New Jersey

Liquid Church, one of New Jersey's fastest growing megachurches, will be singing Grammy-nominated pop music during the months of February and March at its Sunday morning church services.

The church will use chart-topping songs from today's music stars to help congregants see that the same pains from love today were recorded in the Bible thousands of years ago.

"Cee-Lo, Adele, Bruno Mars and Foo Fighters' story lines express the same burdens many people walking into the church are facing," said Tim Lucas, pastor of Liquid Church, said in a statement. "We could learn a lot from the love story God's telling that is quite relevant." more >>

The majority of New Jersey residents are in favor of Gov. Chris Christie's suggestion to send a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage currently on the Senate floor to a referendum on the November ballot, according to a new poll from Kean University.

The poll found that 57 percent of New Jersey residents are in favor of sending the bill to referendum while only 32 percent oppose the measure. The poll's directors say the overwhelming majority is caused by citizens on both sides of the issue believing they have a good chance of winning if it comes to a popular vote.

The Kean poll would suggest, however, that those in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage would stand to benefit most from a referendum. When asked if they "favor or oppose same sex marriage," 48 percent of those polled were in favor while 32 percent were opposed. more >>

Led by a New Jersey pastor, a group of Indonesian Christian immigrants and their supporters attempted to pressure a U.S. senator in his Newark office Thursday morning into supporting a bill that would help the group fight against deportation orders.

The crowd of about 20 held a brief rally in front of the office of Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D) after speaking briefly to the politician's staff, who expressed their moral support for the group of undocumented Indonesians, but made no committing promises, the Rev. Seth Kaper-Dale of the Reformed Church of Highland Park, the group's leader, told The Christian Post.

The undocumented group – mostly fathers with U.S.-born children – are part of a New Jersey community of Christian Indonesian immigrants who came to the U.S. in the 1990s, escaping religious persecution in their homeland dominated at the time by Islamic extremism. The men in question wish to be granted asylum, arguing that they have been honest members of the community and might face persecution back home as Christians. more >>

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has fought back against criticism of comments he made last week where he was accused of comparing the state's gay marriage debate to the tumultuous civil rights movement of the mid-20th century.

"What was I attempting to juxtapose was that the advocates of same-sex marriage say the reason for doing this, in part, is because the public of New Jersey wants it. So I said 'Okay, have a referendum and prove it.'" Christie told reporters.

Christie's misunderstood comments came last week when he said, "The fact of the matter is I think people would have been happy to have a referendum on civil rights rather than fighting and dying in the streets in the South." more >>

New Jersey's black leaders Wednesday lambasted Gov. Chris Christie for saying that people would have been happy to have a referendum on civil rights rather than fighting and dying in the streets in the South.

"Governor, people were fighting and dying in the streets of the South because the majority refused to grant minorities equal rights by any method," The Associated Press quoted Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver, a Democrat, as saying Wednesday.

Oliver's hint that Christie lacked historical understanding was in response to his remarks which came after the Democrat-led state Senate Judiciary Committee voted 8-4 in favor of the bill, titled Marriage Equality and Religious Exemption Act, Tuesday. "The fact of the matter is, I think people would have been happy to have a referendum on civil rights rather than fighting and dying in the streets in the South," he said. more >>

As the New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee voted in favor of a bill allowing same-sex marriage on Tuesday, Gov. Chris Christie reiterated that he would veto the bill if it reached his desk, but also said he would welcome a referendum on the November ballot asking voters to decide on the issue. 

The Democrat-led committee voted by a margin of 8-4 to pass the bill along; members voted along party lines.

The bill, titled Marriage Equality and Religious Exemption Act, will be read again before moving to the House to be voted on by the State Assembly and Senate. more >>