FINLEYVILLE, Pennsylvania (RNS) — At first, the Rev. Ken Barner thought it was the sound system.

Tucked in a back room just behind the sanctuary of Crossroads Ministries, Barner was preparing to enter the stage for the evening service on Saturday (May 11), when he heard what sounded like a freight train. Then the lights flickered and Barner realized the noise was coming from outside.

“I’m thinking, we’re gonna lose this building,” said Barner in an interview on the steps of the church Monday morning.

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His wife Rhonda was singing “The God Who Stays,” a contemporary Christian hit by Matthew West, when Barner and other church leaders snapped into action, ushering the nearly 100 congregants down the stairs to the basement. Luke McClain, pastor of ministry development, was hit with shards of glass as two sanctuary windows blew out, but no one was seriously injured.

A tornado pulled the roof off a section of Crossroads Ministries Church in Finleyville, Penn., on Saturday evening, May 11, 2024. (Photo courtesy Crossroads Ministries)

It wasn’t until the group emerged from the basement roughly 30 minutes later that they discovered a tornado had blown off their church’s steeple, flinging it into the parking lot where it had smashed several cars.

Located just off a main road in Finleyville, a suburb of Pittsburgh, Crossroads Ministries is a nondenominational Protestant church that meets in a brick building built in 1972. It typically draws between 500-600 people across its three weekend services, according to the pastors. On Saturday, infants, 90-somethings and a few first-time visitors were all part of the roughly 100 people in attendance.

“It’s a true cross-section of Pittsburgh,” said Barner, who has been on staff since 1990 and became senior pastor in 2015. “We’re Yinzers. It’s Steeler country here.”

The pastor said there was no warning that the church was in the path of a tornado — while he was aware of storms predicted to land farther north, in Finleyville, sports games, birthday parties and church events went on as usual, Barner said, until the storm blew through.

“The job of the pastor is to lead, feed, guide and protect his congregation. And at times, we have to do that physically,” said Barner. “All I could think about was, let’s get everybody to safety.”

Hunkered in the basement hallway, Barner led the congregants in prayer and quoted Psalm 46 as they waited for the storm to pass. “The Lord is our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble,” he recounted to RNS.

Soon, personnel from emergency medical services and the local fire department were on the scene. Fearing that the entire building would collapse, they led congregants into the adjacent building, which holds the school’s gymnasium, to assess potential injuries. Aside from minor bruises and cuts, everyone was unscathed.

Duane Chapman, better known to most as “Dog the Bounty Hunter,” has released a book titled “Nine Lives and Counting: A Bounty Hunter’s Journey to Faith, Hope, and Redemption.” In it, he recounts how God has “rescued, saved, and redeemed” him despite his mistakes.

“This book is about my faith in God and my walk with God,” Chapman told ChurchLeaders.

In the book, Chapman explains how “through the turmoil and the things I’ve been through…God has rescued, saved, and redeemed me.”

“The one thing I have said is after someone reads this book, and they don’t believe in God, good luck to you,” Chapman added. “[My life] is incredible miracle after miracle…It’s not luck. It is miracles from G-O-D.”

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Chapman was raised in the church from a young age but later made decisions that resulted in him being convicted of third degree murder. He shared that while serving his time in jail, he “came back to God” but still wasn’t completely dedicated.

That all changed after his wife, Beth, died of cancer in 2019 and he made a “deal with God,” asking God to bring him a wife. “I can’t find my own car coming out of Target,” Chapman joked.

When he was at one of the lowest point in his life, Chapman cried out, “God, please bring me my Eve.”

Not long after his plea, Chapman met his now-wife, Francie, while getting his driveway fixed. When they talked on the phone, Francie, not knowing who Chapman was due to the fact that she doesn’t watch much television, told him that she had recently lost her husband to cancer and was running his business. Chapman immediately broke down in tears.

An emotional Chapman went on to tell ChurchLeaders that one of Francie’s friends told her, “You’re going to meet Dog the Bounty Hunter and you’re going to help change lives for the world together.”

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A year-and-a-half later, Chapman and Francie got married.

With decades of ministry experience, Cathe Laurie shared encouragement to each mom at Harvest Christian Fellowship on Mother’s Day. She and her husband, Greg Laurie, have two sons—Jonathan, who serves on staff at Harvest, and Christopher, who lost his life nearly 16 years ago.

“Give your pride-filled ego a timeout,” offered Cathe.

Greg Laurie Posted Cathe Laurie’s Thoughts on Mother’s Day

With her son, Pastor Jonathan, looking on, Cathe took to the platform of Harvest Christian Fellowship to address the moms in church on Mother’s Day.

“Who doesn’t aspire to be a good mom?” asked Cathe Laurie.

She recognized that the end goal could look different depending on what mothers read. Moms can focus on ultra-nutritious and organic food, academics, sports achievements, or even brand-name and coordinated clothing.

“Whatever circles you happen to fill your heart with—those are going to be the ones that are going to tell you how to be a good mom,” Cathe explained.

Beneath all of the various approaches to motherhood, there seems to be an underlying question all moms are asking themselves.

“What if I fail?” Cathe asked.

Moms second-guess themselves constantly, asking questions like, “Am I doing this right?,” or, “Am I doing enough?”

Cathe offered encouragement to every mom, saying, “Jesus is enough.” She continued, “None of us is ever going to do it perfectly. There’s only one perfect person who’s ever lived and will ever live—and that is Jesus.”

“You take those ‘mommy fails’ to the foot of the cross, to our Savior who is not only able to give us eternal life but to give us that guilt-lifting, joy-fueling grace that only Christ promises,” Cathe said. She went on to give moms a few things to do.

