Two Houston-area daycare workers who say they were fired from their jobs for refusing to identify a 6-year-old girl as a transgender boy said they have filed a federal complaint against their former employer. 

Madeline Kirksey and Akesha Wyatt also said in the action, filed this week, that their religious liberties as Christians were violated. 

Both were fired from a Children’s Lighthouse Learning Center location this month for refusing to abide by the wishes of the child’s parents who wanted them to recognize their girl as a boy, they told a news conference on Tuesday. 

A spokesman for Children’s Lighthouse Learning Center, which has locations in seven states, said on Wednesday it is company policy not to discuss employment matters publicly, and dismissed the claims that the pair saw any violation of their religious liberties. 

“It is clear that an agenda is being played out in the media instead of what matters most – the well-being of a family and a young child. A young child should never be put in the center of another’s agenda,” spokesman Jamie Izaks said. 

Kirksey told a news conference on Tuesday she “took a stance, first off because of my beliefs. I trust God.” 

“I felt it was my obligation, after doing this for 26 years, to stand up for that child and to protect her at all costs,” she said. 

Attorney Andy Taylor filed the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint on behalf of Kirksey and Wyatt for race, gender, age, and religious belief discrimination. 

“On Friday, this little girl left the school as ‘Sally,’ and on Monday this little girl called herself ‘Johnny’,” he said at the same news conference. {eoa}

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The trial of 13-year-old terrorism suspect Ahmed Manasra began in a Jerusalem juvenile court on Tuesday. Manasra has been charged with attempted murder for his role in the Oct. 12 stabbing attacks in Jerusalem’s Pisgat Zeev neighborhood in which two Israelis—a man and a boy of 12—were wounded.

In court on Tuesday, Manasra admitted to most of the facts in the indictment against him, but claimed he had not intended to kill anyone. His lawyers said he did not stab anyone during the attacks.

The evidence stage of Manasra’s trial is scheduled to begin in two months. Until then, he will remain in a locked facility.

Manasra allegedly perpetrated the stabbings with his 15-year-old cousin, Hassan Manasra, who was shot dead by security forces at the scene. The cousins, from the east Jerusalem Arab neighborhood of Beit Hanina, carried out the attacks as they made their way home from school on Oct. 12. They were targeting Jews, the indictment said.

According to the indictment, the cousins first saw a young ultra-Orthodox man, and stabbed him twice with the intent to kill. They then moved on and came upon a 12-year-old Israeli boy, stabbing him four times, also with the intent to kill.

The cousins later encountered security forces. Hassan Manasra was shot dead, while Ahmed Manasra was hit by a vehicle and seriously injured. He was taken into custody and hospitalized. He has since recovered from his injuries and has been released from the hospital, but he remains in detention while legal proceedings against him are conducted.

Under Israeli law, a 13-year-old cannot receive a prison sentence. But Manasra will turn 14 in January, and if his trial ends as it likely will after his birthday, this would make him eligible for a prison sentence.

Meanwhile, the ranks of child terrorists from east Jerusalem grew on Tuesday afternoon, when a pair of relatives from Shuafat, ages 11 and 14, carried out a stabbing attack with a knife and scissors on a light rail car in Pisgat Ze’ev.

A security guard was moderately wounded in the attack but shot the younger terrorist, seriously wounding him. Light rail passengers overpowered the second terrorist and pinned him down until security forces arrived.

Like the Manasras, the perpetrators of Tuesday’s attack were also on their way home from school when they embarked on their rampage.

The 14-year-old was arrested and will be indicted. The younger terrorist will be released to his home after he recovers from his wounds, as in Israel the youngest age for criminal liability is 12.

Around the same time on Tuesday afternoon, a 37-year-old Arab resident of the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya was shot dead as he tried to stab Israeli security guards at the Old City’s Damascus Gate.

Later on Tuesday, Border Police officers shot dead an Arab terrorist near the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Abu Dis. The terrorist had approached the officers with a drawn knife, prompting them to open fire.

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A new viral video shows what appears to be an usher taking money right out of a collection plate. 

According to Today, church officials first contacted police when they noticed their donation totals dropping.  

Police stepped in to install cameras, which reveal the suspected culprit.

The Assemblies of God Theological Seminary (AGTS) at Evangel University will inaugurate Mark A. Hausfeld as president on Friday, Nov. 13 at 9:30 a.m. in the William J. Seymour Chapel at AGTS (1435 N. Glenstone Ave., Springfield, Missouri, 65802). 

After being appointed by the university Board of Trustees, Hausfeld assumed the seminary presidency on July 1, 2015. The seminary president reports to the university president and serves on the cabinet of University President Carol Taylor. 

