Oklahoma Tornado: Divine Judgment?

Evangelical speaker and author John Piper is being criticized for the Bible verses he Tweeted right after tornadoes ripped through Oklahoma to his nearly half-of-a-million followers. Both verses come from Job--

Job 1:9- “Your sons and daughters were eating and a great wind struck the house, and it fell upon them, and they are dead.”

Job 1:20- “Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped.”

The tweets didn’t mention the deadly tornadoes, but critics say they were inappropriate. Evangelical writer Rachel Held Evans had strong words for what she called Piper's “abusive theology of ‘deserved’ tragedy." She backed off in a later Tweet: “Piper’s tweet was vague enough that I don’t know that he was necessarily saying this point this time. Maybe it wasn’t the best time to call him out.” But Piper tied Job and Oklahoma together when he Tweeted, “My hope and prayer for Oklahoma is that the raw realism of Job’s losses will point us all to his God ‘compassionate and merciful.’” He retired recently from Minneapolis' Bethlehem Baptist Church.  Author Philip Yancey warned Piper to avoid becoming like one of Job’s friends, trying to explain why God allows tragedy. “God endorses the confusion and even outrage that we feel when mysterious things happen... When suffering happens, it forces us to confront life in a different way than we normally do.”

166 year old newspaper closing

The United Methodist Reporter is closing at the end of the month. The Dallas-based newspaper has struggled financially for years. It began publishing in 1847. 26 people will lose their jobs. Read more about the closure here.

Atheist Tornado Survivor

CNN's Wolf Blitzer speaks with an Atheist Tornado Survivor.

Christians in China

There are some 67 million Christians in China. That's about five percent of the population, according to the Pew Research Center. Some headcounts put the figure higher than the number of members of the Communist Party--about 82 million people.

IRS Audits include Billy Graham's Ministry

The IRS was targeting more than just Tea Party groups and conservative political organizations. The federal agency targeted the ministry of Billy Graham and the relief organization led by his son, Franklin Graham, called Samaritan's Purse. Franklin Graham has written a letter to the President, calling the IRS audits as "morally wrong and unethical." It was the first time the IRS had audited the ministry. Both organizations are based in North Carolina. The state newspaper for Baptists, The Biblical Recorder, was also audited first the first time since it began publication in 1833. All three organizations were cleared by the IRS.

Christian Radio network in financial trouble

Family Radio could be going out of business. The Oakland, California network made national headlines which the man who runs the network, Harold Camping, announced a date for the end of the world. Then updated it when it didn't happen. Family Radio sold its three largest radio stations because of the financial trouble. Camping suffered a stroke two years ago.

Christian religious philosopher passes

Dallas Willard has died at age 77 of cancer. The University of Southern California philosophy professor established the Dallas Willard Center at Westmont College in California and authored many books, including The Spirit of the Disciplines, The Divine Conspiracy, Renovation of the Heart, and Hearing God. He also served on the boards of the C.S. Lewis Foundation and Biola University. Born in Buffalo, New York, Willard is survived by his wife and two children.

Judge: Bible Verses on Banners OK

A Texas judge says Bible verses on banners at public school football games are fine. Judge Steven Thomas ruled it is constitutional for cheerleaders at Kountze High School to display run-through banners with messages like "If God is for us, who can be against us." The judge decided the messages on the banners are the protected private speech of the cheerleaders. The Freedom From Religion Foundation complained about the banners last fall, claiming it amounted to school endorsement of Christianity. The ruling may be appealed. Here's a video report from WRCB-TV.

WRCBtv.com | Chattanooga News, Weather

Transgender Suit moves forward

A California judge says a lawsuit against California Baptist University filed by a transgendered student can move forward. The school expelled Domaine Javier after revealing that she is biologically male. She claims that is a violation of a state law against discrimination based on gender identity. Lawyers for Cal Baptist argue the law doesn't apply to private institutions that are a religiously-oriented.

Megachurch Pastor Resigns: Admits Affair

A Florida megachurch pastor has resigned. David Loveless told his Orlando church about an affair over the weekend. Leaders of Discovery Church released an announcement saying in part:

“It is with great sadness that we announce the immediate resignation of our lead pastor, David Loveless, following his acknowledgement of his participation in a wrongful relationship over multiple years with a woman not his wife. While David indicates that the relationship was ended approximately three years ago, we were only made aware of it when he informed us in recent days. David offered his resignation, and the elders prayerfully and unanimously accepted it. While we believe David Loveless can be restored to Christian fellowship and productive Christian service, we do not believe he can serve as a pastor at Discovery Church.”

