Podcaster and new Christian Russell Brand has shared his initial steps of Christianity with his followers through social media. The actor has recently committed to having more “Christian friends” on his podcast, starting with “The Chosen” star Jonathan Roumie.

Russell Brand Interviews Jonathan Roumie on ‘Awakened Wonders’

Brand was recently baptized and has celebrated being “surrendered in Christ.” As Brand continues to learn more about his newfound Christian faith, he hasn’t been shy about sharing his thoughts, questions, and discoveries on his podcast, “Awakened Wonders,” housed on the subscription-based Locals. Brand has discussed atheism, meditation, and random thoughts on culture.

This time, he invited his former coworker and friend, Jonathan Roumie, who stars in “The Chosen” as Jesus Christ.

“It’s an impossible acting job,” Roumie said about playing the role of Jesus on “The Chosen.”

In a previous post, Brand spoke of his past working relationship with Roumie, describing Roumie as “righteous, clearly connected to Christian values.” Brand went on to talk about “‘The Chosen,’ which is a retelling of gospel stories, and as a side note, stars my friend Jonathan as our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. But [he] was also my body double when I acted in HBO’s show with The Rock, ‘Ballers.'” Brand concluded, “So, I’m able to say that Jesus was my body double.”

Roumie confirmed the connection and referred to Brand as “my brother from another mother.”

“I was Russell’s body double/stand-in (where an actor basically “stands in” for the main actors while the crew lights and gets the shot ready so that the main actor can spend time doing his work prepping for the scene to be filmed),” Roumie said, “for two seasons on HBO’s ‘Ballers’ as one of the many side-gigs I hustled to pay my bills.”

The two actors clearly connected from the beginning, and Roumie remains friends with “this lyrical lad,” Roumie said, referring to Brand. “Russell, you’re an innovator and a truth-teller, but if you ever wanted to return the favor and be Jesus’ body-double, I gotchu, and it’d make a great story.”

It was only fitting for Brand to choose Roumie as his first guest for a podcast episode focused on Christian topics and values.

“I’ve been a Christian for a little while now, so I think it’s time to have some Christian friends on the show,” said Brand.

Roumie reposted Brand’s link to the interview on X and said, “The interview I’ve been looking forward to…since we last worked together.”

Brand has more than 11 million followers on X, and thousands have interacted with his post. One said, “I love your passion. It’s so inspiring to watch somebody who first discovers their faith and the passion that comes with it. A rebirths brings a new, young, fresh energy.”

https://t.co/A6WA0qXAmC

— Russell Brand (@rustyrockets) June 22, 2024

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) declined to hear an appeal from Josh Duggar regarding his conviction for receiving child sex abuse materials (CSAM). The nation’s highest court offered no comment on its decision but simply listed Duggar’s case as one in a number of petitions that it denied Monday morning. 

Josh Duggar SCOTUS Appeal Denied

Josh Duggar was sentenced in May 2022 to over 12 years in prison for his conviction on a charge of receiving child pornography. Duggar is the oldest child of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, whose large, homeschool family was featured in TLC’s reality show, “19 Kids and Counting” (2008-2015) and in the spin off, “Counting On” (2015-2020). Josh Duggar is married to Anna Duggar, and they have seven children.

RELATED: Josh Duggar’s Child Sexual Abuse Material Conviction Upheld by Appellate Court

TLC canceled “19 Kids and Counting” after news broke that Duggar had molested five girls, including four of his sisters. The network later canceled “Counting On” after Duggar was charged with receiving and possessing CSAM. Duggar was convicted of that crime on Dec. 9, 2021.

Duggar has also confessed to a pornography addiction and to being unfaithful to his wife, Anna Duggar. The Duggar family has close ties to Bill Gothard and the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) and was recently the subject of the docuseries, “Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets.” 

In August 2023, a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Duggar’s conviction. On Feb. 16, Duggar’s counsel filed a petition for a writ of certiorari, an option where legal parties dissatisfied with a lower court’s ruling can request that the nation’s highest court hear their case. SCOTUS announced its denial of Duggar’s request in its Monday order list.

During a rally in Philadelphia over the weekend, presidential candidate Donald Trump said that Franklin Graham recently told him that his speeches would be better if he stopped using “foul language.”