“As a graduate of both Evangel University and AGTS, Dr. Hausfeld is uniquely positioned to lead AGTS into the future as part of the larger Evangel University,” Taylor said. “He possesses broad pastoral, missions, academic and leadership experience, and I am excited that he has joined the senior leadership team for the university.” 

Hausfeld has more than 30 years of ministry experience, both in the United States and abroad. His passion is for equipping Spirit-empowered servant leaders with the highest quality seminary scholarship and training. Prior to his role as AGTS president, his focus centered on discipleship and church planting in urban settings in North America and restricted contexts in Central Asia and far-reaching global Muslim communities. 

In keeping with this focus, Hausfeld and his wife, Lynda, pastored and planted a church on the South Side of the City of Chicago for 10 years before partnering with Assemblies of God World Missions to reach the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in 1995. He later became AGWM’s area director for Central Eurasia (2000-2008). 

Most recently, Hausfeld served as the international director of Global Initiative: Reaching Muslim Peoples (2009-2015). As director, he collaborated with national churches around the world, AGWM regions and local churches in the United States to equip and mobilize them to reach Muslims everywhere. 

Mark has functioned as the seminary’s director of the Center for Islamic Studies since June 2010. He served as associate professor of Urban and Islamic Studies from 2007 to 2015. Today he holds appointment at the rank of professor. 

“I count it a great privilege to serve Christ’s kingdom in this way,” said Hausfeld. “I look forward to seeing the seminary’s influence expand over the coming years. Operating as an embedded seminary within Evangel University will only enhance the breadth of this influence.” 

The public celebration will begin with an inaugural lecture featuring Raymond J. Bakke on Thursday, Nov. 12 from 4-5 p.m. in the William J. Seymour Chapel at AGTS. Dr. Bakke is a leading teacher, author and speaker in the field of urban ministry. He founded International Urban Associates in 1989, animating a network of more than 100 urban-based church and mission leaders in many of the largest cities of the world. Among numerous articles and other books, Bakke authored A Theology as Big as the City and The Urban Christian.

Was a high school cross country runner disqualified from a state championship meet because there was a Bible verse embroidered on his headband?

Georgia Congressman Douglas Collins seems to think so.

“Religious expression being squashed right here in the Ninth District,” the Republican lawmaker tweeted. “This is outrageous.”

Collins was referring an incident that occurred Nov. 7 at the Georgia 5-A cross country state championship.

Third place winner John Green was stripped of his victory just moments after crossing the finish line.

The West Forsyth High School runner was disqualified because of a headband he was wearing—a white headband that was adorned with a Bible verse.

It was embroidered with the words: “Isaiah 40:30-31.”

Isaiah 40:31-31 says, “Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint.”

It is a passage of Scripture that was sure to inspire any athlete—especially a cross-country runner.

“It is hard to understand how an unreadable, inside-out Bible verse is something harmful to our sport and worthy of a post-race disqualification of a student athlete,” Assistant Coach Scott Griffith said in a prepared statement.

John had worn the headband since the start of the 2015 season. He also wore the headband at region and sectional meets. At no point was he ever told to take it off.

And there’s a good reason for that—it turns out there’s not a rule banning runners from wearing headbands.

About 10 minutes before Saturday’s race, a racing official inspected the team and gave them a green light.

However, a few minutes later another race official stopped John and asked to inspect his headband. Coach Griffith said John was ordered to turn the headband inside out because there was writing on it. The runner complied with the order.

Then, moments before the race was to begin, another official ordered John to completely remove the headband. 

That presented a significant problem for John—who has long hair. The course conditions were wet and muddy and his coaches feared that posed a safety problem.

“We felt given the race course conditions, that John would not be able to run safely without something to keep his hair out of his face,” Coach Griffith said.

Since two of the race officials had already cleared the headband, they told him to turn it inside out and run the race. And when John crossed the finish line he was summarily disqualified—for breaking a rule that wasn’t on the books.

“If John did not break a rule, we believe he cannot be disqualified from the race and his individual result and our appropriate team placing must be reinstated,” Coach Griffith said.

The Georgia High School Association (GHSA) admits there is no specific rule violating headbands. But they do have a rule that allows referees to make up any rules not covered within the rules.

“The referee has the sole authority for ruling on infractions or irregularities not covered within the rules,” reads NFHS Rules Book, page 14, Section 4 REFEREE, Article 6.

And on race day, the referee decided that a headband was in fact just like a beanie, toboggan or ear covers—which is against the rules—unless they are unadorned.

“John was disqualified for a uniform violation that we believe he did not commit,” Coach Griffith said.

