Yet, despite these clear mandates, I find that churches and other Christian organizations are sometimes leery of reporting abuse when it comes to their attention. They look for ways to avoid complying with the law due to any number of reasons: fear of legal consequences, repercussions within the organization, or harsh reactions from the public.... Continue Reading

“Bishop Bling” was in a class of his own, spending nearly $500,000 on walk-in closets, nearly $300,000 on a fish tank, more than $200,000 on a spiral staircase and $20,000 on a bathtub. Tebartz-van Elst also spent more than $600,000 on artwork — at a time when some dioceses in the U.S. are selling their... Continue Reading

“Overall, incentives to make charitable gifts could suffer somewhat due to the proposed 2% floor on charitable contributions, meaning that only gifts to charity above 2% of an individual’s adjusted gross income (AGI) could be deductible. Moreover, with the increased standard deduction and cuts to other itemized deductions such as the real estate tax reduction,... Continue Reading

“We are going to explore both some of the reasons for this decline in various church circles, and some ways that we can recover and strengthen a vibrant doctrine of the church.  This should, I would think, be a matter of existential concern for seminary students such as yourselves.  After all, many of you are... Continue Reading

Spanish Christian Church, located on the ground floor of one of the buildings at 116th and Park Avenue, is led by Revs. Santos Mercado and Thomas Perez. The building was built in 1910, and some reports said the church had been there for the last 70 years.   (WNS)–An explosion reduced two buildings in East... Continue Reading

“In recent years more than 700 Clergy and 5,000 Christians have petitioned The Episcopal Church and five Episcopal Bishops also requested information and transparency in The Episcopal Church with spending more than $22 million dollars of church funds in 80 or more secular lawsuits against departing churches and dioceses. These lawsuits are ongoing with no... Continue Reading

In 2013, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that the 3,000-member Falls Church, which voted in 2006 to leave the Episcopal Church and join an Anglican diocese, did not have the right to keep the property. It also ruled that some of the church’s nearly $3 million in assets belong to the Falls Church Anglican congregation.  ... Continue Reading

Why don’t more church people question what their pastor says to see if it squares with the Bible? Why does the coloring page not shock more parents? Why are more people not asking, “Does planting people in the crowd not violate 2 Corinthians 4?” Church members need to search the Scriptures to see if, as... Continue Reading

“Speaking to the congregation following the announcement of the voting results, Senior Pastor John Ortberg said, “To everybody who voted a different way or whether the outcome of the vote is a disappointment, we — the church — want you to know we are so grateful for your participation and for your involvement.”   Members... Continue Reading

In many ways, there are no surprises. Indeed, I doubt most of you will be surprised at my findings. If nothing else, it is a good reminder of how we can help our pastors, and how we can pray for them. Of course, you will quickly see that they are not mutually exclusive. They are... Continue Reading