A U.S. Appeals Court ruled on Tuesday that a then-fifth-grade student should have been allowed to pass out fliers to her classmates to invite them to a Christmas party at her church as it wouldn't cause "substantial disruption."

An earlier news report noted that the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court upheld a lower court's earlier decision allowing the student, identified as K.A., to share invitations with her classmates based on a free speech standard set in a Vietnam-era Supreme Court case about a high school anti-war protest. Court documents also highlighted that the law on how the case should affect elementary schools is still evolving. "The fact that K.A. was only in the fifth-grade and the invitation originated from her church does not mandate a different approach," Judge Thomas Vanaskie wrote in his 31-page opinion.

The Appeals Court ruling came more than two years after K.A's Pennsylvania public school said she couldn't pass out the fliers. more >>

Pastor and theologian Mark Labberton was named as Fuller Theological Seminary's new president on Tuesday, chosen unanimously by the school's Board of Trustees. Labberton will begin his term on July 1 while replacing current president Richard J. Mouw, who announced his retirement last May.

"I feel an incredible sense of joy and hope to be given this opportunity," said Labberton. "Thanks to Rich Mouw's generous, gracious, and irenic leadership, Fuller is well positioned to influence how the gospel is communicated, understood, and embodied in the world."

Announcing the decision by the trustees of the seminary located in Pasadena, Calif., Board Chair Clifford L. Penner said, "Along with my fellow trustees, I am delighted to welcome Mark Labberton to the presidency of Fuller Seminary. We are excited and inspired by the outstanding qualities and accomplishments he brings to this position. He is a scholar and academic leader, pastor for more than 25 years, accomplished author, and leading voice in many international ministries. Mark brings strong spiritual leadership, a wide range of experiences, and the vision to guide Fuller into a new era of global leadership in seminary education. As a Fuller alumnus (MDiv) and professor, he fully comprehends Fuller's rich and diverse legacy." more >>

NFL quarterback Tim Tebow's recent convocation speech at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., which attracted nearly 10,000 students, centered around the importance of fulfilling one's personal goals while striving to be a servant to God.

"There are a lot of people who are going to tell you that you can't, that you shouldn't, that you couldn't," Tebow told the students at Friday's convocation, according to the university's official website. 

"Most of the time those are the people that didn't, that couldn't, that wouldn't ... But you can, because we serve a big God and your goals should be as big as the God we serve," Tebow added. more >>

When the Rev. Jim Liberatore gave his young congregation carte blanche to use social media during his sermon two weeks ago, about 25 percent of his 700-member church jumped at the offer. But now, even his older congregants want to talk about Jesus on social media.

In a move he calls the "big splash," the rector of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Pearland, Texas, said instead of railing against the practice of some of his congregants to hang out on social media on mobile devices during church services, he embraced it as an opportunity to reach a new audience.

"The bigger reason we did it was really so that we could evangelize," said Liberatore. "I have a young church, the median age is 34. It's a fairly young congregation; they all use social media in many ways shapes and forms. And part of communicating with the secular culture is to be able to find ways to communicate with them," said Liberatore in an interview with The Christian Post on Monday. "Since they are often on social media on a Sunday morning, I said 'tweet pictures, comments, stories, things that went well,'" explained Liberatore. more >>

An atheist student group from a Wisconsin academic institution will be holding an "Atheist Pride Parade," said to be the first of its kind in the United States.

The Atheists, Humanists, & Agnostics of the University of Wisconsin-Madison expects hundreds to show up for the event, scheduled for Saturday.

Chris Calvey, executive director for the AHA, told The Christian Post that the Pride Parade was part of the student club's second annual Freethought Festival. more >>

Tim Tebow's highly-anticipated convocation speech at Liberty University on Friday has been described by students as "inspirational" and "amazing," with many taking to Twitter to express their excitement at witnessing the evangelical NFL player speak at their school.

While Tebow's speech took place at the private, Christian university at 10 a.m., photos posted on Twitter show a line of students stretching for blocks outside of the university's auditorium hours before the event, hoping to get a good seat for the athlete's convocation talk.

Many tweets indicated that Tebow, who was described by some students as a "role model," received an endless amount of applause from those in attendance, especially from the female members of the audience. more >>