Nov. 23, 2019: Megachurch pastor killed; faith groups sue Trump; Americans' perception of evangelicals
Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019
Here are the latest headlines, brought to you by The Christian Post.
— Faith groups sue over Trump order allowing states, localities to block refugee resettlement
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Three faith-based refugee resettlement organizations are suing the U.S. government in an attempt to stop President Donald Trump’s executive order giving state and local politicians the ability to block refugee resettlements within their jurisdictions. Church World Service, the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service and HIAS, a Jewish nonprofit, announced they are filing a preliminary injunction motion in a Maryland federal court against Trump’s Sept. 26 executive order enhancing state and local involvement in refugee resettlement.
The president's executive order requires refugee resettlement agencies to obtain written consent from all localities and states in which they plan to resettle refugees.
The organizations argue that Trump overstepped his authority by giving state and local officials “veto power” on refugee resettlement inside their borders. The nonprofits are represented by the legal group International Refugee Assistance Project.
— Beloved megachurch pastor Dimitri Bradley killed in crash
Thousands of members from City Church in Richmond, Virginia, are mourning the loss of their pastor, Dimitri Bradley, who was killed in a crash on Interstate 195 on Wednesday. Virginia State Police said the 51-year-old pastor died after he crashed his 2016 Cadillac Escalade near Arthur Ashe Boulevard at about 9:30 p.m.
Police investigating the crash said the pastor might have been speeding and was not wearing a seat belt at the time of his death. The pastor’s vehicle ran off the left side of the road and then went over the guardrail, struck a pole, and overturned in the median, Virginia State Police said.
Bradley, who began his career in banking, founded City Church with his wife, Nicole, in 1998 to reach the lost in their community. The church boasts a congregation of more than 4,000 today.
— Only 3 in 10 American adults hold 'positive' perception of evangelicals: Barna
Only 30 percent of adults in the United States say they have a “positive” perception of evangelicals, according to newly released research from the Barna Group. While evangelicals only make up about 6 percent of the U.S. population, their strong support for President Donald Trump and his administration’s socially conservative policies have placed white evangelicals in the national media spotlight.
The Barna report titled “The Brand of Evangelicals,” found that 51 percent of Americans feel evangelicals’ beliefs are outdated. It also found that people have conflicting perceptions of evangelicals. For example, while people said one of the positive qualities evangelicals possess is that they have a strong commitment to their faith and beliefs, many respondents also said evangelicals are too pushy with their belief system.
— UK pro-life activist blames transgender activists for US travel restriction
A British pro-life advocate was barred from boarding a flight to the U.S. Tuesday in what some believe was a scheme carried out by trans activists and their allies. Caroline Farrow, a Catholic journalist who's now the U.K. director for CitizenGO, told The Christian Post that she believes transgender rights activists, who have been targeting her for months, were involved in her travel ban.
Farrow has received threats of rape and violence after she spoke out against gender reassignment surgeries being performed on teenagers who suffer from gender confusion. For speaking publicly against the transgender movement, she was visited at her home to investigate a claim of hate speech. She is facing charges for that in a civil court and transgender activists have also sent her threatening messages warning her that she is also being investigated on criminal charges.
— Christian printing company refuses to print college magazine promoting LGBT messages
A Christian publishing company in Alabama is receiving a lot of negative press from mainstream media outlets because it refused to print an issue of a college student magazine that promotes LGBT messages, which goes against the company's religious convictions.
Mobile-based Interstate Printing has been printing Due South magazine, a student-publication affiliated with the University of South Alabama, since 2012, according to Due South Editor-in-Chief Sara Boone. But the company declined to print their most recent issue that featured stories about LGBT students and drag queens. The printing company did not back down and Boone said the student magazine will be “using a different printing company in the future.”
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