MISSOURI |
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Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas to the south and Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska to the west. In the south are the Ozarks, a forested highland, providing timber, minerals, and recreation. The Missouri River, after which the state is named, flows through the center and into the Mississippi River, which makes up the eastern border. With more than six million residents, it is the 19th-most populous state of the country. The largest urban areas are St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield, and Columbia; the capital is Jefferson City.
Missouri Baptist pastor: US founders wanted religious liberty, not a Christian nation | Opinion
White Christian nationalists argue that because the signers of our nation’s founding documents were all white European Protestant men, that the United States should be declared a “Christian nation,” allowing Protestant Christianity a privileged role in America. As a Baptist pastor, you might think that I would be enthusiastic about giving my faith a leg up over other faiths. But there are too many errors in the thinking of white Christian nationalists to support their argument. I agree that our nation’s founders were white European men — however, they were not all Christians. A fair number were deists, and Thomas Jefferson believed that Jesus was a teacher, but he took scissors to the Gospels to create his “Jefferson Bible,” removing the miracles and resurrection of Jesus. For argument’s sake, let’s give white Christian nationalists a pass that our founders were Christians. A majority were. What was incredible was their courageous innovation. The only model of government they knew, and still predominant in many global societies, was to wed church and state. The state churches of Europe were the predominant model from which American colonists fled.
(Yahoo 6.9.24) READ MORE>>>>>
White Christian nationalists argue that because the signers of our nation’s founding documents were all white European Protestant men, that the United States should be declared a “Christian nation,” allowing Protestant Christianity a privileged role in America. As a Baptist pastor, you might think that I would be enthusiastic about giving my faith a leg up over other faiths. But there are too many errors in the thinking of white Christian nationalists to support their argument. I agree that our nation’s founders were white European men — however, they were not all Christians. A fair number were deists, and Thomas Jefferson believed that Jesus was a teacher, but he took scissors to the Gospels to create his “Jefferson Bible,” removing the miracles and resurrection of Jesus. For argument’s sake, let’s give white Christian nationalists a pass that our founders were Christians. A majority were. What was incredible was their courageous innovation. The only model of government they knew, and still predominant in many global societies, was to wed church and state. The state churches of Europe were the predominant model from which American colonists fled.
(Yahoo 6.9.24) READ MORE>>>>>
A Kansas City Lament
How does a rally turn deadly? I am so weary from the announcement of senseless gun violence that changed a parade to a day of pain. Moreover, this was a mass shooting. There is no single answer to mass shootings. But there are answers. There is an all-hands-on-deck approach. There is both/and. Yes to better gun laws and yes to additional mental health services. And, yes to a painful process of national introspection on the decline in our personal mores and the social media obsession that leaves so many isolated. And, yes to anti-bullying efforts. (Word & Way 2/16/24) READ MORE>>>>>
How does a rally turn deadly? I am so weary from the announcement of senseless gun violence that changed a parade to a day of pain. Moreover, this was a mass shooting. There is no single answer to mass shootings. But there are answers. There is an all-hands-on-deck approach. There is both/and. Yes to better gun laws and yes to additional mental health services. And, yes to a painful process of national introspection on the decline in our personal mores and the social media obsession that leaves so many isolated. And, yes to anti-bullying efforts. (Word & Way 2/16/24) READ MORE>>>>>
Mike Bickle, Leader of IHOP Movement, Accused of Sexual Abuse
Mike Bickle, the longtime leader of the Kansas City-based International House of Prayer, which in the late 1990s launched a global round-the-clock prayer meeting, has been accused of clergy sexual abuse by former leaders in the movement. “A few days ago, we made the leadership team of the International House of Prayer in Kansas City (IHOPKC) aware of serious allegations spanning several decades concerning its founder, Mike Bickle,” said former IHOP leader Dwayne Roberts and Brian Kim, along with Wes Martin, the former pastor of Forerunner Christian Fellowship, which has close ties to IHOP, in a statement released Saturday (Oct. 28).
(Bob Smeitana/Word&Way 10/30/23)
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Mike Bickle, the longtime leader of the Kansas City-based International House of Prayer, which in the late 1990s launched a global round-the-clock prayer meeting, has been accused of clergy sexual abuse by former leaders in the movement. “A few days ago, we made the leadership team of the International House of Prayer in Kansas City (IHOPKC) aware of serious allegations spanning several decades concerning its founder, Mike Bickle,” said former IHOP leader Dwayne Roberts and Brian Kim, along with Wes Martin, the former pastor of Forerunner Christian Fellowship, which has close ties to IHOP, in a statement released Saturday (Oct. 28).
(Bob Smeitana/Word&Way 10/30/23)
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Hemant Mehta
On Wednesday night, Pastor Rick Morrow of Beulah Church in Richland, Missouri said that autism was caused by the devil and prayers alone could heal the developmental disability.
