Venezuelans were expected to take to the streets on Wednesday for what opposition leader Juan Guaido pledged would be the “largest march” in the country’s history, a day after he called for the military to oust President Nicolas Maduro.

In his boldest effort yet to gain the support of the armed forces, Guaido appeared early Tuesday outside a Caracas air force base with dozens of National Guard members. That triggered a day of violent protests, leaving more than 100 injured, but without any concrete signs of defection from the armed forces leadership.

“Today we continue,” Guaido said in a post on Twitter early on Wednesday. “We will keep going with more strength than ever, Venezuela.”

Whether the protest turnout meets those lofty hopes will provide a key test for Guaido, amid frustration among some supporters that Maduro remained in office more than three months after Guaido – who leads the opposition-controlled National Assembly – invoked the constitution to assume an interim presidency, arguing Maduro’s May 2018 reelection was illegitimate.

While Guaido earned the backing of the United States and most Western countries, the armed forces have stood by Maduro, who retains the support of allies like Russia, China and Cuba.

That has frustrated Guaido’s bid to assume the day-to-day functions of government on an interim basis – which he says would be a prelude to calling new elections.

Maduro, a socialist, calls Guaido a puppet of the United States who is seeking to orchestrate a coup against him.

Russia on Wednesday denied a claim by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo a day earlier that Maduro was prepared to leave the country but nixed his plan after Russia intervened. A spokeswoman for Russia’s foreign ministry told reporters the comments were part of an “information war.”

In a television interview Wednesday, Pompeo said U.S. military action was “possible” in Venezuela but that the Trump administration would prefer a peaceful transfer of power.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration late Tuesday banned U.S. air operators from flying below 26,000 feet in Venezuela’s airspace, citing political instability.

‘THE LAST TIME’

Venezuelan living standards have declined even further in the first several months of the year, with blackouts and water shortages adding to hyperinflation and chronic shortages of food and medicine that have prompted millions to emigrate.

“I hope this will be the last time we have to take to the streets,” said Claudia Riveros, a 36-year-old bakery worker carrying a Venezuelan flag during Tuesday’s protest. “I want to see the end of this usurping government.”

Maduro also urged supporters to march on Wednesday.

“Tomorrow, the first of May, we will have a large, millions-strong march of the working class,” Maduro said in a television address on Tuesday. “We have been confronting different types of aggression and attempted coups never before seen in our history.”

Guaido’s choice of International Workers’ Day for a major march comes as he is making appeals to union leaders and public workers, a traditional base of support for Maduro and his predecessor and mentor, the late President Hugo Chavez.

“If he does get some degree of participation from labor movements, then that can be an additional feather in his cap,” said Risa Grais-Targow, the Latin America director at Eurasia Group in Washington, adding that the march would be “a significant barometer of his support and capacity to mobilize.”

Tuesday’s protests were also energized by the reappearance of firebrand opposition politician Leopoldo Lopez, who had been serving house arrest since 2017. Spain’s acting prime minister’s office on Wednesday confirmed that Lopez and his family were in the country’s diplomatic residence in Caracas.

Lopez had briefly sought refuge at the Chilean diplomatic residence in Caracas on Tuesday.

© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.

Listen to the podcasts to hear more about Venezuela.

A group of 19 Catholic priests and academics have appealed to bishops to declare Pope Francis a heretic, in the latest ultra-conservative broadside against the pontiff over a range of topics from communion for the divorced to religious diversity.

The most prominent of the group is Father Aidan Nichols, a 70-year-old British priest of the Dominican order who has written many books and is one of most recognized theologians in the English-speaking world. The others are less well known.

“We take this measure as a last resort to respond to the accumulating harm caused by Pope Francis’s words and actions over several years, which have given rise to one of the worst crises in the history of the Catholic Church,” they said in a 20-page open letter.

The letter attacks Francis for allegedly softening the Church’s stance on a range of subjects. They say he has not been outspoken enough against abortion and has been too welcoming to homosexuals and too accommodating to Protestants and Muslims.

It was published on Tuesday by LifeSiteNews, a conservative Catholic website that often is a platform for attacks on the pope. Last year, it ran a document by the Vatican’s former ambassador to Washington, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, calling on the pope to resign.