Graham, who is the son of the late evangelist Billy Graham and the president and CEO of Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, has been a vocal Trump supporter since 2016.

While giving his speech, Trump started to call President Joe Biden’s recent executive order on immigration “bulls**t” but stopped himself short of swearing.

RELATED: Franklin Graham, Russell Moore, Sean Feucht Among Many Weighing In on Trump’s Verdict

Trump proceeded to share that he doesn’t “want to use bad language” because Graham, whom Trump said he “likes so much,” wrote him a letter, saying, “Mr. President, I love your speaking. Your ability to speak is incredible. Your storytelling is great, but it could be so much better if you didn’t use foul language.”

Without hesitation, Trump said that Graham’s assessment was “wrong.”

At a rally in Philadelphia, Trump tells crowd that Franklin Graham wrote him a letter telling him his speeches would be better if he didn’t use “foul language.” Trump says Graham is “wrong!” @Franklin_Graham #trump pic.twitter.com/1zfMKpL9a3

— Jesse Jackson (@JesseTJackson) June 23, 2024

“But I have been working so hard and it’s not that hard,” Trump added. “The problem is, if you don’t interject every once in a while—I’m only talking about one or two times during an entire [two-hour] speech.”

“One or two,” Trump said. “Franklin, give me one or two words.”

Trump shared with the crowd that he was “really good” at a “Faith and Freedom” rally earlier that day. “I didn’t interject, [but] it could have been better if I used a couple of bad words,” he said. “When I see people start to walk out, then we’ll stop, okay?”

RELATED: Franklin Graham Meets Donald Trump While Preaching the Gospel on Tour of Border Towns

Again saying that he likes Graham, Trump proceeded to swear, saying, “So I’m not going to use the word ‘bulls**t.’”

“I refuse to use it,” he added, telling everyone that “it’s not that bad of a word.”

A Florida pastor was arrested and charged with four counts of possession of child pornography on Friday (June 21). Jonathan Elwing, now-formerly of Palm View First Baptist Church in Palmetto, Florida, resigned from the church before being taken into custody. 

Elwing was arrested after an investigation revealed that he allegedly used cryptocurrency to purchase child sex abuse material. Law enforcement executed a search warrant on Friday at the church and Elwing’s home and found child sex abuse material on Elwing’s phone.

In response to the shocking news, Larry Bianchi, the chair of Palm View’s deacon board, told WWSB that “the people of the church are the church.”

“The pastor may be the front man, he may be the leader of the church—and we need a new one,” Bianchi said. “But Palm View Baptist Church will go on because of the strength of the congregation.”

The congregation is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). 

The church also appears on Founders Ministries’ list of “gospel-preaching, Christ-exalting” churches. Led by Florida SBC Pastor Tom Ascol, Founders is “committed to encouraging the recovery of the gospel and the biblical reformation of local churches.”

Notably, Ascol has expressed suspicion regarding the SBC’s sexual abuse reforms, which Southern Baptists overwhelmingly voted to adopt. Ascol has cited the cost of reforms relative to what he believes to be their effectiveness, as well as his concern for false allegations, in his arguments against reform.

“The Houston Chronicle report on sex abuse in the SBC found that, over a 20 year period, for every 125,000 Southern Baptists, 124,999 were never convicted of any sex crimes,” Ascol said in a social media post on April 16. “Interesting study in narrative constructions.”

In an email to ChurchLeaders, Ascol said, “I am deeply grieved to read about Jonathan Elwing’s arrest and the charges filed against him.”

“Pornography is wicked and a scourge on our nation. It should be outlawed at every level of our society. Child pornography is a compounded wickedness because it necessarily involves the abuse of the most vulnerable among us,” he continued. “Those who engage in it should be punished to the full extent of the law.”

RELATED: Robert Morris Resigns as Gateway Church’s Senior Pastor Following Sexual Abuse Allegations

Per Founders Ministries’ website, churches that appear on its recommended list of “healthy, biblically-grounded” churches “are listed voluntarily, and Founders Ministries is not able to evaluate and endorse each church individually.” 

