| | Study shows Americans prefer non-denom church names | | Curated for you byCP Editors | | Good afternoon! It's Friday, June 10, and today's headlines include research on Americans' preference for churches with names that are nondenominational, activists' push for further censorship on Facebook, and a church's suspension of ex-SBC President Johnny Hunt in the wake of sexual assault allegations. | | A new study from Lifeway Research shows that Americans prefer churches with nondenominational names. The online study, which surveyed more than 1,000 Americans last September, showed that just 33% of U.S. adults assumed that a church is not for them when the term nondenominational is reflected in the name. In contrast, 51% of respondents assumed a church with the term Pentecostal would not be for them, with seven other denominations triggering a similar response among participants. Lifeway's Scott McConnell explained, "Names including St. Peter, Trinity, Crossroads and Presbyterian reflect biblical people, theology, modern imagery or references to the branch of Christianity the church is tied to. Most people have preexisting impressions of denominational groups when they see them in a church name or description." | Robin Veldman, Texas A&M assistant professor of religious studies, explained in a report in The Battalion that the attitude of Americans toward nondenominational churches is partly a reflection of the movement away from organized religion, particularly among younger generations. "I think people are moving away from institutionalized religion. They don’t necessarily like the denominational brand," Veldman noted, asserting that others prefer to leave church altogether, even if they are still religious. Read more.Also of Interest ...5 UMC leaders who backed gracious separation protocol withdraw supportMegachurch leader gets 17 years for child sex abuseELCA pastor claims 'Jesus screwed up,' called woman seeking help the B-word | | P.S. Volume 2 of CP Magazine is here! If you'd like to help support Christian journalism, this digital-only offering runs just $19.99 annually—or get your free copy when you sign-up for a free Christian Post account. Sign-up to download your flipbook or PDF copy today. |
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| Activists push for more censorship on Facebook | | During Facebook's (now Meta) latest annual meeting, activists put proposals on the ballot aimed at pushing the social media giant into banning more content. As You Sow, one of the best-known left-of-center proxy activist groups, introduced a proposal targeting Facebook's "community standards." It calls upon the company to do an analysis as to why the current enforcement of community standards "has proven ineffective at controlling the dissemination of user content that contains or promotes hate speech, disinformation, or content that incites violence and/or harm to public health or personal safety." Jerry Bowyer condemns the highly interpretable terms, which have been used in biased ways, writing, "The vagueness of what does and does not constitute 'hate speech' or 'disinformation' allows the company enormous latitude when it comes to imposing its own political and cultural agenda." Read more. | | Also of Interest... | | New survey: corporations failing to respect religious and political diversityAmazon refuses shareholder request to reveal charitable contributionsWalmart shareholders defeat pro-abortion proposal at annual meeting | | Church suspends ex-SBC president after assault allegation | | Former Southern Baptist Convention President Johnny Hunt has been formally suspended as pastor emeritus at First Baptist Church Woodstock in Georgia after an investigation deemed credible allegations that he sexually assaulted a younger pastor's wife several years ago. Pastor Jeremy Morton and other members of the church's leadership published a letter on June 3 that stated, "We have recommended to our former pastor, Johnny Hunt, a clear process of counseling, accountability, and restoration. We also believe it is in the best interest of FBCW to suspend his role as Pastor Emeritus." Read more. | | Also of Interest... | | Ex-SBC president allegedly sexually assaulted pastor’s wife, asked for sex 3 times a daySBC releases 200-page database of credibly accused sexual abusers | | Lawmaker jokes about making 'Drag Queen 101’ part of K-12 curriculum | | California state lawmaker Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat who represents San Francisco, tweeted that the controversial "Drag Queen Story Time" trend should be a K-12 curriculum requirement in response to Texas Republican Rep. Bryan Slaton's pledge to introduce legislation that would ban drag shows and other sexually inappropriate displays in the presence of children in his state. In response to Wiener's facetious remarks, Slaton responded back by stating, "This man is a California legislator. He is clearly sick. Please join me in praying for him." Read more. |
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| A summer of hope for children of the Ukraine war | | Thousands of children from across the former Soviet Union are gearing up for Bible camps where they will learn three simple but powerful words: God loves you. Slavic Gospel Association President Michael Johnson writes about the mission of these Bible camps and the work of local pastors and congregations in the midst of the war in Ukraine, and he calls on believers to pray that these children of atheism and war will have the opportunity to become the children of God. Read more. | | Pride Month: Things I’m proud of and things I’m not | | Evangelist Jay Lowder discusses the LGBT community's celebration of the month of June as "pride month" and the importance of expressing love and demonstrating mercy as Christ did. "Our call is certainly to speak the truth but never, absolutely never, without love or the recognition that we are also severely stained and not without fault," he writes. Read more. |
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| The Futility of One Nation Above God | | "We have forgotten God, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own" (Abraham Lincoln). | | Over the last few decades, Americans have seen the destruction of the institution of marriage between a man and a woman, the removal of God’s Word in several areas, and the aborting of millions of babies. Ironically, many of the men and women who died for our freedoms did not die for what we are becoming today. Listen Now | | |
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| Kirk Franklin tells crowd: My generation let yours down | | Gospel pioneer Kirk Franklin, who is currently on a multi-city tour with Christian music group Maverick City Music, told an Orlando audience last week, "There's so much division in the world right now. Sometimes I feel like my generation let your generation down." Asserting that people in the Church from the baby boomer generation "were talking about church and talking about Jesus, but we forgot to love on people," Franklin declared, "Right now, I believe that there's a generation in this room that's sick and tired of people that play church; they're ready to be the Church." He also advocated for racial unity and said he believes today's younger generation can help him "change the atmosphere of the world." The Gospel veteran, DeVon Franklin (no relation), and others recently launched an eight-episode drama titled "Kingdom Business" that gives viewers an inside look at the drama that unfolds behind the scenes in the gospel music industry. Read more. |
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| Crist returns with comedy special 3 years after being axed by Netflix | | Christian comedian John Crist released his new special, "John Crist: What Are We Doing," on YouTube last week, and the video has garnered nearly 400,000 views as of Friday morning. The comedian’s Netflix special was canceled, and his book was postponed in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations in 2019. In response, he temporarily stepped away from his career and sought professional help at a treatment facility for four months. "I want to say that I made a lot of poor choices in my personal life. I've made a lot of decisions that hurt myself, that hurt other people, and embarrassed myself and had consequences and I could look you in the eye and own that," Crist admitted. Read more. | | Also of Interest... | | Netflix drops John Crist Thanksgiving comedy special from calendar amid sexual misconduct allegationsJohn Crist posts first message in 8 months: ‘Biggest hypocrite was me’John Crist returns with first comedy bit from Tenn. Waffle HouseJohn Crist contemplated suicide amid sexual misconduct allegations: Prayer 'kept me on earth' | | Country artist says CCM saved his life | | In a recent interview with Christian Headlines, Grammy-nominated country music singer Jimmie Allen shared how contemporary Christian music (CCM) "saved" him during a challenging time. The singer, who described being "in a rough place" about a year ago, said the genre continues to help him grow his faith. Allen spoke of worship group Maverick City Music in particular, explaining, "Maverick City Music's music saved my life–literally. And I got to meet Chandler [Moore] from Maverick City Music, and I told him that." Allen won the 2021 Academy of Country Music Awards New Male Artist of the Year and the 2021 Country Music Association Awards New Artist of the Year. He recently became the first black artist to start a career with two consecutive No. 1 hits on country radio. Read more. | | | | | | | | Thank you for spending part of your day with us. We look forward to seeing you again on Monday! -- CP Editors |
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