Ten days after an accountability team deemed Dr. Michael Brown fit to return to ministry—despite independent findings of serious but “isolated incidents” of sexual misconduct from decades ago—the apologist shared “his heart” with listeners.

During a five-minute YouTube video posted on May 7, Brown, founder and president of The Line of Fire, thanked supporters for their love and prayers. “This time away from ministry has been very painful and difficult, but I have encountered God…in ways I never have before,” he said. “I really look forward to ministering to you in the days ahead.”

RELATED: Despite Third-Party Report, Line of Fire Team Says Michael Brown Is Qualified for Ministry

Although Brown acknowledged that some people would “rather never see my face again,” he urged Christians to “unite around Jesus,” not “divide over me.”

The video is Brown’s first message to followers since his December 2024 apology video, which is no longer available on YouTube. In that message, the ministry leader had apologized for causing pain but also pointed to “false statements and mischaracterizations.”

Michael Brown Hopes To ‘Lower Temperatures’

As ChurchLeaders reported, an independent investigation by Firefly found that Brown had taken “inappropriate and unacceptable” actions “toward…two females.” One, Sarah Erin Monk, accused Brown of grooming and inappropriate touching. Another woman was a married friend of Brown’s, and he admitted developing emotional ties with her that involved a “lack of judgment.”

In his May 7 video, Brown didn’t mention the alleged victims or offer details. “There’s a lot to share with you, but now is not the time,” he said. “I’m not here to argue. I’m not here to prove a point. I’m not here to chase down this rumor or refute this allegation.”

“I’m not going to be putting up screenshots and video clips and getting into some kind of internet war,” said Brown. “I don’t believe that’s God-honoring.”

The goal, Brown said, is to “lower the temperatures, not raise them.” The leader emphasized that he had wanted “everything to come to light” and that his board worked to find an investigating organization that was “more friendly” to his accusers’ perspective.

Author and Bible teacher Beth Moore shared encouragement and a prayer for mothers in a video message Wednesday, May 7. Reflecting on entries from her prayer journals throughout the years, Moore observed that, over time, many of her prayers have remained the same, and some of the prayers she prayed for her children she now prays for her grandchildren.

“Motherhood is relentless,” said Moore, sharing that is a truth she often tells her oldest daughter, “who is truly in the throes of it…It just keeps coming whether you’re ready for the next day or not.”

“There’s simply no way to get it all right. There’s just no such thing as perfect parenting,” Moore said. “God bless you, mom, whether you have a house full of little kids or an empty nest, whether your kids are grown or you have a child in heaven, whether you’re close to your kids or you’re far apart—mothering is a lot.”

RELATED: Beth Moore, Recovering From ‘Several Major Surgeries,’ Reflects on the Hard Work of Wellness

Beth Moore Shares Special Mother’s Day Message 

In addition to being a prolific author and highly sought-after speaker, Moore is the founder of Living Proof Ministries. “Something happened yesterday as I was in my filing closet at work,” Moore told viewers. 

Moore said she noticed a “prayer journal of mine from 1982” sitting on a shelf. Normally, she keeps her prayer journals at home, not at work. “I don’t know why this one was sitting on the shelf,” said Moore, adding, “I think it was meant for this Mother’s Day.” 

In 1982, Moore’s oldest daughter was 2 years old, Moore’s youngest was a newborn, “and I’d only been married just under three years, so try to get this timing in your head with me,” said Moore, showing viewers a picture that her daughter Amanda had drawn in the front of the journal.

Moore went on to read from several entries in the journal. One said, “Lord, forgive me for my failures today. This has not been a very good day and my disposition has been very poor.”

Moore said that in the entry, she “constantly” asked for a better “disposition” and “demeanor.”

In another entry, Moore prayed for her daughter Melissa, asking that God would heal an infection causing a fever. Moore also prayed for good health for her family and for God’s blessing. “I ask God again and again for more rest,” said Moore. “I just tell him over and over, ‘I’m so exhausted. I’m so sleepy.’”

Amy Grant, long referred to as “the queen of Christian pop,” performed a new song on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” and spoke about her recent collaboration with musician Jason Halbert, who is Clarkson’s music director. 

The song Grant performed was “Home (Lyana’s Song),” which is featured on Halbert’s audiobook, “Caretaker.”

The novel, which was written by Jason Halbert and his wife Rhonda, is about Ian and Lyana Keane, who “are ready to leave Boston behind and move with their two kids—Ariel (15) and Zach (12)—to the sleepy New Hampshire town of Littleton.”

