Michael Jackson Reached out to Andrae & Sandra Crouch

Dan Wooding, Assist News | Facing a grueling concert schedule, Michael Jackson, the self-proclaimed King of Pop reached out to two old friends-legendary Gospel singer Andrae Crouch and his twin sister, singer and minister, Sandra, desperately seeking inspiration for a tour he was ill-prepared for, a few weeks before his tragic death. This has been revealed in a Bully! Pulpit News World Exclusive story which ANS has obtained an advance copy of.

The story said, “But news of the meeting spiraled out of control as a series of blogs and emails raced around the world proclaiming that Jackson had converted to Christianity at the end of one of their meetings, raising hopes, especially among Jackson’s African-American fans that Jackson, a onetime member of the Jehovah’s Witness sect, who had reportedly converted to Islam in 2008, had become a Christian.”

Feature Film Set To Expose Horrific Practice of Stoning

Assist News | In a world of corruption and injustice, a single courageous voice can tell a story that changes everything. This is what lies at the heart of the emotionally-charged movie THE STONING OF SORAYA M.

A plot synopsis says that Soraya endured an abusive marriage to Ali (Navid Negahban), who repaid her loyalty by asking for a divorce so he could marry a fourteen-year-old girl. Soraya refused, fearing that she and her children would be forgotten and starve. Too poor to return Soraya's dowry, as is the custom in Islamic divorce, Ali plotted with the village's mullah (Ali Pourtash) to accuse Soraya of adultery

Read Also: Producer Stephen McEveety: From "The Passion" to "The Stoning" - Steve's latest film, The Stoning of Soraya M., is the story of a woman in the Middle East who suffers psychological abuse at the hands of her husband and who eventually falls victim to a deadly conspiracy

Violence in Burma forces Karen Villagers to Flee to Thailand

Assist News | Recent attacks by the ruling Burmese military junta against ethnic Karen villagers have forced thousands of refugees to flee across the border into Thailand, creating a humanitarian crisis.

According to Christian Freedom International (CFI), fierce combat and mortar fire have forced more than 4,000 ethnic Karen villagers to escape for their safety since the beginning of June. More are arriving into Thailand every day.

Manchester Churches Partner with Police to Combat Crime                 

Assist News | With one of the highest rates of gun and knife crime in the UK more than 150 church leaders in greater Manchester linked up with neighbourhood police teams this week for the launch of a nation-wide campaign to help combat this crisis.

Wednesday night marked the start of a ten-city strategy, under the banner of Redeeming Our Communities, which is to be rolled out nation-wide, in partnership with the police, over the next three years.

How Best to Pray for Iran                 

Elizabeth Kendall | In 1989 the father of the Iranian Revolution, Grand Ayatollah Khomeini,died without a successor. His rightful and designated successor, GrandAyatollah Hussain Ali Montazeri, had been sidelined in 1988 forprotesting corruption and human rights abuses. At that time Khameneiwas President, Mousavi was Prime Minister and Rafsanjani was Speaker ofthe Parliament.

They were secure because they had not protested the purges and massacres! Possibly because Rafsanjani thought Khamenei could be easily controlled, Rafsanjani convinced the Assembly of Experts to appoint Khamenei as Supreme Leader even though he was not qualified for the role. However, after Rafsanjani became president the two men started to clash. Rafsanjani's power base was the business class, so he supported business, the elite and economic growth. Khamenei's power base was 'the masses', so he supported the clerics,the poor and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). Khameneiand the IRGC brought Ahmadinejad to power in 2005 specifically becausehe would serve their interests. With Ahmadinejad in power, the IRGC have been able to extend their control over much of the Iranian economy and pursue their own and Khamenei's regional ambitions.

Democracy on the Streets of Tehran

19/06 Gordon Moyes, Crossbench Comment | Hundreds of thousands of Iranians have flooded the streets of Tehran to protest the outcome of the recent election. The election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been subjected to widespread condemnation both in Iran and abroad. Critics have argued that the election process was not transparent, rigged, and a total fraud. On its fifth day of protests, at least seven civilians have been confirmed killed.

