With many Americans scrambling to make ends meet, one Chicago-area pastor decided to bless community members with a precious commodity: 40,000 free eggs.

The Rev. Dr. Charlie Dates, pastor of Progressive Baptist Church in Bridgeport and Salem Baptist Church in Pullman, said low-income families in those neighborhoods are struggling to afford groceries. So on Saturday (March 15), volunteers will distribute free eggs at five locations throughout the South Side of Chicago.

The 40,000 eggs, purchased from a wholesale distributor, are arriving on Friday (March 13) in a refrigerated truck. About 300 volunteers will then work to unload, package, and reload the precious product.

Every person who attends Saturday’s event will receive one carton of eggs. Dates said he hopes to be able to assist about 3,000 families.

Families Feel Fried by High Egg Prices

“Our churches are giving away 40,000 eggs this weekend, because Black families are struggling at the grocery store,” said Pastor Dates. “Historically, the Black church in America has cared for the Black flourishing of the family. We also know that eggs are the primary source of [nutrition] for low-income families.”

High food prices have kept some of his church members walking on eggshells lately, according to Dates. “A number of our congregants have been holding on to eggs past the expiration date, and some are choosing just not to eat them at all,” he said. Meanwhile, eggs are “a staple in a family’s diet, for protein, for bread, for a number of things.”

The pastor indicated that it is time to get cracking with solutions to costly groceries. “The President promised prices would drop on day one [of his administration], but instead they’ve only soared,” Dates said. “We have a unique opportunity to do what the church has always done, and that is to care for marginalized people groups.”

The pastor, who previously criticized evangelical Christians who view President Trump as divinely appointed, said, “We’re not waiting on him or anyone else to fix this. We can still care for our people in compassionate ways.”

Carl Lentz recently offered his thoughts on fallen pastors returning to public ministry, urging caution and emphasizing doing the work necessary to heal. 

Lentz, who was once known as a pastor to celebrities and professional athletes as head of Hillsong New York, was removed from his position in 2020 after it was revealed that he had been involved in an extramarital affair. 

Following his firing from Hillsong, Lentz was accused of abuse. Lentz has denied these allegations. He has not been charged with a crime and no lawsuit has been brought against him.

Lentz’s recent comments about fallen pastors returning to ministry came in the context of an interview on Lecrae’s “Deep End” podcast. 

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During his conversation with Lentz, Lecrae recounted an interview he heard in which Ralph David Abernathy, a civil rights activist who worked closely with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was asked whether those close to King knew that King was engaged in extramarital affairs. 

“Of course we knew,” Lecrae recalled Abernathy saying. 

Lecrae said that when Abernathy was asked what he did with that information, Abernathy replied, “Well, we tried to tell him; we counseled him. We got him some help and then he stopped.”

“And there are congregations around the world that have some sense of, okay, we gotta get you to step down, we gotta do some repair work on you and you’re going back to work,” Lecrae said before asking Lentz, “Do you feel, in some sense, like a scapegoat?”

“Because so many pastors have fallen…Do you feel like, in some sense, you’re the poster child or the scapegoat for all of this?” Lecrae asked. 

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“No, I don’t feel like that,” Lentz said. “I will say that if you have a scandal or disaster, and you want to come back into a ministry role anywhere close to the [same] timeframe, I would ask you to reconsider.” 

WASHINGTON (RNS) — Evangelical Christian groups are calling on Congress to reinstate foreign aid programs shuttered by President Donald Trump’s administration, arguing the government’s actions will hurt millions of people around the world.

Addressing a crowd of around three dozen largely evangelical Christians assembled at Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church on Tuesday morning (March 11) for a “Prayer Vigil for Foreign Aid,” the Rev. Eugene Cho, president and CEO of the group Bread for the World, denounced the “broad, un-targeted cuts” recently implemented at the U.S. Agency for International Development as an assault on vulnerable populations all over the globe.

“These indiscriminate cuts are not just a policy failure,” said Cho, standing in a sanctuary dotted with candles. “For us, especially, as followers of Christ, as uncomfortable as it may be, we must clearly … but prophetically, say: it is also a moral failure.”

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The unusual vigil, featuring an array of evangelical organizations such as World Relief and the Accord Network publicly criticizing the federal government, came a day after Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared on social media that the government will cancel 83% of programs at USAID. The announcement followed weeks of chaos at the agency involving work stoppages, ongoing legal battles and mass layoffs led by billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency.

In an email on Monday, Matthew Soerens, vice president of advocacy and policy at World Relief, the humanitarian arm of the National Association of Evangelicals, told Religion News Service the group’s contracts were among those canceled. Although he celebrated the fact that four of World Relief’s grants in Sudan, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo were unexpectedly reinstated, he noted two of those grants are “scheduled to be completed this month,” and the organization has not received “any information on proposals for renewal.”

Meanwhile, he said, the group’s work in Haiti remains in limbo, with World Relief having received a “stop work” order in January but no formal cancellation. What’s more, World Relief still hasn’t received any reimbursements for work already done.

“It’s very difficult to operate until we’re confident we will be reimbursed,” Soerens wrote.

In addition, a representative for Catholic Relief Services, the single largest recipient of USAID funds in recent years, according to Forbes, confirmed to RNS on Tuesday their contracts were also among those canceled, although they were unable to clarify precisely how many.

During Tuesday’s vigil, several speakers highlighted the human toll of the cuts. Kombo Choga, senior director for program design at Compassion International, pointed out that his organization currently does not receive government funds, but said they “are witnessing how the withdraw of aid is devastating” populations they work with — including children.

