http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/megachurch/ en-us Sun, 7 Jun 2009 23:42:29 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2266832/posts FORT WORTH, Texas—Authorities say they are investigating a natural gas explosion at the Fort Worth, Texas, home of megachurch pastor T.D. Jakes. Fort Worth fire spokesman Lt. Kent Worley says the blast Sunday in the sunroom of the home appears to have been an accident. Authorities say no one was injured and there was no fire. The sunroom was heavily damaged. Worley says the room had a gas-fed pool heater and a large gas-fed barbecue grill. The Connecticut Post / The Associated Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2266832/posts#comment Sun, 7 Jun 2009 23:42:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2252798/posts Evangelical megachurches across San Diego, Calif., are joining Catholics on Sunday to make a public outcry against abortion in their first ever joint pro-life rally. The demonstration, which will take place after the multiple worship services that typically take place at megachurches, is being held on the same day President Barack Obama will take the stage at the University of Notre Dame to deliver the commencement speech. While the San Diego rally is fundamentally a pro-life rally, the undertone of the event is "a statement to the president that the killing of babies must come to an end," Pastor Jim... Fox News/Christian Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2252798/posts#comment Sun, 17 May 2009 20:03:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2252417/posts Call it a collision between church and state. For more than two years, residents of the East Hempfield neighborhood "The Meadows" have fought plans to build a 26,000-square-foot church at the edge of their quiet, upscale development. In more than a dozen late-night meetings, residents claimed the proposal, by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, meant that traffic in their neighborhood was going to spike, and that the church was simply out of character with the surrounding community. In February, the residents lost a round when the township supervisors voted unanimously to give preliminary approval to the church... Lancaster Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2252417/posts#comment Sat, 16 May 2009 23:36:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2242286/posts Mark Driscoll, the pastor of Seattle-based Mars Hill Church, will preach at the famed Crystal Cathedral in Southern California Sunday, June 14, and will appear on the “Hour of Power.” Crystal Cathedral is home to the Rev. Robert Schuller and his successful television ministry but has seen some decline in size and influence in recent years. Financial difficulties have caused the church to lay off staff and sell office space. Mars Hill, on the other hand, is among America’s booming churches. Driscoll preaches a “masculine” form of Calvinist theology that emphasizes the toughness of Jesus and Christianity. He also regularly... Church Solutions http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2242286/posts#comment Fri, 1 May 2009 20:27:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2217408/posts ATLANTA — An evangelical pastor whose leadership of an Atlanta-area megachurch ended in a sex scandal has died. Atlanta Medical Center said Archbishop Earl Paulk, who was in his 80s, died early Sunday. The hospital could not release a cause of death. Paulk had been in bad health for the past couple of years after a battle with cancer. A phone listing for Paulk's family could not immediately be found. Paulk co-founded the Cathedral at Chapel Hill in Decatur and helped grow it to a peak membership of about 10,000 in the early 1990s. A lawsuit by a female employee... Fox News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2217408/posts#comment Sun, 29 Mar 2009 15:05:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2216347/posts Saddleback Church's Warren calls on believers to make history Church expects to bring 3,000 new believers into its flock Saturday. LAKE FOREST – In what Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren calls historical, the church hopes to bring 3,000 new members into its flock on Saturday. "I'm not sleeping much. I'm too excited," the megachurch's pastor wrote in an e-mail to his congregation this week. "THIS SATURDAY, March 28, will be THE GREATEST DAY in Saddleback's history. OVER 2,000 people have already signed up to become members of our church family on a single day." Citing the Bible, Warren challenges prospective... Orange County Register http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2216347/posts#comment Fri, 27 Mar 2009 19:20:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2216165/posts Before a backdrop of soaring stained glass and the 6,000 gleaming pipes of a Ruffatti pipe organ, Tullian Tchividjian on March 15 preached one of the pivotal sermons of his life. Tchividjian, 36, pastor of New City Presbyterian Church in Margate, Fla., was preaching 12 miles down the road in Fort Lauderdale. The occasion: Tchividjian's nomination to succeed D. James Kennedy as senior pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church. There had been some dissent in the congregation over who would fill Kennedy's sizable shoes. Kennedy founded the church in 1959 and pastored it for 47 years. In 1974, he launched... WORLD Magazine http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2216165/posts#comment Fri, 27 Mar 2009 15:42:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2207309/posts Companies that specialize in church mortgages report that foreclosures and delinquencies for congregations are on the rise as the tough economic times start to make their impact at the offering plate. Metropolitan Baptist Church was bursting out of its home. From a group of freed slaves in Civil War-era Washington, Metropolitan Baptist had grown into a modern-day megachurch and community service powerhouse. In 2006, construction began on the congregation's dream complex in Largo, Md. - a $30 million campus with a 3,000-seat church, an education center and an 1,100-car parking lot. One News Now / The Associated Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2207309/posts#comment Mon, 16 Mar 2009 02:23:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2207274/posts Washington - A widely-known megachurch founded by an