California shuts down indoor worship services in many counties
Churches in more than half of California’s counties cannot hold indoor worship services after Gov. Gavin Newsom renewed gathering restrictions to slow the spread of Coronavirus. Earlier in July, the state banned indoor singing at worship services, a measure that resulted in a lawsuit from three northern California churches.
California is one of many states across the country experiencing a wave of COVID-19 cases. Illinois, which has seen its own uptick in cases, recently subdivided the four regions originally established to identify resurgences of the virus into 11 regions. Gov. J.B. Pritzker also released new details about which metrics could bring back restrictions, including limits on gatherings which could affect churches.
As celebrated speaker and author, Packer’s ‘generosity was unsurpassed’
“No audience or venue was too small to elicit Packer’s best effort,” writes Leland Ryken of J.I. Packer, who died July 17 at the age of 93. Packer, best known for his 1973 book Knowing God, “had an extraordinarily strong commitment to the view that the words of the Bible are the very words of God,” Ryken writes. “He championed the out-of-vogue doctrine of the inerrancy of Scripture.”
Black pastor explains his church’s decision to leave the SBC
John Onwuchekwa partnered with the Southern Baptist Convention to build a new congregation in a predominantly African-American neighborhood in Atlanta. Onwuchekwa announced in July Cornerstone Church will leave the denomination, citing the SBC’s “unhealthy partisanship” and “disremembered history” in regard to slavery and racism.
Christian college sues New York Times over COVID-19 reporting
Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., has filed suit against The New York Times, claiming the newspaper intentionally misrepresented the impact of COVID-19 on campus. The school says Elizabeth Williamson’s reporting about the virus at Liberty relied on a source who wasn’t directly responsible for information later published.
Younger Christians question ethics of missions
Barna found most Christians value missions work, but young adults age 18-34 are more likely than those younger or older than them to say Christian mission is tainted by its association with colonialism. They’re also more likely to say that in the past, mission work has been unethical.
Sources: ERLC, Los Angeles Times, NBC Chicago, Christianity Today, Religion News Service, Associated Press, The New York Times, Barna