TIME recently highlighted its “100 Olympic Athletes To Watch.” As Olympic coverage cranks up, you’ll be hearing more and more about them, although current reports seem mostly to have to do with the athlete’s ages, injuries, and drug use.
Press agency AMP is working with the USOC and NBC to highlight other aspects of the athletes’ lives. They’ve told CT about a number of confessing Christians among the American athletes most likely to medal. A large proportion of them mention Philippians 4:13 in interviews and on their blogs: “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”
Evangelicals rally against religious restrictions
Bulgarian lawmakers eased proposed restrictions on training, foreign funding, and missionary outreach by Protestants and other minority faiths following an evangelical outcry. Thousands of evangelicals prayed outside the Parliament in Sofia against the draft amendments to the Eastern European nation’s Religious Denomination Act, which were also condemned by leaders of its Eastern Orthodox majority as religious freedom violations. A revised proposal did away with measures that would threaten evangelicals’ rights to launch seminaries and host foreign preachers in the former Communist country.
Dozens killed in cathedral massacre
At least 40 people and two priests died in a November attack on the compound of the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, a Catholic mission sheltering refugees in the largely Christian town of Alindao in the Central African Republic. The local bishop was gunned down as attackers looted the church and burned the surrounding camp. The attack was the latest violent clash between factions in the country, reportedly carried out by the Union pour la Paix en Centrafrique, whose fighters are mostly Fulani Muslims. A Catholic church in the capital, Bangui, lost 15 people in an attack earlier in 2018.
CCDA president resigns
Noel Castellanos, who has led the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA) for more than a decade, stepped down in November amid allegations of mismanagement by several former employees. Castellanos said he resigned “in part due to our inability to resolve the conflict with former staff,” who launched a website detailing a “toxic environment” under his leadership. The allegations publicly came to a head around the ministry’s 30th annual national conference. CCDA released a statement of repentance apologizing for mistakes in the past and pledged to continue reconciliation efforts.
Cameroon kidnappings rattle church
Clashes between armed separatists and government forces have shaken Cameroon’s English-speaking regions, where scores of students from a Presbyterian school were kidnapped for a week this fall. More than 100 pastors have joined a quarter-million people fleeing the escalating violence in the Anglophone areas of the Francophone country, while the national Presbyterian body has coordinated humanitarian outreach for the displaced and advocated for mediation between the two sides. “We have failed God,” said evangelical leader Gustav Ebai. “There is no evil like the evil I have seen in my country.”
Christians abolish Irish blasphemy ban
Though Ireland never enforced its law against blasphemy that was on the books for more than 80 years, Christians campaigned to revoke the measure in 2018 to make a point for dozens of countries that continue to use such laws to restrict religious expression. “Now, states like Pakistan can no longer justify their own severe anti-blasphemy laws by pointing to Ireland’s Constitution,” said the local Amnesty International leader after nearly two-thirds of Irish voters decided to repeal the dormant ban last fall. Evangelical Alliance Ireland supported the efforts, saying blasphemy bans hurt religious dialogue and religious freedom, particularly for religious minorities.
Judge releases Iraqi Christians detained by ICE
A federal judge ordered the release of about 130 Iraqi Christians more than a year and a half after they were detained in immigration raids in Detroit, home to the largest Chaldean Christian population outside the Middle East. These Iraqi Christians were among about 300 awaiting deportation due to past crimes; however, supporters argued that they would face persecution and violence were they to return to Iraq, and their home country refused to repatriate them against their will. The judge ordered that the detainees be returned to their families by Christmas and continue to defend their cases from home.
Thousands of churches close under new law
More than 2,000 churches in Angola shuttered late last year under new registration requirements issued by the southern African nation, according to Open Doors. Christians expect another 1,000 to close for not gaining the 100,000 signatures required to register. The head of Angola’s Culture Ministry, which counts just 84 registered churches among a population of 29 million, said the law was meant to “act against unregistered bodies, which are a threat to human rights and against the principles of urban life and positive coexistence.” Open Doors reports that the mostly Christian country has not recognized any new churches since 2004.
Allyson Felix, a sprinter, has a section about her faith on her blog that says, “If we can help you with your faith journey, and help you learn more about God, contact us.” She’s also one of the few athletes involved in USADA’s Project Believe, which puts athletes through extensive drug testing. She wants everyone to know she’s clean. After all, she’s being compared to Marion Jones as well as Wilma Rudolph.
Tyson Gay has made a lot of news, for his hamstring injury, for being dubbed “Tyson Homosexual” by American Family Association’s autoreplace, and now for being exceptionally polite. “When I raise my hands in the air it is to give God praise,” he told a fan on Ask Tyson.
Prison guard and world marathon champion, Catherine Ndereba, aka Catherine the Great, is also on TIME‘s list as a Kenyan athlete to watch. This year’s civil unrest in Kenya made training a lot scarier than it had been before, but Ndereba is back to winning again. Just over a week ago, she placed first in New York City’s half-marathon.
Mark, Diana, and Steven Lopez are siblings competing in taekwondo. Their coach is their older brother. They all blog at First Family of Taekwondo. Diana says their parents always encouraged them to pray frequently and thank God in all things. The Lopezes attribute their interest in taekwondo, as well as their faith, to their parents: their father was a huge fan of kung-fu.
