Alex Magala, the sword-swallower who opened the Stronger Men’s Conference last weekend with a controversial act, defended his performance in a recent statement. He told news publications that as a Christian, he always aims to use his talents to “inspire and entertain audiences” in a way that respects his faith. The conference, hosted by Pastor John Lindell and James River Church in Springfield, Missouri, seeks to help men “become all that God has created them to be,” according to its Instagram page.   ..read more

When it comes to politics, the average Southern Baptist is more likely to agree with historic Baptist teaching than the claims of some self-professed Christian nationalists. A Lifeway Research study finds Southern Baptists broadly embrace conservative political ideology but also support religious liberty for all Americans and a government that does not favor any specific religion. Sponsored by the Land Center for Cultural Engagement at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, the study surveyed 500 self-identified Southern Baptist churchgoers and 507 individuals who served in key leadership ..read more

In an age of shrinking theological schools, Wesley Biblical Seminary (WBS) in Ridgeland, Mississippi, is defying expectations. While many of the largest and prominent evangelical seminaries across the United States — such as Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Fuller Theological Seminary and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary — are downsizing, WBS is growing in enrollment. In the fall of 2017, for example, the school had 60 master’s students and 15 Doctor of Ministry students.   ..read more

After the departure of thousands of traditionalist United Methodist churches from the denomination over the past five years, it might stand to reason that those congregations remaining in the fold are more progressive and open to ordination and marriage of people in same-sex relationships. But the picture is far more mixed. A new report from the Religion and Social Change Lab at Duke University that looked at disaffiliating clergy from North Carolina’s two United Methodist conferences or regions.   ..read more

Author and former reality TV star, Jill Duggar Dillard, and her husband, Derick Dillard, are mourning the loss of their daughter, Isla Marie, who was delivered stillborn.  On Sunday, the couple posted a family update via social media. “It is with heavy hearts that we announce the stillbirth of our beautiful baby girl, Isla Marie,” they stated.  The baby was lost four months into Jill’s pregnancy.  “From the moment we found out we were pregnant, we couldn’t wait to meet our baby,” the couple said.   ..read more

Two weeks after a pastor’s wife and her friend went missing, they were found murdered in Oklahoma— victims of an “absolutely brutal crime,” authorities said in a press conference Monday. Jilian Kelley, wife of Pastor Heath Kelley, a new minister at Willow Christian Church in Nebraska, and her friend, Veronica Butler, were discovered Sunday in a “very rural area” in Texas County, Oklahoma. Nearby, police also found the abandoned vehicle in which the women were traveling.   ..read more

The International House of Prayer Kansas City (IHOPKC) will be closing its doors and starting a new organization, following months of clergy sexual abuse allegations against its founder Mike Bickle, leaders announced at an internal IHOP University staff meeting yesterday. A leaked recording of the meeting that The Roys Report (TRR) obtained reveals the organization is bleeding $500,000 a month due to donors being too connected to the now-permanently removed Bickle.   ..read more

When Calvin University hired Wiebe Boer as its new president in May 2022, the school signed the former business executive to a lucrative five-year deal. Along with a $400,000 annual salary, Boer received a $100,000 signing bonus, with annual bonuses of up to $200,000 with the chance to earn additional long-term bonuses, paid college tuition for his children, a car and use of the presidential residence on campus. The hope was that Boer, a Calvin alum and son of missionaries, could turn the prominent evangelical school around after years of budget cuts and enrollment decline while easing tensio ..read more

A bone stuck out of the rubble in Antakya, Turkey. It might not be human, one of the Turkish drivers reassured the One Kingdom disaster relief staff. Yet standing on top of what used to be multiple apartment complexes, the team from the White’s Ferry Road Church of Christ ministry in West Monroe, La., had its doubts.  “You know that it’s not just rubble,” said Beverly Dobbs, a One Kingdom staff member who traveled nearly 7,000 miles to document relief efforts.   ..read more

This weekend, men at the Stronger Men’s Conference, hosted by Pastor John Lindell and James River Church in Springfield, Missouri, witnessed quite the spectacle of what evangelicalism has become. The conference opened with an act by “bad boy” Alex Magala, a daredevil sword-swallower who moonlights as a pole-dancing striptease artist at gay nightclubs. The next day, disgraced, bully pastor Mark Driscoll slammed the “strip” act as exhibiting the “Jezebel spirit”—and then got “Matthew 18ed” and booted off the stage by Pastor Lindell.   ..read more