Breaking Christian News on The Gospel Herald

Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., hosted a one-day Catalyst conference with two prominent speakers. Andy Stanley and Craig Groeschel have unpacked the nuts-and-bolts of leadership, according to the event’s website.

Egypt's Christian community is under assault from jihadist radicals, according to the American Center for Law and Justice. Churches are burning, including ancient cathedrals. Nuns are captured and paraded through the streets. Christian homes and businesses are attacked.

The mother of a lesbian detective has been booted from her longtime Tennessee church, according to CNN. Elders at Ridgedale Church of Christ, near Knoxville, told Linda Cooper and two relatives that their public support for Kat Cooper, Linda’s gay daughter, went against the church's teachings, local media reported.

Planned Parenthood in Iowa, Montana, New Hampshire, and Washington D.C. will get about $1 million taxpayer dollars in grant money to help clients enroll in new ObamaCare health insurance programs – drawing fire from Republicans who want to make sure the funds don’t go to abortion services, according to Fox News.

Martha was a village priestess in Cameroon, but most everyone thought she was a deity. She’d even tell fellow villager what kind of animal sacrifices to make.

The arbitrary shooting of Christopher Lane, a 23-year-old Australian who was living his dream of studying in the U.S. on a baseball scholarship, has repulsed many in his home country.

Christian leaders from house church networks in mainland China overcame enormous hurdles to attend the recent Asian Church Leaders Forum in Seoul, according to lausanne.com. The participation of the Chinese leaders in the 300-strong ACLF marked the first time since 1949 that such a group of Chinese Christian leaders had taken part in a multi-national gathering.

Chinese Communist Party leaders have filled meeting halls around China to hear a somber, secretive warning issued by senior leaders. True power could escape them, unless the party destroys seven subversive perils surging through Chinese society, according to The New York Times.

The population growth of Asians has outpaced that of Hispanics in the last 10 years, especially near California’s urban centers, according to The New York Times. As we reported earlier this week, some of the largest increases in the Asian population were in wealthy white suburbs in the San Gabriel Valley.

The average American lives to 78.7 years. Yet more than one in three Americans want to live to be at least 120 – and sometimes older -- according to a study from the Pew Research Center’s Religion and Public Life Project and The Huffington Post.

Last night, three people in two states -- two in New Jersey and on in Minnesota -- won the $448 million Powerball jackpot. Yet, Dave Ramsey wrote, The Lotto, or gambling of any kind, offers false hope -- not a ticket out. Jesus Christ -- and a plan to get out of debt -- offers hope that works.

Former Victoria’s Secret model Kylie Bisutti is determined for her new brand to succeed as the first-ever full-service Christian clothing label, according to Time.

Archaeologists working at an ancient church in Turkey think they've unearthed a piece of the world's most famous cross -- the one used to crucify Jesus, according to USA Today.

A federal judge has extended a hold on part of a new Wisconsin law that requires abortion providers to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. An injunction has been issued that blocks the mandate for another four months, according to The New York Times.

One of the most notorious jewel thieves in America has served his time in federal prison, now finding redemption in mentoring children and teens about the realities of crime. Now, he’s becoming an honorary police officer in the Lake St. Louis Police Department in Missouri, according to Fox News.

DALLAS -- President George W. Bush underwent a successful procedure this morning to have a stent placed in his heart to open a blockage found during his annual physical, according to Freddy Ford, spokesman for the office of George W. Bush.

Opportunities are mounting to take the Gospel to more newly-arrived Asian-Americans. More than twice as many immigrants to the nation’s most populous state -- California -- now come from Asia than from Latin America, according to The New York Times.

There are no official statistics about the number of Christians in North Korea, but the number may turn out to be higher than 10 percent, according to northkoreachristians.com. There could be as many as 70,000 Christians in North Korean prison camps, said Ryan Morgan, regional manager for East Asia with International Christian Concern.