“But as time goes on, strange things begin to happen with the house and the family living within its walls,” the book’s description reads. “They see recurring symbols, experience realistic hallucinations, uncover mysteries they can’t explain.”

RELATED: Bethel Music To Sing New Single ‘The Church’ on ‘The Kelly Clarkson Show’ on Good Friday

In the audiobook, Grant voices Lyana Keane. The cast of the audiobook also includes Erick Avari (“Mr. Deeds,” “Stargate,” “The Chosen”), Brandon Engman, Charles Esten (“Nashville,” “Outer Banks”), Hayley Orrantia (“The Goldbergs”), Michael Shanks (“Stargate SG-1”), and Kelly Clarkson.

In a discussion that followed Grant’s musical performance on “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” Jason Halbert credited Grant with helping him land his role as Clarkson’s music director, recounting that he and Clarkson forged a personal connection from their shared admiration of Grant. 

Clarkson told Grant, “You have one of those careers, and those songs, and those moments for a lot of us that are so nostalgic, and pivotal moments in different parts of our lives.”

“And it’s like, even though you don’t know everybody personally, we feel like we know you for that reason,” Clarkson added. 

RELATED: Amy Grant, Vince Gill Reflect on Music, Christmas Traditions, and Nearly 25 Years of Marriage

Speaking about recording for “Caretaker,” Grant said, “I love storytelling, and I love the fact that nobody could see [me].”

Grammy Award-winning artist TobyMac opened up with Levi and Jennie Lusko about loss and grieving during a recent episode of “Hey! It’s The Luskos.”

The DC Talk alum spoke about the grief he has experienced following the tragic death of his 21-year-old son Truett in 2019, his sister in 2020, and his best friend and Diverse City band member Gabe Patillo in 2024.

TobyMac reflected on how difficult Patillo’s death has been on him. “I went to call him yesterday, like I just had a quick question, I just accidentally hit Gabe Patillo. I feel like I’m missing a limb, truly,” TobyMac said.

RELATED: TobyMac Stopped Reading the Bible After His Son Died. This Is Why He Started Again

“I don’t think you learn to process these things,” he told the Luskos. “I don’t think you learn, but you do recognize—for some reason I’ve been able to recognize the goodness of God in my most recent losses, I think, because I journeyed that path.”

“It doesn’t mean I was okay. It doesn’t mean I wasn’t wiped out,” TobyMac continued. “But somehow or another God has shown me something where he can be good and you can lose people—and I believe that.”

TobyMac explained that it took him a “long time” to get to that place and said that he feels like he has been “compressed” in the same way audio files are compressed in the final mastering process in order for the sound of a song to remain consistent in both the high and low ranges.

RELATED: TobyMac Tells Good Morning America His Son’s Death ‘Rocked’ His Faith, but God Has ‘Been Kind’

“I feel like I’ve been a little compressed. I don’t know if I’ll ever go as low as I was when I lost Truett, and I don’t know if I’ll ever be as high as I’ve been in my past,” TobyMac said.

“I’m sorry. I know that’s not pretty,” TobyMac said. “That’s not God language but that’s real. That’s how I feel. I feel like I’ve just been compressed a little.”

“It doesn’t mean my faith is lacking,” he added. “It just means I don’t know if I’ll ever be as happy as I once was, and I don’t know if I’ll ever go to the basement I’ve been to.”

(RNS) — The mayor of Toms River, New Jersey, says he has a plan to revitalize the town’s riverfront and to create a new park for local families who live nearby. He’s found the perfect spot — three underused marinas and a large parcel of land with a great parking lot.

There’s just one problem. A local Episcopal church sits on the 11-acre property and has no interest in selling. Instead, church leaders want to build a shelter for the homeless on the property to expand their ministry in the community.

Mayor Daniel Rodrick, a Republican, said God would approve of his plan.

“There’s a real need for the local residents up in those neighborhoods to be able to walk somewhere and put their kids on a swing,” said Rodrick in a recent phone interview. “I just think it’s a very positive thing. And I believe Christ would agree.”

RELATED: Pastor Fined $60,000 for Using Church Property as Shelter and Encampment for Unhoused

So far, however, only the Township Council has made a call, narrowly passing a first reading April 30 on a proposal to buy Christ Episcopal Church’s property or take it by eminent domain. A second vote is scheduled on May 28.

