Christian counseling group removes Pedo and wife beating Grace Community Church from approved training center list

 

A prominent Christian counseling organization has removed Grace Community Church of Sun Valley, California, formerly led by the late Pastor John MacArthur, from its list of certified training centers.

The Association of Certified Biblical Counselors recently removed GCC from its list of approved training centers, after requests to reopen complaints filed by Jane Doe and former Grace elder Hohn Cho.

It also follows the filing of a lawsuit against GCC by Doe, claiming that church leadership aided and abetted a member of the congregation in his alleged abuse against Doe and their children.

Cho told The Christian Post in an emailed statement that he became aware of the decision in February, and that he considered the removal of GCC from the list “long overdue.”

“I commend ACBC for taking this action, and I pray it reflects (as I today choose to believe it does) a continuing commitment to genuine care for counselees, over institutional loyalty,” stated Cho.

“I do ask that they provide Jane, and their own membership, with more information concerning this removal, as additions and removals from their published certification lists are obviously public matters.”

The Master's University and The Master's Seminary, which are both affiliated with GCC, remain on the list of ACBC-certified training centers.

The Christian Post reached out to the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors and Grace Community Church for this story. However, both declined to provide comment.

In February 2023, Cho publicly shared his concerns about GCC leadership displaying an apparent pattern of siding with alleged abusers against their victims.

ACBC opened an investigation into the concerns, with the counseling organization hearing testimony from multiple women who alleged that GCC’s counseling ministry was protecting abusers and harming their victims.

One of the women shared with CP her testimony, which had been submitted to ACBC in April 2023, detailing her experiences with Grace’s counseling operations.

According to her testimony, the woman claimed that she had received marriage counseling with the church in 2009 while experiencing marital problems in her 22-year marriage.

She told Pastor Bill Shannon, who oversaw GCC’s biblical counseling ministry, about the alleged abuse from her husband and his suspicious behavior, which included missing family gatherings and wanting her to co-sign a second $50,000 loan without an adequate explanation.

Her testimony alleges that Shannon told her to sign the loan and allegedly refused to believe that the husband had been engaging in extramarital activity despite credible evidence.

Amid its investigation, ACBC removed Shannon from its list of approved counselors and scheduled breakout speakers for its annual conference held in October 2023.

Grace Community Church cut from counseling training center list | Church & Ministries

Finnish MP Päivi Räsänen found guilty of hate speech over 22-year-old pamphlet against homosexuality

 Finnish parliamentarian Päivi Räsänen was found guilty of hate speech and fined by the Supreme Court of Finland on Thursday over a pamphlet describing homosexuality as a psychosexual development disorder more than 20 years ago.

Räsänen, who led Finland's Christian Democratic Party from 2004 to 2015 and served as the country's interior minister from 2011 to 2015, was found guilty in a slim 3-2 decision of "making and keeping available to the public a text that insults a group," according to a press release from the U.S.-based legal group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International.

Police first began investigating the grandmother of 12 in response to criminal complaints shortly after Räsänen's 2019 tweet in which she quoted Romans 1:24–27 to rebuke the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland for promoting LGBT "pride month." She questioned how the church could agree with "shame and sin" being presented as "a matter of pride."

Investigators later dredged up a pamphlet she published in 2004 with Bishop Juhana Pohjola of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland, titled "Male and Female He Created Them: Homosexual relationships challenge the Christian concept of humanity."

At one point, the pamphlet argues that homosexuality is disordered, which the court found was an opinion that could "insult homosexuals as a group on the basis of their sexual orientation."

The court noted that "it must be taken into account that the text forming the basis for the conviction did not contain incitement to violence or comparable threat-like fomenting of hatred. The conduct is therefore not particularly serious in terms of the nature of the offense."

Convicted under Chapter 11 of the Finnish Penal Code, which deals with "agitation against a minority group," Räsänen was ordered to pay a fine of 1,800 euros ($2,080), and the court prohibited physical and digital copies of the pamphlet from being distributed following the ruling.