Jamaica-born Sanya Richards is “the youngest woman ever to break the elusive 49-second barrier at 400 meters,” according to her website. She says her aunt is the person who encouraged her most to attend church regularly, something she had not done in Jamaica. There is speculation over whether her Behcet’s Syndome – a disease she was diagnosed with last year – will flare up.
Marathoner Ryan Hall and his wife say that they’re considering missions after the Beijing Games. But for now, they’re concentrating on the Olympics and enjoying a life Hall says is a lot like retirement. Except with lots and lots of running. Hall speaks more about his faith on GodTube, his Runner’s Worldblog, and to Today’s Christian.
Decathlete Bryan Claytold Christianity Today about his involvement in Project Believe: “A huge reason why I haven’t even been tempted to take drugs or do anything of that sort is because I realize that winning is not my life, it’s not my identity. I know that God has me doing what I’m doing, I know that yes I can win, I also know that I’m not going to win all the time and I know that either way, win or lose, that God is going to provide for me.”
Donny Robinson is one of the athletes competing in BMX racing, which is new this year to the Olympics. “Most people I’m around know that I try to live the most Christ-like life I can, and they accept what I represent,” Robinson says.
Laura Wilkinsonsays she was on a diving platform on national television when she “asked God to forgive me for following my own path, and I gave my life back to Him.” Beijing will be her third Olympics. She is one of the proud athletes who have been featured on a Wheaties box.
Evangelicals rally against religious restrictions
Bulgarian lawmakers eased proposed restrictions on training, foreign funding, and missionary outreach by Protestants and other minority faiths following an evangelical outcry. Thousands of evangelicals prayed outside the Parliament in Sofia against the draft amendments to the Eastern European nation’s Religious Denomination Act, which were also condemned by leaders of its Eastern Orthodox majority as religious freedom violations. A revised proposal did away with measures that would threaten evangelicals’ rights to launch seminaries and host foreign preachers in the former Communist country.
Dozens killed in cathedral massacre
At least 40 people and two priests died in a November attack on the compound of the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, a Catholic mission sheltering refugees in the largely Christian town of Alindao in the Central African Republic. The local bishop was gunned down as attackers looted the church and burned the surrounding camp. The attack was the latest violent clash between factions in the country, reportedly carried out by the Union pour la Paix en Centrafrique, whose fighters are mostly Fulani Muslims. A Catholic church in the capital, Bangui, lost 15 people in an attack earlier in 2018.
CCDA president resigns
Noel Castellanos, who has led the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA) for more than a decade, stepped down in November amid allegations of mismanagement by several former employees. Castellanos said he resigned “in part due to our inability to resolve the conflict with former staff,” who launched a website detailing a “toxic environment” under his leadership. The allegations publicly came to a head around the ministry’s 30th annual national conference. CCDA released a statement of repentance apologizing for mistakes in the past and pledged to continue reconciliation efforts.
Cameroon kidnappings rattle church
Clashes between armed separatists and government forces have shaken Cameroon’s English-speaking regions, where scores of students from a Presbyterian school were kidnapped for a week this fall. More than 100 pastors have joined a quarter-million people fleeing the escalating violence in the Anglophone areas of the Francophone country, while the national Presbyterian body has coordinated humanitarian outreach for the displaced and advocated for mediation between the two sides. “We have failed God,” said evangelical leader Gustav Ebai. “There is no evil like the evil I have seen in my country.”
Christians abolish Irish blasphemy ban
Though Ireland never enforced its law against blasphemy that was on the books for more than 80 years, Christians campaigned to revoke the measure in 2018 to make a point for dozens of countries that continue to use such laws to restrict religious expression. “Now, states like Pakistan can no longer justify their own severe anti-blasphemy laws by pointing to Ireland’s Constitution,” said the local Amnesty International leader after nearly two-thirds of Irish voters decided to repeal the dormant ban last fall. Evangelical Alliance Ireland supported the efforts, saying blasphemy bans hurt religious dialogue and religious freedom, particularly for religious minorities.
Judge releases Iraqi Christians detained by ICE
A federal judge ordered the release of about 130 Iraqi Christians more than a year and a half after they were detained in immigration raids in Detroit, home to the largest Chaldean Christian population outside the Middle East. These Iraqi Christians were among about 300 awaiting deportation due to past crimes; however, supporters argued that they would face persecution and violence were they to return to Iraq, and their home country refused to repatriate them against their will. The judge ordered that the detainees be returned to their families by Christmas and continue to defend their cases from home.
Thousands of churches close under new law
More than 2,000 churches in Angola shuttered late last year under new registration requirements issued by the southern African nation, according to Open Doors. Christians expect another 1,000 to close for not gaining the 100,000 signatures required to register. The head of Angola’s Culture Ministry, which counts just 84 registered churches among a population of 29 million, said the law was meant to “act against unregistered bodies, which are a threat to human rights and against the principles of urban life and positive coexistence.” Open Doors reports that the mostly Christian country has not recognized any new churches since 2004.
Swimmer and member of Catholic Athletes for ChristKate Ziegler isn’t on TIME‘s list, but as the world record holder in a distance swimming event, she’s likely to get some mention.
NBCOlympics.com and TeamUsa.org have more about the athletes and other Olympic news, as well as information on events and schedules.
