Leonardo Blair

Latest

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  Oct 23, 2025

  Fred Luter, SBC’s first and only black president, announces retirement from church leadership

  Citing his advancing age and a need to plan for the future, Fred Luter Jr., the longtime senior pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans, Louisiana, who served as the Southern Baptist Convention’s first and only black president, has announced his retirement as the church’s leader.

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  Oct 22, 2025

  Former youth pastor Daniel Mayfield gets 20 years in prison for possession of child porn

  Daniel Kellan Mayfield, a former youth pastor in South Carolina who pleaded guilty to possession of child sex abuse images last December, was sentenced to a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for his crime on Tuesday.

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  Oct 22, 2025

  15-year-old girl killed by boyfriend was ‘spectacular young woman,’ pastor says

  Chanelle Alvarez, a 15-year-old girl who was shot dead inside her home, allegedly by her 16-year-old boyfriend on Saturday morning, was a “spectacular young woman,” according to the pastor of a church where she previously attended summer camp programs.

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  Oct 21, 2025

  TD Jakes voluntarily dismisses defamation lawsuit against man who accused him of sexual assault

  After nearly a year of dueling filings and a failed effort to recover more than $76,000 in legal fees, Bishop T.D. Jakes has voluntarily dismissed a defamation lawsuit against ex-pastor-turned-registered sex offender Duane Youngblood, who accused Jakes of sexually assaulting him 40 years ago.

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  Oct 21, 2025

  With thousands of churches as clients, Gloo seeks to raise $100M in IPO to advance human flourishing

  With more than 140,000 churches, ministry and non-profit leaders already using its services, Gloo, a leading technology platform connecting the faith ecosystem to advance human flourishing, has filed an initial public offering with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to raise up to $100 million.

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  Oct 21, 2025

  Nearly 40% of Gen Z women identify as atheist, agnostic or have no faith: Barna

  As they grapple with a profound disconnection from their parents and older adults in general, nearly 40% of young adult women in Generation Z now identify as religiously unaffiliated, according to new data released by Barna Research, which comes as other studies have shown that men are starting to outpace women in other key spiritual indicators.

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  Oct 20, 2025

  Mississippi DA calls out gender bias as female youth pastor gets house arrest for child sexual abuse

  A district attorney in Mississippi has slammed what he sees as gender bias after a female former youth pastor was sentenced to just three years of house arrest and seven years of additional probation for child sexual abuse.

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  Oct 18, 2025

  Pastor Matthew Queen is back in the pulpit after serving sentence for lying to the feds

  Seven months after receiving a six-month sentence for lying to federal investigators looking into sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention, Matthew Queen is now back in the pulpit as a pastor in Texas.

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  Oct 17, 2025

  Gateway Church accused of violating RICO in amended class-action lawsuit

  Members of Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, are accusing the church, founder Robert Morris and founding elder Steve Dulin of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act of 1970.

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  Oct 17, 2025

  Ex-county GOP chair pleads no contest to murder of pastor’s wife, grandchildren’s mother

  More than a year after she was charged along with several others with the murder of her grandchildren’s mother Veronica Butler and Jilian Kelley, a beloved pastor’s wife, former Cimarron County GOP Chair Tifany Machel Adams has pleaded no contest to their murders in Texas County, Oklahoma.