Megachurch

LAKE FOREST, Calif. – A colorful and moving tribute to the life of Jessica Joy Rees, a 12-year-old Southern California girl who led a national campaign to help children suffering from cancer before she herself succumbed to brain tumors last week, was attended by thousands of people at Saddleback Church Wednesday evening.

More than 3,400 inside the Orange County church’s main worship center, hundreds more in two overflow venues on the church campus, and a live webcast audience size yet to be determined, shared tears with Jessica’s father, ministry pastor Erik Rees, as he led the service. Later, near the end of the service, lead pastor Rick Warren gave a message centered on Bible verse John 3:16.

Jessica began a tremendous following after being diagnosed with cancer 10 months ago and then, a few months later, launching her “Joy Jars” campaign aimed at bringing hope to children with cancer across the nation. more >>

Rob Bell held his last service as lead pastor at Mars Hill Bible Church Sunday, in an emotional farewell that also affirmed that Shane Hipps, who has preached alongside Bell, will continue teaching the congregation. But who is Hipps, and will he work to prolong Bell's vision for the Grandville, Mich., church?

Hipps joined Mars Hill as a teaching pastor in 2010, and has quickly established his presence at the church, founded by Bell 12 years ago. Hipp's official biography on Mars Hill's website reveals that he formerly worked as a strategic planner at Porsche Cars North America, but left because he wanted to pursue his interest in spirituality and theology. After earning a Master of Divinity degree at Fuller Theological Seminary, he moved with his wife and two daughters to serve as a pastor at an urban congregation in Phoenix, Ariz.

Mars Hill's covenant members are yet to decide whether there is a need for appointing Bell’s replacement. In the meantime, Hipps will continue teaching and guest speakers will occassionally be invited to speak. more >>

The new buzzword in church these days is sex.

Pastors Ed Young of Texas-based Fellowship Church and Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Seattle are being intentional about talking about sex from the pulpit this month and they’re not being coy about it either.

In fact Young and his wife, Lisa, are set to spend 24 hours in bed on their church’s roof beginning Friday morning to discuss their new book Sexperiment, and encourage married couples to understand the power of a healthy sex life. The event is being streamed live on the Web. more >>

Madeline Tims, mother of late pastor Zachery Tims who was found dead in a New York City hotel room, has appealed the N.Y. Supreme Court decision Wednesday to release information about the cause and manner of her son’s death. As a result, the Appellate Court has issued an interim stay preventing the city from making that information public, The Christian Post has learned.

Madeline Tims' plea was rejected by the court before Christmas, after she sued the New York medical examiner's office, as well as the city, on Oct. 6. This was one day before the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) was set to issue a press release regarding the cause and manner of the Florida pastor's death.

Zachery Tims, former senior pastor of New Destiny Christian Center (NDCC), was found dead in his W Hotel room in Times Square Aug. 12. He was reportedly in New York City for a speaking arrangement. The charismatic preacher battled drug addiction before becoming a Christian, which he described in his memoir called It's Never Too Late. The book shares Tims’ story of "how a teenage criminal found his divine destiny and became a successful millionaire and pastor of a thriving church." more >>

Mars Hill Church Pastor Mark Driscoll continues to push the envelope when it comes to Christians tackling the subject of sex, asking readers of his recent blog post, "There’s No Such Thing as Free Porn," how they found the entry on his website.

Driscoll, who along with his wife Grace, recently released the book, Real Marriage: The Truth About Sex, Friendship, and Life Together, has stirred a bit of a controversy among church leaders over his frank approach to the topic.

Not wasting an opportunity to catch online viewers in the act of clicking on “free porn,” he begins the post found at PastorMark.tv by first asking and then convicting readers: more >>

A megachurch in Charlotte, N.C., is kicking off a 12-day “Holy Ghost, old-school revival” on Wednesday in hopes of seeing God move in a big way this new year.

Elevation Church is bringing in “world-class” speakers – including LifeChurch.tv founder Craig Groeshel, Pastor T. D. Jakes of The Potter’s House, and Christine Caine of Equip & Empower Ministries – for what it is calling the “Code Orange” Revival.

Code Orange is meant to imply a heightened sense of urgency. The website states: “Probably the most fitting example that relates to our revival is the description for the Code Orange stage of a volcano: Exhibiting heightened or escalating unrest with increased potential of eruption, timeframe uncertain.” more >>