In a previous interview with The Christian Post, Räsänen recalled being disturbed by her church's participation in the 2019 Helsinki LGBT Pride march, noting that the police investigation dragged out as she and Pohjola were repeatedly dragged to court.

She and Pohjola faced their third trial last October, despite being unanimously acquitted twice by the Helsinki Court of Appeal and the three-judge District Court of Helsinki.

The Supreme Court acquitted Räsänen over the initial 2019 tweet that sparked the prosecution against her in the first place, arguing that she "justified her opinion by citing a biblical text" among other things.

Räsänen said she was "shocked and profoundly disappointed" by the high court's ruling, and accused them of failing "to recognize my basic human right to freedom of expression."

"I stand by the teachings of my Christian faith, and will continue to defend my and every person’s right to share their convictions in the public square," she said.

Finnish MP Päivi Räsänen found guilty of hate speech | World

DOJ investigates California, Maine for housing male inmates in women's prisons

 The Trump administration is investigating whether the practice of housing trans-identified males in women's prisons in Maine and California, despite concerns about sexual assault and harassment, violates the constitutional rights of incarcerated women.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday that it would investigate whether the California Institution for Women in San Bernardino County, the Central California Women’s Facility in Madera County and the Maine Correctional Center in Windham violated the rights of female inmates.

“Keeping men out of women’s prisons is not only common sense — it’s a matter of safety and constitutional rights,” Attorney General Pam Bondi stated. “The Trump Administration will not stand by if governors are facilitating the abuse of biological women under the guise of inclusion.”

In 2020, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the Transgender Respect, Agency and Dignity Act. The bill enables those who identify as the opposite sex, non-binary or intersex to be housed and searched in a manner consistent with their gender identity. 

As the DOJ noted, men charged with sex crimes and who have intact genitals who self-identify as female can request a transfer to a women’s prison. The federal agency says it has seen reports “of sexual assaults, rape, voyeurism and a pervasive climate of sexual intimidation due to the presence of males in the women’s prison.”

The DOJ is investigating if California deprived female prisoners of their right to freedom of speech and religion under the First Amendment. During its investigation, the federal agency will also determine whether female inmates were deprived of the protections guaranteed by the Eighth Amendment — which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment — and the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.

DOJ investigates male inmates in women's prisons | Politics

Louisville pays $800K to settle with Christian photographer who won't work same-sex weddings

 A Christian photographer who does not wish to provide services to same-sex weddings has reached a large settlement after years of litigation over a nondiscrimination provision in a local law she feared would force her to violate her deeply held convictions. 

The city of Louisville, Kentucky, had agreed to pay $800,000 in attorney fees as part of a settlement with photographer Chelsey Nelson. The settlement, filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, Louisville Division, comes six months after the federal court sided with Nelson in her challenge to the city’s prohibition on discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. 

Nelson, a devout Christian who believes in the biblical definition of marriage as a union between one man and one woman, filed a lawsuit against the city out of concern that the nondiscrimination law would force her to work as a photographer at same-sex weddings. She alleged that the law violated the Free Speech and Free Exercise clauses of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, as well as the Kentucky Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Last fall, a federal judge agreed. 

The settlement was announced in a statement Tuesday from the conservative legal nonprofit Alliance Defending Freedom, which represented Nelson in the case. 

“The government cannot force Americans to say things they don’t believe,” said Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Bryan Neihart. “For almost six years, Louisville officials tried to do just that by threatening to force Chelsey to promote views about marriage that violate her religious beliefs. Louisville’s threats contradicted bedrock First Amendment principles, which leave decisions about what to say with the people, not the government. This settlement should teach Louisville that violating the U.S. Constitution can be expensive.” 