A Vatican spokesman had no comment on the letter, which includes dozens of footnotes, Bible verses, pronouncements by previous popes, and a separate bibliography. The letter invites people to join an on-line signature drive.

Addressing the bishops, the letter says “We therefore request that your Lordships urgently address the situation of Pope Francis’s public adherence to heresy.”

It asks them to “publicly to admonish Pope Francis to abjure the heresies that he has professed.”

A significant part of the letter concentrates on “Amoris Laetitia” (The Joy of Love), a 2016 papal document that is a cornerstone of Francis’ attempt to make the 1.3 billion-member Church more inclusive and less condemning.

ULTRA CONSERVATIVES TAKE AIM

In it, Francis called for a Church that is less strict and more compassionate towards any “imperfect” members, such as those who divorced and later remarry in civil ceremonies.

Under Church law they cannot receive communion unless they abstain from sex with their new partner, because their first marriage is still valid in the eyes of the Church, unless they have received an annulment. The Church does not allow divorce.

Francis has opened the door to some exceptions, allowing the decision whether the person can be fully re-integrated and receive communion to be made by a priest or bishop jointly with the individual on a case-by-case basis.

After Amoris Laetitia was published, four conservative publicly challenged the pope, accusing him of sowing confusion on important moral issues. He has thus far not responded to their demands that he clear up their doubts.

The new letter lists pages of what it calls “Evidence for Pope Francis being guilty of the delict (crime) of heresy.”

It attacks him for having once said that the intentions of Martin Luther, the father of the Protestant Reformation, “were not mistaken.” It says he has not condemned abortion strongly enough and is too lenient with homosexual Catholics.

The letter criticized Francis for signing a joint statement with Lutherans in 2016 in which the pope said Catholics were grateful for the “theological gifts” of the Reformation.

It also attacked the pope for a common statement with a prominent Muslim leader in Abu Dhabi in February which said that the pluralism and diversity of religions was “willed by God.” Conservatives say the Roman Catholic Church is the only true one and that members are called to covert others to it.

The letter launches personal attacks on 22 people, nearly all of them current or past Church figures, asserting that their association with the pope supports their accusation of heresy.

© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.

Listen to the podcasts for more news stories about the pope.

Pentecostal pastor Amos Mugabi used fighting words recently when talking to hundreds of congregants about a proposed government policy he believes is threatening thousands of churches’ existence.

“Satan is fighting the church,” prayed Mugabi. “The government wants to stop the church from spreading the good news of Christ, and we’ll not let that happen. We are ready to sacrifice our lives for the sake of the gospel.”

If passed by Parliament, the new policy will require that all ministers obtain formal theological training from a recognized institution.

Ministers will also be required to register new and existing churches and declare their source of income.

A vote on the policy was set in Parliament for March but was delayed.

Mugabi said the new policy is targeting the born-again Pentecostal churches, noting that the preaching of the gospel did not require “intelligent people” or educated clergy but rather people called by God to serve.

“People in government don’t understand the word of God,” he said. “We have great men in the Bible including Jesus Christ who preached the gospel, but they didn’t have a bachelor’s degree in theology. It’s time we all follow the Bible.”

Still, the government said the new policy is good for the country since a majority of clerics are taking advantage of existing law to extort money from Ugandans: The current law allows freedom of worship, and individuals can open and operate a church without notifying the government.

The new policy seeks to enforce transparency and monetary accountability in religious and faith-based institutions, said officials.

“We are here to help Ugandans from being exploited by unscrupulous clerics,” said the Rev. Simon Lokodo, the state minister for ethics and integrity. “Some churches ask youth for money before they will pray for them to get jobs — this is against the word of God.”

Meanwhile, the government has previously accused pastors of stage-managing miracles and manipulating scriptures to exploit believers. Other problems involve “crimes against humanity” in cults, beast worship, blood sacrifices and witchcraft, said Lokodo.

“We will not allow any person to mislead Ugandans in the name of Jesus Christ, and this is the reason we are putting these laws in place,” he said.

Government officials claim the East Africa nation has many false preachers and suspect religious groups. In 2015, President Yoweri Museveni warned Ugandans to watch out for false prophets “disguised in sheep clothing” that are “wolves.”

