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    Today’s Buzz: Rob Bell, Benny, Repeat Pastor Offenders, Earl Paulk, & Todd’s Rant

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    Benny Resigns from ORU Board of Regents
    Oral Roberts University Business Regent I.V. Hilliard, co-founder of New Light Christian Center Church in Texas; and Regent Emeritus Benny Hinn, who until recently was a business regent, have resigned from the school’s board of regents.  Looks like another positive move forward for ORU.  Source.

    Earl Paulk Surrenders to Police
    The 80-year-old leader of a suburban Atlanta megachurch turned himself over to authorities Tuesday night to face a charge that he lied under oath.  A warrant for the arrest of Archbishop Earl Paulk was issued Monday after a months-long probe by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The longtime pastor of the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit at Chapel Hill Harvester Church made a deal with the Cobb County Sheriff’s office to surrender within 48 hours, said Nancy Bodiford, executive assistant to Sheriff Neil Warren.  Paulk’s defense attorney, Joel Pugh, said the warrant took the family by surprise.  “We weren’t expecting the warrant to be issued this quickly,” Pugh said.  The felony perjury charge against Paulk stem from a civil lawsuit against him, his brother Don and the church by former church employee, Mona Brewer. The lawsuit alleges that Earl Paulk manipulated Brewer into an affair from 1989 to 2003 by telling her it was her only path to salvation.  More here...

    Rob Bell on Politics
    “We refer to ourselves [at Mars Hill] as aggressively nonpartisan, so we don’t engage in partisan politics in terms of “Here’s whom you should vote for; here’s whom you should support.” We do acknowledge that the Gospel has deeply political edges to it, but that should not surprise anyone. Jesus was killed because of how He confronted a particular socioeconomic religious system. He’s a first-century Galilean revolutionary who proclaimed a Kingdom other than the kingdom of Herod, so the Gospel does have political edges.  The interest is in giving voice to people who have no voice and using all of our abundance and wealth and resources on behalf of those who have a shortage. Some of our pastors had a meeting with the mayor of [Grand Rapids], which was simply for the purpose of asking who the most forgotten and the most hurting in our city are. They mayor had several very specific answers, and so we’ve actually reorganized a whole area of our church, putting the majority of our efforts around trying to take care of the worst problems in our city. I don’t know if you would say that’s political or not, even though it involved meeting with the mayor, but if Jesus comes to town and things don’t get better, then we have to ask some hard questions.” More here...

    Presbyterian USA Decides This Week on First Ordination of Lesbian
    Lisa Larges was on the road to ordination until someone complained to the Presbytery court about a lesbian becoming a pastor.
    She had graduated from a Minnesota seminary school in 1989. A Twin Cities committee certified her ready to seek a call. Her appeal of the objection went all the way to the national church court and was ultimately rejected.  Now, nearly 20 years later, the blind woman once again has been cleared for ordination, this time in San Francisco.  This week, the regional governing body of the Presbyterian USA church meeting in Richmond will consider the ordination of a lesbian pastor, a first for this large mainstream denomination.  More here...

    Pastor Resigns Amid Allegations
    The subtitle of this newspaper story tells it all:  “The man who led Shiloh for 14 years was also accused at his last church”.  Why, oh why, does this happen over and over in churches all across the country?  Why, if a man, who also calls himself a preacher, is accused of sexual misconduct and the evidence is strong, is he allowed to take another church in another part of the country?  Who would hire him, and why?  In my past work with Churchstaffing.com, I know that there are literally hundreds of pastors applying for some of the same jobs at any given time.  Why would (if you were looking for a pastor) you give a pastor accused of sexual sin a shot at being your pastor?  I’m convinced that many churches are unaware of the pastoral candidate’s past (either because of clever hiding of the candidate, the turning of the backs of denominational leaders, or the laziness of not running a background check).  But some hire this guys willingly, and then are surprised when the behavior returns.  I don’t get it.  End of rant.  Here’s the story...

    A good mixture today of politics and sex. Plus, throw in a little Rob Bell and Benny Hinn. A little rant from Todd, and you've got the makings of today's buzz...

    Comments

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    1. 70-448 on Wed, June 24, 2009

      That is amazing to read that the 80-year-old head of a suburban Atlanta megachurch bowed him over to establishments to mug a blame that he lied under pledge. 642-066 It’s bad that a warrant for the take into custody of Archbishop Earl Paulk was also issued after a months-long probe by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Thanks for sharing such a useful news.

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