On the morning of Sunday, Feb. 25, Pastor Clemmie Livingston Jr. of New Zionfield Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee, was shot in the mouth during a car theft that took place in the church’s parking lot.

Authorities are still looking for the two suspects, who stole a silver 2019 Chevrolet Corvette and shot the pastor. Livingston, 71, was critically injured after he walked out of the church to investigate car alarms in the church parking lot before being shot.

The pastor’s wife, Gwendoline, told FOX13, “He never talked to anybody. He never went to anybody. He didn’t try to stop anything. He didn’t deserve that. He didn’t confront anybody.”

The bullet that hit Livingston shattered his entire jaw. “So where that bone is supposed to be straight, it’s like a lot of little pieces of rocks, so that’s unrepairable,” Gwendoline said.

RELATED: ‘He Feared No Evil’—70-Year-Old Pastor Shot While Trying To Stop Car Theft Before Church

Roughly a month later, on Easter morning (March 31), Livingston miraculously returned to the pulpit for the first time since being shot.

“You see this jaw,” Livingston told WMC Action5 News on Easter Sunday. Pointing to his head, the pastor added, “It could have been right here. I’m still alive. What more can you ask for?”

“I really believe in my spirit that God left me here for a reason, if no more than to be an example for my children,” Livingston said.

“What people have to realize,” he added, “is sometimes God will say to you, ‘Not yet.’”

With a brace in his jaw, Livingston told the congregation, “You know it’s resurrection Sunday, but it also is a testimony Sunday for me.”

As he preached, the pastor used his story to encourage congregants to “endure until the end,” pointing to Matthew 24:13.

“A few weeks ago, my faith was tested. A faith that cannot be tested cannot be trusted,” Livingston said. “I had to hold on to the faith when I was struck by a stray bullet. Don’t know where it came from. I just saw myself going down on my knees.”

Florida pastor Monte Chitty is reportedly on the run after failing to appear in court to be arraigned on charges of sexual battery, lewd and lascivious behavior, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Editor’s note: This article contains information about sexual abuse and assault that some readers may find disturbing and/or triggering.

Last month, Chitty was arrested after being accused of giving a teen girl alcohol and then sexually assaulting her after she fell unconscious. The sexual assault allegedly took place on the property of First Baptist Church in Marathon, Florida, where Chitty had been serving as pastor. He also lived at the property. 

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

Following Chitty’s arrest, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) said in a news release that deputies were initially alerted via an anonymous caller, who said they had heard a girl tell an adult she had been raped. 

The MCSO later received a call from Chitty himself, who said that “he wanted to get ahead” of accusations that might be forthcoming. He then claimed that the victim, who is 15 years old, had been drinking and fell unconscious in the library of the church. 

The girl told deputies in an interview that Chitty had given her vodka that she believes contained some other substance. She reported immediately feeling weak before falling unconscious. The girl said that she awoke to Chitty performing oral sex on her. 

Upon further investigation, deputies found that Chitty had sent the girl lewd text messages that corroborated her story. In those messages, Chitty used a cat emoji to compliment the girl’s genitals before probing her about what she could remember about the assault, according to the MCSO.

“I prefer you pass out after I play not before,” Chitty reportedly texted. “You can’t even remember what I did.”

RELATED: North Carolina Pastor Charged With Soliciting Prostitution

Chitty was taken into custody before being released on $75,000 bond. He was set to be arraigned Monday (April 1). However, prosecutors told Local 10 that Chitty fled in a white van with out-of-state license plates and is believed to have left the state. 

(RNS) — The trustees of Calvin University released a statement Thursday (March 28), defending their decision to part ways with the school’s former president, who they said admitted sending “flirtatious” and “inappropriate” messages to a woman who was not his wife and therefore he was no longer fit to lead the Christian school based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

“Based on these admitted communications, the Board determined that Dr. Boer’s conduct was concerning and inappropriate and that he could not continue to serve as President of the University,” the board of trustees told The Calvin Chimes, the school’s student newspaper.

Former Calvin President Wiebe Boer resigned in February after the messages — sent to a member of the Calvin community who was not faculty or a student — were reported to the school’s Title IX office. The board told Chimes that no formal Title IX investigation was conducted into the matter but instead, the trustees spoke to Boer, who admitted sending some of the communications, which they say he admitted were wrong.

RELATED: Calvin University President Wiebe Boer Resigns Amid Allegations of ‘Unwelcome and Inappropriate’ Behavior

The resignation of Boer, a popular leader who had been on the job less than a year and a half, came as a shock. Boer had just announced an ambitious plan to grow the school’s enrollment and had been seen as someone who supported LGBTQ students on campus as well as faculty who dissented from denominational teaching about sexuality. Calvin is part of the Christian Reformed Church, which made its beliefs on sexuality part of the denomination’s confession of faith last year.

