China: Christianity’s sleeping giant

Praying For ChinaPraying For ChinaUC Observer | 02/17/2014 | By Alex Jürgen Thumm

Churches — both legal and illegal — are booming in China. Some view them as a welcome counterpoint to rampant materialism. Others see ghosts of a colonial past.

It was my last Sunday morning in China, my last chance to experience church in a Communist country where, as far as I could tell, Christianity was basically forbidden. It was 2011, and I had been in Beijing for five weeks to study Mandarin. In that time, I hadn’t seen a single cross, church or Bible. In fact, I read at customs that you couldn’t bring in more than four Bibles from abroad. I had no idea that I was in the third-largest Christian country in the world.

In Liangmaqiao, a Beijing neighbourhood that’s home to the foreign and the wealthy, I arrived at the 21st Century Hotel, where the Beijing International Christian Fellowship (BICF) holds services. The parking lot was full of Rolls-Royces and BMWs bearing Jesus-fish decals. At the building entrance, two parishioners acting as doorkeepers asked me for ID — by government order, only foreigners may attend church. I had forgotten my passport, so the doorkeepers made me sign a slip of paper attesting to my alien status.

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Pr Daniel live on ABC Radio this Sunday 10pm / Muslim radicals and suspected Islamic violence in Sydney / Live webcast with Pr Daniel this Sunday 10:30am

Dear friends & family in Christ, 1) Please pray and listen if possible to Pr Daniel being interviewed with others by John Cleary on ABC Radio from 10 – 11pm…

Continue ReadingPr Daniel live on ABC Radio this Sunday 10pm / Muslim radicals and suspected Islamic violence in Sydney / Live webcast with Pr Daniel this Sunday 10:30am

No blessings for gay unions – church

No blessings for gay unions - churchFebruary 17, 2014 – IOL News

London – Church of England priests will not be allowed to bless gay and lesbian weddings, or marry someone of the same sex themselves, according to new guidelines issued by the church, which is struggling to heal divides over homosexuality.

Same-sex marriage becomes legal in England next month, posing a dilemma for the Church of England, which is the mother church of the world’s 80 million Anglicans and maintains that marriage is between a man and a woman.

England and Wales legalised secular same-sex civil partnerships in 2005. A church working group suggested last year that clergy allow gay and lesbian couples to mark and celebrate marriages held under the new legislation, as well as civil partnerships, in a religious service.

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MLK: Homosexuality a ‘Problem’ With a ‘Solution’

Matt Barber1/27/2014 – Clarion Call by Matt Barber

This past week America honored both the life and noble work of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., a Bible-believing Christian minister who did more to advance the cause of race-based civil rights than perhaps any other person in recent history.

Regrettably–and as they do each year–the same flock of opportunist “LGBT”-activist vultures quickly swooped in, picking the live flesh from MLK’s character-based “dream,” to advance their own behavior-based nightmare.

In what amounts to a sort of soft racism, this mostly white left-wing faction has, over the years, disingenuously and ignobly hitched its little pink wagon to a civil rights movement that, by contrast, is built upon the genuine and noble precepts of racial equality and humanitarian justice.

What was MLK’s position on the homosexual lifestyle and so-called “gay rights”? While he said little in public on the issue, what he did say made his viewpoint abundantly clear. Unlike the “LGBT” lobby, I’ll let Dr. King speak for himself.

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Powerful meetings in Perth, WA / Live webcast Pr Daniel Sunday 6 April

Dear family & friends in Christ,

1) The meetings in Perth, WA over the past weekend were described by some as, “Powerful meetings with the anointing and presence of the Holy Ghost!”

Yes and amen as this is so true!

On Saturday night Pr Daniel led a prayer meeting with some intercessors from Perth.  As the group entered into deep intercession for Australia, and in particular the upcoming Senate Re-Election in WA, many started to travail and cry out to God for Godly leaders to be elected into Parliament. There was a real sense of “Lord, give us Australia,” as His Word says, “Ask of Me and I will give you the nations as an inheritance.

The prayer meeting ended with a great feeling of victory in the name of Jesus!

On Sunday Pr Daniel ministered at Dream Life Church with Pr Steve Davis. Here too, the presence of God was awesome as Pr Daniel spoke on the Prophetic Anointing, Apostolic Anointing and Calling. The people were mightily blessed.