“Be aware of the false prophets as pronounced by Jesus in the Bible,” he said at the time. “The youth all over the world have many times been victims of selfish players, especially politicians. So please, Ugandan youth, walk wisely.”

There is precedent for the country’s policy in the region: Uganda’s new policy comes a year after neighboring Rwanda closed thousands of churches and dozens of mosques to assert more control over a vibrant religious society.

Pastors of various Pentecostal churches in Uganda have said the proposed policy targets them. They have threatened to go to court if the policy is enacted.

Meanwhile, they have vowed to continue to protest until the government abandons the policy.

“They want to finish Pentecostal churches,” said Pastor David Kiganda, of Christianity Focus Ministries in Kampala, who leads more than 70,000 Pentecostal churches in the country. “We are going to oppose the idea of having a bachelor’s degree in theology to start a church. We are ready to go to the constitutional court and challenge the policy if it is passed by Parliament. They should leave Pentecostal churches (alone).”

Religious leaders from the Roman Catholic Church, Seventh-day Adventist Church and Muslims already have recognized theological certificates. Some leaders of these more mainstream groups support the new policy, saying thousands of people have fallen victim to false prophets and unscrupulous pastors who extort money from poor and desperate Ugandans.

“The government is right because the word of Allah is never paid for,” said Haji Mutumba, the spokesman at Uganda Muslim Supreme Council. “And many Ugandans are suffering due to lack of wisdom.”

© 2019 Religion News Service. All rights reserved.

Look anywhere in our culture, and you’ll find sexual brokenness. On the internet and in the media, it’s as if anything goes. Pornography, adultery, unmarried couples living together and same-sex marriage—which was unthinkable only a generation ago—have now become the norm.

And sadly, it’s not just the world that’s steeped in dysfunction and sin. Sexual brokenness has spread throughout the church in epidemic proportions.

Dr. Doug Weiss sees this problem and has dedicated his life to helping people heal. Weiss is a Spirit-filled Christian, a prolific author and a clinical psychologist in Colorado Springs, Colorado. His message of sexual healing is exactly what the body of Christ needs right now.

I recently interviewed Weiss on my “Strang Report” podcast, which you can listen to here or in this article. He argues that the church must receive healing from sexual brokenness in order to be the moral compass to the world that God has called us to be.

“The church is responsible to be the light bearer, the salt in the earth,” Weiss says. “The church is responsible to help keep culture salty like it was in the 1950s. You do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do. The secular world knew biblical principles because the church was the church.”

But unfortunately, somewhere along the way, the church stopped acting like the church. And Weiss says the fruit of that spiritual decline has been disastrous.

“The church has been corrupted by immorality,” he says. “More than half the men in the church are struggling with sexual sin, addiction and pornography. In Revelation 2, it says ‘To him who overcomes, I will give authority over the nations.’ But the reverse of the verse is true too. For those who are corrupted, they lose spiritual authority and power in our culture. We’ve seen that in Europe. We see it in other parts of the world throughout church history. … So if you really want to change culture, you heal the church.”

As the church heals sexually, Weiss points out, not only does it regain spiritual authority, but it also gains strength at the polls. As more people take a righteous stand from a place of personal integrity, we will see immoral laws overturned in our nation.

But how do we heal the church sexually?

“We have to have a positive message about sexuality in marriage and teach couples how to have healthy sexuality,” Weiss says. “And then we have the youth and give them the good news of sexuality and wanting to protect their sexuality. And then we have to have a sexual healing ministry for those who’ve been sexually abused and those who are in sexual addition and those in porn addiction.”

Weiss says you don’t need a Ph.D. to minister sexual healing to the broken. Most people who lead these kinds of ministries are just average men and women who want to see fellow believers walk in healing. Weiss has written many curricula on this topic as well as several books that ministries can use.

He offers intensive counseling for those who want to travel to Colorado. But people can also call 719-278-3708 to receive telephone counseling or visit for extra resources.

“If you just reach out, we will direct you and help you to where you can go to take the next step,” Weiss tells “Strang Report” listeners. “So you can be a part of the healing process for yourself individually or for your marriage, or be a part of the healing message for the church of Jesus Christ in your area.”

