by John Longhurst (RNS) For months, GraceLife church, near Edmonton, Alberta, has ignored Alberta Health Services' guidelines limiting religious gatherings. In February, the authorities pushed back, jailing the nondenominational church's pastor, the Rev. James Coates, for 35 days. On April 7, after the church continued to breach rules about mask wearing and limiting … [Read more...] about Protesters Rally To Cause Of ‘Jailed’ Canadian Church as Pastor Awaits Trial
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Maine Man Charged With Hate Crime in Black Church Arson
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) A Maine man accused of setting fire to a Massachusetts church with a predominantly Black congregation been charged with hate crime offenses, federal prosecutors said Thursday. Dushko Vulchev is charged in federal court with four counts of damage to religious property involving fire and one count of use of fire to commit a federal felony stemming from … [Read more...] about Maine Man Charged With Hate Crime in Black Church Arson
Mark Driscoll: ‘Sin Is Still a Bigger Problem Than COVID’
In a video called “Dear Closed Churches” uploaded to his YouTube account, Mark Driscoll made a comment that he is concerned that so many churches are still closed. Driscoll is the former senior pastor of Seattle’s Mars Hill Church and current founding and senior pastor of The Trinity Church in Scottsdale, Arizona. Taken from his sermon this … [Read more...] about Mark Driscoll: ‘Sin Is Still a Bigger Problem Than COVID’
Pastor Helping Migrant Children Gets Heat From the Right and the Left
(ChurchLeaders) Kevin Wallace, one of the lead pastors of Redemption to the Nations Church in Chattanooga, Tenn., has confirmed that his church is using one of its buildings to house unaccompanied migrant children from the U.S.-Mexico border. While some have criticized his views, Wallace sees the decision to house the children as showing God’s love “to the least of … [Read more...] about Pastor Helping Migrant Children Gets Heat From the Right and the Left
Why This Willow Creek Pastor Will Never Be Part of a ‘Church Body That Is Not Diverse’
(ChurchLeaders) During an unscripted conversation about race, two Willow Creek Community Church pastors describe their backgrounds and explore how diversity reflects Scripture and enriches churches. Willow Creek pastor Ed Ollie, Jr., who recently took the helm at the Illinois megachurch’s North Shore campus, and Willow Creek pastor Shawn Williams, who leads its South Barrington … [Read more...] about Why This Willow Creek Pastor Will Never Be Part of a ‘Church Body That Is Not Diverse’