The Crystal Cathedral will be now known as Shepherd’s Grove when they move to their new home next month. In other CC news: Arvella Schuller, wife of the Rev. Robert H. Schuller and co-founder of the Crystal Cathedral Ministries, reportedly suffered a stroke and has been working with Medicare-provided therapists to regain use of her left arm and leg. Meanwhile, the current congregation of the Orange County megachurch prepares for a major move and has taken on a new name. The Orange County Register reports that Mrs. Schuller, 83, experienced a stroke earlier this month and was just released from...

Culture is going to hell in a hand basket. How in the world will we win the culture war? New Life Assembly of God in Janesville, WI has an idea. A cross. A really big cross. According to their pastor: ”If the enemies of the cross force a cross to be removed from the public park, then maybe a church should put up a 60 or 100 foot cross on their property… Maybe several churches should go together and erect a large cross on some agreed on-church site. This is not a war that we sought, but it is a war that the church can and will win.” And that’s what they did… raising...

I can’t tell you how relieved I am. So much hoopla over the past week about Mark Driscoll’s comments at Catalyst about SUVs and the environment. I wasn’t there. But I knew he was joking. And I knew he was going to be in trouble. Because so many people are looking for villans today… someone to demonize… someone to shoot at. Let’s take a sound byte from someone, pull it from it’s contextual setting, then make a big deal So, Mark clarified: For the record, I really like this planet. God did a good job making this planet. We should take good care of this planet...

Hold the phone. Baptismal regeneration? According to some in the SBC, some of their fellow leaders have been a little too quick to befriend and ask the Duck Dynasty guys to speak at SBC events… given that some of the clan are elders… in a CHURCH OF CHRIST. So… here’s a expose… trying to determine the real beliefs of the Duck Dynasty guys on the topic of Baptismal Regeneration.  Here’s a short excerpt from a blog that’s tackling this ‘scandal’ head on. I wrote A Few More Things You Should Know About Duck Dynasty when I found out these fellows...

Nearly a half million hits in 2 days.  Yeah… I’d say that’s ‘viral’. Austin Stone Community Church Matt Carter catches a bird barehanded in this video.  Check it out. And for something a little more substantive from Matt, check this out… it’s important to watch:

The IRS hasn’t officially audited churches since 2009… and given this week’s news from the IRS, I think that this would be an interesting time for them to announce they would resume auditing churches.  It seems that they have much bigger things to defend right now.  Here’s a short part of a piece from the Christian Post on the topic written by Eric Stanley: For some time now, the IRS has not been auditing churches. As I explained in more detail in this post, the IRS’ decision to “suspend” church audits stems from a 2009 federal court decision finding the IRS’...

In this edition of the Ministry Briefing video speed round we hit four topics of interest from the headlines: Snapchat pictures don’t disappear after all Christian heavy metal band singer attempts to hire hitman Singapore mega-church pastor charged with misappropriating funds Truth is your name recognition is less than you think Interested in more stories like these? Check out our far more serious May print edition of Ministry Briefing...

According to Christianity Today: A controversial lawsuit alleging leaders of Sovereign Grace Ministries conspired to conceal the sexual abuse of children has been amended a second time, adding three more plaintiffs and a large number of graphic claims. The amended lawsuit makes the stark claim that SGM leaders “conspired, and continue to conspire, to permit sexual deviants to have unfettered access to children for purposes of predation, and to obstruct justice by covering up ongoing and past predation.” It alleges that SGM leaders failed to fulfill mandatory reporting obligations, and...

Note to everyone reading this.  If TLC or any other network offers you money to be on a reality show about pastors, please decline their money and tell them to have a nice day. Here’s the press release about a new show where the pastors involved did not have that wisdom. For the life of me, I can’t think of anything good that could come out of this… Set to premiere in the fall of 2013, the “docu-series” stars Bishop Noel Jones, Deitrick Haddon,Bishop Clarence McClendon, Pastor Wayne Chaney, Bishop Ron Gibson and Pastor Jay Haizlip as they navigate roads of riches,...

St. James Anglican Church in Newport Beach, CA may be without a building soon. They are trying to retain their building since their split from the US Episcopal Church over widening differences of biblical interpretations and the confirmation a few years back of the first openly gay Episcopal Bishop. The Episcopal Diocese is suing St. James and two other Orange County churches for their property. As it currently stands, St. James will need to appeal the current decision of the court, giving the property to the diocese.  If the appeal does not go through, the church will have to vacate the property...