Louisville pays $800K to settle with Christian photographer | Politics

Cesar Chavez Statues Fall, Columbus Statues Rise

 Cesar Chavez Statues Fall, Columbus Statues Rise | Frontpage Mag

read the link

Former Ligonier executive says he was excommunicated from church for reporting sexual abuse

 A former Ligonier Ministries executive, who was recently excommunicated by St. Andrew’s Chapel in Sanford, Florida, has revealed the real reason behind his exit: He accused the church’s former youth minister of sexually abusing his daughter.

The accusation is the latest of several scandals involving St. Andrew’s Chapel, the Reformed church founded by the late R. C. Sproul.

Stephen Nichols, former chief academic officer at Ligonier and president of Reformation Bible College, was simultaneously ejected from all three institutions last week. Nichols and his wife, Heidi, posted a long statement about their “season of transition” on X Thursday.

“At the heart of this issue is the suspected sexual abuse of our daughter,” the couple wrote. “We reported suspicion of sexual abuse of our daughter, we ended up indicted, and we ended up excommunicated.”

According to the Nicholses, their 17-year-old daughter’s counselor told them in January 2024 that he thought the girl had been abused when she was 11 or 12. The girl has struggled since that age with serious mental health issues, including repeated instances of self-harm that resulted in hospitalization.

Ligonier executive was excommunicated for reporting sexual abuse

Nazarene Church Collapse Reveals the Pattern Destroying Holiness Movements in American Churches

 

Nazarene Church Collapse Reveals the Pattern Destroying Holiness Movements in American Churches The Church of the Nazarene hemorrhaged from 550,000 members in 1980 to under 300,000 in 2024. 1,400 churches closed. 70% of young people abandoned the denomination. This isn't just about one church—it's a warning for every holiness movement in America.

Abortion Clinic Was Happy to Cover Up Sexual Abuse of a 14-Year-Old

 “90% of our abortions are from Texas.” The abortion worker claimed.

A shocking undercover investigation is raising serious concerns about the safety of young girls and the role abortion facilities may play in covering up abuse. In this case, a man posing as the uncle of a 14-year-old girl approached staff at a New Mexico abortion facility, asking how to obtain an abortion for the minor without parental consent.

According to the report, staff did not question the situation or raise concerns about possible abuse. They did not verify the man’s relationship to the girl or pause to consider whether the circumstances pointed to something more troubling. Instead, they moved forward with providing information on how to obtain an abortion.

“The minute this man came in asking how to get an abortion for a 14-year-old minor, any legitimate healthcare staff would have recognized a possible red flag,” says Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue. “But these abortion workers not only explained how to circumvent Texas abortion laws, including parental consent, they also readily explained how to get all the costs covered, including the cost of the abortion, travel, and hotel. This dump is a human trafficker’s dream come true.”

Abortion Clinic Was Happy to Cover Up Sexual Abuse of a 14-Year-Old - LifeNews.com

Biology Denying Dems oppose Women's History Museum bill over requirement to only honor 'biological women'

 Proponents of a measure to build a Smithsonian museum exclusively honoring women criticized House Democrats for withdrawing support after language was added to the proposal to ensure the museum exhibits only women, not men who identify as female.

On Wednesday, the Committee on House Administration passed HR 1329, the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum Act. The legislation passed the committee in a 7-4 vote along party lines, with all Republicans in favor and all Democrats opposed.

“Americans should not fund a museum that compromises on the definition of a biological woman. House Democrats who voted against this proposal should reconsider their stance instead of playing identity politics,” Penny Nance, president and CEO of Concerned Women for America, said in a statement provided to The Christian Post.

“Our elected leaders must prioritize accuracy and fairness and acknowledge biological realities in this matter,” the conservative leader continued. “Biological women are tired of being erased from history, and without a congressional mandate, they will be in the Women’s History Museum.”

The bill, introduced by Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., would authorize the construction of a Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum on the National Mall. 

While Democrats initially supported the measure, they objected to the substitute amendment from Republican Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., which included language emphasizing that the museum's purpose is to honor women. 