Ahead of a planned meeting Monday (June 24) about gun violence among Nashville youth, a local pastor revealed he recently escaped what appeared to be a carjacking attempt.

Curtis Bryant, pastor of Greater Heights Missionary Baptist Church, told WKRN he had briefly pulled his truck over to check his phone. Afterward, as he turned around in a driveway, a masked man appeared.

“I saw him coming with a ski mask on, reach for my door handle. I was in reverse already, and I just stepped on it,” said Bryant. “I guess I angered him because I didn’t allow him to do maybe what he wanted to do. So out of anger, he shot my vehicle.”

According to the pastor, the assailant shot five bullets at his truck, damaging tires, a headlight, and a door.

Nashville Pastor: ‘I’m Not Exempt’ From Violence

The attempted carjacking isn’t the first time Pastor Curtis Bryant has been impacted by gun violence. A few years ago, he said, his parked car was struck by someone shooting a gun nearby. The recent incident with the masked man felt different, however. “The intent was for me, and it was traumatic,” he said. “But I thank God that I’m still alive.”

RELATED: After Mass Shooting That Claimed His Daughter, Grieving Nashville Pastor Preaches About Loss

The pastor warned neighbors that “this kind of violence can strike anywhere,” adding, “I guess I was just shown that I’m not exempt.”

Bryant advised caution, telling people to keep their heads up. “If I would’ve kept my head down for another few seconds,” the pastor said, the assailant “would have been upon me without my being aware.”

During a two-week period earlier this month, four Nashville teens were shot and killed. To address concerns about gun violence among local youth, Mayor Freddie O’Connell is meeting with some area pastors today—including Bryant.

About the problem of gun violence in Nashville, Bryant said, “We’ve got to do whatever we can to keep young people conscious and us to keep aware of potentially volatile situations.”

Bryant’s Nonprofit Has Come Under Scrutiny

Bryant is active in the Nashville community, working on anti-violence initiatives, assisting crime victims, and creating affordable housing. Through his faith-based organization, Successful Survivors, Bryant aims to help local residents survive and thrive. “For me as a pastor, I see that being a spiritual venture, an economic venture, just a life venture,” he said in a 2021 interview.

GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan (RNS) — At its annual national meeting this week, the Christian Reformed Church in North America, one of the oldest denominations in the United States, voted 134-50 on Wednesday (June 19) to put congregational leaders on “limited suspension” if their churches publicly welcome LGBTQ+ members, violating the CRCNA’s official stance on same-sex relationships.

The synod also voted Tuesday (June 18) to tighten rules for how congregations voice their differences with the ruling body of the denomination and asked for new resources for dissenting churches as they seek to realign or disaffiliate in the wake of the week’s decisions.

Like other Christian denominations in recent years, the CRCNA has been debating inclusion and participation in church life for LGBTQ+ individuals and couples. Two years ago, the CRCNA synod voted to include “homosexual sex” alongside other behaviors, such as adultery, polyamory and pornography usage, in its official definition of “unchastity.” The move elevated the church’s stance against LGBTQ+ behavior to confessional status, meaning that anyone who holds office in the church is expected to uphold this belief.

Sandy Navis and her husband, Bob, members at Sherman Street CRC in Grand Rapids, came to watch the deliberations, feeling it was important to be a “presence to support the minority of (LGBTQ+)-affirming delegates,” said Sandy Navis. “I really felt called by God to come and be an observer all week … I think things like this need to be witnessed. They shouldn’t be done in private.”

How exactly the decision will be implemented will be left largely in the hands of regional subdivisions of the CRCNA, known as classes (singular: classis). Elizabeth Koning said her church, Hessel Park Church in Champaign, Illinois, is the only church in Classis Chicago South to have a publicly available statement that affirms LGBTQ+ people.

Before attending synod as a deacon delegate this year, Koning said she didn’t know what to expect. “I came here to make sure that our experience as a church was represented, our point of view and understanding of Scripture was represented. And I came here because I really love the CRC, and I am invested in its future, and I was hoping that future would include me,” Koning said.

She added that while there are many conversations ahead about how to proceed at Hessel Park, Koning doesn’t expect her church to be interested in revoking its statement. The church spent more than a year in conversation with its members and other organizations while drafting its statement, according to Koning.