Referring to Jeremiah 29:11, she first encouraged each mother to remember that the same God who began the good work and called them to motherhood will “complete what he has promised.”

After its longtime pastor was arrested last week for allegedly distributing child sex abuse materials, a Texas church immediately removed him from office. Texas Pastor Bruce Hollen, 63, was arrested on May 8 and has been charged with possession with intent to promote child pornography. In court Friday, his bond was set at $30,000. Hollen is currently being held in the Montgomery County Jail.

Editor’s note: This article refers to child sex abuse materials, which some readers might find triggering and/or disturbing.

Hollen’s arrest stemmed from an investigation conducted by a county task force on internet crimes against children. In court documents, authorities said they obtained photographs of girls between the ages of 9 and 12 who were unclothed from the waist down. Some of the photos depicted girls who were participating in sex acts.

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Texas law defines “promotion” of child pornography as knowingly or intentionally possessing material that visually depicts minors—those younger than 18 at the time the images were created—and that depicts the children engaging in sexual conduct.

Church Responds to Allegations Against Pastor

According to Hollen’s personal Facebook page, he has been a pastor at Calvary Chapel of The Woodlands since July 2000. The Woodlands is located about 30 miles north of Houston.

Photos of Hollen and his wife have been removed from the church’s website. Some videos of Hollen conducting worship services have also been deleted.

When a local TV station went to Hollen’s house seeking comment, no one opened the door. Last week, a church representative told ABC13 that leaders were working to keep the church running and “don’t have all of the information.”

The link to Calvary Chapel’s website homepage now goes directly to the following statement:

The board of Calvary Chapel of The Woodlands has discussed the allegations against Pastor Bruce Hollen and has unanimously decided effective immediately that as of 5/8/2024, Bruce Hollen is stripped of his role as lead pastor of Calvary Chapel of The Woodlands. The board hereby has determined that Bruce Hollen no longer has authority, authorization, or permission to conduct any business on behalf of Calvary Chapel of The Woodlands. He may not hold himself out as a leader in any capacity for the church, and he may not speak on behalf of the church in any capacity.

Church Meets at a Local Public School

Calvary Chapel of The Woodlands meets in the auditorium of McCullough Junior High School, a local public school. District officials said because the church services take place on Sundays, none of its students are present in the facility.

The church’s meeting location sparked renewed concerns on social media about the separation of church and state.

A teenage suspect carrying a rifle was apprehended shortly after attempting to enter the backdoor of St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church in Abbeville, Louisiana, during a First Communion service on Saturday (May 11).

Around 60 children were inside the church waiting to receive their First Communion. The incident was captured on the church’s livestream, a video which has since been taken down from social media. 

Before the video was taken down, it was captured by several local media outlets, including KADN. In it, Fr. Nicholas G. Dupré can be seen leading the Mass before someone approaches him to whisper something in his ear. 

Dupré then asks everyone to be seated, and several individuals can be seen conversing and looking toward the back of the room. A few moments later, Dupré can be seen leading a Hail Mary prayer as police officers enter the room.

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A few moments after that, panic appears to erupt in the crowd. As people begin to evacuate, a voice can be heard assuring them that the teen “is in custody.” 

Abbeville Chief of Police Mike Hardy said in a statement on Facebook that officers arrived at the church around 10:35 a.m. on Saturday after receiving a call about “a suspicious person with a gun.”

“The person was confronted by parishioners and escorted outside. Upon arrival, Officers arrested the suspect and placed him in custody,” Hardy said. “Officers with the Abbeville Police Department and Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office made a sweep through the church to ensure there was no additional threat and confirmed that no one was injured.”

The suspect, who is a 16-year-old white male, was questioned by investigators with a parent present. He was then transported to the Abbeville General Hospital Behavioral Unit to be evaluated. 

Following the incident, Mary Magdalen Catholic Church also released a statement, saying, “This morning, our First Communion ceremony was interrupted when a suspicious person opened the back door.”

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“This understandably caused panic,” the statement went on to say. “While we realize this was a frightening experience for those in attendance, we are incredibly grateful to both parishioners and police officers for acting quickly to ensure the safety of all.”

Matt Chandler, lead pastor at The Village Church in Flower Mound, Texas, took time this week to share his views on the “mark of the beast,” which is mentioned in the Bible in Revelation 13. Despite what some believe, Chandler does not believe the mark is some type of advanced technology.

 

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Matt Chandler Explains the Mark of the Beast

Revelation 13 describes a beast coming out of the earth followed by a second beast coming out of the sea. The second beast performs miraculous signs, makes people worship the first beast, and causes those who refuse to worship the first beast to be killed. Verses 16-18 say:

It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666.

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Chandler said that if people are close to his age, they’re familiar with the idea that the mark of the beast could be a credit card, a phone, or a chip embedded in people’s hands. However, the pastor said that to think the mark of the beast is one of these types of technology is “to miss the point that’s being made” in Revelation.

“The perfect number is number seven, and so if seven is complete, six is incomplete,” said Chandler. “We also know that the number three means complete. And so 666, the mark of the beast, is really to show that the work of the enemy is completely—three sixes—incomplete. And so this is, really, what the enemy produces: complete incompleteness.”

The mark of the beast “is not Elon Musk putting something in our brains or something like that,” Chandler said. Rather, the number 666 on people’s foreheads symbolizes “ideological belief,” and the number on people’s hands depicts “the practice of that ideological belief.”

Chandler believes the mark of the beast is currently being lived out in our society. “I think the way you’re even seeing this today,” he said, “is there are certain, especially in the business community now, ideological beliefs you must have in order to participate in the economy. And I think we’re going to see this get worse.” 

“That means I believe the mark of the beast is active even now in this moment of history that we’re in,” he concluded.