News

News Briefs: January 01, 2009

Wycliffe receives $50 million, Without Walls faces foreclosure, and other news in brief.

  • Fort Worth, Texas, became the fourth diocese to secede from the Episcopal Church when delegates voted November 15 to align with the conservative Argentina-based Anglican Province of the Southern Cone. It followed the dioceses of San Joaquin in Fresno, California; Pittsburgh; and Quincy, Illinois.
  • Wycliffe Bible Translators in November received an anonymous $50 million gift to speed up Scripture translation for the last people groups without the Bible in their native tongue. The gift was the largest in Wycliffe’s 75-year history.
  • Prominent megachurch Without Walls International Church faced foreclosure of its Tampa property in November when the Evangelical Christian Credit Union demanded immediate repayment of a $12 million mortgage. The church had defaulted on a $1 million loan due in August, according to the St. Petersburg Times. The August divorce of pastors Randy and Paula White prompted half of the 22,000-member congregation to leave the church.
  • Augsburg Fortress, the publishing arm of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, announced in October it will close nine U.S. bookstores, lay off more than 50 of almost 300 employees, and decline to publish new books in its consumer-oriented line. The publisher will focus on church resources, academic texts, and web-based products.

Copyright © 2009 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Related Elsewhere:

See Christianity Today‘s news section and liveblog for more news updates.

Also in this issue

The CT archives are a rich treasure of biblical wisdom and insight from our past. Some things we would say differently today, and some stances we've changed. But overall, we're amazed at how relevant so much of this content is. We trust that you'll find it a helpful resource.

Cover Story

Jesus Is Not a Brand

Review

'The Blue Parakeet' Faces Inconvenient Verses

PhotographyWatch

News

Memphis's Other Graceland

Pivoting Toward the Faraway Neighbor

Lord, Teach Us to Pray

What Is a Spiritual Director?

What Is Spiritual Direction?

Spiritual Formation Agenda

News

Managing Your Money

News

A Surefire Investment

Groans Too Deep for Words

Faith-based Super Bowl Parties

The Evolution of Darwin

There Goes the Neighborhood

News

Books Uncommon and Offbeat

News

The Greatest Social Need

Review

Jacaranda

News

Evolve or Die

News

Popcorn in the Pews

Bush's Envoy's Advice: 'Raise Cain'

News

Building a Peace Beyond Understanding

Review

Everyday Lord

News

Better Than a Bailout

News

Battle Fatigue

Editorial

Don't Let Them Die Alone

How to Help Orphans

Our Priorities for 2009

News

Go Figure

News

Black Flight

News

Second Thoughts

News

Emergent's Divergence

News

Microfinance, Now More Micro

News

Quotation Marks

News

Passages

News

Up for Debate

View issue

Our Latest

The Bulletin

Young Republican Texts, Anglican Split, and George Santos Released

Controversial Republican texts, Anglican Communion splits, and George Santos’s sentence is commuted.

Review

Do Evangelical Political Errors Rise to the Level of Heresy?

A Lutheran pastor identifies five false teachings that threaten to corrupt the church’s public witness.

Highlights and Lowlights of 1957

In its first full year of publication, CT looked at Civil Rights, Cold War satellites, artificial insemination, and carefully planned evangelism.

News

Will There Be a Christian Super Bowl Halftime Show?

Conservatives suggest country and Christian artist alternatives for game day.

News

As Madagascar’s Government Topples, Pastors Call for Peace

Gen Z–led protests on the African island nation led to a military takeover.

News

Amid Fragile Cease-Fire, Limited Aid Reaches Gazans

Locals see the price of flour rise and fall as truce is strained and some borders remain closed.

News

Federal Job Cuts Hit Home as Virginia Picks Its Next Governor

Meanwhile, the GOP candidate draws from Trump’s playbook to focus on transgender issues in schools. 

Religious OCD and Me

Scrupulosity latches onto the thing we hold most dear—our relationship with God.

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube