Indonesia: Christian governor accused of blasphemy
Indonesia’s first Christian governor in 50 years faced blasphemy accusations after quoting a passage from the Qur‘an in a speech last fall. Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, known as “Ahok,” apologized to the archipelago’s Muslim community—the largest in the world—as more than 100,000 signed petitions and protested the Jakarta leader’s alleged offense. (His remarks were incorrectly transcribed on Facebook, rendering them more incendiary.) However, Indonesia's largest Islamic organization told its members not to take part in the protests. Ahok is among the 9 percent of Indonesians who are Christians, and among the 1 percent of Indonesians who are ethnically Chinese. He is running for re-election in February.
Brazil: Prosperity pastor named Rio mayor
Brazil’s booming Protestant population continues to make its way into the political arena. Preacher and singer Marcelo Crivella won a runoff race in November to become the mayor of Rio de Janeiro. The new mayor is the first Pentecostal pastor to hold a major executive office in Brazil, Reuters reported. Crivella ministered for decades through the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, a prosperity gospel sect with a heavy emphasis on tithing that was founded by his billionaire uncle, Edir Macedo. Though Protestants make up only about a quarter of residents in heavily Catholic Rio, Crivella won his race by more than 20 percentage points.
What Wheaton learned from Hawkins hubbub
Nine months after Wheaton College and tenured professor Larycia Hawkins agreed to part ways over whether her views on Islam fit the school’s faith statement, trustees released a 15-page report reflecting on what went wrong and lessons learned. “We grieve over the pain and confusion caused by these events,” they wrote. While an internal investigation found “no intentional racial or gender-based discrimination” against Hawkins, who is African American, they called then-provost Stan Jones’s decision to place her on academic leave “an error in judgment.” The report gave nine recommendations for how Wheaton could improve and eight prayers for how the situation might lead to good. One area it didn’t cover: whether Hawkins’s views contradicted Wheaton’s statement of faith.
Germany: Protestants oppose evangelism to Jews
The main Protestant churches in Germany have called on Christians to leave Jewish people out of evangelism efforts. The Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) stated that, for historical and theological reasons, “Christians are not called to point out the way to God and his salvation to Israel, regardless of their mission into the world. All efforts to persuade Jews to change their religion contradict the confession of God’s faith and the election of Israel…. The fact that Jews do not share [the confession that Jesus is Messiah and Savior], we leave to God.” The decision coincides with broader efforts to address anti-Semitism in the church’s past and in Martin Luther’s writings as it observes the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.
Court: Embryos are property not people
Under the law, a couple’s frozen embryos are joint property, not children, according to a Missouri appeals court. The Associated Press reported that a woman who sued her ex-husband for the right to implant the embryos they conceived through in-vitro fertilization lost her case when the court ruled that both the man and woman must consent to their use. The dissenting judge, plaintiff, and pro-life groups countered the decision, saying it conflicts with state law affirming that life begins at conception.
The bigger story behind Jen Hatmaker
When bestselling author Jen Hatmaker spoke out publicly to support same-sex marriage for the first time in an interview last fall, LifeWay Christian Stores pulled her books from its shelves. The decision drew further attention to the network of self-made women’s ministry leaders that have blossomed in the evangelical blogosphere and sold-out events like IF: Gathering and the Belong Tour. The growing influence of leaders like Hatmaker should prompt congregations to do more for the women in their pews, says Jen Wilkin, a minister at the Village Church. “National women leaders should be a reference point, but not a replacement for female leadership at the local church level.”
More overtime pay for nonprofits paused
Christmas came early for churches and ministries—but not for their employees. The Department of Labor (DOL) had told nonprofits that, starting December 1, full-time staff making about $47,500 or less now deserved time and a half. But this doubling of the salary threshold for overtime pay was put on hold, thanks to a federal judge in Texas who ruled the DOL exceeded its authority. However, given that the injunction was temporary, experts told Baptist Press that nonprofits shouldn’t cancel plans to cope with the higher costs just yet.
