke a license, and has the authority to fine a clinic for violations and go into court to ask that a clinic be closed. The KDHE will notifiy the trio of clinics on July 1 as to whether or not they can continue killing unborn babies.

“We have doubts that any of the abortion clinics can meet the safety requirements of the new law,” says Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. “If they cannot comply, all three abortion clinics would be forced to cease abortion operations, making Kansas the first abortion-free state in the nation.”

Racecar Evangelism Revs Up

Ministries to the unique NASCAR culture of hot cars, cold beer and public prayer are on the riseInform-RacecarEvangelism

When you think about  motorsports, what comes to mind are probably images of beer-drinking Bubbas, tattooed fanatics and the occasional death-defying crash. But more and more, Jesus is in the mix.

Unless you’ve been to the race track, you may not know NASCAR is the only professional sport that still launches with a prayer, usually in the name of Jesus, over the public address system. Lately, more ministries are moving to preach the gospel and make disciples by sponsoring drivers as they race their souped up cars around famed NASCAR and IndyCar tracks.

Indeed, from pre-race prayer meetings to behind-the-scenes testimonies to live television exposure, evangelicals are reaching men (and women) who are watching drivers speed around circles at up to 200 miles per hour.

Dino Loses Big To Floods

Despite personal loss, gospel piano legend focuses on helping others after disasterInform-DinoLoses

Dino Kartsonakis received a prophetic word about a new beginning with “water, lots of water,” but the Grammy award-winning gospel pianist never dreamed it would come in the wake of a history-making flood in southeast Missouri.

Kartsonakis’ home in Hollister, Mo., was buried under 13 feet of water in April. In a flash, he lost his grand pianos and a lifetime of musical awards, archives, photographs, clothing and family heirlooms. The keepsakes that healing evangelist Kathryn Kuhlman gave him during the time he played piano for her ministry were also destroyed.

A homeless Kartsonakis now is sounding the “last days” trumpet—and proclaiming the power of God—as he turns his focus toward helping others who have lost so much in the deluge of natural disasters this year.

Haiti’s Healing Revival

Physical, spiritual and emotional healing are occurring where Voodoo and poverty have been the normInform-Haiti

Eighteen months after a horrific earthquake left a path of death and destruction, Haiti has emerged from the rubble a new nation. Pastor Rene Joseph, founder of Loving Hands Ministry of Haiti, believes wholeheartedly that Haiti’s healing is underway—and the spiritual awakening that began after the earthquake is rapidly spreading.

Loving Hands Ministry is a Christian, international, nonprofit relief organization with headquarters in Florida and Haiti. Founded in 1987, the ministry delivers food, medicine, clothing and other necessities to those who lack these essentials due to famine, poverty or natural disaster. Last year the ministry shipped more than 6,000 meals each month to children and families in Haiti.

In his 25 years of ministry, Joseph has also planted 35 churches and three orphanages. He and his wife, Dorentia, pastor a large church in downtown Port-au-Prince. The church holds 2,500 people but has outgrown its capacity since the earthquake. Plans are under way to repair quake damage and construct a larger sanctuary.

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