Pr Daniel stated, “Unfortunately, many people talk the talk, but do not live and walk the talk.  

I thank God for people like Pr Steve who is bold take a stand for Jesus. Today, many Ministers of the Gospel back right off, if what God is calling them to do will bring disrepute to their reputation.  Let us all pray for these dear servants of God to rise up in the name of Jesus.”

The Rise Up Australia Party Senate Re-Election Campaign Rally on Monday at the Old Melbourne Hotel in Perth was very exciting and challenging. People who attended the meeting and heard the speeches from Jane Foreman, RUAP lead Senate Candidate, and Pr Daniel Nalliah the National President were greatly impacted.

There was a real sense of victory right throughout the meeting with people clapping and standing in agreement to Keep Australia Australian.  Many volunteered to help on the 5th of April as they were greatly challenged how RUAP policies have already had a great impact in the nation.

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Media Release: No to Halal Tax, No to Sharia Law, No to Multiculturalism / Keep Australia Australian

The President of Rise Up Australia Party Daniel Nalliah will be addressing the WA Senate Re-Election Campaign Meeting of RUAP at 10:30am Monday 31st March 2014 at The Melbourne Hotel…

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The Spirit Is Saying ‘Forward’!

The Spirit Is Saying 'Forward'!3/24/2014 Michael Brown  

While reflecting on a powerful quote from the lips of Catherine Booth, I was struck by the fact that the latest strategies of the American church, strategies to avoid conflict with the world, are not only wrongheaded. They are actually diametrically opposed to the strategies we should be following.

Let me explain what I mean.

Catherine Booth was the co-founder of the Salvation Army, along with her husband, William Booth, and for decades the Salvationists were known for their fearless, uncompromising preaching of the gospel, their sacrificial living and their compassionate care for the hurting and the poor.

Catherine was the more fiery preacher of the two, and in her sermon “Aggressive Christianity,” she exclaimed, “Opposition! It is a bad sign for the Christianity of this day that it provokes so little opposition. If there were no other evidence of it being wrong, I should know from that. When the church and the world can jog along together comfortably, you may be sure there is something wrong. The world has not altered. Its spirit is exactly the same as it ever was, and if Christians were equally faithful and devoted to the Lord and separated from the world, living so that their lives were a reproof to all ungodliness, the world would hate them as much as it ever did. It is the church that has altered, not the world.”

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Reconciliation Assignment – Great Success on Palm Island, QLD

Group Photo of Intercessors in Townsville after time of prayers over our nationDear family & friends in Christ,Prayer, Repentance & Reconciliation Mission in Townsville & Palm Island, QLD

We thank and praise God for opening the doors for the CTFM team to visit Palm Island, QLD on a very special God given assignment to bring Reconciliation & Healing in between Indigenous peoples and others who have called Australia home.

A group of 21 intercessors led by Pastor Daniel from CTFM arrived in Townsville, QLD and then proceeded to Palm Island on the ferry on Thursday 20th March.  The group was joined by intercessors in Townsville led by Indigenous Pastor David Gela and the whole team set sail to Palm Island.

Right throughout the 2 hours the ferry rocked with worship, prayer and intercession over the waters of Australia. There was intense prayer and repentance for all the wrong we have done in our nation in the past, followed by much more prayer and prophetic declarations for the future.

As the ferry arrived in Palm IsWashing of the Indigenous Leaders feet and asking for forgivnessland it started to pour down with rain.  The Island’s Indigenous Elders were waiting for us and welcomed us on their land.Uniting as one

Later that day at the meeting for Reconciliation, the CTFM team washed the feet of several Indigenous people and asked them forgiveness for the wrong done to their forefathers.  As we humbled ourselves and washed their feet, there were many tears of love & joy.

Many of the Indigenous Elders stated, “We have never had the white man wash our feet.”  They were absolutely shocked.

One elder stated, “When the former PM Kevin Rudd said sorry, we were happy, but we knew that it was more a political statement.  However, what you people have done has brought real love and healing to our community. Thank you so much for coming all the way.”