The Rev. Lisa A. Hoffman. (Courtesy photo)

Church leaders say the city’s proposal, which came as a surprise, is an attempt to prevent their planned shelter from being built.

“It’s just really shocking and surprising and very disappointing,” the Rev. Lisa A. Hoffman, Christ Church’s rector, told Episcopal News Service, an official denominational publication, after last week’s vote.

The dispute appears headed for a long court battle.

“Rest assured; our church campus is not for sale,” Hoffman told church members in a letter posted on the church website. Hoffman, who was out of town, was not available for an interview.

“Should this ordinance pass on the second reading, the church and the diocese are prepared for a long court fight to protect our congregation and property from this egregious land grab,” the letter said.

The church’s shelter has been a matter of public debate since it announced plans last fall to ask for zoning approval. A nonprofit called the Affordable Housing Alliance has operated an outreach program on the church’s property since 2023 and hopes to work with the church to build a 17-bed shelter.

The town’s zoning board, whose meetings about the shelter have turned contentious due to opposition from the church’s neighbors, is expected to vote May 22 on the zoning change.

“The answer really is the church is the right place,” Harvey York, an attorney for the church and the Affordable Housing Alliance, told the Asbury Park Press when plans for the shelter were announced. “There is already counseling there. We are not putting 200 people here. It is 17 beds.”

Despite hearing at the last minute of the Township Council’s vote on acquiring the church property along with several other parcels, church leaders rallied supporters to attend last week’s council meeting. Several members of the council tried to postpone a vote on the proposal but failed after an extended shouting match, according to a recording of the meeting.

At one point Thomas Nivison asked fellow council member Lynne O’Toole, who had opposed the motion to table: “Why, Lynne? You hate church, you hate God, you hate Christ? Obviously, you hate humanity like our mayor.”

A resident addresses the April 30, 2025, council meeting in Toms River, N.J. (Video screen grab)

“Why don’t you pipe down,” O’Toole replied.

After the motion failed, council member David Ciccozzi stood and recited the Lord’s Prayer, with some in the audience joining in. Townspeople also voiced their opposition to the takeover plan during a public comment section, with some accusing township leaders of attacking religious freedom or trying to harm a local ministry.

“What are we doing? There is a thriving church in this location,” Christ Church member Will Wiencke told council members. “We’re trying to help people.”

Before the council meeting, Michael York, another attorney for the firm representing Christ Church in its zoning application, sent a letter to an attorney for Toms River, alleging the town’s leaders were acting in bad faith. The letter noted that Rodrick opposed the zoning variance for the shelter and stated that the church property was not for sale.

“It is clear and obvious that the Township and Mayor Rodrick are acting in bad faith and have ulterior motives,” York wrote. “Clearly, they are not even trying to hide their actions.  This attempt to use eminent domain as an excuse to obtain property is not disguised in this instance.”

Toms River Mayor Daniel Rodrick. (Photo courtesy of Toms River Township)

In an interview, Rodrick declined to speak about the zoning issue but denied that he was trying to attack Christ Church’s ministry. Instead, he said, he was looking out for the best interest of community members.

“It’s not about taking anybody’s rights away,” he said.

WASHINGTON (RNS) — As the sun rose over the U.S. Capitol on the last Sunday in April, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, wearing a gold cross necklace, sat next to Sen. Cory Booker on the building’s stone steps. The two looked around quietly for a moment, awaiting confirmation that the livestream of their “sit-in” — a daylong effort designed to push back against the Republican-led budget proposal and actions by President Donald Trump’s administration — had begun.

After someone off-camera informed them the broadcast was live, both men immediately bowed their heads in prayer.

“Father God, we humble ourselves before you and before all who may watch today,” said Booker, the New Jersey Democrat who attends a Baptist church in Newark. After asking the Almighty for strength, he prayed that his words might “be of service at this crisis moment in American history.”

It was a preview of the next 12 hours, as the two prominent Democratic lawmakers and a slew of guests outlined a decidedly faith-forward argument against Republican leaders and the Trump administration. The pair discussed their own religious backgrounds, referred to liberation theology, read from the Bible and lauded what Booker called the transformative power of “faith traditions” — a phrase that came up no fewer than 45 times during the broadcast.

When the two weren’t talking, they passed a microphone to fellow lawmakers such as Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock, who is also a pastor, and to various faith leaders, including activist and Yale Divinity School professor the Rev. William Barber II.

