Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.
In today's edition:
- Korean Pastor Expelled from China, Church Closed
- Church Shooting Kills Abortionist George Tiller
- U.K. Christians Challenged to Be Bold, Not Nice
- Muslim Villagers Beat Evangelists in Bangladesh
Korean Pastor Expelled from China, Church Closed
ASSIST News Service reports that Chinese authorities have abolished the Immanuel Church in Tinajin and banned Pastor Han Changxu, an ethnic Korean, from serving there. On May 16, the Office for Religious Affairs in Jinghai county, Tianjin issued a notice abolishing the church. ChinaAid says Pastor Han Changxu, a native of Heilongjiang province, was ordained as a pastor by the Presbyterian Church in 2008. He has been serving in Immanuel Church in Jinghai county, Tianjin since 2004. During the 2008 Olympics, authorities in Tianjin placed Pastor Han on surveillance when they discovered he had contacts with missionaries from South Korea. Chinese authorities have reportedly tried to prevent Pastor Han Changxu from having contact with churches in South Korea.
Church Shooting Kills Abortionist George Tiller
The Christian Post reports that Sunday's church shooting led to the targeted death of late-term abortion provider George Tiller. Tiller was handing out bulletins inside Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita, Kan., when the suspect shot and killed him with a single bullet. Police arrested the suspect, Scott P. Roeder, Sunday evening. “We are shocked at this morning's disturbing news that Mr. Tiller was gunned down,” said Troy Newman, president of pro-life group Operation Rescue, on Sunday. “We denounce vigilantism and the cowardly act that took place this morning.” Tiller was one of only a handful of doctors to provide late-term abortions in the United States, and was only recently acquitted of 19 charges of illegal abortions in a Kansas court.
U.K. Christians Challenged to Be Bold, Not Nice
Christian Today reports that people in 219 countries participated Sunday's Global Day of Prayer. In London, more than 10,000 people participated. The city's organizer challenged Christians to speak boldly and clearly. "I used to be a Muslim. The Muslims don't just want to build a mosque. They want to take over," said Pastor Jonathan Oloyede to a group in East London. "If you want to roll over and play dead while the legacy of your forefathers is thrown in the dust and you can't stand up and say enough is enough then you are not fit to be a Christian." Oloyede warned that Christians who focus on being "nice" cannot really be God's messengers because they're too worried about offending people. He begged Christians to be "true to the calling you have as a citizen of the Kingdom."
Muslim Villagers Beat Evangelists in Bangladesh
Compass Direct News reports that nearly four months after Muslim villagers in the Feni district of Bangladesh beat two evangelists for showing the “Jesus Film,” one of the Christians is still receiving treatment for his hip. Christian Life Bangladesh worker Edward Biswas, 32, was admitted to Alabakth Physiotherapy Centre on May 5, and still faces nuerological complications in his hip. Biswas told Compass that he and 21-year-old Dolonmoy Tripura first showed the film on Feb. 7 in a home in Chandpur village. The next evening, some villagers told them to show the film at their home, which the evangelists suspected to be a trap. The villagers took them to a school yard to show the film, and began beating them after the first 20 minutes of the film.
