A group that identifies itself under the banner of the so-called “Reformed Christianity” has drawn criticism from mainstream Christian leaders for its method of raising funds—offering tattoos to members and hosting a Bible conference featuring a beer flight, or a sampling of several beers for “taste presentation.”

The Temple, Arizona-based group called Apologia Studios, which is a part of Apologia Church, is behind the fundraising effort to plant a new church in Hawaii, according to Christian News Network.

Marcus Pittman, the leader of Apologia Studios, posted a live video of the tattoo fundraiser to social media on Wednesday. In the footage, a supporter is shown getting a tattoo of the logo for Pirate Christian Radio on his arm.

“This is actually a fundraiser for our Apologia Kauai church plant, so people of the church are donating to have another member of the church tattoo them so they can go to Kauai and we can plant a church there,” Pittman explains. “So, it's pre..

A sample from the Emoji Bible.

It looks fun to read and could draw young people with its colours and images, but does the emoji Bible app a legitimate form of God's Word?

A month after its release, the “Scripture for Millennials,” as it is called by its marketer, has drawn not only the frowns of Bible scholars but also the puzzlement of ordinary readers.

The app has received only 2.9 out of a 5-star rating in Apple's app store, with many of the people who tried reading the King James Version text, with emoji inserts, harder to read than the traditional all-word Bibles available today, according to Mission Network News.

Dr. Carl A. Moeller, CEO of world renowned and 207-year-old Bible translation organisation Biblica, is among the Bible scholars who are giving the app the thumbs down.

He says the main problem with the emoji translation is that it fails to translate God's word in all its glory. “Emojis, for all their curious and fun connotations, d..

The Supreme Court’s recent reversal of a Texas law requiring abortionists to have admitting privileges and abortion facilities to meet basic health standards is a signal to the pro-life movement to push for social change in other ways, says Jason Jones, co-executive producer of the new pro-life film VOICELESS.

Jones, founder of Movie to Movement, a non-profit organization that ..

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The Pentagon on Thursday ended its ban on openly transgender people serving in the U.S. military, formally providing an allowance to an estimated thousands of U.S. troops who once could have been kicked out of the armed forces.

The repeal, which ends one of the last barriers to serving in the military, comes after a 2011 decision to end the U.S. military’s ban on openly gay and lesbian people serving, despite concerns that such a move could be too great a burden in wartim..

OK, most of us agree that Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice wasn’t a great movie. But it was, at times, a surprisingly thoughtful one. And with the Zack Snyder-helmed superhero flick now available on a variety of streaming services this week, it’s time to take a look at one thoughtful thread: The movie’s recurring thoughts about fatherhood—even when we’re talking about the heavenly Father.
It’s no coincidence that Christians call God our “Father,” after all. The Bible has loads of ..

Joanna Kulig in “The Innocents” (Courtesy of Music Box Films)
At last, the long night of World War II is over in Europe, but for a Benedictine monastery of nuns in northern Poland, the nightmare continues. During vespers one evening, a white-veiled novice hears screaming. She puts on her coat against the cold and snow and, sneaking out a hidden door, runs across the fields to a nearby town.
There, she asks a street urchin to take her to a doctor — just not one who is Russian or Polish. The young..

On this podcast of The Exchange with Ed Stetzer: Lead Pastor of National Community Church and bestselling author Mark Batterson met with Ed to discuss leading a church in the nation’s capitol, setting God-sized goals, and living for the applause of the One with nail-scarred hands.

It had been a great morning . . . right up until five minutes before the school bus arrived. That was when things completely fell apart. One daughter suddenly had to go to the bathroom, the other copped a major brat-itude and called me a “Meanie!” Meanwhile, their school shoes were nowhere to be found and neither daughter was listening to anything I was saying.

As the screech of bus brakes signaled its arrival, we barreled outside in full-on sprint mode—me still in my pa..

Thursday, June 30, 2016
Meditation:
For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through..