Perhaps Weiss’ message spoke to you because you’re wrestling with a sexual issue. Or perhaps it made you think of someone else who needs help in this area. Please reach out and let Jesus bring healing. As more people make that choice, the church will heal—and our nation will transform as a result.

To hear to my entire interview with Weiss, click here or listen to the podcast at the top of this article. And please share this article with your friends. It may minister to someone you never thought struggled with sexual brokenness.

An increase in persecution of Christians in Nepal began after a new criminal code was passed in October 2017, which took effect in August 2018.

Nepal was ranked 32nd on Christian support organization Open Doors’ 2019 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.

Now, more than a month after men claiming to be Maoists in Nepal assaulted Dhurba Kumar Pariyar, the 40-year-old pastor is still physically and mentally traumatized, according to Morning Star News.

“I still have headache and chest pain, though I am under strong medication,” Pastor Pariyar told Morning Star News. He later quoted Matthew 5:10, Christ saying those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake are blessed.

“I find courage in reading of the persecution that my fellow Christians are undergoing,” he said. “My suffering is little in comparison.”

One of the leaders at Devotees Nepali Assembly in the Nepali capital of Kathmandu, the pastor was riding a motorcycle on his way back from distributing free toys and stationary to Dalit children on March 24 in Sarlahi District when two motorcyclists with riders on extra seats stopped him 36 miles from Mahottari at about 7 p.m., he said.

Accompanying Pastor Pariyar on another motorcycle was the chief guest of a program organized by a Non-Governmental Organization for poor Dalits in Ramgopalpur, Mahottari District.

One of the riders asked Pastor Pariyar his name, and as soon as he confirmed his identity, the rider hit his motorcycle with a thick wooden stick while the other pulled him off, he said.

“One of them caught hold of me from my chest and pulled me down from my motorbike and dragged me towards the jungle,” Pastor Pariyar told Morning Star News.

While two men dragged him away, two others caught hold of the program guest, who is not a Christian, and aimed a knife at him, threatening to kill him if he interfered. They forced him to switch off his mobile phone, Pastor Pariyar said.

Twice Pastor Pariyar tried to escape, but each time they kicked him to the ground, he said.

“They said I am preaching foreign religion, converting people and ‘feeding’ on dollars in return,” Pastor Pariyar said. “They asked me to hand over all the [supposed, U.S.] dollars I am carrying to them, and they will spare my life. I asked them who were they to question my work and demand money from me, to which they said they were ‘underground Maoists.'”

While they were kicking him and beating him with wooden sticks and their fists and threatening to kill him if he did not hand over U.S. dollars to them, he said, a bright light from a passing vehicle fell on them, and they fled.

“They fled while warning me, ‘If you continue to preach the Jesus religion, we will not spare you—we will come and kill you, wherever you may go,'” he told Morning Star News.

The pastor, who is also president of BG Hands Ministries in Kathmandu, sustained injuries on his face, arms, elbows, knees and ankles, he said.

Pastor Pariyar and his guest immediately went to the area police station to report the attack, and then to Gadhimai Hospital, Lalbandi in Sarlahi District for treatment. The next morning, the pastor registered a First Information Report in the Kesharganj Police Station after submitting a written complaint.

The Nepal Christian Society also reported the attack to the National Human Rights Commission, according to the Religious Liberty Forum Nepal (RLFN).

Police are investigating but have yet to find the assailants, Pastor Pariyar said.

“When I walk on the road or ride my motorbike, I am suddenly shaken with fear when a motorbike overtakes me,” he said, adding that twice he had previously received threats. “I am still in trauma from the incident. There is no outcome of the FIR that I registered.”

With his wife and 5-year-old son, he has served as a pastor of Devotees Nepali Assembly since 2011.

Pastor Sagar Baizu, senior pastor and mentor of Pastor Pariyar, told Morning Star News he was shocked by a recent increase in the number of anti-Christian attacks in Nepal.

“The manner in which he was stopped in the jungle area and assaulted is astonishing,” Pastor Baizu said.

He said it is evident that pastors and other Christian workers are being identified and targeted.

