Members of New Central Baptist Church in Philadelphia, Penn., voted to fire their pastor after accusing him of acting like a dictator and other offenses, including misappropriating $16,000 meant for emergency church expenses. However, he refuses to leave after a judge overruled their decision. Pastor Bernard Reaves has changed the locks on the church, but members are fighting back with an appeal currently pending before the state's Superior Court. Read more.

Former Democratic state Rep. Stacie Laughton, the first trans-identified legislator elected in the U.S., was arrested on a felony arrest warrant and charged with distributing images of child sex abuse in connection with another case involving a woman accused of taking sexually explicit photos of preschool-age children. Laughton served in the New Hampshire House of Representatives from 2020 to 2022. Read more.

Fowler United Methodist Church of Annapolis, Md., a predominately African American church, was vandalized in early June in what Anne Arundel County Police is investigating as a potential hate crime. The church suffered approximately $100,000 in damages, including the destruction of a cross and Bibles. Read more.

Just two days before he shot his wife and mother of their three children at a hotel in Mississippi, a 25-year-old Louisiana pastor declared on Facebook that he was flawed but still favored by God. On June 21, Danny Prenell, Jr., senior pastor of Bright Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church, shot his wife, Gabrielle, twice before shooting himself. He only recently celebrated his first anniversary as pastor of the church. Read more.

Support After Abortion CEO Lisa Rowe discusses the importance of having compassion for women who have had an abortion, ensuring they know they are not alone. "We should begin by telling the woman in this situation that we are sorry for her loss," says Rowe, who explains that acknowledging a woman's pain and loneliness "lets her know that we are ready to meet her and join, wherever she is in her journey." Read more.

Dr. Michael Brown calls out Quinton Caesar, a Lutheran pastor in Germany who declared "Now is the time to say ... 'God is queer'" during a national Protestant gathering. Noting his words drew applause, Brown writes, "Talk about a vivid illustration of blasphemy and spiritual blindness. Talk about shouting to the nation, "We are the blind leading the blind! Come follow us into the ditch!'" Read more.

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Rodrigo Iván Cortés, a former Mexican congressman convicted of "gender-based political violence" for referring to trans-identified congressional representative Salma Luévanoas as a "man who self-ascribes as a woman" is calling on the international community to intervene concerning "systematic violations of fundamental rights." Cortés, who is awaiting an appeal of his conviction, made the social media comments in response to Luévanoas's draft bill, which aimed to categorize biblical views on sexuality as "hate speech." Read more.

Gate Zero, an innovative new Bible game, raised over $271,000 in less than 79 hours on the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter. "We really want to dive into creating a game for the younger generation to be able to experience Jesus and to be able to get familiar with the stories and events from the Bible," Gate Zero producer Arve Solli told Faithwire. The developers envision the game as an interactive Bible for players, taking them "back to zero" by immersing them in biblical stories and events. Read more.