“It’s causing harm now, and into the future,” he told the crowd, which included evangelical Christian USAID staffers who were laid off during recent cuts. Several held signs emblazoned with slogans such as “Hunger won’t wait” and “Aid strengthens American national security.”

Choga argued that while the government has a responsibility to assess the proper use of taxpayer funds, the Bible offers “very clear guidance.”

“Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord,” he said, citing Proverbs 19:17.

Carol Bremer-Bennett, executive director of World Renew, expressed a similar sentiment during her prayer at the event.

“We lament the choices of those in power who have turned away from the suffering of your children,” she said, adding that funding “has been withdrawn from clinics where babies take their first breaths, from hospitals where mothers fight to survive childbirth, from communities where clean water and medicine once flowed.”

Last week, Texas Pastor Landon Schott posted a video to celebrate that his Fort Worth church’s private school, Mercy Culture Preparatory (MCP), has the lowest vaccination rate in the state. That is leading to lots of pushback, especially with Texas at the center of a measles outbreak.

Schott, pastor of the multi-campus Mercy Culture Church, indicated that reporters “were trying to spin [the low vaccination rate] like it was some awful thing.” But he said he wanted to “congratulate” all the school families who “embrace freedom of health” and aren’t “allowing government or science projects to affect how you live and lead your life.”

In the caption of his March 6 video, Schott wrote, “We value our HEALTH & FREEDOM!” His Christian school has an MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccination rate of 14.3%, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. Medical experts say a rate of 95% is necessary in a community to curb measles cases.

After some people called the pastor’s celebratory words insensitive and tone deaf, Schott posted another video two days later. In the March 8 post, he emphasized that he gives “spiritual advice,” not medical advice. The pastor also indicated that his critics often have an agenda, including many who self-identify as LGBTQ+ and witches.

Despite vitriol directed his way—including “hundreds of death wishes against me, my family, and the children of MC Prep”—Schott doubled-down on his beliefs. “Parents should have the liberty to give or not give their children whatever legal medications they want,” he wrote on March 8.

Schott referred to the “insanity” of the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought much of the world to a halt five years ago this week. Some people were fired from their jobs for refusing to receive “forced vaccinations,” the pastor noted.

Vaccine Comments by Texas Pastor Landon Schott Spark Debate 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Texas now has 223 cases of the measles, including 29 hospitalizations. Fifteen other states, including New Mexico and Oklahoma, have reported cases of the highly contagious disease. Last month, a school-age child in Texas died from measles-related complications, and last week New Mexico reported the measles-related death of an adult.

In response to Schott’s March 6 celebration video, social media users criticized the pastor for praising vaccine refusal. “I am a pediatric nurse practitioner and Christian,” one person wrote. “Getting vaccinated is loving to my neighbor. To the child with cancer who is immunocompromised, to the very young who cannot yet get vaccinated. Without love, your speech is a clanging gong.”

Another comment read:

I’m an outspoken Christian and also a medical student. Respectfully, this is a horrible thing to be celebrating. This is a disgrace to the name of Christ. Jesus loves the children, and advocating for them to be exposed to preventable sickness and death defies every tenet of Jesus loving the little children. Please, please, reconsider this.

Someone else lamented that a child of God had just died from a “completely avoidable illness,” saying that God would want us to “use the tools HE GAVE US to save [kids].”

Another person wrote, “I see why [Schott is] so excited. Child funerals must be lucrative business for a pastor.” Others noted that today’s generation of parents likely has immunity against measles, thanks to shots, yet their anti-vaccine stance is jeopardizing the health of their kids.

Throughout his ministry, American televangelist Peter Popoff has focused on “supernatural” displays of God’s power. Popoff promotes his own “Miracle Spring Water,” along with controversial claims of healing.

And although the religious channel Word Network said that Popoff’s “broadcasts had aired without issue for years,” U.K. authorities have imposed a £150,000 fine for breaching regulations, as reported by Premier Christian News. That amount is roughly $194,000 in American dollars.

Popoff’s broadcasts “repeatedly featured statements and testimonials suggesting the water could cure serious illnesses, including cancer,” stated Ofcom, the U.K. communications regulator.

Televangelist Fined for ‘Miracle Spring Water’ That ‘Could Potentially Mislead Viewers’

In two specific broadcasts, televangelist Peter Popoff offered “Miracle Spring Water” and claimed “breakthrough” power. Ofcom, a communications regulator in the U.K., sees the promotions full of “potentially harmful claims.” The regulator has issued a six-figure fine for the breach.

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Popoff said in an Instagram post promoting the water, “There’s nothing magical about a point of contact…” In contrast, according to his website, “The Miracle Spring Water is a powerful Biblical point of contact.” Further, his website warns, “*Note* Do not ingest the miracle spring water.”

“I believe the Miracle Spring Water will help you to use and release your faith as we agree together for the miracle you need,” Popoff said. “So many people have used the Miracle Spring Water and their lives have been changed!”

Ofcom works to “make sure people across the UK are satisfied with what they see and hear on TV and radio, and that the programmes reflect the audiences they serve.”

The communications regulator allows for the freedom of religious expression. However, “the claims made went beyond proclamations of faith,” Ofcom argued.

“Ofcom was particularly concerned that the programmes repeatedly featured statements and testimonials suggesting the water could cure serious illnesses, including cancer,” said the regulator.

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Its Broadcasting Code specifically states that “religious broadcasts must not exploit audiences’ vulnerabilities or promote products.”