“If you pray at the opening session of the Senate or the House but then after you pray — P-R-A-Y — you pass a budget that preys — P-R-E-Y-S — on people that are vulnerable, then you just canceled out your P-R-A-Y,” Barber told the crowd as he stood next to Booker and Jeffries.

The sit-in, with its faith-filled language and its clergy participants, was part of an apparent strategic pivot by Democratic leaders desperate to find a foothold in a country where Republicans and conservatives dominate all three branches of government. As frustrated liberals pressure party leaders to counter the Trump administration, Democrats are taking some cues from the work of progressive religious activists — particularly Barber and his allies — who have been some of Trump’s loudest critics since his first administration.

“While many progressives, liberals and Democrats have been struggling to try and catch up to what the Trump administration is doing, people like William Barber and other folks on the religious left have had a kind of moral clarity about what’s going on for a long time,” Ruth Braunstein, a sociology professor at the University of Connecticut and director of the school’s Meanings of Democracy Lab, said in an interview. “So I think they’ve been able to respond more quickly.”

Faith-based pushback to Trump’s second presidency began the same day he was sworn in, when Barber preached a sermon challenging Trump’s incoming administration and issued a challenge to like-minded faithful, saying, “In this moment, we must remember whose we are and who we are.”

The next day, Trump sat for a sermon at the Washington National Cathedral, where the Rt. Rev. Mariann Budde, the Episcopal bishop of Washington, made headlines for asking the president to “have mercy” on transgender people, immigrants and refugees. A few days after that, a group of Quakers filed a lawsuit over the Trump administration’s decision to reduce restrictions on immigration enforcement raids at churches, the first in what would eventually become six faith-led lawsuits — including one led by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops — that list dozens of religious organizations and even entire denominations as plaintiffs. Meanwhile, Jewish, Muslim and Christian organizations — including some evangelicals — have issued statements, staged vigils and participated in protests against the administration, especially its immigration and deportation policies.

The day after the sit-in, on April 28, Barber launched a series of weekly “Moral Monday” demonstrations on Capitol Hill that began with the pastor being arrested alongside two others while praying in the Capitol Rotunda against the GOP-led budget. A week later, five faith leaders allied with Barber were arrested in the Rotunda while doing the same.

“Let truth trouble the chambers of the Capitol,” Shane Claiborne, a longtime Christian activist, said in a prayer shortly before he was arrested in the Rotunda on Monday (May 5). “Let there be no peace where there is no justice. Let there be no comfort for those who legislate cruelty.”

Actor and podcast host Russell Brand appeared in court in London on Friday, May 2, in his first court appearance to face the sexual assault charges against him.

Brand, who has recently undergone a conversation to Christianity, was charged on April 4 with one count of rape, one count of indecent assault, one count of oral rape, and two counts of sexual assault. Brand has denied the charges.

Editor’s note: This article contains descriptions of rape and sexual assault that some might find disturbing and potentially triggering.

“I’ve always told you guys that when I was young and single, before I had my wife and family…my beautiful children, I was a fool, man,” said Brand in a post to his social media the day he was charged. “I was a fool before I lived in the light of the Lord. I was a drug addict, sex addict and an imbecile, but what I never was, was a rapist. I’ve never engaged in non-consensual activity. I pray that you can see that by looking in my eyes.”

RELATED: Russell Brand Reveals He Is Reading the Bible and C.S. Lewis Months After He Was Accused of Sexual Assault

Russell Brand Granted Conditional Bail

Russell Brand is a stand-up comedian, actor and former radio host who now hosts several podcasts. He is a wellness influencer, is an outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump, and has been accused of spreading conspiracy theories.

In September 2023, The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4 Dispatches revealed the results of a joint investigation in which five women came forward with allegations against Brand that included sexual assault and rape, as well as “physical and emotional abuse, sexual harassment and bullying.” These incidents allegedly took place between 2006 and 2013.

In the BBC’s documentary, “Russell Brand: In Plain Sight,” one woman identified as “Nadia” describes Brand raping her in 2012. Another woman, identified as “Alice,” said she began a relationship with Brand when she was 16 and he was 30. Alice claims Brand groomed her and said that he sexually assaulted her near the end of their relationship.

Footage of Brand’s stand-up shows that the comedian joked about behavior, such as spitting during sexual acts, that the women described in their assault allegations.

