Top of the Year: Leading Stories From Charisma News 2021, Part 2
As 2021 draws to a close, Charisma News is featuring the top stories from the year according to audience interest and response. Enjoy these brief snippets, and please visit the links to read the stories in full.
Today’s stories represent No. 1 through No. 5; please click here for part 1 and stories No. 6 through 10.
Classic Christmas Song Canceled Over Its ‘Questionable Past’
An elementary school in upstate New York removed “Jingle Bells” from its roster of Christmas songs all over the holiday tune’s supposedly “questionable past.”
The backlash was swift, with critics calling the decision as “liberalism run amok” and “cancel culture at its finest,” according to WHAM-TV. An informal Twitter poll by the outlet showed 95% of respondents disagreed with the move.
Matt Tappon, principal of Council Rock Primary School in Brighton, New York, told the Rochester Beacon he decided to scrub “Jingle Bells” from the school’s repertoire and instead replace it with a song that doesn’t have the “potential to be controversial or offensive.”
Lin Wood Says Pack Your Church This Sunday
To spend time with attorney Lin Wood is to be energized, empowered, have your faith amped up and wonder why he didn’t become an evangelist. In addition to faith, he has an equal dose of good old-fashioned common sense.
In a digital world where every pronouncement is audience-tested and filtered, Wood speaks from his heart and with a background in law of representing a half-century and celebrity cases ranging from the defense of Richard Jewell, the security guard who was falsely blamed for the Atlanta Olympics bombing; the family of JonBenet Ramsey; former Congressman Gary Condit; Herman Cain; the victim of Kobe Bryant; the successful defense of Nicholas Sandmann against CNN; and most recently defending President Donald J. Trump with attorney Sidney Powell.
“I found God when I was 14 in my local Baptist church and, after giving a sermon at my church, was told by those at the church that God had called me to be a preacher, but I went away from the Lord at 16 when my beloved mother died—but God never walked away from me,” Wood says.
Amy Schneider—a biological male who identifies as female—has usurped a biological female to become the “woman with the highest overall earnings” in the history of Jeopardy!
Larissa Kelly, the biological female who previously held the title, congratulated Schneider on the accomplishment.
Well, it was fun to hold a Jeopardy record for a few years…but it’s been even more fun to watch @Jeopardamy set new standards for excellence, on the show and off. Congratulations to Amy on becoming the woman with the highest overall earnings in the show’s history!
— Larissa Kelly (@Larissa_K_Kelly) December 24, 2021
Ministry Says Nothing New in Media Reports About Perry Stone
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with a statement from VOE/Perry Stone Ministries. For further updates, see “Perry Stone Speaks Out About Secular Media: ‘Information Can Be Twisted by the God of This World” and “VOE Board Clarifies Newspaper Reports on Perry Stone.”
In April of 2020, televangelist Perry Stone of Voice of Evangelism in Cleveland, Tennessee, was placed on a forced leave of absence due to allegations of misconduct and deviation from “the biblical standards set in place for VOE leadership,” as reported by Charisma News. Now, additional allegations of misconduct, including a report that the FBI is investigating his ministry, have surfaced against Stone through a Dec. 25 report in the Chattanooga Times Free Press—but VOE says the reports contain nothing new.
Charisma News reached out to VOE, which released the following statement:
Perry Stone Ministries continues to focus on spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ. The recent news article against the ministry bears no new information or allegations. We ask that friends and supporters operate by Scripture in Luke 6:43-45, “For every tree is known by the fruit it bears.” Recently doors opened for thousands to receive Christ through the lens of a camera. The ministry is experiencing record-setting growth and outreach internationally. Thank you for your prayers and agreement with us for God’s continued blessing.
Mike Lindell Announces New Social Media Platform, ‘Frank’
After his social media accounts were shut down for “violating policies,” conservative MyPillow founder and CEO Mike Lindell has released exclusive information about his new platform: “Frank.”
“I am getting ready to launch Frank, and it is going to be a place where we can talk freely, put out our influence and give people hope,” Lindell says. One aspect of the platform will be dedicated to investigation regarding the 2020 election. “We have hired the best investigators and resources and are working hard to backtrack the various aspects of the election,” Lindell says.
In a time of nationwide discouragement, Lindell is confident that America is returning to its biblical roots, and he believes once past certain challenges going to the Supreme Court, “we will demonstrate massive international involvement in the recent election.” This fact, Lindell says, regardless of party affiliation, should be at the forefront of Americans’ minds. {eoa}
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