Leonardo Blair

Latest

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  Jun 9, 2023

  Criminal prostitution case against Pastor John Blanchard is ‘sound,’ special prosecutor finds

  William Blaine, a special prosecutor appointed to review whether a prostitution-related case against Rock Church International Senior Pastor John Blanchard in Virginia Beach should be reopened, has concluded that the criminal charges against the pastor are "sound" but has decided not to refile the case.

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  Jun 8, 2023

  Former youth pastor Daniel Mayfield filmed girls ‘as young as 14’ in church bathroom: police

  Daniel Kellan Mayfield, a married youth pastor at First Baptist Gowensville in Landrum, South Carolina, who was fired after he was charged with voyeurism for secretly recording a woman from outside her bathroom window, also filmed girls “as young as 14” in the bathroom of his former employer, authorities said.

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  Jun 6, 2023

  Heaven is a ‘fantasy,’ says Arnold Schwarzenegger: ‘We won’t see each other again after we’re gone’

  While nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults, including large majorities of Christians, say they believe in Heaven, famous actor and former Republican California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says the idea that people will see each other again after death is only a "fantasy."

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  Jun 6, 2023

  Former Eastview Christian Church leader’s son used influence as pastor to prey on women: report

  Independent investigators for Eastview Christian Church in Illinois have concluded that Pastor Caleb Baker used his position in the church to "persuade women to engage in sexual activity" while his father and the church's Senior Pastor Mike Baker likely used his position to cover the sins of his son.

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  Jun 6, 2023

  Mom of 6-year-old who shot teacher will plead guilty to federal charges

  Deja Taylor, the 25-year-old mother whose 6-year-old son shot his first-grade teacher in the chest at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia, in January, will plead guilty to making a false statement that she was not an unlawful drug user when she purchased the firearm used in the attack on the teacher.

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  Jun 6, 2023

  Minister with outsized influence in Assemblies of God’s Chi Alpha ministry arrested for abusing boys

  Daniel Savala, a 67-year-old itinerant minister and a convicted sex offender with outsized influence in the Chi Alpha Campus Ministries sponsored by the Assemblies of God, was arrested last Friday on charges that he sexually abused two boys in Waco, Texas.

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  Jun 2, 2023

  Ex Dave Ramsey followers sue him for more than $150M over endorsement of failed timeshare exit company

  Evangelical financial advisor and CEO Dave Ramsey is being sued by a group of his former followers for more than $150 million for allegedly deceiving thousands of listeners of his nationally syndicated radio show and podcast to invest millions of dollars into a failed timeshare exit company.

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  Jun 2, 2023

  Married youth pastor, former Compassion International volunteer recorded woman as she showered: police

  Daniel Kellan Mayfield, a married youth pastor at First Baptist Gowensville in Landrum, South Carolina, who states on LinkedIn that he's also an event coordinator for global Christian humanitarian aid agency Compassion International, has been fired from his role at the church after admitting to secretly recording a woman, who is not his wife, from her bathroom window as she showered.

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  Jun 2, 2023

  Pastor, son arrested for turning church into drug house

  A North Carolina pastor and his son were arrested Sunday for allegedly turning their church that had been shuttered since the COVID-19 pandemic into a drug house that manufactured marijuana with the intent to traffic the drug.

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  Jun 1, 2023

  Most Christians believe churches should provide counseling and care, but most pastors disagree: study

  While more than half of Christians and nearly 50% of the general population believe churches should be offering care and counseling to their communities, most pastors disagree, according to recent research from the Barna Group.