Minnesota

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 >>

The battle for and against the constitutional ban on gay marriage has kicked into full swing in Minnesota six months ahead of the vote due to President Barack Obama's recent support of same-sex marriage.

Obama's May 9 announcement that he supports legalizing same-sex marriage, which followed a day after North Carolina approved a constitutional ban on gay marriage and civil unions, has charged up both opponents and supporters of a similar measure in Minnesota.

The number of volunteers signing up for Minnesotans United for All Families, which is fighting the November measure, more than doubled after Obama's announcement, CNN quoted the group's campaign manager Richard Carlbom as saying Saturday. more >>

An openly gay Atlanta pastor previously removed from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and later reinstated has now been voted in by an overwhelming majority to the role of senior pastor at the biggest Lutheran church in Saint Paul, Minn.

The Rev. Bradley Schmeling, who in 2007 admitted he was in a committed same-sex relationship with Pastor Darin Easler, a former minister at the United Redeemer Lutheran Church in Zumbrota, Minn., was removed from ELCA's official clergy roster that year. His St. John's Lutheran Church in Atlanta, however, decided to keep him on as pastor despite the ELCA's decision, and he has served there since 2000.

Schmeling and Easler were reinstated in 2009 when the ELCA voted to permit gay and lesbian ministers in monogamous relationships to be on the roster. The 559-451 vote created a split within the Lutheran church, as a fraction of member churches left to start the North American Lutheran Church, which rejects openly gay clergy. more >>

A candidate to succeed influential pastor John Piper at Bethlehem Baptist Church was announced by the church's elders Tuesday. Piper said he is "overjoyed" at the selection while he continues to be a part of the succession process.

The leaders of the church, based in the Twin Cities metro area of Minnesota, nominated Jason Meyer, who is currently assistant professor of New Testament at Bethlehem College and Seminary.

The congregation will first vote on May 20 in order to approve Meyer as an associate pastor for the church. His starting date to fall under Piper's pastoral mentorship and an "overlap" period between the two would be Aug. 1 if the church votes in favor of the decision. more >>

Day two of Desiring God ministry's annual conference continued at the Minneapolis Convention Center Tuesday with author and speaker Darrin Patrick, who spoke about building and training men for local missions, in a culture where many males are stuck in arrested development.

Patrick's book Church Planter: The Man, The Message, The Mission explores how in today's society a growing number of males prolong their adolescence, choosing instead to live between childhood and adulthood.

The theme of his book tied in to that of the conference, which is exploring the leadership role of men in both ministry and culture, titled: "God, Manhood & Ministry – Building Men for the Body of Christ." more >>

God's intention for Christianity is for it to have a "masculine feel," evangelist John Piper declared on Tuesday.

"God revealed Himself in the Bible pervasively as king not queen; father not mother," Piper said at this year's annual pastors conference hosted by the Desiring God ministry. "Second person of the Trinity is revealed as the eternal Son not daughter; the Father and the Son create man and woman in His image and give them the name man, the name of the male."

He continued, "God appoints all the priests in the Old Testament to be men; the Son of God came into the world to be a man; He chose 12 men to be His apostles; the apostles appointed that the overseers of the Church be men; and when it came to marriage they taught that the husband should be the head." more >>