Notable Pastors

Do you like to keep up with other pastors or see what other churches are doing?

The following is a list of pastors I have known personally or keep track of. Their ministries are blessed and notable. If you would like to check in on them to see what God is doing in their ministry ...

Celebration Church (Stovall Weems) - Jacksonville, FL
Champions Centre (Kevin Gerald) - Tacoma, WA
Church of the Highlands (Chris Hodges) - Birmingham, AL
Commonground Church (Tom Dillingham) - Tulsa, OK
Crossings Community Church (Marty Grubbs) - Oklahoma City, OK Elevation Church (Steven Furtick) - Indian Trail, NC
Genesis Church (Brian Hunter) - Tallahassee, FL
Granger Community Church (Mark Beeson) - Granger, IN
Healing Place Church (Dino Rizzo) - Baton Rouge, LA
Journey Church (Clark Mitchell) - Norman, OK
Lake Hills Church (Mac Richard) - Austin, TX
Leadership & Church Consultant (Sam Chand)
National Community Church (Mark Batterson) - Washington, DC
New Hope Christian Fellowship (Wayne Cordeiro) - Honolulu, HI
New Life Church (Rick Bezet) - Conway, AR
NewChurch (Monty Priest) - Oklahoma City, OK
NewSong Church (Dave Gibbons) - Irvine, CA
North Coast Church (Larry Osborne) - Vista, CA
NorthChurch.tv (Rodney Fouts) - Oklahoma City, OK
NorthwayChurch.tv (Buddy Cremeans) - Malta, NY
Seacoast Church (Greg Surratt) - Mt. Pleasant, SC
The Church at South Las Vegas (Benny Perez) - Las Vegas, NV
VictoryChurch.tv (Mark Crow) - Oklahoma City, OK

Muslims Now Outnumber Catholics

VATICAN CITY (AP) - Islam has surpassed Roman Catholicism as the world's largest religion, the Vatican newspaper said Sunday.

"For the first time in history, we are no longer at the top: Muslims have overtaken us," Monsignor Vittorio Formenti said in an interview with the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano. Formenti compiles the Vatican's yearbook.

He said that Catholics accounted for 17.4 percent of the world population — a stable percentage — while Muslims were at 19.2 percent.

"It is true that while Muslim families, as is well known, continue to make a lot of children, Christian ones on the contrary tend to have fewer and fewer," the monsignor said.

Formenti said that the data refer to 2006. The figures on Muslims were put together by Muslim countries and then provided to the United Nations, he said, adding that the Vatican could only vouch for its own data.

When considering all Christians and not just Catholics, Christians make up 33 percent of the world population, Formenti said.

Spokesmen for the Vatican and the United Nations did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment Sunday.

[Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved.]

End of Sabbatical

Recently, Perry Noble listed a bunch of questions that he is wrestling with. They are very similar to the questions I have pondered during my sabbatical.

#1 - Is there anything in my life that I need to stop doing?
#2 - Is there anything in my life that I should start doing?
#4 - How can I be more efficient in the way I use my time?
#5 - How can I be a better husband?
#6 - How can I be a better father?
#7 - How can I best assist people in taking their next step with Jesus Christ?

What do you think? What question have you been asking yourself or wrestling with lately?

Kenneth Copeland and Creflo Dollar Say "No" to Probe

Two television ministries are still refusing to comply fully with a U.S. Senate committee’s probe into their financial records.

Televangelists Kenneth Copeland and Creflo Dollar failed to provide the requested information by the March 31 deadline, according to a written release from Sen. Charles Grassley, R.-Iowa, the minority leader on the Finance Committee. Sen. Max Baucus, D.-Mont., the committee’s chairman, and Grassley had asked Copeland and Dollar, plus fellow televangelist Eddie Long, to submit the documentation they are seeking by the end of March.Long and three other televangelists have either complied, have begun doing so or have committed to fulfill the request, the written release from Grassley said.

SOURCE

Grady R. Kent's Son Dies

The Rev. Cecil Grady Kent, a resident of Augusta, Ga., departed this life on Saturday, March 29, 2008, in Augusta.

He grew up in Cleveland, TN and was a resident of Bradley County for many years prior to traveling and serving in various ministerial capacities in numerous states.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Bishop Grady R. Kent and Eunice Moate Kent; three sisters: Mary Lois Kent, Betty Pharr and Dorothy Webb; and two brothers: Melvin Ray Kent and Clarence Daniel Kent.

He is survived by his wife, Betty Kent; two sons: Cecil James Kent of Augusta and Jeffrey Turner of Woodstock, Ga.; one daughter, Shawn M. Hall of Dallas, Ga.; grandchildren: Matthew and Brian Vernon, Lindsey Turner and Thomas Hall; two brothers: Alvy David Kent of Rossville, Ga., and James M. Kent of Cleveland; and several nieces and nephews.

The family will receive friends from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 3, 2008, and a memorial service celebrating his life and 50 years of ministry will immediately follow at United Christian Church on Peerless Road.

A graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, April 4, 2008, at Fort Hill Cemetery.

Frank Howard Funeral Arrangements

Funeral arrangements for Brother Howard will be as follows:

Friday, April 4, 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM - Viewing, Peerless Road Church of God of Prophecy

Saturday, April 5, 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM - Lie in State, Peerless Road Church of God of Prophecy

Saturday, April 5, 11:00 AM - Funeral Service, Peerless Road Church of God of Prophecy with Interment following at Sunset Memorial Gardens

All functions will be held at:

Peerless Road Church of God of Prophecy (click here for directions)
3301 Peerless Road NW
Cleveland, Tennessee

Contributions in memory of Brother Howard may be made to:

International Children's Ministries of the Church of God of Prophecy
PO Box 2910
Cleveland, TN 37320-2910

Peerless Road Church Building Fund
3301 Peerless Road NW
Cleveland, TN 37312

An online condolence book is available should you wish to send a greeting or message in tribute to Brother Frank E. Howard. The online condolence book may be accessed by visiting http://webapps.cogopmedia.com/memorial/Frank_Howard.html . Tributes will be compiled and presented to the family.