Democrats oppose Women's History Museum bill | Politics

Exposing the Dangerous ‘Cult of Personality’ Taking Over Churches

 This is not a new problem rising in modern Christianity. It has been present for generations, and Scripture itself proves it. What is happening today is not the birth of the cult of personality in the church, but the amplification of a long-standing spiritual issue.

Apostle John Eckhardt defines it plainly: “A ‘cult of personality’… is defined as exaggerated devotion to a charismatic political, religious or other leader.” That definition exposes a pattern that has repeated itself throughout church history.

When Honoring Leaders Turns Into Idolizing Pastors

There is a clear biblical line between honoring leaders and idolizing them. That line is being crossed in many personality driven churches.

Eckhardt explains, “Nothing wrong with following an anointed man or woman of God… as long as it does not become obsessive or fanatical to the extent that you can’t listen to anyone else.”

This is where the danger begins. What starts as respect becomes restriction. What begins as loyalty becomes control.

The warning signs are unmistakable:

• Believers reject other ministries
• Churches isolate themselves from the broader body of Christ
• Leaders become the primary voice instead of Christ
• Followers cannot receive truth from outside their circle

Eckhardt issues a direct correction: “If you cannot fellowship with others because they don’t follow your leader… then we have a problem.”

This is not biblical leadership. This is spiritual imbalance.

Exposing the Dangerous 'Cult of Personality' Taking Over Churches - Charisma Magazine Online

The smell of freedom in Cuba

 Historians will tell you that rising expectations create conditions for revolutions. 

Which brings us to Cuba, where the locals are rioting to demand the end of 65 years of stone-cold communism.

The smell of freedom in Cuba - American Thinker

US gov’t designates Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood domestic terrorist entity

 The U.S. government has designated the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity and announced plans to classify it as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, a move that imposes financial sanctions and legal restrictions on the group and its supporters.

The designation, announced this week, identifies the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood as a network made up of the Sudanese Islamic Movement and its armed wing, the al Baraa Bin Malik Brigade, which U.S. officials say has used violence against civilians during Sudan’s ongoing war, according to the U.S. Department of State.

The network has contributed more than 20,000 fighters to the conflict in Sudan, with some receiving training and support from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, it said, adding that fighters from the al Baraa Bin Malik Brigade have carried out mass executions of civilians in areas they captured and have summarily executed people based on race, ethnicity, or perceived affiliation with opposition groups.

The designation triggers a range of sanctions under U.S. counterterrorism authorities.

Property and interests belonging to the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood that are located in the U.S. or under the control of U.S. persons are blocked, and U.S. citizens and companies are generally prohibited from conducting business with the group.

US designates Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood domestic terror group | World

Christian employee sues county gov't after being denied religious exemption from pride month

 A Christian civil engineer has filed a lawsuit against a California county after he was denied a religious exemption to work from home while the government office he works at celebrates LGBT pride month.

Eric Batman sued Los Angeles County and its Department of Public Works on Tuesday in a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

An employee with the Public Works Department for 24 years, Batman took issue with the county leadership's decision to fly the pride flag at all government departments in celebration of pride month in June. 

Batman asked to work remotely during June due to “his sincerely held religious beliefs and a conflict with his employer’s open and notorious celebration of something Batman considers a sin.” The complaint contends that his request "would not have hindered the County’s own desire to celebrate something that required Batman to tacitly and explicitly endorse something that violates his religious convictions."

“Batman’s request was unconstitutionally, unconscionably, and unlawfully denied,” states the complaint. “The accommodation that Batman sought is readily available, offered to other similarly situated employees needing accommodation for their religious beliefs, and would have imposed no hardship on Defendants.”

The lawsuit claimed that the county’s refusal to grant the request violated the First and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act and the Fair Employment and Housing Act.

Christian employee sues county gov't over pride month rejection | U.S.

Zohran Mamdani Is NOT a U.S. Citizen?! | Ep 236

 

Evolution Dismantled

better support for the Creation perspective.

