Free Republic

False teacher Andy Stanley is actually promoting an old second century heresy known as Marcionism, which is why he has no faith in the authority of the Bible Pastor Andy Stanley is having revival in his ministry, it is growing by leaps and bounds, and he speaks to a full house every time the doors are open. He has ten satellite ‘campus locations’ numbering about 200,000 people every Sunday. Only one problem. Andy Stanley is not weighed down by that cumbersome, old Book known as the Bible, King James or otherwise, and that is striking a chord in people who...

A Christian megachurch in California is soliciting prayers and US$100,000 in donations on behalf of two of its members, who are holding out hope that Jesus will “resurrect” their recently deceased toddler. Kalley and Andrew Heiligenthal say their daughter, Olive Alayne, passed away on Dec. 14 at the age of two. Kalley is a well-known singer at the Bethel megachurch in Redding, Calif., and she shared the news of her family tragedy with her 262,000 followers on Instagram Sunday. “We’re asking for prayer. We believe in a Jesus who died and conclusively defeated every grave, holding the keys to resurrection...

Hillsong continues to astound by their complete and utter disregard for how scripture instructs Christians to conduct their lives in this present evil age. First they brought us Sleezy Silent Night. Then they had the sexual pervert Austin Powers appear at their women's conference in London and now they'e had The Naked Cowboy appear at their women's conference in New York. We fear to see what they have in store for their next conference.

How can Planned Parenthood stand in the midst of mega churches? VIDEO ONLY ON LINK

Lights. Camera. Religion. Megachurches are more than just your regular pulpit and pew church. They’re larger, they’re packed, and they’re drawing in thousands of people. Going to a megachurch is a rising trend in the United States. In 2011, a survey by Harvard Institute of Religion Research found that six million people — about 10 percent of churchgoers surveyed — attended churches with more than 2,000 attendees. But more people are giving megachurches a chance. OnFaith’s Maryann Gogniat Eidemiller, who is Catholic, attended a megachurch to see what the draw was, and she was very pleased with her experience. “I...

With the in-your-face display of greed and arrogance of the so-called pastors on the reality show Preachers of L.A., I began to wonder: when will black Christians wake up and say enough is enough?  Although there are some white pastors of mega-churches who have a net worth of almost triple their congregants as well, I want to focus on the plight of the black saints who sit under the ministry of black pastors (and some white pastors) Sunday after Sunday and continue to live paycheck to paycheck.After some years of attending mega-churches pastored by both black and white men and...

I was on a conference call yesterday regarding intelligence gathered from a highly placed source that liberal Obama surrogates are planning to target Evangelical mega-church parking lots with bigoted anti-Mormon flyers the final weekend before the election in key battleground states like Ohio, Iowa, and Wisconsin. Mega-church pastors are being notified to have parking lot attendants be on the lookout for such a lit drop. But please forward this post to all pastors of both Protestant and Catholic churches, particularly in battleground states. It may surprise you to learn that most of anti-Mormonism is on the LEFT, not the Right....

Evangelical pastor Rick Warren is begging parishioners at his Southern California megachurch to cough up $900,000 before Jan. 1 to keep the parish out of the red. In an urgent letter posted on the Saddleback Church Web site on Wednesday, Warren says expenses are up because parishioners are out of work and "the bottom dropped out" when year-end donations dropped dramatically. He asks parishioners to donate before the new year to keep the Orange County church out of debt, The Orange County Register reports. A spokeswoman for Warren said the church does not release financial details, so it's difficult to...

Saddleback Church’s Presidential Civil Forum: A Harsh Spotlight August 21st, 2008 by David J. Hartline The Civil Forum sponsored by the Saddleback Church and its founder and pastor Rick Warren was the first chance for voters to see presidential candidates Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama answer questions about faith. What the voters actually saw was a polished Senator Obama using illustrative words and nice platitudes but saying very little. Senator McCain, though less polished, showed his serious engagement with the demands of the Gospel. Pastor Rich Warren, an admirable man, showed us both the failings of this format...

Black on black crime is alive an prevalent in America today. We continually bash each other on the radio and in print. When will we stop the hate and just learn to love our brother?

LEXINGTON, Mass. Sundays at the evangelical Grace Chapel megachurch look like the American ideal of race relations: African-American, Haitian, white, Chinese and Korean families sing along with a white, guitar-playing pastor. U.S. churches rarely have this kind of ethnic mix. But that's changing. Researchers who study race and religion say Grace Chapel is among a vanguard of megachurches that are breaking down racial barriers in American Christianity, altering the long-segregated landscape of Sunday worship. "Megachurches as a whole are significantly better than other congregations at holding together multiracial, multiethnic congregations," said Scott Thumma, an expert on megachurches and a professor...