Morrow argued that the only alternative to that theory was that God created children with autism because He “doesn't like ‘em very much.” But he rejected that option because, in his view, “God doesn't make junk,” suggesting that there’s something deeply flawed about children who are on the autism spectrum. --Hemant Mehta; Friendly Athiest; Baptist pastor falsely claims autism is demonic: "My God doesn't make junk" 9.10.23
Morrow argued that the only alternative to that theory was that God created children with autism because He “doesn't like ‘em very much.” But he rejected that option because, in his view, “God doesn't make junk,” suggesting that there’s something deeply flawed about children who are on the autism spectrum. --Hemant Mehta; Friendly Athiest; Baptist pastor falsely claims autism is demonic: "My God doesn't make junk" 9.10.23
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May 9, 2023: Word & Way: Kansas City Prophet Calls for 21-Day Fast and Prayer for ‘Salvation of Israel’
An independent charismatic ministry has launched a 21-day prayer and fast for Israel, which its leaders believe will hasten Jesus’s return as part of the Second Coming. The Isaiah 62 Global 21-Days of Prayer and Fasting, organized by the International House of Prayer Kansas City and its leader, Mike Bickle, is being billed as a historic gathering that will bring together as many as 1 million “intercessors” who will take turns praying an hour a day for what they call “the salvation of Israel.” |
The Foundation Seeking to Spread Christian Education With State Support
A young but politically connected foundation based in Clay County has become a major player in the effort to promote Christian education in Missouri and the United States — including courting government support for private schools. With a new headquarters and training center in Smithville, the Stanley M. Herzog Charitable Foundation’s stated mission is “to catalyze and accelerate the development of quality Christ-centered K-12 education so that families and culture flourish.” (Maria Benevento/Word&Way 3/13/23)
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A young but politically connected foundation based in Clay County has become a major player in the effort to promote Christian education in Missouri and the United States — including courting government support for private schools. With a new headquarters and training center in Smithville, the Stanley M. Herzog Charitable Foundation’s stated mission is “to catalyze and accelerate the development of quality Christ-centered K-12 education so that families and culture flourish.” (Maria Benevento/Word&Way 3/13/23)
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March 9, 2023: Slate: Which Religion Counts in America
In Missouri, for instance, religious leaders are challenging a draconian state ban that was passed as lawmakers claimed, variously, that “life begins at conception and that is built into our legislative findings,” and that they were motivated “from the Biblical side of it.” A related lawsuit, on different constitutional grounds, was filed in Indiana, with plaintiffs including a group named Hoosier Jews for Choice and five women who challenged the abortion law under the state’s religious freedom statute arguing that it burdens their own religious beliefs.
In Missouri, for instance, religious leaders are challenging a draconian state ban that was passed as lawmakers claimed, variously, that “life begins at conception and that is built into our legislative findings,” and that they were motivated “from the Biblical side of it.” A related lawsuit, on different constitutional grounds, was filed in Indiana, with plaintiffs including a group named Hoosier Jews for Choice and five women who challenged the abortion law under the state’s religious freedom statute arguing that it burdens their own religious beliefs.
March 3, 2023: The Pathway: ERLC’s Leatherwood interviews former MBC president about racial reconciliation
The Southern Baptist Convention’s (SBC) Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) recently released a video featuring Missouri Baptist pastor Jon Nelson, immediate past president of the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC).
The Southern Baptist Convention’s (SBC) Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) recently released a video featuring Missouri Baptist pastor Jon Nelson, immediate past president of the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC).
Mar 2, 2023: FISM TV: Missouri Christian college says Biden’s transgender policy violates religious freedom, asks SCOTUS to review the case
A Missouri Christian college has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene to protect its religious freedom against the Biden administration’s radical gender ideology policies.
Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) attorneys representing College of the Ozarks asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to review a decision by the 8th District U.S. Court of Appeals that prohibited the school from suing the Biden administration for enforcing gender LGBTQ policies that violate the college’s religious beliefs.
A Missouri Christian college has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene to protect its religious freedom against the Biden administration’s radical gender ideology policies.
Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) attorneys representing College of the Ozarks asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to review a decision by the 8th District U.S. Court of Appeals that prohibited the school from suing the Biden administration for enforcing gender LGBTQ policies that violate the college’s religious beliefs.
March 1, 2023: ABC News: Christian school that embraced the LGBTQ community is forced to close its doors
A conflict over what it means to be Christian is forcing a school in Kansas City, Missouri, to close.
Urban Christian Academy is a private, K-8 school with an enrollment of 100 that describes itself as providing "a tuition-free, high-quality, Christ-centered education for low-income students."
A conflict over what it means to be Christian is forcing a school in Kansas City, Missouri, to close.
Urban Christian Academy is a private, K-8 school with an enrollment of 100 that describes itself as providing "a tuition-free, high-quality, Christ-centered education for low-income students."
Feb 22, 2023: Religion News: Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod president calls for excommunicating white nationalists
The president of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod has called for the excommunication of unrepentant white supremacists in the church’s ranks, rebuking an extremist effort to exert influence within the conservative Lutheran denomination.
The president of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod has called for the excommunication of unrepentant white supremacists in the church’s ranks, rebuking an extremist effort to exert influence within the conservative Lutheran denomination.
Feb 4, 2022: KY3: Missouri governor’s ‘Christian values’ statement questioned
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has no “litmus test for appointments,” his spokeswoman said Friday, despite a statement earlier in the week indicating he would only nominate a state health director who shared his “Christian values.”
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has no “litmus test for appointments,” his spokeswoman said Friday, despite a statement earlier in the week indicating he would only nominate a state health director who shared his “Christian values.”