Current Events
The Lord is mightily at work in His World! See some of the recent highlights below, and be sure to check out the Christian news sources listed at the top of the Revival Links!
See Also:
Jesus Christ
Good News
Youth Problems/ Youth Revival
The Call
Creation & The Genesis Flood
Notice: Sources often remove their news links after a period of time. Some of them move older stories to a subscription-only section. Even if the story is no longer on line, our summary will still be available on this page.
Go to newer articles - since Dec. 31, 2009
Hope for revival at the beginning of a new decade
Jan. 6, 2010 - Read the "End-Times Revival" section of our Year In Review article. Then check out other Christian end-of-year reviews and other encouraging stories.
-
- Insights from 2009 In Prophecy: The Year In Review
- Hindsight — The Most Newsworthy Events of 2009 - Crosswalk
- Top 10 Christian News Stories of 2009 - Crosswalk
- Favorite Books of 2009 - Christianity Today
- Brit Hume: Why Tiger Should Turn to Christianity - CBN
Palin Says Nation Should Rededicate Itself to God
Dec. 5, 2009 - A video from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association features Sarah Palin saying that the United States should rededicate itself to seeking God's will. She said that a humble spirit could help leaders get more answers on issues such as health care, energy and national security. She said that no leader can have all of the right answers.
- "It takes a united nation, and it does take godly counsel, and it takes prayer and answers to prayer — and a collective humble heart of a nation seeking God's hand of protection and his blessings of prosperity."
- Source: NewsMax
Episcopal Split as Conservatives Form New Group
Dec. 3, 2009 - Because the Episcopal Church has decided to ordain a homosexual bishop and bless same-sex unions, conservative Episcopalians have formed a separate branch of the church, which they have named the Anglican Church in North America.
The archbishop and primate for the new branch will be Robert Duncan of Pittsburgh. For the first time, a province would be defined not by geography, but by theological orientation. Bishop Duncan said,
“We’re going through Reformation times, and in Reformation times things aren’t neat and clean... In Reformation times, new structures are emerging.”
The North American church will have 100,000 members, compared with 2.3 million in the Episcopal Church.
- Source: New York Times
Sharing the Gospel: A Gathering Interview With Franklin Graham
Dec., 2009 - Franklin Graham stresses the urgency of the Gospel message in an anti-Christian culture. He says that social justice issues such as poverty, disease, orphans, clean water are not our mandate, but if they open the door to giving the Gospel they are useful.
He explains that it is futile to redeem the culture, or usher in the kingdom of Heaven now. He said,
- "First of all, the Bible didn't tell me to do that. I can't Christianize this culture. The god of this world is Satan - this is his culture. He is the god of this age. I'm to preach the gospel."
- Source: The Gathering
Lutherans second church to split over gays
Nov. 19, 2009 - Large numbers of conservative Lutherans are leaving Evangelical Lutheran Church in America over the issue of homosexuality and related matters of biblical authority. A "Coalition for Renewal" is in the process of establishing a new denomination which has not yet been named.
- "We are not leaving the ELCA. The ELCA has left us," said Ryan Schwarz, a steering committee member from the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in McLean, Va.
- Source: Washington Times
Breakaway Anglicans Ratify Constitution, Elect Archbishop
June 25, 2009 - This week traditional Anglicans from the United States and Canada have founded a new church with its own constitution and canons. Bishop Robert Duncan of Pittsburgh was installed as the Anglican Church of North America’s first archbishop.
- This fledging organization is in response to moves made by the worldwide Anglican Communion to ordain homosexuals into the priesthood, bless same-sex unions, and implement other teachings seen by many as moving away from orthodox biblical and Anglican doctrines.
- Source: Crosswalk
'Idol' Upset: Did The Evangelical Christian Vote Push Kris Allen Over The Edge?
May 25, 2009 - The "American Idol" judges were surprised by the outcome of votes by viewers after last Wednesday's season finale. They expected Adam Lambert to win but a tally of the record-breaking 100 million votes gave the honor to Kris Allen. Kris has been on the worship team at New Life Church for years and helps with their outreach programs. However, he had consciously refrained from mentioning his beliefs during the competition.
- "This is a singing competition, not a church thing," Allen told Tarts earlier this week while Lambert added that the "vote is based on talent and performing, not religion.
- Source: Fox
Christianity: Declining or Growing? Easter, 2009 - The secular media made its annual attack on Christianity last week, led by Newsweek' Cover story: The Decline and Fall of Christianity in America. Fox News joined Christian commentators on the issue all week, and publicized a new book called "God is Back: How the Global Revival of Faith is Changing the World." The book was written by Economist editor John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge, who leads the newspaper’s Washington bureau. The debate brought out these facts: -
- - The number of Americans who claim no religious affiliation has nearly doubled since 1990, rising from 8 to 15 percent.
- - The percentage of self-identified Christians has fallen 10 percentage points since 1990, from 86 to 76 percent.
- - The number of people willing to describe themselves as atheist or agnostic has increased about fourfold from 1990 to 2009, from 1 million to about 3.6 million.
- - Fewer people now think of the United States as a "Christian nation" than did so when George W. Bush was president (62 percent in 2009 versus 69 percent in 2008).
- - However, rumors of the death of Christianity are greatly exaggerated.
- - Formal, liturgical Christianity is in decline but charismatic Christianity is growing.
