Denomination

A number of religious figures have stepped up criticizing the 14-minute long YouTube clip of Bishop Eddie Long of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church being proclaimed a "king" by a Messianic rabbi.

Rabbi Ralph Messer, during a Jan. 29 service at the Baptist church in Lithonia, Ga., directed assistants to wrap Long in a purportedly 312-year-old priceless Hebrew scroll from World War II, and proclaimed that Long was now "hidden in the word of God." After inviting Long to sit down on a chair and handing him the Torah scroll, four helpers lifted the chair on which Long was sitting and paraded the minister across the podium, while Messer proclaimed him a "king."

SEE VIDEO OF EDDIE LONG BEING CROWNED KING HERE more >>

Bishop T.D. Jakes, pastor of The Potter's House megachurch in Dallas, Texas, was put on the spot during a theological roundtable Wednesday in regards to his beliefs about the Godhead and why, in some Christian circles, he is considered a "heretic."

Jakes and of a handful of other male Christian leaders were invited to participate in this year's "The Elephant Room" roundtable, hosted and moderated by Pastors James MacDonald and Mark Driscoll. The Dallas pastor was hit with several questions about how his theological beliefs have developed, specifically in regard to the Holy Trinity – a controversial issue which The Christian Post reported on in October.

The Potter's House senior pastor denied that he clings to a modalist position, although he confessed that he did at one time in his walk with God. more >>

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Seven influential megachurch pastors took part in live unscripted discussions on different approaches to ministry in the second round of The Elephant Room – an event billed as "conversations you never thought you'd hear" from pastors.

Held in Aurora, Ill., and broadcast to over 70 locations around the U.S., the discussions were mediated by James MacDonald of Chicago's Harvest Bible Chapel and Mark Driscoll of Seattle's Mars Hill Church.

With nondenominational churches growing across the county, the role of denominations and church networks was the first topic discussed. more >>

A collection of 100 documents preserved in the Vatican Secret Archives and never shown to the public will be revealed in a 2012 exhibition titled “Lux In Arcana.” The codices, parchments, strings, and registers, as well as other documentation dating back some 1,300 years, will be on display in the Capitoline Museums in Rome.

The exhibition was organized for the 4th Centenary of the foundation of the Vatican Secret Archives and it aims to explain and describe the papal archives, according to organizers.

What is likely to stir people’s curiosity is a web of theories and legends about the secrets contained within documents maintained by the Vatican. Many filmmakers and fiction writers have fed off those stories, as did Dan Brown in a series of mystery novels, the most famous one being The Da Vinci Code, in which the narrator argues that the Holy See is hiding the truth about Jesus Christ's bloodline. more >>

As the Southern Baptist Convention considers changing its 166-year-old name in order to reach more people for Christ, denominational leaders have made it clear that they don't plan on removing "Baptist" from its name.

After months of discussion, a task force appointed to study the possibility of changing SBC’s name has reached a decision, as reported by Baptist Press. The task force met Wednesday in Atlanta, Ga., for the second time and has come up with recommendations that it will present to SBC’s executive committee at a meeting on Feb. 20.

Task force chairman Jimmy Draper said in a statement to Baptist Press that “Baptist” would remain in the title, and that the main reason for the name change was to ensure there were no barriers in their evangelizing efforts. more >>

The National Association of Free Will Baptists has released a study guide titled "Racism, the Bible, and the Church: A Biblical Perspective," after a Free Will congregation in Pike County, Ky., sparked national outcry over its independent decision to bar interracial couples from membership.

The study guide, which brands racism as a sin, was released by the NAFWB on Wednesday, Dec. 7, about two weeks after Gulnare Freewill Baptist Church passed the controversial proposal on Sunday, Nov. 27. 

The proposal read: more >>