August 27 – September 2

Here are your top 5 interesting, must-know news articles from the past week. Enjoy!

"Churches are not immune to cycles of trends. A growing trend is seen more apparent among American teens, as they continue to attend church, but hold to an “imposter faith.” But as successful ministries with committed members seem to find a home, some pastors are called away from complacency. On another note, a different kind of church—a Satanic one—finds its way into the public’s eyes."

5.

// Churches nationwide surprised at impact of Grief Ministry

A ministry called GriefShare is encouraging Christians to reach out to those outside of the church, specifically those who are grieving the loss of a loved one. Some pastors have already noted the impact of GriefShare, as they observe people coming to Christ through the ministry’s outreach. GriefShare is in thousands of churches nationwide, including other countries. Original article.

4.

// Pastors Question Francis Chan's Decision to Leave Megachurch

Well-known pastor and author, Francis Chan, sits down with pastors Mark Driscoll and Joshua Harris regarding his decision in leaving his Simi Valley-planted megachurch. Driscoll fears that Chan’s decision is off the basis of a pursuit of a poverty gospel, which he notes is the same as the prosperity gospel. While Chan recognizes the danger of it, he still holds fast to the calling, however uncertain, to something outside of his church. Original article.

3.

// Author: More teens becoming 'fake' Christians

In a study of 3,300 American teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17, results showed that most American teens who call themselves Christians were indifferent and inarticulate about their faith.  Kenda Creasy Dean, a minister and professor at Princeton Theological Seminary explains that teenagers believe in an “imposter faith” or watered-down faith that portrays God as a “divine therapist” whose chief goal is to boost people’s self esteem. Original article.

2.

// Trapped Chilean miners find light of Word in 'mini-Bibles'

Carlos Parra Diaz, an Adventist pastor, received approval to send Bibles and magnifying glasses to the trapped miners in Chile. Each Bible is three by five inches in size in order to fit into the device that is transporting supplies to the miners. Each Bible was personalized with a miner's name and included specific scriptures to encourage them. Renan, a trapped miner said the “Bibles gave me so much faith that I will leave here.” Original article.

1.

// Satanist Church Rents Out Oklahoma City Civic Center for Exorcism

James Hale, leader of a Satanic church planted in the Bible Belt, rented a theater in the Oklahoma City Civic Center for a ritual exorcism of God.  The Church of the IV Majesties is inviting the public to view the ritual in hopes of erasing fears many have about Satanism. Hale explains that he does not want to be secret about it, “because secrecy breeds fear. And we’re not looking to scare anyone.” Original article.

Special thanks to contributing writer, Grace Kwon.

Have suggestions of what you want to read about or would like to share some stories that you came across? E-mail Veronica at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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