- - Early American Freedom of Religion produced competition among denominations, resulting in a succession of waves of evangelization.
- - The American religious model is spreading around the world.
- - A third of Americans say they are born again.
- - There is a movement towards a more conservative and 'evangelical' outlook among Christians.
- - Growing churches are using all the tools of modernity, from megachurches to radio and television to spread the word.
- - World-wide Christianity is growing rapidly.
- - In Communist China, the underground church has grown from 3 million when the missionaries were expelled, to more than 100 million today!
- - A 2006 poll in once-atheist Russia discovered that 84% of Russians believed in God while only 16% considered themselves atheists.
- - Five of the world’s ten biggest megachurches are in South Korea.
- - There is even an upsurge of Evangelical Christianity in Europe.
- The End of Christian America - Newsweek
- God is Back - By John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge - Fox Forum
- Newsweek -- The End of Christian America - Albert Mohler
- Are We A Christian Nation? - Jane Chastain – WorldNetDaily
- Is Christianity Really Declining in America? - Video interview with one of the authors of "God is Back" -CBN
- Newsweek Editor Welcomes Easter with the 'End of Christian America' - Newsbusters
- Christianity Is No Longer Americans’ Default Faith - George Barna (Jan. 12, 2009)
2 in 3 to be in church on Easter
Apr. 10, 2009 - Easter 'continues today to be a source of great hope'
In spite of Newsweek's gloomy prediction about "The End of Christian America," a new Knights of Columbus-Marist poll shows that 63 percent of Americans plan to attend church on Easter Sunday.
- The poll also revealed 70 percent of Americans identified the day as the most important, or one of the most important religious holidays, on the calendar.
- Source: WorldNetDaily
- Marist Poll - Knights of Columbus
- The End of Christian America - Newsweek
God Is Back!
April 6 - John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge, authors of “God Is Back: How the Global Revival of Faith Is Changing the World,” show that American Christianity is still a vital force.
While Europe was drifting from faith into secularism, and giant countries like Russia and China became “atheistic” under Communism, it was assumed that the U.S. would loose its faith as well. It is true that religious establishments are being weakened, but new ministries are using modern methods to spread the Good News. And faith is growing around the world!
- China is full of house churches, much like the ones in the early Christian era, that attract the rising middle classes. A 2006 poll in once-atheist Russia discovered that 84% of Russians believed in God while only 16% considered themselves atheists.
Christianity is also growing in Africa and Asia.
- Source: Fox Nation
Year of the Study Bible
Apr. 2, 2009 - 2008 was a good year for publishing serious study Bibles
- Tyndale's New Living Translation team released its first NLT Study Bible, a project nearly a decade in the making. Zondervan published a 30th-anniversary edition of its classic NIV Study Bible, with a 130-page topical index and updates to its 20,000-some study notes.
And Crossway's released its impressive esv Study Bible. Christianity Today's editor at large Collin Hansen, called the study Bible phenomenon 2008's most important theology news story of the year.
- Source: Christianity Today
Always Losing, Never Lost: Christianity in America
Mar. 26, 2009 - Dr. John Mark Reynolds, The Torrey Honors Institute
In spite of reports that fewer people are calling themselves "Christians," there are reasons to believe that Christian faith is resillient.
- If American history is any guide to the American present, we are on the edge of a great revival of traditional Christianity. Americans will reject the consumerism, whether secular or religious, that has marked so much of the last few decades.
And even if Christianity does decline in America, it certainly will continue to grow globally.
- Source: Crosswalk
- Survey Shows U.S. Growing Less Religious, Less 'Christian' - Adele M. Banks - Crosswalk
- Evangelicalism in America: Waxing or Waning? - Chuck Colson - Crosswalk
The New Calvinism: One of Time's ''10 Ideas Changing the World Right Now'
Mar. 20, 2009 - It is interesting that Time Magazine's special issue, listing 10 innovative changes in the world, included "The New Calvinism." They cite lyrics from the David Crowder Band: "I am full of earth/ You are heaven's worth/ I am stained with dirt/ Prone to depravity."
The article mentions John Piper of Minneapolis, Seattle's Mark Driscoll and Albert Mohler, head of the Southern Seminary of the huge Southern Baptist Convention as examples of the energy and passion of the evangelical world.
Belief in a sovereign God is encouraging to believers in a time of turmoil.
- ..it offers a rock-steady deity who orchestrates absolutely everything, including illness (or home foreclosure!), by a logic we may not understand but don't have to second-guess. Our satisfaction — and our purpose — is fulfilled simply by "glorifying" him.
- Source: Time
- Albert Moehler's Commentary
Christians Turn to God Over Moral Crisis in UK
Mar. 2, 2009 - On Saturday there were prayer gatherings in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh and in countries around the world, to repent for the moral decline that has been allowed by the Church.
- Source: Christian Post
China's Communists Get Religion
Mar. 2, 2009 - 10,000 new Christians are registering everyday in China. China's Communist Party is even changing its strict athiestic orientation.
- When China's Communist Party members met recently at the National Congress in Beijing, President Hu Jintao did something that had never been done before. He added the word "religion" to the Communist Party constitution.
- Source: CBN
Revival Comes to the Muslim World
Jan. 6, 2009 - Read about the revival going on in the Kurdish region of Iraq.
- Source: CBN
Go to Articles earlier than Jan. 1, 2009
|
Notice: Ads are not necessarily endorsed by Prophecy Central.
|