Robert Morris’ embattled Gateway Church announced Sunday that they are now in the process of joining the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, an accreditation organization for many leading Christian nonprofits, and will undergo a forensic audit of their financials following the filing of a class action lawsuit Friday alleging leaders misappropriated millions of dollars in tithes meant for global missions. ... Read full Story
Jack Iker, a former bishop who led his Texas-based diocese to leave The Episcopal Church over its support for gay marriage and helped found the Anglican Church in North America, has died at 75. ... Read full Story
Gateway Church doesn't honor a money-back guarantee on tithes to unsatisfied congregants despite claims to the contrary made by disgraced founder Robert Morris and other leaders of the Southlake, Texas, megachurch, a new class action lawsuit filed by four church members Friday alleges. ... Read full Story
Rick Warren has issued a call for prayers as a brushfire consumed 2 acres of Saddleback Church’s main campus. Authorities have reported that the fire, which ignited near the church’s parking lot, has been contained, and a suspect is now in custody. ... Read full Story
A group of longtime black Catholics in Baltimore might end up leaving the Catholic Church as the Archdiocese of Baltimore is set to downsize the number of parishes in the city by half under an aggressive restructuring plan called “Seek the City to Come.” ... Read full Story
For years, attending church as a family wasn't possible for the Alstons, whose 6-year-old son has autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. That is, until a chance conversation led the family to a Virginia church dedicated to creating a space for individuals with special needs to grow in faith. ... Read full Story
A historic Catholic church in Quebec, Canada, has suffered severe damage due to a fire. One of the more than 110 churches to have damaged in fire or vandalized since 2001, the Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Allégresses in the city of Trois-Rivières went up in flames, leading to significant structural damage, including the collapse of one of its bell towers, according to reports. ... Read full Story
Events that occurred this week in Christian history include the execution of William Tyndale, the first recording of “Just a Closer Walk With Thee,” and the birth of Ethelbert Talbot. ... Read full Story
Pastor Tullian Tchividjian, a grandson of the famed evangelist the Rev. Billy Graham, recently told his congregation that his “favorite cuss word" is "actually a prayer.” ... Read full Story
Former MorningStar Ministries leader Chris Reed is getting ready to start a new congregation called Jesus Revolution Church in South Carolina just over a month after resigning from the ministry amid allegations of sexual abuse of minors by a former volunteer and a confession by Reed that he had an inappropriate relationship with an adult ex-student. ... Read full Story
While the overwhelming majority of Evangelicals believe they have a duty to share the teachings of the Bible, most don't think they're equipped to do so. ... Read full Story
More than two years after he was removed as lead pastor of Fellowship Baptist Church in Sidney, Montana, due to allegations of prescription drug abuse, domestic violence and embezzling money, once popular polemics blogger Jordan Daniel "J.D." Hall has been found guilty of embezzlement and ordered to pay restitution. ... Read full Story
Mike Baker, the former pastor of Eastview Christian Church in Bloomington, Illinois, who resigned from the megachurch after his son, Caleb Baker, was fired from his job as a pastor at Central Christian Church due to adultery, will move his growing new congregation into a new building on Sunday. ... Read full Story
Pastor Ray Ortlund of Immanuel Church in Nashville, Tennessee, deleted a social media post endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for president after receiving backlash Sunday. ... Read full Story
The first disciples were mainly workers in various trades and the workplace still offers a holy ground to be a “priestly presence” to witness for Jesus, delegates heard at the Fourth Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization. ... Read full Story
The percentage of churches that provide support to those fighting opioid addiction has declined compared to what it was five years ago, according to a new poll of pastors from Lifeway Research. ... Read full Story
Events that occurred this week in Christian history include Pope John Paul II visiting Ireland, the death of George Whitefield and the launch of BBN. ... Read full Story
In his 54th year in ministry, Rick Warren, founder of Saddleback Church, declared at the Fourth Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization that he would spend the next 10 years of his life continuing to help church leaders “finish their race” and fulfill the Great Commission in their lifetime. ... Read full Story
The Rev. Dr. Cecelia Williams Bryant, mother of controversial Baltimore megachurch Pastor Jamal Bryant, has passed away at the age of 77. Known affectionately as “Rev. C,” she was celebrated for her extensive ministry and advocacy. ... Read full Story
As the Fourth Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization came to a close, the Lausanne leadership sent a note to the more than 5,000 participants inviting them to provide feedback to the Seoul Statement that had been published at the beginning of the event. ... Read full Story
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 30, 2024 is:
syncretism \SING-kruh-tiz-um\ noun
Syncretism refers to the combining of different forms of belief or practice.
// As a scholar of religion, Laila is especially interested in the syncretism of Manichaeism, which was influenced by Christianity, Buddhism, and Zoroastrianism.
"Explore the archaeological wonders of Chavín de Huantar, where history comes alive. This village, steeped in cultural richness, provides a journey into Peru's ancient past. 'The village of Chavín de Huántar is an example of how tourism can foster syncretism between religious traditions and ancestral cultural elements, generating experiences with a positive impact for the population and improving the quality of life of its residents,' said the UNWTO [United Nations World Tourism Organization]." — Laura Begley Bloom, Forbes, 26 Nov. 2023
Did you know?
The ancient Greeks used the term synkrētismos to refer to Cretan cities allied in opposition to a common enemy. In the early 17th century, English speakers adopted the term in the anglicized form syncretism to refer to the union of different religious beliefs. Three centuries later, lexicographers of the 1909 edition of Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language added a new definition of syncretism ("the union or fusion into one or two or more originally different inflectional forms, as of two cases"), but this specialized sense is rarely encountered outside of the field of linguistics. Some related terms that you are more likely to encounter are syncretize ("to attempt to unite and harmonize"), syncretist ("one who advocates syncretism"), and syncretic and syncretistic ("characterized or brought about by syncretism").