Pr Daniel ministeringThen, we all stood in a circle and sang “Bind us together, Lord bind us together.”  As we started singing this song, the rain started to pour very heavily again and continued until we left.  Since the Island had not received hardly any rain for a long time, the people on the island called it ‘an act of God’.Humbling ourselves before the Lord praying for healing in the land of Australia

Yes, indeed, it was definitely the hand of God.  In Deuteronomy 28:12, the Word of God speaks specifically speaks of God sending the rain as a blessing when He is pleased with His people.  Isn’t that amazing. Glory to God.

“May the Lord open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand.”

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LISTEN: Rev. Bill Owens and the Coalition of African-American Pastors Call for the Impeachment of Attorney General Eric Holder for Trying to ‘Coerce States to Fall in Line with the Same-Sex Marriage Agenda’

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder Jr.February 25, 2014 – CBS DC

A coalition of African-American civil rights leaders and pastors announced a campaign to gather 1 million signatures to impeach Attorney General Eric Holder for attempting to undermine states’ authority to “coerce states to fall in line with same-sex marriage.”

Speaking at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, the Coalition of African-American Pastors (CAAP) is calling for Holder’s impeachment for “attempting to impose ‘same-sex marriage’ throughout the nation despite federal law, rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court, and state constitutional amendments to the contrary,” reads the online petition.

“What we have in Attorney General Holder is a man so political in his zeal to redefine marriage that he is willing to run roughshod over the rulings of the Supreme Court, binging federal law, and the United States Constitution along with the constitutions of a majority of states,” the Rev. Bill Owens, founder and president of CAAP, said in a statement.

This comes as Holder announced on Tuesday that state attorney generals are not obligated to defend laws in their states that ban same-sex marriage if they do not believe in such legislation.

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Where is Evangelical Outrage for the Persecuted Church?

Believers around the world are dying for their faith. Where's the evangelical groundswell for themBy CLG on December 30, 2013 –  Halee Gray Scott

Believers around the world are dying for their faith. Where’s the evangelical groundswell for them?

Swiftly on the heels of Christmas comes the feast of the Holy Innocents. On December 28, churches around the world commemorate the first Christian martyrs–those who lost their lives when King Herod ordered the execution of all males two and under in the vicinity of Bethlehem. (Greek liturgy maintains that 14,000 boys were killed, while several medieval writers claimed 144,000. Given the small population of Bethlehem, most modern scholars agree the number to be closer to 20.)

We consider such atrocities relegated to the ancient past, a barbaric time of intemperate, megalomaniac rulers. In today’s enlightened era of diplomacy, such evil would not go unchecked.

And yet, Christians today are massacred on a far greater scale than from any edict issued from Herod. According to Open Doors, which provides support for Christians around the world, Christians are the most persecuted religious group in the world today, with 100 people martyred for their faith each month. The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life reports that Christians suffer persecution, discrimination, and harassment in 133 countries–a full two-thirds of all countries worldwide.

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Despite Strong Prayer Movement, Indonesia’s Religious Freedom ‘In Peril’

The Batak Protestant Church near Jakarta was torn down in March 2013, just after being built. World Watch Monitor2/26/2014 World Watch Monitor

A new report paints a bleak picture of religious freedom in Indonesia.

Indonesia: Pluralism in Peril, which was launched at the U.K. Parliament Tuesday, says that in the world’s most populous Muslim nation (251 million, 86 percent Muslim), minority religious groups such as Christians are subject to “spiraling intolerance,” which threatens to destroy Indonesia’s erstwhile reputation as a place of inter-religious harmony.

The report, written by Christian Solidarity Worldwide’s East Asia team leader Benedict Rogers, says extremist ideology has spread nationwide; that local, provincial and national authorities have been guilty of inaction and complicity; and that the majority of Indonesia’s Muslims have failed to speak out against intolerance.

While stressing that he deeply admires all Indonesia’s achievements as a multi-faith society, Rogers says that as it approaches national elections this year, it is “crucial” that the new President, who in July will replace Susilo Bambang after a decade in office, steers the country back towards its roots as a pluralistic nation whose founding motto was “Unity in Diversity.”

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Oxford student commits suicide after boyfriend convinced her to have abortion then broke up with her

Charlotte Coursier, 25, was also troubled by a campaign of harassment against her by college lecturer Dr Jeffrey Ketland, with whom she had previously had a sexual relationship, the paper reports.by Patrick B. Craine – Thu Feb 27, 2014

OXFORD, UK, February 27, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A student at Oxford University committed suicide last year mere hours after her boyfriend broke up with her. The boyfriend told an inquest recently that the young woman’s grief had begun only three months earlier after he convinced her to get an abortion, The Daily Mail reports.

