Hello World,

Have you missed me? I hope so…I haven’t been posting as much. I usually post on Sundays and Wednesdays but due to a pending deadline this month, I will only be posting on Sundays…So I hope my Sunday posts are worth waiting for :)…

Just because I’ve been focused on meeting my deadline doesn’t mean I’m unaware of all of the shocking news stories that have been unearthed in the Christian world…These stories are ugly…And I’ve come across some new stories that may not cause shock waves in the Christian community but are bad nevertheless…And thankfully, I’ve come across some good news that take a bit of the sting way from the ugly and bad stories that tarnish the testimony of the Christian faith…

So let’s get the ugly out of the way…

THE UGLY…

1. Montgomery Pastor Admits to Having AIDS, Sleeping With Church Members...This, by far, has got to the be the ugliest news story in the Christian world that I have seen in 2014….Apparently, he had sex with several of the female congregants knowing he has AIDS, was using drugs and mismanaged church funds…I really don’t know how no one in the church confronted him about any of these three sins (Whatever happened to female intuition or the prompting of the Holy Spirit?) and likely way before he confessed all that mess to his church and removed from his post…
2. Enugu Pastor Impregnates His Church Member, Forces Her to Abort Pregnancy…But former Pastor Juan Demetrius McFarland ain’t the only pastor acting up…Instead of a praying for a young girl in his church, allegedly Pastor Friday Onuh of Nigeria preyed on the young girl church, got her pregnant and “took her to a patent medicine dealer” (Are they talking about a witch doctor?) in order for their child to be aborted…Whew…I cannot imagine….
3. Faith Under Fire: A Westlake Church Rallies Around Its Pastor After Charges That He Sexually Abused His Adopted Daughter…Allegedly Pastor Paul, as he is known to the congregants at Church on the Rise, is “awaiting trial on six felony charges of allegedly sexually abusing his adopted daughter,” But at least one congregant is pointing a finger at the adopted daughter rather than Pastor Paul…In fact, members are still packing the pews… (Whom do you believe?)
4. 7th Heaven’s Stephen Collins Reportedly Admits to Molesting Underage Girl, Fallout Reaches Hollywood…As ugly as this story is, at least this story is about a fake pastor…Collins portrayed Rev. Camden, pastor of the Glen Oak Community Church on the TV series “7th Heaven,” is “longest-running series on The WB.” Although I am shocked and saddened by this story, Collins only portrayed a pastor on TV (If your pastor is a fake pastor on television, you need more than Jesus) …that point needs to be emphasized….

THE BAD…

1. Boko Haram Destroys 185 Churches, Beheads Seven People in Borno…While this story is ugly, I put in the bad category because this isn’t the first time this Islamist terrorist group has committed crimes against humanity (Lord, please intervene…)…On April 14, more than 200 Christian and Muslim Nigerian girls were stolen in the middle of the night from their boarding school in Chibok town by this group…
2. Jersey City Sunday School Teacher Stabbed to Death By Ex-Fiance, Police Say…As a former Sunday School teacher, this story is particularly troubling…Reportedly, Patricia Santana’s former fiance was a “nice guy” and went to church with her…(Just because a man comes to church with you, doesn’t mean he is saved, and even if he saved…well, see above…

 THE GOOD…(finally, right?)

1. ‘Homeless’ Pastor Rick Cole Goes Home to Capital Christian Church…In spite of the shenanigans and crimes committed by a few “pastors,” I do believe the overwhelming majority of pastors have good intentions and are committed to serving God and their people…This pastor left his home, “living on Sacramento streets for two weeks to raise money for the area’s winter shelter program.” (Praise God for this pastor…)
2. Columbus Churches Come Together for Prayer Walk…Under the leadership of Pastor Christopher Smith, Word of Truth Ministries partnered with other churches in the community to walk through its neighborhoods and pray for the people that live there…(Prayer is so powerful…)
3. The Beauty of Small Church…Don’t get me wrong, megachurches are great, but bigger is not always better (#smallchurchestandup) and Rev. Hope Lee, lead pastor of Kirkwood Presbyterian Church, agrees with me…She wrote a sweet tribute to the small church in which she was raised…As a daughter of a pastor who leads a small church, I’ve had similar experiences…
4. Christian Brothers Automotive & Lake Pointe Church Offer Free Oil Changes for Single Moms…Again, although the church and its leaders should be open to criticism when warranted, I believe that most churches and its leaders want to do good…(What about free or discounted oil changes for newlyweds? :))

Any thoughts?