Wiebe Boer, former president of Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. (Photo courtesy of Calvin University)

John Hawthorne, a retired sociologist and longtime Christian college professor who now studies Christian colleges, said Boer, a former corporate executive and son of missionaries, was an ideal leader for Calvin, which like many Christian colleges, faces financial, enrollment and cultural challenges.

His departure was a huge disappointment, said Hawthorne, author of “The Fearless Christian University,” a forthcoming book about the future of Christian colleges.

He said Christian college presidents have faced heightened scrutiny in the wake of the #MeToo movement and the high-profile scandals involving Jerry Falwell Jr., the former president of Liberty University, one of the nation’s largest Christian schools.

Hawthorne , who has no information about the specifics of Boer’s situation, said Boer’s alleged actions likely were seen as a betrayal by someone the board had trusted.

Boer’s departure has led to questions from Calvin faculty, students and supporters. A group of Calvin alumni have reportedly asked the board of trustees for a third-party investigation into the board’s handling of the allegations against Boer, according to the Chimes.

The student paper reported that Boer was willing to have his allegedly inappropriate messages made public — but also that Boer claims to have deleted those messages.

Campus of Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. (Video screen grab)

Boer reportedly hired an attorney after resigning. He told the Chimes that the board of trustees has shared few details of the allegations against him but told him a complaint had been filed.

On Easter Sunday (March 31), a man lit a trailer filled with Bibles on fire near the entrance of Greg Locke’s Global Vision Bible Church (GVBC) in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, in what appears to be an attempt to thwart people from attending the worship service.

“Happy Resurrection Sunday,” Locke posted on social media. “This morning at 6:00 AM our security cameras caught a man dropping off a trailer in the middle of the intersection and blocking the road into our church.”

Locke said that the man then “got out and set fire to an entire trailer full of Bibles right in front of our church.” Fortunately, a woman who had driven all night to attend GVBC’s Easter service was sitting in the parking lot and quickly alerted police.

RELATED: ‘Pray for the Haters Who Are Going To Rejoice,’ Greg Locke Says After Snow Storm Damages Church’s Tent

“It was quite the scene to wake up to on my first morning back from Israel,” Locke added. “Had to block traffic in all directions, but they are almost finished cleaning it up. It’s going to be a great day in the Lord.”

Locke told ChurchLeaders that the man “tried to keep people from accessing the road, but this is Global Vision, our people have been through the worst and still manage to show up.”

During his sermon on Sunday, Locke told the congregation, “Many of you know the enemy has already been fighting [this morning], which shows me that God’s on the throne and God’s doing something.”

RELATED: Greg Locke Tells of How He Went From Being a Cessationist to Deliverance Minister in New Book

“I came over [to the church] early, and I’m like, why is Chandler Road blocked with the police? What did I do? I’ve been in Israel and I haven’t said anything,” the controversial Locke joked.

Locke shared that a man unhooked his trailer filled with Bibles near GVBC’s parking lot, doused it with gasoline, and lit it on fire.

Images of the aftermath showed a pile of burnt Bibles in what appears to be the kind of trailer that would usually haul lawn equipment.

The March 30 cold open on “Saturday Night Live” (SNL) mocked former President Donald Trump’s use of Christianity to gain supporters. The SNL cold open lampooned Trump’s promotion of the God Bless the USA Bible, the fact he has compared himself to Jesus, and his lack of knowledge about the Christian faith.

The sketch began with some introductory text appearing over various images of Jesus Christ and his crucifixion before the shot switched to the set where three actors portrayed the women who waited at Jesus’ tomb. 

After a joke about how too many of them were named “Mary,” they expressed shock as the stone started rolling away. One asked, “Is it Jesus?” In response, President Trump, played by James Austin Johnson, came out of the tomb, answering, “Basically, yes.”

“Happy Easter, everybody!” he said. “As it was stated in the Bible, guess who’s back, back again? Shady’s back.” He then dismissed the “girls,” telling them they have “no more lines. You did great. Bye bye.”

RELATED: ‘God Made Trump’ Video Portrays 45th President as Messiah Figure

SNL Cold Open Skewers Trump

“That’s right, it’s Easter! The time of year when I compare myself to Jesus Christ,” said Johnson as Trump. “That’s just a thing I do now, and people seem to be ok with it. I’m gonna keep doing it.”

This part of the sketch references March 25, the first day of Holy Week, when Trump shared a message from one of his supporters. That person told him, “It’s ironic that Christ walked through His greatest persecution the very week they are trying to steal your property from you,” an allusion to a $175 million bond Trump is facing for real estate fraud. 

The former president also copied and posted Psalm 109:3-8, a Bible passage his supporter had sent him.

