Birthright trips no longer just for Jews
About 200 Christian college students will head to Israel this year as part of the new Covenant Journey program sponsored by the Green family, owners of Hobby Lobby, and the Philos Project, a conservative pro-Israel nonprofit. The program is modeled on Birthright Israel, a 16-year-old Jerusalem-based group that provides free trips to Israel for young Jews in order to “strengthen Jewish identity, Jewish communities, and solidarity with Israel.” The Christian version, an 11-day journey, costs $500. Five trips, each designated for 40 to 50 students, are planned so far in 2015. Organizers believe participants will connect to their faith and become “goodwill ambassadors for Israel.”
Evangelical groups attack loan sharks
Opponents of payday lending have a new ally in the fight against predatory lenders: the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC). The advocacy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is part of the newly formed Faith for Just Lending coalition, whose members also include the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, the National Baptist Convention USA, the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE), the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, and the PICO National Network. Faith for Just Lending is just one evangelical group to criticize predatory lending as of late. The NAE added the practice to its list of advocacy topics in 2014, four months after the SBC passed a resolution denouncing such loans. Faith leaders in Kentucky, Alabama, and South Dakota have asked state legislatures to cap the loans, which come with interest rates of more than 300 percent. The new coalition will also push for more government regulation. Bible Belt states like Alabama and Mississippi have the most payday lenders per capita, according to a study from Auburn University. “What looks like a way out of a desperate situation leads to more poverty,” ERLC president Russell Moore told CT. “This is an issue that affects many people in Southern Baptist churches.”
Progressive theology spat unites Arizona churches
Half of the 15 Protestant churches in Fountain Hills, outside of Phoenix, have teamed up to host a sermon series called “Progressive Christianity: Fact or Fiction?” The series launched with an op-ed and half-page ad in the local newspaper, along with banners at eight local churches, including Baptist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, and nondenominational congregations. Church leaders say their efforts are about unity, aimed at promoting the gospel and not against any specific church. Critics say the series is aimed at the Fountains, a local United Methodist church that has claimed to be the only progressive church in the city of 23,000. The series is the latest salvo in a dispute that began after Fountains pastor David Felten spoke last year in favor of a proposed nondiscrimination ordinance. Felten told CT the campaign has galvanized his congregation, but “I don’t care what they do.”
Australia: Ex-drug lord faces execution with ‘Grace’
Brian Houston, pastor of Hillsong, the Sydney-based megachurch, praised the faith of a convicted—and converted—Australian drug smuggler whose execution in Indonesia in April drew international protests. Andrew Chan became a Christian while in solitary confinement and studied for six years to become a pastor. He taught Bible classes, ran a cooking school, and was featured in an antidrug documentary for students during his decade in jail. “I have had the pleasure of speaking with Chan almost every day, and his faith and strength under extreme duress have inspired me,” wrote Houston. Before being executed by firing squad, Chan and six other prisoners sang “Amazing Grace” and “Bless the Lord, O My Soul.”
InterVarsity president resigns, starts cancer treatment
While the longtime leader of campus ministry InterVarsity Christian Fellowship leaves to begin bone marrow cancer treatment, a fellow executive will serve as interim president. Senior vice president and director of collegiate ministries, Jim Lundgren, will replace Alec Hill, who served as president for 14 years before being diagnosed with bone cancer. Before the diagnosis, Hill had intended to announce his departure in November and leave the organization next spring. The transition comes in the midst of a time of reinvention for InterVarsity, as campuses across the country begin to challenge the group’s belief requirements for leaders. “I look forward to serving InterVarsity and keeping our focus on Christ’s mission on campus,” said Lundgren, who has been with the organization for more than four decades. An internal task force is currently searching for a new president.