American Christianity 101: Pretending to be Traditional for Clout | Elijah Schaffer

 

Trump forges alliance with conservative Latin American leaders at the 'Shield of the Americas' summit

 The U.S. administration has decided to focus its foreign policy on the Western Hemisphere by creating new strategic alliances. In this context, President Donald Trump will host the "Shield of the Americas" summit on March 7 in Miami, Florida.

This event will bring together Latin American leaders who share an ideological affinity, marking a remarkable political shift in the region.

Washington's approach seeks to consolidate a bloc that defends common interests and traditional values in the face of external pressures.

The National Security Strategy 2026 outlines a plan for identifying and working closely with "ideologically trusted partners." This tactic is intended to curb the influence of foreign powers and protect hemispheric development.

Among the guests at this important event are emblematic figures of the recent shift to the right in Latin America. Leaders such as Presidents Javier Milei of Argentina, Nayib Bukele of El Salvador and Rodrigo Chaves of Costa Rica will participate in the meeting.

For Christians observing the geopolitical landscape, these leaders represent a counterweight to the progressive agendas promoted in international forums.

Trump forges alliance with conservative Latin American leaders | World

Iran war: Could it be the beginning of the end of Islamism?

 For the first time in modern history, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s revolutionary regime has suffered a decisive blow not from internal collapse, not from economic sanctions, but from direct confrontation with nations long labeled by Tehran as the “greater” and “lesser” Satans.

The death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during Operation Epic Fury marks more than the removal of a political leader. It may represent something far larger: the first visible fracture in the global architecture of Islamism.

For decades, Islamism has advanced with a steady confidence. It toppled governments in 1979. It fueled revolutions. It embedded itself in international institutions. It infiltrated Western discourse through activist language and identity politics. It promised inevitability and divine destiny. It promised that history bends toward Islamic supremacy.

That narrative has now been publicly challenged.

Islamism is a political ideology that weaponizes religion to build state power, enforce religious law, and reshape global order. The Islamic Republic of Iran has been its flagship model — a theocratic regime built explicitly on Twelver Shiite theology, including the doctrine of Mahdism, the belief that the Hidden Imam will return to establish Islamic rule after a period of global chaos and confrontation.

For years, the regime’s rhetoric fused this theology with geopolitics. America was not merely a rival nation. It was the “greater Satan.” Israel was not simply a neighboring state. It was a theological obstacle. Resistance was not just strategy. It was sacred duty.

Now the regime that claimed divine inevitability faces a reality it never anticipated: it can be confronted. It can be deterred. It can be defeated militarily.

This moment matters symbolically as much as strategically. Islamism thrives on the perception of unstoppable momentum. When that perception cracks, the ideological grip weakens. The myth of inevitability begins to erode.

Iran war: Could it be the beginning of the end of Islamism?

Reform UK Party vows to ‘protect Christian heritage,’ save churches from being turned into mosques

 Reform UK said it would grant listed status to churches across Britain to prevent their conversion into mosques if the party enters government, setting out a proposal it says would protect the country’s Christian heritage.

Zia Yusuf, the party’s home affairs spokesman plans to present the policy as part of an effort to preserve Christianity as central to Britain’s national identity, The Telegraph reported.

The plan would give immediate listed status to about 40,000 churches, restricting changes that affect their historic character and limiting their ability to be repurposed.

Yusuf, a practicing Muslim, said the move aimed to ensure Christianity remains “core” to Britain’s history and the “DNA of the country.” He linked the proposal to larger concerns about social cohesion and immigration, arguing that rapid demographic change had affected a “high-trust society.”

He was quoted as telling The Times that large numbers of arrivals from “low-trust societies” had contributed to that erosion, adding that the trend was “obviously true.”

Under the proposal, Reform would also create a new planning category for churches that would block their conversion into places of worship for other religions. At present, many places of worship in England fall under the F1 use class, where changes can occur without full planning permission.

Reform UK Party vows to save churches turning into mosques | Church & Ministries