The GHSA said John’s disqualification had nothing to do with what was written on his headband.

“The fact that it was of a religious nature did not enter the decision whatsoever,” they wrote in a prepared statement.

The disqualification will stand, they declared.

John Green ran a good race last Saturday. He ran and was not weary. He ran and did not faint. His strength was renewed. He mounted up with wings like an eagle—and he soared across that finish line.

His championship run may have been erased from the record books, but it will never be erased from his heart.

Whether it was the protest against their new holiday cup design or the paroxysmic response to the social media reactions, social media frenzy has catapulted Starbucks into the spotlight. 

There appear to be two distinct camps emerging from the chaos: Folks who believe #ItsJustACup and others who insist on a boycott, such as Donald Trump.    

To the coffee giant, however, the simplicity is meant to fuel creativity.  

“Since 1997, Starbucks has served its holiday beverages in a unique cup, starting with a jazz-themed design in jewel tones of deeper reds, greens and blues. Every year since, the cup has told a story of the holidays by featuring symbols of the season from vintage ornaments and hand-drawn reindeer to modern vector-illustrated characters,” the company said. “Taking a cue from customers who have been doodling designs on cups for years (Starbucks held a contest to support this creativity), this year’s design is another way Starbucks is inviting customers to create their own stories with a red cup that mimics a blank canvas.” 

While Starbucks may be under pressure for quite literally nothing, competitors are embracing the Christmas cheer. Dunkin Donuts even has the word joy etched on their Styrofoam. 

Maine’s top attorney on Tuesday filed a civil rights lawsuit against an anti-abortion protester, contending that his yelling outside a Portland Planned Parenthood clinic was so loud that it disrupted the staff’s ability to counsel patients inside. 

The lawsuit, filed in Maine’s Superior Court by Attorney General Janet Mills, alleges that Brian Ingalls, 26, who shouts about “murdering babies, aborted babies’ blood and Jesus,” violated the state’s Civil Rights Act because he was audible inside the facility. 

“All patients have the right to receive medical services free of ‘the cacophony of political protests,’ in the words of the United States Supreme Court,” Mills, a Democrat, said in a statement. “While protesters have every right to say anything they want in a public area in the vicinity of a medical facility, they are not permitted to disrupt another citizen’s healthcare services.” 

Maine law protects the right of any person to receive “safe and effective” medical services without disruptions caused by loud noises. 

According to the complaint, police warned Ingalls to keep his voice down so that he would not be heard inside, but he continued yelling anyway. 

The lawsuit would prevent Ingalls, a regular protester at the clinic, from coming within 50 feet (15 m) of the facility. 

Ingalls, of Lisbon, was not immediately available for comment. 

Planned Parenthood’s abortion clinics have increasingly become the target of political attacks by conservative leaders following allegations the U.S. reproductive health organization sells aborted fetal tissue to researchers. 

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, former Hewlett-Packard Chief Executive Officer Carly Fiorina and other Republican U.S. presidential candidates have generally called for defunding Planned Parenthood, while Democratic hopefuls have supported the family planning organization. 

Portland’s Democratic-controlled City Council created a 39-foot (12 m) no-protest zone in 2013 around the city’s sole Planned Parenthood clinic after rowdy protests, but was forced to repeal the ordinance last month after it was found unconstitutional by a federal court.  {eoa}

© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.

After a diagnosis of terminal cancer earlier this year, revivalist Doug Stringer is now in remission.  

“We know that the Great Physician has heard the numerous prayers of our friends and spiritual family from all over the world, and blessed us all with a testimony of His healing power,” Doug’s wife, Lisa, says. “We are forever changed through this experience. He has expanded my heart of compassion, taught me to pour out more grace, to be an even bigger giver, to appreciate the little things all the more, and the list goes on and on.” 

Stringer was diagnosed with stage 4 lymphoma in April and began treatments on June 16. In a blog post for his ministry, Somebody Cares, Stringer writes that the negative effects of the chemotherapy were minimal, save for hair loss.  

However, the minister found prophetic significance in his balding, as well as the cancer attack.  

“America’s national bird is the bald eagle, representing strength and courage,” Stringer writes.  

He continued: “There is a spiritual cancer in America. Many leaders are experiencing an attack in the natural realm that mirrors the spiritual state of the nation. But I believe, for many, it is a lie of the devil to distract them and the church from the spiritual war that rages right now.

“There are those in governmental leadership who still recognize a higher authority. Bold and courageous men and women are rising up to speak into the very core of what’s happening in our nation—like those even in government who are not afraid to say, ‘Our nation needs prayer!'” 

Now that Stringer is in remission, he and Lisa say they must remain in a state of gratitude.  

