Following are snippets of the top stories posted over the past week on mycharisma.com. We encourage you to visit the links to read the stories in full.
How Do We Process the Robert Morris Scandal?
Gateway Church in Dallas is the ninth-largest church in the United States, with more than 25,000 members. But the church has been reeling since June 18, when Pastor Robert Morris, 62, resigned after he admitted to sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl during his early years as a youth evangelist.
Some of Gateway’s elders have now resigned. Leaders who are still there say they were blindsided by the allegations. They knew Morris had admitted to a moral failure 35 years ago, when he was at a different church. But he had told people he had inappropriate contact with “a young lady,” and that he had stepped down from ministry for two years to get rehabilitation.
But the “young lady,” Cindy Clemishire, now a grandmother, says she was just a girl when Morris began a sexual relationship with her when he began visiting her parents’ home in Oklahoma while preaching in youth revivals. When she reached out to Morris in 2005 to ask for restitution after years of abuse, he told her in an email that she could face criminal charges for exposing him.
Breaking news, Spirit-filled stories. Subscribe to Charisma on YouTube now!
Are We at the End of the Christian Celebrity Era?
Have we finally come to the end of the road for the Christian celebrity era?
In a recent podcast, Dr. Michael Brown tackled this subject and how God may be dealing with those who find themselves glued to the “celebrity” Christian mentality.
“I truly believe that God, in these days that we’re living in and in the days ahead, is going to deal a serious blow if not a death blow to celebrity Christianity,” Brown says.
7 Reasons Christian Leaders Fail
In light of what’s going on with Robert Morris and Tony Evans, I decided to re-release this article so we can all focus on finishing strong.
Why do Christian leaders fail? They fail for the same reason all Christians fail. Each of us is drawn away by our own evil desires and enticed. When we act on these desires, they lead to sin (see James 1:14-15). Sin has a life cycle, either growing or withering depending on whether we feed or starve it. John Owen, the prolific Puritan author, wrote, “Be killing sin, or sin will be killing you.”
Consider the following ways sin enters our lives:
1. “It will never happen to me.” First Corinthians 10:12 reminds us if we think that we are standing firm, we should be careful we don’t fall. “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Prov. 16:18, ESV). Pride says, “I’ve never committed adultery. It will never happen to me.” Humility says, “By the grace of God, I haven’t, but I may.”
Jenny Weaver Reveals Massive Ministry Announcement
Jenny Weaver gave the biggest update about her Core Group ministry to date.
“We actually got a church,” Weaver says in her announcement video with her husband, Stephen Weaver.
“We have been given land and a building. Not just one building, but there are six buildings on about 15 acres of land,” Weaver says.
Dragons in New York a Harbinger of Judgment, Says Jonathan Cahn
Rabbi Jonathan Cahn, a New York Times bestselling author and speaker, reveals that dragons have appeared in various iconic locations in New York City.
These sightings include Grand Central Station, Rockefeller Center, Citi Field, Wall Street and the Empire State Building. According to Cahn, while the dragon images are part of a campaign to promote the HBO series “House of the Dragon,” their appearance holds deeper symbolic and spiritual significance.
“The dragons are here. They have come to New York City. They’ve appeared in Grand Central Station, their images have been seen on Rockefeller Center, they have been seen on the ballpark of Citi Field with the New York Mets,” Cahn says. He believes that the use of dragon imagery is not just a mere marketing ploy but a sign of something deeper and more profound.
Join Charisma Magazine Online to follow everything the Holy Spirit is doing around the world!
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.