Benjamin Netanyahu Makes a Stand

Ron Ross | For too many weeks the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been silent about the Middle East peace process. Many others have presented opinions, analysis and ideas but the key figure in the drama, kept his powder dry. That is until Sunday. Netanyahu took to the podium at the Bar Ilan University. In a mere 30-minutes he pleased some and infuriated others.

Silencing Parachurch Ministries (and Other Christian Activities)

Bill Muehlenberg | Many of you would appreciate the ministry of Focus on the Family. James Dobson’s organisation has helped millions of families with its practical, faith-friendly resources. In the same way, Teen Challenge is another Christian organisation which has been helpful to so many drug and alcohol victims... What do these four organisations have in common? All are what are known as parachurch organisation. As the term implies, these are Christian ministries that come along side of the church, helping it in performing tasks it may not be able to do itself. They provide specialised ministries to help assist the church in carrying out its work.

And another thing they all have in common is that they might all be forced out of business, if restrictive options proposed in a discussion paper go through

Healing the Masculine Soul

13/06 The Fatherhood Foundation | This week the Dads4Kids Fatherhood Foundation is organizing a Men and Fathers Health Summit on Wednesday 17th June 2009 to celebrate Men's Health Week 15th - 21st June.

... Men are living longer but dying faster than ever before. Our children are feeling the pain. Men are living lives of quiet desperation and the continuing 5 year mortality gap between men and women, a common figure in most western countries, is a silent testimony to the pain within. The shocking suicide statistics for men also correlate.

Sex Workers call for 'anti-discrimination' protection

05/06 Peter Stokes, Saltshakers |Sex workers marked International Whores Day (Monday June 1) by marching on the NSW Parliament House to demand anti-discrimination laws. Carrying red umbrellas, sex workers called for greater protection from councils, banks and advertisers. “Sex workers are calling for anti-discrimination protection throughout Australia,” Scarlet Alliance CEO Janelle Fawkes said.

According to Scarlet Alliance, sex workers are only included in two state's anti-discrimination laws. It seems that it won't be long before the only people NOT to have anti-discrimination laws to protect them are Christians, as some States have removed, or are talking about removing 'exceptions' to existing bad laws that will dramatically affect a Christian's right to choose not to employ a sex worker or a homosexual as a receptionist or teacher

A review of Children As Trophies? - by Patricia Morgan.

Bill Muehlenberg | The demands of the homosexual lobby never seem to diminish, and their determined war of attrition is paying off handsomely. One area which has eluded them however is that of complete access to children (via adoption rights and so on). But they have been very active in trying to convince the rest of society that there is no preferred parenting option, that one parent is as good as the next, and that love and commitment is all that matters.

Show, Don't Tell

Ralph Winter, producer of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, on faith and cinema

Patrol Mag | Ralph Winter has a long list of big-screen hits to his name, starting with the tail end of the 1980s Star Trek sequels, moving into television (Lost), and on through the X-Men series. His latest, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, tallyied an impressive $87 million to kick off the summer box office this past weekend. But look over Winter’s resume, and you’ll notice he’s not only into big-budget superhero blockbusters: he's also done more than a few small-budget Christian films

A Vision for the Lost

by William Booth (1829 - 1912) | I saw a dark and stormy ocean. Over it the black clouds hung heavily; through them every now and then vivid lightening flashed and loud thunder rolled, while the winds moaned, and the waves rose and foamed, towered and broke, only to rise and foam, tower and break again. In that ocean I thought I saw myriads of poor human beings plunging and floating, shouting and shrieking, cursing and struggling and drowning; and as they cursed and screamed they rose and shrieked again, and then some sank to rise no more.

And I saw out of this dark angry ocean, a mighty rock that rose up with it’s summit towering high above the black clouds that overhung the stormy sea. And all around the base of this great rock I saw a vast platform. Onto this platform, I saw with delight a number of the poor struggling, drowning wretches continually climbing out of the angry ocean. And I saw that a few of those who were already safe on the platform were helping the poor creatures still in the angry waters to reach the place of safety. .