Midwest

A national atheist activist group says an Indiana church's plans to use tax exempt bond financing to help construct a campus for its ministries is a violation of the state's constitution and the separation of church and state clause in the Constitution.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation says the city of West Lafayette cannot legally subsidize Faith Church's "Faith West Project" with $7 million in economic development revenue bonds. FFRF's co-president Dan Barker sent a letter of complaint to Mayor John Dennis and the City Council.

In a video posted on Faith Church's website, the church's pastor Steve Viars said that asking whether it is appropriate for government to allow a tax exempt bond to be issued for a non-profit religious organization like Faith is a "very reasonable question." However, the tax exempt bond financing is done for all types of organizations, including religious ones. more >>

A summer festival that has helped launched the careers of many Christian artists, including Sixpence None the Richer, Jars of Clay, Newsboys and One Bad Pig, is calling it quits after 29 years due to the poor economy and financial difficulties. This year will be its last.

Cornerstone Festival, hosted by Jesus People, USA (JPUSA), has taken place in Illinois every year since 1984. One of the first festivals featured Amy Grant early in her career. The Christian festival has biblically-based seminars, an art show, kids programs, a skate park and sports tournaments. But the main focus has been the music. Originally, Cornerstone Festival was held in Chicago but quickly outgrew the venue there. It has since been held in Bushnell, Ill., a rural location west of Peoria, Ill. The last festival will be July 2 to 7.

"The truth of the matter is we would be on board for continuing to do it. We've been doing it for so many years, it's really become a part of who we are as a church, as an organization. We would love to continue doing it, but we're just not seeing the ticket sales we need to pay for it each year," Genesis Winter, a member of JPUSA and one of the festival organizers, told The Christian Post in a Monday interview. more >>

Influential pastor John Piper made his joyful reaction clear via the Web shortly after getting word that his congregation had overwhelmingly agreed with church elders on their choice of Jason Meyer as his successor.

"God came down and kissed Bethlehem tonight. 784 Yes. 8 No. Jason Meyer has been approved to take hold of this baton," Piper tweeted on Sunday after the vote taken at Bethlehem Baptist Church located in the Twin Cities metro area of Minnesota.

Meyer will fall under Piper's pastoral mentorship and an "overlap" period between the two beginning Aug. 1. more >>

Prosecutors charged three men Sunday in relation to the robbery and carjacking of minister and Grammy Award-winning singer the Rev. Marvin Winans.

The suspects were identified as Montoya Givens, Christopher Moorehead, both 20, and Brian K. Young, 18, according to The Associated Press.

While Givens and Moorehead are residents of Detroit, Young is from Macomb County's Clinton Township. The three, who appeared in Detroit's 36th District Court Sunday, were charged with carjacking, unarmed robbery and conspiracy. more >>

At least 45 protesters were arrested and four police officers injured on Sunday during protests outside the 2012 NATO Summit in Chicago, according to authorities.

Protesters and officers clashed at the McCormick Place convention center, the largest convention center in the United States, where the diplomatic forum was held.

The protests, attended by about 3,000 people marching against various grievances including the war in Afghanistan, climate change, and economic inequality, turned violent after city police called on protesters nearing the convention center to disperse or risk arrest. more >>

A year after a devastating tornado killed at least 161 people in Joplin, Mo., a church that was destroyed plans to show who God is by helping victims of recent tornadoes in Indiana.

The Rev. Aaron Brown of St. Paul's United Methodist Church announced Sunday that the church plans to not only lay the foundation of a new worship center, but the congregation will also send money and volunteers to help victims of tornados that struck southern Indiana in March, The Associated Press reported.

The church, which says its mission is to lead people to an active faith in Jesus Christ, wants to demonstrate that "life still wins." more >>