For those in favor of the decision, the move is seen as a chance for everyone in the denomination to follow Christ in “humility and joy,” according to the Rev. Michael Bentley, pastor at Trinity CRC in St. Louis, Missouri. Bentley said pastors have a responsibility to “minister like Jesus did and still say, ‘I love you, I’m calling you out of your sin, and Jesus calls you out of your sin.’”

He emphasized that the move shouldn’t be seen as only applying to certain churches and is instead a reminder that “we are all under the yoke of Christ.”

As the denomination moves forward, Bentley said he hopes that all of its members will be “able to be ministered to and loved and brought to walk with Christ gently.”

But the Rev. Ryan Schreiber, pastor of Grace CRC in Grand Rapids, which has a publicly available statement supporting LGBTQ+ involvement, said the synod vote threatens the existence of the denomination.

The pastor delegate from Classis Grand Rapids East, who said he took on a “very visible” role at this week’s synod, said Grace CRC will now begin the process of disaffiliating itself with the CRCNA. While he appreciates that the synod was “very generous in the terms outlined for churches like mine, that are openly affirming,” Schreiber is deeply concerned that the split over LGBTQ+ will deprive the denomination of needed resources.

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Safeguarding experts and abuse survivors met at the Gregorian University this week to address clerical abuse of disabled individuals, shedding light on the scope and challenges of this often unaddressed reality.

People living with psychological and physical disabilities are disproportionately more likely to become victims of physical, psychological and sexual abuse. Disabled children are 3.1 times more likely to be sexually abused and 3.9 times more likely to be emotionally abused, according to The Safeguarding Company.

Children with psychological or intellectual disabilities and people who are deaf, blind or autistic are up to 5 times more likely to suffer abuse.

The team of 350 experts in safeguarding and abuse prevention from 55 countries met June 18-21 for the annual International Safeguarding Conference organized by the Institute of Anthropology (or IADC) at the Gregorian University to discuss policies, challenges and risks facing the disabled.

RELATED: Youth Pastor Charged With Child Sex Abuse; Church Says SBC Database Would Have Prevented Him From Getting Hired

“There is a necessity to really look closely to how people deal with disabled persons especially when in care, how they are helped to realize what abuse is and looks like and feels like and then give them the opportunity to use reporting channels tailored to their needs and capacities,” said Fr. Hans Zollner, the director of the IADC, in an interview with RNS on Friday (June 21).

Within the church, high-profile cases of abuse against disabled people or vulnerable adults have shed light on the lack of protections for the disabled. In 2019 an Argentine court found two priests guilty of sexually abusing 10 disabled individuals at Antonio Provolo Institute for Deaf and Hearing Impaired Children between 2004 and 2016. A 900-page report issued in January delved into the case of the French theologian and activist Jean Vanier, founder of l’Arche, the charitable organization for people living with intellectual disabilities, who abused six non-disabled women between 1970 and 2005.

Fr. Hans Zollner, head of the safeguarding institute at the Pontifical Gregorian University, poses for photos in Rome before an interview with The Associated Press, Oct. 13, 2021. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

“It has shone a light on the necessity of really supervising such highly esteemed works of charity,” Zollner said, adding that church authorities should not become complacent just because a charismatic leader seems exemplary. “It should not deter us from being really vigilant of the traps and the likelihood of disabled people being abused,” he added.

Pope Francis convened a summit of abuse-prevention experts and victims at the Vatican in February 2019 to address the clerical abuse crisis and enact a “zero tolerance” policy within the institution. Following the event, the pope issued a decree, Vos Estis Lux Mundi (“You Are the Light of the World” in English), where he ordered sweeping reforms for accountability and mandatory reporting of abuse for priests and religious. In the document he also extended the canon law protections for vulnerable adults.

Zollner praised the Catholic Church’s current effort to enforce accountability and safeguarding in dioceses all over the world today and suggested that the institution may become a leader in some parts of the world in its advocacy for the protection of children and vulnerable adults from abuse.

“When it comes to accountability for coverup and in the area of dealing with the crimes of the past, the church has a lot to do, and, honestly, we are lagging behind,” Zollner admitted.