Adrienne S. Gaines

Crystal Cathedral founder Robert H. Schuller is turning over the leadership of the 10,000-member megachurch to his oldest daughter. Schuller, 82, announced on Sunday that Sheila Schuller Coleman, 58, will assume leadership of the entire ministry, effective immediately, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

  Christian beauty queen Carrie Prejean said she is "looking forward to where God leads" her after losing her Miss California title on Wednesday. "I know He has big plans for me," she said in a statement Thursday. "I am proud to be the strong woman God has molded me to be. I will always…

A federal appeals court in Denver ruled Monday that a Ten Commandments monument outside an Oklahoma county courthouse is unconstitutional. A three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the privately funded monument, erected outside the Haskell County Courthouse in 2004, has the primary effect of endorsing religion when taken in context…

A memorial service will be held Wednesday for Larry Dalton, a world- renowned pianist, conductor and composer who once served as music director for evangelist Oral Roberts' television broadcasts. Dalton died in Tulsa, Okla., on May 30 of a heart attack. He was 63. "I was shocked to bury Larry at 63," said evangelist Terry…

Charismatic pastor Wendell Smith has named his son senior pastor of The City Church, the 7,000-member, multi-site congregation he founded in Kirkland, Wash. Judah and Chelsea Smith (pictured) will begin serving as senior pastors in September. Wendell Smith, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2004, will serve as founding pastor of the charismatic church.

Gospel artist Kirk Franklin is teaming up with the American Heart Association's Power to End Stroke campaign to launch the Fight of Our Life health tour to raise awareness of the risk of stroke. The seven-city concert tour begins tonight in Houston and targets African-Americans, among whom stroke is the third-leading cause of death and…

A California pastor received the apology he was seeking from San Diego County officials who had ordered him and his wife not to hold a Bible study in their home without a permit. In letters released Wednesday, San Diego County attorney John Sansone and Chief Administrative Officer Walt Ekard rescinded the previous cease and desist…

New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch signed a gay marriage bill into law Wednesday, making his traditionally conservative state one of six nationwide that permit same-sex unions. In May, Lynch said he would sign the same-sex marriage bill if the Legislature revised the language to state that religious organizations and their employees cannot be forced to…

Once more than $50 million in debt, Oral Roberts University (ORU) in Tulsa, Okla., now owes less than $1 million thanks to a gift-matching campaign that raised $22 million from more than 15,000 donors. Launched in February 2008 by the ORU board of trustees, the Renewing the Vision $25 Million Matching Campaign raised more than…

Christian leaders are urging President Obama to address religious liberty and show clear support for Israel during his much-anticipated speech to the Muslim world on Thursday. (Watch President Obama's speech in Cairo or read the text.) Open Doors, an international organization that supports persecuted Christians worldwide, called on the president to challenge Muslim-dominated nations such…

Judge Roy Moore, who was ousted as chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court after refusing to remove a granite monument of the Ten Commandments from the state judicial building, announced Monday that he plans to run for governor of Alabama in 2010. The bid marks the second time Moore has run for governor. During…

The murder of abortion doctor George Tiller on Sunday has many pro-life leaders concerned the Obama administration will use the shooting to restrict pro-life activities and advance a radical abortion agenda. They point to Attorney General Eric Holder Jr.'s order on Monday to increase security for some abortion clinics and doctors as a sign that…

A Texas Christian businessman has a simple plan for evangelizing his community: Lift Jesus up and let Him do the rest. In December, Norm Miller, CEO of Interstate Batteries, launched I Am Second, a three-year Dallas-area ad campaign that features both prominent and lesser-known Christians proclaiming that Christ is first in their lives. Its companion…

Jack W. Hayford announced Tuesday that he will not seek a second term as president of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel when his five-year term ends Aug. 31. Hayford, 74, made the announcement during Foursquare's annual convention being held this week in Anaheim, Calif. Hayford, founding pastor of The Church on the Way…