“This incident along with other recent instances of increased targeting of Christian leaders reveals that Christians in Nepal are being spotted from among the general masses, watched regularly, their activities tracked, and then they are assaulted and extorted for money,” Pastor Baizu said.

He said he was further shocked that there is no security from the government and from political parties for Christians who are helping the poor and the needy.

“They are doing no harm to the society at large in any way yet are assaulted, harassed and put in jail,” Pastor Baizu said. “It is high time that the government should realize and step-up to provide security to the church and the Christian community. It is a matter of great concern that religious terrorism is increasing rapidly in Nepal. The way Hindu radicals are carrying out hate campaigns against the Christian community is a matter of great concern.”

Pastor Baizu, who was also attacked last year and has since received several phone threats, said Christians are deprived of basic human rights in Nepal, including the right to burial spaces.

“There is not even a burial ground for the Christians who die in Nepal,” he added.

This article originally appeared on Assist News. Reprinted with permission.

Netflix’s new season of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina just came out, and kids are raving over it. But Tina Griffin—also known as the “Counter Culture Mom”—says this new, live-action show takes witchcraft to a whole new level.

“We’re not talking about a one- or two-minute scene in a short program,” she says. “The entire theme of the program is about seances, black cats, magic, Wicca. We’ve got Sabrina’s Sweet 16 party with the devil, Satan, showing up at her birthday party.”

But it’s not just Chilling Adventures of Sabrina that’s glorifying witchcraft and glamorizing the devil. Griffin says Satan worship has infiltrated pop culture through music and social media too.

She shares example after example of top celebrities who adhere to Satanism, wear occult clothing or brand themselves with Satanic symbols. But why are we seeing this sudden spike in Satan worship?

“It’s because Satan has little time left,” she says. “I honestly believe we are living in the end times. … We really, strongly feel Christ is around the corner.”

Listen to the interview to hear Griffin expose how pop culture glorifies witchcraft. Click here or scroll to the top of this article to listen.

John the Baptist said he was not worthy to untie Jesus’ lowly sandals. But in today’s hyper-cool, megachurch culture, a preacher’s footwear has become very pricey.

So pricey, in fact, that a new Instagram account called preachersnsneakers went viral last month and now has 154,000 followers. The social media account does nothing except offer photos of famous preachers’ expensive and colorful footwear—including a pair of red Air Yeezy 2s worn by South Carolina pastor John Gray. His shoes retail for $5,611.

Some people have complained about the Instagram site, claiming that its founder, an anonymous guy named “Tyler,” is hurting the church. But he says he’s simply holding up a mirror and asking Christians if our leaders should be known for their lavish tastes in clothes.

There’s really nothing new about this. In the 1980s, televangelists were criticized for their three-piece suits and pricey Italian leather dress shoes—yet we know their followers gave them enough money to buy them private jets. Today, the suits and leather shoes are out of date, but the price tag on the designer sneakers is the same.

In today’s vocabulary, it’s called swag. It basically means stylish confidence, and it comes from the word “swagger.”

Like the televangelist of the old days, the celebrity preacher of today may still be on television—or he may have his own YouTube channel. But his look has been totally updated. His hairstyle is hip, he has a few days’ stubble on his face and his ministry has an app for your smartphone.

And apparently his on-stage wardrobe must now include a pair of $1,000 Air Jordans.

I’m not against hair gel, stubble or the latest designer athletic shoes. I enjoy some of these preachers’ podcasts. And, in their defense, some of these men received their fancy footwear as gifts from wealthy donors.

But I am concerned about the swag factor. Technology and youthful trendiness can breed pride if we’re not careful. And pride is still pride, whether it is clothed in yesterday’s neon polyester or today’s jeans.

As ministry platforms grow larger, the potential for bigger egos grows more dangerous. Let’s all take the humility test. We need less swag and more brokenness in the pulpit. Let’s remember these basic biblical principles as we choose who to follow:

1. Christians should never worship preachers. Paul rebuked the people of Lystra when they called him and his companion Barnabas gods. Paul told the people: “We are also men of the same nature as you” (Acts 14:15b, NASB). True ministers of God will not allow their followers to place them on pedestals. Paul knew his proper role was to take the lowest seat, as a bondservant of Christ Jesus (see Phil. 1:1). He also knew that ministers must never allow flattery or adoration to inflate their egos.