On Easter Sunday (notably after the SNL cold open), Trump posted on Truth Social an article from the Washington Times titled, “The Crucifixion of Donald Trump,” which explicitly drew parallels between his life and the life of Jesus.

In a six-minute video posted to YouTube on Easter Sunday (March 31), “Reacher” actor Alan Ritchson used an egg hunt analogy to describe our need for a savior. Ritchson, who is outspoken about his Christian faith, said Jesus’ resurrection—and his “upside-down kingdom”—offer people “permanence and victory” that aren’t available elsewhere.

Ritchson, 41, launched the YouTube channel InstaChurch in 2022. In Sunday’s video, the actor said a massive egg hunt he and his wife hosted offered a glimpse of the relationship between people and God.

RELATED: ‘Reacher’ Star Alan Ritchson Discusses His Christian Faith With Atheist Bill Maher: ‘I Want Less Vitriol in the World’

Ritchson said when his oldest son, Calem, saw that some younger kids couldn’t keep up with their bigger, faster peers, Calem began giving the others some of his eggs. Only when kids started opening their finds did Calem realize he’d been giving away cash, not candy. That type of “self-sacrificial love” is a picture of our “high calling” from God, said Ritchson.

Alan Ritchson: When Adults Get ‘Bad Eggs’

Next, Alan Ritchson asked viewers to imagine those kids growing up to be 40 or 50, and instead of eggs being filled with treasures, some are “full of contempt, revenge, apathy.”

“What do we do? Do we continue to give those away?” he asked. “What about the ones that are full of some kind of value…that helps us feel like we can escape or find comfort when we’ve got a basket full of bad eggs? We hold on to those tighter.”

“This starts to look a lot more like real life,” Ritchson continued. “And we start to feel disenfranchised or cynical when it feels like the game is poisoned or broken beyond repair. And we start to crave a savior of some kind.”

Then the actor recapped the Old Testament history of the Israelites, who repeatedly disobeyed God after he had rescued them. That’s our story too. “We are not capable of saving ourselves because we crave evil,” said Ritchson. “We are wicked, broken people, and we need a savior.”

The Old Testament points to Jesus, the Messiah, who preached “radical generosity,” even to people “who you detest and who detest you,” Ritchson said. Jesus preached peace even to “the unclean” and to traitors, “and then he died at the hands of those who ironically could not understand the kind of peace that he was calling people to.”

Alan Ritchson: Jesus Calls Us To Give Away the ‘Good’ Eggs

Jesus calls his followers to an “upside-down kingdom with upside-down values” that begins “at the foot of the cross,” Alan Ritchson continued. “The resurrection…points to some reality that there’s permanence and victory in [God’s] kingdom. That it’s already been had, that it will continue forever, and that [those who are willing] will continue to be called, to be shaped to look more like that kingdom.”

Dr. Hal Kitchings serves as the senior pastor at Easthaven Baptist Church in Brookhaven, Mississippi. In his time at the church, he has cast a vision for a 150-foot giant cross on the church’s property.

“There [are some crosses] in other states, or at least one in another state, that is taller than 150 feet,” Kitchings told KCRG News. “So it’s not like, ‘Hey, we’re gonna get the tallest cross in the world ‘cause we want attention.’”

Mississippi Church Dedicates Giant Cross Before Good Friday Service

While Kitchings claimed the church’s aim wasn’t to have the tallest cross in the state, that’s currently the case. Kitchings wanted the cross to be seen from nearby Interstate 55. In order for it to be seen above tall treetops, designers determined that the cross would need to be 150 feet tall. “The Haven Cross” weighs 52,000 pounds.

Those in the church and surrounding community were invited to help dedicate the cross Friday morning before a Good Friday service. Kitchings explained that the cross helps him and his church fulfill the Great Commission. He mentioned how Jesus commanded his disciples to spread the gospel around the world. Kitchings wants the cross to be a symbol of hope.

“We’re excited about it,” Kitchings said. “I know that in the Bible, we shouldn’t be surprised that people push back because in 1 Corinthians 1:18, it says, for example, ‘The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved, it is the power of God.’”

The cross costs $200,000 to design and build. Additional funds will need to be dedicated to a special lighting system that would enable the structure to be lit at night and be seen 24 hours a day.

Some community members are questioning the reasoning behind spending that amount of money on a cross, rather than a specific mission to help others in need.

The church posted photos and said, “A few pictures from today’s service. We had great participation from our church and community. Thank you! #goodfriday2024.”

Despite the challenges and critiques of such an endeavor, there is plenty of support for the cross from those local to Brookhaven.

One person shared, “I love seeing that cross when I come off the exit.”

“Such an awesome dedication,” mentioned another.