Don Cousins, director of ministry, will take over Loveless role for the time being.

Saving Justin Bieber

Justin Bieber's pastor is talking with Selena Gomez in an effort to help the pop star get his life straightened out. Pastor Judah Smith has encouraged the couples rekindled romance. Bieber has has several episodes played out in the media lately--including showing up late for concerts on his world tour, allegedly spitting at a neighbor and police searched his tour bus for drugs. Smith says celebrities like the teenage star tend to be isolated and are in need to community. He gave Gomez a copy of Gary Chapman's The 5 Languages of Love: The Secret to Love that Lasts.

This day in history

It was on this date in 1864 that the U.S. Congress added In God We Trust to U.S. coins.

George Beverly Shea Passes

George Beverly Shea has died at the age of 104. He stood beside Billy Graham, singing at the evangelist's crusades for more than 60 years. Shea died in Asheville after a brief illness. His version of How Great Thou Art became a trademark for the baritone who performed before an estimated 200 million. More than 70 albums bear his name. He was nominated for Grammy Awards on ten occasions, winning one in 1965 and presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011.

Corbin Bernsen: I’d rather talk about God than Lindsay Lohan

Known for his current role in the USA network's Psych and LA Law back in the 80s, Corbin Bernsen is a familiar face to TV viewers. Here's what he told Fox News about his faith:

I consider myself a Christian. It’s the kind of thing I struggle with. I have faith, I believe in God… All I know is I march to my own drummer these days. I stay true to myself and there’s a lot of people who want faith in their lives and I’m more about that. I would like to bring them into the discussion. I am certainly on a journey of discussion. We’re have a conversation about it and in these days where there’s so much in the world that’s not working and somehow we’ve used faith and religion as a glue for society, something that’s made things work, not drive things apart, I feel there’s a need to celebrate that for the good of what it is. It gets so much bad press. There’s an assumption if you have any faith you vote a certain way or you’re a conservative and that’s not true. There are very cool, relevant people who have faith in their lives and people who want to have faith who are afraid to enter the conversation. That’s all I care about, entering the conversation. I have four sons who are basically growing up in a world where basically they don’t believe… that’s not good either. So I’m not saying you have to believe in God or Christ, just come into the conversation for a bit…I find it far more interesting than say, talking about Lindsay Lohan.

Read more here.

Reaching the Globe with the Good News

A look at the work of Trans World Radio here.

Brennan Manning dies

Brennan Manning has passed away at the age of 78. Best known as the writer of the The Ragamuffin Gospel , Manning died yesterday following several years of declining health. He was 78. The book was especially inspiring to some Christian musicians ,including Michael W. Smith, Michael Card and the late Rich Mullins, who named his band in honor of Manning's book. One popular quote of Manning, spoken by Carman on DC Talk song ("What if I Stumble?"), goes like this:

"The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”

Manning attended Pennsylvania's Saint Francis College and was ordained a Franciscan priest in 1963. He taught theology at the University of Stuebenville in Ohio and became the spiritual director of Saint Francis Seminary. His association with the Little Brothers of Jesus of Charles de Foucald included living in France, Spain and Switzerland. Manning struggled with alcoholism, briefly relapsing when he returned to the U.S. He writing showed a brutal brokenness, endearing him to his readers.

Baptist leader stepping down

Richard Land will leave his post as president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention in order to lead Southern Evangelical Seminary in Charlotte. Land stirred controversy last year with his comments about the Trayvon Martin shooting and then it was discovered he plagiarized parts of his commentaries. The Commission chastised Land and his radio show ended. Land said he was going to retire in October--which would have been his 25th anniversary in his current position.

11 Bands You Might Not Realize Are Christian

See the list at BuzzFeed here.

Suicide of star pastor Rick Warren’s son sparks debate about mental illness

Evangelical Christian leaders have begun a national conversation about how their beliefs might sometimes stigmatize those who struggle with mental illness. Read more at the Washington Post here.

Rise Of Hispanic Evangelical Church

TIME magazine takes a look at the influence Of Latinos In America's Religion here.