Pastor Darrell Gilyard admitted in 2004 that he fathered the child of a woman who had accused him of raping him during a counseling session. Since his trial, Gilyard has been in prison… until about 2 months ago. Not Gilyard is back in the pulpit.  After just 2 months. Why?  Because, he says, he needs the money and feels God is calling him back into the ministry. Gilyard is still on three years probation that restricts him from having any conduct with minors.  But the church, Christ Tabernacle Baptist Church, decided to make some exceptions so that Gilyard could preach: 1.  The church agreed...

This is so true. This week as you prepare for your weekend services… which library will you read from? As you deal with your staff and your congregation… which library will you read from? Theological debates are fun.  I love them.  But when they begin to define your ministry or your personality, they’re all of a sudden not so fun. Can you debate without getting angry? Can you have a theological discussion and come away feeling ok with sometimes disagreeing on the non-essentials? HT: ...

The Diocese of Orange has officially closed on their purchase of the Crystal Cathedral property.  The Catholic church agreed to pay $57.5 million for the property. The current Crystal Cathedral congregation has 3 years to find another place to worship. You can read more here.

Much has been made of Baseball star Josh Hamilton’s ‘falling off the wagon’ last week. Hamilton, who has struggled with drug and alcohol addictions, had a week moment last week when he had some drinks at a Texas bar. To his credit, Hamilton handled things very nicely (in my opinion).  Hamilton has the eyes of the world on him and his Christian faith. Without prompting (and with no script), Hamilton called a press conference to deal with the issue. Here’s part of what he said: After the statement, Hamilton kept his commitment to speak with a church group, at which time, he...

From a press release, January 31: What if Starbucks lost 80% of its customers? Christians across the USA are boycotting Starbucks for promoting homosexual ‘marriage’ in Washington State. There is an 80% Christian majority in the USA and 1-2% homosexuals. “Christians are upset with Starbucks for turning against God, but we are glad to know that Starbucks doesn’t pretend to be for Christians,” said Pastor Steven Andrew, who is president of USA Christian Ministries. He calls every Christian and church to boycott Starbucks. Leviticus 22:18 says, “You shall not lie with a...