From the AP:  Is Pope Francis an exorcist? The question has been swirling ever since Francis laid his hands Sunday on the head of a young man after celebrating Mass in St. Peter’s Square. The young man heaved deeply a half-dozen times, shook, and he then slumped in his wheelchair as Francis prayed over him. The television station of the Italian bishops’ conference said it had surveyed exorcists, who agreed there was “no doubt” that Francis either performed an exorcism or a prayer to free the man from the devil. Here’s the video: The Vatican was more cautious Tuesday. In...

That’s the advice that Pat Robertson recently gave a women who asked his advice on how to move on after her husband had cheated on her. “Here’s the secret,” he said. “Stop talking about the cheating. He cheated on you, well, he’s a man.” Again, Pat’s co-host should have her salary doubled.  Or tripled. CBN’s official response: The “intent was not to condone infidelity or to cast blame. We regret any misunderstanding.” SOURCE SOURCE...

Over my years in ministry, I’ve often said that the more I try not to offend people, the more people get offended. I don’t know if you find that true in your life, but for some reason it is in mine. I really don’t ever set out to offend anyone… but sometimes it happens. Ron Edmonson gives five practical steps to take when you’ve offended someone: 1.  Recognize it.  Some people are easily offended.  And some people can offend others easily.  Know where you are on that continuum. 2.  Pursue peace.  Try NOT to be offensive in the first place.  Try to pursue peace....

I’m not happy to say that this happened in my home state… According to WBNS-TV Two church leaders, a father and son, face criminal charges after police say a parking lot dispute turned violent. Pastor Bennett Smith leads The Church at Polaris. His son Paul Smith is an associate pastor there. The Church at Polaris sits on Gemini Place, right across the street from Polaris Fashion Place. Church staffers say the heavy traffic that plagues the area has led nearby residents to use the church parking lot as a cut-through — a conflict that police say caused the pastor and his son to forget their...

Phil Cooke lists six situations and cultures of churches that can hide bad leadership, at least for a season: 1.  Money… mistakes can be fixed and bad leadership and decisions can usually be rectified if you have deep enough pockets. 2.  Resources… like multiple assistants, a talented staff, a beautiful facility, etc.  A great staff can really mask bad leadership at the top, at least for a while. 3.  Bubble Cultures… where the church has limited interaction with the outside world, and therefore no comparisons for performance.  Cooke says this is why some external consultants can...

Be sure to tweet a link to this… then put it on facebook with a link to your pinterest page. Come on, you know you want to. And, you probably don’t have anything better to...

Interesting question posed over at Churchm.ag: As my wife and I dug into several TED videos, it hit me: “Why aren’t sermons like this?” I think it has more to do with the format than anything else, so I took a look at TED’s rules for speakers and here’s some food for thought: No talk can exceed 18 minutes in length. Speakers must tell a story or argue for an idea. They may not use the TED stage to sell products, promote themselves or businesses. Every talk’s content must be original and give credit where appropriate. Speakers cannot plagiarize or impersonate other persons, living or...

In his book, Southern Baptist Consensus and Renewal, author David Dockery lists seven different groups of conservative Southern Baptists: Fundamentalists: hard-lined people who often have more in common with “independent” Baptists than with the SBC heritage. Revivalists: true heirs of the Sandy Creek tradition, including their suspicion of education. Traditionalists: heirs of the Sandy Creek theology, including the strong commitment to evangelism and revivalism, but affirming of education. Orthodox Evangelicals: an irenic group that looked to Carl F. H. Henry and Billy Graham as models. This...

The church was named the countries ‘fastest growing church’ in 2011 by Outreach Magazine. But Pastor Geronimo Scott Aguilar of the popular Richmond Outreach Center in  South Richmond has been charged with aggravated sexual battery of a child under 14 in Tarrant County Texas. The Fort Worth arrest warrant has shown up on the national crime information center database. Recently, a Fort Worth Police Department confirmed to CBS 6 that the 43-year-old Aguilar was being investigated for alleged sexual abuses. His Richmond attorney, David Carlson, said Aguilar was previously cleared by Texas...

I know all of you have been watching the news, as have I, for the past hours.  Our prayers go out to all of those affected by the tornado that ravaged portions of Oklahoma… particularly Moore, OK. This morning, I tried to find some additional information on church websites from Moore… but there was very little information available. I guess that’s understandable… In times of total devastation, many churches, I’m sure are stepping up their efforts at helping those in need.  But hardly any church’s websites had been updated with any of that information. I imagine...