“We don’t just want to be healed, we want to be whole in the Lord,” Lisa says.  

After the remission announcement, “We came home and took communion together as a family. (Daughter) Ashley prayed over daddy and spoke life over him. As we do every day, we will arise and say, ‘Thank You, Lord;’ we don’t ever want to take for granted life, the opportunity to be a life giver to someone in need.”

A judge on Tuesday issued the death penalty for the white supremacist convicted of shooting to death three people at two Jewish centers in Kansas last year.

Johnson County District Court Judge Thomas Kelly Ryan sentenced Frazier Glenn Cross, 74, to die by lethal injection.

A jury in early September convicted Cross, a former senior member of the Ku Klux Klan, of the murders and recommended that he be put to death. Cross also was convicted of three counts of attempted murder for shooting at three other people.

The jury found Cross guilty of killing Reat Underwood, 14, and his grandfather, William Corporon, 69, outside the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City, and Terri LaManno, 53, outside a Jewish retirement home, both in Overland Park, Kansas.

After the judge announced his decision, Cross gave the “Heil Hitler” salute and was forcibly removed from the courtroom.

On the way out, Cross said, “One day my spirit will rise from the grave and you’ll know I was right. I’m a happy man.”

Cross said in court on Tuesday, as he did during the trial, that he wanted to kill Jews because he believes they control the media, financial institutions and the government.

“Jews are destroying the white race,” he said, calling himself a patriot. None of those he killed were Jewish.

In court statements before the sentencing, several relatives of victims denounced Cross for his views and spoke of their painful losses. Cross, a military veteran, sat at a court table in a wheel chair, sometimes glancing up at those who spoke at the podium.

Will Corporon, son of William Corporon, glared at Cross as he talked.

“You are a coward,” he said. “You are not a patriot. You are a disgrace to the uniform you wore.”

Cross, representing himself in court, said on Tuesday he should be released because he was justified in trying to kill Jews.

“I wanted to kill Jews, not Christians and I do regret it,” Cross said. During the trial he faulted the victims for associating with Jews by going to Jewish centers.

Melinda Corporon, wife of William Corporon, told Cross he has never known love.

“We are here today to make sure this voice of evil is silenced permanently,” she said.

Kansas restored the death penalty in 1994; no one has been executed in the state since 1965. {eoa}

© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.

Pope Francis called on Tuesday for a Catholic Church that is not cosseted, self-centered and obsessed with power and money, as he faces new challenges to his financial reforms at the Vatican. 

The Argentine pope, who made his comments during a day trip to Tuscany, has recently been hit by a scandal involving the leaks of documents purporting to show resistance by the Vatican’s old guard to his reform efforts. 

Francis, who on Sunday vowed to forge ahead with Vatican reforms despite the leaks, issued his call for a different type of Church worldwide in a speech to Italian bishops at their national convention, held every 10 years. 

His reforms at the Vatican have included an overhaul of the scandal-plagued Vatican bank to make its operations transparent, giving autonomy to its Financial Intelligence Authority in order to avoid interference by top cardinals, and urging Church officials to shun extravagant lifestyles. 

Like many national Catholic Churches in Europe, Italy’s is powerful and wealthy, has often been cozy with political powers and has been accused of seeking economic privileges. 

“God save the Italian Church from any form of power, image, and money,” Francis said, speaking in Florence’s magnificent cathedral of Santa Maria in Fibre whose famous dome was designed by Renaissance master architect Filipino Brunelleschi. 

Francis said the Church should be “restless, always closer to the abandoned ones, the forgotten ones, the imperfect ones.” 

“I prefer a Church that is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security,” he said, repeating a theme from a manifesto he issued several months after his election in 2013. 

Since then, the first non-European pope in 1,500 years has often called for a more simple, merciful and inclusive Church but his appeals have not always had the success he hoped for. 

Last September he asked every Catholic parish, religious community and sanctuary in Europe to take in a family of refugees, and set an example by hosting two families in parishes inside the Vatican, but many still have not done so. 

Many church institutions in Italy transformed structures into hotels for pilgrims but continued to claim tax exemptions. The pope has told them that if they are not doing church work, such as hosting migrants, they should pay taxes on their profits. 

The pope started his day in the nearby city of Praetor, a center of Italy’s textile industry which has seen a surge of Chinese immigrants, many working in sweat-shop conditions. 

Two years ago, seven Chinese migrants died when fire swept through their makeshift living quarters in a factory. 

“That was a tragedy caused by exploitation and inhumane working conditions,” he said in an address to workers in Praetor, where he also condemned “the cancer of corruption”. {eoa}

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