Charlotte Coursier, 25, was also troubled by a “campaign of harassment” against her by college lecturer Dr Jeffrey Ketland, with whom she had previously had a sexual relationship, the paper reports.

In June, Coursier was found after hanging herself in her home.

She had begun dating Ben Fardell in July 2012. “In the first six months there were issues of trust and commitment in the relationship,” Fardell told the inquest. “But Charlotte was much better in the new year. Then, in February, she discovered she was seven weeks pregnant despite taking contraception.”

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6 Ways to Prevent an Embarrassing Ministry Scandal

Is the next generation prepared to avoid ministry scandals2/26/2014 J. Lee Grady

The recent sentencing of Dr. Yonggi Cho of South Korea is a reminder that we need a fresh commitment to integrity.

I was devastated to learn last week that South Korean megachurch pastor David Yonggi Cho was found guilty of embezzling $12 million in church funds. I was aware that the famous hero of faith was struggling with problems at his massive congregation, Yoido Full Gospel Church, which is in Seoul. Cho’s 56-year effort to build what is now the world’s largest church made him one of the most respected spiritual fathers in the Pentecostal movement.

Some American leaders knew that Cho’s problems were linked to his son Cho Hee-jun, who was also convicted and sentenced to three years in prison for his role in an elaborate stock scheme that involved millions of dollars of church money. Hee-jun was immediately jailed. Thankfully, the elder Cho will not have to serve his prison sentence (it was suspended), but he will have to pay a $4.7 million fine.

I still respect Dr. Cho. A former Buddhist, he had a dramatic conversion to Jesus and was used by the Holy Spirit to bring the gospel to a nation that for centuries was closed to Christianity. Cho remains a legend. But the events of last week serve to remind us that even the greatest spiritual giants have feet of clay, and even the biggest ministries can fall into scandal if principles of integrity are not practiced.

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How Social Media Will Help Us Finish the Great Commission

Social media, such as Facebook, is a great way to spread the gospel. (creationswap.com)3/1/2014 Brandon Cox – Charisma News

Social media, such as Facebook, is a great way to spread the gospel.

The church is living in an age of tremendous evangelistic opportunity.

As we venture into the social, digital era, the gospel can travel further and faster than ever before. If the church is a vast volunteer army of people carrying the Good News of Jesus to the least, the lost and the last, then it is safe to say this army is better equipped and more effectively mobilized than any other age to carry out its marching orders—the Great Commission.

We began planting Grace Hills Church in the summer of 2011 and officially launched weekly services in a local movie theater in January 2012. We don’t have a building. We don’t have a sign. We’ve never done a direct mail campaign or sent any postcards. We don’t advertise in the local newspapers or on television or radio. But in January 2014 alone, we met almost 100 new people in our weekend services. How? Facebook.

Each week, we post a short video just a few minutes long that explains who we are as a church, what we value and what we will be talking about in our upcoming weekend services. We then “boost” that post so that it sees thousands of eyes within a 10-mile radius around our community, and we challenge all of our faithful attendees to watch it, “like” it and share it with others. On Mondays, we look through our communication cards to see how our guests heard about us, and it’s not difficult to spot the pattern: Facebook, Facebook, Facebook.

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Is booze behind Australia’s violence?

Posed picture depicting domestic violenceFebruary 24 2014 – WASHINGTON POST-BLOOMBERG

SYDNEY – A single, unprovoked punch to the head from a stranger was enough to kill teenager Thomas Kelly as he walked through Sydney’s most famous nightspot with his girlfriend. Almost two years on, authorities are fighting back.

His death sparked a public outcry against alcohol-fueled violence. That outcry intensified after another 18-year-old died last month from an attack in the same Kings Cross district. More than 90 people have now been killed in Australia since 2000 in one- punch assaults that researchers say are mostly tied to alcohol.

“The viciousness is increasing,” said Gordian Fulde, head of emergency medicine at Sydney’s St Vincent’s Hospital, which treated both teenage victims and a 23-year-old man with severe head injuries after a December beating near Bondi Beach. “All of it because of excess drinking. It’s totally unnecessary.”

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