architect of the religious right and seen as a national political force selected a grandson of Billy Graham on Sunday as its new leader. The overwhelming vote by congregants at Coral Ridge Presbyterian in Fort Lauderdale to appoint the Rev. Tullian Tchividjian could represent a softening of the message spread by the Rev. D. James Kennedy, who was pastor at the church until his death in September 2007. Kennedy's preaching against homosexuality and abortion made him one of evangelical Christianity's most divisive figures, and he worked to inject his faith in all... NewsChannel 8 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2207274/posts#comment Mon, 16 Mar 2009 01:09:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2189124/posts GARDEN GROVE, Calif. – A man shot and killed himself in front of a cross inside televangelist Robert H. Schuller's Crystal Cathedral on Wednesday as a nearby volunteer told a group of visitors about the church's suicide-prevention program, police and church officials said. The man handed a note and his driver's license to two ushers, walked to the cross and then shot himself in the head as he appeared to be praying, Senior Pastor Juan Carlos Ortiz said. The Orange County coroner's office identified the man as Steve Smick, 48. Church spokesman Mike Nason said there was no record of... Christian Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2189124/posts#comment Thu, 19 Feb 2009 15:40:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2184634/posts The son of Potter’s House Bishop T.D. Jakes turned himself in to the Dallas County Jail on Thursday on an indecent exposure charge stemming from an incident at a southern Dallas park last month. Jermaine Jakes, 29, posted $1,000 bail and was released Thursday morning, according to jail records. Jakes is accused of exposing himself in front of an undercover Dallas police vice detective at Kiest Park, near West Kiest Boulevard and South Hampton Road, on the night of Jan. 3, police said. T.D. Jakes is founder of the Potter’s House, a 30,000-member mega-church in the Mountain Creek area. The Dallas Morning News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2184634/posts#comment Fri, 13 Feb 2009 04:57:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2151906/posts The Associated Press is reporting that after a year of accolades that followed her shooting of a gunman who killed two teenage sisters at her church, concealed handgun license-holder Jeanne Assam remains "low key" and says she thinks of the family of gunman Matthew Murray. From the story: “He didn’t start off to be mixed up and confused. He started off to be a good person but he went down a wrong path,” Assam said during a news conference after a church service Sunday. A former police officer, Assam said that now she is hoping to join the Colorado Springs... Buckeye Firearms Association http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2151906/posts#comment Sat, 20 Dec 2008 15:24:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2131426/posts Ex-evangelical leader Ted Haggard, who fell from grace after the exposure of his sex and drug scandal two years ago, recently opened up about the dark secret from his past that likely led to his downfall as an adult. He spoke at Open Bible Fellowship Church, a small congregation in Morrison, Ill., on Nov. 2 – the second anniversary of his resignation as president of the 30 million-member National Association of Evangelicals. The church’s pastor, Chris Byrd, is a long-time friend of Haggard of over 30 years. “The first thing I want you to know is I sinned,” Haggard told... The Christian Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2131426/posts#comment Thu, 13 Nov 2008 14:45:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2131047/posts DALLAS (AP) - The pastor of a mega-church says he will challenge married congregants during his sermon Sunday to have sex for seven straight days _ and he plans to practice what he preaches. "We're going to give it a try," said the Rev. Ed Young, who has four children with his wife of 26 years. Young, 47, said he believes society promotes promiscuity and he wants to reclaim sex for married couples. Sex should be a nurturing, spiritual act that strengthens marriages, he said. "God says sex should be between a married man and a woman," Young said. "I... WTOP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2131047/posts#comment Wed, 12 Nov 2008 23:33:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2115691/posts Crystal Cathedral founder Rev. Robert H. Schuller has removed his son as preacher on the church's weekly "Hour of Power" syndicated TV broadcast. Schuller said in a statement read to some 450 congregants Saturday by church president Jim Coleman that he and his son, Robert A. Schuller, "have different ideas as to the direction and the vision for this ministry." "For this lack of shared vision and the jeopardy in which this is placing this entire ministry, it has become necessary for Robert and me to part ways," Schuller said. Yahoo News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2115691/posts#comment Sun, 26 Oct 2008 16:23:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2114702/posts In his e-mail to his church members he writes: "For 5,000 years, every culture and every religion - not just Christianity - has defined marriage as a contract between men and women,” Warren wrote. “There is no reason to change the universal, historical definition of marriage to appease 2% of our population.” On the Saddleback site there is video of him discussing the issue, here. National Review http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2114702/posts#comment Sat, 25 Oct 2008 03:11:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2066147/posts Pastor Who Opposes Abortion to Deliver DNC's Closing Prayer By Krissah Williams Sen. Barack Obama's team will continue its aggressive outreach to evangelical voters at the Democratic National Convention next week. Making a prime-time appearance Thursday night will be Joel C. Hunter, a Florida megachurch pastor who will deliver the convention's closing prayer following Obama's speech accepting the Democratic presidential nomination. Hunter is a registered Republican, opposes abortion and, at one point, had been chosen to lead the Christian Coalition. He has not endorsed Obama and says he agreed to give the benediction because has was asked to do so.... Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2066147/posts#comment Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:23:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2062572/posts ... A Southern Baptist minister who breaks the conservative mold. Touted by some as the likely successor to Billy Graham. On Saturday, pastor Rick Warren, author of "The Purpose-Driven Life," will do what no one else has yet accomplished: bring the presumptive GOP and Democratic presidential nominees onto the same stage to discuss their views. It's a sign of religion's importance in the 2008 presidential campaign. The event, back-to-back one-hour interviews at Mr. Warren's California megachurch, will be broadcast live on CNN and streamed on the Web. It also represents the emergence of a new style of evangelical leadership on... The Christian Science Monitor http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2062572/posts#comment Fri, 15 Aug 2008 20:24:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2061414/posts When John McCain and Barack Obama appear on the same stage Saturday at the sprawling religious campus of Orange County's Saddleback Church, their presence will vividly underline the reach that has made Pastor Rick Warren among the most significant evangelists of his generation. ~snip~ But Warren's willingness to soft-pedal political issues once central to U.S. evangelicals, such as opposition to abortion, has opened him to criticism that he has strayed from his calling to spread the Gospel. It's likely that both fans and critics will be watching closely when Warren plays host to the two presidential contenders at his church... LA Slimes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2061414/posts#comment Wed, 13 Aug 2008 21:57:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2051187/posts Mosques are multiplying across the country and their inspiration may come as a bit of a surprise – Christian megachurches. Similar to many megachurches, new mosques are popping up as extension campuses to a main mosque with the stated goal of making it more convenient for Muslims in an area to worship. These extended mosque sites are sometimes referred to as “mosque chains” and tend to be adopted by more progressive Muslim congregations. "Because of how streamlined we are, you can get off the highway from anywhere and find a mosque that is well-maintained, well-structured and that will always be... Christian Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2051187/posts#comment Fri, 25 Jul 2008 15:24:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049116/posts Presidential hopefuls John McCain and Barack Obama will speak Aug. 16 at Saddleback Church in what is expected to be the only joint campaign event for the candidates before the national conventions. The Lake Forest megachurch’s pastor, Rick Warren, will moderate the joint appearance, which will take place on the eve of the two national party conventions. After a brief appearance together, the two candidates will separately spend an hour talking with Warren. Orange County Register http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049116/posts#comment Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:47:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2048598/posts The 23rd Psalm rolled off the Rev. Jason Strand's tongue with soothing familiarity, the way it had since he memorized it as a boy. "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters ..." But up on the 16-by-24-foot screens flanking Strand, the PowerPoint version displayed the updated words "quiet waters" instead of the "still waters" of Strand's memory. Amy Anderson noticed the problem instantly. She began scribbling notes in her three-ring binder, then flipped to a new page to catch up with what... Minneapolis Star/Tribune (aka The Red Star) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2048598/posts#comment Mon, 21 Jul 2008 02:26:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2037567/posts A campaign worker for Barack Obama and the Texas Methodist pastor who advises President Bush have been linked to a website that bashes prominent Christian leader and Focus on the Family founder James Dobson. The site, called "jamesdobsondoesntspeakforme," appeared just days ago after Dobson criticized Obama's interpretation of the Bible during a 2006 speech and Obama responded essentially by calling Dobson a liar, accusing him of "making things up." Now a report from OneNewsNow, a division of the American Family Association, said the website originally was registered to Obama campaign worker Alyssa Martin, but the registration later was changed to... WND http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2037567/posts#comment Sat, 28 Jun 2008 01:42:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2029578/posts Barack Obama discussed Darfur, the Iraq war, gay rights, abortion and other issues Tuesday with Christian leaders, including conservatives who have been criticized for praising the Democratic presidential candidate. Bishop T.D. Jakes, a prominent black clergyman who heads a Dallas megachurch, said Obama took questions, listened to participants and discussed his "personal journey of faith." The discussion "went absolutely everywhere," Jakes told The Associated Press, and "just about every Christian stripe was represented in that room." Jakes, who does not endorse candidates and said he also hopes to meet with Republican presidential candidate John McCain, said some participants clearly have... Christian Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2029578/posts#comment Wed, 11 Jun 2008 19:00:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2020215/posts Jackson, Tn - It's a Sunday morning in Jackson, Tennessee, and for David O'Rouke, on this particular Sunday, it's a day of uncertainty and possible change. O'Rouke, who has been a long time member of the popular Longview Baptist Church, which has over 15,000 members, has ventured out into the unknown, paying a visit to the much smaller but friendly congregation of Mt. Olive Baptist Church on the outskirts of town. With just over 300 active members and a 4 member praise band, Mt. Olive's worship service is a far cry from the massive production that occurs every Sunday at... Team Tominthebox News Network® http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2020215/posts#comment Fri, 23 May 2008 14:41:52 GMT