Pastor Mac Hammond's congregation at Living Word Christian Center in Brooklyn Park reacted strongly Sunday to his appearance in the wake of a watchdog's group complaint to the Internal Revenue Service that he violated federal tax law and a front-page Star Tribune article examining his financial dealings: Worshipers gave him a prolonged, cheer-laced standing ovation. "Y'all better sit down; I'll get too choked up to minister," drawled Hammond, 63, pastor of the nondenominational megachurch, which has almost 10,000 members. He called questions about his financial dealings "a misunderstanding" of his prosperity-gospel ministry, which holds that following God's word leads to...

In three of the Gospels, Jesus warns that each of his disciples may have to "deny himself" and even "take up his Cross." In support of this prediction, he contrasts the fleeting pleasures of today with the promise of eternity: "For what profit is it to a man," he asks, "if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" Generations of churchgoers have understood that being Christian means being ready to sacrifice. But for a growing number of Christians, the question is better restated, "Why not gain the whole world plus my soul?" For several decades, a philosophy...

America's most successful churches are modelling themselves on businesses VISIT Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois, an upscale exurb of Chicago, and you are confronted with a puzzle. Where in God's name is the church? Willow Creek has every amenity you can imagine, from food courts to basketball courts, from cafes to video screens, not to mention enough parking spaces for around 4,000 cars. But look for steeples and stained glass, let alone crosses and altars, and you look in vain. Surely this is a slice of corporate America rather than religious America? The corporate theme is not...

The Insider July 06: 50 Most Influential Churches Two of the churches (Saddleback and Fellowship) are affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and the other three are non-affiliated with a denomination (Willow Creek, North Point and Lakewood). Some are new churches and others date back to the late 1950s. Lakewood Church began in 1959 and is both the oldest of the five top congregations and largest in the nation. North Point is the youngest of the group and began in 1995 with about 1,200 people. Both of the nation’s largest United Methodist congregations – Resurrection United Methodist Church (Leawood, Kan.)...

THE head of the World Council of Churches has expressed concern about the spread of megachurches around the world, such as Hillsong in Sydney, saying they could lead to a Christianity that is "two miles long and one inch deep". The WCC General Secretary Samuel Kobia said megachurches - huge Protestant churches with charismatic pastors, lively music and other services - mostly ran on a business model to make worshippers feel good and were shallow in their theology. Megachurches, which pack in thousands for rousing Sunday worship services, are popular in suburbs in the United States. Most are evangelical or...

SAN ANTONIO (AP) - A new survey on U.S. Protestant megachurches shows they are among the nation's fastest-growing faith groups, drawing younger people and families with contemporary programming and conservative values. The number of megachurches, defined as having a weekly attendance of at least 2,000, has doubled in five years to 1,210. The megachurches have an estimated combined income of $7.2 billion and draw nearly 4.4 million people to weekly services, according to "Megachurches Today 2005." The study, released Friday, based its findings on 406 surveys from megachurches. It was written by Leadership Network, a nonprofit church-growth consulting firm in...

This year, Christmas may be colder - or at least quieter - for the thousands who attend several evangelical megachurches across the country. Some of America's largest churches are closing their doors on Christmas day, which this year falls on Sunday, to accommodate to the lifestyles of their congregants. Among those slated to close its doors on Christmas day is Willow Creek Community Church - Chicago's largest congregation and one of the top five largest in the nation. "It's more than being family friendly. It's being lifestyle-friendly for people who are just very, very busy," said Cally Parkinson, spokesperson for...

I keep reading about churches that are going to be closed on Christmas day, which falls on a Sunday this year. What’s up with that? The word ‘Christmas’ comes from ‘Christ mass,’ which is the Roman Catholic service, or mass, for celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas falling on a Sunday should be viewed as a special occasion, with people excitedly looking forward to going to church that particular day, not using it as an excuse to close the church doors. Churches that are deciding to not hold services on Sunday, December 25th, are making a huge mistake. Now,...

Reports in the national press that some modern megachurches are “closing” on Christmas in order to encourage families to “have a more personal experience on that day” have shocked many traditional Christians. The Chicago Tribune first reported this phenomenon on December 6, in an article about the godfather of megachurches, Willow Creek. Other articles followed, in USA Today and other papers, chronicling the trend throughout the United States. This is nothing new for Willow Creek, and the WillowCreeking of America is evidenced by the spread of this trend. Many, many churches, including Rockford’s Heartland Community Church (which recently purchased Colonial...