Helen Berger, who worked with Brand from 2006 to 2007 as his production assistant, said that he was always in his tighty whities around her. While she observed that Brand was extremely promiscuous and exhibited other troubling behavior like showing his friends naked photos that women sent him, Berger said she never suspected Brand of forcing women into non-consensual sexual acts.

Televangelist Jim Bakker recently went public about his financial distress and the threat of foreclosure. The Praise the Lord (PTL) Network leader and convicted felon has had his share of controversy and health challenges, culminating in a financial crisis.

“If they foreclose on this ministry, they will take my house too. So, I will be on the street,” Bakker said.

‘Pioneer of Christian Television’ Jim Bakker Faces Foreclosure, Asks for Financial Gifts

At age 85, televangelist Jim Bakker’s health has been failing. He’s had seven strokes in the last years, but he’s bounced back and continues to preach on a part-time basis.

On May 5, “The Jim Bakker Family Show” aired an episode focusing on the end times. “Jesus is coming very soon,” Bakker said. “Are you ready?” From the Ozark Mountains, Jim’s son, Ricky Bakker, and Mondo De La Vega talked with Bakker about the end times, foreign telltales, and Bakker’s own financial crisis.

Bakker estimated that the ministry has enough operating expenses to stay on the air for another month. He explained, “We’re at the end.” This is a similar plea to when Bakker asked viewers for money to avoid bankruptcy in 2020.

“If they foreclose on this ministry, they will take my house too. So I will be on the street,” Bakker said, quickly adding, “But I don’t care. I’ve never been in the street.”

Bakker’s ministry had weathered significant controversy over the years. He was tried and convicted of federal charges of mail and wire fraud and of conspiring to defraud the public. Bakker also had an affair with a former church secretary.

Bakker, Ricky Bakker, and Mondo De La Vega talked about the history of Christian television and how Bakker has been called the “pioneer of Christian television” since his start in his 20s. Pat Robertson had the first Christian television station, but according to Bakker, it was a “crummy, little mess.”

Bakker said he got his start on a telethon, saving Robertson’s station.

“I don’t want to take credit for anything,” said Bakker. “I just want to go to heaven.”

Bakker turned to those watching and called them to action. “I’ve never seen the righteous forsaken or his seed out begging for bread,” claimed Bakker as he pointed to his viewers. “That’s you!”

“God will stand with you if you stand with him,” Bakker continued. “That’s why it’s important that you obey God. And I just, I need about a thousand people that will give right now. Maybe not give a thousand but you can give a hundred dollars. And I want you to mail it in, right now.”

DeShawn Longmire has been sentenced to 23 years in prison for the murder of beloved Houston Pastor Dr. Ronald K. Mouton Sr. 

Last week, Longmire, 26, was convicted of shooting Mouton in a road rage incident that took place in June 2022. Longmire had apparently gotten into a dispute with Mouton while driving along the Gulf Freeway. Witnesses reported seeing Longmire pull up alongside Mouton to shoot him. 

Longmire was arrested roughly one month after the incident when it was discovered that surveillance footage and his Uber driving record placed him at the scene. 

Mouton was 58 years old. He pastored East Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Houston for three decades and is survived by his wife of nearly 40 years, four children, and 10 grandchildren.

The trial began late last month after having been delayed several times for a combination of reasons—first because of a backlog of cases resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and Hurricane Helene. Most recently, the trial was pushed back because Longmire’s defense attorney was tied up with another case.

During his testimony, Longmire said, “I want you all to know that I love y’all, each and every single one of y’all, and I never meant to hurt anybody.”

“I never meant for any of this to happen and if I could change it, I would,” Longmire said.

Following Longmire’s sentencing, Mouton’s twin brother, Rev. Roland Mouton Jr. expressed that he felt “we could have gotten more years than what we did.” 

“Although none of us really wanted to see [Longmire] get life,” Roland went on to say, “but we thought we could have at least gotten a number of years that at least matched the number of years my brother was when he was killed.”

Mouton’s son, Ronald Mouton Jr., said he felt “relief” that the trial and sentencing are over. He also said that he is “sad” for Longmire’s family, because they are “losing him to the system.” 

RELATED: Former Children’s Pastor Sentenced to Nearly 30 Years in Prison for Attempting To Murder His Family

“I didn’t want the young man to spend the rest of his life in jail at all,” he added, “but I did expect him to spend enough time where he could [be] the age of my father. [In] 32 years, [Longmire] would have been 58.”