2. Preachers must know who they are and who they aren’t. When people spread a rumor that John the Baptist was the Messiah, he corrected them and said: “I am not the Christ. … He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:28, 30, MEV). Even some of the most gifted Christian communicators can be seduced by the power of technology—and by the roar of a crowd—so that they actually believe they are in an elite category. No! We are nothing and He is everything. We must get out of the way so people can see Jesus!

Leaders who have not crucified the lust for self-promotion can become infatuated with the big and the sensational. They can build big churches with bigger projection screens, yet their character cannot sustain the pressure of spiritual warfare that inevitably comes. An out-of-control ego becomes a monster.

Author Henry Blackaby said it this way: “Nothing is more pathetic than having a small character in a big assignment. Many of us don’t want to give attention to our character; we just want the big assignment from God.”

3. Ministry is best accomplished with a team, not a celebrity. Paul laid the foundations of the church in the Gentile world, but he always shared the spotlight with Timothy, Silas, Barnabas, Titus, Phoebe, Priscilla and other co-workers—who suffered in prison with him and faithfully preached alongside him. He didn’t try to be five places at once; he trained people to take his place. And nobody on the team had swag!

It is becoming popular for large churches to open satellite campuses that offer video sermons from the same preacher. If this strategy is effectively reaching more converts, that’s great. If preachers can do that and stay humble, keep it up. But let’s be careful that we are not building ministry on one man’s charisma.

Our ultimate goal should be for a whole new generation of people to be trained and empowered to serve, not for one man to build a show around his gift. And certainly not around his expensive Air Jordans.

Pastor John Lindell leads James River Church, a megachurch based in Springfield, Missouri, which is one of the largest Assemblies of God churches in the country. But before Lindell came to James River, he pioneered a church in the Kansas City area that couldn’t grow. He said he felt like a failure when it came to believing and trusting in God.

Lindell says, “Really, I’d lost sense of my calling, honestly, and it felt like such a failure.”

Yet God still had a plan for Lindell—and breathed on James River Church. Watch his interview on The Jim Bakker Show to find out what happened next.

Eric Johnson, senior pastor at Bethel Redding, cautioned his charismatic community against feeling superior to other streams or denominations in a recent sermon. Instead, he urged them to learn from one another and cooperate in unity.

Johnson said, “Every stream thinks they’re a river. So it’s important that we’re actually learning from our brothers and sisters in other streams. Why? Because they’re carrying something that we do not have. They saw an aspect of God that we do not have. … It’s funny how critical we are of other streams when it doesn’t look like your stream. Do you understand? It’s a different stream. That’s the whole point.”

Johnson said that Jesus embodied all aspects of fivefold ministry, but later “split up the fivefold so not one person can have all five.” He did that to force believers to work alongside others and cooperate with the different streams. When believers refuse to do that, Johnson said, it demonstrates arrogance.

“‘Well, they don’t worship long enough’ or ‘They don’t teach about signs and wonders and miracles’—when you have that attitude approach, it’s very arrogant,” Johnson said. “It’s very superior. I wish they would talk about signs and wonders. But I’m not going to let that bother me. Why? Because they’ve got a message on evangelism that we need, or they’ve got an insight on communion that we need to have.”

Watch the video to hear Johnson’s full remarks.

Only one month after Cyclone Idai killed over 1,000 people, a second storm—even stronger than the last—rocked Mozambique this week. Over the last week, Intense Tropical Cyclone Kenneth made landfall in Mozambique, becoming the strongest tropical cyclone to do so in recorded history. As a result, houses collapsed, roads were cut off, people became trapped by flash-floods and ultimately more than 40 people were killed. This devastation comes barely a month after Tropical Cyclone Idai—the third-deadliest cyclone in history—devastated Mozambique and neighboring countries in March.

Heidi Baker’s ministry Iris Global released a video Tuesday showing footage of the destruction and devastation left by Cyclone Kenneth. The ministry also explained how they are helping on the ground and what believers abroad can be praying for. To learn more or help, visit .